I think Al's gripe in today's update about the refurbs going on, especially since he claimed it was because of recent maintanance neglect, was a little overstated. Let's look at the things he listed...

Matterhorn: Judging by the abundance of spraypainted notes on the mountain, the major reason for this closure is to satisfy lawyers by cutting back the rock face to increase head room (probably for emergency exit routes and such).

Carousel: Yes, it's a refurb due to poor maintanance...but it's not because of RECENT management and decissions. The thing, as they found out, hand NEVER been properly maintained.

Small World: Not even closed. And he felt the need to mention that it is going to close, but that's for the overlay, not refurb.

Mansion: Closed, but for overlay, not refurb. Completely off topic.

Storybookland: Legitimate refurb

Casey Jr: Legitimate refurb

Stage Door: Legitimate refub.

So half of what he said is just padding a weak argument. His intro to the sections is, "What happens when you blow off upkeep and maintenance for over seven years in a half century old theme park? You find that you have to pay the piper at some point - and have to shutter large areas of the park to get things finally rehabbed and fixed." But that only applies to half of what he mentions.

As for it being somewhat of a rip off for guests, well yeah. But that's why they call it the off season. And it's nothing new. There were pleanty of times I went to Disneyland, pre-Eisner, where a bunch of attractions were shuttered because we went at odd times of the year to beat the crowds. No big deal.

Please forgive my ignorance, as I've only been a regular Dland visitor for the past three years, but back in the day, didn't everything have regularly scheduled maintenance so that only one thing was down at any given time? If my memory is correct, then I think what Al is getting at is the fact that straying from that schedule has left to many things beiong closed at once, as opposed to one or two things.

That was his attempted point, however, I disagree that that is the case. Only 2 attractions that are currently closed are as a result of any sort of rehab scheduling. The rest are closed for entirely different reasons unrelated to poor refurb planning. If you take out Matterhorn, Carrousel, Small World, and Mansion, none of which are/will be closed because of refub scheduling, rather for other reasons, you are left with 2 attractions and 1 restaurant closed, a perfectly acceptable refurb schedule.

I'm not Al, but I have a problem with Small World's rehab, actually. First of all, it goes down twice a year nowadays for the holiday overlay. If it had not been neglected (1)- the super-long closure this year would not have been necessary and (2)- perhaps they would've been able to paint when it was down.

Personally, I think it's great to be painted, I think it's crummy that the scaffolding is out there and being painted in front of guests. Maybe that's a nitpick but if things had been done properly all along, I'd like to think that the pixie dust would not be so in the face of the guests.

Yes, it's "only" going down for a legitimate overlay, but look at how long it's already been down this year.

Adrienne K

Why do I always feel so depressed after I read one of Al's updates? Doesn't happen on anyone else's updates, just Al's.

Originally posted by Cooie
Please forgive my ignorance, as I've only been a regular Dland visitor for the past three years, but back in the day, didn't everything have regularly scheduled maintenance so that only one thing was down at any given time?I'm not sure. When I was younger, my family went just about each year in February. The signs at the ticket books usually had a list of three or four things that were closed at the time. It might also depend on your definition of "back in the day."

Are those signs still around? They'd be a little long right now from what I hear, but after all, it's only fair that people know what's not operating before purchasing their tickets.

Yes, they do still list the closed attractions for the day at the ticket booths.

I remember when I was still a day visitor, there was a trade-off going in off-season. On the one hand, there were many fewer people, but there were many more rides down and the park's hours were shorter. Summer was great because the park was open longer, and most things were open, but a billion people were there. I remember always having to plan what part of off-season I'd go, because it was always better to go before a season started rather than after a season ended.

And yes, the closed attractions are listed at the ticket booths.


I can see the sentiment of how someone coming in on a day ticket now can be disappointed with multiple attractions being down, but again, that's the tradeoff for the much less crowded park.

I was sad to read that the Soap Opera Bistro might be going away. I like that restaurant very much, and I haven't had a chance to go in a while, so maybe we'll be able to do that soon.

I was disappointed that Al felt it necessary to use the free pin offered to all guests on Sunday as a way to slam Disney. While I had my particular disappointments with the promotion itself, I did think it was cool that Disney was giving away a free pin to anyone who bothered to put in a little effort, and for some, I can see how it might have been fun. Giving away a piece of merchandise, even something as small as a pin (though it was a decently nice one), isn't something they need to do, but was a nice gesture, but rather than getting anything remotely nice said about that one good thing, it's used to insult Disney management again. Really unnecessary, I thought.

The refurbs are justified, yes. However, there seems to be a lot of walls up. It seems that they could have spaced out some of the Fantasyland refurbs. That's a huge wall there (in addition to the Carousel one).

Anyone who read Mr. Lutz on a regular basis will see the same pattern time after time. While I truly believe he loves the original park (and truly despises the new DCA), it seems to be more important to him to take a stab at management than to celebrate when they get it right. It's like saying to your kid "you really need to dress better", and when he or she does, instead of complementing them and thanking them for changing, you just go right on with your griping attitude and say something like "I can't believe you dressed so sloppy in the first place you're such a worthless little creep you don't deserve to live..." I've written varying versions of the above many times to Mr. Lutz, all with no return comment from him. Oh well, we all have rights. I'll still read the DIG updates, but I definitely grab onto a HUGE grain of salt before reading.

Completely OT, but one thing really confused me. What do the dealings between Disney, Pixar, and that other animation company have to do with George Lucas?

Originally posted by Sailor Butterfly
Completely OT, but one thing really confused me. What do the dealings between Disney, Pixar, and that other animation company have to do with George Lucas?

Al had printed a rumor before that Pixar might switch over to teaming up with Lucasfilm if they don't renew their distribution deal with Disney. The problem with that idea, though, is that Lucasfilm is a production company and not a distributor (notice the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning of the "Star Wars" films...)

I could possibly see Lucasfilm helping Pixar out with financing of their films (it wouldn't be that surprising, since Pixar was originally a division of Lucasfilm anyway), they would still need to find a distributor. In fact, a team up between Pixar and Lucasfilm wouldn't automatically mean that Disney would be out of the picture either.

-Jeff

More OT:

Every time I see your sig, Jeff, I wonder what in the world the context is referring to! Was this a CM asking if guests had the Internet? Why?

I'm intrigued.

Originally posted by Kevin Yee
More OT:

Every time I see your sig, Jeff, I wonder what in the world the context is referring to! Was this a CM asking if guests had the Internet? Why?

I'm intrigued.

It was just a little exchange where a CM suggested going to the Internet to get some more information. It struck us all as funny in context, mainly because some of the people in the group I was with were webmasters on fairly major Disney-oriented sites.

The quote just seemed like kind of a cute one to use as a sig line on the boards...

-Jeff

I have to agree with Gemini Crickett here. Even though there's some legitimate refurbishing going on in Fantasyland, there is way too much wall acreage to pretend that it is a world of fantasy rather than a world of warehouse. I mean, a wall running from the skyway chalet all the way across the back of the land to the end of StorybookLand. Another wall smack dab in the center of the land surrounding the caroussel area. And yet another wall almost completely surrounding the majestic Matterhorn.

I feel more like I'm on a highway from the movie 'Brazil' than in the Happiest Land of Them All. I know a bunch of attractions are still open, but the land itself looks so unbelieveably ugly that I feel it would have been better to just close Fantasyland for a while, or at the very least put off the scheduled maintenance of Storybook Land and Casey Jr. till AFTER the Matterhorn and Caroussel work is complete.

On another note, while I regularly agree with Al about 90% of the time, I found his recent DIG column to be more than usually upsetting. (To paraphrase '1776,' "that man could depress a hyena.") The part that got to me so bad, and only because it rings so true, is that it looks as if we can expect little more than some fresh paint for Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration. Not that I was ever in favor of a giant flaming skull gracing a reworked Pirates of the Caribbean - - but I wish that talk of drastic upgrades to 5 classic attractions had never been leaked. Talk of what Disney plans to do vs. what they actually do has always led to disappointment, but this time it's especially painful.

I mean, a wall running from the skyway chalet all the way across the back of the land to the end of StorybookLand. Another wall smack dab in the center of the land surrounding the caroussel area. And yet another wall almost completely surrounding the majestic Matterhorn.

I was just there over the weekend, and I have to agree that this is way too much work going on at the same time. It felt like Tomorrowland of a few years ago, when that land was getting an entirely new look. I know that these upgrades and refurbs need to be done, but all at once? Not cool.

[Mod. note: vBcode fixed in quoted material. -- Andrew]

Can't you already see the new sign down the 5 freeway? You know, where they have "Two Parks, One Summer" right now?

Soon it'll probably read:

"Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration: We Painted!"

That'll really draw in the crowds ;)

Well six months ago Al could do nothing but complain about how nothing was getting painted and they weren't doing any maintenance. Now things are being painted and fixed up, and he's still not happy.

The only time some people are happy is when they're not happy...

Once upon a time, Disneyland and Disney World were on a regular painting maintenance schedule. It never got so bad that anyone would see the paint fading and peeling, so nobody would have any reason to complain. I am glad that there are like Al Lutz who work to remind those who have let conditions deteriorate that the guests really do notice these things. Some of us actually go to the parks for a respite vacation, not just a hedonistic shopping trip to a giant retail market.

Paint is only the surface... there are much deeper problems that threaten the parks as a place to return with your family for a much-needed break from routine daily life. When going to the park is rendered unpleasant due to multiple closures, it takes away some of the magic. When CM morale is low, merchandise or food is not appealing, or they forget little things like human comfort and forget to put in shade and seating - the magic fades. Some of us would prefer if people were looking to the next 50 years instead of the next fiscal year, and sustaining the parks for our grandkids to enjoy.

Go get 'em, Al.