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July 18, 2009

Seattle's Light Rail System Opens At 10 AM Today

Opening day is here!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Real Cities Have Trains. And it's fantastic to see that we've finally joined the party.

Rumor has it that opening weekend is going to be packed (especially true if our opening is anything like the one in Phoenix). The system is free until Monday morning, so feel free to swing on by and take it for a spin.

Some important dates to look forward to in Seattle's rail future:

• December 31, 2009. The Sea-Tac Airport station opens.
• 2012. The First Hill Streetcar should be open for service.
• 2016. University Link opens, taking the system goes a little farther north to stations on Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium.
• 2020. North Link goes live, adding stations at Brooklyn, Roosevelt and Northgate. At the same time, East Link comes online, which connects the core light rail system with a line that runs from downtown Seattle to Mercer Island and downtown Bellevue.
• 2021. East Link extends even further out, connecting from Bellevue to the Overlake Transit Center (and possibly downtown Redmond).
• 2023. North Link extends all the way to Lynnwood, adding stations at Jackson Park, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood.

I'm so incredibly happy right now. This is a great day.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 18, 2009 2:39 AM.
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13 Days In Asia, Part 4: The Final

(Please see: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.) 

• The iPhone App Store is a godsend to travelers. There are trivial little helper apps, such as Beijing Subway (which displays the city subway map ... and that's all), language-and-translation apps (Lonely Planet's "Mandarin Phrasebook" is terrific) and even some incredibly handy tourist helpers, such as the Beijing Taxi Guide. This last is my favorite, both for utility and for cleverness; the utility comes from its long list of popular Beijing attractions and restaurants, and the cleverness comes from its "Taxi Card" mode, where you can tap a button that rotates the screen and displays the attraction's address and directions in Chinese. That way, you can simply show your iPhone to a taxi driver and they know where to take you. Super-cool, super-useful.
• Friday night's dinner and entertainment took place at the (famous) Lao She Tea House, which is right near Tiananmen Square. Built  just 20 years ago, the place is designed to look and feel like it's hundreds of years old. It's packed to the rafters with memorabilia, photographs of famous visitors, and has an almost EPCOT-esque quality to it (at one point, I seriously felt like I was wandering around the China pavilion in Florida). There are guided tours of the various private tea rooms (each a distinct size and style), a gift shop, and an integrated, 100-person theater. We saw a shadow puppet show during dinner ("Tortoise and Crane"), and were then moved to the theater, served fresh tea, and treated to the "Four Seasons" show which tells the story of the Monkey King. The servers do acrobatic tea service; there's face-changing and kung fu; a bit of Chinese opera. It's a definite cultural experience, and I found myself somewhat overloaded and disoriented during the show because I lacked so much cultural backstory. Eventually, I just leaned back and took in as much as I could. (Welcome to Asia, white boy.)
• The weekend was our big shot at some real tourism, a chance to get out of the office (and the city) and to see some of the sights that Beijing is famous for. Our Chinese colleagues had organized two different options - Group A would go to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, with Group B heading off to see the Ming Tombs and the Summer Palace. Since Brooke and I had seen the Great Wall on our last trip, we joined Group B ... and then found out there were just 5 of us. In a lot of ways, this turned out to be a blessing - everybody fit into one passenger car, and could pretty much set our own schedule.
• The Ming Tombs are incredible. Above ground, the place feels like an elaborate Chinese public park - trees, cobblestone footpaths, old buildings, concessionaires, a gift shop, and the like. However, when you actually descend into one of the Tombs, everything changes and it becomes something out of an as-yet-unmade Indiana Jones film. By the time you enter the first antechamber, you're 27 meters underground and gawking at the height of the cavern, the scope of the building work, the quality of the craftsmanship, and the fact that it was all built a looooong time ago. The whereabouts of the Tomb's entrances were unknown for quite some time, despite the government searching for them; our guide told us that they were found about 50 years ago, shortly after a hard rain caused a sinkhole and revealed them. Chinese archeologists had to figure out how to pick the elaborate, never-intended-to-open locks on the gigantic doors, excavate the site, and preserve its treasures. Over time, the sites were turned into a national exhibit.
• (It should be pointed out the Indiana Jones version of this experience likely involved some kind of curse, face-melting, and/or underground mining car chase; I doubt that this happened here.)
• In China, you can travel about 400 years in 5km or so; we had lunch at a gleaming, ultra-modern (and huge) mall, slurping down some delicious spicy noodles from a mass-market Japanese chain. After lunch, I noticed a coffee place ("Barista Coffee") near the foot of one of the escalators, and simply couldn't resist. The promise of a decent cup of java was too strong, and I was overdue.
• Barista Coffee could be a coffee bar at any newer mall anywhere in the US or Europe. Leather couches and chairs, swank decoration, free newspapers and fashion magazines, free WiFi. The only catch was that they didn't speak English and my Mandarin is pretty much limited to "Hello", "Thank you" and pointing at pictures of things on a menu. In this case, that worked out - the menu is a full-color, laminated jobby that has a very nice table listing drinks, sizes, and prices. Find the intersection of what you want, point at it, pay the nice lady some Yuan. I ordered two drinks - one for me, one for Brooke - and I was delighted to see that they had drink flavors at the bottom of the sheet. I pointed at the "Vanilla" item, at which point the woman behind the counter paused, and gave me the "are you sure?" look. Through mutual smiling and head-nodding, we establish that yes, I want the vanilla, and then our group goes to sit down.
• Punchline: they wind up bringing us four drinks. Two of them are the ones we thought we ordered, and the extra two I accidentally ordered with my oh-so-clever pointing routine. Turns out the "vanilla" bit at the bottom refers to vanilla-flavored beans, not extra syrup. She thought I wanted extra drinks for the rest of our group, and, well, now we have them. Turns out they're not so big on the flavored syrup; the flavor goes into the beans, instead. Live and learn.
• (I have to say, the coffee was pretty good.)
• We head to the Summer Palace, and holy cow is it packed. A weekend day, bright, sunny, hot, and the joint is swarming with tourists and locals alike. The signs at the front of the park say that it's 33 degrees (nearly 100, for those of you back home), and they're expecting 22,000 guests - slightly down from 26,700 the day before. (As a point of comparison, Disneyland does about 40,000 people a day.)
• The Palace is a jewel - a flat-out-wonderful public good. We stroll the grounds and watch families playing, old people fishing, Australian and German tourists snapping photos, people practicing English, vendors selling kites and souvenirs and ice cream, and everywhere is noise and laughter and the sound of birds and other wildlife. The fact that the site itself is a priceless historical relic seems beside the point - Beijingers use their city - but the sheer number of people and the delight with which they're enjoying the place makes it a vibrant and wonderful place to be. If I lived in Beijing, I'd spend a ton of time here.
• Hours later, we are sunburned, walked out, and totally pooped. We rendezvous with the A Group for dinner (Peking duck), and I find myself crashing hard as I hear their stories of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and crazy haggling with merchants.
• A handful of us take off on Sunday and do a bit of Western spelunking - which meant visiting McDonald's and Wal-Mart. We just had to know.
• I'd hit Mickey D's the last time I was in town, and, unsurprisingly, it seemed exactly the same. This one has 2 floors, is open 24 hours, offers home delivery by its battalion of scooter-driving, uniformed help and was totally packed. One of their folks saw us coming up the staircase and slid up with menus that had both Chinese and English translations on them. Everyone tried something new or unfamiliar - I did their chicken sandwich, which had a little too much mayo for my tastes - and, after everyone finished, we broke for Wal-Mart.
• Wal-Mart in China is, to borrow the Pulp Fiction-ism, "just a little bit different." They have all the same shit there that we have here, but it's just a little bit different. The store itself is big - three stories, with escalators to take you (and your cart) between floors. They sell the assortment of stuff you'd expect, too - clothes, toys, household items - alongside a full-service grocery store (complete with fresh produce, pre-made food, you name it) down on the ground level. The place is laid out like IKEA, guiding you from section to section in a logical way. We saw tons of American brands - and in many cases, the American logo is the only thing on the package in English. Wal-Mart seems to be spending a lot of energy to educate Chinese consumers about conveniences that Americans take for granted - complimentary parking, assistance getting the cart to the car, the ability to use bank cards. The store is also putting an emphasis on customer service - signs everywhere remind people to "send a letter to our President" with their thoughts. Despite how you might feel about Wal-Mart, it's all pretty impressive. And I wonder what the average Chinese citizen thinks of it - are they dazzled? Do they care? (I'll have to ask one of my colleagues.)
• Monday was strange - after a week of nonstop meetings and packed evenings, to find myself with a normal, freed-up work day was a bit of a shock. It quickly became routine, and as Monday turned to Tuesday, Wednesday, and, finally, Thursday morning, I found myself back in a hotel shuttle and heading for the airport.
• Yes, Beijing's airport has a Starbucks. And yes, I totally got my grande vanilla soy latte on before the flight. (And no, they didn't bring me two of them.)
• If you're so inclined, you can buy beer from the vending machine located next to the gate. (You can also get fruit juice, Coke Zero, and a handful of things I didn't recognize.) I can't decide if this is genius (chill out the passengers before takeoff) or just mean to the flight attendants (unruly drunk passengers!).
• We land in Japan. No crazy health screenings this time.
• "Frost/Nixon" is a fantastic movie. I didn't pay it much attention when it came out theatrically, but it looked reasonably strong against my other in-flight choices, so I gave it a spin. Blew me away. Smart, well-written, engaging, and with some spectacular performances - absolutely rent it.
• On the other hand, "Caddyshack" - a movie I've been nostalgically warm about since forever, but hadn't seen in at least 20 years - is not very good. I know it's directed by Harold Ramis and has a cast of people I adore, but ... (sigh). It just doesn't age well. I should have left it alone.
• We land in Seattle. Customs is a breeze, the bags are on the carousel in near-record time, and I'm suddenly in the back seat of a taxi heading home. I'm in sensory overload: the sky is fantastically blue, the plants and vegetation are overwhelmingly green, the mountains are gleamingly white-capped and the air is so! freakin'! clean!. I roll down the window, let in the rushing freeway breeze, and breathe deeply.

Damn, it's good to be home.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 18, 2009 1:39 AM.
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July 17, 2009

The Skinny On "World Of Color"

The LA Times travel blog has the skinny on the new World Of Color show, including a quick description of all the major scenes.

World of Color, which blends the nighttime spectacle of Disneyland's Fantasmic and the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, is the first major addition of a $1.1-billion makeover planned for Disney's California Adventure through 2012. ... The water show will feature an array of dancing fountains, movie projections and lighting effects all tied to the original Sherman Brothers musical score from Disney's Sunday night television show of the 1960s and '70s.

The show will run 25 minutes, and it sounds awesome. They're gonna pack the house with this one.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 17, 2009 9:46 PM.
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Two More Glimpses Into The Future California Adventure

Another day, another drip of Disney data on the DCA makeover - in this case, a media preview of the World of Color show, and a "virtual preview center" to get people hot n' bothered about the changes coming to the park beyond Paradise Pier.

First, the bit on World Of Color:

The attraction doesn't open for months, but Around Disney will get a close-up look at all the inner workings and how they'll function. ... Surpassing all Disney water productions, "World of Color" will bring Disney animation to life with powerful fountains that become stars of the show as they create the world's largest projected water screen.

Can't wait for video and/or renderings of that to hit YouTube.

For the Virtual Preview Center - part of the official Disneyland Web site - Disney has chosen to offer artwork, video clips, and behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the refurb. For those fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles (Tony & Andrea, I'm looking at you...), the second phase of the real-world Preview Center (located in California Adventure itself) opens to the public today, July 17.

(Which also happens to be Disneylands' 54th birthday, but of course you all knew that already.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 17, 2009 12:36 AM.
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July 15, 2009

Disneyland's Space Mountain To Get Halloween Overlay

The LA Times travel blog is reporting that Disneyland's Space Mountain will be getting a super-cool Halloween overlay, based on a successful pilot at Hong Kong Disneyland for the past couple of years.

Called "Ghost Galaxy", it will be part of the HalloweenTime park conversion that runs from Sept 25 - November 1.

I love that Disney does this holiday overlay stuff, and have since I saw what a creative, first-class job they did with the Nightmare Before Christmas-themed "Haunted Mansion Holiday" back in 2001.

Elaine and I might have to see about finding our way down to Anaheim sometime in October.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 15, 2009 8:49 PM.
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DCA's Orange Stinger Closes

The Orange Stinger at Disney's California Adventure - also known as the giant half-peeled orange at the corner of Paradise Bay - has been shuttered as of Tuesday, as part of the overall DCA park rebuild.

The Stinger is being replaced with the "Silly Symphony Swings" (a functionally similar attraction - they're both swing rides), a theme more in keeping with the new focus of the park. It's slated to open in about 9 months or so - "spring 2010".

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 15, 2009 8:43 PM.
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July 12, 2009

"You're About To Be A Light Rail Town"

One week before the launch of Link Light Rail, the Seattle Times has a nice, long-form recap of the history of rail in the Puget Sound region, going all the way back to 1891 (electric streetcars!) and culminating in the 1995 Sound Move vote that created Sound Transit.

The killer part of the article is the companion map (Flash required) that shows all the stations in the system, as well as the travel times and other data. Slick stuff - and, I daresay, nicer than anything Sound Transit has produced on its own.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 12, 2009 1:15 PM.
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July 11, 2009

Awesome Augmented-Reality NYC Subway App

Jeff pointed me to this super-cool, terrifically exciting video on YouTube that shows how you might use the iPhone (along with its GPS and camera) to experience an "augmented reality" that helps you navigate stations in the New York City subway.

If you've ever had that moment in a big, complex station where you're wondering where the heck to go to get to the right train (Chatelet-Les Halles, I'm lookin' at you), this will get you all hot and bothered. (It's also a Taste Of Things To Come in the mobile world, I think.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 11, 2009 8:42 PM.
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New HKDL Artwork

Disney and More has some large-format versions of the concept art for the three new lands in Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Trail, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land.

I'm not crazy about the over-the-top cartoonishness of Toy Story Land, but Mystic Point looks interesting.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 11, 2009 8:40 PM.
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July 1, 2009

More On HKDL

The details keep coming about the investments Disney is making in Hong Kong Disneyland. Some of my favorite nuggets:

• Disney is investing $452M, or a little less than half of what they're spending on the rebuild of California Adventure.
• For the money, the park is getting 30 new attractions and three new lands. Physically, the park will grow by roughly 25%.
• Two of the new lands - "Grizzly Trail" and "Mystic Point" will be unique to HKDL; the other, "Toy Story Land", will also open at the Walt Disney Studios in Paris in the coming years.
• The Shanghai Disneyland project is a big catalyst, here; that project (while still unofficial, it's the worst-kept secret in Disney history) is expected to go live in 2014. Shanghai is going to be huge, and will give HKDL a real run for the tourist dollar in the same way Disneyland and Walt Disney World compete here in the states.

Blue Sky Disney has the best roundup (and commentary) on the project (and some thumbnail-sized artwork); personally, this all sounds like great news, and gives me an excuse to nip off to Hong Kong in a few years' time.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated July 1, 2009 5:52 AM.
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