The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[WDWFan_Boston]

Agreed on both, but to the general public, I can see where that Rio Del Tiempo approach is almost too subtle. I hate to think that people can't accept that kind of entertainment in a theme park, but it seems to be ever moving that way. That being said, the Three Caballeros have a long history with Disney, and with South America, too. They're not completely out of left field. I wish they had kept the beginning of the ride in tact with some updated footage on the screens, and then when we moved into the city scenes have the Caballeros come in and do their thing. I think that would adequately balance it out.

An updated, refreshed dark ride would have made such an overlay unnecessary. I think people are more open minded than Disney realizes. The masses don't always NEED Disney characters (i.e. EPCOT Center). They want an experience. They want to be taken somewhere they have never been before.

 

[jlsHouston]

It's not the original company. The rights to the name were sold when the original company liquidated.

Yes I know...I think actually it's been sold twice..or the name...the blue sky part of it. If I remember correctly when they bankrupted it was one of the hugest liquidations of a retailer ever. Now whoever owns it simply is running it as an online/catalog store.
So funny that @WDW1974 brought up getting the catalog in the mail...we were thumbing though ours like we hadn't seen a catalog in years .
My very first brand new washer and dryer a Speed Queen was bought from Montgomery Wards..

 

[jlsHouston]

Rumours began last week that PUSH was leaving.

A Disney spokesman said that there was no truth in said rumours and that he would be staying.

PUSH is now gone.

Are you freaking SERIOUS!??? How can he be gone ??? I never knew he existed??? I never got to see him

 

[jlsHouston]

I'm not sure to be honest, I do think PUSH leaving was entirely avoidable and that Disney were very stupid to publicly say that he was staying only for him to be gone forty-eight hours later.

OMG this is killing what a terrible piece of news for the end of my workday Monday. OMG

 

[Computer Magic]

It's 50 years!

Well I figured the previous owner had the DVC for 10 years before reselling.

 

[JenniferS]

Are you freaking SERIOUS!??? How can he be gone ??? I never knew he existed??? I never got to see him

Saw him for the first time in September. Great fun.
I have yet to see DiVine, though. Probably easy to miss when you only spend 4-5 hours at DAK once/year.
(Hopefully the upcoming Pandora and night time entertainment will turn that park into a full day experience. Eventually)

 

[Magenta Panther]

It's a shame, too. If Phineas and Ferb aren't the perfect example of Disney not knowing what to do with their own IP, I don't know what is. It was (I think it's popularity has diminished greatly due to the struggles of the Disney Channel in the last 6 months or so) arguably the most popular animated tv property since the Simpsons and yet they've done nothing with it. The park presence is a meet & greet at one park.

Imagine if P&F were a Uni property...

P & F is a fun cartoon, but man, those walk-around costumes are creepy...

 

[Magenta Panther]

Speaking of P & F, did any of u see the marvel / P&F crossover movie? My kids love it! Me, it's kinda weird...

And can someone clue me in to the whole PUSH debacle? That thread is too long to sift through...lol

I saw it. I...didn't quite know what to make of it. The writing was clever, but it felt a little weird hearing Thor pop off one-liners. I supposed it all worked as well as it could have, all things considered...

 

[culturenthrills]

I'm still woefully disturbed by the idea that the only way to ensure profits is for Disney to cut and raise prices.

I bumped into a gas last night at the grand Floridian and he was saying that "Disney has priced itself out of the middle class"....

When will somebody on Wall Street actually come up with the bright idea that actually reinvesting in your product brings longer-term growth and success rather than playing a quarter to quarter?

It gets all these entertainment cuts that are happening right now… The parts are about entertainment, why on earth is the company cutting off its nose to spite the face?

I'm all for the stock price to go up… But I want the stock to be a solid performer and not tied to random fluctuations from quarter to quarter.

The Disney of today has to close one show(Ziti Sisters) to pay for more time for the Frozen Meet and Greet. It's not even about Walt would never do something like this. The Disney of 20 years ago would never do something like this. I would love to see the merch sales in Italy's shops go down because the lack of a show that draws alot of people into a pavillion that doesn't have an attraction.

 

[PhotoDave219]

The Disney of today has to close one show(Ziti Sisters) to pay for more time for the Frozen Meet and Greet. It's not even about Walt would never do something like this. The Disney of 20 years ago would never do something like this. I would love to see the merch sales in Italy's shops go down because the lack of a show that draws alot of people into a pavillion that doesn't have an attraction.

Youre assuming that's the case....

 

[PhotoDave219]

No, part of the problem is that Push was jointly owned by Disney and the performer.

The way I hear it, Disney wanted to claim ownership of the character and just contract the operator to "perform"him.

Understandably, the guy rejected that offer. So Disney canned him. He should do a Billy Hill and take his act to Uni.

That meshes with the Intellectual Property stuff mentioned by Jason Garcia. And some trademark paperwork someone dug up earlier today.

Looks like that was the real issue in contract negotiations and thankfully none of the other stuff thats happened this week

 

[Crafty]

We wanted to buy the premier annual pass at the discounted price. With all the restrictions, I wonder how many DVC members will actually buy them. I wonder how many members actually frequently go to CA and FL.

First, you are required to buy them in person. Not being locals to either Fl or CA, and not having a trip planned during the special, we were out of luck. Next, they activate on the day of purchase. No vouchers to activate later with these babies. We have APs for WDW that expire in August. By activating them on the day of purchase, we would have lost several months of our current APs.

When I spoke to member services, they were not interested in helping me to buy the passes. OK, then, Disney apparently does not want my $1700. This made me madder than if there had been no premier discount at all.

We cancelled our July trip to CA. Then we cancelled our Oct trip to WDW. I don't think that we will buy APs at all in the future. During our May trip to WDW we will be able to use our current APs. We are also planning two days at Universal to see Harry Potter. We have never been there before.

It seems to me that the discount on the premier annual passes is so restrictive that it is almost a joke considering the tiny number of people who can take advantage of it. It has definitely NOT made me want to spend more at Disney.

 

[scout68]

I don't doubt.. The question is it leakage... Or the titanic

Iceberg right ahead...

 

[WDW1974]

Spirited Lessons of the Day:

WDW fans are so hungry for a new parade that they'll go ape-blank over a few tidbits shown to media (and social media whores). It's from Davison, so I expect that it will be damn good. But a few realities to ponder: it likely will take the Disney lawyers all of a few weeks to decide the dragon can't have a fire effect (if it doesn't simply break after they film the promo material) and it has to be great because they've probably budgeted it to play until at least 2021.

WDW fans really care about a talking trash can while the rest of the resort falls into one.

General Hospital may be the best written hour of TV that ABC puts on right now ... but Resurrection sure has my attention. How about you, Red?

It sure seems like TDR handles snow events of substance much better than Atlanta handles a dusting.

Loyalty to an airline or seeking status today is largely a losing proposition beyond not having to pay for extras ... you know like luggage or a seat with a window or on an aisle. Glad I had status when it actually meant something.

This summer is going to be brutal in Orlando, but not just the heat and humidity (which will be worse than ever for WDW guests waiting in artificially long lines for attractions that never had them and reservation kiosks to make them). No, listening to Disney fans laughably claim they still have the best product purely because of size and number of parks and timeshare resorts. Maybe I should head back to Germany.

I get that the crazy California state laws requiring workers to be protected in every eventuality is wreaking havoc with Disney's ability to plot DLR operations. But they are still doing a poor job of communicating what will be open to the public and when to trap guests (not me, I'm going no matter) who might cancel or put off visits.

If you think the Dwarfs kiddie coaster is delayed (and it is), then you haven't seen nothing because there is a possibility that DL's BTMRR will remain closed for a lot longer than March or April.

The folks at NBC really should have considered Bob Costas' eye problem as a sign of trouble in Sochi and got out of there. I just can't watch ... his eye or the coverage.

Kudos to Michael Sam for being the first gay football player in history (OK, let's all have a great laugh at that one!) ... but the first time a team official or player talks about his sexuality being a 'distraction' in not selecting him let's realize what that is code for.

Remember when Dubai was going to have Busch Gardens, Sea World, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Universal Studios, Six Flags and Marvel theme parks? Yeah, me too.

 

[WDW1974]

I do wish they would use that space at the Tomorrowland speedway and build the Wonderland area like they were going to in the very early stages of New Fsntasyland. I would love an Alice dark ride down in FL with that cool trackless ride system!

Why is it that folks think taking the Speedway away is somehow the answer to MK expansion when the park has expansion pads available and plenty of land that isn't being used and could?

(and why does anyone think Disney wants to add anything to that park?)

 

[WDW1974]

Just to let everyone know, my insider (who I don't have direct connect with) has informed that something big is in the works for EC. It is in FW and is related to an unnamed new sponsor. This is separate to whatever is related with Soaring. No timetables were given.

EDIT - I was just told that I got what she said wrong, and was furious when I told her that I posted what I thought I heard her say. When I asked her to repeat what she had said earlier so I could correct this post, she outright refused to. I'm like 99.999999% sure that's what she said and I got it right...

Please MAGICal friends (and foes too!), join me in a hearty OHMYGAWD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[WDW1974]

Want to take a minute in a separate post to congratulate the guys at Miceage/Micechat on 11 years and say how sad it is/was that Al Lutz is too ill to take part in their festivities.

 

[WDW1974]

Boy George on Piers Morgan as a Pilgrim Drag Queen. Do you really want to hurt me or just my eyes?

(make up your own Vista Way joke)

 

[WDW1974]

There's still way too much to do at both parks to have a new one open in 2018, using your 4 year time frame.

2015 should be Jurassic Park, more CityWalk changes, and another hotel. 2016 will be Kong. 2017 will most likely be the next USF project. 2018 is a bit far out to judge right now. But along with these known projects are the purchase of new land, whatever is replacing Toon Lagoon, the new water park, and whatever else they decide to spend their Diagon Alley money on.

Point is there is a lot more to do.

I have a very good feeling that Toon Lagoon's replacement will make a lot of UNI fanbois happy. Just a feeling ... so let it be.

 

[WDW1974]

Parting thought: would anyone like a thread titled something like 'Today in the Disney Twitverse'?