The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[Rich T]

A new show debuted in HKDL today exclusive to their Platinum Celebration Gala (think annual pass holder party for their most expensive pass) called "When You Wish." Features Wish, Tangled, Frozen, Moana, Encanto, and Brave. (Started the video at the Wish section below.)



It's only around for 3 days as part of their AP parties (and it certainly looks like it has the budget of something only sticking around for 3 days) but I thought it was a sweet little show. Always happy to see Wish represented in the parks (unpopular opinion, I'm sure!).

Meanwhile in Anaheim, we get free foam fingers and prints every other month as Magic Keyholders.

Universal Orlando is doing Passholder Appreciation Days this month, and among the free buttons and exclusive menu items and other offerings, there’s only ONE thing that I really care about: the exclusive Passholder Entry Gate that they open from Early Entry to 11:00 AM at IoA every morning during the promotion.

On days when the parks close early for grad night events, Hagrid’s often opens for early entry at 6:50 AM. Thanks to the Passholder gate, I can show up at 6:40 instead of 6:00. (They let passholders through the gate to an in-park holding area so that they can all head for Hagrid’s at the same moment the first GP guests are entering the park). That extra 40 minutes of sleep in the morning is more appreciated by me (and I’m sure many others) than any material Passholder Thank You Gifts.

I’d definitely pick the month-long gate over a live show or parties. Convenience means a lot.

 

[Consumer]

Would I be insane to visit Disneyland on the Fourth of July? I know several years ago the trend was lighter crowds on Independence Day but I'm not sure if that's still the case. Tickets currently go for $169 on July 4 as opposed to $192 on July 5 so there must be something to that. Obviously Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Lincoln would be closed, which would suck, but there's plenty else to see and do at the park. One notable upside is they would be showing the Fourth of July fireworks rather than the Pixar show.

I hate giving Disney my hard earned money, but every now and again I get a whiff of churros and hear a Main Street melody that has me yearning to go back.

 

[mickEblu]

Would I be insane to visit Disneyland on the Fourth of July? I know several years ago the trend was lighter crowds on Independence Day but I'm not sure if that's still the case. Tickets currently go for $169 on July 4 as opposed to $192 on July 5 so there must be something to that. Obviously Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Lincoln would be closed, which would suck, but there's plenty else to see and do at the park. One notable upside is they would be showing the Fourth of July fireworks rather than the Pixar show.

I hate giving Disney my hard earned money, but every now and again I get a whiff of churros and hear a Main Street melody that has me yearning to go back.

I don’t think it’s crazy. The fact that 4th of July is on a Thursday works in your favor. If it were on a Friday - Monday I’d probably say don’t do it.

 

[mickEblu]

I don’t think it’s crazy. The fact that 4th of July is on a Thursday works in your favor. If it were on a Friday - Monday I’d probably say don’t do it.

@Consumer you also have 3 tiers of Keyholders blacked out. There is a good chance it might not be any busier than any regular Saturday. Maybe even less busy. They are going to be selling those 3 day Summer passes for locals but I’d imagine 4th of July is blocked for them too.

 

[Consumer]

I don’t think it’s crazy. The fact that 4th of July is on a Thursday works in your favor. If it were on a Friday - Monday I’d probably say don’t do it.

@Consumer you also have 3 tiers of Keyholders blacked out. There is a good chance it might not be any busier than any regular Saturday. Maybe even less busy. They are going to be selling those 3 day Summer passes for locals but I’d imagine 4th of July is blocked for them too.

You're really selling me, man. I haven't been to Disneyland since 2022 so I do want to get back and honestly it's not going to be getting any cheaper. My girlfriend's also never been to Disneyland and I'd love to take her. She'll still be here on the East Coast, however, so it's mostly dependent on if we can figure out a way to get her to LA for 4th of July weekend.

 

[mickEblu]

The waterfalls with all the characters etched into rock work in Fantasy Springs are gorgeous. Really beautiful land. Noticing so many more details in some of the newer videos. It’s more clever than just the characters. For example with Pocahontas you can see that she’s in a canoe. Above the really neat Magic Mirror behind a waterfall you’ll see a rock shaped log that that seven dwarfs cross from the movie. Cinderella can be found by some rocks that are etched to look like the steps where she lost her glass slipper. Most of it is stuff you don’t really notice at first glance. The little springs and water bring so much life and are used to accentuate the little vignettes in the rockwork. As are some of the smoke/ fog effects.

 

[davis_unoxx]

Would I be insane to visit Disneyland on the Fourth of July? I know several years ago the trend was lighter crowds on Independence Day but I'm not sure if that's still the case. Tickets currently go for $169 on July 4 as opposed to $192 on July 5 so there must be something to that. Obviously Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Lincoln would be closed, which would suck, but there's plenty else to see and do at the park. One notable upside is they would be showing the Fourth of July fireworks rather than the Pixar show.

I hate giving Disney my hard earned money, but every now and again I get a whiff of churros and hear a Main Street melody that has me yearning to go back.

I was on Big Thunder fireworks last 4th, 2 other people on whole train.

 

[Consumer]

Fantastic review of the Galactic Starcruiser by Jenny Nicholson. If you have 4 hours to spare, it's incredibly thorough in explaining what the experience was and what went wrong from a guest perspective.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

It looks like he is designing incredible private aircraft interiors.

Thanks! We are pursuing more entertainment design now in addition to everything else we're up to in AI. Hoping to reimagine and bring more story to waterparks very soon.

 

[CaptinEO]

Fantastic review of the Galactic Starcruiser by Jenny Nicholson. If you have 4 hours to spare, it's incredibly thorough in explaining what the experience was and what went wrong from a guest perspective.

This is great, she very smartly breaks down the awkward Disney marketing and everything wrong with focusing on "immersion" in theme parks.

 

[truecoat]

Fantastic review of the Galactic Starcruiser by Jenny Nicholson. If you have 4 hours to spare, it's incredibly thorough in explaining what the experience was and what went wrong from a guest perspective.

When I saw bingo as one of the "immersive activities" on the GS, I knew it was destined to fail.

 

[Figments Friend]

Would I be insane to visit Disneyland on the Fourth of July? I know several years ago the trend was lighter crowds on Independence Day but I'm not sure if that's still the case. Tickets currently go for $169 on July 4 as opposed to $192 on July 5 so there must be something to that. Obviously Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Lincoln would be closed, which would suck, but there's plenty else to see and do at the park. One notable upside is they would be showing the Fourth of July fireworks rather than the Pixar show.

I hate giving Disney my hard earned money, but every now and again I get a whiff of churros and hear a Main Street melody that has me yearning to go back.

DO IT…!
Life is too short to question the chance to have a memorable experience and a great time.

Disneyland is always worth your time!
Celebrate America at one of the most American places ever created, by our man Uncle Walt who was proud to be an American.
Honestly, what better day to visit..?

Just do it.
Thank me later.


-

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

WELP, I was going to wait to go back to Florida when Epic Universe opens.... but Universal convinced me to go sooner. Booking flights now. Again Universal proves it is DECADES BEYOND Imagineering-

 

[TP2000]

WELP, I was going to wait to go back to Florida when Epic Universe opens.... but Universal convinced me to go sooner. Booking flights now. Again Universal proves it is DECADES BEYOND Imagineering-

Fart jokes. Didn't we once have an entire thread dedicated to discussing fart jokes and their socio-cultural implications?

Aside from that, I'm kind of intrigued by this Epic Universe thing. I've been mulling a visit to see it in late '25 or the winter of '26, just to wander around and ride the mild stuff and do some of the shows, then spend a day at Epcot to say my goodbyes to that park that has fallen so tragically. Then bid Orlando adieu, likely for the last time.

I'd like to stay in one of the new swanky hotels that Orlando has now; the Ritz Carlton or the Waldorf Astoria, just to splurge and be dumb. You can't take it with you!

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

Rise is down. I’m hanging out, sipping my coffee by the entrance. Lots and lots and lots and lots of frustrated Lightning Lane purchasers.

It’s probably not practical, but maybe Disney should immediately refund guests if a LL ride is down during their return window. Imagine paying $100 for your family and then the ride is down, leaving you wondering if you’ll even be able to squeeze in a ride by the end of the day.

 

[chadwpalm]

I've never stayed at the Park Vue Inn before, only Grand Legacy and Anaheim Desert Inn (as far as hotels across the street go) and it's great!!

I checked in this morning while still at my hotel in Vegas so I didn't need to when I got here. I just went straight to my room and my phone opened the lock.

The room is good sized and really nice. I can even cast movies from my phone to the TV (built in Chromecast). Also the parking is free.

Will definitely stay here again in the future. Going to hit up dinner in DTD and will be at Disneyland tomorrow and Sunday. I'll let you guys know my opinion of Fantasmic. I have the Rancho del Zocalo dining package.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Rise is down. I’m hanging out, sipping my coffee by the entrance. Lots and lots and lots and lots of frustrated Lightning Lane purchasers.

It’s probably not practical, but maybe Disney should immediately refund guests if a LL ride is down during their return window. Imagine paying $100 for your family and then the ride is down, leaving you wondering if you’ll even be able to squeeze in a ride by the end of the day.

What shocked me when I first dealt with ILLs was how few contingencies seemed to be in place in the event of anything going awry.

I had one visit in 2022 where my friend and I bought an ILL for an advertised time that worked for us...only to realize that after our payment went through that the time had changed, and now we were scheduled to ride during our dinner at Napa Rose.

We went immediately to nearest the Guest Service kiosk...and they basically told us they couldn't change anything. The only thing they were able to do was to refund the original purchase, and then we could re-purchase it, hopefully resulting in a better time. That was their solution! As if it had never occured to Disney that there might be some sort of justifiable reason that people couldn't make their prescribed time, or that their system that they forced everyone to use might possibly create sub-optimal experiences for some guests, or indeed work against existing plans they had made. No changes can be made, even as a result of pre-existing plans to drop a lot of money into Disney's lap that they would ostensibly want to encourage.

This was the same trip where I couldn't cancel an accidentally duplicated dining reservation the night before through the app OR at Guest Services (apparently they were powerless to do anything once the restaurant had closed for the day?) OR through their dining hotline, which automatically hung up on me. I literally had to go into the park the next day, far earlier than I had planned, and go to the actual restaurant host stand to cancel it...and even then it didn't show as cancelled in the app until it was officially lunch time in Disney's system. They've made it way easier to cancel in the app until it's almost mealtime, which is a good fix, but there's still more that needs to be done to meet the level of service they claim to be offering.

Sometimes I think people are too harsh on the modern parks experience, but then I remember some of the nonsense I dealt with in 2022 (or before...there was an awful experience with WDW in 2018 in line for Big Thunder, which involved a flood of FP+ users, a crawling standby, the clock ticking on a dining reservation, and mishaps with their dining hotline) and come to the conclusion that there are definitely times I'm not harsh enough.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

What shocked me when I first dealt with ILLs was how few contingencies seemed to be in place in the event of anything going awry.

I had one visit in 2022 where my friend and I bought an ILL for an advertised time that worked for us...only to realize that after our payment went through that the time had changed, and now we were scheduled to ride during our dinner at Napa Rose.

We went immediately to nearest the Guest Service kiosk...and they basically told us they couldn't change anything. The only thing they were able to do was to refund the original purchase, and then we could re-purchase it, hopefully resulting in a better time. That was their solution! As if it had never occured to Disney that there might be some sort of justifiable reason that people couldn't make their prescribed time, or that their system that they forced everyone to use might possibly create sub-optimal experiences for some guests, or indeed work against existing plans they had made. No changes can be made, even as a result of pre-existing plans to drop a lot of money into Disney's lap that they would ostensibly want to encourage.

This was the same trip where I couldn't cancel an accidentally duplicated dining reservation the night before through the app OR at Guest Services (apparently they were powerless to do anything once the restaurant had closed for the day?) OR through their dining hotline, which automatically hung up on me. I literally had to go into the park the next day, far earlier than I had planned, and go to the actual restaurant host stand to cancel it...and even then it didn't show as cancelled in the app until it was officially lunch time in Disney's system. They've made it way easier to cancel in the app until it's almost mealtime, which is a good fix, but there's still more that needs to be done to meet the level of service they claim to be offering.

Sometimes I think people are too harsh on the modern parks experience, but then I remember some of the nonsense I dealt with in 2022 (or before...there was an awful experience with WDW in 2018 in line for Big Thunder, which involved a flood of FP+ users, a crawling standby, the clock ticking on a dining reservation, and mishaps with their dining hotline) and come to the conclusion that there are definitely times I'm not harsh enough.

Yikes, these experiences sound mind-numbing. Remember when Disney had a reputation for unmatched customer service? My sense is that Guest Services in most cases tries to make things right and will allow some flexibility on park policies in order to keep guests happy. With Individual Lightning Lane, however, there can be no flexibility; it's a transparent cash-grab, and Disney is apparently intent on punishing guests foolish enough to shell out $26 per person for a single attraction.

I too sometimes feel people on Disney message boards are a little too cynical. I'm a local with a Magic Key and despite my criticisms of Disney, I still enjoy visiting the parks. But when I talk to people without Magic Keys who visit Disneyland with their kids once a year or who travel to WDW, it becomes clear how hostile Disney has become toward its guests. People do not like being nickel and dimed, and many guests are not so blinded by Disney fandom that they'll look the other way.

 

[Rich T]

Fantastic review of the Galactic Starcruiser by Jenny Nicholson. If you have 4 hours to spare, it's incredibly thorough in explaining what the experience was and what went wrong from a guest perspective.

This has become my favorite theme park-related video of all time. Great observations, intelligent criticism and a wonderful sense of humor; it held my attention for the entire 4 hours. So glad to see it getting so many views (Nearly 5 million in a week!!!)

And the “Disney Saying ‘Immersion’ Too Often” montage should be released separately as its own comedy short. Maybe set to music.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Completely agree.

I posted this over in the Galactic Starcruiser section of the forum-

"Had a long drive back from a job site today... and chose to listen to this while coasting down the 99.

Fantastic commentary and I loved hearing a level headed in-depth review of a personal experience.

As others have mentioned, her commentary on Disney's recent actions is spot on. Cheapening the product without a care... that will eventually catch up with them.

God I forgot how much they promised for Star wars Land..."

Her last section or two really hit home about what is wrong with modern Disney relating to the company as a whole.