Originally Posted By Malin *** I know that the Japanese still have a certain hatred for the South Koreans (always described as like that between the British and the French to me) *** But the British seem to hate everyone, and not just the French. *** Two Japanese friends of mine went to Korea recently on business (separate friends, separate business trips), both of them went out with Japanese colleagues to some bar/grill for dinner in Seoul and to watch the Korea vs Japan baseball game. In both cases, when they cheered for Japan, they were immediately surrounded by pissed off Koreans. And in BOTH cases, they got so nervous by the potentially unpleasant scene that they left the place without finishing their meal! *** I can believe that to be true, I've seen it many times before, Sport on the TV can bring out the worst in people, especially when its international teams against each other. I was in a bar once watching an European football game with England VS France. Everyone turned out in England shirts except for this French guy who was dressed up as a French man including garlic and Beret, the moment France scored the first goal he was gone. Some things remain the same no matter what part of the World your in!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Been reading this thread bit by bit the past two days ... I gotta admit I have Malin's back on the issue of HKDL. I don't get the hate for the place. Or the strong dislike by people who seem to keep going back. I went last year expecting the worst, knowing what I was going to get, knowing how (and by whom) the park got built. And I really enjoyed it. A lot! And no one would ever confuse me with a DoM or a Disney management ass-kisser. The park was small and lacking in enough signature Disney attractions. But I spent an entire day there without seeing/doing everything. I was never bored. I thought there was plenty of quality. The entertainment was numerous and good. The food was high quality. The park was spotless. And the CMs were universally wonderful. I think the people who might have a real right to be angry would be the Disney fans in HK and the SAR officials. They were sold on something much grander than what was created. But for me, as a Disney fan, I could easily enjoy a day (or a weekend) at HKDL and get my money's worth. ~City Hall is NOT an attraction~
Originally Posted By Malin *** But for me, as a Disney fan, I could easily enjoy a day (or a weekend) at HKDL and get my money's worth. *** Same here I can overlook some of its short comings providing the Disney experience is up to the high standard that is expected. I'm happy to report it surpasses it on many levels when its compared to other Resorts.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***But for me, as a Disney fan, I could easily enjoy a day (or a weekend) at HKDL and get my money's worth.*** I definitely didn't feel that way myself (and it was the one and ONLY time for me at any Disney park feeling that way, INCLUDING DCA lol). After a few hours, I was bored and ready to leave. And I felt like a chump having dished out the money for a full priced ticket. Just my 2 cents, of course.
Originally Posted By SuperDry Of course Mr X, part of it was that you visited HKDL on your first-ever trip to HK.
Originally Posted By Mr X Well...that's fair, BUT if I'd felt like I needed to see some more (like, a "must see" attraction or something), I certainly wouldn't have felt compelled to leave. As it was, I certainly didn't want to waste any more time in a place I felt was lackluster and boring (I certainly didn't walk into the place planning to feel that way though...in fact it was shortly after my first visit to DCA which left me surprisingly appreciative of the place, and so I was pretty determined NOT to let the internet negativity affect my expectations that time around....in other words, I WANTED to like the place). I guess what I mean is, if it was DisneySea and I only had a short time in Tokyo..I probably would've stayed at DisneySea. But yes, you are correct in your comment..I certainly felt like I had "better things to do" at that time.
Originally Posted By Malin *** Of course Mr X, part of it was that you visited HKDL on your first-ever trip to HK. *** Another reason without knowing Mr X, but reading his thoughts online is that he appears to be more of a attractions person when visiting the parks. We all love the attractions for sure, but I think some of us visit the parks do so with a differnt agenda and attractions and astmophere is just part of the package. I could easily spend a full day at the park tomorrow, and I see the appeal in the place, as does Spirit, and I feel if your going to criticise the park for anything its that it doesn't appeal to a large enough audience yet.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Another reason without knowing Mr X, but reading his thoughts online is that he appears to be more of a attractions person when visiting the parks. >>> I think you're right. It seems that Mr X thinks that things like streetmosphere entertainment add almost no value to the park experience.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***It seems that Mr X thinks that things like streetmosphere entertainment add almost no value to the park experience*** Good point. Streemosphere blows.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I could easily spend a full day at the park tomorrow, and I see the appeal in the place, as does Spirit*** Some people on these boards feel the same way about WDSP, but that doesn't mean it's a fantastic theme park (maybe to some it is...). It's great that you guys liked it, but please don't be so quick to dismiss my thoughts as simply "lack of attractions" and nothing more. I care TONS about the "Disney details", and in fact that's the main reason I really disliked HKDL. While I went into the place knowing full well the attraction count was low, what I didn't expect was how generic and cartoonlike the place would look, nor the fact that there is nearly nothing in terms of interesting, little corners and pathways that I love so much about Disney parks (in particular Disneyland, Animal Kingdom, and DisneySea). Fantasyland, stand in the middle and look around and you see all there is to offer. Same for Tomorrowland. Adventureland is slightly better, but still lacking and annoyingly cartoony and generic compared to the "fantasy/real" feeling of all the other Disney places I've seen. In other words, I felt the place lacked character. An EXTREMELY "cookie cutter" vibe to the place, and frankly even DCA comes out better in my eyes as far as having some genuine personality to the place. Also, for the record, I have spent plenty of "Disney days" in the parks just chilling and looking around, riding only one or two attractions, or sometimes none at all. Just an FYI about what I do and do not like about Disney. (oh, and I think atmosphere shows and other forms of entertainment are important as well...and even *gasp* characters)
Originally Posted By Mr X **I could easily spend a full day at the park tomorrow, and I see the appeal in the place, as does Spirit*** Some people on these boards feel the same way about WDSP, but that doesn't mean it's a fantastic theme park (maybe to some it is...). It's great that you guys liked it, but please don't be so quick to dismiss my thoughts as simply "lack of attractions" and nothing more. I care TONS about the "Disney details", and in fact that's the main reason I really disliked HKDL. While I went into the place knowing full well the attraction count was low, what I didn't expect was how generic and cartoonlike the place would look, nor the fact that there is nearly nothing in terms of interesting, little corners and pathways that I love so much about Disney parks (in particular Disneyland, Animal Kingdom, and DisneySea). Fantasyland, stand in the middle and look around and you see all there is to offer. Same for Tomorrowland. Adventureland is slightly better, but still lacking and annoyingly cartoony and generic compared to the "fantasy/real" feeling of all the other Disney places I've seen. In other words, I felt the place lacked character. An EXTREMELY "cookie cutter" vibe to the place, and frankly even DCA comes out better in my eyes as far as having some genuine personality to the place. Also, for the record, I have spent plenty of "Disney days" in the parks just chilling and looking around, riding only one or two attractions, or sometimes none at all. Just an FYI about what I do and do not like about Disney. (oh, and I think atmosphere shows and other forms of entertainment are important as well...and even *gasp* characters)
Originally Posted By Malin I wasn't trying to dismiss you Mr X, I was only commenting on some stuff I've seen you write before in this and other post. Without knowing you I can only comment from what I read and not on you as a person. Apologies if any offense was was taken. *** nor the fact that there is nearly nothing in terms of interesting, little corners and pathways that I love so much about Disney parks (in particular Disneyland, Animal Kingdom, and DisneySea). Fantasyland, stand in the middle and look around and you see all there is to offer. *** I agree despite my love for the park, I do see areas in is design which I have to question. Take for instance Tarzan's Treehouse which I was hoping would be like a Tom Sawyers Islands and full of caves and paths to explore, but nope it was just a treehouse. A wasted oportunity here.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Apologies if any offense was was taken.*** Not necessary. I took no offense. I just wanted to make it clear that IT really WASN'T the dearth of attractions that bothered me so much (sure, it would've been NICE if there was more to do, no doubt!). In fact, I would say that my three favorite parks (Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and DisneySea) are pretty light when it comes to attraction "count", but they are so much more than the sum of their parks (for me).
Originally Posted By Malin The Theme Park Attendance Report for 2008 has been released for 2008. <a href="http://www.teaconnect.org/etea/TEAERA2008.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.teaconnect.org/etea...2008.pdf</a> I will be the first to admit that I question how acurate this report is, as its not clear what these numbers are based on, but numbers of interest are... Tokyo Disneyland 14,293,000 Tokyo Disney Sea 12,498,000
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 The ONLY number that matter is that the MK is once again the No. 1 theme park in the world (YAWN!) ... ~If you torture numbers enough they'll say anything!~
Originally Posted By Bob Paris ^ Only because the OLC built a TDS next to the previous holder of that title. But I guess the board of the OLC will have to be happy with having their almost 27 million combined attendance at their resort over some bragging rights as "Most visited theme park".
Originally Posted By Mr X That is simply amazing. Unprecedented, even (surpasses even WDW in the 80's under their 2 park years, doesn't it? and that would include TONS of international patronage, no?)... I'm sure Malin will try to find a way to spin those numbers negatively though.
Originally Posted By Malin *** I'm sure Malin will try to find a way to spin those numbers negatively though. *** Lol, why would I do that, I think I've already made my views known to everyone about my opinion on the TDS Attendance, but what we can all agree on is that the Combined Attendance number is an outstanding achievement in what has been a very challenging time for the Japanese ecomony. I only hope the new record number is not a one time thing and that the TDR can keep the mometum going.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris Well, for someone who has joined Leemac in the negative spin on TDS of late, apparently YOU will add to those numbers in the next few weeks. Make sure you SPEND UP BIG!!!!!
Originally Posted By Malin *** Well, for someone who has joined Leemac in the negative spin on TDS of late, apparently YOU will add to those numbers in the next few weeks. *** I think the difference between myself and Lee, is my criticism is based around its weak attendance, and not the design of the park. When I challenged the numbers recently someone bounce back to the annual ERA & TEA Report. From what has been posted on MiceChat, the numbers for TDL and TDS are way off what the report has predicted, with TDL having 19 million to TDS 8 million Guest for the year. Busch Entertainment Corp has also blasted the report claiming that its combined attendance for parks like Sea World was actually 10 percent more than the 23 million estimated in the ERA/TEA report. I think TDS is a fantastic park, but its clear to me the main draw at the Resort is the TDL park. If the 19 million is true than not only does that make TDL the most attended park in the World, but it also smashes its previous record. I'm sorry if at times I come across to negative against TDS, because really I'm not, and I am counting down the days until I can visit the park again and enjoy a full day of all the wonders it provides!
