News 'Beyond Big Thunder Mountain' Blue Sky concept revealed for Magic Kingdom

DisneyCane

Well-Known Member
Because it makes complete sense having Tiana in Frontierland and then walking into hispanicland with villains world in the distance.
While I guess the current Splash doesn't really fit in Frontierland either, if they ever built this concept it needs to be a separate land with an entrance transition away from the Frontierland theming.

If they really wanted to compete with Universal, they should do the Villains as a separate park.
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
So this is actually a gain? We are exchanging PW for Splash 2.0 themed after Moana? Impressive

Thank you for the reply
Yes. I’m perfectly happy with the water ride. It’s a net gain over Primeval Whirl. Better ride for us and operationally, it should be more reliable with a higher capacity and lower height requirement.

I agree with others that Dino to Zootopia is a waste of money but they didn’t care about that with GMR to MMRR, either. So we will just have to wait and see where we are in a few years.
 

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
Has Disney ever presented vague blue sky concepts as "announcements" like this before? This really smells of desperation.
They pulled a similar stunt with Disneyland last year, Disneyland Forward I think it was called. That was the first time i've seen them do this type of vague "kinda-but-not-really" type of announcements for barely formed concepts. With this D23 presentation, it seems like it might be new trend going forward for them. The one for Disneyland was actually even less formed though. It involved land that they may not even be able to use. The art was basically just a formless blob of buildings and nature scenery with no attached IP labels to indicate what they might build there...

There have been plenty of cases of attractions, lands and even entire parks that have been announced and later canned of course. Western River Expedition, Beastly Kingdom, the various countries that were intended for EPCOT over the years, Westcot and Disney's America being some of the more famous examples. But pretty much all of these were pretty far along in their development, if not finalized as concepts. To the point where they pretty much had the ability to actually break ground and begin construction on most of these.

Of these "blue sky" announcements they made, my guess is that Zootopia is the only one they could actually feasibly start building in the near future. Just because there's already a Zootopia area and ride under construction now in Shanghai, and it seems to use some form of the EMV ride system (though if there's some sort of timed exclusivity clause, that probably won't be coming for many years either).

Was there any news out of D23 that wasn't crappy?
I guess the Hatbox Ghost coming to WDW? We'll see about MK's new fireworks show. Epcot's current night show is also getting scrapped and replaced already, though no telling if the replacement will even be an improvement (the stargate and barges are apparently staying).

The only new D23 "thing" i'm at all interested in is the Wish movie that claims to mix traditional hand drawn animation with CGI. But even that i'm leery of.

It was a fairly heinous event overall. Even certain standalone concepts that I might have once been open to (placed in more suitable locations and without sacrificing the classics) are just painful to see unfold. For instance, if this was the Disney company/imagineering from decades ago, I would have been excited for Princess and the Frog and Moana boat rides (again provided they put the proper effort into placement and didn't replace existing classics). But it has become clear that Disney has been purged of all reason and talent and now commands a poison touch.
 

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Yes. I’m perfectly happy with the water ride. It’s a net gain over Primeval Whirl. Better ride for us and operationally, it should be more reliable with a higher capacity and lower height requirement.

I agree with others that Dino to Zootopia is a waste of money but they didn’t care about that with GMR to MMRR, either. So we will just have to wait and see where we are in a few years.
Seems like this was in works as you have hinted for some time... makes you wonder why waste the space and money at Epcot for a walk thru attraction for Moana as opposed to using those resources elsewhere IE bringing the MP ride to life and finally updating Figment and possibly dare i say it actually use the WoL pavilion for something other than private events....
 

montyz81

Well-Known Member
I mean ... This concept actually utilizes unused or underused land, and we have no idea what the sightlines would be.
Fair enough, but based on recent additions and the lack of care for sightlines, I am betting that the dumpster will be out in the open rather than inside a fenced area in most of these developments.
Despite my dislike for Joe Rhode, he was a master at theming every nook and cranny of a ride, land, or theme park. Disney needs more people like him, not people like Zach Riddley.
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
Seems like this was in works as you have hinted for some time... makes you wonder why waste the space and money at Epcot for a walk thru attraction for Moana as opposed to using those resources elsewhere IE bringing the MP ride to life and finally updating Figment and possibly dare i say it actually use the WoL pavilion for something other than private events....
Because they feel Moana works in both parks. Just like Nemo. And The Lion King.

Or Frozen in two parks. Or Toy Story. Or (previously) The Little Mermaid.

Happens all the time and they feel Moana has staying power. I imagine they are correct.

As for sight lines, the boat ride looks beautiful. And Zootopia would be no different than Dino. It’s the same building.
 

montyz81

Well-Known Member
This is so ridiculous. Of all the shuttered space that needs replacements, they pitch this. Nothing more than a way get get some cheap applause and positive press out there for the hardcore fans. When it never happens, the average person will never know.
This is so true, all while Imagination the ride sits in 1999 and only gets a Figment update.
Hey Imagineers, stop drawing blue sky concepts and put your effort into fixing old rides. Hell, they could have spent some money/time on updating act 4 in CoP
 

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Because they feel Moana works in both parks. Just like Nemo. And The Lion King.

Or Frozen in two parks. Or Toy Story. Or (previously) The Little Mermaid.

Happens all the time and they feel Moana has staying power. I imagine they are correct.

As for sight lines, the boat ride looks beautiful. And Zootopia would be no different than Dino. It’s the same building.
I get that but to me that Money could have been used better elsewhere to upgrade actual rides that need it and fill in the empty spaces we already have across the parks. I just dk how Moana walk thru is going to be a huge draw. Hopefully im wrong but i think kids want rides not a and detailed glorified que with no ride…
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
I get that but to me that Money could have been used better elsewhere to upgrade actual rides that need it and fill in the empty spaces we already have across the parks. I just dk how Moana walk thru is going to be a huge draw. Hopefully im wrong but i think kids want rides not a and detailed glorified que with no ride…
It’s not meant to be a huge draw. Just a nice walkthrough that won’t have a 60-min wait. They’re popular at DLP. Glad we are getting something that won’t have a VQ…
 

Phicinfan

Well-Known Member
At what point will folks here realize they won't continue to spend large capax on the same park, except MK?

They need more in AK, and if done well(yes I know...no real expectation here...), it might be a good fit. My gut says you all will be majorly disappointed with Zootopia, as if we get it I bet its just a reskin of Dinosaur and some shops or such, maybe a meet and greet.

Epcot won't get any more spent until center is done and new night time show is complete. Then I would much rather see money spent on fixing SSE, and Imagination rather than any more new. But that is just me.

As for MK, Tron is an add, but they need more, the park needs capacity. Not sure what they are adding will help all that much.
As for sight lines.... They are putting this behind BTMRR so you will see the peaks but not much else. IF it goes where its speculated.

If we follow the bouncing ball...
The next NEW adds if any should go to DHS post these blue sky ideas shared. But since I don't think we see any of this blue sky until after 2027, you are probably talking 2030 for DHS.
 

Phicinfan

Well-Known Member
I get that but to me that Money could have been used better elsewhere to upgrade actual rides that need it and fill in the empty spaces we already have across the parks. I just dk how Moana walk thru is going to be a huge draw. Hopefully im wrong but i think kids want rides not a and detailed glorified que with no ride…
This is just my opinion....
But when has Disney ever totally rebuilt an existing attraction to keep it the same? being serious here cause I don't remember it.
So I wonder now if SSE redo, Imagination redo and say Space Mountain redo if they EVER happen, will mean new attractions rather than just updating what is.
 

fgmnt

Well-Known Member
Coco and Encanto would be mini lands. They could get one of those under construction by 2024/2025. They could potentially open that first mini land by late 2026 or early 2027. (If they don’t pull another Tron.)
I think the Moana area at Animal Kingdom will be the first to open. It looked the most thought out. It’s mainly one new ride and a rethemed spinner.

So potential timeline:
2023: Tron
2024: Tiana’s River Bayou
2025/2026: Moana opens in 2 phases (spinner and land first, river ride second)
2026: Coco or Enchanto

Villains: If they only build a land they are crazy.
If either of those attractions in MK open in 2026, I'll buy you a one day ticket.
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
At what point will folks here realize they won't continue to spend large capax on the same park, except MK?

They need more in AK, and if done well(yes I know...no real expectation here...), it might be a good fit. My gut says you all will be majorly disappointed with Zootopia, as if we get it I bet its just a reskin of Dinosaur and some shops or such, maybe a meet and greet.

Epcot won't get any more spent until center is done and new night time show is complete. Then I would much rather see money spent on fixing SSE, and Imagination rather than any more new. But that is just me.

As for MK, Tron is an add, but they need more, the park needs capacity. Not sure what they are adding will help all that much.
As for sight lines.... They are putting this behind BTMRR so you will see the peaks but not much else. IF it goes where its speculated.

If we follow the bouncing ball...
The next NEW adds if any should go to DHS post these blue sky ideas shared. But since I don't think we see any of this blue sky until after 2027, you are probably talking 2030 for DHS.
The projects may not be everyone’s favorite, but they have spent an incredible amount of money at WDW over the last 10 years and will continue to do so. As jealous as people are of DL, they are getting a ride we have and an addition to their hated land. Otherwise, some lipstick. We will have the better nighttime spectaculars by late 2023.
 

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