The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[MinnieM123]

View attachment 46788 View attachment 46789

Would it have killed them to put up some memorabilia and theming on this wall at Casey's? (pics from da mouse)

Interesting photos—guess I'm not a fan of the blank walls, either. However, just a random observation of your 2nd photo in particular: the new, additional seating area isn't that large. Now, I'm not an interior designer by any means, but if you look at the windows on the far back wall, the daylight shining in really draws your attention (there are also some small decorations on that back wall). I'm wondering if the reason why the walls on the sides were left blank was done, intentionally, to minimize visual distraction—creating sort of a design "illusion" that the room is actually bigger than it is. Just a thought . . .

 

[PeterAlt]

Talking about trains...

How statewide rail will steal tourists from Miami to Orlando

Richard Bilbao
Reporter-
Orlando Business Journal

Folks in Miami may not be fans of this thought process, but statewide rail will likely lure tourists out of South Beach and bring them to Blizzard Beach.

At least that’s the thought process behind what All Aboard President and COO Don Robinson said Feb. 14 at Orlando Business Journal's Business of Transportation breakfast.

Specifically, Robinson said he expects vacationers to make up 75 percent of the ridership on the massive rail system, especially those traveling to Central Florida. In addition, he said vacation planners may be able to sell packages that use the rail if they fly into South Florida’s airports to bring them to Central Florida.

If so, that would provide Central Florida’s tourism industry with a direct line to South Florida major airports like Miami International Airport that caters to Latin American countries like Brazil — a booming travel market for Orlando.

Orlando, which has broken visitation records four years in a row, is on an upward trend in visitations due to new theme park attractions such as Universal Orlando Resort’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Walt Disney World’s New Fantasyland and upcoming Avatarland expansion in 2017, and SeaWorld’s Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, as well as the successful convention district that draws more than 2 million people to the region each year.

But the advantages to statewide rail as a travel system can even serve unmet needs, Robinson said.

He added that the train would provide unique services for traveling families to help lure them to choose to travel rail rather than other services like air or road. For example, he said a lot of families travel with pets now and hotels are more pet-friendly, so it would make sense for the rail system to provide a pet car for families to bring Rover.

“There are special niches of services that can be taken advantage of to further help people use the rail system to move around the statewide corridors,” he said.

 

[PeterAlt]

Like one of THESE

What strikes me about this are the rubber tires. The appeal of monorail is that it's silent versus the loud squeal of steel on steel. If trains were made like that, they would be more pleasant to ride and we won't need monorail. Maybe a hybrid of that and light rail could be a future solution...

 

[GoofGoof]

What strikes me about this are the rubber tires. The appeal of monorail is that it's silent versus the loud squeal of steel on steel. If trains were made like that, they would be more pleasant to ride and we won't need monorail. Maybe a hybrid of that and light rail could be a future solution...

I think the rubber tires are for driving on the street. The small metal tires below the front bumper are on the rails. I think it was one of the Die Hard movies that featured one of these trucks

 

[jlsHouston]

So? The place is named for him for a reason and the Company still loves to invoke his name. Steam trains were incredibly important to the conceptualization and development of Disneyland. If it all started with a Mouse, Disneyland started with a train.

I love this.

 

[PeterAlt]

I think the rubber tires are for driving on the street. The small metal tires below the front bumper are on the rails. I think it was one of the Die Hard movies that featured one of these trucks

I still like rubber tires, though. That's the big reason why I like the monorail. That's also why I like Miami's Metromover. Quebec has a rubber tire subway I hear.

Does the WEDway have rubber tires? I forgot.

 

[NearTheEars]

And almost every hotel I go to has taken the phony "enviro-twist" to avoid having to wash your towels and sheets. If they were genuinely concerned about the environment, there are a bazillion other things they could be doing.

In general, enviro-friendly can be translated as dollar-friendly.

The main issue with steam trains is that they take a lot of man hours and safety work. To control costs, Disney wants a turn-key system. I can't say I blame them on this one, as steam boilers can be a big hazard if not maintained properly. It's one place where deferred maintenance cannot be tolerated.

I LOL at the little signs that say "help us save the earth: reuse the towels and sheets!" No, you want us to help you save money by reducing laundry, and the amount of employees you need to wash it.

 

[jlsHouston]

I'm sure I'm over simplifying this but here is my understanding of Disney's "plan" as it's been articulated in these threads.

• Next Gen is part of Disney's Blue Ocean strategy and will lead to guests changing the way they tour the parks. They are doing this because competing with Comcast/Universal in attraction driven Theme Park Wars would be too costly.
• Next Gen had an initial budget of $800 million and has now ballooned to the $2-$2.5 billion range.
• Next Gen will continue to eat up resources because the shelf life of this technology is far shorter than that of any attraction.
• The components of Next Gen are not generating revenue at the same rate of the amortization of the Next Gen components themselves.

Given all this, is there anyone in the company willing to say the hole is getting deeper and the end result is going to be not only getting their butt's kicked from an attraction and hotel standpoint, but a system that is nothing more than a trip planning tool. A better investment would have been to offer @lentesta $800 million for Touring Plans and then use the remaining $1.2-1.7 on new attractions.

And you know what's really bad about TWDC deciding to embrace this Blue Ocean strategy vis a vis Next Gen ? I don't think TWDC has ever made a profit with any of their internet and gaming ventures.

So here they are going to re brand their successful brand using IT. And all the computer stuff is their weakest business segment.

 

[Nubs70]

There are no doubts in my mind that their dedication to sustainability is 60% bottom line, 10% actual caring and 30% BS.

Sustainability is the new corporate buzzword which incorporates the goal of the "Triple Bottom Line. The triple bottom line is composed of People, Planet, Profit in that specific order of importance. The trouble with the Triple Bottom Line is that if there is not sufficient Profit, the company will not exist to focus on either People or Planet.

 

[jlsHouston]

Still haven't seen any proof of that figure. It just seems to be the go to number for everyone.

I thought the Orlando newspaper projected that figure based on the figures that TWDC had revealed to Wall Street..

 

[Goofyernmost]

While I personally agree with you I think some people can more easily separate their love for Disney parks from their love (or lack of love) for authentic steam trains. For me the railroad is as much a part of my memories and love for WDW as the monorail or the castle or Pirates or HM or Splash. I'm not a train enthusiast or anything like that, but I appreciate the history of the railroad and specifically the history of those trains.

If this rumor is true and they retire the trains and they actually try to still offer a tour that would be pretty lame and kind of obnoxious. Maybe the highlight of the tour would be where they show you video clips of what the trains were like before they got rid of them

Where did I say there would be no trains? I know you are probably just looking to argue, but seriously try reading a post before responding to it.

Sorry, I apparently misinterpreted that sentence and thought you meant that there would be no trains at all. My mistake, but, why do you think I'm looking for an argument. Nothing can be further from the truth. In fact, my first sentence was a question because I was surprise to hear that they were talking about no trains at all anymore, as I gathered from your first sentence. I love reading and posting on the boards, but, if it means that I have to stifle my opinion on things so that no back and forth discussion ever happens, well, that ain't gonna happen!

No one has to agree with anything I put on these threads. I will defend my opinions and try to do it without making it an insult to the person that disagrees with me. (a favor that I do not seem to get in return) I ask questions and defend my answers. So many times I ask questions and they never get answered, all I get is a snotty remark, totally unrelated to the stuff we were discussing and that makes me appear argumentative. If I have a strong feeling about something, I express it and then defend it. At a point when I have made every point that I feel is important, I decide that it isn't worth the hassle anymore and then stop.

So sorry for that error on my part. I'm sure everyone makes that same error from time to time, but, no I'm not just trying to get an argument started. I already stated that I do not have a horse in this race, so whatever happens, short of no trains at all, works for me.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I still like rubber tires, though. That's the big reason why I like the monorail. That's also why I like Miami's Metromover. Quebec has a rubber tire subway I hear.

Does the WEDway have rubber tires? I forgot.

Montreal, sure does and has had since the 1967 Worlds Fair. Quiet and comfortable ride.

I don't remember exactly what WEDway has, but it does run on a narrow metal rail, I think, so it probably doesn't have rubber tires. I could be very wrong on that one.

 

[DisneyGentleman]

I LOL at the little signs that say "help us save the earth: reuse the towels and sheets!" No, you want us to help you save money by reducing laundry, and the amount of employees you need to wash it.

Here is an interesting tidbit which directly says it's all about money after all.

 

[NearTheEars]

With all due respect, I'm not sure what your analogy is then.

If faux steam produces the same "accuracy" as real steam to you, then would you say static figures on Pirates of the Caribbean

I don't think that comparison works, because the faux steam train still moves and produces steam. A static figure would not in the end still move like an AA.

As I said before, PLEASE WDW KEEP THE STEAM TRAINS! I'd hate to see them go. And was looking forward to taking the steam tour one of these weekends.

But if a family, with no knowledge of trains, arrives to MK and sees a train chugging past with steam coming out of the top, many wouldn't give it a second thought. And the savings WILL have Mr. Iger seeing "green."

 

[PeterAlt]

Montreal, sure does and has had since the 1967 Worlds Fair. Quiet and comfortable ride.

I don't remember exactly what WEDway has, but it does run on a narrow metal rail, I think, so it probably doesn't have rubber tires. I could be very wrong on that one.

Are Montreal's grooved to ride on top of steel rails, or is it a trackless concrete guideway, like Metromover's?

 

[PeterAlt]

I don't think that comparison works, because the faux steam train still moves and produces steam. A static figure would not in the end still move like an AA.

As I said before, PLEASE WDW KEEP THE STEAM TRAINS! I'd hate to see them go. And was looking forward to taking the steam tour one of these weekends.

But if a family, with no knowledge of trains, arrives to MK and sees a train chugging past with steam coming out of the top, many wouldn't give it a second thought. And the savings WILL have Mr. Iger seeing "green."

All this talk of green has me seeing umpalumpas and leprechauns!

 

[Hakunamatata]

All this talk of green has me seeing umpalumpas and
leprechauns!

I think umpalumpas were orange weren't they?

 

[PeterAlt]

I think umpalumpas were orange weren't they?

They may be... But the ones I am seeing are green.

Someone pass me the box of Cheese Its, please...

 

[PhotoDave219]

While you guys argue the semantics and minutiae of things… Team Disney Orlando is going to raise prices again affective tomorrow morning.

$99 MK/ $94 elsewhere for 1D1P

 

[PeterAlt]

While you guys argue the semantics and minutiae of things… Team Disney Orlando is going to raise prices again affective tomorrow morning.

$99 MK/ $94 elsewhere for 1D1P

There's inflation everywhere all of a sudden...