Originally Posted By oc_dean just finished reading Al's latest update... Not too thrilled to see anything new for Grizzly Peek is shelved. A CLASSIC example of how the shortsided planning of heavy infrastructure (for this park) can have a devastating affect on any future upgrades and improvements! They either have to leave it the way it is FOREVER ..... or do serious demolition to have this valuable piece of real estate work to full potential!
Originally Posted By oc_dean in fact ... I want to dedicate a topic on Grizzly River Run. My wish is they would take off the fake "rocky" exterior to the structure. Get into the superstructure itself ..... and manage a way to add to it. And then resurface the mountain. Not to bore anyone with yet another "armchair" imagineering topic ... with an idea that never will come to fruition.... but eventually ... GRR needs to be worked on.
Originally Posted By disneywatcher >> Marcie actually is pretty accurate, but that's because she rarely says anything unless it's pretty concrete. << Her attitude is so much that of a professional brown noser (some would use the more graphic phrase "butt kisser") that she singlehandedly is proof positive that things can go wrong in a company or organization not because of budgetary issues but in spite of them. Marcie probably knows the route to Abilene with her eyes closed.
Originally Posted By disneywatcher Michael Eisner's tacky Paradise Pier (and his love of schlocky old-time seaside fun parks in general) is a gift that will keep on giving. I say that because based on the sentences below from Miceage.com, it seems that even John Lasseter, assuming he has better creative sense and know-how than Eisner did or ever will, is not incapable of coming up with a bad idea on his own. The cheesy Mailboomer tower should be replaced by a cheesy Knott's-type of parachute drop ride? >>>>> We'd told you in an earlier update that John Lasseter had wanted to bring back an old Orange County favorite and replace the Maliboomer with a parachute drop ride like the one Knott's Berry Farm used to have. That's one of the plans for the Pier remake that has been shelved for now though, as issues with the sightlines and ride system made some in WDI think twice about it. <<<<<
Originally Posted By disneywatcher >> I finished being "disappointed" with Disney around the time they completed crappy DCA. << I don't understand how anyone can call DCA "crappy" when it has such wonderful, impressive, scenic vistas like this: <a href="http://miceage.skyfirehosting.com/al100907pics/al100907h.jpg" target="_blank">http://miceage.skyfirehosting. com/al100907pics/al100907h.jpg</a> Al Lutz's recent article on DCA makes me think its transformation will be more modest than I hoped. I've long wanted to see a whole row of bulldozers lined up at DCA, particularly around Paradise Pier, ready to rumble. But now I'm beginning to suspect, that for any number of reasons, there instead will be no more than a few guys with sledgehammers.
Originally Posted By jonvn "According to you, the guy can't do NOTHING right." That's about the size of it, yes. "And I never understand the venom for Lutz." I really don't understand why I should have to explain this over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. If you didn't follow it the first 1000 or so times the stories have been told, am I supposed to think you're going to assimilate the information on retelling #1001?
Originally Posted By jonvn "Jon, you're starting to sound a bit obsessive about all of this. Perhaps some time away from Disney boards?" Because I'm saying things you don't like? I've been posting on this stuff for nearly 20 years now. Please.
Originally Posted By jonvn "I don't care if most of what they are adding is Pixar or cartoon based, as long as the attractions are detailed, immersive, fun, unique, have that extra Disney thing about them that nobody else does that makes you say "wow!", and hopefully can be found (initially at least) at DCA and nowhere else on Earth." That's not good enough, and not as good as they used to constantly achieve. It needs to be in theme, too.
Originally Posted By jonvn Actually, 20 years is wrong. It's over 30 years now. Long before Lutz and his merry band of useless noisemakers came along.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I don't mind all tie-ins. For example, the Tower of Terror has a great tie-in that makes both properties a lot stonger. The Twilight Zone stuff in the tower gives it a bit of a back story and a clear way to set the scene for what is going to come. TZ benefits by keeping the name out there while the brand is pretty much otherwise non-existant anymore. But at the same time, I can really enjoy TOT having never seen any of the TZ episodes. Sure, some of them lead to little in jokes that make some people appreciate it more, but it doesn't depend on a knowledge of the show to be successful. Would I have ever picked TZ to be a tie in for a Disney attraction? Probably no, but I can't think of anything that would flesh out the story more than what they already have. While I don't support a lot of the tie ins that they do, when done properly (which for the most part means in moderation), it work really well.
Originally Posted By jonvn really, an edit feature would be good. I'd say online, I've posted about this stuff since approximately 1980 or so. Not over 30 years, almost 30 years.
Originally Posted By Skellington88 >>Actually, 20 years is wrong. It's over 30 years now. Long before Lutz and his merry band of useless noisemakers came along.<< get a life
Originally Posted By ArchtMig >>>I'd say online, I've posted about this stuff since approximately 1980 or so. Not over 30 years, almost 30 years.<<< Let me vouch for that. I've been reading Jon's posts since before the internet as we know it today even existed. For me, it's been since about 1985 or 1986, I think, that I have been reading, and responding to, and corresponding with Jon. He's the one who got me into writing about Disneyland in the first place. Imagine being a (relatively) young Disneyland fanatic then turning on the terminal and reading pages and pages of stuff talking about Disneyland. That's the stuff Jon was writing. Suddenly, I found at least one guy who was into it as much as me. Back when the audience consisted only of a handful of folks chatting back and forth on a BBS on the 20 or so campus cybersystem of the Cal State University. Them's sure was the good ol' days...
Originally Posted By ArchtMig Oh and... Jon's been thoroughly consistent in his views on the subject matter - then and now. And you know what? That's a good thing. Get off his case. He has a right to his opinions, just like everyone else. If you disagree, debate him then. He'll more than be a match for you.
Originally Posted By Mr X >>>Jon, you're starting to sound a bit obsessive about all of this. I've been posting on this stuff for nearly 20 years now. Actually, 20 years is wrong. It's over 30 years now.<<< Am I the only one to find a touch of irony in this little exchange?
Originally Posted By Mr X **get a life** Says the guy who reads stuff like "Mouse Wars" and signs up for clubs like "save disney".
Originally Posted By bean "Not too thrilled to see anything new for Grizzly Peek is shelved. A CLASSIC example of how the shortsided planning of heavy infrastructure (for this park) can have a devastating affect on any future upgrades and improvements! They either have to leave it the way it is FOREVER ..... or do serious demolition to have this valuable piece of real estate work to full potential!" No its not shelved, just pushed back till some of the other work is done. Just curious why are you guys getting so upset over Al's comment? I have to give the guy some credit, he has been pretty accurate about things lately. Even about the comment i just answered too. He never says its been shelved just placed on the back burner. I think he just used the wrong words unless to hime back burner means not happening in five years but still in the works for the next phase.
Originally Posted By Westsider Wait, did jonvn just tell us that he invented the Internet? ;-) Al Lutz is great reading. There's no one else out there who does what he does, and gives us all of the info he gives so we can talk about it on message boards all over the Internet that jonvn has been posting on since the 1980's. bean is awesome, but his info comes in bits and pieces and is buried in a message board. Bluesky blog is good, but his info is all rather vague and he has never actually broken any big news. He generally just parrots whatever Al said in the last update, or occasionally he actually says he was going to say what Al already said but was just waiting for a few days more. Marcie is kind of inbetween bean and Bluesky, in that she often argues against whatever Al just said but then never really delivers the goods on why we should believe her instead of Al. She loved Cynthia, liked Pressler, liked Ouimet, dislikes Rasulo, and hasn't said much about Grier. And if you dare challenge her, she does get startlingly nasty just like someone else said. I don't post on that board, but I'm amazed the Mods over there allow her to be as nasty and confrontational with the regulars who dare to oppose her anti-Al spin and rumors. She claims she worked once in Operations out in the park, but with that attitude of hers she probably got too many Guest Concerns. I have a hard time believing she ever worked in Operations, as her bad attitude that is very easy for her to slip into doesn't seem like the type of personality that would make a gracious hostess. Guests don't like attitude, and Marcie has plenty. She fell off the map early this year though, so it may not mean much anymore. As for the rest of us? We'll just wait until Wednesday to see what they announce. And thanks to Al, we know to expect something on that day. I can't wait to find out what it is, and what kind of concept drawings they release.
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror 1980... Ahhh... What a year! There was these two secret teams on two different IBM campuses, working on something really cool that they were sworn to secrecy about... We still had hostages in Iran, held by some young whippersnapper named Mahmoud and his buddies, MTV was new, HBO was event television, Betamax was going to triumph, and both the curtain and the maiden were still made of Iron. I guess lots of people were busy back then...
