Today, we’re going to do a weird sort of edition of “Why For.” One that actually keys off of last week’s extremely controversial version of this same column.
“Why would you want to do something like, Jim?,” you ask. Because over the past seven days, I have gotten dozens of rather heated e-mails from Disneyana fans. People who really took me to task for suggesting that General Grizz’s “Save ‘The Land’ ” campaign was ill-advised.
Some people got right to the point. Like Robert S., who wrote in recently to say:
You jerk. How dare you attack General Grizz? I hope you die.
Which — you have to admit — gets right to the point. Still others — like Rachel R. — were much more polite, but still really upset with me:
Jim —
As a longtime reader of both JimHillMedia.com & WDWMagic.com, I was extremely disappointed to see that you used last week’s “Why For” column as a vehicle to attack General Grizz. Sure, some of the comments that he makes on the WDWMagic discussion boards can be over the top. But Grizz’s heart is really in the right place.
Whereas you, Jim … You seem intent on taking General Grizz’s campaign to save Epcot’s The Land pavilion and turning it into an opportunity to build yourself up by tearing Grizz down. Which is (to my way of thinking, anyway) a pretty shameful way to promote yourself & your website.
Shame on you, Jim. I thought that you were better than this.
*sigh*
It’s letters like these that make me realize that I must have done a really poor job of getting across the point that I was trying to make with last week’s “Why For” column. You see, the real intent of last Friday’s article WASN’T to personally attack General Grizz. But — rather — to talk about why WDI has real problems with certain types of Disney fans. People who are well intentioned but ultimately make life that much more difficult for the Imagineers.
How so? Well, let’s try looking at this whole “Save ‘The Land’ ” call-to-arms thing from Imagineering’s point of view. Here you have a division of the Walt Disney Company that just came through five hellish years. An arm of the Disney corporation that’s suffered through round after round of lay-offs, where virtually every project that WDI has proposed for construction in the stateside parks has had its budget cut to the bone time & time again.
But now — finally — Walt Disney Imagineering seems to have turned a corner. And wonder of wonders, the money spigot has been turned back on! Which is how a big budget project like “Soarin’ ” finally got approved for construction at Epcot in the first place. Plus — for the first time in years — Disney’s money guys have actually agreed to throw some extra dough in the pot to help spruce up “The Land” ‘s interior, upgrade the “Sunshine Season Food Court,” etc. Happy days are here again at WDI!
But then General Grizz starts his “We have to save ‘The Land’ ” campaign. And copies of his call-to-arms get circulated around Imagineering headquarters in Glendale and eventually get into the hands of WDI’s accountants. You know, the sharp pencil boys? Those guys with all the ledgers & the spreadsheets who are always fighting with the Imagineers about how much money they actually need to build various attractions?
Anyway … The accountants take one look at General Grizz’s letter and think “This is an opportunity. If we can just convince management that Disneyana fans really are upset about all the changes that the Imagineers want to make to ‘The Land’ ‘s interior, this could give us a chance to cut some serious coin out of the construction budget for this project.”
You see what I’m getting at, Rachel? General Grizz thought that he was doing the right thing by announcing his call-to-arms. But what he actually did (in this case, anyway) was helped Imagineering’s accountants. Giving these guys just the excuse that they were looking for in order to shave another couple of million dollars off of the proposed budget for this Future World revitalization project.
And — to make matters worse — you have to understand that the pavilions on this side of Epcot operate on a strict 10 year rehab schedule. Which means that what doesn’t get fixed this time around will then have to wait ’til 2014 to receive any additional attention.
So — thanks to a well-intended if somewhat mis-guided effort to save “The Land” ‘s interior — General Grizz and his co-horts may have actually done this Future World pavilion more harm than good. They may have accidentally created a situation where money will now get cut out of “the Land” ‘s rehab budget. Which may result in a version of this pavilion that actually looks worse than the “Transportation Center” that the Imagineers were originally planning on building.
Thankfully — as of this moment — the sharp pencil boys haven’t been all that successful in their effort to convince Disney management that “all those dweebs on the Net” (Their term. Not mine) want the interior of this Future World pavilion to remain just as it is now. But every day that General Grizz continues to push his case gives WDI’s accountants another opportunity to whittle away at this project.
As recently as this past Wednesday, I heard that copies of Grizz’s call-to-arms continue to circulate at Disney. With the accountants forwarding copies of the WDWMagic.com discussion boards that cover this particular subject to influential managers within the Team Disney Burbank building with attachments that read: “Have you heard about this? Maybe we’d better take another look at changing ‘The Land’ ‘s interior.”
So you see what’s really going on here, Rachel? The sharp pencil boys are using General Grizz’s “Save ‘The Land’ ” campaign to further their own agendas. NOT because these guys actually care about what Disneyana fans think. But — rather — because Grizz’s call-to-arms has given the accountants a convenient excuse to try & cut that project’s budget.
Now earlier this week, General Grizz and I exchanged a few e-mails. I made him aware of this situation within Walt Disney Imagineering. And he seemed genuinely surprised & concerned that his “Save ‘The Land’ ” campaign could have been turned into something might actually hurt this Future World pavilion. This is clearly not the outcome that the General was going for. Now as to whether this news will — in the future — effect the way Grizz announces his call-to-arms over at WDWMagic.com … Who can say?
I guess what I’m really saying here is that — from here on in — all us folks who work with the Web need to be a bit more careful about how we pick our battles. Make sure that — when we issue a call-to-arms — that we’re actually fighting for the right side.
After all, we don’t want to aid & abet WDI’s sworn enemy: The sharp pencil boys. The people who said “We don’t need to spend big bucks on the ‘Journey into Imagination’ rehab” and “It’s okay to shut down Disneyland’s ‘Country Bear’ show and replace it with a bargain basement version of WDW’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’ ride.”
Anyway … Out of all the notes that I received this past week, the following message from Travis Y. was probably the best written. As well as one of the most aggravating. And I’m not just saying that because this particular e-mail starts out with a quote from yours truly:
“Well, this is where I have to remind you guys that the Walt Disney Company is actually a business. And what you may view as a peaceful & tranquil environment to dine in, the execs who are running the Mouse House see as an area at Epcot that is severely underutilized. A section of Future World which is not pulling its weight.” 10-15-04
Dear Jim,
In several previous articles (though I cannot recall any specifically off the top of my head), in order to provide explanation for various decisions of the WDC, you’ve made a point of stating WDC is a business. Granted, WDC is a business and must do what makes sense as such. But on the other hand, I HATE the reality that the WDC puts business first. Walt would have changed The Land not because the space was underutilized, but because of why it was underutilized, i.e. — bad show.
Certainly I understand some of the changes from the bad show angle. As fond as I am of those balloons, I never understood how they fit in exactly, and I won’t really miss them when they float away. Also, from the space angle, I agree they’re gonna have to modify something to accomodate the new crowds. What bugs me is that damn business angle.
That’s my own problem I realize. Facts are facts, and the way you deal with them in life determines your success. But the more you write about the business arguement, the more irked I get, not just because I don’t like the facts themselves, but it’s as if you yourself are siding with them, excusing away some of their more controvertial considerations and decisions, all in the name of attendance increases and stuffed cash registers. I hate that.
Personally, I believe if they were thinking show — and not just show, but Walt’s show — they would do exactly what Grizz is talking about. Take the more expensive and unsound business route by retheming Soarin, not retheming the entire pavillion to match a Soarin’ clone. I love the intro to the AK segment on the latest WDW souvenier DVD — a sound clip of Walt talking about preserving nature. Walt would have loved The Land’s symbiosis theme circa ’82 or ’94 or whenever the heck they introduced it to the pavillion. Would they have to change the Food Fair to accomodate the new crowds? Of course. But a travel agency? Gimme a break.
The more I read your articles, the more I sense that while you love a good Walt Disney back story more than anyone, you place a different value on them than some of us. You don’t romanticize his way of thinking, his outdated 1950’s modernist ideals the way we do. As such, you are less concerned w/ how new decisions impact the original vision, looking instead to whether it works today as entertainment or not. You always wanted those Time Racers. I for one am glad they’re dead.
Will retheming Soarin’ draw less crowds than retheming the Pavillion? Perhaps. I like Soarin’ as it is, I’ve got the Jerry Goldsmith track on repeat in the computer. Shooting new footage for the ride will likely result in losing this music that is such a key to it’s current success. But I’m willing to take a chance. Change everything you want in The Land if it draws in crowds. Just don’t change the theme.
Travis Y.
Dear Travis:
Given that what you’ve written here is a basically polite, very respectful letter, I really feel like a jerk for saying something like this: But I’m not going to answer your e-mail, Travis. NOT because I don’t think that you bring up some valid points (Because you do). But — rather — because I have grown tired of Disneyana fans who invoke Walt’s name as part of their defense of Epcot.
“What do I mean by that?,” you ask. Well … Let’s take a look at these sentences from your e-mail: “Walt would have loved The Land’s symbiosis theme circa ’82 or ’94 …” and “… not just show, but Walt’s show.”
Quick question, Travis: Are you a member of the Disney family and thereby privvy to information that the rest of us don’t have? Or are you a member of the Psychic Friends Network and — as a result — able to channel messages from the Old Mousetro straight from the great beyond?
If none of the above in true, Travis … Then what gives you the right to pretend that you know what Walt Disney’s likes & dislikes might be?
Please don’t get me wrong, Travis. I don’t mean to single you out for doing this. Sort of like I didn’t mean to single out General Grizz last week for being the perfect example of the sort of Disney dweeb who blindly insists that nothing ever changes at the theme parks. (And look how that “Why For” answer came back and bit me in the ass.)
Anyway … I’m sorry if this seems like a very strange response to your e-mail. But — when people play the Walt card (particularly when they’re talking about projects that weren’t even in the talking stage while Disney was alive) — it always makes me a little bit crazy.
Why for? Because, to be blunt, I don’t think that there’s anyone left on the planet — short of Diane Disney Miller — could have predicted what Walt would do from one minute to the next. (I used to include Roy E. Disney in this group. But ever since Walt’s nephew began using DCA to beat up Michael Eisner [Which seems really hyocritical. Particularly given that — on this theme park’s opening day back in February 2001 — Roy told numerous members of the press that Walt would have loved California Adventure.] , I’ve pulled him off my list of definitive Disney authorities.)
Don’t believe me? Then talk with real Disney old timers like Bob Gurr, Alice Davis & Harrison “Buzz” Price. People who actually worked with Walt and were always genuinely surprised by the sorts of assignments that he’d give them … Like trying to find a way to build a bobsled ride that would work in sunny California, or designing 300+ distinctly different ethnic costumes for a UNICEF attraction, or finding out if it was financially feasible to build a Disney theme park indoors.
If these people (who knew Walt well) couldn’t predict what Disney was going to do from one minute to the next … Then how can you pretend that you know what Walt would have thought about the proposed Land redo?
Don’t get me wrong, Travis. I’m sure that you’re a very nice guy. More importantly, that you’ve read all of the Disney biographies as well as the company histories that are out there. You’ve also seen the man speak on various videos & DVDs. Maybe you’ve even spoken with a few veteran Disney Company employees and/or elderly Imagineers, people who actually worked with Walt & had day-to-day contact with the man. Which is why you now may feel that you have some sort of special insight into Walt Disney might say or do.
Well, Travis, I’ve done all that and then some. And you know what I’ve learned from my 30 years of studying Walt Disney’s life? That the man was unknowable. As in: Disney was a constant surprise to all those who knew him, worked with him and/or loved him.
That said, if I had to bet on which of the four Florida theme parks would upset Walt the most, I’d have to say that Epcot would seem to be the safest bet. After all, even when Disney was on his death bed at St. Joseph’s hospital in Burbank, he was still using the ceiling tiles of his hospital room to map out the exact layout of his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
Which was supposed to have been a city, Travis. NOT a futuristically themed theme park.
Which is why I think that it’s … Well … wrong-headed to try & defend General Grizz’s call-to-arms with sentences like “Walt would have changed The Land not because the space was underutilized ...” When — truth be told — that Future World pavilion (And the entirety of Epcot Center, for that matter) is a much better reflection of the corporate mindset & artistic sensibilties of Card Walker (I.E. The man who was actually in charge of Walt Disney Productions when that theme park was initially designed & built) rather than of Walt himself.
But Disneyana fans (particularly those who love Epcot) don’t like to be reminded that Disney himself had so little to do with the creation of Epcot Center. That Walt was 10 years dead when all the really tough decisions were being made on this project. They’d prefer to cling to the myth that Walt Disney Productions’ publicity department created. That Epcot was Walt’s “last and best dream.”
Epcot the city, sure. Epcot Center, the theme park … Not by a long shot, Travis.
So how’s about this, Travis? You send me another e-mail that doesn’t include any lines like “Walt wouldn’t have done it that way” … And I promise that I’ll then answer your note, okay?
Send me a letter like that, Travis. THEN I’ll be happy to discuss my whole “The Walt Disney Company is a business” position with you, alright?
Okay. Now that I’m sure that I’ve offended dozens of WDWMagic.com readers, let me ask you folks a question. Particularly all you Donald Duck fans out there. What can you tell me about this duck?
My significant other — Nancy Stadler — recently received this Donald Duck from her Dad. Evidently, Mary (Nancy’s late mother) found this 4 1/2 inch tall plastic figure at a flea market in Georgia. And — since she knew that her daughter was a big-time duck collector — Mary set this Donald aside to send to Nancy later this year.
But — now that Mary’s gone — Nancy’s been trying to fill in a few of the blanks on this figurine. As in: Where exactly did it come from? And why is Donald Duck dressed in such strange garb? With a blue pin-striped shirt & cap, rather than his usual sailor suit & hat. Plus Donald appears to be wearing brown gloves. And while one glove appears to have fingers, the other (on the duck’s left hand) does not.
As for any additional identifying marks: On the back of this figure — in raised writing — are three words: ARCO, Disney & China.
So can any of you Donald Duck fans out there help me out here? Any info that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Not to mention clearing up some of the questions that Nancy may have about this one last gift from her Mom.
That’s it for this week, folks. Here’s hoping that I haven’t upset too many people over at WDWMagic.com. If not … Well, I guess there’s next week.
Have a great weekend, okay? We’ll all talk again come Monday, alright?
jrh