Disney Observations

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GORDON
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Post by GORDON »

From here.

I'll list them as I remember them. There were many over the last 10 days where I thought, "I need to mention this," and now I can't remember any of them.




Edited By GORDON on 1226173404
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GORDON
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Post by GORDON »

This one is airline-related:

Spirit Air. Absolutely nothing is "free" in the cabin any more, with a can of Pepsi priced at $3. The flight crew did nothing on this flight except check seat belts, and then sell stuff. I don't even think they did the safety briefing, now that I think about it.

How much are they getting paid for this job that apparently any gas station clerk could do?
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

I think Spirit sucks.

They were one of the first airlines to start charging extra for everything and did so without notifying their customers.

I've never gotten the impression that anyone who works for Spirit likes the customers or their job.

And you make a great point, the flight attendants went from being hospitality directors to walking vending machines.
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Post by Mommy Dearest »

I actually like to not pay for service unless I actually use it. Why pay the same price as someone with two big bags that need to be moved if I have a small carryon? Why pay for pop included in my ticket if I don't want any. Keep the price low and charge for the extras.
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Post by Leisher »

Its fine if I am notified up front and get to see a price list. The problem with Spirit is that they don't actively advertise they charge extra. The fees are hidden, thus Southwest's current ad campaign promising no hidden fees.

I saw an article where someone was doing comparison shopping on various airlines and proved that just because the price is initially low, doesn't mean you won't end up paying more once all the additional charges are tacked on.

I also prefer to be treated like a paying customer rather than cattle.
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Post by Mommy Dearest »

Leisher wrote:Its fine if I am notified up front and get to see a price list. The problem with Spirit is that they don't actively advertise they charge extra. The fees are hidden, thus Southwest's current ad campaign promising no hidden fees.

I saw an article where someone was doing comparison shopping on various airlines and proved that just because the price is initially low, doesn't mean you won't end up paying more once all the additional charges are tacked on.

I also prefer to be treated like a paying customer rather than cattle.
Last time I booked with Spirit they made it clear what the policies were up front. I found nothing deceptive about the process.
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Post by GORDON »

Actually, we heard from word-of-mouth that Spirit even charged for the FIRST piece of checked luggage, and actually had to go through the fine print of the confirmation email until we knew for sure.

Second Disney observation:

Ok, so you can get a Fast Pass for most popular rides, and often skip a 45 minute wait in line on the busy days. And last year I won a "Dream fastpass" and got an automatic Fast Pass for the entire park, all day. Or, if you are in a wheelchair or motorized scooter, you AND YOUR ENTIRE PARTY can use the Fast Pass line and get cutsies (get to cut... that word doesn't translate well into print) even without the Fast Pass. What this means is that if you want to rent a wheelchair for $10 a day, you AND YOUR ENTIRE PARTY now have a Dream Fastpass, all day. No park employee will ever question your actual need for a wheelchair. And I personally saw a big party through the park, one day... at one point the dude was in the wheelchair, and they were all cutting the line. Later in the day the older chick was in the wheelchair, and they were all cutting the line. $10 for free line cutting all day. Score.
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Post by Leisher »

Last time I booked with Spirit they made it clear what the policies were up front. I found nothing deceptive about the process.


When I booked a year ago they mentioned nothing about it and such policies were just gaining popularity at the time.

They're probably more forced into admitting such things up front now, although as your son is pointing out, they still have hidden fees. Again, that's the basis of the Southwest ad campaign right now.

Spirit did get us to Disney and back, but the whole experience in terms of what we paid versus what we thought we were going to pay and their customer service left a lot to be desired.

Ok, so you can get a Fast Pass for most popular rides, and often skip a 45 minute wait in line on the busy days. And last year I won a "Dream fastpass" and got an automatic Fast Pass for the entire park, all day. Or, if you are in a wheelchair or motorized scooter, you AND YOUR ENTIRE PARTY can use the Fast Pass line and get cutsies (get to cut... that word doesn't translate well into print) even without the Fast Pass. What this means is that if you want to rent a wheelchair for $10 a day, you AND YOUR ENTIRE PARTY now have a Dream Fastpass, all day. No park employee will ever question your actual need for a wheelchair. And I personally saw a big party through the park, one day... at one point the dude was in the wheelchair, and they were all cutting the line. Later in the day the older chick was in the wheelchair, and they were all cutting the line. $10 for free line cutting all day. Score.


Interesting. I have a hunch this policy will disappear rapidly or they had a dream fastpass and you didn't notice. The policy is too easily abused and for a park that is VERY aware of the weight problems in this country, I doubt they're going to leave that loophole open for every grossly obese person that enters their parks. I'm not picking on grossly obese people, I'm just pointing out that when I was there I saw a few in scooters. I could see that getting abused so much that the Fastpass lines become longer than the actual lines.
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Post by GORDON »

Leisher wrote:
Ok, so you can get a Fast Pass for most popular rides, and often skip a 45 minute wait in line on the busy days. And last year I won a "Dream fastpass" and got an automatic Fast Pass for the entire park, all day. Or, if you are in a wheelchair or motorized scooter, you AND YOUR ENTIRE PARTY can use the Fast Pass line and get cutsies (get to cut... that word doesn't translate well into print) even without the Fast Pass. What this means is that if you want to rent a wheelchair for $10 a day, you AND YOUR ENTIRE PARTY now have a Dream Fastpass, all day. No park employee will ever question your actual need for a wheelchair. And I personally saw a big party through the park, one day... at one point the dude was in the wheelchair, and they were all cutting the line. Later in the day the older chick was in the wheelchair, and they were all cutting the line. $10 for free line cutting all day. Score.
Interesting. I have a hunch this policy will disappear rapidly or they had a dream fastpass and you didn't notice. The policy is too easily abused and for a park that is VERY aware of the weight problems in this country, I doubt they're going to leave that loophole open for every grossly obese person that enters their parks. I'm not picking on grossly obese people, I'm just pointing out that when I was there I saw a few in scooters. I could see that getting abused so much that the Fastpass lines become longer than the actual lines.
Four or five years ago when I was still in bad shape physically we went to Disney.... I could walk with a cane, but I couldn't walk the entire park at the time, so we brought my wheelchair. Me and the wife, and my sister and her husband. We all got to cut the lines all day, and I KNOW it looked suspicious when I was able to transfer from wheelchair to Space Mountain (or whatever) without too much trouble... but for me it was still valid, and no one ever said a word. So I always hesitate to pass judgment on someone in a chair when they LOOK just fine....

But still. When it is 95 degrees with 100% humidity and you're baking in the sun and you're walking on blacktop and there's no breeze, it can be frustrating when yet ANOTHERE O-WOW (Old Woman On Wheels [usually one of those motorized scooters... with a rental tag on it, which means she doesn't ordinarily use one]) cuts you off, or runs into you, or cuts in front of your kid on a ride intended for kids, or stops in the middle of a tight intersection stopping the entire flow of traffic, or is simply going so slow that the guy behind her who can only walk slow AND is pushing a kid in a stroller thinks she is going too slow....

FUCK.

You just know the system gets abused by assholes, and the assholes get rewarded.

Plus, old people should just cut off their legs since most of them don't want to use them any more.
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Post by Leisher »

Plus, old people should just cut off their legs since most of them don't want to use them any more.


You know, I've got a lot of theories on the elderly and why some age terribly, while others are living like they're still 50. I'll sum everything up with one statement: "Age is a state of mind."

Back to the Disney folks, I fully believe some people deserve special treatment for their disabilities. Not because they "earned" it, but because it shows that we as a society are compassionate.

That being said, people should NOT get special treatment for disabling themselves. Anyone with a thyroid problem is exempt from the following statement: If you're too big to walk around Disney (or any amusement park), then you certainly shouldn't be given special access to rides, and that goes double for people with you.

I saw the saddest thing this weekend at Cedar Point. A woman tried to get on the teacup ride at Camp Snoopy as her two kids couldn't ride it without an adult. The problem is that she was too big to fit in the teacup. Thus, she couldn't ride and neither could her kids. I mentioned to my wife that I was going to offer to ride with her kids so they wouldn't miss out on the ride, but she stopped me saying that it'd probably just really embarrass the woman. As I got to thinking about it I got a bit pissed at the woman. Granted, I don't know if she had a thyroid problem, but it irritated me thinking about how grossly overweight she was and not only was her weight assuredly causing her health problems that will lead to her early death (not to mention the financial impact she and the millions like her are having on our medical and insurance industries), but it was also negatively affecting her children's lives.

I really hope that was a wake up call to her.

Sorry that was kind of off topic, but I'd been meaning to vent about that.
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Post by Malcolm »

Leisher wrote:I really hope that was a wake up call to her.
$20 says no.
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Post by Leisher »

Thus the "really hope" part
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Post by GORDON »

Lileks, who has totally copied me on my last two Disney trips, has a little comment to make, as well. Check out the caption under the first picture, today:

http://www.lileks.com/bleats/
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Post by unkbill »

Leisher wrote:the flight attendants went from being hospitality directors to walking vending machines.
You have it. Problem solved. Cut back flight attendents to one. Thier job. Do the safety show and make change for the vending machines in the back of the plane.
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Post by GORDON »

unkbill wrote:
Leisher wrote:the flight attendants went from being hospitality directors to walking vending machines.
You have it. Problem solved. Cut back flight attendents to one. Thier job. Do the safety show and make change for the vending machines in the back of the plane.
Not a horrible idea.

On newer planes the "safety briefing" is done on the television monitors, anyway. There are no more blankets or pillows to distribute. Cockpit door is always locked now and the pilots are packing for some reason. Most people can wipe their own asses. I would think a single "hall monitor" would suffice for most planes, with others added as needed.... to watch over an unsupervised child, for instance. Pop and snack machines in front and back, cut half the "flight crew."
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Post by GORDON »

One thing Disney does VERY well is throw a party... this time of year they have a few nights a week where they throw "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party." The park is open extended hours for those with an armband... it costs about $75, and they only sell 25k each night they do it. The park gets decorated with halloween stuff... most amazing was the GIGANTIC green monster they had peering over a large chunk of TOMORROWLAND. We're talking acres. I have pics, you'll be amazed when I get them posted.There is a special fireworks presentation over the castle, appropriate to the mood... ghosts flying everywhere, etc. There is trick-or-treating stations all over the park, with different characters at each one to meet the kids. I have pics, you'll be amazed when I get them posted. There are two different" dance clubs" set up in the park, with characters dancing with the kids. The DJ played "Thriller." It was very cool. The rides and attendants get dressed up too... outside the haunted mansion they had people dressed up in ghosts talking to people... was very well done.

But by far my favorite element is the parade. It begins with the headless horseman barreling down the parade route, very well done. But then.... the entire park goes on parade... as in the rides. The haunted mansion converts into a float... the spectral dancers leading, the hitchhiking ghosts on the float. Gravediggers with shovels that spark when scraped on the ground. All choreographed to the music. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride gets on a ship with Jack Sparrow and they do their thing. The Pooh Ride. Peter Pan ride. Everyone is here.

But the villains... god. At one point (a very sexy) Cruella DeVille was doing her choreographed thing down the route (the "It's good to be bad" bit), and in perfect step with the choreography she was right in my son's face being devious... it was brilliant.

And the music they created for this... with different themes for the big floats, integrating their own musical themes, is just pitch-perfect, in a way I suspect only Disney can do.

It is hard to impress me any more, and overwhelm with artistic awesomeness, but this did it. A silly parade. Bravo, Disney World.

Here's a vid. Imagine the music three times louder. This vid cuts off a couple songs, which sucks.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
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Post by GORDON »

Here's JUST the haunted mansion bit. You can hear the tail-end of the Pirates music that nust have just gone by.

I love how they seamlessly integrate the mansion ride music with the Halloween song. Just impressive.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
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Post by GORDON »

This is a photo/video montage of the party overall, including the fireworks, the show they did, and that fucking catchy Disney Halloween Disney song they played during the show.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

As awesome as their Halloween parties are, I can't imagine the Christmas themed stuff is anything but dull as hell.
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Post by GORDON »

Back to the weirdness....

Was sitting in a cul-de-sac off the main drag in Adventurland, waiting for the wife and the kid in the bathroom.

Nobody around, shady.

Suddenly about 20 feet down a young couple with one kid in a stroller, and one girl, maybe 4 years old. The woman pulls down the little girl's pants and underwear, picks her up cradling-style, holds her over the fence and the shrubbery, and the little girl pisses into the plants. Bathroom is just 20 feet in the other direction.

Mom brings her back over, puts her down, pulls up her pants, off they go.

What.

The.

Fuck.




Edited By GORDON on 1223610060
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Post by TheCatt »

Wow.
It's not me, it's someone else.
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