The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Just a little Musing (because I can)

Let me start this off with a few things that I consider unforgiveable for a company like Disney to do. The first, and biggest, in my opinion is the fact that Disney has closed so many attractions and not replaced them with new attractions. This "going out of business" look does take away a lot of the magic, whether those idiots in California think so or not. Second, the shortsightedness of putting off important maintanence was a decision that should have cost someone a job. They are now spending probably twice the money and probably triple the time to correct that brain dead decision. Third, pricing so many people out of the Disney Resort experience is not just shortsighted, but almost blind. Fourth, is not operating all the available quickserve dining areas that are available, forcing people to cram into places, wait in line longer and simply inconvenience the Guests to the degree that Disney seem to find acceptable. It is not!

OK, that's out of the way... now... I purposely went to DHS first because I wanted to roll naked in the joy of the quickly disappearing ugly hat. It was a wonderful sight to see. It also brought focus on just exactly how out of proportion that abomination really was. I wish I could say I will miss it, but that would be a lie.

I also was anxious to test out my FP selections and started out with ToT as my first ride in WDW this year. As usual, it was everything it was advertised to be, but, using FP did require missing a lot of interesting details that always made ToT special to me. So it's a trade off, detail or speed is what the choice is.

After walking around just looking at the "damage" I was amazed at how hidden it all was. If you didn't know that the Backstage Tour existed you certainly wouldn't have been able to tell right now. I checked from many angles to see if the Earful Tower was visible and it was from just about every place in the park unless you were standing behind a building, but, that would be true for any of the Icon's.

I then proceeded to my next FP which was Toy Story. The ride was fun, but, I also spent time looking around and remembering seeing sets for TV shows (M.M. Club for one) being on the same floor that I was standing on and the upper levels were we used to be able to look at the sound stages from above. Made me a little sad.

I wandered over to the Muppets and except for the realization that "A net full of Jello" was no longer in the preshow, found the show to be just as good as ever. I especially looked to see what part of the show was dated. You know what, it isn't! Anyone that thinks it is, has probably just seen it too many times. To someone that is seeing it for the first time, it is fresh and well done. The theater was fairly full, the picture was crystal clear (one of the only 3D shows that is that way), all the effects were working and at the end the audience was applauding. It is still liked a lot by new people and even some of us older ones.

From there it was over to Indiana Jones. I have seen this show at least a dozen times and it never gets old. The actors were very good and the absolutely full theater was having a great time. A lot of participation and applause. When we left all I heard were hundreds of people humming the Indy theme song. Not even close to being a dead attraction.

Then it was FP number three time for Star Tours. This is where the odds ran out because I've only been on that ride once since it changed and wouldn't you know, with all the options that exist I got to see the same one I saw last time. Timing is everything! Before leaving for Epcot I headed for the Great Movie Ride. As I was walking in I stopped and talked to a CM. I said to her... I don't know how you feel about it, but, when that hat is completely gone I will be so happy I could cry. Her eyes got real wide and she said, "Oh, I know. It will be wonderful, we will be able to get our beautiful theater seen again and appreciated." Things looked really good inside. Yes, it still could be updated with newer AA's, but, everything was working and I even noticed that the tram stopped and spent time in front of some of the sets. Alien and Casablanca were able to be seen and listened to without running right through it. It was great. I didn't notice a huge difference in any of the film clips yet.

Then something I had never done before... I took the boat from DHS to Epcot leaving my car in the DHS parking lot. Nice ride and it was a beautiful day. At Epcot I had Fish and Chips for lunch. They were OK, but a little over cooked and no place to sit and eat them. But it was fun to watch people have to fight off the Seagulls trying to get to the fish and fries. I think that they feared me because none came even close to me. I must have had that, come any closer and you will be my next meal, look in my eyes. Wandered around to most of the Pavilions. I wanted to see American Adventure but my timing was off and I had a dinner ADR at the Nine Salamanders restaurant in China. As you might tell from my name calling, I was not impressed. The food was OK, but, and this I couldn't believe, I couldn't get anything but flavored Tea in China? I hate flavored tea. I caught the waiter standing there just starring at me a couple of times until I finally stopped eating and just stared at him for a little while. That got it to stop. I felt like if I didn't move out real quick I would become a political prisoner or something. What made that worse was that there were only about 5 other tables in use. The portions were hardly visible on a plate the size of Beijing. Certainly not worth the $36.00 price tag.

By then two things were happening, one was that it was getting a little chilly out and I was wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt. The other was that the fact that I have been relatively inactive for the last couple of months and that my joints are all aging rapidly, I decided to haul it back to the hotel and give it all a rest. That is when I regretted the boat decision, but I eventually made it back to my car. Good day overall and everything on my Ticket (FP and ADR) was working perfectly.

To be continued
 
Last edited:

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
Just a little Musing (because I can)

Let me start this off with a few things that I consider unforgiveable for a company like Disney to do. The first, and biggest, in my opinion is the fact that Disney has closed so many attractions and not replaced them with new attractions. This "going out of business" look does take away a lot of the magic, whether those idiots in California think so or not. Second, the shortsightedness of putting off important maintanence was a decision that should have cost someone a job. They are now spending probably twice the money and probably triple the time to correct that brain dead decision. Third, pricing so many people out of the Disney Resort experience is not just shortsighted, but almost blind. Fourth, is not operating all the available quickserve dining areas that are available, forcing people to cram into places, wait in line longer and simply inconvenience the Guests to the degree that Disney seem to find acceptable. It is not!

OK, that's out of the way... now... I purposely went to DHS first because I wanted to roll naked in the joy of the quickly disappearing ugly hat. It was a wonderful sight to see. It also brought focus on just exactly how out of proportion that abomination really was. I wish I could say I will miss it, but that would be a lie.

I also was anxious to test out my FP selections and started out with ToT as my first ride in WDW this year. As usual, it was everything it was advertised to be, but, using FP did require missing a lot of interesting details that always made ToT special to me. So it's a trade off, detail or speed is what the choice is.

After walking around just looking at the "damage" I was amazed at how hidden it all was. If you didn't know that the Backstage Tour existed you certainly wouldn't have been able to tell right now. I checked from many angles to see if the Earful Tower was visible and it was from just about every place in the park unless you were standing behind a building, but, that would be true for any of the Icon's.

I then proceeded to my next FP which was Toy Story. The ride was fun, but, I also spent time looking around and remembering seeing sets for TV shows (M.M. Club for one) being on the same floor that I was standing on and the upper levels were we used to be able to look at the sound stages from above. Made me a little sad.

I wandered over to the Muppets and except for the realization that "A net full of Jello" was no longer in the preshow, found the show to be just as good as ever. I especially looked to see what part of the show was dated. You know what, it isn't! Anyone that thinks it is, has probably just seen it too many times. To someone that is seeing it for the first time, it is fresh and well done. The theater was fairly full, the picture was crystal clear (one of the only 3D shows that is that way), all the effects were working and at the end the audience was applauding. It is still liked a lot by new people and even some of us older ones.

From there it was over to Indiana Jones. I have seen this show at least a dozen times and it never gets old. The actors were very good and the absolutely full theater was having a great time. A lot of participation and applause. When we left all I heard were hundreds of people humming the Indy theme song. Not even close to being a dead attraction.

Then it was FP number three time for Star Tours. This is where the odds ran out because I've only been on that ride once since it changed and wouldn't you know, with all the options that exist I got to see the same one I saw last time. Timing is everything! Before leaving for Epcot I headed for the Great Movie Ride. As I was walking in I stopped and talked to a CM. I said to her... I don't know how you feel about it, but, when that hat is completely gone I will be so happy I could cry. Her eyes got real wide and she said, "Oh, I know. It will be wonderful, we will be able to get our beautiful theater seen again and appreciated." Things looked really good inside. Yes, it still could be updated with newer AA's, but, everything was working and I even noticed that the tram stopped and spent time in front of some of the sets. Alien and Casablanca were able to be seen and listened to without running right through it. It was great. I didn't notice a huge difference in any of the film clips yet.

Then something I had never done before... I took the boat from DHS to Epcot leaving my car in the DHS parking lot. Nice ride and it was a beautiful day. At Epcot I had Fish and Chips for lunch. They were OK, but a little over cooked and no place to sit and eat them. But it was fun to watch people have to fight off the Seagulls trying to get to the fish and fries. I think that they feared me because none came even close to me. I must have had that, come any closer and you will be my next meal, look in my eyes. Wandered around to most of the Pavilions. I wanted to see American Adventure but my timing was off and I had a dinner ADR at the Nine Salamanders restaurant in China. As you might tell from my name calling, I was not impressed. The food was OK, but, and this I couldn't believe, I couldn't get anything but flavored Tea in China? I hate flavored tea. I caught the waiter standing there just starring at me a couple of times until I finally stopped eating and just stared at him for a little while. That got it to stop. I felt like if I didn't move out real quick I would become a political prisoner or something. What made that worse was that there were only about 5 other tables in use. The portions were hardly visible on a plate the size of Beijing. Certainly not worth the $36.00 price tag.

By then two things were happening, one was that it was getting a little chilly out and I was wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt. The other was that the fact that I have been relatively inactive for the last couple of months and that my joints are all aging rapidly, I decided to haul it back to the hotel and give it all a rest. That is when I regretted the boat decision, but I eventually made it back to my car. Good day overall and everything on my Ticket (FP and ADR) was working perfectly.

To be continued


You might have had bad luck, my dish was pretty big (the soup wasnt)
As for the army of waiters.. seen the same.. but in my case the place was packed and emptied pretty fast as I got close to finish.

by the way, since I'm all groggy and dizzy.. I'm still unsure if I had mentioned how much I hated the 3 caballeros ride with the annoying screens.
Its like.. seriously? the entire thing was about Donald getting lost in Mexico?
 

Chernabog75

Active Member
So just booked my airfare for annual trip Oct. 28 - Nov. 3 via Spirit Airlines. Seems Spirit gets a bad rap around here but in the past 6 years have not had any issues. Can't beat their deal with their frequent flier miles. For 5 round trip tickets it cost me 25,000 miles + $56 total. Funny thing is I will spend about $100 for my luggage but the savings on air makes up for it.
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Let me start this off with a few things that I consider unforgiveable for a company like Disney to do. The first, and biggest, in my opinion is the fact that Disney has closed so many attractions and not replaced them with new attractions. This "going out of business" look does take away a lot of the magic, whether those idiots in California think so or not. Second, the shortsightedness of putting off important maintanence was a decision that should have cost someone a job. They are now spending probably twice the money and probably triple the time to correct that brain dead decision. Third, pricing so many people out of the Disney Resort experience is not just shortsighted, but almost blind. Fourth, is not operating all the available quickserve dining areas that are available, forcing people to cram into places, wait in line longer and simply inconvenience the Guests to the degree that Disney seem to find acceptable. It is not!
As good as DL is in condition, sometimes it's unbelievable that the same company runs both parks. Everything in DL looks great. Even during that weird in between phase that DCA went through before adding Cars Land and World of Color, it was not as bad as DHS.

They need more counterservice places everywhere except for Epcot. Food quality needs to improve at DHS. Hopefully they will announce something soon (I'm hoping for Star Wars Land, for obvious reasons) for DHS and add at least one more QS place. I'm looking forward to seeing what they did with Flame Tree.
I wandered over to the Muppets and except for the realization that "A net full of Jello" was no longer in the preshow, found the show to be just as good as ever. I especially looked to see what part of the show was dated. You know what, it isn't! Anyone that thinks it is, has probably just seen it too many times. To someone that is seeing it for the first time, it is fresh and well done. The theater was fairly full, the picture was crystal clear (one of the only 3D shows that is that way), all the effects were working and at the end the audience was applauding. It is still liked a lot by new people and even some of us older ones.
You can never see Muppets too many times. We quote that show on a regular basis. "Will you stop this foolishness?" "What sort of foolishness would you like to see?" Preshow is just as good as the actual show. I actually hope that I have to wait a long time just so I can see the preshow. They did a refurb a little over a year ago, and that theater has looked great ever since.
Then something I had never done before... I took the boat from DHS to Epcot leaving my car in the DHS parking lot.
Try walking it sometime. It's fun! Nice and short
The_Sarcasm_Misunderstanding_by_ThePlotThinnens.jpg
Seriously, it's a really pretty walk. I've seen lots of wildlife there. But it's quite a hike.

If you're ever in a hurry, you can get off at Yacht/Beach and it's a 3-5 minute walk after that.

No RnRC?

I wanted to see American Adventure but my timing was off and I had a dinner ADR at the Nine Salamanders restaurant in China. As you might tell from my name calling, I was not impressed. The food was OK, but, and this I couldn't believe, I couldn't get anything but flavored Tea in China? I hate flavored tea. I caught the waiter standing there just starring at me a couple of times until I finally stopped eating and just stared at him for a little while. That got it to stop. I felt like if I didn't move out real quick I would become a political prisoner or something. What made that worse was that there were only about 5 other tables in use. The portions were hardly visible on a plate the size of Beijing. Certainly not worth the $36.00 price tag.
There are definitely better places in Epcot.

Glad you had fun.
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
So just booked my airfare for annual trip Oct. 28 - Nov. 3 via Spirit Airlines. Seems Spirit gets a bad rap around here but in the past 6 years have not had any issues. Can't beat their deal with their frequent flier miles. For 5 round trip tickets it cost me 25,000 miles + $56 total. Funny thing is I will spend about $100 for my luggage but the savings on air makes up for it.
In January 2014, my round trip flight to MCO cost $25 on Southwest. No bag fees.

Bag fees will kill ya.
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
Hmm. Never had that problem at BW/BC with them running DHS buses when it storms. If anything, they run too many. Same deal at Contemporary when the monorail is down.

We've had issues at both the Wilderness and the Contemporary when it is very cold and when it is thunderstorming. We also have had issues at Swan/Dolphin when they stop the boat when there are severe thunderstorms. Safety first. Port Orleans also shuts down the ferries when it is too cold or thunderstorming for days at a time. Disney also cancels boat rentals for the same reason. During my sons CP in 2007-2008 he did water patrol.
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
My hair is fairly straight and tame all year, except for the summer only. A few times, I've thought about a straightening technique just for the summer months only, but the cost stopped me dead in my tracks. :jawdrop:

Try Beadhead. For the cost of minor humidity issues it will tame it.
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
In January 2014, my round trip flight to MCO cost $25 on Southwest. No bag fees.

Bag fees will kill ya.

Until something happens to your bags on Southwest (and I fly them) they are only insured if you pay for the baggage fee. Something I found out when I brought two suitcases worth of my sons belongs back from MCO and they had left everyones out in the rain and water was running out of everyones bags.
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
We've had issues at both the Wilderness and the Contemporary when it is very cold and when it is thunderstorming. We also have had issues at Swan/Dolphin when they stop the boat when there are severe thunderstorms. Safety first. Port Orleans also shuts down the ferries when it is too cold or thunderstorming for days at a time. Disney also cancels boat rentals for the same reason. During my sons CP in 2007-2008 he did water patrol.
I've never seen them shut down the Friendship boats for anything other than a thunderstorm. I think they don't have to for those boats when it's cold. We've only ever used the boats from Contemporary to get to Wilderness Lodge. Other than that, we've use the monorail, and when it's been down, they have those buses running very quickly. Never had a problem with the buses after the Friendship Boats have shut down. Of course, we always walk to Epcot, and we've only used the buses a handful of times when the boats have been down. We either walk it, or if it's raining that hard, we wait for it to slow down. No sense trying to go when there's a monsoon outside. No issues the few times we've used the buses, though.
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Until something happens to your bags on Southwest (and I fly them) they are only insured if you pay for the baggage fee. Something I found out when I brought two suitcases worth of my sons belongs back from MCO and they had left everyones out in the rain and water was running out of everyones bags.
We've rarely had problems with Southwest. There have been two times that they've lost a bag, but we had them back within 48 hours, plus a voucher for about $50 per bag to use on our next flight.

If that ever happened to our bags, my dad would be after them. That would not be good for them; he can be terrifying when he wants to be.
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
Yup, it's the height of the snow that they can't comprehend. Since we now have between 4 feet (low) to 8 feet (high) snow banks all over now, it's almost like the dogs think they're somewhere else. It's disturbing to some of them, even though the scents in the neighborhoods are still everywhere, which the dogs can pick up easily.

Our snow is now old and trapping all the doggy smells. Today Walt was walking on top of the snow so he was as tall as me. In our yard I carved out paths and flat areas for him to wander over 200 yard depth of property so he manages. Actually once the paths were carved he loved it. The day before his belly was dragging through the snow, I felt bad for him looking back at me as if I did this to him as he tried to tend to his needs.
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
That's interesting. I know they also pretreat roads up here (when they have enough warning about a big storm) and it does help. What I don't know is what they use, or how they do it. But I have heard the mayor and governor mention from time to time that they do often pretreat the roads.

Before our last storm I tried to go get some pretreat. Everyone was sold out. Sadly that left packed snow beneath where the snowblower would go. When pretreated the snowblower goes down to pavement. It is expensive but worth not having a 150 ft skating rink for a driveway.
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
We've rarely had problems with Southwest. There have been two times that they've lost a bag, but we had them back within 48 hours, plus a voucher for about $50 per bag to use on our next flight.

If that ever happened to our bags, my dad would be after them. That would not be good for them; he can be terrifying when he wants to be.

Yeah, I get that. It is in their agreement though. Few actually read it. If you want liability it costs $25 a bag.
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
Turns out it wasn't just me though.
Methinks the design of the bottle is deliberately provocative.

Convenient if you're getting your Hubby to go to the store.
Pretty sure the conversation goes like this: Honey, can you pick me up some hair gel? You know, the stuff that comes in a bottle that looks like a giant ....

Oh My. How different minds work. I've used this product for over 10 years and never has my mind wandered that direction. :jawdrop: Now I will forever pick up that bottle and think of @JenniferS and have a good laugh. :hilarious:
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Yeah, I get that. It is in their agreement though. Few actually read it. If you want liability it costs $25 a bag.
Are you sure? 'Cause I'm pretty sure he reads the agreement. He's a lawyer; he reads everything.

I also don't see anything about that on their Website. It just says that they are liable a certain amount for lost, stolen, or damaged bags. Which water damaged bags would certainly be damaged.
 

JenniferS

When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Oh My. How different minds work. I've used this product for over 10 years and never has my mind wandered that direction. :jawdrop: Now I will forever pick up that bottle and think of @JenniferS and have a good laugh. :hilarious:
Seriously?

image.jpg


Every single person in my house (me, Hubby, 3 teenaged boys) ALL saw the same thing.

ETA - (Even some of the verbiage on the bottle is eyebrow raising, once your mind goes in that direction. :p)
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom