Third TR's the Charm! (aka "Data goes backstage") (11-22-08)

[WheresMickey]

Nice report! Very intresting!

[penguinsoda]

What, no close up shots of the old Small World boats?? Um... wonder if those will end up on eBay...

Great report Data!! I hope its not another six months before you get to come back again!

[Datameister]

Hopefully not, penguinsoda - I'm at least hoping to visit for free on my birthday in June next year. Maybe I'll use the money I would have otherwise spent on admission and transportation for another trip earlier in the year...it'd be nice...

[MickeyMousePal]

penguinsoda Wrote:

What, no close up shots of the old Small World boats?? Um... wonder if those will end up on eBay...

No, Disney will used the old IASW boats for POTC boats. Disney just have to repaint them.

[SingingAngel7242]

only first time on Peter Pan...I need to go cry for you..

[Datameister]

I know, I know...it's tragic...but at least I've turned that corner in my life!

[penguinsoda]

Originally Posted by Datameister

Hopefully not, penguinsoda - I'm at least hoping to visit for free on my birthday in June next year. Maybe I'll use the money I would have otherwise spent on admission and transportation for another trip earlier in the year...it'd be nice...

Yes! You must make it to an anniversary meet someday!

Originally Posted by MickeyMousePal

penguinsoda Wrote:



No, Disney will used the old IASW boats for POTC boats. Disney just have to repaint them.

Well... not like I could afford to get one if they went up on eBay anyway... or would have anywhere to put one...

[Bruce Bergman]

Yanno, about the only other big "Band Geek" we haven't heard from yet is Morrigoon. "Miss Morrigoon, Please Pick up the 'Crimson and Gold' Courtesy Phone..."

Originally Posted by penguinsoda

Well... not like I could afford to get one (an old Small World boat) if they went up on eBay anyway... or would have anywhere to put one...

Hey, it's no problem at all - just need a parking space. All you need is a small trailer - a 4X8 trailer kit can be had for around $200, a chunk of heavy square steel tubing to extend the tongue a couple feet so it balances, wood bunker rails for the boat hull to sit on, and add a set of "Bearing Buddy" hubs to keep water out of the wheel bearings...

Never say it's impractical - someone might call you on it.

I've even got connections for lake time for more intensive testing - I wonder if the Bertha Mae has been made seaworthy yet...?

--<< Bruce >>--

[Aladdin]

Fun to see your unique view of DL!

Originally Posted by MonstersGoBoo!

YEAH ANOTHER BANDO!

Great report, and that's cool that you saw/met Tony Baxter. Glad you had a good time.

Band-O Is that like "Spaghetti-O"

[Extravabonanza]

Great TR Data! You're such a wise presence on this forum, it's nice to see that you actually got to go to the park!

[mycroft16]

Can I just say that Tony gets bonus points for eating at Rancho!

Great TR Data. I'm pretty much Backstage Warehouse Green with envy and about a jealous of a person as possible. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

[DonDuck]

Wonderful TR! Lots o' good stuff.

[Datameister]

Thanks, folks!

[Robert Cook]

Originally Posted by Datameister

What came next was a first-time event for me, one that many people here and elsewhere have been encouraging me to undertake for a while now. So...I braved the 15-minute line and I rode Peter Pan for the first time!

Congratulations, you finally made it to Neverland! And I don't mean that in a creepy Michael Jackson kind of way. So what would it take to get you on the Mark Twain the next time?

Originally Posted by Datameister

Impressions? Mmmm...I enjoyed it, in a Fantasylanddarkridelike way, though I was actually less enchanted by the flight over London than many are. Perhaps it was just because I'd flown over a real twinkling, moonlit cityscape a week earlier.

That part of the ride has always been overrated in terms of experience, but I think it's the idea of flying over a famous city in a pirate ship that people like to make reference to anyway.

Originally Posted by Datameister

But I definitely enjoyed the next scene, when you fly over Never Land. It was enormously gratifying to see the three-dimensional starfield - an effect I came up long before I knew it was implemented in Peter Pan - and I still really hope it gets used in Space Mountain someday.

At least you know empirically that the effect works rather well, and yes, it would be fantastic in Space Mountain. This my favorite scene of the ride by far, and I think that the ride system itself plays a major part in the illusion of flying. This was to have been the ride system used in the upcoming ride based on The Little Mermaid, but they seem to have switched to a standard Omnimover system. That's too bad because swimming is kind of like flying underwater, assuming that they're going to keep this aspect of the original ride concept.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the ride to some degree, and at least now you won't have this issue hanging over your head (suspended from a rail).

Originally Posted by Datameister

I had convinced a group of six guys and a parent chaperone to go get dinner at Rancho Del Zocalo, and that turned out to be a very good decision, because guess who just happened to be eating there at the exact same time?



That's right...Tony Baxter was in the park again! Apparently he's been there a lot this week.

I know that he's at the park fairly often, based on all of the sightings, but I haven't seen him there yet myself. I have seen something exceedingly more rare, though: Ed Grier, believe it or not. Lucky me....

Originally Posted by Datameister

Mojave, I really don't know what kinds of deals Imagineers get with in-park food, but I'd imagine that under normal circumstances, it's just a significant discount. Could be totally wrong about that.

That sounds right from what I've heard in the past from folks in Feature Animation, who get the same type of employee pass--the only thing they get for free is admission. Even Walt Disney waited in line and paid for his food, from what I've heard.

Originally Posted by Datameister

If I had any interest in alcohol, I'd drink to that.

I never touch the stuff, myself--save for sleep, I prefer to be as sharp and alert as possible at all times.

Originally Posted by Datameister

He does indeed "get it." I don't side with everything he's ever done at WDI, but I firmly believe that Tony is capable of incredible work when management allows it and there's money behind it, and it's great to see him in the park like a normal guest nonetheless. Believe me, he wasn't pushing to the front of the line with his WDI badge or anything...he was waiting in line for his food like everyone else, mere yards from an attraction that he designed. It's very reassuring to see.

Indeed, that's how it should be--even management should want to experience the park as normal guests do so that they can see what's good and what could be better. If only that were a top priority these days for management types. I don't agree with absolutely everything that Tony has done, either, but I hope that he never retires.

Originally Posted by Datameister

By the way, I forgot to mention that I finally got to see the red Mark VII for the first time in person, and it was a treat.

Design flaws aside, the Mark VII sure is beautiful, isn't it?

[Datameister]

Originally Posted by Robert Cook

Congratulations, you finally made it to Neverland! And I don't mean that in a creepy Michael Jackson kind of way. So what would it take to get you on the Mark Twain the next time?

Haha, still workin' on that one...

Indeed, that's how it should be--even management should want to experience the park as normal guests do so that they can see what's good and what could be better. If only that were a top priority these days for management types. I don't agree with absolutely everything that Tony has done, either, but I hope that he never retires.

Absolutely on all counts.

Design flaws aside, the Mark VII sure is beautiful, isn't it?

That it is! The problems they ran into were unfortunate (and embarrassing, I'd imagine), but the design is absolutely gorgeous. I had forgotten that I'd finally be getting to see it in person, and I couldn't help but grin when it suddenly swooped overhead. Very nicely done, Disney.