Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[Mike C]

Hate to break up the endless MM+ back and forth, but here's some actual news with photos of two sets of hogwarts express trains at attractions mag (linked)

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Well, he was wrong.
He insisted that the entire project, not just WDW, was costing a billion, and that WDW alone was only a few hundred million. Entirely incorrect, but he wouldn't hear of it. In fact he's still sticking to that line in comments on Garcia's article.

Same way in the mine ride thread he insisted that there was going to be a log bridge and a mine entrance next to the first lift. Wouldn't be swayed...and was still wrong.

Maybe Lee. I don't know and I don't much care, I didn't join either discussion. Somebody maybe / maybe not being off a bit over some budget is in no way, shape or form any excuse for bullying. 'Hey, there's a guy wrong about a number, let's all scream insults at him, and bully him away and take away his hobby.'

Do people realise that a very kind, pleasant, friendly poster has been bullied away from this website? Think about it. Take a step back and think about it. An actual, real person, like you and me, with Disney for a hobby, who gets a bit misty eyed at Wishes, who watches classic Disney movies on his home cinema set, and has been posting here for several years. He has been bullied away from this website, in plain sight, for all to see.

A disgraceful act. And that's men and women and their thirties and forties acting. Juvenile and insufferable behaviour, a great shame that continues to hang over this thread and the other, and over this website that let it happen, and over several posters who need to take a good long look in the mirror.

 

[wdwmagic]

Fastpass messed up TSMM and Undersea Adventures, amongst others. But sticking FP+ on Spaceship Earth? Really? Its been fine for 30 years. So lets change it.

Agreed. Though I'm not a FP fan at all. I say lets go back to the old days - standby lines or nothing. Wanna ride Splash? Then get in line and wait. LOL

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Oh, it's ok to be wrong.
It's less ok to be wrong and refuse, despite all evidence to the contrary, to admit it.

No, that's intimidation. 'Tow the line, or else...'

 

[wdwmagic]

Maybe Lee. I don't know and I don't much care, I didn't join either discussion. Somebody maybe / maybe not being off a bit over some budget is in no way, shape or form any excuse for bullying. 'Hey, there's a guy wrong about a number, let's all scream insults at him, and bully him away and take away his hobby.'

Do people realise that a very kind, pleasant, friendly poster has been bullied away from this website? Think about it. Take a step back and think about it. An actual, real person, like you and me, with Disney for a hobby, who gets a bit misty eyed at Wishes, who watches classic Disney movies on his home cinema set, and has been posting here for several years. He has been bullied away from this website, in plain sight, for all to see.

A disgraceful act. And that's men and women and their thirties and forties acting. Juvenile and insufferable behaviour, a great shame that continues to hang over this thread and the other, and over this website that let it happen, and over several posters who need to take a good long look in the mirror.

Everyone who takes part in this thread chooses to do so. Nobody is forced to take part. If a poster doesn't like the subject, content or mood of a thread, they can easily step out. If someone keeps going back and forth, as the poster you mention did, then it would seem that he or she is happy to be engaged in that discussion. I don't see that as bullying.

 

[WDWDad13]

Agreed. Though I'm not a FP fan at all. I say lets go back to the old days - standby lines or nothing. Wanna ride Splash? Then get in line and wait. LOL

haha... I don't use fastpasses but can you imagine the backlash if they tried that now

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I'm not going into the conspiracy department, but there has been various stories for many years of the government and The Walt Disney Company working on various projects together. You don't even need to look recently, look at the government propaganda films that Walt had the studio create, which weren't just out patriotism, rather the studio needed funds with recession and war. So, it isn't too far fetched to see that in Disney's ancient IT infrastructure in ORL, maybe, some modern cooperation allows the company to upgrade tech and allows testing for the system, whether it's for a government agency or private company.

Here's my question: You scoff at @WDW1974 and his notion of what is going on here and then present yourself as having the insight that no one else has as to what the company is doing by tying in your Disney Infinity scenarios, so shouldn't you see that many people will look at you as skeptically as he? Yet, we're getting posts that are very condescending and on the verge of insulting when you reply to any and all that he or she doesn't understand what's really going on here. It seems like you both are saying the same thing, but coming from two different angles.

The bottom line that I would assume that nearly all can agree on is that whatever the motive, rollout, etc., the idea is that the Walt Disney Company sucks every last cent out of their fanbois. Plain and simple. Conspiracies and other issues aside, we're a speck on the spreadsheet and Disney wants every last blood out of that speck.

I don't see the US or Chinese government being behind any Disney tech program. That reeks of paranoia.

However, it is near impossible to invest in data mining or tracking without the US government being involved. All of those bloated American bloated defense and secutiry budgets (speaking of paranoia...) permeate the markets, the billions trickle down everywhere.

Siemens and Disney are in a technology partnership. While Siemens for it's part is a large supplier of surveillance systems to the US government security and defense branches. It very much showcases its technology to government contractors in Disney.

http://www.usa.siemens.com/en/siemens_in_the_usa/disney_alliance.htm

 

[ford91exploder]

Thank goodness I have a graduate biology degree from Yale...

You still miss 'The Game' don't you

 

[ford91exploder]

I don't see the US or Chinese government being behind any Disney tech program. That reeks of paranoia.

However, it is near impossible to invest in data mining or tracking without the US government being involved. Speaking of paranoia: all of America's bloated defense and secutiry budgets permeate the markets, the billions trickle down everywhere.

Siemens and Disney are in a technology partnership. While Siemens for it's part is a large supplier of surveillance systems to the US government security and defense branches. It very much showcases its technology to government contractors in Disney.

http://www.usa.siemens.com/en/siemens_in_the_usa/disney_alliance.htm

The difference being IN-Q-TEL is CIA captive company, and Siemens makes everything electrical and electronic from electric outlets to locomotives. I'd be surprised if the did not provide surveilance gear, but their primary line of business is not intelligence gathering for US Government its electronics

 

[71jason]

haha... I don't use fastpasses but can you imagine the backlash if they tried that now

On the internet message boards, I totally agree: Armageddon-like meltdown. Because hard core fans are the ones who use FP disproportionally--at the expense of more casual guests.

Among real world tourists, maybe some griping for a month, but most lines will be short enough that no one will care. And statistically most tourists use less than one FP per day anyway (IIRC, it's like 0.6). It would be Main Street cinnamon buns all over again.

Remember, this isn't entirely theoretical. Universal actually did this in the mid-aughts*. APs grumbled for a month or two, but it clearly hasn't prevented those parks from growing.

*--Ignoring the paid Express Pass, because outside of HHN, the numbers who use it seem fairly negligible.

 

[afar28]

Hate to break up the endless MM+ back and forth, but here's some actual news with photos of two sets of hogwarts express trains at attractions mag (linked)

Looking good so far...very excited for this.

 

[Lee]

No, that's intimidation. 'Tow the line, or else...'

Not at all.
A: "The sky is green."
B: "No, actually it's blue."
A: "Uh-uh...green."
B: "I've seen it. It's blue."
A: "We'll, I think it will be green. That's the plan."
B: "Ugh. Never mind."

No intimidation. It's just trying to help.

 

[WDWDad13]

Not at all.
A: "The sky is green."
B: "No, actually it's blue."
A: "Uh-uh...green."
B: "I've seen it. It's blue."
A: "We'll, I think it will be green. That's the plan."
B: "Ugh. Never mind."

No intimidation. It's just trying to help.

funny...that sounds just like the democrat and republican party... but neither have the right color lol

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

No, that's intimidation. 'Tow the line, or else...'

"Polite" or not, pixie's disagreements with other people here generally just came across as disagreeing for the sake of causing drama and conflict. At least in the posts where he was proven absolutely and objectively wrong and still desperately tried to claim he was right.

I don't blame Lee for becoming annoyed by pixie's comments when he just continued to disagree after being proven wrong time and time and time again. As he said, the disagreements descended into just trying to continue an argument and cause controversy. It's the same sort of argumentative nonsense flat earth society members pull. Polite or not, they're still just trying to incite arguments.

It didn't help matters when in one of the DHS topics pixie went out of his way to say there was no chance DHS was getting any sort of redo. He basically said the insiders here were full of BS (regardless of how "politely" he said it, though there really isn't any polite way to call a well respected and reputable member a liar).

 

[The Empress Lilly]

The difference being IN-Q-TEL is CIA captive company, and Siemens makes everything electrical and electronic from electric outlets to locomotives. I'd be surprised if the did not provide surveilance gear, but their primary line of business is not intelligence gathering for US Government its electronics

True, yes. But even Siemens couldn't resist the temptation of all those trillions of security paranoia dollars.

As Siemens did seventy years earlier, in the mid-naughties it jumped onto the possiblity to provide all the gadgets for gung-ho governments and (semi-)private ventures.

Is there anything more comparable to large theme parks than large airports? Siemens provides these with their facial recognition, crowd control, anti-terrorist security hard and software.
http://www.siemens.com/press/en/pre...ies/building-technologies/soicbt201302-01.htm

 

[MattM]

Not at all.
A: "The sky is green."
B: "No, actually it's blue."
A: "Uh-uh...green."
B: "I've seen it. It's blue."
A: "We'll, I think it will be green. That's the plan."
B: "Ugh. Never mind."

No intimidation. It's just trying to help.

Well, we can verify that the sky is not green. Internal numbers from an entertainment conglomerate are a little more difficult to nail down.

 

[ford91exploder]

True, yes. But even Siemens couldn't resist the temptation of all those trillions of security paranoia dollars.

As Siemens did seventy years earlier, in the mid-naughties it jumped onto the possiblity to provide all the gadgets for gung-ho governments and (semi-)private ventures.

Is there anything more comparable to large theme parks than large airports? Siemens provides these with their facial recognition, crowd control, anti-terrorist security hard and software.
http://www.siemens.com/press/en/pre...ies/building-technologies/soicbt201302-01.htm

Very true, It it is fascinating to watch all the same companies who supplied 1929-1945 Germany, supply the tools for the GwoT almost like they long for the good old days of men in long leather coats asking for 'Your papers please'.

 

[HMF]

I don't see the US or Chinese government being behind any Disney tech program. That reeks of paranoia.

However, it is near impossible to invest in data mining or tracking without the US government being involved. All of those bloated American bloated defense and secutiry budgets (speaking of paranoia...) permeate the markets, the billions trickle down everywhere.

Siemens and Disney are in a technology partnership. While Siemens for it's part is a large supplier of surveillance systems to the US government security and defense branches. It very much showcases its technology to government contractors in Disney.

http://www.usa.siemens.com/en/siemens_in_the_usa/disney_alliance.htm

Not all Conspiracy theories are as far fetched as they seem.

 

[bhg469]

Agreed. Though I'm not a FP fan at all. I say lets go back to the old days - standby lines or nothing. Wanna ride Splash? Then get in line and wait. LOL

We would get amazing queue lines for every new attraction and the lines would actually flow. Its not rocket science.

 

[marni1971]

Agreed. Though I'm not a FP fan at all. I say lets go back to the old days - standby lines or nothing. Wanna ride Splash? Then get in line and wait. LOL

I agree to your agreement

Remember the days with one line, and aside from a 101 the line never stopped shuffling forward? Kids, that's how it used to be. And it worked. Slow enough to enjoy properly immersive preshows like Star Tours without having to stand still in standby. Not going into politics and reasons again but FP harmed the actual art of the queue. And FP+ will do it again by all accounts.