2
Credit: DisneyFormer Disney Imagineer Jim Shull has been busy lately. Shull spent 33 years working as a Walt Disney Imagineer.
Related: Former Imagineer Thinks Disney has ‘Given Up’ Innovating Its Parks.
He worked on projects at Disney World, Disneyland Paris, and Shanghai Disneyland. Now that he’s retired, he has some thoughts on the current state of Walt Disney World, Walt Disney Imagineering, and The Walt Disney Company.
Last week, Jim Shull took to social media to blast the current state of the attractions at EPCOT. He said about the current state of the Disney park:
A take away from a recent trip to EPCOT is that the Disney Company has given up on presenting a challenging view of the future. EPCOT is all festivals and character encounters.
Not everything that Shull says on his X (formerly Twitter) account is necessarily negative; however, he has some strong thoughts about the current state of Disney Parks and The Walt Disney Company.
Related: Disney Removing Fountains and Rivers of America For the Most Infuriating Reason
So, it was no surprise that earlier this week, when a new permit was announced for constructing a crane at Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness, Shull had some thoughts. The permit and the crane indicate that Disney is moving forward with a new 10-story hotel at the Fort Wilderness Resort.
The original project was announced in 2018 and was expected to be completed by 2022. Demolition at the former River Country site began in 2019, but then COVID happened.
Construction at the former Disney park was halted and never restarted after Walt Disney World reopened. Disney fans assumed this project was dead, like many other attractions planned before the pandemic.
Report of a permit for Walt Disney World to build a 10 story hotel at Fort Wilderness is a sign that there are no designers left at WDI overseeing hotel work. Sad state of affairs. #Fortwilderness Expect to see the building painted ‘wood brown’.
— Jim Shull (@JimShull) September 26, 2024
Related: With No Regard For History, Fans Wonder What Disney Will Destroy Next
However, the project was recently revived, and The Walt Disney Company began filing permits to begin construction. This time, it appears they are planning on finishing this new hotel.
Using recent reimagining as his guide, Jim Shull blasted the new project, saying:
Report of a permit for Walt Disney World to build a 10 story hotel at Fort Wilderness is a sign that there are no designers left at WDI overseeing hotel work. Sad state of affairs. #Fortwilderness Expect to see the building painted ‘wood brown’.
Shull was not alone in criticizing the planned 10-story hotel, which would ruin the guest experience at Fort Wilderness for years to come—and that’s just the construction.
Great.. just great. It looks like Disney is plowing ahead with this. Building a ten story tower right in fort wilderness will alter the peaceful isolation of FW, and the dynamics of that for ever. Not to mention this won’t be themed. Terrible news. https://t.co/FbWqcd6fM0
— Savethemagic (@Savethedmagic) September 26, 2024
One guest commented that Disney World only builds Disney Vacation Club resorts, which limits the number of people who can get rooms there. The new hotels do not add capacity to the parks, making guests more likely to spend more time in line as the parks get increasingly crowded.
This new criticism clearly shows that Disney fans and former Imagineers don’t trust the current iteration of Walt Disney Imagineering with anything it announces. Based on the recent updates, they aren’t wrong.
Do you trust Walt Disney Imagineering anymore to build something that will meet guests’ expectations?