The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[TalkingHead]

Hey, I wouldn't mind a few cheap clones being thrown in at WDW, stolen from other Disney parks.

Do I hear the sound of crickets chirping?

If it's new to Orlando, I couldn't care less if it's a clone.

I would've much preferred a FLE that included more of the DL dark rides -- Alice, especially.

But I guess if UNI has taught us that clones are so much cheaper to build, then there's no excuse why Indiana Jones Adventure shouldn't be cloned for Adventureland.

It's amazing how one of the best rides at WDW (TOT) got cloned around the world, but the best ride at DL (IMO) never made its way to Florida.

Oh, well, I guess we got Dinosaur...

 

[GoofGoof]

You are totally right. Even in a "love and shove" operating stance… You're figuring two people per minute at the most. Or two groups per minute…

Let's use Anna and Elsa as an example. They need me for 10 hours a day, from 11 to 9 at the moment. With an insane line. Let's assume that we are doing back-to-back sets as opposed to 20 minute breaks in there. Consider this devil to advocate… From a theoretical point of view.

So you are roughly seeing maybe 120 groups per hour. That's only 1200 people.... Assuming everything is operating at peak efficiency.

Let's go ahead and for the sake of reality and easy to do math, assume I thousand people is what's average for a 10 hour set there. That's 1/30th or less of Epcot's daily attendance. That's one hour of Soarin.

High demand and low capacity.

But what are the costs. The capacity is significantly less than a ride, especially an omnimover type ride, that isn't in dispute but there is very little cost once it's built. Some touch up paint here and there and a new costume every so often for the characters. The cost per guest is still going to come out pretty low since both the numerator and denominator are low.

 

[TalkingHead]

so the cruise line that has hints of mickey everywhere and wins awards hand over fist must be tacky...i mean mickey shaped windows and trim in a Disney land....i like to see Disney everywhere...that's what makes WDW so special....the real world ends at the archway. go ride the MCO monorail back and fourth if you want plain Jane.

Well, it certainly helps make WDW garish. Maybe that says "Disney" to you. It says "garish" to me. Believe it or not, the two haven't always been synonymous.

 

[yeti]

Hey, I wouldn't mind a few cheap clones being thrown in at WDW, stolen from other Disney parks.

Might be interesting to see what comes of that Ratatouille ride.

 

[aladdin2007]

Might be interesting to see what comes of that Ratatouille ride.

another good fit for the Studios.

 

[spacemt354]

If only there was some Scandinavian-esque IP out there crying out for a wintery mountain ride...

"Do you want to build a Matterhorn???"

Just Let It Go ...

 

[asianway]

That seems contradictory to the idea that TDO is incredibly cheap and always looking to cut costs. If meet and greets were that expensive to operate and maintain they would be the first things cut. Instead they are being rapidly expanded.

It's the manner of how they allocate resources to placate the soccer mommys and speshul snowflakes. They throw hundreds and hundreds of shifts worth of CMs to character greets every day. If you visit another resort there's nowhere near this much labor tossed at greetings. Seeing Goofy at Tokyo would be a chance encounter. In FL Goofy is on the times guide at all 4 parks. I'm some cases continuous from open to close. In multiple rooms yet.

 

[WDW1974]

Spirited Oscar Sunday Musings:

Nope, not dead yet. But after being sick for almost three weeks, I am over the novelty and I am tired of all the coughing, gagging, blowing and rubbing (also: The Jeopardy answer to the question 'What would you never hear at an Imagineering/Fanboi Mixer?')

Talked to a friend today about the truly scary tracking aspects of the NGE program and we went back to the start of tracking and how it has never been a good thing and how it can be summed up in one word: Cookies. Amazing how something so evil as a tracking tool on your computer is named after something we all love, something so harmless (except to our waistlines). So Orwellian.

Real world update. Yes, Russia is on a land grab in Ukraine. The question is, though, how can anyone take US disapproval seriously when we invade countries and start wars regularly now without any provocation?

No, I am not a big fan of the Oscars as anyone who knows me will tell you. Part of that is that I am a TV Spirit and I know what it is like to put that tuxedo on and walk the red carpet (or multiples) at Emmy time. Part of it may be that I have yet to score an Oscar invite, although plenty of family and friends have. Part of it may be the over pretentiousness of the Oscars. Most of the films annually are not the most popular. Where's Iron Man 3 in the Best Pic category, am I right Marvel fanbois?

I did spend Friday night watching nominee Nebraska and it is a fine piece of film making. What's so wonderful beyond the amazing work of Bruce Dern, Will Forte and June Squibb is that the film is really just a simple one about simple people living simple lives. If for only that reason, I hope it gets some love tonight.

Oh, did you all blink and miss that Disney is shutting down a handful of marinas (DD, SS, OKW, CBR, PO off the top of my head). You think this is designed to improve the guest experience or the bottom line? It is a pretty significant thing to cut ... but Disney has been doing this BS since the late 90s with no signs of stopping.

I think I know what Bob Iger fears most in his last months as Disney's top manager.

It's true: two Twitter accounts are not enough for a friend of mine. He needs three. Initials are EE.

The Neighbors is still one of the dumbest, funniest half hours on TV, whether you tune in or not.

A good friend of mine is spending time now in Dubai. No, I don't get it either (beyond her pay day!)

I see we still have a thread going about CMs seeking a pay increase. You have to love the simple-minded 'tudes about ...

BOB AND WILLOW OSCAR SIGHTING!

... about poor people without the advantages that many here have discussing what these people have to do for themselves when there isn't one of them that didn't receive help from family, parents, friends, teachers etc to get where they are today. Nobody does it alone. Nobody.

Those bois at Micechat sure have been quiet this year.

For those of you who I owe emails/PMs ... well, yeah, I can use sickness as an excuse and will do so.

I am convinced that the worst climate on Earth is off in the hills where @Lee resides.

A friend of the family is taking the grandson to WDW for the kid's fourth B-day and staying in a Cars suite at AoA. I really tried to pretend I was happy for them.

Pool season in Vegas starts this week. Why am I not there?

 

[WDW1974]

Exactly

As quality has declined I spend less, We used to spend hundreds on merch on a 10 day trip, Last trip I think we spent about 80 bucks for 4 of us. There was simply nothing we wanted to buy. 'Disney Parks' merchandise is an immediate turnoff for me. I went to WDW or DL not 'Six Flags'

I found more at DLP to buy in January ... that speaks volumes.

However, DAK and World Showcase still have some nice stuff at fair prices. The thing is, most of it is not Disney merchandise. And some people only want Disney stuff. I'd buy quality Disney stuff, but I can go home with handcrafted items from Africa with no Mickey connection too. ... So, I do use that as a caveat that not all WDW stuff is crap. Just most.

 

[WDW1974]

Well because between those two extremes... there is a middle. There is also SMART spending vs dumb.

When someone makes dumb choices... those usually have the consequence of harming other things that otherwise might have been.

I would say that this is what has happened as a result of MK's way too low capacity.

You have some ridiculously long operating days 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. during holidays, spring break etc ... yet EPCOT, which once had regular 11 p.m. and midnight closings, always shuts at 9 or 9:30 when they need to sell meal packages for CP.

So, sure, the MK is always open late (unlike the old days when it would regularly close at 6 and 7), but that negatively impacts the ability to do basic cleaning and maintaining. And it impacts the other parks as Disney won't add labor expenses when it can funnel everyone to one park.

 

[WDW1974]

Clicking on his page and reading the posts he re-Tweets is actually quite funny.

Mental illness can be a laughing matter!

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

.

I think I know what Bob Iger fears most in his last months as Disney's top manager.

?

What would that be?

 

[WDW1974]

It's going to get worse before it gets better. If it gets better.

Now YOU'RE stealing my lines too?!?!

 

[WDW1974]

No, it's legit.
He has...issues. Acknowledged ones.

For those who don't know, he has/had multiple accounts here. Countrybearfan for one.

He has been stalking me online for many moons ... I recall him on LP.com long ago. ... and, yeah, he has issues.

What bothered me was that when I was on my Faux Top One Percent Spirited Winter Holiday Abroad, he made a few vile comments about what he'd like to do to me, Lee and a handful of others here ... and idiot, low-life Imagineer show writer Jason Surrell retweeted the thing and then was quickly told he needed to remove it. I would have fired Surrell ... but I would have fired him a while ago, which is probably why he was quick to retweet the idiot's comments to start with.

 

[WDW1974]

That's because the US media is consumed with the latest gaffe or taking something out of context to play to their partisan crowd and to fill 24 hours of talking heads blabbering about the same garbage instead of real news. I swear I wanted to throw something at the TV when on the new season of 'House of Cards' supposed US journalists are acting and "interviewing" these characters. What joke and it made me all the more irritated to see people from the political spectrum that I agree with do their little acting nonsense. I might live in the US, but I barely get "news" from any US outlets because I'd be borderline brain dead if I did.

So true. Edward Snowden did an interview with German TV last month. Every major USA news org (from any/all sides of the spectrum) decided to ignore it. Or they were told to. It is sickening ... our country has been stolen while everyone was in line at Best Buy to buy their newest Apple surveillance iPhone.

 

[Gabe1]

Oh, did you all blink and miss that Disney is shutting down a handful of marinas (DD, SS, OKW, CBR, PO off the top of my head)..

Clarification please! I heard last week that the ferries from the PO, SS and OKW are not stopping at DTD pier for an extended period but will land at the Pleasure Island pier. Will the marinas still be open for the ferries? Or is this just like CS, where they are taking out the rental boats?

 

[lazyboy97o]

So true. Edward Snowden did an interview with German TV last month. Every major USA news org (from any/all sides of the spectrum) decided to ignore it. Or they were told to. It is sickening ... our country has been stolen while everyone was in line at Best Buy to buy their newest Apple surveillance iPhone.

It seemed rather well covered by the technology media that would be most excited by a new iPhone.

 

[Nubs70]

Spirited Oscar Sunday Musings:

Nope, not dead yet. But after being sick for almost three weeks, I am over the novelty and I am tired of all the coughing, gagging, blowing and rubbing (also: The Jeopardy answer to the question 'What would you never hear at an Imagineering/Fanboi Mixer?')

Talked to a friend today about the truly scary tracking aspects of the NGE program and we went back to the start of tracking and how it has never been a good thing and how it can be summed up in one word: Cookies. Amazing how something so evil as a tracking tool on your computer is named after something we all love, something so harmless (except to our waistlines). So Orwellian.

Real world update. Yes, Russia is on a land grab in Ukraine. The question is, though, how can anyone take US disapproval seriously when we invade countries and start wars regularly now without any provocation?

No, I am not a big fan of the Oscars as anyone who knows me will tell you. Part of that is that I am a TV Spirit and I know what it is like to put that tuxedo on and walk the red carpet (or multiples) at Emmy time. Part of it may be that I have yet to score an Oscar invite, although plenty of family and friends have. Part of it may be the over pretentiousness of the Oscars. Most of the films annually are not the most popular. Where's Iron Man 3 in the Best Pic category, am I right Marvel fanbois?

I did spend Friday night watching nominee Nebraska and it is a fine piece of film making. What's so wonderful beyond the amazing work of Bruce Dern, Will Forte and June Squibb is that the film is really just a simple one about simple people living simple lives. If for only that reason, I hope it gets some love tonight.

Oh, did you all blink and miss that Disney is shutting down a handful of marinas (DD, SS, OKW, CBR, PO off the top of my head). You think this is designed to improve the guest experience or the bottom line? It is a pretty significant thing to cut ... but Disney has been doing this BS since the late 90s with no signs of stopping.

I think I know what Bob Iger fears most in his last months as Disney's top manager.

It's true: two Twitter accounts are not enough for a friend of mine. He needs three. Initials are EE.

The Neighbors is still one of the dumbest, funniest half hours on TV, whether you tune in or not.

A good friend of mine is spending time now in Dubai. No, I don't get it either (beyond her pay day!)

I see we still have a thread going about CMs seeking a pay increase. You have to love the simple-minded 'tudes about ...

BOB AND WILLOW OSCAR SIGHTING!

... about poor people without the advantages that many here have discussing what these people have to do for themselves when there isn't one of them that didn't receive help from family, parents, friends, teachers etc to get where they are today. Nobody does it alone. Nobody.

Those bois at Micechat sure have been quiet this year.

For those of you who I owe emails/PMs ... well, yeah, I can use sickness as an excuse and will do so.

I am convinced that the worst climate on Earth is off in the hills where @Lee resides.

A friend of the family is taking the grandson to WDW for the kid's fourth B-day and staying in a Cars suite at AoA. I really tried to pretend I was happy for them.

Pool season in Vegas starts this week. Why am I not there?

On the subject of Ukraine,

I spent some time Saturday watching the coverage on RT. The arguments and procedures followed mimicked anything you would see on the floors of Congress. The procedure followed by Putin and by the legislature were, by any objective measure, as democratic as any debate and vote for authorizations of force here in the US.

I must say though the debate had a quasi Sudetenland vibe about it. I was also waiting for claims about pro Kyiv forces blowing up a radio tower, and we all know the result of that.

 

[WDW1974]

And bring back the "Listen to the Land" song.

Seriously, having themed music at each pavilion helped guests built a long subconscious attachments to the attractions that they held onto for years. Nearly 30 years in my case.

They absolutely destroyed EPCOT when they decided to redo pavilions starting in the mid-90s and take away the soundtracks ... they weren't simply soundtracks of attractions and pavilions, they were the soundtracks of our lives while at EPCOT ... they set the mood, the tone ... It was optimistic. They just destroyed the place, almost with glee according to a few Glendale-based folks.

 

[WDW1974]

This example is why I say Disney does not run a REAL hotel, When I'm staying at a Hilton at executive level When I enter the lounge the concierge asks if they can do anything for me, Car service, dinner/show reservations etc.

Disney's Concierge has no idea what the job entails which is making the guest's experience frictionless so they can simply enjoy their stay.

That's because other hotel operators take the role of a concierge seriously. Disney looks at the concierge level as a chance to take more money from rubes who think the few things they get for 'free' are worth paying an extra $100-300 a night. The CMs are interchangeable ... they don't seem to get any special training. Many are way too young to have those jobs (and wouldn't at any big city Hilton).