Rumor Bye Bye (Tiki) Birdies?

[Scuttle]

It's a proposal that's got a good chance of being adopted.

There's just no space for anything substantial... out of everything I'll miss the Pagoda outside.

 

[marni1971]

There's just no space for anything substantial... out of everything I'll miss the Pagoda outside.

The structure should be kept. If things do change inside.

 

[Otterhead]

Sort of like removing night time parades from MK.

Yes, exactly. Things change, and nothing can last forever, but removing something quite beloved is never a good idea without having something to take its place, at least.

There should be a simple test when exploring the idea of removing something. Take a look at the sales numbers for wearable merchandise and customized MagicBands and D-Tech stuff. "Gosh, a whole lot of people love X enough to put it on their phone case all year long." When you sell a ton of merch for something, it's a good indication that it's beloved enough to not do away with.

 

[danlb_2000]

That is not how these things are judged. This place is on the outer rim of Disney fandom. We are the 1 percenters.

Things can be judged in many ways. Did the guests leaving the land have a positive experience is one measure. Was the choice a good one for the long term future of the Disney parks is another. A lot of this discussion here is more about the second then the first.

 

[Bacon]

The structure should be kept. If things do change inside.

Would the Tiki birds stay even if the show doesn't survive?

 

[tirian]

Yes, exactly. Things change, and nothing can last forever, but removing something quite beloved is never a good idea without having something to take its place, at least.

There should be a simple test when exploring the idea of removing something. Take a look at the sales numbers for wearable merchandise and customized MagicBands and D-Tech stuff. "Gosh, a whole lot of people love X enough to put it on their phone case all year long." When you sell a ton of merch for something, it's a good indication that it's beloved enough to not do away with.

You're assuming they still operate as an entertainment company, not a collection of IPs.

Sadly, they haven't realized how their theme park attractions already are IPs, with or without cartoon tie-ins.

Space Mountain, IASW, BTMRR, HM, POTC (pre-Depp), and even the Tiki Room are strong examples.

 

[21stamps]

Just pointing out - you're the one who defined it as a competition by saying only folks who go a lot should be allowed to have an opinion. People can only respond to what you write.

Of course you can respond. But I won't accept a challenge to a some kind of odd trivia dual to prove fandom
Do you think studying every aspect of the parks/company makes someone more of a Disney fan? Honestly.

My memories of Disney- the skyway with my now deceased grandmother...space mountain with my dad..running around playing hide and go seek with my brother on Tom Sawyer Island. Pretending that we were really part of the Robinson family in the treehouse..the 6 of us singing "it's a great big beautiful tomorrow" after exiting the CoP...playing in Seven Sea Lagoon with my mother, getting buried in the sand on the beach, being impressed and in a state of wonderment by so many Epcot attractions.. going to F&W as an adult with my friends..watching Wishes with my husband...
and then coming full circle and experiencing a lot of those things with my own child.

That is what Disney is to me. And I'd safely say there are millions who love Disney for similar reasons.. none of those reasons have anything to do with a trivia game.

So if some people want to say "well, we're true fans" have at it. But in all of that fandom, you may have lost what the Disney parks are actually about.

There's is plenty that I disagree with when it comes to Disney. I'm still angered over the fences.. I completely spazzed when "insiders" said that security stations were coming to the MK resort boat docks.. there's a ton of rides that I miss and wish still existed. My trip reports aren't full of unicorns and rainbows. I just choose not to be negative all of the time.

Anyway..
My non educated opinion on the Birds- they won't totally leave. I think a dining experience could be neat though.. but, I think we need these kind of attractions as a break from the long waits of the more popular ones. So I don't want to see any of them go.

 

[danlb_2000]

Yes, exactly. Things change, and nothing can last forever, but removing something quite beloved is never a good idea without having something to take its place, at least.

There should be a simple test when exploring the idea of removing something. Take a look at the sales numbers for wearable merchandise and customized MagicBands and D-Tech stuff. "Gosh, a whole lot of people love X enough to put it on their phone case all year long." When you sell a ton of merch for something, it's a good indication that it's beloved enough to not do away with.

Parades are a really good example of this. I saw Celebrate a Dream Come True on my honeymoon trip and that left me with a special connection to it, but I also think Festival of Fantasy was a good replacement so I don't mind the loss of the previous parade. On the other hand removal of the nighttime parade without a replacement can't been seen a good thing no matter how someone tries to spin it.

 

[marni1971]

Would the Tiki birds stay even if the show doesn't survive?

I can't comment further I'm afraid.

 

[TalkingHead]

If I had a dollar for every time someone on here said "well looks like I'm no longer going to Disney" or saying how they're going to cancel this and that, I'd be rich.

There are plenty of us who have stopped going as often as we used to. Until last fall, it had been 5 years since I'd been in the WDW parks. My theme park time had shifted to Universal. I decided to get the lowest AP in part to see the new stuff that's opening.

So I stayed away for years and spent money at the local competitor. It's not a question of swearing off Disney; it's giving Disney less business, which I sense a lot of older fans have started doing.

Another thing that your flippant comment overlooks is the fact that WDW is not winning the lifelong devotion of customers like it used to. My wife had never been to WDW until I took her in the mid-2000s. She, like a lot of younger parkgoers, prefers Universal to WDW. She thinks it's fresher, more exciting, the rides feel newer. To her WDW is for kids, a place overcrowded with strollers.

That attitude among people who weren't raised on the parks in the pre-2000s days should worry the execs, but it doesn't. Nothing worries them as long as the bonuses continue to roll in.

 

[Scuttle]

The mandate of forcing IP into the parks is a strong one.

That's just lovely, I expect we will see a gift store added to the exit way.

 

[tirian]

The remains of the Tropical Serenade aka The Enchanted Tiki Room (aka a Top 10 Fanboi nostalgia lovefest) looks like it is about to fly the coop for good.

According to multiple sources, the attraction, which saw a reprieve a few years ago when it went back to a shortened version of the original 1971 show from the poorly received Under New Management update following a fire that damaged the facility, is on the chopping block and very, very likely to leave.

At this point, I will only call this a rumor (but the gondola system is a rumor and happening, the Rat ride at EPCOT is only a rumor and is happening, the Speedway removal is a rumor and is happening, the new DVC at CBR is a rumor and is happening and the Star Wars themed BOUTIQUE resort experience is a rumor and is most definitely happening).

As to what will replace it, that is unclear at present and one source even suggests it could remain with a new Stitch overlay reusing the pricey AA just like TDL has, but I don't see that.

And with other plans for Adventureland percolating, and Disney having no care for its past beyond shilling merchandise and D23 events and the like, I would expect Jose and Fritz and Company to fly away for good in the near future.

I'm hearing the Tiki Room's attendance is actually pretty good, but this is another proposal to tie IPs into existing attractions rather than building new ones, even though new rides would help alleviate the MK's capacity problems.

 

[Otterhead]

What I think would be interesting is if Disney started to better define Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom as two different entities.

What I mean is that they've typically cloned a lot of attractions to live in both places, for better or for worse. But there's certain things unique to Disneyland that will never come to WDW: Alice, Pinocchio, Forbidden Eye, etc. And other things are better in their original Disneyland form than their MK clones (Tiki Room, Pirates, Small World).

As much as I love the Tiki Room, it'd be interesting to see if they start looking at MK as its own park rather than Disneyland's big brother.

 

[tirian]

Incidentally, although I love the original Tiki Room, Tokyo's latest version isn't half bad. It needs the original, famous song though.

 

[21stamps]

There are plenty of us who have stopped going as often as we used to. Until last fall, it had been 5 years since I'd been in the WDW parks. My theme park time had shifted to Universal. I decided to get the lowest AP in part to see the new stuff that's opening.

So I stayed away for years and spent money at the local competitor. It's not a question of swearing off Disney; it's giving Disney less business, which I sense a lot of older fans have started doing.

Another thing that your flippant comment overlooks is the fact that WDW is not winning the lifelong devotion of customers like it used to. My wife had never been to WDW until I took her in the mid-2000s. She, like a lot of younger parkgoers, prefers Universal to WDW. She thinks it's fresher, more exciting, the rides feel newer. To her WDW is for kids, a place overcrowded with strollers.

That attitude among people who weren't raised on the parks in the pre-2000s days should worry the execs, but it doesn't. Nothing worries them as long as the bonuses continue to roll in.

Except for this- the people who gre up with Disney in the 80s and 90s are the one's who are now bringing their children.. starting the cycle with a new generation.

That is actually one of the main reasons that I don't want to see staples of MK leave. Parks need to update sure, but they need to leave some attractions that people can enjoy generation after generation. The tree house, the birds, and TS island are 3 of those attractions. Of the 3 though- the birds in their current form would be the one that I would be the most ok with if it changed.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Another thing that your flippant comment overlooks is the fact that WDW is not winning the lifelong devotion of customers like it used to. My wife had never been to WDW until I took her in the mid-2000s. She, like a lot of younger parkgoers, prefers Universal to WDW. She thinks it's fresher, more exciting, the rides feel newer. To her WDW is for kids, a place overcrowded with strollers.

That attitude among people who weren't raised on the parks in the pre-2000s days should worry the execs, but it doesn't. Nothing worries them as long as the bonuses continue to roll in.

This is a key point - WDW thrives on nostalgia. They have pretty much had that field to themselves and their lead is huge - but not guaranteed. Uni will begin building up a loyal, nostalgic audience raised on Spider-Man and the Potter areas. They are already putting in infrastructure to benefit from the nostalgia crowd with things like the new prop store.

The strength of Disney's properties may mean Uni never wins the nostalgia race, but they can put a serious dent in Disney's lead.

 

[Scuttle]

I can't comment further I'm afraid.

The only thing that even makes sense is Moana. Thematically that is..

 

[Casper Gutman]

The mandate of forcing IP into the parks is a strong one.

Tiki Room is an IP!!!

ARGGGH!!!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

even though new rides would help alleviate the MK's capacity problems.

Capacity problems are cleary not a problem worthy of anyone's attention.

Just keep stuffing them in until guest spending drops...then maybe raise prices again.

 

[Laketravis]

You're assuming they still operate as an entertainment company, not a collection of IPs.

Sadly, they haven't realized how their theme park attractions already are IPs, with or without cartoon tie-ins..

Exactly. I can think of another park system that's based entirely on external IP and hate to see WDW move in that direction.