9/15: Laughing EO Off

[Gadget]

I like how Captain EO has an entire song CALLED "We are here to change the world," yet the lawyers are scratching their heads as to how to turn that into some sort of promotion involving volunteerism. Er, doesn't volunteering (ideally) change the world for the better? Is it that hard to make a connection?

I would be so thrilled if they were to replace HISTA with a WALL-E movie or attraction! (Even if I don't think it's likely.) I didn't hate Laugh Floor but I also only saw it once, and wouldn't be in any hurry to go back. I think the idea is that it could be interactive, which would appeal to local/repeat visitors, but realistically I don't know if that's likely.

I don't mind Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland so much, as space has to do with the future. I'm afraid magic closet doors leading to a monster world have nothing to do with the future, though. (As far as I know, anyway.)

Since there are so many locals at Disneyland, I think it would be really fun if they had some sort of serialized (or at least rotating) movie that would change every month or two. If they cut down on the multimedia effects (which seem to be getting old anyway), I wonder if it would be economical to put existing CG characters into new 3-D movies. Even if they just rotated through 4 different movies annually (one for each season maybe?) I think it might be a draw.

[Eagleman]

Originally Posted by Dustysage

Indeed. Honey I Shrunk The Audience is almost a better option than Laugh Floor.

Perfect way to destroy Tomorrowland, put more Pixar characters in it!

I'm DISGUSTED! Doesn't Imagineering have the balls to say no to the Pixar boys? I guess the answer is no.

I so agreed with you Dusty.....

But this can be the Big Reason!

The Walt Disney Company has finalized a US$7.4 billion deal to acquire its long-time partner Pixar in an all stock buy-out. The deal will make Steve Jobs, current Pixar and Apple CEO, Disney's largest shareholder with about 7% (valued at over $3.5 billion) and a member of the board of directors.

This is from Wikipedia
Money talks!
TOMORROW JUST A NIGHTMARE AWAY!

[I Heart Disneyland]

Great report, Al! (And, it was nice meeting you at the Expo and seeing old buddies at the Micechat booth too!)

We saw the Jacksons at the park on Friday. It was amazing to see them. Those poor children though. (Just the 2 boys were with Jermaine and a few other teens and a few bodyguard types in plain clothing.)

[Eagleman]

Originally Posted by BassBone

Circlevision was meant to be the future of film, and thus represented Tomorrowland well.

I miss this attrraction alot....And it was good !
And had alway's had the people coming back to see again and again!

[bfdf55]

Originally Posted by aduecey

D23 was fun. The parks pavillion & the pieces from the archive made the trip more than worth it. However I felt the rest of the show floor was rather forgetable. I'm a fan of Disney parks and Disney movies and thats where it ends. So for me I felt the inclusion of Disney paints, carpets, foods, and ABC t.v. all pretty lame. Still though I enjoyed the experience.

That’s the problem with trying to stuff the diverse Disney brand into one expo. Very few people are enamored with more than a FEW portions of the Disney empire. When they visit the Expo and find only a limited range of offerings, they will feel short changed. To me, the space wasted for pin trading – huge expanse of empty tables and chairs. The Dream Shop was a TOTAL waste – no significant unique merchandise that couldn’t be found at the Downtown Disney store. Just as all those elements you pointed out were also of no interest to me.

While the Parks & Resorts (mostly Imagineering - they should have hyped that) division put out an extremely well done exhibit, there was very little else on the exhibit floor that came even close to that. It appeared that Disney's corporate D23 initiative was foisted on the various divisions without any guidance or criteria to work to. That will have to change if this is to be successful in the future.

Was ESPN there? I don’t recall seeing them. Did they smartly opt-out?

[bfdf55]

Originally Posted by TheEscapist

I understand the impulse to have it go to Orlando, but this weekend was a prime example of how the Disneyland Resort benefits from being so close to the center of the entertainment industry.

Getting all of the onstage and backstage talent to commit to a multiday schlep to Florida represents a huge disruption in life and work to which a brief jaunt to Anaheim cannot ever compare.

If they build it up to a big enough event, maybe eventually take it on the road, or do a smaller version there. But for a lavish production, it's right where it should be.

It would be more than just a schlep to get what they had down to Florida, We’re talking either a fleet of trucks hauling the Parks & Resorts’ exhibit across country or shipping it by air freight, which would probably blow half their budget.

If you recognize the issues about doing the expo in Florida, how can you suggest putting together a road show? That would just compound all those Florida issues for each stop.

[jasonryan106]

Originally Posted by mainejeff

This would hardly be Rocket Rods.

1. It would actually be cool.
2. It would actually work.
3. It would actually represent a futuristic theme that ties in with an old and new Disney film.

as an idea, i would LOVE the new Tron for Tomorrowland... sure the single rider logistics are far fetched, but lets dream for a moment...

[bfdf55]

Originally Posted by flynnibus

But Disney can still bring in tons of people and content. I think what you are seeing here is when you plan an event less then 6 months out and no one knows what to expect. Other vendors, organizations, etc didn't have the time or incentive to really participate. It's a chicken and the egg thing.. Disney has to prove it will have draw and is worth coming to and being a part of. I think Disney certainly pulled out enough things from the 'cant normally do or see' box to make people want to be a part of it.

There are some major issues with the expo being exclusively Disney.

Having an exclusively Disney expo means that all content is limited to Disney. ComicCon (for example) is able to draw on every comic/movie source available providing a broad range of content. That also allows for there to be at least SOME top-notch material EVERY year.

Disney alone will limit the extent and range of material. This year’s expo has exposed all of their output for much of the next half dozen years. Outside of providing updated clips of upcoming releases, there is little that they will be able to WOW their attendees with next year.

The same goes for theme park attractions. They will probably be able to provide a surprise announcement (if it doesn’t get leaked over the internet first) or two. Shanghai will be a good candidate (if it ever gets final approval). But, what do you show the attendees. They were lucky this year that they had an outstanding collection of models of announced attractions available that they were willing to show. Next year, they may not have any projects far enough along that they can show.

Other issues:
Most conventions are subject oriented. Theme parks, Comics, Sports, Food, Computers, Movies, Television, Travel, etc. Each of these areas are focused on when they have conventions. With the D23 Expo, Disney just pulled all their disparate divisions and dumped them into the same convention. So while they pulled in a fair number of attendees, they don’t get a huge draw for any one area. While they did have some significant response for the keynote presentations for theme parks and movies, along with a great turnout for the Parks & Resorts exhibit, some of the other Disney corporate divisions were weak in their presentations. Some of it worked, much of it didn’t.

Also, it appears that, while Disney’s corporate D23 initiative was foisted on the various divisions, they didn’t provide any standards or guidance as to what level of participation they expected. The Parks & Resorts division responded with excellent results. But that should be expected from the Imagineers who made up the bulk of that exhibit. Other divisions’ responses were weak to non-existent (was ESPN there?). If Disney expects the D23 Expo to continue, they will have to set some level of expectation for their participants.

While there may be some potential, I feel that, as someone else had mentioned, that a Disney exclusive convention will be an extremely difficult event to pull off consistently.

[bfdf55]

Originally Posted by RodKwonDo

lets all chant together "Philharmagic!" It has as much to do with Tomorrowland as Laugh Floor... And it's an awesome attraction!! Whereas Laugh Floor is marginal at best (if that)

Personally, Philharmagic is "not what it could have been". As far as I'm concerned, sticking Donald in the mix totally screwed up what could have been an extremely entertaining experience (kind of like Fantasia). I certainly won't be seeing it again.

[Crazee4mm]

MILF (we have to lose that acronym) is an awful replacement for HISTA (or Eo...maybe). I saw it at WDW and was left with that old "what the heck was that" feeling. I am a strong supporter of Captain Eo's return (if only temporarily) but will be extremely disappointed if this corner of Tomorrowland is relegated to another Pixar property. We already have or have had...

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (DL)
Woody's Roundup (DL)
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (DL)
It's Tough to be a Bug (DCA)
The Pixar Play Parade (DCA)
Block Party Bash (DCA)
Toy Story (Midway) Mania (DCA)
All Pixar characters now populate the back railing of the Mark Twain for the Fantasmic! finale. This previously included only Buzz and Woody plus 3 Disney charachters. Now, two Green Army Men and Jessie have been changed out (booting off Pluto, Goofy, and Clarabelle Cow) (DL)
Carsland (with many Pixar rides within) (DCA)
Woody & Jessie in it's a small world (DL)
Turtle Talk with Crush (DCA)
Lightning McQueen & Mater photo location (DCA)
A Bugs Land (kiddie area with multiple Pixar rides) (DCA)
Monsters Inc, Mike & Sully to the Rescue (DCA)
Separate Buzz and Woody floats in the Christmas Fantasy Parade (DL)

And I'm sure I have forgotten a few others that have come and gone but that's what I can recall in my brain. The recent Pixar offerings (Ratatouille, Up, and Wall-E) have mostly been limited to single parade floats or no use at all (Wall-E). Enough Pixar for the time being, please. This is from a studio that has made less than a dozen feature films in it's entire history, and now seems to be going the sequel route as well. The Pixar brand is starting to wear on me as far as in the parks goes. My girlfriend (of 23 years) refuses to watch Pocahontas to this day because the media and DL was saturated with Pocahontas music, toys, plushes, shirts, rifles, making of featurettes on tv, nonstop commercials and trailers on both tv and theaters, plus a nice stage show at DL. Because of Disney's "hard sell" tactics used for all things Pocahontas, she HATES anything Pocahontas, and she has never even seen it! I gave up trying to get her to at least see the stage show. I saw it numerous times and thoroughly enjoyed it. She rode it's a small world whenever I went to the show. What I'm saying is that too much of anything will turn it's intended audience against it. There comes a time when we have to just push the plate away and say, respectfully, I'm full. Pixar is quickly reaching critical mass at the DL Resort. MILF is not wanted by ANYBODY posting on this page so why bother spending any money to put it there? To replace an attraction that just about everybody wants gone (HISTA), with an older favorite that seems to have a lot of support here, with respect to a few naysayers (Captain Eo) and replacing THAT with something NOBODY wants is a heck of a chain of events. I am all in favor of Captain Eo, but MILF has to be stopped! As Monty Python put it (with respect to Eric Idle from HISTA) "And Now For Something Completely Different..." Pleeeeease!

[disneymademoiselle]

Originally Posted by aashee

I guess we should all be grateful they aren't cloning Stitch's Great Escape!

[disney_leonard]

1. Agree on name change- Disney Expo
2. Do not move to Orlando. Not enough population to make it successful. It would have to be at the Orlando convention center which is too far from WDW. Sending all of the talent from So. Cal. would be too expensive so they wouldn't. The biggest fan base is here in So. Cal.
3. Keep it four days but make it worth four full days.
4. Wall-E attraction is a great idea.
5. More advance notice. Start now.

For the Lasseter haters- what are you thinking? He is the reason quality is coming back to new attractions. Did anyone else go to the panel that I did? He will not tolerate budget cutting at the expense of a good attraction. That is what caused the split when Eisner was in charge. Iger realizes what a talent he has in Lasseter.

PIXAR can work but it has to be appropriate- e.g., Wall-E in Tomorrowland, not Monsters. Nemo works with submarines. What did the original subs have to do with the future in 1959? Bob Gurr designed the subs after the Polaris which had already gone under the North Pole. The whole idea is exploration. At least DL has subs!

They can't make it work during the summer. They need too many CM's from all divisions and the parks to make this work. They can't do that during summer. Holding a stockholders meeting right before would probably be a good idea.

[cellarhound]

Originally Posted by flynnibus

Their options are to do no show at all - which doesn't help establish what is possible, so next year you still have the same chicken and the egg problem - or do something the best you can in the period in front of you, and build upon that in the future.

Which is why it needs to have a more organic - grass roots backing...

Originally Posted by flynnibus

It's obvious that Disney knew, and prepared, to do this all on their own for Year 1. That's simply being practical - not egotistical.

I never said it was "egotistical." I did say buying in to D23 was foolish. And I stand by that statment.

Originally Posted by flynnibus

They can't just rent a hall and say 'please come' - they need draw, and Disney shouldered the burden to get that ball rolling. This doesn't happen on its own. I would expect in coming years Disney will still heavily subsidize partners to come and participate to continue to build the show up.

I totally agree with this to a point... but you can't just expect comic con... I mean I read in business magazines that Iger was pushing for this... It is totally a let down to the investing community... It has to be community based, otherwise you end up looking pound foolish.

Originally Posted by flynnibus

I think we've seen completely the opposite as the events continue on. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for

Really? 50 attendees at a time at the Studio Event?!?!?! You HAVE to be kidding me... And when they promise more in the winter, they do only one day more?!?!?! That is nuts.

Originally Posted by flynnibus

I think you seriously under estimate what goes into pulling off a large scale event like this and under the virtually impossible situation of doing that in under 6 months totally from scratch.

Actually having worked trade events, and worked with conventioneers for several years, I DO know how hard it is... Which is why it looks penny wise pound foolish when you pull a big media event with a multi-city marketing campaign, and so few people show up! You have to have community support and let them run the thing... Deligate let the fans run and operate it...

If a businessman approaches something like this, especially when he works for a company the size and scope of Disney... It is natural to say, "That's nice, but where are all the people from New York, San Franisco, Houston, Chicago, Boston, Seatle?" And it gets worse when you say that in a metropolitain area such as Los Angeles, and the best you can do is draw 20,000 and it is only because Jonny Depp is there...

Those numbers are good but Comic Con pulled 123,000 in 2007... And it runs under differant names in multiple cities...

Iger is not the cultural touchstone, reclusive CEO, and Marketing giant like Jobs is... Showing up and tell parents why they need Disney products is a tough sell in times like these (especially when you do all you can do is talk about the strength of the Disney brand) - and it is tougher when hard core fans know better. But Apple's relationship to Mac World is something worth looking at... Because it was a relationship that worked.

Disney's big problem right now is what it continues to be throwing money around and hoping something works - because honestly, they have no clue...

To prove they have no clue? Lets look at the film output of the Disney owned studios are a fraction of what they once where... and it is hurting the unit to the point where investors are wondering what is going on...

Theme Parks are no differant just look at what has happened to Murphy, the Monorail? I am just hoping that DCA isn't going to bomb like these or the "new tomorrowland..."

Iger is an emperor that wears no clothes right now. A penny wise, pound foolish one.

The best news that came out of this is MARVEL deal... Now it is true this is throwing money at the bigger problem too - just like D23 is to develope better corporate marketing buzz and controlling the message.... But then again what use is buying the content and NOT using it? So there is hope in all this, but so far all we have seen from this managment is nothing but squandered oportunities, balks and heavy handedness...

[vfire]

Originally Posted by TheEscapist

I understand the impulse to have it go to Orlando, but this weekend was a prime example of how the Disneyland Resort benefits from being so close to the center of the entertainment industry.

Getting all of the onstage and backstage talent to commit to a multiday schlep to Florida represents a huge disruption in life and work to which a brief jaunt to Anaheim cannot ever compare.

If they build it up to a big enough event, maybe eventually take it on the road, or do a smaller version there. But for a lavish production, it's right where it should be.

That's a really good point, and an excellent reason to keep it in Anaheim.

[GhostHost2]

Originally Posted by RodKwonDo

lets all chant together "Philharmagic!" It has as much to do with Tomorrowland as Laugh Floor... And it's an awesome attraction!! Whereas Laugh Floor is marginal at best (if that)

Phillarmagic is extremely overrated IMO. I don't see anything special about it, it's basically an advertisement for movies that don't have attractions elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Gadget

I like how Captain EO has an entire song CALLED "We are here to change the world," yet the lawyers are scratching their heads as to how to turn that into some sort of promotion involving volunteerism. Er, doesn't volunteering (ideally) change the world for the better? Is it that hard to make a connection?

Plus, Michael Jackson was a huge humanitarian that donated millions and millions to charity.