Spirited Spring Break News, Observations & Thoughts ...

[WDW1974]

Not sure how we got on the little mermaid... since we were talking the projection tech... but Ursula and Scuttle are very impressive. The wardrobe and Lumiere are both great examples of both the flexible material and projection techniques in use now. RSR blends both techniques extremely well too. Remy is another impressive figure demonstrating technical achievements.

It's clear each attraction has its own objectives and choices in technical direction -- not that Disney as a whole is going backwards.

I don't find Scuttle to be impressive at all. Ursula is when she is working (she was partially inop last week when i was there). Disney could be doing far better in 2014. It's like riding Pooh here and riding it in Tokyo where it is essentially the exact same attraction, but the Disney Store mannequins are replaced by real AAs and the ride system is completely different.

Oh, and while I love Lumiere and the wardrobe, to me, they are wasted in a meet-greet-and-dance-around-with-paper-masks.

The type of setting that we get in POTC or even SSE are very different from what one would expect from fast moving cartoon-like characters. The 'living museum' as I call most of Disney's AA setups was always about 'live performance' to me and not about 'realism'. They were great because it was more than static displays. I mean, look at the Grand Canyon diorama vs UoE.. but no matter how realistic the Abe Lincoln face looks.. we are no where close to the type of live movement and variety you can get with the transparent projection screens like you see in Disaster at USF.

Talking mannequins >> static ones... but they still stand there like stiffs.

Yes, Disney was going with live performance, but they were trying to do so BY making the AAs as lifelike as possible. That's why AA tech kept advancing through the decades until Disney decided they were largely too pricey and passe.

***Fanboi alert: It's Disney Night on Dancing With the Stars. I may be far from a TV tonight, but don't Let It Go without you!!!

 

[danv3]

With Lou, you wouldn't even know that UNI or SWO exist.

When I used to listen to his show, it got really awkward if a guest (like Beci or Jim Korkis) would mention UNI. Lou would be like, "what's that?" and then steer back to the awesomeness of modern WDW.

 

[Captain Chaos]

It seems odd that a grown man with no children (at least i dont think he has kids) is the leader of the Disney Moms, but I dont know the man and he may be a cool guy. If you say he is, I'll give him the benefit of doubt.

But thanks to '74, and @TP2000 and his eye opening, extremely hillarious reporting on the recent mommies event, I have spent some time the last 2 days learning more about what the Disney moms actually do (nothing substantial), and after watching videos of the conferences that the mommies attend they are mostly estrogen fueled seminars of woman telling each other they can rule the world, and the "men", if you want to call them that, that attend, seem to serve no purpose other than being cheer leaders or purse holders to these suburban socialite wannabe's who are wasting the time of the woman speakers who are actually woman who work and/or make a REAL difference in the world. Gary is probly the only man there that they respect.

Some of the speakers are extremely well spoken and powerful but their efforts are most likely pointless as these mommies get all fired up in the moment with aspirations to do more in life but only return home and upload the video they took and call it a day.

And just for the record, I 100% respect stay at home moms and the extremely busy schedules/jobs they have. There is a difference between moms who bust their everyday to make a better life for their family, and the moms who have a few glasses of wine and then yap on youtube about rando topics.

Tell us how you really feel...

 

[Stevek]

When I used to listen to his show, it got really awkward if a guest (like Beci or Jim Korkis) would mention UNI. Lou would be like, "what's that?" and then steer back to the awesomeness of modern WDW.

I used to listen to it regularly when there was more news involved. Now it's just a promotion vehicle for Disney so it's far less compelling. The only real Disney podcasts that I enjoy are Wedway/Wedway Now and the occasional WDW today episode. Anyone have some good recos for other good Disney Park focused podcasts?

 

[WDW1974]

True but both of those ensure job security. I have a feeling that there are plenty of people out there (and possibly here) that would take his job in a heartbeat just to work for Disney in a social media capacity. Can't be the most stressful job in the world, beyond having to make sure mommy bloggers are satisfied (not, not that kind of satisfied you dirty minded people)

Perhaps, but I am big on ethics and having a code. Spinning PR for a company, often outright BS, is something that I just couldn't do.

Now, would I love to be Gary's boss? Would I like to run that department? Hell, yeah. You'd see changes made. BIG changes. (and they'd even save the company lots of $$$) Oh, and while I couldn't say for sure, I'm fairly certain that I would keep Gary gainfully employed. Dr. Blondie and Bland Tommy would be gone ... Leanne would be gone ... I might keep Scary Steven because the fanbois love him and he's harmless.

 

[Stevek]

Tell us how you really feel...

I really don't have a problem with a man leading this group to be honest. If he's the best person for the job then by all means let him do it. It would be interesting to hear if the mommies would prefer a man or a woman to lead their cult...actually, I'm not interested.

 

[WDW1974]

You gotta go see his post from the past few days. Can you imagine Eisner watching Skrillex with the kids? Yep, right in the thick of it.

The question is can you see Bob Iger doing so? Because he is the one running the world's largest entertainment/media company and needs to know what people are into, especially the kids ...

 

[Captain Chaos]

I used to listen to it regularly when there was more news involved. Now it's just a promotion vehicle for Disney so it's far less compelling. The only real Disney podcasts that I enjoy are Wedway/Wedway Now and the occasional WDW today episode. Anyone have some good recos for other good Disney Park focused podcasts?

I stopped listening when he broke away from Nathan Rose...

 

[WDW1974]

It seems odd that a grown man with no children (at least i dont think he has kids) is the leader of the Disney Moms, but I dont know the man and he may be a cool guy. If you say he is, I'll give him the benefit of doubt.

But thanks to '74, and @TP2000 and his eye opening, extremely hillarious reporting on the recent mommies event, I have spent some time the last 2 days learning more about what the Disney moms actually do (nothing substantial), and after watching videos of the conferences that the mommies attend they are mostly estrogen fueled seminars of woman telling each other they can rule the world, and the "men", if you want to call them that, that attend, seem to serve no purpose other than being cheer leaders or purse holders to these suburban socialite wannabe's who are wasting the time of the woman speakers who are actually woman who work and/or make a REAL difference in the world. Gary is probly the only man there that they respect.

Some of the speakers are extremely well spoken and powerful but their efforts are most likely pointless as these mommies get all fired up in the moment with aspirations to do more in life but only return home and upload the video they took and call it a day.

And just for the record, I 100% respect stay at home moms and the extremely busy schedules/jobs they have. There is a difference between moms who bust their everyday to make a better life for their family, and the moms who have a few glasses of wine and then yap on youtube about rando topics.

Great post. Great understanding of the situation.

 

[Stevek]

Perhaps, but I am big on ethics and having a code. Spinning PR for a company, often outright BS, is something that I just couldn't do.

Now, would I love to be Gary's boss? Would I like to run that department? Hell, yeah. You'd see changes made. BIG changes. (and they'd even save the company lots of $$$) Oh, and while I couldn't say for sure, I'm fairly certain that I would keep Gary gainfully employed. Dr. Blondie and Bland Tommy would be gone ... Leanne would be gone ... I might keep Scary Steven because the fanbois love him and he's harmless.

While I'm not a fanbois...ok, I'm here so that makes me somewhat of a fanbois, I'd agree with Steven. Seems to be a nice guy and you have to have those folks that connect well with the hardcore fanbase. He appears to be the one that has the connection best right now. He was even willing to meet some of the DL fanbois for drinks at Trader Sam's between mommy meetings.

 

[WDW1974]

I really don't have a problem with a man leading this group to be honest. If he's the best person for the job then by all means let him do it. It would be interesting to hear if the mommies would prefer a man or a woman to lead their cult...actually, I'm not interested.

They are only interested in what the person running the circus can do for them.

But does a man run the National Organization For Women? Just wondering ...

 

[truecoat]

Yes, Lou sees value in being an exclusive ***** to Disney, while Ricky is spreading the love around.

With Lou, you wouldn't even know that UNI or SWO exist.

I know when Beci Mahnken has mentioned visiting UO, you would have swore she said something bad about Lou's mother by his reaction.

Looks like Danv3 beat me to this comment.

 

[Stevek]

The question is can you see Bob Iger doing so? Because he is the one running the world's largest entertainment/media company and needs to know what people are into, especially the kids ...

Never, ever, ever. But I could never have seen Eisner doing that as well during his Disney tenure. Of course, I wasn't that informed about him back in the day so maybe he would have been fine at a similar function.

 

[wdisney9000]

Tell us how you really feel...

lol. ya, im done watching videos and looking at instagram pics of what the mommie bloggers do. Im fascinated by the warped reality they live in but it was beginning to consume me. I have ventured to the dark side but luckily made it back before i turned into one of them. I will never look at organic laundry detergent the same way again! thanks @TP2000.

 

[danv3]

I used to listen to it regularly when there was more news involved. Now it's just a promotion vehicle for Disney so it's far less compelling. The only real Disney podcasts that I enjoy are Wedway/Wedway Now and the occasional WDW today episode. Anyone have some good recos for other good Disney Park focused podcasts?

Same for me. I also listen to the occasional Netcot podcast every 12-18 months.

 

[Stevek]

Same for me. I also listen to the occasional Netcot podcast every 12-18 months.

Supposedly Van is coming back...supposedly. I used to enjoy meandering mouse and window to the magic but one went away and the other lost it's focus. Once Paul started asking folks for money to fund his trips to WDW so he could record and share audio with his fans, I was out. He was also a staunch supporter of Dave O'Neil and the Extinct Attractions Club which also didn't help his cause.

 

[flynnibus]

..the Disney Store mannequins..

hehe.. probably the best way to sum up The Little Mermaid huh?

I'm a big believer in 'best tool for the job' not 'this tool is superior to all'. Nothing like having a project bloat to insane costs because people insist on 'this tech' instead of 'the right tech'. I think this is part of the big difference that made attractions like the Haunted Mansion possible 40+years ago while today we have a hard time building attractions 1/5th of what the HM was. Characters like Bob Gurr were about PRACTICALITY, not gizmo for the sake of gizmo.

Attractions (and people) swing too far and trap themselves into using something too much, or hating on something because of what it is vs what it does. For instance, the projections in Nemo subs. On their own they are fabulous IMO - the problem is they are left to themselves without much to support them. Where as you look at RSR, there is the variety.. preventing the attraction from being too lopsided (looking at you Test Track..)

Oh, and while I love Lumiere and the wardrobe, to me, they are wasted in a meet-greet-and-dance-around-with-paper-masks.

I like to think of it as 'its possible..' - now its just up to the buyers and the show producers to put it in use.

Yes, Disney was going with live performance, but they were trying to do so BY making the AAs as lifelike as possible. That's why AA tech kept advancing through the decades until Disney decided they were largely too pricey and passe.

Yeah, but the power of something like POTC is not because the people are so 'real' IMO - but more to do with the immersion and scale. Look at HoP.. it has scale in the figure department.. but it never feels like I have the president lecturing me. Where as I look at something like the American Adventure, and I like the franklin and twain figures because it provides an interesting medium - not really realism. Probably the best level of suspension of disbelief for AAs is in the dark quick use of them like in Indiana Jones I think.

Maybe that's the best way to put it. I find human AA figures an interesting story telling MEDIUM - not necessarily a great analog. So if I am looking for something to suspend disbelief.. I'm probably going to look to something with more ability to recreate the movement and visuals my brain is seeking than just arguing 'a physical set is best'.

Spiderman is another good example of using different techs to their strengths.

 

[jlsHouston]

You gotta go see his post from the past few days. Can you imagine Eisner watching Skrillex with the kids? Yep, right in the thick of it.

Wow he likes Game of Thrones too...

 

[Captain Chaos]

Same for me. I also listen to the occasional Netcot podcast every 12-18 months.

Does Van still do Netcot? I remember a long time passed between episodes, so I unsubscribed...

 

[Stevek]

Does Van still do Netcot? I remember a long time passed between episodes, so I unsubscribed...

He released a new episode covering DCA 2.0 on Jan 28, 2014. Nothing new since then so I'm guessing they will be very infrequent if he even still has the fire in him to start up regularly again.