The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[raymusiccity]

You dirty, finger sniffing [BRITISH SLANG]. I hope you get stuck on a ride with a chanting tour group.

 

[Mike S]

What did you say about my dog!?! Throws chair

I don't know why but this is the funniest thing I read all day

 

[lazyboy97o]

Thats what Im saying! When I was a kid couch forts were the norm but large boxes were amazing, untapped potential..

I may make a couch fort this afternoon just to see what the wife says when she gets home.

The argument "kids will like it" is the polite way of saying "kids and their parents are too stupid and unimaginative."

 

[AEfx]

Therefore, Disney needs to find new ways to add perceived value to onsite stays. As an extreme example, if Disney offered "50% off" theme park tickets to onsite guests, then occupancy would skyrocket. MyMagic+ represents another opportunity for Disney to differentiate itself with area hotels to provide perceived value.

Yes, that's the killer - admission.

A lot of folks in my life know that I am pretty well-versed in Disney, so they come to me a lot - and I can tell you - that is precisely what keeps them walking away from the Disney website. Once you calculate all the hotel, etc. costs it doesn't seem so bad, but then when you have to add $300-400 pp for theme park tickets on top of it, and then have to worry about transportation getting there - it makes even a week-long stay at a "value" resort seem astronomical. Particularly if you create a package through the Disney site, which doesn't give any real discount on packages or incentive to buy from them. Many folks just give up and don't even explore alternatives.

Staying on-site used to be a no-brainer when you could get a discount room at $60-80 for a value, but they have just priced themselves out of the market while reducing the benefits. And unless you are a one-park/day kinda person who mostly likes to lollygag around the resort when not in the parks, you quickly realize that WDW transportation is not efficient or especially convenient, particularly for park hopping.

I still remember the trip that I realized it would be my last stay on property without my own transportation. I was sitting in Epcot at like noon waiting for a bus to get me back to the resort so I could get a DME bus by 3 for my flight at 6:30. This was when they stopped letting you schedule your own DME - as a single traveler with one bag I did not need to be at the airport three hours early but they wouldn't let me change it anymore. By the time I landed, drove home from the airport, I had spent 12 hours dealing with lines and sitting and waiting to get home. I can drive to WDW in about 20 hours, in the comfort of my own vehicle, my own music, my own environmental controls, and no coughing/yakking folks spreading germs from who knows where in enclosed spaces. It was a no-brainer for me.

And that's not even mentioning the wait times for buses while on property - I can walk out of one park, get to my car, and be walking into another park within 20 minutes usually, at most - when that's minimum how long you end up waiting for a bus most of the time (and often longer if you park hop say mid-afternoon - I waited over an hour one day for a bus from the TTA to AK). So much wasted time just waiting at bus stops.

 

[PhotoDave219]

View attachment 56832

Yeah… When the weather gets a lot nicer than this .

 

[raymusiccity]

Yes, that's the killer - admission.

A lot of folks in my life know that I am pretty well-versed in Disney, so they come to me a lot - and I can tell you - that is precisely what keeps them walking away from the Disney website. Once you calculate all the hotel, etc. costs it doesn't seem so bad, but then when you have to add $300-400 pp for theme park tickets on top of it, and then have to worry about transportation getting there - it makes even a week-long stay at a "value" resort seem astronomical. Particularly if you create a package through the Disney site, which doesn't give any real discount on packages or incentive to buy from them. Many folks just give up and don't even explore alternatives.



Staying on-site used to be a no-brainer when you could get a discount room at $60-80 for a value, but they have just priced themselves out of the market while reducing the benefits. And unless you are a one-park/day kinda person who mostly likes to lollygag around the resort when not in the parks, you quickly realize that WDW transportation is not efficient or especially convenient, particularly for park hopping.

I still remember the trip that I realized it would be my last stay on property without my own transportation. I was sitting in Epcot at like noon waiting for a bus to get me back to the resort so I could get a DME bus by 3 for my flight at 6:30. This was when they stopped letting you schedule your own DME - as a single traveler with one bag I did not need to be at the airport three hours early but they wouldn't let me change it anymore. By the time I landed, drove home from the airport, I had spent 12 hours dealing with lines and sitting and waiting to get home. I can drive to WDW in about 20 hours, in the comfort of my own vehicle, my own music, my own environmental controls, and no coughing/yakking folks spreading germs from who knows where in enclosed spaces. It was a no-brainer for me.

And that's not even mentioning the wait times for buses while on property - I can walk out of one park, get to my car, and be walking into another park within 20 minutes usually, at most - when that's minimum how long you end up waiting for a bus most of the time (and often longer if you park hop say mid-afternoon - I waited over an hour one day for a bus from the TTA to AK). So much wasted time just waiting at bus stops.

We'll never see it in our lifetime, but, linking all 4 parks by monorail would eliminate all of the bus exasperation :-( At least it looks like there will soon be a maglev system linking Orlando Airport with the Convention Center!

 

[bhg469]

Yes, that's the killer - admission.

A lot of folks in my life know that I am pretty well-versed in Disney, so they come to me a lot - and I can tell you - that is precisely what keeps them walking away from the Disney website. Once you calculate all the hotel, etc. costs it doesn't seem so bad, but then when you have to add $300-400 pp for theme park tickets on top of it, and then have to worry about transportation getting there - it makes even a week-long stay at a "value" resort seem astronomical. Particularly if you create a package through the Disney site, which doesn't give any real discount on packages or incentive to buy from them. Many folks just give up and don't even explore alternatives.

Staying on-site used to be a no-brainer when you could get a discount room at $60-80 for a value, but they have just priced themselves out of the market while reducing the benefits. And unless you are a one-park/day kinda person who mostly likes to lollygag around the resort when not in the parks, you quickly realize that WDW transportation is not efficient or especially convenient, particularly for park hopping.

I still remember the trip that I realized it would be my last stay on property without my own transportation. I was sitting in Epcot at like noon waiting for a bus to get me back to the resort so I could get a DME bus by 3 for my flight at 6:30. This was when they stopped letting you schedule your own DME - as a single traveler with one bag I did not need to be at the airport three hours early but they wouldn't let me change it anymore. By the time I landed, drove home from the airport, I had spent 12 hours dealing with lines and sitting and waiting to get home. I can drive to WDW in about 20 hours, in the comfort of my own vehicle, my own music, my own environmental controls, and no coughing/yakking folks spreading germs from who knows where in enclosed spaces. It was a no-brainer for me.

And that's not even mentioning the wait times for buses while on property - I can walk out of one park, get to my car, and be walking into another park within 20 minutes usually, at most - when that's minimum how long you end up waiting for a bus most of the time (and often longer if you park hop say mid-afternoon - I waited over an hour one day for a bus from the TTA to AK). So much wasted time just waiting at bus stops.

Resort to resort transportation has taken a huge dive in the past few years. Having a car was so much nicer. Now that could be resolved by more buses...

Heavily Discounted park tickets will probably be the only way I will stay on site again. Its beyond my better judgement to give them 150 bucks for a room I know is not worth 80.

 

[DinoInstitute]

I like the busses.

 

[rael ramone]

Its like musings of @WDW1974 with the manners @ParentsOf4 yet less math!

A+ post, would read again!

Thanks.

ps.. I more I think about it the more I like the idea of Roger Dean's Yesland taking over Avatar.

 

[Hobnail Boot]

I'll summon @Lee to fill in the blanks, but Disney offered limited input and control. Consensus is the "E" Ticket was a TSMM style ride with wands.

You've got to be kidd... You know what? Nope, not surprised.

 

[AEfx]

I like the busses.

Don't get me wrong - they do work for some folks, particularly those that just hate driving - they aren't awful/evil. But they are a time waster if you park hop (I tend to go to at least 2 parks a day, if not 3), and I don't mind driving at all - and when you add the benefits of being able to be at an off-site eatery or even just a convenience store within 5 or 10 minutes, let alone (egads!) wanting to venture to Universal or Sea World, having your own transportation just makes life so much easier for a lot of us.

 

[Cesar R M]

To everyone:

Are we really going this way? if yes.. then..

 

[lazyboy97o]

You've got to be kidd... You know what? Nope, not surprised.

He did forget to mention the attached gift shop.

 

[Cesar R M]

He did forget to mention the attached gift shop.

and the slythering-house themed bathrooms.

 

[Next Big Thing]

What Orlando envisioned to be is what Atlanta has become in television and film production. The industry in Georgia has exploded with countless movie studios, production facilities, and so-forth. Pinewood opened their second U.S. studios (the other being L.A.) recently, Tyler Perry's empire is growing so much that he's in talks to buy a former Army base and convert it into a mega studios, Screen Gems is constantly busy with work south of the city. It goes on and on. The amount of series on the air and films that have and are being produced in the metro area are simply staggering. There was already a rock solid foundation of talent with all the production at the Turner properties, but a 30% sales tax rebate incentive exploded the industry and outside of NY & LA, it's the biggest production area in the United States. And you're completely right about Louisiana as it has in many ways shifted work from the Wilmington, NC area to Louisiana.

I guess I wasn't aware that production had become so huge in Atlanta. I've always known it more for CNN, Coke and where a bunch of rappers are from.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Wow. We've blown through near 40 pages in two days. Can we slow this down a bit while I go to the grocery store?

QUICK LETS TALK ABOUT HIM BEFORE HE GETS BACK!

I like the busses.

I hate busses. In fact, I hate them enough to park the car in the parking garage by my office for $10 a day versus a $5.50 (round trip) bus ride. Sure I could save a good bit of money, but to be inconvenienced first thing in the morning and at the end of my busy day, it's not worth it. Plus, there's the reliability factor and let's face it, busses are never reliable. If I'm going to be stuck in traffic, I need the option of putting my windows down or up and listening to my own music, not some rap crap garbage the sweating stinking person crammed next to me is listening to.

When I'm vacationing, I will go out of my way to avoid busses. I hate them. Germ factories with wheels. Cramped, either too cold or too hot, and gross. Hate them. I'd rather walk.

Next disney vacation (Granted, of course, that my next trip isn't to Disneyland, which chances are it will be) I will be staying off site, driving, and spending at least half my vacation at resorts/ parks other than WDW. No germ factory bus for me.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Resort to resort transportation has taken a huge dive in the past few years. Having a car was so much nicer. Now that could be resolved by more buses...

Heavily Discounted park tickets will probably be the only way I will stay on site again. Its beyond my better judgement to give them 150 bucks for a room I know is not worth 80.

I would have no problem if the buses were on a set schedule. And I knew when the next bus was coming.

However I am not going to budget an hour of transportation time from resort to park or park to park when I can make the same drive in five minutes.

Just a transportation suggests the guest give themselves an hours worth of time to get from point a to point me. Now that's two hours of your day right there going to and from your resort.

My time is more important than to waste by sitting and waiting for a bus.

 

[mahnamahna101]

and the slythering house-themed bathrooms.

If only Universal had such an E ticket...

 

[Hobnail Boot]

He did forget to mention the attached gift shop.

Eh goes without saying for Disney. That would be like buying a car without wheels if there wasn't one attached or nearby.

 

[alphac2005]

Pinewood only has the Georgia site. I didn't realize they were open - that was a ridiculously fast build. L.A. is only a small sales office for the UK/International studio facilities, located on the Sony lot. Georgia is a big production location because of the incentive. Without that, not as much production, which is exactly what's about to happen in Louisiana once this current production boom is over.

And taken location for location, Universal's facilities is still better than anything offered in Atlanta, even. It's all about the dollars.

You're right as it's always about the dollars. Remember when Canada was huge because of the incentives? Atlanta has a darn good chance of having long-term success as the infrastructure is now huge and even the moronic legislature isn't dumb enough to let it expire. I know people that have been very happy and impressed with EUE-Screen Gems facilities and the amount of talent in this city is absolutely immense.

Besides the tax incentives, it's very attractive for talent out of Europe to come into Atlanta. I've been told that Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is extremely important in the equation and being the busiest airport in the world lends itself to having an immense amount of flights. Pinewood didn't just choose ATL for random reasons. Incentives, geography, and Georgia has a lot of topography that works in various settings.... and they don't have to deal with complex union issues outside of SAG and so-forth.