The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[WDW1974]

No.... just plenty of queens.

Yes, but you do know that they were once fanbois who dreamed of being a Disney princess, right?

 

[asianway]

I wouldn't count on it. Parts of NGE will be incorporated into DLR if they can ... but there is no stomach for the kind of overreaching overbudget mess that WDW got. MAGIC Bands mean adding all of those touch points and that cost isn't going to be taken lightly.

They can still sell MAGIC Bands and have them interact with things in the parks if the choose.

SDL is being built with complete 'interactivity' programmed from Day 1 ... and you take that however you please. I just wouldn't take it to mean people who have never even been to ANY theme park before will be home making FP+ ressies. So, this will all be fascinating to watch.

I truly hope that SDL doesn't open and Bob Weis has a massive stroke or fatal heart attack by the end of its first year. Yes, the stress is THAT bad.

Again, how come no mainstream media outlet has picked up on this massive and costly delay in China? Could it be that no one knows? Or is it that Disney is changing the tale behind the scenes? The question really is what do I feel like doing about it ...

They managed to completely bury a monorail crash story, they're good at what they do

 

[Fishbait]

Come now, @Lee. If you are going to complain about someone not winning at least spell their name rite, Ok?

Gervais is quite talented, and I haven't seen his show. But neither have most people as it gets a tiny audience compared to those network sitcom's ... you know on ABC and CBS both of which won't exist in three years as you buy content a la carte from those folks who own the distribution channels on your iPhone76.3 (that's the one were Suri Jobs talks dirty to you for free!)

I never saw True Detective either. But I doubt it would have changed my mind. Cranston has been amazing on that show for its entire run.

The voters most definitely haven't watched all the shows. That's just not possible. That would like being a fanboi and visiting every theme park. What they do is watch the episodes that are submitted for the nomination. I have DVDs from many years (not this one) of review copies that get returned to the Academy. The decision is, ostensibly, based on the submission and not everyone is going to be the best. It's just a taste of the work. The voter may or may not be familiar with the shows.

I know from watching Breaking Bad that it never had a bad episode ... or a wasted episode in the narrative.

You're missing out. While I am a Cranston fan, McConaughey was in a completely different league in True Detective. The only actor that was in the same league was Peter Dinklage.

 

[71jason]

As I've said before, as long as they don't inconvenience the regular guest, then why not?

Part of the event was cut for regular guests so the staff could be used for this.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Heard a rumor to that effect last night, tho no real details, other than another hit for Equity.

I'm trying to remember what we talked about on Monday & what we talked about last night… It's all a blur.

 

[bhg469]

You're missing out. While I am a Cranston fan, McConaughey was in a completely different league in True Detective. The only actor that was in the same league was Peter Dinklage.

Especially this season! You could really sense when he was truly desperate for the first time.

 

[71jason]

I'm trying to remember what we talked about on Monday & what we talked about last night… It's all a blur.

Upcoming comedy show is what started the discussion, not sure if you were there or not at that time

 

[WDW1974]

So I went to Universal and honestly don't think Gringotts was impressive. I wanted to love it because the theme of the land was amazing. The original Hogwarts section was amazing and so much could be done with that ride tech for other IPs.

OK, why not?

I have heard across the board rave reviews for Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express, but mixed stuff on Gringotts ... I'm wondering why.

And why we haven't heard from @whylightbulb for a while!

 

[WDWFigment]

Speaking of which, what exactly was the issue with the Oogie show at Georgie K's Assorted Foamheads And Whatever Disney Could Throw In On The Cheap Hard Ticket Event at The Park That Will Soon Have a New Name? Seriously, what was offensive? In any sense. ... These folks should really be forced to watch ANY Bill and Ted show at the evil UNI resort up the I-4.

And speaking of that, with all those Emmy festivities I sorta missed out on the fact that my favorite Lifestyler @WDWFigment took another trip (I don't know how many this year because I lost the Epcot guide map that I was keeping score on at home!) BUT ... this one had him over at UNI. Way to go, Tom!!! Would love to hear your thoughts here (good, bad and ugly). Just don't let Dr. Blondie and Co know!

Having been at the Oogie show, I will say that it was by far the highlight of the Villains party. It definitely had an edgy energy (that might not come across fully in videos), but I don't think it crossed any lines, real or imagined.

Probably an unpopular opinion here that will make me come across as a shill, but... I enjoyed the Villains party. With that said, I had no interest in meeting characters, didn't want merchandise, and didn't want to purchase booze or exclusive foods. So basically, all of the things with really long lines didn't appeal to me from the outset. I enjoyed the roaming Star Wars characters and random interactions, the entertainment (except that awful Fantasmic pre-show...wow), the fireworks, and the general atmosphere. With that said, I can fully recognize that there were significant problems with the event as a whole, from overselling to misjudging the demographic to not dealing with merchandise/maps/food better. Even if I enjoyed it, these problems should not be occurring at an even that cost $70. Period.

As for UOR...where to begin...? Well, I was absolutely blown away by Diagon Alley. I had high expectations, and those were blown away. This land(?) can go toe-to-toe with the best of Tokyo DisneySea, and I say that as someone who is not a fan of Harry Potter. This pushes the envelope in a variety of ways.

The difference between either park and TDS is that TDS is an entire park of those next-level lands, and only WWoHP and Port of Entry are what I would call incredibly well-done themed lands. WWoHP being so well done perhaps draws more attention to the weaknesses of the other areas. Sort of like dropping Ratatouille land into WDSP.

I hope as UOR continues to grow, update, and expand, more placemaking is done. While neither park is even remotely as bad as WDSP when it comes to having well-executed themed lands, there are places--mostly in USF--where you get the 'collection of attractions' rather than 'theme park' feel. Fortunately, those attractions are mostly superb. In fairness, you get the same feeling at DHS, and studios parks mostly get a pass on this from me.

I was disappointed to see many favorites of my childhood gone from USF, but ET Adventure is better than I remember (it has aged really, really well). It was also great to see Christopher Walken in Disaster. Those are my 'sleeper' picks of the park. Many of the attractions integrate a variety of technologies and 'stuff' in inventive ways. Lots of attractions with wry senses of humor that made me chuckle.

As I think of more, I'll add to this. Still exhausted from running all over the place this weekend...

 

[OSUgirl77]

Especially this season! You could really sense when he was truly desperate for the first time.

Peter Dinklage was amazing this season! I was hoping he would win, but there was just so much talent in that category. Cranston certainly deserved it as well.

 

[PhotoDave219]

P.S. Have you heard about Lou giving paid tours at DHS in October?

I know plenty of people who work in celebration who wish they could put an end to that… your argument would be with Glendale. Not Orlando.

 

[WDWFigment]

OK, why not?

I have heard across the board rave reviews for Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express, but mixed stuff on Gringotts ... I'm wondering why.

And why we haven't heard from @whylightbulb for a while!

From start (of the queue) to finish, Gringotts is one of the best attractions I've ever experienced, anywhere. I'd almost liken it to Journey to the Center of the Earth, but with more variety in its execution and better pacing.

 

[WDW1974]

The way I understand it, DLR's locals are actually something of a problem, in that they take up a lot of park resources without generating a lot of revenue. Disney would really like to get the locals under some control, as they clog up the park at the expense of the much more profitable guests: non-locals who spend much more money on food & trinket than the locals who hit a drive through on their way to the park & have a 1:1 guest:car ratio in the parking lot.

Being able to reserve ride slots in advance (in theory) lets Disney favor the remote guests who've had to plan their trip in advance due to travel & hotel scheduling. In reality, unfortunately (for Disney), it'll be the regulars who are more likely to have enough knowledge of the system to take full advantage of what it offers -- infrequent visitors tend not to understand the system at first, and generally not until someone explains it to them.

It is a very tough walk to take in Anaheim where you basically have a 50/50 split of locals (and, again, that doesn't mean they live in Anaheim ... it is a HUGE area from Santa Barbara down to Mexico eastward to the Coachella Valley ... it isn't a WDW Lifestyler living in Four Corners or Metro West).

They have tough infrastructure issues based on the visiting patterns of TRULY local APers. DLR was quite nice crowd-wise all summer long until a week ago Monday ... why? Because that's when the cheapest APs were allowed in for the first time since early June. DLR is pretty crowded now.

 

[lazyboy97o]

OK, why not?

I have heard across the board rave reviews for Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express, but mixed stuff on Gringotts ... I'm wondering why.

And why we haven't heard from @whylightbulb for a while!

Spoiler: Gringotts

You can watch the film at home and the relevant scene is far more exciting in said film. It is a rather good example of the misuse of projections.

 

[WDW1974]

Mentioning a random "Nerdy Thing" or trotting out tired old nerd cliches followed by a laugh track is not damn fine comedy.

First, it is taped before a live audience. ... But every comedic show is going to resort to cliches that fit to some degree.

It's not must see TV for me, but I absolutely will vehemently disagree that it isn't quality and that the folks who bring it to the masses aren't extremely talented. And, yes, I'd put Jim Parsons right at the top of that list.

 

[WDW1974]

More WDW Entertainment news will most likely break very soon. Sigh.

How about you break it here if you know something?

Or pass it to someone else, myself or anyone you feel comfortable with ...

 

[WDW1974]

@WDW1974 Have you caught FX's You're the Worst or is it too millennial for you.

No, I haven't. Is it worth my time?

 

[WDW1974]

Right and Parsons winning AGAIN for a one note character is a disservice to the industry. Then again they keep handing Modern Family awards long after its expiration date.

Money talks I guess.

Again, that's all opinion. And you are welcome to it.

But both viewers (including this one) and Academy voters ... and, indeed, most critics would disagree with that.

It's all what you like. Whether we are talking meet-greet-and-gropes versus Omnimovers versus killer screens or burgers versus pizza versus salads.

I sat here and watched an hour of Modern Family tonight while screwing around online, both episodes I have seen multiple times already, and they both made me laugh and smile. And that's what it is all about.

You can say all you like, but you don't win best comedy five years in a row in this TV landscape ... or four for a guy like Parsons ... and not be doing far more right than wrong. It is as simple as that!

 

[doctornick]

OK, why not?

I have heard across the board rave reviews for Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express, but mixed stuff on Gringotts ... I'm wondering why.

Hmmm, I was going to pipe in about my thoughts on Gringotts before and didn't but since you asked, I figured I'll comment on my experience:

I was a little let down with Gringotts. Don't get me wrong, a fun ride, but seemingly overhyped to me. I certainly wouldn't wait hours to ride it. Some things I didn't like:

1. A lot of people remarked that Uni was aiming for more family friendly with the ride. If that was their goal, IMHO they missed the mark. My kids (who generally love thrill rides and are fine with dark rides) were pretty scared after riding it and it struck me as very similar to multitudes of other rides at Uni in terms of intensity. It's probably that my standards were off, but I thought the tech was going to be used to make the ride more, I dunno, immersive but not as thrilling/intense.

1b. Also, I know they want to keep in theme, but couldn't they make the baby swap room a little brighter/less scary? I mean, you have people in their with young kids and it's cramped and dreary.

2. I feel that to really enjoy the ride, you have to have pretty good knowledge of the HP books. I read the books, so I was familiar, but never saw the Deathly Hallows movies. I found the ride to be difficult to follow/enjoy without being acutely familiar with the source material. FWIW, I think Forbidden Journey is much more accessible to those uninitiated.

3. Related to #2, but it was another ride at Uni where I feel you don't get a chance to "breath" and absorb as you are watching. The Tech is very impressive, but the pacing is so frantic that it's tough to have your mind really appreciate what you are experiencing. IMHO, there needs to be some built in (brief) lulls in all the action to gather things. It doesn't help that whenever your not watching a scene on an (impressive) screen that your being whisked around quickly.

4. The dialogue was difficult to hear well, which made the plot of the ride more difficult to follow (see #2 again). I guess this is the audio issues that were mentioned. (Admittedly, I tend to have difficultly understanding British accents sometimes even under more ideal conditions.)

Again, I'm not trying to disparage the ride, which I thought was very good. But after all the hype, I thought it would be a more transcendent experience to me. I'm still waiting for Uni to produce a better ride than Spider-Man, which is IMHO their gold standard.

One thing I'd really like to see for any HP addition in the future is to not make it about Harry Potter. One of the aspects that I think is really cool about DA and Hogsmeade is that you are experiencing visiting the Wizarding World. That's why the shop windows, restaurants/food and especially the wands are awesome -- they are about experiencing the cool, different world of wizards without the guest being burdened by having to know the specific tales of Harry Potter. I might be alone in that sentiment, though.

 

[WDW1974]

I've watched it many times on airplanes and when forced to at the inlaws. It cannot hold a candle to the genius of derek or the gut busting hilarity of The league.

That's your opinion and you are welcome to it. ... I have heard lots of good about Derek and intend to catch up with it at some point. I really haven't heard much of anything about The League and since it was not up for an award it doesn't make much sense to bring it in.