Spirited Thoughts, News, Observations etc.

OK, hide the women and the children ... most importantly send the fanbois to bed with their plush and tell them to hide under the covers ... waaaay down under them because it's time for some Spirited thoughts, observations, news and anecdotes from a long weekend at The World Maintenance Forgot, yes WDW.

Where to start? With a conclusion? Or should I just work on down?

Should I start with the good ... things like seeing friends, having great weather, appreciating some things that the fan community tends to ignore and seeing EPCOT in its best colors?

Or ... do I focus on everything else? Because all going to WDW did for me this weekend was exceed my already amazingly low expectations for the state of WDW infrastructure and show quality (hey, they did exceed expectations, right?) and get me more excited for my future visits to DLP, possibly BGW, DL ... and, hopefully in the not too distant future, the Asian resorts again too.

Let's start with the basics. Freshness. If you had visited WDW in 2006 and hadn't returned in six years, you would find no appreciable new product in three of four parks.

You would find show quality that already had issues showing more issues than the typical fanboi in therapy. Well, that's if you can actually get to the MK because the crumbling monorail system has to be shut down all day from 11:30 a.m to 6 p.m. to do track work in the midst of one of the busiest times of the year ... imagine paying $500-700 a night for a room at the GF or Poly with monorail convenience touted (wonder what guest recovery they are doing there!) ... but let's assume you find your way there.

Let's start with the stuff the fan community is all lathered up for, namely the Storybook Circus mini-land expansion of Fantasyland. What did I think of it?

Not very much at all.

As usual, the hype was much greater than the product, which can't be viewed in a vacuum in a park that is crumbling and has no wow factor at all anymore.

In the day, Dumbo's primary colors and the red painted construction fences all around come off as garish ... befitting a circus, no doubt ... but Old Man Disney was no more a fan of circuses than he was of amusement parks and piers and the shady elements that all attracted. So, we have a new spinner that is prettier than the last. And it spins high enough to peek over construction walls and we all know how much that has become en vogue in O-Town of late.

It is a beautiful kinetic piece at night when the lighting is largely coming from the white and red bulbs that rim the queue (likely more of a makeshift deal now until the old Dumbo starts spinning across the way) and the LEDs embedded in the fountains underneath. But it is still Dumbo.

Sort of like the Barnstormer is still the Barnstormer, just missing much in the way of theming. Its prior incarnation had some whimsy, this doesn't. But they weren't getting rid of the only kiddie coaster in the park, so this was a cheap fix. Oh, and thanks to Bob Iger working with a chainsaw, you can now watch Disney buses and CMs driving to/fro work behind the MK as you walk up the queue if you peer left. I will never get what Phil and TDO have against trees, but they certainly do.

Nothing else is open beyond a much nicer train station that is still a train station ... and a set of new restrooms (someone needs to page Talking Head to this thread stat!) What I found amazing is that Disney was too cheap to actually connect these facilities to the park's main water supply, so they are using water from the immediate area that is untreated (or perhaps non-filtered/cleansed is more appropriate) so you have bizarre signs saying the water is 'non potable' (that means you can't drink it for those with limited vocabularies) over toilets. I know Disney's prices are crazy for a Coke, but over the toilet?!? ... Of course, the reason is they have colored the water blue because otherwise it would be a very icky color and folks would constantly be complaining that something isn't right.

Are the details nice? Sure. But they are very basic. I was much more excited by leaf patterns in the walkways around Old Man Island at Dixie Landings 20 years ago than I am by various hoof prints and 'peanuts' embedded in this area.

So much of this area also suffers from having both exposed coaster track (Disney fanbois seem to have issues with this at UNI) and show buildings just sticking out like a Duffy alone on a shelf full of Minnies.

If this is what Disney believes will raise the bar in O-Town ... well, no ... they don't. They understand what they have built and why. This is about capacity ... and NEXT GEN ... and keeping folks from being bored out of their minds by offering something 'new'.

It's in 'soft opening' now, but let's be blunt: they had to get this open and open now. They have so little capacity in this park due to 15 years of taking away and not adding. MK just isn't a very pleasant place right now at all with crowds and walls and lots of attractions that have seen far better days.

Again, it also seems that Ops and WDI simply can't get on the same page no matter what ... Dumbo opens with small plants where every little kid (and plenty of big ones) are going to stand, so the result is the foliage that was there Monday was trampled and mostly dead or dying by Friday. How they miss these basics is beyond me, although I think communication and common sense are both lacking.

Now, what else was 'new' (to me) at MK? Spin the Fanboi? Pin the Tail on Meg? Dole Whip tees (I mean, REALLY?!?!) ... or how about the latest way to hook OCD fanbois and why it is so important to NEXT GEN.

I'll see you all a little later ... like in the next post!
 

asianway

Well-Known Member
Or is the sink water non-potable?

And how long does it take to rebuild a gift shop and m&g tent anyway? Longer than it took to build Disneyland apparently
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So where were we?

Oh yeah, admiring the fact Disney left some remnants of Tentland in the water tower and other RR facility building opposite the new station.

This is only important because they'll either get around to retheming them in a year or two. OR they'll simply leave them and fanbois will wrongly assume it was a WDI tribute to the old land and then in 7-9 years when they get around to routine maintenance and repaint/skin them, there will be an uprising in the Twitverse (that may be running our country by then!)that Disney is destroying history!

Let's talk about making the MK into a giant video game to mask the fact that no major attraction has been added since 1992. Let's talk about the good (little), the bad (some) and the ugly (more) of the new SotMK game.

I came. I played. I observed. I got hit up by fanbois to trade my cards (I hear Steven Miller cackling manically in the background!)

I have heard comparisons made to Kim Possible. Well, I know Kim. I have played with Kim. I have taken adventures to many nations with Kim. This ... this 'game' is no Kim.

It's largely loud. It's largely intrusive (for every great screen in a perfect place like the one next to the Frontierland Shooting Gallery there are two that absolutely don't belong where they are, stand out and cause issues ... like one in the old LS hat shop that causes guests to stand in a line that blocks the walkway arcade between LS/A-land whenever you have more than 3-4 people playing that location ... or one that is smack dab in the middle of artwork for sale at the Main Street Cinema shop). Again, WDI showed no knowledge or common sense of OPs when these were placed.

The game itself? Pretty boring. I am not into scavenger hunts. Not why I visit alleged world class theme parks. So, when I finished my Fr-land adventures, I had very little desire to head to MSUSA and see what happens next.

For all the talk about this being something for kids, I noticed far more OCD 16-36 year-old fanboi types playing and holding binders with dozens of cards.

There is a purpose to the 'madness' though ... with KP you have to play the game until your adventure ends or you simply return your Kimmunicator. SotMK is designed for the future. For the NEXT GEN MK. For when guests will be standing in Fantasyland having just met Donald and Daisy (booked six months out) and are 40 minutes away from their FP window for Peter Pan opening. Instead of adding more attractions to combat the empty times, Disney feels that this is the perfect solution because once you've paused the game, you can pick it up anytime after ... even days, weeks, months ... at the same point. So, suddenly your downtime can be used to shop, dine or play.

And just wait until your wrist bracelet RFID has all your past history programmed in ... you won't even need a card ... just the flick of your wrist can send Hades back to the underworld (or TDO as it is know to us).

Oh, and as I have stated before (and was confirmed on this trip) cards that you will have to pay for are on the way as well as a line of merchandise. Cards 60-70 that all the rabid fans are eagerly awaiting are purposely being held back to create a fevered frenzy (like pin releases back in the day) ... but just wait until the special 'hidden' collector's cards (some that may be signed by the artists) find their way into the MK. EBay will be hopping!

On with the show? How about a poor performance? We'll tackle that subject next.
 

zooey

Well-Known Member
I like those Churros and Dole Whip shirts. I'd rather have more specific merchandise than more Mickey, 20(insert year) garbage. Some of that merch is pretty creative and I definitely appreciate that. Now, as far a where and how they sell that stuff on property is a whole other story.
 

HMButler79

Member
Who cares about the Norma Desmond of Magic Kingdoms when John Carter just took the biggest write off in film history. TWO HUNDRED MILLION! Eisner needs to go back and make heads roll. That no talent queen, Ross, has been a one woman train wreck.
 

c-one

Well-Known Member
I like those Churros and Dole Whip shirts. I'd rather have more specific merchandise than more Mickey, 20(insert year) garbage. Some of that merch is pretty creative and I definitely appreciate that. Now, as far a where and how they sell that stuff on property is a whole other story.

Agreed on both counts. Yes to more limited, unique merch... but also to selling in certain spots so that it stays limited and unique. But if there's one place where WDW is still a step up from the I-Drive outlet corridor, it's the merch. Low bar, I know.

Is it REALLY necessary for Disney to tell people not to drink the water out of the toilets?

Not just Disney -- I've seen lots of places do it when using non-potable water. Probably related to the sinks more than the toilets, but you never do know.
 
At least the "fanbois" you deride and degrade seem to be having fun with it all. :) Will definitely keep this thread in mind so I remember not to be this grumpy at the sight of others enjoying themselves with SotMK when I head over in May.

Alright, rant aside, your snark is hilarious but the insults can surely be done without. As can Disney's non-potable water signs...
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
It's really sad what is happening in WDW, especially with all the wonderful things happening at Disneyland. It's like day and night.:(
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
I saw the same thing in regards to the demographics playing Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom when I was there about two weeks ago. Mostly adults, alone with a binder. What made it odder to me is that they all seemed to be playing it very mechanically. Nary a sound was made as compared to the few kids who got in on the action. Cards were taken out, played, put back and off the person went to the next distracting portal.
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
I saw the same thing in regards to the demographics playing Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom when I was there about two weeks ago. Mostly adults, alone with a binder. What made it odder to me is that they all seemed to be playing it very mechanically. Nary a sound was made as compared to the few kids who got in on the action. Cards were taken out, played, put back and off the person went to the next distracting portal.

Must be that this appeals to young adults who never grew out of Pokemon card collecting.
 

Pitchforkman

New Member
I just have to ask who feels the need to outright attack people. I mean didn't people learn in grammar school that calling people names like fanboi is what a child does. I mean you are allowed to rant that is your god given right but why do the moderators allow this man, who if you take away the child like attacks has some valid points, to open a thread where he basically makes fun of anyone who enjoys their time at WDW.
 

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