Primevil Whirl pics?

And all this time I thought it had something to do with Claude Bell's Dinosaurs. It's interesting to see there's more to it than first appears.

^ Conceptually, that was the idea.

Wow! So cool someone posted that about the cracks in the street. I was wondering about that from the pictures I've seen.

Speaking of pavement at Animal Kingdom, take a look at all the pavement in the park. If you notice, a large portion of it is poured to look like mud. It has footprints, bicycle tracks, gravel, etc... Why? Because the villages in that time period didn't have pavement!

As far as I'm concerned, DAK is the most elaborately themed park Disney has done. The details are amazing. Who else imports natives from Bali to carve support brackets on retail shops or brings in roof thatchers from Africa so the details are authentic? Yeah, no one else but Disney.

Ok so the one isn't exactly the best photo, but you get the point...

Left side - http://i11.tinypic.com/8b4ph0y.jpg

Right side - http://i6.tinypic.com/8ebm1p2.jpg

^^Agreed. If they ever re-run it, watch the Discovery (or maybe National Geog.) Channel Special on creating Everest. It really gives you a feel for how Rhode, in particular, is passionate about the details.

Folks who have seen Disney Sea might quibble with "best they've ever done," though. I haven't been yet, but it's On My List.

Sorry, best in the US. :)

Joe Rohde is an amazing guy. He's really what Imagineers are all about. When he talks about his work, you can see the passion in his eyes. The "business" guys on here who talk about emotion and passion having no place in a job really should meet him.

The Science Channel special is up on YouTube. It's a five part video. Great information.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT3PPe9UR8Y

I'm glad I am not the only one who thinks Animal Kingdom is the greatest looking park Disney has done. The detail they put into it is incredible.

That one is good, but it's not the one I was thinking about. The one I was thinking about (which I think was Natl. Geo.) documents Rhode's team and their visit to Nepal, etc., collecting information to be able to make the mountain and surrounding area "feel" as authentic as possible.

That part was covered in the Science Channel show as well.

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halltd said: Joe Rohde is an amazing guy. He's really what Imagineers are all about. When he talks about his work, you can see the passion in his eyes. The "business" guys on here who talk about emotion and passion having no place in a job really should meet him.

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I don't think the "business guys" say that you shouldn't have passion about your work (and trust me, if I had one of *those* jobs, there would be passion to SPARE). I think more to the point is that business DECISIONS have to be made in accordance with the bottom line.

For the most part, even those enthusiasts who show that *emotional* side do recognize that there are business realities at play (or work). IMO...The "trick", so to speak, is to be passionate about what you do, but to always know that an idea that isn't profitable isn't feasible.

I am WAY sure that Rohde is aware that his ability to think big, and deliver even bigger, is highly dependent on the fact that Disney IS Disney, and that both expenditures and ROI are *exceptional* in the industry.

Cool. I vaguely remember the Natl. Geo. version focused more on that, but perhaps not.

^^ Yeah, but that's really my point. Disney didn't need to spent $100 million on Expedition Everest to have a good ride. They didn't need to make the coaster train "authentic". They didn't have to send the entire design team across the world to make sure the tiny details that most guests won't notice were right. The didn't have to build the worlds largest and most complex audio animatronic. They did because the Imagineers are passionate about their work.

Even though Disney is on a totally different level than say Cedar Point, you can still use the same concepts, on a smaller scale. For Disney, it's all about the guest experience. They don't want the guests to complain about anything. I guarantee you if one of their rides were rough, they'd fix it. They wouldn't say, "where's the ROI on changing out that restraint." They'd do it.

But, that's also why they are so successful. The passion every cast member puts into their work is a direct cause of why people come back year after year and spend several thousand dollars on each trip.