Jim Hill of Jim Hill Media gets "escorted" out of DL

[GMC]

I prefer the "doesn't pry into my mind to try and see if i'll "crack" and say anything," type guest, i do not think this guy was one of those. I'm not agianst tours provided by disney, just against people who whine about disney not bending over and taking it, Everyone deserves at least one turn on top, even disney.

[Captain Josh]

Jim Hill....

...is he one of those smug Disney fanatics whose idea of fixing DCA is to level it to the ground with saturation bombing so they can have the precious Parking Lot of whatever twisted vision of their youth back?

[leftcoaster]

Jim Hill..the same "Jim Hill" that says that there will be problems with the new DAK ride Expedition Everest, and that there will be long lines because of it.

Really? Can you just state the obvious there Jimbo ?

With the new "switchback" feature on the coaster, and the training of the CMs to run it, yea, there just might be initial problems with it.

But isn't that why they have soft openings ? ;)

[RebuildtheKingdom]

[quote="leftcoaster"]Jim Hill..the same "Jim Hill" that says that there will be problems with the new DAK ride Expedition Everest, and that there will be long lines because of it.

Really? Can you just state the obvious there Jimbo ?

With the new "switchback" feature on the coaster, and the training of the CMs to run it, yea, there just might be initial problems with it.

But isn't that why they have soft openings ? ]

[align=center]

I am sensing great sarcasm with you my young apprentice...[/align]

lol ;)

[BirdMom]

Jim Hill....

...is he one of those smug Disney fanatics whose idea of fixing DCA is to level it to the ground with saturation bombing so they can have the precious Parking Lot of whatever twisted vision of their youth back?

speaking of sarcasm...

Better the old parking lot than DCA for all the "originality" of the concept. If they had done WESTCOT as originally planned it would still be better. Honestly, the overwhelming stupidity of putting a "boardwalk" area, along with "Hollywood" within a one-to-two hour drive of the real thing for free is beyond belief. The fact that DCA has never performed to projected expectations should be a pretty good indicator that the company was completely misguided in their attempt to co-opt the things that are great about California at a much higher cost to the visitor. Does "Soarin'" really compare to hang-gliding? Grizzly River Run is a glorified flume ride, not white water rafting. A visitor on a budget can go to the Balboa Fun Zone, Pacific Park in Santa Monica, or any number of municipal piers in Southern California and get a real pier/beach experience and not have to pay an arm and a leg to get the entire family in, if they don't mind walking a little bit of a distance. Same with Hollywood - there aren't any real movie stars walking around the real Hollywood either, so why pay an exhorbitant amount of money not to see anyone famous either. Tower of Terror, you say? Meh. There are wineries up and down the state, not to mention four and five star restaurants. The only difference is paying big bucks for the "privilege" of being stuck in a tourist trap that's not more original than any other theme park (o.k. there are rats running around in Hawaiian prints - oh boy). I finally saw DCA and was not impressed. I know how much money the company sank into it and understand why "if you build it they will come" didn't exactly bowl "them" over in this case... it's underwhelming.

Thanks to the cheapskate mentality that reigned in Burbank for so long, the second gate that could have been something really special is just another theme park with stock rides that were "Disneyized." Universal in Florida is just killing with all the things they have done with Marvel, Seuss and so-on. Obiviously, they were willing to spend the money that Eisner didn't want to spend and the quality showed. Hopefully, Eiger won't be more of the same and they can turn the sow's ear into a silk purse. Providing no one was hurt, I certainly wouldn't regret it if a 747 crashed on top of DCA in the middle of the night and wiped most of the park from the face of the Earth.

[GMC]

DCA will have it's day, and at least we still have timon lot, however i do belive we've turned the jim hill thread into more of a :deadhorse type situation.

[screnwriter]

Providing no one was hurt, I certainly wouldn't regret it if a 747 crashed on top of DCA in the middle of the night and wiped most of the park from the face of the Earth.

I wonder if I am to blame for DCA...

TRUE STORY - back in my salad days with D-Land (1987), I submitted an idea thru the "I have an Idea" program (this was a suggestion box of sorts, but if you suggested something that saved or earned hard dollars, you'd get a cut! Other ideas were for improved show, and just for submitting you got a free cloisonne pin of a lightbulb with Mickey Ears that the average pin trader would f*ck a yeti to get their hands on.). My idea? A new land for a Disney park based on the magic and allure of So Cal! I suggested this land for Florida or Tokyo (tho Euro was already in the planning stages) as it would be hideously stupid to do a California-based Disney park "land" in California - right? My idea was rejected as the "I Have an Idea" program was not meant for such things, but in 1994, when Disney Imagineering had their "Sorcerer's Apprentice" program - where imagineering hopefuls submit ideas for rides or parks or such things, I again submitted my idea. I was not chosen, but this was more than a year before the California Adventure concept was "brainstormed" following the idea not to create WestCot (BTW - I still have a brochure with a layout for WestCot. Probably a good ebay item!).

My idea for "Mouscle Beach, USA" as I called it, had many similar design elements to DCA, including a main street painted and textured to look like new blacktop with white lines down the middle (similar to the 'highway' in the Grizzly River area of DCA), and a 60's feel to the whole land, similar to what exists now in Paradise Pier. I had an awesome ride idea - "Goofy's Motor Mania" based on the classic Goofy cartoon, well known to anybody who's endured California Traffic School as the "Mr Walker/Mr. Wheeler" cartoon. In my ride, guests would sit in replicas of classic concept cars from the 50's and 60's, with real sound systems playing Beach Boys/Jan & Dean tunes, and the rearview mirrors would actually be LCD screens showing a cartoon version of the "road" behind you. Very cool. The whole ride would be Autopia like, with guests driving their cars - EXCEPT! - at a certain point, the "road" would be under construction, and the cars diverted off onto the "shoulder" at that point, the cars would screech to a halt - out of control of the driver, but at very low speed, and 'crash' into one another, forming a 8-10 car pile up. At this point, guests would wonder, "what now?" when suddenly Goofy's voice would be heard saying, "Hold on there - I'll be right with yuh!" and Goofy would back down a service road with a tow truck. The truck would hook up to the lead car, and all the cars would be pulled together (as tho locked at the bumpers) up and over the hill following Goofy. Then at the top of the hill - ROLLER COASTER!!! The ride would kick into high gear, as the cars rocketed around the freeways and streets, passing over the entire land as Goofy tried frantically to steer toward the mechanic's shop. Ahead, in the distance, looms an uncompleted overpass, and after a few sharp corner, steep drops and thrilling plunges, Goofy heads right up onto it! Halfway up, the overpass would "collapse" and all would shoot down a steep grade, around a corner, and finally come to rest in the shop where grease-monkey dressed CM's would escort them out.

I also had in mind a new "haunted house" attraction, built in a movie theatre where a scary 3D movie would show, and ghosts and monsters would come right out of the screen and up and down the aisles. Too bad they never read my idea and put these things into place.

I did have an idea similar to what they do with the beach band pulled by the woody. My idea had to do with "teenagers" dressed in 50's attire, driving old cars on the main drag, and pulling over, they'd all get out, crank up their stereos with oldies music, and create impromptu "sock hops" for all to take part in.

Gee, I wonder if they didn't read my idea after all...?

[Zazu]

I wonder if I am to blame for DCA...

TRUE STORY - back in my salad days with D-Land (1987), I submitted an idea thru the "I have an Idea" program.... My idea? A new land for a Disney park based on the magic and allure of So Cal!

Don't get too cocky about it. Records show that Walt considered opening either a land or a second gate themed to California back in the 1960s!

Of course, *Walt* was wise enough to trash the idea....

[BirdMom]

Well, Screenwriter, you wouldn't be the first who got a major idea co-opted and transformed by the company. They stole Fantasmic from a major proposal by someone who is associated with the company, but never worked inhouse for Imagineering. The guy still does things on spec for the company - he could have sued for millions, but preferred to keep a good working relationship with them. We saw him at a Pixar Block Party dress rehearsal, so he's still cooperating with them. To tell the truth, his original proposal was much better, but once you let them keep your piece of paper, it's theirs and there's nothing you can do about it.

[PirateJohn]

Don't get too cocky about it. Records show that Walt considered opening either a land or a second gate themed to California back in the 1960s!

Of course, *Walt* was wise enough to trash the idea....

You know, I really don't think the overall idea of a park themed to California is inherently bad. The problem with DCA isn't its concept -- its real problem is it just doean't have a pulse the way Disneyland does.

The concept of Disneyland was to be based on Imagineered attractions that gave guests a unique experience. Most of the DCA attractions are store-bought and fail to deliver to guests something that unambiguously says "Disney."