A Spirited Perfect Ten

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Ever had Comcast service, it is absolutely terrible for the most part? Their only saving grace is Universal Studios, they are widely considered one of the worst companies in the US for customer service. Stating they reinvest is completely laughable, they have been investing in their theme parks more than Disney but are barely reinvesting in their primary business.

Comcast is indeed the embodiment of evil on their cable/internet businesses but they have been investing heavily in their media and parks products,

As to reinvesting in their primary businesses why should they they have long term exclusive franchises so like TWDC they milk the cash cow. In my town they had not finished a contracted buildout and they had the gall to demand from us 3 million in CAPEX to complete the buildout they were demanding that we fund an asset from which they were going to extract profit.

We (the board of selectmen) told Comcast to go frack themselves and we would not be renewing their exclusive franchise.
 

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Thanks. He certainly seems like he would be qualified, but I doubt he's a candidate. The guy's been with Universal Studios Florida since the start. He's a little too old to be tempted by career growth.

Like I said...money talks:greedy::greedy::greedy:

But real power talks louder and thats what he has at UNI
 

CentralFLlife

Well-Known Member
Comcast is indeed the embodiment of evil on their cable/internet businesses but they have been investing heavily in their media and parks products,

As to reinvesting in their primary businesses why should they they have long term exclusive franchises so like TWDC they milk the cash cow. In my town they had not finished a contracted buildout and they had the gall to demand from us 3 million in CAPEX to complete the buildout they were demanding that we fund an asset from which they were going to extract profit.

We (the board of selectmen) told Comcast to go frack themselves and we would not be renewing their exclusive franchise.
Ive dealt with Comcast in person, and I can say face to face the people working in their offices are every bit as awful as their service reps over the phone, its an organizational commitment apparently.

The company I worked for just relocated, about 20 miles away from where we used to be in the western Chicago suburbs. We previously had an account with them at our old location and had set up to transfer the account to our new one, which according to them fell within their service area so the service agreement was extended, something they insisted upon.

Well after we had moved and were ready for them to install everything they informed our IT department that we are 1 mile outside of their service area, but its close enough to still be considered in their service area and they can install a line for us... at the price of 30K. Needless to say we returned all our Comcast equipment to the local office and have found another isp.

It is impossible for any part of that company to generate enough goodwill to make up for the abysmal customer service. I wonder if Uni's attendance would take a hit if more people knew that every penny they spent there went into Comcast's pockets.
 

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
I think using Comcast in that context is like the Hitler rule. you automatically lose the argument.

You mean Godwin's Law, Well lets face it we have Comcast and TWDC a pair of evil media outfits, The original topic was well if UNI's management comes to Disney it will be with a larger and more rewarding company. Where the reality is Comcast is the biggest dog in the media business with a small P&R divsion
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
@WDW1974 question and I may have missed you hitting upon it in the past.

The rumors are fast and furiously growing about the impending doom of Echo Lake. The more frequent rumor hitting Twitterville is that Gertie the Dinosaur and Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner along with the lake is really scheduled for the wrecking ball???? Any thoughts? Frankly, while not greatly attached, it is one of the few areas that has some charm from the standard rectangle, stucco buildings.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Precisely, What 7DMT is missing is show scenes which were cut for cost reasons, 7DMT was never meant to be a 'Thrill' ride but it's primary problem is the 'Is that ALL there is after waiting 2 hours' feeling at the end of the ride.

A funny anecdote I heard from a woman on the way out:
"we waited two minutes for every second that lasted."

I enjoy SDMT, but also wish the ride was much longer.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Disney difference


Any photos of the animatronics used in this attraction? They are pretty nice.
I can understand why these props are cheap: they are handled by hundreds of guests each day.

Anecdotal observation:
Despite not having kids (yet) we decided to go through this once. I thought it was cute, and the kids seemed to love being able to participate. It's much more than a meet and greet. It's more of a show. I hate seeing this specific attraction thrown in the mud all the time. JMO
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
You have got to be kidding me, but I know you are not.

Lou has been selling stuff right and left lately. I saw a few weeks back his own book on economical WDW travel up on eBay. Heard it paled in comparison to his trivia books of yesteryear. I'm surprised he just doesn't give the junk away to friends or his loyal Box people. Hear his sight has been down for days, so says twitterville anyhow. He seems to be moving away from WDW to his new found love, guest speaking about podcasts and launching your own businesses. He seems to have a very short attention span from business venture to business venture. Though for whatever reason he seems to make a go of them big time for the short term, until he Moves Forward. Has got to drive the Wifey nuts.

But back to the roof... as @asianway spoke to. That house has been remodeled so many times and at points pretty butchered. It is 2 blocks from where my husband grew up. They seem to have some distant relative of Walt & Roy's that wants to turn it into a museum and last I heard looking for funding. Fortunately it is on a corner so it lends itself to a bit more security however that is a highly populated residential area with zip parking. No parking lots so a museum I kinda laugh. Plus it is very small. In Northern IL with the wind and harsh winters, spring hails we are hard pressed to get 10 years out of a roof at times. Not likely Walt & Roys roof in all reality.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
No, it shows a closed attraction that has no announced replacement and no construction being cleverly hidden by CMs with MAGICal hoola hoops.

Remember when Disney parks were world class theme parks?

But if you removed said cast members out "hanging out with guests" we'd have a whole new thread hear talking about how they were cut and if we "Remember when Disney parks were world class theme parks" with lively streetmosphere and friendly cast members.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Meanwhile, children in early 90s Disney MGM Studios got to wear actual costumes for silly interactive show dealies/opportunities for DIsney to sell souvenir VHS tapes to parents



Hopefully only during the winter. They might get a little sticky by the end of a summer day :depressed:
 

Smiddimizer

Well-Known Member
If it were just your opinion that counted I would agree with you. I have only seen You-Tube presentations of it and being a single, old man, the likelihood that I will ever see it is probably pretty small, so I have to rely on the opinions of others. However, the thing is that, individually we cannot give out passing or failing grades. The best we can do is say we like it personally or we don't. The overwhelming response to it when questioning the folks that it is targeted to, is that it is a very good, well liked attraction. They are really the only ones that count as long as it remains popular. When that stops happening, then we can evaluate whether or not it was a success overall. Movies have an art, but, the art is wasted unless people like it. For example, I know many people that love "Gone With The Wind" a classic old movie. I painfully sat through it once and "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damm, if I ever see it again in my lifetime. That doesn't mean that it wasn't artful or a success as a movie. My not liking it had no bearing on it as a work of art. The fact that many people did is what puts it in the category of a success.

Like most rides I can't assume that it's an objective failure, but it remains a creative one. It goes without saying that this is my opinion. I think we can leave it at that.
 

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
M&Gs seem to also have some of the longest lines in the parks, especially for princesses and Ariel proving that there are an awful lot of guests willing to pay and sit in the long lines for the experience.

I won't and generally don't care about them but it is obvious to me that there is a very high demand for them. I don't see it as Disney going the cheap route, they are trying to satisfy unmet demand for them.
probably because M&G lets you have interactive stuff with your kids.
Most attractions you have to wait 30+ minutes.. for a 2 minute hurray.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
But if you removed said cast members out "hanging out with guests" we'd have a whole new thread hear talking about how they were cut and if we "Remember when Disney parks were world class theme parks" with lively streetmosphere and friendly cast members.

Valid point. Disney can be darned if they do and darned if they don't in these situations.

But my point in posting that photo was that they closed the Backlot Tour over four months ago and haven't announced a replacement, and there's no apparent work happening to demolish it or begin construction on another concept. The ride, originally the entire reason the park existed, was simply closed without any announcement or any work happening for its future. The current and future status of DHS is getting really weird. They just need to fess up and say something!

And that's very different from how they handled DCA 2.0, recent additions at Disneyland Park, and the most recent burst of info from Anaheim regarding the multiple new rides, night parades and night spectaculars coming in 2015 and '16. It forever fascinates me how the same company can operate two different properties so differently within the same country.

Also, that Hula-Hoops-Instead-Of-Attractions photo found in 4 seconds on Google was just too good to pass up! :D
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
You mean Godwin's Law, Well lets face it we have Comcast and TWDC a pair of evil media outfits, The original topic was well if UNI's management comes to Disney it will be with a larger and more rewarding company. Where the reality is Comcast is the biggest dog in the media business with a small P&R divsion
Keep in mind though that we aren't talking about being CEO of Comcast vs being CEO of TWDC. Comcast may be a bigger company, but the P&R segment of Disney is significantly larger than Universal Parks. It is a much more high profile role that will now report to the COO but has historically been a direct report to the CEO. The head or parks at Universal reports first to the president of Universal Pictures who then reports to Steve Burke (remember him?) who is the CEO of NBC Universal who then reports in to the actual Comcast CEO. And I thought Disney had an unnecessary web of beaurocracy.

Speaking of Steve Burke, I know there was some bad blood when he left Disney, but he could be an external candidate to run TWDC should Staggs not get the nod. He is too high up the food chain to want the P&R job, but CEO might be tempting. He has some theme park experience and has run 2 major networks now (ABC and NBC). I think his falling out was more with Eisner and that crew who are gone now.
 

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