Insert Crystal Ball Here
With this year’s version of the D23 Expo right around the corner, it is anyone’s guess as to what Bob Iger and minions will announce when it comes to theme parks, especially Disneyland. Plenty of folks out on the Internet have their opinions to share. Odds are, someone will come close to what actually is revealed to the Disney faithful as they gather for the convention hall version of chautauqua.
Disney has a history of notoriously playing its cards close to the vest. After getting badly burned after sharing plans for the much maligned Disney’s America and Westcot theme park projects, anyone prognosticating the release of details for anything new from the company has very good odds of being wrong once Disney finally owns up to what is has in store for guests years down the road.
Mind you, the company is doing just fine mining all of the exploitable disposable income we don’t mind parting with. For example, Disneyland’s 60th has been good for business with only a new night-time parade, updated fireworks show and a revamped water show (in World of Color). But in the words of Clara Peller, “Where’s the beef?”
On the whole, Disney has been doing just fine since the last infusion of capital to the Disneyland resort with the makeover in California Adventure to Buena Vista Street and the addition of Radiator Springs (a.k.a. Carsland). On a consistent basis, Fast Passes for Radiator Springs Racers are gone well before noon and stand-by ridership is always more than an hour long. The recent plussing of Condor Flats from concrete wonderland to the more guest friendly (and landscaped) Grizzly Peak Airfield can only help make folks feel more welcome. Given time and proper budgets, more of DCA 1.0 will vanish into history. Anything to help get guests to stay longer is a good thing and this park has always had that as a goal.
If I were permitted a gaze into the Mouse’s crystal ball, I would have to imagine that improving the overall initial guest experience will loom large in any plans for the future. That means better parking and better access to the Disneyland resort. On a recent visit, I found myself parking outside of the usual space in the Mickey and Friends parking structure in what usually has been Cast Member car pool parking. It is no secret that as more guests visit there are fewer and fewer places to put their cars. Even with the happiest parking structure in Orange County and the myriad of overflow parking lots about the surrounding area, this challenge is much too big a target to pass up doing something about. Fix that, make for better and easier access for guests and Cast Members and Disney will have a winner to make suits and shareholders sleep easier. The recent announcements of property acquisitions and the promise of big investment dollars by the company should foretell infrastructure as king over the Magic Kingdom.
To be sure, plans must be a foot to take advantage of both the Star Wars and Marvel franchises. With Harry Potter coming to Universal Studios in California, the gauntlet has indeed been tossed. Changes? Sure to be in the works. Yet, if you can’t park the family car easily to start the day, what lies inside the berm matters little.
“I don’t believe there’s a challenge anywhere in the world that’s more important to people everywhere than finding solutions to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin — how do we start answering this great challenge? Well, we’re convinced we must start answering the public need.” Walt Disney
Thoughts from along the road
Someone recently asked me an interesting question. “If I had the chance to travel to anywhere on the planet, where would that destination be?”
Answering that question turned out to be more a challenge than I anticipated. Certainly, there are many places and attractions that I would love to experience. And many places I would love to re-visit, for a wide variety of reasons.
I suspect that given enough time and money, I could take in many places on a proverbial bucket list. And there are a number of places that might interest some folks, but hold little appeal for me.
There are a number of places with family history that call. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales could take up a fair amount of effort. And more than a bit of Germany, Austria along with Northern Italy could be of interest, too.
Closer to home? Plenty of places I have not been to in California and Nevada worth taking in. Along with a number of favorites that all have great memories associated with them. A sunrise over some places in Nevada, far away from civilization, manages to be humbling and grandiose as one realizes how little you are in the overall picture. That things out there have not changed in thousands of years, despite the comings and goings of man.
As well, you need to place some perspective along the way. One example may be to consider why people came to such a place. What were the needs that drove them to a spot? Often, the search for a better life, opportunities that could not be found elsewhere… all came into play at a place and time. A chance with fate that either paid off or was just a stop along the road to somewhere else.
Travel today is usually the method to get from point A to point B. Taking the quickest road or the shortest flight to get there. And anything along the way that does not grab attention, usually ends up missed or bypassed as we take the expeditious route.
I’m not saying we all need to stop in and see the largest ball of twine or the house of mud on every trip, but taking in more along the way certainly won’t hurt now and then. A gem or nugget may lie in wait, but you won’t know until you find it.
So, I would hope that given the chance, I might take that road or path I haven’t been down before more often than not. But that doesn’t mean I won’t visit places I have been to before. Some are worth a stop again. Even a few stops. And the journey has to include folks seeing places for the first time or sharing the memories of past adventures.
For in the end, people make a trip worth the time. Those you meet along the way and those who travel with you. Throw in the passing panorama and it all comes together.
Experience is the sum of all things. Hopefully, it is why we go where we go.
My heart is warm with the friends I make, And better friends I’ll not be knowing, Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take, No matter where it’s going.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
What might have been – An Orange Grove in Anaheim
Today sees the 60th anniversary of themed entertainment in Anaheim, California.
But what if the fates had not been kind and something else had happened to those orange groves in Anaheim?
That is indeed an interesting question.
Had the property not been developed as the anchor of the Disney theme park empire, the logical assumption is that the property would have remained producing oranges. Indeed, much of the land taken up with this endeavor was still profitable doing what it had for decades before. Americans had not outgrown oranges or other citrus products. Even in the decade that followed, orange juice of a kind went into space with American astronauts. Tang anybody?
Citrus was (and still is) big business. Packing houses dotted the landscape as fruit came from the trees to be sent across the country by refrigerated rail cars and trucks. In the Fifties, many packing houses were still busy in Orange County.
Another booming industry of the times in Southern California was that of aerospace. It had begun before the Second World War and was still going strong after the Korean conflict. And with the space race ahead thanks to Sputnik, the sky was the limit.
Don’t forget that back in 1953 when the folks from the Stanford Research Institute first looked over the properties that ultimately became the Disneyland Park, there was no highway right by the place. Folks tell of tortured drives from downtown LA on two-lane roads, barely paved in spots, to reach Orange County, let alone Anaheim. Had it not been for Disneyland, the highway would likely have gone elsewhere, leaving that stretch of Harbor Boulevard as rural as the SRI found it.
Speaking of Anaheim, most of what constituted the city proper, was nowhere near the corner of Harbor and Katella. Several miles to the east, the homes and businesses of this community begun by German immigrants was as sleepy as a whole number of municipalities of the same size at those times. What if the city fathers of those times were not visionaries? What if they saw the theme park as an albatross instead of the golden goose and had said, “No thank you!” to Walt’s plans?
Disneyland was anything but a good investment. Sure, Walt spun tales better than anyone. But what if that drawing from Herb Ryman had not been so convincing to the money men Roy had to impress in New York? Or what if ABC Television had not seen Walt’s plans worthy of their major investment? What took a year to plan and build might have taken much longer and have bankrupt the Disney company in the process.
A flop at the box office might have been enough to have tipped the scales the other way. It doesn’t take a lot to imagine what a disaster 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea would have been had Walt not spent the money to re-shoot the climatic scene with the giant squid. The original scenes just looked sad, phony in the red sky of sunset. Some even said you could see the wires controlling the rubber monster on-screen. Audiences would have laughed at it and box office receipts would have tanked; literally.
But what if Disney had actually built the Park and no one came to visit? Consider all of the things that had to be overcome to meet the deadline of Sunday, July 17th, 1955. What if that plumbers strike had not been settled? No bathrooms would have spelled certain doom. Or what if Disney had not been able to get the concrete or asphalt needed to pave streets and walkways? A park with dirt paths through former orange groves would not have been very appealing. Bad enough that some places had weeds disguised as exotic plants with fancy names on plaques.
Imagine if the press preview had been just that? A small group of PR flacks and newspaper reporters covering the opening. Pretty bland. Or what if ABC had decided that the live television broadcast was just too much to carry off? Given the technology available and the limitations, all it would have taken is some executive back in New York to have decided the other way and the whole thing would have been off the air. Had Disneyland not been seen in glorious black and white in living rooms across the nation, attendance that first year would have been counted in low numbers.
Don’t forget! That first summer the Park opened saw record heat. Keeping guests at home. Had it not abated or had a tropical storm turned Southern California into a flooded mess, those predictions of using the property as a movie studio might have come to pass. But all those millions sunk into bringing Walt’s dreams to reality would have had to been repaid somehow. It is not unthinkable that the Disney empire with the studio, film library and even Walt’s Holmby Hills home might have ended up on the auction block as the highest bidder satisfied creditors. The profitable company of today might never have gotten out of the 1950’s intact.
I guess you can see how things really all came together to make one man’s dream reality. It is fairly amazing that sixty years later, Disneyland still attracts guests in the numbers it does. That shared experience sought by a father for his daughters worked so well.
Thanks Walt! Speaking for myself, you done good.
Take The Challenge!
It’s been interesting to note businesses closing after many years. Some just have come to the end of a lease, others the owners looking to retire or simply because the cost of doing business outweighs the profit from the service provided.
Everything from restaurants to travel agencies to specialty shops (such as book stores or hobby shops) seems to be moving on as of late. In today’s world of instant gratification, it should come as no surprise that most folks want it faster and cheaper.
Take for example, the model railroad hobby shop. Here in the San Francisco Bay area, we used to have a fair number of train shops. Now I can count them on one hand and still have fingers left over. It isn’t that people are leaving trains behind. The neighborhood store where once were sold the items to pass the hours enjoying the hobby with friends has given way to the Internet and eBay. Now it arrives by Priority Mail in a few days instead going home with you after that store visit.
The same rings true on books, DVD’s and CD’s. Why go to store when you can simply download the content right to your iPad in a few minutes from where ever you have that connection to the Net?
Hence, the challenge.
How does a business attract a customer and keep them coming back for more?
Good question. But with all of these small businesses moving on, one might think that all but impossible.
Someone once said the key was “publish or perish”. And right that person was. For the only way your customer knows what you can offer is if you let them know about it. Take a lesson from Disney. Right now, Disneyland is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary. With nothing really new at the park, they have renovated a few attractions, added a new parade, fireworks and updated a water show. Pushing the big Six Oh to guests to revive memories of visits past seems the plan. And guess what, it is working! Attendance is up and people are packing the place as the summer progresses.
A friend just bought a hobby shop. He has a history in retail and did not go into this with the naivete that some might. He knows the challenges ahead but plans to meet them head on. Using new technology to learn what his customers are buying and get an idea on what they might buy as new products come along. He’s not afraid of the Internet or eBay. Plans to make use of both to sell products.
And he isn’t standing still. Every one who looks at the store in person or online? A potential customer. Maybe not a big sale everyday, but by being there when the sale is to be made, he will develop loyalty. And by being able to be a knowledge base for those potential customers, he spreads the word to more potential customers. Throw in a few special events here and there to bring in folks who might not always stop by and a few more customers might come his way.
It’s a long haul ahead, but he isn’t afraid of that. Because he knows that he has something to offer that people want. Being there when they are ready to buy? Yes, it counts a great deal. Having what they want? Even more.
But being afraid of the challenge? Never! That’s the fun of it.
Reflections on years gone by
Last week found me among the audience at a nephew’s high school graduation. Plenty of optimism for things still ahead for the graduating class of 2015. Just as it should be…
In my own case, I am sure that I was not alone in thinking back to that June afternoon when I made a similar trek from the chairs on the football field to be handed my high school diploma. Almost the summer of 1977…
Back then I had a solid future ahead of me. Planned my career in railroading and was all set to take on what lay in store. Summer ahead with a family trip to Disneyland, a few odd jobs here and there, an even a girlfriend. What more could an 18 year-old boy look forward to?
I had not planned ahead for college. Call it simpler times if you will, but I wanted to take some time off before heading down that path. I didn’t take the SAT or even discuss the whole thing seriously with a guidance counselor in my senior year. Funny, but I can’t recall why now. But I certainly wasn’t as grade focused as some of my classmates.
Eventually, those odd summer jobs gave way to a full time job. Pumping gas at a Shell station where a friend worked. And it was close to where my girlfriend lived, too! But it didn’t take too long before I decided this was not my future and enrolled for the spring semester at the local junior college.
I pushed my way through that first semester and more. One job led to another and finally one last gas station job came my way. But as the fall semester in 1979 came along, I was determined to have seen the last of pumping gas. I traded outside for inside as an Emergency Road Service Dispatcher with AAA. A good job while I finished up my AA degree. That railroad career? Oh, it was still out there somewhere, waiting.
But along the way, AAA became a full time job. With benefits such as retirement and vacation. Before I knew it, that girlfriend became my wife. Okay, so it took 9 years to happen. A comfortable job that paid better than most. She had one too, with the phone company, as an operator. We fell into our comfort zones. Things were good. We took some nice vacations and weathered the occasional bump in the road. The railroad career? It got lost in the economic downturn of the 1980’s. While we weathered the dot com boom and bust, we thought we were doing okay.
Things changed with some corporate decisions and what once was safe and comfy was no longer. We both found ourselves “exploring other opportunities”. Something that really should have taken place long before it actually did. In my case, 26 years had passed since I started out as a dispatcher. Things were not what they were back in 1979. We had transitioned, not without head aches, from paper to computers. And we saw technology take steps toward maturity. Yet, the company didn’t always learn things the easy way. And the management wasn’t always eager to admit this.
Fast forward to today. It’s been almost 10 years since I left AAA. Today, my business is traffic and transit information in the SF Bay Area. With every kind of challenge you can think of, we are still learning as we go. People move about every day for business or pleasure. Knowing what to expect along the way has become something they demand. And when things (much too often) don’t go as planned, we are telling them about it and how to get around those delays.
And the railroading? It’s become a side light. Was once was a full time hobby has become an occasional opportunity. Still enjoyable but not the focus I once thought it might be.
Someone once said, life is what happens to you along the way to other plans. In my own case, indeed it is. If I could, I might do a few things differently, but which of us hasn’t said that at some time in their lives.
Looking ahead? Oh, I imagine a few surprises still lurking about. And bumps in the road, too. But worry about them? Not too much.
No, just enjoy the ride. No matter how strange or unusual it gets. You only get to do it once.