Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Disney Editorial And Suggestions 2

Another recommendation I would like to make to Disney President Thomas Staggs is the addition of a water park in the Disneyland Resort.

But not just a normal water park.

I would strongly suggest an indoor water park.

So, why my suggestion?

Well, it seems the next logical step to add a water park to Disneyland now that the renovations on Disney California Adventure are now complete, and we have had time to enjoy the fruits of Disney's labor. Someone on the Internet once compared Disney World and Disneyland by citing Disney World as a desktop computer, and Disneyland as a laptop. That makes sense to me, seeing how much power a desktop and how much room Disney World can grow, while it's more convenient to navigate Disneyland due to it's smaller size. But Disney World DOES have two water parks, plus several resorts with elaborate pools, and the Yacht and Beach Club, which have the quintessential mini-water park, Stormalong Bay. Topping that in Disneyland will be tough, but the challenge is part of the fun.

As for it being indoors, that's both to allow the park to be used regardless of the weather, and to give it an edge by having several levels of pools in a giant multi floored building, each with a Disney theme, and slides that would go down to the lower floors. The themes I would suggest are as follows, but let's keep others in mind.


1. Fantasia and Fantasia 2000

2. The Little Mermaid

3. Pirates Of the Caribbean

4. Finding Nemo

5. Frozen


I have also heard that other companies have built indoor theme parks elsewhere on Earth, and I do feel it's time for Disney, the industry leader, to join the fray.

So, I would build the water park on the Simba parking lot. That is the closest lot to the resort hotels, and the only one within the general rectangle that the resort is shaped like. I am unaware if there may be parking problems, so I WOULD build an extension to the Disney & Friends parking garage before closing the Simba parking lot and initiating the groundbreaking on the water park.

Last, but not least, the name.

Let's call it:

DISNEY MARINE WATER PARK

If Disney were to pull the feet I'm am suggesting off, it would be yet another innovation and technology accomplishment for Disney Imagineers and The Walt Disney Company, and will revolutionize the industry.

This challenge is up to you, Thomas Staggs, and all the wonderful people at Disney!

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Disney Editorial and Suggestions

So I want to congratulate Thomas Staggs for his promotion to President and COO of The Walt Disney Company. You really deserve it. I'd like to make a few suggestions regarding Disney's direction.

First, I actually like Disney as a hotelier. The service and amenities I've received from the Beach Club and the Grand Californian are top notch, and are two of my favorite hotels in the world. Let's expand the hotel business with what I'm calling the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection of historic and luxury hotels and resorts through the United States. I'm a regular traveler, and I've been to some of the best hotels and hidden gems. One of my new favorites is The Lodge at Torrey Pines. I reviewed that hotel not too long ago, and I really enjoyed it.

Yes, I know the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection was a video line in the nineties, but we can reuse it to be an equivalent to the Luxury Collection from Starwood, and the Waldorf-Astoria Collection from Hilton.

This is a list of hotels and resorts that might make a worthy addition to the Disney family:

The Menger Hotel, San Antonio, Texas

Arizona Inn, Tuscon, Arizona

La Cantera Resort and Spa, San Antonio, Texas

Mayflower Park Hotel, Seattle, Washington

Lakeway Resort and Spa, Austin, Texas

The Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla, California

The Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles, California

Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California

More to come.

And on the note of reusing brands, I would reuse the Walt Disney Classics as the Walt Disney Black Diamond Classics upon the end of the Diamond Editions. That line was noteworthy for being a favorite of collectors and it introduced my generation to those movies, plus it was crucial to Disney's development. Plus, the name does work, and I would have this line as a Disney version of the Criterion Collection, a portfolio of the best and most memorable movies in Disney's library, which includes a lot. I have several levels of classics I would propose:

Black Diamond Favorites

Black Diamond Classics

Black Diamond Masterpieces

Black Diamond Timeless Classics

Black Diamond Signature Classics

That last one would be reserved for the best of the best of Disney's films, such as Fantasia, Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, WALL-E, Inside Out, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, those movies.

If you go this route, do update and reuse those now-classic logos for these two brands.

That will do it for this editorial. See you next time.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

La Jolla's Torrey Pines Resort

What can I say about the beautiful Lodge at Torrey Pines? For starters, the resort is absolutely beautiful. The wooden interior and fireplace in the lobby is a very warm welcome, and the staff at the hotel are very pleasant.

I like my room. The beds are comfortable and elegant, the bathroom is spacious, and the shower works well. I like those separate rooms for the toilet, by the way. I did feel like Wifi could be better, and the page for getting free Wifi needs work if the tab to confirm is hidden by the graphics! :0 I do like the Keurig in the room.

Now on to the restaurant and dining. I wasn't given the best first impression with the food here through room service. I found my chicken and pasta to be bland, like the chicken wasn't seasoned enough and the pasta was undercooked.
The main restaurant, Valentin, more than made up for it, though. My mother liked the waitress, Paige, quite a bit. The people in the restaurant and bar were very friendly. I loved their chicken dishes, especially the "brick" chicken. And the desserts were very good too.
The Golfer's grill was also very nice. Good burgers, and I liked the chicken there too. To top it off, they have great espresso (Ryan Bros.).

The pool area is very nice. I like the view from the hot tub.

There's a lot of great things about the lodge. I highly recommend it.
  • Stayed January 2015, traveled with family