A Spirited Valentine ...

HauntedMansionFLA

HauntedMansionFLA

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Spirited Quickees (because they are the best kind!):

For all of the excitement over the 'Star Wars Cruiser'/AbD/Comic Con type boutique hotel experience, I would caution patience. As a kind Spirit wrote me today, "this isn't something that will happen in near term."

Said source also says that while designed for WDW, this is something that will be considered for Anaheim too. (And who said Bob Iger and TWDC isn't looking to make SW seem more important than the rest of DL? ... Oh yeah. Nobody.)

Despite Bob's fixation with SW and China, don't expect any SW product of substance to find its way to those parks soon. While people over there seem to love Marvel, his other big buy, they are not rabid fans of Rey, BB-8 and Princesses with hair buns. Indeed, I've had multiple people tell me that the temporary SW Launch Bay in SDL is one of the least popular attractions (not that it is one) in the park.

Will get back to China in a bit, but just want to make sure I was very clear that the Club 33s coming to WDW will simply be small upscale private bars at first. No gourmet restaurants. ... And before Tom Amity decides to break news that was broken here a long time ago, let me again spell out that a new Haunted Mansion eating venue/experience is coming to the MK, despite the mixed reviews of the Skipper Canteen.

Word from Ops people is that most of Pandora could open tomorrow and could have been open weeks ago now. No word on when (if?) unannounced soft openings will be starting. Also heard is that WDW leadership has no real idea on what to expect when it does open on everything from park visitation to how it will effect the rest of WDW's gates. There is a fear that DHS could be a ghost town this summer if the buzz on Pandora is great.

Heard from a friend that Frozen at HKDL is a done deal, even if TWDC winds up paying for it entirely. Heard from another that the Maelstrom/EPCOT clone will be shelved for a new unique attraction with another small scale attraction that will be a sleigh-themed clone of the Mater ride from DCA (that also will be a TSL ride in FL and a BH6 ride in Tokyo). I don't have confirmation of the unique attraction (meaning not the LPS ride headed for Anaheim and Tokyo post 2020), but it certainly sounds more plausible than repeating the EPCOT mistake (it is a crappy attraction, even forgetting its location, sorry).

D23's annual CrazyFest/Expo is approaching and people want to know if there will be P&R announcements. The answer is yes. But if this is anything like the last one, expect them to go back and forth on what will be announced right up until showtime.

I generally only give shoutouts to Disney Blogger/Lifestyler to the Stars Tom Bricker (@WDWFigment if he is around here), but was unable to sleep a few nights ago and instead of looking at the home made 'materials' sent to me by adoring fans, I instead read a non-outlet store column by that dude Derek Burgan on what apparently were the six least popular restaurants at WDW based on a sample-size of 122,000 (we all know why @Len Testa is loaded, right?) from TP: http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/04/22/s6_wdwlowestrated/

They were: 6.) Garden Grove at the Swan; 5.) Portobello at DS; 4.) Bongo's at DS; 3.) Picabu at the Dolphin; 2.) Planet Hollywood at DS; and 1.) STK at DS.

What I found interesting was that all of the above were non-Disney owned and operated locations/third parties. They were all places that didn't cater (with possible exception of the last one) to the O-Town blogger crowd or the Mommy Bloggers or even Disney fans per se. And except for STK, which is likely simply just a bad concept for WDW, they are old and tired (these results were before PH's recent redo). Considering I'm a fan of 3-6, I'll simply say that it's amazing what WDW addicts will tell themselves to enjoy a meal at a place like Chef Mickey's, The Wave, Le Cellier (more for value and what you have to go through than food quality), Be Our Guest, Cosmic Ray's, Electric Umbrella, any QSR at DHS etc. Don't want to give Derek too much extra pub here, but it's amazing how people will turn their noses up at say Portobello (a favorite of mine for the last dozen years) yet eat at Tony's Town Square ... or say that Garden Grove's atmosphere lacks atmosphere, yet have a character meal at Chef Mickey's etc.

Finally, just a word that I'll be taking a leave shortly. I do have visits to DLP, SDL, TDR and DLR in the pipeline and am not sure whether to drop in one by one with some thoughts or wait and do a long deal. Leaning toward the dropping in after each visit ...
Click to expand...
Awesome readings while I wait for another episode of Better Call Saul
 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
seascape said:
What Universal does much better than Disney is make movies offshore in non union countries that offer big tax breaks then charge as much as Disney for tickets, DVDs and pay per view. That is why Universal produces animated movies for half the cost as Disney does.
Click to expand...
Yup. Illumination's animation is produced in France. In fact, the French animation unit that works on their films not only unleashed the Minions upon the world, but they also created those awful "Happy Meal Box" things that infest the McDonalds ads now that were basically just differently shaped Minions.
 
wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Spirited Quickees (because they are the best kind!):

For all of the excitement over the 'Star Wars Cruiser'/AbD/Comic Con type boutique hotel experience, I would caution patience. As a kind Spirit wrote me today, "this isn't something that will happen in near term."

Said source also says that while designed for WDW, this is something that will be considered for Anaheim too. (And who said Bob Iger and TWDC isn't looking to make SW seem more important than the rest of DL? ... Oh yeah. Nobody.)

Despite Bob's fixation with SW and China, don't expect any SW product of substance to find its way to those parks soon. While people over there seem to love Marvel, his other big buy, they are not rabid fans of Rey, BB-8 and Princesses with hair buns. Indeed, I've had multiple people tell me that the temporary SW Launch Bay in SDL is one of the least popular attractions (not that it is one) in the park.

Will get back to China in a bit, but just want to make sure I was very clear that the Club 33s coming to WDW will simply be small upscale private bars at first. No gourmet restaurants. ... And before Tom Amity decides to break news that was broken here a long time ago, let me again spell out that a new Haunted Mansion eating venue/experience is coming to the MK, despite the mixed reviews of the Skipper Canteen.

Word from Ops people is that most of Pandora could open tomorrow and could have been open weeks ago now. No word on when (if?) unannounced soft openings will be starting. Also heard is that WDW leadership has no real idea on what to expect when it does open on everything from park visitation to how it will effect the rest of WDW's gates. There is a fear that DHS could be a ghost town this summer if the buzz on Pandora is great.

Heard from a friend that Frozen at HKDL is a done deal, even if TWDC winds up paying for it entirely. Heard from another that the Maelstrom/EPCOT clone will be shelved for a new unique attraction with another small scale attraction that will be a sleigh-themed clone of the Mater ride from DCA (that also will be a TSL ride in FL and a BH6 ride in Tokyo). I don't have confirmation of the unique attraction (meaning not the LPS ride headed for Anaheim and Tokyo post 2020), but it certainly sounds more plausible than repeating the EPCOT mistake (it is a crappy attraction, even forgetting its location, sorry).

D23's annual CrazyFest/Expo is approaching and people want to know if there will be P&R announcements. The answer is yes. But if this is anything like the last one, expect them to go back and forth on what will be announced right up until showtime.

I generally only give shoutouts to Disney Blogger/Lifestyler to the Stars Tom Bricker (@WDWFigment if he is around here), but was unable to sleep a few nights ago and instead of looking at the home made 'materials' sent to me by adoring fans, I instead read a non-outlet store column by that dude Derek Burgan on what apparently were the six least popular restaurants at WDW based on a sample-size of 122,000 (we all know why @Len Testa is loaded, right?) from TP: http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/04/22/s6_wdwlowestrated/

They were: 6.) Garden Grove at the Swan; 5.) Portobello at DS; 4.) Bongo's at DS; 3.) Picabu at the Dolphin; 2.) Planet Hollywood at DS; and 1.) STK at DS.

What I found interesting was that all of the above were non-Disney owned and operated locations/third parties. They were all places that didn't cater (with possible exception of the last one) to the O-Town blogger crowd or the Mommy Bloggers or even Disney fans per se. And except for STK, which is likely simply just a bad concept for WDW, they are old and tired (these results were before PH's recent redo). Considering I'm a fan of 3-6, I'll simply say that it's amazing what WDW addicts will tell themselves to enjoy a meal at a place like Chef Mickey's, The Wave, Le Cellier (more for value and what you have to go through than food quality), Be Our Guest, Cosmic Ray's, Electric Umbrella, any QSR at DHS etc. Don't want to give Derek too much extra pub here, but it's amazing how people will turn their noses up at say Portobello (a favorite of mine for the last dozen years) yet eat at Tony's Town Square ... or say that Garden Grove's atmosphere lacks atmosphere, yet have a character meal at Chef Mickey's etc.

Finally, just a word that I'll be taking a leave shortly. I do have visits to DLP, SDL, TDR and DLR in the pipeline and am not sure whether to drop in one by one with some thoughts or wait and do a long deal. Leaning toward the dropping in after each visit ...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight and happy trails to you!!! Marie
 
the.dreamfinder

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
seascape said:
What Universal does much better than Disney is make movies offshore in non union countries that offer big tax breaks then charge as much as Disney for tickets, DVDs and pay per view. That is why Universal produces animated movies for half the cost as Disney does.
Click to expand...
Disney's entire live action slate relies on government subsidies,which is a more accurate description of what's going on. Hell, TWDS currently has a long term lease for a significant chunk of Pinewood's soundstages because of these arrangements. Disney and UNI, or the other big studios, are no different here.
 
Kman101

Kman101

Well-Known Member
To be fair, those 6 restaurants aren't all that great. Very mixed. A lot of the new restaurants sort of put them to shame, but that's IMHO. But I agree that it's interesting they are ones that don't cater to "the usuals" ....

Surprised Marvel seems so popular in China but Star Wars isn't. They're similar in a lot of ways. Any particular reason why one seems to resonate and the other doesn't? Just out of curiosity. I'd rate Star Wars above a lot of Marvel but that's me.

Happy about the Haunted Mansion bar. I'm not one to eat up all these specialty bars but I think that one at least intrigues me the most, as a fan of Mansion. (I still think they left money on the table not following through with Mansion themed hotel rooms at Port Orleans). But I can also see through why they're doing them. I personally haven't sat foot in Jocks or Trader Sams, not intentionally skipping them, but eh ...

It's pretty sad they cater to the 7 year olds but it doesn't surprise me. Heaven forbid a special snowflake can't do something. What happened to the days of waiting and anticipating a ride you couldn't do or were afraid of? Shame.

Thanks for the "quickies" @WDW1974
 
Haymarket2008

Haymarket2008

Well-Known Member
Haunted Mansion restaurant?? Hm.....Super cool idea, but I'm not sure that a restaurant would be the best extension of the property....Where would it even be?? It would make no sense to ditch Columbia Harbor House. If you dine in the Haunted Mansion it better look like you actually are rather than someplace across the street.
 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
Kman101 said:
Surprised Marvel seems so popular in China but Star Wars isn't. They're similar in a lot of ways. Any particular reason why one seems to resonate and the other doesn't?
Click to expand...
As I've mentioned before, OT nostalgia doesn't work on China because most of their interest in the franchise is tied to the Prequels and most of the current Star Wars output is focused on OT nostalgia that doesn't really do anything for them. Like when the Original Trilogy was re-released to theaters in China ahead of TFA, they were really indifferent to it.
 
Kman101

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Tahu said:
As I've mentioned before, OT nostalgia doesn't work on China because most of their interest in the franchise is tied to the Prequels and most of the current Star Wars output is focused on OT nostalgia that doesn't really do anything for them. Like when the Original Trilogy was re-released to theaters in China ahead of TFA, they were really indifferent to it.
Click to expand...

That makes sense.
 
Jones14

Jones14

Well-Known Member
Is the Haunted Mansion restaurant supposed to be part of the Mansion itself or just part of the Mansion's story? Because the latter could actually work pretty well if they play their cards right, and it's not without precedent (Phantom Manor, Big Thunder, and Paris' Frontierland) to tie things together. The only place it can really go is Columbia Harbor House, though, unless Tangled Toilets Ever After is getting bulldozed (which I would love).

Harbor House is connected to Memento Mori, too, so you could essentially have a mini-Haunted Mansion land with relative ease were the restaurant to take over Harbor House.
 
HMF

HMF

Well-Known Member
Jones14 said:
Is the Haunted Mansion restaurant supposed to be part of the Mansion itself or just part of the Mansion's story? Because the latter could actually work pretty well if they play their cards right, and it's not without precedent (Phantom Manor, Big Thunder, and Paris' Frontierland) to tie things together. The only place it can really go is Columbia Harbor House, though, unless Tangled Toilets Ever After is getting bulldozed (which I would love).

Harbor House is connected to Memento Mori, too, so you could essentially have a mini-Haunted Mansion land with relative ease were the restaurant to take over Harbor House.
Click to expand...
To be fair that would really just turn the whole area into Haunted Mansion-Land rather than Liberty Square though considering what is coming to Liberty Square's other major attraction that might be a good thing.
 
S

seascape

Well-Known Member
the.dreamfinder said:
Disney's entire live action slate relies on government subsidies,which is a more accurate description of what's going on. Hell, TWDS currently has a long term lease for a significant chunk of Pinewood's soundstages because of these arrangements. Disney and UNI, or the other big studios, are no different here.
Click to expand...
At least Disney is filming in Pinewoods American Studio employing people here and yes I am upset about their using a third party IT company that used the H1B visa system but the good news is the federal government is finally doing something about that abuse.

As for comparing the two Corporations discussed here Disney pays its full taxes every year while Universal has left a higher percentage abroad.
 
JustInTime

JustInTime

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Spirited Quickees (because they are the best kind!):

For all of the excitement over the 'Star Wars Cruiser'/AbD/Comic Con type boutique hotel experience, I would caution patience. As a kind Spirit wrote me today, "this isn't something that will happen in near term."

Said source also says that while designed for WDW, this is something that will be considered for Anaheim too. (And who said Bob Iger and TWDC isn't looking to make SW seem more important than the rest of DL? ... Oh yeah. Nobody.)

Despite Bob's fixation with SW and China, don't expect any SW product of substance to find its way to those parks soon. While people over there seem to love Marvel, his other big buy, they are not rabid fans of Rey, BB-8 and Princesses with hair buns. Indeed, I've had multiple people tell me that the temporary SW Launch Bay in SDL is one of the least popular attractions (not that it is one) in the park.

Will get back to China in a bit, but just want to make sure I was very clear that the Club 33s coming to WDW will simply be small upscale private bars at first. No gourmet restaurants. ... And before Tom Amity decides to break news that was broken here a long time ago, let me again spell out that a new Haunted Mansion eating venue/experience is coming to the MK, despite the mixed reviews of the Skipper Canteen.

Word from Ops people is that most of Pandora could open tomorrow and could have been open weeks ago now. No word on when (if?) unannounced soft openings will be starting. Also heard is that WDW leadership has no real idea on what to expect when it does open on everything from park visitation to how it will effect the rest of WDW's gates. There is a fear that DHS could be a ghost town this summer if the buzz on Pandora is great.

Heard from a friend that Frozen at HKDL is a done deal, even if TWDC winds up paying for it entirely. Heard from another that the Maelstrom/EPCOT clone will be shelved for a new unique attraction with another small scale attraction that will be a sleigh-themed clone of the Mater ride from DCA (that also will be a TSL ride in FL and a BH6 ride in Tokyo). I don't have confirmation of the unique attraction (meaning not the LPS ride headed for Anaheim and Tokyo post 2020), but it certainly sounds more plausible than repeating the EPCOT mistake (it is a crappy attraction, even forgetting its location, sorry).

D23's annual CrazyFest/Expo is approaching and people want to know if there will be P&R announcements. The answer is yes. But if this is anything like the last one, expect them to go back and forth on what will be announced right up until showtime.

I generally only give shoutouts to Disney Blogger/Lifestyler to the Stars Tom Bricker (@WDWFigment if he is around here), but was unable to sleep a few nights ago and instead of looking at the home made 'materials' sent to me by adoring fans, I instead read a non-outlet store column by that dude Derek Burgan on what apparently were the six least popular restaurants at WDW based on a sample-size of 122,000 (we all know why @Len Testa is loaded, right?) from TP: http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/04/22/s6_wdwlowestrated/

They were: 6.) Garden Grove at the Swan; 5.) Portobello at DS; 4.) Bongo's at DS; 3.) Picabu at the Dolphin; 2.) Planet Hollywood at DS; and 1.) STK at DS.

What I found interesting was that all of the above were non-Disney owned and operated locations/third parties. They were all places that didn't cater (with possible exception of the last one) to the O-Town blogger crowd or the Mommy Bloggers or even Disney fans per se. And except for STK, which is likely simply just a bad concept for WDW, they are old and tired (these results were before PH's recent redo). Considering I'm a fan of 3-6, I'll simply say that it's amazing what WDW addicts will tell themselves to enjoy a meal at a place like Chef Mickey's, The Wave, Le Cellier (more for value and what you have to go through than food quality), Be Our Guest, Cosmic Ray's, Electric Umbrella, any QSR at DHS etc. Don't want to give Derek too much extra pub here, but it's amazing how people will turn their noses up at say Portobello (a favorite of mine for the last dozen years) yet eat at Tony's Town Square ... or say that Garden Grove's atmosphere lacks atmosphere, yet have a character meal at Chef Mickey's etc.

Finally, just a word that I'll be taking a leave shortly. I do have visits to DLP, SDL, TDR and DLR in the pipeline and am not sure whether to drop in one by one with some thoughts or wait and do a long deal. Leaning toward the dropping in after each visit ...
Click to expand...
You know I'm drooling over the idea of a mansion themed eatery. I would book a full trip tomorrow. Any idea of a ballpark timeline?
 
HauntedMansionFLA

HauntedMansionFLA

Well-Known Member
HMF said:
To be fair that would really just turn the whole area into Haunted Mansion-Land rather than Liberty Square though considering what is coming to Liberty Square's other major attraction that might be a good thing.
Click to expand...
I keep thinking something will happen to ROA and TSI like they will drain the whole area. HM is right next to it. I hope not. This past December we made sure we went on the river boat and explored TSI because it might not be there the next time. ( You never know )
 

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