For fans of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover,
you’ve no doubt heard the phrase: “Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow ...”If not below is a YouTube short video from my
last (June 2022) visit.
Now the title of this post is not a not a misspelling.When Bob Chapek became CEO of the Walt Disney
Company; Josh D’Amoro took over as chairman of Disney Parks.
I’m just really surprised there aren’t tons of PeopleMover memes
or fan art circulating about the person running the parks has who has a last
name that rhymes with tomorrow.At least that’s what I gathered from how
he pronounces it.
Walt Disney once said “Disneyland will never be completed.
It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”That probably goes for all the other parks
as well.The Disney parks are always
changing; adding new attractions and even changing the old.Maybe that’s a change that could be on the
horizon to one day pay homage to the person is currently running the parks.Paging Mr. Moro, Mr. D’a moro.
So much has been written about the history of Mouse Gear I
don’t think I could do one justice. For
this sake of this post, a very brief and high level summary would be that Mouse
Gear opened in September 1999 in what was once Communicore East [1]. Twenty two years later, in September of 2021,
the Creations Shop at Epcot would take Mouse Gear’s place. Along with the Creations Shop, the former
Communicore East building also houses the redesigned Club Cool (which we wrote
about in a previous post: A Spin Through Club Cool)
From a 2021 Map, where Creations Shop is located
Since 2014, each time we visited Epcot we had to make a stop
at Mouse Gear in the former Communicore East building. Valves on the pipes to
nowhere gave me something to tinker with while my wife was looking for a new
set of ears. The walls above the
merchandise were also decorated with a number of things that could capture my
attention: such as shadows of Huey, Dewy, and Louie fighting with (who I’m
assuming) is Donald in an office environment.
To my discredit, I didn’t take many photos of these things. But
Yesterland has bunch of great Mouse Gear photos. On January 4, 2020, Mouse Gear would relocate to a temporary location[1] and it just wasn’t the Mouse Gear I grew to like since our first (re)visit in 2014.
Partial view photo of the Mouse Gear sign I took on 2019 Visit
On an October 2021 visit, we got a chance to visit the new
Creations Shop. It’s a great store. It was well lit, vibrant, nicely spaced out,
organized, and styled in the artistry that a Disney fan would love. However, that cartoonish playfulness of the
old Mouse Gear is now gone. It’s a great
store. But to me it seemed to have the
experiential feel of a Nordstrom Rack or T.J. Maxx but for Disney merchandise. We took a video of our stroll through the
store in October (notice the Halloween merch).
I like the store, I just miss the playfulness.It may be that the redesigned Epcot will be
more a bit more mature and serious; or it might be that guests are skewing
older and want a shopping experience that is more adult. Whatever the reason, there are 300 acres of
Epcot to play around in.
When the iconic (maybe that should read iConic) co-founder
and CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, died in October of 2011 Tim Cook probably had
the toughest job in corporate America … following in the footsteps of the visionary
leader who resurrected Apple from the dead. In the year that followed, Cook’s
criticisms piled up. There was
postulating that Steve Jobs would have fired Cook [1], insinuations that Jobs is
“rolling over in his grave” with the changes that Cook had made[2], and criticisms
that Apple under Cook (and even Tim Cook himself) are just flat out boring
[3]. So much so, even Marc Benioff
(founder and CEO of Salesforce.com) Tweetstormed a number of criticisms including
that he missed Steve Jobs as a result [4] .
Tim Cook's first product announcement as CEO of Apple
The story does get better in the next chapter. In the years that followed, Apple would go on
to release the popular Apple Watch,
introduce Air Pods, acquire Beats Electronics and Shazam, and launch the Apple
TV+ streaming service which would go on to yield the award winning Ted Lasso
series; to name a few. The company would
grow from $108 billion in annual revenues in 2011 to $365 billion in 2021; from
a market capitalization of around $350 billion in 2011 to over $2.5 trillion in
2021.
Bob Chapek and Bob Iger announcing the change in CEOs.
Currently, it seems that a similar drama is unfolding at the
Walt Disney Company. Bob Chapek, too, has a tough job following the charismatic Iger. Under Iger's tutelage, The Walt Disney Company the company acquired Pixar, Lucas Arts, Marvel Entertainment, and a large part of 21st Century Fox. Disney's market capitalization went from around $46 billion in 2005, the year Iger was named CEO, to approximately $257 billion in 2019. In February 2020 Bob Iger announced he was
stepping down as CEO of the company and become Executive Chairman; initiating long
overdue plans to retire.Iger postponed
retiring in 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2019. He will leave the company at the end of
2021.Bob Chapek was immediately named
CEO; beginning his tenure just as COVID-19 startedquickly unfold.By mid-March, the WHO would declare
it a pandemic and President Trump would declare it a National Emergency [5]
February 2022 will start Bob Chapek’s second year as CEO of
the company and, like Cook early on, the criticisms are piling up; including a
Change.org petition to have him fired. Complaints about paid replacement for
FastPass+ (Genie+ and the Lightning Lanes), food portions, and the pausing
of the Walt Disney World Annual Passes are promulgating a number of social
media spots. The guest complaints seem
to be largely centered on the parks, but that’s not stopping the criticisms
from talent and high profile executives as well. Imagineering is unsettled about
relocating to Florida, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings actor Simu Liu
lashed out at Bob Chapek for the CEO’s use of the word “experiment” on an
earnings call[6], and Hollywood veteran and IAC Chairman Barry Diller noted in an
interview on CNBC that Bob Iger was uncharitably pushed aside by his successor.
"Iger now being pushed to the sidelines by his successor, not very nicely by the way. Certainly doesn't deserve it," says Barry Diller on future of $DIS. pic.twitter.com/nCOtzL8uBQ
Time has shown that Tim Cook was a good choice to succeed Steve
Jobs. With COVID-19 forcing the way companies to change the way they operate
and a newly installed Chief Executive shaking up a company; this can really
unsettle many of a company’s stakeholders.
From the parks to movies, from the early company history to the daily
headlines of today; as hokey as it sounds I just love the magic of Disney. My personal hope is that Bob Chapek is the
right choice for the job. The picture is
not currently very bright but time will tell.
Bob Chapek clearly has a pretty tough
job ahead of him. But Bob Iger even stated to give the guy a chance: "'He’s very different from me,' Iger says. 'That doesn’t mean he can’t do the job well. Give him time. It’s the only fair
thing to do.'" [7]
… and I remember when
Tim Cook had the toughest job in corporate America.
I’ve been to Epcot as a kid.
At the time, I can’t say I paid attention to the things around me. For
the most part, all I remember is that I wanted to go on rides, view the
countries’ exhibits, and see characters.
In 2014 my wife and I got to see Epcot for the first time in a very long
time. One of the places that we went to
on that visit was Club Cool. Standing in
front of Club Cool felt vaguely familiar.
I could have been there on a prior visit decades ago; but I just didn’t
remember.
Photo of the Club Cool sign taken on a 2016 visit.
The Club Cool storefront in 2021
The place opened in 1998 in what used to be CommuniCore
West; used to be called Ice Station Cool until 2005 when it essentially became the Club Cool that I went into that day[1]. We’ve made a point of going there each time
we went back to Walt Disney World. The
place was relocated to the former CommuniCore East side, redesigned, and
reopened in September of 2021. Of
course, we had to visit the new Club Cool.
A 2015 map of Epcot (flipped to match the 2021 map). Club Cool was located on the West Side.
2021 Epcot Map. Club Cool now located on East Side. Roughly where Mouse Gear used to be.
While the old Club Cool had a nostalgic factor, I did like
the new Club Cool. Perhaps it was due to
advances in lighting technology; perhaps time had not yet taken its toll on the
paint. But the new store was better lit
and the colors were more vibrant. Additionally, we were told that the floor of
the new Club Cool was made with old Coke bottles. I thought that was pretty neat.
A brighter lit Club Cool in 2021
With this refurbishment, they changed up the drink
flavors. The only one from the old Club
Cool that has remained was Beverly. I
suppose this was kept for those who still want to take participate in the “Beverly
Challenge.”
The Club Cool Flavor line up from a 2016 visit
The Club Cool Flavor line up from a 2021 visit. Only Beverly remains.
As with most things that get rotated out of the Disney World
parks, I’m going to miss the Old Club cool.
Even though it wasn’t a high tech attraction of the original Epcot
Center, I am going to miss it because it was a reminder of my wife’s first trip
to WDW and my first trip back to Epcot in decades.
Photo taken from the Monorail: On the left, remnants of CommuniCore West where Club Cool was located.
I do wish I took more photos and video of the classic Club Cool. We did take more video and pictures this time around and created a short video of the 2021 Club Cool.
