Originally Posted By drefman To be blunt, IMHO, the Disney message boards outside of this one are mostly full of nasty, hateful, and smug jerks. I'd take even a depleted LP over those places.
Originally Posted By drefman I don't count the "Real World" thread as part of the community, as to me it's a freak that does not belong here in the first place. I have about as much desire to read about world events on a Disney board as I do talking about them at a Disney park. Which is to say, none.
Originally Posted By dagobert I was also part of other Disney fanboards and although there isn't that much traffic on LP, I prefer it the most. On other boards there are so many "fans" with an agenda against Dinsey and if you don't agree with their opinion it gets personal. It's true Disney could do better, but there are still some great things coming from Disney and the parks are still a lot of fun. The most annoying things for me on other boards were the comparisons with Universal and how they do everything better. I adopted that view and then I was very disappointed by Universal Florida in January. It's by far not better than Disney, except for Forbidden Journey. I also find it very interesting how opinions in threads change with minutes on other boards. Something that was good is suddenly bad, because someone with "insider knowledge" writes his opinion and everyone follows that opinion, just to be part of the "clique". I really hope LP will be around for many more years. There's only one thing I would change, the layout of the board.
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>To be blunt, IMHO, the Disney message boards outside of this one are mostly full of nasty, hateful, and smug jerks.<< That sums up my feelings with Westcoaster.net ... Was on for a week or two at most. That was a few years ago. My assessment of the others - Mouseinfo, and Mouseplanet were okay. I didn't post much .. because .. honesty, how many fan discussion boards can one frequent on a regular basis? Micechat is a mixed bag for me. They have some keen posters who write some good posts. Some posters I question their age .. as some don't come across very mature. Here ... I think it's mostly crowds 40+. I think the fewer that have stayed here are beyond age 35, and more settled, and more mature. Bad thing about Micechat, is that reputation point system they have. Putting ordinary (and sometimes not very bright) posters with the power to moderate others. BAD, BAD, BAD! Misuse and abuse the system ... which has left me frustrated time and time again to clear myself. So, my advice to others .. is stay out of the discussions. Just observe. Disney's Blog? Can I say 'sugary sweet "Brady Bunch" APPROVED posts'?!! I can't be bothered!
Originally Posted By drefman Hey, I think the world could really use more sugary sweet Brady Bunch attitude! I prefer that to the rampant negativity and cynicism of the fan chat boards any day. Besides, it is the official Blog, it's supposed to be upbeat and positive, it's meant to support the parks and movies, not drag 'em down. And it is informative. Personally, I wouldn't trust an official blog where the bloggers trash their own products! P.S. I like some of Universal's rides and all, but overall, no, it is not better than Disney, I agree. A bunch of 'thrill' rides and an supposedly "edgy" vibe does not necessarily a great park make. As for Forbidden Journey, I have not rode that yet, but from the videos it kinda looks like a big, loud, dark and dizzying dash through a bunch of random scenes to me, IMHO. Also, the Universal parks, while not overtly dirty or anything, are nowhere near as clean and well-maintained as Disney.
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>Hey, I think the world could really use more sugary sweet Brady Bunch attitude! I prefer that to the rampant negativity and cynicism of the fan chat boards any day. Besides, it is the official Blog, it's supposed to be upbeat and positive, it's meant to support the parks and movies, not drag 'em down. And it is informative. Personally, I wouldn't trust an official blog where the bloggers trash their own products! << I get what you're saying. What I should have added was that 'CONSTRUCTIVE criticism' should be allowed, or how do you know when something could use an improvement? If I can't be perfectly honest about something, here's an anecdote to read - Say Disney's Blog was around in the 90s ... and I wanted to give my honest opinion on TL98 .... I would have spoken honestly about it. Imagine everyone saying ONLY sugar sweet things .. when the truth is not allowed to be spoken. Just put up a blind eye to it, or as the Wizard of Oz pun goes - "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" If you sugar coat everything, then you are saying they are perfect, and need no improvement. From TL98, DCA 1.0, to the various incarnations of Journey Into Imagination (still can't get it right), Wonders of Life pavilion taken on a "Old West abandoned town" vibe, Walt Disney Studios Park Paris, upon opening, HKDL's short list of attractions on opening day, ETC, ETC, ETC. I'll sugar coat something when it does deserve wild accolades ... and when I see something not so good, I want to say what I honestly think, and not see my post taken down later, or never put up. And .. so therefore, I'll stick to discussion boards/blogs where I can speak honestly. Disney won't allow you to!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I often make a game of trying to get negative comments up on the Parks Blog. If you start out by saying something nice, and then turn it toward the end, that usually gets past the moderators. It really is kind of fun to try and dance around the issues some times I've also noticed that they seem to be more relaxed these days about allowing not-positive (though not purely negative) comments up. If you say something like "Gee, I really liked the way it used to be better" they'll allow that, but that would have been blocked in the past. And of course there are always some particularly high profile or controversial posts that get special attention from the moderators and only the most positive comments get through (the Maelstrom/Frozen announcement, for example)
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "The most annoying things for me on other boards were the comparisons with Universal and how they do everything better." This. And even if they do some things better, so what? Disney shouldn't have the last word on theme park design, and competition helps drive innovation. I decided some time ago that the raging rivalry between Disney and Universal in Florida exists mostly in the imaginations of vengeful fans who want Disney to fail. It's funny how that group quieted down (or disappeared?) after Uni's budget hotel opened with bad reviews and Diagon Alley's failure to live up to all the hype.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Disney's Blog? Can I say 'sugary sweet "Brady Bunch" APPROVED posts'?!! I can't be bothered!" Then you're missing out. Between all the positivity and sweetness they post interesting behind the scenes tidbits like this: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/05/grizzly-peak-airfield-now-open-at-disney-california-adventure-park/">http://disneyparks.disney.go.c...re-park/</a> It's not likely that LP is going to have an imagineer giving a sizzle reel interview explaining the back story on their latest project.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "If you sugar coat everything, then you are saying they are perfect, and need no improvement." I don't think the purpose of the DPB is what you think it is.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA The official Disney Blog reminds me of the old 'Disney News' magazine, when the features were 'Pop-Pop-Popcorn' about selling popcorn in the park or 'Bell Book and Cheeseburger?' aboiut the candle shop on Main Street. Puff pieces? Sure. But back in those days, information about Disney was few and far between, so I took whatever I could get.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I love the parks blog. Sure it's sugary sweet, but so what? It's a nice break from all the complaining you get most every place else. Sometimes you just want to be excited about something without other people trying to rain on that excitement. Can you blame Disney for wanting to control the content when there are those that will not be content unless they devote their lives to complaining about everything Disney does? You know those people would turn every post into something ugly.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I think it would be so fun to delete all the comments I didn't like for a day. All that power would go straight to my head though.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub The Disney Store has a Sorcerer Mickey Magic Wand that is really magic. It controls all the different interactive light up magic hats/show colors and if you buy 2 your children can have interactive dueling sword fights. I really believe in the magic so it will probably let you control people on this discussion board... for only 24.95.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I actually wonder if those mouseketeer hats with the electronic glowing ears have the ability to control your thoughts and emotions.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I don't have the magic wand yet but I do know the Magic Band controls my mind.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance My kids have gone Tsum Tsum crazy. Have you seen them? The mini ones are so adorable I can't stand it.
Originally Posted By dagobert I also like the Disney Parks Blog for the same reasons CC has written in post #32. We all know that Disney isn't perfect, but sometimes it's nice to get excited about things Disney does and the official blog is a good way for that.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I decided some time ago that the raging rivalry between Disney and Universal in Florida exists mostly in the imaginations of vengeful fans who want Disney to fail. It's funny how that group quieted down (or disappeared?) after Uni's budget hotel opened with bad reviews and Diagon Alley's failure to live up to all the hype.<<< There are two boards where you can get the impression that the "fans" want Disney to fail on every level. Diagon Alley's ride "Escape from Gringotts" is a disappointment. In my opinion the attraction is boring, while the land itself is very beautiful. Even the highly acclaimed Tramsformers wasn't that good. Universal has still a long way to go to reach Disney. One ride, although one of the best attaractions ever, doesn't make a good resort.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>The Disney Store has a Sorcerer Mickey Magic Wand that is really magic. It controls all the different interactive light up magic hats/show colors and if you buy 2 your children can have interactive dueling sword fights.<< That sounds a lot like the magic paintbrush that they created for Paint the Night at HKDL. It is designed so guests can change the colors of the lights on the performers costumes during the show stop. It seems like the effect wasn't as successful as they had hoped, so I'll be curious to see if they keep it (and the show stop) for the DL version >>Universal has still a long way to go to reach Disney.<< Very true. It seems like they have a lot of great stuff, and that they're headed in the right direction, but they're also just not in the same ballpark as Disney. Without being able to pinpoint exactly what it is, their parks just don't quite feel as nice as Disney's and the cast members also aren't quite as friendly. I would personally prefer to spend a day a Busch Gardens Williamsburg near me (which is a great little park with some really high-quality attractions) than go to Universal on a day of a Disney vacation They're not bad, and they've certainly evolved a lot since their Florida parks first opened, but they still have a long way to go before they catch up to Disney
