The Glade 4.0

I am an unabashed fan of everything Disney. From their movies (theatrical releases, anyway) to their theme parks, right down to Walter Elias Disney's vision, I love it. I am told Khross and Pheona, at the very least, share my passion, so I figured there might be others, and we need a thread about it.

A year ago today we had just finished breakfast at EPCOT Center's Norway Pavillion, where my daughter got to hang out with Belle, Snow White, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora, and Ariel. We were there for less than a week, but it was really the best vacation any of us have ever had...my husband and I included, not just the kids. Tell me about your Disney vacations, things you liked, didn't like, and can't wait to do again.

As far as movies go, John Lasseter seems to be slowing down, there's not much for interesting Disney movies coming down the pipe (although Pixar has some interesting stuff with Brave and Monsters University). "Frozen" (based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen") is the next interesting Disney theatrical release, set for 2013.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

Don't forget Planes *sigh*

Ha. I did say "Theatrical releases." That said, I thought Cars2 was not treated fairly, I still thought it was quite enjoyable. Not every Pixar movie needs to evoke tears like Wall-E or Up. Cars2 was good satirical fun.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

I think Planes is actually not a pixar product, just Disney. Though I'm not totally sure how the studios are divided these days.

I'm not the kind of person who cries when watching movies. I can probably count the number of times I've done so on one hand. Wall-E was definitely one of those though.

That said, recently I watched Tangled and was very disappointed. I thought it was straight-to-DVD quality garbage. The plot/dialog was something I'd expect from a 5$ "Barbie Rapunzel" movie. (I just looked that up btw, and there is a Barbie as Rapunzel movie. I wonder what it's like).

Anyway, I was very surprised to see when I looked it up online later that not only is it a Disney movie, but it also got very good reviews all around. Am I the only one who didn't like it?

I thought it was quite entertaining (and I'll happily criticize when I don't like a Disney movie). It was simple, sure - not every plot needs to be complicated. But the production values (dialogue, voice, and visual) were far beyond the direct-to-DVD range. In fact, it was the most expensive movie Disney has ever made. (It was an investment, though. They were developing new animation methods - fusing CGI and hand-drawn styles into one).

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

My wife and I both love Disney, and we have been very happy to share this love of all things Disney with our children. We have most of the movies on DVD or Blu-ray, we've been to Disneyland multiple times, and we even spent Christmas there one year (it was very nice, but very, very packed). There was a stretch of about 3 years where we went every year. We haven't been able to goto Disneyland in a couple of years, and that makes me a sad panda.

My kids love Disneyland, and they have almost as much fun as my wife and I. It truly is a magical experience, and I highly recommend the "character greet" meals. If nothing else, you HAVE to have lunch/dinner with Cinderella in her castle.

I'll tell you a little story that sums up why I love the Disneyland experience so much. We were staying on the grounds, and as a result, were able to stay in many of the parks an hour or two after the park closed for regular guests. We had been at the park all day, and were loading up on the bus to go back to our room at about 1 AM. The kids were exhausted, we were exhausted, and so was everyone else getting on the bus. Suddenly a little girl (probably about 4 or 5 years old) gets on the bus, and she's all decked out in her princess dress, her make up, and her tiara. And you could tell she was tired. She could barely lift her feet up high enough to get on the bus. The bus driver then leans over, and punches a few buttons on his console. Then an announcement comes over the loudspeaker, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please be on your best behavior. We have a royal princess riding with us this evening!"

The parents smiled, the rest of the people on the bus all smiled and laughed, and the expression on this little girl's face was priceless. Her face literally lit up, and even though she was tired, she could hardly sit down after that. She was so excited!

That's why I love Disney. They literally go out of their way to make sure everyone has a wonderful experience there.

_________________
"I Live, I Love, I Slay, and I Am Content."
- Conan the Barbarian

Disney's people management skills are the best I've ever seen. They find ways to entertain people in lines, herd millions of people through their parks on a daily basis, and somehow keep the place spotless. Its a very impressive accomplishment.

It's so true! Even in the smallest details.

When we were at WDW Florida last year, my kids got 48 autographs of various disney characters. On the last day we were there, we were getting Peter Pan's autograph, then walked back to main street. Suddenly there was a parade going down main street, and on one of the floats, Peter Pan and Captain Hook were in a duel.

My daughter looks at them skeptically, and says "Peter Pan sure got to the parade fast, mommy."

A nearby "cast member" (disney employee) overheard her, and leaned down to tell her, "Well, princess, he can fly, you know."

Caleria, I know this goes against the grain, because you're in California, but try to take the time to head east to WDW the next time you go. Walt bought and planned WDW because he didn't have room in Anaheim to make everything he wanted to make. I can only go by what I've read, but apparently, Disneyland, while just as well managed and just as attentive to their guests, cannot begin to compare to the experience offered in Orlando.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

I loved Tangled. Flynn Rider is one of my favorite characters. I thought Zach Levi and Mandi Moore did a fantastic job as Flynn and Rapunzel. BTW, the Barbie Rapunzel sucks. Bad.

As far as the production quality, I thought it was great. They originally wanted to do a traditionally animated cartoon, but they realized they couldn't really do everything they wanted with the hair that way. So they actually developed a new method of animation that was able to handle the hair for this movie. They did the same thing with Tarzan. They developed a completely new way of digitally painting to combine traditional 2D elements with 3D digital objects like leaves and trees.

_________________
"I Live, I Love, I Slay, and I Am Content."
- Conan the Barbarian

Sorry, I meant to say Disney World. We've been to Disney World in Orlando. I went to DisneyLAND when I was a kid, and apparently, never grew out of the habit of calling it Disneyland, heh.

_________________
"I Live, I Love, I Slay, and I Am Content."
- Conan the Barbarian

Cool. Part of me wants to see Disneyland at least once. But everything I've read tells me that Anaheim has nothing to offer that is unique to Disneyland, that everything worth seeing is duplicated in Orlando, and a whole lot more, so I'd likely be disappointed there.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

I love California's Disneyland, but I have never been to Disneyworld in Orlando. Everything I've heard and read has told me the same thing. The Imagineers copied most if not all of the original Disneyland and then started adding to it until their heads exploded.

If you were coming out to Los Angeles for any reason it would be a fun side trip, but you've already been there and done that as far as Disneyland goes.

_________________
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

And i've always thought that's the coolest job title in existence. (and possibly the coolest job in existence, too.)

Mike, I hope someday you have grandchildren that you can take to WDW.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

I've never been there, but will be taking the wife and kids this fall.

I'd be very interested in planning tips. PM's are good. One thing - I think we need a hotel very close. We'll have a 4 year old and a 10 month old. All or some of us may need to pop back for naps.

We can chat.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

Khross told me a while back that he was shocked I didn't think he was a Disney fan. Yet for some reason he won't post in this thread. With that said, here's his opinion on Disney:



Which is...pure awesome.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

I've been to WDW a few times, and it's always been great. Okay great doesn't describe it... even if you want to be cynical about it, you can say that Disney is utterly effective at putting on a production that is absolutely magical for kids, and that parents are going to love too simply because they're watching their kids be immersed in the show. But the neat thing is that you can be a jaded old crotchety codger like me and completely regress and be a kid yourself in a Disney park. They're that good. Epcot is a lot of fun, too.

I'm on the fence about staying in the Disney resorts, though, to be honest. I've stayed in Port Orleans, Coronado Springs and Wilderness Lodge. They're nice places, and about as convenient to the parks as you can get, but Disney just sets this ludicrously high bar when it comes to level of service, and the lodging has never really lived up to the standard set by the parks themselves. In the parks, you'll be hard pressed to ever, even once, see a single employee acting out of character. They'll be courteous, professional, downright warm and friendly... in the lodging though I didn't ever get that same feeling that I was, I don't really know how to say it, maybe "inside the Disney bubble".

Where I did get that feeling though was on Disney cruises. Been on four of 'em now. I got dragged on the first one and I'm a convert for life. A few years ago they had a land and sea package I went on where you spend, say, three days at WDW and then four on one of their boats. I'll probably wind up doing that again next year. They also have added a couple newer ships in the past couple years. They used to have two, the Magic and the Wonder, that are around 80,000 ton ships, and they added a couple bigger ones, around 120,000 tons - the Fantasy and the Dream - that have a couple additional decks so they can get that many more people on 'em. The live shows on the cruises are absurdly good, although I did start wishing for different shows after having seen things more than once.

The ships... okay, I could go on and on about the cruises. And probably will. Only not from work!

Coronado springs was my least favorite resort for some fairly mundane reasons. Its centered around a huge ...pond that takes forever to walk around. If you are staying on the far side from say, checkin, expect to walk a ways. If you were planning on being in the parks...you're already walking long distances during the day. Didn't want more.

If you want to go barefoot, (say to the swimming pools) they put down some strange pocked-concrete for the sidewalks that is murder to walk on in bare feet.

I did like wilderness lodge to eat in/stay in.

It's a mile around the entire pond, TheRiov. I've seen that complaint before, right beside another guest who said "I can't believe these fatasses think it's so hard to walk through the most beautiful scenery you'll ever see for five minutes."

Port Orleans - French Quarter is spectacular.

As for the resorts, while it's true they don't remain completely in character, I'd still stay right on resort for several reasons:
(1) Convenience. If you're going back to your room during the afternoon for a swim/nap/drink, you're very close.
(2) Free Disney Dining Plan! (never go when they don't offer it.)
(3) They still have the atmosphere of being at the parks, even if it's a little more subtle. Your day at Disney doesn't end just because you are not at the park.
(4) Free parking at the theme parks makes up a BIG chunk of the cost difference between a Disney resort and an equivalent resort much further away.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

I've indirectly worked for Disney. The production company I worked for back in the 90's made a Rock Titan float for Disneyland and the puppets for the Broadway show of the Lion King. You do get to make some pretty cool things, but the company doesn't pay a living wage for a ton of things. Largely because the can get away with it. They have a bazillion people beating down their door who are happy to work for peanuts just because it's Disney.

That said, they have made some great movies and TV shows over the years. I miss the made for TV movies that used to be on Sundays.

Disney's not the highest paying employer in the world, I know that. However, there are waitresses that have worked there 20+ years. (of course, tips change one's wage a great deal.) Disney's a unionized employer, and yet they never deal with any extended strikes. And their senior "Imagineers" are some of their better treated and paid employees, by what I understand.

_________________
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
█ ♣ █

Rapunzel actually edged Belle out as my favorite princess, which was not an easy thing to do. And Mother Gothel's songs and the animation that went with them... there was just so much squee for this movie.

I'm a huge Disney fan, and there are very few of the real (non-sequel) films I don't like. I could gush and gush and then have discussions about what's really going on in some of the films. Beauty and the Beast, for instance. There are some rather interesting things they don't tell you but are a bit obvious if you pay attention and look at the time lines.

But... I've not been to the park since I've been old enough to remember anything about it. That really needs to be fixed. Though, I do follow a tumbler that posts a lot of videos and pictures of the characters. I'm looking forward to the unknown date in the future where this is fixed. There are possible plans for October, but nothing set. :/

_________________

You live in Florida, now. Florida residents get half price WDW tickets...

Phe, did you see the broadway production of Disney's Beauty & the Beast? Wow. Absolutely incredible. The Lion King got more publicity, but to my mind it wasn't even half as good. I've seen a lot of live theater (back when I lived in Toronto), and it was far and away my favorite show.

_________________
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 live in Hypoluxa ...

I'm fairly certain the fact you haven't been there on "opening day" for Spring ... yet ... is grounds for divorce.

_________________