A Spirited Dirty Dozen ...

[ford91exploder]

Totally geeking out on this one and wish I could like it more than once and can I steal it?

Be my guest and enjoy

 

[jt04]

So they couldn't do too much at once, is that what you're saying? What happened to the company that could open a brand new theme park and water park in the same year no problemo? Of course I'm talking about Disney-MGM Studios and Typhoon Lagoon. Wasn't Disneyland Paris being constructed around this time as well? I'm sure it was. History doesn't lie.

Are they supposed to build at a rate dictated by a few disgruntled people on social media?

I'd rather they build at a rate that preserves quality over quantity and makes business sense. Investors are a necessary ingredient in the recipe. And progress can be seen all over property. As I always predicted would happen.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I think the park will suffer greatly from not having enough. Now, they have more entertainment than HKDL opened with, which is a positive. But attraction-wise, they really needed another 3-4 attractions (at least two of the major variety). I think (actually, I know) the detailing work and showmanship will be largely top-notch. But every land needed something else.

And swapping out Toy Story Land for temp attractions (more like BRAND experiences) for Marvel and Star Wars did nothing for capacity.

I am also stunned the park will open with only ONE full serve restaurant (much like DAK did).

I think what is there will largely be quality. There just isn't enough there ... and the cultural curve here will make Paris and Hong Kong look like Orlando.

Any updates on the shows exclusive to the park like Tarzan and the Jack Sparrow stunt show? The latter was absent during the test run last weekend.

 

[ford91exploder]

WDW really first showed signs of neglect around its 25th anniversary (1996). It just was easy to excuse because the quality was still so damn high and WDW -- under MIchael Eisner -- was growing with all sorts of kewl new things from BB to BW to DAK to New Tomorrowland to CS to even ... the All Stars to the Westside.

It started then ... but it wasn't until the early 00s that many 'critics' really became aware ... it has been a 15-20 year spiral of the place being mismanaged and neglected and used as an ATM by the parent corp.

I would venture to say that the decline stated with the closure of 20K Leagues TDO did not want the operational expense and deliberately sabotaged the ride vehicles for MDE's visit and decision on the ride's future. That was the probably the first large instance where guest satisfaction was secondary to 'making my numbers look good'.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Hong Kong is cutting back hours on its E-Tickets

FYI HK Disneyland is opening many E-ticket attractions 30 minutes after park opening and closing them 1 hour early
https://twitter.com/archreport/status/730580524717105156

 

[ford91exploder]

Are they supposed to build at a rate dictated by a few disgruntled people on social media?

I'd rather they build at a rate that preserves quality over quantity and makes business sense. Investors are a necessary ingredient in the recipe. And progress can be seen all over property. As I always predicted would happen.

Dude please put down the bong the stuff you are smoking is damaging your brain, Disney is not even spending enough to maintain the physical plant of WDW these days.

 

[ford91exploder]

Ive lived a large amount of my life around DC. I lived in NoVa when that beltway sniper happened.

From my experiences.... you can't be afraid of the "what ifs." All you end up is afraid of fear itself. (Sorry Churchill)

Its like worrying the sun will explode or a satelite/meteor will crash from the sky. Cant worry about that stuff....

Well the Sun WILL explode, actually expand to include Earth's orbit in about 4.5 billion years so we've got a little time...

 

[ford91exploder]

I can't get into too many details as i don't want this to be all about security but essentially security is to allow the illusion of safety. When people feel safe they get lax don't pay attention etc.When people go through security at an airport, concert whatever, they most likely shouldn't feel in danger. When people are like this will never happen, etc blah blah blah they become ignorant to whats around them. Then things go bad, they flip and freak out to the point that put themselves and others around them in even more danger (trampling, accidentally hitting innocent people, etc)

Terrorism is the act of using violence to entice fear into the populace. When 9/11 happened, tourism went down and people stayed home. Now more and more people are going to Disney. People feel safe. They feel secure until something rattles them. Do you think most people know the proper protocols when an active shooter occurs? How to react to a suicide bomber? I can answer that no which puts even more people in danger which is why we end up with a lot more casualties than there should be in a lot of this things occurring lately. Thats why rattled people equal less safety.

And you are definitely 100% wrong about the military aspect.

Being a volunteer for our county and state emergency management organizations I can say you are absolutely spot on, You see so many people wrapped up in their little bubble plugged into their phone listening to whatever and as such have ZERO situational awareness and they will be the FIRST casualties in a mass shooter event because they probably will not even hear the shots or the sounds of panic. This also makes them vulnerable to a lone predator who wants to grab someone off the street because they will not be aware of someone coming.

I run and mountain bike frequently and people wonder why I do not listen to music when I'm doing this, well up our way we are in the woods and large predators are not unusual and one should be aware of their surroundings in cases like this because that rustling in the woods surrounding you is probably NOT the wind and may require the use of some sort of weapon if only a loud horn. And walking in the woods is best done with a large caliber handgun and a dog.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Being a volunteer for our county and state emergency management organizations I can say you are absolutely spot on, You see so many people wrapped up in their little bubble plugged into their phone listening to whatever and as such have ZERO situational awareness and they will be the FIRST casualties in a mass shooter event because they probably will not even hear the shots or the sounds of panic. This also makes them vulnerable to a lone predator who wants to grab someone off the street because they will not be aware of someone coming.

I run and mountain bike frequently and people wonder why I do not listen to music when I'm doing this, well up our way we are in the woods and large predators are not unusual and one should be aware of their surroundings in cases like this because that rustling in the woods surrounding you is probably NOT the wind and may require the use of some sort of weapon if only a loud horn. And walking in the woods is best done with a large caliber handgun and a dog.

While privately I may have other thoughts about the details of WDW's security..... I continue to believe that its very safe and that there's nothing to be concerned about as the odds are infinitesimal of anything bad happening.

I will continue to publicly state and do my best to reassure those that read these forums and avoid any needless panic or hysteria. You really have less to worry about than driving to & from the airport to get there.

 

[ford91exploder]

Here's the first one I wrote: http://micechat.com/24073-disney-fastpass-plus/
That was before we knew the price tag.

Here's another one and a quote below it: http://micechat.com/62433-disneys-mymagic-failure/



That was back in the good old days when we only thought it cost $1.5 billion.

You were prescient with this bit from your article


Guests have previously seen these incentives manifest themselves through high demand reservations at restaurants. Currently, guests struggle to make a dinner reservation at Be Our Guest restaurant 180 days in advance because resort guests can book up to 189 days in advance. The initial fear with Fastpass+ was that it will be the dining system revisited. While capacity at attractions is higher than at a restaurant, non-resort guests are already being shut out of Fastpass+ offerings at Princess Fairytale Hall.

 

[ford91exploder]

While privately I may have other thoughts about the details of WDW's security..... I continue to believe that its very safe and that there's nothing to be concerned about as the odds are infinitesimal of anything bad happening.

I will continue to publicly state and do my best to reassure those that read these forums and avoid any needless panic or hysteria. You really have less to worry about than driving to & from the airport to get there.

Absolutely agree, Simply because of it's high value as a target WDW is probably one of the safest places one can go in the united states and there is far more security there than meets the eye.

Heck up our way some nutcase who refused his medications killed some poor woman in her house (unrelated to attacker) stole her car and went to a local mall drove car into the entrance to Macy's and went through Mall and started slashing people in a restaurant killing two more people until this mad dog was finally put down by a off duty deputy sheriff who was having dinner there.

 

[erider]

Not really. Besides, the fact Vapiano (my favorite chain Italian in Germany -- although there is one in Miami) is coming to Disney Village there really isn't much newsworthy beyond the fact the park and resort is continuing its massive rebuilding/rehabbing project as we are now 11 months away from the 25th Anniversary.

Marvel will be coming to WDSP (in place of original plans for Avatar) down the road ... but that is likely 4-5 years away.

Thanks for the DLP update. 4 - 5 years away is still a long time before any new E-ticket ride for DLP. Apparently they aren't feeling any competition from Europa Park which is expanding very fast now. Ratatouille opened in 2014, so if DLP gets a new E-ticket in 2021,that's 7 years between E-tickets. Of course I am very happy with all the refurbishments though.

 

[erider]

I would do DLP in 2018 in a heartbeat. Much of the place will look brand new. ... I am headed to Phantasialand for the first time later this year. And I love EP, absolutely love it.

Nice that you are visiting Phantasialand. They are building some great rides lately, like Chiapas, Black Mamba and now Taron. The park is not as scenic as Europa Park and is much smaller, but some of the rides are really good. I have been there many times since I live about 1,5 hours away.

 

[Bolna]

Oh! So now SDL has been basically revealed, looks fabulous, and suddenly the reason for the cuts has changed? Coincidence? Before, you insisted that it was Shanghai. Now it is NGE. Why the change? Once again, something must be up. Maybe Chappie realizes that his SDL story aint gonna work anymore. Or maybe this is you digging out of that hole.

Actually @WDW1974 was already saying in February that NGE was a huge factor with these cuts. Looks like everyone forgot about this (including the Spirit himself...). From the Cuts coming to every area of parks and resorts - thanks to Shanghai and Paris thread:

Just a quick followup on a point @Lee posted and I extrapolated on, but word from very well-placed folks came in this evening (yes, I am living the life of a true Faux Top One Percenter in Europe right now) that backed up the chatter that more than Chappie laying down the law and certainly much more than anything happening with ESPN or DLP, these cuts are all related to two factors. Just two:

1.) Shanghai Disneyland (AKA Bob Iger's biggest Legacy project, followed by Lucasfilm and Marvel) is an over budget disaster that keeps getting worse and eating money more than the typical O-Town fanboi living off of Mommy and Daddy's money. And beyond opening, this park has a guaranteed Phase II coming that hasn't been budgeted or paid for yet and,
2.) MM+ is an unmitigated failure. Don't care one iota whether you like your MAGIC Bands or if they made your sixth WDW resort stay since May of 2013 so much more MAGICal. There were financial projections/guarantees made for this project and what it was expected to achieve and, despite all that placed PR content (you recall when that Austin dude just happened to wander in here because he really cared about your opinions and wasn't doing Burbank's biding, right? and y'all lapped it up almost as sickeningly as you did the Con Man of the Hills BS mea culpa!) it can't hide the fact that it will likely never even earn back the money that has been thrown into it, yet alone result in that 11% increase so prominently and proudly crowed about for years as WDW stagnated and rotted and y'all got excited over new toilets and uncharge parties.

And I'll leave you with this nugget to ponder: TWDC and WDW have never been more profitable. So, ask yourself if this is how they handle uncharted prosperity, just how will they handle some adversity ... especially with the global economy (this time led by China) poised for a major downturn?

Don't any of you cause any discomfort by actually voicing complaints to the execs? Nope. You might find yourself relegated to UNI's parks. (Oh, and while they are certainly better in O-Town right now, the fact remains that their leadership is basically as clueless as Disney's ... The Boy Who Lived makes up for a lot of shortcomings, just don't let the UNI Wave Wanders hear I told you so!)

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

@WDW1974 A small tidbit to nibble on that it seems everyone skimmed over... You said Marvel is going on the plot of where Avatar would have been, overseas.

Were they getting a clone of what's being built in DAK or was it supposed to be something entirely new?

Is DLP and DLR getting the same Marvel ..."experiences"??

 

[Mike S]

Are they supposed to build at a rate dictated by a few disgruntled people on social media?

I'd rather they build at a rate that preserves quality over quantity and makes business sense. Investors are a necessary ingredient in the recipe. And progress can be seen all over property. As I always predicted would happen.

Universal seems to be having no problems with both quality and quantity. New attractions, new water park, new hotels, new additions to CityWalk, new 400 acres of land, etc. Keep snorting that Pixie Dust though.

Just remember that Disney used to be and is still fully capable of doing things this way. Maybe they don't need to do as much (they definitely don't need new parks or hotels) but there's no reason besides cheapness and laziness for why Epcot is still in the state it's in. Frostrom and Soarin' won't do squat except make the Norway Pavilion unbearable and a give Soarin' a capacity boost. DHS and DAK are finally seeing expansions and additions that have been needed for a very long time and will still need more after these projects are done. Will Disney go for it? I doubt it at this point. Then there's maintenance...

 

[lazyboy97o]

Universal seems to be having no problem with quality and quantity. New attractions, new water park, new hotels, new additions to CityWalk, new 400 acres of land, etc. Keep snorting that Pixie Dust though.

You see, Walt Disney Imagineering requires that PCL hand mix a secret blend of only the finest Portland cement, aggregates from the foremost quarries and the finest spring water to create a bespoke, artisanal, small batch concrete that can only be... Disney.

 

[marni1971]

Doesn't matter why that may be as long as it is happening. And clearly it is when some said it may never happen. They should be apologizing to you for deceiving you.

Thanks for being here jt.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Thanks for being here jt.

.....

Thanks for playing, come again.

 

[ford91exploder]

.....

Thanks for playing, come again.

Just wow, Words fail me but how incredibly appropriate