Van Dammer

Ratatouille at Paris is pretty good, like a more family friendly version of the Spiderman and Transformers rides you get at Universal, im surprised it hasn't been brought over already. 

 

Ive never got EPCOT, we've rarely been back to it after our first few visits. I always feel like its really outdated and bland with very little to do. The world showcase is fine if you want to spend your day at a theme park eating and drinking but id rather enjoy actual attractions and they're very limited. I suppose that has changed a bit recently but its still my least favourite park in Orlando. I was shocked to see that its something like the 2nd or 3rd most visit theme park in the world though so there must be something im missing?

I'm really hoping Tower of Terror remains intact for my trip, it's probably my favourite ride when considering the theming, atmosphere and the actual ride. I guess it will change in a few years time once the Hollywood update has been completed.

 

I believe Disney aren't allowed to use the characters that Universal use in their Florida parks without paying for it or waiting for the agreement to end, which is quite a lot really.

What a thread. As others have said, Orlando holidays can be done in two ways. Firstly, it can be ultra expensive and definitely a once in a lifetime thing or secondly, on a reasonable budget but still seeing and doing everything. My advice is unless you really want to splash out on the disney hotels, look at villas or even cheaper, hotels. Were going in November and our villa for 2 weeks is half the price of Disneys Art of Animation Hotel, which is pretty much a standard hotel suite with a theme. You miss out on a bit of the Disney 'magic' and you will need a car, but you will save a bundle. You will find yourself eating cheaper and finding some gems outside of the resort bubble as well. General trip planning is advised too, plan ahead and books flights when sales etc are on, we got flights with BA for 2 adults and a child for £750 whilst their sale was on and using some reward points we had built up on a standard AMEX credit card. A slight problem now is the exchange rate though, park tickets have gone up dramatically (although disney are holding prices somewhat for 2017 if you book before the end of march, then they will go up).

 

Onto my trip now, I think ive been to Orlando over 10 times, but never as a Dad. My son will turn two whilst we are out there and wondered if anyone had been with a similar age toddler and can remember how they handled it all and any general tips?

Yeah there's definitely truth in that. I also think there's likely a good number of the likes of us in here who are silent Sky Sports subscribers, who don't necessarily always watch or tape Raw, but would fume if Sky dropped WWE cold.

 

It'd be interesting to compare the Monday Night football figures over time to WWE. I might do that next. One thing I did notice though, was despite the dip, WWE dominate whichever Sky Sports channel they're shoved on (It's 5 now but it has rotated across 2, 3 and 4 in the past - a massive pain when collating those figures.)

 

Its not an exact study, but even comparing the last week in this January, with January's in the past, they've been kings of the Top 10 for their channel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, when negotiating this stuff, Sky and WWEs guys will be comparing their figures against everything else on their channels and others' channels. Youre right about silent subscribers too, i record every week but rarely watch.

 

Mr E makes a good point about advertising too, I cant remember seeing Sky advertise RAW or SD in atleast 5 years despite it being one of their most popular shows. Especially when you consider how hard Sky advertise their live sport and what not, you'd have thought running an advert in a quiet spot letting people know both shows are on live would be worthwhile.

Bennos gloriously factual post

 

Love this stuff, thanks for posting the graph. The thing is though, most of TV is showing similar downward trends, most notably in sport too with the NFL and Premier League viewing figures seeing notable drops. I think generally people just arent watching TV in the ways they used to, and conventional methods of monitoring viewers cant pick it up. Whether its streaming or simply being put off by high subscription charges. I can see fundamental changes occuring in TV within the next 10 years, there will be a move towards people only paying for the stuff they watch. SKY charging blanket prices for large packages that include 300 channels already feels outdated, I personally watch around 10-15 channels over the course of a year, thats so much waste that youre paying for. As far as the WWE and major brands, this probably means a move to a more fluid subscription system like the network but something that houses everything, so you can pay for WWE, NFL and Premier League and just watch that rather than multiple other things youll never watch. They'd have to sell it hard though.

I like Rollins, I certainly wouldnt say he has the Ziggler mid card stench. But you really saw the difference in a guy like him and a guy like Triple H. Both with similar style promos, both full of horrendous, cheesy lines but delivered so differently and with completely different convictions. A world apart.

Yeah, not really sure what would make you anxious or stressed about a holiday unless its the planning or general having to be organised with passports etc. 

Quite far in advance but im heading to Orlando in November with the GF and our toddler (will be his 2nd birthday the day we land). I'm a fairly seasoned veteran when it comes to Orlando, but has anyone ever gone with young toddlers?

 

 

On Thursday, WWE released their earnings report for the second quarter of 2016. Some highlights of the report include the following:

• Revenue increased 32% to a record $199 million, which is the highest quarterly revenue in company history.

• WWE Network acheived a record 1.52 million paid subscribers on average, up 25% from Q2 2015.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon commented on the Q2 2016 earnings report with the following:

“I continue to be pleased with the execution of our strategy to optimize the long-term value of our content. Progress on this objective is evidenced by the continued year-over-year growth of WWE Network, the transition of SmackDown to a live format every week and the completion of our first exclusive content agreement in China.”

 

You can read the full earnings report:http://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2016/28-07-2016

 

The boys are doing alright for themselves, aren't they?

 

Now saying that something they're trying to gloss around is that net income was only 0.8 million dollars, down from 5.1 million dollars last year so they didn't make a lot of profit. Investing for the future? Either way the stock is pretty high now compared to the past so investors must be confident in what they are doing.

 

 

Not to disparage the positive results, but a fair chunk of the revenue increase is because the TV deal is set up so they get paid a higher amount for each year of the contract.

 

 

Yeah, also on the net income front, I haven't properly read or listened to the latest accounts or conference call but they have been banging on about long term infrastructure investment surrounding the network so it will dip. The large gain in revenue is huge though and the Network is bringing in huge results for them. 

Thought it strange that Balor didnt have a dramatic entrance last week on the Draft show on Smackdown! Found it even stranger that he debuted by standing on the ramp with everyone else. The only minor criticism of how they brought him in though.

 

Didn't enjoy the latest Table For 3, DDP talks too much and he's one of those guys that I've heard so much from in the past couple of years that the sound of his voice just grates on me now.

 

Plus he's still a giddy mark who tends to fawn over people he should be able to consider peers by now, like an over-excited 60 year old fanboy. He's a polarizing character. I tend to forgive Dallas as I was a big fan and find him charming in spite of myself, but I can see why people might find him annoying.

 

 

The whole show would have been a mess without him. Vader was happily being grouchy and talking about odd, minor points from the past where as Sting was being very vague on everything. When DDP asked Sting about bringing Lex back I was expecting Sting to come out with what everyone else say and even Bischoff himself, that Bischoff wasnt a fan and was reluctant to have him. Then Sting comes out with the boring 'I spoke to Eric and he was like 'greeeeat, lets bring him in and do something special''. DDP would be pretty good doing what JBL did last week with Bischoff, but maybe with more obscure people from the past, former writers or people that were more flies on walls at certain periods. 

Does anyone know why Raws (1997 mainly) are not chaptered whatsoever but most of the Nitros ive seen are? Id have thought they would have concentrated on the RAW stuff, rather than WCW,

Notice periods are there for the protection of the employee. If you were being made redundant, that's what the notice period is for. As long as the new employer is happy with it, you could start the next day, foregoing any pay that's due.

 

Id heard this recently and thought it was bollocks. I googled it too but could only find that redundancy pay was worked out based on the length of service, i.e each full years service equates to a weeks redundancy pay. 

 

The reason I was looking for it was because my company was trying to raise notice periods from 1 month to 3 and used it as a selling point.

 

Suuuurely you have The Giant go over, destroy a few challengers in between then and Starrcade and then have Hogan take the belt back on the big show?

You smark.

 

 

Ha, it was just such a strange finish, they cheated and still couldnt get the job done. I never expected Giant to beat him clean, but I was expecting a similar style mess at the end but have The Giant ultimately win the match. I feel the follow up match is pointless now, ive already seen the heel cheat and still couldnt win. 

Late 1995 WCW is so fun. Been watching from Nitros inception and just got past Halloween Havoc, Hogans feud with the Giant is so preposterous that I dont know where to start. Initially it was just hinted that the Giant was Andres son, now theyre just openly saying it. Hogans still in full on 80s mode with his promo style and mannerisms. The Dungeon of Doom is so ridiculous, from Kevin Sullivans short, fat dad look to all of the members and then the weird Ice man that appeared just before the PPV. The finish of the Halloween Havoc match was so bizarre too, I dont see why they thought it was a good idea. Suuuurely you have The Giant go over, destroy a few challengers in between then and Starrcade and then have Hogan take the belt back on the big show? It was a really sloppy, e-fed style finish to their PPV, I wont even get started on the 'Yettay!'

 

Its impressive how polished Nitro is and how well presented it is though, Bischoffs strong points really show here and its a really easy programme to watch. Its so weird watching a Nitro after the PPV and forgetting how little information and communication there was about what happened at a PPV. I automatically presumed the show must have been taped as they just constantly teased about the 'extraordinary events' that happened the night before without going into detail.

Yeah it was a fun little show, its amazing that they would react like that given there are clearly cameras there. Barrett just reacted like a hardnut but Rollins reacts like an absolute dick. He clearly picked up more than a bit of wrestling training from CM Punk.

Whats the time frame for Raws being added? Its been atleast 3 or 4 weeks since they last added any to 1997 which has completely killed my enthusiasm for the Network as its about all I watch. Is it likely that they just add them in big lots and then dont bother for a few months?

Why is Lesnar facing Kingston? I understand why hes appearing, he was making the trip anyway etc but surely they would have been better using him against a bigger name? Granted, due to Lesnars agreement, only a quick squash is a possibility ala his match with Big Show at the Rumble but it feels very wasted.

As they now have the first few episodes from 1997 up, that includes the episode which has the finals of the European Title tournament between Bulldog & Owen and from what I recall being a very good match between Mankind & Sid

 

Im upto the episode before that and looking forward to it. Watching from between Survivor Series 96 to just after the Final Four PPV in February there is a sharp increase in quality in the shows. The presentation of the mayhem over the title between Sid, Austin, Taker, Bret and others is top notch and there are strong performances throughout. Brets story from the returning hero at SS96 to his present form of bitching and beginning to turn heel is briliant. Im convinced its one of the best stories told in wrestling as Bret has genuine gripes and it just plays out perfectly. 

 

Vince leaving the announcers desk and leaving JR and King to it feels huge too, the two just gel instantly and it feels like a proper announce team for the first time. 

 

Im surprised to say it too, but the ECW episode is a bit of a let down and I was kind of left annoyed that it got so much time as it left little time for the brilliant stories they were telling on RAW at the time. 

 

A few questions from this though, was it supposed to be Shawn vs Bret at mania before Shawns 'injury' and where did that leave Austin, Sid and Taker? Also, why was Bret givent he title for one night at Final Four? Was it simply to further his screwed story or did plans change again late doors and they wanted Taker to go over Sid? Looking at it, it didnt feel right having Bret going into Mania as champion, im just surprised they gave him the belt for one night. 

Echo the love for Mad Max. Just a really fun, exciting film that barely slows down in its 2 hours and never drags. Builds up a number of strong characters in that time and many others behind them. Tempted to go and see it again.

1997 Raw has started to be added, which is very exciting for me. Jan and Feb, minus one episode from Jan, which will be added soon, are on there.

 

Good news, ive been watching RAWs and PPVs in order starting from just before Survivor Series 1996 to fully enjoy seeing the transition into attitude era Raw. I only originally got Sky in June 1997 and even just the 6 month gap the show is so different, still no staging and so obviously taped and even TL Hopper is still getting airtime.

Vince announced they're up to 1.3m subscribers at the moment. That's pretty bloody impressive. I was planning to cancel after WrestleMania or Extreme Rules, but there's so much I'm still interested in seeing and the current PPVs are enough to keep me subscribed now.

 

It is and it isnt. Remember that number includes all of the Mania subscribers who will likely cancel now the event is finished. In truth we wont know how good or bad it is until the Mania PPV buys come in and we know how many people still bought it the old fashioned way and paid the $50 or whatever it is in the states.

 

I believe thats the real reason why the stock dropped massively yesterday. If there were only 300k buys or similar then its a huge problem for them but if they did the same 690k of last year then its a huge positive. Id say anything around 450k is acceptable and 500k+ is a decent number for them.

For those who bet horses. Has analytics hit the sport in the same way it has many others over the last 5 years?

 

It's something I've never bet on, besides from the national for fun, and just interested in how people pick horses.

 

What kind of analytics go into the choosing, is there a whole database with various horses, weather conditions, times. Stuff like that? Or is it more like the Ladbrokes advert where the guy looks into the eyes of the horse and chooses him?

 

It really seems like an interesting sport to bet on if you had all the data at hand.

 

 

The shrewd punters wil have very complex databases with stats and info that just isnt readily available. I used to have a client who would record the timings of every horse in a particular race as well as wind speeds, the incline of the track amongst other very anal things. He then created some algorithms to come up with a selection process and he became very successful with it. People like this wont be sharing their info or databases though as its a painstaking process to do it al

There will also be trading syndicates who do similar and make a living off it and will be very thorough with the info they keep and will always be looking for new and different angles that others havent look at yet. Generally with Horse Racing, if you like it enough to be prepared to look at it in incredible detail and basically do it as a full time job in some cases, you will make money from it.

 

Of course there are also people like that awful Ladbrokes advert and its those mugs that keep the bookmaking world spinning.

 

The reason I dont like horse racing though is that its such a secretive world. Owners, trainers, jockeys and stable staff know so much about their horses, trainers regularly send their horses out to lose or with no hope of winning to boost its price for a later date so they can lump on. There was a situation not so long ago with a very famous former owner (cant believe im struggling to remember his name), he basically got 4 or 5 horses home in the same day and made millions from backing them all in multiples and accas but he did it by sending them out constantly for months before and having them pull up injured, fall, tail off last and basically put in a bad performance so that in one day all of those horses would be much bigger prices than they should have been and they all hacked up. What was ridiculous about that day was that general punters thought it was great that he was sticking it to the bookies but in actual fact they were the ones that paid for it as theyd been backing all of his horses on the previous runs when they had no intention of winning.

 

Barney Curley, that was it:

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/mar/03/barney-curley-2m-betting-coup

So, that Sting bit looked a bit shit really didnt it? Were they trying to be that obvious that it was a wig? If they were, id have preferred them going down the route of having loads of them, maybe surrounding the ring as the lights came on, then off, then in the ring, then off again, then the video message. I liked everything other than HHH's banana skin fall and the wig though.

 

I always remember that from the time. Vince was so calamitous at times, even from how he landed on that table at St Valentines Day Massacre.