Saturday, August 2, 2008

Planning For A Disaster...


Thirteen years ago on this date, a group of 36 Disney Suits gathered with Michael Eisner in Aspen, Colorado at a ski resort. For the next few days they'll be sitting around trying to come up with a Second Gate for Disneyland that is a cheaper alternative to the high priced concepts of WestCOT and Port Disney...

Eisner wants something that will be less of a headache in terms of conception, construction and cost than the previous designs that WDI turned into him. By the end of the retreat they come up with a bold new concept for a Disney theme park in California:

"Disney's California Adventure"

Eisner, Pressler and the other Suits believe they have a winner on their hands. Something that is a sure-fire bet that can't loose. After all, the public would pay to see anything with Disney's name on it.

Right?

10 comments:

Spokker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Spokker said...

Sounds like they did more skiing than planning.

Anonymous said...

Who was there from WDI? I believe Marty was...anyone else?

Anonymous said...

Was Braverman there?

Anonymous said...

Actually, it was all Eisner's idea. The WestCOT approach would have revolutionized theme parks...NO ONE at that meeting thought DCA was a "winning" idea. A little further research proves this.

Don't blame the suits on this one, it was all Mikey boy.

Honor Hunter said...

I blame them for not having the testicular fortitude to tell him such. They are guilty by their silence...

Anonymous said...

While I generally like reading these posts, I get tired of all the trashing of DCA. I personally like DCA better than Disney Studios. Maybe the negativity is because you know what you wanted, and didn't get it. Yes, the midway games area sucked, but there are things to like about DCA.

Honor Hunter said...

I never said there weren't things that work in DCA, anonymous...

But as a whole it doesn't. There are very nice areas(Golden State, HBL to a smaller degree, etc.). the problem comes from the Frankenstein put together of some of the areas and doesn't have the cohesive feel many other Disney parks have.

I also am a huge supporter of the Expansion/Makeover that's going on right now, but that doesn't mean I don't have critical thoughts on the past or present...

Thanks for saying I'm too negative though. That's a change. Most tend to think I'm too much of a cheerleader for the Mouse so it's nice to have somebody come from the other side...

Spokker said...

Even the most ardent haters of DCA think Soarin' is a great ride. They just lament that the rest of the park wasn't on the same level.

But even Soarin' suffers from the "build it for less" mentality. It has a really weak queue nary of details. Everything good happens the moment you "take off".

Anonymous said...

Soarin' is a terrific ride, as is Grizzly River Run and the whole area around it...But the rest of the park feels weird. It feels small and detached. I enjoy Paradise Pier, but it doesn't feel like a theme park, it feels like an extension of Downtown Disney.

I just hope DCA feels more like an actual theme park when the renovation is done. The more detailed and expanded "Main Street" style entrance will help a ton.