Marty's Small World

I have loads of respect for Marty Sklar. So when he pipes up about this Small World character overlay, you have to take notice.

Two things I'll point out...the most minor point first:

Point One (edited for brevity's sake): Marty says that in order, "to make 'It’s A Small World' even more relevant to our guests, Tony Baxter...and I arrived at the same place eight years ago...to seamlessly integrate Disney characters into...scenes in the attraction."

Wow. Really? You and Tony...the same characters behind the 1998 "To Imagination and Beyond" fiasco at Disneyland's Tomorrowland? That failed project that yielded a moldy paint scheme, a Rocket Rods ride that was shut down within two and a half years, and..what else? Oh yeah, a general consensus that the whole thing was a flop. Great to hear you guys are behind this!

The legacy of Tomorrowland '98...an abandoned ride, an abandoned paint scheme, and a big WTF in place of the old Rocket Jets.

Point Two: Marty describes Walt as "the greatest 'change agent' who ever walked down Main Street."

I completely want to believe this! I want to believe the tales in which Walt is this guy who would rip out attractions wholesale if he had a newer, bigger idea. I want to believe Walt had no problem taking the ax to a just-fine, barely-one-year-old Viewliner because he stumbled across a slick monorail on a trip to Germany.

Walt may look happy in this 1957 image of the Viewliner, but he had no problem kicking this attraction to the curb when a flashier monorail came available.

But in believing this I have to believe that guys like Marty are either deluded or only half-honest if they think a bunch of robo-Beasts and animatronic-Ariels represent Walt Disney-caliber change. What WDI is doing is putting lipstick on a pig. Walt would have eaten that pig at a luau and replaced it with bigger bacon than anyone had dreamed of before.

This thing from Marty makes me sad. Just like the whole Small World character overlay, it is pointless, misguided, and demonstrates that too many people collecting a Disney paycheck just don't get it.

Something Completely Different

Sad news from Cowtown...Skybus Airlines is dead.

Lots of folks had questions about how this thing could work, based on a model of minimal service, routes to "say wha?" destinations, and $10 fares on every flight.

Me? I took advantage of the cheap rates and enjoyed the direct flights to Oakland and Burbank.

Most of all, I was rooting for Skybus. I wanted it to succeed. This was not just because I was benefitting...I admired the pluck involved in starting a new carrier based on a novel business model...all in the middle of Ohio.

Well, golly, if Ohio Governor Ted Strickland doesn't look as pleased as punch in this photo.

Now, Skybus is no more. I'd like to say I'm happy just to have known Skybus. But, really, I'm pissed off. Not with the Skybus people (though I am sure none of SB's saavy investors lost any money in this scheme). But with our disinterested government and the opportunities it's costing the folks who live in the struggling Midwest.

I hate regulation in general, but there are a few places it seems necessary. Air travel is one of these exceptions. Safety is involved. So are countless individuals and businesses that trust that they will actually be able to travel on the flights that they book.

The FAA grants these carriers the right to fly in the Unites States. They should also mandate an orderly process should an operator elect to close up shop.

Instead, Skybus employees are suddenly jobless. Customers are stranded in places like Greensboro and Gary. Other carriers like Southwest and JetBlue, responding to Skybus's presence, have limited their operations, leaving communities like Columbus with reduced airline capacity. And gobs of tax dollars got spent on red carpets that were rolled out for a bunch of carpetbaggers that skipped town.

It's hard to tell what guys like Columbus's Mayor Mike Coleman were told, formerly or otherwise. But before he or Ohio Governor Ted Strickland exposed their citizens to this kind of risk, they owed it to the people who elected them to ensure Skybus was in this for the long haul and would not pull up stakes with no announcement. And the feds should be mandating the same thing with every carrier.

AB

PS - I just rebooked a trip to Florida this morning on Southwest (an airline that offers service that is INFERIOR to any Skybus service I experienced). My original flight was going into St. Augustine, now I am headed to Orlando. Mickey wins. Ponce de Leon, not so much.

More Dubailand

Here's an interesting article on Dubailand.

Interesting...40,000 people a day? Sounds like a single attraction's attendance in Orlando.

Sublime...