Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks (Part II)

jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Pixiedustmaker said:
I still like the futuristic feel of wdw, the monorails and even the People Mover in Tomorrowland. (The technology is old, but if there was an infinite budget in Washington, we'd have a lot of this stuff, and it still looks futuristic when compared to buses).
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No.

Truth is if "Washington" would stop hindering the private sector and trust the American people by unshackling private enterprise you would see much more of these type projects happening.

Imagine the author of this thread and other visionaries with nearly unlimited access to capital. Los Angeles would be an entirely cooler place. Much more Tomorrowland-esque than it is today.
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Eddie Sotto said:
For those of you braving hot climates, here's an image of the spherical (triple distilled) ice cube they make in front of you at the Carthay Circle Restaurant. They put it in a vice of special metal blocks that draws away the chill and the block instantly melt in a minute into a perfect sphere, thanks to a mold in the blocks. Pretty cool.

http://www.japantrendshop.com/ice-ball-mold-for-perfect-ice-spheres-p-244.html
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Very cool, as is this.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Bay-Supertrees-Singapore-light-night-sky.html

Why can't we get something like this on the exterior of Test Track? On a smaller scale of course. Or even the entry plaza.

Amazingly beautiful!
 
Eddie Sotto

Eddie Sotto

Premium Member
jt04 said:
No.

Truth is if "Washington" would stop hindering the private sector and trust the American people by unshackling private enterprise you would see much more of these type projects happening.

Imagine the author of this thread and other visionaries with nearly unlimited access to capital. Los Angeles would be an entirely cooler place. Much more Tomorrowland-esque than it is today.
Click to expand...

It's funny that unlimited budget sometimes stymies creativity. Having some kinds of limits usually spurs thought in a way that unlimited cash can't. Sometimes you can stagnate because there are so many options, and you can do anything you want, so you stare at that blank canvas. It can become about doing what you could not in the past, so "more is better" becomes the logic instead of the ultimate right answer, which could cost less and be more elegant. I like the option that there may be more funds based on the merit of your ideas. So if you are working on something and you hit the wall, there may be more money if you prove your idea or solution worthy, it's not just an open checkbook. The issue with Government (and sometimes corporate or charity) money, is that sometimes it is not respected the way private money is as it is "faceless". Same with people charging everything to "the Company". It's faceless so you may feel less accountable. Design and budget is an interesting conversation.
 
ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
Eddie Sotto said:
It's funny that unlimited budget sometimes stymies creativity. Having some kinds of limits usually spurs thought in a way that unlimited cash can't. Sometimes you can stagnate because there are so many options, and you can do anything you want, so you stare at that blank canvas.
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This. It reminds me of when I go on my Netflix streaming account, and there's too many choices, so I sit there for 10 minutes trying to decide what to watch. Different situation? of course. Mentally though, its the same kind of thing IMO. Its not just movies either, but all kinds of commerce...but this is getting off topic :p
 
K

Kuhio

Well-Known Member
Pixiedustmaker said:
That's really interesting, the "bottle house" concept seems to work pretty well at RSR too!
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Is there a bottle house in Cars Land? I'll have to check it out -- I've been avoiding the RSR ride-through videos so far.

I first saw a bottle house in an old Uncle Scrooge story by Carl Barks. I remember thinking, as a child, that the creator of the story had just made the concept up. Then, years later, after I learned more about Barks, I realized how much meticulous research went into each of his duck stories.
 
K

Kuhio

Well-Known Member
Eddie Sotto said:
So.. on another subject, I went on the Matterhorn twice today on the Tomorrowland side (faster and more interesting) and have to retract some of my critique. There ARE places, albeit small, to slide your feet in and around the seat in front of you, and so after threading my legs through them, I was fine. If you have thick calves you're not gonna be comfy, but it worked for me. The T'land side is far more thrilling and so all in all, it's fun. The splashdown was ok too. The F'land side was downright dull. Did not feel like an "E" anymore though.

The big issue (which you all raised) was the lack of any padding on the seats. The feedback on my body was painful. If I had to wish for one thing, it's some cushioning on the seats as they had in the past. BTW- They are running the Mountain Climbers again and play some great yodeling music around the Mountain while you watch. Loving the Swiss music.


View attachment 27937
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Thanks for posting this photo, Eddie. I was hoping there would be "foot slots" in the new bobsleds similar to the ones in the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain rockets. I'm guessing the first seat in each bobsled is still a tight fit for people with longer legs, though.

The Tomorrowland side has always been my favorite as well -- I've always loved the sharp little dip about three-quarters of the way through, when you go under the Fantasyland track. Next to RSR, I'm most looking forward to the Matterhorn when I'm back at DL in a few months.
 
P

Pixiedustmaker

Well-Known Member
Eddie Sotto said:
It's funny that unlimited budget sometimes stymies creativity. Design and budget is an interesting conversation.
Click to expand...

I would have thought that imagineers biggest problem was money. For example, if somebody gave WDI a couple billion to fix the People Mover in Disneyland they could go in and rip out the track and put in a whole new track and design a whole new ride system and have enough for a well-designed show building and even animatronics and cutting edge special effects.

I think I read somewhere that you worked on Pooh in Tokyo, I would have thought that the budget there allowed for the much grander ride than what other parks got. Walt said regarding money,

""Biggest problem? Well, I'd say it's been my biggest problem all my life. MONEY. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true. From the very start it was a problem. Getting the money to open Disneyland. About seventeen million it took. And we had everything mortgaged including my personal insurance."
 
P

Pixiedustmaker

Well-Known Member
Eddie Sotto said:
For those of you braving hot climates, here's an image of the spherical (triple distilled) ice cube they make in front of you at the Carthay Circle Restaurant. They put it in a vice of special metal blocks that draws away the chill and the block instantly melt in a minute into a perfect sphere, thanks to a mold in the blocks. Pretty cool.

http://www.japantrendshop.com/ice-ball-mold-for-perfect-ice-spheres-p-244.html
Click to expand...

The whole style of Carthay is very Great Gatsby-ish, I'm not at all surprised they put in something like this.
 
P

Pixiedustmaker

Well-Known Member
jt04 said:
No.

Truth is if "Washington" would stop hindering the private sector and trust the American people by unshackling private enterprise you would see much more of these type projects happening.

Imagine the author of this thread and other visionaries with nearly unlimited access to capital. Los Angeles would be an entirely cooler place. Much more Tomorrowland-esque than it is today.
Click to expand...

Well, also from a private standpoint as you'd need somebody who has billions of dollars to build a monorail-type transportation system to get to square one.

It seems that the California state government gave the "greenlight" to building a high-speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles. If they extend it to Anaheim, I could see it helping to bring more people to Disneyland, which might spur more hotels and such.
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Pixiedustmaker said:
Well, also from a private standpoint as you'd need somebody who has billions of dollars to build a monorail-type transportation system to get to square one.

It seems that the California state government gave the "greenlight" to building a high-speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles. If they extend it to Anaheim, I could see it helping to bring more people to Disneyland, which might spur more hotels and such.
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We were told the administration was going to build a nationwide HSR system. And that might make sense and even be necessary in 2008. However, with the revolution in shale fuels over the last 18 months HSR is folly for the US. I predict the Cali system never gets built.

A peoplemover system around downtown LA might not need an individual investor, rather a private enterprise that sees a need and potential profit. We are on the cusp of a revolution in energy and transportation. And it likely will be trackless.
 
Eddie Sotto

Eddie Sotto

Premium Member
By the way gang, our good friend Alain Littaye informs me that they are beginning to run very low on the English version of his reprinted book "Disneyland Paris, Sketch to Reality". We've discussed it in the past and many of you have posted your glowing reviews right here. If you have been hesitating to get one, do it soon, because we all saw what they ended up being priced at on eBay once they ran out last time! You can get yours directly from "Disney and More" (ask him to sign it!) or from Amazon, whichever you prefer.
http://neverlandeditions.blogspot.com/2012/04/lll.html
 

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