Originally Posted By Doobie This topic is for discussion of the 5/2/2001 news item <b><a href="http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/ocnews/20010502/t000036955.html" target="_blank">LATimes: A Lightbulb Moment in the Power Crisis</a></b> In the May 2nd <I>Los Angeles Times</I> columnist Dana Parsons criticizes the return of the Electrical Parade during California's power crisis.
Originally Posted By TP2000 This article killed me! Dana Parson's is always pretty funny, but this one was one of his better ones. I like the line about DCA that goes.... well, I won't ruin it yet since it was just issued today. Read the article if you've got a couple minutes and aren't too sensitive about DCA's lack of success.
Originally Posted By Nobody Well, this seems like as good a place as any to start rambling, so here goes. I'm not taking a pro or con stance since there are clearly valid points in either direction. (And no, it doesn't even take a mind as sharp as a newspaper columnist's to see that touting something called an electrical parade during an energy crisis is ironic.) A) Someone a while ago observed that there was no storage room in the float warehouses for EP. Somebody else said how easy it would be to build temp structures (or even tents) in the Timon lot or media tent area - you pick. (I'll come back to this later.) B) Others mentioned that EP runs on batteries and that those are trickle-charged throughout the day. Anybody who's seen Paradise Pier at night or who knows what it takes to run an entire park, knows that EP is a drop in the electrical bucket. C) One of the tacts I would take to combat the "ironic" media pieces would be to point out that during EP performances, Disney actually turns OFF normally used lights, thus making it a wash. D) Another tact would be to take A and B above into account and install photovoltaic cells (solar panels) on top of the new storage areas. Use them to charge the float batteries during the day. PR heaven. When they're done with the parade and want to expand into those areas, they just donate the cells to schools or other not-for-profit. More PR heaven. E) If they want to take this a step further, start installing these PV cells in strategic areas throughout the park, about 12-15 feet up. Offset energy costs and create INSTANT SHADE where needed. Okay, enough for now. I know disney doesn't accept unsolicited ideas, but that's the beauty of posting anonamously - steal at will.
