Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[WDW1974]

Quick off-topic comment.

Been binging Breaking Bad this weekend (finished all of season one and most of season two), but I can't help but wonder if one of the big reveals will be that Hank is part of one of the big drug cartels.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Absolutely. It's an arrogance based on decades of earning that trust be people who are either dead or no longer with the company. In many ways it is no different than the arrogance displayed by the government of the USA.

A 'how dear you question us' 'tude that is highly misplaced.

I know enough about how Bob Iger conducts business to not trust him if he says the world is round.

Youre totally right.

Its that arrogant attitude of "The Guests Will Always Come" that is where theyre beginning to fail.

 

[luv]

I think the Disney managers know what would be good for Disney World, but they don't care. They're making their money now. Down the road, when the parks are gasping for breath...that will be someone else's problem.

They aren't Walt. They don't own it. They don't care about it or take any pride in it.

Even at the top, it's just their job.

 

[GoofGoof]

Yes, Jason's article has landed....and after reading it I'm a bit....meh.

My thoughts...
-I guess I shouldn't really expect a hard-hitting expose or anything, but it did seem a bit superficial.
-Jason seems to be an ok guy, but based some outside knowledge and on the articles I've read (and participated in) he seems to stop short of taking the investigations where they really need to go. He seems...too timid.
-80% positive.......I just can't get over the gall it took to actually say that. Did Jason press them on that figure? Doubt it.
-He calls the $1.1 billion Universal is spending on rides "nearly the same" as what Disney is spending on MM+ and NextGen. Really? 50% (at most) is "nearly the same"? Maybe if you are just talking MM+...
-Almost no mention of the privacy concerns. Wow.
-Jason told me he hasn't been reading the various forums for a while. It shows. Just reading the threads here would have opened up many more potential issues for him to investigate regarding NextGen.

Jason, if you are reading this....man up. Do a real story, asking the hard questions, and if they try any more of that 80% positive to 2% negative BS....call them on it.

There was a Lee in the comments section of the sentinel article who said some things that sounded a lot like your position on this whole thing. Was that you or another like minded Lee?

 

[WDW1974]

Poignant, and sad.

I have older relatives (including my parents) who have noticed the changes too. Took their grandchildren to WDW for the first time, and were disgusted at what they saw. They too noticed the dirt, the staleness, the poor service, and the extreme prices and were very disappointed. They noted the place is nothing like it was during the early 80's when they first went.

I guess Disney doesn't want the oldtimers anymore, or would rather they forget how things used to be.

They don't. They want either DVCers, addicts/BRAND advocates or one and dones.
They certainly don't want guests who understand why things are supposed to be done a certain way more than those entrusted with getting away with not doing so.

 

[luv]

Quick off-topic comment.

Been binging Breaking Bad this weekend (finished all of season one and most of season two), but I can't help but wonder if one of the big reveals will be that Hank is part of one of the big drug cartels.

Aren't you the same guy who was about people discussing Breaking Bad on this thread?

And do you really want to know about Hank? Because I can pm you, lol.

 

[MattM]

Yes, there are a few ways to implement such restrictions based on where the request is coming from. It's possible to do this broadly, but hard to do it with exacting precision. Geolocation for IP networks is decent, but not always precise for legitimate reasons (imagine your company's handoff to the public internet is somewhere distant from your actual office, etc)

I see. Either way, we've been getting subscription notices after a few articles every month. I'd just assumed everyone had.

 

[GoofGoof]

haha are you going to send Pluto after me? Beat me in World of Warcraft? It's easy to be a tough guy from the parents basement, I suppose.

Really though, I'm not sure what your deal is? Let it go little guy. Move on.

That's exactly what I have been telling you to do.

And stop with the personal attacks.

Guys, the boss said quit it. Enough already:

Some of you are persisting with personal insults and arguments. That is against the terms of use of this forum. Please stop. Thank you.

 

[WDW1974]

Less than 30% of people invited to use MM+ have done so. Many who have tried found it too complicated. Guests have been told MM+ is a "bonus" to--not a replacement for--traditional FP. These are all facts based on first hand reports.

ETA: To make it clear, I'm deliberately avoiding any talk of government involvement in MM+. I understand that is a far more nebulous subject, which is why the Spirit's detractors have seized on it. But assuming without deciding that there is nothing wrong with WDW tracking people--the evidence suggests this is a $3B white elephant that does nothing to enhance guest experiences.

And I just want to make it clear that I am NOT saying the NGE program is costing $3 billion yet. I have no idea where that number hails from. All I know for certain is original number was $1 billion. BoD approved $1.2 billion ...number has gone significantly over that. That is it. Because I am royally tired of folks attributing things to me that I never said or claimed

What I will claim is this is being run very different than any other CAPEX project in WDW history in that, it appears, to have no cap on spending or cost. You read into that whatever you like.

 

[ScoutN]

They don't. They want either DVCers

Errr the DVCers who would rather go on a cruise and use the DVC Resorts as home bases for offerings elsewhere in OTown or as a standalone pool relax trip.

 

[GoofGoof]

And I just want to make it clear that I am NOT saying the NGE program is costing $3 billion yet. I have no idea where that number hails from. All I know for certain is original number was $1 billion. BoD approved $1.2 billion ...number has gone significantly over that. That is it. Because I am royally tired of folks attributing things to me that I never said or claimed

What I will claim is this is being run very different than any other CAPEX project in WDW history in that, it appears, to have no cap on spending or cost. You read into that whatever you like.

Thanks for clearing that up. I think we were due for the number to jump to $3.5 billion next month. It seems to go up about $500M every 2 months in the rumor mill. In reality, there's no need to exaggerate the budget to be critical of the project. Even if they stuck to the $1.2 B it would have been a gross miss allocation of capital.

 

[WDW1974]

Don't be ridiculous, @Lee - why disregard the information when you can rant, rave and beg for attention instead (bonus points if you then claim it's the OP and other posters who are ranting, raving and begging for attention).

Because it is the only way some folks are going to get attention. But I think at some point posters need to gently be told that if all you can come back with is accusing someone of lying and and making things up for attention with no evidence to prove that contention when the individual(s) being shot at have a long history of providing accurate information that it might be in the interest of the forum that they either moved on to other threads or from the site entirely.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

OMG, time out. Go to your time out corners, both of you. And take the butthurt cream with you.


Enough already. :/

 

[|Q|]

What I will claim is this is being run very different than any other CAPEX project in WDW history in that, it appears, to have no cap on spending or cost. You read into that whatever you like.

I was wondering, what about china? Are they planning to use NextGen in SDL? If they can make it work there, i totally see that the chinese government could be interested in licensing the tech for larger scale use... *_*'

 

[unkadug]

A billion dollars on wristbands.

A billion dollars.

Something is going on here that hasn't come out yet.

Nope...it's pretty transparent that it was money foolishly spent.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Been wanting to post this for a while, but I decided now was a good time since we have a SPIRITED presence here. Comment regarding NGE being a laboratory for something bigger reminded me about this project from a couple years back about a prototype city.
http://www.geekosystem.com/billion-dollar-ghost-town/
NGE seems awfully similar to this New Mexican project, just with people and MAGIC.

 

[GoofGoof]

Been wanting to post this for a while, but I decided now was a good time since we have a SPIRITED presence here. Comment regarding NGE being a laboratory for something bigger reminded me about this project from a couple years back about a prototype city.
http://www.geekosystem.com/billion-dollar-ghost-town/
NGE seems awfully similar to this New Mexican project, just with people.

Haven't these people seen Terminator or The Matrix. This sounds like the first step towards the machines taking over the world. We can learn a lot from Hollywood

 

[WDW1974]

Despite the justified complaining you do about the resort, this attitude just encourages them to do the same thing you're complaining about. If people are complaining about a product, hate what a product is doing, and hate how that product is evolving, but continue to support the product that just shows management that everything is OK.

I love the resort, I love the parks or what they stood for, but I won't be returning to WDW until they give me a reason to return.

I don't really know how to respond to this anymore. I have many, many times.. Can you bookmark it for the next time someone responds to me as you did?

Here goes :

Disney doesn't want my business, not because I am 'difficult' or any such nonsense, but because of my expectation that they deliver the product they pimp, the product I grew up on, the product they conditioned me to accept.
They want me to just go away. But, if I do, it won't change a damn thing. Indeed, they'll just replace me with a rube who doesn't know any better and thinks WDW 2013 has never been better.

I spend a tiny fraction of what I once did. The days of blowing thousands in a week at WDW are now ancient history. I stay off-site or with extreme discounts onsite or on friends DVC for NOTHING. My days of walking out of the Art of Disney with giant boxes and AmEx statements is over. The DDE days of eating at WDW locales is long gone. And let's not forget how much Disney loses on me in Coke sales! (on that alone, Bob and Willow will have go sell one of the seven homes!)

For all practical purposes, Disney barely makes anything on me. Yet, I still get to enjoy parts of WDW, and enjoy the company of family and friends in the area.

If I stop going, believe it or not, I am just playing into Disney's hands as i will no longer have first-hand knowledge to point out that they are not running their business in a smart fashion for the long term benefits of fans, guest, cast AND shareholders.

So, I'll keep going and, try as they might, they won,t be doing much more than breaking even with me as a guest.

 

[Funmeister]

And I just want to make it clear that I am NOT saying the NGE program is costing $3 billion yet. I have no idea where that number hails from. All I know for certain is original number was $1 billion. BoD approved $1.2 billion ...number has gone significantly over that. That is it. Because I am royally tired of folks attributing things to me that I never said or claimed

What I will claim is this is being run very different than any other CAPEX project in WDW history in that, it appears, to have no cap on spending or cost. You read into that whatever you like.

@WDW1974 do you know how much "Project Tomorrowland" cost in comparison to NextGen?

 

[WDW1974]

Indy.

But there again FOTLK was meant to close last winter.

Yes, and I reported that it was delayed as was Pandoran construction due to funds being shifted over to the NGE disaster (someone really should point this out to that 'kitty' Jason Garcia).