A Spirited Perfect Ten

[choco choco]

Is Disney really that bereft of creative talent and ideas that they've resorted to remaking their animated classics as live-action films? Seriously, Dumbo as a live-action film? Maleficent, Cinderella, The Jungle Book and now this. What is the point? Is this really the best they can do?

It's not just the movie studios that are doing it. It's not just the music industry that is doing it (Pharrell today just got busted for copying a thirty year old Marvin Gaye song).

Now literary journalism is getting into the act. Today, Grantland released their modern, updated version of David Foster Wallace's landmark "Big Red Son."

They put a twist by having a woman write it. The essay is fine, but I can't help shake the feeling that this is just another version of the remake/retro/nostalgia trend that's going around, where even writers today can't stop from choosing to put a "contemporary spin" on a previous decade's greatest hit. The editors certainly knew what they were doing, and who they were referencing, when they greenlit the piece.

 

[Cesar R M]

There have been rumors Transformers 5 will have a predominately Chinese cast and not just window dressings like Iron Man 3.

But optimus prime is gone.. what are they gonna be about? in the future?

 

[Cesar R M]

I loved Tron Uprising, arguably better than either movie. Best Disney TV animation in a long time with great production values, a proper storyline that got better as the series progressed and none of that BS wannabe-Nickelodeon style humour. Too bad they ended it on a cliff hanger.



Must have sold enough ElecTRONica drinks, I guess.

Did they cancel the show using the same dumb excuse?(as they ended shows like Green Lantern and Young Justice?)

 

[Cesar R M]

Ah, well, that's just twisted. No wonder I haven't been back to the parks recently. I haven't studied the rigid FP+ system enough to enjoy its spontaneity.

I have, and his quote is pure BS.
if you even have to cancel your fastpasses.. you cannot get another for these attractions... ever.. even if it was a system mistake (like President Weekend's crash).
so you dont exactly have much options than wait and see how a 10 minute standby.. transforms into a30+ minutes wait thanks to the more than 75% capacity being fastpass only.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Okay, perhaps Ms. Bay, specifically, is a bad example. Besides some show regarding the NBA, I don't think I recall ever seeing anything she's done, so I can't speak to her work.

All I'm suggesting is that I don't like comparing resumés and saying someone doesn't "belong" in academia as a result of being less accomplished on paper. I think the world of higher education needs a real shake-up from the status quo and needs to bring in more outsiders. Not necessarily like Willow Bay, but with a CV with a bit more (for lack of a better term) variety.

This is totally tangential to the dialogue about the whole China article.

Okay she's a (poor) journalist and lacks the experience to be the departmental head for the Journalism dept of the university of spoiled children.

 

[bhg469]

I'm not seeing how the concept art fits with what's there. When is this supposed to be completed? Because I feel like I've been hearing about this project (the redo of PI) for years, and there's constructions walls (almost) literally all the way from the parking garage to the Marketplace.

Honestly, they could've done everyone a favor and taken a wrecking ball to Planet Hollywood. It looks like an out-of-place relic from the 90s heyday (especially with its broken neon sign tonight that read Planet Holl---ood). It's a pain to navigate around. I haven't followed the Disney Springs news closely, but Planet Hollywood is staying, right?



I'll just say the shopping looks boring and generic to me. I don't stop at the shops at Citywalk either. But I didn't see much to get excited about other than the Leaky Cauldron store. (No, wait, that was Candy Cauldron. Never mind.)



And their location is weird. Sorta set off to the side and the serving windows seemed to be out of view on the opposite side for a couple of the trucks. I guess they're hoping to catch people going to DisneyQuest or maybe people wandering further from AMC? Not sure, but yeah, they looked dead.



We dined at Raglan Road. It was really good, I liked it tremendously. But -- like most places on property -- the prices could give someone sticker shock if they didn't know the restaurant is in the overpriced capital of Florida. I'm not sure what the clientele is supposed to be for Disney Springs, but the stroller crowd and teenage selfies queens probably aren't enough to support some of these restaurants.

A really minor nitpick/observation: the music loop for the area must be pretty short. Before and after Cirque, I heard the loop repeat itself with Michael Jackson's "Rock with You," the Bee Gee's "You Should Be Dancing," and Talking Heads' "Letting the Days Go By."

Now, the choice of songs is pretty good, all things considered. The Talking Heads is extremely ironic given the lyrics, but the Bee Gee's song was the most interesting. I kept racking my brain trying think what movie this song was in. And it dawned on me it was in Despicable Me 2. Which made me want to ride Minion Mayhem. Nice work, Dis.

I went to raglan road Friday night, as it is still one of my favorite restaurants on property, probably because disney has no control over the menu..

Yeah "Disney springs" as a whole needs to be more than it is shaping up to be.

Planet Hollywood does look bad but I believe it's supposed to Have more structures surrounding it. The art also showed that it was no longer on the edge of downtown disney. I'm not sure if the marketplace side is mostly done or what with the Co op and Starbucks being complete... I did see some "imagineers" and wanted to give them a good shaking but that's just me.

 

[bhg469]

I have, and his quote is pure BS.
if you even have to cancel your fastpasses.. you cannot get another for these attractions... ever.. even if it was a system mistake (like President Weekend's crash).
so you dont exactly have much options than wait and see how a 10 minute standby.. transforms into a30+ minutes wait thanks to the more than 75% capacity being fastpass only.

Could we just be wrong and our definition of spontaneous, is completely different?

 

[flynnibus]

Planning a DLR trip for next Jan, haven't been since 2001 so I have a question. Seems like a good amount of rides went down for refurb this past Jan 12, is this something that occurs annually or are more closed than usual to prep for the 60th?

Jan/feb always have major ride closures. From the seasonal overlay removals to multiple closures. This is the norm.

 

[BrerJon]

That's a straight quote, not satire? Unbelievable. They could at least pretend, right?

Yup, straight quote from the Wired puff piece.

 

[sporadic]

That's a straight quote, not satire? Unbelievable. They could at least pretend, right?

Right on par with Apple. iPhone isn't my cup of tea, but how many options do you get compared to Android? And there's a lot of people sitting in that Apple camp that rather have other people make decisions for them.

 

[Darth Sidious]

So, that quote from the Tom Staggs interview:

"You make people happier not by giving them more options but by stripping away as many as you can."

That is pretty much the new motto for Walt Disney World, isn't it?

Staggs didn't say that, the author did but more or less he believes it and it is sorta correct. Most people like things simplified with less decisions to be made. Consider bringing a child to the Ice Cream truck, they see all those different things they can get and can't decide. If you limit it to only the top row, they can decide quickly.

It is an unfortunate reality that many people rather have a few good options to decide from rather than having to shop around through a plethora of options. People will opt for convenience if it means not having to put in full effort planning or deciding things.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Not to necessarily defend Staggs but he is sorta correct. Most people like things simplified with less decisions to be made. Consider bringing a child to the Ice Cream truck, they see all those different things they can get and can't decide. If you limit it to only the top row, they can decide quickly.

It is an unfortunate reality that many people rather have a few good options to decide from rather than having to shop around through a plethora of options. People will opt for convenience if it means not having to put in full effort planning or deciding things.

Yes, spot on.

McDonald's reached the same conclusion as Staggs. Their menu has grown needlessly complex, and too unwieldy for guests and ops alike. You can give customers too many options. McDonald's America currently streamlines its menu, while simultaneously implementing a customizable create-your-taste platform. All not dissimilar to what WDW is doing in streamlining their offerings while implementing MyMagic, a customizable create-your-trip platform.

It is the current managerial best practise. The world looks very different when one does not automatically assume Disney is ran by sinister incompetents. Well it actually is, but they have a logic to their behaviour.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

It happens. We all get older. My trip through the west virginia mountains the other day was rollercoaster enough for me.

Did you do I-64 through Beckley? That drop down into the New River Gorge is pretty impressive.

Edit: Never mind. I saw you went to Snowshoe. That mountain can get gnarley.

 

[Katie G]

Why is that strange? Marvel wasn't planning to be purchased by Disney in late 1994. Marvel was losing money at the time and they crafted a deal that was, at the time, great for themselves. By making the Marvel deal so good for Universal, declining Marvel gave themselves a near guaranteed revenue stream that would be there year after year. If you're really interested in the deal a search for "MCA Marvel agreement" on your search engine of choice should bring up the contract on the SEC website.

Thank you! This was really enlightening.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Did they cancel the show using the same dumb excuse?(as they ended shows like Green Lantern and Young Justice?)

Not only that, they deathslotted it to a latenight block with the similarly good Motorcity under the guise of "Dedicating a block to older audiences".

Why can't Disney understand that Disney XD is a ratings deathtrap for cartoons?

 

[culturenthrills]

Oh thank god, the franchise isn't dead! I'm still bitter about the cancellation of Tron Uprising.

I'm all in as long as Quorra is back. She was my favorite thing about Legacy and to me the most intriguing idea for the next movie is having her in the real world.

 

[Katie G]

That's a straight quote, not satire? Unbelievable. They could at least pretend, right?

While at initial reading it sounds terrible, there is substantial work in the field of psychology & pricing psychology that looks at what is called 'Analysis Paralysis'. Given too many options, especially if similar in product or price, consumers are more likely to NOT make a choice. But removing some of the uncertainty and offering something more simple, the % of consumers that make a choice goes up substantially.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Trying to stay away from the old "Disney is a business blah blah ..." But if your version of the Disney store went away from stocking more adult products I assume it's because it was not profitable. And we all know by now that money is king for the modern TWDC.

That statement really says it all if one looks at it with a logical mind. No organization, profit or non-profit survives without cash. Every business is required to direct their business plan to the end result of the fact that "money is king". You don't operate a retail establishment to make a bunch of "pixie dust" encrusted museum lovers have a place to walk in, browse, get on a memory high (cleaned up for a mixed audience), and then walk out. If it doesn't sell it is out. The reason? Because if it doesn't sell the place closes.

Funny, I know I'm not the oldest person on this board, but, I am amazed at how I am able to flex with the times much better then the younger folks. They all seem to want time to stand still, to somehow alter the laws of supply and demand to fit their image and if it doesn't fit that image then it is condemned as being a group of people that just don't know how to operate a business, that, of course, is not a business. What worked 30, 40, 50 or 60 years ago will not necessarily work now no matter how much we wish it would.

 

[WDWFigment]

Okay she's a (poor) journalist and lacks the experience to be the departmental head for the Journalism dept of the university of spoiled children.

She works in a superfluous position that, I'm betting, exists at other schools for similar fundraising purposes. Doubt she lacks the experience for that.

As a bit of an aside, is USC still known informally as that? I thought the school had changed its admissions a few years ago. I haven't heard more about it, so I really don't know.

 

[WDWFigment]

Did you do I-64 through Beckley? That drop down into the New River Gorge is pretty impressive.

Edit: Never mind. I saw you went to Snowshoe. That mountain can get gnarley.

New River Gorge is such an overlooked gem. I also really love Blackwater Falls; that whole area almost feels like stepping into another age.