Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[RSoxNo1]

Did anyone catch that? Either it's a typo or Jim Hill just implied that Avatar is going to DHS

My understanding is that this is a typo.

 

[BrianLo]

Figured I'd post this here as @WDW1974 was interested. I am currently at TDR and just spent the late afternoon/evening at Disney Sea. I'll be at the resort for three more days and then will head for things beyond theme parks and Disney for a while (but I am stopping into Universal...)

I successfully managed to leave my backpack on the Airport shuttle bus in a flurry of excitement I suppose so there will be pictures later. (In addition to my DSLR there was a Macbook Air, iPad, 3DS, Eurail pass + tickets and a Japan rail passes. Oh AND some money just for good measure). Needless to say I had to truck on and hope the hotel staff would get it back for me when the bus returned a few hours later. It obviously nagged on the back of my mind but I am happy to say it returned to me safe and sound. I thanked the concierge incessantly as I proceeded to show them everything in the bag. I will NOT be making that mistake again in China or basically any other country I'm visiting. Only in Japan (and Canada occaisionally).

So some quick thoughts Spirit style (but with bullets). Within reason I'll make sure to check things out or answer any burning questions for people.

Second time I've come to this resort (I've only been to WDW 3 times in my life 95, 06 and 12, Cali twice in the last year or so, Hong Kong a year ago and I'll be dropping in as well as Euro Disney later this month and in August). So I don't really have my own unique park that I've over visited and am sick of, nor is TDR the most novel thing ever in the world to me.

Staying at the Sheraton hotel, apart from them finding my bag it's also a really nice hotel. I'm on the club level (got an upgrade) and have a decent view of both parks. Looking at the backside of Indy (which is still pretty nicely themed) and of course all the major structures are clearly visible.

BUT - Disney Sea is the best Disney park and truly theme park in the world, hands down! Every single portion of the park is absolutely incredible.

I got on most of the major attractions this evening apart from TOT. Mid-week before the schools let out for the summer seems to be a really ideal time to visit. Wasn't exactly planned but it worked out well.

-20k leagues is better than I remember. It was nice having a vehicle to myself (which are actually suspended like Peter Pan and seat six). It's a very good dark ride.
-Indy I *think* is an exact clone but the outside theming is different somewhat. It was running better than the Cali version.
-Raging Spirits is fun but not a real thrilling coaster. Still not for the kids.
-Sindbad does not receive enough praise. Like Small world except a lot more dialogue, far superior animatronics (that all seemed to work), a much, much, much better song. It's kind of easy to see everything that is wrong with Mermaid. Every scene is chock full of great animatronics and none of the plastic spinning or singular motion that passes as an animatronic. It is also much longer than I remember. Case in point there is a scene that reminds me of Mermaid with Sindbad riding a whale (cardboard silhouette type thing in the last third of the ride). Just like Ursula getting zapped at the end. I figured the ride was ending but instead you round the corner to a massive whale animatronic with Sindbad and Chengdu that was quite impressive. That definitely would have been value engineered stateside. And there was still several more scenes to follow. Anyways, without rambling too much it doesn't get discussed as much as it should.
-Jasmine's flying carpets turned out really nice and is really well done for a spinner (I shudder for my first visit to WDS...)
-TSMM is under reno this week, I hope it might randomly open but the actual innards are just a clone. Of course the whole area is the best themed as you all know (not that OLC would deliver anything less).
-Love all the transportation (water that should have been at Animal Kingdom), the New York train, tons of "New York vehicles" and of course the Venetian boats.
-Triton's kingdom looks a lot better in person than I remember. Serves a good purpose of tons of things for kids to do (in an air conditioned building no less). Similar purpose as Bugs Land but much, much, much better.
-Storm Rider is a bigger version of Star Tours, with 3x the cheese. Needs to get updated. Has water a spray effect which it uses quite liberally. You actually are kind of wet (not soaked) but wet. The area is fantastic, even if Aquatopia is just a big middle finger to the US parks by using LPS on a C-ticket.
-Definitely have the best version of Fantasmic. Forgive me because I'm not totally sure, but does all of the speaker poles etc. hide away when not in use at any of the parks in the states (not just fantasmic)? That's just another huge expense to preserve the park beauty!
-I had a gyoza dog amongst other food, the line was like 2 people long (I am rather lucky with my date choices).
-Oh and Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Yup it's fantastic as always. BUT - I think Cars in DCA is definitely the better dark ride and arguably the better overall attraction. Mysterious Island as a whole is a better land/park weiny what-have-you. Journey also packs a bigger punch with the race portion, but the dark ride is slower moving and not as impressive. Of course Mr. Lava monster is great. Anyways, you can stone me shortly for this opinion.

One last thing, the merchandise throughout the park is fantastically AWFUL! Keychains, nail clippers, pens, towels, toothbrushes... literally dollar store crap with year of happiness represents probably 90% of the entire park merchandise. I can't remember if it was better without their 30th anniversary. Any given mall Disney store has better merchandise than the entirety of Disney Sea. So there you go, it is not infallible after all if you aren't content with amazing photos as the majority of your souveniers.

Oh I lied - the napkins aren't themed (not that I care).

 

[asianway]

Oh I lied - the napkins aren't themed (not that I care).

but the operating supplies in Toontown are restaurant specific, plus the napkins are actually high quaility. Wish I could get a hold of them in the states.

 

[BrianLo]

but the operating supplies in Toontown are restaurant specific, plus the napkins are actually high quaility. Wish I could get a hold of them in the states.

Ha, you make me regret mentioning napkins now. Yes for the most part everything else was well themed for counter service (the tray and what not). It was high quality I suppose in Vulturia but the ones I was handed with coffee or the gyoza dog were just the standard single ply white napkins.

I literally would not have noticed or cared if it wasn't for this place though. I am just nitpicking for others enjoyment.

I'll check out Toontown tomorrow. Gotta catch some rest before then.

 

[nytimez]

-Sindbad does not receive enough praise. Like Small world except a lot more dialogue, far superior animatronics (that all seemed to work), a much, much, much better song. It's kind of easy to see everything that is wrong with Mermaid. Every scene is chock full of great animatronics and none of the plastic spinning or singular motion that passes as an animatronic. It is also much longer than I remember. Case in point there is a scene that reminds me of Mermaid with Sindbad riding a whale (cardboard silhouette type thing in the last third of the ride). Just like Ursula getting zapped at the end. I figured the ride was ending but instead you round the corner to a massive whale animatronic with Sindbad and Chengdu that was quite impressive. That definitely would have been value engineered stateside. And there was still several more scenes to follow. Anyways, without rambling too much it doesn't get discussed as much as it should.

This! Definitely.

But... you lose me here:

-Oh and Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Yup it's fantastic as always. BUT - I think Cars in DCA is definitely the better dark ride and arguably the better overall attraction.

...instead of stoning, I sentence you to 90 minutes in the Duffy Store.

 

[flynnibus]

Forgive me because I'm not totally sure, but does all of the speaker poles etc. hide away when not in use at any of the parks in the states (not just fantasmic)? That's just another huge expense to preserve the park beauty!

Yes, in DL, the poles all retreat to preserve the RoA waterfront.

 

[choco choco]

-Sindbad does not receive enough praise. Like Small world except a lot more dialogue, far superior animatronics (that all seemed to work), a much, much, much better song. It's kind of easy to see everything that is wrong with Mermaid. Every scene is chock full of great animatronics and none of the plastic spinning or singular motion that passes as an animatronic. It is also much longer than I remember. Case in point there is a scene that reminds me of Mermaid with Sindbad riding a whale (cardboard silhouette type thing in the last third of the ride). Just like Ursula getting zapped at the end. I figured the ride was ending but instead you round the corner to a massive whale animatronic with Sindbad and Chengdu that was quite impressive. That definitely would have been value engineered stateside. And there was still several more scenes to follow. Anyways, without rambling too much it doesn't get discussed as much as it should.

I've said for years that Sinbad is one of the best rides Disney has ever done. It's the best ride at that park. It's creative and varied and detailed and imaginative and wonder-inducing. It proves a ride's conveyance mechanism runs a distant second to its show production values. It is the only Disney ride of the millenium to have the warm humanism that embodied the best of Walt's work. It really is spectacular.

 

[BrianLo]

But... you lose me here:
...instead of stoning, I sentence you to 90 minutes in the Duffy Store.

I think Duffy is the only passable quality merchandise, maybe that's why he is so popular?

I think I figured out what it is, I just looked up the duration of each ride and Journey definitely feels (and is) shorter. Not just because it packs a punch at the end but the dark ride section. It's all semantics, in my opinion they are probably rides #1 and #2 in Disney's portfolio, so doesn't quite matter which wins out.

Although my personal favourites I think have to be Splash Mountain and Sindbad (plus the classics like Pirates and Haunted Mansion). I think I'm just a sucker for dark rides...

Yes, in DL, the poles all retreat to preserve the RoA waterfront.

Thanks Flynn, so ya it does that at the Sea as well, but clearly not as one of a kind as I thought.

But now I seriously should try and sleep and not be jet legged.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I admit to being a little more ahead of the curve technology wise than most. I have no problem streaming crystal clear 1080p, 5.1 digital content through my Playstation 3, from both Sony's own distribution and Hulu/Netflix. There is a quality gap between streaming online vs. Blu-ray, but compared to basic cable TV and the dinosaur of a GUI my cable box is shackled down with (also capped at 1080i resolution for all content) its a no-contest. Netflix and Hulu provide me the best amount of content in the least amount of time. Throw in HBO GO and ESPN on an Xbox 360 and there is very little need to go near traditional television broadcasting for anything.

As this kind of instant access becomes available to more consumers, particularly younger consumers who are already addicted to instant access to content because of Youtube, the cable line will be cut en masse. For older consumers, maybe not so much. Again, the path of least resistance for them will be doing what they have done for their entire lives up until this point.

Yep, this. I dumped cable this time last year because of the price tag, but I regret nothing. Turns out, I don't miss it at all. What I really want to watch I find a way of watching, and I no longer 'channel surf' and settle on something stupid like Big Brother or Survivor or anything in the current lineup of the History channel (ie, not history) Discovery channel (ie, not discovery) etc. Not saying those shows suck, but they're just not for me anymore.

I have Netflix, which is great for old sitcoms and movies. It runs me $8 a month, versus $180 I was paying for the cable package (plus phone and internet- never used the phone. I did keep the internet) and my room mate's mother has HBO and gave us her HBO Go acct so we have access to HBO streaming through the Xbox. I dumped Hulu a few months ago.

There's absolutely no reason for me to ever get cable again.

Also worth mentioning.... how ridiculous people sound when describing the latest/most popular reality TV show to someone who has never seen it (not even commercials!) and then they go "oh, i guess you had to be there"...

Exactly. Just got back from 2 weeks vacationing in Italy yesterday and I was shocked when I walked by a MCD's near the Spanish Steps and it had a pasta salad dish on the menu to go along with many other high quality offerings (like panini's, brioches and torts, etc.). Not only was it the offerings that caught me off guard, the appearence/look of the restaurant interior wipes the floor of any MCD's I've dined at here in the U.S. Like you said, clean and also very ritzy with mosaics, marble everywhere (kinda felt like it was an unofficial tourist spot or something). I dined there for lunch one of the days I was in Rome and ate the best pasta salad I've ever had. Also saw the Disney Magic the day I went to La Spezia/Cinque Terre. Speaking of the cruise line, have any insight on what DIS plans to do with the Wonder when it gots down for its approximate 5 week drydock starting the week of October 12th (reported by DCL Blog editor Scott Sanders). Any enhancements coming to the ship similar to what the Magic got?

I was wondering where you've been! What, you have something against the McD's on Brownsville Road in Mt Oliver? SNOB.

 

[Bolna]

Exactly. Just got back from 2 weeks vacationing in Italy yesterday and I was shocked when I walked by a MCD's near the Spanish Steps and it had a pasta salad dish on the menu to go along with many other high quality offerings (like panini's, brioches and torts, etc.). Not only was it the offerings that caught me off guard, the appearence/look of the restaurant interior wipes the floor of any MCD's I've dined at here in the U.S. Like you said, clean and also very ritzy with mosaics, marble everywhere (kinda felt like it was an unofficial tourist spot or something). I dined there for lunch one of the days I was in Rome and ate the best pasta salad I've ever had.

McD likes to have very nice flag ship stores in prominent places. The one in Munich is at one of the main squares in the city center and is huge. When I was a kid it was the most fantastic place as you could sit in a train to eat. It is still very nice. The one in Berlin directly at Checkpoint Charlie is designed like a modern lounge and has cool self ordering kiosks. And the most spectacular one I ever saw was the one in Moscow which I visited in 1993.

But I can tell you that not all European McDs are as nice as those flagship stores. However, at least here in Germany they have tried very hard to get a better image by having healthier food options available and by adding the McCafes to the stores. I think it has helped a lot to become much more popular.

Also saw the Disney Magic the day I went to La Spezia/Cinque Terre. Speaking of the cruise line, have any insight on what DIS plans to do with the Wonder when it gots down for its approximate 5 week drydock starting the week of October 12th (reported by DCL Blog editor Scott Sanders). Any enhancements coming to the ship similar to what the Magic got?

The recent rumors seem to indicate that the Wonder will only have a short two week dry dock next year (they changed some itineraries for fall 2014 around). The rumors say that the Wonder will not get the enhancements until after the Panama Canal is able to accomodate larger ships as Disney wants to continue the Alaska cruises.

 

[WDWFigment]

This! Definitely.

But... you lose me here:

...instead of stoning, I sentence you to 90 minutes in the Duffy Store.

Eh, I actually agree on both counts. I absolutely love Sindbad (although some of the backgrounds are less than stellar) and while excellent, I think the ride portion of JTTCOE is inferior to RSR. (Once you add in the queue, JTTCOE comes out on top.)

The pacing on Journey just seems a bit off to me. It's slow for a bit, then very quickly climaxes and is almost immediately over. I think it'd be great if the climax were drawn out a bit more (longer track?) or if there were another "encounter."

There are some themed naps in TDR, though. Not every location, but in some locations. There are other themed "things" at restaurants, like silverware and plates at table service restaurants and trays at counter service restaurants. Also, counter service restaurants have some of the best merchandise in the form of souvenir dessert-ware and glasses. Might want to check those out, @BrianLo

 

[Rodan75]

I admit to being a little more ahead of the curve technology wise than most. I have no problem streaming crystal clear 1080p, 5.1 digital content through my Playstation 3, from both Sony's own distribution and Hulu/Netflix. There is a quality gap between streaming online vs. Blu-ray, but compared to basic cable TV and the dinosaur of a GUI my cable box is shackled down with (also capped at 1080i resolution for all content) its a no-contest. Netflix and Hulu provide me the best amount of content in the least amount of time. Throw in HBO GO and ESPN on an Xbox 360 and there is very little need to go near traditional television broadcasting for anything.

As this kind of instant access becomes available to more consumers, particularly younger consumers who are already addicted to instant access to content because of Youtube, the cable line will be cut en masse. For older consumers, maybe not so much. Again, the path of least resistance for them will be doing what they have done for their entire lives up until this point.

A couple of things: 1. Remember that the majority of the country doesn't universally have access to greater than 3mpbs download, that makes it very difficult to stream high quality HD. This is quickly changing, but the providers are struggling with getting the infrastructure in place to support the exponential growth in bandwidth requirements. 2. A La Carte is a great option, but it takes time and patience to sort through what you want, having 'all' the channels available to you is less of a headache and we know the masses, regardless (irregardless ) of age go with easy.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

The pacing on Journey just seems a bit off to me. It's slow for a bit, then very quickly climaxes and is almost immediately over. I think it'd be great if the climax were drawn out a bit more (longer track?) or if there were another "encounter."

Sounds just like the movie!

 

[njDizFan]

Spirited Sunday Musings: Would I rather be in Death Valley and going for 130-plus right now? Hell, yeah. ... How many positive tests does it take for TDO to start wetting themselves about MM+ being fine and on schedule? Apparently just one. ... Memo to Georgie K, you had a few thousand people taking part while they had full access to the old system. You're jumping to conclusions, you know like when you told the LA Times in 1/01 that DCA would fill up every day and that guests would have to settle for walking across the esplanade to DL instead? You didn't forget that one, did you? ... Everyone jumping to the conclusion that the King is returning to UNI need to take down the excitement just a bit because I'm not jumping on the Skull Island Express just yet. Sorry. Something is VERY odd about the entire thing. ... MK has been absolutely dead much of this past week, including yesterday. ... But was that a multiple hour wait for Despicable Me at UNI? ... I'm truly sorry to all the ignorant people who are ready to put the fork into network TV because no one watches. That's about as true as Bob Iger believing that any significant portion of the public wants to stream Iron Man 3 on opening day on a tiny crappy iPhone screen. People watch network TV. People go to multiplexes. Neither one is changing anytime soon. ... Speaking of iPhones, I have never prayed to the Cult of Jobs anymore than at the Altar of the Disney BRAND. But seriously if you're going to market a product with the word PHONE in it than the very least the device should be counted on is to make crisp, clear and non-dropped PHONE calls. ... Y.all remember the McDLT? ... To those fanbois who love vinyl, what company but Disney could charge you $12.95-$16.95 for a tiny piece of vinyl without showing you what design you are getting and refuses to take it back. Mickey has one elephant sized set of balls. ...Got my first Grand Flo DVC sales mailer this week, how about you? ... Yes, you read the above correctly ... Disney is ready to push ahead with MM+ because they have now had ONE test that wasn't a complete disaster. ... Hey, Merfie, I didn't say you weren't pretty. I'm sure you're prettier than Tommy Boi. ... Happy B-Day to @EPCOT Explorer. You aren't just getting older, you're getting more annoying (just kidding of course!) ... The L1011 was a comfortable ride. ... Disney may care about you on a micro level, but they don't care about anything but how much they can get out of you on a macro level. ... Still haven't caught Arrested Development. ... Student loans interest double on Monday. Ask someone in socialist Europe about coming out of school with $200,000 in debt and then go wave the flag at your picnics this week.

quoting a 12 year new article...darn spirit you have quite a memory

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/14/business/fi-12144

 

[njDizFan]

Hmmm..... Count me on the other side of this battlefield which sees the paradigm shifting in favor of a la carte content distribution rather quickly, and frighteningly, if your business model depends on double dipping for revenue (movie theater + Blu-ray/online stream/TV broadcast).

One issue that makes this shift complex is the generation gap. For baby boomers and 35+ adults, the path of least resistance to content will be the old fashioned way: broadcast television, blu ray, and the movie theatre. For younger audiences the path of least resistance to content is Netflix and Hulu. End of story. Game over. I don't even want my cable TV subscription for live sports. Weather.com and guardian.co.uk cover most of my news needs. Whenever something major is going down all the major TV news sites offer live streams. I'm OK with cutting the cord with respect to cable TV, as is most anyone who grew up with the internet.

I think both forms of distribution will exist side by side for a little while but ultimately traditional television is going to fade away in favor of direct internet streaming. I feel confident that by 2023 there will only be two major broadcast networks, probably a handful of cable channels, and then 400 different takes on live sports as that is television's outpost of last resort.

How the movie theater has survived this long is actually somewhat astounding. Especially in this era of everyone walling themselves behind social media and technology. The communal act of viewing movies in a theatre seems downright contradictory to many trends in society.

NPR had a great show about this topic a couple of months ago. It seems that real problem for the networks is how to gauge the amount of people actually watching the advertisements/commercials,and in turn how much they can actually charge for their product(except for sports, advertisement dollars are way down). The network stations are starting to tier the pricing just before of just after the show breaks because people just might see a few seconds of the commerical before fast farwarding their DVR. Media companies are still a little behind because it is still viewed as the best way to reach the largest audience but metrics are still unsure.

Also, the networks are shifting their own programming paradigm to either, the least common denominator programs vs the high end show. Very few will fall in the middle, either pablum for the masses(ala reality shows and NCISs) and the other extremes like Breaking Bad. Networks see that people will either watch shows that are really really well made and thoughtful(taking a lead from the premium cable channels) or are just mind numbing silly entertainment, which are generally easier to make and if they fail no big deal.

The 3rd player in this is the cable companies. they see more poeple moving towards online viewership, so don't be suprised to see a tiered premium for broadband use. If they can't get your dollars via cable they will get you with internet usage. this is something supposedly coming dow the pipeline in the next couple of years.

 

[willtravel]

Change those prices to $8 for a large coke and $10 for a large popcorn at the venues near me.

Under the done was outstanding. Has a ton of potential. Mad about what happened to the greatest TV pilot to ever live though

This tv show kinda reminds me of Lost.....

 

[ScoutN]

This tv show kinda reminds me of Lost.....

IIRC Spirit stated that a writer or two are on board for it.

 

[sshindel]

I just read a pretty scathing review of The Lone Ranger. I'd be happy if this sucker takes "John Carter" out of the lexicon for failure, as at least with that one I quite enjoyed the movie, and am currently greatly enjoying the books.

 

[Darth Sidious]

The only thing wrong with that short is the stupid Disney branding.

 

[disney fan 13]

I just read a pretty scathing review of The Lone Ranger. I'd be happy if this sucker takes "John Carter" out of the lexicon for failure, as at least with that one I quite enjoyed the movie, and am currently greatly enjoying the books.

Yeah, Ranger has a 28 or something like that on RT, which is REALLY bad.