A Spirited 15 Rounds ...

[Mike S]

This new ride system looks amazing

What F&F should’ve been. Wow.

 

[Quinnmac000]

What F&F should’ve been. Wow.

Dynamic is great at concepts but they suck at delivering.... their SFX coaster already is showing huge issues which is part of the reason Ferrari World's Mission Ferrari hasn't opened.

 

[englanddg]

In some cases especially in 'flyover' country after driving out the existing retail/grocery outlets the 'supercenter' is the only store in a 100 mile radius. So in a way one IS forced to shop there.

Nonsense. It's just the largest store. Just like Kmart before, and before that Sears and JC Penney...and before that, their catalogs...

Oh look, flyover country can use Amazon Prime...

Full circle.

 

[englanddg]

Very pleased with Discovery... I have to watch it again, but at the end of that final jump...

Spoiler

it appeared that there was a mirror-split thing going on, so I think that they are in the "mirror universe" or another one like it. Maybe Lorca is looking for a parallel universe where his previous crew and ship are still alive and he wants to bring them back?

As for The Orville, I also am enjoying it more and more. I think the first few eps they were finding their footing on that admittedly untrodden path between comedy and drama. Friends keep assuming it's a parody, and I have to correct them that it most certainly is not. It's just as earnest as ST is... maybe even more so sometimes (part of the issue with the comedy not fitting perfectly at every point).

Discovery is "new trek"...it's BSG Trek...

DS9.

Pretty easy to figure out what they are setting up, from the mirror universe to the fact the guy is a Klingon.

Anyhow...it's ok.

Orville is more TNG, more Roddenberry...very fun.

I like them both...differently.

 

[ford91exploder]

Nonsense. It's just the largest store. Just like Kmart before, and before that Sears and JC Penney...and before that, their catalogs...

Oh look, flyover country can use Amazon Prime...

Full circle.

Um no its not the biggest store in those cases its the ONLY store. in many cases in 'farm country' one sees entire towns shuttered except for the gas station and the town hall.

As to amazon prime that requires broadband service which in the areas i'm talking about if its available at all its on the order of 128up/56down

 

[englanddg]

Um no its not the biggest store in those cases its the ONLY store. in many cases in 'farm country' one sees entire towns shuttered except for the gas station and the town hall.

As to amazon prime that requires broadband service which in the areas i'm talking about if its available at all its on the order of 128up/56down

I am sure you are correct, when it comes to Cherry Picked, ND.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

Dynamic is great at concepts but they suck at delivering.... their SFX coaster already is showing huge issues which is part of the reason Ferrari World's Mission Ferrari hasn't opened.

Yeah, the robocoaster has been a complete fiasco. I have yet to see them operational at any Disney Park around the world.

 

[brb1006]

We've already got a perfectly good animated Star Fox, though.

But it's missing the unused female characters from 2

 

[ford91exploder]

Calm before the tsunami! They will not be able to handle the crowds. Once it enters the real opening dates, people will be very angry to find out their precious children will have to wait an entire day to just walk into the land. The opening of pandora wasn't 1/10 the level that will happen.

And the usual suspects will pontificate on how these people 'should have planned' better and/or paid for the inevitable 'guaranteed access' package.

It's a vacation not a commando mission to destroy a hardened nuclear missile silo in a reclusive rogue state. As such should not require an equivalent amount of planning.

I'll have large bowls of popcorn to eat while reading the trip reports of those whose trips were RUINED because little Johnny and Aiden could not get near SWL.

 

[ford91exploder]

I like Despicable Me 2 over the first one actually.

Regarding Mario....the worst possible Mario movie has already been made, so it can only go up from there!!

Despicable Me 2 had lots of cleverly hidden multi-layer jokes almost to the level of 'Rocky and Bullwinkle' and El Macho in the bar was over the top using the hapless rattler to nail down his tip!

As to Mario, never underestimate the ability of Hollyweird to dig new lows in filmmaking,

With the dreck Hollyweird is putting out recently it makes Bollywoods output look like high art in comparison.

 

[jakeman]

This narrative of "if SWL is busy it's a failure" is one of the weirder ones the boards have come up with.

 

[ChrisFL]

In other news, the Tolkien estate of properties is no longer being controlled by Christopher Tolkien (and most likely why the new Amazon TV deal went through)

That means there's a very good chance we are going to see a LOTR land at Universal soon

 

[bclane]

In other news, the Tolkien estate of properties is no longer being controlled by Christopher Tolkien (and most likely why the new Amazon TV deal went through)

That means there's a very good chance we are going to see a LOTR land at Universal soon

Would be a dream come true for me! I'm thinking, "Battle of the Balrog" darkride....

 

[truecoat]

In other news, the Tolkien estate of properties is no longer being controlled by Christopher Tolkien (and most likely why the new Amazon TV deal went through)

That means there's a very good chance we are going to see a LOTR land at Universal soon

Sounds like a whole new land in a new park.

 

[ford91exploder]

Would be a dream come true for me! I'm thinking, "Battle of the Balrog" darkride....

Damn what potential a ride like that has especially if they team up with WETA

 

[ChrisFL]

Sounds like a whole new land in a new park.

on the IU message board, I was mentioning how I think this would work as a fully immersive boutique park, but others don't seem to like that idea.

My thoughts:


-Fully pre-paid experience...no worrying about registers and modern money (maybe have a gift shop at the very end/outside)
-Smaller tour groups for a more personal experience
-Can appeal to the smaller rabid fanbase who would pay for a premium and authentic LOTR/Hobbit experience. As people have stated that LOTR isn't as big a draw as HP or Star Wars for people who visit theme parks. I tend to agree with this somewhat.
-They could even have some cosplay options
-A tour of the progression from Hobbiton to Mordor
-A scheduled boat ride through the lands
-No clashing with other sections of a theme park


I just think that this theme really needs its own separate experience that is not like what we've seen already in the parks.

 

[bclane]

on the IU message board, I was mentioning how I think this would work as a fully immersive boutique park, but others don't seem to like that idea.

My thoughts:


-Fully pre-paid experience...no worrying about registers and modern money (maybe have a gift shop at the very end/outside)
-Smaller tour groups for a more personal experience
-Can appeal to the smaller rabid fanbase who would pay for a premium and authentic LOTR/Hobbit experience. As people have stated that LOTR isn't as big a draw as HP or Star Wars for people who visit theme parks. I tend to agree with this somewhat.
-They could even have some cosplay options
-A tour of the progression from Hobbiton to Mordor
-A scheduled boat ride through the lands
-No clashing with other sections of a theme park


I just think that this theme really needs its own separate experience that is not like what we've seen already in the parks.

As long as they include breakfast, 2nd breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner/supper...I'm in. TAKE MY MONEY!

 

[bclane]

Damn what potential a ride like that has especially if they team up with WETA

Gives me goose bumps just to think about it!

 

[AEfx]

I am sure you are correct, when it comes to Cherry Picked, ND.

Nonsense. It's just the largest store. Just like Kmart before, and before that Sears and JC Penney...and before that, their catalogs...

Oh look, flyover country can use Amazon Prime...

Full circle.

That's just...not reality for many people.

I don't even live in "flyover" country, and for many, Wal-mart is the only option within a reasonable distance, particularly the only one they can afford.

When I was a kid, the area was full of regional retail store chains. Systematically, every one of them went out of business fifteen or more years ago. As have any "independent" stores because of Amazon. Target started to come to the area about ten years ago in a few smattering places, but their prices are simply higher and they don't carry a lot of the same merchandise and for most people they are another ten or twenty mile hike.

On the grocery side, every independent grocery store has also gone out of business. We have two regional chains remaining, one of which (Shaw's) has been rated the worst grocery store in America. I went to one for the first time in years the other day. A bag of frozen veggies, the same brand and size, cost $2.79 there. At Wal-mart, it's $1. The other chain, they don't carry nearly the breadth of product, so I can't get the same brand - but the equivalent they do have (when they aren't out of stock) is $2.

I suppose I could drive 30 miles to Whole Foods, where I can spend a week's worth of grocery money and get enough for two or three days.

I do buy most merchandise I can through Amazon, because the damage is already done with them. The business they drove out are never coming back. And I literally cannot buy many of the things I purchase "locally" unless I travel to the next state anymore. But when it comes to the basic necessities of life, I'd either go to Wal-mart, or go without.

 

[englanddg]

That's just...not reality for many people.

I don't even live in "flyover" country, and for many, Wal-mart is the only option within a reasonable distance, particularly the only one they can afford.

When I was a kid, the area was full of regional retail store chains. Systematically, every one of them went out of business fifteen or more years ago. As have any "independent" stores because of Amazon. Target started to come to the area about ten years ago in a few smattering places, but their prices are simply higher and they don't carry a lot of the same merchandise and for most people they are another ten or twenty mile hike.

On the grocery side, every independent grocery store has also gone out of business. We have two regional chains remaining, one of which (Shaw's) has been rated the worst grocery store in America. I went to one for the first time in years the other day. A bag of frozen veggies, the same brand and size, cost $2.79 there. At Wal-mart, it's $1. The other chain, they don't carry nearly the breadth of product, so I can't get the same brand - but the equivalent they do have (when they aren't out of stock) is $2.

I suppose I could drive 30 miles to Whole Foods, where I can spend a week's worth of grocery money and get enough for two or three days.

I do buy most merchandise I can through Amazon, because the damage is already done with them. The business they drove out are never coming back. And I literally cannot buy many of the things I purchase "locally" unless I travel to the next state anymore. But when it comes to the basic necessities of life, I'd either go to Wal-mart, or go without.

If you are in a market where you are 30 miles from a Whole Foods, I call shenanagins on everything else you said.

Choosing to shop at Walmart, for concenience or price, does not make it “the only option”.

It is the option you choose.