OK, so as some of you may know I have spent parts of the past two weeks in Orlando. Some of it was personal business, some themed entertainment related and some just kicking back and enjoying paradise in July.
In addition to experiencing UNI's new Transformers ride and Springfield area, I also checked out Antarctica at SW, spent time at three of Disney's parks as well as DD and CW.
I also spent time at Disney's Contemporary Resort and BLT, the Wilderness Lodge and Villas, Port Orleans and All Star Sports.
I did not stay at a Disney resort. I did stay at UNI's amazing Portofino Bay Resort for part of the visit.
Since I love food, I had meals at Be Our Guest, Fulton's, Portobello, and Benihana at WDW and Lombard's Landing, Pat O'Brien's and Bob Marley's Tribute to Freedom at UNI as well as drinks at quite a few others at both resorts.Because I just had a Faux Top One Percent Spirited Spring Holiday, this wasn't a trip where meals were planned out far ahead. I should probably point out that every meal I had on WDW property was, in essence, free for me. ...anyway...
I spoke to many folks at all the parks, but the comments from an Imagineer, a UNI creative and a WDW exec were fascinating and I will place things out here as I feel comfortable doing. During part of my stay, I got a very close up view of some of the gizmos Disney is using (all Apple tech, silent prayer at the cult of Jobs) for NGE and even was allowed (no, I doubt Georgie will be happy when he reads this) to test the tech and see for myself just how much information will truly be at CMs fingertips. Simply put, a troubling amount.
It's late, and most of my allotted MAGICal time tonight was spent going back and forth about our awful criminal justice system, so this is largely just an introduction for what will follow this week.
But I did hint in my prior thread (you know, the one with half a million hits that no one reads!) about the driving underlying theme of my visit being transformation. That covers so many things I hope to discuss with y'all (how else will there ever be a book or a consulting contract?)
On one hand this was a very transformative trip for me, personally (watching Georgie K eat ribs will do that to a man). But transformation is also what is happening at UNI and at WDW. The entire paradigm of what an O-Town visit has been versus what it is now becoming has changed and is continuing to do so, to morph in a very Chaz Bono type way. Universal is transforming in some amazing ways while WDW is changing fundamentally, but in a drastically different way. Sea World ...well, I'm not really sure what is going on there, but at least they can add a major new attraction for summer while WDW brings out Chicken Little and Robin Hood foamheads and offers Christmas desserts in July and calls it a day.
Oh, and expansions or additions (or changes and replacements at WDW). Yeah, we may just get into that a bit too.
Can someone remind me to discuss show lighting at EPCOT, soda thievery and why self flushing toilets aren't all that too?
Thanks and I look forward to a great discussion ...
In addition to experiencing UNI's new Transformers ride and Springfield area, I also checked out Antarctica at SW, spent time at three of Disney's parks as well as DD and CW.
I also spent time at Disney's Contemporary Resort and BLT, the Wilderness Lodge and Villas, Port Orleans and All Star Sports.
I did not stay at a Disney resort. I did stay at UNI's amazing Portofino Bay Resort for part of the visit.
Since I love food, I had meals at Be Our Guest, Fulton's, Portobello, and Benihana at WDW and Lombard's Landing, Pat O'Brien's and Bob Marley's Tribute to Freedom at UNI as well as drinks at quite a few others at both resorts.Because I just had a Faux Top One Percent Spirited Spring Holiday, this wasn't a trip where meals were planned out far ahead. I should probably point out that every meal I had on WDW property was, in essence, free for me. ...anyway...
I spoke to many folks at all the parks, but the comments from an Imagineer, a UNI creative and a WDW exec were fascinating and I will place things out here as I feel comfortable doing. During part of my stay, I got a very close up view of some of the gizmos Disney is using (all Apple tech, silent prayer at the cult of Jobs) for NGE and even was allowed (no, I doubt Georgie will be happy when he reads this) to test the tech and see for myself just how much information will truly be at CMs fingertips. Simply put, a troubling amount.
It's late, and most of my allotted MAGICal time tonight was spent going back and forth about our awful criminal justice system, so this is largely just an introduction for what will follow this week.
But I did hint in my prior thread (you know, the one with half a million hits that no one reads!) about the driving underlying theme of my visit being transformation. That covers so many things I hope to discuss with y'all (how else will there ever be a book or a consulting contract?)
On one hand this was a very transformative trip for me, personally (watching Georgie K eat ribs will do that to a man). But transformation is also what is happening at UNI and at WDW. The entire paradigm of what an O-Town visit has been versus what it is now becoming has changed and is continuing to do so, to morph in a very Chaz Bono type way. Universal is transforming in some amazing ways while WDW is changing fundamentally, but in a drastically different way. Sea World ...well, I'm not really sure what is going on there, but at least they can add a major new attraction for summer while WDW brings out Chicken Little and Robin Hood foamheads and offers Christmas desserts in July and calls it a day.
Oh, and expansions or additions (or changes and replacements at WDW). Yeah, we may just get into that a bit too.
Can someone remind me to discuss show lighting at EPCOT, soda thievery and why self flushing toilets aren't all that too?
Thanks and I look forward to a great discussion ...
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