A Spirited 15 Rounds ...

[NormC]

I agree that towards the end of his "reign" he got pretty arrogant. For those of us that remember the old Spirit he shared a lot of great information. He ed a lot of people off before he left though. No doubt about that. There were definitely some persistent trolls that attacked his every word though. He couldn't even say what he had for lunch without someone criticizing his choice.

 

[britain]

I still would like someone who espouses more on the parks like he did. He filled a void left by Al Lutz for me as others only provide small tidbits instead of larger stories.

Yes, it seems we have no parks gadfly anymore. Martin gets credit for a good attitude and good information, but he always holds his cards close to his vest.

The closest thing now is @TP2000's drinking buddy.

 

[Sped2424]

He was trolled? He had his own private thread protected by the mods. He used that platform to spew all types of hate with immature name-calling. And in thanks, he kept breaking forum rules by bringing up politics.

His inside scoops, when they were right, were accompanied by rabble rousing whipping up the mobs into a frenzy.

He derided these groups as being incapable of seeing things the right way:

• the vloggers who were comped (and he was angry he wasn't comped) and packed special events (he was the source of the idea there are thousands if not tens of thousands of media taking away spots from regular guests)
• main stream media who only said nice things about Disney because Disney was constantly threatening them
• lifestylers, who are always in the parks (meanwhile, he's a DVCer who visits international parks a lot)
• anyone in the corporate structure of Disney who are only motivated by money
• superfans (i.e., pixie dusters) who couldn't see anything wrong
• current imagineers who couldn't do anything right like the old masters could
• ordinary guests because they're clueless

So, who was left to hold the right opinion? Himself. Anyone who disagreed fell into an ad hominem group.

We have other insiders who have been wrong at times... they don't get trolled (except for the small handful of dolts who don't understand the difference between inside info and rumors). They don't get trolled because they themselves don't act like giant trolls.

And when he was wrong, he almost never admitted it, and he never apologized. He was exactly the same type of people he most railed against: The Other Vlogger and The Politician whom he hated so much. But, same mold.

Remember how DHS's SWL was going to be "years" after DL's? Then he had to say that by "years" he meant "one year". And he said it was going to be that late because Disney can't do anything on schedule, which was simply his assessment? And then when it was clear that wasn't going to be the case he blamed his bad info on a bad source forgetting he specifically said it was his opinion?

And how's his blog coming along he said he was going to create, because, we all know one thing about Spirit: how much he hates bloggers.

Troll.

You're not wrong with a lot here and as many have said spirit couldn't take any of what he dished out. Despite his claims otherwise. But I do want to air that while he got some wrong he got way more right and often times was the very source for a lot of stuff long before it was public. It's a mixed bag I'm sad to see his news go, not so sad to see his type of blogging style leave us. But I hope his departure can be a lesson of sorts for all of us on here how to treat each other.

 

[bclane]

He was trolled? He had his own private thread protected by the mods. He used that platform to spew all types of hate with immature name-calling. And in thanks, he kept breaking forum rules by bringing up politics.

His inside scoops, when they were right, were accompanied by rabble rousing whipping up the mobs into a frenzy.

He derided these groups as being incapable of seeing things the right way:

• the vloggers who were comped (and he was angry he wasn't comped) and packed special events (he was the source of the idea there are thousands if not tens of thousands of media taking away spots from regular guests)
• main stream media who only said nice things about Disney because Disney was constantly threatening them
• lifestylers, who are always in the parks (meanwhile, he's a DVCer who visits international parks a lot)
• anyone in the corporate structure of Disney who are only motivated by money
• superfans (i.e., pixie dusters) who couldn't see anything wrong
• current imagineers who couldn't do anything right like the old masters could
• ordinary guests because they're clueless

So, who was left to hold the right opinion? Himself. Anyone who disagreed fell into an ad hominem group.

We have other insiders who have been wrong at times... they don't get trolled (except for the small handful of dolts who don't understand the difference between inside info and rumors). They don't get trolled because they themselves don't act like giant trolls.

And when he was wrong, he almost never admitted it, and he never apologized. He was exactly the same type of people he most railed against: The Other Vlogger and The Politician whom he hated so much. But, same mold.

Remember how DHS's SWL was going to be "years" after DL's? Then he had to say that by "years" he meant "one year". And he said it was going to be that late because Disney can't do anything on schedule, which was simply his assessment? And then when it was clear that wasn't going to be the case he blamed his bad info on a bad source forgetting he specifically said it was his opinion?

And how's his blog coming along he said he was going to create, because, we all know one thing about Spirit: how much he hates bloggers.

Troll.

MisterPenguin, I feel like you are holding back. Tell us how you really feel. j/k

I think Spirit reminds me of my Uncle Bob who passed away when I was a kid and maybe that's why I miss him so much. Uncle Bob always yelled at me for standing in front of his TV. He'd tell me I was lazy and to get a job (even though I was like 10 years old). I don't think our visits ever lasted more than 10-20 minutes before he started complaining and telling my parents that there was something seriously wrong with my brother and I. It's possible that he was never even once sober during any of our visits. But then again, he always told us amazing stories and made sure we knew he cared about us. Sometimes he gave us money and that probably helped too. lol! I missed him terribly for a long time after he died. Still do. Maybe Spirit is actually my uncle Bob who had come back to haunt us. Darn you MisterPenguin if you've permanently driven away my dead Uncle Bob!!!

 

[VJ]

I had an idea that I thought of the other day that I'd like to put out there. What about instead of the Spirited threads, someone starts a "Miscellaneous Thought" thread similar to the one in the Disneyland Forum? People could go there to post odd news that doesn't deserve a full thread, as well as whatever else is on their mind, without the need to stay "on topic" like is necessary in the Spirit threads. That way there could still be an "anything goes" thread but this one could be put to rest.

i love that idea! my only worry is that i feel like a "miscellaneous thought thread" in this subforum would need to be policed more than the one in the disneyland subforum, mostly because more people post in this subforum than the disneyland one, so it would be less of a "set it and forget it" thing. ultimately it's up to @wdwmagic and/or @The Mom; if everyone can agree to follow the rules and be cool, i think it'd work out quite well

 

[Missing20K]

He was trolled? He had his own private thread protected by the mods. He used that platform to spew all types of hate with immature name-calling. And in thanks, he kept breaking forum rules by bringing up politics.

His inside scoops, when they were right, were accompanied by rabble rousing whipping up the mobs into a frenzy.

He derided these groups as being incapable of seeing things the right way:

• the vloggers who were comped (and he was angry he wasn't comped) and packed special events (he was the source of the idea there are thousands if not tens of thousands of media taking away spots from regular guests)
• main stream media who only said nice things about Disney because Disney was constantly threatening them
• lifestylers, who are always in the parks (meanwhile, he's a DVCer who visits international parks a lot)
• anyone in the corporate structure of Disney who are only motivated by money
• superfans (i.e., pixie dusters) who couldn't see anything wrong
• current imagineers who couldn't do anything right like the old masters could
• ordinary guests because they're clueless

So, who was left to hold the right opinion? Himself. Anyone who disagreed fell into an ad hominem group.

We have other insiders who have been wrong at times... they don't get trolled (except for the small handful of dolts who don't understand the difference between inside info and rumors). They don't get trolled because they themselves don't act like giant trolls.

And when he was wrong, he almost never admitted it, and he never apologized. He was exactly the same type of people he most railed against: The Other Vlogger and The Politician whom he hated so much. But, same mold.

Remember how DHS's SWL was going to be "years" after DL's? Then he had to say that by "years" he meant "one year". And he said it was going to be that late because Disney can't do anything on schedule, which was simply his assessment? And then when it was clear that wasn't going to be the case he blamed his bad info on a bad source forgetting he specifically said it was his opinion?

And how's his blog coming along he said he was going to create, because, we all know one thing about Spirit: how much he hates bloggers.

Troll.

Won't disagree with any of this......but I still miss his posts.

 

[brb1006]

I still would like someone who espouses more on the parks like he did. He filled a void left by Al Lutz for me as others only provide small tidbits instead of larger stories.

Al Lutz?

 

[Missing20K]

He was in charge of the MiceAge updates over on MiceChat until his health made it difficult for him to do so. His articles were similar to Spirit's posts here.

I found Spirit to be far more humorous than Al.

 

[bjlc57]

well we have not had any inside info since he has left ..and no one here. .and we do "claim" to have some insiders " had picked up the slack.. they have let the laissez faire attitude come to this whole forum.. and while Disney is announcing and doing things left and right. that doesn't mean that there is no future plans for after the 50Th.. and those plans have to be worked on NOW.. unless we are going to back to the end of the Eisner years were status quo was more then acceptable by the Kool aide drinkers.. in fact embraced. .

 

[MisterPenguin]

well we have not had any inside info since he has left ..and no one here. .and we do "claim" to have some insiders " had picked up the slack.. they have let the laissez faire attitude come to this whole forum.. and while Disney is announcing and doing things left and right. that doesn't mean that there is no future plans for after the 50Th.. and those plans have to be worked on NOW.. unless we are going to back to the end of the Eisner years were status quo was more then acceptable by the Kool aide drinkers.. in fact embraced. .

Yeah, no info at all...

Rumor - WDW Rumor and Timeline Tracker v.2

This thread is a summary of rumors from our insiders (a from a few outside insiders). Please do not start discussing the content of the rumor (e.g., whether you like it or not). However questions or discussion about the status of the rumors (e.g., is that source reliable?) are fine. For...

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I guess I never saw it as a competition between all the insiders we are blessed to have on these boards.

 

[seascape]

He was trolled? He had his own private thread protected by the mods. He used that platform to spew all types of hate with immature name-calling. And in thanks, he kept breaking forum rules by bringing up politics.

His inside scoops, when they were right, were accompanied by rabble rousing whipping up the mobs into a frenzy.

He derided these groups as being incapable of seeing things the right way:

• the vloggers who were comped (and he was angry he wasn't comped) and packed special events (he was the source of the idea there are thousands if not tens of thousands of media taking away spots from regular guests)
• main stream media who only said nice things about Disney because Disney was constantly threatening them
• lifestylers, who are always in the parks (meanwhile, he's a DVCer who visits international parks a lot)
• anyone in the corporate structure of Disney who are only motivated by money
• superfans (i.e., pixie dusters) who couldn't see anything wrong
• current imagineers who couldn't do anything right like the old masters could
• ordinary guests because they're clueless

So, who was left to hold the right opinion? Himself. Anyone who disagreed fell into an ad hominem group.

We have other insiders who have been wrong at times... they don't get trolled (except for the small handful of dolts who don't understand the difference between inside info and rumors). They don't get trolled because they themselves don't act like giant trolls.

And when he was wrong, he almost never admitted it, and he never apologized. He was exactly the same type of people he most railed against: The Other Vlogger and The Politician whom he hated so much. But, same mold.

Remember how DHS's SWL was going to be "years" after DL's? Then he had to say that by "years" he meant "one year". And he said it was going to be that late because Disney can't do anything on schedule, which was simply his assessment? And then when it was clear that wasn't going to be the case he blamed his bad info on a bad source forgetting he specifically said it was his opinion?

And how's his blog coming along he said he was going to create, because, we all know one thing about Spirit: how much he hates bloggers.

Troll.

I never knew he owned DVC points. He kept putting DVC down and saying it was ruining the property. I had some disagreements with him but always found his leaks interesting. But his constant personal attacks on Disney Management hurt his credibility.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I guess I never saw it as a competition between all the insiders we are blessed to have on these boards.

It's not really a competition. It's more like if you have two children and you love one a whole lot more than the other.

 

[TalkingHead]

I miss his rumors but also his musings about DisTwitter and the unhealthy dynamics of the fan community. I can only imagine what he’d say about the WDW personality who’s been to see Captain Marvel twelve times (and counting). Yikes.

 

[BrianLo]

sorry.. but he had the "best inside info" ever on these threads.. people state that they didn't like him.. and I don't know why.. with the exception of being told the truth... no ONE.. and I mean NO ONE HERE.. gave you the TRUE SKINNY of the inner workings at WDW. and we are all at a loss since he is gone..

He is a good guy with good information. He left because he was tired of getting trolled. And heaven forbid one of his rumors didn't come to fruition, he would get branded as a liar. He started getting challenged for everything he said. Ungrateful lot.

I liked him and I'm certain he's a super nice guy in real life. The internet persona got a bit away in the end, but I don't want to participate when he is long gone and not here to defend himself.

However, I will objectively take a stand against the later years of his inside connections. I have deep seated suspicions he completely burnt his contacts. Long before @MisterPenguin was really tracking things, Spirit's inside info completely dried up.

His last true scoop was 2013 with the SDL lineup. Perhaps that proved a bit much to whomever he was dealing with. Or perhaps a bridge was burnt for a different reason. But, I think he had a very hard time maintaining his aura with a lack of inside knowledge and that probably contributed to his departure.


I will not succumb to be one of those ignorant people that claim just because something didn't come to fruition did not mean it was at one time true... But Spirit was vehemently defending ~2 year old information that blatantly we know was that out of date retrospectively. Something those of us simply watching construction projects were picking up on and challenging him over at the time.

He was given the Guardians Mission Breakout info to potentially kill the project for WDW, but I think that was really the only missive he was given after 2015.


He literally went out dying on his sword that:
-Star Wars: Galaxies Edge was a 2021 project (I certainly believe that was true years previously, but it hadn't been true for a good 2 years once the third phase was killed to bump it up.)
-Guardians Mission Breakout was a Florida Project first and foremost. Martin was long confirming and claiming it was going to Epcot - all in the face of Spirit viciously claiming it wasn't and Universal fanbois having an absolute fit that it was completely impossible. Martin did a fantastic job of taking that all in stride.
-He went out ridiculing a certain not particularly well regarded individual who was claiming Hong Kong Disneyland was getting a new castle. In fact the day before the absolutely massive HK project reveal he claimed everything at Hong Kong was cancelled and/or stalled. It wasn't exactly a subtle project.

Again, I don't think anything he said was wrong, it was just 1-2 years out of date. There is a difference between saying something will happen and then it doesn't... and saying something definitely is not happening then it does. But he refused to acknowledge that he simply was not being fed information anymore.


Worst of all is that Iger/Chapek suddenly turned on the faucet and he was just left completely dumbfounded. Still spinning pessimism right up until D23-2017. Finally projects were rolling, Martin was hinting them left right and centre and he went out claiming essentially nothing was happening worldwide.

 

[LuvWDW2]

I liked him and I'm certain he's a super nice guy in real life. The internet persona got a bit away in the end, but I don't want to participate when he is long gone and not here to defend himself.

However, I will objectively take a stand against the later years of his inside connections. I have deep seated suspicions he completely burnt his contacts. Long before @MisterPenguin was really tracking things, Spirit's inside info completely dried up.

His last true scoop was 2013 with the SDL lineup. Perhaps that proved a bit much to whomever he was dealing with. Or perhaps a bridge was burnt for a different reason. But, I think he had a very hard time maintaining his aura with a lack of inside knowledge and that probably contributed to his departure.


I will not succumb to be one of those ignorant people that claim just because something didn't come to fruition did not mean it was at one time true... But Spirit was vehemently defending ~2 year old information that blatantly we know was that out of date retrospectively. Something those of us simply watching construction projects were picking up on and challenging him over at the time.

He was given the Guardians Mission Breakout info to potentially kill the project for WDW, but I think that was really the only missive he was given after 2015.


He literally went out dying on his sword that:
-Star Wars: Galaxies Edge was a 2021 project (I certainly believe that was true years previously, but it hadn't been true for a good 2 years once the third phase was killed to bump it up.)
-Guardians Mission Breakout was a Florida Project first and foremost. Martin was long confirming and claiming it was going to Epcot - all in the face of Spirit viciously claiming it wasn't and Universal fanbois having an absolute fit that it was completely impossible. Martin did a fantastic job of taking that all in stride.
-He went out ridiculing a certain not particularly well regarded individual who was claiming Hong Kong Disneyland was getting a new castle. In fact the day before the absolutely massive HK project reveal he claimed everything at Hong Kong was cancelled and/or stalled. It wasn't exactly a subtle project.

Again, I don't think anything he said was wrong, it was just 1-2 years out of date. There is a difference between saying something will happen and then it doesn't... and saying something definitely is not happening then it does. But he refused to acknowledge that he simply was not being fed information anymore.


Worst of all is that Iger/Chapek suddenly turned on the faucet and he was just left completely dumbfounded. Still spinning pessimism right up until D23-2017. Finally projects were rolling, Martin was hinting them left right and centre and he went out claiming essentially nothing was happening worldwide.

Thanks for the recap of his later years. I tuned him out sometime in 2014 or 2015? I actually tuned out Disney altogether for a few years when we took our money elsewhere because the product was stale but ever climbing in price, but I digress.

As for fear of chasing Martin away (mentioned up thread), in my mostly lurker observance, he is adored & respected here by the overwhelming majority. I don’t think the trolls would chase him away. He holds his ground well IMO. I also prefer his delivery immensely. It’s fun to read his tea leaves. Spririt, not so much.

 

[TwilightZone]

It's sad I am newer to the site, and only got to know unaccurate spirit. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but boy those were some heated discussions.

 

[skibum123]

You guys realize that he stopped posting here because he lost his source, right?

 

[bcoachable]

You guys realize that he stopped posting here because he lost his source, right?

Or signed a non disclosure... (hey, stranger things have happened!)

 

[brb1006]

I'm just curious to hear Spirit's thoughts on the Disney/Fox merger that just happened two days ago. Along with Peter Doctor to lead Pixar, and Jennifer Lee for Walt Disney Animation that was announced last Summer.