The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[WDW1974]

I just recently became a passholder at Universal and I wouldn't call either of the parks amazing quite yet. IOA still needs at least two new rides and Universal Studios will be amazing once Diagon Alley opens up

They are the best quality, best run parks in O-town and because of wise management, from the local level all the way up to the head of the company, are poised for a great future. ...So, I'd call them amazing parks in progress if that makes you feel better.

WDW is still playing a shell game, only it is so much worse than a decade ago ... because they just spent $2 billion (and counting) on absolutely nothing but tech upgrades and trip planning apps that actually make their product less desirable to everyone largely who isn't in love with a BRAND.

 

[Scuttle]

I am curious how many typical guests (or just folks here) have had subpar rooms at WDW resorts and actually complained and demanded to be moved.

FWIW, the first time that happened to me was at CBR in 2000 (although I came very close at BC a few years earlier) and that's when I really started waking up to the Walmarting of WDW.

Now, they just don't get my money.

Agreed I haven't stayed at a duluxe or any resort for that matter in almost 5 years. It's bad when you can buy a new macbook pro for the price it takes for a 3 night stay at a deluxe.

 

[WDW1974]

I like how the hotels are so compartmentalized. Too sterile for my taste. What helps give the resorts variety at WDW is the fact that the resorts vary in size and shape of its footprint. The layout at HKDL looks like each resort is carved out using cookie cutters!

The existing resorts are beautiful and in no way feel cookie cutter. This one will likely be my favorite yet.

 

[WDW1974]

Agree. Our family had a great time last October but we were done with everything by about 4pm. Seuss land and all since we went with our toddler. I realize we went at a slow time and and I like repeating my favorite rides but IOA could use a couple of more "must do" attractions. That park is exceptional in some areas like Potter, Spiderman, Mythos, and POE. It just needs more quality filler. But with the Potter train/quasi mandatory park hopper ticket (if I wanna see Gringots) on the way, IOA won't need more stuff...at least for now until IOA expands again.

Also, Starbucks just opened an off the shelf store in Port of Entry. It litterally looks like the one at my local mall. They made no attempt inside to theme it to the area at all. For all the crap we gave starbucks on MS and Epcot, at least there was an attempt to make it appropriate to the area/land. We should be fair no? Just thought I'd throw it out there...

IOA is about to expand as well as the JP project (KONG) gets under way.

As to Starbucks, that is a fair critique ...although it is replacing a Cinnabon, which wasn't exactly special either. And I certainly didn't give Starbucks 'crap' for their WDW locales. I have no issue with them.

 

[WDW1974]

Potter is the last big gun that Universal has, and it will be fired in 2014. Disney has Star Wars, The Avengers, Avatar and Frozen for the future. I also think that the Seven Dwarves Coaster will be a real crowd pleaser in 2014.

No. That isn't true. UNI has another HUGE gun that hasn't come out yet.

Disney is doing nothing with Star Wars right now in FL.

Disney can NOT do anything with The Avengers now and forever more in FL.

Disney does have Avatar and is doing something with it in FL. Let's see what they do and how it is received in 2017-18 when it all opens.

Disney is doing NOTHING with Frozen in FL beyond a badly out of place character meet-greet-and-grope at EPCOT.

That is the truth.

As to the kiddie coaster, I do believe it will be a big hit with its target demos (young kids, their mommy bloggers and arrested development adults). It won't equal a cup of spilled butterbeer this summer. Even Disney knows this. Its fans should too!

 

[bhg469]

No. That isn't true. UNI has another HUGE gun that hasn't come out yet.

Disney is doing nothing with Star Wars right now in FL.

Disney can NOT do anything with The Avengers now and forever more in FL.

Disney does have Avatar and is doing something with it in FL. Let's see what they do and how it is received in 2017-18 when it all opens.

Disney is doing NOTHING with Frozen in FL beyond a badly out of place character meet-greet-and-grope at EPCOT.

That is the truth.

As to the kiddie coaster, I do believe it will be a big hit with its target demos (young kids, their mommy bloggers and arrested development adults). It won't equal a cup of spilled butterbeer this summer. Even Disney knows this. Its fans should too!

Based on what universal is doing with potter I'm dying to find out what is next and I'm excited to visit for the first time in about 20 years. I'm going to disney for a day but it's mostly to go on pirates and haunted mansion.

 

[jt04]

The LEGO movie made more in its second weekend than the movie's budget.

There is something to be learned in this but few will.

JL understands.

Goodnight. Gonna give The Tonight Show a chance to impress.

 

[WDW1974]

I see what you're saying, but DAK and World Showcase are way past their expiration date for me.

I don't think I'll ever tire of them myself. Maybe that's the mostly recovered Pixie Dust addict inside me (BTW, have things gotten so bad that everyone is making meth out of cold/sinus meds?!? I mean, seriously, you have to sign your name when buying allergy meds at CVS! What a country ...) but I can spend a day just walking around DAK's animal exhibits or a night around WS.

I think the latter definitely needs something new. If it isn't going to be an attraction or an actual new pavilion, then at least a new night show that hasn't been bastardized because Bob 'Green' Iger wants an environmentally clean show. He wants to be nice to the environment? how about a transport system revamp that removed buses and doesn't add them? How about making sure Disney doesn't murder any more trees?

What were we talking about?

 

[BrianLo]

Wondering if HKDL's financials plus expansion plans (and you have not heard all of that yet!) will get the USA fanbois, who will never visit anyway, to stop dissing the park. It's already a lot nicer place to visit than the MK, even if it doesn't have as many attractions. I know, I lived in the city. I've been to the park many times. I wanna go back!!!

The existing resorts are beautiful and in no way feel cookie cutter. This one will likely be my favorite yet.

This goes to show that unless you've actually been to the resort, an 'opinion' is rather useless and adds little to the discussion at hand.

I'm curious who has been in the last year and dislikes HKDL... anyone?

 

[WDW1974]

Exactly I find myself out of IOA by 2pm at the latest which is around how long I spend at AK... It's fine though because then I finish off my day at US, but both Uni parks are "half-day" parks in my mind

It all depends on what one likes and how one tours.

The MK is a 3-5 hour diversion for me. That is it. Has been that way for over a decade now.
I get more out of my time at DAK and IOA by far ...

 

[doctornick]

Is it really? I haven't been following as much lately, but last I remember DHS had a higher attendance than DAK.

I recall that the numbers have been that DAK has edged out DHS for a few years now. Some argue that DHS is actually higher in total visitors because of the "First click" aspect of how attendance is counted -- the theory being that almost all of DAK's guests go to that park first and get counted there, while DHS gets people who park hop to there as the second park of the day. I have no idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if the park is clearly lower attended than DAK -- it never seems that crowded despite having the poorest layout and least amount of "wandering around" space to absorb crowds. DAK just has so much physical space that it is touch for the park to feel very crowded because people are spread out.

That said, losing the parade (even while getting back FOTLK) isn't going to help DAK's attendance and certainly will hurt the amount of time people spend in the park.

Personally, I suspect that WDW1974 is right and that DHS is really going to suffer in upcoming years is something isn't built quickly. Star Wars would be perfect to invigorate the park if it is well done (even if it is half assed, it will still draw well). Adding more Pixar would also be beneficial and help to fill in the gap between the only toddler attractions (Disney Jr) and the thrill rides that many guests don't like/tolerate.

 

[doctornick]

Rumor has it that DAK has another addition coming soon besides FOLK area and Avatar. Don't expect any new attractions in the area.

I would love to see some more details on this. Can anyone comment?

 

[WDW1974]

Soo Loew's Royal Pacific? An amalgamation of RP and AK lodge is what I thought about. The pool seems kinda.. uh small for a property that size.

Sorta, kinda, not really. ... It will take its design cues from what has gone before, but my take (and I want to speak with someone who would know exactly) is that it is a more romanticized type of place.

The networks aren't counter programing TAPED DELAYED Olympics. I don't get it, I don't think everyone and their mother is glued to NBC. If someone was hardcore on the Olympics they would have watched it online hours before anyway. Spirit ever read any of the Hollywood Prospectus content over on Grantland?* One of the writers on there insinuates that the old three are usually like three blind mice when it comes to programing.


*owned by ESPN and TWDC

I don't think there's ever been an Olympics since my young childhood when I have watched less. I just have zero interest. I think Bob Costas and his eye ailment have been the most interesting development. I just put NBC on ... because I want to see Fallon's debut on The Tonight Show. But it is like the other networks are just conceding. Considering how strong CBS is ... and how weak ABC and NBC are ... you'd think the wise thing to do would be to give alternatives. FOX to its credit is doing that largely.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

The LEGO movie made more in its second weekend than the movie's budget.

There is something to be learned in this but few will.

JL understands.

Goodnight. Gonna give The Tonight Show a chance to impress.

The Lego Movie was produced by Warner Brothers/Village Roadshow.

 

[choco choco]

... It all comes down to binge viewing. It's sorta like the OCD fanbois that must have every piece of EPCOT ephemera ever produced. Folks watch an entire season in a weekend so you can't develop a show normally. You have to move at warp speed to account for the fact that the vast majority of your viewers are going to be done with the show in ... at most ... a month. And you don't want them cancelling their Netflix accounts ... So, what I termed poor writing and holes you could drive a triple wide MK guest through after watching the first five hours become something more. I'm sad and disappointed because Spacey and Wright are so damn good. But at the end of the day, this type of writing does not serve them well. I know my opinion won't be the popular one, but that never bothers me and won't now.

Shows that take their time and are not OMG!!!!WE-BROKE-TWITTER levels of dramatic are passe now. And it absolutely is killing great stuff. I'll give a Disney example...

The best television product Disney put out in 2012 was a little known named ABC Family show called Bunheads. Run by the brilliant Amy Sherman-Palladino, it featured the finest whip-smart, screwball dialogue written by anybody in Hollywood not named Aaron Sorkin. It was the type of show that assumed the intelligence of its audience, the type of show that would reference Jean Paul Sartre, Refrigerator Perry and Anais Nin and expect you to keep up. Bunheads was one of those old school character study shows, it featured little to no plot and no soap opera-y type elements. It uniquely advanced a lot of its character dynamics in beautiful, surrealistic ballet sequences often set to obscure music (they once started a season with a ballet set to Bjork!)

The show was so good the New Yorker (the New Yorker!!) named it their top pick for the 2012 year in television. For a show that was on ABC Family. The New York Times dance critic loved the dance sequences. It was critically adored and gained a bit of a cult following, especially among the older, educated demographic that never watched ABC Family before.

So of course ABC Family, in their infinite wisdom, decided it was too high-brow and they were only aiming for low-brow tween viewers. Its references were too cultured, they said. Its plot wasn't scandalous or "Gotcha!"-y enough, they said. And they cancelled it. They replaced it with more of their dreck like Twisted (about a teen who is a serial killer) and a Pretty Little Liars spinoff (shows that revelled in more teens doing unspeakable things) that has itself already been cancelled.

In case you can't tell, I was heartbroken. Bunheads was unlike anything else I've ever seen, artsy and hyper-literate, and instead we're stuck with even more anti-hero shows over the years, like House of Cards. These are the types of dark, lowest-common-denominator-type shows that feels like your faith in humanity and your will to live are killed after you get done watching.

 

[Scuttle]

Sorta, kinda, not really. ... It will take its design cues from what has gone before, but my take (and I want to speak with someone who would know exactly) is that it is a more romanticized type of place.




I don't think there's ever been an Olympics since my young childhood when I have watched less. I just have zero interest. I think Bob Costas and his eye ailment have been the most interesting development. I just put NBC on ... because I want to see Fallon's debut on The Tonight Show. But it is like the other networks are just conceding. Considering how strong CBS is ... and how weak ABC and NBC are ... you'd think the wise thing to do would be to give alternatives. FOX to its credit is doing that largely.

I've read an article that says Fox would love to join the late night battle, but are locked into syndication for years.

 

[Scuttle]

I recall that the numbers have been that DAK has edged out DHS for a few years now. Some argue that DHS is actually higher in total visitors because of the "First click" aspect of how attendance is counted -- the theory being that almost all of DAK's guests go to that park first and get counted there, while DHS gets people who park hop to there as the second park of the day. I have no idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if the park is clearly lower attended than DAK -- it never seems that crowded despite having the poorest layout and least amount of "wandering around" space to absorb crowds. DAK just has so much physical space that it is touch for the park to feel very crowded because people are spread out.

That said, losing the parade (even while getting back FOTLK) isn't going to help DAK's attendance and certainly will hurt the amount of time people spend in the park.

Personally, I suspect that WDW1974 is right and that DHS is really going to suffer in upcoming years is something isn't built quickly. Star Wars would be perfect to invigorate the park if it is well done (even if it is half assed, it will still draw well). Adding more Pixar would also be beneficial and help to fill in the gap between the only toddler attractions (Disney Jr) and the thrill rides that many guests don't like/tolerate.

They are neck and neck I just saw, but yes DAK does barely beat out DHS. I guess it doesn't matter they will both be passed in a couple years by IOA and US.

 

[rioriz]

I don't think I'll ever tire of them myself. Maybe that's the mostly recovered Pixie Dust addict inside me (BTW, have things gotten so bad that everyone is making meth out of cold/sinus meds?!? I mean, seriously, you have to sign your name when buying allergy meds at CVS! What a country ...) but I can spend a day just walking around DAK's animal exhibits or a night around WS.

I think the latter definitely needs something new. If it isn't going to be an attraction or an actual new pavilion, then at least a new night show that hasn't been bastardized because Bob 'Green' Iger wants an environmentally clean show. He wants to be nice to the environment? how about a transport system revamp that removed buses and doesn't add them? How about making sure Disney doesn't murder any more trees?

What were we talking about?

If another Country(and ride) would join WS it would be one of my fav places in a theme park....sigh...pipe dream

 

[Scuttle]

If another Country(and ride) would join WS it would be one of my fav places in a theme park....sigh...pipe dream

At least let's get a ride on the other side. Crazy how the only two rides we have are next to each other and the first two countries going clockwise.

 

[rioriz]

At least let's get a ride on the other side. Crazy how the only two rides we have are next to each other and the first two countries going clockwise.

Ugh....ugh....as I type this...Id rather the Carpets be tucked away in Morocco than AVL....(hiding)

 

[bhg469]

Ugh....ugh....as I type this...Id rather the Carpets be tucked away in Morocco than AVL....(hiding)

I don't know, the Aladdin stuff is so well hidden in Morocco I sort of prefer it. I don't want characters in world showcase at all. Having said that, I don't want carpets to exist at all..