Originally Posted By arstogas >>>A picture of a drain often speaks 1000 words about the people who built and use it.<<< Absolutely. What a wonderful job, Marc. A genuine pleasure to see the resort through your eyes. You have passion for your subject, and it shines through. What a magnificent view from your hotel room! Wow. My company's sending me to China within about ten to twelve months... I aim to make a substantial "side trip". Hope I get a view as good as yours! Just shows you what exquisite works of creativity can yet be accomplished in the world. With the right foresight, and the guts to part with the needed cash! One thing about quality that has never changed: it does not come cheap. Now if you'll excuse me, I guess I'll drive down to Anaheim and watch them paint the sheet metal around Mulholland Madness...
Originally Posted By Craigcc Thanks, Marc, for the great pictures. I'm planning to visit TDL Resort in 2003. This is helping me plan. I personally enjoy all the pictures and comments you include (well, 99% anyway) so don't cut back! Thanks again.
Originally Posted By TK re Part II: Ahhh, much better. Beautiful Hotel! Marc, this is true Disney: place-making that transports you to another world! Not to belabor my already belabored point, but the Mira Costa is much nicer and newsworthy than the banal monorail stations that could be metro stations or bus stops from any city in the world including Osaka or Oakland. Sorry Disney die-hards, just because these are on Disney property doesn't make them good. Detail pics of drains and grates would be welcome--if the drains and grates were photogenic, or part of a greater visual system, which sadly they're not, due to the sign pollution, power lines, real world intrusions and other visual contradictions that take you out of the cinematic moment. John Hench 101! Anyway, again, BEAUTIFUL HOTEL!! Detail pics of Mira Costa are most welcome and appreciated!
Originally Posted By TDLFAN It's obvious you have never ridden this monorail line TK, and i am not talking about the similarities of other train systems in the world, or the dreaded "outside" world intrusions that most complaint about. I am talking about the quality of the product, departures at scheduled times, the smooth cruising, the soft Disney melodies playng over the p.a. system as you ride, the display cases within the trains that showcase Disney memorabilia, the Mickey-shaped hand straps, the clean monorails and stations, the automatic gate systems, the welcoming voices announcing every stop along the way, the sell of "new" that still permeates within the train cars. THAT is what make the Disney Resort Line unique. Unlike WDW's, where you are screamed at to continue all the way down, where some monorails (lime in particular) smell a bit foul, where cleanliness is questionable, where you have to listen to constant and loud Disney propaganda by a most annoying announcer who is short of telling us what kind of flora we are passing by as we ride along, where you are 95% of the time "waiting for traffic clearance" into the MK/TTC stations. WDW & DLR monorail systems are operated in an attraction-like state of mind, whereas, TDR's line is a real train system, operated as such, but with a bit of class and a touch of Disney, OLC style. Like everything else at TDR, it must be experienced to really appreciate the quality that sets it apart from the rest.
Originally Posted By OrlandoBoi TDLFAN beat me to it-one thing I loved about the TDR Liner was the beautiful music that is piped in. I want a CD of those lovely old Disney tunes, done in such a classy manner. And why was it, almost every time I board the monorail at the TTC at WDW, as soon as we left the station, the piped spiel came over saying that we were either just entering "Disney's Contemporary Resort" or "just arriving at the MK". Couldn't they at least sync this taped recording properly?
Originally Posted By wtg2000 Last time on WDW monorail, the spiel was often being played at the wrong time, or stopping and then getting cut off. The whole system there has gone downhill faster than an Olympic skier. It's very inefficient it seems to me. The TDR version was like being in first class on the Orient Express (not that I've ever actually been in first class on the Orient Express, but you get my drift).
Originally Posted By TDLFAN The TDR Line probably gives you a much quieter and smoother ride than the Orient Express.
Originally Posted By JimG This is a great report, Marc; keep it coming! In general, from what I've seen of the Tokyo Disneyland Resort, especially Disney Seas and its adjacent hotel, the Disney Company should be ashamed to have thrust upon the American people the likes of "Disney's California Adventure"(DCA). (I visited DCA for the first time during the Labor Day week of last September). While certainly _not_ as bad as its most ardent detractors portray, DCA was/is obviously "built on the cheap", and is just not a worthy complement to Disneyland (although Disneyland itself has indeed been much neglected and compromised IMHO by the Disney Company in recent years...but that is a separate story <ahem>). Disney Seas shows what the Imagineers can do when given a proper budget. I urge all U.S. Disney park fans & stockholders (I am both) to provide the necessary input to The Disney Company regarding what standards they expect/demand for a U.S. Disney park.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>I urge all U.S. Disney Park fans & stockholders (i am both) to provide the necessary imput to the Walt Disney Company regarding what standards they expect/demand for a U.S. Disney park<< Agreed, and trust me i have been doing just that for the last few years, but when you have managers telling you to your face "sorry, that's how we do things here" like it happened to me a couple of times at Guest Relations, it doesn't give you much hope for positive change in the future. Most posters here have accused me of 2 things: 1) being "jaded" against WDW because i live 12 minutes away from it and feel the place lacks terribly in many areas (cleanliness/upgrading/CM attitude/rude guests, etc) and 2) being "psychotic & fanatical" about the TDR because they excel so greatly in these very same areas. Neither are true but if they were, i would offer no apologies for the way i see things from a quality-mimded guest point of view. Many times i have taken walks with MagicalNezumi at TDR and he has seen me point out a deficiency here or there (cracks in the floor at TDL's main entrance by the Market House in a park where the floor are very smooth looking) You JimG, as a stockholder, are in a better position than us fans, to effect some change in the Walt Disney Co. You may have the power to remove management who can't see the light. That is the BIG difference between Disney and OLC. Eisner is so traumatized by the poor economic performance of EuroDisney Co. that he will do anything with extreme caution, sacrificing quality in the process and hoping that consumer won't notice. IMO, the OLC knows what is expected of the Disney brand name and they do it right, because they have a tough, loyal following who appreciate the unmatched quality they bring to the product. Not until Disney Top Brass realizes/concedes that reality, will they act upon accordingly.
Originally Posted By TK Ouch, TDLFAN. Actually I have ridden the TDR monorail and quite enjoyed it ONCE INSIDE. And I agree with you about the service & maintenance being better in general at TDR than WDW or DL. But I don't see the merit in waxing so enthusiastically about the aesthetics of the TDR monorail system and transprotation stations, since they weren't even the product of imagineers (excepting I guess for the graphics and music). My understanding is that the design of the monorail cars and stations was a government job, and that Disney did the best they could to band-aid it. Given that, the TDR stations are rather uninteresting, compared to even the most common metro stations in Paris, Brussels and other European cities. In the city of Paris almost all of the metro stations are now themed (one is even themed like the interior of the Nautilus) and very clean and as efficient as Tokyo. Of course, not as friendly. I love Tokyo and TDR too, but for urban planning, public trransportation and wonderful cities, give me Euorpe any day! And I'm Taoist! Also, you have to admit that for sheer drama and balls, the monorail at WDW when it goes through that big hotel can't be beat (excepting for, I guess, the now questionable service, which wasn't the case when I was there last). Even the WDW monorail BEAMS are a work of art, designed by motion picture art directors!
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct <Most posters here have accused me of 2 things: 1) being "jaded" against WDW because i live 12 minutes away from it > ... and you WORKED in WDW, so yes I do believe you are jaded! But TDLFAN, I must say, many people from many different backgrounds, all seem to say the SAME things you mention about the beauty and cast of TDR. That can't be a coincidence so there has to be MUCH truth to what you all say. I hope to see it one day and apology profusely for accusing you guys of over hyping the place. : ) But it still can't compete with 47 sq miles of WDW with it's four parks? I guess I will just have to wait until I see TDR for myself to answer that question. Hey TK, I can't get enough of Europe either. Of course that may change when/if I make it to Tokyo - but I don't think so. How can Tokyo compete with Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Monte Carlo and Vienna? Europe is just so sweet!
Originally Posted By Marc Borrelli Actually, the Resort Line's stations *were* designed by Imagineering. Eddie Sotto and I brought up his design for TDL station in one of the interviews we did here at LP. (Although I like his design more than he does.) Bayside to a lesser extent, I personally like the design of the Resort Line's stations. I find them elegant (damned classy, really, yet functional. I also like the trains. I think they did a nice job of overcoming a couple of tough realities regarding them. One of those realities being the government regulation that the bogies (wheel assemblies) be located entirely under the floor (raising substantially the height of the train relative to their DL and WDW cousins), and another, softening (kawaiiii! the visual impact of the trains which resulted from their very large size.
Originally Posted By x-TDL-character Marc, thank you for explaining the wheel assembly situation, that really opened my eyes! I too find the American Disney monorails to be more sleek, futuristic, and cool than the TDL one. However, I just checked out some Japan monorail pages and the TDL one is actually the coolest looking train I saw. Most of the others were just downright "UGLY", one line in Osaka looked like a book standing on end riding down the monorail beam! Now I understand the "problem", since if the wheel assemblies have to be totally under the floor their ain`t much you could do to improve the looks. Japan is a country that takes great pride in the efficiency, cleanliness, and safety of it`s public transportation (of which the Disney resort line is a part officially), and I suppose that asthetics must take a back seat at some point to those other considerations. Like you said, the builders did their best to soften up the look, and they did okay. I still think the monorail sliding into the Contemporary is a stroke of genius, (from the first time I saw it at age 4) and it`s hard to compare the old (and cool as heck) versions with this new one. Side note, if you come to Tokyo looking for sleek, futuristic trains however, you will not be disappointed!! Think "blade runner" or, if you airbrush out the wheels, there is one bullet train in town that would fit into a "star wars" movie very nicely!! (Nozomi 500 is the name of it)
Originally Posted By TDLFAN TK, I am glad to know you have been on the TDR monorail. You never did mention that so i assumed you have never ridden on it. However, i still feel the TDR line offers a more elegant experience than most. As for cleanliness and efficiency, i would guess that all of the train services in Europe, as well as most cities in Asia, are great and clean. Singapore subways are cleaner than Tokyo's due to the tough regulations on hygiene in the region. Le Métros in Paris are efficient but you'd have to admit their stations are not that clean and the beggars make the ride a bit uncomfortable for me (i don't feel very safe there at all). Let me make it clear that when i praise TDR, i am only doing it against the other Disney resorts. Likewise about the european cities that Dennis-in-ct mentions. I'd take some of the European cities over Tokyo anyday, hands down! As for train services, i would have to say that i'd give the JR, subways and Keisei trains in Japan the edge because they are clean, reliable, and accessible to almost anywhere in Japan (to the point that you don't really need a car IMO) but that doesn't diminish the train services in the rest of the world. They serve their purpose. And Dennis... i am not jaded.
Originally Posted By wtg2000 I think the monorail stations are very nice, clean and functional. I couldn't see any point in doll-ing them up, since people are just breezing through on their way to the main attraction. Who's going to say, "wow, look at this, let's spend an hour looking around the monorail station before heading into TDS?"
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I think the monorail stations are very nice, clean and functional. I couldn't see any point in doll-ing them up>> The monorail stations at the TDResort are far from spartan, and they did doll them up to a degree...look at the architecture of the TDL station in particular. Whatever the case, the TDResort stations are MUCH nicer than the relatively simple covered platforms of the WDW monorail system.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss getting back to the discussion at hand, WOW, amazing, fantastic, BEAUTIFUL hotel! I wish I could have seen it with my own eyes when I was there in September, but unfortunately I wasn't able to convince anyone to let me enter. Gotta love that nice selection of MiraCosta toiletries! Whoever is staying there next, bring me back a set, OK? ;-)
Originally Posted By MagicalNezumi Many of the toiletries can be obtained by asking any worker at the Hotel. They'll hand them over to you. (smiles) -- MagicalNezumi
Originally Posted By MagicalNezumi Yes, great shots of the hotel Marc. Seems like you've stayed at one of the terrace rooms. Nice pick. -- MagicalNezumi
