Oh, what a week! We’ve had rain, wind, hail, snow – even a funnel cloud out here in the San Francisco Bay Area! Fall has finally arrived in force.
But, hey! You could be a Yankees fan…
Well, casting about there’s a plethora of topics waiting in the wings? How about a little music to start off with? There’s a rather interesting group making the club scene here in the Bay Area. Would you believe, “Dead Hensons”? And yes, they do play favorites from the past. According to this piece from the San Francisco Chronicle, they’re quite popular!
Well, the suits at TDA seem to have been sniffing the ink off of the recent crop of new dollar bills again. That’s the only reason I can think of for the wholesale price increases for Disneyland Annual Passes twice in the same year. That or they’re trying to pay for the budgets covering all the catch-up on deferred maintenance from the Pressler/Harris era. I hear you can get odds of 5 to 3 in Las Vegas that 2005 will see another big leap before the big 50th kicks off in May.
Frankly, I’m not opposed to paying more. As you may recall, I had thoughts before renewing the Premium Annual Pass last March.
We did anyway, only to have the prices go up literally the week after our visit to Anaheim. Now, the price has gone up again! From $225, then to $279, and now to $309!
I think I’ll really cogitate the process again when renewal comes along. For the same $600 bucks, I can get a proper little vacation in Honolulu.
Depending on who’s telling the tale, this is the result of a couple of ongoing factors. First, there are those who say that there are simply too many AP’s for the Disneyland Resort. If that’s really true, why not end the sales of the cheap babysitting drop-off Southern California AP’s? Without digging into the numbers that someone’s Excel spreadsheet has more than likely mangled with at least a six color expanded pie chart graphic for every day of the year, it’s safe to say that the teens who make up a big part of that particular demographic just don’t spend the same per capita per visit as say the middle aged curmudgeon (Gee? Like me?) who probably makes a visit to the place three or four times a year for stays of two or more days. (Whew! Let me rest a minute here. One long run on sentence there…)
Yet, rather then encourage the folks more likely to spend more of their disposable income each visit than those not likely to, it’s once again time to raise the price in the hope’s that the sheep won’t hear about the changes until the notice arrives in the mail for them to renew their AP’s. And if they lose twenty percent of the total number of Premium AP’s because of the price increase, who is going to make up the lost revenue? The 17 year-old girl with barely enough cash on hand to buy a hot dog, churro and a Diet Coke, all the while complaining about how expensive everything is here, until mom comes back to pick her and the Heather’s up in the BMW for the long ride back to Encino? Not bloody likely!
Time to loosen the Cranky Pants a bit, don’t you think?
Did you ever try to smile with a mouth full of expensive lunch when this Mouse shows up for pictures with everyone? Roger did. Not pretty, is it?
Hey, would you believe it? Cranky Pants Games!
“The Incredibles” is just around the corner coming to a theater near you. I’m mixed on feeling about the final product, but hope for the best. And if it makes a boatload of money, it will likely be for the real lack of any serious competition, as was the case for “Shark Tales”. Try bringing that fish out when you would have to compete with “Harry Potter” and it’s to be found floating fins up in the top of the tank at the box office, instead of gloating over a success. Face it folks, when it comes to entertainment for the public, they will generally take what ever is being offered at the time. The other films out against “ST” just were not interesting enough to be a big threat.
Here’s an interesting blog from a Pixar groupie with some amusing information and photos. If you’re looking for someone to blame when you can’t find the toys on the shelves at the Toys R Us holiday bankruptcy festivities, here’s where to start the line.
Rather than wait for these to appear overpriced on eBay next month, why not order your own Incredibles shirt from Reyn Spooner now? Soon enough, you’ll be seeing John Lassiter wearing one for all the interviews making the usual fashion statement.
A few things fell out of the mailbox lately. Aircraft Records did just fine with a selection of vintage aircraft sounds on CD. Just the thing to annoy the neighbors playing the latest from Bollywood (at as high a volume level as their television allows) at two in the morning!
Glad to see the E-Ticket with a new issue. Heck, I was encouraged to chip in for a few back issues and renew the subscription. Some fine material there. Speaking of material, Steve DeGaetano’s “Welcome Aboard The Disneyland Railroad” book is off at the printers, and should make an appearance some time in mid to late December. Still time to place your order for what is likely to be the hot Disney book for a while.
Speaking of books, ever had some title just leap off the shelf and scream “BUY ME!”? I did. “The Invisible Art” caught my eye right away with it’s cover image of the palace of Charles Foster Kane, Xanadu, under construction from the painting by Mario Larrinaga for “Citizen Kane” After Jim Hill’s piece earlier in the year on matte artists Harrison and Peter Ellenshaw, this book makes a great companion piece with images and stories from some classic films from the earliest days of film making right up to the digital age of George Lucas and the folks at Industrial Light and Magic.
I’ve become addicted to a funny comic strip called “Over The Hedge”. Some of the things that these characters seem to find in their travels just ring oh so true with me lately. And if you can believe the Internet Movie Database, there is an animated film production underway based on the strip, and it might make it to the screen in 2005.
Had another fine evening at Oktoberfest By The Bay last week in San Francisco. Great music by both the Chico Bavarian Band and the Internationals. Check out some MP3’s and their CD’s here. Lots of good food and “bier” as well. The band greatly enjoyed the Jagermeister Girls as they brought shots for everyone to the bandstand twice that night. The second round brought the band to it’s feet for an acapella rendition of “The Fireman’s Song”. But then they really got me laughing when they dug deep into their repertoire and came up with the theme from Mel Brook’s “Blazing Saddles”. That’s something I more expect from the Stanford Band than a group at Oktoberfest!
I’ve got a couple of train trips to Reno in the works for 2005. Check the web pages for details. One of them will be a benefit for the Hawaiian Railway Society and will feature food, music and beverages with a tropical flair as part of the usual good time.
Okay, that’s just about enough for now. I’m felling less “Cranky” now as it’s approaching a late hour or early depending on how you look at it.
Give some serious thought now to next week. Don’t wait until the last minute before deciding to go to that Halloween Party as just another disgruntled Disneyland Annual Passholder! It’s been done before…
Thanks to everyone who has supported the American Red Cross. There are many people they continue to help on a daily basis all over the world right now. Making a difference in today’s world is appreciated more now than ever before…
And if you’re in a generous and or appreciative mood, drop me a buck or two using the Paypal Donation Box or the Amazon Honor System links from my bio page here! I’m put it to good use, honest!