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mdmost

Burnt Ends
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Everything posted by mdmost

  1. Info about the renovations which kicked off today. Cotton Bowl Stadium to undergo largest renovation in its 84-years. What's changing? Renovations are scheduled to be completed at the 84-year-old stadium by the start of the 2025 State Fair of Texas By Alanna Quillen • Published March 28, 2024 • Updated on March 28, 2024 at 10:56 am NBC Universal, Inc. The renovations are scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2025 State Fair of Texas. NBC 5’s Alanna Quillen has the details. On Thursday, the Dallas Park and Recreation Department and Fair Park First will soon begin the most comprehensive renovation of the legendary Cotton Bowl Stadium. The groundbreaking marks the beginning of a two-year, $140-million project to upgrade the historic 84-year-old venue. The project is part of the largest financial investment in Fair Park during the 137-year history of the fairgrounds. According to city officials, the project aims to preserve the legacy and heritage of the landmark stadium, while establishing its future as the incomparable outdoor venue in Texas. "You know, it's one of the signature elements, in my opinion, in the entire city -- the iconic Cotton Bowl," said Ryan O'Connor, Assistant Director of Partnership & Strategic Initiatives for Dallas Park & Recreation. "So it's important that we continue to treasure it, invest in it and to make sure it's got a great future." The highly anticipated renovations focus on enhancements to the visitor experience including: The addition of 14 new escalators Construction of new multi-story entries at the two west entrance gates The upper west concourse will be increased to three times the current square footage and include two outdoor terraces with views of downtown Dallas. The main concourse on the west side of the stadium will be doubled in size, featuring new art deco artwork to augment the venue’s classic style. Restrooms and concession stands will get a makeover and more will be added Creation of new premium seating environments and a newly expanded press area in the South endzone Improving the in-stadium Wi-Fi signal Overland Partners Other renovations are planned for the surrounding Fair Park, including a privately funded Community Park Complex and upgrades to the Music Hall at Fair Park and the African-American Museum. The venue projects will be funded by the Brimer Bill as part of 2022's Proposition A referendum. "This is the first cog in the wheel of a greater mechanism, providing funding for the future of the campus," said Darren L. James, Fair Park First board president in a press release in the fall. "Unlike previous renovations, which centered around increasing capacity, this project amplifies the fan experience for everyone who visits Fair Park. We are committed to steward this project collectively, creating a catalyst to the Fairground's future economic impact on the surrounding neighborhood and region." Dallas city leaders said these changes are long overdue, especially as Dallas grows and gears up to host big sporting events like the FIFA World Cup in 2026. "So the real thinking here is that it's important to make these improvements to not only maintain the kind of historic games that are played there but also to make the stadium more marketable for additional events that we're interested in attracting like soccer matches or concerts," said O'Connor. "So the intent of the investment is to position the stadium for success going forward." O'Connor said they also want to maintain the history of the stadium and surrounding Fair Park that has made the area so iconic. "You may not know that Fair Park is the largest collection of Art Deco structures anywhere in the world. So it's important for us to kind of always remember that. And when we're making changes and improvements to the building to be sensitive to that," said O'Connor. "It's a national historic landmark. It's not only important to us at the city, but it's important to a ton of folks in the city that everyone is aligned to ensure it continues to look great while preserving the history that's been a part of that place for so many years." Overland Partners is the lead in designing renovations for the stadium, in collaboration with McAfee3 Architects, Modus and Norman Alston Architects. The two-year restoration will be conducted in two phases, allowing the stadium to host annual events without interruption during the 2024 State Fair of Texas, the Red River Rivalry, and the Grambling/Prairie View games. Renovations are scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2025 State Fair of Texas.
  2. Prepare for the trapezoid of disappointment.
  3. I enjoyed it until the vomit scene. Then it just became really mean and shitty.
  4. Andy's scan was okay. He may be back by Sheffield United. Xabi is supposedly staying in Germany. Tiresome if he goes to Bayern. I hate that Bunda teams let Bayern get whatever they want. Hopefully he’s staying at Bayer.
  5. Yeah, we did a separate trip on a long weekend in late April last year. We've been to the Orlando one as well. Orlando is better. The main draw and reason to go was Super Mario Land. We had a good time. We stayed at the Hilton right down the small hill from the gate. It was about a 10 minute walk. It's a park you could easily do in 1 day. We did 1.5 days and were going through the motions a bit on day 2. The other half day was doing Warner Bros Studio Tour which was great. My older kid is into Pretty Little Liars and Friends so she enjoyed seeing some of the sets. I was disappointed with the Universal Studio tour. They were shooting something at the Back to the Future town square so we didn't get to go down there. The King Kong portion was also not working. You can pay to get early entry into Super Mario Land which was worth it. Got in and out of the land as it was getting super crowded. It's not a park I feel the need to repeat any time soon though especially with Epic Universe opening in 2025. Hogwarts is empty in the evening so we rode the Castle ride 3 times in a row as a walk-on. Disneyland and UH are so far apart that I wouldn't recommend trying to do both in one trip unless you're staying near Universal for a night.
  6. Roof closed...boo. Flyover is going to be awkward.
  7. Like the Astros did in Game 6 & 7? Or may thy trash can dent and not bang.
  8. Losing CJ was such addition by subtraction
  9. Yes, yes. Assuming a person of color got their position because of DEI or affirmative action and not actual merit is strictly because of those "racist policies" and not the inherent racism of the person assuming. Like saying the mayor of Baltimore is a DEI mayor. Yeah, that's DEI's fault.
  10. It would be interesting if white people would stop acting so put upon that some want to level the playing field for people who've historically been excluded from opportunities like jobs, housing, lines of credit, education, etc.
  11. The late 80s/early 90s Republicans didn't need to clutch their pearls when they had Tipper Gore and Lieberman to do it for them. I always chuckled how much MTV was in the tank for Clinton given Al and Tipper's censorship campaigns against heavy metal and hip hop.
  12. It's possible they could open it up by July but they're redoing the entire queue and putting in an ADA elevator. I've seen they wanted to have it done by September since that would allow for the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay to be used. That's one crappy thing about DLR. You only have January to early September to get the original Haunted Mansion. The Nightmare overlay is September to just after New Year's. The WDW version is superior though in most ways. The Hatbox Ghost is in the correct spot in the DLR version but the queue and everything else is better at WDW. Pirates is a lot better at DLR. New Orleans Square is really great and the Tiana ride should add to it. Get the beignets from the Mint Julep Bar. If I were in your shoes, I would hit up Tomorrowland first at rope drop. Ride Space Mountain first and then head to the Matterhorn since it's close by. Then make your way over to Big Thunder and Indiana Jones. Most of these will be walk ons or under a 20 minute wait. If the wait exceeds 40 minutes, book a Genie+ for it. You can accomplish all 4 before 9:30, assuming they don't go down. Then fill in the other rides like Pirates and Fantasyland since those don't have Genie+ options. You then have 4 Genie+ selections of those first 4 rides to use later if you wish to re-ride them. The park starts to get crowded with regulars around 11am. Locals don't really use Genie+ so you'll have pretty good luck with it the rest of the day. I think you can park hop at 1pm now. You can book Genie+ for the other park if you have the park hopper ticket loaded on your app. Definitely ride the train for diorama and do the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough. This is a pretty good resource for Disneyland. https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-disneyland/#The_Disneyland_Strategy_for_Big_Kids_with_Genie https://disneylanddaily.com/a-first-timers-guide-to-disneyland/
  13. I want to say we'll match last year's win total but I worry about the pitching rotation. So I'll go 86 wins and a wildcard spot.
  14. I would prefer a day per park but if I only had one day, I would just do Disneyland and skip California Adventure. Or if you get a park hopper, just worry about Cars Land and Guardians so you can see how that differs from Tower of Terror. If you get Genie+, it's a breeze to blow through both parks. Just get there at rope drop so you can hit up rides with low waits. If you only want to worry about differences, get a park hopper and only hit up the exclusives and maybe must do favorites and then park hop to CA. You can always go back to DLR in the evenings/when done. I think you won't get to do Haunted Mansion as that's down until the fall. The Splash Mountain changeover may be done by then. I think they were angling for late summer. Definitely get there early in the morning and be amazed at how much you can get done before 11am. Genie+ is superior at DLR and CA because less people use it. You can work it so you don't have to use Genie+ till around 11am. Makes it nice to have those for later so you can ride again if you want. Guy on a different site made this list which I agree with: DL Exclusive Attractions: Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (uses same ride system as DINOSAUR at AK) Snow White's Enchanted Wish Pinocchio's Daring Journey Mister Toad's Wild Ride Casey Jr. Circus Train Storybook Land Canal Boats Alice in Wonderland Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Roger Rabbit's Car-Toon Spin Chip & Dale's Gadget Coaster Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage The Matterhorn (note this uses the same ride system as Space Mountain at MK) Space Mountain (same theme but completely different ride) DL Similar but not exactly the same: Enchanted Tiki Room - longer show Pirates of the Caribbean - longer with more show scenes Haunted Mansion - even without the Nightmare overlay it is slightly different The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Big Thunder Mountain - some additional effects and scenery Autopia - much longer than the Tomorrowland Speedway, but basically the same Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - removable laser blasters make it a little better DL Exactly (or basically) the same: Peter Pan's Flight - technically some minor differences Dumbo King Aruthur Carousel Milennium Falcon: Smugglers Run - all of Galaxy's Edge is practically identical Rise of the Resistance Mad Tea Party Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway - The queue is very different and cool - may be new to you and is worth it if so. Star Tours Astro Orbitor - though at ground level CA Exclusive Attractions: Monsters Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout - based on Tower of Terror, though the DL version works a little differently WEB Slingers Radiator Springs Racers - this is like a massively bigger Test Track Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters Incredicoaster Inside-Out Emotional Whirlwind Silly Symphony Swings - though this is an off-the shelf "wave swinger" ride Jumpin' Jellyfish Golden Zephyr Goofy's Sky School CA Similar but not exactly the same: Mater's Junkyard Jamboree - the same as Alien Swirling Saucers Grizzly River Run - longer version of Kali River Rapids - definitely a wet ride! CA Exactly (or basically) the same: Mickey's Philharmagic! - smaller screen though Turtle Talk with Crush Ariel's Undersea Adventure - same as Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid Jessie's Critter Carousel Soarin' - though note sometimes they run it with the original Sorain' over California, in which case it is a must do!
  15. Yes, this was the tweet I was trying to find earlier.
  16. Affirmative Action in the 90s/CRT in 2020/woke in 2022/DEI today.
  17. I finally saw a Cybertruck in the wild this morning. It looks so incredibly stupid. Like a stainless steel refrigerator was made into a car.
  18. Disney and the DeSantis dildos settled their state lawsuit.
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