Originally Posted By Mr X Can't believe Disney let things get so bad. Talk about lowered standards! <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://orig03.deviantart.net/e7d2/f/2010/238/a/4/life_after_disney__main_street_by_eledoremassis02.jpg">http://orig03.deviantart.net/e...is02.jpg</a> This is *almost* as filthy and run-down as those dark days of Pressler in Anaheim! Almost... Blech! Give me Tokyo Disneyland anyday! Heck, even a Chinese Disney park with laundry hanging all over the place is preferable!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip What the hell's that? I've never seen the MK look like that. Maybe Main Street after the Tea Party rented the place out for a rally?
Originally Posted By Mr X I know, right? Someone needs to turn things around down there in the swamps, and QUICK! Epcot's in even WORSE shape, if you can believe it! <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://distographers.com/life-without-disney-spooky-images-of-an-abandoned-wdw/">http://distographers.com/life-...ned-wdw/</a>
Originally Posted By leemac <<Blech! Give me Tokyo Disneyland anyday! Heck, even a Chinese Disney park with laundry hanging all over the place is preferable!>> What an odd photo! The highest spire hasn't been lifted into place but can't see the crane? I'm guessing this is summer '71. Is it another PhotoShop-ed image? Unless the garbage on Main Street is from stocking the shelves. Some people have way too much time on their hands.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip But thanks for providing a chuckle. Things here are weird these days. With Obamacare, Gay Marriage and the Confederate Flag thing occurring in rapid succession, conservatives here are totally wacked out and lashing out at anyone who does not believe exactly like them. Not a pleasant place to be right now... especially in SW Missouri. I think they finally realize the end to the world as they want it is near, and they are scared as hell.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Scientists are predicting a mini ice age. Just moved toTexas and find it strange to see so many gunshops in small storefronts and pickup trucks with military advertising and gun cleaning businesses.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>The highest spire hasn't been lifted into place but can't see the crane? I'm guessing this is summer '71.<< Nah, it's a photoshopped image from after the park opened. There are no signs of cranes or construction equipment, and the tress on Main Street (particularly at Town Square) are rather large. If you look at the base of the castle, you'll see the 2005 version of the hub (with its small planters and small trees) and the gold arches on the stage for Dream Along with Mickey It is odd that they decided to have the top portion of the castle just disappear, rather than showing any signs of it breaking off from the remaining structure
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys Quite frankly I find those pictures very eerie- like something from The Walking Dead! Yikes, let's hope WDW never looks like that..
Originally Posted By SuperDry << Can't believe Disney let things get so bad. Talk about lowered standards! >> I know you were just kidding with the start of this thread, but I have a serious observation. This week, I saw the MSEP twice, and each time, noticed there was a new addition at the very end. Normally, the parade ends with two performers holding a banner between them and marching just after the last float. But now there's a new addition: an undecorated and unlit tractor, driven by what looks to be a shop mechanic (that is, with a uniform as opposed to a costume, and I think a name on a patch sown onto the shirt, rather than a regular CM name tag). I infer from this that floats break down often enough during the parade that they want to have the emergency tractor pre-positioned at the back of the parade to be able to swing into action at a moment's notice. I realize that float breakdowns on an occasional basis are unavoidable, but they shouldn't be happening frequently enough to require a tractor to be part of the parade. Has maintenance been cut back that much?
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt The very fact that the MSEP is still running tells us all we need to know. Would it have been that hard to have constructed two versions of Paint the Night for the US resorts this summer?
Originally Posted By Mr X ***But now there's a new addition: an undecorated and unlit tractor, driven by what looks to be a shop mechanic*** They really missed the boat not having the thing driven by "Mechanic Goofy".
Originally Posted By Ifzorro68 I can't believe they let the MSEP decay so bad as to have tractors behind it especially after Anaheim spent so much money updating it and making it look like new
Originally Posted By SuperDry << The very fact that the MSEP is still running tells us all we need to know. >> I know what you're getting at Hans, but I think your comment misses the point. There are plenty of things in the parks that are decades old and operate reliably. The attractions in particular have far more mechanics than parade floats, and operate up to 18 hours a day continuously, instead of just twice a night. Yet, they are able to keep up with the workload with proper maintenance. My point is that proper maintenance is apparently not being applied to the MSEP floats. << Would it have been that hard to have constructed two versions of Paint the Night for the US resorts this summer? >> Difficult, as in effort, not really. Difficult, as in coming up with the money - yes. Paint the Night in Anaheim is one of the cornerstones of this summer's marketing campaign to get locals to come back to the park this year. Adding a new parade to WDW MK, especially just a year after refreshing the daytime parade, is unlikely to drive very much additional revenue.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>The very fact that the MSEP is still running tells us all we need to know.<< Actually, I don't think it does. This "tradition" at MK dates back to the late 00's, when they were running SpectroMagic and the floats would spontaneously fail along the parade route (or get stuck on the Liberty Square bridge that has since been rebuilt and leveled out some). On a nightly basis, they would drive the tractor out to the hub area before the parade, so that it could quickly reach any float that was having problems and get everything back on track Now, I agree that it's a sign of bigger maintenance issues. When it was happening with Spectro, that parade was less than 20 years old. MSEP is nearing 40 years for many of its units, so it's bound to have some issues. With MSEP, they've been a lot more willing to pull a unit out for the night (as they did at DCA, though less often), rather than risking its performance, which often leads to a significantly reduced parade length. I suspect that the tractor was one of those operational things (like crowd flow patterns) that was simply carried over from the previous parade without much thought as to why they were doing it that way, or if there was a better solution That said, there's still the issue that they're having trouble keeping floats in operating condition, when that merely means that they're able to operate for about 2 hours a day, totaling about 2 miles of distance. Given how much time they're backstage and available to maintenance crews, there's really not much of an excuse for these problems, considering how well those same crews are able to maintain older attractions with much more daily wear and tear
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I know what you're getting at Hans, but I think your comment misses the point." No, I get the point. I was just making another one. WDW is making money like a machine. There is no good reason that at 30+ year old parade should still be running there in good condition or not.
Originally Posted By danyoung The MSEP was just redone in 2010, so it's not in any way a 30+ year old parade.
