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How to get rid of the feeling of discomfort when meeting on dating sites? I want to be more open and sincere, but the fear of misunderstanding and awkwardness gets in the way. How to relax and trust communication with a person from the Internet?

This is going to be part rant, part wry observation, part plea for improvement. Over the years, I’ve noticed a handful of buzzwords that come up over and over in discussions of what you might call “theme park theory”–the nuts and bolts of design in a theme park setting and what we find to be effective and satisfying vs. what we find to be…not that. And it seems to me that these buzzwords are often used as a substitute for, well, saying what you actually mean–the definitions don’t appear to be consistent, it’s more of a code we use to signal each other that we’re “insiders,” in a sense–we know the jargon! So here are some of those buzzwords I have observed, as well as how they’re used and misused, and what I think we actually mean. This is going to be a long one, folks! Story/storytelling: This is probably the single most overused and misused term in the entire Disney theme park community. It’s supposed to be what sets Disney apart (well, one of the things that sets it apart) from other theme parks–they just have soulless roller coasters and log jammers, but we have themed attractions (and I will get to that term later) with stories! We can probably blame the OG Imagineers for choosing an imprecise word to describe what they were trying to do differently than contemporary amusement parks and carnivals. I think they used it to mean at least two unrelated things:

Credit to Spongeocto4 for finding this first, but I thought it deserved its own post! The Disney Parks blog posted its guide to the 70th and announced the special events they’re planning for it. Wondrous Journeys fireworks show and Paint the Night return for a limited time. I remember hearing that if Paint the Night continues to run through the holidays, this year will see the Mickey garland disappear from the top of Main Street for the first time. The Frozen float is just too tall. Coco is coming to “it’s a small world”! Or rather, Miguel and Dante are coming to it’s a small world in the Mexico portion of the ride. They should appear when the ride reopens in April! On the outside of the building, they’ll show the new projection show “Tapestry of Happiness” on the facade. ​ Mickey and Friends will appear in a new cavalcade (don’t call it a parade) down Main Street, U.S.A. during the day called the “Celebrate Happy Cavalcade.” If the concept art is any indication, we’ll see the most limber Goofy dancing since An Extremely Goofy Movie. ​ In DCA, Midway Mania will be getting an update (its first ever?) with 70-point targets to hit. Yes, your arms will still be sore. ​ World of Color Happiness! will debut a new show hosted by Joy from Inside Out and including songs from Boys II Men and Fitz and the Tantrums. ​ DCA is continuing its reign as

Steve Jobs (who I believe was much like Walt, driven, visionary) once stated “If you managed the top line of your business…customers, product and strategy the bottom line (financials) will follow…If you manage the bottom line, financial first, you hit the wall because you took your eyes off the ball…Quality, not price has the highest correlation with business success”.   I don’t believe Walt went into the theme park business to make money…he wanted to create a space where both kids and adults could have a fun time together and invented (or re-invented) the theme park….and the bottom line followed.   I seems like Ken Potrock (D-Land prez) or whoever is in there has to worry about the bottom line, share holders, etc. plus running a theme park. Sure he has a budget but a person in that role should not have to worry about stock prices or profits…just the customers and product and strategies. Let Bob worry about share holders and just get things done! Perhaps Disney is just too big. They always want to tie in a new ride to a movie to Disney+ to plush toys to animated off-shoot programs. They need to toss out the telescopes and buy magnifying glasses.

This is a topic I’ve been thinking of, and would be interested to hear other folks’ opinions. As of late, the talk of “the decline of Imagineering” talk has been popping up a lot. And while I certainly don’t deny that I’ve been underwhelmed with some recent projects, there have also been some bright spots…elsewhere. Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast opened in 2020 in Japan, and from the videos I’ve seen, it looks like a pretty impressive dark ride. It notably has a jaw dropping Beast transformation scene (full disclosure: only judging from videos in this post). The Prince and Belle waltzing animatronics in the finale scene look top notch as well. Unlike DLR, we know generally OLC is more on the “spare no expense” side, so perhaps this is a good example of what Imagineering can still achieve when not handcuffed by budget cuts. Going back a little farther, but tell me Pooh’s Hunny Hunt looks like a 25 year old ride (older than Astro Blasters!). The Shanghai Pirates ride also looks exceedingly impressive with a new spin (literally) on the boat ride, they went the extra mile and developed a new ride system. Comparing it to the original is perhaps not fair, because they’re trying to be very different things. Considered on its own, I do think it also represents a highlight of modern Imagineering. Akin to the Beast transformation scene, there is another great skeleton to Jack Sparrow effect on this ride. In

It’s been a long time since I posted a trip report on here and after about seven years of being away from the parks, accident/surgeries etc, I’m glad to be back. Some of the best times I had were here on micechat back in the mid 2000s, in part of my return I felt it only right to myself that I post a trip report here. I was lucky to visit the parks during the lunar new year and also rainy days, Crowd levels were fantastic. *not finished to be continued.