A Spirited 15 Rounds ...

[WDW1974]

Oh no. Like worse that the TOT overlay?

No. This is resort and infrastructure related. I am answering this just to prevent endless speculation (see Indy thread about something that is very unlikely to happen and would be years and years away if it did).

 

[WDW1974]

First, another dig at the pig Bob Iger. The insecure little CEO (closing in on being a billionaire) likes to control the narrative and those reporting and writing about his company.

He's been at war with top media financial analyst Richie Greenfield for a few years and now he is stooping to fanboi crap by ... well, you read this:

http://deadline.com/2017/08/bob-iger-fed-up-most-vigorous-wall-street-disney-critics-1202151202/

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Spirit, were you able to see any construction for the new Beauty and the Beast area?

 

[mickEblu]

No. This is resort and infrastructure related. I am answering this just to prevent endless speculation (see Indy thread about something that is very unlikely to happen and would be years and years away if it did).

Thanks. Aaaaahhh the parking lot isn't going to be open in time for SWL.

You don't have to answer that.

 

[Kiwiduck]

Thanks. Aaaaahhh the parking lot isn't going to be open in time for SWL.

You don't have to answer that.

@GiveMeTheMusic suggested over at the Disneyland carpark thread that it isn't going to happen at all.

 

[WDW1974]

For the horrors of the past weekend I recommend a handful of Excedrin. Or, if you're in California, you can get something a little stronger thanks to our newest, legal newest cash crop. That'll do the trick too.

The horrors have been building, but upon us since last November. Today's news out of a golf course in NJ and Spain just continued things ... and there isn't enough of that substance to get me to forget reality!

 

[WDW1974]

Thanks. Aaaaahhh the parking lot isn't going to be open in time for SWL.

You don't have to answer that.

@GiveMeTheMusic suggested over at the Disneyland carpark thread that it isn't going to happen at all.

That is exactly what I am hearing and wondering about ... this sounds very, very ignorant and bad. The resort has been a parking nightmare since the 50th Anniversary a dozen years ago ...

 

[WDW1974]

And especially the Happiness Is Here soundtrack.

I have that soundtrack as well!

What a huge, fun and beautiful parade!

 

[Sam Magic]

That is exactly what I am hearing and wondering about ... this sounds very, very ignorant and bad. The resort has been a parking nightmare since the 50th Anniversary a dozen years ago ...

Wait...the new garage center might not go up? How stupid is the company becoming.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

That is exactly what I am hearing and wondering about ... this sounds very, very ignorant and bad. The resort has been a parking nightmare since the 50th Anniversary a dozen years ago ...

It's almost as if they're asking for a disaster when SW:GE opens there.

 

[WDW1974]

if you plan well it's great....rope drop the most popular ride in the park and squeeze 1 or 2 others in with basically no line than you have the 3 passes. all the big stuff in MK done by 2. I hate lines and won't wait in them.

The thing is, I am not a morning Spirit. I think the last time I rope-dropped MK was with my then girlfriend in 2001 (there's a reason she's an ex!) I didn't even like getting up for a private free breakfast at DAK a few years ago (actually more than a few now). We rope-dropped SDL both days (or tried, but didn't quite do it due to hour waits to get in). WE did the first day at TDL and then realized the folly of it and arrived every other day between 10 and 11. And we did just fine.

So, I wouldn't rope-drop the tired, stale MK in the swamps unless I was being compensated. I have found that if you FP three things for late afternoon or early evening and spend the night at the park, you can wind up doing a dozen or more things and, really ... how much more is there at that park?

 

[The_Mesh_Hatter]

Also, you may hear that weather is terrible in summer and you shouldn't visit. I believe Disney Blogger to the Stars Tom Bricker has said as much. But we did TDR like he did a few years ago, catching Tanabata Days and the start of the summer fest, and did just fine. If you would do August in Orlando, then July in Tokyo won't kill you. It's actually better because they don't do our crazy time changes, so it gets dark at 7 and with the breeze off Tokyo Bay is amazingly pleasant at night.

Reposting this for anyone who misses its benefit. I can attest, late July is heaven. I visited July 18-21 a few years back. Tokyo deserves its reputation as being hot and humid in the summer, but I found that the resort's location directly waterfront keeps in several degrees cooler than the city. It rained, but for no more than a few hours total over the course of four days. And late July had pretty mild crowds from my experience. Most E's were 75 minutes, the few you mentioned got up to two hours, but the rest of the rides were under an hour. And Fastpass is helpful there. I find crowds more pleasant than DLP because of better crowd management.

OK this may have also been self serving because describing this conjures up good memories of TDL. How I miss it.

 

[WDW1974]

Wait...the new garage center might not go up? How stupid is the company becoming.

That rumor is growing and is coming from reputable sources. It would also explain some of the Marvel DCA confusion and lack of announcements ... as to your question, I take exception to the word 'becoming" as this has been a steady two decade, two CEO progression to today.

 

[Sam Magic]

That rumor is growing and is coming from reputable sources. It would also explain some of the Marvel DCA confusion and lack of announcements ... as to your question, I take exception to the word 'becoming" as this has been a steady two decade, two CEO progression to today.

This is what happens when dictators and their yes-men hang around too long.

 

[The_Mesh_Hatter]

That rumor is growing and is coming from reputable sources. It would also explain some of the Marvel DCA confusion and lack of announcements ... as to your question, I take exception to the word 'becoming" as this has been a steady two decade, two CEO progression to today.

Idiots. But really not surprising, the resort beyond Disneyland is a mess. I'm just lucky I have friends with houses walking distance from the resort I'm always welcome to park my car at.

 

[WDW1974]

What can I say Mr. Dimon has been kind. I have had opportunities for jobs with better compensation and pay but I prefer a place where I am not only allowed to go on vacation but encouraged. If that work/life balance is off then all that is left is work. And life is short and the world is big.

I am happy you are being treated well. I don't like your company and have had personal issues that have gone all the way to Dimon's exec suite. I don't think he is a good human being. But again, happy you are treated well (I think we have discussed this privately years ago!)

 

[brb1006]

First, some general thoughts on TDR.

After coming on the heels of visiting SDL, TDR was actually relaxing. Something you won't often hear people say about the place. The constant crowding that you hear is largely true (but just like MK or DLR, of late, also exaggerated).

In five days there (three full at DL, two full at TDS) we never waited much longer than 20 minutes for anything. We never saw a wait in either park exceed 90 minutes (generally that was TSMM, which we didn't ride, and Indy at TDS and Splash Mountain at TDL). I say that because those waits are less than what people generally put themselves through at WDW all the time.

FP works there. And they wisely use it as needed. For example, it has been shut off for both Mansion and Star Tours because there is no need for it at all now. It is the polar opposite of SDL and the direction that WDW (pay to play) is headed. I don't like FP largely, but this old school system always worked best at DL and WDW and certainly does here. SDL is another matter ...

Also, you may hear that weather is terrible in summer and you shouldn't visit. I believe Disney Blogger to the Stars Tom Bricker has said as much. But we did TDR like he did a few years ago, catching Tanabata Days and the start of the summer fest, and did just fine. If you would do August in Orlando, then July in Tokyo won't kill you. It's actually better because they don't do our crazy time changes, so it gets dark at 7 and with the breeze off Tokyo Bay is amazingly pleasant at night.

As to the parks in general, they are incredibly beautiful and maintained. They are staffed to levels that would make Georgie K (as he shifts labor costs to DAK and closes MK 3-4 hours earlier than typical recent summers) crap his pants. No, the park isn't spotless, but it is as close to perfection as really is possible. And WDW used to be like this ... maybe not in over two decades, but it was.

Show quality is unsurpassed. In five days, I struggled to find a minor effect not working anywhere. I didn't find any. On attractions where at WDW (or even DL) you have static figures (think the RR scenes), TDR has animatronics. They may be limited, but they move and are all working. You don't need bloggingwhores making excuses for why major show effects aren't working like WDW does. The OLC has across the board standards that scream "WDW in 1983" ... AAs are silent. WDW Guests today probably have no idea that is the way they are supposed to be. Small attractions or less popular ones, things like Tom Sawyer Island or most of Toontown, look brand new and all that needs to be maintained is. Hanging out for an hour one hot afternoon on TSI reminded me of my first visit to the island with my family as a kid (yeah, I am not 71, sorry!) in 1976 because it was so lovingly cared for.

Entertainment is simply of the highest caliber. Sure, Festival of Fantasy is a nice parade at the MK. But it is laughable compared to Happiness is Here. Whine and cry and long for the 1972 MSEP to return again to the MK, while TDL's Dreamlights is an absolute tour de force of what a night parade in a Disney park should be (and, yes, it shames PtN as well ... but at least that parade can be spoken of in the same conversation). I saw Fantasmic for the first time there. It is different than stateside shows, but works. I still prefer DL's, although I haven't seen the new show yet. But it makes WDW's commercial for 90s WDFA laughable in every way as well. From live music to streetmosphere, TDR has it.

How about that Once Upon a Time show that MK took and bastardized? The original is absolutely beautiful. An ode to Walt era animation. Huge segments from Pan and Alice disappeared from MK's version to stuff in two Frozen musical numbers that don't fit. Since the show is ending, if you won't be visiting before November, YouTube it and see for yourself which show is better.

Sure, TDR doesn't do pyro like the American parks. Out of four nights they were offered, the pyro was canceled three. They do a short, but nice show that can be seen from BOTH parks. No need to camp in front of the castle for hours. Of course, tourists now expect Disney to do pyro every night in O-Town, missing the fact that until 1996 and WDW's 25th anniversary, the MK roughly did pyro shows only half the year.

Just some tidbits to start ...

And Dreamlights just got another update recently and it's looking better than ever. I'm looking forward to seeing the Christmas edition later this year for the new and upgraded floats.

 

[WDW1974]

I kick myself because I just started taking advantage last year of military pricing at Disney/universal and can't believe I never did before. Also next summer planning on using military space "a" flights to go to Germany for a week with a 2 day stop at DLP. I want to see the actual castles Disney has used as inspiration. My wife is a little nervouse about foreign travel so that has always stopped us but she has finally come around and I want my kids to see all they can

In the last four months, I have been in France, Germany, Switzerland, China and Japan. And FL, USA. Do you want to know what place I have felt the least safe? People should wake up to what is going down in their country and travel abroad and realize that we aren't really the best nation at anything other than having nukes and delusions and great PR!

 

[brb1006]

I have that soundtrack as well!

What a huge, fun and beautiful parade!

Seeing any footage of the parade itself makes me smile. I never seen cast members having this much fun at a Disney parade let alone how energetic they were since the "Remember The Magic" parade for WDW's 25th Anniversary. I'm still smiling when ever I see the Aristocats float.

 

[WDW1974]

In another thread, people are defending Disney for removing individual soap and shampoo bottles from hotel rooms and replacing them with wall-mounted pumps, like what you'd have at a gym. I can stay at any Marriott or Hilton for $185/night and get my own soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion, but Disney wants to charge $200/night for Pop Century and have everybody share a giant bottle of soap.

They have done this before in the last 15-18 years at the values and some moderates only to switch back. Of course, I still recall when they had Ivory soap in deluxe resorts (yes, what simple people in the Heartland buy at the Walmart). Willow Bay Iger actually complained about it (Bob was No. 2 at the time) and they went with H2O.