Guests visiting Walt Disney World tomorrow are being warned to expect massive traffic delays and closings of areas of the Magic Kingdom Park. As a matter of fact, Disney is encouraging guests to go to one of their other parks by extending hours and adding entertainment.
President Barak Obama is scheduled to give a speech at the park tomorrow afternoon on tourism. Here’s the kicker: the president's remarks are not open to guests, Disney said in a memo. Invitations are being handled by the White House. Park guests will not be able to attend without a White House invitation.
So, when tourists spend an exorbitant amount of money to fly to Orlando, arrange for hotels, eat out, go to attractions, and go to the magic Kingdom tomorrow they get to be inconvenienced in return because the president wants to talk about them, but not to them.
To me this is the height of snobbery. The “most transparent and accessible president in history†is going to be at the most visited tourist attraction in the world to talk about tourism, but he doesn’t want to mingle with the little people. Instead, he will inconvenience them, spoil the day for their children, and deny them access to the entire Main Street area of the Magic Kingdom from park opening to late in the afternoon. And that includes denying visitors the iconic view of the front of Cinderella’s Castle as they enter the park.
If tourists were at least given the opportunity to attend the speech and listen to the president talk I would feel better about the whole situation. At least then it would feel like the paying guests were getting something in return for their inconvenience â€" the opportunity to see our president. But, in his unerring wisdom, Obama has denied even that.
Looks like the only place tourists will get to see Obama tomorrow is in the Hall of Presidents attraction. Way to win over the little people Barak. Applause all around. By the way, are you paying the $90 admission for you and your staff out of your own pocket? I didn’t think so.
Wow you really are off. The park is not closed there are private events there often and you even try to spin it as a bad thing that they are trying to mitigate any inconvenience by extending hours and adding entertainment. He won't be there all day people will be able to see the castle. I doubt Obama set all the parameters of this or any other speech. Securing an area for presidential public appearance is a different animal than a private one. I would guess that kind of security scrutiny would add a lot more inconvenience to people who are visiting the park.
In the end you are right if the President did not travel anywhere it would be easier and cheaper. Is that really what we are going for cheap and easy?
No way could all those tourists be vetted to attend the speech. The presidential detail always causes inconvenience for people when they go somewhere. Security that's part of our times. No matter where the president goes, it's an unfortunate hassle. I don't blame the president. I blame the times we live in.
Nothing the President does is right to you. So there's no point in arguing this asinine drivel. It's entirely possible to use those tickets another day instead of go when the President is there. The tickets are dated to use within a certain time period... of months... and if they're set to expire the day you plan to use them, then you should have planned better. That's that "personal responsibility" you guys like to crow about so much.
Quote from: JeffreyS on January 18, 2012, 01:04:40 PM
Wow you really are off. The park is not closed there are private events there often and you even try to spin it as a bad thing that they are trying to mitigate any inconvenience by extending hours and adding entertainment. He won't be there all day people will be able to see the castle. I doubt Obama set all the parameters of this or any other speech. Securing an area for presidential public appearance is a different animal than a private one. I would guess that kind of security scrutiny would add a lot more inconvenience to people who are visiting the park.
In the end you are right if the President did not travel anywhere it would be easier and cheaper. Is that really what we are going for cheap and easy?
I never said the park was going to be closed. I said tourists are going to be inconvenienced. The irony of the situation is that Obama will be speaking about tourism, but tourists are not allowed to watch the speech.
I have been to a presidential speech when President Bush spoke at my son's graduation from Army Boot Camp. Yes, it does add a lot of time and screening to getting into the are, but the tourists should have been given the opportunity to choose that rather than being summarily dismissed.
In this day and age, when one out of every ten of his constituents are consider in poverty, Obama should be spending more time fixing that than going to Disney World or to Hawaii on our dime.
But let's not talk about all of the vacations that Bush took to Crawford texas to "clear brush" "on our dime" while waging two quagmire wars. Noooooo...
Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 18, 2012, 01:08:50 PM
Nothing the President does is right to you. So there's no point in arguing this asinine drivel. It's entirely possible to use those tickets another day instead of go when the President is there. The tickets are dated to use within a certain time period... of months... and if they're set to expire the day you plan to use them, then you should have planned better. That's that "personal responsibility" you guys like to crow about so much.
The White House just announced that the president would be traveling to WDW on Tuesday. Planning on the tourist's part doesn't really play into that.
Here's a scenario I see playing out tomorrow:
A fmaily arrives from the cold, wintery north to spend a few days in Florida. Maybe they only budgeted for one day at Disney and the rest of thier days were alloted to the beach in Daytona. The two kids, Suzy (4) and Timmy (7) are practically burting with eagerness to see Micky Mouse, Cinderella's Castle, and the rest of the magic that is Disney.
Since they are on vacation, mom and dad have not been watching television and so have no idea of what is in store for them at the Magic Kingdom.
They arrive tomorrow morning to a traffic jam miles long and learn that some of the most iconic sights -- the sights that they wanted to treat thier children to, the wonder on the faces of thier children, the photos the wanted to have of that wonder -- are going to be denied to them. And they had no real way of knowing any of this because known of this information is in Birnbaum's WDW 2012 Guide Book. There simply is no chapter on presidential visits.
Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 18, 2012, 01:18:56 PM
But let's not talk about all of the vacations that Bush took to Crawford texas to "clear brush" "on our dime" while waging two quagmire wars. Noooooo...
Its a lot cheaper to fly to Texas than Hawaii. And generally Barbara went with him on the same plane, at the same time. The brush he was clearing was on his own property and his own dime. All he was getting from me at that time was his salary and security.
Quote from: Gonzo on January 18, 2012, 01:25:20 PM
Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 18, 2012, 01:18:56 PM
But let's not talk about all of the vacations that Bush took to Crawford texas to "clear brush" "on our dime" while waging two quagmire wars. Noooooo...
Its a lot cheaper to fly to Texas than Hawaii. And generally Barbara went with him on the same plane, at the same time. The brush he was clearing was on his own property and his own dime. All he was getting from me at that time was his salary and security.
Bush Made 77 Trips to Crawford TX at $226,072 a Pop.. Let's see.. He cost us $17,407,544.00 + his salary + security costs flying to TX to clear brush. So how was that acceptable but one trip to Hawaii isn't?
Wow. This is getting fun. What if....
Mom and Dad listened to the news, or contacted the Magic Kingdom about what was going on the day of their visit. They would have known because Disney is doing the responsible thing and notifying visitors about possible delays. They would have had a choice about going to Daytona Beach tomorrow and the Magic Kingdom a different day.
Let's not blame the president for lack of planning on the part of the fake vacationers.
Don't underestimate what you paid for "only Bush's salary and security" not to mention the cost of flying Air Force One anywhere. It costs money for presidents to go places. Unless you want them to stay in their gilded cage and never step outside the White House, in these times, it costs money.
And guess what? It costs the same amount of money regardless of whether or not the president is a Democrat or a Republican.
Quote from: Debbie Thompson on January 18, 2012, 01:31:44 PM
Wow. This is getting fun. What if....
Mom and Dad listened to the news, or contacted the Magic Kingdom about what was going on the day of their visit. They would have known because Disney is doing the responsible thing and notifying visitors about possible delays. They would have had a choice about going to Daytona Beach tomorrow and the Magic Kingdom a different day.
Let's not blame the president for lack of planning on the part of the vacationers.
Actually, given the time frame, the only plce to put blame is the White House -- not necessarily Obama. But, he certainly could have said, "I don't want to be the reason someone's vacation is spoiled. How about we do the speech outside the park -- like at the Grand Floridian? That way we can still have the park and the castle in the background and we don't have to interrupt the park's operation or spoil Suzy and Timmy's wonder."
To me it is just inconsiderate.
Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 18, 2012, 01:30:47 PM
Quote from: Gonzo on January 18, 2012, 01:25:20 PM
Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 18, 2012, 01:18:56 PM
But let's not talk about all of the vacations that Bush took to Crawford texas to "clear brush" "on our dime" while waging two quagmire wars. Noooooo...
Its a lot cheaper to fly to Texas than Hawaii. And generally Barbara went with him on the same plane, at the same time.
The brush he was clearing was on his own property and his own dime. All he was getting from me at that time was his salary and security.
Bush Made 77 Trips to Crawford TX at $226,072 a Pop.. Let's see.. He cost us $17,407,544.00 + his salary + security costs flying to TX to clear brush. So how was that acceptable but one trip to Hawaii isn't?
Obama’s Christmas vacation to Hawaii estimated cost: $4,113,038.
Michelle Obama’s estimated vacation costs (total): $10,000,000.
That’s over $14 million in just three years as opposed to the eight years Bush was in office.
I could not find numbers for the Martha’s Vineyard vacation, but it is noted that the Obamas went on separate jets only a few hours apart; a total waste of money. And I think it would be safe to say that it cost at least a couple of million.
I don’t necessarily begrudge Obama for taking a vacation. What I find insensitive is that he is taking OPULENT vacations while the rest of the country has to give up vacations all together.
The number I pulled was the *bare minimum* cost which could have been incurred based on how much it cost to fly Airforce One at the time. That's just the plane hours.. not the man hours spent protecting and providing services to Bush. The actual total is probably much, much higher.
Uhh I hate to tell you, but Hawaii isn't exactly a foreign destination. You do know that they're a member of the United States of America, right? You know he has family there, right? Or are you still "waiting to see the birth certificate"? Nantucket isn't exactly "posh" or "opulent" either.
You're nit-picking. Why are you so mad? Were you personally going to go to Disney with the kids Thursday? Did it wreck your widdle vacation pwans?
No, you're just trash talking the President because you're mad his suit cost more than yours. Well I've got a great place you can go and discuss this with your buds... GTFO&STFU (http://www.freerepublic.com)! I also hear they like UFOs and conspiracy theories over there.
Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 18, 2012, 02:11:39 PM
The number I pulled was the *bare minimum* cost which could have been incurred based on how much it cost to fly Airforce One at the time. That's just the plane hours.. not the man hours spent protecting and providing services to Bush. The actual total is probably much, much higher.
Uhh I hate to tell you, but Hawaii isn't exactly a foreign destination. You do know that they're a member of the United States of America, right? You know he has family there, right? Or are you still "waiting to see the birth certificate"? Nantucket isn't exactly "posh" or "opulent" either.
You're nit-picking. Why are you so mad? Were you personally going to go to Disney with the kids Thursday? Did it wreck your widdle vacation pwans?
No, you're just trash talking the President because you're mad his suit cost more than yours. Well I've got a great place you can go and discuss this with your buds... GTFO&STFU (http://www.freerepublic.com)! I also hear they like UFOs and conspiracy theories over there.
The thread wasn't really about the Obama vacations to begin with, you are the one that took the conversation in that direction. I said nothing about any of his other policies other than he should not be inconveniencing others when there is another way. What is outrageous to me is the callus way in which he is taking over the park and not even letting the displaced tourists attend his speech.
NO, I did not have plans to go there tomorrow, but I sure feel for those who did.
I could care less about the cost of his suits, since I rarely wear one myself. I am much more comfortable in polos and khakis.
I'm not sure where you get your info, but Martha's Vineyard is one of the most expensive places in the country. The house he stayed in there rents for between $30,000 and $50,000 a week. I have family and friends across the country who I will not be able to visit because money is tight right now. But, again, that has nothing to do with the original intent of this thread.
And, dear Loki, I must admit to admiring your eloquence and class for using GTFO & STFU. Way to keep things classy. Sounds like you might be a bit more angry than me? How come? Wait... is that a UFO flying by? no, it was just your integrity...
You're operating under the assumption that I had any integrity to begin with. And I'm flatly insulted by that. 8)
Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 18, 2012, 02:42:02 PM
You're operating under the assumption that I had any integrity to begin with. And I'm flatly insulted by that. 8)
Well played, sir! ;)