The Spirited Back Nine ...

[PhotoDave219]

You sure?

I heard that money went to Frozen.

Comes from a budget office source. Either way, future world got hosed on the deal.

 

[Next Big Thing]

I would... but just when I start enjoying 7DMT, its over.

That's probably the best way to describe it and probably how most on here feel.

 

[WDW1974]

Disney's Hollywood Studios never had a very profound thesis. Disney's Animal Kingdom is still rather focused. Focus on meaning and message is more important than rides.

Absolutely.

It will be easier to 'fix' the Studios than EPCOT. Much easier to 'fix' DAK because the cohesive vision still exists, still is present.

EPCOT has become a mess, most especially FW. One or more attractions won't solve a huge identity crisis. Just what is EPCOT now? And is there any vision for its future?

 

[WDW1974]

Maybe this is too philosophical of a discussion, but weren't those jobs always minimum wage or close to it? Maybe it's because minimum wage isn't enough to live on today. In the 80s or 90s when WDW was exceptionally clean did the people working there have any real incentive to do their job well?

Poor people are that way because they want to be ... they want handouts ... they are lazy ... imagine them not wanting to work 2-3 minimum wage jobs at once just to keep food on the table? They just want our hard-earned $$$. We ain't no Commies. Let 'em die!

 

[Nemo14]

Poor people are that way because they want to be ... they want handouts ... they are lazy ... imagine them not wanting to work 2-3 minimum wage jobs at once just to keep food on the table? They just want our hard-earned $$$. We ain't no Commies. Let 'em die!

(liked for the sarcasm!)

 

[WDW1974]

Which, by the way, had regular unleaded for $2.69 a gallon Thursday. Wrong Speedway?

Funny how that also happened during the 2008 and 2010 elections ...

Of course as a Wall Streeter told me '' Crude should be about $40 a barrel right now, so to hear them cry about $80 oil is laughable.''

 

[Sped2424]

Poor people are that way because they want to be ... they want handouts ... they are lazy ... imagine them not wanting to work 2-3 minimum wage jobs at once just to keep food on the table? They just want our hard-earned $$$. We ain't no Commies. Let 'em die!

The sad thing is some people really believe and think like this.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

is there any vision for its future?

Yes.

Vision will be the new mixed drink for sale at the Electric Umbrella next year. It'll come in either a collectible Mickey or Horizons mug and retail for $49.99 + tax.

 

[WDW1974]

I assure you that what you write ("people ... are more focused on pleasing themselves") happened decades ago. There's a reason Baby Boomers sometimes are called the "Me Generation".

The term was coined in the 1970s and pretty much everything you write was written back then too. Basic human DNA has not appreciably changed in 40 years, or even 4000 years. When it comes to human nature, the expression "there's nothing new under the sun" applies just as much today as it did in the 1970s.

What has changed is society, particularly its institutions. People react to their surroundings and how they are being treated by the government, businesses, etc.

As is frequently reported in the newspapers, there hasn't been such a large separation between The Haves and The Have Nots since the Great Depression. Wages have stagnated while CEOs such as Disney's own Bob Iger collect tens-of-millions and adopt business strategies designed to increase the concentration of wealth among The Chosen Few: higher prices for the masses, far outpacing their growth in income, while wasting net income on tens-of-billions in stock buybacks, providing immediate financial gains to those already owning Disney's $150 billion in stock while returning nothing back into the economy to build for the future.

If people seem to be reacting differently today, then it's because they are being treated differently today.

In the 1970s, WDW was a beacon of happiness exactly because it was like no other place. Roy Disney and Card Walker believed in Walt Disney's vision. They believed in Walt's commitment to providing quality family entertainment at reasonable prices.

When Michael Eisner took charge in 1984, he largely left the parks alone because they were the only division within Walt Disney Productions (soon to be renamed The Walt Disney Company) that was highly profitable. Disney's parks provided outstanding quality at reasonable prices, defying conventional business wisdom.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s that Eisner (and Frank Wells) began to interfere with Walt's winning formula. Still, Disney's theme parks provided relatively good quality at relatively good prices for another decade.

The wheels fell off the Parks & Resorts wagon in the early 2000s when Paul Pressler (immediately followed by Jay Rasulo) became Chairman of Parks & Resorts and began to manage the parks "by the numbers", rather than understanding why the parks had been financially successful for decades.

People have not changed.

The way people are treated at the theme parks has changed.

Wow!!!

That read like a post by @Lee.

So true, my friend.

If you want to know why so many people are guilty of bad behavior from abusing CMs to damaging property to outright stealing (not soda or extra bars of Mickey soap!), then all you have to do is look at the underlying 'Greed is good ... Complete screwing of the guests is even better.' as your rationale.

When people, good people feel they are being lied to, abused, taken advantage of ... well, there is a HUMAN reaction in many to get right back at Da Man. Not saying there aren't bad people or people who would lie, cheat and steal no matter. But when you gouge the guest so much, when you fail to deliver what was promised so often, when you pay people so little that they will outwardly show contempt for guests, you can't be at all surprised to see people do bad things.

Funny ... but that almost never happened in WDW's first quarter of a century. But it was over $100 a day back then ... there were $42 chicken entrees on lunch menus for meals that had to be reserved with a credit card six months out ... rooms at resorts averaged well over $400 a night. Yep. ... Nah, not really!

 

[WDW1974]

Thanks! I wish I could have seen what they did a few years ago, but I was still impressed with this year's offerings. If only *that* is what the Villains Unleashed party were (a single day ticket to HKDL that includes its Haunted Halloween offerings is cheaper than the Villains party ticket OR a single day at DHS). Not holding out any hope of that ever happening...the line at Guest Relations for complaints would be longer than the line for TSM.

As I commented on your blog, one of the things I love the most about HKDL is they change elements of their Halloween event up annually and nothing stays for much more than 2-3 years tops. And, yes, it would never fly in O-Town.

Nope at MK you pay extra for the same tired stuff that was shown in 2012 and 2010 and 2008 etc etc etc

 

[Next Big Thing]

So now they would have the Carthay Circle represented twice in that park?

Well... they could simply remove the other one ya know.

Nothing is forever, especially when it's a facade to a store.

 

[WDW1974]

Sorry, I thought I pasted a link to the post in here. I'll just copy and paste the old post...

A couple of you asked various questions about the Asian parks, so here are some random thoughts that are generally responsive to those questions:

-I had heard HKDL has a more intense Halloween than the US Parks but, holy cow, I was not expecting that. I ended up going through both houses the second time by myself because my wife refused to do Graves Academy a second time. Very, very well done and a great change of pace from the usual Halloween stuff in the US. I only wish HKDL debuted Paint the Night earlier or later so it didn't cause a cut to the rest of the Halloween stuff.

-Haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere, but the stage show at HKDL (new for this year) features some local celebrity who is a member of S.E.A. He seemed a lot like Harrison Hightower, except not quite as dastardly, and he was collecting freaks rather than artifacts. Visually cool show, but entirely in Cantonese, so I probably missed something via dialogue (dialogue is seldom that important to Disney shows, so those who are letting 'not understanding anything' stop you from visiting the int'l parks--don't).

-I am not one of the 'anti-HKDL' people (quite the contrary), but I was underwhelmed by Paint the Night. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I felt the pacing was terrible (they need to get rid of the show stops and interactive element--both were complete duds on opening night) and it feels a bit imbalanced in favor of contemporary/hip stuff. There are some flashes of brilliance in terms of the floats (and costumes!), but the parade needs more than a little tweaking. It's no Dreamlights, but definitely better than MSEP.

-Skeleton Friends at Tokyo DisneySea (YouTube it) is the best Halloween entertainment at any park, and prove that good 'streetmosphere' can be just as important as good attractions.

-Once Upon a Time is far better than I expected based on the reviews. It's not Disney Dreams quality, but it's a significant improvement over what WDW has--and I like Celebrate the Magic.

-Jungle Cruise enhancements are great, and their skippers are always a hoot. I don't get the controversy over The Lion King music (hasn't the attraction always been self-aware and broken the fourth wall?). All of my TDR friends said the night version was "much better," but I didn't find that to be the case. Was really just a minor tweak of the day version.

-Visited USJ, which is a great park, although it needs to add some serious capacity. Single rider saved me. Their WWoHP is better than USF's in terms of ambiance (Black Lake is a big deal). Space Fantasy is an attraction about which I had never heard, but is incredible. HHN was fun, especially the roaming zombies.

-No hard ticket Halloween events in any 3 of the Japanese parks I visited. Also, admission is ~$60 US for each of these parks and includes the Halloween events. Yes, it's cheaper to visit Tokyo DisneySea for a day than DHS. You could even do a meal at Magellan's and still come out ahead...

I have plenty more thoughts, but I'm not sure whether more than 2-3 of you actually care about the Asian parks, so I'll stop rambling now. If you want to know more, just ask...

...

Since that post, I've done full write-ups for each of the halloween offerings (TDS, TDL, HKDL, and USJ) w/ photos.

Thanks for the report here.

And I am ALWAYS open to discussing the international Disney parks (or any parks that are worth visting!) here.

There just is so much more happening there. Unless you'd like to talk about the new Frozen inspired Castle lighting ceremony. That probably cost them a pretty penny to add! Yep.

 

[WDW1974]

Johnny Depp really likes Disney. Doesnt he?

Do you know how much money they have and will continue to pay him?

You could buy an island fo ... nevermind.

 

[WDW1974]

He eats at Citricos a couple times a year typically, so yes. Or at least his kids do.

I bet he gets a better quality cut of beef than we got at the Grand Flo Cafe (of course, they did know we were eating with a 50% off CM coupon, so I'm sure we got the best steaks in the kitchen!)

 

[WDW1974]

It seems like this is the most busiest food and wine year I've been too. Can anyone confirm that this is the most popular year?

It was very busy with many drunks on a Tuesday night, which should be one of the slowest days of the week.

I'm guessing this will be their most successful event yet.

 

[WDW1974]

So, size does matter?

Many of my fanboi minions say that it does, yes.

 

[WDW1974]

Ask any CM how many time they've heard "But I'm paying X thousand dollars on this vacation, I need ...".

It leads to the "commando" mentality, as well, and guest metrics built solely on the number of attractions experienced in a given day.

Exactly.

This is all behind Disney's 'Give 'Em Nine (attractions/experiences)' a day deal.

A dumb and godawful way to determine Guest Satisfaction.

 

[WDW1974]

Many people tell me they loved EPCOT Center as kids. Its modern reputation as a boring place seems to be mostly an Internet myth.

It's great Internet/urban/CM/Disney Blogger myth ...

 

[BrerJon]

It's great Internet/urban/CM/Disney Blogger myth ...

I wish someone had told the 8 year old me I was supposed to find EPCOT boring, could have saved my parents hours of being dragged around Future World and Communicore!

 

[stevehousse]

I think that's a weak reason. Why does it matter whether a plane flies over mountains, plains, cities or oceans? I do get why some people think they are safer over land ... but it's just as dumb as thinking you are safer on the ground than in the air.

Americans need to travel more. They might then understand what is truly wrong here and what is right.

My wife does not like the ocean at all. I'm still trying to convince her to go to the ocean when we go to CA next year. I love traveling and have been to Paris and Amsterdam before. I have always wanted to go to Japan, but she is not fond of going there at all, or being in a plane that long, and especially not being over the ocean. I would definitely go someday, but I want my kids to b old enough to appreciate a trip like that.

Hunny Hunt is an E all the way.

Frozen will be better.

Ok what do u know about the Frozen attraction that we don't know? And r u referring to Epcot or Disney Sea.