The Glade 4.0

I truly think all four major theme parks in WDW Florida still live up to Walt's vision and dream. They're all still incredible to visit even for an adult...let alone combined with the wonder on children's faces at every part of them. What I find most impressive is how Epcot Center still remains a hopeful vision of the future nearly 30 years after its creation, rather than the retrofuture it could have become.

The only thing he wouldn't like...if Walt saw the cost for a stay at WDW today, he might blow a gasket.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
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I think employees of Disney designed most of the part. So they are the real visionaries.

You'd be surprised how hands on Walt was. Sure, he hired engineers to implement his ideas, but they were almost all his ideas.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

He died a long time ago. I'm not an expert but I bet the current park is not his idea. Also during his lifetime I'm sure other people gave him great ideas and he got all the credit.

Documentaries of Walt Disney and interviews with the people around him support what Talya says. While your opinion may in fact have some merit, he truely was a visionary and built an empire around his ideas.

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Gorse

People forget how edgy Disney was for his time. Cartoons for adults and Fantasia are some examples. Bambi, which is a cliche now for kiddie entertainment, was remarkable in part for the death of his mother (oops, did I need a spoiler tag for that?) For me the current Disney empire is easy to hate but also admire.

I love the work that Walt Disney laid the foundation for. I have the Chase Disney rewards debit cards because it works for me towards getting around those f***tardedly high entrance prices...

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

The real masterwork of Disneyworld is people management. Keeping people ordered, in line, entertained, calm... the sheer volume of people passing through the gates is utterly astounding yet they pull it off every day 365 days a year at the SAME time as doing major maintenance and reconstruction, keeping the facilities immaculate.

The person who came up with the idea of charging 6 dollars for a 12 ounce bottle of water in the middle of a Disney park is the true visionary. That rat bastard.

But yes, I agree that Walt pushed boundaries while he was alive.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Well, water isn't that expensive(last summer it was only $2.75 at Disneyland) but, yeah. **** that guy.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

omg yes this. I'm drawn to that every time I go to Orlando. You close Disney World at night? Thousands upon thousands of people get channeled into shuttles, monorails, queues, and the whole process is just smooth and seamless. You have a hundred thousand people leaving a football stadium on my campus? The whole town is crippled for a couple hours.

I am kind of disappointed in this. 30 years later and we haven't achieved any of what the futurists of the day envisioned.

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I've never been there, but we're planning a trip this October.

All things Disney seem like an over commercialized nightmare for adults IMO, but at the same time, it's magical and full of fun and love for my 2 year old.

I'm a fan, just - wow on the $$. And this is not even relating to the parks. I'm sure I'll be floored.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Considering mothers die or are absent in almost every Disney animated film, probably no spoiler tag needed.

Quick search turned this up:
Brother Bear horrific death-hunter kills her
Cinderella mom has died before Scene One
Snow White mom has died before Scene One
Bambi (horrific death) shot dead and left behind in the woods
Bambi II dead mother, raised by father
Mama Dumbo (horrific death) locked in a cage and taken away from him forever
Pinocchio motherless with only Geppeto
Sleeping Beauty raised by three inept aunts
The Sword in the Stone father, but no mother
Jungle Bookyoung Mowgli his surrogate caregivers are father
Little Mermaid Ariel only has father, King Triton
Beauty and the Beast only has a father
Aladdin Jasmine only has a father, the king (mother captured by bandits and presumed dead, forcing Aladdin to fend for himself)
Chronicles of Narnia no mother
The Goofy Movie Max and Goofy are motherless
(Max’s heartthrob, the Girl Next Door, has only a father)
Pocahontas No mother. One mumbled reference to “when your dear mother died.”
The Wild no mother
The Lion King No mother. Where are all the “Mom visions” like those Simba has of his deceased lion father up in the sky?
Chicken Little Dead mother
Hunchback of Notre Dame Mom was killed before Scene One
Atlantis: The Lost Empire mom is assimilated (dead)
Lilo and Stich mother dies in car crash
Peter Pan orphaned
The Fox & The Hound mother is killed by hunters
Herbie: Fully Loaded no mother
The Rescuers absent mother
The Great Mouse Detective no mother
Enchanted mother is dead
Tarzan no mother
The Three Caballeros- no mother, only father
Alice In Wonderland-evil step mother
The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh- Christopher is parent-less
James And The Giant Peach-orphaned
and Pixar Animation:
Nemo (horrfic death) eaten by a huge barracuda in front of husband

On the upside, in the most recent Disney film I saw, The princess and the frog,

Walt Disney's Mom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_Call_Disney

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

I bet when we have full holodecks people are still going to whine about not achieving anything futurists envisioned. People are stupid.

On the money aspect:

1) Park admission is the most expensive part, though the longer you stay, the cheaper it gets. Beyond 4 days, it's basically $5 per day per person. It's the first three that cost the most. Don't hesitate on the length of stay, it's more economical the longer you are there.
2) Get a vacation package, right at a WDW resort. Trust me, it's worth it. (And actually, cheaper than staying off resort), even if only for the convenience of being able to travel back to your hotel quickly for a short nap and swim in the busiest part of the early afternoon at the parks. We stayed at the Port Orleans - French Quarter and loved it. Also, you'll save $15 a day parking since it's all free if you're staying at a disney resort.
3) Make sure your package includes the Disney Dining Plan. Seriously. We paid about $200 for four people spending 5 days there through AAA. (Or rather, CAA) extra for it. It includes 1 full service sit down meal per day (typically about $100-$150 for a family of four), 1 quick service meal per day (including drinks and desert - easily $10-$15 per person, $40-$60 for a family of four), and 1 "snack item" per person per day (usually no more than $4-5). That $200 probably got us $900 in food, which is equal to the cost of 5 days of park tickets for four people.

Total cost of our stay including five days park admission, resort accomodations and food was just under $2000 for the package through CAA.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Moon Pirates!

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Simba's mother is in the movie from beginning to end. Alive.
Princess Aurora's (Sleeping Beauty) mother is alive through the entire movie, although she is raised by fairies instead.
Tangled subverts this trope entirely by having the magic flower that saves Rapunzel's mother be responsible for her magical hair.

Most Disney "missing mom" backgrounds take it from the fairy tales the stories are based on. (Although - in the original Snow White fairy tale, it was her real mother, not her stepmother, that conspired against her. This was considered too disturbing at the time.)

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MissingMom

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

You mean whalers on the moon? A classic song.

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Oh yeah, that list was definitely taken from an "Angry Mom" website. Glad to know Simba's mom is doing ok.

I would agree that most of the early stories based on fairy tales, but in the later films it's simply a plot device to increase drama. (Obviously not limited to Disney in any way, but their list of dead or absent parents is just so epic!)




I hear they carry a harpoon.

I just came from WDW with my girlfriend. It was my first time, but not hers and it was amazing. It was fun, the cost was relatively reasonable, and it just felt epic. Walking into Magic Kingdom made me tingle a little. And then the rides aren't all thrill rides (in fact, very few are) which I don't handle well. But I could go on Splash Mountain, Test Track, and a few other rides without any problem. Also, we had a free dining plan due to a deal they were running. That was an absolute steal. Dining isn't really that much more expensive than a NYC meal, but I'd say the quality isn't quite as good. It was very good food, but not at the NYC price. But if you think DisneyWorld is expensive, your eyes will be popping if you go to Universal. They really soak you over there. I would definitely go again in a few years. We're already missing DisneyWorld.

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That's awesome.




Hahahaha!

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth