Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[alphac2005]

I don't know anything about most of the Disney lifestylers, but this sounds interesting. Do tell.

If you have the time to be entertained, this thread does it best:
http://www.magicmusic.net/topic/3228-the-wonderful-world-of-david-oneal/

The aforementioned lawsuit talk begins in posts from 2010. All so interesting.

 

[Bolna]

Is #2 really a problem in Disney's eyes? Seems to me like they already have the DVC'ers money and this way they get out of their end of the bargain and don't have to provide any services.

Yes, If they just let their points expire it means empty rooms that could be filled with guests paying for Disney's products and services. Even DVCers using points for other Disney offerings (like cruises, ABD) seems to be not so good if you look at all the discounts they offer for the Brits at OKW and that they took away that method of use from resale contracts. Also DVCers renting out their points take away guests who might otherwise book a Disney resort room.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don,t know anything about said individual. But I am waiting for the first Lifestyler to be arrested on sexual crimes involving kids. It will happen. And Disney will act shocked and appalled and distance itself , but the damage will be done.

So that begs the question... do you know that certain lifestylers are child molesters and you are anxiously awaiting for that information to surface OR are you implying that being a lifestyler makes it more likely that one is a child molester? If it is the latter, is there a huge difference between that possibility from them compared to the general public. How would that situation differ from the reaction to anyone else that might be on property. Over 60K employee's I'm sure contains one or two perverts amongst them.

 

[PorterRedkey]

With all due respect, you and those who think like you, sir or madame, are the greatest kind of danger a free society can face. Your utter incomprehension of history and the cycles of government is self-evident.

Who is our military, full of brave men and women whom I respect in the utmost way, protecting us from? Who? Seriously, I'm curious. I haven't heard a name in quite some time, because supposedly they killed that bin Laden guy awhile back (despite the fact that experts assert he died of illness sometime in 2002 or 2003 - too bad he was buried AT SEA so we'll never find out for sure).

You can say, well, terrorists of course! Islamic extremists who want us all dead! They're gonna come over here and hijack our planes and blow up our buildings and maim and kill like their holy book tells them to! Their compulsion can't be stopped and we're all in mortal danger!

Have you ever stopped to wonder why Islamic extremists don't like 'murica? Because I have. I thought, what do I, some podunk 'murican across the world, have to do with these people? Why do they care what I do or don't do? (Hint: do some historical research on that region, and the look up "blowback")

Questioning the motivation is where knowledge begins. Questioning the government (and this stuff is not exclusive to one party - Bush and Obama have pulled the exact same crap) is the start of understanding. Follow the chain of events:

- Clinton arms bin Laden and Al Qaeda operatives to assist in American efforts in the Middle East
- a group of extremists arrive in America, publicly register for flight school and prepare in broad daylight
- 9/11 attack happens, government response during and after attack is nil, presidential reaction is hours after the fact
- bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11 attack on US soil
- bin Laden is now Public Enemy No. 1, presumably manhunt ensues
- pre-written Patriot Act (what a name!) is pulled out the drawer and hastily passed, giving the government unprecedented and unconstitutional powers
- Department of Homeland Security is formed, a multi-trillion dollar agency that will eventually create its own military force and become one of the top domestic purchasers of ammo
- American people are angry and confused. To form a target, the Afghanistan and more importantly, Iraq wars are commenced
- Despite no obvious ties to bin Laden or 9/11, the Iraq war is unilaterally declared and Saddam Hussein is toppled
- Bush stands in front of a Mission Accomplished banner, and announces "Mission accomplished"
- Thousands more American soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians continue to die despite said accomplishment
- The introduction of the TSA shortly after 9/11 makes airline travel a PITA as mostly inept employees perform glorified bag checks
- Americans grow tired of the war effort in Iraq/Afghanistan (the graveyard of nations, as it has been so aptly called) as it becomes apparent that "winning" is not an option
- Damning evidence of military contractors, such as Halliburton, suggests a far more corrupt vision of the reasons for declaring war. The ties between high-ranking officials and companies like Halliburton (why, Dick Cheney for example) ALMOST make it seem like war was initiated to line pockets
- Leaked documents show possible ways to ignite war with Iran as considered by the Bush-Cheney administration, including a false flag operation in which American soldiers would be killed while posing as Iranians to spark anger toward that nation and justify an invasion
- Obama runs on a platform of peace and change, trumpets devotion to civil liberties as his Constitutional law background would indicate
- McCain loses by a long shot, and Obama is inaugurated
- TSA starts to get serious: agents are now clothed in police-style uniforms with shiny boots and epaulets. Invasive and untested "o scanners" are purchased in bulk from a company run by former DHS head, Michael Chertoff. What a coincidence!
- Military defense budgets continue to rise exponentially, despite a supposed decrease in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Deep into his first term, Obama shows no sign of winding down war operations or putting any kind of stop to unconstitutional practices as outlined in the Patriot Act. By the end of term, he has enshrined indefinite detention of American citizens without trial into law
- In 11 years, no Islamic extremists have attacked the United States on its soil. The FBI claims to have foiled several plots; the ones they choose to reveal in the public are quickly found to have been non-starters in the first place or outright fraudulent
- Snowden's leaks confirm what anyone who was paying attention already knew: our government has used a terrorist attack on 9/11/2001 to justify complete destruction of privacy for American citizens and citizens of other countries, with draconian abilities to read, track, intercept and wiretap all communications, including but not limited to Facebook, email, cell phone calls, Skype and real-time internet browsing.
- The DHS is now a multi-headed behemoth capable of enacting martial law at the drop of a hat in several of the nation's biggest cities. Military drills now occur within the country, some in the presence of civilians, as new "secret" bases have popped up, like the one on an old car dealership lot outside Las Vegas
- The leaders of the NSA and FBI have now repeatedly lied to Congress under oath about their surveillance operations. Despite the harsh consequences for baseball players who have lied under oath about steroid use, these men are still in positions in power and have experienced no repercussions whatsoever
- Despite an incredible tax base, our government is trillions of dollars in debt with no hope of ever emerging. We can thank Dick Cheney for getting that ball rolling ("deficits don't matter") and Obama for keeping it up
- Our men and women continue to die in combat to people who for the most part can't pitch a tent, let alone arrange transportation to America to inflict harm
- Our President wants to involve us in Syria's civil war, supporting and arming rebels who are affiliated with Al Qaeda and engage in cannibalism, rape and other war crimes

Are you seeing a progression? It's just incredible. War is a drug our government and its contractors are hooked on. It's not some noble effort to keep us safe; it's a profit machine and the lives of our military are callously disregarded, as is their care after they return home. To say otherwise indicates a mental illness beyond denial and insults the brave who have died in the process.

Our Constitution expressly forbids the vast majority of our federal government's operations, yet the American populace believes them to be working on our behalf and for our good. I am not so trusting, and that's because I can see the man behind the curtain. Money makes the world go around, not an altruistic sense of duty.

The government doesn't deserve our trust; it hasn't earned our trust. The NSA spies on American citizens. The DHS is armed to the hilt and outfitting local PDs with military grade weapons and vehicles, while FEMA orders masses of plastic coffins and sets up "detention" camps around the country, you know, just in case.

Who exactly is the enemy now?

You may say, I have nothing to hide! Let them read my stupid Facebook posts and follow me around while I browse Amazon, eBay and sites, I'm just an average nobody!

This is the most dangerous mindset to have. Information can be cobbled and take piecemeal, and then cobbled together to paint you as a horrible person, a dangerous possible terrorist, even though you're as innocent as apple pie. Information is a weapon - why do you think Disney has approved such a bloated budget for NGE? They must think the data it will yield is quite valuable, and they are correct.

Our Constitution and its Bill of Rights are brilliantly framed, and we will disintegrate as a nation if we don't stick to it. It's already happening.

"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me."

The question remains, who's the enemy now?

If you don't know, you're not paying attention.

There is so much misinformation in this post. I don't think I would even know where to start. I would check your facts about your timeline if I were you.

 

[flynnibus]

Did you guys see Jim Hill's story on MM+? He drops the real truths about what's really going on with this project:

http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_c...ed-response-from-wdw-guests.aspx#.UhRkUxYbZOc

What I find fun about that article is... the guests asking about the bands. I highly doubt they all were so enthralled with what the bands offered.. but probably a large portion were motivated by the desire to not be left behind or not being in the cool club. People are so selfish they want to be the 'hand picked ones' - regardless of what its for. When someone starts screaming they want in.. and they don't even know what 'it' is... you get the idea

 

[flynnibus]

Is #2 really a problem in Disney's eyes? Seems to me like they already have the DVC'ers money and this way they get out of their end of the bargain and don't have to provide any services.

Opportunity loss... locking in a customer is not just about getting their committed dollars.. but getting their non-committed dollars too. TWDC would not be happy if guests ONLY spent on their hotel rooms and tickets.. and had zero discretionary spending. Same with DVC...

 

[Funmeister]

That's fair but occupancy isn't down. It's more or less flat as a percentage of rooms available and up as a raw number, which means they're holding steady AND filling DAAR. If DVCers are indeed staying elsewhere then they must be getting replaced by other guests.

That is a skewed statement though because it is taking more rooms to make the same amount of money it did in the past. Look at the discounts Disney now has to give in order to get their overall room capacity up. A high occupancy is nothing to be proud of if you are not selling it at the target price point. This includes free meals. As far as I am concerned if you have to give discounts on the level that they are no matter what the occupancy rate is....it is down! 80% at full price (rooms, meals, etc.) GREAT! 80% with free meals at a discounted rate. FAIL! Especially when more and more guests are....ARE...using their DIsney hotel room or DVC as a vacation hub to go to other non-DIsney attractions spending money on non-Disney merchandise, eating non-Disney food.

 

[asianway]

So that begs the question... do you know that certain lifestylers are child molesters and you are anxiously awaiting for that information to surface OR are you implying that being a lifestyler makes it more likely that one is a child molester? If it is the latter, is there a huge difference between that possibility from them compared to the general public. How would that situation differ from the reaction to anyone else that might be on property. Over 60K employee's I'm sure contains one or two perverts amongst them.

The Central FL area attracts child predators like a beacon. There are many lifestylers in the Central FL area. This is like one of those overlapping statistic brain teasers which it is too early for me to work through.

@WDW1974 do you have a pool started? Ill take some action.

 

[Goofyernmost]

What I find fun about that article is... the guests asking about the bands. I highly doubt they all were so enthralled with what the bands offered.. but probably a large portion were motivated by the desire to not be left behind or not being in the cool club. People are so selfish they want to be the 'hand picked ones' - regardless of what its for. When someone starts screaming they want in.. and they don't even know what 'it' is... you get the idea

Yea, there is quite a difference between between feeling left out and wanting something that you know nothing about and being upset because of the nightmare that is happening because one is involved. They aren't even on the same continent.

NEWS FLASH: It has been announced that the maiden voyage of the Titanic was a rousing success. This is determined by the almost total lack of complaints from passengers and the overwhelming number of people that were loudly disappointed as it left the dock in England without them on board.

 

[WDWDad13]

That is a skewed statement though because it is taking more rooms to make the same amount of money it did in the past. Look at the discounts Disney now has to give in order to get their overall room capacity up. A high occupancy is nothing to be proud of if you are not selling it at the target price point. This includes free meals. As far as I am concerned if you have to give discounts on the level that they are no matter what the occupancy rate is....it is down! 80% at full price (rooms, meals, etc.) GREAT! 80% with free meals at a discounted rate. FAIL! Especially when more and more guests are....ARE...using their DIsney hotel room or DVC as a vacation hub to go to other non-DIsney attractions spending money on non-Disney merchandise, eating non-Disney food.

trust me... they are NOT getting "free" food... in fact more resorts than ever were excluded from this meaning they were already full or near it and didn't need a discount offered. Also, there are more blackout dates than before

Ex. Offer excludes Villas at Grand Floridian, Port Orleans – French Quarter Resort, Art of Animation Resort, All-Star Movies Resort, Ft. Wilderness campsites and 3-bedroom villas

check in between 9/29/13 – 10/2/13, 10/18/13 – 11/2/13, 11/11/13 – 11/23/13 or 12/12/13 – 12/22/13

it all depends on how you look at it...

 

[Tim_4]

trust me... they are NOT getting "free" food... in fact more resorts than ever were excluded from this meaning they were already full or near it and didn't need a discount offered. Also, there are more blackout dates than before

Ex. Offer excludes Villas at Grand Floridian, Port Orleans – French Quarter Resort, Art of Animation Resort, All-Star Movies Resort, Ft. Wilderness campsites and 3-bedroom villas

check in between 9/29/13 – 10/2/13, 10/18/13 – 11/2/13, 11/11/13 – 11/23/13 or 12/12/13 – 12/22/13

it all depends on how you look at it...

Plus, free dine is nothing new. Discounts will always exist because guests need incentive to travel in the off season, hence why it's CALLED the off season. If they were offering free dine in the middle of July for all resorts, then there would be room for concern.

 

[MattM]

And I never pictured you (at all but ...)

Well for that I am thankful

 

[Lee]

What I find fun about that article is... the guests asking about the bands. I highly doubt they all were so enthralled with what the bands offered.. but probably a large portion were motivated by the desire to not be left behind or not being in the cool club. People are so selfish they want to be the 'hand picked ones' - regardless of what its for. When someone starts screaming they want in.. and they don't even know what 'it' is... you get the idea

Agreed.
It was more "I want a band! I want to be special, too!" And not so much wanting to experience MM+.

 

[wm49rs]

Agreed.
It was more "I want a band! I want to be special, too!" And not so much wanting to experience MM+.

Well, wanting to be part of the band is simply magical, don't you know....

 

[Bolna]

Well, wanting to be part of the band is simply magical, don't you know....

I wonder whether these would be the people who are going to buy the "I am with the band" t-shirts.

Somehow these reports of lots of people demanding MAGIC bands, without knowing what it really is, seem to be proof for what @WDW1974 is saying about the typical WDW guest...

 

[WDWDad13]

Agreed.
It was more "I want a band! I want to be special, too!" And not so much wanting to experience MM+.

that's easy to say when the general population, typical Disney guest, and heck probably 90% of Disney fans (and still a lot of pixie dust sniffers on here) still don't yet know much about MagicBands, how they work, what they need to do ahead of time, etc. etc.

Disney has POORLY promoted and educated people on this. My hope is that it's because they are still tweaking so much and didn't want to put much out there until everything was finalize as to what was offered, how it can be used, etc. but the closer it gets to implementation... I don't know

there are so many ways Disney could positively promote these...many of which aren't even being discussed (ex. locating a lost child or separated family member, etc.)

 

[Lee]

Well, wanting to be part of the band is simply magical, don't you know....

Oh, yes...

And all the little doo-dads they are selling to decorate the bands? Ugh. They are gonna do their damnedest to make the bands the new pins.

Shoot me now.

 

[WDWDad13]

even Dollywood is doing big things and much quicker than Disney:

DOLLYWOOD TO GET $300 MILLION UPGRADE [DOLLY PARTON ANNOUNCES DREAMMORE RESORT IN 2015 AND FIRE CHASER EXPRESS IN 2014]:
"In the near future, Parton sees a resort hotel lobby with a three-story window that frames Mount LeConte — one of the tallest peaks in the Smoky Mountains. Guests will be able to book a grand suite in the hotel that the entertainer uses when she stays in the Pigeon Forge theme park that bears her name.

All of that is future tense, but not very far away. The park plans to open DreamMore Resort in 2015. It's part of a planned $300 million expansion to take place over the next decade.
...
A new roller coaster, this one aimed at families, is scheduled to open in 2014....

"The thing we're most excited about is finally building our resort," Parton said Friday by telephone from the park in the Smokies foothills....

There will be a lot of "front porch spaces" at the resort. Parton noted that during her upbringing nearby, people tended to congregate on front porches or in the kitchen.

A fishing pond will be on the property where children can catch their first whopper and there will be fire pits where families can roast marshmallows.

People walking into the lobby will be greeted with a glass of lemonade in the summer and a cup of hot chocolate during winter months.

The total dollar investment in the next decade will exceed the company's spending on Dollywood so far, said Craig Ross, president....

The first of the new attractions will be Fire Chaser Express, scheduled to open next year....

Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, emphasized the importance of the Dollywood expansion....

The Sevier County where Parton grew up was mostly hardscrabble farming and a few summer forays into selling trinkets to tourists.

She is proud to be part of the transformation of the mountains gateway community."

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/dollywood-build-resort-add-shows-rides-20022025

http://www.today.com/travel/dollywood-get-300-million-upgrade-6C10965283

http://smokymountainviews.com/Dollywood_Events.html

 

[Rodan75]

Of. Course they are.

Problem #1 with DVCers: they are starting to use their units as true vacation homes and not go go WDW parks and not dine in WDW restaurants. Oh, and they are visiting other area attractions.

Problem #2 with DVCers: many are opting to NOT even use the points at WDW at all.

Well...at least with Problem #2, I think a lot of that has to do with WDW availability. I'm stunned by how booked up the resorts are 6 months in advance. I'm lucky to find a Tues/Wed open room let alone a weekend.

I know the hate that exists for the DVC program in general on here, but holy crap is it far more popular than I ever imagined.

 

[flynnibus]

Well, wanting to be part of the band is simply magical, don't you know....

So special they should make a t-shirt about it!