A Spirited Valentine ...

[HMF]

It's not. For the country, for the company or for you. ... Life often sucks and I can't even watch the news these days without wanting to scream, cry, hide and buy lots of guns at various times. But it will get better. Goodness and love do win over evil and hatred in the end. I learned that by watching Disney animated films at a young age!

Yeah, I tend to listen to the 1994 version of Spaceship Earth when I lose faith in humanity.

 

[Disney Analyst]

That is true. I read a story in the LA Times about that over the weekend. You can't have laws that change depending on what day you are traveling or who you encounter at the border. Regardless of what anyone here thinks about our recent coup, people around the world are afraid of this country and its leadership and that isn't a good thing for a multitude of reasons, including business. Other countries have beaches, outlet malls, theme parks (even Disney ones) and historic and natural sites. Many have more stable governments as well.

Indeed, and I know a lot of school groups and businesses in Canada have cancelled just out of fear of one of their students or colleagues being barred entry.

Edit to add:

Just saw a news article, Girl Guides of Canada has just cancelled all travel to the US until further notice. Interesting times.

 

[BrianLo]

Regarding the post that disappeared I think it is very very true. Every Canadian I know has vowed to not travel to the states until they feel things are going back to a sane direction. Canadians have been harassed at the border lately more then ever has happened before. I know I'm not planning any trips.

Meanwhile I just recently booked one (to WDW) for the first time in five years. Pandora and tickets at par helped... plus my general laissez fare attitude. The issues going on in the US are still very much "first world issues" compared to my usual travel adventures as far as I'm concerned.

But a good time for people to celebrate Canada's 150th. National Parks are free up here all year long!

 

[ford91exploder]

But is Disney really a BRAND or a singular, distinct identity?

It was a corporate identity up through the 'good Eisner' period it's now devolving into merely a BRAND like RCA and Westinghouse whose temporary use is sold to the highest bidder

 

[ford91exploder]

Yeah, I tend to listen to the 1994 version of Spaceship Earth when I lose faith in humanity.

Lost faith in humanity's better side long ago and realized it's the law of the jungle which rules. So I deal with things as they are and not as I want them to be

 

[ford91exploder]

Did you just call Up a "B movie?"

if you're talking about the post I think you are that's not why it was deleted. It was the reason you gave for it which was very political and a banned topic for discussion.

For me it's just work and playing my new game system. Those two things are taking precedent over this site.

No I called Monsters vs Aliens, Beowulf and similar dreck B-movies

 

[wdwmagic]

Wow, apparently any posts that hint that WDW visitor numbers might be heading in anything less than a magical direction get deleted straight away... For a moment I had to check the URL to see I wasn't on the Disney Parks Blog.

I guess that's how things are these days. Nothing to see hear anyone, everything is great, Disney has never seen so many guests, the rides are in the best condition they've ever been! Anyone telling you otherwise is just working for the dishonest fake theme parks!

That better?

Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds? Nobody can say we remove posts for such reasons.

If your statement was true, I don't think @WDW1974 would have any posts visible, and the forum would be down a few hundred thousand posts from others who share a similar view.

 

[rushtest4echo]

I will say that I just don't feel that Disney is worth the energy anymore. Even stopping in here tonight required a back and forth in my mind.

If Disney taxes you so... please do care for your health and safety and give it a rest. People as political and involved as you that have no ability to influence the company really are doing themselves a disservice by getting wound up over a media conglomerate that is enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Is it cathartic for you to vent about Chappie and Iger in the same way Lutz used to vent about Pressler and Eisner? Because the people that were doing that didn't come out of the whole ordeal in good mental health. I'm not nearly as involved as I used to be, but friends and other "superfans" (which is what you are in your current capacity) like the Moseley's, Hill, Yee, Lutz (even before his other problems got the best of him), they all took a turn for the worse health wise due to how taxing everything got back in the early 2000's with DLR's constant problems back then. They got so caught up in everything that it really did require them to take a step back.

You're well on your way to needing this too, I'd imagine. You've already blown well past them in your opinion of your own clout in the company, when what you're truly doing is posting on a message board that's being read by a few hundred hardcore WDW fans. Your information is probably more widely disseminated though other more public channels and not credited to you- alluding to why you're always quick to trumpet when 1 or 2 of the 10 things you put out comes true when some other blogger tells a few hundred other people your "scoop". Of course, the innuendo and company bashing doesn't really filter through or affect anything- it's largely ignored because people want to know about the next attraction or next resort opening- they're mostly not there to hear you act like chairman of TWDC's board. Those rantings don't help the situation in the slightest. It just creates a few dozen jaded worshipers that constantly beg for your enlightenment in the same way comic book fans or video game fans throw tantrums over features that don't make the final cut after some developer shows an unfinished chapter or an unfinished level.

I'm a fan, I'm also working in industry, I'm privy to plenty of information that I can't or don't want to share just like plenty of others here and on countless other fan forums. I know that some people respect your opinion and they rely on your scoops for whatever reasons. I've been lurking on WDWMagic for over a decade and was a content contributor in the early days of this site (hope I'm not outing myself)! Throughout the years, I've always liked the 10% of your information that had any relevance, which is to say I am appreciative when you spill beans that others don't want or don't care to spill. Heck, I even felt the itch to "come back" to WDWMagic posting in order to combat your ridiculous opinions and to provide a bit of fair criticism towards your allegations. Anyway, if you're really having to struggle to show up and post, by all means take a break and re-evaluate your priorities. I know there will be a vocal minority crying out for you to shower them with more tabloid material- but resist the urge if it taxes you so.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Meanwhile I just recently booked one (to WDW) for the first time in five years. Pandora and tickets at par helped... plus my general laissez fare attitude. The issues going on in the US are still very much "first world issues" compared to my usual travel adventures as far as I'm concerned.

But a good time for people to celebrate Canada's 150th. National Parks are free up here all year long!

I just went to one yesterday, was wonderful!!!

 

[rushtest4echo]

Not the point. The reality is that SW in DL is a horrible decision. And Marvel in DCA isn't much better. ... This IP, if it is as popular and evergreen as The Weatherman believes, would have worked well in its own park -- and taken some of the strain off the existing two. The reality now is a third gate in Anaheim is about as likely as a fifth gate in Orlando (that means it will never happen).

SWL as a land doesn't belong in Disneyland. But adding about 10K in park capacity to the most crowded (not most visited, but certainly most crowded) park on earth is not such a bad thing. Finally having an access point between Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Critter Country that doesn't cut through Fantasmic/Pirates bridge area is going to make things much better. Maybe the SW IP decision wasn't the best, but the things that it will do for the park infrastructure wise was needed since the late 1980's (which is why they've been wanting to do something like this for those past 35+ years). Disneyland's circular flow (haha for those who get the joke) will be incredibly upgraded by these changes. The park needs it desperately. DCA needs something to fix Hollywood desperately too. Marvel's an excellent fit there especially when development costs are split with the foreign parks and they can reap the cost savings (I know, saving money is evil). It's no more out of place than half of the other attractions at DCA that having nothing to do with California either.

I for one would have loved to see a Star Wars/ Marvel/ Avatar third gate. A fantasy realm if you will with Tatooine, Endor, Asgard, "The World", and Pandora would have made a great park. Still I'm happy to see those elements showing up in the parks anyway (I don't have the disdain for IP as much as many seem to have).

 

[thehowiet]

If Disney taxes you so... please do care for your health and safety and give it a rest. People as political and involved as you that have no ability to influence the company really are doing themselves a disservice by getting wound up over a media conglomerate that is enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Is it cathartic for you to vent about Chappie and Iger in the same way Lutz used to vent about Pressler and Eisner? Because the people that were doing that didn't come out of the whole ordeal in good mental health. I'm not nearly as involved as I used to be, but friends and other "superfans" (which is what you are in your current capacity) like the Moseley's, Yee, Lutz (even before his other problems got the best of him), they all took a turn for the worse health wise due to how taxing everything got back in the early 2000's with DLR's constant problems back then. They got so caught up in everything that it really did require them to take a step back.

You're well on your way to needing this too, I'd imagine. You've already blown well past them in your opinion of your own clout in the company, when what you're truly doing is posting on a message board that's being read by a few hundred hardcore WDW fans. Your information is probably more widely disseminated though other more public channels and not credited to you- alluding to why you're always quick to trumpet when 1 or 2 of the 10 things you put out comes true when some other blogger tells a few hundred other people your "scoop". Of course, the innuendo and company bashing doesn't really filter through or affect anything- it's largely ignored because people want to know about the next attraction or next resort opening- they're mostly not there to hear you act like chairman of TWDC's board. Those rantings don't help the situation in the slightest. It just creates a few dozen jaded worshipers that constantly beg for your enlightenment in the same way comic book fans or video game fans throw tantrums over features that don't make the final cut after some developer shows an unfinished chapter or an unfinished level.

I'm a fan, I'm also working in industry, I'm privy to plenty of information that I can't or don't want to share just like plenty of others here and on countless other fan forums. I know that some people respect your opinion and they rely on your scoops for whatever reasons. I've been lurking on WDWMagic for over a decade and was a content contributor in the early days of this site (hope I'm not outing myself)! Throughout the years, I've always liked the 10% of your information that had any relevance, which is to say I am appreciative when you spill beans that others don't want or don't care to spill. Heck, I even felt the itch to "come back" to WDWMagic posting in order to combat your ridiculous opinions and to provide a bit of fair criticism towards your allegations. Anyway, if you're really having to struggle to show up and post, by all means take a break and re-evaluate your priorities. I know there will be a vocal minority crying out for you to shower them with more tabloid material- but resist the urge if it taxes you so.

You should consider starting rushtest4echo's Shamrock Shake-Up thread just in time for St. Patty's Day. Contributors with reliable inside information are always appreciated in my experience.

 

[FigmentJedi]

I agree though SWL (while i don't like the placement) is not a deal-breaker for me. What is happening at DCA is, however

Agreed. It's really a matter of how good the new Rivers of America and Railroad route turns out from a show standpoint. That feeling of quiet isolation with show scenes speckled in-between is now gone, but I hope that the rocks and falls going in its place end up providing a nice new habitat for a strong population of fake animals. If the Nature's Wonderland posters they've been putting on the construction walls are a sign of their intentions, I feel like we might be in for a treat.

The implementation of Marvel in DCA on the other hand has just been really messy.

 

[brb1006]

I'll have to give that a read this week. ... I have heard an interesting theory from friends who live there and are American but have Japanese spouses and, in some cases, children. They say the kawaii (literally cute) culture in Japan has sprouted up from the bloodlust the Japanese showed in WWII and prior. They say there is a fear that if given the power to wreak havoc on the world again, that Japan just might go down that road. That the kawaii movement is sorta a weird psychological-societal response to Japan's shameful past. It might sound crazy, but I have found that the theory has many believers.

That might be a controversial reason, but there are many theories for this. I don't think cuteness started becoming popular in Japan until the 1970's.

 

[nor'easter]

Sorry, your post vanished. Did you get political. With the current clown in the WH and the insanity of his first few months, the mods are likely looking for anything to go bye-bye. I only give this a 50-50 chance of survival because I called the Prez a clown, which to be fair is about the nicest thing I have ever said about him!

I commented that the Hall of Presidents was odd in that it idolized everyone equally, and it got deleted.

 

[nor'easter]

Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds? Nobody can say we remove posts for such reasons.

If your statement was true, I don't think @WDW1974 would have any posts visible, and the forum would be down a few hundred thousand posts from others who share a similar view.

Then you treat posters differently. I have also complained about a post being taken down for "political" reasons. Commenting that the Hall of Presidents is a strange attraction that glorifies all presidents, when some of them (not even naming names) were not great? That was too political? Received several emails from members here about how ridiculous it was that that was removed.

 

[rushtest4echo]

No politics, I've been bitten too.

Not positive or negative. Unless you're a senior poster, then it's okay.

 

[wdwmagic]

There are different moderators, and there may be times when a moderation decision may differ between them.

Despite what you may think, we attempt to be as consistent as possible.

 

[wdwmagic]

Then you treat posters differently. I have also complained about a post being taken down for "political" reasons. Commenting that the Hall of Presidents is a strange attraction that glorifies all presidents, when some of them (not even naming names) were not great? That was too political? Received several emails from members here about how ridiculous it was that that was removed.

Yes agreed it is ridiculous that it had to be removed. But 20 years of running this forum tells me that a comment like that will soon ignite a political debate and will result in a thread being shut down, or having mass deletions. It is generally for the greater good to just halt political discussions at the source, rather than try to fire fight it later. Sorry, but politics on a Disney forum just do not work.

 

[rushtest4echo]

Sorry, but politics on a Disney forum just do not work.

Do they work on any internet forums?

 

[asianway]

If Disney taxes you so... please do care for your health and safety and give it a rest. People as political and involved as you that have no ability to influence the company really are doing themselves a disservice by getting wound up over a media conglomerate that is enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Is it cathartic for you to vent about Chappie and Iger in the same way Lutz used to vent about Pressler and Eisner? Because the people that were doing that didn't come out of the whole ordeal in good mental health. I'm not nearly as involved as I used to be, but friends and other "superfans" (which is what you are in your current capacity) like the Moseley's, Hill, Yee, Lutz (even before his other problems got the best of him), they all took a turn for the worse health wise due to how taxing everything got back in the early 2000's with DLR's constant problems back then. They got so caught up in everything that it really did require them to take a step back.

You're well on your way to needing this too, I'd imagine. You've already blown well past them in your opinion of your own clout in the company, when what you're truly doing is posting on a message board that's being read by a few hundred hardcore WDW fans. Your information is probably more widely disseminated though other more public channels and not credited to you- alluding to why you're always quick to trumpet when 1 or 2 of the 10 things you put out comes true when some other blogger tells a few hundred other people your "scoop". Of course, the innuendo and company bashing doesn't really filter through or affect anything- it's largely ignored because people want to know about the next attraction or next resort opening- they're mostly not there to hear you act like chairman of TWDC's board. Those rantings don't help the situation in the slightest. It just creates a few dozen jaded worshipers that constantly beg for your enlightenment in the same way comic book fans or video game fans throw tantrums over features that don't make the final cut after some developer shows an unfinished chapter or an unfinished level.

I'm a fan, I'm also working in industry, I'm privy to plenty of information that I can't or don't want to share just like plenty of others here and on countless other fan forums. I know that some people respect your opinion and they rely on your scoops for whatever reasons. I've been lurking on WDWMagic for over a decade and was a content contributor in the early days of this site (hope I'm not outing myself)! Throughout the years, I've always liked the 10% of your information that had any relevance, which is to say I am appreciative when you spill beans that others don't want or don't care to spill. Heck, I even felt the itch to "come back" to WDWMagic posting in order to combat your ridiculous opinions and to provide a bit of fair criticism towards your allegations. Anyway, if you're really having to struggle to show up and post, by all means take a break and re-evaluate your priorities. I know there will be a vocal minority crying out for you to shower them with more tabloid material- but resist the urge if it taxes you so.

Are you suggesting Al Lutz's Parkinson's was a result of negative blog posts he wrote about the DLR?