A Spirited Perfect Ten

[JediMasterMatt]

2nd most was a kid peeing off the bridge on the hub, post fireworks.

Stupid kid. Pee doesn't fertilize astro turf.

 

[stevehousse]

I'm surprised they are really putting in AstroTurf when there was just a big debate on the news about how it is actually dangerous to your health, all the chemicals that are used to make it and how lots of kids who play indoor sports with AstroTurf are getting sick because of it!

 

[flynnibus]

Clearly, he has an 'in' with someone because the NY Daily News actually did a story on his adventure. Apparently, Disney refused to comment, which is weird because you'd think they'd want to get in on the free publicity wagon.

Don't read into it too much. He's a decent guy who got a hard-on for photography in recent years and recently got bit by the TDL bug. This particular trip was him trying to get back to TDL and the multi-park thing is a bit of a stunt he added on and planned out ahead (and shopped around) for fun.

 

[Fe Maiden]

I'm surprised they are really putting in AstroTurf when there was just a big debate on the news about how it is actually dangerous to your health, all the chemicals that are used to make it and how lots of kids who play indoor sports with AstroTurf are getting sick because of it!

Reminds me of the famous quote by Tug McGraw. When asked if he preferred grass to AstroTurf he replied, "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."

 

[JediMasterMatt]

Changing gears ... I got multiple emails last week from DLR asking me to participate in a ''5 minute survey with 3 somewhat unusual questions'' (yes, that is how they introduced it).

I have ideas as to what Disney was trying to get to with this, but I'm curious to hear other opinions, so please offer them ...

Tom Staggs answers to the survey were secretly intercepted and are listed below:

1.) DLR has too much ...;Hourly capacity
2.) Thinking back to your most recent visit, what surprised you in a bad way; Too many things for people to do requiring too much operational overhead to run
3.) DLR doesn't have enough ...; Up charge events
4.) What did you bring with you that you wish you didn't bring?; Low expectations and came away too impressed
5.) Thinking back to your most recent visit, what surprised you in a good way?; With so much quality, there's ample opportunity to make drastic cuts everywhere
6.) DLR is too ...; Costly to operate in comparison to our Orlando property
7.) What do you wish you had brought with you?; Magic Band and my scissors to slash expenses
8.) If DLR really cared about its Guests, it would stop ...; Letting them have so much freedom to do what they want during the day
9.) If DLR really cared about its Guests, it would ...; Take control away from the guests and let us decide what's best for them and manage their day. Guests are stupid.

 

[DisDan]

Yeah, that old excuse. What age is appropriate for them to walk their wittle henies off? My first visit, I was seven and my sibling was four and we didn't get pushed around. I've seen girls who are ready for training bras being pushed around WDW.

When is enough, enough? I've been to every Disney resort that exists and nowhere is the laziness (as well as morbid obesity) so prevalent. DLR, naturally, is second. DLP? TDL? HKDL? They don't have to remove planters or merchandise in shops to make room for strollers.

Mr. Spirit, as I already replied in another post to a similar response. I get it, I don't like fostering lazy children as much as the next guy. But there are some ages where a stroller is a MUST HAVE, take for instance, our last 2 visits to the world where my DS was age 1 and 2 respectively in consecutive year visits. At 1 he flat out could barely walk and NEEDED the stroller, at age 2 he could walk and did so quite a bit but no way he could last all day and still needed a couple naps throughout the day. This is what I was alluding to in my post. Before you go and say children that age do not belong in the parks please also consider that my DD was 4 & 5 at the time of those visits and walked the entire day (we are certainly still a 1 stroller family). Last year she was just tall enough to ride everything in the park, and she did!

Since we are not visiting the world again for another couple years (at least) I am guessing next time will be stroller free.

 

[Funmeister]

And that you will not be allowed to bring beverages with you to CityWalk/USO anymore...

Didn't Universal confirm that it is temporary and just a "test?"

 

[flynnibus]

That reminds me, wonder if it's time for me to bring up my once in two year rant on the fact people let their children (and sometimes themselves) use WDW resort pools as toilets. No, I've never seen pools anywhere else on earth (and I do get around ... just ask some fanbois I know!) close daily (sometimes multiple times) because someone defecated in it. Could it be the ****ty quality of many of their guests these days?

With 'connections' to pool operations in general, I can tell you that most pool shutdowns for biological reasons are actually for people throwing up and much less for poop (minus the diaper brigade that didn't follow the rules). Kids get dehydrated and will vomit much much easier.. including being triggered by just swallowing some of the pool water. It's a big problem in community pools and why the hotter it is, the more frequent or longer breaks they enforce on kids. You force them out of the water so they will give themselves a chance to hydrate.

If there is bile, etc.. they will shutdown just the same.. and determine if they can do a localized treatment or if they need to wait for a full turnover cycle.

 

[flynnibus]

I'm surprised they are really putting in AstroTurf when there was just a big debate on the news about how it is actually dangerous to your health, all the chemicals that are used to make it and how lots of kids who play indoor sports with AstroTurf are getting sick because of it!

That is specifically about the shredded rubber bits used in playing surfaces to make it soft - not the grass, etc.

 

[Progress.City]

Changing gears ... I got multiple emails last week from DLR asking me to participate in a ''5 minute survey with 3 somewhat unusual questions'' (yes, that is how they introduced it).

What was unusual was that after about 7-8 basic questions about my last visit to DLR and how often I'm there, I was presented with nine questions. Disney wanted me to pick ANY three and answer them giving as much input as I wanted.

Kids, this is what us in the over 30 crowd used to take in school and they were called 'essay tests' and I usually did very well (unless the prof didn't like me!)

They were:

1.) DLR has too much ...;
2.) Thinking back to your most recent visit, what surprised you in a bad way;
3.) DLR doesn't have enough ...;
4.) What did you bring with you that you wish you didn't bring?;
5.) Thinking back to your most recent visit, what surprised you in a good way?;
6.) DLR is too ...;
7.) What do you wish you had brought with you?;
8.) If DLR really cared about its Guests, it would stop ...;
9.) If DLR really cared about its Guests, it would ...;

I have ideas as to what Disney was trying to get to with this, but I'm curious to hear other opinions, so please offer them ...

1.) pavement
2.) foot blisters
3.) dealers
4.) my crack pipe
5.) vitamin water
6.) dangerous
7.) barbecue sauce
8.) ...stop the Yeti from eating people!
9.) ...not be WDW!

 

[the.dreamfinder]

That is specifically about the shredded rubber bits used in playing surfaces to make it soft - not the grass, etc.

A good npr segment on the issue.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/s...-turf-spreads-recycled-rubber-raises-concerns

 

[ford91exploder]

Tom Staggs answers to the survey were secretly intercepted and are listed below:

1.) DLR has too much ...;Hourly capacity
2.) Thinking back to your most recent visit, what surprised you in a bad way; Too many things for people to do requiring too much operational overhead to run
3.) DLR doesn't have enough ...; Up charge events
4.) What did you bring with you that you wish you didn't bring?; Low expectations and came away too impressed
5.) Thinking back to your most recent visit, what surprised you in a good way?; With so much quality, there's ample opportunity to make drastic cuts everywhere
6.) DLR is too ...; Costly to operate in comparison to our Orlando property
7.) What do you wish you had brought with you?; Magic Band and my scissors to slash expenses
8.) If DLR really cared about its Guests, it would stop ...; Letting them have so much freedom to do what they want during the day
9.) If DLR really cared about its Guests, it would ...; Take control away from the guests and let us decide what's best for them and manage their day. Guests are stupid.

You stole my thunder here... was going to write something similar however you have saved me the trouble

 

[wdwtopten]

Its not just pools, or common areas as Dave pointed out.

I had just gotten on Kali with friends, full barge except for a family of four with two kids the oldest was maybe 6. As we were waiting in line and we had gotten past the merge point the kid was telling his parents he needed to go to the bathroom which they kept telling him they will go as soon as they get off the ride. Well as we board the kid is now crying he has to pee so bad. As the CM came by to check our belts she was treated to the sight of the parents lifting the child out to let him relieve himself off of the edge of the raft, accompanied with the question "Is it okay if I just hold him there so he can go over the edge and then buckle him back in" Despite saying no several different ways the parents kept repeating the same question even after the ride had stopped due to them not buckling their belts, only to finally give up and take the child to the bathroom...

I'm guessing that some of this insanity is due:

-parents trying to optimize time in the parks because it's so expensive that this is literally the only time they can afford to come to WDW.
-when the parks are busy it makes people, especially first-timers, anxious and frantic. They get FOMO (fear of missing out). They get caught up in the feeling that they have to RUSH everywhere and see EVERYTHING NOW. No bathroom breaks!
-this is closely related to the above, but being in a massive crowd, like the ones at WDW, especially in high-season, just makes people act different. They make poor decisions, or rash decisions, because they feel pressured.
-children get overwhelmed by the crazy atmosphere of a busy WDW.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

You stole my thunder here... was going to write something similar however you have saved me the trouble

The early bird gets the worm or the FP+ reservation for 7 Dwarves Mine Train.

Those poor birds, how will they ever get the worms from the Astro Turf?

 

[ford91exploder]

The early bird gets the worm or the FP+ reservation for 7 Dwarves Mine Train.

Those poor birds, how will they ever get the worms from the Astro Turf?

A worm dispenser and 180 day AWR's for the early birds...

 

[ford91exploder]

Mr. Spirit, as I already replied in another post to a similar response. I get it, I don't like fostering lazy children as much as the next guy. But there are some ages where a stroller is a MUST HAVE, take for instance, our last 2 visits to the world where my DS was age 1 and 2 respectively in consecutive year visits. At 1 he flat out could barely walk and NEEDED the stroller, at age 2 he could walk and did so quite a bit but no way he could last all day and still needed a couple naps throughout the day. This is what I was alluding to in my post. Before you go and say children that age do not belong in the parks please also consider that my DD was 4 & 5 at the time of those visits and walked the entire day (we are certainly still a 1 stroller family). Last year she was just tall enough to ride everything in the park, and she did!

Since we are not visiting the world again for another couple years (at least) I am guessing next time will be stroller free.

It's perfectly reasonable for a 1-2 y/o to have a stroller no SANE person expects a 1-2 y/o to walk for more than a few hundred feet at a stretch, They are even seen in Tokyo at that age, The problem is when you have 4-9 y/o's in a stroller(s) and we saw a bunch of that last trip.

If the kids don't get used to walking they are going to have fitness problems all their lives.

 

[ford91exploder]

LAX is woefully aged in places, but I've never got the hate some people have for it. Of course, it was one of my 'local' airports for years last decade. But it has the best fares and most connections. Orange County is almost always more pricey and is constrained by time (neighbors don't like planes overhead while they sleep!). Never found a decent flight to/from Long Beach. And Burbank and Ontario are not at all convenient to LA/OC.

I think LAX'es major issue is getting to and from it much like BOS - the only access is through overtaxed highway systems I've missed flights from BOS when I've left for the airport 6 hours before my flight (it's a 90 min drive) but if there is an accident there are NO alternate routes and traffic can jam for hours on end.

It's not the airport so much but the surrounding transportation infrastructure so people associate the transit issues with the airport. In both cases BOS and LAX are little bits of h-ll on earth for that reason.

 

[Rodan75]

That is absolutely fascinating. I have several reactions to this, one of which is "How do good leaders who know the theme park biz not already know the answers to most of these questions?"

Based on the questions, it sounds as if the leaders know what the answers are going to be and are asking the questions to get reinforcement. I think it is a positive step that the questions didn't push you into overly positive answers like the normal ones at WDW.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Wait. AstroTurf? Whaaaaa?

 

[BrerJon]

Converting WDW's real grass to astroturf will save a ton on water waste, so good for the environment in the long run. I hear Disney's Astroturf... I mean Animal Kingdom is next in line for the conversion.