Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[Nemo14]

And on a very serious topic and drifting in a different direction.....

Rape on the College Program is a bit widespread.

My take is that Ive heard similar tales from too many women on the college program. The worst? The girls own birthday party.

That is really disturbing, but unfortunately it's not an issue just in Disneyworld....really makes you wonder sometimes how these "kids" were raised.

 

[luv]

Just so I can be sure I am recalling the correct person, havent you all but deified Len Testa on previous posts?

I have deified him, lol. He is the planning god. I'm a huge fan of the UG and the TP site.

I listen to the WDW Today podcast sometimes...and I appreciate Len's little pop culture references, especially from the 80s, so I am a fan. Always am very excited when he posts on the boards. I'd rather meet Marty Sklar, but Len would be second on the list.

 

[MattM]

Orlando Informer lost just about all my respect after he whined on Twitter about how he has THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST UP TO DATE GUIDE ON TRANSFORMERS yet he doesn't get invited to the media events. Give me a break.

What day was that? Looked but maybe he deleted tweet. Love a good public meltdown.

 

[MattM]

Try Bern's Steak House in Tampa (not a chain, there is only one location). Somewhat strange decor but fantastic food and service. I wonder if the Sprirt has ever eaten there...

Bern's is fantastic.

 

[WDWFigment]

I'm still not sure what the viewing sections are. I'll see what I can find out next week.

All I know is that I (and i think @WDWFigment as well most other photographers) will be very disappointed if the prime locations to watch the show from are suddenly roped off.

I heard that the viewing spot is going to be in the hub, on the Cinderella Castle side of Partners. (No clue if that's the actual spot, or just rumor.) This is where Disneyland's VIP section is, but the difference between Disneyland and WDW in this regard is Castle height. That location is a pretty bad viewing location...so I hope they go with it!

Roping off my favorite spot (that either you or @marni1971 tipped me off on) would be a logistical impossibility...

 

[PhotoDave219]

I heard that the viewing spot is going to be in the hub, on the Cinderella Castle side of Partners. (No clue if that's the actual spot, or just rumor.) This is where Disneyland's VIP section is, but the difference between Disneyland and WDW in this regard is Castle height. That location is a pretty bad viewing location...so I hope they go with it!

Roping off my favorite spot (that either you or @marni1971 tipped me off on) would be a logistical impossibility...

I completely agree. On paper, it sounds like the perfect viewing spot To someone who's never seen the fireworks spot. However, all of us know that is not the perfect spot.

I haven't photographed from Main Street more than once in the past year. It's just so busy anymore it's almost a logistical nightmare.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Never seen them either, until I checked a couple out when discussed here on Magic (and Spirit's social media thread on another site way back when). Generally was not impressed.

Years ago, I saw something that looked like it was going to be interesting on a podcast (I have no idea which of the multitude of ridiculous WDW blogger podcasts it was). I listed to about 5 minutes of it and gave up, primarily because it sounded like something produced in a middle school media center. Who has time to listen to those horrible things?

Don't you know? Everybody has a podcast these days. I can't tell you how many times I've had a friend ( and I use that term loosely) blow me off because they have to go do a podcast.

 

[WDWFigment]

I don't know who you talked to (and as always feel free to email and we can make fun if @Lee Like we always do!), but OLC recently announced plans to spend close go $2 billion on its parks through the end of the decade. So I don't think this is cost cutting. That said, I agree. Mythica is an amazing spectacle that isn't even ruined by the foamheads.

I have heard that there will be a replacement for Mythica, but that it won't be an immediate follow.

I worry more about Tokyo getting their recent attractions from here ... Stuff like TSMM, Turtle Talk, PhilharMagic. That's more of a concern right now.

Any trip report/observations coming here or on your site?

Good points. Here's hoping you're right with regard to quality. If DisneySea were a US park, you know they'd look at the Duffy sales and turn the whole place into a series of Duffy M&Gs. Joking aside, to a certain extent, I think there will be even more of an infusion of character-driven attractions over the coming years, as those are what really resonate with guests there. I just hope it's all integrated well.

I was surprised with how well Toy Story Mania was integrated into the park. Toyville Trolley Park works as a Coney Island-type location, which I didn't really expect. It's also the best version of the attraction...no surprise there.

Trip report is coming but is probably still a few weeks away. I'm still going through photos and haven't had a whole lot of downtime since the trip.

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

I dont doubt for one minute that all of this has happened and worse, but...

If there is no police report filed, are they expecting the private employer to fire an employee based solely on an internal report? Maybe Im thinking of the wrong article and I cant access the link right now.

Pretty good advice for anyone: If you feel that you are the victim of a crime, you should contact the police first, always, and as soon as possible.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Pretty good advice for anyone: If you feel that you are the victim of a crime, you should contact the police first, always, and as soon as possible.

Or if you don't feel comfortable with that option, in the case of rape/sexual assault.
Contact your local rape crisis center.
For FL:http://www.fcasv.org/information/find-your-local-center

 

[71jason]

Don't you know? Everybody has a podcast these days. I can't tell you how many times I've had a friend ( and I use that term loosely) blow me off because they have to go do a podcast.

I'm totes gonna do a podcast from the bar tonight.

 

[truecoat]

Concerning movies and a short shelf life. Although digital delivery might make the life span shorter, it was the advance of the multiplex that really made this happen. A page or more ago, someone posted that Beauty and the Beast was in 1800 screens compared to 4000+ for MU. It's just a matter of numbers, more screens more times to choose from and more opportunity to see the movies.

In the seventies the average number of releases for a movie studio was 12 per year. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 42 per year not that long ago and these movies live or die by that first weekend. It's not a new phenomenon, it has been going on many years before the widespread acceptance of digital projection. Starting somewhere in the 90's.

 

[baymenxpac]

I don't believe so. They would likely be $30 now because they were around $12 in the late 90s when they started. I truly despised them. One summer (likely 2002) it seemed like the MK closed every night at 9 or 10 and then three nights a week they had the extra charge events. ...Disney is looking to be able to say that the average guest can do 9-10 attractions in a day so they have no reason to need extra hours.

i really miss the e-ticket nights at MK that started in the late '90s and went until the early '00s.

for our family, it was a way to do MK at night in the summer without fighting the crowds. honestly, that was a premium that was worth paying for IMO. seemed like it would make sense on the business side since you could generate extra revenue and use a smaller crew to operate only a select number of rides.

maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but it really bummed me out when they got rid of them.

 

[nytimez]

i really miss the e-ticket nights at MK that started in the late '90s and went until the early '00s.

for our family, it was a way to do MK at night in the summer without fighting the crowds. honestly, that was a premium that was worth paying for IMO. seemed like it would make sense on the business side since you could generate extra revenue and use a smaller crew to operate only a select number of rides.

maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but it really bummed me out when they got rid of them.

Yeah, there were nights I felt like I had the park to myself.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

I heard that the viewing spot is going to be in the hub, on the Cinderella Castle side of Partners. (No clue if that's the actual spot, or just rumor.) This is where Disneyland's VIP section is, but the difference between Disneyland and WDW in this regard is Castle height. That location is a pretty bad viewing location...so I hope they go with it!

I'm still not sure what the viewing sections are. I'll see what I can find out next week.

A while back they did work on the swan boat dock to prep it for Wishes FP viewing. Was that plan scrapped?

 

[asianway]

Good points. Here's hoping you're right with regard to quality. If DisneySea were a US park, you know they'd look at the Duffy sales and turn the whole place into a series of Duffy M&Gs. Joking aside, to a certain extent, I think there will be even more of an infusion of character-driven attractions over the coming years, as those are what really resonate with guests there. I just hope it's all integrated well.

I was surprised with how well Toy Story Mania was integrated into the park. Toyville Trolley Park works as a Coney Island-type location, which I didn't really expect. It's also the best version of the attraction...no surprise there.

Trip report is coming but is probably still a few weeks away. I'm still going through photos and haven't had a whole lot of downtime since the trip.

Could have changed, but the way it was set up was Shellie in the morning, Duffy in the afternoon at the Waterfront meet n greet(not TDL either, they only meet at TDS). Just one at a time, and no multiple room trickery. Waits were 75-90 minutes. If this were TDO, youre right, they would have converted Innoventions North-east into a Duffy sweat shop.

 

[tracyandalex]

It's odd, back in the 70s/80s, my parents had no problem pulling me out of school for a week. Nor did it seem to impact my education in the long run. But today's helicopter parents seem loathe to do that, and would rather face the misery when school is out.

At least here parents have told me that the school will actually fail you if you miss too many days,so for them it is more about that than the kids being behind. My daughter doesn't start "real" school until the fall so I have no first hand knowledge of this yet. I personally think that policy is ridiculous and don't have a problem taking my daughter out of school once or twice per year. As long as she can handle it of course.

 

[Goofyernmost]

71jason said: ↑

It's odd, back in the 70s/80s, my parents had no problem pulling me out of school for a week. Nor did it seem to impact my education in the long run. But today's helicopter parents seem loathe to do that, and would rather face the misery when school is out.​

​

​

It's not the parents so much anymore as it is the schools. They have taken over a parents authority concerning their own children and their education. I do understand that missing a number of days is hard to make up and certainly no one wants to make their kids do homework while everyone else is on vacation. However, they should be able to differentiate a student in academic trouble and one that can handle a few missed days.​

​

The worse part of that whole thing is it's the child that suffers and is punished due to a decision that his/her parents have made. It is the child that is held back or suspended, complicating the situation even more. So although I am as concerned about "helicopter" parents, (not to worry, it will come back to bite them eventually) this one cannot be totally assigned to them.​

 

[PhotoDave219]

A while back they did work on the swan boat dock to prep it for Wishes FP viewing. Was that plan scrapped?

Not sure. I think the ideas of a FP+ for fireworks are insane to begin with

 

[PhotoDave219]

Yeah, there were nights I felt like I had the park to myself.

I'm fine with that