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merlinjones
08-31-2003, 12:09 AM
Since there are so many people from Downtown Disney and DCA who enjoy the fireworks from the esplanade (the airbourne shells look great from there), why not improve the display by dimming the lights and pumping the Believe music out there... instead of running the same ol' entry music during the presentation (let alone the ABC promo tower)?

It's going to happen no matter what- - if you shoot them off they will come - - so why not make it a better show for everyone? All the equipment is there, it's just a matter of willpower and generosity.

There's still Tink and the castle as a premium to make you want to buy a DL ticket.

cryan71
08-31-2003, 08:22 AM
Yeah, that would make sense. But then this is the new Disneyland resort where making sense is the least of their worries.

Of course, if you bring it to their attention, they will just think of a way to charge people for looking at the fireworks. I could see Disney renting wireless headphones out for $10 that play the Believe music and charging $40 for some special seats on the roof of the Grand Californian to watch the fireworks while you enjoy a box of sweets that maybe cost Disney $3.

Or they will send Security and Guest Control out there to tell people "keep moving along" and "nothing to see here."

Not Afraid
08-31-2003, 08:43 AM
Hmmmm. Maybe I should go out there and charge people to hear me "sing" the music.


Ah, no.;)

cryan71
08-31-2003, 10:18 AM
Originally posted by Not Afraid
Hmmmm. Maybe I should go out there and charge people to hear me "sing" the music.


Ah, no.;)

Actually, you can charge them to NOT sing the music.

Captain Josh
08-31-2003, 10:28 AM
DtD is a glorified strip mall, the same way The Block at Orange is. Let's get that much straight. So, in the middle of the night, if they decided to kill the lights for 15 minutes so some people can watch fireworks, wouldn't it cause some sort of problem? As far as I can tell, people are always moving through the walkways of DtD, and turning out the lights would just be a hazard.

TheatreTech
08-31-2003, 10:47 AM
OK. So maybe dimming the lights would be dangerous.:D (Do it anyway:~D ) Just Kidding:D But, I do like the idea of playing the Believe music out there. (Or we can send Not Afraid out there with a mic and an amp.:fez: )

merlinjones
08-31-2003, 10:49 AM
>>DtD is a glorified strip mall, the same way The Block at Orange is. Let's get that much straight. <<

Sir, yes, sir!

>>So, in the middle of the night, if they decided to kill the lights for 15 minutes so some people can watch fireworks, wouldn't it cause some sort of problem? As far as I can tell, people are always moving through the walkways of DtD, and turning out the lights would just be a hazard.<<

I'm not talking about DTD at all (or the tram areas - - you can't really see the fireworks from DTD), only the huge, separate piazza/esplanade/plaza area between DCA and DL. It's a huge expanse with plenty of ambient lighting, even with dimming (we're not talking blackout here), and there's nothing to hazard about, except maybe the ugly souvenier bricks in the sidewalk. Not talking anything extreme... there is already music pumping out in that area, why not make it tie to the fireworks? Just flip a switch and twist a dimmer.... a no brainer.

And the plaza is full of people stopped in place to watch the display already, just like DL. - - Let's get that much straight.

Captain Josh
08-31-2003, 10:50 AM
And, if we dimmed the lights and played Believe! music, we'd be taking away from such local cultural acts as....The Suburban Legends...and...that violinist guy...and that new-age band from South America!

da Horror!

merlinjones
08-31-2003, 10:54 AM
>>And, if we dimmed the lights and played Believe! music, we'd be taking away from such local cultural acts as....The Suburban Legends...and...that violinist guy...and that new-age band from South America!<<

None of them are in the esplanade area. Not even close.

innerSpaceman
08-31-2003, 03:04 PM
Or how about the brilliant stroke of pumping the Believe music to a spot inside the Park where droves of people gather to watch the fireworks - - next to Small World? This is arguably one of the most spectacular fireworks spots in the Park. They already cut the Small World atmosphere music during the show. What's missing is the Believe soundtrack, which could easily, "with the flip of a switch," be pumped through the Small World speakers.

In fact, it seems to me that there's lots of places where the fireworks are viewed that the addition of the "real" music would be a tremendous plus - without costing the company any significant amount of money.

Did ya hear that Disney? - - won't cost you a dime!

merlinjones
08-31-2003, 04:57 PM
>>Did ya hear that Disney? - - won't cost you a dime!<<

Then again, they'll have to have a few meetings and follow ups to discuss the issue (only if it's first suggested by a popular staffer through the politically expedient channels), present it on Power Point to the VP's and debate its merits. Then they'll have to contact a consultant to look into issue of whether people really watch the fireworks from the esplanade, and commission a marketing survey on the matter (will it boost sales in any way?), but only after securing a charge number for this project from the finance department. Then the financial analysts will have to project the costs associated with changing the channel or rewiring the speakers and installing a dimmer switch, the costs involved in having someone actually supervise this (and flip the switch), or program it into an automatic master computer light and music switcher developed by Imagineering for just such a purpose (in which case the park will have to absorb WDI's development costs)- - and of course budget to do the labor and training involved in flipping the switch, and allocating the job to the correct division and department, which must be charged against the already mounting costs of the maintenence department and the slashed budgets at entertainment (don't forget this will require overtime). Then someone will have to factor in the overhead involved with management's time on this matter and the comped lunches at Uva Bar to discuss it with freelancers and department heads. Then the plan will have to be tabled until after the new fiscal year when it will be decided to roll it out and attach it to the budget for the new fireworks show for the 50th anniversary, which will later be scaled back, eliminating this aspect of the budget as irrelevant. Then apply legal and settlement costs to the suit of the dismissed employee who just went ahead and flipped the switch on his own one day (it worked fine and generated guest compliments), angering his immediate supervisor who fired him after making a suggestive pass. Publicity will have to charge for the time spent dealing with the bad press and to hire rude internet moles to facilitate discussion on the matter with the geeks online and counter the miceage commentaries on said matter.

2006: Cost to date: 1.5 million and no one has flipped the switch yet. Interest is accruing daily on this major reinvestment project which will require Michael Eisner's and Tom Stagg's signatures to implement.

But wait... Strategic Planning has a study in which all Disney related fireworks at the parks are to be phased out over a ten year period, so as to keep the Brand relevant and compelling. Studies show that contemporary guests find fireworks old fashioned, smoky and violent, not the Disney image we want to project in the coming century throughout the universe.

So the plan is put on indefinite hold until the cancelled fireworks result in a riot on City Hall and a major drop in attendance (they thought only traditionalist geeks would notice), at which time the show is reinstated the following season after retooling and rebuilding TinkerBell's flight platform (which was auctioned on ebay) and settling the lawsuit with the aerialist who used to play Tink and lost her medical, needing it after a disablity filing to accompany emotional distress resulting from unemployment and inability to find another job portraying a flying pixie.

New finance head inherits this headache and issues a report which will save the company millions in tax credits by writing down the project as a loss instead of flipping the switch.

Darkbeer
08-31-2003, 05:18 PM
But the focus groups, surveys and meetings did result in one change...

They found out that the average guest has no idea what "esplanade" meant, so... there is NO MORE ESPLANADE!!!!!

Main Entry Plaza proof (http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4088391&a=30819677&p=64559700&f=0)

OK, guys, please use the correct terminology, OK? :fez:

merlinjones
08-31-2003, 08:42 PM
And to make up for the write down, they closed the Tiki Room and Small World, with all relevant execs taking home a million dollar bonus or more for the year, marking an incredible season of growth for the Disneyland Resort.

The people watching from Small World Mall and the esplanade (er, plaza) just hummed their own tunes.

Polar33
09-01-2003, 01:14 AM
Originally posted by merlinjones
[BThen again, they'll have to have a few meetings and follow ups to discuss the issue (only if it's first suggested by a popular staffer through the politically expedient channels), present it on Power Point to the VP's and debate its merits... <great summery of events cut out for space>[/B]

That is exactly what I thought was happening when we ran out of rubber bands for over a month a few years ago. Lol...I didn't even think it was possible to cram all the red tape into one post.

Seriously though, it wouldn't be that hard. From what I understand, the system outside the park is seperate from the DL system, but (red tape aside) it shouldn't cost too much to run a few more cables and upgrade the control systems.

iSm- about where around Small World is it that dosn't have audio running to it? Granted, it's been a while since I have viewed the show from that area but I do remember that the music was coming from the parade route speekers at the time.

The only places I can think of that you can't hear the music are Adventureland and Critter Country...and there aren't really that many places in either where you can see the show anyway. I know that most of Fantasyland is covered as well as Tomorrowland (strangely enough, I discovered a few weeks ago that they still are routing the music to the speekers in the Space Mountain queue line, it sounded awful though).

PhilMP
09-01-2003, 03:21 AM
Originally posted by Polar33
That is exactly what I thought was happening when we ran out of rubber bands for over a month a few years ago. Lol...I didn't even think it was possible to cram all the red tape into one post.



Geez, ODV ran out of rubber bands for a month??? How did everything keep from falling apart??

All they'd really need to do is run the Believe music via the airwaves over to a receiver at DtD audio central. Now...I'm a lighting geek, not a sound geek, so I don't know how it can be done, if possible.

Polar33
09-01-2003, 04:26 AM
Originally posted by PhilMP
All they'd really need to do is run the Believe music via the airwaves over to a receiver at DtD audio central.

Well...part of the problem would be that technicaly, there is no DtD Audio Central. Atleast nothing that is on par with what the parks use. In order to run anything more complicated then a constant loop would most likely take an equipment upgrade. It might just be easier to run it off the DL audio control system. Plus, I've always found wires to be much more reliable for things. But I digress...it wouldn't be as easy as flipping a switch, but it wouldn't be difficult either.

BTW, "flipping a switch" sounds rather stone-age considering it be more like "adding a few extra lines of programming" and "enabling a macro". :geek: But I suppose the switch thing is a lot easier to type. ;)

merlinjones
09-01-2003, 07:28 AM
>>BTW, "flipping a switch" sounds rather stone-age considering it be more like "adding a few extra lines of programming" and "enabling a macro". But I suppose the switch thing is a lot easier to type. <<

Add some meetings and a report from technology on how to best acheive this effect and the proper terminology. WDI may be needed after all... ;)

It's the plaza area that needs the fireworks music, rather than DTD. It seems to have it's own unique loop anyway.

innerSpaceman
09-01-2003, 07:35 AM
Originally posted by Polar33
iSm- about where around Small World is it that dosn't have audio running to it? Granted, it's been a while since I have viewed the show from that area but I do remember that the music was coming from the parade route speekers at the time.

The parade route speakers don't work for the afficianados who hang at the hill leading down to the Toontown Gates. While the fireworks are at their most impressive from this vantage point, the music is dim at best. (Last night was the final fireworks for a few months, until Holiday Believe - sigh.)

Like I said, Small World atmosphere music shuts down during the show. Speakers already there, just waiting to be used.


Oh, and "flip the switch" just sounds better.;)

innerSpaceman
09-01-2003, 07:38 AM
Originally posted by merlinjones
It's the plaza area that needs the fireworks music, rather than DTD. It seems to have it's own unique loop anyway.
Yes, but they've now decided to eliminate the Entry Plaza loop entirely, and feature ABC Prime Time TV-Land as a permenant feature in the esplanade, um, place.

merlinjones
09-01-2003, 10:47 AM
>>Yes, but they've now decided to eliminate the Entry Plaza loop entirely, and feature ABC Prime Time TV-Land as a permenant feature in the esplanade, um, place.<<

Ecch! The ABC Entertainment Plaza at the Disneyland Resort. That tower is an eyesore.

One step closer to calling DCA - - the Disney/ABC Studios?

Flip the switch.

Mr. Fusion
09-02-2003, 12:04 AM
To answer your original question, merlinjones, I think Polar33 may have aluded to one possible answer:

(strangely enough, I discovered a few weeks ago that they still are routing the music to the speekers in the Space Mountain queue line, it sounded awful though).
The reason it sounds awful over there is because although speakers do exist, they aren't meant to handle the dynamic range that the Believe show uses, both the loudness and the frequency.
Being a fellow DisneyGeek™, I've already noticed that the music's loudness itself is so dynamic, the Believe track on the park CD has some noticible distortion, especially in the lower frequencies. The speakers inside the park should be able to handle it just fine, as they were installed to handle the parades' music. Outside the park might be a different story. The bass and/or high treble probably would not seem as full; while some many think that's negligible, I stand by my gut that the full dynamics makes a serious difference in the experience of the show. Imagine the waiting room at your doctor's office with that easy listening station in the background. Sure, most tunes come out okay, but there's a couple that sound soooo bad and tinny that it sounds more like Muzak that music.
This is just a theory though, and it wouldn't explain why the music's not pumped into IASM. Maybe red tape, but jeez I hope not. I can give you one good reason already why it's not pumped out near the parking structure. Two words: car alarms. (think about it...)

-Mr. Fusion

innerSpaceman
09-02-2003, 09:26 AM
And let's face it - where is the impetus to pump the fireworks music into the Esplanade or anywhere else outside of Disneyland? Fireworks are expensive. Pay your admission, you can watch the show. Pay nothing -- why should Disney enhance your experience of a show you have not paid to see?

merlinjones
09-02-2003, 12:13 PM
>>And let's face it - where is the impetus to pump the fireworks music into the Esplanade or anywhere else outside of Disneyland? Fireworks are expensive. Pay your admission, you can watch the show. Pay nothing -- why should Disney enhance your experience of a show you have not paid to see?<<

The people streaming (re, trickling) out of DCA to watch the fireworks in the esplanade (er, plaza) deserve something for their day's admission, don't they?

People are watching them anyway.