Taking the Mickey: A Save Disney Quest
- Thread starter Slynnwen
- Start date
- Location
- California
Can we have a relationship value higher than 100?
Bringing Back the Magic seems to only increase Disney/Eisner relationship when we already have 100 with him.
Bringing Back the Magic seems to only increase Disney/Eisner relationship when we already have 100 with him.
- Location
- Italy
- Location
- I think somewhere. I might be nowhere though
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Jeff gives -15 for any relationship not above 0, but Frank gives +10 for any relationship below 0. We have plenty of time because the net loss each turn will only be -5
My plan has both Go Greener and acquiring Pixar.
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
On the other hand, the sooner we address it the more likely it is to take less actions to fix.
I'm not saying we necessarily have to do it right this moment, but it's definitely better to address it before that -5 starts adding up in a big way. The moment it hits positive is the moment it stops becoming a thing we need to keep in mind every turn.
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- Location
- I think somewhere. I might be nowhere though
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I know. In my plan rationale, I said that I would advocate taking care of it next turn, since -5 is easily addressed but more than that risks taking more than 1 action to fix.
lockingbane
If you're crazy and you know it clap your hands!
- Location
- Waxahachie tx
You know, with the amount of attention we have brought to environmentalism, a good environmental movie like Ferngully would probably do fairly well.
- Location
- Pittsburgh PA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Fun fact production of Ferngully wasn't started until 1989 and the author was shopping around for a studio trying to find a place for the previous 7 years which happens to include where we are now.
lockingbane
If you're crazy and you know it clap your hands!
- Location
- Waxahachie tx
Hmmmmm, that is some interesting info... I am really starting to think Ferngully could be our next Black Cauldron
Crazy7s1
Excellent
We absolutely have to do this it would just be such a good fit with all the conservationist actions we've taken.
lockingbane
If you're crazy and you know it clap your hands!
- Location
- Waxahachie tx
I know right? Also imagine Ferngully with better funding.
Did you know ferngully had a pretty low budget? Imagine how well it would have come out if it had more funding....
Crazy7s1
Excellent
I like the idea of going all in on making it as good as possible and maybe seeing if we could snag the best picture award.
lockingbane
If you're crazy and you know it clap your hands!
- Location
- Waxahachie tx
Same. If we manage it right we might have another black cauldron on our hands.... The main thing is actually snagging the writer before someone else catches on and rides the hype.....
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Turn 5, Plans and Parks, Results. (OCT-NOV-DEC, 1985)
Slynnwen
She/Her
- Location
- Fomalhaut B
Update!
Well, there were some setbacks this quarter. You were honestly a little surprised at how smoothly everything's been running so far, but maybe that's just the Disney magic at work? Regardless, nothing too terrible came up, even if there was that close call with Pixar. You're still not sure if you want to keep John Lasseter on board, his ideas are great but there's just something about him that's a bit off-putting. But to move on from the heavy topics, you finished up everything the board wanted! It was a bit of a rush, but you got through everything. Roy was a huge help, his assistance with planning allowed you to start blowing through some of the projects you've been stalled on, and even helped you get a great deal out of Warner Bros. and Universal. You wish that same talent could have helped you with Exxon, but sadly they didn't really want to play ball. Oh well, it'll be their loss in the future.
-[X] Tomorrow's Tomorrowland: The future just isn't what it used to be, and never has that been more apparent than Tomorrowland. It's time for a major redesign of this section of the park, in order to keep it from becoming wildly outdated. You have Frontierland for that. {PLANNING - 4} {CONSTRUCTION - 15}
DC: 15 per success, requires 30 successes. Currently: 11/30 successes, +5 to rolls.
Benefits: Automatic refurbishment of all rides in Tomorrowland, with updates to bring them in line with a more modern look at the future. May replace up to 3 rides in Tomorrowland with no chance of PR hit, does not count towards yearly ride replacement limit. May build 1 new ride in Tomorrowland, does not count towards yearly ride build limit. Massive PR boost. +5 to Eisner/Disney relationship. One ride replacement or the new ride must be Star Tours.
Results: 40+20+10+10+5, 85. 5+1 successes, 17 successes total. Renovations ready to begin.
You still have some trouble figuring this out until Roy and Tony get involved. Roy helps by talking about some of his uncle's original ideas, even going so far as to occasionally pitch in some notes where he thinks they'd help. Tony is glad to have the chance to bring up his old plans for Discovery Bay, a land that would have been an alternate future based on Victorian-Era science fiction. Well, mostly Jules Verne, since that's what you have the rights to, but still. Looking over everything, you think you've got enough ideas and plans sketched out to make something special. The only question now, of course, is exactly how you want to go about this… Continued in "Tomorrow's Tomorrowland, part 1"
-[X] Refurbishments, Magic Kingdom: It might be time for some of those classic rides to get a face lift. There's no need to replace any just yet, but a touch up could go a long way… Up to 3 rides per action. {DEVELOPMENT}
DC: 15 per ride being refurbished.
Benefits: Increased reliability, chance of popularity bump.
--[X] 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
--[X] Starjets
--[X] Jungle Cruise
Results: 42+10-15, 37. Slight Failure.
It turns out that there was slightly more hurricane damage to the rides than you had seen on the first pass. It's good that you caught them now, but it does mean that the refurbishments for the rides are going to take an extra quarter, and they're going to be down during that time. Better now than during the peak summer vacation days, but still a bit of a blow. Rides under refurbishment until APR-MAY-JUN 1986, will reopen with +15% reliability on all three.
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-[X] Wet and Mild: The submarines are up and running again, but it might be worthwhile to research better methods of waterproofing for all your water rides. This might even help with waterproofing in general. {RESEARCH}
DC: (40-10) 30.
Benefits: +5% reliability to all water based rides. -10 DC on Cutting Edge Hurricane Proofing.
Results: 58+5-15, 48. Success.
Thankfully, you're able to put some of the lessons you learned from hurricane proofing the property to work on making your water rides safer and more reliable. You also take the chance to do a more thorough look over 20,000 Leagues and the Jungle Cruise, since they're already down for refurbishments anyway. Water rides +5% reliability, -10 DC on Cutting Edge Hurricane Proofing. Additional +5% reliability on Jungle Cruise and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
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-[X] Universe of Exxon: Exxon is the current sponsor for the Universe of Energy ride, and while there's some solar panels on the roof, the whole ride overall is a bit closer to blatant propaganda for oil companies than an actual look at different energy possibilities. With your current focus on solar power, it might be worthwhile to try and get Exxon to agree to some changes. Or switch sponsors.
DC: 40.
Benefits: Refurbish Universe of Energy to be more in line with the Disney Company's current stance on solar power, and potentially switch sponsors.
--[X] Personal Focus: Universe of Exxon
Results: 43+15-15, 43. Bare Success.
To say that Exxon is not pleased with your current energy developments is an understatement. They've claimed it's a breach of contract and are pulling out of the ride, effective immediately. Luckily, with you getting personally involved, they don't ask for anything other than being removed from the ride. It took a couple of calls, but Solar Design Associates is willing to go in on this, provided you give them some help from the imagineers. At this point you probably need to think about expanding the imagineering offices, given how stretched thin they've been lately, but they do get it done. -10 Board Approval, Exxon doubles down on Oil. Universe of Energy down until APR-MAY-JUN 1986 for the switchover. Will reopen at 99% popularity and 99% reliability, with the ride being completely solar powered.
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-[X] Animators, Animatronics, and Acme: Speilberg has requested some imagineers to help him with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." The film is coming along nicely, but he thinks this might be the sort of thing that could really send it over the top. {ANIMATED} {LIVE-ACTION}
DC: (50-10) 40.
Benefits: +50 to future quality roll of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
Results: 78+10, 88. Greater Success.
The imagineers set forth once more, this time under the direction of Steven Speilberg as he asks for their help on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." They were needed because it turns out that in order to make the cartoon characters interact with the real life actors, Speilberg wants tons of single-use rigs that will do all the actions the toons do, before they get drawn over in the animation stage. The imagineers take everything they've learned from working on audio-animatronics and knock it out of the park, by all accounts. The rigs are small enough that they can be drawn over, but still manage to do everything Speilberg wants them to do. He's ecstatic about the results, and believes that the filming portion of the movie should be done in short order. +50 to future quality roll of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," currently +100 quality for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in total. Reroll any quality rolls for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" below 25. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" release date tentatively set for JUL-AUG-SEP, 1987.
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-[X] The Don: Don Bluth has been talking about his ideas for some new animated films, and it sounds like he's got some good ones. It'd be worth it to hear out a few of his pitches. {ANIMATED}
DC: (20-10) 10.
Benefits: Add a Don Bluth film to upcoming releases, will have a +10 bonus to quality roll.
Results: 34+10, 44. Great Success.
In the midst of everything else going on this quarter, Don comes up and asks you to give him the greenlight for a couple of animated films he was thinking about while he had his own studio. He gives you three separate ideas to look over, and you pick two of the most promising to get underway. Pick two upcoming Don Bluth films, will both have +10 bonus to quality roll. Will be slotted for release after "The Great Mouse Detective." {AN: These are incredibly brief summaries that absolutely do not do the films justice, but are rather brief overviews that would be the basic point of a 5-minute pitch}
-[] An American Tail: The story of a mouse family immigrating to America from the Ukraine to gain their freedom.
-[] The Land Before Time: The story of an orphaned dinosaur who must confront bigotry and hardships on the search for a better home.
-[] All Dogs Go To Heaven: The story of a dog who rejects heaven to take revenge on the dog who killed him.
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-[X] Computer Animation: George Lucas gave you a call and mentioned that the Graphics Group, part of Lucasfilm that's responsible for computer animation, is looking to split off and form their own company. Unfortunately, he's not in a position to fund them right now, but Disney could. They're looking to make a completely computer animated film, the first of its kind. They're also saying that computers won't be good enough to make such a film for several years yet, but that they're willing to develop hardware and software in the meantime. {ANIMATED}
DC: (40-10) 30.
Benefits: Obtain Pixar Studios as part of Disney.
Results:08 68+10, 78. Great success.
The initial meeting almost doesn't happen, with John Lasseter, one of the hopeful founding members of the new studio, still fuming about his earlier dismissal from Disney for advocating computer animation. It also doesn't help that he treated the secretaries like crap. Luckily, Jeff manages to swing a meeting with Ed Catmull instead, and the talks go smoothly. You're a bit leery of having Lasseter around, but he does have some great ideas. Hopefully nothing comes of this. Gained Pixar Studios as a part of Disney, +5 to all animated film rolls from computer integration making the studios run smoother and faster. While they're unlikely to produce a film for a while (Moore's Law), they will be producing some hardware in the meantime.
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-[X] Make An Oscar Push:"The Black Cauldron" is set to have the Halloween rerelease of the more mature oriented version, but you think with the reception it's already gotten, you could go further. Campaign for the movie to receive the first Best Picture nomination for an animated film. It's unlikely to win, but even just being in the category would send a message. {ANIMATED}
DC: (50-10) 40.
Benefits: "The Black Cauldron" nominated for best picture, paving the way for future animated films. +10 to Eisner/Katzenberg and Eisner/Bluth relationship.
Results: 42+10, 52. Success.
With how well the rerelease was received, it's not too much work to start a solid campaign for "The Black Cauldron" to get a nomination for Best Picture. You aren't too hopeful for a win, that's probably going to the recently released "Out of Africa," but even just getting the nomination will open up the category for future films. Oh, and of course Jeff and Don and everyone else in the animation department is thrilled. "The Black Cauldron" campaign for best picture underway with enough momentum to grab a nomination, +10 to Eisner/Katzenberg and Eisner/Bluth relationship.
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-[X] Bringing Back the Magic: You don't have the same screen presence Walt has. You don't know if you ever will. But, with some acting lessons, maybe you can at least begin to make your own screen presence.
DC: 20.
Benefits: +10 to Disney/Eisner relationship.
Results: 80. Greater Success.
You take some acting lessons, and the improvement in your delivery is noticeable. And then, beyond even that, you pick up on some things by watching more of Walt's own shows. Roy helps by talking to you about some of the things his uncle would do between takes, how he'd roll with the unexpected, and how he'd always have a genuine passion for what he was discussing. At some point, you start to find yourself getting passionate about the same things, the same projects that Walt obviously put so much of himself into. You and Roy bond over the shared dreams for the future of the company, and on top of that, you find yourself better able to empathize with some of the actors for your own films. +15 Disney/Eisner relationship, +10 to live action film rolls, +10 to Eisner based TV action rolls. PR boost as more and more parallels are drawn between Eisner and Walt Disney.
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-[X] Increase Outside Acquisition Budget: Currently, the Disney Channel has a budget of five million each year to grab outside programming. It'd be a bit expensive, but bumping this up to fifty million would give the channel a much greater ability to grab shows from other sources instead of needing to produce everything in house.
DC: 25.
Benefits: Decent impact on improving Disney Channel (3d6).
Results: 71. Great Success. 3d6: 3,3,2. 8, 53/50 total. Disney Channel pulled out of imminent danger.
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-[X] Get To Know John Cooke: John's a pretty new hire, but he's already proven his worth by finding out about the major issue that was about to crop up with the Disney Channel. Perhaps you should get to know him better, see if he can't help out more around the office?
DC: N/A.
Benefits: Gain John Cooke as an adviser or a permanent bonus to the TV section.
Results: N/A.
With the Disney Channel now in order, John's got a good deal more free time. He's more than willing to help you get a better handle on managing some of the Disney Channel, or you could let him work more autonomously. Either way, you think the Disney Channel is set for a good while now. Choose whether to gain John Cooke as a TV adviser or as a bonus to the TV section.
-[] John Cooke as an adviser: +1 TV action, +5 to all television related rolls. John Cooke joins office politics.
-[] John Cooke as a supervisor: +10 to all television related rolls, Disney channel quality/interest degrade twice as slowly.
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-[X] Continue Construction (Disney's Animated Adventure): Elizabeth managed to outdo all expectations, and managed to bring the project into construction despite Hurricane Elena. At this point you almost want her on all of your future projects. +10 to rolls. {CONSTRUCTION} {DEVELOPMENT}
DC: 10 per success, 6/12 successes achieved.
Benefits: Move to Opening Day.
Results: 32+10+10+10-15, 47. 4 successes, 10/12 successes total.
Well, you suppose, the hotel was going to hit a snag sometime. It turns out a shipment that was needed ended up needing to be scrapped due to damage from the hurricane, and that was just enough to stop the construction from getting done this quarter. Still, decent progress was made, and next quarter the hotel is basically guaranteed to open. Would have been nice to show up to the board meeting with a finished project, though. 10/12 successes achieved.
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-[X] A Day In The Movies: Warner Bros. has talked about the plans for a movie pavilion at EPCOT, and it seems like they'd be interested in working with us to expand that concept to an entire park. On top of that, Universal was so impressed with the imagineers that they'd rather partner with us than make a park on their own. Getting everyone together on this could be a major feather in your cap. {PLANNING}
DC: 50.
Benefits: Gain Warner Bros. licenses and aid in building a new park dedicated to movies. Gain Universal as a partner in a new park dedicated to movies. Begin a new gate plan with 10 of 25 successes already complete, park will be based on movie studios.
Results: 98+20-15, 103. Magical Success.
Surprisingly enough, when you got Warner Bros. and Universal together to talk about setting up a movie studio theme park, they were both more than thrilled with the prospect. It seems your willingness to play ball with the other studios is starting to reap dividends. Of course, now a good question is where you want to actually put the thing. You've got the already established Reedy Creek Improvement District, but Universal did already buy up a good chunk of land closer to Orlando proper. 10+1 successes in project achieved, 11 successes total. +25 to future rolls on project. Warner Bros. and Universal vastly more likely to compromise on project instead of leave project. Choose location:
-[] Reedy Creek Improvement District: Keep all your parks together, in the area you control all the zoning and other such local level laws. Universal can always put a resort and some actual movie studios on the plot they've bought, and it is on the monorail line to Orlando.
-[] Universal's Plot: They've bought up a chunk of good land close to Orlando, and it's already on the monorail line. It'll be a bit of a pain working around the local zoning laws, but it might also ease some of the pressure on parks in the district.
-[] Make Universal's Plot Part of Reedy Creek: Try and have your cake and eat it too. If you can get the land from Universal, you could petition to have it recognized as part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. This might ruffle some feathers over in Orlando, though. They are already giving you a pretty good deal with the monorail, and pushing them might not be the best idea.
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-[X] Continue Planning a New Resort (Europe?): You've started looking over some European locations, but nothing's really stood out so far. Turning down the CIA was a tough choice, but you still got a little bit of intel out of it. Current proposed locations: Germany (Frankfurt), France (Paris), America (Virginia). {PLANNING}
DC: 15 per success, requires 50 total successes. 5/50 successes. +5 to rolls on this project. Reroll rolls below 10 for the next 3 turns.
Benefits: Move to Groundbreaking.
Results: 97+20+10+5, 132. 8+1 successes, 14 total successes.
You can't believe how much of a help Roy's been this quarter with planning everything. Every time you think you're about to get stuck, or about to give up on an idea, Roy mentions some anecdote from his time at the company or with his uncle and the inspiration starts flowing again. He even pitched in here by doing some more searching for a good location in Europe with you. Continued in "An Earful Expansion"
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Movies released this quarter: "One Magical Christmas," "The Black Cauldron: Director's Cut"
"The Black Cauldron: Director's Cut"
Featuring scenes that were cut from the original for being too graphic, this director's cut is sure to give you a scare this Halloween. Rated PG-13, not suitable for young audiences.
The Black Cauldron: Director's Cut
Release Date: October 31st, 1985
Quality: 179
Reception roll:42 98+63, 161. Still riding initial wave of success.
Parent Reaction: 62. Happy that there's a safe activity for teens to do instead of vandalizing houses.
The board is immensely pleased by the spectacular rerelease, which sees almost as much attendance as the original. The good PR from parents who say that they were glad to have something that could keep teens from being hooligans that night doesn't hurt either. +15 Board Approval.
"One Magical Christmas"
Ginny Grainger (Steenburgen) is the mother of two children, Cal (Robbie Magwood) and Abbie (Elisabeth Harnois). Her husband, Jack (Gary Basaraba), has been out of work since June, and they have to move out of the company house by January 1. Jack fixes bikes as a hobby in the basement and hopes to give one to his children's poor friend, Molly Monaghan, for Christmas. Although he would like to open a bike shop of his own, doing so would use up all their savings, which Ginny sees as a foolish move. In order to make ends meet, she works as a cashier at a grocery store.
One Magical Christmas
Release Date: November 22nd, 1985
Quality Roll: 65. Standard kitschy Christmas movie.
Reception Roll: 53+5, 58. Mediocre performance.
Honestly, this film just kind of existed. Ebert said some complimentary things before bemoaning that it was a miscalculation from beginning to end, so at least you're headed in the right direction. The board doesn't say anything about this either way.
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CURRENT VOTES: Bluth films, John Cooke, Hollywood Studios park location.
AN: Vote will be open for at least 24 hours! As always, if I've missed anything, feel free to let me know. Also fun fact: The current park maps for Disneyland are Terrible. I am legitimately shocked at how bad the map for Tomorrowland in Disneyland was in '85.
The Winning Vote said:
MAJOR BOARD GOALS
{X} - Finish Groundbreaking for a New Hotel, by the end of 1985
{X} - Finish One of the Already In Progress rides at EPCOT or Plan a New One, by the end of 1985
{X} - Begin Planning (at least 5 successes) a New Resort, by the end of 1985
{X} - Begin Renovations of Tomorrowland (California), (at least 15 successes), by the end of 1985
MINOR BOARD GOALS
{X} - Find an Adviser, by the end of 1985
{X} - Have Plans to Improve the Walt Disney World Village, by the end of 1985
{X} - Improve the Disney Channel, by the end of 1985
{X} - Finish Groundbreaking for a New Hotel, by the end of 1985
{X} - Finish One of the Already In Progress rides at EPCOT or Plan a New One, by the end of 1985
{X} - Begin Planning (at least 5 successes) a New Resort, by the end of 1985
{X} - Begin Renovations of Tomorrowland (California), (at least 15 successes), by the end of 1985
MINOR BOARD GOALS
{X} - Find an Adviser, by the end of 1985
{X} - Have Plans to Improve the Walt Disney World Village, by the end of 1985
{X} - Improve the Disney Channel, by the end of 1985
Well, there were some setbacks this quarter. You were honestly a little surprised at how smoothly everything's been running so far, but maybe that's just the Disney magic at work? Regardless, nothing too terrible came up, even if there was that close call with Pixar. You're still not sure if you want to keep John Lasseter on board, his ideas are great but there's just something about him that's a bit off-putting. But to move on from the heavy topics, you finished up everything the board wanted! It was a bit of a rush, but you got through everything. Roy was a huge help, his assistance with planning allowed you to start blowing through some of the projects you've been stalled on, and even helped you get a great deal out of Warner Bros. and Universal. You wish that same talent could have helped you with Exxon, but sadly they didn't really want to play ball. Oh well, it'll be their loss in the future.
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-[X] Tomorrow's Tomorrowland: The future just isn't what it used to be, and never has that been more apparent than Tomorrowland. It's time for a major redesign of this section of the park, in order to keep it from becoming wildly outdated. You have Frontierland for that. {PLANNING - 4} {CONSTRUCTION - 15}
DC: 15 per success, requires 30 successes. Currently: 11/30 successes, +5 to rolls.
Benefits: Automatic refurbishment of all rides in Tomorrowland, with updates to bring them in line with a more modern look at the future. May replace up to 3 rides in Tomorrowland with no chance of PR hit, does not count towards yearly ride replacement limit. May build 1 new ride in Tomorrowland, does not count towards yearly ride build limit. Massive PR boost. +5 to Eisner/Disney relationship. One ride replacement or the new ride must be Star Tours.
Results: 40+20+10+10+5, 85. 5+1 successes, 17 successes total. Renovations ready to begin.
You still have some trouble figuring this out until Roy and Tony get involved. Roy helps by talking about some of his uncle's original ideas, even going so far as to occasionally pitch in some notes where he thinks they'd help. Tony is glad to have the chance to bring up his old plans for Discovery Bay, a land that would have been an alternate future based on Victorian-Era science fiction. Well, mostly Jules Verne, since that's what you have the rights to, but still. Looking over everything, you think you've got enough ideas and plans sketched out to make something special. The only question now, of course, is exactly how you want to go about this… Continued in "Tomorrow's Tomorrowland, part 1"
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-[X] Refurbishments, Magic Kingdom: It might be time for some of those classic rides to get a face lift. There's no need to replace any just yet, but a touch up could go a long way… Up to 3 rides per action. {DEVELOPMENT}
DC: 15 per ride being refurbished.
Benefits: Increased reliability, chance of popularity bump.
--[X] 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
--[X] Starjets
--[X] Jungle Cruise
Results: 42+10-15, 37. Slight Failure.
It turns out that there was slightly more hurricane damage to the rides than you had seen on the first pass. It's good that you caught them now, but it does mean that the refurbishments for the rides are going to take an extra quarter, and they're going to be down during that time. Better now than during the peak summer vacation days, but still a bit of a blow. Rides under refurbishment until APR-MAY-JUN 1986, will reopen with +15% reliability on all three.
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-[X] Wet and Mild: The submarines are up and running again, but it might be worthwhile to research better methods of waterproofing for all your water rides. This might even help with waterproofing in general. {RESEARCH}
DC: (40-10) 30.
Benefits: +5% reliability to all water based rides. -10 DC on Cutting Edge Hurricane Proofing.
Results: 58+5-15, 48. Success.
Thankfully, you're able to put some of the lessons you learned from hurricane proofing the property to work on making your water rides safer and more reliable. You also take the chance to do a more thorough look over 20,000 Leagues and the Jungle Cruise, since they're already down for refurbishments anyway. Water rides +5% reliability, -10 DC on Cutting Edge Hurricane Proofing. Additional +5% reliability on Jungle Cruise and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
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-[X] Universe of Exxon: Exxon is the current sponsor for the Universe of Energy ride, and while there's some solar panels on the roof, the whole ride overall is a bit closer to blatant propaganda for oil companies than an actual look at different energy possibilities. With your current focus on solar power, it might be worthwhile to try and get Exxon to agree to some changes. Or switch sponsors.
DC: 40.
Benefits: Refurbish Universe of Energy to be more in line with the Disney Company's current stance on solar power, and potentially switch sponsors.
--[X] Personal Focus: Universe of Exxon
Results: 43+15-15, 43. Bare Success.
To say that Exxon is not pleased with your current energy developments is an understatement. They've claimed it's a breach of contract and are pulling out of the ride, effective immediately. Luckily, with you getting personally involved, they don't ask for anything other than being removed from the ride. It took a couple of calls, but Solar Design Associates is willing to go in on this, provided you give them some help from the imagineers. At this point you probably need to think about expanding the imagineering offices, given how stretched thin they've been lately, but they do get it done. -10 Board Approval, Exxon doubles down on Oil. Universe of Energy down until APR-MAY-JUN 1986 for the switchover. Will reopen at 99% popularity and 99% reliability, with the ride being completely solar powered.
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-[X] Animators, Animatronics, and Acme: Speilberg has requested some imagineers to help him with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." The film is coming along nicely, but he thinks this might be the sort of thing that could really send it over the top. {ANIMATED} {LIVE-ACTION}
DC: (50-10) 40.
Benefits: +50 to future quality roll of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
Results: 78+10, 88. Greater Success.
The imagineers set forth once more, this time under the direction of Steven Speilberg as he asks for their help on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." They were needed because it turns out that in order to make the cartoon characters interact with the real life actors, Speilberg wants tons of single-use rigs that will do all the actions the toons do, before they get drawn over in the animation stage. The imagineers take everything they've learned from working on audio-animatronics and knock it out of the park, by all accounts. The rigs are small enough that they can be drawn over, but still manage to do everything Speilberg wants them to do. He's ecstatic about the results, and believes that the filming portion of the movie should be done in short order. +50 to future quality roll of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," currently +100 quality for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in total. Reroll any quality rolls for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" below 25. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" release date tentatively set for JUL-AUG-SEP, 1987.
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-[X] The Don: Don Bluth has been talking about his ideas for some new animated films, and it sounds like he's got some good ones. It'd be worth it to hear out a few of his pitches. {ANIMATED}
DC: (20-10) 10.
Benefits: Add a Don Bluth film to upcoming releases, will have a +10 bonus to quality roll.
Results: 34+10, 44. Great Success.
In the midst of everything else going on this quarter, Don comes up and asks you to give him the greenlight for a couple of animated films he was thinking about while he had his own studio. He gives you three separate ideas to look over, and you pick two of the most promising to get underway. Pick two upcoming Don Bluth films, will both have +10 bonus to quality roll. Will be slotted for release after "The Great Mouse Detective." {AN: These are incredibly brief summaries that absolutely do not do the films justice, but are rather brief overviews that would be the basic point of a 5-minute pitch}
-[] An American Tail: The story of a mouse family immigrating to America from the Ukraine to gain their freedom.
-[] The Land Before Time: The story of an orphaned dinosaur who must confront bigotry and hardships on the search for a better home.
-[] All Dogs Go To Heaven: The story of a dog who rejects heaven to take revenge on the dog who killed him.
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-[X] Computer Animation: George Lucas gave you a call and mentioned that the Graphics Group, part of Lucasfilm that's responsible for computer animation, is looking to split off and form their own company. Unfortunately, he's not in a position to fund them right now, but Disney could. They're looking to make a completely computer animated film, the first of its kind. They're also saying that computers won't be good enough to make such a film for several years yet, but that they're willing to develop hardware and software in the meantime. {ANIMATED}
DC: (40-10) 30.
Benefits: Obtain Pixar Studios as part of Disney.
Results:
The initial meeting almost doesn't happen, with John Lasseter, one of the hopeful founding members of the new studio, still fuming about his earlier dismissal from Disney for advocating computer animation. It also doesn't help that he treated the secretaries like crap. Luckily, Jeff manages to swing a meeting with Ed Catmull instead, and the talks go smoothly. You're a bit leery of having Lasseter around, but he does have some great ideas. Hopefully nothing comes of this. Gained Pixar Studios as a part of Disney, +5 to all animated film rolls from computer integration making the studios run smoother and faster. While they're unlikely to produce a film for a while (Moore's Law), they will be producing some hardware in the meantime.
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-[X] Make An Oscar Push:"The Black Cauldron" is set to have the Halloween rerelease of the more mature oriented version, but you think with the reception it's already gotten, you could go further. Campaign for the movie to receive the first Best Picture nomination for an animated film. It's unlikely to win, but even just being in the category would send a message. {ANIMATED}
DC: (50-10) 40.
Benefits: "The Black Cauldron" nominated for best picture, paving the way for future animated films. +10 to Eisner/Katzenberg and Eisner/Bluth relationship.
Results: 42+10, 52. Success.
With how well the rerelease was received, it's not too much work to start a solid campaign for "The Black Cauldron" to get a nomination for Best Picture. You aren't too hopeful for a win, that's probably going to the recently released "Out of Africa," but even just getting the nomination will open up the category for future films. Oh, and of course Jeff and Don and everyone else in the animation department is thrilled. "The Black Cauldron" campaign for best picture underway with enough momentum to grab a nomination, +10 to Eisner/Katzenberg and Eisner/Bluth relationship.
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-[X] Bringing Back the Magic: You don't have the same screen presence Walt has. You don't know if you ever will. But, with some acting lessons, maybe you can at least begin to make your own screen presence.
DC: 20.
Benefits: +10 to Disney/Eisner relationship.
Results: 80. Greater Success.
You take some acting lessons, and the improvement in your delivery is noticeable. And then, beyond even that, you pick up on some things by watching more of Walt's own shows. Roy helps by talking to you about some of the things his uncle would do between takes, how he'd roll with the unexpected, and how he'd always have a genuine passion for what he was discussing. At some point, you start to find yourself getting passionate about the same things, the same projects that Walt obviously put so much of himself into. You and Roy bond over the shared dreams for the future of the company, and on top of that, you find yourself better able to empathize with some of the actors for your own films. +15 Disney/Eisner relationship, +10 to live action film rolls, +10 to Eisner based TV action rolls. PR boost as more and more parallels are drawn between Eisner and Walt Disney.
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-[X] Increase Outside Acquisition Budget: Currently, the Disney Channel has a budget of five million each year to grab outside programming. It'd be a bit expensive, but bumping this up to fifty million would give the channel a much greater ability to grab shows from other sources instead of needing to produce everything in house.
DC: 25.
Benefits: Decent impact on improving Disney Channel (3d6).
Results: 71. Great Success. 3d6: 3,3,2. 8, 53/50 total. Disney Channel pulled out of imminent danger.
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-[X] Get To Know John Cooke: John's a pretty new hire, but he's already proven his worth by finding out about the major issue that was about to crop up with the Disney Channel. Perhaps you should get to know him better, see if he can't help out more around the office?
DC: N/A.
Benefits: Gain John Cooke as an adviser or a permanent bonus to the TV section.
Results: N/A.
With the Disney Channel now in order, John's got a good deal more free time. He's more than willing to help you get a better handle on managing some of the Disney Channel, or you could let him work more autonomously. Either way, you think the Disney Channel is set for a good while now. Choose whether to gain John Cooke as a TV adviser or as a bonus to the TV section.
-[] John Cooke as an adviser: +1 TV action, +5 to all television related rolls. John Cooke joins office politics.
-[] John Cooke as a supervisor: +10 to all television related rolls, Disney channel quality/interest degrade twice as slowly.
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-[X] Continue Construction (Disney's Animated Adventure): Elizabeth managed to outdo all expectations, and managed to bring the project into construction despite Hurricane Elena. At this point you almost want her on all of your future projects. +10 to rolls. {CONSTRUCTION} {DEVELOPMENT}
DC: 10 per success, 6/12 successes achieved.
Benefits: Move to Opening Day.
Results: 32+10+10+10-15, 47. 4 successes, 10/12 successes total.
Well, you suppose, the hotel was going to hit a snag sometime. It turns out a shipment that was needed ended up needing to be scrapped due to damage from the hurricane, and that was just enough to stop the construction from getting done this quarter. Still, decent progress was made, and next quarter the hotel is basically guaranteed to open. Would have been nice to show up to the board meeting with a finished project, though. 10/12 successes achieved.
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-[X] A Day In The Movies: Warner Bros. has talked about the plans for a movie pavilion at EPCOT, and it seems like they'd be interested in working with us to expand that concept to an entire park. On top of that, Universal was so impressed with the imagineers that they'd rather partner with us than make a park on their own. Getting everyone together on this could be a major feather in your cap. {PLANNING}
DC: 50.
Benefits: Gain Warner Bros. licenses and aid in building a new park dedicated to movies. Gain Universal as a partner in a new park dedicated to movies. Begin a new gate plan with 10 of 25 successes already complete, park will be based on movie studios.
Results: 98+20-15, 103. Magical Success.
Surprisingly enough, when you got Warner Bros. and Universal together to talk about setting up a movie studio theme park, they were both more than thrilled with the prospect. It seems your willingness to play ball with the other studios is starting to reap dividends. Of course, now a good question is where you want to actually put the thing. You've got the already established Reedy Creek Improvement District, but Universal did already buy up a good chunk of land closer to Orlando proper. 10+1 successes in project achieved, 11 successes total. +25 to future rolls on project. Warner Bros. and Universal vastly more likely to compromise on project instead of leave project. Choose location:
-[] Reedy Creek Improvement District: Keep all your parks together, in the area you control all the zoning and other such local level laws. Universal can always put a resort and some actual movie studios on the plot they've bought, and it is on the monorail line to Orlando.
-[] Universal's Plot: They've bought up a chunk of good land close to Orlando, and it's already on the monorail line. It'll be a bit of a pain working around the local zoning laws, but it might also ease some of the pressure on parks in the district.
-[] Make Universal's Plot Part of Reedy Creek: Try and have your cake and eat it too. If you can get the land from Universal, you could petition to have it recognized as part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. This might ruffle some feathers over in Orlando, though. They are already giving you a pretty good deal with the monorail, and pushing them might not be the best idea.
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-[X] Continue Planning a New Resort (Europe?): You've started looking over some European locations, but nothing's really stood out so far. Turning down the CIA was a tough choice, but you still got a little bit of intel out of it. Current proposed locations: Germany (Frankfurt), France (Paris), America (Virginia). {PLANNING}
DC: 15 per success, requires 50 total successes. 5/50 successes. +5 to rolls on this project. Reroll rolls below 10 for the next 3 turns.
Benefits: Move to Groundbreaking.
Results: 97+20+10+5, 132. 8+1 successes, 14 total successes.
You can't believe how much of a help Roy's been this quarter with planning everything. Every time you think you're about to get stuck, or about to give up on an idea, Roy mentions some anecdote from his time at the company or with his uncle and the inspiration starts flowing again. He even pitched in here by doing some more searching for a good location in Europe with you. Continued in "An Earful Expansion"
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Movies released this quarter: "One Magical Christmas," "The Black Cauldron: Director's Cut"
"The Black Cauldron: Director's Cut"
Featuring scenes that were cut from the original for being too graphic, this director's cut is sure to give you a scare this Halloween. Rated PG-13, not suitable for young audiences.
The Black Cauldron: Director's Cut
Release Date: October 31st, 1985
Quality: 179
Reception roll:
Parent Reaction: 62. Happy that there's a safe activity for teens to do instead of vandalizing houses.
The board is immensely pleased by the spectacular rerelease, which sees almost as much attendance as the original. The good PR from parents who say that they were glad to have something that could keep teens from being hooligans that night doesn't hurt either. +15 Board Approval.
"One Magical Christmas"
Ginny Grainger (Steenburgen) is the mother of two children, Cal (Robbie Magwood) and Abbie (Elisabeth Harnois). Her husband, Jack (Gary Basaraba), has been out of work since June, and they have to move out of the company house by January 1. Jack fixes bikes as a hobby in the basement and hopes to give one to his children's poor friend, Molly Monaghan, for Christmas. Although he would like to open a bike shop of his own, doing so would use up all their savings, which Ginny sees as a foolish move. In order to make ends meet, she works as a cashier at a grocery store.
One Magical Christmas
Release Date: November 22nd, 1985
Quality Roll: 65. Standard kitschy Christmas movie.
Reception Roll: 53+5, 58. Mediocre performance.
Honestly, this film just kind of existed. Ebert said some complimentary things before bemoaning that it was a miscalculation from beginning to end, so at least you're headed in the right direction. The board doesn't say anything about this either way.
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CURRENT VOTES: Bluth films, John Cooke, Hollywood Studios park location.
AN: Vote will be open for at least 24 hours! As always, if I've missed anything, feel free to let me know. Also fun fact: The current park maps for Disneyland are Terrible. I am legitimately shocked at how bad the map for Tomorrowland in Disneyland was in '85.
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Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
New action, [ ] Improve the park maps? Seems a bit too minor to be a full action though. Maybe as part of a bigger redesign or something.
John Cooke is a steady guy who helped us save the Disney channel after mostly ignoring it for a while, but it seems the office politics grid is getting kind of big. We have lots of actions per quarter now and the marginal utility of more is diminishing a bit.
American Tail! Ahh, nostalgia.
How much will we own of the Universal park @Slynnwen ? Is this going to turn into another Tokyo Disney?
John Cooke is a steady guy who helped us save the Disney channel after mostly ignoring it for a while, but it seems the office politics grid is getting kind of big. We have lots of actions per quarter now and the marginal utility of more is diminishing a bit.
American Tail! Ahh, nostalgia.
How much will we own of the Universal park @Slynnwen ? Is this going to turn into another Tokyo Disney?
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Markala
Hannor & Polycho Shipper
- Location
- At the Junction of Angst and Fluff
-[X] The Land Before Time: The story of an orphaned dinosaur who must confront bigotry and hardships on the search for a better home.
-[X] All Dogs Go To Heaven: The story of a dog who rejects heaven to take revenge on the dog who killed him.
HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN THESE THREE FUCKING LOVELY MOVIES?! (Also maybe in this world Ducky/Anne-Marie's voice actress Judith Barsi won't die via her jackass dad? Maybe?? In this Happier-Better World perhaps somehow?) T_T
EDIT: SAVE AU!Judith Barsi!
-[X] John Cooke as a supervisor: +10 to all television related rolls, Disney channel quality/interest degrade twice as slowly.
-[X] Universal's Plot: They've bought up a chunk of good land close to Orlando, and it's already on the monorail line. It'll be a bit of a pain working around the local zoning laws, but it might also ease some of the pressure on parks in the district.
-[X] All Dogs Go To Heaven: The story of a dog who rejects heaven to take revenge on the dog who killed him.
HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN THESE THREE FUCKING LOVELY MOVIES?! (Also maybe in this world Ducky/Anne-Marie's voice actress Judith Barsi won't die via her jackass dad? Maybe?? In this Happier-Better World perhaps somehow?) T_T
EDIT: SAVE AU!Judith Barsi!
-[X] John Cooke as a supervisor: +10 to all television related rolls, Disney channel quality/interest degrade twice as slowly.
-[X] Universal's Plot: They've bought up a chunk of good land close to Orlando, and it's already on the monorail line. It'll be a bit of a pain working around the local zoning laws, but it might also ease some of the pressure on parks in the district.
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Slynnwen
She/Her
- Location
- Fomalhaut B
I am unbelievably tempted to add an "improve the park maps" option, because I've seen other maps from the 80's and you could legitimately make strides in this field, but probably too minor for a full action. Might be part of a general redesign, though.
You'll own at least 2/3rds of it, since Warner Bros. isn't taking ownership, just giving the rights.
You get to pick two Bluth films, in case that wasn't clear. Also you'll have more chances to get the others later on.
Markala
Hannor & Polycho Shipper
- Location
- At the Junction of Angst and Fluff
Oh I know we'll probs get the opportunity to do them all Eventually (also I didn't notice the 2 options bit, thx), but I love them all so Much that I just want to have all three at once because they were so Awesome! (Also hoping that we can avoid the awful deluge of terribad Straight-to-video sequels; *sideeyes the FOURTEEN Land Before Time sequels warily,* like I don't hate sequels, I just wish they were Good Sequels).
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Slynnwen
She/Her
- Location
- Fomalhaut B
Your PR meter is currently broken, because you hit the max and kept going. The board is going to mention this.
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
Disney channel degrading twice slower is not an insignificant bonus, everyone. That will add up. I urge people not to necessarily jump straight to More Actions.
Edit: It might well be better on balance because action economy is a powerful and heady thing, but I worry about getting spread too thin, too. Letting Cooke keep the Disney Channel chugging along smoothly would allow Eisner to look in on it occasionally and be reassured that all's probably well when he's not paying particular attention to Disney TV.
I'm not sure myself which way to jump yet.
Edit: It might well be better on balance because action economy is a powerful and heady thing, but I worry about getting spread too thin, too. Letting Cooke keep the Disney Channel chugging along smoothly would allow Eisner to look in on it occasionally and be reassured that all's probably well when he's not paying particular attention to Disney TV.
I'm not sure myself which way to jump yet.
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