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innerSpaceman
09-04-2003, 03:24 PM
The current issue of the L.A. Weekly (9/04/03) features a story on Disneyland geeks - you know, the type that go to the Park on an almost daily basis.

They get a bunch of things wrong; some minor ("Ron" Miller as opposed to Rod Miller at the Coke Corner Piano), some faily major (implying that "Blast" is currently playing at DCA).

Still, for those of us who frequent the Park - whether it's almost daily, weekly, or whatever - it will make an interesting read.

millionairegirl
09-04-2003, 03:26 PM
Hey, I resemble that article!

Actually not really. They really said Ron Miller? God. That's horrible.

What is LA Weekly? Is it for sale, or is one of those free things they have at Starbucks?

Ghoulish Delight
09-04-2003, 03:32 PM
Originally posted by millionairegirl
Hey, I resemble that article!

Actually not really. They really said Ron Miller? God. That's horrible.

What is LA Weekly? Is it for sale, or is one of those free things they have at Starbucks? It's a freebie. You can also see the article online here (http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/42/features-davidson.php)

millionairegirl
09-04-2003, 03:49 PM
Wow. So that's why cast members hate APs.

AVP
09-04-2003, 04:00 PM
I wonder if I should be impressed or scared that I know all three of the people interviewed.

Actually, I know all three of them well enough to know that the author fixated on the worst aspects of their personalities. The thought of any of the three of them SCREAMING over peach trees is absurd.

AVP

Andrew
09-04-2003, 04:16 PM
The comparison of "hardcore" Disney people to Talmudic scholars... brilliant.
Yet at the very moment I inwardly dismissed them, I recognized something compelling, even profound, about their obsession. It made me think of a yeshiva I visited in Israel years ago: A group of rabbis were arguing a particularly narrow point of Talmud, having to do with whether on high holidays one is allowed to move the ladders attached to dove coops. It was not a practical question; the rabbis owned no dove coops. But for Orthodox Jews, God is precisely in these seemingly irrelevant details: They believe that God entered history only once, when He revealed the Scriptures and the oral tradition; their only access to the deity is therefore through His words, and by parsing every one of them, by comparing minute differences in scriptural language, Jews hope to learn what God meant. Through arcane debate, they can reach out and almost touch God.

Doug and Benji and Roger and their friends talk a lot about the Magic of Disneyland, that wonderful, childlike feeling of giving in to this world that Walt created, of letting the place make you happy. They want to hold on to that magic and feel it all the time, but it’s perhaps not as easy as when they actually were children. And so they become Talmudic. They go deep inside the history of Disneyland, study every inch of it. When Doug looks at the Mark Twain, he doesn’t see what kids see — wow! a big cool riverboat! — he sees Walt and Lillie dancing, he sees dozens of old-timers crafting the perfect experience. Doug sees these things everywhere.

By trying to understand just What Would Walt Do, they can in some way actually touch the man they believe did a better job than anyone of bringing magic into the workaday world.

I see myself in that. I see people I know in that.

I didn't know any of the people interviewed, though.

cstephens
09-04-2003, 04:18 PM
Originally posted by innerSpaceman
They get a bunch of things wrong; some minor ("Ron" Miller as opposed to Rod Miller at the Coke Corner Piano), some faily major (implying that "Blast" is currently playing at DCA).

Actually, from the way the article reads, it seems to me that the day the author spent with them was during the time that Blast was actually showing. It would have been nice for the author to say when the interviews were conducted.

Interesting article, but I think it really is just about pointing out "freaks". I'm not sure he even tried to understand the affinity for Disney, even though those three cases might be more of an extreme than some. I find it odd that the author bought an AP, though.

At least now I know the name of one of the guys that I see at DL all the time.

stan4d_steph
09-04-2003, 04:24 PM
Originally posted by cstephens
Actually, from the way the article reads, it seems to me that the day the author spent with them was during the time that Blast was actually showing. It would have been nice for the author to say when the interviews were conducted....

Yes, there are other clues: it was around the time that Lilo and Stitch was opening. The Pooh ride was still in an early construction stage.

Gemini Cricket
09-04-2003, 04:27 PM
I'm a Disneyland Geek and often a Disneyland Freak. I'm proud of that.

:)

Labels, labels, labels....they put you in a box, label it and forget about what's inside.

innerSpaceman
09-04-2003, 04:29 PM
Oh yeah, It was clear from other time-stamp items such as Pooh and Stich that the interviews were not in the present day. But how odd to have such a lag time of over 1 year until this story was printed. Guess it took lots of additional research in order to properly ridicule Disneyland fans.

stan4d_steph
09-04-2003, 04:39 PM
Originally posted by innerSpaceman
Oh yeah, It was clear from other time-stamp items such as Pooh and Stich that the interviews were not in the present day. But how odd to have such a lag time of over 1 year until this story was printed. Guess it took lots of additional research in order to properly ridicule Disneyland fans.

Yeah that or it was low on the list to go to print. Either way, I found it funny. I'm sure the author played up certain aspects for "laughs" but I think he came to an understanding.

But then again, I'm not an AP holder anymore...

cryan71
09-04-2003, 04:42 PM
I can't stand Disneyland geeks. C'mon get a life. It was just a movie. Mickey Mouse isn't real, its a cartoon.

dsnylndmom
09-04-2003, 04:45 PM
I prefer Disneyand Addict, while there is no cure there are treatments......lots and lots of trips to Disneyland!:p

tracilicious
09-04-2003, 05:34 PM
Originally posted by AVP
I wonder if I should be impressed or scared that I know all three of the people interviewed.

Actually, I know all three of them well enough to know that the author fixated on the worst aspects of their personalities. The thought of any of the three of them SCREAMING over peach trees is absurd.

AVP

are any of them padders?

MonorailMan
09-04-2003, 05:37 PM
I thought by interviewing 3 people, they would get a wide spectrum of APers. However, all 3 were, really on the extreme side. :rolleyes:

EandCDad
09-04-2003, 05:41 PM
This will be a very interesting thread. We already have people horrified that they got the piano guy's name wrong. It's almost like a continuation of the article.

I know people like this, people who post here, regularly. I totally disagree with Monorail Man, those guys might be pushing the outer fringes, but they ain't outside the berm, as it were. Not by a long shot.

innerSpaceman
09-04-2003, 06:48 PM
Well, I am not at all surprised that they chose the extreme-fan element as subjects for the story. More moderate fans make for less interesting of a tale. I don't think the guys interviewed were necessarily representative of the DisneylandFan species, but I understand why they would be chosen to be the interview subjects.

Hey, I'm just glad to be reminded that there are way more hardcore Disneyland fans than the bunch I hang with. I thought we were extreme, but now I see that we are downright average and boring.

MonorailMan
09-04-2003, 07:16 PM
Originally posted by innerSpaceman
Hey, I'm just glad to be reminded that there are way more hardcore Disneyland fans than the bunch I hang with. I thought we were extreme, but now I see that we are downright average and boring.

I guess were just not wanting that xtream Disney xperience :D :rolleyes:

What I find, is that alot of us may have thoes extreme Disney geekness inside of us, is that sometimes, it's hard to fully convey that likeness at all times. Also, I could be on that other side, but why? I enjoy going to Disneyland, checking out new stuff, looking for new cool things, and having a good time. If I look for every little fault/detail, you lose that immerisive xperience. :fez:

Pirate Girl
09-04-2003, 07:38 PM
Originally posted by cstephens
I find it odd that the author bought an AP, though.

I found that funny. I wonder if he goes to Disneyland on his own now. It does seem strange for someone who apparently "hates" Disneyland not to buy a day pass or hopper. It's contageous I tell you! The magic is contageous! :fez:

cujosr
09-04-2003, 11:16 PM
I know this guy Benji. I used to work with him. I used to call him "Walt Reincarnate." He is as much of a Disney freak as he seems in this article and more. I made sure that I got away from him when running into the park just because his love for Disney went far beyond any AP I have ever known.

Always very cheerful and happy onstage and off. This guy came in on his day off and took a plastic knife to remove the waffle batter off the railing at BBC. He won the Spirit Award within 6 months of hiring in. It was sad that Disney let him go for attendance issues (that's what he told me). Then again he also told me he know Cynthia Harris personally (not a good thing now a days). He also said after he was fired that he was doing work for WDI in "Secret", taking pictures of the most innocuous items.

The guy is lovable as teddy bear, but really needs to tone it down a notch and try living in the real world for a while.


Benji tells me, dismissively. “Girls get in the way of the true calling of TWDC,” Benji says. TWDC stands for The Walt Disney Company.
Personal messege to Benji: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

yobbie
09-05-2003, 07:10 AM
I was intrigued by my colleague’s story. So last summer I took the 5 south, hoping to meet some of these regulars

I guess it must've been last summer. ;)

cstephens
09-05-2003, 07:10 AM
Originally posted by EandCDad
This will be a very interesting thread. We already have people horrified that they got the piano guy's name wrong. It's almost like a continuation of the article.

I'm not sure horrified is the correct word. My take on the error (if it is indeed a real error on the author's part rather than a mere mistake in typesetting [is it still called typesetting?]) is that it's just sloppy journalism. I've never been a professional journalist, but I've done amateur stuff, and the basic thing is to spell people's names and places correctly. It's not that hard, especially in this case where it wasn't exactly breaking news. I've never understood such sloppiness. Like the time when the L.A. Times did a story on the opening of either Episode 1 or Episode 2 (I forget which) and stated that it would open at Mann's Chinese Restaurant...

EandCDad
09-05-2003, 07:31 AM
Originally posted by cstephens
I'm not sure horrified is the correct word.

It wasn't my word.


Originally posted by millionairegirl
They really said Ron Miller? God. That's horrible.

I agree with you, it is a bit sloppy. Although, I can see him mishearing "Rod" and "Ron" if someone he interviewed just sorta related different groups. I can also see him writing Rod in a notebook and then seeing an "n" instead of a hastily scribbled "d".

My basic point was that while the name was wrong and pointing it out makes sense, it's the exact type of behavior that was being discussed in the article, and I see it regularly on the boards and in person. These guys are not unique, at all. (IMO).

TP2000
09-05-2003, 08:35 AM
I found this article to be frightening, which I'm sure was the author's intent for the vast majority of his readers.

No wonder CM's are wary of most people who are more than happy to announce that they are "AP's", or worse yet "PAP's" as if the fact that they shelled out the extra bucks for the "Premium" makes much of a difference when complaining their churro is cold.

The article was frightening.

Niwel
09-05-2003, 09:01 AM
We had a copy of the paper in the office. I read the piece and laughed --- these three guys scare me. We all love Disney with all of our hearts and souls -- but when it takes over your life and you begin to feel the opposite sex gets in the way -- something's a wee bit off. If I was still a CM and saw these guys coming, I think I would worry. I'm a proud Disney freak -- but subtlety is everything and sometimes gets you farther in life.

And the L.A. Weekly -- while known for its on-the-edge pieces -- is not known for its copy editing. So it is quite possible it was the reporter who wrote down the incorrect info and it was not fact-checked.