Gabe

I haven't been in the kennel in some time, but I'm sure with a little money, CF could find a way to reuse the building as either a merchandise location or a concession area. Tower Gifts on the way out is pretty cramped and I'm sure they'd welcome some more space.

I think the future for the resort is building both DVC units for the swelling number of those people, plus building more suite type resorts like Animation. The last 10 years have focused on the southern end of property near AK/DHS, but Disney has a lot of unused land near the Westgate area that has been earmarked for commercial use (and has a couple of Marriott properties on it), so I would expect the next push to be that way.

As Terpy and many others have said again and again, Disney will continue to raise prices because people will gladly continue to pay them. Even during the recession a few years ago, Disney raised prices (though did it with very little fanfare). The resort still has ample room to grow for the next 25+ years, so I wouldn't expect any flatlining prices anytime soon. When I booked my package for April, there were no promos, but in late December, Disney released their Spring promo, which gave me about 20% off my package, plus Disney added a free day to my 4 day hopper ticket (any hopper ticket 4 days and up gets a free day, with a maximum stay of 14 days I believe), thus ensuring that my kids and I will be staying an extra night on property to take advantage of the deal before finishing our Spring Break trip to points a bit further south and east in Florida. Note, however, that if you have previously booked a package without the promo rates, you MUST call Disney and mention the promo in order to get the discount. The Mouse won't automatically do it for you

You don't see them much outside of the Mexico pavilion for the same reason you don't see much of Speedy Gonzalez of Warner fame (who first made his appearance around the mid 50s) these days either. The movie was from 1944 when people's perceptions of our neighbor to the south were vastly different than they are today. As for the other characters in the countries, Disney is all about synergies.

Speaking of Disney promos, if you're thinking about booking a Disney hotel/ticket pkg even into next year as some on this board have expressed doing, I would suggest doing so in the next 2 weeks since there are strong indications that Disney will again raise the price of its tickets by 10% in mid-February, effective the day after they make the announcement. Last year, the ticket increase was announced on Feb. 24 so Disney is slowly creeping up its announcement date. Expect Universal (but maybe not SeaWorld?) to follow suit.

The plans include a big revamp of Askerhaus (making it bigger, potential Frozen character dining), elimination of some of the Norwegian shops and the addition of the building mentioned above. There is more space than you think between the countries, esp. if you consider eliminating some trees to get to the backstage areas. The EPCOT employee parking extends from Test Track over and past the Mexico pavilion, so Disney has the space to backfill the Norway expansion. The Frozen $ machine keeps on churning. I can only imagine the scene when I'm there in a couple of months. Last May, I noticed that Disney simply couldn't keep up with demand when I was there. The daily opening crowd at MK JUST for Anna and Elsa was unbelievable. Waits are still 2+ hours w/o a FP+ on 'slow' days. My booking window opens in a week and I fully intend to get into the site at 12:00 AM and book a FP for it. While not an overwhelming fan of the new system (cough cough allow FP+ to be spread out amongst parks daily), I like it enough to take full advantage of it so my kids can do a lot of the things they want with little to no wait .

Blue Man does incorporate some different elements into each of their shows, including Orlando. I've seen then there, in Chicago, NY, Boston, Vegas and Indy and each show has about half city-centric stuff and half the classics as I'll call them-spin art/marshmallow, paint drums, Cap'n Crunch and the big finale which I won't spoil for those who haven't seen it. Usually there are ticket offers for the Orlando show, so with a bit of sleuthing, cheaper tics can easily be found.

I have to agree here. Even the youngest Kanye fans probably know who Macca is and are just trolling looking for some free pub. They may not know that he was in 2 highly successful bands, but they at least have to know that he's famous. What up and coming artist do you know that's 70+ years old?

No B or A list performer is going to waive his appearance fee at KI for any reason. Big legacy Acts charge upwards of $1 million just to show up. Even with the vast amount of profit the fall season generates for the park, i'd much rather see things like a Cirque Imagine show or an Ed Alonzo type magic act-something that rounds out the festivities, not detracts from them. Also keep in mind that if the Park is at least hinting of big coasters down the line, per the recent Twitter comments, then it can't spend what amounts to 7 figures to bring an act in. I recall a couple of summers ago, Mason brought in Huey Lewis and the News for July 4. It was a fun show, but it cost the city a pretty penny, esp given that admission was free. As mentioned above, no act that's even halfway known is going to want to play a small, bare bones amphitheater in the middle of an amusement park. I like what the park does for Halloween and hope to see it continue.

Interestingly, there is a bill pending in the Indiana Legislature which would allow any entity (cough cough AE) to use state or local funds for a project where they could, to the extent provided by federal law, choose who to hire and what to promote. The session began today and this is probably just one of many bills that won't make it out of Committee, but it's one of a couple of bills proposed in light of the 7th Circuit legalizing gay marriage in Indiana. A companion bill would allow wedding businesses to refuse service to gay couples looking to marry in Indiana. Luckily, the leadership of both houses have great sway (Republicans hold a supermajority in both houses here) with the various committee chairs, who have the ultimate authority to hear (or not) a bill, which is the only way a bill sees the light of day. I wonder if any AE reps would make the short trek from Lexington to Indy to testify ...

I think Disney could use this as part of their Best Day Ever marketing campaign. The moral--don't mess with Gaston!! This man has a memory he won't soon forget! http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/01/05/gaston-disney-tourist-pushup-contest/21279833/

Between the Ark Encounter and KK, I'm sure the KY legislature has better uses of their time. If the folks behind AE really want to sue, that's going to tap into their cash flow, so I wouldn't be surprised to read that the opening of their park would be pushed back. I don't see how AE would win. You want state $, then don't discriminate and don't proselytize.

That same argument cant be made for Blu-Ray v. HD-DVD. Both had similar resolutions and were cheap to produce. In the case of Blu Ray, it was the major studios forming a cartel of sorts to only release their movies on the format they had a financial interest in, which was Blu-Ray. As Terp said, the superior format (which many believe to have been HD-DVD) doesn't always win.

My guess is the Commission might have the developer go back and make tweaks to the design to incorporate more luxurious building materials--more brick and metal, less wood. Plans are often tweaked several times before they're approved. In the Indy burbs anyway, a nice apartment is about $1.25 or so per square foot, which is right in line with these units. If so, that would make the rents anywhere from roughly 900-1250 a month, which again is considered luxury. I lived in an apartment for a year in a tony subdivision that was about 1100 a month for a 2 bedroom unit. It featured white appliances and laminate countertops and had a very small kitchen. In tax parlance, governments are always seeking what the highest and best use of the land is. No doubt if KI or the Beach went away, that land would be chopped up and sold off to developers.

Not to mention Viking River Cruises, which, up to this point, have focused only on Euro river cruises, has 2 ships in production set to launch next year which will be the line's first seagoing ones. Branson has managed to do quite well with Virgin Airways, so if anyone can succeed in a crowded market, he certainly can.

Much like Frozen is being incorporated into the parks, it seems like Disney has been having a great run with Big Hero 6. I can easily see some BH6 tie-ins with Future World (Innoventions?). Perhaps Marvel or the Muppets can breathe new life into the Imagination or currently SBNO Wonders of Life building. Stark Industries would be a great fit for the WOL pavilion with a D or E-ticket type ride inside.

The video at the end can be cheaply updated and upgraded to digital. In its current state it's horrible to look at from your vantage point in your seat. I would also like to see some more next-gen animatronics like the witch interspersed throughout the ride. For those who scoff at Disney doing outside partnerships, one need only look about a mile away at Epcot. Most of Future World and the countries are sponsored...

Korea has become the go-to market for cheap, offshore animation production. The Simpsons has been using Korea for years. Once the voice actors record their parts (usually with little more than storyboards to read from), everything gets shipped to Korea and then shipped back to LA for final assembly and release. As for Nick studios, I recall that only one of the several original soundstages was converted for BMG; the others were in fact demolished.

Permanent Real Estate for sale to the public in the heart of the Mouse is scarce, and this location is far far better than Celebration's. I expect these homes to sell for close to full value and sell quickly.

I have seen these homes being constructed. They are quite nice. The property itself is located basically across the street from the Port Orleans resort, so it's very centrally located on property. For a low six figure price, you can purchase a DVC unit in the new Grand Floridian villas or the new bungalows at the Poly. Of course you won't have the same level of privacy, but I'm guessing there will be high demand for these homes, given how the market has rebounded nicely combined with low interest rates.

I received an email last offseason from KI inviting me to take part in an online survey. Of the dozen or so questions asked, I distinctly recall that a couple of them related to my interest level in a Winterfest return and if so, what offerings and price point would be reasonable for such an event. I'm sure CF has those results and will or won't bring it back if demand warrants,

If you break it down, the feat really isn't that daunting--timing as they say is everything. Consider Epcot has the fewest rides (minus Maelstrom even less now), so any time lost in DHS and DAK can be made up at Epcot. I would think conquering every ride at the MK would prove to be most difficult, even on a lightly crowded day. I would also think the task is only doable on days where the last park (usually MK) closes at 11 or after.

Maybe one of the animals from the Jungle Cruise wasn't so animatronic after all!

As a Vista Way alumn, I can recall some pretty heady times there..that place was more Animal House than apartment complex. Fond, fond memories. It wasn't that great 20 years ago, so I can only imagine what its like now. I'd love to see some recent pics of the old gal.

As others have mentioned in the midway games thread, such machines cannot be rigged. Much like the midway games, a certain skill is required to win, but winning is not impossible, no matter how large the prize.