First up, Larry C. of Orange, N.J. writes in to ask:
Dear Jim –
I’m confused. On April 6th, you posted a story which said that DCA’s “Superstar Limo” attraction would definitely be re-opening (at least for a little while) in May. But — on that same day — Al Lutz posts an article over on Miceage saying that Disneyland management has decided not to re-open “Superstar Limo.” Now you can’t both be right. So which of you guys got this story wrong?
Larry C.
Dear Larry C. –
Would you believe neither? Don’t get me wrong. Al — in his April 6th article — definitely had more up-to-date information than I did. But only by a day or so.
The fact of the matter is — back when I was initially writing my “Ready or not, here comes Superstar Limo … again!” article — the folks at Disney’s California Adventure WERE still getting this Hollywood Pictures Backlot dark ride ready for re-opening. The limos had all already been over to maintenance for their safety and operational checks. DCA management had begun prepping “Superstar Limo”‘s new training manuals (which would have been handed out to the unfortunate California Adventure cast members who’d been assigned to rework the re-opening attraction). And Disneyland’s Costuming department had even been told to pull “Limo”‘s old uniforms out of storage and get them ready for the ride’s “soft opening” in early May.
But then — just about the time that I sent that article off to David Gasior (JHM’s tech guy) for formatting — Matt Ouimet, President of Disneyland, reportedly had a change of heart. Even though Matt had allegedly initially agreed with Greg Emmer, Disneyland’s senior VP of Operations, that — what with the record crowds that DCA is expecting following next month’s grand opening of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror — that re-opening “Superstar Limo” (at least for a couple of months) made seen … Ouimet suddenly reversed himself during the first week of April.
Supposedly what Matt is saying now is: “Think of Superstar Limo as a fire extinguisher. Something that we only want to use in case of an emergency.” So if DCA were to have two or three weeks of capacity crowds, real body-to-body conditions this summer … or one of the theme park’s other major attractions were to suddenly pull a “Big Thunder” and have to be out of service for several months … then (and only then) would “Superstar Limo” be pressed back into service.
What reportedly brought about this abrupt change of heart? The story that I hear is that — earlier this month — Matt Ouimet finally got around to riding “Superstar Limo” and he saw for himself what a truly awful attraction it was. Allegedly, his main concern was then that — by having “TZTOT” and “SL” open at the very same time — that the two rides would effectively cancel each other out. To explain: That a guest who rode “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” (which is a great ride) would then go and experience “Superstar Limo” (which is a terrible attraction). The end result would be that this DCA visitor would then exit the theme park thinking that they’d just had an average time.
Obviously, Ouimet doesn’t want that. Matt wants people to go away from Disney’s California Adventure thinking “That’s a great theme park. I want to go back there again soon.” To do that, he wants to make sure that DCA visitors have the best possible time during their day in the park. And — in order to deliver on that — that means that they have to keep lackluster rides like “Superstar Limo” closed. In order to keep people from getting the wrong impression about the “new, improved Disney’s California Adventure.”
So technically, my “Ready or Not, Here Comes Superstar Limo … Again!” article was correct. At least while I was writing it. But — in the time that it took to get this piece posted on the site — the story changed. So kudos to Mr. Lutz for getting the revised version of the “Superstar Limo” saga right. (I’d still kill to have Al’s sources inside the Team Disney Anaheim building. The people who work there regularly feed Lutz some pretty amazing info.)
And — just to clarify here — DCA’s “Superstar Limo” could still re-open IF the crowds coming to California Adventure to try and ride “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” are large enough for a long enough period of time. But — if TZTOT” only gives DCA a momentary attendance jump — look for “Superstar Limo” to remain shuttered forever … or at least until the Imagineers finally figure out what they’re going to do to fix this attraction. Bring the Muppets in. Whatever …
And — speaking of the Muppets — Maskette just sent me an e-mail to ask:
Jim –
What’s going on with Disney and the Muppets? I had thought that the acquisition would be all wrapped up by now. But friends who work at the old Chaplin Studio complex are now telling me that Disney has begun dragging its feet. Which is making a lot of people who work for the Jim Henson Company very nervous. Given your connections inside both of these companies, Jim, can you give me some sort of update about what’s going on.
Thanks,
Maskette
Dear Maskette –
Boy, I wish I had better news for you here, Maskette. But it does seem like the Walt Disney Company’s planned acquisition of the Muppets has hit a bit of a snag. Though both sides are currently remaining mum about what the exact cause of the hold-up may be, there has been a hold-up. Which has supposedly been frustrating the folks at Henson no end.
Said one unnamed Henson employee:
“We’ve got 20-25 potential Muppet appearances lined up for the Spring and Summer. ‘Hollywood Squares” tapings, talk show appearances. Things that would help keep the Muppets out in the public eye. Help revive the brand. And all we need is for the people at Disney to do is say: ‘Yes, the characters can do this’ or ‘No, the Muppets can’t do that.’ But — though the folks over in Burbank have had these appearance requests for over two weeks now — they haven’t gotten back to us yet.
Our concern right now is — what with everyone over at Disney being preoccupied with what’s happening with Eisner — that a lot of obvious opportunities for the Muppets are going to be overlooked. We want to get things going right now. Not wait ’til the Mouse House gets its internal power struggles all straightened out.”
Certainly the Disney Company’s continuing power struggle has had a real impact on the speed at which things with the Muppets are currently being handled. Take — for example — what’s going on with the main Muppeteers (Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz et al). More than a month ago, these guys were told by Henson management that they had to get ready to fly out to Los Angeles to meet with Michael Eisner. But that meeting with Disney’s CEO keeps getting pushed back further and further … ’til now … well, no one knows when Eisner’s going to have time to meet with the main Muppeteers.
And — speaking of things getting pushed back — it’s now looking less and less likely that the “Muppet Wizard of Oz” will actually be ready to air on ABC by this November. So — quietly — the folks at Disney have begun referring to the “Oz” project as “… something that we hope to have ready for the February 2005 sweeps. Or maybe even the May 2005 sweeps.”
So where does that leave Kermit and Co. now? With only one guaranteed gig on the horizon. Based on the success of their appearance on this past Sunday’s “Nick and Jessica Variety Hour,” the Muppets have allegedly already been asked to take part in Lachey and Simpson’s next special for ABC. Which — due to Nick and Jessica’s extremely busy schedules — will be a holiday special. One that will possibly air in the slot that “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” was initially supposed to air in this coming November.
Speaking of the Muppets and all the stress and anxiety that Henson Company employees are supposedly dealing with right now, take a look at this article over at needcoffee.com. I’m not exactly sure who Widge is (And I apologize to those of you who are offended by adult language. This particular piece is loaded with stuff like that. But — given its subject matter — I still think that it’s worth reading), but clearly I’m not the only one who’s worried about the way the Disney / Henson deal is going. Check it out … and — in the weeks ahead, Maskette — I’ll be sure to keep a close watch on this whole strange situation. And — if there’s a break in the story — I’ll be sure to post something here at JHM.
And — speaking of posting things here at JimHillMedia.com — I thought I’d close with a piece of hate mail that I got this week.
Hey, Jerk!
Where do you get off criticizing Glen Keane? Here’s a guy who’s accomplished more than you ever will in your pathetic little lifetime. And yet you think that it’s okay to say that Keane lets all of his traditional animator buddies down for daring to try his hand at CG.
Shame on you, Jim Hill, for smearing the name of a truly great artist. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for running a story like that.
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous –
Look, here’s my problem. When I was out west last month and talking with traditional animators, invariably the conversation would turn to Glen Keane and how many people were still upset with Keane for his decision to go work in CG on “Rapunzel Unraveled.”
That — to my way of thinking, anyway — was a story. That this figure in the animation industry who had once been revered was now coming under fire. More importantly, it was a story that no one else had reported yet. Which is why I ran that piece this past Tuesday.
Not because I wanted to smear Glen’s name or because I wanted to enhance Andreas Deja’s reputation. But because I thought that this was news.
The e-mails I got in response to Tuesday’s “Can a few WDFA die-hards really make a difference?” article reminded me a lot of the nasty notes that I got following that recent series of stories that I wrote about Roy Disney and Stanley Gold’s “Save Disney” efforts. The ones where I dared to criticize what these two had been doing since Disney shareholders’ meeting last month in Philadelphia.
As that banner at the top of this webpage should remind you, I remain a supporter of Roy and Stanley’s efforts to oust Eisner. But doesn’t mean that I blindly support everything that “Save Disney” does. If these guys make a mistake, I feel it’s my duty to report on it.
That’s what I think you guys need to understand: I’m not here to make friends. To be buddy-buddy with Glen Keane or to cozy up with Roy and Stanley. I’m here to report the news. Both the good news AND the bad news.
And if you really have trouble hearing that people who work in the traditional animation field sometimes don’t get along OR that — even though Roy Disney and Stanley Gold may be brilliant businessmen — I still think that they may have already bobbled their one chance to remove Michael Eisner from power before his contract runs out in September 2006 … then maybe you’d better go find another web site to read. Someplace that steers clear of controversial subject matter. Where the toughest question you’ll ever deal with is “What’s your favorite Disney character?”
Over here at JimHillMedia.com … we’re still going to poke at the other parts of the Mouse House. Talk about subjects that the other websites might shy away from. Like Disney World’s College Program. (Which — like it or not — JHM is going to get back to writing about over the next few weeks.)
So — while I may feel bad if the stories that I write may sometimes offend people (particularly people that I genuinely respect, like Glen Keane) — that’s not going to stop me from writing them.
And — as for getting mad at me for writing stories like these — I just have one quick question for you: Do you also get mad at your local weatherman when he tells you that you’re in for a spot of bad weather.
Of course you don’t. And why not. Because he doesn’t control the weather. Anymore than I control the news.
The news is the news, folks. I just write it the way I see it. If you really don’t like what you read here, you’re free to post your comments on the JHM discussion boards or take me to task in an e-mail … but that’s not necessarily going to stop me from covering a particular story here at JimHillMedia.com.
I’m sorry if this comes across as somewhat belligerent. That’s really not my intent. I’m just out to clear the air a bit … before the next series of controversial stories pops up here at JHM.
Have a great weekend, okay?
jrh