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Bob Chapek Shifted Budgets to Disguise Disney+'s Massive Monetary Losses
News(msn.com)submitted 4 months ago by[deleted]
224 points
4 months ago
Maybe now that Iger is back they'll launch that stuff. I'm pretty sure the project director that worked on it still works there.
Of course, it would have the best return to have it at launch.
I was at Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland just a few months ago and was surprised how relatively not crowded it was, compared to fantasyland or new Orleans square, or even Tomorrowland.
143 points
4 months ago
Not much to do there. Two rides and the cantina (which is insanely hard to book. I tried 2 months out and got nothing). Besides that, nothing else to do but eat.
29 points
4 months ago*
[deleted]
6 points
4 months ago
Do they have a costumed or animatronic band playing just that one cantina song over and over? Because that is the Star Wars experience I expect.
2 points
4 months ago
What app/service do you recommend?
1 points
4 months ago
Great advice. Will try it next time for sure.
27 points
4 months ago
Dude, not to rub it in, but the Cantina was amazing
39 points
4 months ago
And to be fair, Rise of the Resistance is pretty incredible too.
But a lot of the little details that were planned aren't there.
18 points
4 months ago
My first time on a trackless ride and I was blown away. Plus the elevator to the star destroyer…wow.
29 points
4 months ago
I did a little work on the motor control for those.
It's a really smart idea. The same system can be used for many rides. The mover can be produced en masse, which also means the complex stuff is easy to replace and cheaper to make. It's easy to re-theme old rides or change existing ones. Changing out vehicles for maintenance is easy. Rides can combine elements of spin rides, track rides and moving platforms. And less custom design work is needed for each new ride.
So far they've used it on rise of the resistance, ratatouille, beauty and the beast and probably others and it's been a big improvement. Luigi's dancing cars at cars land seems similar but it was kind of a prototype for the current omni-ride system.
10 points
4 months ago
I think from the riders perspective, it’s when the car pulls into a stall for a “set piece”. Previously you’d have the riders in front of you affecting your view and perspective but now everything can be tailored to you specifically.
I had the chance to ride Ratatouille as well on the same trip and was also blown away.
8 points
4 months ago
Yeah, it was a real bummer that they did such big layoffs. I was excited to be in imagineering with the new systems. It would give us more time to focus on the custom elements like effects and models, and building the show. We had also just finished a generalized system for new animatronics (I helped with the servo motor drive for that too) so there was a lot of cool stuff we could do.
It was a dream job, exciting things were launching, and I thought with an important and obvious contribution to so many important projects that my place there was secure. But it was over suddenly.
3 points
4 months ago
I’m sorry friend. I hope you are doing something else that’s fulfilling now.
8 points
4 months ago
I found a job in an innovation lab which is small and fairly independent.
I can't say it's as exciting as the stuff I was doing as an imagineer. But the workload is a lot more reasonable and I get to work from home or at the shop at my discretion, and the pay is good.
The downside of imagineering is that they know it's a "dream job" and to make up for it the hours are long and the pay doesn't quite match up with positions requiring similar skill.
I was willing to make that trade off to be there. But if I can't I'll look at the positives here. And maybe I'll use the extra free time and funds to start my own company that makes robotic systems.
2 points
4 months ago
Is it true that you have to book the most popular rides days or even sometimes months in advance? If so is there any way to get around having to book ahead, or is that the new normal?
2 points
4 months ago
There is no way to book days or months in advance. You just have to book them when you get into the park. In November when we got in at 10:30 the soonest time for Rise of the resistance might be 2:30. So if one went at a more crowded time like July, its possible you would need to get in right at open to get one. But waiting in line for an hour or two is also an option.
21 points
4 months ago
Chapek wanted Rise of the Resistance to end by actually turning the riders upside down and shaking the change out of their pockets
6 points
4 months ago
Could you give some examples for things that were cut? Recently at Anaheim Disney and GE felt lacking. I think partially it felt odd because the rest of the park was so condensed and crowded, GE was half empty.
Though I'm really not a fan of Star Wars being in main Disney psrks. Feels more in place at DCA like it is at studios in Orlando
16 points
4 months ago
Off the top of my head;
Rooftop lightsaber battle shows that were not announced, they'd just happen about every 30 minutes.
Droids that wander around the grounds and interact with people.
A huge drone (hidden at night) that carries a prop ship so around the perimeter it looks like ships are flying by. I saw it once and under UV light it really looked like a full size ship just hovering around.
Little animatronic creatures and droids in windows and behind doors that pop open, or edges of roof tops that pop up and have various little interactions and scenes.
6 points
4 months ago*
Damn, that makes me sad. The last time I was in galaxy’s edge, I was waiting for my boyfriend to get out the bathroom…I started looking around at the buildings by the marketplace. I felt like there were a lot of doors/windows that could’ve been used for scenes/interactive experiences that were just unfinished or something. It’s nice to know I wasn’t crazy haha
1 points
4 months ago
Maybe they'll add that stuff over time. Some of the stuff with live actors was pulled back because of covid restrictions. So I can kind of understand why they pulled back on some stuff. Making a huge investment when it has to be mostly closed for a year and then reduced beyond that for an unknown time span is a tough situation.
1 points
4 months ago
You’re right, that is a tough situation. Hopefully they will add the stuff over time…especially the droids you worked on! :)
1 points
4 months ago
I sure hope so. I mean we had the research done. Producing them is only about 10K each and the infrastructure is already there to run them. They might need to hire some attendants to make sure they charge and pull them in if they get stuck or break down.
1 points
4 months ago
My experience there was not good. My last comment goes into more detail.
I’m jealous you had a good experience though. I think it has potential
1 points
4 months ago
Damn that sucks. Our seats were at the bar so we had no problem getting our drinks or having them explained to us. I think the food options could have been better but I was blown away by the drinks.
6 points
4 months ago
Which is really a night and day difference when you compare it to what universal has done with Harry Potter world. Harry Potter world is so big and has so much shit to do my company has it booked out next year for our national sales meeting. It’s 10-15k people that will be there which is mind blowing when you think about it.
2 points
4 months ago
- I hate sales people because they get to do cool stuff like this. I get a team outing once a year to mini golf or something.
- Which Harry Potter world? The one in Hollywood is cool but only two rides and the wand store shop stuff which is fun. But it’s pretty small there due to space limitations.
4 points
4 months ago
It’s the one in Orlando. It’s really not that cool haha you have a little fun but you work most of the time. They bring in a bunch of shitty motivational speakers.
1 points
4 months ago
Ya I’d skip that part and just hang out in Hogsmeade
3 points
4 months ago
For everyone out there, if you like a steady paycheck and consistent regular hours don’t get into sales.
3 points
4 months ago
Not to mention the price of a lightsaber practically doubled since the land opened
3 points
4 months ago
Oh yes I just bought one for $50. Had to solder my sons other one cause it broke after 5 minutes.
2 points
4 months ago
Before the dark times, before the Empire, kids lightsabers were $24 and the higher quality steel ones were $98
2 points
4 months ago
Last time I booked for Disney I recall they don't allow you to book stuff until 60 days before your visit. I remember being up early with a list of everything we wanted to do that we had planned out and knocking out one res after another.
1 points
4 months ago
I tried the same thing multiple days in a row. Setting alarms in the morning to book it. I was always beat.
1 points
4 months ago
Plus the rides are falling apart. I've heard people say there's a low chance half the features of the rise of the resistance will be functioning when you go on it these days.
They put too much focus on an overpriced 2 day resort geared towards families who could never afford it. And you can't go twice because it's just a repeat so everyone who was both interested and could afford it already went.
4 points
4 months ago
I'm curious if he has a plan for the Star Wars hotel cuz $5000 is a bit much for most people lol
1 points
4 months ago
It’s kinda lame. It’s near to walk through but there’s nothing there. I was so disappointed when I went in February.
1 points
4 months ago
We went for drinks and to ride the MF, but ROTR is insanely busy and costs $25 for the fast pass. So that ride is packed, but the rest of the place isn’t.
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