Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[Funmeister]

If you do decide to eat at BOG you may want to avoid eating in the West Wing. There is so much foot traffic of people trying to get pictures of the rose and the painting that it is impossible to enjoy your meal. While you are eating you get to stare at peoples butts in line to get a photograph of the rose (which by the way the effect is destroyed when using a flash). Carts are too big and bulky to use when the restaurant is full in addition to the foot traffic. Another comment I hear from CM's and guests from time to time is that they thought the restaurant was going ot be more of an interactive dining experience. Not quite dinner show or character dining but more than what is offered.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

At DLP I would never stay at the hotels. Absurdly priced and the worst maintained in the world. And downtown Paris (i.e. the Eiffel Tower) is 35 minutes away by train. Some of the resorts are just getting their first ever top to bottom room renovations. They opened in 1992, so you do the math. I highly reccommend the Marriott Vacation Club at DLP (to be fair, I spent a week in a Grand Villa so I am spoiled) as it is beautiful, peaceful and 10 minutes from the resort and the metro.

Sequioa wasn't so bad for what I paid (I'd stay there again), but Newport is in anything but ship shape.

 

[bcalltimandanna]

Thanks Spirit! I think you just made my honeymoon plans for me!

That's a very hard question. Paris is the City of Love, after all. Tokyo is an amazing place in its own right, but I don't find it a romantic place where you can also visit Disney parks that are the best in the world.

The hotels at TDR are VERY pricey. I like them all to some degree, but there's only one that I think I'd stay at and that's the Mira Costa. I haven't stayed in any, but visited and dined and drank and shopped at them all.

At DLP I would never stay at the hotels. Absurdly priced and the worst maintained in the world. And downtown Paris (i.e. the Eiffel Tower) is 35 minutes away by train. Some of the resorts are just getting their first ever top to bottom room renovations. They opened in 1992, so you do the math. I highly reccommend the Marriott Vacation Club at DLP (to be fair, I spent a week in a Grand Villa so I am spoiled) as it is beautiful, peaceful and 10 minutes from the resort and the metro.

 

[NoChesterHester]

As to Sopranos, I didn't care because I wasn't a regular viewer. But I still think the ending was incredibly weak ... it was the creatives thinking they couldn't come up with a suitable ending, so they wouldn't ... they'd let people decide for themselves. Weak.

I disagree. The ending was just as definitive as the rest of the show. Expertly written. It was all there and carefully crafted. People were just upset because it a actually didn't show Tony's blood sprayed everywhere.

The silent 10 seconds was his point of view for those that haven't seen it in a while. Such an amazing end when re examined.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Funny. I always thought I did. But I'm just an attention- ... still, I could have sworn it was me.

Oh well, being right is more important than who gets credit ...

You did? Learn something new every day.

 

[DocMcHulk]

Not really. Not when the company is actively engaged in trying to make The Muppets relevant again.
I've heard multiple versions of this upcoming project. NONE of them involved the Muppets leaving TPFKaTD-MGMS.

You just made my day

 

[tissandtully]

I hope you are right about This Is The End ...it seems to have potential, but I've heard mixed things.

As to Sopranos, I didn't care because I wasn't a regular viewer. But I still think the ending was incredibly weak ... it was the creatives thinking they couldn't come up with a suitable ending, so they wouldn't ... they'd let people decide for themselves. Weak.

Saw This Is The End last night and I loved it. Definitely a funny, gross, sick movie, just the way I like it.

 

[Lee]

I disagree. The ending was just as definitive as the rest of the show. Expertly written. It was all there and carefully crafted. People were just upset because it a actually didn't show Tony's blood sprayed everywhere.

The silent 10 seconds was his point of view for those that haven't seen it in a while. Such an amazing end when re examined.

Yes. This.

You did? Learn something new every day.

Spirit was the first to go public with the plan. Niles was first to dig up and post the site plans.

(The Potter 2.0 concept was developed concurrently with the original WWoHP. I first heard of it being in a "blue sky" type phase shortly after phase one opened. It later solidified and was greenlit, which Spirit reported here.)

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Yes. This.


Spirit was the first to go public with the plan. Niles was first to dig up and post the site plans.

(The Potter 2.0 concept was developed concurrently with the original WWoHP. I first heard of it being in a "blue sky" type phase shortly after phase one opened. It later solidified and was greenlit, which Spirit reported here.)

Oh, ok.

 

[WDWFigment]

That's a very hard question. Paris is the City of Love, after all. Tokyo is an amazing place in its own right, but I don't find it a romantic place where you can also visit Disney parks that are the best in the world.

The hotels at TDR are VERY pricey. I like them all to some degree, but there's only one that I think I'd stay at and that's the Mira Costa. I haven't stayed in any, but visited and dined and drank and shopped at them all.

At DLP I would never stay at the hotels. Absurdly priced and the worst maintained in the world. And downtown Paris (i.e. the Eiffel Tower) is 35 minutes away by train. Some of the resorts are just getting their first ever top to bottom room renovations. They opened in 1992, so you do the math. I highly reccommend the Marriott Vacation Club at DLP (to be fair, I spent a week in a Grand Villa so I am spoiled) as it is beautiful, peaceful and 10 minutes from the resort and the metro.

Have to say that I disagree with some of this.

First, Tokyo definitely doesn't have the romantic, European charm that Paris has. That said, there are plenty of undesirable parts of Paris, and with the exception of some weird stuff in Shinjuku, Tokyo is gorgeous, fun, incredibly clean, and efficient. Very nice people, too. Kyoto is a relatively short bullet train ride away, and it's absolutely breathtaking.

The Disney hotels at TDR are very pricey. We stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay (which, along with the Sheraton, is on the monorail loop) and paid $150/night. I would call it a WDW Deluxe-level hotel. With off-season pricing and a very favorable exchange rate now, that hotel is a bargain. I also checked out all of the hotels, and I'd say that both Disneyland Hotel and MiraCosta are incredibly nice (if you shell out the money for WDW Deluxes, you should have no problem doing it for either of these--they're both significantly nicer than the nicest WDW Deluxe). Ambassador seemed okay--I wouldn't stay there.

At Disneyland Paris, we stayed off-site and on-site (Sequoia Lodge). Our off-site hotel was 1 or 2 stops away from DLRP on the rail, and I thought it was a pain to get to and from it. Sequoia Lodge was more expensive, but it was much more convenient, and pretty nice. I checked out the other hotels at DLRP, and probably wouldn't stay at any of them. Disneyland Hotel was nice, but way overpriced for what it was.

Still, a hard decision...Europe in general might be better "honeymoon material" for most. If it were me, I'd do Tokyo without a second thought.

 

[WDWFigment]

Well, I'm sure he'll chime in one way or the other ... if he isn't on his monthly visit to either WDW or DLR, that is!

Hey, hey, hey... I think you've spent more days in WDW this year than I've spent in DLR, WDW, and TDR combined!

And yes, it is.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Have to say that I disagree with some of this.

First, Tokyo definitely doesn't have the romantic, European charm that Paris has. That said, there are plenty of undesirable parts of Paris...

My first impression of the city was the scuzzy area complete with homeless squeegee folk, very romantic. Other parts are much, much nicer, but there's also the stange phenomenon of crossing a street to find the other side has several times more graffiti and bird poop than the other 10ft. before it.

At Disneyland Paris, we stayed off-site and on-site (Sequoia Lodge). Our off-site hotel was 1 or 2 stops away from DLRP on the rail, and I thought it was a pain to get to and from it. Sequoia Lodge was more expensive, but it was much more convenient, and pretty nice. I checked out the other hotels at DLRP, and probably wouldn't stay at any of them. Disneyland Hotel was nice, but way overpriced for what it was.

Being able to walk to and from the parks in 10 minutes made it worth the stay at Sequoia. It trumps any WDW moderate IMO. If money was no object I'd stay at Disneyland Hotel in a heartbeat. My only concern there would be the noise level from the parades on Main Street.

Someday I'll get to Tokyo. The $2,000+ flight to get there and back is the major barrier for me.

 

[ChrisFL]

Yes. This.


Spirit was the first to go public with the plan. Niles was first to dig up and post the site plans.

(The Potter 2.0 concept was developed concurrently with the original WWoHP. I first heard of it being in a "blue sky" type phase shortly after phase one opened. It later solidified and was greenlit, which Spirit reported here.)

I heard about it before phase one opened over at orlandounited , but of course, it was so far out of "left field" that it wasn't believed by anyone.

 

[bcalltimandanna]

I do need to see TDS......and I do want to stay at a Disney resort. So, I guess it comes down to MiraCosta or Disneyland Hotel Paris. Thoughts?

Have to say that I disagree with some of this.

First, Tokyo definitely doesn't have the romantic, European charm that Paris has. That said, there are plenty of undesirable parts of Paris, and with the exception of some weird stuff in Shinjuku, Tokyo is gorgeous, fun, incredibly clean, and efficient. Very nice people, too. Kyoto is a relatively short bullet train ride away, and it's absolutely breathtaking.

The Disney hotels at TDR are very pricey. We stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay (which, along with the Sheraton, is on the monorail loop) and paid $150/night. I would call it a WDW Deluxe-level hotel. With off-season pricing and a very favorable exchange rate now, that hotel is a bargain. I also checked out all of the hotels, and I'd say that both Disneyland Hotel and MiraCosta are incredibly nice (if you shell out the money for WDW Deluxes, you should have no problem doing it for either of these--they're both significantly nicer than the nicest WDW Deluxe). Ambassador seemed okay--I wouldn't stay there.

At Disneyland Paris, we stayed off-site and on-site (Sequoia Lodge). Our off-site hotel was 1 or 2 stops away from DLRP on the rail, and I thought it was a pain to get to and from it. Sequoia Lodge was more expensive, but it was much more convenient, and pretty nice. I checked out the other hotels at DLRP, and probably wouldn't stay at any of them. Disneyland Hotel was nice, but way overpriced for what it was.

Still, a hard decision...Europe in general might be better "honeymoon material" for most. If it were me, I'd do Tokyo without a second thought.

 

[Bryner84]

I'll just say that BoG is terribly overrated, much of it coming from Disney Lifestylers/social media. The room is loud and not greatly detailed. You don't have a table cloth. The food is mediocre. The prices are ridiculous. And the service I experienced was downright awful. The Mommy Blogging Brigade can have it.

On the merchandise front, Disney has added some back at 'some' resorts. But it isn't like the 70s, 80s and 90s when every resort had a line of specific merchandise. I believe this was a case of DVCers (largely) and Disney capitulating in a half-assed fashion. ... A resort the alleged caliber of the YC should have more than one item for men. And an item that likely won't sell much and will wind up at outlet stores and then they'll have none. And they'll justify the decision to not have any based on the poor sales of the one item that they had.

Agreed. I think BOG would function best as a type of faux fine dining experience, with prices that reflect the "faux" part of that. A place to feel like you are at a more upscale restaurant, or at least make kids feel that way, but where park attire and loud children aren't out of place. For that, the food and decor are perfectly reasonable. As it is, with food quality lowered and prices raised, it sits somewhere in the middle and accomplishes neither. Close to signature prices, but without the signature meal. Basically, I think the food and atmosphere is perfectly adequate for what it is, but the prices are not in line with what is offered. As for me, we will stick to Liberty Tree Tavern lunch if we want to have a TS in MK. The surprise hit for us this trip was Tokyo Dining. The food was good and the service was exceptional (even if I awkwardly bowed back every time they bowed at us). Combined with a window seat and Illuminations view, it was definately our best all around experience. Felt like classic Disney treatment, but alas, with inflated Disney pricing.

 

[Figments Friend]

I was under the impression, at least based on some of the earlier pieces of concept art, that BOG was originally going to be more interactive.

There were originally plans for a live dinner show (ala the *Be Our Guest* number in the film..) and lots of talk about Living Characters making the rounds in the dining areas similar to Remy. After opening the restaurant, there was talk behind the scenes about Beast being re-designed in a similar way to Talking Mickey and would appear to greet Guests at only this location. Lots of great *plusses* to the idea....but nothing came about.

My guess is budgets were trimmed back a little, or the live entertainment was ditched to keep Guest flow more rapid (keeping those tables turning over means more money made..)....or perhaps another element i am not remembering came into play in the end?

It seems there was a LOT of build up about this location during the development phase...rave reviews once it opened, and now the general opinion seems to be it is all smoke and mirrors and had lost what benefits it had going for it.

Interesting.

 

[RedDad]

If you do decide to eat at BOG you may want to avoid eating in the West Wing. There is so much foot traffic of people trying to get pictures of the rose and the painting that it is impossible to enjoy your meal. While you are eating you get to stare at peoples butts in line to get a photograph of the rose (which by the way the effect is destroyed when using a flash). Carts are too big and bulky to use when the restaurant is full in addition to the foot traffic. Another comment I hear from CM's and guests from time to time is that they thought the restaurant was going ot be more of an interactive dining experience. Not quite dinner show or character dining but more than what is offered.

Yes, I agree about the West Wing, and after walking over there to see it after dinner, I was very glad we dined in the main hall. Not just because of the many visitors, but I just didn't care for the way it was done. The whole restaurant was dark, but it was even darker in there.

 

[pheneix]

High five to Theme Park Insider for outing in some detail how many attractions Disney is about to take down at DHS at the same time.

There is going to be some disagreement on the interwebs on exactly what and when everything will be closing in DHS, but by this time 2015 when Disney's two tier pricing structure has widened the gap between MK and 2nd tier park tickets it is going to become very clear why these sub parks are not carrying the price premium.

BTW. Re: Attraction closures. If I were a fan of the Muppet Show, the Backlot Tour, Indiana Jones, or anything that's not Toy Story that happens to reside behind great movie ride, I would go ahead and be making up reasons to get some rides in. If I were a fan.

 

[Figments Friend]

Nice.

Well it will be interesting to see what plan actually happens...of the many being looked at.
I think a complete refresh would be welcome, and that back area(s) of the Park are prime land plots to do better things with.

Just lose the dang *Hat* already....that alone will be a major milestone.

 

[HenryMystic]

Niles was first to dig up and post the site plans.

Actually, it was Ole Pal Merfy. That was an exciting day.
HHN Rumors found the demolition permits for Jaws in December 2011.
I found the Hogwarts Express building permits

TPI posted a crazy ride synopsis on NYE 2011. I guess time will tell if it was accurate or if the ride vehicle concept art was legit.