Originally Posted By tashajilek "You all sit on the bench while Tasha and I go ride Space Mountain with our Fastpasses" Hans, i think you are my soul mate LOL. Hey Manfried, you should open up a business where people will pay you to tell other people off. I would totally pay you!!!
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance "So is Constance. I'm trying to envision the two of you sitting there having fun not talking." Are you kidding? I don't have time to sit on the bench at Disneyland! You got to move, move, move if you want to see it all!
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I really think Fastpass has got to go. The system was great and innovative back when it first debuted. But I think it has added hugely to the overcrowded feeling in the park. Huge, people-absorbing queues like Indy are wasted with Fastpass*** That's an excellent point K2M...and not only the wasted space in lines (which, if they were really creative about, they've have adjusted to account for fastpass and added more space for rides but that would be a HUGE project and they never did it so it's rather a moot point now but would've be a potential plus to the whole "line reservation" scheme which makes those vast spaces seem so ridiculous and tedious these days). Also, it certainly gives a SENSE that the park is super crowded when it really isn't all that bad. Our trip to TDL last month was NOT a particularly busy day, in my experience, but even so mid-afternoon lines for Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain (which we never rode, since we hadn't gotten a fastpass), Splash Mountain, Pooh, and Buzz and Monsters and Captain EO were all listed at 2 hours plus on the big board! The reason I knew for SURE that it wasn't really all that busy, was that we got onto Peter Pan with only a 40 minute wait (no fastpass there, and I've seen with my own eyes 2 or more hour wait times often!), and all the other non-fast pass stuff was quite empty (the train was no wait at all, the bears and the other fantasyland dark rides and Small World were also minimal waits). It really skews things out of proportion and makes what should be a pleasant, regular day in the park seem more crowded and frustrating than it needs to be. Back in the old days, you'd line up for a half hour or so...maybe even an hour for something you really wanted to see...but it's pretty daunting (particularly to the casual visitor) when every popular ride you've ever heard of boasts a 2 or even 3 or 4 hour wait due to the fact that you forgot to get a fastpass for it...
Originally Posted By Mr X ***More than likely it indicates an inability or unwillingness to adjust*** Well, no. I don't think one *has* to necessarily "deal with it" when a company stops putting out the product you once loved. It's not a bad thing to complain, and if enough people do so things CAN change back, at least in theory. My personal feeling is that Americans these days complain FAR TOO LITTLE. In fact, they put up with all kinds of crap with a sigh and a "what can ya do?" shrug of the shoulders. Just look at the airline industry and the kinds of abuse they heap onto their customers on a daily basis, and think back to when it was so much better. Kind of like the frog in the boiling pot, they did it little by little, and used all kinds of excuses along the way (bad economy, tough industry, can't expect what you used to expect etc...), and us frogs just sat in the pot and said "wow, it's pretty warm in here now but I'd better not ask for some air conditioning or else someone might get mad at me!". So anyway, I reject the notion that we should just sit back and be okay with it. IF, and I believe this is a big IF, everyone else going to the parks really wants to outvote us, then so be it. But that doesn't mean we need to sit back and be okay with it, because I'll bet there are plenty of people out there who want things to improve...just look at the way Lutz and his followers intimidated Disneyland into shaping up after so many years of neglect. It is not a lost cause, by any means. If enough patrons vote with their wallets AND their voices, we'll get what we want. Having said that, I love the toon interactions so I'm voting against Kar2oonMan AND Dave the toon hater on that front!
Originally Posted By tashajilek "Are you kidding? I don't have time to sit on the bench at Disneyland! You got to move, move, move if you want to see it all! " You would be a mad woman at WDW!
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Having said that, I love the toon interactions so I'm voting against Kar2oonMan<< Hey, now, 2oon is my middle name! I love the more casual interaction that you used to get. I have some video footage I shot back in 1988 at the food place that used to be below Space Mountain. We had friends from England visiting, and it was their first time seeing a Disney park. Mickey and Minnie came out from backstage and there wasn't anyone else around. They spent a good 5 minutes with us, just goofing around. Of course, that was before %$#$#@@!@! autograph books. And before you had to line up to have your moment with a character. So I'm not anti-character, just wish there were more of those casual, unstructured sort of character interactions. Which is tough to have happen when the park is constantly mobbed.
Originally Posted By Bellella Personally, I can't get enough of the place. I don't mind the attractions being mostly the same from when I was a kid. I love going to D-land and I wish I could work there every day so I would be spending most of my time there. The FastPasses are essential. I have no desire to wait on a two-hour wait for Space Mountain in the blazing sun like I had to do once. I think they were a brilliant idea, and I pity the poor fools who don't know how to use them. Mr. X, Americans do complain far too little- about things that are really important, like health care, pollution, and taxes going to the privileged few instead of the betterment of the masses. And I don't care if I sound like a revolutionary, either.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt >>My personal feeling is that Americans these days complain FAR TOO LITTLE... In fact, they put up with all kinds of crap with a sigh and a "what can ya do?" shrug of the shoulders."<< It's a theme park run by a corporate giant, not a branch of government in Washington. Really, other than pure nostalgia, why should I care if Disney turns DLR into Cartoon Kingdom or not? In the scheme of things how Disney chooses to evolve its parks really isn't important.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I pity the poor fools who don't know how to use them.<< The problem is, to "use" them usually means gaming the system, which tons of people know how to do. Fastpass creates actually those 2 hour Space Mountain waits, because people can basically come back any time after their official window and go ahead and get in the Fastpass line. If Disney held to only letting people use them exactly during the times shown on the pass as originally intended, the system would actually work pretty good. But people showing up a few minutes past the time would come unglued if told their Fastpass was now expired. Frontline cast members would have to deal with a countless number of irate guests, explaining that they couldn't get back during the hour window because they'd just been spending money at one of the shops or restauarants. Nightmare.
Originally Posted By Manfried "Hey Manfried, you should open up a business where people will pay you to tell other people off. I would totally pay you!!!" I should open up a website and have y'all pay for it. www.telleveryoneoff.com
Originally Posted By Manfried Oh, so opinions that disagree are not permitted? I guess expressing disagreement is not being nice? I am being nice. But I am also calling it as I see it. Kumbaya back at you.
Originally Posted By crazycroc Opinions and disagreements are permitted. Far be it from me to want any sort of group think to happen here. I am just hoping that we not spend are time "telling each other off", which is not really communicating. However, I can be accepting of your need to communicate differently, as I am not the arbitrator of right or wrong myself. I don't see you calling anything out. either way and have never found you be someone who was telling everyone/anyone off in any way either. Carry on. Kumbaya!
Originally Posted By tashajilek "Actually, we should all be nice to each other." manfried's a good guy.
Originally Posted By friendofdd Okay, Manfried and crazycroc, you are going to need a "time out". That means you must join me on the DL bench of silence for a while. BTW, this is a pleasure, not a penalty. Sno-cones will be served, flavor of your choice.
Originally Posted By Manfried I should be naughty more often! Could you FedEx me a Dole Pineapple Whip instead?
