The Spirited Back Nine ...

[TalkingHead]

How sweet! Universal decided to add it's own "Yeti" to make Disney feel better. Wait, I thought it was just Disney that let things break and stay broken. What's up with that?

I missed the Travel Channel special where Uni Creative hyped up the Weasley figure and bragged about it being the one-of-a-kind centerpiece of Diagon Alley.

 

[ScoutN]

Virginia in January? No thanks.

Depends what area. I sure as hell would rather be here in Va with actual seasons vs a borefest of one season near year round. How bland.

 

[aka_emilicious]

Also, if Thor can exist in a universe with Howard the Duck or his own talking frog counterpart (No I'm not kidding), not to mention all the dimension hopping stuff you find in pretty much every cape comic, I don't see why interacting with Disney characters in some non-canon Super Smash Bros-esque "living toys" setting should be a big deal.

Thank you! I could not believe all of the nonsense after they announced Thor was going to be female in the latest volume. Far crazier things have happened in comics.

 

[Bairstow]

Come back with that comparison when Weasley is broken for 6 to 7 years straight. In my experience I've seen it not working one trip and then it was fixed by my next trip.

I observed the same thing on my trip last month. We were there 2 days and I saw the thing move exactly once on the first day and it was stationary the rest of the time we were in the alley, which was hours.

Is it supposed to move constantly or is it triggered by something else, wands perhaps, or a sale being made in the store?

 

[Mike S]

I observed the same thing on my trip last month. We were there 2 days and I saw the thing move exactly once on the first day and it was stationary the rest of the time we were in the alley, which was hours.

Is it supposed to move constantly or is it triggered by something else, wands perhaps, or a sale being made in the store?

It's supposed to be constant cause when I've seen it work it was pretty much all day I think. I wonder if there's something about it that makes it more complicated than it looks because it does look very simple. Could weather play a factor or no?

 

[Mickey_777]

Depends what area. I sure as hell would rather be here in Va with actual seasons vs a borefest of one season near year round. How bland.

Northern Virginia for me. But hey I love the commonwealth. Born and raised here. I've had the pleasure of experiencing all best things the state has to offer. I'm just over the bitter cold. Over it.

 

[ScoutN]

Northern Virginia for me. But hey I love the commonwealth. Born and raised here. I've had the pleasure of experiencing all best things the state has to offer. I'm just over the bitter cold. Over it.

I don't touch NOVA with a ten foot pole. SoVa is nice because snow is not regular, other than the last four years having more than typical. The Hampton Roads (I am sure you are aware of what the HR actually are) act as a nice snow deterrent. I would not trade four seasons for anything. Now maybe when I am80+ with arthritis a bland climate would be nice but I have not hit that milestone yet.

 

[rael ramone]

I haven't joined in yet another discussion of fatties (and I am at my heaviest weight since my all-time high in 2003 when I went on a MAJOR lifestyle change that sorta lasted for a while but not enough!) and Disney, but I did see someone (maybe @RivieraJenn ?) talk about how Disney can/could offer more healthy choices. For years, it was either Cockerell Fries or grapes, now it seems to largely be the fries and apple slices (a tiny portion, I might add).

Of course, Disney has very little variety in QSR at MK and Studios, while EPCOT and DAK offer far more options for both healthy and unhealthy dining.

I am reasonably certain Disney has struck a big deal with a major broccoli seller because of the new menu items at Columbia Harbor House and the large $4 bags on sale at Property Control.

At Cosmic Rays a month ago (I can make that burger taste good under piles of sauteed onions & mushrooms & packets of bbq sauce) I chose the 'cucumber' salad. Pretty decent side for a 'feed station'. Though I suspect people looking for 'alternative' sides is so rare that it came with the Cockerell Fries as well.

the broccoli is actually relatively decent at CHH, along with a relatively tasty piece of salmon (though it doesn't compete w/ the fishies I ate at Jiko or Artist Point, is it really supposed to?). IIRC, I think I saw several vegetable options at QSR's (I believe I saw Green Beans as a choice somewhere - wonder if it matches the quality of the broccoli offerings or are more akin to a school lunch quality).

On another note, saw Jack Ma (Alibaba CEO) on CNBC just now: "Customers first, employees 2nd, stockholders 3rd'... wonder if the weatherman is taking notes... IIRC he also said something about viewing the employees as smarter than you are (which is certainly true in certain areas, like, say, front line CM's knowing more how Mouse Arrest bands will/won't work then a 'sharp pencil boy' sitting in front of a spreadsheet would).

 

[Mickey_777]

I don't touch NOVA with a ten foot pole. SoVa is nice because snow is not regular, other than the last four years having more than typical. The Hampton Roads (I am sure you are aware of what the HR actually are) act as a nice snow deterrent. I would not trade four seasons for anything. Now maybe when I am80+ with arthritis a bland climate would be nice but I have not hit that milestone yet.

Absolutely. We've spent plenty of time in VA beach, and Sandbridge over the summer. Not to mention BG and we were in Colonial Williamsburg just a few weeks ago on a beautiful Autumn saturday. We do get surprised when even the HR area gets significant snow accumulation every now and then. What I do envy though, is the easy access to a Krispy Kreme you all have over us. Man when that light is on...

 

[matt9112]

68 in the winter? If you don't want it I'll take that!

-Sent from Boston

I live in boston now....hate almost everything about it haha we plan to move to florida in a year or so.

 

[ScoutN]

Absolutely. We've spent plenty of time in VA beach, and Sandbridge over the summer. Not to mention BG and we were in Colonial Williamsburg just a few weeks ago on a beautiful Autumn saturday. We do get surprised when even the HR area gets significant snow accumulation every now and then. What I do envy though, is the easy access to a Krispy Kreme you all have over us. Man when that light is on...

Ahh yes you are from NoVa then. If you live in HR you go to Nag's Head and OBX for beach unless you are high school or militay. Locals avoid VB in the Summer at all costs.

Last year was wild. Schools shut down record number of days for snow in the last 40 years as a result. Year before last was a record for 20 years.

Two within 20 minutes of me and a third within 30.

 

[wdisney9000]

Off topic, but I thought this thread would the best place to ask this question. I have seen a few places doing "Frozen" events around Atlanta. Our local roller skating rink is advertising Frozen party once a week, Piedmont Park in the city had a banner up recently promoting a Frozen event as well, I even saw something related to Frozen at what appeared to be a day care center. Funny thing was that none of the banners/signs had a Disney trademark. They DID have the official Frozen and/or Anna, Elsa, Olaf on them though. Is this illegal? Does anybody else see anything like this in there area?

 

[vonpluto]

This forced my brain to try to combine a rabbit with Highlander. So now I keep picturing that killer rabbit from Spamalot...

Or this:

 

[theRIOT]

Interesting.

What are views/opinions on ICE at Gaylord Palms? I've never done that.

My family did the ICE event a the Gaylord Palms in Opryland. I'm not sure how it compares to its Florida counterpart, but the ice sculptures and slides were a hit.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Off topic, but I thought this thread would the best place to ask this question. I have seen a few places doing "Frozen" events around Atlanta. Our local roller skating rink is advertising Frozen party once a week, Piedmont Park in the city had a banner up recently promoting a Frozen event as well, I even saw something related to Frozen at what appeared to be a day care center. Funny thing was that none of the banners/signs had a Disney trademark. They DID have the official Frozen and/or Anna, Elsa, Olaf on them though. Is this illegal? Does anybody else see anything like this in there area?

The are doing the Frozen themed mall castles around us.
I'm not sure if Disney is part of these events though.

 

[Mike S]

Or this:
View attachment 73262

Roger Rabbit with the Master Sword. Epic.

 

[SirLink]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but if Disney's animation wing continues its upward swing in quality, the video game unit needs to take a back seat. Animated films are the motor that drives this truck.

Nope Media Networks, i.e. ESPN, and Parks and Resorts drive this truck. They have had the ability to make Interactive an amazing creative endeavor that could of been making a billion a quarter shame ... what Black Rock could of been ...

 

[CentralFLlife]

The snow means nothing to me. It's the extreme cold. When you get a couple weeks of high temperatures of 0 with a -25 wind chill, it makes you want to hibernate. I'll take 3 feet of snow and 25 degrees all winter long.

A high of 0 is delightful compared to a Polar Vortex in far northern Wisconsin. -40 without windchill. It was so cold that the nav screen in my vehicle was frozen and wouldn't move. I was out snowmobiling the night before in -20ish and it wasn't bad, a little brisk at times but overall I was comfortable. But -40 is just absurd.

 

[raymusiccity]

I guess it's personal preference. The concept of the "cross-over" has been around nearly as long as stories about popular characters have:
http://io9.com/5833704/a-brief-history-of-the-crossover

For Marvel specifically, it's nearly as old as the Marvel characters themselves. The shared universe that they all inhabited was one of the things that excited young readers. Marvel has crossed over with nearly everything that could be crossed over with. Remember, when comics first were created, each character lived in his own world with no other characters in sight. Once they started crossing paths is when things got interesting.

It goes back past comic books, past Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man, into literature. Heck, Disney Sea uses properties from a set of books that crossed over. Captain Nemo and the Nautilus show up in The Mysterious Island.

In video games, it's been around for many years as well, so much so that it's a standard concept. Marvel vs. Capcom. Mortal Combat vs. DC Comics.

Personally, I have no problem, specifically with Infinity where the rules are fairly set in stone (Donald Duck can't be kicking butt in the Avengers playset alongside Thor, but in the Toy Box where the point is the mashup you can play against convention).

If they start integrating Mickey Mouse into the Marvel cinematic universe, I might raise some issues on the integrity, but in video games, nah. The mash up can be fun. IMO

I think as long as the movie is entertaining and respects the 'mash up', then it's 'no harm no foul'. (IMHO)

Abbott & Costello met The Wolman, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, Frankenstein, et al; all with the cooperation and blessings of Universal Studios.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Disney's letting Lucasfilm do projects besides Star Wars. Lucasfilm Animation and ILM are putting out a film called Strange Magic, a loose animated musical version of A Midsummer's Night Dream.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=125026