News and observations from the past month

[doctornick]

I heard the same thing. Cars art has been seen around DHS the past few weeks, and a bit more than just art. Not sure if that directly links back to Radiator Springs Racers or like Martin was saying, more of a Pixar Placeish addition.

Personally, I am glad that Cars is in play, but would prefer a "Pixar Placeish addition" than a full Cars Land; hopefully, with at least one of two other attractions from other movies.

I'd be curious, though, that if there is any sort of Pixar Place expansion as to what will go as a result. Sounds like Backlot Tour is safe for right now. LMA could be used but it's not connected to the Pixar Place unless BLT is also removed. And other than Soundstage 1, there doesn't seem to be any obvious other space in the area unless they go into the backstage areas behind TSMM (isn't there a costuming building behind there? I guess that could be moved to another location).

 

[muteki]

I really hope this comes to pass. I know all the griping is about FW, but I really would like to see an actual ride on that half of the WS and there is a lot of cool things they could do with Japan. Plus the show building already exists, so there's infrastructure there, it just needs to be developed.

So many good things could come of this there is no way it will be built. I'm just not that lucky.

 

[phi2134]

I am hoping its not a pixar place like they have at DLP, where its some well themed carnival rides that are themed out to look like characters in Toy story or cars. Disney seems to love the plug and play kind of rides now, something that you could see anywhere else, but themed only as disney can.

 

[asianway]

There were rumours of that happening again next year. I didn't believe them. (Sorta) news about DLP about to be posted on my thread (you know I am a for numbers!)

Big doings in Paris by way of reinvestment coming soon if the past two days information is to be believed - and nary a Orlando shill whispered a word.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

It is ironic that we hate it at home but will pay good money to see it here:

Soap-snow I can handle. You don't have to shovel this stuff.

 

[draybook]

Martin, you make me wish this forum had a high five button to go with the like.

Everything you've written is what I've been saying but people wanna get testy when I say it.

 

[Lord_Vader]

It is ironic that we hate it at home but will pay good money to see it here:

Only because we get to enjoy it in 60 degree weather with sunshine and no traffic nightmares.

 

[bcalltimandanna]

Explain gross???

Chili dogs?
Farting bug signs as you leave the most visited park on the planet (why has that not been changed out the past 15 years?)?
Skunk smell?
Whizzing Gaston statues?

Fair enough, gross was a bit vague. I just don't particularly get any sense of "escape" when I go to Uni. From the second I get into that parking complex I am turned off to a degree. Maybe it is because I have lived in Orlando for so long. Idk. As a resident, I only feel like Im not in Orlando when I stay on WDW property.

 

[pixargal]

I really hope this comes to pass. I know all the griping is about FW, but I really would like to see an actual ride on that half of the WS and there is a lot of cool things they could do with Japan. Plus the show building already exists, so there's infrastructure there, it just needs to be developed.

This caught my eye as well. The Japan pavilion is one of our favorite places to explore. It would be a wonderful addition. Thanks, @marni1971, for sharing what you know.

 

[COProgressFan]

After reading Martin's report How can any of you still go to Disney World? The place is a dump and its an insult to Walt and Roy Disney to even give these guys $100 a day to visit. Stop going, send the message that this kind of state the parks are in is unacceptable and then return once WDW has been brought up to it's former high standards otherwise your just wasting your hard earned cash to boost attendance numbers for a corporation.

A good point. However, this has already (kind of) started to happen.

Disney management's response, however, has been that instead of trying to win back guests who stopped going (or never came in the first place) by developing new exciting attractions, offering quality entertainment, or maintaining their once high standards, they would rather not worry about the guests who aren't coming, but focus on extracting more money from those who do come (Rasulo's stated goal for MM+). Lower attendance (and lower spending) has actually encouraged Disney to do even less (and continue cutting back).

This is a terrible strategy, that will only hurt them in the end. But again, by the time the situation becomes dire, it won't be Iger, Staggs, or Rasulo's mess to clean up. Their pockets will be fuller, and they'll be long gone.

 

[marni1971]

I am hoping its not a pixar place like they have at DLP

From what I understand it won't be, though I wouldn't be surprised if a small kiddy area appeared somewhere.

 

[TP2000]

And we really need to get you off the WDW dust and out to Anaheim more often and certainly to Asia.

I was thinking the same thing! @marni1971 did such a great job summarizing the current state of WDW parks, but one thing I have loved doing for the last 10 years or so is making a trip to WDW and then following it up within a day or two of my arrival back in SoCal with a visit to Disneyland. That's how you really do a compare/contrast on the current state of the parks in California and Florida. The differences are always noticeable, and sometimes shockingly so.

It's fascinating to me in this "One Disney" era that was supposed to bring consistency between the six American theme parks that they standardized napkins between Epcot and Disneyland, but the daily operation, maintenance and future planning between Disneyland and WDW seems to have never been more different on a day to day basis.

A compare/contrast trip of Disneyland vs. WDW in their current states from a knowledgeable and rational fan like @marni1971 would be a wonderful read!

 

[TubaGeek]

Next time my roommate says I'm not a Disney fan because of my low opinion of the parks (currently), I'm going to show him your post. Then your video page.
Because, clearly, YOU'RE not a Disney fan or anything...

 

[SirLink]

Not Monorail I'm led to believe. Dare I call it a Peoplemover? As in function, not ride system.

You mean a similar transit system that was proposed to link hotel plaza with Downtown Disney/Disney Village?

 

[marni1971]

Did I mention Michelle's favourite comparison? A plain napkin from any park in WDW compared to one that said Springfield USA in only one land of only one of Universals parks?

 

[marni1971]

You mean a similar transit system that was proposed to link hotel plaza with Downtown Disney/Disney Village?

Possibly. That was a bono fide WEDWay. I dare say a third party system similar in design but not drive system would be looked at for Universal Orlando.

 

[SirLink]

Did I mention Michelle's favourite comparison? A plain napkin from any park in WDW compared to one that said Springfield USA in only one land of only one of Universals parks?

Oh and I know this is a slight hijack but from what I've heard from friends who have just been to MNSSP and Halloween Horror Nights that the staff quality and training have almost flipped. With Uni having a near perfect event staff - and MK CM directing traffic unleashing a couple of swears.

 

[marni1971]

Oh and I know this is a slight hijack but from what I've heard from friends who have just been to MNSSP and Halloween Horror Nights that the staff quality and training have almost flipped. With Uni having a near perfect event staff - and MK CM directing traffic unleashing a couple of swears.

This isn't a judgment or comparison, but this trip we noticed far more Disney CMs not enjoying their job. Far far more than previous trips. Commented on by michelle and both local and UK friends we were with too. There were wonderful ones too of course, but more grumpy or jobs worth ones than before. But anyone can be a little jaded from time to time can't they?

 

[marni1971]

A final note for tonight. A tiny observation but they all add up. The Mission:Space preshow gravity wheel is still not spinning. It's still on wooden blocks. After a year.

 

[JenniferS]

I have been at WDW for the past 5 days, and agree with many of Marni's comments.

As FP+ testers, we have had 3 (or 4) booked FP's each day. We have scarcely needed them, except for TSMM. We have let Buzz, HM, Splash, and ToT passes go unused, as we had already ridden multiple times without needing them. Haven't used our KTTW cards yet to double-dip, as again there was zero need.

We have ridden PoC 4 times, and the screen was not working at all.
It was lovely to see so much water again in the Laughin' Place on Splash. 3 consecutive rides Wednesday night with zero wait! Might be a good idea to shut off the water canons once the sun goes down though.
BTMR was fun again. The track replacement stopped my fillings from shaking out of my teeth this year.
Tiki birds better than ever without Iago and Zazu.
I've been served a lot of lukewarm or borderline cold counter service meals this year. Maybe they are preparing way too much food ahead of time for crowds that never materialize.

First time ever that I have felt DHS was a half day park. My SIL doesn't do ToT or RNRC, so my nephew and I rode each only once. With FP's for TSMM, we accomplished that plus ToT, RNRC, Star Tours, GMR, and VotLM, plus two Streetmosphere shows and lunch at Sci-Fi between 10:30 am and 2:30.

Today's trip to AK, was as usual, a half day. Rode/saw: KS, Pangani Trail, Dinosaur, Finding Nemo, EE, ITtbaB, shopped and had lunch in just a little over 3 hours. Could we have done more? Probably; but everyone felt like we had done enough.

Epcot still rocks for us, and we are looking forward to our full day there. Soarin' film desperately needs cleaning. SSE was wonderful, as usual. Mostly, we have just zipped in to spend an hour or two pre or post dining, so we haven't spent a full day there yet. Saw EO for the first time. Didn't hate it - just didn't get it. Figment and Nemo are merely time-fillers. The showing of IllumiNations was delayed multiple times "due to technical difficulties" last night, and we left without seeing it (saw it on Tuesday already). I suspect it didn't run at all last night (Thursday), as we never heard or saw anything as we headed out and to our car. Feel free to correct me, if I somehow missed it.

The park crowds have been virtually non existent this week, so my impressions of FP+ are somewhat skewed. I hate to give the glowing credit to MM+, when really our success has been due to my planning and the timing of our trip.

Our trip is only half over, so I'm sure I will have more comments later.