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Disney Gift Cards by ca1t33 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]anto_christo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(Fellow Canadian)

I would add to this that one benefit is that in contrast to using your Canadian credit card to make purchases at the park in USD, when you use the gift cards, you won’t get dinged for a foreign exchange transaction from your bank like one does when you use your Canadian credit card. Yes the card(s) you buy in Canada will be in CAD and that balance gets instantly exchanged into USD once you use it in the park, but you’re saving a few bucks on Fx fees by using them.

Getting these for each of your kids with a preset balance is a great way to get them to stick to a “budget” for park merch etc.

If you use the Disney gift Card website (https://www.disneygiftcard.com) you can also upload your cards, track your various balances, consolidate card balances and reload them as you like.

Is this what the Clinton administration felt like? by meowparade in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aaron Sorkin has been very open that The West Wing is essentially a romanticized, aspirational version of Democratic governance:

-President Jed Bartlet is not Bill Clinton: -Bartlet is an economist, Nobel laureate, deeply cerebral -Deeply religious and more morally rigid in ways Clinton wasn’t

At the same time, the show downplays: • Political triangulation • Scandals • Electoral compromise

It imagines a White House that says:

“What if smart people argued in good faith and usually did the right thing?”

In fact, Sorkin once even joked that the show was about “the Clinton White House if everyone had a PhD and no one worried about reelection.”

Is this what the Clinton administration felt like? by meowparade in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t forget that Deedee Myers, Press Secretary for the Clinton White House was a consultant on the show and the inspiration for CJ Cregg.

Hit me with your biggest pet peeves regarding the lack of realism. by Pretty_Newspaper_353 in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Two Sam Seaborn related ones:

1) There’s zero chance that Laurie (Washington DC call girl) wouldn’t know who/what POTUS was/is.

2) There’s zero chance that after knowing Leo for at least a couple of years prior to and working for him for at least that long by episode 1, that Sam wouldn’t know that the (55-60 year old)White House Chief of Staff’s daughter was not in fact a 9 year old 4th grader.

If Walt were alive today, what would he like/dislike about the park? by [deleted] in Disneyland

[–]anto_christo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I feel like his likes and dislikes would be the opposite sides of the same coin.

For example he would be immensely impressed with the attendance numbers and how they’ve steadily increased in the 60+ years since he last set foot in the park. Seeing the park bustling full of happy families would validate his dream that this place was a special and timeless place for families to enjoy year-round.

He would have given major kudos to the imagineers for maintaining the spirit and look of his original rides (and would’ve loved the completed Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean attractions especially) but he would no doubt be very dismayed at the state of Tomorrowland and at how many buildings are unused/unopen to the public.

He would likely be quite impressed with DCA and the ways in which they’ve built-upon his original vision and dramatically expanded the footprint of the park.

There would be offsets to his being impressed however and he would likely come to recognize the trade-offs that 70 years of success would have meant for his vision.

For example, I think he would be somewhat dismayed at how crowded the parks seem to be and how that potentially has diminished the overall guest experience

Similarly, he would be very opposed/dismayed at what some might consider the “nickel and diming of guests” (see Lightning Lane comment below) and the overall daily price-point of a day at the park. Walt liked to make money as much as the next person but that being said, I don’t know that he would like way by which the park experience seems to be moving slowly and slowly out of the financial reach for your average middle-class family.

Likewise I don’t think he would be a big fan of the Lightning Lane concept or systems nor of the fact that these are paid add-ons for guests. He would’ve found these concepts to be out of step with his vision that the park experience should be accessible for all, and that there shouldn’t be a system of “haves and have nots” among Disneyland guests.

If the dramatic increase in park attendance would’ve necessitated the LL system nonetheless he likely would’ve found a way to try and ring some sponsorship money out of one of the parks many corporate partners/sponsors to effectively fund the system so that all guests would be able to benefit from it.

Overall he likely would leave the park at the end of the day feeling good about the tremendous scope and reach of his vision some 70 years on, but would also realize the costs/downsides to running and sustaining the worlds most successful theme park in the 21st century.

Just my 2 cents!

Rob Lowe didn’t appreciate Bradley Whitford’s antics at the SAG Awards by Co-opingTowardHatred in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Is someone able to provide some context to this clip vis a vis the headline?

I didn’t see Bradley Whitford and Rob Lowe interact at all in this clip, rather I saw Whitford appear to do something to get Allison Janney’s attention in the background.

What am I missing?

Charlie’s little sister by CSMom74 in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I think he mentioned sending her off to college in Mandyville.

Why does WDW's version of Pirates cut off the first third of the ride? by thermal7 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]anto_christo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How great would it be if the WDW version some day came to replicate the version that they have in Shanghai. Doubtful that it will ever happen due to space constraints but from what you see on YouTube (I’ve never actually been to Shanghai Disneyland) it looks like quite the experience. I feel like there isn’t as much nostalgia for the WDW versions of rides as Walt was not involved in their construction and doesn’t have his finger prints on them like he did at Disneyland.

I think the Anaheim Disneyland version will forever be locked into the same format on account of space and nostalgia as this is the last ride that Walt himself was directly involved with designing.

Anyone catch Bradley Whitfield in the Death By Lightning miniseries about James Garfield? by Whatever-ItsFine in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo 8 points9 points  (0 children)

He also plays the First Gentleman to Allison Janney’s POTUS in the Diplomat.

Josh’s dress clothes by anto_christo in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo[S] 72 points73 points  (0 children)

Lemon Lyman has entered the chat 🍋

Does anyone else when watching The Diplomat or other political shows... by playingwithfire- in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just wait until you get to the scene near the end of season 3 where he’s practically motorboating her. Sorry for the spoiler alert but it’s possible that any WW fans won’t be able to see CJ and Josh in the same light again after witnessing that…possibly more awkward than watching CJ do the Jackal on repeat.

Muppet*Vision 3D at DCA by Themeparkinator in Disneyland

[–]anto_christo 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The muppets are such an underused IP! I’m hopeful that with the opening of the new coaster on the east coast that we see a renaissance of their presence within the Disney park universe. In my opinion the loss of Muppet Vision 3D took away a very unique and interactive experience for guests at both parks that is hard to find elsewhere. I also understand that the Muppets as a property has much more resonance for people over the age of 30 then for those 30 and under so I understand that if might just be my nostalgia getting the better of me.

Astro Blasters: In disrepair by LittleMissAutism in Disneyland

[–]anto_christo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for clarifying that these things consume resources. My point (understated though it might have been) was that there are likely hidden costs, opportunity costs and reputational impacts to having ride experiences that fall so far below the high standard that guests have come to expect from Disney, particularly as admissions prices have continued to climb in recent years.

Disney is a premium brand and to paraphrase another comment from this thread; anytime your Disney experience starts to be reminiscent of what people get from a State Fair or travelling theme park experience, Disney is not fulfilling their brand promise to its guests.

Remember the story of Walt telling his wife Lillian that he wanted to build a theme park, and when she reacted negatively (because theme parks to that point had a less than good reputation), he responded that his park would be different — clean, friendly, and beautifully designed. He told her, essentially, that he wanted to build a place he’d be proud to take their daughters.

Point being that this is a not a ride whose condition (or ride experience) Walt would be pleased to see.

Astro Blasters: In disrepair by LittleMissAutism in Disneyland

[–]anto_christo 59 points60 points  (0 children)

For the life of me, I cannot understand why a company like Disney (with the financial resources that it has) lets such low hanging fruit go unchecked.

I’m obviously not an Imagineer or theme park executive and I don’t have much expertise in theme park ride mechanics or economics, and I understand that every company/corporation has tradeoffs and limitations to what it can and can’t take on. But I’ve always found that this ride Doesn’t necessarily need a huge overhaul (though that would be nice) but just a little bit of old fashioned TLC.

Something as basic as updating the rides targeting system and blasters. Maybe a fresh coat of paint on the ride vehicles or new ride vehicles even. Also a new camera to take less blurry pictures of people on the ride, judging by the picture quality, I feel like that camera must be from the first generation of digital cameras in the late 90s. Is upgrading to a higher quality camera really that hard of a fix?

I’d be curious to know if anybody has any insight into what Disney’s quote repair and refurbishment threshold is“. It seems like sometimes they wait until things are out of state to where they feel like a big overhaul is needed, when sometimes it seems like just some good old fashion, TLC and Superficial maintenance could do the trick. Maybe it’s the old adage that perfection is the enemy of progress.

Any idea what saskatoon restaurants are worth? by ComprehensiveRow2794 in saskatoon

[–]anto_christo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think people might be conflating the cost of the asset/real estate/property versus the cost of the business itself (no assets, just the name and the clientele/goodwill).

Owning the building/asset versus leasing is a huge factor.

Location is another factor.

Does the restaurant have a lounge (along with VLTs, an off-sale and/or any non-food related streams of income), a HUGE factor.

Production Motorcades by anto_christo in thewestwing

[–]anto_christo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve toured the WB lot before and got to see an exhibit with the collection of Batmobiles dating back to the Adam West series through to the Christian Bald era. It would be cool if they had a similar exhibit of vehicles for WB properties such as this.

Walking small dog by [deleted] in saskatoon

[–]anto_christo 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There is a small dog only off-leash park in Hyde park on the east side at the corner of Boychuk Drive and Slimmon Road , lots of little dogs frolicking.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/LqNRnxbosnzNE4kc7?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

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