Jew

Isn't that how politics work? $470,000 is a small price to pay so Disney can charge that extra money for themselves instead of having to collect it for the city. I think the mayor's op-ed said it best: "It is not that I think we need this tax today. However, it is a mistake to tie the hands of future voters and taxpayers. We have no crystal ball. What we do know is that the city has several major financial pressures looming, including $560 million in unfunded pension liabilities and $160 million in unfunded medical retirement obligations. The council majority, against my wishes, voted to borrow $200 million to expand the Convention Center. We cannot anticipate the needs of our city in 10, 20 or 30 years. And who are we to decide what people who aren’t even born yet will want to do with their votes and taxpayer money?" The projected $15 million is Disney's estimate, so taking that at face value...$15 million/year AFTER everything is done really doesn't seem like enough to cover the cities obligations while also meeting the increased demands the continued projected growth of the area would bring. The growth wouldn't be limited to just police and fire, all other civil services would also presumably be impacted as well. Hypothetically more jobs would mean more people moving to the city, which means an increase of garage collection, education, etc. as well. DCA and DLR saw a combined 24 million guests last year...a tax of just $1 would already almost double the projected amount of revenue Disney is claiming. The living wage argument is kind of absurd, but the guy does have a point: Disney is going to make billions from their ability to raise ticket prices on their own instead of having that increase be due to a tax and residents of the city aren't going to see any more than $15 million of that. If they can dump $776,000 just into PAC's that supported their causes, it's fair to reason they can contribute more to the city that supports them. Ultimately I don't think we've heard the end of this issue...but for now I think the city got a terrible deal.

^This is all you need to know: According to that same article, the projects are expected to add only $15 mil/year to Anaheim's tax rolls by Disney estimates. In other words: Anaheim got screwed. $15 million seems like a lot now, but I suspect if current crowds continue...the city is going to be spending a lot more on city services to deal with it all. My guess is they'll try a parking tax or some other way to squeeze money out of the tourism industry or someone will sue to overturn this if/when the need arises for those taxes.

What are the city taxes in Anaheim? 24.5 million guests visited DL and DCA last year. That's a lot of potential revenue, whether its a flat rate of $1 or a percentage. Someone has to pay to maintain and upgrade the infrastructure around Disney, the additional city services needed because of the crowds disney brings, and so on...

20 years ago Disney had all the leverage: they owned the Ducks, Angels, and sat on lots of undeveloped land pre-DCA. Pull those teams out of the city and sell off all their un-used land instead of building DCA/DtD/Grand Californian and Anaheim is a totally different city... Now it's a totally different situation.

Considering multiple posters raved about the fireworks show and placed amongst the best they've ever seen from an amusement park, I don't think it's unreasonable to compare it to Disney.

^I think the reasoning behind that is that the money has to come from somewhere. Either more debt or somewhere else in the budget. An entertainment tax is an easy target because it doesn't penalize residents of the city---it's largely funded by tourists.

^And if Disney gets it, you better believe that Arte Moreno will add it to the list of things he demands to stay in Anaheim. I'm sure the Ducks will also follow suit when their lease at the Pond is up as well. It's bad business for the City. Disney was going to spend that money regardless.

I wonder if it will come with the bonus brush fire that their fireworks shows usually cause? They've caught that hillside on fire a few times... They do provide a good fireworks show though. I watched from Skytower when I worked there...had to take the stairs too!

I give them some credit for getting Twisted Colossus open....and then they do that lazy marketing tweet. Oh SFMM....

True I realize that a lot of people will ignore the screens, but at least some of them wont. This is not a big ticket item though...TV screens are a few hundred dollars each plus the brackets and labor to install them. If even 10% of people get something from the videos I still say that's money well spent. Not sure how they broadcast content throughout the park, but I'm guessing the connection to the Six Flags Media Network (or whatever the hell they call it) was probably why it took longer.

^You are giving the typical SFMM guest way too much credit....

Only in the SFMM thread will you find complaining about the lack of TV monitors/safety spiels.... Seriously. I really do dislike SFMM, but they just opened one of the best rides in the world. On time. You do realize that Disney and Universal go through the same trials when opening a ride? Adding, tweaking, and fixing things throughout the first year because even they aren't immune to making mistakes and having to make some cuts in order to get the ride open as scheduled....I've been around this industry long enough where I can state with confidence that rides very very very rarely open without operational or technical issues. It takes time to work everything out. That's reality. The only unforgivable thing as far as I was concerned was the lack of single rider at opening. 90% of the guests waiting in line are going to ignore whatever video is playing because they have their friends and their phones to distract them.

^Considering this is the first time in a long time SFMM has actually got a ride open on time, I can understand why they'd worry about non-essential items until after the ride opens. You also stated exactly why on ride photos aren't worth the investment for parks anymore: they're resorting to deals and packages to sell them. For the same price of what used to only get you ONE photo, you now get all of them. Great for you if want the photos, but no so good for the park...

Aside from the part where he tries to pass off his speculation and rumors as fact...

The time/expense involved with modifying an existing structure vs. building a new one is the only reason I could think they would want to salvage the building.

Or like KBF who has the midly entertaining video playing that gives loading instructions for Silver Bullet. Something like that (especially if done as a humorous skit or something similarly entertaining that "tricks" people into paying attention) would go a long way. yeah, they can play it on the monitors in the que...oh wait. LOL Not a huge expense to put a couple large monitors in the que. SFDK has monitors in a lot of the queues playing looney toons, I think a few rides at SFMM have something similar. Putting a couple flat screens in there with an instructional video would pay off in saved money from efficiency. i'm with you there. unexplainable imo why they aren't there. along with the on ride photo. etc. etc. The on ride photo business is a relic of the last decade. There's not much money in it anymore. Regarding monitors...If I'm the Twisted Colossus project manager, that's pretty low on my list of priorities.

^I did Mandalay's over my recent stay and it was hit or miss. Some items were average (prime rib was good, but a little tough) and others were amazing (the Asian food section with good orange chicken, noodles, and gyoza).

Corn Starch is what fire breathers use. It's used commonly in theatrical settings to create the fireball effect. It's not very combustable when in a large pile, but when you spread it out over the air into fine particles, combined with a heat source in a confined space...it goes KABOOM! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_explosion

^What does that even mean?

I don't think SFMM ever officially gave a timeline for the 4th train?

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving. Magic Mountain just got one of the best coasters in the world and you're already talking about a giga?

Engineering isn't what I would call a simple profession. Considering a roller coaster involves structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering components all having to work together...it's not as simple as "fixing the issue while waiting for the chain." If someone could design a major ride that has 100% uptime, every single park in the world would want to buy one.

Ed Alonzo > Elvira.

^While I know you used to work there so I have no reason to doubt you, something about that doesn't seem to add up. I'm not sure why DOSH would have initially approved that and then gone back on it. I'm assuming maintenance guys could just be harnessed in? Also seems weird considering that climbing on ride track to check for stress fractures is a standard industry requirement...