7/17: Resurrections & Returns

[Al Lutz]

DCA - where do they start? Disneyland Game Plan, East vs. West, Aurora Returns, Hotel Name Game, Goodbye Gallery, Backstage Mansion? More... Discuss it all here!

[SpokkerJones]

The first thing I thought of is that if Screamin' is reworked into a villians coaster with a lot of special effects and dark ride elements, the over the shoulder restraints have got to go. Otherwise unless you sit in the front you'll have a horrible view of the action.

[davewasbaloo]

MMmmmmm interesting news. I cannot wait to hear more details. I already like DCA and were planning on flying the 7000 miles again to visit next year, but at this rate, I might have to buy in the The Grand Californian DVC if it really takes off!

[GhostHost2]

Great update, very exciting. Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough coming back would be awesome. Tony Baxter looking for something to put on the People Mover tracks, great. There was some sad news with this update: the Disney Gallery closing for a suite is simply ridiculous, and Disney hiring thugs is kind of scary. I like the movie Cars, but if I was paying money for the Test Track ride system, I would put in something much more exciting, something that is more thrilling and scary like TDS's Journey to the Center of the Earth.

[patch]

I'm greatly intrigued with the supposedly amazing DCA artwork you kept mentioning. If only...

[michielv]

Meanwhile, Lasseter happily keeps the bigwigs focused on Anaheim so they aren't too distracted by the continuing struggles in Hong Kong and Paris.

Being from Holland and having Paris as my home park, this sentence is a bit disappointing te me.... No chance of giving Paris a hand from abroad?

[Ward]

Originally Posted by Al Lutz

One can only hope [David Koenig's] critical eye will focus some attention on the solutions necessary to once again make Walt Disney World a premium resort destination.

For fans of all Disney parks, Al's water-torture drip of WDW slights is at least partly salved by the inclusion of "once again". Knowing that he believes that it was once a great resort, we can trust that Al is complaining about WDW's decline in hopes that it is noticed and fixed.

[Berd]

Ugh to the name changes of the towers at the Disneyland Hotel. First they dump the classy "Granville's" name, now we get these hokey new names? Bleh. What's wrong with keeping the old names as a link to the past?

Great update again, Al! Thanks!

[Swisskapolka]

I'm glad to hear that the ugly pastel Where Dreams Come True decor came down -- I wasn't looking forward to seeing it when I visit Disneyland next week for our yearly pilgrimage. The long needed DCA make-over sounds great -- can't wait to see it all come together.

It saddens me to hear that Human Resources still hasn't figured out how to staff the parks to the standards of the past. I was amazed last summer at the number of 2006 name badges I saw! Isn't there any way to convince the folks who control the money to raise the pay of castmembers to make it more attractive to work at Disneyland? I just talked with someone last night who'd love to work there, but can't imagine doing it for the low wages offered compared to what she could make elsewhere.

[SpokkerJones]

Originally Posted by Ward

Knowing that he believes that it was once a great resort, we can trust that Al is complaining about WDW's decline in hopes that it is noticed and fixed.

I love the WDW bashing. It's funny.

Anyway I'm glad they are going to do something with the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. I've always said the park needs these little things to provide a complete experience.

The Gallery news is still disturbing. Oh well.

The news that DCA might be a park on par with TDS or Epcot (well maybe not so much Epcot anymore) is hard to believe. That would mean the park would have to be virtually unrecognizable from its current state.

DCA is basically getting a patch applied. It might be better than it is now, but I don't think it'll never be that complete and consistant experience.

When all this construction is going on they should offer a special price for DCA. That might actually get some people in there even though the park is operating at reduced capacity.

But if they really wanted to get this thing into high gear, they'd close it down for a few months entirely and have a grand reopening.

[System Error]

Originally Posted by Berd

Ugh to the name changes of the towers at the Disneyland Hotel. First they dump the classy "Granville's" name, now we get these hokey new names? Bleh. What's wrong with keeping the old names as a link to the past?

Great update again, Al! Thanks!

Berd, I wholly agree! The old names have class. The new names seem so homogenized by comparison. This change reminds me of the disastrous "Disney Parks" merchandise. Bland, bland, bland.

[mushufan]

I sure hope WDI sticks with the plan to fix an entire section at a time rather than piece meal. This may cause complaints, but if there were huge panels of concept art and maybe a preview center I'm sure people would get it. May I offer Route 66 up as the first area to fix? Close off that entire end of the park while the CGH's DVC Units are under construction so two messes are made at once.

Any chance the PPH will be imploded to remove the visual intrusion? I just don't know how they can make that tower look Victorian. The Victorians didn't build high-rise rectangles.

[PSUDanO]

Originally posted by Ward:
For fans of all Disney parks, Al's water-torture drip of WDW slights is at least partly salved by the inclusion of "once again". Knowing that he believes that it was once a great resort, we can trust that Al is complaining about WDW's decline in hopes that it is noticed and fixed.

Good catch there, Ward--as a WDW fan, I wasn't "feeling the love" from Al's WDW-bash, but I think, deep down inside, Al wants the best for WDW. That doesn't mean that he doesn't allow some "Wester is better" to creep into his pieces, though.

That being said, Al hits the biggest problem spot-on: Cast Members are the KEY to magical guest experiences, and the West Coast properties have almost experienced a proportional slide downward with Cast Member performance as their attractions have improved. I was appalled with DL Cast Member performance, and some DVC friends who visited this year swore they are not going back DESPITE the better quality of attractions. WDW is not immune to this, but the decline has not been nearly as precipitous--the majority of WDW Cast Members still "get it." Casting is certainly a poster-boy for the issues pervading HR organizations--lots of surveys and crap with no realization that you have to pay to get the talent!

Bob Iger has to pick his battles, and he just won a BIG one with the approval of the DCA capital spending plan. He also had to expend a large amount of political capital to counter the arguments of Consumer Products and effictively can Morrill and stem the tide of sequel trash eminating out of Disney Toon Studios. Putting Rasulo's head on a pike right now, while certainly satisfying to those of us who have seen his contorted organization and its impact on WDW, would be a quite risky move for Mr. Iger right now. However, Rasulo should definitely be updating his resume--I wonder if future employers will be duly impressed with the YOMD campaign and those wonderful TV ads!

Though the WDW water-torture hurts--keep these informative articles coming!

[mycroft16]

Great update Al. I'm incredibly excited about the changes that are coming down the pipe for the resort. Sounds like an amazing and unprecedented era for DLR.

I think now that these things are being sorted out, some high level attention really needs to be turned towards the HR department. Without the high quality people running the show, as you say, the best rides in the world don't matter at all. I am appalled to learn that they don't even conduct drug tests. To work at McDonald's or Mervyn's or Target you need a drug test. How much more important is it for a place where the employees are operating very large, sometimes complex, ride systems? It scares me that HR is talking about not holding people responsible for the first 30 days. That is HR poison and the further down this road they go, the harder it will be to clean up later. They need to be strict about who they hire, and hold off to give rewards to those that do stick around and merit them. They need to, most importantly, make the job one that people want by having competitive pay and the ability and desire to work flexibly with schedules. It needs to be a job worth having in order for people to want to have it.

[kcnole]

Five years should be just about the right time to make my first trip out west anyhow. I've been wanting to visit DL and if DCA actually is a quality second park it'll make it worth the trip. Plus my son will be 5 by then so finally old enough to truly enjoy it all as well.