Originally Posted By mousermerf If built an e-ticket in the Japan pavilion we could experience it here in the states too! Imagine the cultural significance! Imagine the good press! Imagine the school groups observing the phenomena from the safety of the second floor of the Mitsukoshi complex! *write Disney immediately*
Originally Posted By Mr X ***You get that in the States to some degree ... especially Fantasmic and pyro in Anaheim ... RoE often at EPCOT too. I don't get it.*** Neither do I. I think some of it is a vicious cycle. The die-hards used to show up an hour early and have the place "to themselves", but then some others started showing up then and the die-hards didn't like it, so it became 90 minutes, then 2 hours, and so on. Which makes it crappy for all the rest of us who either have to follow that lead or else miss out on the show (or have a crappy seat). Spirit, by the way, I know of a secret parade viewing location that is NEVER full, one which you can stroll up to 5 minutes before showtime and have a perfect, unobstructed view of the whole thing. Don't forget to remind me to tell you about that (unless you LIKE waiting 2 hours for a parade lol). I realize that goes on in the American parks as well to a degree, I think at TDL it's just taken to the extreme. At one point, the park really did look like a shanty town with people squatting all over the place for hours and hours on end. Then Disney tried to implement a "one hour" rule, and that was chaos, then they tried something else...etc., etc...at a certain point it does begin to affect the entire Disney image and that ain't good. The most extreme example I ever saw was on New Years Eve one year when the park was open all night. I saw a line of people sitting in the freezing cold at about 1am and out of curiosity I asked them what they were waiting for. "Oh, the 10am castle show!". Gack! ***But as for the barnstorming openings, DisneySea is much more chill*** ***Good thing I want to spend more time there anyway!*** FWIW, when we go to TDL we always arrive at least a half hour before opening and hustle around, but on DisneySea days we stroll in about 30 minutes AFTER opening or later and have never had a stressful day (of course in all cases, we avoid weekends and holiday times...that's important too!).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>It's sad that Disney has lost it collective will to be a teaching company, and is only interested in making as big a profit as possible, the easiest way possible.<<< And this is sadly why it is now a fun thing I do with my kids from time to time rather than it being a large part of my life. Sure, we may be missing out on Epcot, but this year's itinirary includes Loch Ness, Inverness and the highlands, Edinburgh and the zoo, York and the national railway museum, Legoland Windsor, some London trips, The Louvre, the Orsay, DLP for a little bit, the Alhambra, the Gibralter Monkeys, the mEd beaches and maybe a trip to Morocco. All for the same cost as a trip to the stale walmarted Disney shilling swamplands of Florida with Marriott providing a significally more luxurious standard of accommodation and service. And with the exception of Kennedy Space Centre and maybe Epcot, Southern California offers far more than Orlando. Disneyland is like a 6 ox Fillet Mignon, and WDW is like a 1lb burger with extra cheese. I like both, but quality always wins.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>10-15 minute bus ride, no problem, but a 1-2 hour bus ride, nope<<< Funny, most of our WDW bus experiences were closer to the 1-2 hour experiences. That is why if I ever (and I am doubtful) stay at AKL again, we are going to have a car. WDW buses on our last trip were disgraceful (as were many of the experiences that trip)
Originally Posted By Mr X At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I recommend a car for practically ANYONE staying at WDW for their entire stay, particularly because a rental is so cheap anyway and particularly because staying at the resort does NOT mean you're immune from mass transit...just like in any other moderate to fairly large city! Exceptions may apply if you're staying on the monorail loops, those work out pretty well even without a car (I would include the Epcot resorts too), but for the most part staying "on property" doesn't mean it won't suck to have no wheels. If you're on a serious budget, by all means skip the car and deal with the buses, but what's an extra $62 bucks or so all told (that's a rate I just googled up, TODAY, for a rental for a WEEK in Orlando...of course insurance and all the rest add up but still, it's a dead bargain to rent in Orlando even if you don't use it much AND even if you stay on property!)?
Originally Posted By Mr X Subtract the cost of a bus too and from the resort, even if you're never planning to leave "Disney property", and that factors into your overall cost as well. A rental car is for all intents and purposes FREE, or extremely low cost, for just about anyone.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Subtract the cost of a bus too and from the resort, even if you're never planning to leave "Disney property", and that factors into your overall cost as well.*** I realize they have some sorts of "magical airport bus" programs that are free (or part of the package, anyway), but even so I think a car is warranted in MOST cases.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo That's where we got suckered in. At the time, we figured we needed 2 car seats, plus a large car since there were 5 of us. With the savings of using magical express, plus the fact we had good transport experiences in 2000, we thought we would do without and take the savings applying it to a deluxe savannah view room. Bug mistake. In the end, we started using cabs (the mini bus ones carry two baby seats).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***At the time, we figured we needed 2 car seats*** I can see how that alone could've throw you off game. Traveling with little ones of that age bracket is a BITCH no matter how you slice it. Very few car companies, taxi companies, or any other transit companies allow for it without charging a ridiculous fee. We went through that in Boston (when little X was just turning 3), and luckily for us a friend of my aunt happened to come up with a regulation baby seat and saved the day. If not, I think the extra cost would've been in the neighborhood of $70 per taxi ride or something ridiculous like that! So can I also chalk that up to the Baloo "Trip of Bad Fortune that will never happen again!" journey to the swamps? Hope so! (we have ALL been there at one time or another, no matter how much we planned or how much money we spent...I call it the "National Lampoon" factor )
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Maybe, but with so many other cool things to see in places with better climates and less right wingers, it's lower down on the list.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Maybe, but with so many other cool things to see in places with better climates and less right wingers, it's lower down on the list. << Only a liberal would pick their vacation destination by party affiliation. Truly change we can believe in. Let the venom keep flowing Dave. It speaks volumes.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub 1/08/2010 I dare anybody to google Next Generation Technology on LP... Anyway the gang was all here once upon a time...
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Here's a quick update with some info about how the Magic Bands will work <a href="http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/05/17/first-look-disneys-mymagic-magicband/" target="_blank">http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/0...gicband/</a> I think it's odd that they won't give you custom colors at the last minute; presumably it's just as easy to program a grey band as any other color. I can definitely see this becoming an issue for groups who get to their hotel room and take the bands off, leaving 4+ identical bands to get confused with each other. Additionally, the way the clasp works is kind of odd. Perhaps it's more durable than it appears, but it looks like it would be really easy to accidentally hit the edge of it, and make it pop off I also think it's odd that they apparently have a battery in them. Other RFID chips that are already on the market (key fobs, credit cards with chips, existing Key to the World cards, pet ID chips) don't need a battery; the required electricity comes from the reading device. They're also much smaller and thinner than the MagicBand, which makes me think that these things have some extra capabilities than traditional RFID; perhaps they'll send out a signal, so Disney will be able to track your location in the parks in live time (as had been rumored by the system's opponents) According to the author, testing will begin with select CMs in coming weeks, and possibly start to roll out to real guests by the end of the summer (though I bet they'll wait until after peak crowds to begin tests with paying customers). Realistically, that means that the system will be fully rolled out at least a year after it was supposed to, in last October. If they're working on a fall timeline, it will be interesting to see if what news they have about it at the D23 Expo
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I think it's odd that they won't give you custom colors at the last minute; presumably it's just as easy to program a grey band as any other color. I can definitely see this becoming an issue for groups who get to their hotel room and take the bands off, leaving 4+ identical bands to get confused with each other." The article states the following: >>Guests can choose to have their name printed on the backside of the MagicBand, just above the Mickey symbol and Band ID information. The limit for the number of characters will be around 9 or 10 characters.<< So, presumably, the names can be printed on the bands at check-in. If so, this would eliminate any band mix ups for groups. "Additionally, the way the clasp works is kind of odd. Perhaps it's more durable than it appears, but it looks like it would be really easy to accidentally hit the edge of it, and make it pop off" Wouldn't durability be one of the points of the upcoming cast member in-park tests?
Originally Posted By -em >>Wouldn't durability be one of the points of the upcoming cast member in-park tests?<< Ive worn one and can see how it could come loose if its not snapped correctly and completely together I felt for my size wrists the 'snap' holes didn't line up well- One was a tad tight the next a tad loose. I felt it was bulkier and denser than I wouldve liked (then again I hate wearing things on my wrist) >> which makes me think that these things have some extra capabilities than traditional RFID; << Its been stated that they have both active and passive RFID chips- If I understand it right the passive will be used for the 'touch' pieces (which is the same as credit cards etc) but the active will be able to 'broadcast' a signal a limited distance (from what I read photo pass, character greets etc) I'm still not a fan and very hesitant towards this system as IMO feel there is a huge loss of privacy and anonymity because while there is inherently 'tracking' ability on things like purchases, fast pass retrieval times its all different systems and the ability to form a complete 'story' of an individual guest is time consuming- now it'll be within 1 document so the complete 'story' could potentially be almost minute to minute details... Bob went through the turnstiles at 8:55, Got a photopass pic done at 9:00 in front of the castle, bought a coke from this store at 9:30, FP Jungle Cruise at 9:40, Returned at 10:30 etc etc -em
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I felt for my size wrists the 'snap' holes didn't line up well- One was a tad tight the next a tad loose." Did it pop off while you were wearing it?
Originally Posted By sjhym333 There is also the fact that Disney has the capability to track your movements inside the park. For instance, if Disney wanted to it would know that you walked in and headed straight to Soarin, but skipped over Innoventions. Or that you did all the thrill rides in the park but skipped Living With the Land boat ride. The information that Disney could collect is really amazing.
Originally Posted By -em >>Did it pop off while you were wearing it?<< Nope- got close once when I realized I didnt snap it 100% correct but heard of one or two that had fallen off (not sure how or why) -em
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>So, presumably, the names can be printed on the bands at check-in.<< It sounded to me like there would be some sort of 'official' printing with the names, which implies that they will need some sort of machine/device to do it. If they can't give you a colored wristband at the hotel check-in, I'd be surprised if they had the name machine. They'll probably have a permanent marker, which is better than nothing, but not exactly great. >>...but the active will be able to 'broadcast' a signal a limited distance (from what I read photo pass, character greets etc)<< That's interesting. I hadn't really heard anything about these types of uses since the system's original announcement, where it mentioned that meet & greet characters and certain attractions would becomed personalized for you. Understandibly, that's where a lot of the privacy concerns stemmed from, so it's a little disheartening that Disney really is going that route. It gives Disney a lot of unchecked power, and gives the guest very little advantage for giving up that privacy. It seems like they could easily avoid the issue of it completely falling off, by adding a little band around it to hold the 'loose' end in place, like on a regular watch. That way, if it does get bumped and knocked out of place, even if the clasp is open, it will still stay on the guest's writs pretty firmly until they have a chance to adjust it. The way they have it now, it would just fall off of their wrist. There's just something about the clasp style, with the loose end on the inside, that really makes me wonder how well these things will stay on.
