A Spirited Perfect Ten

[the.dreamfinder]

Just wanted to note Tokyo Disney Sea, the current paragon of theme parks, turned 14 yesterday.

Photo Credit: @WDWFigment Instagram

TDR Explorer wrote up an article with commercials clips from the opening.
http://tdrexplorer.com/flashback-to-tokyo-disneyseas-opening-day/

Tokyo Disney Sea's Grand Opening Ceremony.



It is still hard to believe 9/11 would happen only a week later.

 

[rael ramone]

Short history lesson: The Weinstein brothers, Harvey and Bob, formed Miramax as an independent movie studio and named it after their parents, Miriam and Max. A decade later, Disney bought the company and friction soon developed over the vision of what the company should be. Ultimately, the brothers left and formed the Weinstein Company (weinsteinco.com) which has been successful. Later, Disney sold Miramax which was not the same company it had been with the Weinstein brothers.

How many times do you see that happen? Way too often a company of value gets bought out because of what it is or what the buyer thinks it can be and after the initial creators lose control to the new owners, the company no longer provides the spark that once made it special.

Or perhaps the films they made don't lend themselves to selling toys to kids...

 

[Cesar R M]

In other news.. I wonder how much money did the Walt Disney Co earn now that the Star Wars toys are out.

 

[Brer Panther]

I just found out today that in the early 1990s, they were gonna build a space travel-themed pavilion at EPCOT. Apparently Disneyland Paris being a failure put an end to that project.

If they HAD built that pavilion, we'd probably still have Horizons.

 

[misterID]

RIP Dean Jones, a staple of Disney entertainment from 1965 until the late 70s. He very much deserved his Disney Legend award.

I wonder how many people who identify as Disney fans today have even seen any of his movies?

That Darn Cat was one of Disneys best, and most underrated. IMO, that movie made Jones a Disney legend, and his awesome cat allergy.

 

[Mouse Trap]

Disney seems to be on a roll on acquiring something 'special' and losing all the value when the key people leave, Miramax, Maker the list goes on.

Way too early to say Maker has lost any value. There's been departures, but nothing has changed. In fact Maker continues to thrive in its space.

But I do remember you have a personal vendetta against Maker so I see where this comment is coming from.

 

[bakntime]

I just found out today that in the early 1990s, they were gonna build a space travel-themed pavilion at EPCOT. Apparently Disneyland Paris being a failure put an end to that project.

If they HAD built that pavilion, we'd probably still have Horizons.

Horizons struggled for years. They couldn't secure a sponsor, and it always had low attendance. It was easily one of my favorite attractions, and had a die-hard cult following, but it was not popular. It was going to die whether there was a space pavilion elsewhere or not. Mission Space didn't displace Horizons, it replaced it. It was, "what do we put in here now that Horizons is getting the axe?", not "Where do we put this new space attraction ... I know, let's remove Horizons."

 

[bakntime]

Disney seems to be on a roll on acquiring something 'special' and losing all the value when the key people leave, Miramax, Maker the list goes on.

Yeah, I agree. Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm ... they don't know what they're doing.

 

[rael ramone]

To repeat what I posted in another thread.

The new Unofficial Guide 2016 is out (got mine yesterday).

The new advice for guests planning a trip of 3 days or less to the swamps:

SKIP DHS. Go to UNI instead. It's not worth the $100 admission for a single day (or even $80 for a share of a multi day ticket).

 

[Goofyernmost]

Horizons struggled for years. They couldn't secure a sponsor, and it always had low attendance. It was easily one of my favorite attractions, and had a die-hard cult following, but it was not popular. It was going to die whether there was a space pavilion elsewhere or not. Mission Space didn't displace Horizons, it replaced it. It was, "what do we put in here now that Horizons is getting the axe?", not "Where do we put this new space attraction ... I know, let's remove Horizons."

That is a common mistake in everyone's effort to keep putting blame on the wrong thing when it comes to attractions replacement. If they had wanted to keep Horizons, it would still be there and Mission: Space would have been put on one of the expansion areas in Future World.

Horizons had died or at the very least was on life support. However, back to the original thought that big space related plan was part of the original concepts that Disney considered in connection with Mission: Space, but, was scraped for whatever reason they had. That happens all the time. Cost was too much and the return on investment to slow to make it doable or perhaps the technology that would have been required to keep it current was overwhelming enough for them to decide that they would spend more time updating it then actually running it. Before anyone gets all defensive, those reason examples are just my guessing. There is no secret trail that leads to any fact about it.

 

[Cesar R M]

That is a common mistake in everyone's effort to keep putting blame on the wrong thing when it comes to attractions replacement. If they had wanted to keep Horizons, it would still be there and Mission: Space would have been put on one of the expansion areas in Future World.

Horizons had died or at the very least was on life support. However, back to the original thought that big space related plan was part of the original concepts that Disney considered in connection with Mission: Space, but, was scraped for whatever reason they had. That happens all the time. Cost was too much and the return on investment to slow to make it doable or perhaps the technology that would have been required to keep it current was overwhelming enough for them to decide that they would spend more time updating it then actually running it. Before anyone gets all defensive, those reason examples are just my guessing. There is no secret trail that leads to any fact about it.

Didnt they also rumoured that the Horizons Structure was falling apart (land instability) ?

 

[asianway]

Didnt they also rumoured that the Horizons Structure was falling apart (land instability) ?

That rumor has been debunked by @marni1971 Many times

 

[Animaniac93-98]

To repeat what I posted in another thread.

The new Unofficial Guide 2016 is out (got mine yesterday).

The new advice for guests planning a trip of 3 days or less to the swamps:

SKIP DHS. Go to UNI instead. It's not worth the $100 admission for a single day (or even $80 for a share of a multi day ticket).

Have to agree, though my specific advice for a 3-day Orlando trip would be to buy a 2-Day P2P for UNI and an event party ticket for MK.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Didnt they also rumoured that the Horizons Structure was falling apart (land instability) ?

Yes, but that was just a fabricated excuse. There have been many reasons rumored including a sinkhole, but, it wasn't factual from anything I have ever heard.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Didnt they also rumoured that the Horizons Structure was falling apart (land instability) ?

False.

 

[Cesar R M]

That rumor has been debunked by @marni1971 Many times

False.

Thanks for confirming (yet again).
Its amazing how rumors fly around as fabricated excuses to cover up normal things.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Thanks for confirming (yet again).
Its amazing how rumors fly around as fabricated excuses to cover up normal things.

Lots of Disney urban legends.

 

[tirian]

Horizons struggled for years. They couldn't secure a sponsor, and it always had low attendance. It was easily one of my favorite attractions, and had a die-hard cult following, but it was not popular. It was going to die whether there was a space pavilion elsewhere or not. Mission Space didn't displace Horizons, it replaced it. It was, "what do we put in here now that Horizons is getting the axe?", not "Where do we put this new space attraction ... I know, let's remove Horizons."

That is a common mistake in everyone's effort to keep putting blame on the wrong thing when it comes to attractions replacement. If they had wanted to keep Horizons, it would still be there and Mission: Space would have been put on one of the expansion areas in Future World.

Horizons had died or at the very least was on life support. However, back to the original thought that big space related plan was part of the original concepts that Disney considered in connection with Mission: Space, but, was scraped for whatever reason they had. That happens all the time. Cost was too much and the return on investment to slow to make it doable or perhaps the technology that would have been required to keep it current was overwhelming enough for them to decide that they would spend more time updating it then actually running it. Before anyone gets all defensive, those reason examples are just my guessing. There is no secret trail that leads to any fact about it.

Horizons was dying in its final years, but it only needed an update. Throughout its lifetime, the ride's massive capacity made it seem like it wasn't pulling a crowd, when in fact it handled crowds well. POTC and HM were similarly efficient before FP+ destroyed their hourly capacities.

IMHO, Horizons, WOM, and Imagination suffered from apparent sameness. The rides were extremely different, yet they were also long omnimovers full of AAs. Today, it's difficult to imagine fans complaining about that, but in the mid 90s, Epcot needed more variety. Enter Test Track, then Journey into Your Imagination, then Mission Space, and — oh dear.

 

[tirian]

To repeat what I posted in another thread.

The new Unofficial Guide 2016 is out (got mine yesterday).

The new advice for guests planning a trip of 3 days or less to the swamps:

SKIP DHS. Go to UNI instead. It's not worth the $100 admission for a single day (or even $80 for a share of a multi day ticket).

And I agree completely.

 

[bakntime]

Horizons was dying in its final years, but it only needed an update. Throughout its lifetime, the ride's massive capacity made it seem like it wasn't pulling a crowd, when in fact it handled crowds well. POTC and HM were similarly efficient before FP+ destroyed their hourly capacities.

An "update" wouldn't have cured the general lack of interest/excitement the general guest felt about Horizons. Yes, it had high capacity, but it wasn't a draw. And FP+ didn't "destroy" the hourly capacity of HM and PotC. The hourly capacity is exactly the same now as it was before. The MK has simply been more crowded (especially this summer as it was basically holiday-sized crowds almost every day), which is (by far) the most significant factor in longer wait times. Heck, my first trip to WDW in 1994, before FP even existed, the wait time for Splash Mountain midday was 150 minutes, and Space was 120. I wonder what people blamed for that back then without FP to be a scapegoat.

Standby waits might seem slightly longer because the line moves slower because of FP/FP+, but the fact remains that if 20,000 people can ride HM in a day, then it's 20,000 people whether there's FP+ or no FP at all. The ride still loads the same number of guests per hour regardless.

IMHO, Horizons, WOM, and Imagination suffered from apparent sameness. The rides were extremely different, yet they were also long omnimovers full of AAs. Today, it's difficult to imagine fans complaining about that

No, "fans" wouldn't complain about that, but most guests wouldn't ride those attractions, either.

Look, I flippin' adored Horizons and WoM, but they were dead. No amount of "updates" or refurbs that kept the basic attraction in-tact was going to make people suddenly flock to them, nor was it going to make sponsors suddenly interested again. Carousel of Progress is in that same category and it's barely holding on by a thread, mostly because it's a Walt-created attraction from the 60's, while WoM and Horizons were built in the 80s and didn't have the historical status that CoP does.

Spaceship Earth would probably be dead too if not for its location (people are nearly forced to ride it because of it's placement and sheer size; everyone wants to ride inside the "big golf ball").