thegajone

They've already announced that AK will be open at night starting April 22nd.Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I saw that it has been named "best value restaurant in an amusement park" for like....a lot of years lol. I missed it when I went in January but I might go there this time around depending on our schedule.I'll snap some pics of Hulk and Kong while I'm down there. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I'm super stoked for this. Rumor has it that dining packages will be available tomorrow at 6 am...I'm usually awake that early anyway so I'll be attempting to book one for our early May trip. In the video the guy says they've been working on this for 3 years. If it took Disney 3 years to put together a show, it has to be incredible. I'm also looking forward to Everest and Safari at night. Should be awesome. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I'm enjoying our conversation and not taking anything personally. You've been very respectful and I haven't disagreed with most of what you've said. I think we're just arguing different points at this point so you're right, it's going nowhere! I'm also excited about my upcoming Orlando trip which has caused me to jump into any and every discussion involving the 2 parks that I can find on the Internet! Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Those are popular rides but they are not as marketable as Gigas. Gatekeeper and Banshee (Valravn will be) are fun rides and in their first couple of years will be really popular but the shine usually wears off on them. I still think Diamondback is the most popular ride in the park due to its hieght and speed. The more marketable rides at CP are Millennium Force and TTD. Those two usually have the longest waits at CP. Why? Because they are the tallest and fastest rides in the park. Same with Fury at Carowinds and Intimidator 305 at KD. I honestly had no intention of driving 10+ hours to Carowinds or KD until this past summer when Fury was unleashed. I305, Fury 325, MF, and TTD are landmark rides. People travel from all over the country to ride those rides. World's or Nation's Tallest/Fastest (or close to the record) is much more intriguing than longest/most inversions records. They are indeed more marketable and can put a park on the map. Glad to see someone else on the same page as me I would be willing to wager that DB is a more popular ride at this point than Banshee for many of the reasons you listed, and Banshee may very well be the best invert found anywhere. But it doesn't have the height, speed or airtime that DB has. I've been waiving the giga flag for a while now but I'm not one to complain if I don't get my way. If they put in a great woodie or other coaster type I'm pretty sure I'll love it. One thing I haven't seen discussed much is B&M's ability to create a multi-launch or blitz-style coaster. Didn't they build a launched wing coaster last year? So why couldn't they build something on par with or better than the Mack and Intamin multi-launch and blitz-style coasters? I have no doubt they'd knock it out of the park if they tried. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Eh you're getting pretty semantic-y on me here.Perception is everything. If I say "A is going to be constructed, and B is going to be constructed", and A is opened in 5 years while B is opened in 3, you're going to say "wow, A took a lot longer than B". That's how it works man. And that's exactly what the perception is with WDW vs. Universal. You even said so yourself. Whether you think the criticism is valid or not doesn't matter. The perception is what it is for a reason. And for the record, I did not say it takes longer to BUILD. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I think music can greatly improve the experience of an attraction. I think it's a very underrated element of theming.Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I understand all that. This entire discussion is based around the fact that you challenged my statement that Disney has taken longer to build new attractions and themed lands in their parks than US is recent years. You've since tried to disprove that with incomplete and inaccurate data.Avatar land was announced 5 years ago and won't be ready until next year. New Fantasy Land was completed 5 years after being announced. Universal's major projects are completed in half that time from the time they are announced, yet still produce at a quality that is on par with Disney. Hence my original comment in this thread. And nothing in this post I quoted has relevancy to that discussion. You're going full on straw-man here. If you're trying to argue that Disney doesn't need to change as frequently or drastically, that's fine and I agree. But don't act like Disney takes the same amount of time to produce their new major overhauls in the parks when it simply isn't true. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk I was trying to bring it all full circle and end in amicably. And also point out that while Universal was upgrading or adding a ride here or there, Disney was upgrading other things. They may not bring people to the park but it makes things slightly more enjoyable. But if you would like some facts about major park expansions. Here we go again. I don't care when something is announced I'm talking about from breaking ground etc. Avatar broke ground on Jan 10, 2014 and is expected to finish in 2017. 3-3.5 years Harry Potter broke ground mid 2007, finished June 18, 2010, 3 years. The second Harry Potter broke ground early to mid 2011, and finished July 8, 2014. 3 years Disney Fantasy Land: started 2011 and finished Nov 2014, 3.5 years. While not officially a rebuild and areas were opened up in stages. Who cares when it's announced. Just because it gets announced or confirmed doesn't mean a thing. I even agreed with you that it's all perception. That it seems to take longer because Disney announced things earlier. But that's hardly Disneys fault if anything they are giving people time to get "last rides". Kong Skull Island a smaller not as involved redo as compared to HP but from what I have seen online ground breaking started around Jan/Feb 2014 and will open mid 2016 so almost 2.5 years. Star Wars is broke ground this year and is expected to open 2018, 3 years. I'm not trying to compare single rides because the Redo of Hulk or Spidey or Transformers is no different than Disney doing the Snow White or KI building Banshee. From broken ground to completion the time lines are almost identical. Disney as a company has historically announced projects early in the design. From the parks to movies to anything. Disney almost enjoys taking the audience on a ride through development. It's almost like they are making money on it. Universal recently has not done it the same way. They make the announcement and then break ground. If I were to take a guess I would think the planning is about the same. So when Disney announces something and then breaks ground 2 years later they probably when through the same process as US. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Once again all your points are valid, but I think timing of announcements is a huge factor. We've literally been waiting for Avatar for almost 5 years now, regardless of when ground broke, and it won't be finished until next year.And didn't a team of Imagineers visit Diagon Alley and then return to home base and request a higher budget? That's the rumor anyway. If that's the case then I think we can expect delays with that project. We'll see. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

It definitely makes sense for some people and families. If you're a planner and are going to make reservations for the nicer restaurants months in advance so you can get the most money's worth, it makes sense. If you like paying for everything ahead of time because you just don't want to have to worry about it (or if you're bad at budgeting), even if it saves you no money or costs you a little bit, it makes sense. If you're someone who will always want the most expensive option on the menu, and you always get dessert, it definitely makes sense. For my family it did not make sense. We don't want to plan out where and when we want to eat well in advance. We don't know if we'll want to do 1 sit down meal in a given day, 3 sit down meals or no sit down meals until we actually go about our day. We aren't big dessert eaters, and don't want to have to feel obligated to get one of the most expensive menu options to feel like we're getting our money's worth because we'd be losing money by picking a cheaper option that actually sounds tastier. And we did the math and determined that there's about a 90% chance that we'll spend less money without a dining plan than we would with one, with that 10% margin of error accounting for minimal savings at best. I know I'm in the minority as my travel agent said 80% of people that book through him get the dining plan (though I'm sure he sells it hard to most people so he gets a higher commission), and I have no doubt that some people save quite a bit with it. I just encourage anyone who is planning a WDW trip to do the proper research before deciding whether or not to get one. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I understand all that. This entire discussion is based around the fact that you challenged my statement that Disney has taken longer to build new attractions and themed lands in their parks than US is recent years. You've since tried to disprove that with incomplete and inaccurate data.Avatar land was announced 5 years ago and won't be ready until next year. New Fantasy Land was completed 5 years after being announced. Universal's major projects are completed in half that time from the time they are announced, yet still produce at a quality that is on par with Disney. Hence my original comment in this thread. And nothing in this post I quoted has relevancy to that discussion. You're going full on straw-man here. If you're trying to argue that Disney doesn't need to change as frequently or drastically, that's fine and I agree. But don't act like Disney takes the same amount of time to produce their new major overhauls in the parks when it simply isn't true. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

That's Standard Dining. Deluxe Dining is 3 meals anywhere, hence to maximize value you would eat at 3 sit down restaurants. You also get 2 snacks daily with that plan. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I agree about the Magic Bands, but they're not drawing people into the park. And you're right that Disney has way more physical property to worry about than US, but again, that's not the main draw to the parks. I love Disney as much as anyone, and enjoy it more than US. Don't get me wrong. But let's not ignore or skew the facts. We're talking about perception of park improvements in recent years. There's a reason it is what it is. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

It's a good deal if you can eat that much food. I'm an average to above average eater and I can't even begin to come close to eating that much food in a week. Plus the way you save money with that plan is to eat 3 sit down meals per day, and that consumes a lot of time.Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Small things like those mentioned in this thread make a huge difference in the experience to us, but I wonder about the GP. Do they care, or even notice? I think they might to an extent, but at the end of the day I guess there aren't too many people whose decision to visit the park or not is affected by the fog and animatronics on AE or the removal of the awesome Top Gun queue. In that regard, you can't really blame the park for choosing not to spend money on those aesthetics. But at the same time there has to be a line somewhere. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

I thought you were talking about Wild & Crazy Kids but you threw me off with the 70s comment. I always liked the ones where they had to do different things while going down a water slide. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

If you pay attention to prices and deals and aren't as concerned about amenities, you can stay on site rather cheaply. In 2012, I was looking to stay on site for seven nights, checking in on Labor Day. In February, the online booking system was quoting me roughly ~$95/night for the All-Star Sports resort. I filled out the form for the vacation planning DVD, and marked September as the month I was looking to visit. After the DVD came, in May Disney sent me a letter offering a limited-time deal to book a Value resort in my chosen month for $83/night, and I booked the All-Star Sports Resort almost immediately. Yes, it's a no-frills, very basic place with outside room entry, but it was sufficient for a place to lay my head at night, which is almost all I used the room for. And I used some of the money that I saved by not going with a Moderate or more expensive resort to splurge for Deluxe Dining.So yes, you don't have to spend a lot of money to stay on-site; you just need to pay attention to when off-peak season is, be willing to stay in an All-Star Resort, and watch for special deals, and you can get a Disney resort for less than some third-party hotels. You're right, I should have noted an exception to the values (at least the All-star ones and Pop Century). Those are reasonable. We would have opted for 2 of them that adjoin for our trip if we wouldn't have booked so late. 2 adjoining rooms at the values are significantly cheaper than 1 suite anywhere, and for the 4 adults in our group (one of which is an EXTREMELY loud snorer) we needed one of those options.But the price to rent a 3 bedroom home within 15 minutes of WDW and US for a week through Airbnb, plus the cost to rent a car and park at the parks is less than both. A tempting alternative to say the least. I have a question for you though: how on earth did you eat all the food that Deluxe Dining offers!?! That's a lot of food! Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

The thing is Star Wars land and Avatar land aren't built yet. But both HP lands are, and Kong is about to open soon. Since my last visit to WDW in 2000, WDW has added Mission: Space, Expedition Everest, Soarin, 7DMT (and new Fantasy Land) and a couple minor things (like Turtle Talk, Sum of All Thrills, Maelstrom converted to Frozen ride, new shows, etc.). They also made some negative changes like Stitch and Imagination. That's pretty much it for 16 years. Oh, and Magic Bands. In that time, US opened Shrek 4D, replaced Kongfrontation with Mummy, opened RRR, Minion Mayhem and Transformers, are about to open Kong, and opened both HP areas with a major new attraction in each. Of course to be fair they closed some great attractions too like BTTF (replaced by Simpsons) and Jaws, but it seems like they did quite a bit more with their parks over that same time frame. You might be right about the time frames being similar from ground breaking to completion, but the difference seems to be in the timing of the announcements. Avatar might have started construction in '14, but when was it announced? Like '11? Feels like it anyway. That's 6 years between announcement and opening, if they're on schedule. Also new Fantasy Land was announced in '09, so that was 5 years from announcement to completion. Just seems like a longer wait for things to get done at WDW compared to US. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

For the same reason you would regardless of ticket prices: lighter crowds. I too expect Disney to implement this for multi-day tickets eventually though. I just don't know how high they'd have to go to see a decrease or even plateau in demand, especially during peak times. Some of the multi-day tickets increased by over 10%! That's not insignificant, and it has angered some folks over on the DIS boards, but the overwhelming majority seem to shrug it off or even encourage further price increases in hopes of seeing lighter crowds. Those folks can keep hoping all they want though because I can't see it happening unless we get another recession without seeing a drop in prices. To me the sticker shock on ticket prices pales in comparison to the cost to stay on site. My goodness. You of course don't need to stay on site to enjoy WDW, but it sure is convenient. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Is there a magic way to view poll options on Tapatalk that I'm too dumb to figure out? Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

B&M giga?SoB wood had filled that void, it had it's chance. Yes, Cincinnatians have been riding nonexistent B&M giga coasters for generations... That notion with SOB is bunk, and I was hoping I wouldn't have to hear it. A bad concept was pushed by the park and rejected by the quality manufacturers of the day. The park defiantly pushed forward and boy did they pay for it. Imagine if King Island in 1983 thought the way you're thinking. "No more steel coasters... that Bat was a disaster." Please do tell when another wooden coaster can be built. ONE wood coaster has been built at the park since the Carter administration, and how many steel coasters? And they've built exactly 0 gigas in that same time frame. Meanwhile they continue to operate 2 of the best wooden coasters found anywhere.Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

99% of park goers do not know nor care who manufactures a ride, and gigas are a massive hit pretty much everywhere you can find them. If you can build one with 4 rows across for increased capacity, even better.Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Didn't know HUSS was pronounced "hoose" until I watched this. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Glad I got my tickets for this year on Thursday Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

The difference is Disney takes their sweet time to get new lands and attractions up and running, while Universal seems to be on a whole different level of production while still producing at a level on par with Disney (in recent years anyway).Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Then later as an adult, a Lego Death Star sounds like an awesome prize lol. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk