News Round Up 2020

[New Mouse]

A movie studio cannot own a theater and exclusively run their own movies. The Supreme Court decided this in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 334 US 131 (1948), a landmark anti-trust decision. This was a fascinating case because it led toward the dismantling of the "old" studio system, where a studio owned everything and everyone from pre-production through distribution. It also led to the explosion of independently-run theaters and gave smaller studios the room to get their movies distributed. It still is relevant today when companies such as Apple or Google or Microsoft are trying to make both devices and content. It could be that Disney buys up these theater chains, but they would need to run other studios' movies as well.

Its going to go the route of the collusion we see in cable companies with wink wink under the table deals. Which lead to higher prices.

 

[soniam]

How exactly are movie theaters going to exist in 2022? I'm still hard pressed to understand this when there wont be anything worth seeing in one until mid 2021.

hint: They won't.

Our local Alamo has been showing a decent amount. They have an annual film festival that they were running for the last 2 weeks called Fantastic Fest. They are also showing some movies that I haven't seen others showing, ie Bill & Ted 1 & 2, Ghostbusters, NIghtmare on Elm Street, Scream, Lost Boys, NIghtmare before Christmas, Addams Family (2019), Shaun of the Dead, Coco, Tales from the Crypt, The Thing (1982). This is for October. We saw Tenet. I was going to hold off until No Time to Die, but decided to see Ghostbusters the night before Halloween. Trying to keep them in business as much as we feel comfortable. Plus, our son has never seen the original Ghostbusters in a theater. If it weren't for Covid, I would go see a lot more of these, since some of them I never saw on the big screen.

I feel like there is potential for the entire model to change. Whether it means going all the way to the studios owning the theaters, I am not sure, but something needs to change. Maybe it becomes that theater chains are like networks that bid on properties. So Regal would win the bidding for Marvel and have exclusive rights to those movies.

I think, at a minimum, theaters are going to become more and more about providing an experience, not just a way to watch a movie. In the future, if you just want to watch a movie I think vast majority of the time it will be done by VOD at your home. But if you want a full night out then you would go to a theater - but they will have full restaurants and bars, maybe live entertainment in the lobby, things like that. Obviously some theaters already are going int hat direction, but I think it becomes the norm, not the exception

And I think there will be fewer of them in general and reserved for more special occasisons.

I could see some of that for sure. I think some places, like Alamo, have already been trying to differentiate themselves, even before Covid. I am hoping those differences and their commitment to health/safety will help them keep at least some of the open here. I think they may have more theaters here than any other chain anyway, or close to the others.

News

https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...-to-close-for-brief-refurbishment-next-month/
No Frozen Ever After for me I guess

Hoping this re-opens before Thanksgiving week to help relieve crowds.

 

[only hope]

No one really knows. We’ve seen this being built since the parks reopened. Seems whatever animal was in this area (I believe it was a deer of some sort) has been moved out for a while now. They’re either going to keep this area animal free so they added some scenery, or they’re moving a new animal into that enclosure.

Cant see them doing too much with story. They eliminated most of the story long ago with the poachers (thankfully). Now if they would stop calling the concrete pillars termite mounds and the concrete tree a baobab, the ride would be perfect!

I don’t know if we just get lucky or what but we haven’t heard a peep about the fake termite mounds for over a year. Baobab tree though...almost always the same tired spiel, there’s my favorite tree, the upside down tree, blooms once a year (except for the part where it doesn’t).

Wait? Those aren't real? . Next thing you'll tell me is that temple the tigers wander around in India isn't real either!

Why would eliminating the "pretend" immersion aspect of the ride make it perfect? Isn't the immersion factor what makes it a Disney ride as opposed to just a normal zoo attraction?

Immersion to me is not building things that are clearly fake and having them pointed out every ride. As a local, it’s very annoying. I don’t mind the fake mounds and tree being there- they are very good fakes. But pointing them out, especially in a scripted way, just calls attention to the fact that they’re not real.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don’t know if we just get lucky or what but we haven’t heard a peep about the fake termite mounds for over a year. Baobab tree though...almost always the same tired spiel, there’s my favorite tree, the upside down tree, blooms once a year (except for the part where it doesn’t).




Immersion to me is not building things that are clearly fake and having them pointed out every ride. As a local, it’s very annoying. I don’t mind the fake mounds and tree being there- they are very good fakes. But pointing them out, especially in a scripted way, just calls attention to the fact that they’re not real.

Same with the mud walls that are scrapped up from Elephant tusks

"We must be getting close, those tusk marks are fresh!"

"Really? Cause they looked like that 6 months ago .... And 6 years ago"

 

[rteetz]

I don’t know if we just get lucky or what but we haven’t heard a peep about the fake termite mounds for over a year. Baobab tree though...almost always the same tired spiel, there’s my favorite tree, the upside down tree, blooms once a year (except for the part where it doesn’t).




Immersion to me is not building things that are clearly fake and having them pointed out every ride. As a local, it’s very annoying. I don’t mind the fake mounds and tree being there- they are very good fakes. But pointing them out, especially in a scripted way, just calls attention to the fact that they’re not real.

Same with the mud walls that are scrapped up from Elephant tusks

"We must be getting close, those tusk marks are fresh!"

"Really? Cause they looked like that 6 months ago .... And 6 years ago"

I see the annoyance but it really doesn’t both me. I’ve ridden the safari dozens and dozens of times. To me I can sort of tune that stuff out and I focus on the animals. My favorite thing is to photograph them so I guess maybe that’s why I don’t focus on the spiel.

 

[Brianstl]

Next thing someone will say is that Kilimanjaro isn’t in Florida.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I don’t mind the fake mounds and tree being there- they are very good fakes. But pointing them out, especially in a scripted way, just calls attention to the fact that they’re not real.

I find it amusing when they say the termite mounds are as hard as concrete.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1313808686406565891

 

[scrappinginontario]

I see the annoyance but it really doesn’t both me. I’ve ridden the safari dozens and dozens of times. To me I can sort of tune that stuff out and I focus on the animals. My favorite thing is to photograph them so I guess maybe that’s why I don’t focus on the spiel.

I guess I've never really thought of the commentary on KS as any different from other rides. To me it's all part of the enjoyment of Disney and I love that they go the extra mile to make everything as immersive as they do.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I guess I've never really thought of the commentary on KS as any different from other rides. To me it's all part of the enjoyment of Disney and I love that they go the extra mile to make everything as immersive as they do.

I think I just see these fake story elements as detracting from a very real experience. To me they should play the safari very different than the Jungle Cruise and by having those fake story elements makes me think more Jungle Cruise than the more reality based safari

Doesn't make me want to go on the safari less or anything and if others enjoy it then cool - but just sort of makes me roll my eyes a bit and there is sooooo much real stuff to see they don't *need* it

 

[rteetz]

News

Baggage airline employees being laid off

https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt...loyees-at-walt-disney-world-resort-hotels.htm

 

[unbanshee]

News

Baggage airline employees being laid off

https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt...loyees-at-walt-disney-world-resort-hotels.htm

Blog Mickey has a few more details on this

https://blogmickey.com/2020/10/disn...s-services-provider-to-lay-off-560-employees/

 

[jlundeen]

No one has even mentioned those Ostrich eggs that have been waiting for decades to hatch..... HA HA

I don't care that they have the fake stuff, as I think for first time or only occasional visitors, it makes the experience a bit more interesting.

 

[rteetz]

No one has even mentioned those Ostrich eggs that have been waiting for decades to hatch..... HA HA

I don't care that they have the fake stuff, as I think for first time or only occasional visitors, it makes the experience a bit more interesting.

That’s exactly what the story elements are for. Those first timers or infrequent visitors that don’t remember those things. I can also tell you as a kid I 100% thought those eggs were real.

 

[BBCM]

That’s exactly what the story elements are for. Those first timers or infrequent visitors that don’t remember those things. I can also tell you as a kid I 100% thought those eggs were real.

Yeah - I don't get those complaints. It's like saying for FoP "Why are they pretending I'm on another planet...I'm not on a another planet!"

 

[scrappinginontario]

News

Baggage airline employees being laid off

https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt...loyees-at-walt-disney-world-resort-hotels.htm

Sad to hear that according to Blog Mickey, these layoffs are in addition to the 28,000 announced last week.

 

[skeeter31]

Yeah - I don't get those complaints. It's like saying for FoP "Why are they pretending I'm on another planet...I'm not on a another planet!"

I think it’s more because the safari would be such an amazing ride if it just focused on the animals, without the Jungle Cruise-esque spiel like @TheMaxRebo said above. I think it also gets more tired for those of us who have now been on it for years and years (and multiple times a year at that). Toning down the poacher story was a nice touch, but it’s just the same routine each visit that gets a bit old. It’s why I absolutely loved the Wild Africa Trek at AK. Gave you that up close feel with the animals, and told the true story of the termite mounds and baobob tree.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1313880240339509249

 

[sherlockmiles]

I think it’s more because the safari would be such an amazing ride if it just focused on the animals, without the Jungle Cruise-esque spiel like @TheMaxRebo said above. I think it also gets more tired for those of us who have now been on it for years and years (and multiple times a year at that). Toning down the poacher story was a nice touch, but it’s just the same routine each visit that gets a bit old. It’s why I absolutely loved the Wild Africa Trek at AK. Gave you that up close feel with the animals, and told the true story of the termite mounds and baobob tree.

I have to disagree with the 'toning down of the poacher story was a nice touch". I think this ride is an opportunity to keep the poaching and illegal killing/trade of animals in people's minds, and Disney has swept it off the table. You can't be focused on conservation unless you are also trying to save what little wild wildlife there is.

 

[J-BOY]

I have to disagree with the 'toning down of the poacher story was a nice touch". I think this ride is an opportunity to keep the poaching and illegal killing/trade of animals in people's minds, and Disney has swept it off the table. You can't be focused on conservation unless you are also trying to save what little wild wildlife there is.

Agreed. I can understand the POV of those who don’t like the “fake” elements, but those elements are intended for new visitors, or people that visit infrequently. People generally only notice these things when they’re exposed to them repeatedly. It’s an interesting thing to the newcomer, and really doesn’t detract from the experience for the frequent visitor.

If you want to just focus on the animals only, you’re free to do that. But expecting all of the elements of a Safari ride through a 100% manufactured theme park to be authentic is a bit silly, IMO.