Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[lazyboy97o]

True enough, old sparring partner ...and then there are those things like the GAC rampant abuse issues, that everyone knows about and complains about and local media won't touch, but suddenly it winds up on the Today Show and it won't die down and the company is FORCED to take action.

But I am sure you are right, this is something minor and no one will ever even look at it. Yep I am convinced. (Do I need the sarcastic smiley here?)

If it would make for a big national story, why not prove us wrong and make it one?

 

[71jason]

There was a time when Disneyland and Walt Disney World were considered great, respectable places for adults to visit. That was very much the aim of parks.

In the 00s, something like 1 in 6 WDW guests came without kids. , convention-goers (probably the biggest one), honeymooners, retirees. Of course, WDW still owned golf courses, and nightclubs, and more than 2 or 3 world-class restaurants...

 

[71jason]

Church Street a station was killed, literally, by Pleasure island but has since been revived.

I don't know "revived" is the right word--maybe "recycled"? A lot of the buildings are in use as bars, but the market has definitely changed as tourists shifted west (from I-Drive to on property and 192), Seminole County yuppies got Winter Park, and UCF quickly grew from a mid-sized community college to the largest university in the country, and one hell of a party school. It's a far younger, rowdier, local crowd than Church St. Station ever drew. Also, the concept of one cover for the entire complex of different clubs, like PI and CityWalk, is long gone (Wall St. might still do it, but not Church St.).

 

[lazyboy97o]

I don't know "revived" is the right word--maybe "recycled"?

I too didn't think "revived" was the best choice, but was unable to come up with a better word without getting into more detail.

 

[ScoutN]

As a college student, I can say that 90% of the people here and in surrounding areas do not have much disposable income, and they are not helped out much by mommy and daddy, and they do not have jobs that pay more than minimum wage. And that small income they do have goes towards college loans, future expenses, school supplies, car payments, etc. From my very own standpoint, I do not have the money to buy a ticket for myself, nor do I have the money to buy things in-park, especially the overpriced junk Disney sells. Last time I went to Six Flags I paid to get in and spent $4 for lemonade, and everyone else I was with (probably 6 or 7 people) spent a total of $5-10.

Just my two cents.

AS a college student that is also a DVC Member I make (made) 4-5 trips to WDW per year for a week and at least 3-4 per year that were under a week long. That has taken a significant cutback due to lack of offerings. Each visit had several friends that would spend their rear off too. They are also college students. Instead of WDW as much as I have in the past I now I have two cruises booked before the year is out. The one with extra OTown days is going to UNI and SWF. Little Mermaid: Ursula saves the day is not enough to get me there on a regular basis.

Several students with large loans often use the extra to book vacations $1,000+ in value for a week. That is a gimme demographic that Uni is tapping into and WDW is letting go to the wayside.

 

[misterID]

I agree...

Targeting College kids means doing it cheap.. and in volume. College bars/etc make their money by doing it BIG in volume. Getting high volumes of college kids means being being within the transportation of the college kids.. walking/buses/etc. To make the college kids go out of their way to TRAVEL to you really means building your product specifically to them (cheap booze, food, sex, dancing, etc) and being SO GOOD at it that they will sacrifice to be there.

Other types of businesses do it by catering to the specifics of the demographics (late hours, right location, etc).

None of these apply to a location like WDW... an island out away from everything, that is too much of a prude to be hip and sexy, too slow to be on the leading edge, and overcharges for EVERYTHING.

That's not to say there aren't college age kids that like Disney... but their existence doesn't make Disney a college kid focused product.

Yes, exactly, WDW has built themselves as a place away from everywhere else. They are built SPECIFICALLY (and priced specifically) for tourists and to keep them on site. And unlike the people who go to Vegas, they aren't the demo to go nightclubbing on any wide scale. That's why downtown Orlando exists, for that young, local demo. And one of many reasons I avoid it, nowadays... uggh.

PI could have worked, had they stuck to the skating rink (that place was friggin fun, no matter how many bruises and injuries I walked away with -- I didn't even mind the teal green skates ) and a bowling alley would have been great down there, not to mention dinner shows. They focused on the wrong thing, imo.

The $5-10 budget for college kids really depends on which College you're talking about. University of Tennessee? Yeah, most likely. Vanderbilt? No, not really. Much more disposable income from those kids.

 

[flynnibus]

True enough, old sparring partner ...and then there are those things like the GAC rampant abuse issues, that everyone knows about and complains about and local media won't touch, but suddenly it winds up on the Today Show and it won't die down and the company is FORCED to take action.

The GAC story has great angles that gives it legs. The the topic of 'the haves vs the have nots' is big in the country right now due to the economy, the idea of the rich being too good for everyone else, the idea that rich are 'above the law', the sensationalism over people abusing perks.. It's a perfect fit for the tabloid nature of our society today. It showcases individual's bad behaviors. Isn't that like 90% of TV these days?

A story about Disney lobbying in FL isn't going to have legs for people in Chicago. But that's just IMHO. Feel free to prove us wrong

 

[GoofGoof]

The decline in creative design and quality t-shirts over the past few years is a pet peeve of mine. However, there was one amusing exception. I was in the Japan pavilion at Epcot back in late May. They had a black (background) t-shirt from Japan with Godzilla and a bunch of other great, old movie creatures, with Japanese writing underneath each one. Brought it home to my husband and he loved it! Said it was the best "Disney" t-shirt I ever bought. I remember a time when the shops at Disney all had a variety of interesting designs on good quality, long-lasting cotton.

It may not even techincally be a Disney shirt. I know some of the restaurants in EPCOT are owned and operated by third party vendors. The stores may be too.

 

[71jason]

This was my first event with the Parks Blog (except one where I was the guest of someone else, two years ago). I planned to mention the $50 card in my write up, as it kind of shocked me when I saw it. But I did *not* know that the media were given the card as well on their evening a few days ago. Interesting.

I know it can be hard to read a crowd, but did people "get" that an Equity actess had been hired specifically to goof on them? Was there any self-awareness on the part of the attendees?

 

[nytimez]

I know it can be hard to read a crowd, but did people "get" that an Equity actess had been hired specifically to goof on them? Was there any self-awareness on the part of the attendees?

I know you didn't ask me... but I'm going to play armchair psychologist here for a minute. First, I think some of them did get it. Being a hack is not the same as being clueless. Anyway, it was so blatant how could they not?

BUT... I bet most if not all of the people who "got it" truly believed she was there make fun of everyone else.

"But not me! I'm different! I'm better. Besides... Disney really likes me... right?"

 

[KevinYee]

I know it can be hard to read a crowd, but did people "get" that an Equity actess had been hired specifically to goof on them? Was there any self-awareness on the part of the attendees?

I heard some folks around me asking (out loud) if she was for real or a plant, and others knew instinctively she was an actress. I knew right away, because her mode of interaction was of a certain type that I had seen in the private-party-Great Movie Ride dinner I got invited to by a company a few years ago, and they had similar in your face equity actors. It wasn't necessarily obvious from her demeanor that she WAS making fun of bloggers in a mean-spirited way; it could just as easily have been meant in good nature. It was, however, fairly intrusive and not the sort of thing I consider fun, even giving it the benefit of the doubt.

 

[stevehousse]

What is this event you guys are talking about? I try to keep up with this thread as best I can but I am lost here! What was it for exactly? I did see the photos someone posted but that's it!

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

What is this event you guys are talking about? I try to keep up with this thread as best I can but I am lost here! What was it for exactly? I did see the photos someone posted but that's it!

Disney Parks Blog held a "meet-up" to promote the California Grill. Registration was open to anyone who visited the parks blog on the day it was available, and guests got free food and a $50 Disney Gift Card for attending. A similar event was held earlier in the week for invited media guests.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It may not even techincally be a Disney shirt. I know some of the restaurants in EPCOT are owned and operated by third party vendors. The stores may be too.

Correct. The store at the Japan Pavilion is a Mitsukoshi Department Store, that is why it is full of non-Disney properties like Pokémon and other things I do not recall by name at the moment.

 

[stevehousse]

Disney Parks Blog held a "meet-up" to promote the California Grill. Registration was open to anyone who visited the parks blog on the day it was available, and guests got free food and a $50 Disney Gift Card for attending. A similar event was held earlier in the week for invited media guests.

Crazy that teu also got that gift card on top of eatin there for free!

I work in the restaraunt industry and yes, have heard of free food for testing purposes for the kitchen, but not once had my company actually given out gift cards in addition to getting food for free!!! That's absurd!

 

[MinnieM123]

It may not even techincally be a Disney shirt. I know some of the restaurants in EPCOT are owned and operated by third party vendors. The stores may be too.

Thank you for your observation. Although I do not know the origin of where the Japan gift shop gets its t-shirts, what I can tell you is that the one I bought did not have a Walt Disney World tag on it, like all the others I bought through the years. It's interesting that the only t-shirt that caught my eye during the entirety of my last visit was a non-WDW shirt!

 

[sparky03]

I posted this before but this seems like a good time again. This was from the very first Birnbaum "Official Guide" ...
View attachment 31664
View attachment 31663

Omg. I still have this book!

 

[Clamman73]

Crazy that teu also got that gift card on top of eatin there for free!

I work in the restaraunt industry and yes, have heard of free food for testing purposes for the kitchen, but not once had my company actually given out gift cards in addition to getting food for free!!! That's absurd!

It's to make people think they're "on top of the world"

 

[Goofyernmost]

Omg. I still have this book!

Me too! That is a scanning of my own book.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Disney Parks Blog held a "meet-up" to promote the California Grill. Registration was open to anyone who visited the parks blog on the day it was available, and guests got free food and a $50 Disney Gift Card for attending. A similar event was held earlier in the week for invited media guests.

And to think that I spent easily $300 on food during my last trip... Man, I think I've made the wrong career choices. I'd much rather report on how awesome the latest xx and how cool the newest yay and how Disney the current zz is than sit behind a desk dealing with people's crap all day. Also, free food... And a gift card? Sign me up.