A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Katie G]

That's over 37 percent in three years. I'd imagine that's a bit more than the CPI.

You can't just take the total growth rate over time and say its bigger than CPI. You have to look at the Calculated Annual Growth Rate which would be 11% (still likely higher but not as high as you are stating)

CAGR = ((new rate/old rate) ^ (1/# of periods)) -1 or (22/16)^(1/3) - 1

 

[PhotoDave219]

You sweat?

Sweat.

Wet.

Got it going like a turbo vette.

 

[Stevek]

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!

Looks like the delay in starting construction at DHS is due to the main man and his gang getting lost!!!!!

Perhaps the shortest Darth Vader ever. And they finally found the only 3 people to never see a Star Wars movie.

 

[PhotoDave219]

You can't just take the total growth rate over time and say its bigger than CPI. You have to look at the Calculated Annual Growth Rate which would be 11% (still likely higher but not as high as you are stating)

CAGR = ((new rate/old rate) ^ (1/# of periods)) -1 or (22/16)^(1/3) - 1

We're bigger than U.S. Steel.


(Maybe someone will get the joke this time)

 

[LAKid53]

Yes, why is that? Of course, the dirty secret is that only 13 states really have Obamacare and in many of those it works largely well (like MA., but that's RomneyCare, even if he wants to pretend otherwise ... CA also seems to have a good system).

But that's not how you implement major change nationally. You can't allow states to pick and choose or you have those like FL where our governor (let's not forget he presided over the largest Medicare fraud in history and walked away with $76 million and the state of FL for his troubles) decides we're opting out. People get screwed totally.

The problem is health care can't be considered a privilege and the industry can't be run for profit like say an entertainment corporation. You can't claim to be a caring and compassionate nation when you allow people, even children, to die daily because they can't pay for medical care. That is vile and we should all be ashamed.

And thanks to our wonderful governor and the incompetent Legislature, we tax payers will be footing the bill for a special 20 day session in order for the Legislature/governor to figure a way out of the mess they created by not opting into the Medicaid expansion, which would have been paid by tax revenues already collected from Florida residents. The esteemed Legislature has to find a way to plug the $1.3B budget deficit that will occur since they decided not to expand Medicaid and the federal government said no to Scott's LIP proposal since the proposal doesn't meet ACA guidelines. And that was after Ricky made that trip to DC. So Ricky got to send a letter to state agency heads this week asking them to make plans for a shut down of state government if the Legislature cannot solve the impasse THEY created. The last time we had a shut down of state government? When Lawton Chiles was governor back in the 1990s. And it was one day. And he asked state employees to show up for work on July 1st, confident that the Legislature would pass a budget in time. This time? No such luck since the House and Senate are at opposite ends and the House decided to bail early during the regular session. But we taxpayers will be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for that special session that may solve nothing. And then state government, other than essential services, will be shutting down. All over providing another 800,000 poor Florida residents health care. It is estimated 1 in 5 elderly Floridians have no health care. Criminal in a state with an aging population like Florida; the Florida Department of Elder Affairs estimates (based on voting records) the 60+ population to be around 30%.

And Ricky flip flopping on the issue. First he was opposed. Then he was for and the Legislature shot him down last year. Now he's opposed again.

And all the Florida Legislature has to do, constitutionally, is pass a budget. Which they couldn't do in 60 days. Every time I see the commercial about how the Legislature is making Florida work and protecting the people, I want to vomit.

All this over providing another 800,000 Florida citizens health care. And I wonder how many of those 800,000 are children?

The mistake made with ACA? That it wasn't a single payer plan and the insurance companies taken out of the health care business. Got news for you folks. It's your insurance company that decides the level/quality of health care you receive, not your doctor. That an entire industry has evolved to provide billing services to insurance companies for health care is a good indication of this.

 

[Nemo14]

We're bigger than U.S. Steel.


(Maybe someone will get the joke this time)

Godfather II?

 

[PhotoDave219]

Godfather II?

Very good.

I'm gonna have to start quoting "the notebook" just to throw some people.

 

[Nemo14]

Very good.

I'm gonna have to start quoting "the notebook" just to throw some people.

I've never seen it...

 

[PhotoDave219]

I've never seen it...

Me neither but apparently it involves very soaking wet Amy Adams.

 

[AEfx]

I remember going in 1987 during the "15 Years" celebration. Guests going through the turnstiles were randomly selected to get prizes throughout the day, and one guest per day(?) got a new car. I got a free ticket to Discovery Island and River Country, which we probably wouldn't have gone to otherwise. So Disney got 2 extra paying guests to both of those places, and we were thrilled to have won something. Seems like a win-win to me.

I got a free coke...and I still remember it fondly. I believe I still have the ticket stub.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

Saw this article on Twitter about a familiar person

https://d23.com/wdis4u-martin-smith/

You look so different without the camcorder in your hand.

It's either that or those trees on Main Street.

 

[AEfx]

Ah. Well having worked in the insurance industry for a long time, most perception of evil on the insurer is due to ignorance on the part of the insured on what actually is or isn't covered in the policy contract.

I'm sure that is the perception on that end, however, the fundamental problem is that you have folks who are not trained medical professionals making medical decisions for folks every day based on line items on a spreadsheet, not patient health needs. As was stated, that the industry as a whole exists is the very root of the problem.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

This all comes back to declining levels of quality and service at WDW driven from the top down. This is a problem created by Disney management.

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was genuine concern for the WDW customer at the highest levels. There was a palpable attitude that the customer came first. However, there also was concern whether those high standards could be maintained as WDW grew. They knew it was going to be a challenge. They believed they needed to step up their game to handle the increasing crowds. They believed it was a time for a renewed investment in WDW's commitment to quality.

Instead, by the early 1990s, Eisner and Wells began pressuring WDW management to improve margins, eventually pushing out WDW's old-time leadership (who I call the Old Guard). Once Paul Pressler was put in charge of Parks & Resorts in 1998, WDW's decline was assured.

This does not mean that today's WDW stinks. It does mean that WDW has declined.

I would have graded WDW an A+ experience in the 1970s and 1980s. With all the exciting building going on through 1998, I'd even give this grade to that decade as well. I certainly don't recall seeing quality cuts back then, and I suspect that was because most of the initial cuts happened offstage or involved maintenance, which took time to take its toll. Even today, I'd give WDW a grade of a B or B+. WDW is still good but the corporate priority has shifted from "profits through quality" to just "profits", resulting in a lower grade.

Those of us who complain about today's WDW do not hate WDW. Quite the opposite. I suspect we love it at least as much as the apologists (a.k.a. pixie dusters), who seem to accept declining standards as part of the normal business cycle. We so called doom-and-gloomers simply know what WDW is capable of becoming once more, with the right leadership.

Even in the 1970s and 1980s, Guests could be demanding. However, Disney gave so much and, relative to today, charged so little that Guests overwhelmingly were grateful for the WDW experience. WDW was exceptional for its time exactly because customers were provided excellent service for relatively moderate prices. The WDW of the 1970s and 1980s did not operate like other companies of the 1970s and 1980s. The "Disney Difference" was real.

With prices being what they are today, customer expectations have been raised exactly at a time when WDW has lowered its standards. Today's CMs are dealing with more difficult customers, but that's because those CMs are being placed in more difficult situations by decisions made at corporate.

This is not a problem with WDW's Guests or Cast Members. Overwhelmingly, this is a problem created by Disney management.

Very well said.

Everyone who visits this site (well, maybe not everyone as some are too Thick to feel this way) LOVES WDW. That's the reason why we came here to begin with.

It's just some of us love the place so much that it hurts equally as much to see what it has become.

Pardon our passion.

We do understand that the problems with the resort aren't directed to anyone other than the regime that created the TDO mentality and still run the resort in a manner different from the very standards they helped create.

Every trip I make to WDW, the number of times I have a frank discussion with the poor Cast Members that are left to deal with the neglect their management has wrought continues to increase. The vast majority of them feel the same way we do. They are just powerless to do anything about it.

Change has to come from the very top down.

 

[LAKid53]

I'm sure that is the perception on that end, however, the fundamental problem is that you have folks who are not trained medical professionals making medical decisions for folks every day based on line items on a spreadsheet, not patient health needs. As was stated, that the industry as a whole exists is the very root of the problem.

So THIS!!! And I'm a retired accountant.

 

[twebber55]

I'm sure that is the perception on that end, however, the fundamental problem is that you have folks who are not trained medical professionals making medical decisions for folks every day based on line items on a spreadsheet, not patient health needs. As was stated, that the industry as a whole exists is the very root of the problem.

Education is the same way
Politicians who are clueless making important decisions

 

[AEfx]

So THIS!!! And I'm a retired accountant.

And not to mention the reams and reams of paper one needs a legal degree to actually be able to understand the coverage. My current insurance company does it mostly online, so I have no idea what it looks like printed, but I have seen folks actually have to get mailed binders full of dense jargon as their "policy".

The middleman is unnecessary and the problem. I worked at a major hospital, and there is more staff that were there for billing and dealing with insurance companies than actually ever interacted with patients. It was something like 3:2 - the ratio of people who are administrative vs. actually care givers.

This is the one thing that when you talk to folks from other countries that they just can't wrap their heads around. In this great country we have, who is supposed to be a model of humanity and possibilities, they simply do not understand how when someone gets a tragic diagnosis, such as cancer, quite often their first (and many thereafter) thoughts are of "how am I going to pay for this? will I lose my house?" not on "how do I get better".

 

[ElBriMan]

that may be a smidge over the top to what I said
I simply implied you have to question based on the info was coming from...OU is a great site but its a universal site. Brilo does a great job over there but you have to question when its about Disney....
I recall you questioning @AustinC with his article, this is no diffrent
for all I know he s exactly right im just doing what you did with Austins article questioning it
Im a member at OU so I enjoy it l but lets be honest OU is all about Universal so when somebody comes over here with a review about Poly should I just take it as gospel?

No but you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. You're missing the larger point of all this as well. Again, it's not this site v that site; this park v that park. It's about an experience that I had.

Just because my readers are pro-Universal does not mean I'm anti-Disney. That's an oversimplification, and a "Black & White" opinion. I think my body of work speaks loudly over the course of 8 years that I, myself, hold a fairly balanced opinion for all resorts.

Let me ask you this: Do you think it was justified to bring "metadata research of the photos" in all this discussion?

Maybe if I had just posted my story without pictures, I'd get some of the doubts. But c'mon guys... lol

The larger point in all this is what happens now? Still no word yet from Disney, but it's still within the 72 hr time frame. That should be the concern. Not where the story came from, but how Disney responds to a random slip-up.

 

[LAKid53]

And not to mention the reams and reams of paper one needs a legal degree to actually be able to understand the coverage. My current insurance company does it mostly online, so I have no idea what it looks like printed, but I have seen folks actually have to get mailed binders full of dense jargon as their "policy".

The middleman is unnecessary and the problem. I worked at a major hospital, and there is more staff that were there for billing and dealing with insurance companies than actually ever interacted with patients. It was something like 3:2 - the ratio of people who are administrative vs. actually care givers.

This is the one thing that when you talk to folks from other countries that they just can't wrap their heads around. In this great country we have, who is supposed to be a model of humanity and possibilities, they simply do not understand how when someone gets a tragic diagnosis, such as cancer, quite often their first (and many thereafter) thoughts are of "how am I going to pay for this? will I lose my house?" not on "how do I get better".

Or the working parent with a child with a chronic illness like asthma who ends up taking their kid to the ER for treatment because their employer doesn't offer insurance or the coverage is too expensive for them. I hired someone who took a $16,000 pay cut to return to state government because we had better health care and retirement.

I would rather the $600+ the state takes out of my retirement check every month and sends to my HMO be a much lower "tax" (since you will be spreading the cost over all taxpaying citizens) paid to the federal government and then everyone can receive medical care. Remember how HMOs were supposed to be the panacea to fix the health insurance industry back in the 1970s? How did that turn out?

And all those bean counters out of work if we had a single payer system? Well, they would work for the government reviewing claim forms previously submitted to insurance companies. And for those of you ready to pounce on this and scream how incompetent the government is, ever have your claim rejected by your insurance company? Ever dealt with some idiot accountant on the phone who knows nothing about health care but has the power to allow treatment in their hands? Yeah.....

 

[twebber55]

No but you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. You're missing the larger point of all this as well. Again, it's not this site v that site; this park v that park. It's about an experience that I had.

Just because my readers are pro-Universal does not mean I'm anti-Disney. That's an oversimplification, and a "Black & White" opinion. I think my body of work speaks loudly over the course of 8 years that I, myself, hold a fairly balanced opinion for all resorts.

Let me ask you this: Do you think it was justified to bring "metadata research of the photos" in all this discussion?

Maybe if I had just posted my story without pictures, I'd get some of the doubts. But c'mon guys... lol

The larger point in all this is what happens now? Still no word yet from Disney, but it's still within the 72 hr time frame. That should be the concern. Not where the story came from, but how Disney responds to a random slip-up.

I ll say it again
Im not dismissing it at all
And for the record I agree with your last part

 

[LAKid53]

No but you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. You're missing the larger point of all this as well. Again, it's not this site v that site; this park v that park. It's about an experience that I had.

Just because my readers are pro-Universal does not mean I'm anti-Disney. That's an oversimplification, and a "Black & White" opinion. I think my body of work speaks loudly over the course of 8 years that I, myself, hold a fairly balanced opinion for all resorts.

Let me ask you this: Do you think it was justified to bring "metadata research of the photos" in all this discussion?

Maybe if I had just posted my story without pictures, I'd get some of the doubts. But c'mon guys... lol

The larger point in all this is what happens now? Still no word yet from Disney, but it's still within the 72 hr time frame. That should be the concern. Not where the story came from, but how Disney responds to a random slip-up.

It's unfortunate that Disney has now lost a guest forever. I was staying at the Hyatt in San Francisco back in 2006 - got a knock on the door. It was the head of housekeeping with the housekeeper who serviced our room the previous day. He said that she noticed the pillow top mattress cover wasn't as fluffy as it should be and they were there to replace it. And he apologized for it not being up to par. I was gobsmacked and told him I hadn't even noticed. And let them in to change it. The cost of the same room at that hotel today? Cheaper than a full rack rate room at the GF. The GF doesn't have pillow top mattress covers on their beds - oh, god I wish they did.