1/4: Perennial Passholders

[bayouguy]

Maybe the membership idea could work, if done intelligently. If the idea is to squeeze more money from people, then forget it. We live in a world where money is almost electronically managed, so Disney better have an efficient method to handle payment options, whether paying off for an entire year or monthly payments, or prepaid length of times, or extended payoffs for multiyear membership dues, or paying for a day. Whatever. There better be some creative sparks flying about, not just a smarmy campaign for extracting more money from paying guest.

[DarthBrian]

Yeah, Al, much props and respect to you for your articles, but can you keep your dislike of Tron and other movies out of it? I've seen it 3 times now and I love it. If you don't like it that's fine and totally, like, your opinion, man, but when you preach it like it's gospel in your articles, it's very offputting.

Otherwise, great article today. Thanks for the update.

[Dustysage]

Great update and very hopeful. Left me in a good mood.

As much as it hurt to lose the beautiful Disneyland Hotel waterfalls, the newly updated plan will fit the tower and go a long way toward keeping the hotels unique. I'm pleased. It is OK to replace something popular if you have something worthwhile to replace it with. A "wedding lawn" would NOT have cut it! Good move by Disney and this news immediately eases my anger over the removal of the beloved falls.

The passholder situation has me vexed. On the one hand they are doing EVERYTHING they can to maintain one million passholders. Then on the other they act like the passholders are their enemy. Are they or aren't they?! If you want to maintain one million passholders then you need to realize that they ARE Your audience too and make changes to the resort which compliment this huge group of regulars. If the passholders are the problem, then quit with the payment plans ("Membership"), raise prices, eliminate the cheaper passes and get the numbers back down to the 250,000 range where they are manageable. One or the other. But don't encourage folks to sign up as passholders and then treat them like crap. That's just wrong.

LOVE the idea to enhance the Esplanade, Hollywood Pictures Backlot and Grizzly River Rapids. Recent enhancement projects throughout the Resort have been particularly successful and are one of the hallmarks of the Disney Corporation. By keeping existing areas fresh by continually plussing, they keep the resort exciting and new. I'm not talking about the major projects but rather the small ones. LOVE IT. Just wish that the Florida parks were managed the same way.

If it weren't such a stretch for the team, I'd say boot the senior exec at WDW and let the Disneyland folks run all the US parks.

For all the bitching over the little stuff we do around here, we DO respect and appreciate the great job that the Disneyland Operations, Imagineering, and Executives do on the behalf of the resort. Disney Company corporate meddling aside, we are very lucky compared to the red headed step child of the company - Walt Disney World.

Thanks Al,

Dusty

[Roythe13th]

Funny that they have the same vehicles on Space Mountain in WDW that are being planned for DL's Matterhorn, and we never hear stories about how cramped they are or how guests don't fit. And let's face it, the average guest in WDW is larger than the average guest in DL. Plus, they have lapbars (where DL will have locking seatbelts), which make it even more cramped, but they work just fine. Yes, the days of cramming 8 linebackers in a single bobsled to get it to break the sound-barrier are gone, but they will still be able to ride, just like everybody else.

Does anyone know for sure if they are the same vehicle? I''ve been to WDW once and Space Mountain was closed for rehab. I've always heard the vehicle for SM WDW was hard to get in and out of for bigger/taller folk because it was low down but no issue once you were seated, especially if you were in the front of a car.

I don't think I have ever read anything by Al Lutz (or anyone) concerning Disneyland that has broke my heart more than what he just wrote about Matterhorn. His take on the crampness of the new ride vehicle concerns me. It is one of my favorite rides and if his opinion that anyone over 6 foot and/or over 200 pounds will have issues in the future turns out to be true, it means I will have to have a total lifestyle change if I ever want to ride it again.

Fingers crossed Al is wrong on this one!

[Dustysage]

Yeah, Al, much props and respect to you for your articles, but can you keep your dislike of Tron and other movies out of it?

Al's commentary is just that . . . HIS commentary. You don't have to agree with it, no one has a gun to your head. Al didn't like the movie. A lot of people didn't. Even within the Disney Company, it is seen as a big disappointment. Fingers are pointing and everyone is trying to place the blame on Dick Cook (who was fired just after the last D23 Expo).

My point, just because someone doesn't agree with your opinions is no reason why they shouldn't express them. That's a hard thing for Disney fans (or fans of any product or service) to understand. But it is an important distinction. If it weren't for the honest opinion of Al and the thousands of other loud voice just like him, the products and services you are offered wouldn't be of the same high quality.

If you don't complain about the bad stuff, there won't be nearly as much good stuff.

-Dusty

[Dustysage]

Does anyone know for sure if they are the same vehicle? I''ve been to WDW once and Space Mountain was closed for rehab. I've always heard the vehicle for SM WDW was hard to get in and out of for bigger/taller folk because it was low down but no issue once you were seated, especially if you were in the front of a car.

I don't think I have ever read anything by Al Lutz (or anyone) concerning Disneyland that has broke my heart more than what he just wrote about Matterhorn. His take on the crampness of the new ride vehicle concerns me. It is one of my favorite rides and if his opinion that anyone over 6 foot and/or over 200 pounds will have issues in the future turns out to be true, it means I will have to have a total lifestyle change if I ever want to ride it again.

Fingers crossed Al is wrong on this one!

It doesn't look as though the WDW Space Mountain and Disneyland Matterhorn vehicles are the same. It appears as though you will sit lower in the Matterhorn vehicles than you do in Disney World's strange set-up.

By keeping the cars the same length and dividing the current two bench seat configuration to 3 single seats, they will increase overall capacity (since most of those bench seats dispatch with just one rider) but reduce leg room.

I'm not sure how many folks this will impact, but there will no doubt be some folks who find that it isn't an easy fit.

There may very well be a sled or two which is altered to allow for larger folks to ride as well (as they have done on some other attractions).

I wouldn't worry about this issue too much. Disney is pretty good at keeping the comfort of all riders in mind when they redesign ride vehicles.

[Baloo]

whats with the tron dislikes, I actually enjoyed it along with several friends. its not for everyone but its not the hodgepodge some people are saying it is.

someone mentioned elevators for the parking structure, i wish they had put in elevators like the ones they have in the ikea in Covina. Those elevators could actually fit a full size car in them they are huge and would have been perfect for several dozen guests at a time.


I also can't wait for the fountain to be built in the esplanade, its about time, that large concrete vast of nothingness between the parks really needed something to make it feel less industrial. A nice elongated Disney themed fountain will look great

[PAL]

Funny that they have the same vehicles on Space Mountain in WDW that are being planned for DL's Matterhorn, and we never hear stories about how cramped they are or how guests don't fit.... Yes, the days of cramming 8 linebackers in a single bobsled to get it to break the sound-barrier are gone, but they will still be able to ride, just like everybody else.

My son is 6-3 and skinny. Only contortions got him into WDW Space - with his knees akimbo and sticking out of the car. It was so uncomfortable, my 14 yo coaster crazy only rode once. I'm 6 ft and 210 lbs. I too barely fit. My feet had to be placed just so, and the lap bar was a close thing. The Magic Kingdom's Space Mt trains are very tough for larger people.

I don't know how similar the new Matterhorn trains will be, but I suspect Al is correct when he says they won't accommodate huge slabs of beef such as Div 1 college linemen. I think there's a better chance my family will fit - at least I hope so. On the other hand, the ride's capacity should climb nicely. Mostly, I'll miss snuggling with my honey. That's the real change.

Overall, I'm thrilled Disney continues to lavish care on their landmark classic. Many other first generation steel coasters are long gone. New Matterhorn trains are a net positive.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

I've been a flirty date nighter, and I see this change with a heavy heart.

[wulfblat]

A delightful update with lots of interesting news.

It is nice to see DCA evolve toward a Disney quality park. Purging all of the "done on the cheap" elements that damned DCA from the start has taken a lot of time and money, and while I don't like everything I see being done, I am happy to see all the attention lavished on the park.

I was hoping for news of upgrades for Disneyland's Tomorrowland and Frontierland.

[Screwy Squirrel]

APs: Agree with Dusty that's it hard to see where they are going with this - but at least they are recognizing the problem that it is and realize something must be done to avoid alienating the big dollar visitors.

Hopefully they'll come to the understanding they can't have their cake and eat it too - the only way to reduce the AP burden is.... to reduce the number of APs.

[Barbossa]

Thanks for the update Al.

[RenMan]

Two things about Al's update made me very happy today: the re-theming of the falls area of the Disneyland Hotel and the re-theming of Grizzly River Run. As far as I'm concerned, these sorts of efforts by WDI and TDA are exactly the sort of thing that sets Disney apart. These upgrades are small in the big scheme of things but add an extra "fun" factor that makes visits to a Disney park delightful.

Not everything has to be huge and E-ticket to be good. For my money, the beauty of DL is in all the tiny details. It really encourages me to see that some of the folks in charge of the budget have their heads and hearts on straight.

The passholder situation has me vexed. On the one hand they are doing EVERYTHING they can to maintain one million passholders. Then on the other they act like the passholders are their enemy. Are they or aren't they?! If you want to maintain one million passholders then you need to realize that they ARE Your audience too and make changes to the resort which compliment this huge group of regulars. If the passholders are the problem, then quit with the payment plans ("Membership"), raise prices, eliminate the cheaper passes and get the numbers back down to the 250,000 range where they are manageable. One or the other. But don't encourage folks to sign up as passholders and then treat them like crap. That's just wrong.

Gotta agree with Dusty on this one.

[a-mad]

Al didn't like the movie. A lot of people didn't. Even within the Disney Company, it is seen as a big disappointment.

A "big disappointment"? And what specific information within the Disney Company is this perception coming from exactly? The film is now expected to gross between $160 - $170 million domestically, and is trending above that overseas, so you're looking at a projected worldwide gross of around $350 - $400 million against a budget of $170 million. When you add in promotion and advertising, you come out profitable. Not a huge profit-earner, but not a "big disappointment." I also don't think the sold-out audience I attended with this past Saturday (two weeks after its release), in which there was applause at the end, considered it a "big disappointment" either.

My point, just because someone doesn't agree with your opinions is no reason why they shouldn't express them. That's a hard thing for Disney fans (or fans of any product or service) to understand. But it is an important distinction. If it weren't for the honest opinion of Al and the thousands of other loud voice just like him, the products and services you are offered wouldn't be of the same high quality.

If you don't complain about the bad stuff, there won't be nearly as much good stuff.

-Dusty

I totally agree Dusty, which is why if one thinks the product is of high quality, one should exclaim with a loud voice that they think the product is good... even if others think its bad - which is what fans of the movie are doing. I have no problem with Al expressing his honest opinion (and thank goodness he does - it makes his columns that much more interesting and informative), but those who do not think the film's a "turgid mess" (and it appears there are several on this board) should be able to do the same as well.

[flynnibus]

My point, just because someone doesn't agree with your opinions is no reason why they shouldn't express them. That's a hard thing for Disney fans (or fans of any product or service) to understand. But it is an important distinction. If it weren't for the honest opinion of Al and the thousands of other loud voice just like him, the products and services you are offered wouldn't be of the same high quality.

I think the point that rubs people is not what his opinion is - but how he always 'spices' his articles with these one line jabs all the time. The TRON comment was pretty much out of place... or the comment about the execs. Al puts these hit and run comments in there which really don't add content - just zingers.