Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Subtitle: Who exactly is at the MK at 3 a.m.? That's what this intrepid, charming and dashing (just don't get on my bad side ... no, really, don't) Spirit set out to discover Thursday night after a day filled with non-park bidness. Got there at 9:45, which was just in time to see a sea of humanity (the seas REALLY are in bad shape, btw) clogging up the arteries. Didn't wish to subject myself to The MAGIC, The Memories and YOU! again (one of those things you try once to say you did it and nervously glance away when the subject arises at cocktail parties) People were packed in, but I will say I haven't seen this many crowd control CMs in a very long time. They were manning Main Street and the bridge near Crystal Palace and doing an actually somewhat decent job. Headed toward A-land and noticed (please cue the OCD photogs/bloggers) ... wait for it ... wait for it ... a NEW PLANTER in the middle of the walkway. It even had a small tree and some greenery. I know ... I was thinking what you are ... that it must have set Phil Holmes back a good $385 at Home Depot. Still, nice to see that Disney can mow down forests of greenery and take out mature trees and give something back to the community. Saw Wishes near some MAGICal construction walls that sadly didn't inspire me to ride Dumbo in order to glance over them with video camera running in a way that would get Disney Security's attention at say ... a water park. Then made our way toward Toonland of the Future where some nice young woman offered up FPs for Space Mountain, which we gladly accepted. Well, to be fair, I wasn't that glad since I basically only tolerate the attraction and have now for the last 15 years when it should have been gutted like a ghetto tenement. We rode with a lot of crazy kids soaking up their last vestiges of Spring Break, high school and time before they realize that life in the 21st century USA mostly sucks wet locker room towels that have been sitting out for a few hours. What can I say? It was dark. It was rough. It's slightly (like say take $300 billion off our national debt) better than it was in 2007. When we got off (wait, that sounds bad ... or good ... or bad/good or let's move on ... ah... but we couldn't as) the Speedramp was down and there was a CM trying to restart the thing and 'splaining the situation to the good folks of MAGIC land. But why is it there always an idiot with his two brats (sounded like a Jersey accent) who thinks that the 597 people waiting in front of him are just looking at a squirrel and that he should push and shove his way in front only to see that, indeed, no squirrel. The goal as I said (please pay attention, this isn't something important like say ... your rights being stripped away as you sleep) was to see what the MK is like at 3 a.m. on an EMH night, how many people stay, demos, how the park is run etc. It wasn't to 'ride rides'. What can I say? Not how this type of fanboi rolls.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 After seeing Wishes ... we made a beeline to Disney's answer to Harry Potter. No, you sarcastic twits, I am not talking about the five DVCs Disney has in planning stages ... or even the new wellness suites and princess rooms (designed to take you away from the old South and place you right into a Disney princess commercial .... note: actual DVD, toys, plush, meals where you can get photo with princesses, plush, pins and tiaras are NOT included). Nope, I wanted to see the REAL answer to Potter (Phase II arriving well before first new thing on TSFKaPI or Dead Flamingo Crossing) ... yes, I am speaking about the ... dramatic pause (like a fanboi blogger who just found out they aren't on the invite list for Star Tours debut ... no wait, there would be whining and crying and Twittering about that) so ... yep, it was interactive Mansion queue time. My thoughts: even at night it seems to clash on a basic level with said Mansion. It also makes no sense that tombs (like Marc Davis') are sitting on patches of ground that the average fanboi's behind wouldn't fit on if they had fallen and couldn't get up (hey, I saw you giggling ... quit it ... happens much more frequently than you'd ever want to know). Beyond the fact that the look isn't very in keeping with the Mansion's serious approach comes more substantial issues. Like why build it when no one has a clue why it is there and when most people, even on a busy night, had no desire to stop and play and walked by the new toys (I did play with them and thought they were well done). But there is no way of people knowing there's any difference whether they walk one way or another. How this allows them to interact with anything is beyond my very, very, very (I heard that, Em) intellect.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Next came the actual ride, which still is great and still my favorite attraction in Philand (just one 'L' due to budget cuts). Thoughts on the 'new' Hitchhiking Ghosts ending: well, I kinda liked it, but need to ride again. It certainly is in keeping with the Spirit of the attraction and that is what's most important. And remember, the Spirit is always with you ... when you sleep, when you scratch in public, when you go to that naughty/MAGICal website ... even when you have a burger, fries and cherry coke. After that, the night was a whirlwind blur. I'll try and recall it for you folks here because I really do love you (some of you, anyway ... no ... not YOU, Trippy! ;-)) I hate to admit this and I kinda feel awkward doing so ... kind of like a preacher's son in Louisiana telling the old man that he likes playing for his own team awkward but ... here goes: I thought I need to see the new Walt Disney Story on Main Street (now featuring lots of queue lines, Vegas carpeting and private foamhead meet-greet-and gropes). Yes, I did it ... really ... I did go all the way. Into a small room where despite it being after 11 p.m. and despite their stature and stardom, Bob and Willow were waiting to meet and take a photo with me. OK, OK, ... I kid ... it was Inoverherheadmeg and one of the mice from Cinderella. Still, no takers? OK. I hung out with Mickey and Minnie. I am not sure why Mickey hugged me (a good long time) while Minnie only blew me kisses. But they were both lovely and gracious hosts and they didn't make fun of me for dressing like a tourist (just 150 pounds lighter) and I told them how much I appreciated their work over the years and was impressed they were out meeting and greeting and groping so late when they could have been home relaxing in their jacuzzi tub at their estate in WIndermere, while noshing on some cheese and a nice cabernet.
Originally Posted By GOB >>Yes, I did it ... really ... I did go all the way.<< Who are you and what have you done with Spirit of 74?!
Originally Posted By MPierce Spirit I'm glad you finally came out of the closet on being a big collector of foamhead autographs. How many full Disney autograph books do you have now? The first day Duffy was at Epcot I bet you stood in line for 3 hours with TDLFAN to get his signature to show all your friends. The only way I could stay in the Magic Kingdom until 3:00 am is if I was high on Pixie Dust, and the Pineapple Dole Whips were free. Even though I must admit the new planter does make it a more tempting proposition.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper MPIERCE IS BACK! Sorry...had to get that off my chest. Only time I've ever been in the park at 3 AM was working a grad night shift.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> MPIERCE IS BACK! << I heard TDLFAN was posting over here again, so I felt obligated to come here, and let him insult me. >> Only time I've ever been in the park at 3 AM was working a grad night shift. << I think I would have rather gotten a root canal without novocaine then have to go through that..
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I think I would have rather gotten a root canal without novocaine then have to go through that..>> Actually...it was really fun. All I did was hang out with one of the cute girls who was working at Pirates at the time. We were stationed in the Jungle plaza to make sure no kids snuck down there to do the nasty.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Admit it Spirit and Pierce and TDLFan have all been away for refurbs and renovations and billion dollar makeovers. Makes my day magical. Please don't ever leave for such a long time ever again. Next time you all plan a 3a.m. get together let us know!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 After leaving the mice behind (not the cockroaches as they seemed to be out in force), we wandered into a nice shop that had all sorts of merchandise I would never be caught actually buying unless I had stolen someone like Pierce's AmEx. ***Time out for an aside to welcome back Mr. Pierce ... you've been missed ... I've also heard that Mr. TDLFAN himself may drop by every here and there ... now, if we could only dredge up Jonvn!*** Shop was nice, although all the little 'Easter eggs' for the fanbois didn't exactly change my opinion that the place would have been a VERY nice addition ... in say the NEW, NEW, NEW, NEW, NEW (and did we remind you that this is a timeless land not like say where the Boy Wizard resides up ghetto 4) Fantasyland. SERIOUSLY, Disney's NEXT marketing campaign is to basically take shots at UNI/IOA by claiming their characters are timeless while others like say Harry Potter or The Incredible Hulk (wait, not that one) or Spidey (wait, can't use that one either) ... so um ... well Hermoine and Ron too aren't timeless. Where do these people get their jobs, not everyone uses 'that special thing' to get in at Disney (even at WDI), so seriously how can people be so out of touch and be hired for these positions? Someone? Anyone? Back to tale ... But I have to admit this is a better use of the facility than what it was left as before. I still believe a Disney Story attraction belongs in this park, but since they now have a permanent one left over from the 100 Years of Walt The Dead Guy We Use to Shill Timeshare Sales (***newest aside, but it appears that DVC CM boothstaffers have all been telling guests, even those who already own DVC points, that they too are owners -- almost always saying at either OKW or SS ... I may be a cynical Spirit, but one might wonder if this was a concerted plot by TDO to drive sales and reassure current members who may have issues). By 11:30, Philand had begun to clear out and we headed to PoC only to find it was down for a while. We took a ride on Snow White's Soon To Be Defunct Adventures in which I may have fallen asleep with sheer boredom. Next came a ride down Splash Mountain in which (sad to say after a non-wet ride a few months ago) is back to its soaking, stinking self. Also, had MANY SQ issues, but this is WDW so we just give them a pass and get excited by 65 pages of photos of the Animation Hotel construction. BTMRR's SQS made Splash look like it was at TDL. Just pathetic. I also saw way too many 'suits' out in mall clothes (yeah, lady wearing the red JC Penny's top and black slacks, I'm talking about you ... you're onstage, you either have a costume or you dress like you make more than $27,762 a year -- even if that is all you do make). Funny how TDL's version is closed right now due to earthquake damage yet MK's earthquake scene has been a total disaster with every effect not working for about a year now. And message to Disney Legal, when you have lighting brighter than daytime inside BTMRR's queue because you are afraid of getting sued, which you will anyway because that's American society and in some cases you DO have it coming, you totally destroy the mood of the ride. I definitely get why folks who don't know any better are thrilled with WDW now. They also probably think Chase and GE shouldn't pay taxes too (should I be taking shots like this in my posts? should I care? what does Pierce think?) It was here we made a tactical 'boo' as we were getting hungry. We opted to take a ride with PoC, which had its audio turned waaay up (maybe they read all the online criticism about it being too soft?), but was generally in fine shape ... which still makes it ghetto compared to Anaheim, Paris and Tokyo's versions.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 By this time, the humidity and odor of the masses was getting to me. but I had a 3 a.m. mission to keep. I hadn't been in the MK that late since my Grad Night back in 198...let's not talk about that year. And I really wanted to see how many people took advantage of the VERY late hours and what kind of experience they were given. But at this point I was having a bad feeling because Pecos Bill's looked like it had closed with the park and I was wondering whether I'd be doing a Crossroads McD's run (and dreading it ... one McD's meal a week is fine for me, although poverty diets are in vogue now). I was assured that 'Casey's is always open' by a friend, which is kind of what I thought. And since I hadn't had a hot dog yet in 2011, I kinda was hankering (Texas word thrown in because old man Pierce is back) for one. We walked past Mansion and thought about riding, but decided to head over to the land where Buzz, Monsters and 626 reside. We passed a pair of chipmunks signing autographs across from The Interactive Queue For Some Attraction That Really Doesn't Matter Because Guests Only Care About Queues While Playing With Their Toys. I know at some point we rode TAFKaTTTA (likely hours before) and riding Buzz Lightyear's Ghetto Spin ... so, four CMs can stand out front and joke and talk and giggle, but not one can pick up a broom and clean inside? I was now getting nervous about eating (as anyone who knows the Spirit realizes that he really is a whore for food) and cranky so we took off for Casey's only to find another Target-attired suit standing in front with locked doors. Now, call me crazy (I've been called worse by people who love me ... like MAGICal fanbois!) but if you are keeping a park open until 3 a.m. and it is 1:10 a.m. shouldn't there be something open where you might find food and drink? I wanted to get into it with said CM, but I know the reality ... Disney doesn't want guests like me anymore (which is honestly reason enough to keep coming) so I really didn't want to hear how Disney takes my concerns very seriously and that I should go have a magic night. I thought I had seen signs of life in Cosmic Ray's, so walked back there only to find CMs cleaning, but not cooking or serving. I was royally p-ed off at this point. The park still had over 90 minutes of operation left and there were plenty of people in the park, easily a few thousand and yet with all those $23 an hour Food and Beverage CMs, they just couldn't afford to keep one location open. And, no, the ice cream stand and bakery don't count. That's desserts or snacks ... that isn't a meal. At this point, I realized two things: people do indeed stay at the MK until at least 1:30 a.m., and I wasn't hanging around to ride rides that I've done hundreds and hundreds of times (even back when they were maintained) when I couldn't even give Disney my money for overpriced QS food ... seriously, again, who in their right mind runs a business this way? So ... did I find food at WDW at 2 a.m.? Did I find anything else to complain about? And did Prez Obama steal my idea by using The Lion King as a joke about his birth at the WH Correspondents Dinner tonight (since I have been suggesting that to anyone and everyone for the last week)? Well, that's all coming ...
Originally Posted By Mr X lmao. This is one hilarious topic man. I'm loving it (and I'll bet you wish you'd been "loving it" at McDonalds right around 1am lol).
Originally Posted By SuperDry Remind me to not read these threads at 2am. All of your junk food suggestions have created a craving for McD's. Let me put on some shoes and get on down the road to the drive-thru.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Funny how TDL's version [of BTMRR] is closed right now due to earthquake damage yet MK's earthquake scene has been a total disaster with every effect not working for about a year now. >>> You'll be pleased to know that it's now repaired and reopened. That was the only ride to have any damage from the earthquake, and as far as I know, it was just to the facade. Here's a thought for you: What if WDW went through an SQS inspection like they did at TDR after the quake and didn't reopen each ride until it was back to 100%. How long do you suppose that would take, even with no natural disaster?
Originally Posted By Mr X ***That was the only ride to have any damage from the earthquake, and as far as I know, it was just to the facade*** Given the circumstances around the city of Urayasu where the resort lives,along with the sheer scope of the disaster, that's nothing short of amazing! I realize that the parks were "specially enforced" against liquefaction damage, but even so...wow. The fact that we have only seen minor damage in the parks within a city that was otherwise a disaster area in pretty much all of the other reclaimed areas is impressive, to say the least. They definitely built the parks "right". I wish they could build all reclaimed areas in earthquake zones to the same specs, but I assume that's cost prohibitive or something.
Originally Posted By SuperDry ^^^ I could write at least a chapter of a book on that subject. It's an issue of economics in a free market. In TDR's case, the people that paid for and managed the construction (OLC) are the ones that retained ownership and plan to live with the results indefinitely (probably at least 100 years). Their interest is in total cost of ownership (including business interruption) over the long haul. For all of the surrounding commercial and residential property, the developers are long gone.
Originally Posted By Mr X I could be wrong, but I thought I read on another site that the OLC was "in charge of" ALL the reclamation development around Tokyo Bay. Perhaps that's incorrect, or too simplistic or both. It certainly does put the OLC in the target zone for blame if so (in that they built their THEME PARKS the right way, and skimped on all the other stuff). But I'm certainly no expert, and I only read a comment on the internets so that's far from any sort of validity one way or the other. I look forward to reading that chapter in your book!
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< It certainly does put the OLC in the target zone for blame if so >>> I don't know about that. As long as they met all gov't standards in place at the time, and didn't mis-represent anything, it's pretty much up to the buyer to decide whether any particular item or construction is suitable for their needs.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***As long as they met all gov't standards in place at the time, and didn't mis-represent anything*** True enough. That would lead to the OTHER point on the issue, which would be the importance of strict government standards (like the ones used under the parks in Urayasu, maybe!). I think you've got TWO chapters now SD!
