Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Where do they get it from that Tiana, Belle and Jasmine are friends? << <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-1013.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/L...1013.asp</a> The Princess Brand (and yes, I hate saying stuff like that) is a very important component of the Magic of Disney Marketing. Whether you personally like it or not, there is a vast public out there champing at the bit for exactly this sort of thing. That Disney is finding another way to make their resort hotels compelling is no surprise, even to those of us who find the whole Princess thing to be not all that.
Originally Posted By DlandDug (And this from a guy who LOVED the Akershus, but can never eat there again. Until, at least, they get all those pink 'n pretty princesses a restaurant of their own!)
Originally Posted By DlandDug LOL! From the link above: >>Tiana will forever be celebrated and recognized as a Disney Princess across all divisions of the Walt Disney Company and will be included in all Disney Princess merchandise featuring multiple Disney Princess characters.<< I crown thee Princess of All Divisions, with rights and favors extended to all Multiple Disney Princess Characters, including Merchandise. (Followed by a tap on the shoulder with 450 page legal document, and the placement of the Officially Licensed Disney Princess Tiana Crown, (c)2011 Disney Enterprises, All Rights Reserved.) Let the reign... commence !
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb >>>(And this from a guy who LOVED the Akershus, but can never eat there again. Until, at least, they get all those pink 'n pretty princesses a restaurant of their own!)<<< And *I* want to see the princesses evicted from King Stephen's.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<My question is do the WDW monorails really smell like mildew?>> IMO, there's definitely some sort of smell to them. Sometimes it's really bad, sometimes it's just the "Monorail smell".
Originally Posted By leobloom >> My question is do the WDW monorails really smell like mildew? << If you're lucky they smell like mildew. If you're unlucky they smell like a combination of mildew, body odor, stale air, musty garbage, and rotten banana peels.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Anytime I'm on the monorail it smells and awful lot like some of the passengers I happen to be riding with.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>My question is do the WDW monorails really smell like mildew?<< The Monorails do NOT smell like mildew. The carpet in the Monorails smells like mildew. Every carpet in Central Florida smells like mildew. It's an odor that immediately greets you as you deplane in Orlando, and gently clings as you slide into bed each night. For me it will forever trigger an immediate sense-memory of countless trips to Walt Disney World.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>And *I* want to see the princesses evicted from King Stephen's.<< But, you must admit, at least that is a Royal Banquet Hall, inside Cinderella's Castle. So it makes SOME sense. The Akershus was an authentic Norwegian smorgasbord (three varieties of cold pickled herring!). What the heck the Princesses have to do with that is beyond me. Maybe Ariel. She's Danish, and a fish. All I know is the last time I set foot in the place it was filled with shrieking little girls, including a whole birthday party with a "My Super Sweet 16" hostess-in-training. I almost missed the fireworks outside because the girls were just that over the top every time a princess would glide through the room.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Akershus is in the Norwegian Pavallion in Epcot. Norway is a Constitutional Monarchy. I would think the Princess connection would be obvious.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Every carpet in Central Florida smells like mildew. It's an odor that immediately greets you as you deplane in Orlando, and gently clings as you slide into bed each night." Oh, you mean like all the hotels in Puerto Vallarta?
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Oh, you mean like all the hotels in Puerto Vallarta?<< Hadn't thought of it that way. But WDW is sort of like vacationing south of the border, minus the possibility that you will be kidnapped in the night, taken out into the desert, and beheaded. Then again, you probably won't be assaulted by pin traders in Puerta Vallarta. So there are compensations...!
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Akershus is in the Norwegian Pavallion in Epcot. Norway is a Constitutional Monarchy. I would think the Princess connection would be obvious.<< Ah. Working for Disney now, are we...?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Akershus is in the Norwegian Pavallion in Epcot. Norway is a Constitutional Monarchy. I would think the Princess connection would be obvious.>> So? None of the princess are Norwegian, nor are any of them from Norwegian fairy tales. They don't belong there.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom DlandDug, your to funny. I would think it's easier to connect the dots between holding a Princess meet and greet in Norway than building a resort in Hawaii and a "lure" to get more people to visit WDW. Either way enjoy the school bread!
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom What's the big deal with a pavillion from a Constitutional Monarchy having a Princess meet and greet? What does that mean, that there is no place for any Disney characters in the World Showcase except perhaps the American Pavallion?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<What's the big deal with a pavillion from a Constitutional Monarchy having a Princess meet and greet?>> They have nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with Norway's heritage and culture. <<What does that mean, that there is no place for any Disney characters in the World Showcase except perhaps the American Pavallion?>> Not at all, but they shouldn't be placed where they have no ties to the country's culture. It's fine that Belle and Beast are outside France, because they are French characters. And Snow White outside Germany makes sense because that's where her story originated. WS isn't about Disney characters. It's about showcasing the traditions and cultures of the host nations. But the princesses have absolutely nothing to do with Norway.
Originally Posted By Bolna <<What does that mean, that there is no place for any Disney characters in the World Showcase except perhaps the American Pavallion?>> Oh, I think very few people would complain if Mette Marit came personally to visit people dining at Akershus. And I think Belle in France, Snow White (and even Rapunzel) in Germany as well as Jasmine in Morocco work quite well. Possibly there could be some small tie between Norway and Ariel, which is based on the fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen, who was born in Denmark at a time when Norway was still governed by Denmark... But the setting of the Disney version does not seem to go very well with Norway. And about the monorail smell: I think it smells like in a barn.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom How about the little mermaid? The Norwegian Royal family is related to the Danish Royal Family. And see if Australia had a pavillion in the World Showcase they could have the little mermaid AND the tazmanian devil.
