A Spirited Valentine ...

[jakeman]

I intentionally avoid them. However, they are incredibly pervasive, even in places where I previously found more objective fan content.

I must not get out much, because this is the only place (these threads specifically) where I see them mentioned frequently.

 

[TeriofTerror]

Perhaps what is turning me off Disney the most is the bloggers and lifestylers. There is a cultish quality to it, like the way they tell horror stories from their time as CMs but then immediately insist that is was the best years of their lives. The nervous, over-enthusiastic way they praise every new parking lot and price hike makes me wonder if The Dear Leader is employing shock collars. I can accept Rohde nodding and smiling obediently because his job is on the line, but everyone else is just unsettling.

You have a fair point. There are a few I like, but none I would put in my top tier of favorite podcasts.

interested to know if anyone has a favorite podcaster or blogger that they will admit to on here...
when i mow the yard, i throw a few different podcasts on to enjoy... im tired of the ones i listen to

Well, since you asked:

Comedy
Doug Loves Movies
Failure to Launch
How Did This Get Made

History
You Must Remember This (the series she did on the Hollywood Blacklist was top-notch)
Backstory with the American History Guys

Pseudoscience/Religion/Spirituality
Oh No, Ross and Carrie (One of my absolute favorites, and Ross is actually a Disney animator... because I didn't love him enough already)

ASOIAF
Radio Westeros

Politics/Current Events
Slate's The Gist

Star Trek
The Greatest Generation

Just a few of my personal favorites.

 

[lentesta]

...I think the community as a whole started to fade/drift apart when the original WDW Today group retired...

When Newell was done, we were all done. IMHO.

 

[VJ]

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

There's nothing going on... no news or anything. Nothing to talk about. So we're left with discussion on whether or not SWL fits and whether or not some low-quality picture shows absolute proof that a parade magically traveled to France on its own.

Nothing against you, Spirit (or anyone else here), just seems like it's been a couple of slow news months. Hoping it'll pick up soon.

 

[flynnibus]

There's nothing going on... no news or anything. Nothing to talk about. So we're left with discussion on whether or not SWL fits and whether or not some low-quality picture shows absolute proof that a parade magically traveled to France on its own.

I think just the opposite. There is a lot going on..

A Major land is opening..
Disney is on the cusp of the first major transportation change in decades
Multiple Resorts are going under the knife..
Disney Springs continues to build out and open new properties..
Two other major lands are under construction...
Numerous transportation tweaks have been rolling out
Two Theme Parks are basically under major scrutiny for their long term identity...

ETA: The park's biggest fireworks show is changing.. and more!

I think it's one of the more interesting times in WDW in quite a while... but much of it has to do more with long term directions and choices.. and less about 'what do you think of the new XYZ ride' chit chat. From a business perspective and operational stance... it's huge.

 

[Absimilliard]

I think the bloom is off the rose for a lot of the Disney podcasters. Maybe I'm confusing commonality with causality, but I think the community as a whole started to fade/drift apart when the original WDW Today group retired. Their annual events seemed to rally much of that community, and serve as a common base, if not a glue.
The group at DISUnplugged still seem to be maintaining their level of popularity, but they always seemed to be a bit apart from the rest of community, anyway.
I know there's not a lot of love around these parts for Jim Hill, but I really enjoy Disney Dish, and I'll listen to just about anything upon which he and/or @lentesta make a guest appearance.
Tom C's show is the complete unmistakable garbage it's always been, and I don't think Ricky podcasts at all now.
Lou? He seems like a nice enough guy, but all of that saccharin sweetness can get to be too much. Whenever he posts a review of anything, I roll my eyes and think, "Don't tell me; let me guess. It was all the best stuff ever, and you loved everything." Not the most helpful of reviews, IMO.

I have been lucky enough to never see them at Disney, but there is one place they run rampant now: IAAPA Attraction Expo in November. The first two days of the expos, the press conference are a complete zoo due to the insane number of lifestylers and bloggers that now attend the expo. When I first returned back in 2012, the number was still manageable, but it is now so bad during the first two days that I tend to skip the press conferences entirely and return later to speak with the important people. One thing this year I noticed were a handful of bloggers who were obvious Disney plants or Celebration Plaza approved people that did not seem to grasp that this is a professional expo and that there is a dress code.

In addition to the large companies and obvious things like roller coasters, I am one of the few media that take an interest on the water park side and other things. I am also one of a handful of media who attend the four days plus extra events. I am planning on attending the Asian Attraction Expo in Singapore this year so I can meet different companies and since there will be a lot less media people around, have a better chance at interviews.

On the Disney side for me, the shine is completely off and I only go one or two days a year now when I am in town for IAAPA. I could realistically visit all 6 resorts this year, but I don't have the heart to do it. I already did Tokyo in January, will do Shanghai in October, WDW in November and I could HKDL on the way to or back from Singapore. I have other things to do though and what would it give me honestly? I'll probably have a lot more fun attending a NJPW (japanese pro wrestling) event in Osaka in June versus going to HKDL.

 

[VJ]

I think just the opposite. There is a lot going on..

A Major land is opening..
Disney is on the cusp of the first major transportation change in decades
Multiple Resorts are going under the knife..
Disney Springs continues to build out and open new properties..
Two other major lands are under construction...
Numerous transportation tweaks have been rolling out
Two Theme Parks are basically under major scrutiny for their long term identity...

I think it's one of the more interesting times in WDW in quite a while... but much of it has to do more with long term directions and choices.. and less about 'what do you think of the new XYZ ride' chit chat. From a business perspective and operational stance... it's huge.

I guess. I'm just burned out as a whole, frankly. I want to be excited but Avatar should have opened a long time ago; I'm tired of hearing about it, honestly. I wanna move onto the next big thing but that's not coming until 2019 and by that time I'll probably be burned out on SWL too.

This isn't to say others shouldn't be excited; this is just my personal view. I'm not speaking for everyone, just myself.

 

[flynnibus]

I guess. I'm just burned out as a whole, frankly. I want to be excited but Avatar should have opened a long time ago; I'm tired of hearing about it, honestly. I wanna move onto the next big thing but that's not coming until 2019 and by that time I'll probably be burned out on SWL too.

This isn't to say others shouldn't be excited; this is just my personal view. I'm not speaking for everyone, just myself.

I think the problem is as you say.. many are burned out on the negative trends that have been happening. Long periods of nothing... attractions a decade past replacement... constant assault on your wallet.. the never ending stream of upcharge events... the increased load on planning... the crowds..

There seems to be far more things pulling you down regarding a WDW trap that you must face. That cuts down on the glee when thinking about the property and it's future. But now we are back in a activity cycle with WDW... so there is lots to explore.. but many have the shine worn off with the constant assault on your wallet.

 

[ford91exploder]

I think the problem is as you say.. many are burned out on the negative trends that have been happening. Long periods of nothing... attractions a decade past replacement... constant assault on your wallet.. the never ending stream of upcharge events... the increased load on planning... the crowds..

There seems to be far more things pulling you down regarding a WDW trap that you must face. That cuts down on the glee when thinking about the property and it's future. But now we are back in a activity cycle with WDW... so there is lots to explore.. but many have the shine worn off with the constant assault on your wallet.

Agree on the negative trends at WDW and it's the intersection of never ending price increases and service cuts with the long term stagnation of the parks

There's nothing going on... no news or anything. Nothing to talk about. So we're left with discussion on whether or not SWL fits and whether or not some low-quality picture shows absolute proof that a parade magically traveled to France on its own.

Nothing against you, Spirit (or anyone else here), just seems like it's been a couple of slow news months. Hoping it'll pick up soon.

Don't worry the next round of CM layoffs and service cuts are just around the corner...

 

[ford91exploder]

I think just the opposite. There is a lot going on..


I think it's one of the more interesting times in WDW in quite a while... but much of it has to do more with long term directions and choices.. and less about 'what do you think of the new XYZ ride' chit chat. From a business perspective and operational stance... it's huge.

A Major land is opening..

Based on a IP absolutely NO ONE cares about, and from the pictures looks like the arts and crafts project where you wrap dyed rattan and sisal around an armature, Not impressed so far.

Disney is on the cusp of the first major transportation change in decades
Legitimate excitement here as at least here it looks like Disney is going back to it's roots on innovative transport solutions


Multiple Resorts are going under the knife..
But the results so far have been - basically defurbishments as theming has been removed from the resorts and in many cases a Hilton Garden Inn feels more deluxe that Disney's so called 'deluxe resorts'

Disney Springs continues to build out and open new properties..
Personally I visit theme parks for immersive experiences not dining and shopping

Two other major lands are under construction...
TSL is butt ugly where it currently exists and we are getting the 'Budget Cut Version'

SWL if we get the same 'Kind and Quality' shown at the Launch Bay well that's underwhelming

Numerous transportation tweaks have been rolling out
True
Two Theme Parks are basically under major scrutiny for their long term identity...
True
ETA: The park's biggest fireworks show is changing.. and more!
Even this is looking like a downgrade using projections to replace pyro sequences

 

[Bocabear]

I tend to agree...there is a lot going on only because there has been a lot of stagnation and deurbing going on for the last decade...I am hoping that Pandora hits it out of the park, but as far as what they are showing, it looks alot like Rivers Of Light... pretty but lacking any real substance... Hoping I am wrong but trying to manage my expectations...

 

[Angel Ariel]

interested to know if anyone has a favorite podcaster or blogger that they will admit to on here...
when i mow the yard, i throw a few different podcasts on to enjoy... im tired of the ones i listen to

If you like learning about the history of disney (both as a company, and walt himself), I highly recommend the Connecting with Walt podcast that the DisUnplugged releases every quarter. They do one show/week for a month, 4x throughout the year. I think the next one will be in April. Michael Bowling leads that podcast, and his personal stories are interesting and he does very thorough research on each topic. Michael also does a Disneyland history segment for the DisUnplugged Disneyland show...I think he's been doing a series of Disneyland through the different decades. These shows are very different than any of the other shows that the DisUnplugged does.

 

[bcoachable]

If you like learning about the history of disney (both as a company, and walt himself), I highly recommend the Connecting with Walt podcast that the DisUnplugged releases every quarter. They do one show/week for a month, 4x throughout the year. I think the next one will be in April. Michael Bowling leads that podcast, and his personal stories are interesting and he does very thorough research on each topic. Michael also does a Disneyland history segment for the DisUnplugged Disneyland show...I think he's been doing a series of Disneyland through the different decades. These shows are very different than any of the other shows that the DisUnplugged does.

I have tapped into some of those.. they are pretty informative, I would agree!

 

[bcoachable]

You have a fair point. There are a few I like, but none I would put in my top tier of favorite podcasts.

Well, since you asked:

Comedy
Doug Loves Movies
Failure to Launch
How Did This Get Made

History
You Must Remember This (the series she did on the Hollywood Blacklist was top-notch)
Backstory with the American History Guys

Pseudoscience/Religion/Spirituality
Oh No, Ross and Carrie (One of my absolute favorites, and Ross is actually a Disney animator... because I didn't love him enough already)

ASOIAF
Radio Westeros

Politics/Current Events
Slate's The Gist

Star Trek
The Greatest Generation

Just a few of my personal favorites.

Well, when the weather warms up, and I am sweating around the yard, I now have something to listen to to take my mind off of how hot it is!!
The "You Must Remember This" and "Backstory" sound super interesting

 

[Nmoody1]

And the Disney Fantasy makeover is bringing the first Tiffany store to Disney Cruise Line as well as updated star wars and Marvel to the kids areas.

 

[wdwmagic]

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.

There is quite a bit still on the master plan for Disney Springs. New builds, replacement of existing tenants in certain locations. It wont be as dramatic as what has been done, but still quite a lot to come.

 

[flynnibus]

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.

If it were just indoor build outs... from 3rd parties.. I'd agree with you. But Disney has properties right in the center of it all that are still under construction and behind walls.

and whatever happened to the interchange?

 

[lazyboy97o]

If it were just indoor build outs... from 3rd parties.. I'd agree with you. But Disney has properties right in the center of it all that are still under construction and behind walls.

and whatever happened to the interchange?

Those big spaces are third party tenants who are responsible for their own buildings.

 

[peter11435]

If it were just indoor build outs... from 3rd parties.. I'd agree with you. But Disney has properties right in the center of it all that are still under construction and behind walls.

and whatever happened to the interchange?

If you are referring to the exit ramp from I-4 directly into the orange garage it exists and is in use.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I think just the opposite. There is a lot going on..

A Major land is opening..
Disney is on the cusp of the first major transportation change in decades
Multiple Resorts are going under the knife..
Disney Springs continues to build out and open new properties..
Two other major lands are under construction...
Numerous transportation tweaks have been rolling out
Two Theme Parks are basically under major scrutiny for their long term identity...

ETA: The park's biggest fireworks show is changing.. and more!

I think it's one of the more interesting times in WDW in quite a while... but much of it has to do more with long term directions and choices.. and less about 'what do you think of the new XYZ ride' chit chat. From a business perspective and operational stance... it's huge.

Agree, there is a lot going on. But as has been mentioned in the last page or so, some of it isn't great. Thats where the pessimism/burn out comes from. WDW is seeing lots of activity and changes, but quite a bit of it is in a questionable opposite direction and the opposite of what many fans want to see. It's more movie IPs, more character overlays, more DVC, more upcharges. In other words, more of the stuff a lot of us have bemoaned for the last few years.

Yeah, things are changing, but that change is not an embrace of old school WDW theming, quality, and creativity. It's more about the current CEO wanting to leave his mark and leverage his IP acquisitions.