News Round Up 2020

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1310611073263861761

 

[tlmadden73]

We all know cutting "street" entertainment has been a yearly event. I suspect Covid simply sped it up. As the parks got more crowded it just became harder and harder to have that entertainment and still keep people flowing. Plus specialty employees are expensive. So the investments went into "places to be" like rides. And yes, they've added a ton.

I expect some streetmosphere entertainment will be added back after Covid, but probably not as much as "Disney" people would like. I also suspect that the vast majority of Disney visitors won't notice. They mostly want rides and formal shows anyway. I will miss some of it. I certainly miss the nighttime parade. But a lot I won't notice. For example I was never a big Citizens of Hollywood guy and I hated being crushed by crowds on Main Street when some entertainment appeared.

I don't disagree that most Disney visitors won't notice .. which is a shame:

Some of my most memorable Disney memories in recent memory have come from street entertainers.
1) Watching the clowns perform (do they even still have those?) near Storybook Circus. The kids loved it.
2) Seeing the trolley show as you come into the Magic Kingdom.
3) Just running into Kevin at Animal Kingdom
4) Stopping to see the Green Army men (despite the ridiculously narrow walkways in Toy Story Land)
5) The old March of the First Order at DHS.
And mostly:
6) A personal interaction my son had with Kylo Ren in SWGE where he was questioned about the location of the resistance.

Like the new character cavalcades .. they are short enough they don't draw a huge crowd but happen enough you can usually run into them over the course of your day and makes your day very memorable (wanting you to come back more).

Hopefully Disney keeps this reservation system and uses it to keep crowds down post Covid so the walkways can have room for street entertainment .. (you know . .like 2023?) .. . but since they are cutting costs .. I don't see it "atmosphere" things like that coming back for a long time.

 

[OSUZorba]

For me, the street performers were fun, but only after I had accomplished what I wanted to get done at that time of day - otherwise, I still enjoyed the background music or banter as I was on my way somewhere.

I seldom stopped for a performance longer than a few minutes, with the exception of the Ivy-lady in AK. I could watch her all day!

I also enjoyed the mimes and the living statues in Epcot - usually watched while sipping an adult beverage. But Epcot showcase is that kind of place - somewhere to linger over a performance. And I liked hearing the drummers or the Off-Kilter guys while I was moving through. Never liked the huge crowds that formed in the walkways though for something like the Moroccan dancers.

I sure hope some of these folks come back.... It just adds a unique flavor to the whole Disney experience.

Stopping for a few minutes and/or enjoying it in the background is atmosphere though. That means it was doing its job.

 

[MissGina5]

I don't disagree that most Disney visitors won't notice .. which is a shame:

Some of my most memorable Disney memories in recent memory have come from street entertainers.
1) Watching the clowns perform (do they even still have those?) near Storybook Circus. The kids loved it.
2) Seeing the trolley show as you come into the Magic Kingdom.
3) Just running into Kevin at Animal Kingdom
4) Stopping to see the Green Army men (despite the ridiculously narrow walkways in Toy Story Land)
5) The old March of the First Order at DHS.
And mostly:
6) A personal interaction my son had with Kylo Ren in SWGE where he was questioned about the location of the resistance.

Like the new character cavalcades .. they are short enough they don't draw a huge crowd but happen enough you can usually run into them over the course of your day and makes your day very memorable (wanting you to come back more).

Hopefully Disney keeps this reservation system and uses it to keep crowds down post Covid so the walkways can have room for street entertainment .. (you know . .like 2023?) .. . but since they are cutting costs .. I don't see it "atmosphere" things like that coming back for a long time.

the stormtrooper marches have always been a highlight for us and the African acrobats and the festival of the arts statues! I also loved those christmas animals at AK. Also the trolley show is my favorite thing ever so...yeah I love it! Oh and the citizens of Hollywood!

 

[etherealcaitiff]

Can we go ahead and channel our energy or form a prayer circle for Yee Ha Bob Jackson? That man is a national treasure and I'd hate to see him leave POR, but you gotta figure he's in the next wave of this non-sense.

 

[skeeter31]

the stormtrooper marches have always been a highlight for us and the African acrobats and the festival of the arts statues! I also loved those christmas animals at AK. Also the trolley show is my favorite thing ever so...yeah I love it! Oh and the citizens of Hollywood!

I’ve always erred on the other side, and I think it has more to do with us being there so often, but I find most of the street performances to just get on my nerves. They clog up the walkways and people are stopping to watch when they’re in the area designated for walking. But I feel that way about the parades too. The only parades I enjoy are the Halloween and a Christmas party parades, the others are usually happening as we’re hustling to get out of the park and creates such a logjam trying to maneuver around. I’ve never understood why Disney won’t open the pathway behind the shops on Main Street (the candy store side) at parade time to help people navigate past it.

 

[jknezek]

I’ve always erred on the other side, and I think it has more to do with us being there so often, but I find most of the street performances to just get on my nerves. They clog up the walkways and people are stopping to watch when they’re in the area designated for walking. But I feel that way about the parades too. The only parades I enjoy are the Halloween and a Christmas party parades, the others are usually happening as we’re hustling to get out of the park and creates such a logjam trying to maneuver around. I’ve never understood why Disney won’t open the pathway behind the shops on Main Street (the candy store side) at parade time to help people navigate past it.

Because it's bad Show. I don't understand why they didn't put a few bucks into it, make it ok Show, and then use it. Wouldn't have been too big a deal to make it passable. Because you are right, it would really help. And I generally feel the same way about street entertainment but not the parades. Parades are too much of my fond Disney memories to get irked about the crowded streets. It's like the fireworks. I can't get annoyed about being crushed in like a sardine because they are so good. I'd give a lot to get crushed again for a nighttime parade. But I don't much care for getting crushed in to Main Street because some small performance is happening. Or slammed in AK Africa because of the drummers. I like the atmosphere, but for a guy like me, it's just too uncomfortable for too little gain.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I’ve always erred on the other side, and I think it has more to do with us being there so often, but I find most of the street performances to just get on my nerves. They clog up the walkways and people are stopping to watch when they’re in the area designated for walking. But I feel that way about the parades too. The only parades I enjoy are the Halloween and a Christmas party parades, the others are usually happening as we’re hustling to get out of the park and creates such a logjam trying to maneuver around. I’ve never understood why Disney won’t open the pathway behind the shops on Main Street (the candy store side) at parade time to help people navigate past it.

overall I really like the streetmosphere and think it adds a lot - love the trolley show, the Citizen's of Hollywood, etc. ... BUT I do think that people sometimes become pretty unaware of their surrounding and at times you can have struggle to get passed them, etc.

 

[rteetz]

Because it's bad Show. I don't understand why they didn't put a few bucks into it, make it ok Show, and then use it. Wouldn't have been too big a deal to make it passable. Because you are right, it would really help. And I generally feel the same way about street entertainment but not the parades. Parades are too much of my fond Disney memories to get irked about the crowded streets. It's like the fireworks. I can't get annoyed about being crushed in like a sardine because they are so good. I'd give a lot to get crushed again for a nighttime parade. But I don't much care for getting crushed in to Main Street because some small performance is happening. Or slammed in AK Africa because of the drummers. I like the atmosphere, but for a guy like me, it's just too uncomfortable for too little gain.

They very much did put the money into it and made it show ready. That bypass is used yearly for the holiday parties and then on any busy day when needed.

 

[Farro]

They very much did put the money into it and made it show ready. That bypass is used yearly for the holiday parties and then on any busy day when needed.

Yeah I was going to say, we used it in October 2017. It was a non-party night and we were trying to leave during the fireworks. A CM saved us and sent us to the bypass!

Also, I'm pretty sure we entered through it for the Halloween party...

 

[jknezek]

They very much did put the money into it and made it show ready. That bypass is used yearly for the holiday parties and then on any busy day when needed.

Huh. I know I went through there during a Christmas party in 2015 and it was still more backstage. I don't think I'd been through since so I guess I don't remember. Well... I don't know why they don't use it more then. Seems pretty simple.

 

[skeeter31]

They very much did put the money into it and made it show ready. That bypass is used yearly for the holiday parties and then on any busy day when needed.

Yeah, it is very nice back there, and I would love them to use it more frequently. Right now it only seems to open up at park close occasionally to help ease crowds, but opening it as one way leaving traffic before and during parades would be great.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Can we go ahead and channel our energy or form a prayer circle for Yee Ha Bob Jackson? That man is a national treasure and I'd hate to see him leave POR, but you gotta figure he's in the next wave of this non-sense.

He is a one man show at hotel and has a unique following. We saw him once and that was enough for us, but I can understand the following. My guess is he has a job as long as he wants it because he isn't as costly as a whole band, or whole show filled with people. He will just have to wait until they think it is safe to have a crowd at POR.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I have used the bypass many times around the fireworks in the past but actually just went down it last month - we did a photopass session and the photographers had us cut down it to the hub grass instead of navigate down Main St.

While it was "backstage" and not open the public at that point, it's still show ready.

I wish it was always open!

 

[afan]

He is a one man show at hotel and has a unique following. We saw him once and that was enough for us, but I can understand the following. My guess is he has a job as long as he wants it because he isn't as costly as a whole band, or whole show filled with people. He will just have to wait until they think it is safe to have a crowd at POR.

It's also easy to see that he brings in money. Old roomate was an NHL mascot and one day in the kitchen on our whiteboard we figured out that his appearance fees more than paid his salary so as long as that kept going he'd always be safe. Same thing with Bob, I'm sure over the course of the year he more than covers his salary with what people buy while watching him and that they make more having him than if they didn't.

The easy to quantify stuff like that, I would think, are much harder to cut than the orchestra or street performers that don't directly impact a bottom line. Sure some people specicially went to see and spend money due to the orchestra, but I didn't even know they existed and have toured the property at Christmas time.

It's still a shame due to how long they've been there that they are cutting them. Just leave the main street band at both parks alone please.

 

[rteetz]

Huh. I know I went through there during a Christmas party in 2015 and it was still more backstage. I don't think I'd been through since so I guess I don't remember. Well... I don't know why they don't use it more then. Seems pretty simple.

 

[rteetz]

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