If you were CEO

[Flrancho]

I thought this would be an interesting thing to discuss and see what everone's ideas are. If you were CEO of WDW and had unlimited finances to do whatever you wanted, what about WDW would you change, or add.

Just for fun, lets make this a top ten list and try to limit your additions/changes to only 10 things.

1. Quit outsourcing things and bring them back to Disney-controlled entities.

2. Cancel Avatar-land and make the proposed area South America with an Amazon riverboat attraction.

3. Create rewards program for on-property hotels.

4. Fix the Yeti.

5. Bring back original Journey Into Imagination into its former location, demolishing Journey Into Imagination with Figment.

6. Remove sorcerer hat from middle of street in HS. It completely destroys the view.

7. Bring back AA-enhanced version of Horizons into its former location, demolishing Mission: SPACE.

8. Reopen renovated version of WoL pavilion with more updated attractions. Keep the theme of the human body / healthy living.

9. Invest cash in improving food quality throughout the parks, especially MK. Find way to make healthy wheat burger bun that won't fall apart.

10. Bring back Country Bear Christmas show into holiday season operation.

[WDW4Ever]

I'm liking this! I'm going to take the next few hours and really think about 10 things I would do.

[HauntedGabe]

I'm pondering too! Good thread!

[eeyore79]

oh great thread idea!! : ) i'll be back in a while...

[malt]

I thought this would be an interesting thing to discuss and see what everone's ideas are. If you were CEO of WDW and had unlimited finances to do whatever you wanted, what about WDW would you change, or add.

Just for fun, lets make this a top ten list and try to limit your additions/changes to only 10 things.

1. Quit outsourcing things and bring them back to Disney-controlled entities.

2. Cancel Avatar-land and make the proposed area South America with an Amazon riverboat attraction.

3. Create rewards program for on-property hotels.

4. Fix the Yeti.

5. Bring back original Journey Into Imagination into its former location, demolishing Journey Into Imagination with Figment.

6. Remove sorcerer hat from middle of street in HS. It completely destroys the view.

7. Bring back AA-enhanced version of Horizons into its former location, demolishing Mission: SPACE.

8. Reopen renovated version of WoL pavilion with more updated attractions. Keep the theme of the human body / healthy living.

9. Invest cash in improving food quality throughout the parks, especially MK. Find way to make healthy wheat burger bun that won't fall apart.

10. Bring back Country Bear Christmas show into holiday season operation.

All of the above plus change SpaceShip Earth back to the early 90's version.

[wdwfns2]

I'd just be happy at this point if they would lower ticket prices so a family of 4 could enjoy a day in the park without having to morgage their house

[WDW1014]

Change ticket prices and offer discounts for families that have been there more then 10 times hehe lol

[WDW4Ever]

Okay I've done my thinking on it but haven't been able to come up with 10. I got 7, however. (Listed in order of importance)

1. Find that "next big person." Search high and low leaving no stone unturned to find the next great artist/imagineer/businessman/thinker/Walt Disney/Steve Jobs. Someone that will lend their amazing ability to anything that needs to be done.

2. Make a more centralized company. Did you know that the Walt Disney Archives is required to charge any other branch of the Walt Disney Company for use of the Reading Room in the Archives if they use it for more than one hour? That is absolutely ridiculous. I'd remove that and have everybody check with the archives, Disney Consumer Products, etc. to make sure that everything is correct and reduce mistakes.

3. Emphasize movies, not parks. More thought (money maybe, but not necessarily) I feel is being put into the parks (see Avatar) than the movies they produce. They're almost relying on Pixar movies for a bulk of their revenue. (See 6 for more)

4. Fill in any unused holes. Whether it be an unused land or building (Wonders of Life) or just somewhere that could be made better. Do it.

5. I think this is illegal under U.S. v. Paramount 1948, but I would look into opening a line of Disney Cinemas. Not necessarily screen just Disney movies because I think that's where the litigation comes in, but just to control the environment and moviegoing experience. Make various styles of theaters and make going to movies the event that it used to be. The picture is an idea of one that would be made. It's from the short Presto!

6. Bob Iger has already touched on this with his "return to the animation that made Disney movies great" but I would take it one step further and make it two animated features to one CGI feature. I'd also look into returning the animators into the original buildings instead of across Riverside Drive in the Roy E. Disney Animation Building.

7. Look into ticket prices and why they need to be so high. Maybe come up with staggered pricing for single (widowed) parents, low-income families, etc. If people begin cheating the system, then adjust accordingly or remove as necessary.

[Flrancho]

Those are some interesting ideas.

I actually did think about putting something in mine about lowering ticket prices, but decided not to. It sounds bad, but if people are willing to sell their kids to go to Disney, I'm sure there will be plenty that will claim to be low income and not be. The system would be cheated.

Maybe if you had to show proof that you were widowed or low income or something; but then, I don't know if its really fair for the family that's doing well financially to have to pay more than a family that might be living off food stamps, especially if they're blowing what money they do get on stupid stuff.

Disney shouldn't be just for the rich, but I don't think the rich should have to pay more for the same vacation experience just because they are rich.

[WDW4Ever]

Disney shouldn't be just for the rich, but I don't think the rich should have to pay more for the same vacation experience just because they are rich.

No, I don't either, but I think that it could be made more accessible to those that don't make as much as others. It wouldn't be a food-stamp style. Like we both have said, people would have to have proof, however proof could be given, in order to get some more special deals than others.

[Veritas]

1. TLC in the parks. I would increase Park Cast and maintenance budgets by 10%.
2. Fix the Yeti
3. 20K comes back
4. Backlot Tour becomes a Star Wars Land (Would move Star Tours there) expand experiences just thing of an attarction that replicates the atatck down the "canyon" of the death star the new robotic arm features could do that nicely.
5. Some kind or river cruise in Animal Kingdom
6. 5% reinvestment. 5% of the revenues from each park goes into a fund for plusing or new attractions

[WDW4Ever]

I like numbers 5 and 6 the most but unfortunately I don't see how many others are feasible. Some are plausible though. Increasing CMs and maintenance budget by 10% would require you to remove that 10% plus wages from somewhere else in the company.

[HauntedGabe]

1. Address Future World. What is Future World? It is a hodgepodge of misc stuff and shuttered pavilions. Is it family, educational, thrill?

2. World Showcase. Time to add a pavilion or attractions to pavilions that exist already. Too stagnant for too long.

3. MK-Main Street. It lacks charm or anything to do with Main Street USA.
It more resembles a big box store stretching her way down Main Street.

4. Resorts. Are they going to resemble what they were imagineered to be or will the theming in the rooms be totally different than the grounds around them. Make up your mind.

5. Restaurants. Return to the quality and diversified foods both in sit downs and quick service. Buffets are almost identical in most locations now. WDW can do much better. A prepackaged cookie or cake in cellophane is shameful.

6. Transportation-Odd ball hours for transportation does not fit well with park hopping. Needing to bus around from MK to Epcot is ridiculous with a monorail. If you are going to expand the number of resorts you have to expand the employees, monorails, buses to handle that.

7. MGM, remove the Mega Hat and put in a respectable back lot tour. Disney should hide their heads in the sand for what is being called a back lot tour currently.

8. Animal Kingdom just needs more. While a percentage love it, others just can't spend much time there and don't travel to WDW for a zoo experience.
Too many attractions are not for the young family members or the older, rough and wet attractions are not family oriented. Need to do something with that River other than growing the green moss it is currently growing.

9. Price control. The fan base will continue to try to find a way. By the amount of incentives to lour guests in, it is obvious WDW is pricing itself out of the family vacation destination or at least on annual or so basis.

10. Downtown Disney, the whole area. What is it supposed to be? Disney has never figured it out. They pour money into it, rip it down, start a new, stop. Family then nightlife, family and now this mix-ed up mess. Get it together beyond the Big Box Disney Store.

[weepstah]

Haunted Gabe,

To help address #1 and #2, I would pitch the following combo: A new Journey Into Imagination ride that draws on the original concepts. Obviously, this would include Dreamfinder and Figment. A new world showcase pavilion. Open both up at the same time, make it a MAJOR event.

Price control....One thing I would change for sure is to stop front loading the ticket costs. I can understand some graduation in pricing for each additional day but it currently is at absurd levels. 90+ dollars for a one park, one day pass? According to the Disney web site: "Depending on length of ticket purchased, the average price per day for a 7-day Magic Your Way Base Ticket is less than half the price of the same single-day ticket. It's like saving over 50%!" This is NOT like saving over 50%, it's insulting to potential guests to trot out that line of reasoning. Charge say $65 for the first day and then graduate it down. The current structure is keeping short term non-local, non-AP, visitors away.

[WDW4Ever]

I'm liking most of yours, Gabe. Numbers 5, 6, 9, and 10 especially.

I had something to say about yours and a few to add to my 10 but I just completely drew a blank.