The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[TP2000]

Haha. Yeah that makes sense. I figured it would be expensive, a lot of work and require them redoing some of the surrounding areas. I wonder for example how much of let’s say, the Pixie Hollow area and the area Outside of Plaza Inn would need to be demo’d to extract those roots. In other words how big of a hole they need to extract those roots. Of course they could always just prune the trees. Haha

Those Tomorrowland ficus trees are beyond pruning. They had a chance, and a plan, to trim them back and dress them up with lightbar effects for New Tomorrowland 1998. But like the rest of that project, Paul Pressler got in and slashed the budget to the bone and those ficus trees were just left to grow raggedy for another 25 years.

Here's some concept art with the accesorized ficus trees even after the first few rounds of budget cuts to New Tomorrowland '98, but with plenty of budget cuts and dumbing down still to go. Which makes me wonder... Do you think Paul Pressler and Bob Chapek have ever talked to each other? The similarities between those two men have grown eerily identical. Paul still has better hair though.

 

[waltography]

Been thinking about how messy the new Boba Fett show has been and it reminded me of how all of the meet and greets/shows we've seen in Avengers Campus thus far have been pulled from Disney+ marketing budget. I really feel like the timelock on Batuu has really cheated us out of experiences like that.

 

[TP2000]

Been thinking about how messy the new Boba Fett show has been and it reminded me of how all of the meet and greets/shows we've seen in Avengers Campus thus far have been pulled from Disney+ marketing budget. I really feel like the timelock on Batuu has really cheated us out of experiences like that.

I get very foggy on Star Wars after The Last Jedi in '82, but I was on YouTube the other day and there was this video (that I didn't watch) that in the headline claimed Disney has turned Boba Fett into the type of man who is quite popular at gay bars once the bartender yells Last Call! I'm trying to evade the censors and protect the children here.

But suffice it to say, I was shocked that Disney has reduced the fans to using that kind of language and phrasing for an allegedly macho cool-guy Star Wars character like Boba Fett.

Honestly, at what point does Burbank just finally admit... "Yup, we destroyed this franchise. The fans hate us now."

 

[CaptinEO]

I get very foggy on Star Wars after The Last Jedi in '82, but I was on YouTube the other day and there was this video (that I didn't watch) that in the headline claimed Disney has turned Boba Fett into the type of man who is quite popular at gay bars once the bartender yells Last Call! I'm trying to evade the censors and protect the children here.

But suffice it to say, I was shocked that Disney has reduced the fans to using that kind of language and phrasing for an allegedly macho cool-guy Star Wars character like Boba Fett.

Honestly, at what point does Burbank just finally admit... "Yup, we destroyed this franchise. The fans hate us now."

For some reason Disney is content on completely destroying the characters people have loved for 40 years.

They also turned Luke Skywalker into a jerk on an island that makes sarcastic Marvel-esque remarks. Also, Luke tried to murder his own nephew in his sleep because he was worried he would grow to be a bad guy. That totally sounds like Luke Skywalker right?

They had Han Solo split up with princess Leia. It's like they have no understanding of these characters at all.

I saw the first episode of Boba Fett and its an old man with his helmet off the whole time being a wimp. I just don't get it.

If they wanted to make new personalities, make new characters, dont ruin characters people love.

 

[Okee68]

Imagine not having a passenger rail system. I literally fantasize about being able to commute to my university every day by a swift train ride instead of wasting 20-25 minutes pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on a series of highways, but I know this sugary pipe dream will never be possible in the US. Our infrastructure is lightyears beyond rehabilitation. Where else in the world besides Canada and Australia is there not such a basic necessity as passenger rail? Almost nowhere, of course, because 99% of countries weren't idiotic enough in the 1950s and 1960s to decimate their rail systems in favor of endless freeways and parking lots which ravaged their beautiful cities and displaced probably hundreds of thousands.

A few months ago, I was scrolling through a Facebook page for my university's history, and one photo from the 1930s showed a few students departing from a train at a local railroad depot. The post attached to the photo began with, "Did you know that at one time, [college town] could actually be reached by a train?" I felt disgusted and ashamed when I read that.

 

[mickEblu]

Boba Fett semi spoiler ahead***



So is the hanging corpse in Haunted Mansion safe considering the alien that gets hung at the end of episode 7. Or is murder more acceptable than an obscure suicide?

 

[mickEblu]

So do we think Disney will announce that the indoor mask requirement will be going away on 2/15. Last time they aligned with the state they waited until the day before the change. Wouldn’t anyone cancelling reservations today or tomorrow.

 

[Curious Constance]

Question: If I want to buy tickets for summer before a potential price increase happens but my dates aren’t available yet on the reservation calendar, Is there anything wrong with buying tickets now, choosing random dates, and then canceling and changing to my actual dates when they are made available?

 

[PiratesMansion]

Question: If I want to buy tickets for summer before a potential price increase happens but my dates aren’t available yet on the reservation calendar, Is there anything wrong with buying tickets now, choosing random dates, and then canceling and changing to my actual dates when they are made available?

Not at all. That's what I had to do to make my ticket purchase go through-make dummy reservations that I then cancelled to save for my actual visit days.

I talked with CMs on the phone and they said that my reservations will remain in the system until I either use them or my ticket expires, whichever comes first.

It's a dumb process to have to go through, but it's definitely allowed by the system.

 

[jasminethecat]

I saw the first episode of Boba Fett and its an old man with his helmet off the whole time being a wimp. I just don't get it.

If they wanted to make new personalities, make new characters, dont ruin characters people love.

Without spoilers, this show actually tries to explain what has happened to Boba Fett after ROTJ and why he didn't want to be a bounty hunter anymore. If you wanted to watch a guy in mandalorian armor just going around and kicking butt, we had 2 seasons of that show already, with more seasons to come. And Boba Fett does kick butt throughout this series if you give it a chance.

I have to agree that Disney has allowed other writers and directors to destroy characters in the sequel trilogy, but I don't really see that happening here. Boba Fett in the Prequel and OT was a very cool, one-dimensional character much like Darth Maul. And both of those characters got more story time in the clone wars cartoon. In TESB we saw Boba's ship hide in trash, he ate dinner with a helmet on and talked back to Vader. In ROTJ we saw him kill...nobody...as he got his butt handed to him by Luke and his jetpack malfunctioned when a blind Han Solo took him out in a terrible slapstick moment. He was nothing more to Lucas' storyline than a means to sell toys, and now he has a full story. You don't have to like this new story, but his character wasn't ruined because there was nothing there before Disney+.

 

[Curious Constance]

Not at all. That's what I had to do to make my ticket purchase go through-make dummy reservations that I then cancelled to save for my actual visit days.

I talked with CMs on the phone and they said that my reservations will remain in the system until I either use them or my ticket expires, whichever comes first.

It's a dumb process to have to go through, but it's definitely allowed by the system.

Thanks! So did you cancel the dates as soon as your purchase was made or closer to the time? And if you have tickets and cancel your reservation dates, they just sort of hang out till you make other reservations?

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

Imagine not having a passenger rail system. I literally fantasize about being able to commute to my university every day by a swift train ride instead of wasting 20-25 minutes pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on a series of highways, but I know this sugary pipe dream will never be possible in the US. Our infrastructure is lightyears beyond rehabilitation. Where else in the world besides Canada and Australia is there not such a basic necessity as passenger rail? Almost nowhere, of course, because 99% of countries weren't idiotic enough in the 1950s and 1960s to decimate their rail systems in favor of endless freeways and parking lots which ravaged their beautiful cities and displaced probably hundreds of thousands.

A few months ago, I was scrolling through a Facebook page for my university's history, and one photo from the 1930s showed a few students departing from a train at a local railroad depot. The post attached to the photo began with, "Did you know that at one time, [college town] could actually be reached by a train?" I felt disgusted and ashamed when I read that.

It's because the U.S. is a massive, horizontally wide country with a comparatively dispersed population. I'm a fan of passenger rail but I think it's a fantasy to think that the U.S. can easily adopt extensive railway systems seen in smaller, more densely populous countries.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Thanks! So did you cancel the dates as soon as your purchase was made or closer to the time? And if you have tickets and cancel your reservation dates, they just sort of hang out till you make other reservations?

Yep. Cancelled the dummy reservations immediately and they're hanging out in my Disney account until I use them.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's because the U.S. is a massive, horizontally wide country with a comparatively dispersed population. I'm a fan of passenger rail but I think it's a fantasy to think that the U.S. can easily adopt extensive railway systems seen in smaller, more densely populous countries.

Except the US had the systems in place. Density to continue to support such systems has also been discouraged by law.

 

[Curious Constance]

Yep. Cancelled the dummy reservations immediately and they're hanging out in my Disney account until I use them.

Tickets purchased, dummy reservations cancelled. Thanks for the advice!

 

[AJFireman]

So do we think Disney will announce that the indoor mask requirement will be going away on 2/15. Last time they aligned with the state they waited until the day before the change. Wouldn’t anyone cancelling reservations today or tomorrow.

I feel that Disney in the US is using the CDC as a guidance unless local/state requirements are more stringent in their requirements. They had a mask requirement before the state required it. The change went into effect when the CDC changed its guideline back to masking. WDW still has a mask requirement. Also I know some have said that it could be part of the some of the Union Contracts. Maybe that could change after they are all required to be Vaccinated after April 11.

Also with the public transportation masking requirement not being lifted until at least March 18th we all know that would confuse Disneyland guest who ride the bus in at Toy Story and want to argue. At this point I feel its easier for the Disneyland to keep the guidance since it seems a majority is still following it while at Parks and DTD.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

Except the US had the systems in place. Density to continue to support such systems has also been discouraged by law.

Commercial systems?

 

[TP2000]

Except the US had the systems in place. Density to continue to support such systems has also been discouraged by law.

And then the price of automobiles lowered enough (thanks Henry Ford!) by the 1950's that even the working classes could afford a decent (used) car. It's fun to be free, and Americans voted with their foot on the gas pedal and from 1946 onward steadily abandoned public transportation for the comfort, efficiency, ease, and safety of a private automobile.

Americans continue to vote with their wallets and their gas pedals in the 21st century, even though slowly the gas pedal is being replaced by an electricity pedal in a Tesla. Although if you want to choose a lifestyle that is urban and dependent on mass transit you are certainly welcome to make that choice for yourself and your family.

But that wonderful Sherman Brothers hit "It's Fun To Be Free!" still has plenty of relevance for many 21st century Americans making personal decisions about their own private lives and lifestyles.

 

[TP2000]

Commercial systems?

There were plenty of passenger rail systems in the mid 20th century, but they quickly began to become unprofitable after World War II. Most of the railroads only kept up their passenger trains out of pride and for publicity; Santa Fe's Super Chief, Western Pacific's California Zephyr, or Burlington Northern's Empire Builder come to mind. The private urban rail systems built in the early 20th century in the big cities were rather quickly turned into state-owned enterprises at the same time, and many of those urban/suburban lines were shut down because they were so hopelessly unprofitable even with increasing government subsidies in the 1960's.

Steering this back OT, as a rail fan myself I've been fascinated to watch the Brightline railroad being built and expanded in Florida. It's the first private, intercity passenger rail system built in this country in over 100 years! It starts it's service from Miami Beach to Orlando's airport later this year. The trains get up to 125mph in spots, especially once the trains get out of Miami.




Also, here's a tale of warning for cities waiting for California's high speed rail that will never actually open now. Anaheim spent $185 Million because it just had to have the overbuilt and glitzy ARTIC, with the expectation that it would have 3,000 train passengers (Amtrak and Metrolink combined) using it per day in 2013 and then at least doubling to 6,000 to 8,000 daily passengers once the California High Speed Rail arrived in Anaheim by 2022.

The reality since ARTIC opened in 2014 has been starkly different than the rosy projections from "experts".

ARTIC Daily Passenger Estimates Vs. Reality
2009 Anaheim City Estimates For 2014 Daily Train Ridership = 3,000
2015 Daily Train Ridership = 856
2017 Daily Train Ridership = 1,347
2021 Daily Train Ridership = 196

Will the Angels help rescue O.C.'s new $188-million train station?

With early ridership numbers running far behind projections at Orange County’s gleaming new train station, transportation officials are hoping that the beginning of baseball season will help jump-start boardings.

www.latimes.com

 

[CaptinEO]

Without spoilers, this show actually tries to explain what has happened to Boba Fett after ROTJ and why he didn't want to be a bounty hunter anymore. If you wanted to watch a guy in mandalorian armor just going around and kicking butt, we had 2 seasons of that show already, with more seasons to come. And Boba Fett does kick butt throughout this series if you give it a chance.

I have to agree that Disney has allowed other writers and directors to destroy characters in the sequel trilogy, but I don't really see that happening here. Boba Fett in the Prequel and OT was a very cool, one-dimensional character much like Darth Maul. And both of those characters got more story time in the clone wars cartoon. In TESB we saw Boba's ship hide in trash, he ate dinner with a helmet on and talked back to Vader. In ROTJ we saw him kill...nobody...as he got his butt handed to him by Luke and his jetpack malfunctioned when a blind Han Solo took him out in a terrible slapstick moment. He was nothing more to Lucas' storyline than a means to sell toys, and now he has a full story. You don't have to like this new story, but his character wasn't ruined because there was nothing there before Disney+.

You are describing exactly why Boba Fett was cool in how he was originally portrayed as well as what I did want to see, him kicking butt and being cool and mysterious.

I don't want to see a cool side character turned into a boring old man. Giving a character a story doesn't have to mean you betray the intentions of the character.

If anything it further proves that not every one off side character needs to have a TV Series or Side Film as they already played their role in the story of Star Wars just fine.