Mark Willard
@markwillard
Travel, theme parks, film, Disney, photography, and occasionally Tech/InfoSec. AKA @MarkWillard85 on the bird app. Please don't take any of this too seriously. Profile photo by Jessie Summers.
I don’t doubt Emily Wilson knows more about The Odyssey than most people living - or heck - more than most people since Homer himself, but everything she’s written suggests to me that she does not understand the language of film at all. Just a baffling misreading to the point that it feels willful.
Safe for another year 😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨 disneyparksblog.com/wdw/epcot-fe...
While putting trash out last night, this guy was staring me down before taking off & perching on top of my house. Pretty sure that can only mean it’s now my responsibility to recover the Master Sword and use it to enter the Sacred Realm to defeat Ganondorf and protect the Triforce. I’ll do my best.
Not clear if this will be in addition to or replacing Frightfully Fun Parade at Oogie Boogie Bash… I really hope it’s not the latter. The HM unit is the best part of FFP, but in Disney nomenclature, a “street party” is typically less substantial than a parade. Would be a shame to lose FFP for that.
Walt Disney: Disneyland is your land. 🦆: Nope. My land. You can use the monorail when I’m done.
It is May 2026. I am reading articles in The Atlantic from world class epidemiologists debating methods of transmission of an infectious virus spreading around the world after passengers were trapped on a cruise ship.
One thing I will give Port Discovery (and kind of Aquatopia) credit for: it contains one of my favorite visual gags in any Disney park ever. (photo courtesy of @themeparkarchive.bsky.social)
Of all the points in that Palantir thread, point 9 is definitely the most darkly ironic. We have already reached that end state my dude, but it’s definitely not from lack of forgiveness.
I know timing the market is a fool's errand (and I don't try), the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent, etc. It's still hilarious to me how credulous so many institutional investors apparently are. Truly Charlie Brown and Lucy levels of gullibility. They want to be lied to.
Yes, of course no one at the NYT believes in teleportation. No, they are not "both sidesing" it. This is really, really, really basic media literacy and just common sense. C'mon people. www.litcharts.com/literary-dev...
@derekburgan.bsky.social thinking I probably shouldn’t click this link… 😅
Perhaps I should’ve known, but I was today years old when I learned that Shanghai was already underway when Eisner left (in 2005!). I always thought that was 100% Iger. www.disneytouristblog.com/michael-eisn...
Also Push is here! Honestly no idea when I last saw him but I’m pretty sure it was pre-covid
They really decided to go wild with the lighting package for tonight’s Epcot DVC Party (it’s been like this nonstop all night)
Really curious what this is but I have absolutely no clue what it could be. Anyone have any good guesses? Source: touringplans.com/blog/saturda...
This is something that travel hackers and churners have been doing with some regularity for a while, but lolol at the idea that normal people can/will do this and will understand the risks involved on almost 0 notice 🙃 apnews.com/article/gove...
Eisner seems to have some thoughts on Iger's recent decision-making. x.com/Michael_Eisn...
Yes, those are definitely the four most consequential things that Disney has done since 1955. I can't think of anything else remotely worthy of mention or signifying "reinvention" between then and now.
Found this in the discontinued/clearance section of the grocery store. Not sure why “coffee made with the mushrooms that turn people into gruesome zombies in the hit show!” wasn’t a winning marketing strategy 😅