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Disney Good Citizen

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Wed, 05/20/2009 - 20:18
fjfuchs
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Disney Good Citizen

I couldn't help but notice as I recently watched Wishes from the California Grille that MK is almost invisible from a light pollution standpoint (other than the fireworks) from that high vantage point. As I have an interest in astronomy, I am keenly aware of the dangers of light pollution to the science of astronomy. It's really strange since, on the ground, you would think that many areas of the part are brightly lit. I can't help but think, however, that someone has given as much care to being a good citizen by minimizing light pollution as they have given to every other aspect of the park. Has anyone who has flown over WDW at night noticed its visibility from the air? I know that Las Vegas, for example, is a horrible example of light pollution in an area that would, otherwise, be great for astronomy. Heck, Las Vegas is the only place in the world that I know of that you can read the signs from six miles up in the air wink FJF

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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 04:50
bali
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I've never thought about it! What an interesting observation. Do they leave the lights on all night?

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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 17:54
MouseTraveler
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AUTHOR NOTE!!! DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING!!! IT WAS WRITTEN WHILE I WAS RECOVERING FROM THE SWINE FLU AND DID NOT HAVE MY WITS ABOUT ME!!! (Now I've recovered and I'm STILL an imbicile)

Whats the solution?

Put an umbrella over the WDW property?

I don't mean to be smart, really, but I'm curious as to your ideas about what would eliminate what you see as a problem.

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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 17:57
SpaceAce
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MouseTraveler wrote:
Whats the solution?

Put an umbrella over the WDW property?

I don't mean to be smart, really, but I'm curious as to your ideas about what would eliminate what you see as a problem.



I think fjfuchs is actually commemorating WDW for it's care to MINIMIZE light pollution. Not a problem, but a positive! mickey
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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 18:00
MouseTraveler
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SpaceAce wrote:
MouseTraveler wrote:
Whats the solution?

Put an umbrella over the WDW property?

I don't mean to be smart, really, but I'm curious as to your ideas about what would eliminate what you see as a problem.

I think fjfuchs is actually commemorating WDW for it's care to MINIMIZE light pollution. Not a problem, but a positive! mickey



Ahhhhhh.... my mistake.

When the post has more than twelve words I get confused.

And yes, you can see the light from the top of the Luxor in Vegas from the space shuttle. Or so I'm told.
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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 18:03
SpaceAce
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Laughing out loud

So in the compendium of things you can see from Space, China has the Great Wall....and we have the Luxor.

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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 18:06
Vettelover
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SpaceAce wrote:
MouseTraveler wrote:
Whats the solution?

Put an umbrella over the WDW property?

I don't mean to be smart, really, but I'm curious as to your ideas about what would eliminate what you see as a problem.

I think fjfuchs is actually commemorating WDW for it's care to MINIMIZE light pollution. Not a problem, but a positive! mickey


I could be wrong but I took fjfuchs comments as a compliment to Disney also and not as a problem. How about it fjfuchs are spaceace and I right or wrong. confused
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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 18:07
MouseTraveler
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SpaceAce wrote:
Laughing out loud

So in the compendium of things you can see from Space, China has the Great Wall....and we have the Luxor.



Speaking of the Luxor, I had a book a few years ago about the three major hotel chains in Vegas. I think it was the Circus-Circus group, Wynn and MGM Resorts or something like that.

It was pretty fascinating and the story of the Luxor stood out.

Upon opening, the Luxor was like a mini- theme park and they brought in movie special effects people, etc. to design a lot of the interior events you went through.

Problem was, they cut a LOT of corners when they were building it, and within two or three years after building it they had to spend 300-400 million dollars to bring it up to where it SHOULD have been.

Pretty interesting stuff.

I've stayed there once, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 18:08
Vettelover
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Sorry Spaceace and mousetraveler you both commented and clarified it as my slow fingers were typing my reply.

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Thu, 05/21/2009 - 18:40
fjfuchs
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A COMPLIMENT for Disney. In the effort for splash it could have been so much worse! Light is a very attractive form of emphasis. Just another quick point, there are areas of the parks that are, in my opinion, a bit underlit. This is not meant as a criticism (I have to be careful or Disney may invalidate my annual pass), but people who have have difficulty seeing at night might want to stay in well-lit areas after dark, especially during the fireworks displays when lighting is reduced. I remember on one occasion seeing some poor soul try to retrieve an item that had gone over the wall on the Castle end of the bridge between the Castle and Tomorrowland. Little did he know, nor could he see (in the dark) that there was a pretty significant drop to the next grade. He was quite surprised as he crashed through the bushes to the ground. Yes, he shouldn't have done that, but people are people and he just thought he'd jump over the barrier and grab the item. That area is dark.

Thu, 05/21/2009 - 21:35
cdub
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I wonder if the tendency for Disney to be a non-polluter (I'd say low polluter) is because of the original intent that the different lands and or parks are supposed to be insulated and not impact each other. Given that they were very reluctant to have anything from one park be visible from another that might have also applied to light. While it's obviously not a hard and fast rule, the general sentiment probably affects how they use light.

Sat, 05/23/2009 - 03:45
bali
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MouseTraveler wrote:

Problem was, they cut a LOT of corners when they were building it, and within two or three years after building it they had to spend 300-400 million dollars to bring it up to where it SHOULD have been.



Ah! A lesson! I love when I can mix Disney with teachable moments.

fjfuchs wrote:

I remember on one occasion seeing some poor soul try to retrieve an item that had gone over the wall on the Castle end of the bridge between the Castle and Tomorrowland. Little did he know, nor could he see (in the dark) that there was a pretty significant drop to the next grade. He was quite surprised as he crashed through the bushes to the ground.


HA!! I truly would have laughed at that. I'm so bad.
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Mon, 05/25/2009 - 13:46
Brad
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MouseTraveler wrote:
SpaceAce wrote:
Laughing out loud

So in the compendium of things you can see from Space, China has the Great Wall....and we have the Luxor.



Speaking of the Luxor, I had a book a few years ago about the three major hotel chains in Vegas. I think it was the Circus-Circus group, Wynn and MGM Resorts or something like that.

It was pretty fascinating and the story of the Luxor stood out.

Upon opening, the Luxor was like a mini- theme park and they brought in movie special effects people, etc. to design a lot of the interior events you went through.

Problem was, they cut a LOT of corners when they were building it, and within two or three years after building it they had to spend 300-400 million dollars to bring it up to where it SHOULD have been.

Pretty interesting stuff.

I've stayed there once, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wow, what was the initial budget if they had to spend that much to update it?

Mon, 05/25/2009 - 14:43
MouseTraveler
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Brad wrote:

Wow, what was the initial budget if they had to spend that much to update it?

I dug up the book so I could answer your question. I'm not a big reader, but if you like knowing how things work, this book is excellent. It is entitled 'SUPER CASINO, Inside the "New" Las Vegas", and was written by Pete Earley, published by Bantam.

The following is a history lesson on the Luxor, so if that kind of stuff bores you, I'd move along! wink

The Luxor was built by Circus Circus at the same time that Steve Wynn was building Treasure Island. There was a big race between the two to open first and get the initial publicity thrust. Luxor actually accomplished this, opening 12 days before Treasure Island, but the openings couldn't have been more different, as TI opened (and operated) basically problem free, whereas the Luxor, according to the book, "appeared to be cursed".

The book says the initial price tag in 1991 was estimated to be $300 million. I glanced through the book but couldn't find what the final figure was, but I seem to remember that it was much higher.

The hotel opened in 1993, and the remodel was around 95 and 96. Remodel may be a misnomer, because SO much about the hotel was changed. Most of the work was done in 1996, so I suspect the remodel announcement was made in 1995, less than two years after opening. Upon announcement, the budget was estimated at $250 million, but according to the book it ended up being $400 million on completion.

The book chronicles in detail a laundry list of the problems of the Luxor, from design, implementation, kick off, even the idiocy of not having a "cabbie night" where the cab drivers are given previews.

Circus Circus Managers eventually said they should have opened three weeks AFTER Treasure Island, but they rushed to open before, and that, along with the building design problems killed them.

Let me reiterate that I've stayed at the Luxor and highly recommend it. At the very least, visit it if you go to Vegas. You can't imagine the size of this thing until you are actually IN it and see the vast amount of space that is open to the top.

Gives you a whole new appreciation for the pyramids and makes you wonder how in the WORLD they could have built them.

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Tue, 05/26/2009 - 15:05
cdub
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I've never heard of "Cabbie Nights" I guess that's why I don't run a casino. I guess a lot of people ask their cab drivers for opinions?

Tue, 05/26/2009 - 15:55
MouseTraveler
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cdub wrote:
I've never heard of "Cabbie Nights" I guess that's why I don't run a casino. I guess a lot of people ask their cab drivers for opinions?


Yes, and I've had cab drivers in Vegas mention that on certain nights they could go to certain shows at discounted rates, etc.

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Tue, 05/26/2009 - 16:02
admin
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MouseTraveler wrote:
cdub wrote:
I've never heard of "Cabbie Nights" I guess that's why I don't run a casino. I guess a lot of people ask their cab drivers for opinions?

Yes, and I've had cab drivers in Vegas mention that on certain nights they could go to certain shows at discounted rates, etc.



That makes a LOT of sense. I wonder if venues do that in New York, too.
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 00:18
Brad
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I guess it could work in NYC, but I'd say at least half aren't very chatty. The other thing is I bet in NYC you carry a much higher percentage of locals as a cab driver. If you're taking a cab in Vegas you're probably a tourist, in NYC not nearly as likely.

Wed, 05/27/2009 - 00:35
MouseTraveler
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I've had several interesting cabbies in Vegas. They're usually from all over and have great stories.

Got in a cab one day with a driver that was about 30. He had pictures of himself and Adam Sandler all over his cab. Said that Adam came into town once and he was showing him around and they got to be friends, and said whenever Adam came to town he always called him to go out. Pretty cool.

I also arrived in Vegas one afternoon and on the way to the hotel I asked my cab driver what was happening in Vegas. He said, "A guy shot a guy in front of Caesar's Palace last night. Shot him five times, then put the gun in the victim's hand and tried to convince police he shot himself!"

Classic!

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Wed, 05/27/2009 - 14:08
SpaceAce
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MouseTraveler wrote:
I also arrived in Vegas one afternoon and on the way to the hotel I asked my cab driver what was happening in Vegas. He said, "A guy shot a guy in front of Caesar's Palace last night. Shot him five times, then put the gun in the victim's hand and tried to convince police he shot himself!"

Classic!



You don't get much better than that eek
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