lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Have you looked at the back catalogue of interviews on The Season Pass Podcast?
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The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Mike S
Well-Known Member
I'm someone who hasn't stepped one foot in Disneyland (yet) and I'm in full agreement. Pictures like these, which were posted by others earlier in this thread, say it all.
This is a spirited thread which tends to contain discussions of many things, most of which have nothing to do with Disney.
Actually, they usually start out having everything to do with Disney but devolve. The mods are doing a phenomenal job on my newest in making sure we stick to a few core NEWSY subjects.
mgpan
Well-Known Member
My wife and I discovered DCL a few years ago, and as you yourself have noted, it's one of the last bastions of true Disney customer service, appreciation to detail, and a "dream big" attitude. It was the perfect fit for us, a couple who loved both cruising and WDW, combined into one. Unfortunately, the success of the line is beginning to " the armor" for us. And it's a shame because of the last 7 vacations of one week or longer we've taken, 4 were WDW and we saw we had been priced out of the market for a true semi-Deluxe experience, then DCL gets accolades after our 2 cruises with them and prices us out of balcony cabins, the last one.....Universal Orlando at an on-site resort. As a result of comparing value for $ spent we now have 1 DL scheduled and then its back onsite at UO for two more. WDW is not on the horizon for us at the current time. DCL now seems to be discounting cruises (albeit to military and Florida residents) at a faster rate than during the last few months as prices for balcony cabins are now what Deluxe WDW accommodations have become, too much $$$ for the product. Friends of ours have noted this too after being loyal DCL cruisers for years, and have now rediscovered Celebrity, and can get Azamara cruises at better rates and with better amenities than DCL on many routes.
John
Well-Known Member
I would certainly hope it beats the mine train. One was built as a $200 million E-Ticket, the other as a 'thrown in' D-Ticket. The area looked nice to me in January, but, obviously, it wasn't open. ... a friend who has spent more time in the international parks than anyone I know, including Disney Imagineers, sent me an email giving the ride a 'B' grade. I was sorta hoping for B+/A-, so I'm interested in his (TDLFAN's) review. I may post it here if he gives me the OK.
The DSP still has a much, much greater lineup of worthwhile attractions than TPFKaTD-MGMS does. And one park was built in 1989 while the other was built 'on the cheap' in 2002.
Disney Village is terrible, although I like The Steakhouse and think the WoD is a very nice addition and easier to navigate than the mazes in O-Town and Anaheim. But that shouldn't be a big concern ... people don't visit DLP to go to DV any more than they visit WDW to go to TSFKaDD.
WDW may have done the whole 'removed from the real world' thing great in the 70s, 80s and even 90s, but today it is an overcrowded, poorly developed medium sized city with crumbling infrastructure and poor mass transit. It is coasting on a reputation that, frankly, hasn't been close to reality since last century.
I love DAK for those areas you mention, but that doesn't take my mind of the whole. Just like when something nice opens, like the SDMT. I give credit ... but it doesn't change the fact that the MK needs 2-3 MAJOR E-Tickets or that the other three parks all have severe issues, fundamental ones really that are not being dealt with beyond Pandora in 3-4 years.
1.) I have no idea. It also doesn't matter in the least. Operating a business requires investing in it. Basic things like maintaining the place are part of what is called 'the cost of doing business'. I give Disney, which is making record profits quarter after quarter, raising prices constantly and paying its workers mostly as little as possible, no slack whatsoever.
No, pity party. No 'wah-wah! we built too many hotels and theme parks because we were greedy and now we can't possibly be expected to maintain them and keep them fresh'.
2.) I don't know what Disney is spending on TSFKaDD because no one figure has been thrown around, even the parking garages are being built with some fuzzy math from RCID, which is sorta public money but really Disney's. Pandora is costing $500 million, which is pretty much what New Fantasyland cost when you add in the Frozen attraction coming to Epcot. ... Just for its 60th, DL is getting an all-new night parade, new fireworks show, new castle stage show, reworkings/plussings of all Fantasyland dark rides, special entertainment, new WoC etc. That's next year. Monstropolis is coming to DCA soon after and Star Wars product is coming to T-Land. ... DLP ... well, there are loads of plans, but a lot depends on Disney taking ownership of some of that debt and making it disappear. ... HKDL has Iron Man, a new night parade this year, a new day parade next and very soon will be announcing its next expansion (yes, I know what it will be. No, I can't say just yet!) ...oh, and that new deluxe resort hotel.
WDW has ... has ... Pandora right now and well, if lifestyle centers/malls excite you, then DD is being redeveloped yet again. Oh, and more timeshares. That's it.
Pandora in 2017-2018. Wishes replacement in (hopefully) 18-22 months. ... um ... Star Wars stuff at some nebulous date that actually might see UNI's third gate under construction first. That's just it. There's nothing.
Oh, and Frozen if you believe me ... a cheap overlay at EPCOT where it doesn't belong. But more DVC!!!
I just don't see how anyone can say WDW is ''nailing' anything beyond owning people who are addicted to the product or don't know better or don't care to.
It is a pale shadow of what it was in the 20th century in almost every measurable way. And all those intangibles too.
I wouldn't sail on Celebrity for free at this point. And that's after I 'may' have had something to do with its CEO 'leaving' abruptly after I had a bad experience on one of his ships. Really!
Yes, seen them.
No, I won't 'like' your post ... it's sorta like someone on FB announcing their beloved Aunt Martha was murdered in a carjacking and getting 54 likes. Even if the post is worthy, if the subject isn't something to like , I don't think it should be liked.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
Wdw kingdomcast. Bunch of drunk dudes talking about everything that is messed up. They are explicit though, in case you need to save your virgin ears.
cw1982
Well-Known Member
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I assume this is the Asian Disney announcement you alluded to a couple weeks back?
And not TDR, which I'm still very puzzled what they are dragging their feet for...
bhg469
Well-Known Member
74!! You SAW them, I never thought I would be grammar naziing you!
I took no pleasure in this and I still enjoy you.
Rteetz
Well-Known Member
The people who run the disboards run a disney and a Uni one. I listen to the disney one, well I watch it because they broadcast live every tuesday on camera from their studio and do a just sound version too. Their Universal one is run by the two producers of the disney one I don't listen to that one as much buts its ok. Disunplugged orlando, Disunplugged Disneyland edition and Disunplugged universal edition.
Nemo14
Well-Known Member
cw1982
Well-Known Member
not if he meant I've seen them.
Now, now...
Technically, he should have either said "I saw them" or "I have seen them." One should avoid contractions unless using slang
Can you tell I'm practicing for when school starts in two weeks? Yeesh!
Nemo14
Well-Known Member
Now, now...
Technically, he should have either said "I saw them" or "I have seen them." One should avoid contractions unless using slang
Can you tell I'm practicing for when school starts in two weeks? Yeesh!
2 weeks?!!!! That's really sad.
cw1982
Well-Known Member
Indeed. I have no idea where the last two months have gone, but this really sucks. That is all.
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
@WDW1974 I agree, WDS has a surprisingly decent attraction roster. Crush's Coaster is a fun ride (albeit with horrible capacity and constant breakdowns), CinéMagique is a charming show, and Ratatouille adds a decent dark ride to the mix (although I can't imagine that it live ups to the trackless rides in Tokyo and Hong Kong). That said, the park needs placemaking more than DCA needed it in 2001. None of the parks in WDW have that issue to the same extent (even if several areas could benefit from it, primarily in DHS).
I don't do any shopping at Disney (ok that's a lie - I've bought two Donald pins over the past 10 years), but Disney Village still feels like an important component of DLP. It links 3 of the on-site hotels to the theme parks, and it's adjacent to the bus/train station where so many visitors arrive at DLP. Downtown Disney in Orlando is much less important to WDW's 'vibe' overall, but I'm still excited about the placemaking that DTD is about to receive. No, the intentions for it might not be the best (of course WDW's shopping district got a fast-tracked overhaul while the parks sit stagnant), but improvements are still improvements. I'll take Disney Springs over a rotting Pleasure Island.
It's sad that WDW's parks are still struggling (at least to people like us who are embarrassed by COP's condition and know that a lackluster Arendelle invasion isn't what Epcot needs), but on the surface, I don't think the situation looks too dire. That's the problem, IMO - WDW doesn't have anything that's a certified disaster (compared to the original DCA and WDS). You might not be wrong about the condition of WDW, but the resort can still afford to coast on its reputation. I hate saying that - I'd like to see some of those changes that have been rumored for Epcot (not talking about Frozen here) and DHS, but they just don't seem necessary to me. Accountants and analysts might be saying the same thing.
We'll see if Universal's growth does anything to change this trajectory, but WDW still strikes me as a sleeping giant. And frankly, they can get away with sleeping for a few more years. Maybe WDW will have to reach Disneyland levels (circa 2003) before anything really changes, but I hope things don't plummet that much.
I don't do any shopping at Disney (ok that's a lie - I've bought two Donald pins over the past 10 years), but Disney Village still feels like an important component of DLP. It links 3 of the on-site hotels to the theme parks, and it's adjacent to the bus/train station where so many visitors arrive at DLP. Downtown Disney in Orlando is much less important to WDW's 'vibe' overall, but I'm still excited about the placemaking that DTD is about to receive. No, the intentions for it might not be the best (of course WDW's shopping district got a fast-tracked overhaul while the parks sit stagnant), but improvements are still improvements. I'll take Disney Springs over a rotting Pleasure Island.
It's sad that WDW's parks are still struggling (at least to people like us who are embarrassed by COP's condition and know that a lackluster Arendelle invasion isn't what Epcot needs), but on the surface, I don't think the situation looks too dire. That's the problem, IMO - WDW doesn't have anything that's a certified disaster (compared to the original DCA and WDS). You might not be wrong about the condition of WDW, but the resort can still afford to coast on its reputation. I hate saying that - I'd like to see some of those changes that have been rumored for Epcot (not talking about Frozen here) and DHS, but they just don't seem necessary to me. Accountants and analysts might be saying the same thing.
We'll see if Universal's growth does anything to change this trajectory, but WDW still strikes me as a sleeping giant. And frankly, they can get away with sleeping for a few more years. Maybe WDW will have to reach Disneyland levels (circa 2003) before anything really changes, but I hope things don't plummet that much.
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DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
Btw, those Hong Kong plans sound really exciting to me (and that's all coming on the heels of Mystic Manor!). I'd love to see the park in a few years after more of these expansions are complete.
We haven't discussed TDL yet, but I assume they aren't just sitting around doing nothing. If any Disney resort has the right to be complacent, it has to be Tokyo, but I can't imagine that ever happening. What a breath of fresh air!
Hopefully DLP is able to get some of the funding it needs - it seriously needs help, but at least there seem to be ideas in place.
I'm not that enthused about Monstropolis in Hollywood Land at DCA, but DL's plans for its 60th sound very nice.
That just leaves WDW...yay for Disney Springs and Pandora?
We haven't discussed TDL yet, but I assume they aren't just sitting around doing nothing. If any Disney resort has the right to be complacent, it has to be Tokyo, but I can't imagine that ever happening. What a breath of fresh air!
Hopefully DLP is able to get some of the funding it needs - it seriously needs help, but at least there seem to be ideas in place.
I'm not that enthused about Monstropolis in Hollywood Land at DCA, but DL's plans for its 60th sound very nice.
That just leaves WDW...yay for Disney Springs and Pandora?
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Well I never said they would be as good as Celebrity Wife Swap!
I'll give you all the credit in the world, though, for trying. Saying, "never listened to a podcast and never will" implies some sort of false superiority. I get what you're saying about padding out the running time... I have basically sworn off most video news stories online, because I can read in 30 seconds what takes five minutes for a reporter to read for me. To some degree, at least, podcasts are entertainment, and there is a pace at which conversation flows. You could look at a crime show and say, "Well they could have just arrested the babysitter in five minutes and gotten it over with!", but the point was to tell the story as much as it was to get the answer. Honestly, there's not a single Disney podcast right now where I rush to listen to every episode. Mousetalgia is the closest: it sounds professional (yet informal), no fart noises and they will criticize Disney. They do Disneyland trip report episodes that you might not be interested in, but they have more interviews with authors, imagineers, etc. than any other Disney podcast. They are actually creating content, instead of just listing the top five places to get a cream cheese pretzel. They just recently had a nice little interview with Tony Baxter; there was at least one bit in there that I had never heard or read anyplace else. They've interviewed Bob Gurr, Alice Davis, Rolly Crump and more.
A Spirited podcast recommendation if I may? Freakonomics Radio. Interesting stories told in 30-40 minutes, without side tangents and stories about the hosts' pets. Very much the same flavor as the books.
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