Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[Californian Elitist]

Haven't seen it, but trust you and everyone else that it's very cool. I'm not a Cars fan and never wanted it.

I think it's great for different parks to have different things, honestly. I do love Soarin, though!

I'm not a Cars fan, either. I thought the film was quite boring, actually.

Cars Land though? Incredible. You have to see it for yourself. Too bad you're not interested in traveling.

 

[WDW1974]

Being a parent with a kid who does very well with fine dining, I really don't think age restrictions are required, merely attire and price.

I took my kid (age 7) to Jiko, for example, and she loves to dress up and play "young lady" at fine dining... We had a blast, she has table manners, etc. Our waiter even brought her a wine glass with coke in it so she could "toast" with me.

She also behaves herself very well in places like Le Cellier and other signature dines. I've taken her to places far fancier than anything Disney has to offer here in Atlanta.

Point is, I am upset that due to age restrictions, she will not be able to join me at Remy or Palo on our upcoming Fanstasy Cruise, as I know she would enjoy both.

I would disagree and I often argue the point with a friend who has children that sound like your daughter. They have traveled all over the world and have wide and varied tastes in food and know how to act in public at high end locales.

Still, I believe there should be a few places where adults can go without children. On the Wonder, that was Palo. At WDW, there's not really one as Victoria and Albert's only restricts the youngest.

More praise for DCL that I had forgotten, but they did a phenomenal job of keeping kids out of the adults only areas. As soon as a child appeared, from a well-behaved tween who wanted to do laps months adult pool to an 18-month old sleeping in a stroller as mom and dad enjoyed the hot tub, a CM would immediately and discretely go over and tell them they had to leave. I was afraid this wouldn't be the case, but Disney kept the adults-only areas just that.

 

[PeterAlt]

1)WB does not wholly own HP, So it's not like WB can just give off the rights to SF.
2)Based on her attention to detail and demand for quality, would JK Rowling really want her universe in the hands of Six Flags?
3)How UNI got HP:Reader's Digest Edition
Disney approached JK & WB circa 2004-2005
While Baxter secretly toiled away on a version of HP land, Rasulo/WDI showed Rowling a pared down concept that had a fancier version of TSMM and a magical creatures petting zoo (think Lucky meets IoA JP triceratops encounter). Rasulo and co. also wanted to keep the budget down (read value engineered). In short, JK was offended by Disney's attitude. BTW, did you know Rasulo fought against Lucasfilm properties being put in the parks back in the day?
Rowling met with Dr. Seuss' second wife, Audrey Geisel, who praised UNI's attention to detail when creating and maintaining Seuss Landing at IoA.
WB and Rowling sign with UNI.

I know there's a lot more to that story, but I wanted to be brief.

4)I brought up the potential UNI-Legendary partnership because Legendary is very interested in creating a synergy machine and NBCUni can offer that opportunity through it's assets like film studios, broadcast & cable channels, theme parks etc. When you're licensing from different partners like WB, Sony, Fox/Gracie Films, or Nickelodeon, synergy can be harder/limited. The article escapes me, but said article argued a reason why JJ jumped ship to Disney/Lucasfilm to do Ep. VII was that it would be easier to cross platform stuff. Disney is the sole owner of Star Wars, as opposed to Star Trek where he had ideas to do cross platform projects, but Paramount and CBS have had trouble agreeing on the future of Trek let alone executing his ideas.

1. I hope Disney learned from this experience!
2. CBS is part of the Viacom/Paramount empire. Sumner Redstone's Viacom bought Paramount and CBS in separate deal years ago.

 

[WDW1974]

Speaking of TL food, @WDWFigment had a burger at TDL's TL and somehow managed to survive!
http://instagram.com/p/ZFloOwiwOj/

A certain Spirit warned him about that. Guess he couldn't resist. Tomorowland Terrace was the worst meal BY FAR I had in 11 days in Tokyo.

I have a new rule that says no eating in any T-land except HKDL.

 

[WDW1974]

Wow...Final Frontier made the honorable mention list over First Contact? Of course I'd place II at the top of my list, it's just epic. Undiscovered Country is my 2nd favorite, followed by Voyage Home. None of the NG movies even make the list for me.

I shouldn't post before bed. I meant Undiscovered Country NOT Final FRontier, but confused them. FF was BAD.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

2. CBS is part of the Viacom/Paramount empire. Sumner Redstone's Viacom bought Paramount and CBS in separate deal years ago.

Viacom/Paramount and CBS were split into different companies who share the Star Trek IP.

 

[WDW1974]

Call me a tree hugger, but i think lower levels of AC can be only a good thing. I feel that AC is really overabused over there in the US.

I love trees. But I also like to be cool and comfortable on hot, humid FL days and nights. Disney always froze people out, but now you barely get that in shops. UNI/SW keep their insides cold. Disney does in Anaheim.

In FL, they simply go with the 'they're tourists, they expect to sweat even inside' excuse. It's all about the green, not going green.

 

[PeterAlt]

Viacom/Paramount and CBS were split into different companies who share the Star Trek IP.

Controlled by Sumner Redstone? Makes no sense.

 

[englanddg]

I shouldn't post before bed. I meant Undiscovered Country NOT Final FRontier, but confused them. FF was BAD.

FF was Shatner's chance...and he blew it!

Hahah, no worries. Undiscovered Country was fantastic. "Cold War Star Trek", is what I thought of it. Sortof like Star Trek does "Hunt for Red October". Great film, especially at the time it came out. Outside of II, my favorite of the original cast (though IV was a close tie, just because it was so funny and unique compared to how serious I - III were).

 

[WDW1974]

Star Trek V the Final Frontier? The one directed by Shatner we're the sjip gets hijacked by Spock's long lost brother Sybok to go beyond the great barrier to find God? I think it's watchable only for it's trash value.

The Undiscovered Country with Spock going all Sherlock Holmes I'd put in the top three with STIVTVH and STFC. That wonderful zero-g scene where we discover Klingons have purple blood alone is unforgettable.

And I admit having a soft spot for that boring mess that is Star Trek the Motion Picture.

The TNG movies (beside STFC) are how Berman and Braga really killed the franchise

I already 'explained my Trek mistake. Final Frontier was laughingly bad, yet still better than any of the last three Star Wars films.

TNG films didn't kill the franchise, Paramount's cheapness and avarice did. They never gave any of the films the type of budget you need for a sci-fi blockbuster ... They all played like extended TV episodes. At the same time, Paramount TV was making too many series and flooding the market. Trust me on this, my pipeline on Trek is quite deep.

 

[PeterAlt]

FF was Shatner's chance...and he blew it!

Hahah, no worries. Undiscovered Country was fantastic. "Cold War Star Trek", is what I thought of it. Sortof like Star Trek does "Hunt for Red October". Great film, especially at the time it came out. Outside of II, my favorite of the original cast (though IV was a close tie, just because it was so funny and unique compared to how serious I - III were).

FF was the worst directed of all the movies. Shatter is a great actor. His directorial debut was a complete embarrassment. His hype about how it was the "culmination of my career" leading up to its release was especially embarrassing.

That one scene where the one Vulcan points his ears at the camera for a dramatic effect had to be among the worst directed scenes in all of Star Trek ever!

 

[englanddg]

I already 'explained my Trek mistake. Final Frontier was laughingly bad, yet still better than any of the last three Star Wars films.

TNG films didn't kill the franchise, Paramount's cheapness and avarice did. They never gave any of the films the type of budget you need for a sci-fi blockbuster ... They all played like extended TV episodes. At the same time, Paramount TV was making too many series and flooding the market. Trust me on this, my pipeline on Trek is quite deep.

I dunno. I'd argue that writing, not effects, was the issue (though that does have something to do with budget, so not arguing that). TNG movies certainly did kill off the appetite for more Trek films until the reboot, but that was due to waning box offices, as I recall. That being said, they still had impressive numbers for a while.

I wasn't impressed with JJ's first attempt, but this last movie (outside of the last 15 - 20 minutes, which just SCREAMS lazy script writing and over-obvious fan service) I've already seen twice. Not because I loved it. I did, for the first 3/4 of the movie, loved it to death...but I went twice because I want to use my dollar to vote. I want to see more.

If you go into the most recent film thinking about the original characters from TOS, as they were in TOS, then the movies make a whole lot of sense, and I applaud that. The first reboot film felt like a bad mashup of Nemesis and a TOS episode though. I wasn't fond, and still am not fond, of it.

Of course, all my opine.

 

[WDW1974]

In skimming the last few pages, I chuckled about the Be Our Guest feedback. I thought I was about the only one who wasn't wild about that place after reading so many glowing reviews. I actually touched on most of the complaints in my own review of it, including the poor forced perspective and mess hall feel. Biggest for me was that the food was bland, despite a menu that really deviates from the norm. (I also think the Imagineer-tribute babies on the ceiling are creepy, something I haven't seen mentioned here.)

In fairness, I do give the place kudos for trying a more inventive menu (especially given that it's in Fantasyland), and I do generally think the restaurant is ornate and nicely done. To me, besides a couple issues with the design, which I otherwise think is good, the big issue is the food. It just isn't good.

Now, I don't make ADRs far enough in advance to have dined there for dinner (I guess @WDW1974 is a closet obsessive planner?! ), so those are my thoughts on lunch. Perhaps I'll share my thoughts on dinner in 2016 when its popularity starts to wane!

Then again, I also thought Walt's in Disneyland Paris served disgusting food, but at least the design there was amazing, top to bottom...

My issues with BoG start with a bad server and, possibly, a bad policy and then go on to bland food. How do you get French Onion Soup wrong? You don't use a beef based broth, so you can call it veggie. Of course, that makes me want to head to Chefs de France or the Grand Floridian Cafe where they know how to compute stuff. And cupcakes??!? I have never seen one in France, but American rubes like them.

As to being an OCD planner, that wasn't me. That was my 'traveling companion' and she must be obeyed. I just went along with it ... Although I may have made two ressies of my own.

As to Walt's, you had to have had a bad experience because I have been many times and it has always been good to great.

 

[stevehousse]

What did everyone think of the D11 presentation with staggs? It was all about magic band, and answered quite a few major questions about their usage! I would highly suggest watching it on the main news feed of the site! The only thing that was not touched upon was exactly how many fast passes you would be able to get!!!

On a side note, the only thing I did not like wad that the magic bands will be delivered to your house before u leave! I don't really like that, it's one more thing I have to worry about packing and remembering!

 

[stevehousse]

My issues with BoG start with a bad server and, possibly, a bad policy and then go on to bland food. How do you get French Onion Soup wrong? You don't use a beef based broth, so you can call it veggie. Of course, that makes me want to head to Chefs de France or the Grand Floridian Cafe where they know how to compute stuff. And cupcakes??!? I have never seen one in France, but American rubes like them.

As to being an OCD planner, that wasn't me. That was my 'traveling companion' and she must be obeyed. I just went along with it ... Although I may have made two ressies of my own.

As to Walt's, you had to have had a bad experience because I have been many times and it has always been good to great.

Interested in knowing what policy you had a problem with?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Yep. To me, the Beast's castle looks like it belongs in Storybook Land in Anaheim or Paris. The scale is all wrong and it looks small and fake ... Like a WDI-topper on a building. If you have to stand in one special spot and crane your neck in just one position to see, then something is really wrong with the design.

It could probably be twice the size and pull off the effect much better.

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

It could probably be twice the size and pull off the effect much better.

Twice the size and a lot further back...

 

[englanddg]

My issues with BoG start with a bad server and, possibly, a bad policy and then go on to bland food. How do you get French Onion Soup wrong? You don't use a beef based broth, so you can call it veggie. Of course, that makes me want to head to Chefs de France or the Grand Floridian Cafe where they know how to compute stuff. And cupcakes??!? I have never seen one in France, but American rubes like them.

As to being an OCD planner, that wasn't me. That was my 'traveling companion' and she must be obeyed. I just went along with it ... Although I may have made two ressies of my own.

As to Walt's, you had to have had a bad experience because I have been many times and it has always been good to great.

Wait...they do a french onion with beef broth?

 

[WDW1974]

Ahhh come on, we all know that really 74 is at home on his iPhone, constantly refreshing that My Disney Experience app, just looking for Le Cellier and BoG openings. I also heard he went to WDW just so that he could go pick out his MagicBand color from the display in the Odyssey.

I did try one on during a rain storm. I like green. I don't like spending billions on tech that isn't needed, however.

But you've likely heard that before.

 

[englanddg]

I did try one on during a rain storm. I like green. I don't like spending billions on tech that isn't needed, however.

But you've likely heard that before.

Wait, it comes in green?

Well, that just reversed my opinion about the entire endeavor!