The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[waltography]

Finally had the chance to eat at Carthay again and it was still an amazing experience. Our host and server were both wonderful and the food was delicious. Highlights were the potato croquette starter, the off-the-menu lamb schnitzel, and the chocolate caramel molten cake with popcorn ice cream.

 

[CaptinEO]

Right this way, recruits!
We need your help, recruits!
Pull on the yellow tab, recruits!
Recruit some more recruits, recruits!
Great job, you did it, recruits!

I went to Universal Studios recently.

On the Transformers ride you are military recruits. During the ride you are in a vehicle while you watch transformers fight eachother.

At the end they say thank you for saving the universe.

I don't get it. How did we help or change the outcome at all?

 

[Too Many Hats]

After all the shiny polish and futuristic technobabble in the queue, it’s kinda hilarious when guests are hyped to board their Avengers vehicle… and up rattles the same old clunky R&R train complete with shoulder restraints.

Yep. Everything after the Iron Man AA preshow feels kind of depressing. It's a vibe I get from a lot of Disneyland Paris videos (again, haven't been there in person, so who knows).

It's frustrating that so many of Disney's overlays are half-hearted and underfunded. With some notable exceptions (Rise), Disney seems to think IP alone is the measure of an attraction's quality, and beyond that, the bare minimum investment is acceptable.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yep. Everything after the Iron Man AA preshow feels kind of depressing. It's a vibe I get from a lot of Disneyland Paris videos (again, haven't been there in person, so who knows).

It's frustrating that so many of Disney's overlays are half-hearted and underfunded. With some notable exceptions (Rise), Disney seems to think IP alone is the measure of an attraction's quality, and beyond that, the bare minimum investment is acceptable.

Nothing is underfunded these days, the money’s just squandered.

 

[voodoo321]

Nothing is underfunded these days, the money’s just squandered laundered

 

[Too Many Hats]

Nothing is underfunded these days, the money’s just squandered.

Can you elaborate?

 

[TwilightZone]

The last update made this site much less user friendly on mobile. It’s impossible to copy/ paste anything now and God forbid you accidentally quote someone or just change your mind about responding to a post. You can’t just delete the entire quote. You have to delete all the text of said quote.

I never liked using this site on mobile to begin with. Why make it worse? I also dislike making websites not desktop friendly either, gotta have a good balance.

 

[mickEblu]

I never liked using this site on mobile to begin with. Why make it worse? I also dislike making websites not desktop friendly either, gotta have a good balance.

I didn’t have problem with it on mobile until recently but yeah last “update” was a huge step backward. I wonder what goes into the decision making. I have to imagine that these things are like collateral damage or trade offs for something else that’s trying to be accomplished?

 

[TP2000]

Can you elaborate?

They only go on these "research trips" if there's a Four Seasons or a Ritz-Carlton (or equitable replacement) to stay at.

They're geniuses at milking the system like this. You can't help but admire them for it, even if it's as decadently wasteful as it is when building a theme park ride.



For this project, Joe Rohde apparently took his whole family with him. On an expense account.

Honestly, would it kill them to just ask a $75K per year project manager to do a Google image search instead?

 

[CaptinEO]

Can you elaborate?

WDI is not good with money period. They waste tons of money despite outsourcing most the actual work to contractors. Example is 160 million dollars to add plastic figures and red paint on California Screamin.

I read an article once about how when Haunted Mansion Holiday came out operations quickly printed up a sign at the print shop to put out on a post in front of the line queue.

WDI got so mad because they're supposed to have final say over these types of things so they went ahead and spent 10 thousand dollars making a hand carved/painted wooden version of the same sign.

The way WDI works with budgets is terrible. Even when their budgets are slashed they don't get the message. Other parks can do much more for 1/3rd of the cost it takes for WDI to do something.

 

[TP2000]

At a little sociable this weekend, we were all talking about how mild and pleasant the summer has been so far in SoCal. (Yes, sometimes I attend rather boring sociables where we talk about the weather. I get invited to better parties, I swear!) Here in coastal San Diego County, things haven't edged above 75 degrees all summer.

While New York and New England have a big heat wave this week (and I remember decades ago being miserable in Boston heat waves in July and August!), this week at Disneyland temps are several degrees below normal. During a very mild summer overall.

Anaheim July Average High = 87
Anaheim July Average Low = 66

Compared to the actual Disneyland weather forecast for this week, the Dog Days of Summer in late July! Pure heaven!

Enjoy it, kids! Warm enough for Splash Mountain, but cool enough to still look cute.

 

[SuddenStorm]

A coworker of mine is going to Disneyland for the first time- two days, one day at DCA and one at Disneyland- and all I can think is 'dang, I'd be so confused if I went for the first time with all of the reservations, Genies, mobile orders, etc.'

She didn't know you have to reserve specific days for park entry until I said something.

I'm curious to see what they think.

 

[Phroobar]

They only go on these "research trips" if there's a Four Seasons or a Ritz-Carlton (or equitable replacement) to stay at.

They're geniuses at milking the system like this. You can't help but admire them for it, even if it's as decadently wasteful as it is when building a theme park ride.



For this project, Joe Rohde apparently took his whole family with him. On an expense account.

Honestly, would it kill them to just ask a $75K per year project manager to do a Google image search instead?

I don't think Joe Rohde makes $75K per year. I think it's closer to $275K per year and he still travels on expense accounts.

 

[TP2000]

I don't think Joe Rohde makes $75K per year. I think it's closer to $275K per year and he still travels on expense accounts.

I'm sure he makes much more than $275K, actually.

But a lot of his "work" could be done by a $75K per year project manager with an Internet connection. I imagine that's how non-Disney theme parks create their "themed" stuff and keep it far below the budgets of Disney rides.

Other theme park companies don't have a Joe Rohde with an expense account on file at Ritz-Carlton, but they do have a couple of very good project managers who know how to Google.

 

[Phroobar]

I'm sure he makes much more than $275K, actually.

But a lot of his "work" could be done by a $75K per year project manager with an Internet connection. I imagine that's how non-Disney theme parks create their "themed" stuff and keep it far below the budgets of Disney rides.

Other theme park companies don't have a Joe Rohde with an expense account on file at Ritz-Carlton, but they do have a couple of very good project managers who know how to Google.

I think it is amazing Joe Rohde does any kind of work on projects. Isn't he an Imagineering director over seeing a bunch of middle management people who each of them have their own sets of managers and then worker bees? All he should care about is the budget and if they are on track for meeting their goals. I guess he signs off on the looks of the project and if he is happy with the results. He pops up for PR releases and takes credit for the project. He has no reason to go on "research missions to Nepal". I guess he likes to micromanage his managers.

 

[TP2000]

I think it is amazing Joe Rohde does any kind of work on projects.... He has no reason to go on "research missions to Nepal".

But, he's a star!

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think it is amazing Joe Rohde does any kind of work on projects. Isn't he an Imagineering director over seeing a bunch of middle management people who each of them have their own sets of managers and then worker bees? All he should care about is the budget and if they are on track for meeting their goals. I guess he signs off on the looks of the project and if he is happy with the results. He pops up for PR releases and takes credit for the project. He has no reason to go on "research missions to Nepal". I guess he likes to micromanage his managers.

Joe Rhode works for Virgin Galactic.

When he worked for Disney he was a creative executive, more like a director than a producer or project manager. He set the creative direction others followed and worked in developing it, not just taking credit.

Actual field research lets you see and experience things and is all the more important when looking at design traditions that are less documented.

 

[Phroobar]

But, he's a star!

Only his ear is a star.

 

[TP2000]

Only his ear is a star.
View attachment 655513

Maybe that's why he went to work for Virgin Galactic? In space, his left ear would float nicely.

 

[VJ]

Maybe that's why he went to work for Virgin Galactic? In space, his left ear would float nicely.

In space, no one can 'ear you scream.