Back from a pilgrimage to the homeland. Apologies for the light (nonexistent posting). Spent a few days meeting up with some of the finest people on the face of the planet.
A friend of mine has a new girlfriend. She’s a damn nice lady. Smart, good with kids, friendly as hell. My daughter really likes her. My wife really likes her. The rest of the krewe of friends really like her. Here’s hoping that at the 1 year mark, he still really likes her and she him. She’s marrying material… We'll have to see if he can break his track record. Learn the lessons of your firends, there are benefits to loosing the Serial Monogamist label...
The rest of our Krewe was as truly wonderful as usual. Hanging out, grilling, drinking, it literally almost couldn’t get any better than that.
Now for something completely different…
Took the smallest Crazed American on her first pilgrimage to the all hallowed temple of greed an commercialism, and a damn fun place for “children of all ages”, Disney World.
Hats off to the current keepers of Mickey’s kingdom. While that abominable EPCOT sign still blasphemes the 20 year old futuristic vision that is SpaceShip Earth, and I personally think the Color scheme at Journey to Imagination needs to be redone, and the glass on Imagination and the Land need a little TLC, the Magic Kingdom looked great!
Have to say, visited EPCOT in 2002 and was not impressed with the overall condition of the park. It was a tad run down, and the staff wasn’t all that pleasant. For the purposes of full disclosure, I worked for “The Mouse” from 1990 – 1991. So having been a veteran of the operation, I can talk.
If it was up to me, I’d have a nice long sit down with a few futurists, corporate partners and the Imagineering staff and figure out how to update both EPCOT and TomorrowLand at the Magic Kingdom. Walt Disney was definitely a forward thinking man who wanted his parks to be a showcase of life in the future and how technology could actually make our lives better. I don’t think her really care for the “Future of Tomorrow” that the current TomorrowLand puts forward. Then, I’d shut the front half of EPCOT down (leave the World Showcase open, and redo it. There I’d really set out what the future might look like if we all don’t blow ourselves to hell first. Surely our view of the future here in the 21st century must be much more stupendous than the future imagined in the 1960’s and 1970’s?
Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Not Easy Promotional Corporate Office Tie-in. Finding Nemo does not necessarily mean an automatic tie in with the Living Seas. EPCOT, when it opened had a minimum of the whole character tie in. Now, it’s creeping in all over. EPCOT was not necessarily geared to the Princess Storybook and character autograph set. EPCOT used to be a destination fro me when I was younger. I’d never leave the place without a “Man, that was Cool!” feeling. Haven’t had those feelings in a while… but with the right investment and corporate partnership, things could happen. I am not saying that there shouldn’t be corporate partnerships, there should be, that’s the whole point. The original exhibit halls were all sponsored by their partnerships. Let’s face it though, AT&T set up SpaceShip Earth and that company has changed hands so many times since then, the ride really hasn’t been updated at all since it opened.
I’d start by getting a framework and new vision (dust off Walter E’s old vision statements), and then request bids from companies on updating the current exhibit halls and maybe adding a few new ones…
EPCOT and TomorrowLand at the Magic Kingdom need new life.
For the love of G-d, take down the huge dismembered hand…
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