Disney World PF Gathering and Tips for Disney Mania!

[ZapperZ]

With Hong Kong Disneyland having failed to reached its targeted attendence for its first year, one would think the park just isn't attracting people to visit it. However, based on this news report, it appears that there is something fundamentally wrong with the theme park itself.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/09/14/disneyland.hk.reut/

If it is crowded, with long lines and long wait times, and yet it could not reach its target attendence number, then isn't it more of an issue of SIZE? They have made a Disney theme park that is too small! It is the smallest of all Disney theme parks.

And I also don't understand this claim that Disney doesn't understand the Asian mentality. I mean, who are the Japanese, Europeans? The Tokyo Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea are doing brisk business. In fact, Tokyo Disneyland is the most successful Disney theme park outside of the US. So they do know how to cater the "tastes" of Asians.

I truly hope they are just going through growing pains. If not, then there is an inherent problem with the theme park size.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

I've finally found some time to edit videos from this last trip. The first one has just appeared online. This is the Welcome Medley, or more popularly known as the "trolley song". It was performed on Main Street, USA at the Magic Kingdom.

Keep in mind that the weather at that time was HOT, humid, and muggy, where your sweat just stuck to you. So these cast members had to perform under that condition several times that day.

"[URL Medley
[/URL]
Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Wish me luck. I entered this picture that I took in a picture contest.

<crossing fingers>

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

Good luck with the photo!

I love the Everest ride video! Now that looked like fun!

 

[ZapperZ]

Good luck with the photo!

Thanks, hypatia. Looks like I'm up against very stiff competition.

I love the Everest ride video! Now that looked like fun!

It's a terrific attraction. Even the queue line is an attraction in itself. I still like Tower of Terror the best (perfect theming, an a screamer of a ride), but Expedition Everest ranks very high on my to-do list each time I'm there.

BTW, anyone planning on going to WDW anytime soon and planning on going on EE should check out www.disneyeverest.com and play the Yeti Vision game. If you successfully play all 3 stages, at the very end you get a voucher for a free 5x7" ride photo of EE. We had 2 of these vouchers on the last trip and got 2 free ride photos. Love them freebies, especially from Disney!

:)

Zz.

 

[Evo]

With Hong Kong Disneyland having failed to reached its targeted attendence for its first year, one would think the park just isn't attracting people to visit it. However, based on this news report, it appears that there is something fundamentally wrong with the theme park itself.

Yes, it seems the problem is that it's oo small. "But this task will be made difficult by the small park size, limited attractions and up to 90 minutes waits for many rides including the Space Mountain rollercoaster at peak times." Doesn't sound like a pleasant experience.

Isn't land in Hong Kong rather limited? Is that why it's so small?

 

[ZapperZ]

Yes, it seems the problem is that it's oo small. "But this task will be made difficult by the small park size, limited attractions and up to 90 minutes waits for many rides including the Space Mountain rollercoaster at peak times." Doesn't sound like a pleasant experience.

Isn't land in Hong Kong rather limited? Is that why it's so small?

While that certainly might be a factor, they actually got almost the run of a whole island. I think the biggest problem was that they had only barely 8 attractions when they opened. This is way too few (thanks, Michael Eisner!). 3 new attractions either have opened or about to open right now, so that might help at least in the near future.

I think they just overestimated just how patient the chinese guests would tolerate the situation, and the fact that most of them actually don't quite get the "atmosphere" they were trying to convey. One would think they would have learned something from Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.

Zz.

 

[Pythagorean]

i'm just a little black rain cloud...

hovering under... the honey treee...

 

[Evo]

Wish me luck. I entered this picture that I took in a picture contest.

<crossing fingers>

Zz.

Ooooooh, that's incredible.

 

[ZapperZ]

Ooooooh, that's incredible.

Let's hope many people doing that contest feel the same way. :)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

OK, Disney just pulled a fast one on me!

Still in the middle of editing the video for this trip, and I was editing our footage of Illuminations. If you've looked at my video of Wishes and an earlier version of Illuminations, you'd know that we like to replace the live sound with the actual music for those shows.

We videotaped Illuminations again on this trip, because our earlier version was taped last year in Sept. when the inferno barge was out of commission. As usual, I replaced the live sound with the actual music. Getting them to synchronize is usually the most tedious part of the whole thing, especially for Illuminations since it uses two different tunes.

Things were going very well during video editing until the very end! The part where the song goes "We go on..." and the sky turns bright with a flood of fireworks... whoa! They added about 3 seconds to it! The horns section that gets repeated 4 times in the original soundtrack is repeated FIVE times in the version we taped! So the fireworks went on 3 seconds too long. So my video is in synched with the actual music all through Illuminations up to the last 20 seconds of the show and then BAM. It goes out of synch!

I'm disappointed! While I do have tools to edit the original music to try to add an additional repeatition of the horns, this may not turn out as well and will take a lot of time to do. Drat!

I wonder how many people actually realize that Illuminations as it is now is 3 seconds longer than it was before? :) Not that it is a bad thing, mind you. It only causes problems for people like me.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

EW 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever.

I know lists like this are often very subjective and generate a lot of disagreements. However, it still doesn't diminish the fact that it can still boggles the mind (at least, mine).

In Entertainment Weekly's list of the 25 most controversial movies ever, you'd think that a Disney movie would not even be close to be on such a list, would you? Well, guess what? Listed at #25 is not only a Disney movie, but also a Disney animated movie!

So before you read any further, take a guess on what you think it might be? My first guess was Song of the South with its depiction of post-slavery America. After all, Disney still refuses to release the movie today. But no...

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0%2C6115%2C1202224_1_0_%2C00.html

Honestly, one line in a song causes the whole movie to be "controversial", much less, to be included in such a list?! Oy vey!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Aaawwwww... this is so sweet!

People are still talking about pluto the planet being demoted. Taking advantage of this, Pedigree, the pet food company, produced this heart-touching ad using a silhouette of another well-known Pluto.

Zz.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Aaawwwww... this is so sweet!

People are still talking about pluto the planet being demoted. Taking advantage of this, Pedigree, the pet food company, produced this heart-touching ad using a silhouette of another well-known Pluto.

Zz.

AWWRRRRR! That is SO CUTE!

 

[ZapperZ]

The one thing that I have noticed this past year is that Disney appears to be changing their "strategy" with regards to the Disney pins at Walt Disney World. I have noticed that they have eliminated (i) the surprise pins (ii) new cast lanyard pins (iii) pin events other than the Pin Celebration at Epcot.

The surprise pins have now been replaced by an "announced" surprise pins that even have the word "surprise" on them. Cast lanyard pins from a few years ago are now being released with the "mickey heads" on them where there were none before with the older pins. Needless to say, hardcore pin collectors are not amused with all this. That might explain why this last pin celebration event at Epcot was not a sell-out like that one before.

On the other hand, I've noticed a larger variety and more thoughtful design of limited edition pins and open edition rack pins. I guess if they are trying to get more of the casual pin collectors to buy pins rather than the smaller number of hardcore pin collectors and traders, this strategy would make more sense.

This pin is an example of what I just said. It's an open edition pin, and it is GLORIOUS! I'm always a sucker for pins that have the Fab 5 in them, and this one fits the bill. Besides, it is a lot of fun and simply adorable! It is being relased tomorrow, but it will be months (252 days to be exact) before I get there and could get a handful of this.

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/10943578.jpg

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

After an abysmal year for the Disney Motion Picture division, this year looks like it is going to be an amazing one. For the past few weeks, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest and Disney/Pixar's Cars have been battling it out on the international market. Pirates of the Caribbean had just opened in Italy to unbelievable numbers, smashing all kinds of records.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=industryNews&storyID=2006-09-18T014113Z_01_N17223732_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-BOXOFFICE-OVERSEAS-DC.XML

So now that Disney is loaded after last year's record profits, one would think they would consider making a number of improvements, not the least of which is to rewards the front-line cast members who are in contact with their customers, and who happen to be the least paid among all Disney employees. This is especially true if they wish to retain the good ones. I've heard anecdotal accounts from a few cast member friends of large turnover rates at many locations.

I find it rather strange that, for many businesses, the employees who are actually in contact with their primary source of income (the customers) are the lowest paid.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Disney fans at LaughingPlace.com are profiled in this article.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/15542232.htm

An interesting quote that I found in here is:

"I never expected to find my best friends this way, but I did," says Carrier, a district service center manager in Livermore who joined the group several ago.

I'm not surprise by this. I've met some of my best friends here online. So, what do you say? Shall we make a trip to WDW some time soon? Hum? We'll call it PF Gathering at The Happiest Place on Earth.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

All of our stuff that we had shipped from WDW have arrived (hooray!). So more than a week after we got back, we are STILL sorting through all the crap ... er ... I mean memorabilia that we got from this trip. This is not counting the pins yet, since we have yet to catalog and put them in the pin albums. That will probably take several weekends to complete.

One of the things we ended up hunting for at The Magic Kingdom was, strangely enough, Donald rubber duckies! Yup, you heard it correctly. We originally found one at the "Firehouse" right out front by Town Square. The cast member then told us that there are a few more of different types of Donalds all over MK. Since one of us collects Donalds, we started hunting for them. It took approximately 2 days worth of hunting to find a total of 6. I don't even know if these are all there is.

These are the 6 Donald rubber duckies that we found:

From left to right Socerrer Donald (at Philharmagic store), Fireman Donald (at Firestation store in Town Square), Splash Mountain Donald (at the Brer Rabbit store in front of Splash Mountain), Pirate Donald (at the pirates merchandise in the Emporium - don't ask them at the Pirates of the Caribbean gift store, they don't even know this exist), Uncle Sam Donald (at a store in Liberty Square), and finally, Donald in a Doom Buggy (at Madame Leota's cart out side of Haunted Mansion).

So we were almost doing a scavenger hunt, but without any clues, hunting for these Donalds. I believe they are only found at MK, and nowhere else.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Disney's Year of a Million Dreams

OK, if you ever had any inclination to visit Disney, pay attention to this. Disney's Year of a Million Dream celebration will start on Oct. 1st, and it is HUGE. It also means that you have a chance to win something, even if you can't physically be there.

First of all, here are the breakdown - total prize: $17.4 million! Total number of prizes over 14 months: 1.25 million. Average number of prizes handed out PER DAY at any Disney theme parks: 200-400.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney1906sep19,0,4020644.story?coll=orl-business-headlines

But get this, you can enter VIA MAIL. You are allowed to mail in your entry per person, per business day! While you cannot win the prizes that requires you being there (like the fast passes), you are eligible to win others. Here are the general rules breakdowns:

http://mb.laughingplace.com/default.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-79780-P-1&Refresh=0919175433&C=1

and how you can enter via mail

http://mb.laughingplace.com/default.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-79806-P-1&Refresh=0919175310&C=1

This looks like it is going to be quite exciting. I don't know if I'll spend time doing the postcard thing, but it appears that one certainly has a reasonable chance of winning something, at least pins. If not, I'll only have a chance to win something when I visit WDW next year.

Drat. Why couldn't they do this this year when I went there 4 freaking times?

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

If you recall last time, we had breakfast at Cape May and reported this:

A very long day today. We started at Disney's Beach Club with our breakfast with the characters at Cape May. Moonbie should find something familiar here.

The food was OK, but the characters were a lot of fun! Here, Minnie decided to join us at our table.

When she heard that two of our friends are late, she then scribbled a message for the two of them.

We videotaped this (of course!). It is now online for viewing.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=727719405331841837"

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Thunder Mountain Railroad

Last May/June, I videotaped the full ride on http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3930563928623193759" at Disneyland, including the queue line, which I thought was themed better than the one at The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

The last trip this past September, I finally taped the full ride of The Magic Kingdom's http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2340537967268044719" . It has finally appeared online. See both of them and tell me which one you think is the "better" attraction.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Rumors are running rampant (don't they always run rampant?) all over the 'net that Keith Richards has finished filming his cameo appearence on the next Pirates of the Caribbean. He played Jack Sparrow's father.

We have until Memorial Day 2007 to play with such speculations before that installment of Pirates of the Caribbean set sail into the theater.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

OK, I'm just full of rumors this morning.

Moonbear, if you thought the Osborne Spectacle of Lights last time was terrific, it seems that they're making it even more terrfic this year.

[If you've missed our trip report on this event, please see https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=872944&postcount=1551"]

Now remember last year during the holidays when the link to this amazing light display at someone's house was making the rounds?

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/just_plain_stupid/house_lights

Rumors being reported by convrsboy at WDWMagic is that Disney bought 25 of this "audio visual paks", the same one used by the person who did this like display for his house. It is supposed to be used in the upcoming Osborne Spectacle of Lights, where several light sets are going to be synchronized with the piped in music.

Just think. With Disney's money and resources, what you see in the video could be, oh, 10 times more spectacular!

I'm now regretting not planning on going to WDW this holiday season. I can only wish they'll do this again the following year. :(

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

After the success of Pirates of the Caribbean as a movie that was inspired by one of Disney's attraction, guess which attraction is next in line to be adapted into a movie?

Go on, take a guess!It is JUNGLE CRUISE!

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=filmNews&storyID=2006-09-21T070908Z_01_N21260690_RTRIDST_0_FILM-DISNEY-JUNGLE-DC.XML

Honestly, if they do this movie as a straightforward adventure and not a comedy, and no puns or bad jokes, I would be VERY disappointed!

:)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Happy first day of Autumn! This pin is being relased today at WDW. Very cute!

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/10905132.jpg

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

After the success of Pirates of the Caribbean as a movie that was inspired by one of Disney's attraction, guess which attraction is next in line to be adapted into a movie?

Go on, take a guess!


It is JUNGLE CRUISE!

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=filmNews&storyID=2006-09-21T070908Z_01_N21260690_RTRIDST_0_FILM-DISNEY-JUNGLE-DC.XML

Honestly, if they do this movie as a straightforward adventure and not a comedy, and no puns or bad jokes, I would be VERY disappointed!

:)

Zz.

It just happens that I was editing out the videos from this last trip, and one of them was the Jungle Cruise, with Luisa as our boat captain. She was amazing and had quite a few ad lib, as I've reported previously.

So if you've never been on the Jungle Cruise before (which was Walt Disney's most favorite ride at Disneyland) and want to know what the fuss is all about, this video might give you a good idea.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6527818110032483956"

Zz.

 

[GeorginaS]

The boat director had a great monologue.

Nifty ride.

 

[ZapperZ]

The boat director had a great monologue.

Nifty ride.

Yup. She was the best one we ever had in recent memory. When Moonbear and us were there last January, the boat skipper was horrible. She was just spewing her monologue with zero enthusiasm, and most people couldn't even hear her that clearly. This past trip, we were on it twice, and both times we had terrific cast members who did quite a bit of ad libbing (which I thought they don't recommend).

However, maybe these are new cast members who still have the enthusiasm doing this attraction. I can certainly see getting bored and jaded doing this thing day in day out, but I hope they can keep it up.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

More videos appearing online. This is the http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6405694852648328816&hl=en" at the Magic Kingdom. It is a fun attraction. I do think that the one at Disneyland is better than this one. Unfortunately, I didn't tape the Disneyland version, or else we could have done a visual comparison.

Oh well...

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Ok.. this is probably the last video from this trip that I will edit and upload. This is the http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2790700861212298042" , the "new" 3 o'clock parade at the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, if you don't look closely enough, you'd think this is the old Share A Dream Come True parade but with no snowglobes. The music for this new parade is also not as memorable as the last one.

I think Disney should have just kept it with the old name and call this a minor revamp. For us Disney regulars, when you give something a new name (such as from Alien Encounter to Stitch Great Adventure), we kinda expect something really new, and not just a rehab of an old one. So to me, this parade is kinda disappointing.

Zz.