Spirited Quickees ...

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

(they are the best, after all)

In O-Town a bit unexpectedly this week and made it over to EPCOT for most of the afternoon and early evening followed by 90 minutes at TPFKaTD-MGMS.

I don't know what's nuttier: spending time in WDW Parks when it's well into the 90s with humidity almost as high ... or Donald Trump. You make the call ...

Here's some quick shots:

Both parks were very quiet ... borderline empty. When you can get a FastPass for Soarin at 2 p.m. for 6, you're doing well. Longest standby I saw for it was 55 minutes and nothing else in the park had an appreciable wait.

Park was near spotless. And since it was empty, you could check wide swaths of pavement.



SSE in German is still SSE. Even the triangles remain.

Soarin should shame Danny Cockerell so long as he has his current job (word is he has inside track to become the next Erin Wallace). A signature attraction just shouldn't have HUGE dust on the screen. No excuses ... pay the CMs $4.87 an hour (Rick Scott will allow it because states no longer have to follow Federal law or the Constitution) and clean the freaking film.

Why doesn't the Seas have prettier fish? This isn't a question of mine (another, perhaps also prettier LPer, uttered it today ... of course she had just been at Fish R Us AKA Sea World)... But I wonder why I see more colorful tropical species when I hang out at Port Everglades with my feet hanging over the docks.


Shops were nice and AC was high. Attractions clearly had AC at a temp not sufficient for weather (ToT and RnRC at Studios both were COLD as it should be).

EPCOT always looks its best in the spring and today was no different. Just another reason to not visit in summer when everything looks bare and empty ... in addition to wretched weather.

Flower Fest actually looks fresher this year. The new topiaries are ... well, commercials for DVD releases of things like Tangled and Snow White and Toy Story 3 as well as advances for future stuff like Winnie The Pooh and Cars 2 ... but still, credit where its due, the event has been very stale of late and this year seems better.

$3.28 for a kaki gori? $9.39 for one of those allegedely MAGICal Grand Mariner Orange Slusies in France? Nothing on the lunch menu at Coral Reef below $20 a la carte, except a chicken or shrimp caesar salad? ... Yeah, my $6 footlong (splurged) tasted great.

World Showcase is still a great place to shop. China's department store's redo is very nice ... I wish it had less cute and more of the pricey furniture and carpeting it used to, but I am pretty sure that no one that isn't a Saudi royal or a Seminole (not the FSU variety) has likely bought that stuff for years now.

I saw, but did not purchase royal wedding merchandise in the UK. When Aladdin and Jasmine tie the knot, I'll think about it.

Fewer morbidly obese folks today, but since the parks were empty well ... do the math.

Nothing like relieving yourself while listening to Magic Journeys in BGM, even if you don't run into Tony Baxter (Imagineer to the stars) in the can.

Didn't run into any celebrity bloggers or Internet personalities. I felt blessed.

Whoever thought they needed a 'Dance Party' at America Gardens should be beaten.

I'm wondering if the above person also decided to shut all WS BGM off ... it was the one thing that truly made the place feel a bit 'off'.

Duffy wasn't drawing crowds.

The Spirit was.

I still love being at EPCOT. It's just a nice place to be. But boy does it need some life pumped into it.

Spent 90 minutes at EMH at Studios tonight (closed at 8 with no Fantasmic).
Also, quite empty.

MAGICal moments: walking from Pixar Place around LMA and around the Backlot with NO ONE around.

Plesant surprise: Mulch Sweat and Shears playing in front of the BAH.

Rode ToT and RnRC and each looked great. To be fair, haven't been to the park since October and haven't ridden RnRC in at least a year now. ToT is just a great attraction and the second-best version in the world. RnRC is overrated, but fun. Also, saw they finally added the LIVE CM back to the pre-show ... great move.

Have no idea how much time I'll have for parks this week. It's not a 'vacation' type trip to O-Town. And as I told a beloved WDW CM today: the only thing I really want to do at WDW is Harry Potter.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

Almost forgot ... The candy/slushy/comics/Jack Skellington shop at Studios (can't call it Villains when it clearly isn't anymore) had a big shelf of Thor -- a PARAMOUNT PICS release -- for sale ... and a brat running around with Thor's plastic hammer of crap while Daddy paid for it.

I thought that was a MAGICal moment.

Oh, and apparently Disney is offering Fantasmic desert trays (stuff like choc-covered strawberries, cookies, prtezels etc) at the stands across from the entrance to the stadium ... have no idea of price (not listed on sandwich board out front) or whether you can get it when the show isn't scheduled like say tonight.

Random thought: who buys an Ewok mini-plush key chain? And do I want to know said person?

Serious thought: Disney's parks aren't in trouble so much because of what they have (much of it is still top notch EVEN in WDW), but because of what they don't have: namely new product to keep things fresh.

Star Tours 2.0 and 12 years late may be arriving, and all signs point to it being a quality update and UPGRADE to an existing ride, but it can't carry one stale park on its own ... let alone FOUR ... and all in a 40th anniversary year.

That's just shameful.

I REALLY want to take the 5/14 Magic Transatlantic cruise $799 a person ($57 a day ... or $50 if you know/can go with a CM ... OR $25 -- yes -- if you know and can go with a DCL CM!) ... Can we start a pledge drive on LP.com for a uber special MAGICal Spirit?

Oh, almost forgot ... if you want to dine at WDW reasonably, then take a CM to lunch as the selected 40% discounts on resort dining like Olivia's, Wave, Sanaa, Trail's End, Captain's Grille etc ... has not only been extended thru 10/1 ... but Whispering Canyon has been added to the list.

It's win-win-win ... Disney gets business at places it can't fill, CMs don't have to survive on $2 Taco Bell meals and dirt and you pay about what the meal is really worth.

 

Originally Posted By Bolna

Sounds like you had quite a nice afternoon/evening in the parks despite the heat.

<<Both parks were very quiet ... borderline empty. When you can get a FastPass for Soarin at 2 p.m. for 6, you're doing well. Longest standby I saw for it was 55 minutes and nothing else in the park had an appreciable wait.>>

Isn't this supposed to be one of the busiest time of the year? Is this a general trend?

<<SSE in German is still SSE.>>

Ideed! And I was very impressed how well done it is. It is a good translation and well delivered. But then I am sure that Siemens paid for it and they would not have tolerated anything less perfect - at least for the language of their origin. I would hope the other languages are done as well.

<<Soarin should shame Danny Cockerell so long as he has his current job (word is he has inside track to become the next Erin Wallace). A signature attraction just shouldn't have HUGE dust on the screen. No excuses ... >>

The Soarin dust problem is really inexcusable. It can ruin the experience. The film appears to be much cleaner first thing in the morning and I now started to avoid Soarin in the afternoon/evening.

<<Duffy wasn't drawing crowds.>>

So, might there be a chance that he will disappear again?

<<Oh, and apparently Disney is offering Fantasmic desert trays (stuff like choc-covered strawberries, cookies, prtezels etc) at the stands across from the entrance to the stadium ... have no idea of price (not listed on sandwich board out front) or whether you can get it when the show isn't scheduled like say tonight.>>

You won't like that: $12-14 and $6 more if you want a glass of sparkling wine with it. Makes that Kaki Gori sound like a deal, doesn't it?

<<I REALLY want to take the 5/14 Magic Transatlantic cruise $799 a person >>

Well, that sounds like a great price, but unless you decided to stay in Europe, the ticket for the plane back is going to cost you more than the cruise. It's crazy that a two week vacation is cheaper than one 10 hour flight. Who would have thought that once again taking the boat is cheaper than the plane? And how can it be that DCL isn't losing money on these fares? That must mean that there is a huge profit on other cruises.

I had noticed those transatlantic prices as well. I can't really see myself spending all the money for a 3-4 night cruise on DCL, but 14 days for the same price sound great. Also, I like the idea of travelling by ship from one continent to the other. Unfortunately the 2011 dates don't work for me and there won't be a transatlantic in 2012. Maybe I will start looking into this cruise thing again in 2013.

 

Originally Posted By sjhym333

I was also surprised that past couple of weeks how empty the parks have been for the Easter holiday. I dont think the parks got anywhere near closing for capacity.

 

Originally Posted By sjhym333

"The Soarin dust problem is really inexcusable. It can ruin the experience. The film appears to be much cleaner first thing in the morning and I now started to avoid Soarin in the afternoon/evening."

Thats because the film is cleaned every night and then again around mid-day (2 to 3ish). If the film becomes dusty during other times it is the CM's responsability to call it in and have the film cleaned, though maitenance can sometimes be slow to respond.

 

Originally Posted By Goofyernmost

>>>Fewer morbidly obese folks today, but since the parks were empty well ... do the math.<<<

WTH...are you still in middle school. What a juvenile thing to comment on.

And you were doing so well up until then too!

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

I'm also a fan of SSE in German. It the same great story, but manages to tell it without Judy Dench reminding me about my ABCs. And getting the video at the end in German just makes me smile.

And the orange slushies at France really are that magical, and completely worth it. Heck, that's cheaper than a Glowjito at ElecTRONica at DCA, and those taste like bad toothpaste.

As for Soarin', would it really be that expensive to switch over to digital projectors? I know that they 'just' installed the traditional ones a few years ago when the attraction opened, but if they can afford to switch the projectors at lesser attractions like ITTBAB and Muppets (and in 3D no less!), I don't see why it's so hard for them to get it on a 'headliner' like Soarin'. If its any consolation, the DCA version is also using film, and it's a mess every time I see it.

 

Originally Posted By Longhorn12

>who buys an Ewok mini-plush key chain? And do I want to know said person?<

I've purchased one for a friend. We're super awesome star wars nerds.

Embrace us.

Nice update though.

 

Originally Posted By HokieSkipper

Care to comment on the new slew of Hyperion Wharf rumors, Spirit?

How bout Universal's big announcement May 19th?

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

>A signature attraction just shouldn't have HUGE dust on the screen.<

I completely agree with you on this, my friend Spirit. This is my take on it based on my own observations. The dust in the chain is mostly removed by a separate clear film that runs on a loop independently of the main film. When this film is moving, it's completely invisible, but does its job well. But what I've seen from time to time is this film just stopping for maybe 10 seconds at a time, and then starting up again, cycling on and off throughout the film. The result to the viewer is that suddenly hair and dust and splotches seem to appear and then disappear. Very uncool of Disney to allow this to continue mis-working like this.

>Why doesn't the Seas have prettier fish?<

Again I don't have any inside information. But I do know that the take of tropical fish is about 10%. Yes, for every 100 fish they capture, 90 of them don't survive the trip to their final destination. This isn't just a Disney thing - it's the sad fact of the tropical fish industry. So perhaps Disney has stocked some critters that may not be as pretty as the average blue tang but is hardy enough to survive in an aquarium environment complicated by rookie divers a couple times a day.

>As for Soarin', would it really be that expensive to switch over to digital projectors?<

I'm not entirely sure that there's a digital format that would work for this large-format projection. The other Disney 3D movies are more or less standard in their resolution, and the digital projections work nicely. But Soarin' is a completely unique, large format film, which takes a very unique projector to run it. With the continuing dust problems they have it's probably worth Disney doing some tests to see if they can find a digital format that will work over the huge surface of the curved screen.

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

'Soarin' Over California' at DCA had the same problem with giant dust bunnies. Don't know if it was ever completely resolved there either.

 

Originally Posted By Longhorn12

Is it a screen dust problem or a film dust problem?

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

To me, it always seems like it was dust on the film itself.

 

Originally Posted By Longhorn12

I'm guessing Disney doesn't have the "money" or the "energy" to convert it to digital?

 

Originally Posted By dl1956

fwiw, the times I've seen Soarin at DCA over the last half year or so the dust-motes-on-the-screen problem has noticeably decreased compared to what I recall from a couple of years back.

 

Originally Posted By DlandDug

>>If its any consolation, the DCA version is also using film, and it's a mess every time I see it.<<

When Soarin' first opened at DCA it was standard gripe that the screen was constantly littered with dust, hair and crud. It was all in the projection. The excuse was that the Accountanteers in charge didn't budget a "clean room" for the projectors. The first few years were the worst, what with all the construction dust and trash littering the screenings.

Don't know if this is true, but it certainly does seem to be, considering the fact that there is still crud showing up from time to time.

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

Considering all the trash blowing around our beaches and parks and freeways, Soarin's dust specks add another level of realism.*





*There's your LaughingPlace.com "Most Cynical Post Of The Day."

 

Originally Posted By SuperDry

<<< When Soarin' first opened at DCA it was standard gripe that the screen was constantly littered with dust, hair and crud. It was all in the projection. The excuse was that the Accountanteers in charge didn't budget a "clean room" for the projectors. The first few years were the worst, what with all the construction dust and trash littering the screenings.

Don't know if this is true, but it certainly does seem to be >>>

It's certainly consistent with the overall mentality used to budget, design, and construct the park originally.

<<< Soarin' is a completely unique, large format film, which takes a very unique projector to run it. >>>

Is it? I don't remember the dust issue bugging me that much, but one thing I notice every time is just how grainy the film is. Perhaps it's just because you're so close to the screen and it's so large, but it always seemed to me that it was just a 35mm print with a special lens to adjust for the size and the curvature of the screen. I've certainly seen IMAX prints of recent Hollywood movies that were on huge screens and where I simply could not see any bit of graininess whatever, and I think those are made with a special IMAX enhancement process from a standard 35mm original shoot and not a special IMAX camera.

I think it has a lot to with what's happened since DCA opened. For the most part, a high-end home TV system in 2001 consisted of a 36" 3:4 tube TV with a DVD player. These days, a 60"+ screen displaying full HD source material is not uncommon in the home, so it's going to take a lot more than just a big, curved screen to impress.

 

Originally Posted By SuperDry

<<< <<Duffy wasn't drawing crowds.>>

So, might there be a chance that he will disappear again? >>>

What do you mean, "again?"

 

Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer

Nice trip report, Spirit!

>>>Plesant surprise: Mulch Sweat and Shears playing in front of the BAH.<<<

Saw them in December. Great band. Add a lot of life to the area.



>>>(word is he has inside track to become the next Erin Wallace)<<<<


Good. He's doing marginally better in his position, save for a few blips. Seriously, Soarin' should be cleaned. Do they have to actually close it to do that? Probably why it's not being done.



>Why doesn't the Seas have prettier fish?<

No one cares about fishies and technology... It's all about NEMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!