Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 OK ... where did I leave off? Oh yeah, same place I am now ... with an empty stomach. So somewhat grudgingly we began to trudge down MS and toward the exits. I really wanted to make it to 3 a.m. ... but it isn't as important as say making it to TDR ... or being at the opening of three Disney Parks ... or watching Obama take down The Donald and The Devil all in the same weekend. Walked up the monorail platform and waited ... and waited ... and waited some more. Now, I understand that it's 1:30 a.m., but if you are keeping a park open until 3, they shouldn't be punish you for trying to enjoy it. And really, I get that it's Central Florida and all ... but there shouldn't be cockroaches scampering around the platform while you're wearing your Spirited sandals (I have amazing toes ... ask Em!) They seriously had as many as you see in the beetle scene on UNI's Mummy coaster, which I rode yesterday but that would make for another thread. Thought of dining off property, but for some strange reason we decided we'd give The Mouse our pennies and dollars (and kidneys and lungs) at Captain Cook's since we had illegally (we will burn in hell, you can be sure) parked at an empty Poly lot. But on the monorail we decided that Gasparilla's at the Grand was probably a better choice and all since it is ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) (enough sarcasm for y'all yet?) a 5-star resort. Well, as you can probably guess, it didn't measure up to my impossible standards (which likely are a whole lot lower than Bob and Willow, but still).
Originally Posted By leobloom >>And really, I get that it's Central Florida and all ... but there shouldn't be cockroaches scampering around the platform while you're wearing your Spirited sandals (I have amazing toes ... ask Em!) They seriously had as many as you see in the beetle scene on UNI's Mummy coaster, which I rode yesterday but that would make for another thread.<< That's the MK's version of the Indiana Jones Adventure. Indiana Jones and the Cockroaches on the Monrail Platform. Almost as catchy as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And stop talking about your toes! You're going to attract the attention of all the Disney foot fetishists (a sick group, I can assure you).
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 First clue that WDW doesn't care about its image even at its 'flagship' resort hotel would be the outsourced workers who were cleaning the lobby area around 2 something. Most of them were OK, but clearly out of place ... but one dude ... well, he looked like he'd fit in as a guest at many Disney resorts ... wifebeater wearing, tattoo covered, music blaring from his iPod. Yep, that's a 5-star image right there. If by 5-star you're talking about say a Days Inn on the OB Trail that's about to lose its license. Anyway, it was off to one of the very, very, very (three ... that about covers it) 24-hour locations across the 43 square miles of the WDW resort (not exactly true with all the non-owned locales, but still ...). Walking in the first impression was the place was closed. And dirty. There was no signage showing a late night menu. No CMs in sight. Finally found one clearing out the pastry/dessert display and he said they were open ... when I looked at him for 20 seconds and finally asked. Since the menu displays had been turned off we assumed, incorrectly, that our choices were two types of salads (one a ceasar with chicken and another that was labeled as a garden salad, but was exactly the same as the previous salad) and one type of sandwich (ham and cheese on some type of multi-grain, not all that special rubes, bread). Hungry we decided to split the salad and a huge (and tasty) orange creme cupcake. The salad ... well, for $8-something -- not too bad considering the CM was so preoccupied he didn't bother to charge for my fountain beverage (no mug for the GF, but maybe he just knew that being the Spirit means never paying for a Coke at WDW) had seen better days. It was fine, but nothing special. And the dressing was a bit off. Don't know if it was just too fishy for me. Or had started going bad. but I wasn't doing the classy Ken's Ranch in a package deal. It was only when I was halfway thru eating that suddenly I saw a dude come in and pick up a pizza. Apparently, they do make pizzas and individual flatbreads all night. But you'd never know this when you come in and there's one CM hiding behind an empty display case. And, frankly, for a flagship resort you should be able to order ANYTHING on the dinner menu until breakfast ... even if you 'lose' money on the deal. With stomachs filled we began walking to the Poly knowing that Disney was hosting some sort of online media whoring festival for Ken and Marie Goldberg's wedding spectacular ... oh wait, nope it was for some so-called 'royals' in the UK. We were approached by some cheerful Disney CMs wearing jammies and one was actual kinda cute as she said 'Good morning' ... since they were setting up massive buffets (have you seen some of these people eat?) in the front of the Wedding Pavilion, I was quite tempted to say 'Hey, we just had to leave the MK because you can't keep one MAGICal locale open, we just went to a dirty understaffed 5-star 24-hour locale and ate a thoroughly forgettable salad, and we're here now so give us some damn real food!'' But I was just tired at that point (humidity felt like June, not April), so just called it a night.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<UNI's Mummy coaster, which I rode yesterday but that would make for another thread.>> Ohhhh...does that mean we get a Uni Spirit thread? I do hope so.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>It's all just a matter of deciding up front what the standards and priorities should be.<< I'm not familiar with Japanese building codes, but American ones make that decision from the very beginning. They are intended to create life safety, not building safety. The building may be in some state of collapse and disrepair, but the occupants will be able to get out of it alive. It could just be a factor of the other building uses around Tokyo Harbor. Since most of them are industrial and warehouses, they don't really have a ton of people in them relative to their floorspace. Because of that, it wouldn't be as detrimental to life safety if a portion of the roof collapsed, since it's unlikely that there would be a person in the warehouse in an earthquake. But TDR is designed as an entertainment venue with tens of thousands of people all over the place. With that, to preserve life safety, you must have much higher standards, just because there are people all over the place, so the chance of getting hurt is much higher. In a way, it's similar to how fire stations and hospitals in the US are designed to higher standards, so that they are able to be used after an emergency. No, TDR doesn't need to be useable immediately after an earthquake, but in order to preserve life safety, it does need to be built to higher standards than most of the surrounding buildings.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer You shoulda gone to the Poly, Captain Cook's is usually open that late. It was in December.
Originally Posted By SeventyOne Capt Cooks is 24/7. Having been to both Capt Cooks and Gasparilla's after midnight, the service is roughly comparable. Just make the drive to Awful Waffle or Steak & Shake.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 >>Yes, I did it ... really ... I did go all the way.<< <<Who are you and what have you done with Spirit of 74?!>> To be fair, it wasn't completely my idea. But the mice were thrilled to get their picture taken with such a celebrity.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<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.>> No Dole Whips were consumed. Don't even know when they closed that stand. And I must correct myself. Turns out said planter isn't new, after all. Just had some painting done and new trees added. I should have expected someone would have taken 765 pictures and plastered them online if it had been new.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<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!>> I'd love a billion dollar makeover ... but I'm not sure you'd ever see the Spirit here again if he got one ... but just know the Spirit is always with you!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<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).>> Glad you enjoyed reading it more than I enjoyed living it! As to McD's, I think I'm now on Day 12 without it and doing quite well. The closest I came to that was welcoming Del Taco back to Florida by dining at their new location on I-Drive near Wet and Wild. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to DLR after though ... had to go to WDW!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<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?>> That's a loaded and tough question to answer since WDW's maintainence has been a disaster dating back into the 90s. A park like MK would likely be down for months ... many months if they had to bring SQ back to 100%. I'm not even sure it would be possible, sadly.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<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.>> Sadly, as you've likely read by now, the answer would be 'nothing' ... I did close the MK down last night during regular late hours (9:15 arrival, 1 a.m. departure ... the absolute best kind of MK visit). I found that a park that is packed at 10 p.m. is near empty by 11:15 and pretty much totally empty by midnight. I think TDO greatly overestimated projections for the day to have a 1 a.m. close in May (something almost unheard of). But they're very twitchy these days with UNI kicking their collective arses and so many capacity issues at MK.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<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.>> No way, leo. I get first dunks on Pierce! <<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.>> WDW is a VERY stale product, nothing that D23 events, whoring to so-called 'social media'/bloggers, and building massive quantities of hotel rooms and timeshares can fix. I'm in O-Town now. I'm 10 minutes from MK, 15 to EPCOT and Studios and 20 to DAK. I opted to go to the mall today. To be fair, this trip isn't a vacation. But I've had more time for parks than I ever expected and I just don't want to go. The heat is certainly part of it (90s in early May not fun), but the MAGIC just isn't there. I may be spoiled because I've been lucky enough to visit all the other resorts world-wide since fall 2009, but it still wouldn't matter if WDW didn't feel stale. Spent Sunday at UNI and IOA and they didn't feel stale. Honestly, I'm at the point where if I didn't want to be the last living Spirit with a charter AP (and a real one, not one that was forced on an idiot in Guest Relations by an obnoxious guest who gave the status to someone's brat who wasn't even alive in 1982), I wouldn't renew it. Yes, I'm finally at that point. I'd come and visit friends and get walked in when possible, but I wouldn't keep my AP. But I'm a stubborn Spirit and I intend to be the last one standing just to make sure I get a special pin, certificate and picture with Mickey for being crazy enough to keep coming back, long after the MAGIC began to fade ... sigh ... sigh ...
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<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. >> Yep, just making sure you were awake. And nice to see that Leemac is alive too. I'll bet he misses The Timeshare Kingdom of the World terribly. Wonder if he'll be sitting in on Tony Baxter's Fanboi Droolfest at D23's upcoming event ;-) <<I am of the opinion that WDW still holds the Wow factor for most visitors.>> I do agree with that ... but only to a point. Many first-timers are still going to notice when Casey's is filthy with food all over the floor at 2 p.m. ... they're going to notice the entertainment is all geared to slow 6-year-olds ... they're going to get hit over the head by the nickel and diming and the use of BRANDING! How many are going to turn around and not return? Who knows? Disney doesn't though and it doesn't care either. <<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 am as well. But I tend to think I've grown more intelligent and cultured and become more ... elite (that's just for folks who seem to view that as a bad word) and Disney has become more homogenized, ordinary and Walmarted. <<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.>> I absolutely do not agree with this. In some ways, they are. But largely, they aren't. They are counting on a lower level guest/fan who grades them on a curve (the Internet has allowed this for some weird reason as it also shows just how good the Disney product can be outside O-Town). They are counting on guests/fans who view the parks more like malls (all the while saying this isn't what they want -- see Anaheim here) and are excited by small scale 'new' things like a queue at the MK or a pizza cart at Epcot. They are counting on guests/fans who view Disney like a religion so they don't acknowledge anything that conflicts with their World views. They're courting the petulant fan that sticks fingers in their ears yelling 'I can't hear you. I can't hear you!' when you point out any flaws at WDW. They simply have lowered the bar for so many years that it's almost impossible to find. It's not what it once was, what it could be or what Disney itself offers elsewhere ... and how many times have I typed this sentence over the years?
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Plus, isn't there a Dole Whip dispenser there?<<< That there is. All the more reason!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>No Dole Whips were consumed. Don't even know when they closed that stand.<<< Wait... which stand was closed?
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>How many are going to turn around and not return? Who knows? Disney doesn't though and it doesn't care either.<<< And the terrible thing is, it doesn't matter to them.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> And I must correct myself. Turns out said planter isn't new, after all. Just had some painting done and new trees added. I should have expected someone would have taken 765 pictures and plastered them online if it had been new. << Great, I've already planned my three-week trip from 2000 miles away just to photograph this new planter. And now you tell me it's not even new. Oh, well. Have to spend the three weeks documenting every toilet, urinal, and sink in Animal Kingdom.
