Originally Posted By ChiMike >>Again, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree is NOT a spinner, gussied up or otherwise. It's a fairly complicated "crack the whip" type attraction, running off an underground track. It will be fully themed with what appears to be interactive show elements. It also covers a pretty large footprint. << Thank you for bringing that up Doug. That should be taken into consideration. Perhaps a $50 million consideration. BUT $100?! Yikes.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>From a business perspective why would a company want to spend possibly $300 million on adding to a park that won't get a big enough attendance bump to cover the cost of adding it, much less make additional profit.<< From a business perspective, it would be hard to argue with you on a tangible basis Manfried. You have a point. Although I would point you to the $100 million secondary attraction that a lot of folks will breeze by on their way to RSR.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Again, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree is NOT a spinner, gussied up or otherwise. It's a fairly complicated "crack the whip" type attraction<< Looking at the artwork, it's hard to tell for sure, but will each tractor + trailer vehicle basically move around one of those circles, or will they intertwine through more of a figure 8 path?
Originally Posted By Manfried Yeah, and that's pretty silly, though if the money spent on DCA leads to the attendance bumps they look like they are getting, then worth it. I'm just saying I'm not sure from a business standpoint that kind of money makes sense at Disneyland. It is a very full park any more.
Originally Posted By HMButler79 The fact that a tilt-a-whirl themed to Mater is costing $100 MIL shows people in WDI NEED to be FIRED. Also, i think Al is either, in denial, or getting bad info about Meg. Having worked there for her 6 yr (going on) reign and other CMs who have dealt with here, i cannot flat out admit with authority she IS evil and stupid. When she got "trained" at Pirates when she started, for her photo op, the trainer, who we all knew, told us that she was "scared" to push the dispatch button because she was "afraid I might break something". BRILLAINT! And a GR CM told me she had 15 VIP CMs actually WORK....HER OWN MOTHERS FUNERAL. This woman is the Disney Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life. Georege K has his work cut out for him. She is not going to let him do ANYTHING and DL will suffer.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Whew, is it getting hot in here? Epic post #1.>> <<Good one, Spirit. Keep it coming.>> I aims ta edukate and entertane ... all the while singing Disney showtunes. Too bad you aren't here now ... doing 'Prince Ali' now ... 'Out There' is up next.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<As for loving and caring about the Disney product... bullpucky. Meg and Al love and care about Meg and Al. The only genuine love they have for Disney is how fat it's making their bank accounts. It doesn't matter which company they're working for, they would both be cheerleaders for that company's product. To do otherwise would be executive suicide. The loving and caring is disingenuous.>> And Skinner for the win!!! I agree, obviously. I don't think these folks are evil. Al is actually pleasant to talk to. Never spoke with Meg. But you can't care under the current business models, which they are either responsible for or allow to work their MAGIC daily, about the product and the bottom line. You have to be a whore to the latter and that means urinating on the former. <<As for being around too long and too entwined to know what's best for WDW moving forward... absolutely correct. The same can be said for most of the suits with decades of experience at the Mouse.>> I would say that is true of 90% of P&R execs right now. The only one with any power at WDW that wouldn't fit that mold would be Jim MacPhee. Everyone else has either sold their soul or never had one to begin with. <<Yes, management is bloated and a diet has been way overdue. But the skeptic in me feels the damage has already been done and it's too late to reverse it. Better to sell off the business unit than to continue dealing with a diseased and aging product.>> Oh c'mon, Disney would never sell P&R ... where would you ever come up with such a crazy notion? Disney is nothing without its MAGICal parks (tell me, on the sarcasm meter was that not enough, too much or just about right?)
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<It is kind of funny that he calls the past several years of Disneyland the second golden years considering that he took pot shots at Ed Grier every chance he had. Just goes to show that just because someone isnt a good shmoozer of CM's they can still be effective.>> I really respect what Al has accomplished in Anaheim and in the fan community. He has made DLR better for all by pointing out the sheer stupidity/ineptitude/arrogance of the people who were running a national treasure into the ground. But he has some blind spots. And giving George credit for things Ed was responsible for is not honest. I have walked parks with George (before anyone knew him). I regularly ran into Matt or friends who saw him when he was Prez. Used to see Cynthia all the time in DL. NEVER once caught a glimpse of Ed. And you know what? It doesn't matter. Being seen doesn't equate whether someone is running a park well or not. But someone in George's camp (likely with the blessing of the guy himself) is clearly feeding Al ... so he's never gonna take a shot at him. Mark my words, the next bad thing that comes out of Anaheim will be pegged to Meg, even if she had nothing to do with it. Wonder if Al has been invited to BBQs at George's Newport Beach McMansion.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 >>Again, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree is NOT a spinner, gussied up or otherwise. It's a fairly complicated "crack the whip" type attraction<< <<Looking at the artwork, it's hard to tell for sure, but will each tractor + trailer vehicle basically move around one of those circles, or will they intertwine through more of a figure 8 path?>> I've never heard this described as more than a C-Ticket at best. It also was supposed to go in the Pixie Hollow section of the MK Fantasyland project themed to those direct to DVD films Disney has been putting out annually. I find it amazing that those type of attractions could even cost half the $100 million.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> When she got "trained" at Pirates when she started, for her photo op, the trainer, who we all knew, told us that she was "scared" to push the dispatch button because she was "afraid I might break something". BRILLAINT! << Shows she has some sense, after all. She knew if she broke it, it might be years before maintenance got the budget to fix it.
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer Again, I don't know what ThemeparkOne's merits are, but when asked if Al was right on the cost of Junkyard Jamboree... Q: "another "Al said"... Mater's, 100 mil+, really?" A: "Ha. Hardly."
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ThemeParkOne is just another nobody in the Twitterverse that for some reason folks have flocked to like he's the Messiah. I have no idea of his/her merits. But when you don't have a blog or site and you don't post on other sites (which I 'think' is the case with this individual), then I tend to take much of what they say with a bucket of salt. I never knew who this person was until months ago when a friend told me this person was really pushing the Tron coming to DL project, which I knew was not happening. This person may have some legit good info, but when largely you are hiding in the Twitterverse, it allows you to spread stories without anyone calling you on it. Social Media at its finest? It all works against legit sites such as this and plays into Disney's Social Media strategy (whether you are happy with what the company is doing now or not, I'd have to think no one with a brain wants Disney controlling more and more voices on the web). And I'll go with Al, even though he has been sold some bad info recently, and his great batting average versus some unknown fanboi in the Twitterverse.
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer I think he used to post on MiceChat. Doesn't anymore, I think he was chased away for disagreeing with Al. He also has a blog, but does not post.
Originally Posted By Mr SpiderSponge From what I've read, TPO was banned from MiceChat for reasons never fully stated. His user name there was "Ummmmm, No".
Originally Posted By ChiMike ..and not to self appoint myself to lp.com's welcome wagon, but WELCOME Mr. SpiderSponge! Great to see new members. I think that micechat handle is hilarious
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>You know the same ones that spend $100 million on a spinner ride?<< >>The fact that a tilt-a-whirl themed to Mater is costing $100 MIL...<< NOT the spinner. NOT the Tilt-a-Whirl. Read the patent application, look at the drawings, then get back to me about what a forgettable C ticket this is gonna be... <a href="http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7685944.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.freepatentsonline.c...5944.pdf</a> Oh, but I certainly agree with this one: >>I find it amazing that those type of attractions could even cost half the $100 million.<<
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>I have walked parks with George (before anyone knew him). I regularly ran into Matt or friends who saw him when he was Prez. Used to see Cynthia all the time in DL. NEVER once caught a glimpse of Ed.<< I had the exact opposite experience. Granted, I don't wander the parks with an inkling in the back of my mind that I might see the president, so I could easily have seen and missed others, but I definitely saw Ed Grier. It was during a performance in Town Square, and he just happened to get a spot (with another guy in a suit and name tag) right behind me, away from all the guests, near the steps to Main Street station. When I had a moment, I shook his hand and made a quick comment about the park looking good, and went back to my business and he went back to his. There's a chance I've seen other higher-ups, but he's the only one that I've ever actually recognized. >>NOT the spinner. NOT the Tilt-a-Whirl.<< No, it's not a spinner or a tilt-a-whirl as we know it, but its operations and capacity will be shockingly similar. Guests will have to load all the vehicles at one time, which may require folks going quite far from the queue area, taking valuable time to load. Once in their places, a CM must make the rounds to each of the vehicles to ensure that it's properly secured. You thought Dumbo was slow to load? This has the same features that make that bad (small vehicles that only fit a couple guests, requiring CMs to check every vehicle, loading in a cycle instead of continuously, etc), but spread out over a much larger geographic area, making it that much worse. In the concept art, it looks like they will have two separate sides that can operate independently, like the redone WDW Dumbos, which may help the capacity, but if it's anything like Primeval Whirl at DAK, the chance of seeing both sides operating at the same time is slim-to-none, due to the additional staffing requirements. And while technically the attraction is nothing we've ever seen before, it's basically just a combination of a classic crack-the-whip flat ride and Lady Bug Boogie. Yes, it will be a new experience in general, much like Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, but it will still feel very familiar. And looking at the concept art, they're not doing too much to disguise it to look like anything other than a slow-loading flat ride that could be plopped down just about anywhere. I'm sure it will be nice to look at, and a fairly new experience (much like Roger Rabbit, which is among my top attractions in DL), but the price tag seems absurd. I remember just a few years back when that was the price quoted for Mission:Space, as the most expensive attraction to date. While M:S had its share of problems, it is certainly much more impressive in scope and technological advancements than Mater's will be.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox Given how much trouble the Ladybug Boogie turntables were, it'll be interesting to see how many 101s this new attraction causes after opening.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros My guess is that's the real reason that it got scrapped from the WDW FL expansion plans. They knew it would be problematic, and having it outdoors, in an uncovered area with the Florida weather is just asking for problems. Having a less-than-spectacular theme just made it that much easier to pull the plug on it and justify the decision to the public, IMO.
