The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[Californian Elitist]

My mom is looking to move back to Czech eventually, my dad is supposed to be retiring within the next half of a decade or so and I am supposed to be taking over his clients when he does and a little after that is when they would consider moving. My mom's biological family (not the people who raised her) still live in the small village she lived in before leaving the country as a kid, and whenever they pass away she would almost certainly inherit their house there and if she does she would like to move in there. If not that then a family member who lives there has a second house they don't really live in and just visit from time to time for upkeep, so that's another option eventually. I understand why you would want to leave, I don't really blame you. Even on just the California side of things I understand, if my career plan wasn't to take my dad's clients when he retires I would leave the state and just work in another office somewhere in the country, maybe some time later in the future that can become a possibility. California is a very nice state, I like where I live and enjoy being close enough to drive to Lake Tahoe for a day / weekend, to San Francisco for a day trip, or down to Disneyland for a trip without having to fly, but the cost of living is crazy anywhere in the state. Not to mention the wildfires last year that covered my entire town in smoke for multiple weeks straight. Things are definitely changing for the state, it will be interesting to see how the government responds to this exodus occurring.

I remember you saying your mother was Czech. It’s very cool that she has a home to inherit there! I assume you could easily gain citizenship there, since your mother is a native. Wish I could easily gain citizenship elsewhere. That’s a long-term plan though.

I really do love California. It’s the only state I see myself living in long-term. I love the varieties of weather and terrain here and opportunities. Plus my family is here. If I was forced to move to another state, I’d most likely stay west. I have no interest in living in a red state, so there’s that. I’d exhaust everything I had before moving to a different state, if I end up having to stay in the U.S.

It’s the U.S. that I can’t take much more of. For the month of July last year, I spent my time in Italy and Germany and could easily see myself living in either country. I lost weight, felt healthier, and was impressed with the hours-long breaks that locals took in the afternoon, something that’s completely unheard of here. When I returned to the U.S., I immediately got sick after eating the food here again. I was not happy lol. My biggest problem is the capitalism here. The current presidential cabinet isn’t helping lol. And it’s crap like what happened last Wednesday that makes me want to leave even more. I so far don’t have children and am single. Once I finish this second Masters, I’m going to find a job, save some money, and find resources that will help me transfer to a different country. Hopefully it won’t take too long lol.

 

[mickEblu]

Not sure about the scale, but looking at the canopy alone it seems like it's oddly small.

Having it at the end of the main TL thoroughfare is odd; it wouldn't make a particularly attractive weenie, especially approaching at that angle. The only way it might work is if they finally tear down the old Peoplemover and open up the walkway so it can get a good plaza.

Also, as cool as TRON is (and as a massive fan of the aesthetic of TRON:Legacy), I'd rather they brought some of the tech into a refreshed SM rather than bringing TRON over here. Unless they use this as an opportunity to finally redo TL, in which case I'm all ears.

Whatever they do it would have to be executed with a level of care and I’m not sure the current regime are the ones to do it. Tron and Space Mountain next to each other the way they are at WDW is like the Disney version of two giant steel coasters next to each other at a Six Flags park and at WDW they have more room so I could only imagine how bad it could turn out at DL if in the wrong hands.

 

[smooch]

I remember you saying your mother was Czech. It’s very cool that she has a home to inherit there! I assume you could easily gain citizenship there, since your mother is a native. Wish I could easily gain citizenship elsewhere. That’s a long-term plan though.

I really do love California. It’s the only state I see myself living in long-term. I love the varieties of weather and terrain here and opportunities. Plus my family is here. If I was forced to move to another state, I’d most likely stay west. I have no interest in living in a red state, so there’s that. I’d exhaust everything I had before moving to a different state, if I end up having to stay in the U.S.

It’s the U.S. that I can’t take much more of. For the month of July last year, I spent my time in Italy and Germany and could easily see myself living in either country. I lost weight, felt healthier, and was impressed with the hours-long breaks that locals took in the afternoon, something that’s completely unheard of here. When I returned to the U.S., I immediately got sick after eating the food here again. I was not happy lol. My biggest problem is the capitalism here. The current presidential cabinet isn’t helping lol. And it’s crap like what happened last Wednesday that makes me want to leave even more. I so far don’t have children and am single. Once I finish this second Masters, I’m going to find a job, save some money, and find resources that will help me transfer to a different country. Hopefully it won’t take too long lol.

Yes, it is actually pretty easy for me to obtain dual citizenship for Czech and the United States, in fact a few weeks ago before the Capitol event my mom had already begun looking into the process for me and my brothers if we were interested. I told her I wanted to look into it as well if she got more information, and now I am even more interested in looking into it. That really would just be a backup plan for me long term, though. I would also have to start learning how to speak Czech, it is incredibly difficult even linguists have stated it's one of the harder ones to learn because of some of the sounds they use in speech that are difficult to make if you aren't a native speaker who learned it growing up / spoke a similar language with similar patterns.

I wish you the best of luck in saving up and moving to another country, I think there are too many people who tout the United States as the greatest country ever when we have such deep rooted problems I won't get into on this thread, but one very simple example for me personally would be healthcare. I am incredibly lucky to be in the process of taking my dad's role as a financial adviser at the company he works at / where I currently work at. Because of that I will hopefully have good enough healthcare coverage / a source of income to afford my medical supplies as a Type 1 Diabetic, had I not had this extreme privilege I would be out of luck once I am kicked off my parents' plan in a few years. Just knowing about that possibility is terrifying, I have a friend who struggles to afford her insulin because the cost of living is so high already and she works two jobs and because she was born with an autoimmune disease she struggles to make ends meet. I am rooting for you, I hope you are able to find somewhere you would enjoy living and can make it work to get there and stay there, and I hope it improves your well-being.

 

[Stevek]

The Tron ride is cool for a matter of seconds, then it goes outside and then it seems to just end prematurely. It's not a very good ride.

When did you ride it?

 

[Californian Elitist]

Yes, it is actually pretty easy for me to obtain dual citizenship for Czech and the United States, in fact a few weeks ago before the Capitol event my mom had already begun looking into the process for me and my brothers if we were interested. I told her I wanted to look into it as well if she got more information, and now I am even more interested in looking into it. That really would just be a backup plan for me long term, though. I would also have to start learning how to speak Czech, it is incredibly difficult even linguists have stated it's one of the harder ones to learn because of some of the sounds they use in speech that are difficult to make if you aren't a native speaker who learned it growing up / spoke a similar language with similar patterns.

I wish you the best of luck in saving up and moving to another country, I think there are too many people who tout the United States as the greatest country ever when we have such deep rooted problems I won't get into on this thread, but one very simple example for me personally would be healthcare. I am incredibly lucky to be in the process of taking my dad's role as a financial adviser at the company he works at / where I currently work at. Because of that I will hopefully have good enough healthcare coverage / a source of income to afford my medical supplies as a Type 1 Diabetic, had I not had this extreme privilege I would be out of luck once I am kicked off my parents' plan in a few years. Just knowing about that possibility is terrifying, I have a friend who struggles to afford her insulin because the cost of living is so high already and she works two jobs and because she was born with an autoimmune disease she struggles to make ends meet. I am rooting for you, I hope you are able to find somewhere you would enjoy living and can make it work to get there and stay there, and I hope it improves your well-being.

I would definitely get that citizenship, if I were you, because why not?? As you said, it’s a great backup plan. Does your mother help with learning the language? I would hope so, it’s free help lol. Slow and steady, I’m currently learning Italian. I won’t be fluent any time soon, but that’s okay.

I know where you’re coming from regarding healthcare, which is very sad in this country. I have student insurance, but that’s going bye-bye after I graduate and it’s pretty limited. If I get a community college position, which is what I want, I’ll most likely be an adjunct and therefore will have no benefits, including health insurance. SMH Hopefully I don’t get seriously sick or injured by the time I get some good health insurance. Thank God you don’t have to worry about that. I feel for your friend. Times are hard out here.

Thank you for the well wishes! I wish you success in your future, too.

 

[smooch]

I would definitely get that citizenship, if I were you, because why not?? As you said, it’s a great backup plan. Does your mother help with learning the language? I would hope so, it’s free help lol. Slow and steady, I’m currently learning Italian. I won’t be fluent any time soon, but that’s okay.

I know where you’re coming from regarding healthcare, which is very sad in this country. I have student insurance, but that’s going bye-bye after I graduate and it’s pretty limited. If I get a community college position, which is what I want, I’ll most likely be an adjunct and therefore will have no benefits, including health insurance. SMH Hopefully I don’t get seriously sick or injured by the time I get some good health insurance. Thank God you don’t have to worry about that. I feel for your friend. Times are hard out here.

Thank you for the well wishes! I wish you success in your future, too.

Yes she helps, I can understand a little bit when she speaks like phrases and such and can kinda figure out what she's talking about when she speaks with family, but I haven't tried to fully commit to learning since before our trip to Czech years ago. Definitely will be a challenege but I'm starting my first semester at the 4 year I transferred to after community college and my plate seems like it's gonna be pretty full, so I'll have to see how busy I am with the added stress of starting at a new school with a rigorous work load.

 

[socalifornian]

Yeah I agree. The Troncket Rods would be ideal. I can’t make Out the location on the right side of the pic. Where is that ?

EDIT: NM thought it was another picture. Why do you have the canopy across the street?

Yeah I should’ve placed it in Tomorrowland and lowered the opacity. Only around for scale

 

[Okee68]

Do any of you fellows have a favorite Disney composer? For me, it's George Bruns without question. I love all of those rousing action pieces and banging jazz numbers, as well as his atmospheric woodwind-focused arrangements for The Jungle Book and Pirates. Even his mundane stuff is distinctly less boring than filler pieces from most other composers.

 

[waltography]

Do any of you fellows have a favorite Disney composer? For me, it's George Bruns without question. I love all of those rousing action pieces and banging jazz numbers, as well as his atmospheric woodwind-focused arrangements for The Jungle Book and Pirates. Even his mundane stuff is distinctly less boring than filler pieces from most other composers.

I'd need to think about it a bit more, but right now my gut instinct is Thomas Newman. Finding Nemo and Wall-E's scores are simply sublime.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Do any of you fellows have a favorite Disney composer? For me, it's George Bruns without question. I love all of those rousing action pieces and banging jazz numbers, as well as his atmospheric woodwind-focused arrangements for The Jungle Book and Pirates. Even his mundane stuff is distinctly less boring than filler pieces from most other composers.

Bruce Healey, for his acclaimed and timeless work on Light Magic.

 

[mickEblu]

Yeah I should’ve placed it in Tomorrowland and lowered the opacity. Only around for scale

Thanks for sharing. Does make me question the scale of their canopy

 

[PiratesMansion]

People who tend to say that the USA is the bestest country ever (and especially those who say that the loudest and most frequently) tend to have very little knowledge of how other countries work, and if they have visited any other countries, it's typically the carribbean on a cruise, or Canada, which is often treated as basically the same thing. The problem is that I'm not sure how we can make things better when there is so much ignorance about the rest of the world and such unwillingness to learn.

It's always interesting to hear where people would like to live and why within this country. I love the west coast, and think that I could thrive in the environment and political climate. What stops me from moving there is the high cost of living in so many of those places and the sheer distance from the rest of the country. The only part of the country close to the west coast is the west coast, and going anywhere else requires a plane ride or days of driving. And I spend so much of my summers going to other parks, and by moving to the west coast, I would pretty much be limited to California and the handful of places elsewhere. For me, those are big negatives.

I'm pretty happy in the Chicago area. I have access to the city when I want/need it, but otherwise am content in the suburbs. I enjoy the seasonality, the proximity to one of the country's big hub airports, and the fact that I can easily reach other parts of the midwest, south, and parts of the east coast by car. It's a lot of the country that I can access with relatively little effort, and I've always found value in that. People in Illinois like to complain about taxes and how broke the state is, which is fair, but my interest in moving elsewhere is limited-too many red states in close proximity, and their covid (lack of) response has made my interest in setting up my life there plummet to an all-time low. And, just as with others, my family is here.

I do not foresee a way to add Tron to Disneyland without permanently ruining something or other for a ride that is extraordinarily overhyped (and, once it opens in Florida, not particularly hard to experience), and I dearly wish people would stop fantasizing, armchair imagineering, speculating, or trying to Tetris it into existence. If it comes, it WILL come with a cost.

 

[Californian Elitist]

People who tend to say that the USA is the bestest country ever (and especially those who say that the loudest and most frequently) tend to have very little knowledge of how other countries work, and if they have visited any other countries, it's typically the carribbean on a cruise, or Canada, which is often treated as basically the same thing. The problem is that I'm not sure how we can make things better when there is so much ignorance about the rest of the world and such unwillingness to learn.

My mom is a prime example of this. In 2017, I went to Ireland. During the planning process, I asked my mom if she wanted to come with me. She asked what we would do in Ireland and I told her we’d plan and figure it out. She then responded with, “I don’t know why I would ever leave the United States at all. It’s the greatest country on the planet.” Mind you, she’s left California only a handful of times.

I try to have these conversations with her about how other countries work and her responses clearly show she has no clue what she’s talking about. I’m slowly trying to get her to warm up to taking an international trip with me. I think Canada is our best bet so far, then I’ll work on getting her to travel further.

 

[mickEblu]

People who tend to say that the USA is the bestest country ever (and especially those who say that the loudest and most frequently) tend to have very little knowledge of how other countries work, and if they have visited any other countries, it's typically the carribbean on a cruise, or Canada, which is often treated as basically the same thing. The problem is that I'm not sure how we can make things better when there is so much ignorance about the rest of the world and such unwillingness to learn.

It's always interesting to hear where people would like to live and why within this country. I love the west coast, and think that I could thrive in the environment and political climate. What stops me from moving there is the high cost of living in so many of those places and the sheer distance from the rest of the country. The only part of the country close to the west coast is the west coast, and going anywhere else requires a plane ride or days of driving. And I spend so much of my summers going to other parks, and by moving to the west coast, I would pretty much be limited to California and the handful of places elsewhere. For me, those are big negatives.

I'm pretty happy in the Chicago area. I have access to the city when I want/need it, but otherwise am content in the suburbs. I enjoy the seasonality, the proximity to one of the country's big hub airports, and the fact that I can easily reach other parts of the midwest, south, and parts of the east coast by car. It's a lot of the country that I can access with relatively little effort, and I've always found value in that. People in Illinois like to complain about taxes and how broke the state is, which is fair, but my interest in moving elsewhere is limited-too many red states in close proximity, and their covid (lack of) response has made my interest in setting up my life there plummet to an all-time low. And, just as with others, my family is here.

I do not foresee a way to add Tron to Disneyland without permanently ruining something or other for a ride that is extraordinarily overhyped (and, once it opens in Florida, not particularly hard to experience), and I dearly wish people would stop fantasizing, armchair imagineering, speculating, or trying to Tetris it into existence. If it comes, it WILL come with a cost.

This is kind of how I feel about California in regards to being close to other destination cities. Either I’ve been to them all countless times (Santa Barbara, Big Bear, SD, OC, SF) or they are really far. Not to mention the combination of distance and low interest in surrounding states around California. Been to Vegas a million times and nothing else that I’m aware of in Nevada really interests me. Tahoe is nice. Arizona been to a couple times. Scottsdale and Phoenix twice each. Not really my preferred aesthetic/ environment. Definitely would like to do the Grand Canyon once and maybe Sedona but that’s probably it. I’ve been to Portland and Eugene Oregon. Loved how green the state was and its natural beauty but not enough to make the trek out there by car from Southern California or prioritize a flight there over other places.

There are certain places in the country like you say that are much closer to a lot of destination cities, kind of like living in Western Europe except not as cool as being in such a close proximity to different foods and cultures.

One of the places I’m considering moving to, Atlanta, is within close driving distance of places like Savannah, Charleston, Nashville and Orlando/ WDW. Although I’ve never really been to the South (unless we count Tampa, Miami and Houston) the Geography, culture and cuisine (and theme parks) in these cities appeal to me more than most places in California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada or New Mexico. Of course, before I make any drastic move I would not only be doing a lot more research but would be taking a trip out there. Who knows, I could get off the plane and change my mind as soon as the humidity hits me in the face, meet the people or see the city with my own eyes. I will say though, humidity doesn’t seem to bother me as much as other people. With that said, I’m usually on vacation in a body of water when I’m dealing with it, not in work attire.


EDIT: There is much of central and Northern California I have yet to visit like Napa, anything North of SF, Seqouia National Park and the road trip up the PCH which I haven’t done since I was a kid.

 

[PiratesMansion]

My mom is a prime example of this. In 2017, I went to Ireland. During the planning process, I asked my mom if she wanted to come with me. She asked what we would do in Ireland and I told her we’d plan and figure it out. She then responded with, “I don’t know why I would ever leave the United States at all. It’s the greatest country on the planet.” Mind you, she’s left California only a handful of times.

I try to have these conversations with her about how other countries work and her responses clearly show she has no clue what she’s talking about. I’m slowly trying to get her to warm up to taking an international trip with me. I think Canada is our best bet so far, then I’ll work on getting her to travel further.

I would love to explore Quebec some day-my uncles went a few summers ago and had a blast! It's probably the best first step into international travel.

My mother decided she wanted to go to Japan after I talked it up so much once I got back from my study abroad program. She was very nervous at first, but ultimately she loved it and she even wants to go back! You could see some of the things that I had said to her that seemed more abstract to her click into place as she got more comfortable with being there. I hope that happens for your mother too!

This is kind of how I feel about California in regards to being close to other destination cities. Either I’ve been to them all countless times (Santa Barbara, Big Bear, SD, OC, SF) or they are really far. Not to mention the combination of distance and low interest in surrounding states around California. Been to Vegas a million times and nothing else that I’m aware of in Nevada really interests me. Tahoe is nice. Arizona been to a couple times. Scottsdale and Phoenix twice each. Not really my preferred aesthetic/ environment. Definitely would like to do the Grand Canyon once and maybe Sedona but that’s probably it. I’ve been to Portland and Eugene Oregon. Loved how green the state was and its natural beauty but not enough to make the trek out there by car from Southern California or prioritize a flight there over other places.

There are certain places in the country like you say that are much closer to a lot of destination cities, kind of like living in Western Europe except not as cool as being in such a close proximity to different foods and cultures.

One of the places I’m considering moving to, Atlanta, is within close driving distance of places like Savannah, Charleston, Nashville and Orlando/ WDW. Although I’ve never really been to the South (unless we count Tampa, Miami and Houston) the Geography, culture and cuisine (and theme parks) in these cities appeal to me more than most places in California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada or New Mexico. Of course, before I make any drastic move I would not only be doing a lot more research but would be taking a trip out there. Who knows, I could get off the plane and change my mind as soon as the humidity hits me in the face, meet the people or see the city with my own eyes. I will say though, humidity doesn’t seem to bother me as much as other people. With that said, I’m usually on vacation in a body of water when I’m dealing with it, not in work attire.


EDIT: There is much of central and Northern California I have yet to visit like Napa, anything North of SF, Seqouia National Park and the road trip up the PCH which I haven’t done since I was a kid.

I would try to time the humidity test to the worst of summer if possible, just so you can see what the worst of it is like. Atlanta's a bit more humid than I would like, and Orlando's even worse. But then, I'm just not a huge fan of either city, so that could be some bias showing on my part.

I've really enjoyed Nashville when I've spent time there.

Texas is a weird case. Parts of it are southern, but parts of it are really its own thing. When I stayed with my friend in Dallas, for example, it didn't really feel that different from being in Chicago. Other parts of the state, though, can be quite different.

Since you did mention theme parks, there are several good ones in the South. Beyond Florida, Busch Gardens (VA), Kings Dominion (VA), and Dollywood (TN) are very nice parks. Six Flags over Georgia is, IMO, the nicest Six Flags park. Carowinds (on the border of NC/SC outside of Charlotte) is ok but has a couple of fantastic coasters. Texas has a lot of stuff in that area too, though I have less experience there. Florida parks have more and bigger things than CA, but it depends as to whether or not it's actually better IMO: for Disney, it's a toss-up depending on what you value; For Universal, Florida wins; I prefer CA's SeaWorld, but I'm clearly in the minority there (though Discovery Cove is excellent); Legoland, California wins; Busch Gardens Tampa serves as the Magic Mountain of the area but is much better themed and with animals, and some of the rides are fantastic-clearly the better park over SFMM.

That said, as much as I like the South, I don't know that I could live there.

 

[mickEblu]

Do any of you fellows have a favorite Disney composer? For me, it's George Bruns without question. I love all of those rousing action pieces and banging jazz numbers, as well as his atmospheric woodwind-focused arrangements for The Jungle Book and Pirates. Even his mundane stuff is distinctly less boring than filler pieces from most other composers.

Weird. I just came across an Instagram post that had a beautiful piece of art with some birds outside of the Enchanted Tiki Room (set in a jungle) on a moonlit night that prompted me to search for this song ... that was composed by George Bruns.

 

[truecoat]

Additionally I might have also advocated for adding the outskirts of Minneapolis to my personal list of places to look, until last summer's incidents made it seem far less desirable.

You could live your entire life in Minneapolis and not know anything happened.

 

[truecoat]

I'm pretty happy in the Chicago area. I have access to the city when I want/need it, but otherwise am content in the suburbs. I enjoy the seasonality, the proximity to one of the country's big hub airports, and the fact that I can easily reach other parts of the midwest, south, and parts of the east coast by car. It's a lot of the country that I can access with relatively little effort, and I've always found value in that. People in Illinois like to complain about taxes and how broke the state is, which is fair, but my interest in moving elsewhere is limited-too many red states in close proximity, and their covid (lack of) response has made my interest in setting up my life there plummet to an all-time low. And, just as with others, my family is here.

I think Chicago is the best big city in the country. I have been there many times and loved it every time. It has great mass transit and plenty to do along with a great waterfront view. Chicago is the big city to visit in my opinion.

 

[Mac Tonight]

You could live your entire life in Minneapolis and not know anything happened.

Fair enough. There are some great, quiet, rural lake front communities that would be worthwhile.

 

[DrAlice]

Main Street, USA very much has a timeline, one that informed much of its design. You don’t think Cast Members wearing bell bottoms and leisure suits would stick out poorly? The legend behind the utilidors is Walt seeing a cowboy in Tomorrowland.

*sigh* I'm aware of the theme of Main Street and know the "legend" behind the utilidors. Bringing that up indicates that you completely missed my point. Let me try again:

No one complains about the Fab5 meet and greets at Town Square, even though the area is themed to a particular time and place that did not actually contain giant animals dressed in human clothing. Character meet and greets are expected because it's a theme park. I made this point to add fuel to my argument in favor of adding characters from any SW era to Galaxy's Edge. To further clarify, I was arguing that keeping GE limited to one timeline isn't necessary to keep the theme of GE. IMO, adding the characters that most people associate with SW (Han, Luke, Leia, Vader, Yoda, Mando, Grogu) would likely only be seen as a win by most people.