A Spirited Valentine ...

Nmoody1

Nmoody1

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Don't know whether you're being pithy or serious, but I don't view myself (or anyone else who simply enjoys the Disney products and spends on them or is a fan) as a Lifestyler. And since I coined the phrase (I can see the Disney Twits saying 'WDW1974 is claiming he came up with Lifestylers. Yeah, sure!'), I used it for BRAND advocates (the polite word is 'influencers'), people who build online businesses and, indeed, run their lives based upon what TWDC does.


I most certainly do not.

I don't plan my life around previews of Pandora. I don't have a buyer in Tokyo to get me Duffy's newest friend (Stella Lou). I don't base my fanhood, or manhood, on how much time and money I devote to Disney and its products.

I may be a Disney manatee, who was once a whale, but I am no Lifestyler. I don't wake up in the morning and check the Disney Tweets. I don't ask myself 'What would Bob Iger want me to do?' I don't suddenly love Marvel or Star Wars because The Weatherman bought them. And I don't advocate for the BRAND.
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You had us all... Until you said you don't have someone supplying you with Stella Lou! :)
 
Buried20KLeague

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Did you happen to notice that SDL is now charging for FP's (if you want to insure you'll have them)?

This is partially due to their inability to prevent people from selling them in the parks. They are also having a major issue with people coming in and selling all kinds of cheap Disney and knockoff merchandise in the park itself. And it doesn't appear that Philippe Gas and Co are getting much cooperation from their 'partners' to shut down these businesses.

The cost is sorta insane. I looked at them for my upcoming visit and it is basically $22 for ONE anytime FP on any FP attraction. And to have one go on every FP attraction is more pricey than the actual park ticket.

So, no, this isn't the answer at all.
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Okay Spirit... I'm wading into one of your 900 page threads.

I was at SDL a couple weeks ago. I didn't see them charging for FP's, although admittedly I had tickets already so I wasn't at the booths but once. And I also didn't see the option on any of the various park maps and show guides and so forth. That being said... At least right now, I can't see why in the world they would even bother OFFERING this as an option. Unless of course the point is less about the revenue it brings and more about the principle of starting the program. Like when they added wine to the MK.

But you mentioned selling FP's in the parks. I saw this happen a handful of times.

First, on the walk to the park from the taxi drop off area, we were approached by three different men (separately) who mumbled something to us in Chinese. We just did the "no thank you" thing and kept walking, but I know at least one was trying to sell us FP's because I saw them in his hand.

But I'm not sure I agree with your comment that Disney's not doing anything about it. We used FP I think three times total over all three days, and each time, when we handed them our FP tickets at the entrance, they requested our park tickets and checked each FP against the serial numbers on our park tickets. And not just one ticket. They would check all 5 tickets. They did that each time we used FP. It was cumbersome, but I felt a fairly effective way of detering.

And we witnessed at least one example of a family getting caught. As we approached Soarin', there was quite the hubub going on at the FP entrance. There were a few security people and a couple of the suits from the park. They were in a fairly heated argument with who I assume was the father of the family. Even though we couldn't understand a word, we knew what was going on. They were blocking the FP entrance, so we had no other option than to stand there and take it all in. The argument went ON and ON... Eventually the family started walking somewhere with security. We went in the entrance, so I'm not sure if they were kicked out, or what have you.

I'll add, too, that arguments were VERY common. VERY. It was clearly a cultural thing, but we probably saw 15 heated arguments in 3 days. A person in the wrong line to get into the park that was told she had to go to a different place put up a fight for a good 3 or 4 minutes (in front of us, of course) to the point that she was let in through our gate when she shouldn't have been, for example. Parents arguing with cast when their kid wasn't tall enough. And not just for a little bit. They just didn't let up. That sort of stuff.

As for counterfeit stuff being sold... We got a LOT of that. Every single time, it was an old lady. She would walk up usually with a number of headbands with minnie's bow on them and stuff like that. The first time she walked up to my oldest daughter and said something (we don't speak Chinese) and held out a minnie bow. My daughter had no idea what was going on, so she put her hand out. Then the lady said a number (it was around $2USD) and my daughter started laughing and said "oh, no thanks". From then on, these ladies were pretty noticeable. And they seemed to have territories.

One in particular was quite smart. They have a pirate ship docked called The Siren's Revenge that you can board and it has paintings that move and puzzles and so forth. And to access it there's a bridge. Well, this lady would stand on the ship, to the side of the bridge, behind a wall on the ship. So she only had to watch that bridge to ensure she wouldn't get caught. When a worker would come toward the bridge, she'd stuff her wares in a little bag she had. But when there was nobody around, she would have them out like a concessions guy at a baseball game. It was rather funny.
 
Buried20KLeague

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
RandySavage said:
Regarding HKDL's expansion. After getting the no-go from LegCo, Disney is back with a better offer, according to hakjie11 on Micechat:
"new proposal from WDC

1/. share equally 50/50 (instead of previously HKgov 53% vs Disney 47%) in the 1.4 billion expansion funding,
The additional funding from WDC comes from HKgov exchanging 1% share. Bringing the new shareholding to 52% HKgov and 48% Disney)
2/. waive the management fee of 2018 and 2019 that HKDisney normally needs to pay WDC annually
3/. 50 000 free tickets for HK citizens ( lucky draw method)

the new proposal will be tabled as early as end of this week."

I think HK will bite as they're getting the long end of the stick in this offer.

HKDL really needs a grand slam E-ticket ASAP (which Avengers will likely be, but that's 2023 (now delayed?)), where riders get off and say "Holy cow, let's do that again!" Not the easiest nut to crack in this market, but I'm not sure Frozen Ever After or Ant-Man overlays are the answer. As much as westerners adore Mystic Manor, I wonder how much it has connected with the locals - it almost never seems to have a wait above 15 minutes and is often a walk-on, from what I can gather. Granted, the park doesn't get crowded.

Edit: Since Pooh is the park's most popular ride (which is why it got cloned for Shanghai), maybe Frozstrom will be a hit...
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A little over a week ago, I didn't wait more than 5-ish minutes for either Big Grizzly Mountain, or Mystic Manor. It honestly felt more like a location issue than anything else. It's on the opposite side of the park, with NOTHING near them, and no transportation to carry you there. It's funny... Across the pathway from Mystic Manor is a train station. When you walk up on the platform, it's right up against the rails like a real station. But the train doesn't stop there (it couldn't as it sits because the benches on the train all face in a la Disneyland). But it sure LOOKS like its intent was to function. Complete with access ramps and so forth. I'm sort of guessing it may be used eventually. But for now it's just "show", including the set of tracks that run across the path and into the basement, where the loading area is for artifacts for Lord Henry Mystic's Museum.

My point is, people tended to spend the whole day on the older side of the park, then wander over once for Big Grizzly and Mystic (and to a lesser extent Toy Story Land).

They even close all three of those areas well before the park closes. You can't do anything west of fantasyland within 45 minutes of park closing.
 
DDLand

DDLand

Well-Known Member
the.dreamfinder said:
Ex-Disney executive signed fake deals for entertainment complexes with municipalities across China.
https://nytimes.com/2017/03/29/business/china-walt-disney-fake.html
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It seemed like something like this had been happening. That's fascinating. It's the like the Wild West out there.

I wouldn't be shocked if there's a dark horse project gaining steam somewhere in China. Disney needs to be planting the seeds of a post ESPN dependent world. Another Resort in China would be a logical next step. Shanghai is on fire, they could get unbelievably good terms.

As a certain Bob Iger once said:
"And there are opportunities for other places in China given the response we’ve gotten from the Chinese people.”

I can dream and scheme right? ;)

Rodan75 said:
Looks like Disney is playing a similar long term game with HKDL as it did with DLP. http://www.investopedia.com/news/disney-offers-share-cost-hong-kong-expansion
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Seems like @RandySavage's info from MiceChat was spot on (it was MC right?).

This is more palatable. Legco should probably bite on this. Disney has been giving them a pass for years, and if they don't take this I'm not sure it gets any better.

Still it's clear that Disney's heart just isn't in it.

These political shenanigans are a little tiresome though, and they're only continuing. Some recent reactions:

Tourism sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing said the concessions by Disney were merely “a small favour” and failed to show it was sincere in tackling challenges at the park during a difficult time.

“Disney will still be charging fixed management fees even during loss-making years,” he said, noting the company’s increased investment was just a matter of purchasing shares owned by the government.

New People’s Party deputy chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun said he would vote against the “unequal deal”. Holden Chow Ho-ding, vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said he would “consider supporting” the bill but would reach a decision after consulting party members.

Democratic Party chairman and lawmaker Wu Chi-wai said his party would not support the funding application.

“The new terms do not justify the expenses incurred by Hongkongers,” he added.

http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/ec...n-proposed-struggling-hong-kong-disneyland-us

Here is the full proposal:
http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr16-17/english/fc/fc/papers/f17-01e.pdf

They're sticking to the same timeline.
 
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flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
IMG_3398.jpg


This makes me sad where the omnimover has the same wait time as Peter Pan and these others
 
DDLand

DDLand

Well-Known Member
Buried20KLeague said:
Okay Spirit... I'm wading into one of your 900 page threads.

I was at SDL a couple weeks ago. I didn't see them charging for FP's, although admittedly I had tickets already so I wasn't at the booths but once. And I also didn't see the option on any of the various park maps and show guides and so forth. That being said... At least right now, I can't see why in the world they would even bother OFFERING this as an option. Unless of course the point is less about the revenue it brings and more about the principle of starting the program. Like when they added wine to the MK.

But you mentioned selling FP's in the parks. I saw this happen a handful of times.

First, on the walk to the park from the taxi drop off area, we were approached by three different men (separately) who mumbled something to us in Chinese. We just did the "no thank you" thing and kept walking, but I know at least one was trying to sell us FP's because I saw them in his hand.

But I'm not sure I agree with your comment that Disney's not doing anything about it. We used FP I think three times total over all three days, and each time, when we handed them our FP tickets at the entrance, they requested our park tickets and checked each FP against the serial numbers on our park tickets. And not just one ticket. They would check all 5 tickets. They did that each time we used FP. It was cumbersome, but I felt a fairly effective way of detering.

And we witnessed at least one example of a family getting caught. As we approached Soarin', there was quite the hubub going on at the FP entrance. There were a few security people and a couple of the suits from the park. They were in a fairly heated argument with who I assume was the father of the family. Even though we couldn't understand a word, we knew what was going on. They were blocking the FP entrance, so we had no other option than to stand there and take it all in. The argument went ON and ON... Eventually the family started walking somewhere with security. We went in the entrance, so I'm not sure if they were kicked out, or what have you.

I'll add, too, that arguments were VERY common. VERY. It was clearly a cultural thing, but we probably saw 15 heated arguments in 3 days. A person in the wrong line to get into the park that was told she had to go to a different place put up a fight for a good 3 or 4 minutes (in front of us, of course) to the point that she was let in through our gate when she shouldn't have been, for example. Parents arguing with cast when their kid wasn't tall enough. And not just for a little bit. They just didn't let up. That sort of stuff.

As for counterfeit stuff being sold... We got a LOT of that. Every single time, it was an old lady. She would walk up usually with a number of headbands with minnie's bow on them and stuff like that. The first time she walked up to my oldest daughter and said something (we don't speak Chinese) and held out a minnie bow. My daughter had no idea what was going on, so she put her hand out. Then the lady said a number (it was around $2USD) and my daughter started laughing and said "oh, no thanks". From then on, these ladies were pretty noticeable. And they seemed to have territories.

One in particular was quite smart. They have a pirate ship docked called The Siren's Revenge that you can board and it has paintings that move and puzzles and so forth. And to access it there's a bridge. Well, this lady would stand on the ship, to the side of the bridge, behind a wall on the ship. So she only had to watch that bridge to ensure she wouldn't get caught. When a worker would come toward the bridge, she'd stuff her wares in a little bag she had. But when there was nobody around, she would have them out like a concessions guy at a baseball game. It was rather funny.
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This is super interesting. I noticed absolutely none of this when I went. Everything was orderly and I don't recall any major instances of bad behavior. If anything, I had two of the most offensive situations at Hong Kong Disneyland.

I have a theory on why this is happening in a greater abundance recently. When I went, Shanghai Disneyland had just barely started offering seasonal passes. Before season passes, entering Shanghai Disneyland to sell 2 dollar bows would have been ridiculous. You'd have to sell more than 25 per day just to break even on admission, and that doesn't factor in transportation or cost of the goods.

A season pass comes out and the whole equation changes. A weekday pass starts at $120. Selling FastPass redemptions and peddling goods becomes much more reasonable. You now have to sell only 60 bows to break even on a ticket that can access the park for months.

You can also use that same ticket to add additional revenue by reserving Fast Passes and selling those. Imagine your livelihood revolving around mastery of the FastPass system.

I personally think this abuse of the system should not be tolerated and unfairly impacts the experience of everyone else. With that said, you have to appreciate the brilliance of their strategies. I imagine this will be a problem that Shanghai Disneyland will continue to contend with for years to come.

Disney is just going to have to learn how to outsmart them. I wish them luck!

Edit: @Buried20KLeague, yeah it's not on the official site. I actually realized me and my traveling companion could have saved a little money had we bought these:
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201610/5314/
 
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Buried20KLeague

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
DDLand said:
This is super interesting. I noticed absolutely none of this when I went. Everything was orderly and I don't recall any major instances of bad behavior. If anything, I had two of the most offensive situations at Hong Kong Disneyland.

I have a theory on why this is happening in a greater abundance recently. When I went, Shanghai Disneyland had just barely started offering seasonal passes. Before season passes, entering Shanghai Disneyland to sell 2 dollar bows would have been ridiculous. You'd have to sell more than 25 per day just to break even on admission, and that doesn't factor in transportation or cost of the goods.

A season pass comes out and the whole equation changes. A weekday pass starts at $120. Selling FastPass redemptions and peddling goods becomes much more reasonable. You now have to sell only 60 bows to break even on a ticket that can access the park for months.

You can also use that same ticket to add additional revenue by reserving Fast Passes and selling those. Imagine your livelihood revolving around mastery of the FastPass system.

I personally think this abuse of the system should not be tolerated and unfairly impacts the experience of everyone else. With that said, you have to appreciate the brilliance of their strategies. I imagine this will be a problem that Shanghai Disneyland will continue to contend with for years to come.

Disney is just going to have to learn how to outsmart them. I wish them luck!
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Are you sure they offer AP's? I don't see that as an option yet. I thought there was a feeling it was COMING... But not yet offered.

Maybe it's only for China residents?
 
the.dreamfinder

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
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Daannzzz

Daannzzz

Well-Known Member
Rteetz said:
I think it is okay if it was a brand new attraction but as a redo of ToT and the fact you can see this from other parts of the park isn't good.
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One of the big issues with this is when you see it form the side. All the "accoutrements" are fastened onto the front of the building. On the sides and back there is nothing but the paint job and it makes it look unfinished or under budgeted.
 
yeti

yeti

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
View attachment 197017

This makes me sad where the omnimover has the same wait time as Peter Pan and these others
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I could be wrong but doesn't Buzz have a way lower capacity than other omnimovers? Like 900pph or something?

But to your general point though, yes absolutely. These days you need a FP to get on the Haunted Mansion or Pirates without waiting 30+ minutes. Sad!
 

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