Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[WDW1974]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Peter Pan's Flight is the single most overrated attraction on Disney property. This doesn't mean that I dislike the attraction, it just means that I will never wait more than 10 minutes for it if I can help it. I would much rather wait 30 minutes for Little Mermaid than 30 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight.

Yes, you might want to see a therapist about that.

 

[WDW1974]

-
Lee, you are a cool guy.
This comment makes your 'coolness level' go up about twenty notches.

@Lee cool?!?!?

HAHAHHHAHHAHAHHAH!!!

I wonder what Mrs. Lee would say ...

 

[Lee]

@Lee cool?!?!?

HAHAHHHAHHAHAHHAH!!!

I wonder what Mrs. Lee would say ...

She would say I am too cool for school. I'm Kool and the Gang. A real cool cat.

*sigh*

Nah...she'd just laugh at me...

 

[Skibum1970]

She would say I am too cool for school. I'm Kool and the Gang. A real cool cat.

*sigh*

Nah...she'd just laugh at me...

Or as the guys on Sportscenter would say, "You're cooler than the other side of the pillow."

 

[Disneyfan_76]

Here in Ohio we had a situation like this for many years with the two theme parks Cedar Point and Geauga Lake. Cedar Point was the premier park...the one that all the kids wanted to go to...but it was a further drive and cost more. Geauga Lake was junky, but was closer and cheaper. Going to Cedar Point meant you'd spend more money...but the kids would be so excited about that trip they'd almost explode. And the neighbors would be jealous that you went to Cedar Point. Telling people you went to Geauga Lake was like telling them you'd just been to Wal-Mart for the day. 'That's nice', they'd say...instead of "WOW! You went to CEDAR POINT????".
Disney is the WOW! destination where people are willing to spend a lot...whereas Universal is the place to go if you really need to nickel and dime things. I think a lot of people see it that way. Looking back on all the trips my family took when the kids were young I actually regret making some of the Geagua Lake trips because going there was never a big deal for the kids...and I wish we'd just held off and saved up and done Cedar Point. Maybe that would have been the only big thing we did as a family that year...and maybe I would have had to serve Mac & Cheese more for dinner to afford it...but I don't know if doing the cheap-o trips to Geauga Lake was the right choice to make.

This is true, but I think when Sea World and Geauga Lake joined together making it one giant park for those couple of years and really invested in the rides, it was a much better park than Cedar Point. We went to both each year. I have a lot of fond memories from Geauga Lake, it's a shame what happened to it. Currently a housing developement I think. The Big Dipper was my wife's favorite ride, as well as the raging wolf bobs. Mostly because they were terribly unsafe and had a chance to eject you at any given time...lol.

 

[yoyoflamingo]

Funny how in the 70s and 80s, MK would regularly have multiple attractionw closed at the same time for routine upkeep.

And as you said earlier, DL still does now. Has happened many times to me when I'm there. Disappointed? Sure, but I know it's necessary and move on. In fact, it makes me want to come back to ride those attractions again.

If things are updated regularly, then they won't have to be don as long as they have to be now. It's simple: Preventative maintenance saves time and money in the long run. A few guest complaining shouldn't stop attractions from not literally falling apart.

 

[Goofyernmost]

One attraction?!?! DL and TDL and DLP often have multiple E-Tix down at the same time for rehabs.
One January, not all that long ago, I was at DL and Mansion, Space, Splash and BTMRR were all down. ALL of them. At once and by schedule. And that was with 'only' DCA 1.0 to hop to.

WDW is based on a 'whole is greater than the sum of its parts' yet it has gotten to the point where WDW won't close more than one major attraction among FOUR parks at once. That's ridiculous.So, now TT is open, it's time for Splash Mountain to close (rest assured they won't do a damn thing about all the show quality issues that exist), but certainly nothing else of consequence can be down because that would be a disaster.

Think about that if you're a fanboi lathering up to the thought of a mythical fifth gate. Disney has four parks that not nearly complete experiences anymore because so much has been taken away (and not built to begin with).

And you've somehow let absurd expectations by entitlement mentality guests that demand everything is open for everyone's trips become the rule over SQS.

Funny how in the 70s and 80s, MK would regularly have multiple attractionw closed at the same time for routine upkeep.

That's cause now they have you folks constantly telling everyone what a lousy bunch of managers they are. You know you would. If they closed more then one, possibly two major attractions you'd be on here screaming about how little touch Management has with the public and how it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to plan a schedule that didn't completely restrict the already crowded conditions in the parks.

 

[John]

I never ever want to take over the Spirits thread. Dosnt really matter. They always run off in so many different directions that it rarely matters.....as long as the discussion is Spirited. As some may know I am at POP right now......never again. I mean never. The elevator in building 5....the floor hasnt been mopped going on two days now. The same soda sticky mess is still there. The manager of this placed should be fired! The place isnt even up to the standard of .....forget that. There is no standard. The place is a friggin dump. That said I am pleasantly surprised with my room. Once inside everything is just peachy. Not sure how that happens.

Spent my first day at DHS......I know this sounds like a trip report. I thought about doing one but so far I dont see a reason. Back to DHS....My first observation....let me say that I know this isnt a new phenomenon but these Lycra/nylon/stretchy black things the woman are wearing......hmmmm how can I say this without getting into trouble. Well some of you ladies....god bless ya' Milk has been good to you. You been hitting the treadmill ....doing extra crunches.....you should be commended. The rest of you'all....one of two things have happened. One, someone is lieing to you....or two...none of you own a mirror. They dont look good. Sorry. I know I am not a Twilight heart throb myself....but I dont go around wearing something that is considered an 8th layer of skin.

Some might think this is a trip report but its not. Its Park news, live reporting by yours truly. I am just giving you the scoop on the black Lycra/nylon/stretchy pants story. Plus I dont have anything else to report....was distracted. I did get to ride SW three times in a row at the end of the night. Three different rides.....sweeeeeet!

 

[Hakunamatata]

Spent my first day at DHS......I know this sounds like a trip report. I thought about doing one but so far I dont see a reason. Back to DHS....My first observation....let me say that I know this isnt a new phenomenon but these Lycra/nylon/stretchy black things the woman are wearing......hmmmm how can I say this without getting into trouble. Well some of you ladies....god bless ya' Milk has been good to you. You been hitting the treadmill ....doing extra crunches.....you should be commended. The rest of you'all....one of two things have happened. One, someone is lieing to you....or two...none of you own a mirror. They dont look good. Sorry. I know I am not a Twilight heart throb myself....but I dont go around wearing something that is considered an 8th layer of skin.

Some might think this is a trip report but its not. Its Park news, live reporting by yours truly. I am just giving you the scoop on the black Lycra/nylon/stretchy pants story. Plus I dont have anything else to report....was distracted. I did get to ride SW three times in a row at the end of the night. Three different rides.....sweeeeeet!

Do they still have the Disney logo on the stretchy pants?

 

[John]

yup.

Do they still have the Disney logo on the stretchy pants?

Yup,as they are quite easy to spot. I was really hoping for the updated logo. The retro one.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The germ-a-phobe in me despises most of the interactive elements. The honey wall in the Pooh queue...ugh. I need a hazmat suit to even stand next to it. No more interactive queues....please.

What's the matter... you don't like "Park Cheese"?

 

[John]

Another tid bit of info.... I had dinner at Ohana. I noticed there were SEVERAL open tables at the five o'clock seating.....never would have thought I would see that.

 

[The Mom]

I have never in my long life gotten a flu shot. I doubt I ever will. ... Anyone I know who has, always gets sick anyway.

Got my first flu shot last year (and shingles vaccine). Didn't get sick. Got another one this year - haven't gotten sick yet. But hardly ever get sick anyway. My in-laws have gotten theirs every year (for decades), and get sick every year - but are convinced they would be even sicker without the shot. Last time I was sick was Christmas, 1978. Unless you count the myriad pregnancy related "illnesses.' I originally thought my daughter was a stomach virus.

Some people just have a stronger/weaker immune system. I attribute mine to growing up in a large family in a house with no central heat(in New England) and dozens of assorted animals - including rabbits and chickens outside in a coop, along with the usual cats and dogs. You haven't lived until you've had to chip the ice off the inside of your window to look out. Or have really had a 3 dog (or cat) night.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[Todd H]

As a teacher getting the flu shot is pretty much a given. Before I started teaching I never got the flu. After I started I ended up with it a few times from students coming to school sick. Started getting the flu shot every year and haven't had it since.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I haven't had a flu shot in 9 years.

Last time I got a BAD flu (and a trip to the hospital!) was 9 years ago. The year I got the shot. So yeah, um. I'll take my chances, thanks.

:\ But, to each their own. If getting that shot makes you feel better, by all means....


Mom, my mom thought I was a stomach virus too. LOL

 

[Goofyernmost]

Got my first flu shot last year (and shingles vaccine). Didn't get sick. Got another one this year - haven't gotten sick yet. But hardly ever get sick anyway. My in-laws have gotten theirs every year (for decades), and get sick every year - but are convinced they would be even sicker without the shot. Last time I was sick was Christmas, 1978. Unless you count the myriad pregnancy related "illnesses.' I originally thought my daughter was a stomach virus.

Some people just have a stronger/weaker immune system. I attribute mine to growing up in a large family in a house with no central heat(in New England) and dozens of assorted animals - including rabbits and chickens outside in a coop, along with the usual cats and dogs. You haven't lived until you've had to chip the ice off the inside of your window to look out. Or have really had a 3 dog (or cat) night.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

OMG, I had a mildly upset stomach last night...should I get a test done? They tell me it's tough for a man to get pregnant, but, I'd like to error on the safe side.

I am also one of the lucky ones that almost never get sick. I have (half) joked that I will probably have only one heavy duty illness in my life and that will take me out! I never got flu shots when I was younger and never had the flu, but as I got older I decided that I didn't know everything (go figure) so I would get the shots. I was especially influenced by the fact the as a veteran I get them free. So far I have had absolutely no reaction to the shots and still have never had the flu.

I assume that I also have a strong immune system. One of my children is a "health" absorbed person, but not a germaphobic. She is very conscience of diet and healthy lifestyles and is always catching something. I don't think I would recognize her if she wasn't sporting a cold. Anyway, I don't think the illnesses after a flu shot are caused by the flu shot. The time of year that one gets them is also the time of year that those minor viruses are out and about. Coincidence? Yup, that's what I think.

Now we can go back to the regularly scheduled thread.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I'm not entirely sure why this is in this thread, but as one familiar with the science, you can't get the flu from the injectable flu shot.

You also don't get autism from vaccinations.

Carry on.

 

[WDWFigment]

I'm not entirely sure why this is in this thread, but as one familiar with the science, you can't get the flu from the injectable flu shot.

You also don't get autism from vaccinations.

Carry on.

Wait... are you suggesting that I should trust scientists and medical professionals over Ace Ventura and a Playmate on these matters? You have some nerve.

What are you going to tell me next... that English scholars know more about linguistics than Honey Boo Boo?!!?!?!

 

[tracyandalex]

Ok so since I read just about every post in this thread I feel I must comment, so here it goes!

FP+ - I have no idea what to think. I am an uber planner that yes sadly gets excited about the prospect of knowing I will be able to definitely ride whatever ride we deem a must do that trip. We also always stay on-site so I would be happy to finally get a nice perk for the inflated prices we pay. My concern is the effect this will have on the stand by times over all (had a CM go off on a mini rant about FP making stand by times longer when someone asked why the wait was so long for pooh ). After reading everything I am also wondering if WDW my move to a more UNI type of FP. If FP+ being available to everyone to some degree does cause stand by times to drastically increase making for more complaints than compliments, that is a direction they could go with it. Admittedly we have not been to UNI since 2009, but at that time the waits even for stand by weren't horrendous. On the UNI aside, we are another vote for Emeril's Tchoup Choup (I have no idea if I spelled that right), it was amazing! Back to my concerns with FP+ I can definitely see how the average guest will get screwed with this. Most first timers probably don't know which rides to pick and if they let the computer pick for them who knows what kind of crap they might end up with. Also, DD4 loves meet and greets so sadly I feel a lot of our FP+s will be wasted on that at least for the next few years. I have a feeling that if we don't use them for that we will never get to meet anyone and that would truly make DD sad. I wonder if because of FP+ meet and greet reservations there will actually be less characters around the park to meet. I am assuming the random encounter that is almost completely gone now will vanish completely. I think ordering your food 6 months before you get to a dining location is just ridiculous. How the heck do I know what myself and the rest of my family will feel like eating that day.

NextGen in general - Like I said I love the uber planning, but I do not like that I have to add everyone I might see while at WDW to my account. My sister is a CM and will sometimes join us for dinner and such, so now it looks like I have to add her as a traveling companion? That neither one of us likes. What will most likely happen is I will make up a fake person to add to my family just so she can eat with us and ride rides with us. The whole system is taking some of the spontaneity out of our trips, but since DH is a TS every night kind of guy that has been at least a little missing for us for a while.

FLE - I love FLE. That being said, I wish it had been taken a step further. DD4 absolutely loves everything, but she is 4! I love the detailed themeing and I am hoping Belle's Village will be expanded on in the future. also, it would be nice to add more to the mermaid area and Snow White areas a la Carsland. As far as the Mermaid ride is concerned, I was definitely a little disappointed. I feel it could have been done much better. The queue is amazing with the details even though we could never get the crab thing to work. The story in the ride itself is a little disjointed and confusing. Oh and the clam mobiles? Seriously? Was there a discount when they bought them for the Nemo ride and so they bought a bunch extra and had them just sitting around? My main issue with the expansion is I am wondering how everything will tie together once the mine coaster is completed. I didn't really see much flow between Belle's Village and the Little Mermaid area (I don't even know what to call it). Then there is just a snow White themed coaster with a circus on the other side? And what is with the random sections of castle wall? I get that it's supposed to be the entrance to the forest, but since they are not attached to the rest of the castle wall they just look awkward and out of place to me. I am hoping there is a master plan, I'm cautiously optimistic. Finally, FLE makes the old FL look like it needs some sprucing up.

Interactive queues - DD4 loves them. I guess I don't really care either way unless as SPIRIT stated I am stuck listening to the same annoying sounds for 30 mins in the HM line which btw should not have a 30 min line!! I think they are interesting and less annoying then some kids flinging the chains around cause his/her parents are too busy on their phones to pay attention to him/her.

Ride upkeep - This is something that I generally have pixie dust colored glasses for. Unless there is something egregiousness I don't generally notice things. However, i rode SM for the first time in about 10 years last month and I could not believe how old it looked. Even having not ridden in so long that I could barely remember the ride I could tell that some effects were obviously broken. Now to PPF - all I can say is WOW. That ride needs serious TLC which I hear will probably never happen. My main beef with the ride besides that it needs a fresh coat of paint and some grease or something to make it smoother, DD almost got a concussion when the ride was restarted after stopping. Idk why the ride was stopped and it was a few minutes so DD had leaned forward to keep looking at things (she was not standing or anything like that), but when the ride restated it jerked really badly and I heard DD's head slam back into the ride vehicle and the ride vehicle continued to jerk for a few more minutes after that.

DDP and dining in general - I have never been able to justify the cost of the DDP for us so we don't use it. I do believe that the wait times were getting ridiculous before DDP took off, but DDP has definitely exacerbated it to the ridiculous point that it is today. Like others I too have noticed food quality decrease while prices steadily increase. While we do still enjoy dining at the world, I have noticed that we have been doing less TS dining recently. With FP+ I fear that my increase because we may not have time for a TS. Also, it does appear that randomly around property QS is improving as far as choices go. I am hoping that will be more widespread in the near future.
EMH - We never use the morning ones, we'd rather sleep (crazy I know)! We sometimes use the evening ones, but we visit the world a few times per year so we don't get overly upset if we miss some things. that being said I do see how not having EMH may adversely effect even the once per year folks. When we have used the evening EMH we have been able to get get a lot done and would be upset about losing this time and perk if we actually used it.

Strollers - We do still use one for DD4. Last month she did want to walk more, so I am hoping we can ditch it soon! I did notice how awful FL looked with basically rows of strollers with a little walkway between rides. my opinion is since WDW will not be able to get ride of strollers there should be one stroller parking area per land. Folks can park their strollers there, see all the attractions in FL and then go get it to move on to the next land. That is generally what we do it works out great. I hate having to hunt for stroller parking for each ride and it looks awful. Also, strollers should not be allowed in stores or dining locations, there is no room for them and unless it is medically necessary, it's not necessary.
I'm not touching ECVs because my mom really needs one (even though we can rarely convince her to use one) and she falls into all of the previously mentioned driving categories at some during our trips. She is scary with a car and worse with an ECV.

Disney wanting our $$ - This was an interesting comment by @WDW1974 because we have sorta fallen into this as well. We used to by the resort specific merchandise as well as the ride specific merchandise. Because this has gone away so have our retail dollars. We rarely buy any merchandise. We let DD pick out one thing per trip and that's it. Last month we were at the World for an entire week and I think we spent maybe $50 on merchandise. For us it is not worth it. Most of it is crap and most of what isn't can be bought online or at Walmart more less.


For us for now WDW is where DD wants to go and DH and myself too, so that is where we will continue to go - for now. We will see how things pan out and we may be finding ourselves at other places in the next few years. We love DCL and I would swap at least one of our WDW trips for DCL if DD didn't want WDW so much. i think WDW is riding on it's good name and idk how much longer that can last because the average visitor is not as informed as we are so that money stream may still have some longevity to it. While I am not overly excited about FP+ I will use to the best advantage I can and hope it is not a train wreck.

 

[yoyoflamingo]

As a teacher getting the flu shot is pretty much a given. Before I started teaching I never got the flu. After I started I ended up with it a few times from students coming to school sick. Started getting the flu shot every year and haven't had it since.

Which is interesting, because I'm a teacher too, have never gotten the flu shot, and haven't yet gotten the flu from students. As The Mom said, I think it's also a matter of people's immune systems as well.