Originally Posted By davewasbaloo After seeing how amazing the German theme parks were compared to Disney, it is astounding how much Japan and Germany get right, and think in long term vision, when the US and UK get so many things wrong with a free market determination. Hmmmmmm. Japan and Germany are still democratic and economically free, but the attitude is so much more long term. After my 3 week trip in real Epcot, WDW has even less of an appeal. Looking forward to reading more Spirit.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< 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!). >>> Absolutely. Notice also the differing standards used even within JR East: There was essentially no earthquake damage to any of the critical rail infrastructure (track, power, control systems, vital parts of stations), as they were able to have most lines in Tokyo operational in just a couple of days, subject to power availability. But, at stations, there was tons of significant but non-critical damage, such as the broken staircases and elevator access, and pavement buckling in the bus areas. Considering the damage that you saw in those areas, and how there was essentially none that affected actual train operation even though the stations are in the same places, it's obvious that this was all by design. JR East built the parts that were critical to train operation to survive a major quake without damage, and saved money by allowing the non-critical parts to be built to a lesser standard. It's all just a matter of deciding up front what the standards and priorities should be. <<< it is astounding how much Japan and Germany get right, and think in long term vision, when the US and UK get so many things wrong with a free market determination. Hmmmmmm. Japan and Germany are still democratic and economically free, but the attitude is so much more long term. >>> Often times, the "free market" causes things to be built as cheaply as possible, as long as it stays together long enough for the risk and liability to be assumed by someone else. It's in those cases where regulation may be needed to protect everyone's broad interests.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo What a shame though. When we went to the German parks, it was amazing how they kept restaurants open after rides closed, the gardens were immaculate, no rubbish on the floor, and when it was busy, they announced by 3 pm they would extend their hours by 90 minutes. In short, they run their parks the way disney taught them to. And then Disney forgot. That said, DLP was much better this year in many respects.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "Often times, the "free market" causes things to be built as cheaply as possible, as long as it stays together long enough for the risk and liability to be assumed by someone else. It's in those cases where regulation may be needed to protect everyone's broad interests." Agreed. Buildings created with civic pride, using marble and stone last far longer with minimal maintenance than the build it on the cheap to save tax money type approach when it comes to public facilities. And when it comes to free market, it is even worse. Look at Walmart. The model most MBAs have been based on for the last 15 years.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer PIERCE IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So happy to see you! (ok, back to the TR...) >>>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).<>>> Actually... And historically speaking (it's me. What else do you expect?) veritical graves are around. Suspected witches were hurried that way so that their souls couldn't escpape the grave and get to heaven. Vampires, too. So, in actuality, that fits our mansion quite well. Probably the only thing that does. If anything, the sound effects detract too much from the moody, subtle, air if the mansion's entrance
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<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?>> Can't wait to hear all the Fanbois defend that decision. Remember when Universal was bashing Disney as only for the little kiddies and they were all up in arms saying Disney would never stoop that low?* Yea...wonder what their excuses for this are going to be. Personally I find it hilarious, and can't wait to see the reaction. The HP fanbase is huge and rabid, pissing them off like this doesn't seem like a great idea. *Just for clarification, I hated that marketing campaign from Uni. Truly terrible. Thank god they've gotten away from doing that and have gone to highlighting their strengths.
Originally Posted By Bolna I guess the answer to the question "Who is in the MK at 3am?" is: not anyone who is hungry - at least this appears to be the opinion of those who decided to close the CS locations. But I am looking forward to reading more about what you found out about the 3am popluation at the MK.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub ?Really? If a manager has no business for 1/2 hour with the walk-in fast service traffic maybe they have the authority to close earlier? Perhaps it is a nightly decision based on factors we are not aware of besides waiting til the last minute to think about food.
Originally Posted By leobloom Good to see you Pierce! You get out of line and I'll be the first to dunk your head in the Quail Tiles restroom. Actually, go ahead and get out of line and cause a ruckus (another Southernism in honor of Pierce's return), because lately there hasn't been much of value to talk about around here. At least Spirit's 3 A.M. adventure at the Tragic Kingdom is amusing, more than can be said about most of the threads that are started these days.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> 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?) << I thought we already talked about this in private about the Stossel program. Any American corporation that hides it's assets overseas to avoid taxes should not be allowed to sell it's product here. I don't see what that has to do with Disney though. I don't know of any incident of TWDC being caught doing that. Their only guilt is the fact they have a Liverpool Football Club fan in their ranks. I am of the opinion that WDW still holds the Wow factor for most visitors. I know you disagree with me on this point, but I think our familarity with the product coupled with some diminishing standards in some areas have caused a number of Disney fans to become more cynical of the Disney brand that most of us have grown up with. It definitely is no longer the same company that I fell in love with at an early age. In turn I am a completely different person now also. I really think they are making a sincere effort to give both new visitors, and their fans the best possible experience. It is up to each individual to decide if they are succeeding or not.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> 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. << It's a requirement that you always spit after a sentence that contains the word hankering. If you are indoors, and do not have a styrofoam cup handy, you remove your John Deere ballcap, and spit inside it. Polite people never spit on the floor. >> 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. << How can you pass on a chance to meet Chip, and Dale or was it the fact you forgot to bring your Character Autograph Book. Did you bring your little light swirling thingy to play with in the queues? >> 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 have a big problem with this. This is part of the customer service issues that really should be improved at WDW. Especially at the resorts. If you are the number one tourist destination in the world you should be able to dine in any park for at least until closing. At the resorts you should be able to at least get room service 24 hours every day.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Good to see you Pierce! You get out of line and I'll be the first to dunk your head in the Quail Tiles restroom. << It's always been a dream of mine to experience that.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< 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 have a big problem with this. This is part of the customer service issues that really should be improved at WDW. >>> I just don't understand why they do this. With all of the other meal outlets in the park closed, I can't imagine that they wouldn't sell enough hot dogs and fries to justify keeping Casey's open until maybe 30 minutes after closing. This would be especially true if they did a bit of promotion: put up a sign somewhere or print it in the guide: "For your convenience, Casey's on Main Street will be serving hot meals until 30 minutes after park closing tonight." That would plant a seed in a lot of guests' heads that would likely germinate in those overnight hours when they're still in the park and get hungry. Even if not, I agree with MPierce: it's a basic customer service function that Disney should attend to. They could pick any particular attraction that's currently open during EMH and close it, claiming there's "not enough demand" to keep it open late at night, and save more money than it would cost to keep Casey's open. But they don't, because someone has determined that the set of attractions they operate is what they feel they need to make guests feel that the park is actually open. Keeping one meal-serving F&B outlet open should be the same way. <<< At the resorts you should be able to at least get room service 24 hours every day. >>> At one time, the Deluxe resorts supposedly all had this feature. I posted about this a few years ago when it happened: the only time I've ever gotten really angry and complained about something firmly (I was going to say "loudly" but I don't raise my voice in such situations) at WDW was when I checked in to AKL just after midnight, after flying in from out of town and taking Magical Express to the hotel. There was no food on the airplane, and I skipped eating at the airport, and with Magical Express, there was no opportunity to get something to go on the way to the hotel or even get sundries somewhere. Once I was at AKL, there was nothing: sundry store was closed. All bars and restaurants closed. Room service was closed. Not even a stocked minibar with peanuts or a candy bar to buy. I had no car. I hadn't eaten in 12 hours and had been looking forward to a nice room service meal before going to bed. The reason I was so steamed about it was that I had specifically checked the website the day before, and it advertised AKL has having "24 hour room service." I marched down to the front desk, laptop in hand, and showed them what their own website said. They allowed me to order Dominos delivery and picked up the tab. I was happy enough with the result, as they solved the situation as best they could. But you're right - a premiere resort destination should offer a certain set of amenities, even if each one of them isn't profitable every hour of the day.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 >>But you're right - a premiere resort destination should offer a certain set of amenities, even if each one of them isn't profitable every hour of the day.<< This is the key that seems to get missed. Some things are NOT going to generate a profit. Period. But they have to be included in the whole package for folks to feel like they are being treated "right." And this applies to so many things on property! Change how you budget/analyze costs!! Please!
Originally Posted By leemac <<Their only guilt is the fact they have a Liverpool Football Club fan in their ranks. >> Nowt wrong with that - wait, was that a reference to me? I feel so privileged to be mentioned in the same breath as tax evaders. You'll Never Walk Alone.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> But you're right - a premiere resort destination should offer a certain set of amenities, even if each one of them isn't profitable every hour of the day. << That pretty much says it all SuperDry. I wonder how many people a day have the same experience that you had, but in up just going hungry.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> This is the key that seems to get missed. Some things are NOT going to generate a profit. Period. But they have to be included in the whole package for folks to feel like they are being treated "right." And this applies to so many things on property! Change how you budget/analyze costs!! Please! << That's why the Adventurers Club should still be open. It was a part of the overall WDW package. It didn't need to make tons of money. It only needed to address a part of entertainment that is now lacking.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Nowt wrong with that - wait, was that a reference to me? I feel so privileged to be mentioned in the same breath as tax evaders. You'll Never Walk Alone. << I had completely forgotten you're a Scouser LeeMac!
Originally Posted By leemac <<I had completely forgotten you're a Scouser LeeMac! >> Honorary Scouser! Wasn't born within 200 miles of Liverpool. ))
