Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

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John

John

Well-Known Member
Lee said:
Yes. Is that wrong?


(Seriously, the Spirit is dealing with something heavy this week. Don't expect more than a possible brief pop-in for several days.)
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Ok....sorry to hear this. Only shows that although he is a Spirit here....he is human in real life. Send our collective thoughts and prayers his way for us. As you see he is at least with us in.....Spirit.....just had to do it. Godspeed to you Spirit....where ever you are.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
BryceM said:
Oh...

I could see the argument for Marvel, but not Lost Continent and Port of Entry... I think those are the two of some of the best themed lands out there.

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Port of Entry

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Sunshine Plaza
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Do you have a picture of the backside of Port of Entry that's also visible in park or what's replaced Sunshine Plaza? I can take a picture of the yeti in Expedition Everest and the Dragon in Forbidden Journey and the Yeti is going to look better. You know you're not telling the whole story here.
 
BryceM

BryceM

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
Do you have a picture of the backside of Port of Entry that's also visible in park or what's replaced Sunshine Plaza? I can take a picture of the yeti in Expedition Everest and the Dragon in Forbidden Journey and the Yeti is going to look better. You know you're not telling the whole story here.
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You were comparing Port of Entry to "early DCA theming", such as Sunshine Plaza. Buena Vista Street is pretty and a great theme park entrance, and a valid comparison.

And yes, the backside of Port of Entry from Hulk is bad. Not going to argue that. They could have at least put some nice trees there, but they didn't. It just shows that Universal Creative still just doesn't "get it". Islands of Adventure is one of the greatest theme parks, but it is marred with poor decisions and bad sight lines.

Still, Port of Entry is great. And leagues better than a giant California postcard and a hubcap fountain.
 
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rael ramone

rael ramone

Well-Known Member
tirian said:
In this post you describe what FP+ should have been. If only Disney had simply made it digital! It's the obvious successor to the current system.

I participated in the earlier test at the Contemporary, and it's true that the ability to double-dip reserved FPs and new ones was great. But my co-workers tested the full system on a CM-only preview at the Beach Club, and the limits were frustrating. They couldn't gather as many FPs as usual and spent most of their day standing around Epcot.

A few other points—some negative, some positive:
• The FP+ tests at POTC and HM were disastrous, ruining the attractions' previous efficiency.
• Guests were told to make purchases only with their Magic Bands. The bracelets didn't increase sales.
• The eventual goal of NGen is for everything to be completely scheduled in advance—every ride, every character interaction, every meal. FPs themselves would theoretically be phased out because you'd arrive at each attraction at the proper time anyway. Does this solve lines at WDW? It remains to be seen—it certainly sounds like nothing more than a shell game.
• After these tests, nobody in Ops or mid-level management thinks NGen is going to work. Execs are becoming more openly negative. PhotoPass, automatic attraction photos, Talking Mickey, and hotel room keys aren't functioning properly...
• There is a warehouse full of IT nerds trying to fix computer code and scheduling for FP+ and other components of NGen. Much of the budget overrun is directed here right now.
• The upcoming Imagination refurb and DHS reboot should be successful, but Disney is concerned that no matter what they build, crowds will continue to be unwieldy. NGen was popularized among execs as crowd management.
• The data mining angle was mostly phased out after it raised eyebrows in Congress. Yeah, they'll still track your purchases, but it's no worse than how Super Target offers coupons or how Amazon and Netflix make suggestions.
• @wdwmagic You're right. Simply making the current FP system digital would have been a fantastic system. It's too bad Disney didn't roll things out in phases. As it stands, they bit off more than they could chew.

Is FP+ utterly doomed? No, Disney will figure out a way to use it. It just won't be what was planned.
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I read this and think:

How on earth do they expect to make $$$ on this (I'm not talking 'break even' money, I'm talking even a microcent of extra revenue on this).

So no datamining after all.... so there goes that part...

So now they want everyone in effect to wear their KTTW card on their wrist. It's supposedly 'easier' than pulling out your wallet, but then you need a PIN.

For parks that some people contend are 'half-day' parks, people who think that they are 'done' with a park early aren't going to automatically look for another place on property to eat/spend money if they are in a rental.

And for every person who likes FP+, I suspect a whole lot more will hate it.

And they are spending *how much* on this?

Is putting up for sale 'I'm With the Band' t-shirts next to the Turkey Leg & Dole Whip shirts going to justify 2.8 billion in capex?...
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
rael ramone said:
I read this and think:

How on earth do they expect to make $$$ on this (I'm not talking 'break even' money, I'm talking even a microcent of extra revenue on this).

So no datamining after all.... so there goes that part...

So now they want everyone in effect to wear their KTTW card on their wrist. It's supposedly 'easier' than pulling out your wallet, but then you need a PIN.

For parks that some people contend are 'half-day' parks, people who think that they are 'done' with a park early aren't going to automatically look for another place on property to eat/spend money if they are in a rental.

And for every person who likes FP+, I suspect a whole lot more will hate it.

And they are spending *how much* on this?

Is putting up for sale 'I'm With the Band' t-shirts next to the Turkey Leg & Dole Whip shirts going to justify 2.8 billion in capex?...
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From the sound of things, they no longer expect to break even on this. At least it will have provided a much-needed infrastructure update.
 
The Mom

The Mom

Moderator
Premium Member
IHeartArt said:
That's what discussion is, though. People talking about their opinions and other people describing their opinions. It doesn't matter if it changes anyone's minds so much as it does inform them. You said that it was acceptable to discuss things related to Universal and WDW in this thread. So far, I've seen the "bickering back and forth" being about Universal's counter service, the Hulk, and a frankly illuminating discussion on what flaws Universal's parks have.
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I deleted the ones arguing about the merits of different movie directors, and posts about parks far from Orlando. Also personal messages back and forth. And the half dozen or so that are asking where the OP is. He has a life, and will post when he feels like it.
This thread has been given a lot of leeway, but sometimes the discussions go way too far afield.
Just trying to keep it somewhat related to News and Rumors, and not letting it sink too far into Chit Chat.
 
Soarin' Over Pgh

Soarin' Over Pgh

Well-Known Member
George said:
Disneyland!:D
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NICE! I must say... I'm really missing that place. I've been toying with vacation ideas for next year and right now it's a toss up between staying on Universal property, and splitting time between Uni and WDW... or going back to DL/DCA. It's a tough... very tough decision. How did you like the place? Any highlights?


Is anyone here actually going to D23? Lee? Spirit?
 
Eeyore

Eeyore

Mrs. WDWMAGIC [Assistant Administrator]
Premium Member
stevehousse said:
Anyone else think "the mom" has been going a little too post delete happy lately???
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@The Mom has been a volunteer moderator here for nearly 12 years, we think she does a fantastic job and stand behind her work. As was mentioned to you previously, if you have an issue with the way things are run here we suggest you take it up privately with the administrator.

We have to do the best we can to strike a balance. The 3 of us have all been putting in a lot of hours (more than we should have to) trying to maintain some kind of order in this thread so that everyone who enjoys the discussion can continue to do so.

As I've mentioned in the past, there are 3 of us that do this in our spare time. I would be happy to take your constructive criticism after you've moderated a discussion forum with over 80,000 members and 4 million posts for over 11 years.
 
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