The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[TP2000]

Some projections showing landfall around Laguna Monday morning and sweeping across the OC. Heh.

View attachment 738164

I lived in coastal Texas and the Southeast in the 80's and 90's, and it's important to keep an eye on these things beginning about 72 hours out.

Just a slight wobble to the east or west by 20 or 40 miles can make a huge difference.

If Hilary wobbles 40 miles east on Friday morning, it ends up over the Salton Sea and Palm Springs gets two years worth of rain in one day. But if it wobbles 20 miles west on Friday, it ends up right over Disneyland. Or 30 miles and its downtown Los Angeles. That's a huge difference, especially considering the biggest impacts of a tropical storm are always on its eastern flanks and side.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

I lived in coastal Texas and the Southeast in the 80's and 90's, and it's important to keep an eye on these things beginning about 72 hours out.

Just a slight wobble to the east or west by 20 or 40 miles can make a huge difference.

If Hilary wobbles 40 miles east on Friday morning, it ends up over Yuma, Arizona and Palm Springs gets two years worth of rain in one day. But if it wobbles 20 miles west on Friday, it ends up right over Disneyland. Or downtown Los Angeles. That's a huge difference, especially considering the biggest impacts of a tropical storm are always on its eastern flanks and side.

Yup yup. Gotta keep an eye on this thing and see where it's going... Be prepared but knowledgable on what is happening for as long as you can. Personally I think the deserts are doomed... going to be a ton of washed out roads, flash floods... Anza Borrego is going to get some new slot canyons...

 

[TP2000]

Yup yup. Gotta keep an eye on this thing and see where it's going... Be prepared but knowledgable on what is happening for as long as you can. Personally I think the deserts are doomed... going to be a ton of washed out roads, flash floods... Anza Borrego is going to get some new slot canyons...

Agreed. I have several old friends in and around Palm Springs, and I visit Rancho Mirage annually. They'll need to be prepared for massive downpours and flooding. An average year's worth of rain all in one day.

But on the bright side, those dramatic canyons and pretty arroyos in the Coachella Valley weren't created by landscape architects in the 1950's. They were created by eons and eons of storms and violent weather just like what's arriving this upcoming weekend. New formations will be created, new beauty will be born, and humans will endure. Just take personal responsibility and be prepared for it.

 

[DCBaker]

Comments from a Disneyland spokesperson on preparations for the upcoming storm.

"A Disneyland spokesperson said that the resort is taking its usual precautions in advance of rain and windy weather, and that guests should expect standard operational impacts for windy and rainy days, including select outdoor attraction closures. Cast members and the Disneyland app will inform guests of any unexpected changes to resort operations."

SoCal under tropical storm watch as Hilary approaches

www.themeparkinsider.com

 

[TP2000]

Comments from a Disneyland spokesperson on preparations for the upcoming storm.

"A Disneyland spokesperson said that the resort is taking its usual precautions in advance of rain and windy weather, and that guests should expect standard operational impacts for windy and rainy days, including select outdoor attraction closures. Cast members and the Disneyland app will inform guests of any unexpected changes to resort operations."

SoCal under tropical storm watch as Hilary approaches

www.themeparkinsider.com

That seems just a tad too canned and AI generated, like something they would say during a typical rainy day forecast for January.

This isn't just closing the Canoes and the Teacups and cancelling the parade for winter rain showers. This is the average rainfall for the entire month of January coming down all in one day for Anaheim. Plus sustained Tropical Storm force winds of 40mph or greater, with higher gusts, for several hours. With a lot of lightning.

This is nothing to panic over if you have prepared yourself and hour home, and this will not be at official Hurricane strength as it moves over OC, but that statement from Disneyland on a Friday afternoon seems inappropriate and rather clueless. I hope they issued that generic statement because they just let a summer intern press the send button on "Media Weather Statement #3", instead of the more troubling option of saying that on purpose to prevent people from cancelling hotel reservations and theme park ticket purchases during a busy late summer weekend.

Here's the latest NOAA cone map as of 45 minutes ago, showing a Category 1 Hurricane making landfall somewhere between Ensenada and San Diego, and then heading straight into OC as a Tropical Storm with the eye of the storm roughly over Anaheim Hills/Yorba Linda by late Sunday night.

 

[TP2000]

Dodgers, Angels reschedule Sunday games due to Hurricane Hilary

Both teams – and the San Diego Padres – will now play their Sunday home games as the earlier games of split doubleheaders on Saturday.

www.ocregister.com

Hurricane Hilary takes aim at Southern California: Live updates

Hurricane Hilary reached Category 4 strength as it moved northward along the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. The storm is expected to make landfall in Southern California on Sunday …

ktla.com

Also, per a TDA intern, Disneyland may not run the Canoes on Sunday.

 

[Consumer]

Took a weekend camping trip to New River Gorge NP in West Virginia. Beautiful, but doesn’t compare to the ones out West.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Geeze they’ve done nothing on this at all. Just tear it down at this point.

 

[TP2000]

Geeze they’ve done nothing on this at all. Just tear it down at this point.

That's just pathetic. That fire was 8 months ago; December, 2022.

It makes you wonder why the Treehouse took so long. Do they only want to pay 3 construction guys at a time to do these projects?

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

It's that Disney attention to detail we all love eh? Close to not renewing the pass......

 

[Phroobar]

That's just pathetic. That fire was 8 months ago; December, 2022.

It makes you wonder why the Treehouse took so long. Do they only want to pay 3 construction guys at a time to do these projects?

They didn't do anything to it?
Why can't they hire three guys from outside Home Depot and get it fixed in a few days?

 

[waltography]

Part 1.5 in this post! Conference wrapped up the other day so I had pockets to enjoy the parks around them, but not enough to really consider them as full days. I'll have a full day at Epcot tomorrow and a little more time Saturday morning before my flight so my Part 2 will encapsulate that day and a half. In the meantime...

Day 2 & 3
These were conference days, so I didn't get to go to the parks. However, the closing event for the conference was held at World ShowPlace in Epcot backstage, so I did manage to see the fireworks show on the lagoon. For a temporary show, Epcot Forever is better than it has any right to be.

Day 4
I was so engrossed with Flight of Passage that I had to rope drop it again today. It was even better this time around because I experienced water effects which didn't happen the first time!

Left the park soon after to enjoy a half day at Coronado and walking the grounds before bussing over to Epcot in the afternoon. My goal tonight was to hit the big three rides so I could enjoy Epcot at a more leisurely pace tomorrow.

• Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
  • Cute ride, lots of fun 4D effects, but definitely don't need to ride again this trip.
  • LL was backed up pretty much through half the back pathway that Rat has which was odd.
• GotG: Cosmic Rewind
  • Souped-up Space Mountain is right; I loved it, easily the best coaster at WDW right now. Genuinely lots of fun.
  • As my first ride through, I was disappointed how hassled I felt going through the pre shows. Everyone was rushing into the first room, and when we teleport they rush to the doors; when they open, everyone runs. It's like HM but 10x worse.
  • Like Remy, the LL was also backed up well past the entrance. I don't know why I bought an ILL if this was going to be the experience.
• Frozen Ever After
  • Cute. The projected faces are actually much better in person (though I'd still prefer physical ones).
• Mission: SPACE
  • I did the Orange mission and honestly it wasn't too bad. I liked the G forces and thought the experience was cool; definitely will try Green tomorrow to see which I prefer.
• Spaceship Earth
  • Lovely ride that desperately needs a refurbishment and some light refreshing. I could hardly hear Dame Judi Dench over the mechanical hum of the ride system, which was a shame. In spite of all that, it was the first ride I rode at Epcot that felt the most distinctly Disney to me. Definitely riding again tomorrow.

One last thing: people are being way too dramatic on the internet. Beverly was delicious! I was fully going in expecting something rancid but it was just a zero-proof Campari.

Part 2 here. I am finally back safe and sound in SoCal (though given Hilary coming in it almost feels like I never left Orlando). Gonna go through my last day and a half in WDW and wrap up with some closing thoughts.

Day 5
Complete EPCOT day! Ropedrop to closing. This was made easier in part by the fact that I checked out of Coronado Springs this morning to stay the night at Beach Club (which is just by the International Gateway entrance to EPCOT towards the back of the park).

• Spaceship Earth
  • Had to reride it for the smell of Rome burning.
  • As broken as it is, it's still a very good ride that just desperately needs some TLC. Riding it now though I don't know if I'd enjoy the Our Shared Story version they previewed then canned from D23.
• GotG: Cosmic Rewind
  • Tears for Fears. I'm gonna keep riding until I get September.
• Mission: SPACE
  • Green this time, and it was by far the better of the two tracks. I didn't mind the intensity of the orange track, but I really loved this mission of traveling around the world way more than the Mars mission.
• Test Track
• Journey Into Imagination with Figment
  • Still don't really get the appeal of Figment.
• Living with the Land
  • I see why this is a perennial AP favorite. Very cool greenhouse tour.
• Soarin’ Around the World
  • Only rode it because I had LL and wanted to see the Epcot ending. The scents aren't as strong in Epcot.
• Test Track
• Gran Fiesta Tour
  • Interesting ride; wasn't expecting all the screens, to be honest, but I chalked it up to space? Need to do more reading into this attraction's history.
  • Poor Donald had scoliosis on my ride; was definitely broken but still moving.
• Reflections of China
  • This was my first CircleVision experience and I really, really enjoyed it. So strange seeing this film knowing what's happened in the years since.
• Voices of Liberty
  • What marvelous voices. I could listen to them all day; they had such an outsized impact on my time at EPCOT.
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• GotG: Cosmic Rewind
  • Conga! Better, but not September.

Ended the night with a meal at Space 220, which (as gimmicky as it sounds) was actually a very awesome experience in person. The stellarvator preshow was great, you could feel the ground rumbling and it really sold the fantasy. The prix-fixe menu was decent, but my dinner at Narcoossee's earlier in the trip was much better; however, the Shuttle Crew drink (Ketel One Peach, Orange Blossom vodka, vanilla, tangerine, Red Bull, and Tang foam) and the Vegan Carrot Cake were big highlights for me.

It was really nice to walk out of Space 220 to see the fireworks going off and taking a slow stroll to the back of the park (it was less nice when Epcot forever ended and the mob started pushing in the opposite direction).

Day 6
This takes us to Saturday morning, where I had just a couple hours left at WDW before I left for the airport. I spent the morning riding the highlights again.

• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Frozen Ever After
• GotG: Cosmic Rewind
  • September! Finally! I was bopping the the whole time.
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
  • This went down the first time I tried to ride it the previous day, but riding it now I wouldn't have missed it much. It's a more pleasant experience than our Submarine Voyage, though.
• Spaceship Earth
  • Chose this to be my final ride for this trip. Classic Disney (sans interactive descent).

Final Thoughts
As a Disneylander my whole life, I really didn't know what to expect at WDW, but WDW managed to show me a good (and exhausting!) time. I barely scratched the surface of the resort as a whole across the 3 parks and 2 hotels I stayed at, but 40 rides in the 3ish days I scraped together wasn't too bad! I hope WDW can get its act together with Epcot and Animal Kingdom as I truly do love both parks, they're just a little worse for wear right now. I think I'm set on WDW for the next few years, but now I'm excited to go back.

 

[mickEblu]

They didn't do anything to it?
Why can't they hire three guys from outside Home Depot and get it fixed in a few days?

Because then something would look really off about the $1,000,000 cost.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Spaceship Earth

• Had to reride it for the smell of Rome burning.
• As broken as it is, it's still a very good ride that just desperately needs some TLC. Riding it now though I don't know if I'd enjoy the Our Shared Story version they previewed then canned from D23

Victim of covid unfortunately. It was supposed to get a nice long refurb, and then covid hit and the refurb got cancelled. Hopefully it will get the TLC it deserves.

• • Still don't really get the appeal of Figment.

You would get it more if you had experienced the original Figment. He's still iconic, though.

How did you enjoy BC? That's one of our home DVC resorts and probably one of my favorite WDW resorts.

 

[mickEblu]

Annual pass expires tonight at midnight and the wife is already having withdrawls but I’m holding on strong. On another note, I walked into Eudora’s for the first time yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. I kind of forgot it was back there. They did a great job with the decorations and overall just really enjoyed the vibe in there. It also always pleases me to see something that you think would be roped off/ lawyered be available for guest use. Even something as small as those steps they have going up to a fake dressing room door or whatever it’s supposed to be. Oddly enough, the store actually gave me a little bit of optimism for the Tiana ride. Also, I thought Tianas palace came out pretty nice. New paint, awnings(?) and popcorn lights look nice. Of course I could do without the smokestacks and think the size of the marquee is a bit out of place for NOS but I’m very thankful they didn’t cut down any of the trees and kind of surprised/ pleased they didn’t trim any of those branches blocking the view of the facade. I still wouldn’t rule that out though.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

So, does anyone know if the CHOC walk actually took place this morning?

 

[StarWarsGirl]

• • Like Remy, the LL was also backed up well past the entrance. I don't know why I bought an ILL if this was going to be the experience.

Honestly, ILL is not worth it most of the time for GOTG. You miss a lot of the queue and backstory going through the ILL, and usually, you can get in the 1 pm boarding group. It's only worth it if you want to do it more than once (boarding group and ILL) or if for some reason you can't get in the 1 pm boarding group.

As for the rush, this one is better in the evenings. They definitely rush you through less, which as someone else said, is also the case with HM in both DL and WDW.

• • I did the Orange mission and honestly it wasn't too bad. I liked the G forces and thought the experience was cool; definitely will try Green tomorrow to see which I prefer.

I agree with your other post that green is better. I don't like the g-forces because they set off a migraine for me, but my family prefers green for the story.

 

[waltography]

Victim of covid unfortunately. It was supposed to get a nice long refurb, and then covid hit and the refurb got cancelled. Hopefully it will get the TLC it deserves.

You would get it more if you had experienced the original Figment. He's still iconic, though.

How did you enjoy BC? That's one of our home DVC resorts and probably one of my favorite WDW resorts.

Looking forward to that refurb for SSE if/when it happens, it really deserves it.

I wish I experienced Figment with Dreamfinder, I would've really enjoyed that version I think.

I only stayed the night at BC so I can't say this experience was typical, but I didn't love my time there. The hallways felt musty and the room was nice and big but felt a little outdated. I did tour a DVC room at BC though and the rooms definitely looked much better than the standard rooms did. I also didn't get to enjoy the pool (again, just staying the night for proximity to Epcot) but have heard it's a highlight too, so I think it's one of those things where I needed more time/needed to stay when there wasn't a refurb going on to really enjoy the amenities.

I've considered the next time I go to WDW I'd maybe rent some DVC points to try to book BC (though I heard from the DVC rep that BC is hard to book if it's not your home resort) or Riviera (that Skyliner station seems to be very convenient).

Honestly, ILL is not worth it most of the time for GOTG. You miss a lot of the queue and backstory going through the ILL, and usually, you can get in the 1 pm boarding group. It's only worth it if you want to do it more than once (boarding group and ILL) or if for some reason you can't get in the 1 pm boarding group.

As for the rush, this one is better in the evenings. They definitely rush you through less, which as someone else said, is also the case with HM in both DL and WDW.

I agree with your other post that green is better. I don't like the g-forces because they set off a migraine for me, but my family prefers green for the story.

I bought ILL the first time so I could guarantee a ride, but you're right that it wasn't really necessary when I was actually paying attention to the VQ. I got a morning VQ on Saturday and it was really easy to get on.

 

[waltography]

Annual pass expires tonight at midnight and the wife is already having withdrawls but I’m holding on strong. On another note, I walked into Eudora’s for the first time yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. I kind of forgot it was back there. They did a great job with the decorations and overall just really enjoyed the vibe in there. It also always pleases me to see something that you think would be roped off/ lawyered be available for guest use. Even something as small as those steps they have going up to a fake dressing room door or whatever it’s supposed to be. Oddly enough, the store actually gave me a little bit of optimism for the Tiana ride. Also, I thought Tianas palace came out pretty nice. New paint, awnings(?) and popcorn lights look nice. Of course I could do without the smokestacks and think the size of the marquee is a bit out of place for NOS but I’m very thankful they didn’t cut down any of the trees and kind of surprised/ pleased they didn’t trim any of those branches blocking the view of the facade. I still wouldn’t rule that out though.

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Eudora's is great; I love the New Orleans merch they have in the shop, and the steps leading up to Eudora's seamstress room where you can hear their muffled voices on the other side is such a fun little detail. Much better and more thematic than the Disney Dress Shop it used to be.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I only stayed the night at BC so I can't say this experience was typical, but I didn't love my time there. The hallways felt musty and the room was nice and big but felt a little outdated. I did tour a DVC room at BC though and the rooms definitely looked much better than the standard rooms did. I also didn't get to enjoy the pool (again, just staying the night for proximity to Epcot) but have heard it's a highlight too, so I think it's one of those things where I needed more time/needed to stay when there wasn't a refurb going on to really enjoy the amenities.

Yeah, it is harder to get unless you do it 11 months out (which you can rent points 11 months out), but you can absolutely spend all day just at the pool. AKL is another one where you can just chill all day at the hotel without going into the parks. We use the Skyliner station at Epcot to get to DHS when we're staying at BC; it's pretty convenient. Nothing stands out at Riviera for us.