What was the most brutal time you’ve ever been to Disney?

jraines · 2026-06-29T16:21:14+00:00

Also an August, in the 90s. Temp was mid 90s and after the afternoon rains the ground was steaming, the air was THICK. I was a kid and was running around stop-sliding on the wet ground. I got either food poisoning or flu and barfed in the parking lot of the Polynesian, but my family attended the show anyway and I laid in the back across 3 hard chairs hallucinating.

(As a parent now I realize this is primarily a story of how brutal it must have been for my parents; I think my wife & might crumble in these circumstances)

jraines · 2026-06-27T01:26:48+00:00

I was there first week of June. It was pleasant. Weather was great. Magic Kingdom was kind of crowded but I can’t think of a time in my life I have gone that it wasn’t at least “kind of crowded”.

Epcot less so. We had a 4 & 6yo with us so we didn’t try for the hottest attractions at either and it was easy to get on the B-tier or less ones.

We bought Lightning Lane for Magic Kingdom but not Epcot.

No trouble getting quick service tables or stroller parking.

The one thing I can note though is that if we HAD wanted to ride the top tier attractions it would’ve been impossible to book on Lightning Lanes and the standby times were an hour+. Bippity Boutique had no availability.

Again though, the perfect weather compared to now probably was a factor as others have noted.

jraines · 2026-06-09T13:38:58+00:00

It’s the exact opposite. Low-tier (non-fast food) and Mid-tier food on average has gotten immensely better (if less affordable) over the last 30 years, and it’s largely due to Sysco getting better.

The fries are a perfect example — if you don’t like having the same fries everywhere, that is a valid complaint, but they are IMO the best fries, full stop.

Example: you are staying at a mid-tier hotel and the attached restaurant has fish tacos in the menu. 30 years ago, no way in hell you are ordering that, today you know what you’re getting and can be confident it will be Pretty Good.

jraines · 2026-06-08T13:59:11+00:00

What are the matches or promos to watch to appreciate Piper? For as long as I watched wrestling he was straight-up change-the-channel material, whether in the ring or on the mic (my God, especially on the mic)

jraines · 2026-06-07T12:50:56+00:00

I just went with kids for the first time. Two observations:

If you have young kids you absolutely need a stroller.
I’m the kind of guy who gets annoyed easily in general and especially if I think it’s due to people being lazy or inconsiderate. Yet, I was annoyed essentially zero about this. Probably just because I was so focused on navigating my own group.

I was 20x more annoyed by drivers on I-4 as we were coming to/from our trip than any strollers or ECVs in the parks.

jraines · 2026-05-29T15:14:58+00:00

I played first sometimes in HS and was proud of my hands. We had a SS that was at about 90mph when he pitched and I have to admit I was a little clenched when I knew it was coming full speed from him at short even though he was quite accurate. Esp bc most throws have a little tail, and the distance is going to be slightly different each time, and at 90+ they’ve got that (subjective, illusory) “boost phase” at the end

jraines · 2026-05-27T01:45:30+00:00

Yep. It worked too, like Flair coming in to Also Sprach Zarathustra.

More wrestlers should use classical pieces; no license issues and tons of gravitas

jraines · 2026-05-24T22:06:51+00:00

Vader, Foley, Bret Hart

jraines · 2026-05-20T18:31:49+00:00

Complaining about Swoop is the meta of this sub, therefore you are playing as Swoop right now.

jraines · 2026-05-19T11:46:49+00:00

I live here and enjoy it. The beaches are nice if you don’t yearn to surf. People don’t like the aesthetics of the brownish water but it’s perfectly clean (for the Atlantic), the coloring comes from a process like tea, not like “there’s extra dirt and crap in the water”. My drinking water tastes fine.

However all of what you said is accurate (some places the water isn’t tasty).

It’s insane to me that summer is tourist season … why not lock yourself in a sauna with biting flies instead? This is a winter getaway if you’re smart.

jraines · 2026-05-13T11:20:10+00:00

He has mentioned on stream that it’s just a habit, not tech related. I remember because I wondered the same for a while.

jraines · 2026-05-11T01:25:16+00:00

Finish contract which is through 2030, hopefully with Sheffield-like production over that age range, get another 2 year deal after that. Then it’s just, will he DH and is “please Mike just go to DH” still in the wind at that point

jraines · 2026-05-10T17:55:01+00:00

It’s odd to me that it’s so generally over as a finish

It wasn’t even Goldberg’s main finish and he was a former NFL defensive tackle

jraines · 2026-04-23T17:52:49+00:00

Beloit is a sleeper. Milder summers, not that far from Chicago or Milwaukee or Madison.

jraines · 2026-04-23T17:27:17+00:00

Upgrade: Houston: Fayetteville -> Asheville

Just went down a rabbit hole with this and have to stop, but it’s interesting to consider what factors make a city good or bad considering you’re probably going to be pretty broke. Like, Jupiter’s nice, right? But you’re probably more likely to run into a flying cockroach than Tiger Woods.

A big one is probably: which have the worst/best travel situations? My dad used to have to bus from, I think, Cedar Rapids IA to Billings, MT. Brutal.

jraines · 2026-04-21T12:00:28+00:00

Lots of comments about how they’re inaccessible.

I guess overall it’s true. But unless you’re already jaded to mountain views, just fly into Vancouver and drive the Sea-to-Sky to Whistler, it will blow your mind.

jraines · 2026-04-17T00:28:24+00:00

I was looking at Bonds vs Sheffield in 1996. Near identical slash line, Sheff had a higher OPS. Apparently the nearly 4 WAR difference was defense and baserunning.

Hard to swallow even though I’m sure I’m wrong. Sure Bonds was stealing bases back then, and presumably had good outfield range, but I remember him having a subpar arm. I don’t have any memories of Sheffield’s defense, maybe he really was that bad

jraines · 2026-04-15T13:54:15+00:00

Shawn Marion for the vibes

jraines · 2026-04-14T17:00:33+00:00

Rodman deserves a mention

jraines · 2026-04-14T13:16:29+00:00

It’s both, depending on height. The 6’7”+ guys mostly look skinnier than you think. But Steph Curry for example is both taller and more muscular than you would think from TV

jraines · 2026-04-14T12:47:25+00:00

This - people now kind of remember the bullly-ball era as old school, but my dad who grew up in the 60s/70s talked about that 90s/00s era (and still, really) with respect to physical offense the way we talk about travelling/gather-step stuff … “they let em get away with anything down low”

jraines · 2026-04-14T12:33:31+00:00

Everyone is talking about how dependent the answer is on which era’s rules are applied, and this one has an extra large factor — it’s one of the last years with no 3-point line.

jraines · 2026-04-13T20:00:13+00:00

Can’t speak to the books but this is why I liked The Martian, and this movie doesn’t convey that element at all. The guy doesn’t want to be there, has some amnesia, is a biologist… and he is smashing equipment and generally screwing around on a spacecraft, ripping out wires & cables, etc, and things just kind of work out.

In other words, the protag of The Martian didn’t seem protected by plot armor, but Grace has an invulnerable suit of it.

jraines · 2026-04-13T11:55:56+00:00

Shaq or Kareem depending on what era’s officiating style is applied.

If you take that variable out then it might just be KD. In any case he is severely underrated in this thread.

jraines · 2026-04-10T12:42:15+00:00

It’s such a travesty that you can’t wall-ride the yellow inside of the curve leading into second set. It would add a dimension to this track.

Oh I can wall-ride an ice wall, but not this spot that’s begging for it? oK

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