A Brilliant and Funny NYT Article

February 25, 2007 Modern Love The Hunter-Gatherer, Parking Division By ANDY RASKIN I read this and thought it was great about a week ago. It has taken me since then to find it again. Enjoy dbp

Why MGM-Disney "Works"

All theme parks rely to one extent or another on sets and I think that a good deal of the charm of visiting these places is the scenery. The thing about MGM-Disney is that the theme is movie-making and so you get all of the scenery but they also let you see that it is not real. Since they don't have to hide the fact that what you see isn't real, (in fact, they don't want to hide it) it frees them up to do really impressive stuff. The above is a scene from the grandstand at Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show What I like about the view is that from this vantage point you can see the Hollywood Tower Hotel, the top of Mann's Chinese Theater, Mickey's Sorcerer Hat and a Mediterranean village. There were a couple of sets where (from the right position) it looked like you were in Manhattan or San Francisco: The effect is pretty convincing, but there are flaws: You can see the shadow of scaffolding from the back-side of some of the set on the face of a couple of "buildings" The SF set is really good. The girls are standing next to and even touching this painted wall and it still looks like they are on a street in San Francisco.

Misc. Pictures from MGM

Surenna and I were off on our own for a while because she was our only child over 48" tall and so the only one who could ride on the Rock-N-Roller coaster with me. While we were waiting to hook back up with the others, we took a break, had some popcorn and snapped a picture outside of the Hollywood Brown Derby. Meanwhile, Vaishali was introducing the other two girls to some Disney characters. Here is Jemma with Jojo and Goliath. (L to R: Goliath, Jemma, Jojo) Dahlia and Jemma with a character you might recognize.. dbp

Quick update and then back to Disney Blogging...

Last week was a 4-day week due to President's Day. On these short weeks I don't need to be to work until 10:30, so there was time to blog a little every day. Now I am back to a normal week and so I really only have time to post on Wednesdays (when I am off) and weekends. This morning after coffee and a visit to my favorite blogs: The Bleat and Althouse, I can continue with my own postings. Stay tuned. dbp