The Spirit Takes the Fifth ...

[TowerOfTerror]

Two important topics on hand that just happened at WDW.

• The construction wall is now up at the front of camp minnie-mickey blocking all traffic.
• The new MK parade floats are now backstage at MK. Person who saw them said they looked amazing.

Its nice to talk about new things besides rubber bracelets.

 

[asianway]

Two important topics on hand that just happened at WDW.

• The construction wall is now up at the front of camp minnie-mickey blocking all traffic.
• The new MK parade floats are now backstage at MK. Person who saw them said they looked amazing.

Its nice to talk about new things besides rubber bracelets.

A shame there's no good lifestyler lookouts to get construction pics

 

[flynnibus]

Gee a payment of 10 million to make a NSA authored PRNG suite the default - sure sounds like paid to weaken and if you parse RSA's statement like lawyer would they are NOT denying the claim.

I know the story... and your hyperboyle.

 

[ford91exploder]

I know the story... and your hyperboyle.

The fact that all crypto based on this PRNG including SSL can be compromised without knowing either side's keys and that key recovery is possible is not hyperbole. But this is not the place to discuss crypto engines.

You talk about hyperbole, and how I always assume worst case scenarios.

Couple of months ago I was involved in a DoD/DHS exercise where power grid was unavailable, internet and broadcast communications were likewise unavailable and we had to construct a nationwide voice/digital network network using only HF and VHF radio links on emergency power sources to allow State EOC's to communicate with each other and DC. Best data rate we had was 9600 baud using PACTOR III. The exercise was of course a simulation but we built the network 'for real'.

I very frequently work on 'worst case scenarios' so it's no surprise my default mode is plan for the worst hope for the best.

 

[sawyerpaws]

So are you in the loop now? Are you able to post actual news or will you post more theories? I don't have an issue with you at all but sometimes I do find some of the things you post to be a bit odd, bordering more on conspiracy theories than credible news or information. That's not to say I don't enjoy them but if you have real news to report then I'm sure everyone here will it appreciate in the same way that we appreciate the information provided by the other sources who post on this forum.

Hello, Frank. This is Sara. I'm Pete's sister. He asked me to respond to you. We were planning on going to WDW today, but we decided to go another day in the near future. His intention was to take pictures of the construction and other items of interest, such as the constructions that coincidentally went up at Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom. I don't know where this idea came from concerning any other intention on my brother's behalf, but I assure you his intentions were good and honorable ones.

Lord knows he can get a bit obsessive at times about things. Heck, this is what I had to deal with growing up with him! I'll leave it at that. Anyone is welcome to contact me and I'll be happy to answer your questions or concerns!

 

[alissafalco]

Hello, Frank. This is Sara. I'm Pete's sister. He asked me to respond to you. We were planning on going to WDW today, but we decided to go another day in the near future. His intention was to take pictures of the construction and other items of interest, such as the constructions that coincidentally went up at Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom. I don't know where this idea came from concerning any other intention on my brother's behalf, but I assure you his intentions were good and honorable ones.

Lord knows he can get a bit obsessive at times about things. Heck, this is what I had to deal with growing up with him! I'll leave it at that. Anyone is welcome to contact me and I'll be happy to answer your questions or concerns!

Please tell me this is a joke lol

 

[wm49rs]

Please tell me this is a joke lol

I'd be more interested as to why he wasn't responding himself....

 

[Hakunamatata]

I'd be more interested as to why he wasn't responding himself....

He probably is.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Please tell me this is a joke lol

Hi Alissa. This is PeterAlt, speaking from this account that I hacked. I assure you it is no joke. My sister did find her way to this forum. I'm afraid I myself got into a little bit of trouble backstage at EPCOT. I was looking for evidence for the monorail expansion, and lo and behold, I found it! I got so excited I stripped naked and ran around yelling "Eureka! Eureka! I've found it!". I made it all the way to the Innoventions Plaza before security caught me! But I managed to wriggle myself free and jump into the fountain. I was now splashing around in the fountain yelling "Shamu on Sea World! Free Tilikum! The orcas will guide us the way to Atlantis! If only we release them!"

Then they tazered me. As I fell to the ground I noticed the foundation of the fountain had a different colour in one spot...I am sure it is for a PeopleMover around WS. Once they release me from gaol I'll research it and keep you all posted. For now though, I used my one phonecall to text in this important message to all you guys! Take care!

 

[wm49rs]

Hi Alissa. This is PeterAlt, speaking from this account that I hacked. I assure you it is no joke. My sister did find her way to this forum. I'm afraid I myself got into a little bit of trouble backstage at EPCOT. I was looking for evidence for the monorail expansion, and lo and behold, I found it! I got so excited I stripped naked and ran around yelling "Eureka! Eureka! I've found it!". I made it all the way to the Innoventions Plaza before security caught me! But I managed to wriggle myself free and jump into the fountain. I was now splashing around in the fountain yelling "Shamu on Sea World! Free Tilikum! The orcas will guide us the way to Atlantis! If only we release them!"

Then they tazered me. As I fell to the ground I noticed the foundation of the fountain had a different colour in one spot...I am sure it is for a PeopleMover around WS. Once they release me from gaol I'll research it and keep you all posted. For now though, I used my one phonecall to text in this important message to all you guys! Take care!

That is NOT funny.....

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

...wow. Ok.

Two important topics on hand that just happened at WDW.

• The construction wall is now up at the front of camp minnie-mickey blocking all traffic.
• The new MK parade floats are now backstage at MK. Person who saw them said they looked amazing.

Its nice to talk about new things besides rubber bracelets.

Probably shouldn't mention how incredibly giddy good news makes me, huh?

More than likely it's our -15 weather and my dreaming I was at WDW right about now instead of sneezing my face off and putting Xmas crap away.

I'd love to see more of the floats... Gonna go check that thread again.

 

[PhilharMagician]

O'boy here it comes! This should be interesting.

 

[71jason]

So ... two anecdotes from last night that I think illustrate exactly what's wrong with WDW these days.

First, due to Three Kings Day/Marathon Week/northerners not being able to fly (see previous post), yesterday was a very busy day at MK--easily equivalent to Summer. However, Casey's went down for refurb as scheduled. Did TDO offset this by reopening Tommorowland Terrace or Tortuga Tavern? Of course not. Lines were out the door at Pecos Bill and Cosmic Rays. Even worse, people were walking out of Rays and sitting on the walkway with trays of food, because there just wasn't seating. It's bad enough that TDO underestimated the crowds when other experts, like, say Touring Plans, anticipated them, but it's even worse they don't have a Plan B to provide guests food when things like this happen.

Second, as most know, 130 DVC rooms just opened up next to the Grand Floridian--with absolutely no food or beverage service of their own, not even a convenience shop. However, upper management is still trying to run the Grand based on the past 5 years (when there was no DVC, natch). Gasparilla has been slammed every week, selling out of food like chips (Lays, Doritos, etc.) every night for over a week. Upper management can't figure out that perhaps this isn't an anomaly and that they should order more food. The table service restaurants and bars have been slammed, too--so of course, upper management wanted them to cut staffing this week to meet historical levels. They would rather lose sales and alienate guests than risk paying an extra server for a night.

This isn't a case of "But Disney exists to make money...". They are LOSING money while providing poor customer service. It just shows that the MBAs running the show in TDO and Burbank don't "get" theme parks. They don't understand how they run, when they get busy (Friday the 13th?), why they get busy, what guests expect when they visit. Noses buried in a spreadsheet rather than walking through the parks.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

So ... two anecdotes from last night that I think illustrate exactly what's wrong with WDW these days.

First, due to Three Kings Day/Marathon Week/northerners not being able to fly (see previous post), yesterday was a very busy day at MK--easily equivalent to Summer. However, Casey's went down for refurb as scheduled. Did TDO offset this by reopening Tommorowland Terrace or Tortuga Tavern? Of course not. Lines were out the door at Pecos Bill and Cosmic Rays. Even worse, people were walking out of Rays and sitting on the walkway with trays of food, because there just wasn't seating. It's bad enough that TDO underestimated the crowds when other experts, like, say Touring Plans, anticipated them, but it's even worse they don't have a Plan B to provide guests food when things like this happen.

Second, as most know, 130 DVC rooms just opened up next to the Grand Floridian--with absolutely no food or beverage service of their own, not even a convenience shop. However, upper management is still trying to run the Grand based on the past 5 years (when there was no DVC, natch). Gasparilla has been slammed every week, selling out of food like chips (Lays, Doritos, etc.) every night for over a week. Upper management can't figure out that perhaps this isn't an anomaly and that they should order more food. The table service restaurants and bars have been slammed, too--so of course, upper management wanted them to cut staffing this week to meet historical levels. They would rather lose sales and alienate guests than risk paying an extra server for a night.

This isn't a case of "But Disney exists to make money...". They are LOSING money while providing poor customer service. It just shows that the MBAs running the show in TDO and Burbank don't "get" theme parks. They don't understand how they run, when they get busy (Friday the 13th?), why they get busy, what guests expect when they visit. Noses buried in a spreadsheet rather than walking through the parks.

That last sentence speaks VOLUMES. There's your issue right there.

 

[CDavid]

So ... two anecdotes from last night that I think illustrate exactly what's wrong with WDW these days.

First, due to Three Kings Day/Marathon Week/northerners not being able to fly (see previous post), yesterday was a very busy day at MK--easily equivalent to Summer. However, Casey's went down for refurb as scheduled. Did TDO offset this by reopening Tommorowland Terrace or Tortuga Tavern? Of course not. Lines were out the door at Pecos Bill and Cosmic Rays. Even worse, people were walking out of Rays and sitting on the walkway with trays of food, because there just wasn't seating. It's bad enough that TDO underestimated the crowds when other experts, like, say Touring Plans, anticipated them, but it's even worse they don't have a Plan B to provide guests food when things like this happen.

Second, as most know, 130 DVC rooms just opened up next to the Grand Floridian--with absolutely no food or beverage service of their own, not even a convenience shop. However, upper management is still trying to run the Grand based on the past 5 years (when there was no DVC, natch). Gasparilla has been slammed every week, selling out of food like chips (Lays, Doritos, etc.) every night for over a week. Upper management can't figure out that perhaps this isn't an anomaly and that they should order more food. The table service restaurants and bars have been slammed, too--so of course, upper management wanted them to cut staffing this week to meet historical levels. They would rather lose sales and alienate guests than risk paying an extra server for a night.

This isn't a case of "But Disney exists to make money...". They are LOSING money while providing poor customer service. It just shows that the MBAs running the show in TDO and Burbank don't "get" theme parks. They don't understand how they run, when they get busy (Friday the 13th?), why they get busy, what guests expect when they visit. Noses buried in a spreadsheet rather than walking through the parks.

Well said. Disney continues to leave dollars on the table by pinching pennies, but its becoming hilariously obvious to most everyone outside of Disney executive ranks.

 

[COProgressFan]

So ... two anecdotes from last night that I think illustrate exactly what's wrong with WDW these days.

First, due to Three Kings Day/Marathon Week/northerners not being able to fly (see previous post), yesterday was a very busy day at MK--easily equivalent to Summer. However, Casey's went down for refurb as scheduled. Did TDO offset this by reopening Tommorowland Terrace or Tortuga Tavern? Of course not. Lines were out the door at Pecos Bill and Cosmic Rays. Even worse, people were walking out of Rays and sitting on the walkway with trays of food, because there just wasn't seating. It's bad enough that TDO underestimated the crowds when other experts, like, say Touring Plans, anticipated them, but it's even worse they don't have a Plan B to provide guests food when things like this happen.

Second, as most know, 130 DVC rooms just opened up next to the Grand Floridian--with absolutely no food or beverage service of their own, not even a convenience shop. However, upper management is still trying to run the Grand based on the past 5 years (when there was no DVC, natch). Gasparilla has been slammed every week, selling out of food like chips (Lays, Doritos, etc.) every night for over a week. Upper management can't figure out that perhaps this isn't an anomaly and that they should order more food. The table service restaurants and bars have been slammed, too--so of course, upper management wanted them to cut staffing this week to meet historical levels. They would rather lose sales and alienate guests than risk paying an extra server for a night.

This isn't a case of "But Disney exists to make money...". They are LOSING money while providing poor customer service. It just shows that the MBAs running the show in TDO and Burbank don't "get" theme parks. They don't understand how they run, when they get busy (Friday the 13th?), why they get busy, what guests expect when they visit. Noses buried in a spreadsheet rather than walking through the parks.

So many of the problems with WDW today are so simple to fix. They are often basic operational changes that would actually cost very little to implement, but provide great returns through customer service, and in increased spending by guests who are looking to spend cash, but are limited by Disney's inability or unwillingness to adapt to their customers needs and wants. It's the "too big to fail" mentality.

If the powers that be actually spent a few days visiting their parks and resorts like actual guests, or listened to the concerns of their front line employees, they would easily be able to rectify these issues and reap the financial benefits. They choose not to.

 

[Lord_Vader]

So MK was like an average summer day today but Epcot felt empty in the World Showcase.

Where are the crowds? The roads around Disney are a disaster but not internally.

A lot of guests at our resort & the BC/YC were skipping the parks after the 26th and resting around the pool on the 27th from our perspective, the pools were crazy busy as were all the shops and restaurants on the Boardwalk.

 

[ford91exploder]

Well said. Disney continues to leave dollars on the table by pinching pennies, but its becoming hilariously obvious to most everyone outside of Disney executive ranks.

This was exactly the reason Walt wanted his executives walking the parks daily so they would understand at the most basic levels what made the parks tick and could directly see what did and did not work.

 

[71jason]

This was exactly the reason Walt wanted his executives walking the parks daily so they would understand at the most basic levels what made the parks tick and could directly see what did and did not work.

This. There's no excuse to have people sitting in the middle of a walkway with trays of food. Someone with the authority to open Tortuga or Terrace or do something should have been aware. Bad show, and ultimately unprofitable--how many guests saw that and (like my friends) simply left the park to eat off property. Same goes for not upping the order of Doritos supplied to Gasparilla. It's managers obsessed with expenses--which they can control--rather than revenue--which they can't--and too afraid to make a move because they are too busy CYAing.

 

[yeti]

^^I'd be careful posting that kind of stuff. Your identity's gonna get stolen...again.