The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[wogwog]

English is the prevalent language at HKDL.

English is barely spoken at TDR, but you'd have very little trouble communicating ... we didn't. Only at Guest Relations are you guaranteed to find perfect English speakers. Most CMs know little or absolutely no English at all. But again, do NOT let that dissuade you as it simply is a non-issue.

Ditto. If you can master two or three decent French phrases for Paris DL many of the cast will break into passable English. They respect that you at least try French. @WDW1974 is right on with HKD and Tokyo. I speak decent tourist level Japanese and have fun with the Japanese first laughing at my attempt and manage to get through our language differences. Travel if you can and enjoy.

 

[Cesar R M]

Have no idea if this has been mentioned here, but was catching up on reading and this story was in the 5/30 print edition of THR:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/walt-disney-family-feud-inside-706029

It's quite sad, but not at all unusual. The story is more of an outline as it raises more questions than it answers, but it still is interesting.

I'm pretty sure that was posted a few weeks ago.. still.. so sad that they have to sink this low to fight for something they never created nor contributed.

 

[wdisney9000]

What are menus like at restaurants in TDR like? Are there English translations?

 

[Cesar R M]

What are menus like at restaurants in TDR like? Are there English translations?

Someone already mentioned they offer maps and menus in english.

So I suppose that is a yes.

 

[wogwog]

What are menus like at restaurants in TDR like? Are there English translations?

Yes. Even children's menus.

 

[GoofGoof]

That sounds amazing. Growing up in California, we didn't do cross-country trips, so our history trips were to missions and pueblos, besides museums.

The Civil War is awesome to learn about. None of my friends like learning about it, including American history in general, but I find it all fascinating.

I like history too and I'm getting my kids into it as well. We have been to Valley Forge Park a number of times and I'm planning to take them over to Gettysberg some time soon. If you make it to Gettysburg make sure you spend some time in Philly. Lots of cool history stuff and only a few hours away. Another good option is Williamsburg. Bush Gardens there is a pretty solid theme park plus a lot of history (more revolutionary war than civil war, but still some good battlefields).

 

[RSoxNo1]

Honestly, I think that is debatable. It has the excellent ToT ... and it has a group (ST, RnRC, TSMM) that all appeal to various groups. I certainly don't find two of those to be excellent at all.

They are all top 25 attractions in Central Florida in popularity. They are in no way part of the problem in that park. If we're arguing about this we're letting them off the hook for the much greater problems in that park.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I like history too and I'm getting my kids into it as well. We have been to Valley Forge Park a number of times and I'm planning to take them over to Gettysberg some time soon. If you make it to Gettysburg make sure you spend some time in Philly. Lots of cool history stuff and only a few hours away. Another good option is Williamsburg. Bush Gardens there is a pretty solid theme park plus a lot of history (more revolutionary war than civil war, but still some good battlefields).

That sounds like a plan.

California used to have a Busch Gardens, the original one that opened in Pasadena in 1905 and the Los Angeles theme park that opened in 1964. Gone with the Wind was filmed at the original location. My mom has fond memories of Busch Gardens. Too bad it's gone, now.

 

[danjen2331]

2- The original manufacturer was among the worst ever. The lady who ran it was content to under bid on rides, deliver the crappiest wood, cut corners and everything and run away away before the client realised they had been had.
A small park in Connecticut built a large wooden coaster in 2000 from CCI (the company who did Ghostrider in 1998) and the quality was so atrocious it needed new trains and 75-90% of the ride rebuilt from the ground up 7-8 years later!

How I see it, CCI built an absolute masterpiece in Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce, which was twice voted the best wooden coaster in the country in 2004 and 2013. They built the coaster on the side of a mountain, making sure to remove as few trees as possible and even build the supports into actual boulders. The ride did go under a major refurbishment during the 2007-2008 offseason after new owners bought the park, re-tracking the ride and getting new trains.

 

[GoofGoof]

I'm not sure why anyone needs to explain or justify their choice of vacation destination.

I didn't take the question that way.

I agree that nobody owes anyone an explanation for anything they choose to do. I have friends who visit the same beach town every year and wouldn't think of going anywhere else. I don't question it. If that's what makes them happy who am I too question it.

Spirited Saturday Explanation:

I realize there has been some consternation and, dare I say, drama, over my asking a simple question. Understand there was no hidden agenda. I was curious and looking for opinions. This wasn't like say Eddie Sotto (remember him?) using a forum here for a book deal with Lifestyler Michael Crawford (did he sell his soul to be part of D23? you be the judge, I'll just pose the question and remind you all that if you aren't under the oath, the NSA is still watching!) that apparently isn't happening.

I wanted to hear opinions. That's usually why a Spirit might pose a question.

I won't argue with people who think WDW is still worth their thousands of dollars.

I will pose the idea that some of the folks who talk about going for family, for making memories, for nostalgia's sake may be addicted to Disney's marketing MAGIC.

If you want to have MAGICal times with family and friends, you do not have to go to WDW (or any theme park for that matter to do so) and it is simplistic and naive to say WDW makes those. It doesn't. People do.

I have had amazing times at WDW to be sure (and in every Disney park on the planet). I've also had amazing times hiking Denali National Park, walking the Great Wall of China, eating at cafes across from Notre Dame (no, not the home of the Fighting Irish), snorkeling in Hawaii, doing very little in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, camping in a tiny Maine town, looking down into the Grand Canyon, having ice cream while sitting on a bench looking at the surf come in in Laguna Beach, watching the lights come on across the Pearl River Delta from 108 stories up the Canton Tower, watching bears in the wild in Sequoia National Park, walking down LV Blvd's Strip, spending the week before Christmas in NYC ... I could list another 100 things that were with loved ones and MAGICal. The point being that the place doesn't make the MAGIC. The people do.

If you think that WDW suddenly turns your family into a loving bunch just because Goofy had fun rubbing Uncle Harry's bald head over breakfast at Chef Mickey's, then you may just not travel enough.

I have a friend who I have tried to get out of her comfort zone for probably 20 years now (yeah, you can see how successful that's been!) and her answer always is ''I love chocolate ice cream, so why should I try any other flavor?'' That is what I see with SOME of the WDW chronics. Before you start a nasty reply, please realize I am not talking about anyone here. I am speaking in general of a mindset ... a mindset that may be ''Vacation for us is two weeks at the BW every July and 10 days at VWL every third December too.'' There's a whole world out there. A world of amazing places, some even include theme parks. And one does themselves no service by repeating the same thing every year, even if they enjoy it because they are precluding the opportunities to enjoy what else is out there.

Anyway ... that's just my opinion. I'm enjoying reading yours. Maybe I'll turn them into a book?

As someone who has traveled a lot and loves to experience new things and new places I agree with your sentiment. However, I don't think everyone is that into travel. Some people just want a routine and a place they know like their own home. They like familiar things and some people even find traveling to new places stressful and no fun. Not my personal opinion, but to each their own.

 

[GoofGoof]

That sounds like a plan.

California used to have a Busch Gardens, the original one that opened in Pasadena in 1905 and the Los Angeles theme park that opened in 1964. Gone with the Wind was filmed at the original location. My mom has fond memories of Busch Gardens. Too bad it's gone, now.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a really nice park or at least it was last time I visited. There have been some reports of it slipping some recently. Probably one of the only parks I've been to that was on par with or even better than the Disney parks in terms of cleanliness and raw beauty.

 

[WDW1974]

And you are right, to an extent. However, many of us or I guess I should just speak for myself, have done all that years ago. Yes, it was great and it brought with it many memories. One was a group of us college students deciding to go to a brothel in Paris. Getting to the door, using the cast iron door knocker and when the door opened, turning and running for our lives out of shear panic. Many memories. That said, I have chosen that the only place that I enjoy every time is my time in the Orlando area. Not the same type of memories, but, warm and good memories. After a lifetime of work and second guessing those around me while forging my career, for whatever it was worth, I don't want to be having to figure out, exchange rates, travel in places that don't speak my native tongue or having to research places worth the effort.

Europe is filled with history, but, it's not my history it's someone else's history. Asia is a really nice and totally different place, but, I've been there and done that and none of it resonated to the point that I was able to relate to it. It was just a place to see, not to participate in. That is why I have, in my older years, decided I wanted to spend my time and money in a place that makes me feel alive and part of what I am doing, even if it is fantasy. It's fantasy that I can relate too.

And that is fair and understandable. BUT ... you have had the experiences above. You have been abroad, even if not recently, and it's perfectly acceptable for someone to want something familiar. But again, you sampled, you exposed yourself, you traveled. Many won't.

As to the planning hassles you talk about for traveling abroad, though, all I can say is you right. It can be daunting ... or just a pain in the . BUT ... do you realize how much planning WDW first-timers and newbies must endure? This isn't UNI or even DLR where you can just show up and go ... and still have a great time. Not in the 21st century. Now, you and I and many people here can, but not others ...

As you know, because I have stated it more then once, I also see problems, but, I don't see them to the extent that you guys seem to deem as totally unacceptable. I do not live in the past, I once did actually live there, but, now I live in the present. I feel that I understand what the present is and what it means. It means that things are different. I can continue to live in the past and let the present pass me by or I can accept things that I have no control over and get out of them what there is to get. When I no longer can get what I need out of it, I will stop not only participating, but, I will pretty much exclude it from my conscience thought. In the long haul, what goes on in a theme park is a big pile of nothing when compared to what is important.

Again, I respect that. That works for you. I see things that are wrong, I try and make them right. And while you may not have a strong voice beyond a message board, I do. And while you may not have 'readers' on a message board that are paid by Disney to track your every phrase and parse it, I do.

And you are right. There are far more important things than ANYTHING that goes on at WDW or UNI or ANY theme park. But I can't talk about things like the NSA or the NRA or prisoner exchanges without our dear Mom coming in and making that stuff disappear, so I talk about what I can. That is theme parks, what goes on behind the scenes and the general entertainment business. And, hell, I am always editing myself on those topics because I am often just too close to the people, the projects.

You get a joy out of travel. I know what that is like, I used to as well, but, I no longer find much joy in it. My sister has decided that we need to do a 3 week tour of Europe in late 2015 and I have agreed to go along, but, my heart isn't in it, like it once was. The itinerary covers places that I have been to before and some that I haven't, neither one of those prospects lights my fire. May be it's old age or maybe it has settled into my mind that it just isn't worth the hassle anymore.

It sounds like a nice trip. I'm sure you'll have a great time so long as you don't convince yourself otherwise before you even leave.

You really cannot blame people for feeling a little upset, because your method of communication is and always has been slanted in a way the projects that you are special and those that don't do the same thing or feel the same way you do, are peasants and unworthy of being taken seriously. Asking those questions are pretty much the same as saying... 'what's wrong with you people'. It's just your way most of the time. You shouldn't be surprised if once in a while the peasants have a mini uprising.

Goof, with all due respect that's a crock of BS. Now, I do feel I am special ... hell, I am made to feel special every day of my life ... and that is what the doctors told my momma when I was born! But I do NOT look down on anyone simply for having a different perspective. That's you reading in your own biased perspective of me. When I want to ask ''what is wrong with you people?'' I will!

For many people that is what makes them pull together even for a short time. It is also an acknowledgement that always searching for the place that make one feel good may have stopped because they have found it.

If I am WDW, I steal what you put above and use it in a marketing campaign. It is gold. Absolutely. No kidding. That's something I'd be using (and if you see it down the road, please have no doubt that Disney stole it from you and from this very post!)

 

[WDW1974]

@WDW1974 how information do you know about the PotC going into Shanghai? Are you impressed by it? This is the most intriguing ride to me

Can't comment on that beyond saying, like everything else, the budget ax wasn't kind. But I am actually expecting an update on SDL soon and will post details when I can.

 

[WDW1974]

And speaking of prices, can someone explain to me why Swalphin is charging the better part of $300/night for a Spetember weeknight when they were offering $148/night Easter weekend and I can get a room at AKL for $198/night for the same day, even booking through Disney?

If I had to guess, then I'd bet the Swan/Dolphin are having a major convention in. Their rates always jump and plummet based on that.

That's why you can get rates as low at $129 a night at them sometimes. I highly recommend them, btw.

 

[WendyTinkerbell]

Thought the game would never end... But then it did just as I was posting.

 

[WDW1974]

Ditto. If you can master two or three decent French phrases for Paris DL many of the cast will break into passable English. They respect that you at least try French. @WDW1974 is right on with HKD and Tokyo. I speak decent tourist level Japanese and have fun with the Japanese first laughing at my attempt and manage to get through our language differences. Travel if you can and enjoy.

Yep. I know a smidge of French. But I just never have issues in DLP (or Paris itself). I didn't run into one CM on my latest visit in January who couldn't speak or understand English.

Oh, and I speak no Japanese. None at all. Still can't wait to go back.

Great Stanley Cup game just ended ... Kings win.

 

[WDW1974]

Someone already mentioned they offer maps and menus in english.

So I suppose that is a yes.

Yes. Even at QSR, they'll have a laminated version of the menu boards (sorta like what WDW now does at places like Pecos Bill Cafe) ... one side is Japanese, one side is English. You can point to what you want. Works just fine.

 

[WDW1974]

They are all top 25 attractions in Central Florida in popularity. They are in no way part of the problem in that park. If we're arguing about this we're letting them off the hook for the much greater problems in that park.

We aren't arguing. I am making a statement. I find RnRC and TSMM to be vastly overrated. I certainly agree that there are greater issues in that park.

 

[TalkingHead]

I'd like to think I have some influence on the community. My 'popularity' speaks for itself. But I am no Al Lutz and I have never desired that mantle. Al hit at the perfect time in a much tighter knit, much savvier, much ... well, smarter fan community.

I don't think it would be possible for example to get 98% of fans to agree that Walt had no input whatsoever into the creation of the MK.

Al often had a good three quarters of DLR fans behind his viewpoints and calls for change.

DLR has a base of fans that literally goes back more than half a century. Generations of people (not simply locals either) have taken an ownership of Walt's Park. WDW? ... Um ... no, nothing even close. There are WDW fans that spent hundreds of days at the parks who never knew WDW when it had less than four parks, never knew a WDW without DVC, never knew a WDW where the 'resort' was the whole point, never knew a WDW without pintrading, never knew a WDW without the DDP, never knew a WDW where entertainment offerings were often changed out annually, never knew a WDW where 'suits' actually wore them, never knew a WDW where you didn't depend on bus transportation, never knew a WDW where you could swim in natural lakes, never knew a WDW that didn't have upcharge events, never knew a WDW that just plain was classy and was run by folks who looked to EXCEED GUEST EXPECTATIONS ... nope, a 'WDW fan' who first came in 2000 or 2003 or 2006 (or even some in the 90s) probably looks at critics like me as if we are the crazy ones because they have no clue whatsoever as to what true WDW quality was for decades.

You can have Disco Yeti because the majority of fans who even realize he is non-functional simply don't give a damn and would rather get a picture with Jedi Mickey or buy an Orange Bird tee. And then you have something with WDW today that Al in his heyday never had to deal with in Anaheim: the Lifestylers, the bloggers, the whores. People who will read scripts from Celebration Place that Lovely Leanne (congrats on the nuptials, hun!) and her team wrote word for word. In reality, they aren't out there to spread the word about how MAGICal WDW is or get people to spend there, those are just byproducts. No, they exist to make so much noise (think screaming children on a crowded 737) that critics get drowned out. That is their strategy.

I'd argue that it doesn't work so well when some Spirits have the real world connections to cause trouble and cost a company $$$ for its ignorance and arrogance. But most don't and Disney has deep pockets.

Sad, but true. The WDW fan community of 2014 is very different than the DL fan community of the late 1990s (or really anytime).

WDW is also a ritual for many tourists with small children. I guess a functioning Yeti is less important than the joy of dragging little Davy around the park late into the night while he screams and cries from exhaustion.

As long as they get the family pictures, everything is cool.

Ever thought that taking pictures of the family having fun on vacation is probably more important for many guests than the attractions themselves.

At least one resort in town is still keeping the attractions in the foreground.

 

[TalkingHead]

Off topic, but I saw new billboards on the Turnpike for SDMT, Test Track, and FP+ when I was driving south from 75.

I must say the SDMT looked bad enough that it made me wonder who's been in charge of promoting the ride. The billboard oozed the color brown and "Seven Dwarves" was written so small, it looked like the billboard was advertising "MINE TRAIN" in a wooden font. Combined with the commercial, I'm not sure what they're going for.

I'm sure my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I could've sworn the FP+ billboard showed two grown men (one in a red shirt, no less) sitting side by side on Splash Mountain. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." /Seinfeld. Does anyone else know the billboard I'm talking about? Is it two men? Or just a man and an androgynous woman?