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Spaceman Biff
05-06-2002, 02:11 PM
After 10 years FedEx is pulling out of sponsoring Space Mountain, sometime in December the date has not been finalized but they are expecting it to take affect around Christmas.

Ghoulish Delight
05-06-2002, 02:18 PM
This makes me happy. I hate that stupid box-scanning robot, and the mind-numbing tv's in the queue. I know not all of the content on the tv's was Fed-Ex ads, but hopefully with as the sponsorship goes, so goes the tv's. The last thing I want when I'm in DL is television, mock or otherwise.

MonorailMan
05-06-2002, 02:21 PM
Now I did like the TVs with enertainment in line, but i hate that scanning robot, because it's so noisey. I hope with FedEx pulling out they make a new TV tape, the old one is getting well, old. :)

Iceman
05-06-2002, 02:26 PM
I have heard two rumors about this: one is that FedEx was as fed up as everyone else with poor maintenance and upkeep and didn't want to be associated with Disney anymore, and the other is that Disney is trying to cut costs and wanted out of their exclusive shipping contract with FedEx, which resulted in FedEx dropping their Space Mountain sponsorship. Either one is pretty bad, I suppose--Disney isn't making any friends in the corporate world these days, are they?

Mara C.
05-06-2002, 02:34 PM
I was watching the news one day last week and all I heard was "tht people in tommarrowland are not very happy" I could not, for the life of me find out, or for that matter, figure out what they were talking about. Could this be it? FedEx pulling out of the deal?

Ghoulish Delight
05-06-2002, 02:50 PM
Originally posted by Mara C.
I was watching the news one day last week and all I heard was "tht people in tommarrowland are not very happy" I could not, for the life of me find out, or for that matter, figure out what they were talking about. Could this be it? FedEx pulling out of the deal? Geez, there are only about 1000 reasons the statement "people in tomorrowland are not happy" could be uttered.

A quick list:

Rocket Rods (closure thereof)
Innoventions
Cosmic Waves (temporary closer and permanent redesign thereof)
Orbitron (general suckiness and poor operating record)
Huge amounts of unused land and attraction building space

Need I go on? In short, sure, it MIGHT have been about FedEx, but somehow I wouldn't be surprised if it was something else entirely.

JeffG
05-06-2002, 05:27 PM
Most likely, that news report was referring to the incident last week where someone accidentally released the contents of a can of mace in "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience".

-Jeff

Ace
05-06-2002, 05:32 PM
the whole tommorowland is just sad to be in.... you walk through NOS, you feel good. Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, and CC, same thing. Tommorowland, I can't say the same.

Uncle Dick
05-06-2002, 09:17 PM
Originally posted by Ghoulish Delight
This makes me happy. I hate that stupid box-scanning robot, and the mind-numbing tv's in the queue. I know not all of the content on the tv's was Fed-Ex ads, but hopefully with as the sponsorship goes, so goes the tv's. The last thing I want when I'm in DL is television, mock or otherwise.
I think the robot itself is kind of cool (it adds movement to the area) but its noisy movements need to be muted. I find the television programming in the queue hilarious and greatly appreciate the way it helps pass the time in line. In fact, I was mad when Fastpass was added and half of the television screens were left unused.

AliKzam
05-06-2002, 09:45 PM
I like when they play the Bossa Nova song, and I like Mario Lopez (Slater, "Saved By The Bell") giving us the space traffic reports. I wonder if it'll be sponsored by someone new?

tabacco
05-06-2002, 11:13 PM
Fun bit o' trivia: The video clip that plays behind Mario Lopez, which shows a Mickey-shaped Death Star (alá Star Wars) firing on earth was a stop-motion animation project created by one Mike Jittlov (http://www.wizworld.com) for the Disney Channel a long time ago in a galaxy far far away (In other words, 1982). The clip also appears in the movie The Wizard of Speed and Time (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0081766), done by Jittlov, and for you CMs in one if the videos shown during resort orientation.

There's a photo of him holding the model here:
http://www.wizworld.com/fotos/disney_satellite_jittlov.jpg

Uncle Dick
05-06-2002, 11:38 PM
Also playing in the background at various times in the Space Mountain Video are clips from TRON, The Black Hole and Mission to Mars (the attraction, not the movie).

I think the videos work a lot better in Florida, where the queue is rather boring and confined in one big tangle of switchbacks. Each screen is able to entertain more individuals.

Iceman
05-07-2002, 06:29 AM
Originally posted by AliKzam
I like when they play the Bossa Nova song

I always thought I was kind of weird, but I love the Bossa Nova song! I thought it was such a rip-off when "Third Rock From the Sun" stole their idea of the wildly bouncing planets...

Ghoulish Delight
05-07-2002, 06:55 AM
The TVs, imo, signaled the beginning of the end in TL. Yeah, they keep people entertained in line, but what a pathetic way to do it. Want to see how Disney USED to keep people entertained in line? Go see Roger Rabbit. Go see Star Tours. Go see Indiana Jones. Now THOSE are queues that I lament not seeing due to FP policies. A couple of TVs are the laziest excuse for "queue theming" I've ever seen. We should all have begun to worry when an element from Six Flags parks appeared in Tomorrowland. That should have been a HUGE wake-up call.

Oh, and don't give me any "well, the queue already existed, so they had to do SOMETHING and were very limited" excuses. I'd simply point out the Jungle Cruise. They did an excellent job of completely redesigning that queue from the ground up, with excellent theming and atmosphere. So it can be done right. Sure, being in the confines of a building may have made it more difficult, but certainly not impossible.

RideMax Mark
05-07-2002, 10:07 AM
Originally posted by Squinky
the whole tommorowland is just sad to be in.... you walk through NOS, you feel good. Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, and CC, same thing. Tommorowland, I can't say the same.

I agree -- this is sad. The future from DL's perspective just ain't what it used to be...

AliKzam
05-07-2002, 12:08 PM
Yeah, in my imagination, when my brain is reviewing things (as brain often tend to do), I still see the Tomorrowland of the 80s, instead of the Tomorrowland we have. I see that Tomorrowland more clearly than I do the one that it actually in the park, now. My mind just pulls that one up more readily. Weird, huh?

no1here
05-07-2002, 01:25 PM
No corporate sponsor? Now who is going to pay for the new paint job the mountain needs? Maybe they can get Starburst fruit chews to sponsor it.

Traci
05-07-2002, 01:46 PM
I think Disney just needs to close for like two weeks and get all the stuff done that they need to get done without having to "work around the crowds" if you know what I mean.

Poor Disney.....what's happening to them lately?

Darkbeer
05-07-2002, 01:47 PM
Heck, Sherwin Williams is a sponsor of Six Flags.... Diseny could get a paint company to sponsor it, that way, there would be pressure to keep the mountain painted!

Iceman
05-07-2002, 01:58 PM
Why don't they get TRW, Lockheed Martin, or Boeing to be the sponsor? Those are our nation's primary space-related contractors, so what better match for the theme? They would get publicity for their satellite and launch programs and Disney could get a much-needed infusion of funds/support/interest to spruce the place up a bit!

Disneyfreak
05-07-2002, 05:09 PM
I am sure that this has something to do with the new rockets comming in. They will completely refurb the ride and have a new sponsor and it will be a huge deal to them. But as far as the paint company goes as a sponsor I like that. They should do these things.

1.Repaint the whole thing
2.Get a sponsor
3.redo the line areas with new entertainment while you wait. Maybe have those expensive flat tvs playing new line videos.
4.Fix up the ride itself.
5.Redo the Space effects inside the ride. so it looks real.
6.Get new Rockets

DisneylandKid
05-07-2002, 05:26 PM
Originally posted by Uncle Dick

I think the robot itself is kind of cool (it adds movement to the area) but its noisy movements need to be muted. I find the television programming in the queue hilarious and greatly appreciate the way it helps pass the time in line.. I agree with you.

AliKzam
05-07-2002, 05:30 PM
I think they should give the ride a light plot. So far, if the ride already has a plot (and I'm sure it doesn't, just a crazy ride through space), all I can gather is... a crazy ride through space. Something like you (the rider) are about to be the first space traveler/commuter. It's going to be a regular thing, like flying. This flight will be the first, but it's only around the galaxy and back to the same station. Just an idea.

Kevin Yee
05-07-2002, 07:08 PM
Originally posted by Ghoulish Delight
The TVs, imo, signaled the beginning of the end in TL. Yeah, they keep people entertained in line, but what a pathetic way to do it. Want to see how Disney USED to keep people entertained in line? Go see Roger Rabbit. Go see Star Tours. Go see Indiana Jones. Now THOSE are queues that I lament not seeing due to FP policies. A couple of TVs are the laziest excuse for "queue theming" I've ever seen. We should all have begun to worry when an element from Six Flags parks appeared in Tomorrowland. That should have been a HUGE wake-up call.

Oh, and don't give me any "well, the queue already existed, so they had to do SOMETHING and were very limited" excuses. I'd simply point out the Jungle Cruise. They did an excellent job of completely redesigning that queue from the ground up, with excellent theming and atmosphere. So it can be done right. Sure, being in the confines of a building may have made it more difficult, but certainly not impossible.

Oddly enough, it was the same designer in both cases (Space TV and Jungle Boathouse): Eddie Sotto (who also was the chief designer of DLP's Main Street). I suspect the TVs had to go into Space Mtn because if Fed-Ex was going to be the new sponsor, they wanted a place to show their commercials. I further bet that the FastPass end-run around the queue and all its Fed-Ex theming annoys the Fed-Ex officials. If indeed they are ending their sponsorship, FastPass is probably part of the reason.

Ace
05-07-2002, 08:44 PM
the inside of space mountain is so stanky looking it's unbelievable. I dislike that ride along with tommorowland. I mean, seriously. you can tell it's a projector!