The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[WDWFigment]

BTW, if @WDWFigment (the only Lifestyler I have any respect for and I have lots!) winds up dining there again (yes, he has been there ... no, I have never asked how), I'd love to see an honest talk about the design choices and greed behind the moves and not a review of the new menu that 99% of all visitors will never get to try and, therefore, don't need opinions/reviews of.

When I see some of the trash that has been to the Club over the last decade, I totally get why Disney did what it did. What I don't get is how the rank and file members, folks who may have memberships that go back to the late 60s or 70s, didn't speak out and just tell Michael "When I left DAK nothing was working!' Colglazier a very loud NO!

Disney didn't improve the Club. They destroyed it to reinvent it for a new clientele.

Someone please Tweet this or send it over to Andy Castro (seriously!) since he seems to be the biggest attacker of it in the Twitverse.

We went to Club 33 several times, as we have (had?) an open invitation from an actual member who liked my photography. We haven't been in the last two years, because the last time we were there I basically asked to myself what are we doing? after paying a $300+ bill.

Assuming we still have the invite following the new restrictions, we will probably go back once if only to see what it's now like, but I am not a fan of most of the changes. (If we do go, I'd write both on design and food...so you're at least getting part of your wish.) The Court of Angels is what really gets me, as that was my favorite place in all of Disneyland. Seriously--I loved it so much we flew out for the last night it was open. It seems like a little thing to many people, but it being removed is representative of a larger problem, and something I doubt I'll ever forgive.

Interior decor and design aside, what bugs me the most is that the changes to New Orleans Square have occurred with Club 33 being the predominant concern, and the affect on regular parkgoers in the background. The off-center window and closed-off Court of Angels are prime examples. That just isn't right.

Club 33 desperately needed a refurbishment, as it was looking quite worn, but this was not what it needed. What made the place special was its rich history, and that has more or less been removed or bastardized.

As far as food goes, Club 33 was nothing all that special before. It was good-to-great (not as great as it should've been), but I think both Napa Rose and Carthay Circle Restaurant were superior. It sounds like the food is better now, but without the history, is it "better enough" to justify the membership fee and significantly higher prices?

At this point you're basically paying for exclusivity, and I have no interest in that. I can barely handle the smug atmosphere at Whole Foods, let alone at private clubs.

BTW - I think you're wrong about Lifestylers at Club 33. That has never been my experience with the demographic (well, besides myself, I guess). My observation has been that it's mostly affluent folks; I wouldn't be surprised if many of them don't even care about the actual history, it's just a place to go that has some cachet. That right there could explain why the shift in decor occurred--but that doesn't make it right. Remember, the OC is not like Central Florida. There's a lot of money in SoCal and plenty of prominent corporations doing business. Now, a WDW Club 33 might be a place for Lifestylers, but I don't think that can be said for Disneyland.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Beats another paddle wheel podcast.

Yeah, says who? Me and my four listeners happen to think Weekly Wheel Hour makes for rivetting listeing!!


While I'm advertising myself: my next podcast will be the second in a three part series entirely devoted to the 1987 change in colour scheme of the Empress Room's ashtrays from turquoise to sea foam green.

 

[Omnispace]

If you are talking about the Club 33 redo, and I think you are my dear @sweetpee_1993, then I'll say I started commenting over in @Expo_Seeker40 's thread.

Largely ... I HATE, HATE, HATE what they have done. Read my buddy Andy 'Fidel's Little Bro' Castro's Twitfeed and much of what he says would be my feelings.

They have taken the Walt out of the Club. They have made it more ordinary. And they have done so with the worst of intentions (and artistic execution). This was designed to take advantage of the bloggerswho have been getting in 'thanks to friends' ... There are some folks with money who are Lifestylers and would pay to tell their flocks how special they are because they are part of 'Walt's Private Club'.

Thing is, though, they destroyed it to make a NoS version of Walt's at DLP (a restaurant anyone can go to and one that you can usually even walk up to on the day you wish to dine and get in).

They have destroyed so much of the ambiance of NoS by making a club that was hidden very well, in plain sight, and made it a ''LOOK HERE, YOU LOSERS!!! DON'T YOU WISH YOU COULD GET INTO THIS VERY SPECIAL PLACE THAT IS SOOOOO IN YOUR FACE HERE???!!!'

Seriously. That is what I get out of it.

Many of the design decisions, especially on the outside, show an incredible ineptitude, a total lack of the idea of scope, theme and locale. It's like they took the Club 33 and went from it being DL's 'best kept secret' and turned it into the centerpiece of the land. Something that envelops and overwhelms what had been DL's most picturesque and peaceful land.

I could rant all day about it and, understand this, I have NEVER dined there. I had a few chances and things never worked out. I have been inside, however.

I have very little desire to go inside here and dine with the Lifestylers. Very little.

I have read many critiques now about what the new Club 33 has become but yours seems to sum it up the best. In a lot of ways the club is still "hidden", but in all the important ways it's pretty much IN-YOUR-FACE. The changes they have done to widen the bridges and re-purpose the Court of Angels couldn't be more obvious. The re-branding of "exclusivity" is very prevalent these days. It's not enough to have an exclusive venue. It has to be announced to the world as part of the current "look-at-me" attitude.

From an artistic standpoint, this remodel is another reminder about an artistic heritage that is not being taken seriously. Just as Walt's "cartoons" were not at first considered to be legitimate art, the creative work done at the theme parks, (performed by many of the same people that contributed to the award-winning films), seems to be falling victim to the same mindset. NOS could be quite literally the finest themed area ever, created by some of the best artists in Disney's studio (Walt hand-picked them for the project), and yet the attitude is that "it's just another place in a theme park". Some have even argued that there was no purpose to the Court of Angels. It's all very unfortunate, and stupid of Disney to not even realize the importance of their own legacy.

 

[Omnispace]

Yeah, says who? Me and my four listeners happen to think Weekly Wheel Hour makes for rivetting listeing!!


While I'm advertising myself: my next podcast will be the second in a three part series entirely devoted to the 1987 change in colour scheme of the Empress Room's ashtrays from turquoise to sea foam green.

I'm looking forward to it! No doubt you have your canned intro queued -- complete with loud music, deep "monster truck" voice, and explosions (or laser sounds).

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Yeah, says who? Me and my four listeners happen to think Weekly Wheel Hour makes for rivetting listeing!!


While I'm advertising myself: my next podcast will be the second in a three part series entirely devoted to the 1987 change in colour scheme of the Empress Room's ashtrays from turquoise to sea foam green.

Well, Im convinced. Perhaps I should be spreading the message, on how to squeeze lemons, till the juice runs down your leg, instant hit. Especially if followed up with, muddlers - steel or wood?

 

[Omnispace]

You wouldn't want Lasseter to be CCO of the whole company. I will give him credit for his successes, but he's not the creative dreamboat so many fans make him out to be. Thus far his influence at Imagineering has created Cars Land, which he happily takes credit for - but where was his influence on FLE? (Hint: it wasn't there, probably because the project didn't involve Woody, Buzz, Sully or Lightning McQueen) Why has he let WDW remain untouched during his tenure? Perhaps he'd like to claim responsibility for the Rapunzel potties?

He is a champion of his studio's IP and little else. Many of the people who still get it in Disney (an admittedly small number) have stories about the guy that would curdle milk. Suffice to say, his creative compass doesn't always point due north, and that's been evident at Pixar in the past three years.

I still remember when Disney acquired Pixar and all the crazy expectations that people had. John was going to be the new creative "Walt" in the company, and Steve was going to run roughshod over the yes-men accounteers. There was going to be a renaissance in Disney quality, creative design, and customer service, to match what was going on at Pixar and Apple.

 

[SJN1279]

Read two interesting things about Potter on another site:

-The Hogwarts Express is a virtual walk on most days with waits rarely exceeding 20 minutes. It seems that people haven't been as keen to ride the upcharge attraction as Universal hoped.

-Diagon Alley cast members have been reassigned or been having their hours cut altogether. It seems that while Universal is getting an attendance bump from the new land, it is under the lofty expectations that Universal initially envisioned upon opening.

 

[DougK]

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!

Is I'm not a contraction?

 

[cw1982]

Is I'm not a contraction?

Yes.

That was part of the joke. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm really not that big of a grammar snob when it comes to online forums. It is much easier to gloss over things and keep going than to worry about every little error.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

@WDW1974 Are DL's dark rides still getting upgraded in preparation of the 60th? Is that still a go, or have plans changed?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Read two interesting things about Potter on another site:

-The Hogwarts Express is a virtual walk on most days with waits rarely exceeding 20 minutes. It seems that people haven't been as keen to ride the upcharge attraction as Universal hoped.

-Diagon Alley cast members have been reassigned or been having their hours cut altogether. It seems that while Universal is getting an attendance bump from the new land, it is under the lofty expectations that Universal initially envisioned upon opening.

great news, thanks for posting

 

[Mike S]

Read two interesting things about Potter on another site:

-The Hogwarts Express is a virtual walk on most days with waits rarely exceeding 20 minutes. It seems that people haven't been as keen to ride the upcharge attraction as Universal hoped.

-Diagon Alley cast members have been reassigned or been having their hours cut altogether. It seems that while Universal is getting an attendance bump from the new land, it is under the lofty expectations that Universal initially envisioned upon opening.

1. The Hogwarts Express is a high capacity attraction. Remember waits for rides like Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth before FP- and how they were almost always walk ons? Yeah, guess no one liked those rides either.

2. It's no surprise that Universal expected a huge amount of people would come for Diagon Alley. Remember the opening of the original Wizarding World?

I think it's best that that kind of crazy crowd wasn't repeated. Attendance is going up anyway and with more on the way it'll only continue to grow.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Is I'm not a contraction?

Didnt know they were pregnant.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

1. The Hogwarts Express is a high capacity attraction. Remember waits for rides like Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth before FP- and how they were almost always walk ons? Yeah, guess no one liked those rides either.

2. It's no surprise that Universal expected a huge amount of people would come for Diagon Alley. Remember the opening of the original Wizarding World?View attachment 59559 I think it's best that that kind of crazy crowd wasn't repeated. Attendance is going up anyway and with more on the way it'll only continue to grow.

I was thinking hours could be cut because they started people with longer hours when crowds were high, now that it has died down, those TMs can be returned to normal hours.
I know when I worked at SFGA we worked extra hours during special events and once we weren't needed, we went back to our normal hours.

 

[SJN1279]

1. The Hogwarts Express is a high capacity attraction. Remember waits for rides like Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth before FP- and how they were almost always walk ons? Yeah, guess no one liked those rides either.

2. It's no surprise that Universal expected a huge amount of people would come for Diagon Alley. Remember the opening of the original Wizarding World?View attachment 59559 I think it's best that that kind of crazy crowd wasn't repeated. Attendance is going up anyway and with more on the way it'll only continue to grow.

Originally Universal was going to limit you to one ride on the Hogwarts Express per day. The ride didn't attract nearly the level of crowds that Universal originally thought it would.

Potter is still popular, but not as popular as it was in 2010.

 

[xdan0920]

Originally Universal was going to limit you to one ride on the Hogwarts Express per day. The ride didn't attract nearly the level of crowds that Universal originally thought it would.

Potter is still popular, but not as popular as it was in 2010.

oy

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Originally Universal was going to limit you to one ride on the Hogwarts Express per day. The ride didn't attract nearly the level of crowds that Universal originally thought it would.

Potter is still popular, but not as popular as it was in 2010.

That was only a rumor. Don't believe everything on the internet.

Your other statement is pure opinion. Did you not see how people jumped for joy when J.K. Rowling released a quick story on Harry Potter? It was on every news station, it was trending on social media sites for days.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Originally Universal was going to limit you to one ride on the Hogwarts Express per day. The ride didn't attract nearly the level of crowds that Universal originally thought it would.

Potter is still popular, but not as popular as it was in 2010.

Great news, with that and the dwindling numbers at Disney my next trip is going to be ridetastic

 

[71jason]

1. The Hogwarts Express is a high capacity attraction.

That it is. And I think higher than anticipated by grouping people on the platform and letting them see the train come in rather than holding them until it was in place. Also keep in mind the general public only learned this was opening a month ago, with the NBC blitz--they'll need time to plan a vacation.

That said, Universal clearly overestimated the appeal of HE building 5-hour lines for it (and "re-ride" lines). I doubt that has anything to do with an upcharge factor, tho--75% of guests already can ride it. I just don't think it's that popular.

This goes back to something I said months ago--Potter may drive guest spending, but Transformers and Minions are driving attendance. Potter gets the super-fans, Transformers gets the general public. I know Disney/Lucas fanbois hate to hear it, but Star Wars Land will be much the same--never going to match Rock & Roller Coaster for sheer guest demand.

2. It's no surprise that Universal expected a huge amount of people would come for Diagon Alley. Remember the opening of the original Wizarding World? I think it's best that that kind of crazy crowd wasn't repeated. Attendance is going up anyway and with more on the way it'll only continue to grow.

No question Diagon handles a crowd better than Hogsmeade, which helps. But it's also clear Universal misread the tea leaves somewhat. I've yet to see the outside switchbacks at Olivanders in use. I've walked through the owl rookery that serves as a line for Madame Milken's but it seems unnecessary. On the flip side, the ice cream shop wasn't built with nearly enough queue capacity--best plan I've seen is to switch the rookery around, and hope guests don't find the sight of owl guano too unappetizing.

Does nothing to change the fact Diagon is the most immersive land in Orlando, arguably the US. Just shows theme park guests can be a fickle bunch, hard to know what will suddenly appeal to them--or when they'll suddenly lose interest.

 

[SJN1279]

That was only a rumor. Don't believe everything on the internet.

Your other statement is pure opinion. Did you not see how people jumped for joy when J.K. Rowling released a quick story on Harry Potter? It was on every news station, it was trending on social media sites for days.

-It was actually listed under the Hogwarts Express on Universal's website that you would get one ride per day.

-And one week later, completely forgotten about(regarding the new Harry Potter short story).

If JK decided to write an 8th book, Potter would revive, until then it is popular but fading.