Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[GLaDOS]

Gotta love the Blackstone Group!

And people wondered why UOR was floundering under them.

#ThanksComcast

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I don't think morning news shows, which have always been fluff mixed with weather mixed with celebs mixed with headlines, are the problem.

When this story is getting huge play worldwide, but not here, it does make you wonder. When government officials use new terms (like how they attempted to switch what Snowden did from a leak to a spill because of the negative connotation) and suddenly talking heads are using them, what is their purpose?

The media's job in a democracy is to prevent situations like this and expose them. It doesn't matter what you think of Edward Snowden. All that matters is what he 'leaked' is the truth and shows that the past and current administrations have used 9/11 and fear to take all of our most important, most basic rights away and create a surveillance state with a shadow government.

Where the eff is the media? Why is CNN talking about Snowden's mental health and FOX is asking how we'll get him? This is the type of story that should be constantly discussed and debated. Networks should be preempting primetime and doing 'Liberty in Crisis' type programming. But we're not getting that and anyone with any knowledge of history or political corruption when given absolute power should have folks making sure their passports are up to date. I'm really not sure people realize what has been taken from us and how grave a matter it is.

But, hey, did you hear about Disney's new answer to soda thievery?

All of this is DEAD ON. Seriously, I've been thinking a lot about this: what are the other options? Are you considering another country for residence, and if so, where are you looking? I'm doing research right now, but it's enough to make your head spin off.

 

[ScoutN]

Any details?

Gotta love the Blackstone Group!

So much for Pirates 4D. Now the only place to see it is Phantasialand in Germany.

Fun fact: Their Hollywood adventure boat ride has the only physical King Kong figure operating in a theme park attraction. And it was a ripoff.

Sea World Orlando just resorted to staggered attraction openings and closings in the middle of peak summer season too. Because that's ALWAYS a sign a of healthy theme park operation. That Antarctica ride is killing them. Literally doesn't matter how many people they attract. It will never pay for itself.

I am working on confirming where some of the new ones have taken up home.

The list thus far is
~Europe in the Air canned indefinitely
~Fewer registers all around open
~Two large shows canned for Illuminights
~One slapped together for Illuminights
~No theme cohesion for Illuminights; tacky cheap decor thrown around
~Cuts for HoS and XmasTown have occurred
~More cuts for the two of those events are inbound
~Layoffs
~Some food price increase
~Reduced ride vehicles in operation
~AC temps turned up
~Working on confirming reports of landscaping crew cutbacks
~Working on confirmation of what exactly the round of cuts that just came will affect
~Other sources are expecting sale sooner than later
~WCUSA has pretty much had its expansions canned
~BGW has pretty much had its expansions canned

I know I am forgetting some.

 

[truecoat]

Those of you still on or behind the fence about seeing Pacific Rim should check this out. It does give away major plot points but should give you a better idea of the movie.

 

[pheneix]

I am working on confirming where some of the new ones have taken up home.

The list thus far is
~Europe in the Air canned indefinitely
~Fewer registers all around open
~Two large shows canned for Illuminights
~One slapped together for Illuminights
~No theme cohesion for Illuminights; tacky cheap decor thrown around
~Cuts for HoS and XmasTown have occurred
~More cuts for the two of those events are inbound
~Layoffs
~Some food price increase
~Reduced ride vehicles in operation
~AC temps turned up
~Working on confirming reports of landscaping crew cutbacks
~Working on confirmation of what exactly the round of cuts that just came will affect
~Other sources are expecting sale sooner than later
~WCUSA has pretty much had its expansions canned
~BGW has pretty much had its expansions canned

I know I am forgetting some.

Man they're running the park like they just don't care about its future.

Oh wait, they don't.

 

[rael ramone]

I am working on confirming where some of the new ones have taken up home.

The list thus far is
~Europe in the Air canned indefinitely
~Fewer registers all around open
~Two large shows canned for Illuminights
~One slapped together for Illuminights
~No theme cohesion for Illuminights; tacky cheap decor thrown around
~Cuts for HoS and XmasTown have occurred
~More cuts for the two of those events are inbound
~Layoffs
~Some food price increase
~Reduced ride vehicles in operation
~AC temps turned up
~Working on confirming reports of landscaping crew cutbacks
~Working on confirmation of what exactly the round of cuts that just came will affect
~Other sources are expecting sale sooner than later
~WCUSA has pretty much had its expansions canned
~BGW has pretty much had its expansions canned

I know I am forgetting some.

Were they taking notes from TDO?

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Agreed.
Pacific Rim makes Transformers look like Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Transformers is worse than Plan 9 From Outer Space

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Man they're running the park like they just don't care about its future.

Oh wait, they don't.

Again, isn't the Blackstone Group wonderful?

 

[JenniferS]

You live there, so I'm not in a position to argue your point, but back when I did travel in Canada a lot, granted a while ago, it seems to me that the majority of that higher price were due to the Imperial Gallon being larger then the American gallon. Five quarts instead of four. When divided by quarts (or as close as we can due to liters vs. quarts) it seems that it came pretty close. Has that changed?

Wasn't part of the reason that you "paid" more for cars and most other things was due to the fact that for the longest time the US Dollar was worth more then the Canadian Dollar. So something that costs $100.00 in the states cost $110.00 in Canada. That and the rest of the higher prices could also have been attributed to a higher rate of inflation. What I am unaware of is what is happening now. I think that the money is at par, which should bring the amounts paid more in line, but a lot of it is the result of the profit margin vs. tax rate charged by the governments which also adds to the cost. From my recollection Canada has never been shy about imposing tax upon tax upon tax.

Two short answers here:
1) TAX (Someone has to pay for our universal healthcare)
2) Whatever the Retail Equivalent of Economy Of Scale is called - Retailers here are buying items in much smaller quantities and are therefore unable to negotiate bulk pricing to the same degree.
Regarding gas prices - Imperial gallon vs Us gallon/litres vs gallons? None of it means anything. If I fill my Altima's tank in Fort Erie, it costs $75-$80. Ten minutes south of the border, I can fill the same tank for less than $60. All due to TAXES! Also, the fine art of charging Federal taxes on top of Provincial taxes.

 

[John]

Two short answers here:
1) TAX (Someone has to pay for our universal healthcare)
2) Whatever the Retail Equivalent of Economy Of Scale is called - Retailers here are buying items in much smaller quantities and are therefore unable to negotiate bulk pricing to the same degree.
Regarding gas prices - Imperial gallon vs Us gallon/litres vs gallons? None of it means anything. If I fill my Altima's tank in Fort Erie, it costs $75-$80. Ten minutes south of the border, I can fill the same tank for less than $60. All due to TAXES! Also, the fine art of charging Federal taxes on top of Provincial taxes.

Around 20% more....YIKES!!!!!!!

 

[WDWFigment]

First, you kids do know how to make sure there aren't any unwanted babies, right? I,d hate for you to have to listen to @Lee's hillbilly guide to contraception. It involves beavers (no, that isn't any kind of joke!) ...and you do NOT want to hear this.

Second, that's great you'll be there. We'll have to have MAGICal tees made up or something ...lanyards ...yep, lifestylers love their lanyards.

Third, I do think this will be the last castle park for a very long time. But if things keep up the way they have been, Anaheim will get its third and Hong Kong its second in the next dozen years. Paris will get another too, but that's likely a long time away.

I don't see Disney looking to jump anywhere else, let alone with a castle park.

I really set myself up for that, didn't I? I didn't mean that. I meant that the opening of this park is a few years away...our "plans" in that regard might change between now and then.

Although now I am intrigued about @Lee's guide...

 

[michmousefan]

A friend of mine from up north sent me this link. So many things I would like to say in so many different directions.

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/avatar

Not sure if there are plans for it to stop elsewhere but...

Losing some patience with The Company JC?

Looks like it's coming to Henry Ford Museum up here next:

http://www.thehenryford.org/events/...ww.thehenryford.org/events/avatarExhibit.aspx

Along with a "special edition" re-release of the IMAX 3D film.

 

[cheezbat]

Actually, it's also at Enchanted Kingdom...in the Philippines (great little park) !

It's also still playing at Noahs Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells. (And boy do you get soaked in that 4-D theater!)

 

[cheezbat]

I am working on confirming where some of the new ones have taken up home.

The list thus far is
~Europe in the Air canned indefinitely
~Fewer registers all around open
~Two large shows canned for Illuminights
~One slapped together for Illuminights
~No theme cohesion for Illuminights; tacky cheap decor thrown around
~Cuts for HoS and XmasTown have occurred
~More cuts for the two of those events are inbound
~Layoffs
~Some food price increase
~Reduced ride vehicles in operation
~AC temps turned up
~Working on confirming reports of landscaping crew cutbacks
~Working on confirmation of what exactly the round of cuts that just came will affect
~Other sources are expecting sale sooner than later
~WCUSA has pretty much had its expansions canned
~BGW has pretty much had its expansions canned

I know I am forgetting some.

Sounds like Six Flags a few years back...and TDO! Lol

Really sad to see this happening. I visited BGW for the first time the week before Big Bad Wolf closed and I loved it! Beautiful park with some great attractions and scenery.

Really sad to hear about attractions getting cancelled too...Water Country USA was slated to basically double in size over the next decade(how come they keep getting additions but Adventure Island has gone like 7 years without anything new?).
I was curious to see just how awesome that park would turn out down the road.


Oh yeah...Blackstone sucks.
(Thanks for leaving Universal Orlando though!)

 

[Bolna]

Since this seems to be the place to report all kind of news: I just checked out My Disney Experience - and under the new category of "My MagicBands and Cards" it turns out that I have three cards. One is my AP which I linked some time ago. And the two other cards are the old Key to the World cards from my recent stay (stayed at two different resorts). I wonder if someone could end up with a collection of all their old room keys still being connected to their profile.... On the other hand, it tells my that the details of my ticket are currently not available. So I can only guess that the third one is my AP- The systems has no idea what it is. One just has to hope that the turnstiles are smarter than the website...

 

[Nubs70]

All of this is DEAD ON. Seriously, I've been thinking a lot about this: what are the other options? Are you considering another country for residence, and if so, where are you looking? I'm doing research right now, but it's enough to make your head spin off.

I would suggest reading the online versions of Der Spiegel and Deutsche Welle if you want an international take on this little leak situation here in the US. If you are considering alternative national residence, look into an EU passport by means of generational qualification. Look into Italy and Ireland, in particular.

 

[WDW1974]

Just a Spirited Quickee ... But watching what ABC believes is an evening newscast would make Peter Jennings take up smoking again in the great beyond.

It is like ET, just with LESS substance. Opens with Trevon (a story the media itself blew up), followed by hot weather and the death of a troubled 31-year-old actor. Right now, the cast is almost over without one mention of the Snowden/NSA/massive spying story, but oh yeah, my pal Rachel's mother-in-law just went to a report on a new cable TV channel FOR DOGS!

As someone who has lived and worked in vile, evil, Godless, pinko China multiple times,all I'll tell you is that you get more real hard news there. You think about that and go wave your flag.

 

[Turtle]

So the current slate is:
- Speeder Bike Coaster
- Cantina
- X Wing Spinner
- Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
- Cars Dark Ride
- Flo's
- Avatar Boat Ride
- Animal Kingdom Night-Time Show
- Avatar E-Ticket


Am I correct?

 

[WDW1974]

Oh, there was also talk of the new Twinkies with less calories and that Gangland Shuffle deal that is so hip I don't have a clue what it is, just that it is one year old today. No time for real news, you see.

 

[Captain Neo]

Oh, there was also talk of the new Twinkies with less calories and that Gangland Shuffle deal that is so hip I don't have a clue what it is, just that it is one year old today. No time for real news, you see.

Are you talking about the Harlem Shake? That is older than the hills and was popular when I was in high school ten years ago. I dont even know why it became a big internet joke all of a sudden now. It's not even that funny.