Originally Posted By TDLFAN Just got back from Paris, and DLP. Do not have enough time to go into details here, but I have to admit.. sadly, I was a bit disappointed by my visit yesterday, which is too bad since it was a gorgeous sunny day and temperature was in the 60s. Perfect day to be outdoors. The candlebration show in the daytime is not worth it, total waste of time. The banners on Main Street were on in the afternoon when they can't be appreciated, wast of time as well. The parade didn't perform the show mode where I was standing at, after waiting over an hour for it....major waste of time. And while the park looks nice in some areas.. others are still not looking that great, the customary cleaning problems in restaurant dining areas persist... Not to mention the out-of-control smoking situation. Leemac passed me by twice and pretended not to notice me. Classy and mature. But it was nice seeing handsome LindsayC, albeit briefly. All in all... do not waste your time going to DLP if the park closes before 9 or 10pm when it gets dark and you can really appreciate the efforts they put into the 15th decor and all that stuff. BTW.. the 15th anniversary parade song CD single went on sale yesterday as well. It's OK, but not memorable music. Anyways... I will have some photos from my visit posted sometime after the 9th April, if anyone cares, and I will elaborate more on my not so wonderful experiences yesterday.
Originally Posted By u k fan It's a shame you didn't have a good time, TDLFan. I just got back from a 4 day trip and I have to be honest and say that I partially agree with you. We only had one counter service meal (Victoria's) and there were a lot of tables that needed clearing. That's as much the fault of badly behaved guests who won't clear up after themselves as CMs though. I don't remember seeing trash around the parks in other places though and saw a noticable improvement in the number of custodial CM's around. I didn't get to see Candlebration (or whatever it's called), but I did see the new parade twice once with the Pricesses show mode and once with the villains, imho, you didn't miss much. I'm still undecided on how much I like this new parade. I was quite disappointed at the range of movies on display, pretty much all of them were in the old parade at one time or another and I just think that there could have been more thought put into their choices. Two other criticisms, I'm not keen on the first float, but that's purely personal - it just doesn't mean much to me. And there doesn't seem to be any kind of wrap up to the story. The parade just ends with the princesses. Is there a story to this parade? If it's that these are someone's dreams perhaps we should see them wake up at the end? I was impressed with the performers and the new costumes and was pleasantly surprised to see all 6 princes with their respective princesses. All in all I liked the parade, but it just seemed to miss the wow factor for me. I don't mean to hijack this thread, but on the subject of characters, can DLP please get a better range of characters? I know I visit several times a year, but when did anyone ever get excited about meeting Stromboli or Friar Tuck. Let's have some decent leading characters wondering the parks for a change. But again I was impressed to see 5 princesses all out together (some with princes) in Fantasyland with small crowds and no half hour queues. And the Capt. Jack Sparrow I saw was fantastic! One last thing before I go, considering the world's press was about to descend on DLP there was ALOT of rehab still happening including empty flowerbeds all over the resort and lots of painting happening right up until the day we left (friday). And don't even get me started on the Tram Tour! Anyway, sorry to hijack the thread I just wanted to let my inner TDLFan out to play!!!
Originally Posted By TDLFAN No needs for apologies. I am good at hijacking threads too. Thanks for sharing your thought... and I want to clarify.. I DID HAVE A GOOD TIME. I was mildly disappointed with the fact that the entertainment was a let down. But I enjoyed many other aspects of my visit... The shopping for example.. and rode POTC and PM, plus enjoyed the flora around the park, especially the many cherry bloosom trees in bloom. So it was not all a waste.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I'm sorry to hear the entertainment wasa letdown, TDLFAN. Especially since this spirit intends to check it out for himself in the near future. The parade really looked promising. As to the Candlebration, it does sound like someone in ops/planning dropped the ball. If this needs to be seen in darkness, you simply can't close the park hours before sunset or you can't do the event daily. You said you enjoyed the shopping, which hasn't been WalMarted yet. Anything special catch your eye?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Spirit - the Baloos will be in DLP 18th June to the 29th. UKFAN and Stageman will also be there at times during that period. It would be great to hook up (June 16th Toonstudios and the new WDS entertainment will be in full swing). Let us know when you are planning on visiting.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>You said you enjoyed the shopping, which hasn't been WalMarted yet.<< Ohh but it has...to some small degree. >>Anything special catch your eye?<< Besides the cute blond with blue eyes I saw on Main Street Chessy?? Nothing in particular. I just enjoy collecting the anniversary stuff. Let me tell you... just looking at some of the decor, made me think how cheap and ill conceived the Million banners are at WDW.. Horrible.
Originally Posted By leemac <<The parade didn't perform the show mode where I was standing at, after waiting over an hour for it....major waste of time. >> There were some major technical issues for the parade on Sunday. The BGM audio feeds failed but the decision to run the parade anyhow was taken as the park was so busy. So most guests only heard the float-specific music which was out of sync with the stop sequences due to the run-out issues. That said parade stops were performed to a degree and the parade was actually stuck on Main Street with three floats backed up (with the title float at the base) for two cycles so I'm surprised you didn't see a parade stop.
Originally Posted By leemac <<One last thing before I go, considering the world's press was about to descend on DLP there was ALOT of rehab still happening including empty flowerbeds all over the resort and lots of painting happening right up until the day we left (friday).>> They were all fixed by Saturday morning I can assure you (even the major horticultural work that was going on in Fantasia Gardens all week).
Originally Posted By leemac <<Leemac passed me by twice and pretended not to notice me. Classy and mature. But it was nice seeing handsome LindsayC, albeit briefly.>> Firstly I didn't see you at all and I'm not sure I would recognise you in a crowd as I have only met you twice (?). Funny how it is me "pretending not to notice you" but not equally mature or classy for you to approach me if you spotted me. Secondly it was a working week for me and a long week with that so I had little time for any chat. I barely even saw LindsayC during the events themselves.
Originally Posted By u k fan It's good to hear that the work was completed in time - they sure were cutting it fine though! I'm now trying to work out if I can fit in another quick trip before the end of June to see the celebrations in full swing!!!
Originally Posted By Mr X >>>That's as much the fault of badly behaved guests who won't clear up after themselves as CMs though<<< I disagree. I remember reading a story about Walt Disney telling the groundskeepers to get rid of the "keep off the grass" signs at Disneyland because it was offensive to the guests. He preferred to pay extra money to keep re-sodding, or whatever they do there. If the guests are messy, management needs to recognise that and hire enough help to meet the demand LIKE THEY DO AT TOKYO DISNEYLAND.
Originally Posted By u k fan I suppose I can see where you're coming from given that Disney parks should be held up to higher standards than your average McDonald's, but as far as I'm concerned, am I really that special that I can't pick up my empty plate and cup and throw them in a trash can as I leave? I would not want to work clearing tables in a fast food outlet - it's a crappy job for crappy pay. Why shouldn't I or others be expected to help these people out by clearing away our own mess whether at DLP or MickeyD's?!!!
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub This problem is everywhere. I guess people need to realize the price of that hamburger at McD's will increase with the more labor costs.I especially am appalled when I enter public restrooms.
Originally Posted By Mr X >>>I suppose I can see where you're coming from given that Disney parks should be held up to higher standards than your average McDonald's, but as far as I'm concerned, am I really that special that I can't pick up my empty plate and cup and throw them in a trash can as I leave?<<< I'm not saying that behavior is excusable. It's not. What I'm saying is that Disney, as a "top notch" company, needs to account for it and make sure it doesn't affect their image. Period. >>>I would not want to work clearing tables in a fast food outlet - it's a crappy job for crappy pay. Why shouldn't I or others be expected to help these people out by clearing away our own mess whether at DLP or MickeyD's?!!!<<< I agree. It's a very crappy job. I did it myself plenty, in high school and working my way through college as well. BUT, I did take pride in making sure I did my job well, and that includes cleaning up after messy people. A well trained, prideful employee is more than capable of taking care of that job. And if the job is too overwhelming for one, then it's up to management to hire more. Or...take a hit to their image. There is no middle ground here. >>>This problem is everywhere. I guess people need to realize the price of that hamburger at McD's will increase with the more labor costs.I especially am appalled when I enter public restrooms.<<< It's a real "chicken or the egg" syndrome, I think. Is it that customers are more sloppy than before, or is it that management has cut back on help? I suppose, it's a little of both. But again, when it comes to DISNEY, I expect to find a much cleaner bathroom than at any particular McDonalds or other similar place. That's the standard they have set. That's what I have come to expect (and it sure ain't any CHEAPER to visit Disney than in times past...so they sure as heck better keep the standards up to par!).
Originally Posted By u k fan I totally see where you're coming from. I certainly hold Disney Parks up to higher standards than the average McD's, in fact higher than the average anywhere, but I still think the guests should take some responsibility too. I think that until guests perceptions do change, especially at DLP, that we will have to put up with the mess as I don't think Disney could hire enough CM's to clean up after the guests there without going bankrupt!!!
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "BTW.. the 15th anniversary parade song CD single went on sale yesterday as well. It's OK, but not memorable music." Doh! I didn't know about this...another one I'll have to pick up.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Firstly I didn't see you at all and I'm not sure I would recognise you in a crowd as I have only met you twice (?). Funny how it is me "pretending not to notice you" but not equally mature or classy for you to approach me if you spotted me.<< Actually, I DID WAVE AT YOU from about 20 feet distance when you looked my way, but what did you do? Turn your head away and continued to talk on your cell phone. (you can't possibly be that short-sighted, can you?) So to me, that meant you didn't want to be bothered. Besides... for the record, you have met me 4 times (5 if you count my sighting at HKDL in Sept 05) and I can recognize you just fine in a crowd, so I am having a hard time you would have trouble spotting me. But rest assure, next time.. I will try harder and walk up to you face to face.
Originally Posted By LindsayC The CD features two versions of the song “Just Like We Dreamed Itâ€, one vocal and one instrumental. It is by Sunny Hilden whom I had the pleasure of spending time with over the weekend (Sunny also wrote the “Eureka†parade song) it was remarkable that after seeing the firework show to launch the celebration (as the song is used for the Once upon a Dream parade and for Candlebration) that she said it was a more moving experience than winning her Grammy awards.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 That's interesting, Lindsay, I didn't know she wrote Eureka. I liked that parade and it's music, so I'm looking forward to hearing the new DLP song. It's neat she was so moved too!
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Oh, and is the castle lighting ceremony called "Candelbration" or "Candellumination" in English? I've seen both so far, and the latter one is easier to say and sounds more elegant.
