A Spirited Valentine ...

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Yes, because Disney hasn't put out any movies in the past 8 decades that had a message...

When I go to a movie, I want to be entertained. I don't give a **** about the director's or writer's political agenda, the studio's wanting "a strong social message", or what the SJW's were able to get injected into the movie by whatever ridiculous means they employ. If I want to find any of that crap, I can find an avalanche of it with hardly any effort these days. Just entertain us with your movie without beating us over the head with your "message". That's all I ask.

Most any movie has a message of some sort. I just wish it were subtle. A lost art in this season. That's why I go to so few films these days.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Zootopia originally was going to be Animal James Bond until some political thing happened and they decided to jump on that due to Iger's input so makes a little sense.

 

[brb1006]

And if you look in the middle you have what some people are claiming is the drum from PTN - and that it was shipped in secret to Disneyland Paris. Oh what a beautiful morning!

I wish that photo was in HD to get a better perspective of it.

 

[brb1006]

I am so underwhelmed - looks like a large scale arts and crafts project wrapping dyed sisal around wood and wire armatures.

But the place hasn't even opened yet.

 

[Quinnmac000]

It all began with the fiery god, Krakatau (kra-kuh-TAU). Though his wrath and fury dominated the land, he couldn’t contain the adventurous spirit of his daughter, Tai Nui (tie-NOO-ee). She fell in love with a native youth named Kala (KAH-lah). And when her fiercely protective father learned of the romance, he flew into a rage. He banished Kala forever to the sky, where he became the Moon.

Overcome with grief, Tai Nui’s tears became the Sea. Krakatau then realized he had only succeeded in destroying what mattered most to him: his daughter’s happiness. Determined to reunite the young lovers, he reached into the earth and pulled it to the sky – creating the volcano of Volcano Bay. Krakatau trapped the remains of his anger and jealousy in the form of the fire spirit, Vol, whom he imprisoned deep within the volcano.

This is how the Sky, Sea and Earth united to form the paradise of Volcano Bay.

 

[TalkingHead]

I'm still looking forward to Pandora, but up to this point I wouldn't say the commercials and promos have done much to sell the land as a groundbreaking E-ticket area. Visually, the area looks like an extension of the rest of DAK -- that's good and bad. It meshes well with the park, but it's not terribly distinctive at first blush.

 

[Magic Feather]

It all began with the fiery god, Krakatau (kra-kuh-TAU). Though his wrath and fury dominated the land, he couldn’t contain the adventurous spirit of his daughter, Tai Nui (tie-NOO-ee). She fell in love with a native youth named Kala (KAH-lah). And when her fiercely protective father learned of the romance, he flew into a rage. He banished Kala forever to the sky, where he became the Moon.

Overcome with grief, Tai Nui’s tears became the Sea. Krakatau then realized he had only succeeded in destroying what mattered most to him: his daughter’s happiness. Determined to reunite the young lovers, he reached into the earth and pulled it to the sky – creating the volcano of Volcano Bay. Krakatau trapped the remains of his anger and jealousy in the form of the fire spirit, Vol, whom he imprisoned deep within the volcano.

This is how the Sky, Sea and Earth united to form the paradise of Volcano Bay.

That's right folks! When you swim in Volcano Bay, you are swimming in Godess tears. And the park icon is based on greed, anger, and hatred! ;-) All jokes aside, this is shaping up to be very nice.

 

[WDW1974]

I was thinking about what it takes to be an O-Town based blogger/podcaster/Lifestyler from a financial end and it does tell you that many of these people are relying on family and government/disability dollars to fund their life avoidance and BRAND advocacy.

Most have a WDW/DLR Premier AP and that runs almost $1,500 a person alone. Add in a UNI AP (assuming FL residency and discounts) about $300 a person. Have to have Sea World and Busch Gardens and that AP is about $200 (more if you throw Aquatica in, but most of them wouldn't be caught dead in a bathing suit). Add in Lego Land for some ... and annual buys of Halloween and Christmas party tickets (often multiple nights) and you could be talking upwards of $2,500-3,000 per person that they all pay (no one is getting comped APs to my knowledge). If the person actually has a spouse or significant other and kids ....well, that is a chunk of change. Pretty large number if you ask me or even if you don't.

 

[Nemo14]

I was thinking about what it takes to be an O-Town based blogger/podcaster/Lifestyler from a financial end and it does tell you that many of these people are relying on family and government/disability dollars to fund their life avoidance and BRAND advocacy.

Most have a WDW/DLR Premier AP and that runs almost $1,500 a person alone. Add in a UNI AP (assuming FL residency and discounts) about $300 a person. Have to have Sea World and Busch Gardens and that AP is about $200 (more if you throw Aquatica in, but most of them wouldn't be caught dead in a bathing suit). Add in Lego Land for some ... and annual buys of Halloween and Christmas party tickets (often multiple nights) and you could be talking upwards of $2,500-3,000 per person that they all pay (no one is getting comped APs to my knowledge). If the person actually has a spouse or significant other and kids ....well, that is a chunk of change. Pretty large number if you ask me or even if you don't.

But then again, there are people, many of whom post here, who spend that much for a week or 2 in the swamp bubble...
But then again, most of them are gainfully employed..

 

[Nubs70]

Eh, it's hard to watch that movie and not come to the conclusion that it was made at least partially with the idea of making a statement about race relations and social justice. It's very easy to just make an entertaining cartoon with no deep meaning and still make money if you don't care about trying to be poignant.

Oh come on, I found Don Knotts soliloquy in the 3rd act of The Apple Dumpling Gang a very moving, meaningful, and poignant commentary about the challenges facing broader society.

 

[JoeCamel]

I was thinking about what it takes to be an O-Town based blogger/podcaster/Lifestyler from a financial end and it does tell you that many of these people are relying on family and government/disability dollars to fund their life avoidance and BRAND advocacy.

Most have a WDW/DLR Premier AP and that runs almost $1,500 a person alone. Add in a UNI AP (assuming FL residency and discounts) about $300 a person. Have to have Sea World and Busch Gardens and that AP is about $200 (more if you throw Aquatica in, but most of them wouldn't be caught dead in a bathing suit). Add in Lego Land for some ... and annual buys of Halloween and Christmas party tickets (often multiple nights) and you could be talking upwards of $2,500-3,000 per person that they all pay (no one is getting comped APs to my knowledge). If the person actually has a spouse or significant other and kids ....well, that is a chunk of change. Pretty large number if you ask me or even if you don't.

But if you make it a business then the costs are deductible? Maybe with the hits and comps they have enough income to offset?

 

[TalkingHead]

I was thinking about what it takes to be an O-Town based blogger/podcaster/Lifestyler from a financial end and it does tell you that many of these people are relying on family and government/disability dollars to fund their life avoidance and BRAND advocacy.

Most have a WDW/DLR Premier AP and that runs almost $1,500 a person alone. Add in a UNI AP (assuming FL residency and discounts) about $300 a person. Have to have Sea World and Busch Gardens and that AP is about $200 (more if you throw Aquatica in, but most of them wouldn't be caught dead in a bathing suit). Add in Lego Land for some ... and annual buys of Halloween and Christmas party tickets (often multiple nights) and you could be talking upwards of $2,500-3,000 per person that they all pay (no one is getting comped APs to my knowledge). If the person actually has a spouse or significant other and kids ....well, that is a chunk of change. Pretty large number if you ask me or even if you don't.

Not to mention the people who seem to dine on property everyday. I don't care how good Homecoming is. I wouldn't eat there every week.

But I'm still amazed that some of these Orlando people seem to live for trips to DLR -- I mean, it's a big world. You live in Disney's backyard. Branch out.

I can't fathom traveling to Anaheim specifically to see the MSEP, especially if you saw the thing a thousand times rattling down Main Street at MK for the last few years.

So, yeah, the lifestyler thing still a mystery to me.

 

[MinnieM123]

Am I missing something? Or is this place dead again (or simply talking about parades that are not coming to WDW or crazyarse gondolas that are)?

Today is the annual meeting of TWDC and usually we have people doing play by play and there is nothing here (not that much of substance comes from the meetings under Iger, but they are always good for a few guffaws and a belly laugh or three!)

Anyway, sorry y'all are bored with Disney now (or you are sorta like I am and just don't have the energy to care).

Here's a link to the LAT coverage:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-...meeting-starts-with-1488993157-htmlstory.html

Just an observation from the link you posted of the shareholders meeting. From the photo, it appeared as though there were quite a few empty seats there in the audience. (I'm not a shareholder and have never been to one of these meetings. Is this average attendance, or do more people usually attend?)

 

[JoeCamel]

Just an observation from the link you posted of the shareholders meeting. From the photo, it appeared as though there were quite a few empty seats there in the audience. (I'm not a shareholder and have never been to one of these meetings. Is this average attendance, or do more people usually attend?)

Don't know about that meeting but when Jamie Diamon moved the JPM meeting to Tampa during the protests I went with my 12 share owning mother and there were 4 shareholders in the room. The rest were employees (could have been shareholders) and media. Very tightly controlled and I expect TWDC does the same as JPM.

 

[FigmentJedi]

That's right folks! When you swim in Volcano Bay, you are swimming in Godess tears. And the park icon is based on greed, anger, and hatred! ;-) All jokes aside, this is shaping up to be very nice.

 

[drew81]

The meeting was boring. I was there. The best part of the day was the D23 Be Our Guest luncheon.

 

[lazyboy97o]

1) Disney Springs (it's still just chugging along... slowly)

I don't get why there is this sudden thought that Disney Springs is still ongoing. The project is done and it has been done for awhile. The individual tenant spaces that are the responsibility of the tenant are separate projects that should always be ongoing at a shopping center.

 

[DDLand]

I don't get why there is this sudden thought that Disney Springs is still ongoing. The project is done and it has been done for awhile. The individual tenant spaces that are the responsibility of the tenant are separate projects that should always be ongoing at a shopping center.

I'm thinking of NBA Experience and Edison. They seemed like a centerpieces Disney would have wanted to fully launch the project.

You're right that the bulk of the work is done, but with anchor tenants (particularly NBA) coming along I still found it worth mentioning.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I don't get why there is this sudden thought that Disney Springs is still ongoing. The project is done and it has been done for awhile. The individual tenant spaces that are the responsibility of the tenant are separate projects that should always be ongoing at a shopping center.

Some major pieces are still being built (Edison) or not even started (NBA) and two (Paddlefish and Planet Hollywood) just opened. Walking around the place it doesn't feel finished yet.

 

[WDW1974]

That was awful. Sometimes Iger is willing to share at least a few interesting tidbits. This year's meeting was composed of the same few questions we've seen in past years or repeats of the same questions this year. Boring.

Yup. And I usually will at least play the thing online, but I was very busy today and didn't have time to sit through it. Very glad.

The most interesting piece of Parks news was Shanghai Disney nearly hitting 8 Million and him firmly saying 10 Million expected guests in the first year. That's good news.

I guess he is including my upcoming visit in that number!

Besides that boring. Two years ago we got DHS rename and last year was the cruise ships I believe.

Chapek also conducted what seems like a new interview, and our west coast fans may want to skip it:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...s-guardians-galaxy-mission-breakout/98870354/

Unlike Florida's massive Disney World, the more compact Disneyland Resort in California does not have much room for expansion, he notes. Anything new often comes at the expense of removing or changing something old. (Although the Star Wars land coming to Disneyland Park in 2019 will be located mostly in former backstage areas and won't be displacing many existing attractions.)

"Sometimes that means we need to take something great and, quite frankly, make it greater,” Chapek says. To those concerned about how the Terror of Terror might turn out after the Imagineers retool the classic ride, he reassures that Disney is "all about exceeding guest expectations. That is our mantra."

...

"We believe that [the Guardians ride] gives us an anchor for a much larger superhero presence inside Disney California Adventure," says Chapek. While he wouldn't say whether a new Marvel zone might take over a section of the existing Hollywood Land or replace it altogether, it's clear that more tights-wearing, muscle-bound do-gooders are on their way to Disneyland's sister park.

Nothing we don't know, but interesting to hear his take.

I have heard a few good things about Chappie, but they in no way come close to balancing out the bad. Someone with no business in a line of business, running the whole business (unit). But he is very much a Marvel lover as selling Marvel crap was one reason that he was on Iger's radar to begin with. And he made lots of points with this quick and cheap, by DIS standards, way of suddenly having a Marvel E-Ticket in a domestic park.