The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[seahawk7]

Lets talk ESPN.

Lets talk ESPN defending a man who beats up women.

Lets talk about ESPN personalities saying that women provoke domestic violence.

Lets talk about ESPN devoting time to women's responsibility to avoiding being beaten by a man or athlete.

ESPN has a problem with its personalities and if today is any example, the inmates are running the asylum.

Fox Sports on the other hand, does not mess around when people attack their female personalities.

There's a lot of dollars at stake with both of these stories. God help ESPN if any advertisers decide they want to yank their ads because of the content at hand.

That's why I watch the NFL network.

 

[cw1982]

Perhaps a new nightime spectacular is needed for spice road to gain interest for guests to pay for viewing.

I don't think the lack of interest in Spice Road has anything to do with Illuminations. The other food and drink locations that are directly on the lagoon have no problem filling every seat they have... or at least they didn't when I was at Epcot in June.

 

[PhotoDave219]

That's why I watch the NFL network.

They're not much better with this Ray Rice thing. Did they at least the controversy in context, stating that one player was suspended for the entire season because of marijuana usage but the man who beat up his wife only got two games?

 

[seahawk7]

They're not much better with this Ray Rice thing. Did they at least the controversy in context, stating that one player was suspended for the entire season because of marijuana usage but the man who beat up his wife only got two games?

To be honest with you, yesterday all I had time for was Seahawk news especially concerning Marshawn Lynch. So I don't know. I'm interested in the game and who is playing in the game. Not the outside stuff. Although I don't condone any bad behavior.

 

[cw1982]

They're not much better with this Ray Rice thing. Did they at least the controversy in context, stating that one player was suspended for the entire season because of marijuana usage but the man who beat up his wife only got two games?

Sigh... and crap like this is where I end up with problems as a coach. I hold my athletes to higher standards and tolerate very little because I refuse to have girls on my teams that make me or their peers look bad. But then these pro athletes, who are supposed to be role models and all, get away with far worse things than anything I ever deal with, so on some level I end up even more annoyed with these things when I hear about them. If a teacher beat his wife and was convicted, his entire career would be ruined (and rightly so). But if a ball player does something like that? It all blows over and life goes on. Scary to think that these are the people that many youngsters aspire to be like someday.

I know not all professional athletes are bad, but considering people tend to focus on negatives more than positives when it comes to news stories, what are children taking away from things like this?

 

[wdisney9000]

ESPN has been a Human Resources nightmare for years. Despite the well documented crapfest that continues, nothing has ever been done about it.

A lot of dirty laundry started getting aired with the Steve Phillip/Brooke Hundley scandal. "Get used to it, this is ESPN", is what she was told.

 

[wdisney9000]

To be honest with you, yesterday all I had time for was Seahawk news especially concerning Marshawn Lynch. So I don't know. I'm interested in the game and who is playing in the game. Not the outside stuff. Although I don't condone any bad behavior.

Beast Mode better get his act together. Doesnt look like Seattle is gonna budge. It es me off when players refuse to attend training camp for whatever reason they see fit. I dont care how talented you are, unless your injured you should be at camp to stay on top of your game. If not for yourself, then for your teammates. Im not saying he doesnt deserve a little extra money, but to avoid training camp doesnt help the situation, IMO

 

[Cody5242]

Well, they have been looking for an excuse to ditch SGE for years.

Hasn't Wall-E always been a rumored replacement?

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hasn't Wall-E always been a rumored replacement?

Never heard it before.

Theyre not going to do any replacing of attractions any time soon because that would mean spending money.

 

[wdisney9000]

For the mere fact that The Four Seasons(tm) would even stoop as low as needing some sparkly social media, I have zero desire to ever go there. I dont care if they have a complimentary courtesan for turn down service, mints on the pillow or complementary sports therapy massages, they don't get my money. Why? Because if a company needs to promote or associate itself with the likes of those, I have no need to associate my money with them.

I want high-end and high-class. I want a place with decorum, manners and a dress code.

Clearly The Four Seasons(tm) is not that place.

I had such high hopes. I was at (Atl) Loews hotel last night and met a guy who works for FS and he seemed pretty excited to get back to Fla for the opening. He had me pretty psyched but after reading that they are looking for help from the Cargo Shorts & t-shirts brigade of bloggers in O-town it just takes the wind out of my sails. Why even try and appeal to a demographic that wont spend the kind of money they (FS) are looking for? I'll still give PB+G a whirl though, that food looks amazing and Im glad they struck a deal with Cigar City Brewing. I will gladly support that. Those guys are awesome.

 

[seahawk7]

Sigh... and crap like this is where I end up with problems as a coach. I hold my athletes to higher standards and tolerate very little because I refuse to have girls on my teams that make me or their peers look bad. But then these pro athletes, who are supposed to be role models and all, get away with far worse things than anything I ever deal with, so on some level I end up even more annoyed with these things when I hear about them. If a teacher beat his wife and was convicted, his entire career would be ruined (and rightly so). But if a ball player does something like that? It all blows over and life goes on. Scary to think that these are the people that many youngsters aspire to be like someday.

I know not all professional athletes are bad, but considering people tend to focus on negatives more than positives when it comes to news stories, what are children taking away from things like this?

Well I hope they would look to a guy like Peyton Manning who after getting annihilated in this last Super Bowl, went and checked on the opposing team player who got hurt. That is a classy move. I hear what you are saying about some players and I agree with you.
But the thing with with me is I'm a single mom who has raised two children for the last 11 years with no child support and by working two jobs. Disney and football are my escapes. I joined this forum because I don't know anyone in who likes Disney as much as me. So I came here.
My son and I bond over football and it is a passion of mine and I'm proud to be able to share something with him.
I know there are bad things in football I just don't have the energy to focus on all aspects. I'm saying this because I don't want to be perceived as condoning violence or mistreatment towards women.
I was really nervous to post on this thread because I have been following it for a little bit and I didn't want to get in an argument. I hope I haven't alienate any of you. I quite enjoy this forum.

 

[seahawk7]

Beast Mode better get his act together. Doesnt look like Seattle is gonna budge. It es me off when players refuse to attend training camp for whatever reason they see fit. I dont care how talented you are, unless your injured you should be at camp to stay on top of your game. If not for yourself, then for your teammates. Im not saying he doesnt deserve a little extra money, but to avoid training camp doesnt help the situation, IMO

I know. I think someone told him this since he is going to return. I think, judging by what his teammates were saying that they understood him and knew he would be reasonable. They have a lot of love for him. Let's hope he reports back to camp.

 

[cw1982]

Well I hope they would look to a guy like Peyton Manning who after getting annihilated in this last Super Bowl, went and checked on the opposing team player who got hurt. That is a classy move. I hear what you are saying about some players and I agree with you.
But the thing with with me is I'm a single mom who has raised two children for the last 11 years with no child support and by working two jobs. Disney and football are my escapes. I joined this forum because I don't know anyone in who likes Disney as much as me. So I came here.
My son and I bond over football and it is a passion of mine and I'm proud to be able to share something with him.
I know there are bad things in football I just don't have the energy to focus on all aspects. I'm saying this because I don't want to be perceived as condoning violence or mistreatment towards women.
I was really nervous to post on this thread because I have been following it for a little bit and I didn't want to get in an argument. I hope I haven't alienate any of you. I quite enjoy this forum.

Oh I agree completely. There are lots of great athletes out there who are very classy and are great role models. But unfortunately, what gets more attention in the news: good behavior that gets acknowledged once, or bad behavior that gets mentioned over and over as the story develops?

I try and highlight the positives as much as possible with my girls and set the tone by aspiring to be the role model I hope they absorb. I'm not perfect, and I don't expect anyone else to be either, but all I can do on that front as their coach is guide them to the best of my ability and hope the right things are sinking in. There's good and bad in just about everything, not just sports. It's important to make sure kids are learning the right lessons no matter where they are getting the information.

ETA : my comment about being a role model in no way means that I want my girls to end up like me. One of me is definitely enough

 

[GoofGoof]

A Philly cheesesteak stand at the American Pavilion would be appropriate.

How about adding a beer garden that serves a variety of craft beers from around the country? It is EPCOT. Can't have the food without the booze. If they served cheesesteaks and good beer it would be a must visit.

 

[GoofGoof]

I had such high hopes. I was at (Atl) Loews hotel last night and met a guy who works for FS and he seemed pretty excited to get back to Fla for the opening. He had me pretty psyched but after reading that they are looking for help from the Cargo Shorts & t-shirts brigade of bloggers in O-town it just takes the wind out of my sails. Why even try and appeal to a demographic that wont spend the kind of money they (FS) are looking for? I'll still give PB+G a whirl though, that food looks amazing and Im glad they struck a deal with Cigar City Brewing. I will gladly support that. Those guys are awesome.

Don't lose all hope. They are looking for free publicity, but it doesn't mean they will actually attract those people once they are on their own dollar. Four Seasons has a pretty loyal business traveler client base. Lots of those people have kids and families and I'm sure they are pretty happy to have this as an option now. I think the place has a decent shot of staying "high end". It is a resort at WDW so it's still gonna have some kiddie appeal, but hopefully it stays tastefully done.

 

[RadiatorSpringsRacer]

Hasn't Wall-E always been a rumored replacement?

A Tomorrowland attraction based on that could really work if it took place after the movie, as opposed to during it when humanity had spent the last several centuries partaking in the opposite of progress.

 

[WDW1974]

It worked with DCA, WDS, and HKDL. Attendance numbers didn't live up to expectations (which means guests weren't giving the parks their money), and they all received expansions to make them more worthwhile. DCA has gotten there, even though it still has some weak areas. It sounds like HKDL has grown into a decent park as well. WDS is still a work in progress.

All of the above locations opened with different, if substantial, issues due to largely the same mindset.

Two of them are now high quality and quite worthy of the Disney BRAND. The third is ugly as hell, but still has more substance that its FL sibling.

And your last bolded point is exactly what I'm saying. WDW is still winning people over (deservedly or undeservedly so), and enough people are paying the inflated prices to the point that WDW's financials look solid. Until things get worse (either through negative PR or declining attendance), I think TDO can continue getting away with what they're doing. That doesn't make me happy, but it is what it is.

But you are wrong. Fundamentally so. Often by the time a company sees the major signs of trouble that you are talking about, it is too late. Again, I realize many folks can't see WDW ever not existing in largely its current form. I find that PoV amazingly arrogant and ignorant from a crowd who loves to remind folks here that ''Disney is a business''.

 

[WDW1974]

So, Soup & Salad Sandra is picking up the Disney PR baton from my old pal Jason Garcia:

(BTW, what am amazingly progressive labor relations move when the entire country will likely be at $10 an hour in two years. ... Maybe if Disney went to $13 they could crow a bit ...)

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-disney-10-hour-20140725,0,3873407.story

 

[WDW1974]

What is the deal with some of my passive aggressive fanboi 'pals' ... look, guys, I get that you have something stuck up your behinds (and I won't even make a joke here).

But do understand this: when I decide to become aggressive there will be no passive aspect to it. So think about that and govern your behavior accordingly.

(this message doesn't concern 99% of the folks here ... but ...)

 

[WDW1974]

My husband and I have been to Club 33 just once, and that was years ago. We were invited by friends who have a membership there. It had to be before 2003, as they were trying to get us to join DVC, which they would get a finders fee if we joined and mentioned them as suggesting we look into DVC. Anyway, we were totally impressed with the exclusivity of it all, the service, the history, but not the food. I served better entrees etc when I waited tables in non chain restaurants back east. I cook, and serve better food in my own home to dinner guests.
As explained to us, our hosts paid through the nose for the member fee, pay an annual fee, and also were expected to dine a minimum number of times to keep their membership current. They would be billed for dinners they never had if they entered the park with their free admission too many times also.
For years there was a waitlist for membership, and last I recall, that list was closed as the list was almost a decade long wait. 1901 was supposed to take the pressure off of that list if it was successful. Not sure I have this all correct, but is what I remember.
I assumed the new makeover was to enlarge the dining space, but not destroy it. I care, not because I could ever afford a membership, I care because of what management is doing in general. I'd love to hear what long time Club 33 members think. We haven't been in contact with our DVC/Club 33 pals since we bumped into them on the Wonder during the California Coast cruise a few years ago.(Using DVC points we don't spend at WDW anymore).
So just how are lifestylers going to get into Club 33, what has changed besides the decor? Has the waitlist been scuttled? What's the new membership requirements, if they have changed, price drop, whatever. It's not making sense to me. Thanks in advance for your insight.

If you want to see all the changes in Club 33, then I'd send you over to Andy 'Fidel's Little Bro' Castro's work on Miceage.com.

I can't tell you what the members feel because I am not one.

I would guess the Lifestylers will be getting in the same way they have for the last decade: ''we have a friend.''