The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[truecoat]

As a society we have lost the ability to use common sense. The spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law. It's the copy pulling over someone doing 60 in a 55 when the person doing 60 isn't endangering someone, while the person doing 50 in a 55 during a blizzard doesn't get pulled over.

If you drive in the snow a lot like I did this year and you have good snow tires, 50 is easy to do.

 

[tirian]

Universal does better with screens than AAs. I'm hoping Kong has sets too, but I'm not counting on it. Really Disney relies too much on outdated AAs. Screens can do certain things a stationary figure simply can't.

Yeah, I love going to a theme park so I can watch screens. It's just like sitting at home!

 

[Magenta Panther]

If Iger's starting to get the screws put on him, I wanna watch, I wanna watch!

I mean, first the Mermaid ride is nickel-and-dimed into a cheap-looking underwhelming cut-rate piece of overlit bad-show-storytelling, and now the damn Dwarf ride (which was also cut back) keeps breaking down!

Who the hell is TDO's parts vendor? The Acme Corporation?

 

[truecoat]

Universal does better with screens than AAs. I'm hoping Kong has sets too, but I'm not counting on it. Really Disney relies too much on outdated AAs. Screens can do certain things a stationary figure simply can't.

I read early on there was to be a Kong that grabs and shakes the tram along with screens in other parts of the ride. If this is the case, I'm ok with that.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Universal does better with screens than AAs. I'm hoping Kong has sets too, but I'm not counting on it. Really Disney relies too much on outdated AAs. Screens can do certain things a stationary figure simply can't.

But figures on a screen don't have the same "presence" as a good AA. Which is why the new Hitchhiking Ghost effect in HM is such a bust. Last time I rode HM, the Ghost animations weren't even in sync, and were blurry as hell.

 

[truecoat]

Yeah, I love going to a theme park so I can watch screens. It's just like sitting at home!

Yeah, Mission Space is kinda dull.

 

[bhg469]

Yeah, Mission Space is kinda dull.

Both parks obviously use penty of screens. I don't like them but obviously we are stuck with them. I just hope they make the best of it.

 

[tirian]

Yeah, Mission Space is kinda dull.

Hence the winking face.

I still prefer AAs, but I know that certain effects require screens. That's why the granddaddy of all multimedia attractions, the HM, uses projections.

 

[tirian]

There's also that not-so-little problem of Magic Bands...

...it's a bit significant... There's no possible way for it to recoup its costs because the technology will require costly upgrades every few years.

If Iger's starting to get the screws put on him, I wanna watch, I wanna watch!

I mean, first the Mermaid ride is nickel-and-dimed into a cheap-looking underwhelming cut-rate piece of overlit bad-show-storytelling, and now the damn Dwarf ride (which was also cut back) keeps breaking down!

Who the hell is TDO's parts vendor? The Acme Corporation?

 

[PhotoDave219]

There's also that not-so-little problem of Magic Bands...

...it's a bit significant... There's no possible way for it to recoup its costs because the technology will require costly upgrades every few years.

Then turned the actual park ticket into a profit center beyond the price of admission. That's chutzpah.

 

[DocMcHulk]

BTW, Star Wars plans for DLR have taken a rather interesting turn and involve existing attractions, but not the ones originally thought. And, no, you won't get a word more out of me until things move further along.

Does that mean re-theaming existing attractions? Sounds like cutting budgets to me.

 

[WDW1974]

And then there are plenty of posters who are speaking more via ego than experience, although they to speak with 'authority'.

Please leave @Lee out of this as he isn't here to defend himself. And that UK bloke @marni1971 ... you might think he had a clue with the way he talks. And that @whylightbulb guy is clearly a poser. I bet he works at the Taco Bell on Irlo Bronson west of DAK. Yep, where are the guys/gals who know what they are talking about? certainly not on this site ...

 

[WDW1974]

Never been there but all those trees look great. Why did they get rid of that great shade, especially at theme parks in FLORIDA? I know about the hub and Main Street but were there other areas in WDW parks that were basically "deforested"? My memory isn't that great when it comes to trees.

Trees have been removed from every land at the MK. Worst, by far, is MSUSA followed by Fantasyland.

 

[WDW1974]

I'm old enough to remember that almost all 20th century tourists used to have a distinct and almost mandatory touring itinerary; you spent one day at Disneyland, then you spent the next day at Knott's Berry Farm. Knott's was really Disneyland's second gate from 1955 through the 1980's. It started to slip by the early 1990's, especially when Disneyland went big with Eisner era experiences like Splash and Indy and Fantasmic!. It had almost fallen off the radar as DCA began to improve noticeably around 2008.

But I've heard good things about Knott's Berry Farm lately. And if Matt Ouimet is there, it's obvious why. The thing I don't think a lot of SoCal Disney fans realize is that Knott's Berry Farm 15 minutes away in Buena Park has the potential to be just as much as a competitor for DLR as Universal Studios Hollywood does once they open their version of Potterland in 2016. I don't know that the TDA suits realize that either.

Maybe I'm just giving Knott's too much credit. It might be because I still buy their excellent (but pricy) boysenberry preserves for my toast.

Remember when DL and KBF had a gentleman's agreement and DL was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in the off-season and KBF was closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays?

Matt is doing a great job of putting quality folks, like Raffi in Buena Park, in positions to make a difference and letting them go. Something that never gets done much at Disney and something that earned him Jay Rasulo's ire in his tenure running DLR.

KBF is positioning itself as the California park and the low-cost alternative to DLR that doesn't feel cheap. But when you can sell a seasonal pass for $84, which is $12 less than a one-day, one-park DLR ticket, there's the question of value. There are a lot of families in SoCal that can't afford DLR prices anymore, but they can afford Knott's.

UNI, btw, seems to believe that Potter will allow it to compete (as far as ticket prices) with DLR, so those tickets will be going way up in the next few years in Hollywood.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Please leave @Lee out of this as he isn't here to defend himself. And that UK bloke @marni1971 ... you might think he had a clue with the way he talks. And that @whylightbulb guy is clearly a poser. I bet he works at the Taco Bell on Irlo Bronson west of DAK. Yep, where are the guys/gals who know what they are talking about? certainly not on this site ...

I guess he doesn't like people who deal in facts.

 

[yoyoflamingo]

I noticed that for about 18 months ... but that started to change in April.

Also, Disney has lost AMS liquidators (based in Tennessee, but known for permanent stores in Fullerton, Pomona, and Las Vegas and temp 'sale' stores across the country) as a viable way to get rid of ... say 2007 pins and 2009 tees. I couldn't help but notice the amazing variety (and quality) of items now at Property Control in Anaheim at 50/75% off original prices (much of the stuff is the same products still for sale at full price in the parks). ... Some of that stuff (Cars Land merchandise, DCA vinyls, photo frames from DLR) is at my local SOUTH FLORIDA mall's outlet. My (hopeful) thinking is that some of that stuff is going to start flowing to the FL outlets.

Some of that DCA and Carsland merch has made it all the way to Long Island at our Disney Store outlet. It's amazing when you're there to see how much we have - some good quality for great prices too.

 

[WDW1974]

Hotel inflation is real tho... Used to be spending over a $100/night on business travel was frowned upon just 10years ago.. unless you were in specific expensive markets. But now it's not uncommon to cost $120/night in the middle of no where for a Holiday Inn Select. Finding things UNDER $100/night is less common now. So if $120 is a common price point... if you are a 'location location location' site with some perks... $170+ isn't that far off center IMO. But the problem is I think we are looking at 'best case' pricing vs what they are sold at normally.. and the $250-$300 is off the mark IMO. A moderate at $200/night that can sleep 5 I think would be welcome.

Oh, it is. But I think it is far more of an issue for business travelers than it is for leisure ones. I think the average O-Town hotel rate has been between $100-120 for the better part of the last decade (@ParentsOf4 likely has the exact figures and the pie charts to go along with them!)

If you search in O-Town, you'll find great deals ... many on timeshare units, but often on major chain hotels. And that is leaving out the Priceline.com option.

$200 a night for O-Town is on the high side, even for a unit that can sleep five ... it's way high for a room for 2-4 people.

 

[FigmentJedi]

If Iger's starting to get the screws put on him, I wanna watch, I wanna watch!

I mean, first the Mermaid ride is nickel-and-dimed into a cheap-looking underwhelming cut-rate piece of overlit bad-show-storytelling, and now the damn Dwarf ride (which was also cut back) keeps breaking down!

Who the hell is TDO's parts vendor? The Acme Corporation?

Le Grill? What the hell is that?

 

[StageFrenzy]

Oh, it is. But I think it is far more of an issue for business travelers than it is for leisure ones. I think the average O-Town hotel rate has been between $100-120 for the better part of the last decade (@ParentsOf4 likely has the exact figures and the pie charts to go along with them!)

If you search in O-Town, you'll find great deals ... many on timeshare units, but often on major chain hotels. And that is leaving out the Priceline.com option.

$200 a night for O-Town is on the high side, even for a unit that can sleep five ... it's way high for a room for 2-4 people.

The offsite hotels have been raising their rates at a pretty high speed. Well maybe not the rates but the fees OMG the fees.

 

[WDW1974]

One word... "Crossover" - they are exploiting it well. It lets people tap into their desire to hit Disney, without being seen as 'just going to Disney'. It brings more 'no kids' visitors. People are paying hugely inflated prices to come.. and happily staying in Disney hotels... all while getting virtually ZERO incentives/discounts.

The interesting Disney spin to it is... the coddling of the non-runners. runDisney gets promoted so much, the couch-bound see Disney's open arms and aspire to be participants too. But doing so hinders the actual runners.. so now you have the health concious crowd trying to mingle with the 'at risk' crowd... and it's not just look-down problems, but actual conflict because there are direct consequences of Disney embracing the non-runners.

Disney needs a 'fat 5k' or 'walkers half-marathon'

Yep. And, as I have said prior, if Disney only gave the bling out to people who actually finished the races they would go a huge way toward solving the problem.

Naturally, they have no desire to. They realize they are in the business of selling medals that folks can display proudly or sell on eBay.