tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post1593840393897333473..comments2024-02-08T07:33:49.907-08:00Comments on Re-Imagineering: The Nature of the BusinessMr Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952506736745891323noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-45403252827400814912007-07-12T12:56:00.000-07:002007-07-12T12:56:00.000-07:00I will wholeheartedly agree. I am in management (n...I will wholeheartedly agree. I am in management (not Disney, I'm afraid), and I have to say that poor leadership is a bigger problem than poor product. I consider Imagineering to be one of the best job locations in the world, but only if it is allowed to live up to its full potential. There are <B>SO</B> many areas within the Disney spectrum that can use a bit more magic, and I've noticed it since my firs trip to WDW in 1982. Politics and creativity are not good bedfellows; and management that sacrifices the creativity and imagination of its workers has no place in the Disney culture. This goes to the top of of the company, since it has been created and exists within. Please, Mr. Iger, do something that makes me believe that the future of Disney involves creativity, imagination, surprise, and delight, rather than flat films and budget-conscious activities that mean little.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-39233477910813059522007-07-03T16:07:00.000-07:002007-07-03T16:07:00.000-07:00Ironic to read some of the very thoughts I've kept...Ironic to read some of the very thoughts I've kept to myself for so many years now. Like many former Imagineers, one tended to look upon management as a hindrance rather than help once Ron Miller got the axe.<BR/><BR/>I don't think an injection of Pixar folks can make much of a difference at WDI. However talented they are, one must recognize that Disney is now controlled by folks with television backgrounds. Their requirement for immediate gratification conflicts with the long lifespans of theme park attractions.emmacohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16533814983761551678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-71318132302904339732007-06-28T04:36:00.000-07:002007-06-28T04:36:00.000-07:00The best part about Disney was that they weren't l...The best part about Disney was that they weren't like every other company. They did things better than other companies. They had standards higher than other companies. If all of that is going to be true, they must behave in all ways better than the rest of the pack. Therefore, defending anything that happens in Disney with the usual 'that happens in all companies' is still a negative. Doing anything like everybody else is a sure sign of decline and is a great example of making excuses for failure. Concepts like "norm for the industry" is code for "it's okay to suck."Lidstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01299935418508698525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-25887213864677435752007-06-20T08:07:00.000-07:002007-06-20T08:07:00.000-07:00As a former Imagineer, I also agree completely (ba...As a former Imagineer, I also agree completely (based upon first hand, painfull knowledge) with this article. What many are not aware of, however, is the growing power of another Disney entity that gets their projects approved directly by Iger, completely (for the most part) bypassing WDI: this group is Disney Creative Entertainment (DCE)and headed by Anne Hamburger. Be afraid...very afraid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-28909898069328812762007-06-15T01:26:00.000-07:002007-06-15T01:26:00.000-07:00Great leadership can cover a multitude of sins. Th...Great leadership can cover a multitude of sins. The military has all the same politics and disfunction, but when you have great leaders that know what they want and convey a clear shared vision, others can accomplish it because they are given permission to be a part of it, and a team can do great things. Overcome huge life and death obstacles. People leave managers, not jobs. Mutiny does not happen when the Captain knows what he's doing. But even those leaders had the American dream in the hearts of each soldier, there was something bigger worth the effort. I think WDI is defending an ethic of Walt that is not really supported by the Corporation. Without the "mother country" behind them, why fight for the dream? How can you measure success? That breeds fear! It takes leadership at the top.<BR/><BR/> Great Creative Leaders know and love the product more than their name on the door. If they do, all those they lead will happily kill themselves to get the show there because they know the leader will fall on their own sword for them for making the show right. A vision means more than the story, but a deeper reason for the why we're building these things, and it must be instilled in every Imagineer. You work there because you love to be a part of a team that exists only to make other people happy, and you believe the world is a fraction better for those guests because you are in that business of providing "escape". YOUR name is not on the product, it is the Disney name and you are there to deliver the excellence that brand has handed you as it's legacy. You must also be pushed by the leader to take the vision further and exceed expectations till they cannot explain what they've seen. You've done it when all they can say is that it's "magic". Great leaders can give Tomorrowland hope and a reason for being. Great Leaders take risks with the paradigm and know when enough detail is enough. Giving "good set" is not enough. Experience is king. It's fighting and not being everyone's friend. It's pissing off those who work for you because they are not driven to push harder to get the details right. They may hate you at first, but if they know the vision, they'll hate themselves more because they know WHY you are making them do it. And you must live the project. Great leaders go to the field and must live the trauma of their show getting gutted and must save it from disaster on the table and revive it by opening day. The toughest choices are made in the field and can compromise your show. <BR/><BR/>I say screw the fear, risk your job and speak out, if you sit in silence it's your fault, the job isn't the one you signed for anyway. When I figured that out I left. <BR/><BR/>Bob Iger and John Lassiter need to have a vision summit. Vision starts at home. Give WDI it's confidence back and make them earn the right to continue the legacy. <BR/><BR/>It was fun while it lasted..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-72430093605491281282007-06-14T22:58:00.000-07:002007-06-14T22:58:00.000-07:00Please help me on this one....Why in the world are...Please help me on this one....Why in the world are the"cool kids" at WDI making fun of the people the help contribute to their paychecks and why wouldn't you want people to be passionate about what they are working on? Being a "Disney Dork" and a "Foamer" as well as a wannabe Imagineering I don't understand what's wrong with having brand loyality? Granted I've met more die hard fans than myself and even I can't talk about the Haunted Mansion for 3 hours straight with out gettig a tad bored, but it seems to me in order to fit in you have to go into the Disney closet. I'm sure that helps somewhat in dumbing downi the "dream on" factor....but wouldn't you consider some of the Golden Imagineers to be foamers? Have you seen the inside of Tony Baxter's house???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-90430678287388577462007-06-14T09:31:00.000-07:002007-06-14T09:31:00.000-07:00Back around '95/'96 Judson Green rolled out Perfor...Back around '95/'96 Judson Green rolled out Performance Excellence which was a WDW-wide initiative focused on dramatically changing how WDW management operated. I don't recall all of the specifics, but one component was a series of key attritubtes of management that are held by them and/or should be demonstrated by them. The one that I clearly remember went something to the effect of 'We have an emotional bond with the Walt Disney Company, its experiences and its heritage'. The idea was that a good Disney leader felt an emotional connection with the company and as a result feels a driving inward desire to passionately ensure that adult guests would have the opportunity to once again feel what they did as children and that children would experience something similar. <BR/><BR/>The idea is that someone who feels an emotional connection to a job or place is more prone to act in a manner that will be in the best interest of the thing invovled.<BR/><BR/>David H<BR/>WDW Cast '93-02<BR/>Ex-Disney and Proud that I've leftAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-39499181719224517702007-06-14T05:06:00.000-07:002007-06-14T05:06:00.000-07:00Excellent article. This might not be quite on topi...Excellent article. This might not be quite on topic but the article got me thinking about a bunch of things which led to this.<BR/><BR/>I read this on a Disneyland message board about the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage:<BR/><BR/>"The ride fits perfectly with their target audience...families. Little kids don't care about life-like explorations to the lost city of Atlantis, or discovering the secrets to the Bermuda Triangle. Most people who go to Disneyland bring children, and their children love to see all their favorite characters from the Disney movies."<BR/><BR/>I really hope the people who think this way aren't in the majority, but I would bet the farm that they probably are. Why do we have to underestimate children so much? <BR/><BR/>Are they only interested in seeing the brightly colored cartoon fish that they see on the TV at home every day? Do they not deserve an engaging, richly detailed imaginative experience? <BR/><BR/>Are they only pawns in the Walt Disney Disney Co.'s shameless game of synergy? Nag your parents to see the movie, see the ride, get the DVD, get the plushies, get the coloring book, wash, rinse, repeat. <BR/><BR/>Walt supposedly said, "Adults are interested if you don't play down to the little 2 or 3 year olds or talk down. I don't believe in talking down to children. I don't believe in talking down to any certain segment. I like to kind of just talk in a general way to the audience. Children are always reaching."<BR/><BR/>Maybe I'm a moron and I just don't understand, but it's insulting to give kids such low-grade moronic braindead entertainment. Direct to video sequels. The off the shelf carnival rides that pass for "kid's lands" these days. <BR/><BR/>I give kids the benefit of the doubt and feel they can appreciate the classics as much as us Disney nerds do if we gave them a chance.<BR/><BR/> But instead they are dragged by the collar by their parents to "A Bug's Land" so they can spin around in a circle for 30 seconds at a time.<BR/><BR/>Attractions based on movies aren't all bad and neither are the spinny rides if done in moderation, but where's the originality? I mean, I thought the Nemo Subs were okay and all, but it's still very childish and lame, and retains little of what made the movie so special. <BR/><BR/>Are they losing sight of what's important by talking down to children, and in effect talking down to all of us? I hope that whatever WDI turns into, they remember to cater to the only demographic that should matter at Disney, people with a sense of adventure and most importantly, imagination, no matter what age they are.Spokkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06878138419800159091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-33105395424326798302007-06-13T13:10:00.000-07:002007-06-13T13:10:00.000-07:00I agree - this is the best article on this site th...I agree - this is the best article on this site thus far. Having worked for Disney as a writer for the theme parks, I can say that this is SPOT ON. You didn't want to piss off the wrong people. My boss, the head writer, was a victim of this type of attitude because he said one too many things that our director did not like.<BR/><BR/>I have been out of Disney for years now but hope that one day I can go back in a culture that has shifted, although who knows if this will happen?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-65744964193339098562007-06-12T17:52:00.000-07:002007-06-12T17:52:00.000-07:00It IS sad see Disney become just another mega corp...It IS sad see Disney become just another mega corporation. And that brings about a dreaded question, but one that I think it is becoming time to ask:<BR/><BR/>What is truer to the original Disney Spirit(and Walt's Vision)- the Disney name and collection of Disney intellectual and physical properties, or the dream of creating magic and that special feeling?<BR/><BR/>There are many who either want to or wanted to become Imagineers, yet are unable to because of the situation within the company. In some ways, however, that is changing - as more projects get outsourced, those people who create the magic are moving to private companies. Those private companies are no longer limited to working just with Disney, but are starting to spread the gospel of Pixie Dust to other parks, museums, restaurants, and shops. The Magic of Disney no longer requires going to or working for Disney. So in some ways, we are actually spreading that talent around. It has broken free of the bounds of Orlando and Anaheim. The word is spreading, and we need to be it's prophets, not it's doom sayers.StrangeVoiceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06461535206083562899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-38635645904848271112007-06-12T08:49:00.000-07:002007-06-12T08:49:00.000-07:00I have often wondered what specifically was the ca...I have often wondered what specifically was the cause of all this infighting at WDI. Now I understand. Of course, the truth is, this kind of politics is the norm in most large businesses. Its just sad to see Disney succumb to it.Will Robisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09778337158642077453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-85890760743397001632007-06-12T08:20:00.000-07:002007-06-12T08:20:00.000-07:00The Walt Disney Company has a film background whi...The Walt Disney Company has a film background which is layoff everybody after the production is finished.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-23371542237690047052007-06-11T20:24:00.000-07:002007-06-11T20:24:00.000-07:00I'm am 16, and even being so young, you would not ...I'm am 16, and even being so young, you would not belive how much I agree with you articles. I spend hours a day searching the internet for what Disney should be. I see the old photos of yesterday and it almost makes me cry to see what I could of had if I had only been born a couple of years before. I want to be an Imagineer, kind of like the story in this article. But I don't want to be the spinless wimp who won't stand up for whats right. Some one should unfreez Walt and tell him what the hell is goin on.<BR/><BR/>P.S. Does this mean I'm a foamer :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-66296693307148456942007-06-11T19:55:00.000-07:002007-06-11T19:55:00.000-07:00Anonymous said:>>>On almost every ride that relies...<B>Anonymous said:</B><BR/>>>><I>On almost every ride that relies on a doom buggy-type vehicle, the ride stopped while we were on it, including Haunted Mansion, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and Buzz Lightyear. (Thankfully not Imagination, or else I might not be here typing this now.) I realize there are reasons why a ride like that has to stop occasionally for safety reasons, but when it happens so consistently, it makes you wonder what's going wrong.</I><<<<BR/><BR/>Also keep in mind, that rides like this usually have to stop to load and unload handicap and disabled passengers. It's the only way to do this (at the moment) for a ride that is continuously in motion. Though we might not notice, there are a lot of disabled folks frequenting Disney parks.Digital Jedihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02374739586203788564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-88499791953377495382007-06-11T19:49:00.000-07:002007-06-11T19:49:00.000-07:00I think the reason this is one of the best posts t...I think the reason this is one of the best posts to date, is because it cuts to the heart of the matter in more depth then before. There's a unique relationship between these two entities that people inside and out the industry are failing to see. They keep trying to take the model of "every other corporation" out there and make it fit to the Disney model, and it doesn't work. <BR/><BR/>Disney only functions as the unique entity it was designed to be. Not as the corporate monolith that some managers are trying to shape it into. They don't see that, because their looking through their special spy glasses they got with their business degrees. You know, the ones that ordinary people like me don't get, because we foam at the mouth to much.<BR/><BR/>Thanks you for this, and for the insight it provides us. It's for this kind of insider information the the Internet exists in the first place.Digital Jedihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02374739586203788564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-18366936253701953462007-06-11T18:31:00.000-07:002007-06-11T18:31:00.000-07:00But it DOES have to succeed in Imagineering. THAT'...But it DOES have to succeed in Imagineering. THAT'S Disney's (at least the parks division's)ace card - the ability to go so far beyond what anyone else can do. Already it is being outsourced - and everyone else is catching up. Disney is loosing it's main advantage, and that is going to cost them dearly, because when you have so much of a market cornered (those looking for an immersive vacation experience), any growth another company will get will come at your loss.<BR/><BR/>Many other companies are already experts at the cross sell. Disney may top them out, but the reality is that at a certain point people see through it. ROI just doesn't pan out for going over the top. Sure Disney has some really marketable properties. But other companies are building up their portfolio of features and characters. And Disney's latest creations have been less than stellar. <BR/><BR/>Getting rid of Imagineering is like Gillete getting rid of their engineering division. Sure, you can simply rebrand other companies products, sell the same old stuff with a new marketing twist. But to really rise above the competitio, you have to set yourself apart - offer a better product. THAT is what Imagineering is to the parks division - their product development division. GEtting rid of that will essentially put them into the same field as every other park and museum. Why not stay out in front of the pack?StrangeVoiceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06461535206083562899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-73021344683313260502007-06-11T15:26:00.000-07:002007-06-11T15:26:00.000-07:00"Unfortunately the management of the Walt Disney C..."Unfortunately the management of the Walt Disney Company (the guys who wear suits and sit behind desks in Burbank) don’t have the time or the interest to look at the problems within Imagineering."<BR/><BR/>Its one of THOSE entries again. The authors of this blog obviously are concerned with craft and story, but fail to look at both sides of the argument. This in-fighting between various departments takes place within all companies. Everyone wants their department to hire more staff, and get better funding. This resentment happens all across the corporate world.<BR/><BR/>The real issue is that Disney, in their quest to expand, failed to scale their talent across the board. Do the math. Were they hiring the correct ratio of creative people in relation to their expanded properties? Probably not.<BR/><BR/>Is the existence of WDI really in service of the Disney Parks? The secrets of imagineering have long be open to the public. Since Disney is allegedly treating WDI as a contractor, why not dissolve WDI and hire outwardly?<BR/><BR/>Many will contest that imagineers are special and that no outside contractor can match the work of WDI. I beg to differ. Imgaineering is an open concept today. When Walt opened his parks, his unique ideas resulted in him having to find individuals and form a company to bring them to life. Today, there are many contractor design companies that not only emulate the imagineering style, but in many ways exceed it. WDI is a relic of a company that was comfortable a few theme parks, all within the US. The ideal hope that the creatives will rule the company was pretty much dissolved when Disney attempted to expand its reach.<BR/><BR/>I think re-imagineering should be more of an open idea, rather than focusing on Disney's inability to grasp the very idea it created. Obviously, Disney has failed at their own game several times. When a company decides to expand into all medias and then go global, there will be some downfalls. Imagineering isn't specific to Disney anymore. Malls, museums, office buildings, restaurants, and various other locations have utilized the techniques. I think its time to let go of the idea that the Disney company has to succeed at imagineering, and start embracing the concept in all manifestations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-64449932606246150392007-06-11T14:09:00.000-07:002007-06-11T14:09:00.000-07:00I was in the college program at Walt Disney World ...I was in the college program at Walt Disney World a few years back and I remember going to a college program sponsored night where various departments from the Walt Disney Company were in attendance. Seeing that my background is in engineering and animation, I asked one of the departments related to Imagineering what they thought about their job and what I should do to try and get in and the response was, "You don't want to be in Imagineering. It is constantly ramping up and ramping down, never a secure environment. You would be much better off joining a different department at Disney."<BR/><BR/>As you can imagine, I decided to leave Disney after the college program and pursue a different company for a desire of better job stability. But......I've always wondered about working at Imagineering!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-6118253569160392572007-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:002007-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:00...which is why they need someone to focus them on......which is why they need someone to focus them on the fact that there is more to the bottom line than just adding up the various attendance figures of all the rides and the sales receipts of the stores and restaurants. <BR/><BR/>Disney is an experience. Each element adds to that experience. While individually few would stand on their own, together they make a whole. As you focus more and more on individual big ticket rides and forget about the little distractions and experiences, you start to loose that all important sense of place. People don't go to Disney because they want to ride the latest coaster. They go to Disney becasue they want a whole magical experience that only Disney can provide. It's like the supporting actors in a movie 0 no matter how good the main actor is, if the supporting cast doesn't cut it, the whole movie is going to be a flop.StrangeVoiceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06461535206083562899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-81649893798506522962007-06-11T09:38:00.000-07:002007-06-11T09:38:00.000-07:00All these points are good, but at the end of the d...All these points are good, but at the end of the day, managment looks for how much money they can make.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-90888697592370180402007-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:002007-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00I just got back from a quick trip to Orlando, spen...I just got back from a quick trip to Orlando, spending 1 day at the Universal parks and 2 at WDW. I'm an outsider, having never worked for Disney or WDI. I paid for one day at Disney on my own and received a media pass for the second.<BR/><BR/>You're absolutely right about Islands being the next-best themed park in the world. From a design and integration perspective, it totally surpassed everything except Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. It won't take them much work to add Harry Potter to the mix. The single most stunning attraction of my entire trip was the Spider-Man ride, which brought motion-simulation and 3-D projection to a level of integration I didn't know was possible. Kudos to those designers.<BR/><BR/>Epcot is a disjointed mess these days. (The Seas with Nemo feels like a cheap traveling science center exhibit you can see anywhere in the country.) Disney/MGM has always been a mediocre park, but it's made worse by the awful Aerosmith coaster, tucked away in a corner as if the designers knew what a boring ride it was going to be. The new auto stunt show combined good stunts with a laughable script that ruined the experience.<BR/><BR/>The biggest Disney highlight was Everest, which showed there are still some designers who know how to put on a good show. Sure, elements of the ride had been done before (at Disney and outside parks), but none of those previous efforts rise to the level of great show and a thrilling ride that they brought to Everest.<BR/><BR/>I couldn't help but notice all the elements of "bad show" throughout the parks. Animatronic servos were clearly missing or disabled on several rides, even the newly refurbished Pirates.<BR/><BR/>Lilo & Stitch relies on binaural audio, but both my seat and my companion's seat had broken speakers! How do you run an attraction that relies on binaural audio and NOT check each seat every morning for broken speakers?<BR/><BR/>On almost every ride that relies on a doom buggy-type vehicle, the ride stopped while we were on it, including Haunted Mansion, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and Buzz Lightyear. (Thankfully not Imagination, or else I might not be here typing this now.) I realize there are reasons why a ride like that has to stop occasionally for safety reasons, but when it happens so consistently, it makes you wonder what's going wrong.<BR/><BR/>By the end of our first day at the Magic Kingdom, both the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Space Mountain were broken completely.<BR/><BR/>From my outsider perspective, it appears there's no coordination between Imagineering and park ops. The level of quality control was embarrassing at times. Whether that's a budget issue or a morale issue (or both), someone at the top of the company needs to step up and turn WDW back into the world-class experience it once was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-68747790769690855642007-06-11T04:26:00.000-07:002007-06-11T04:26:00.000-07:00Great site, enjoy reading it, and share the optimi...Great site, enjoy reading it, and share the optimism of getting things back to right, but when you use pictures from others, please give credit where due.... Picture #3 on this write up is my, taken from my Disney photo site: http://disney.rocket9.net/<BR/><BR/>I'm flattered that one of my pictures is appreciated enough to be used, but a "Photo courtesy of..." link would appropriate and appreciated.<BR/><BR/>-Bernie<BR/>http://disney.rocket9.net/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-42926647588084527332007-06-09T12:45:00.000-07:002007-06-09T12:45:00.000-07:00Excellent article as always. I'm nearing completio...Excellent article as always. I'm nearing completion of my BA in mechanical engineering, and I had always bemused myself to work at WDI. Then I began to hear the horror stories of what was going on inside. Hopefully this restructuring will give back the creativity, energy, and pull of WED back to WDI by the time I am out of academics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-82957150812531105302007-06-09T09:46:00.000-07:002007-06-09T09:46:00.000-07:00Great post.Another area to look at is the guests.W...Great post.<BR/><BR/>Another area to look at is the guests.<BR/><BR/>Where are the guests spending their money and time?<BR/><BR/>All of the debacle about adding Pixar to Tomorrowland and Epcot. Well...where were people spending their time? Were they visiting these attractions? Were they perusing the gift shops? Were they spending money?<BR/><BR/>Park Operations has to take its cues from the Executives and from the guest's spending habits (time and money). If an attraction isn't pulling in time or money, who will Park Ops blame? Our short attention span? Imagineering?<BR/><BR/>This isn't just about Imagineering vs the Suits vs Park Ops. We are involved and vested as well.<BR/><BR/>Kudos to this blog and for all of the comments for showing how passionate we are. Maybe somebody <B>is</B> listening!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023449275486420957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-4161248181631933152007-06-09T07:42:00.000-07:002007-06-09T07:42:00.000-07:00This is my favorite article (and comments) I've se...This is my favorite article (and comments) I've seen on here. Bravo!<BR/><BR/>This negative dynamic you cite isn't only at WDI, unfortunately. I've sung in two animated Disney features (and have friends who have sung in many more).<BR/><BR/>Every time a new score was being recorded, a few NY actor/singers were brought out to LA to do the dummy tracks, and then the deciders (grin) would try to cut costs by doing the finals with LA studio singers (very talented, but not singing *actors* from musical theatre backgrounds, able to convey character as opposed to just making beautiful sounds). After spending the money on *those* finals, the deciders would relent and go back and do the complete finals over again in NYC. All in the interest of saving money. <BR/><BR/>This pattern was repeated again and again, as each time some new exec tried to lower the bottom line. (Not to mention jerririgging the royalty pool so that musicians made less and less with each subsequent film.)<BR/><BR/>Don't even get me started about all the newest animated films, either with no songs/scores, or with one or two songs written by a pop icon and sung off-screen, not by the characters. <BR/><BR/>Such a wasted opportunity to add to the rich library of Disney classics...<BR/><BR/>Thank you for a wonderful outlet to read supportive and hopeful information from Disney insiders still dreaming big.<BR/><BR/>Signed,<BR/>Not Quite A Foamer (Yet)<BR/><BR/>P.S. YES to the shortsightedness of the run-by-promotion mentality. It's clear to everyone that Disney's current formula is to find some reason to plan 18-month celebrations end-to-end. I almost hope the success of these promotions start to fail, after visiting Disneyland each year for the past five years or so, only to discover enormous crowds and understaffed parks, with numerous food shops closed, annoyingly long lines just to get in to the parks, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com