The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[WDW1974]

Will this be the first thread to hit '1,000' pages ?! Dubious Distinction Award

Why would that be dubious? I'd venture to say that most of the pages of this thread have posts worth reading (and that is taking all of mine out).

This isn't a 'Disney Makes You Feel ...' thread or one of those typically mindless ones.

I'll repeat that I opened this thread with heavy news and have posted plenty since as have numerous others.

This isn't a 1,000-page ego trip/fodder for a book (that I was told was being co-authored by Michael 'Card Walker's Best Friend' Crawford) like say a certain ex-Imagineer's thread. And, FWIW, I still loved much of that thread.

 

[WDW1974]

All of the wonderful DCL ships have differences. You should go to the DCL thread on this site and you should receive great answers and advice. Then choose. Most of the year you only have two choices as the two classics sail from other ports most of the year. Bon voyage. This time of year we are lucky to have all four ships for brief periods.

Deals are almost non-existent on the Dream because it is the ship that grabs the first-timers. It also goes nowhere worth going other than Castaway Cay.

Best deals are on the Wonder followed by the Magic. I've done six DCL voyages (three since April of 2013) and I haven't had anything less than a great time on any.

I haven't done the new ships largely due to cost, but I suspect I'll be on the Fantasy soon enough!

 

[RSoxNo1]

Spirited Thursday Musings:

I bash Big Business a lot, but some (very few, but some) CEOs actually do care about their consumers and will reach right out to them. In hospitality and travel sectors, I have found two things this week: USAir (which also means the 'New American') absolutely views you as cattle and themselves as the butcher (see premiere of Season 5 of The Walking Dead if you don't get the reference), while La Quinta (a budget chain that I have used maybe four times in my entire life) actually cares about their product, their guests and feedback (of any kind).

That has not been my experience with La Quinta. The last time I stayed there was 10+ years ago and I'll never go back. My wife (then GF) and I stayed in a room that unbeknownst to us was between two other rooms that had actually been condemned. When we complained about water leakage their response was a $5 a day discount. Admittedly, I wasn't as much of an a-hole as I am now, but I think I was also in shock that this was their reaction.

Anyone know if Georgie K was at the groundbreaking at Flamingo Crossing today? If not, who was the highest level Disney rep on site?

Someone at the Sentinel?

So, yeah, those oil companies are really panicking at the thought of gas being under $3 a gallon for most of the country come November.

Thanks a lot Obama.

 

[Nubs70]

I'll repeat that I think that anyone who posts ''Disney is a business ...'' should be immediately banned from this site (listening @wdwmagic?) and then we should beat them up at recess, steal their lunch money and give them a wedgie that makes mom have to take them to the pediatrician to example their balls. Really!

Crack n Slash? Or is that too extreme?

 

[WDW1974]

If a first cruise, I'd recommend the Magic over the Dream/Fantasy. Less overwhelming. Not that I'd turn a trip on any of them down.

The Magic gives the benefit of a totally redone ship, but much smaller size and easier to navigate as well as longer voyages AND lower prices.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Hey, what are you doing mentioning pizza on this thread?

Does that mean you want to talk pizza?

I know where to get a great deep dish pizza at a reasonable price only a few minutes away from Downtown Disney or the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

By "deep dish pizza" I assume you mean "tomato soup in a bread bowl"?

 

[WDW1974]

That has not been my experience with La Quinta. The last time I stayed there was 10+ years ago and I'll never go back. My wife (then GF) and I stayed in a room that unbeknownst to us was between two other rooms that had actually been condemned. When we complained about water leakage their response was a $5 a day discount. Admittedly, I wasn't as much of an a-hole as I am now, but I think I was also in shock that this was their reaction.

A decade ago was a long time ago. I can't speak to their product or their service then. I am talking about 2014.

Someone at the Sentinel?

I'm talking from TDO, unless that was sarcasm!

Thanks a lot Obama.

You can't mention Prez Lame Duck, ISIS and Ebola unless you rip him first. Governor He Who Shall Not Be Named Or Joked About's orders!

 

[RSoxNo1]

I think this was a case of no one simply telling John 'NO!' ... It happened with Eisner. It happens with Iger. It happens with most high level execs at most companies.

If someone had simply told Jay Rasulo and Nick Franklin 'NO!!!' on NGE, then billions would have been saved. Sure, wifi at WDW might suck, but I don't go to WDW to be online. Sure, I might have to use a card to enter my hotel room, but I am not so lazy that reaching into my pants has ever been an issue. Sure, I might not be able to wear a plastic tracking bracelet, but kewl kids wouldn't be caught dead with one.

Who actually walked into the Blue Sky meeting and pitched the Next Gen project? Then, who (besides everyone) supported it?

 

[WDW1974]

I think it might be the first Spirited thread to hit 1,000.... but man have you seen the
Where in the World is Bob Saget? thread.... scary down there... 3,483 pages and counting!

I didn't know there was such a thread, but whatever ... hey, I have seen Saget at DLR at least 3-4 times. Really!

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'll repeat that I think that anyone who posts ''Disney is a business ...'' should be immediately banned from this site (listening @wdwmagic?) and then we should beat them up at recess, steal their lunch money and give them a wedgie that makes mom have to take them to the pediatrician to example their balls. Really!

@wdwmagic would institute that rule, except WDWMagic.com is a business and that type off hostility, while justified is bad for business.

 

[RSoxNo1]

OK so a drag queen (and Disney fanboi) wants to get in on the ebola fun and needs a new name?

What say you about Ebola Fruit?

I saw a cross dressing Mary Poppins at the D23 Expo, my nickname rhymed with Poppins.

 

[asianway]

I think this was a case of no one simply telling John 'NO!' ... It happened with Eisner. It happens with Iger. It happens with most high level execs at most companies.

If someone had simply told Jay Rasulo and Nick Franklin 'NO!!!' on NGE, then billions would have been saved. Sure, wifi at WDW might suck, but I don't go to WDW to be online. Sure, I might have to use a card to enter my hotel room, but I am not so lazy that reaching into my pants has ever been an issue. Sure, I might not be able to wear a plastic tracking bracelet, but kewl kids wouldn't be caught dead with one.

Hey I've been meaning to ask. Any idea how ole Nick is enjoying his time with family?

 

[WDW1974]

Who actually walked into the Blue Sky meeting and pitched the Next Gen project? Then, who (besides everyone) supported it?

Don't know who actually pitched it. But it came out of the original Destination Disney project of the early 00s (you know, the one that gave us DME, DDP, MYW tix, My Pal Mickey and sent Georgie K over to Paris!)

When it was pitched to Bob Iger, I'm sure it was Jay Rasulo and Nick Franklin (although Tom Staggs, then CFO, was likely in on it too!)

BTW, y'all recall when Franklin was sent packing earlier this year, right? It was probably because the guy couldn't dress to save his life, right @TP2000 ?

 

[WDW1974]

Hey I've been meaning to ask. Any idea how ole Nick is enjoying his time with family?

I don't know. I've never followed up.

One strong-willed UNI fanboi kept telling me he was leaving Disney of his own accord and that he was basically a great exec and headed to NBC/UNI. One would think if that were the case that it would have made a few headlines.

 

[BrianLo]

The Chinese want unique whether we're talking Disney or UNI or Six Flags. And they get it largely ... look at HKDL. Just attractions/addition wise they have added Grizzly Gulch (with a unique E-Ticket), Mystic Point (with a unique E-Ticket) and Iron Man experience (a unique E-Ticket) is on the way in 18 months. The only clone was Toy Story Land, which I can excuse as it took the exact place where Mickey's Toontown (a concept the company believes is done) was supposed to go, and will get TSMM construction starting VERY soon. ... I love the idea of 75 percent unique stuff and 25% cloned, which is pretty close to what you'll see at HKDL going forward. ... The big E-Ticket that likely will follow TSMM within a year is completely unique and won't show up anywhere else.

Ha, I already said I was satisfied for a few months.

So Iron Man 2016, TSMM 2017 (no problem with that and makes logical sense) and original E-ticket 2018... I still don't understand how WDW as a whole manages to pull off a slower rate of ride additions when they have FOUR parks that should be *occasionally* updated.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I'll repeat that I think that anyone who posts ''Disney is a business ...'' should be immediately banned from this site

What everyone seems to forget is that Disney was not a business in 1971 when Roy Disney opened the Magic Kingdom with a Parks & Resorts (P&R) gross margin of 24.4%.

Disney was not a business in the 1970s and 1980s under Donn Tatum and Card Walker when Epcot was opened and P&R gross margin averaged 18.8%.

Disney was not a business in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s under Michael Eisner when DHS, DAK, TL, and BB were opened and P&R gross margin averaged 22.2%.

Nope, nope, not a business.

It's only in the last 9 years since Bob Iger took charge and opened squat at WDW producing an average P&R gross margin of 15.0% that Disney suddenly has become a business.

 

[WDW1974]

Tangent.... I need @ParentsOf4 's thoughts here.....

Does this Ebola scare (which is silly, we all agree on that) risk a significant impact on the tourism market?

Meaning, if we get a few Ebola patients showing up on airplanes, could this risk a post-9/11 slowdown for Orlando tourism? Or is that reaching too much?

There would have to be a legit outbreak.

9/11 actually happened. People were afraid of a real thing.

Ebola is a real thing ... in three nations of West Africa ... where it has been a real thing for years.

The insane over-the-top news coverage here does not make it a real thing. Let's wait until the corpses start piling up. ... Now, everyone, go get your worthless flu shots! (seriously, I'm not one of those no vaccinations freaks, but I have never gotten a flu shot ... ever. and I went from 2008 until 2014 without getting the flu! ... But I do wash my hands frequently and sanitize and stop breathing near a coughing child!)

 

[Mike S]

Ha, I already said I was satisfied for a few months.

So Iron Man 2016, TSMM 2017 (no problem with that and makes logical sense) and original E-ticket 2018... I still don't understand how WDW as a whole manages to pull off a slower rate of ride additions when they have FOUR parks that should be *occasionally* updated.

How much is it to go to Hong Kong, just out of curiosity of course.

 

[WDW1974]

What everyone seems to forget is that Disney was not a business in 1971 when Roy Disney opened the Magic Kingdom with Parks & Resorts (P&R) gross margin of 24.4%.

Disney was not a business in the 1970s and 1980s under Donn Tatum and Card Walker when Epcot was opened and P&R gross margin averaged 18.8%.

Disney was not a business in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s under Michael Eisner when DHS, DAK, TL, and BB were opened and P&R gross margin averaged 22.2%.

Nope, nope, not a business.

It's only in the last 9 years since Bob Iger took charge and opened squat at WDW producing an average P&R gross margin of 15.0% that Disney suddenly has become a business.

Well, to be fair, it is being run like most other poorly run businesses in 2014 Corporate America. No one looks at the underlying fundamentals. They focus on numbers that often are tortured until they say anything ... look at what you do with them?!?!! You make it seem like Disney P&R are not being run well and that isn't the case at all because Phil Kippel told me so !!!

 

[WDW1974]

It's a shame I have to stop reading your posts half-way through, they're so insightful. But then you crack one of these jokes and I lose all focus! Thanks for the laugh!

I like to educate, entertain and provoke discussion. If I can do all three, then I am one happy Spirit.

But I'll take any one ...