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

[MerlinTheGoat]

rise is on that scale imo. But I do agree Disney is not making the 7-8+ minute long, and massively scaled dark rides as much anymore.

Even for those who enjoy Rise (and I think it's very overrated), it definitely isn't equivalent to a Pirates or HM like experience. The show scenes are very flat box-like corridors lined with video projection. And extremely few AA's.

The last ride Disney built that was comparable to the style of those old school E tickets of the late 60s to late 80s is Sinbad at Tokyo Disneysea. Stateside however, Splash Mountain was the last of its kind there. And the jury is still out on whether Tiana can hope to compare (doubt). We've also lost nearly all the EPCOT ones, along with the singular one that DHS had.

 

[Tha Realest]

Not that I have pity, as they're in a mess of their own making, but....

They have a *tight* needle to thread here. They need to add capacity in all four parks, but they need the added capacity to outpace the attendance upticks the expansions are sure to bring. They need ancillary attractions and entertainment to pull people away from the headliners. These are the same things they've been cutting for years now.

Think of how much better EPCOT would be with Cherry Tree Lane and the PLAY pavilion taking a chunk out of the crowd? DHS with its streetmosphere, an additional attraction or two in SWGE plus dining and a show or two? MK with something in the Stitch space, more Main Street entertainment, a fully-functioning day parade and a headlining night parade?

Frustrating.

Yes. But. I believe they’ve cut operational and entertainment costs to the bone to make the revenue and profit numbers look good. Increasing those takes a bite out of the bottom line in a way that’s probably untenable to current management.

 

[celluloid]

The last ride Disney built that was comparable to the style of those old school E tickets of the late 60s to late 80s is Sinbad at Tokyo Disneysea. Stateside however, Splash Mountain was the last of its kind there. And the jury is still out on whether Tiana can hope to compare (doubt). We've also lost nearly all the EPCOT ones, along with the singular one that DHS had.

If nothing else. It says it all when that is the attraction they have to use for the retheme.

 

[MisterPenguin]

As a wise bird once said...

When people don't care for one of the E Ticket rides, they argue vehemently that it's only a D Ticket.

When people really like a D Ticket ride, they argue vehemently that it's indeed an E Ticket ride.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I find Remy's to be an absolute delight of a ride.

I enjoy it too so we can leave these boards together, at least. It’s much less embarrassing to get kicked out with a friend.

 

[Tha Realest]

It's amazing that some 50 years later, they still can't or won't duplicate something on the order of HM or Pirates. (Even though the DLR versions of both are far superior)

I’d gladly do away with MK Pirates if it meant we could’ve kept WOM or Horizons.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Yes. But. I believe they’ve cut operational and entertainment costs to the bone to make the revenue and profit numbers look good. Increasing those takes a bite out of the bottom line in a way that’s probably untenable to current management.

Actually considerable entertainment increases are budgeted for FY 25. Doesn’t mean they can’t cut back down to the bone in ‘26 but summer ‘25 appears to be a sweet spot for entertainment fans.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Actually considerable entertainment increases are budgeted for FY 25.

Citizens of Hollywood, please?

 

[HauntedPirate]

Even for those who enjoy Rise (and I think it's very overrated), it definitely isn't equivalent to a Pirates or HM like experience. The show scenes are very flat box-like corridors lined with video projection. And extremely few AA's.

The last ride Disney built that was comparable to the style of those old school E tickets of the late 60s to late 80s is Sinbad at Tokyo Disneysea. Stateside however, Splash Mountain was the last of its kind there. And the jury is still out on whether Tiana can hope to compare (doubt). We've also lost nearly all the EPCOT ones, along with the singular one that DHS had.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I find all of the animatronics on the Safari to be incredibly life-like. Even the obviously-fake hippos. No one can hold their breath that long, not even Disney Parks fans waiting to hear what will be built beyond Big Thunder.

 

[DisneyDean97]

Bridge(s). There was an early proposal to bridge the drive to extend the park (with a wide walkway themed so not to see below). A very early proposal of what became RnRC had a coaster going over World Drive.

There was also a proposal to move guest parking over there with a new tram bridge routing around Fant and the lake and connecting to the main entrance.

That seems like a bygone era when Disney was actually ambitious with projects. I don't see this current administration doing anything on this scale.

 

[ToTBellHop]

That seems like a bygone era when Disney was actually ambitious with projects. I don't see this current administration doing anything on this scale.

Disneyland Forward is incredibly ambitious.

 

[flyerjab]

Actually considerable entertainment increases are budgeted for FY 25. Doesn’t mean they can’t cut back down to the bone in ‘26 but summer ‘25 appears to be a sweet spot for entertainment fans.

I feel like it had to be. There isn’t anything substantial to counter Epic Universe. It would be difficult to counter an entire park debut, but there should be something.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Disneyland Forward is incredibly ambitious.

Only because it has to be because of spatial restraints. And TDA is willing to invest in whatever it needs to increase capacity.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

As a wise bird once said...

Nothing wise about that. I don't care what random lettering Disney thinks it is, something like Mickey doesn't hold a candle next to what preceded it.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Only because it has to be because of spatial restraints. And TDA is willing to invest in whatever it needs to increase capacity.

Personally, I think they should figure out and fix their second park before designing and building a third.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Personally, I think they should figure out and fix their second park before designing and building a third.

Oh I agree, but they don't care about that now. They are willing to spend money to increase capacity. They spent a ton of money fixing DCA (about 3/4 of what it needed), then they proceeded to spend more money putzing around with DCA, making changes they didn't need to make (Guardians, Pixar Pier) or were not really upgrades (Avengers Campus, Muppets-->Phillarmagic), all while leaving alone the Hollywood corner that needed fixing in the first place. So now, they've run out of things to change unnecessarily, which requires them building new stuff.

Honestly, DCA's ship has sailed on being a cohesive park. It's our version of Disney Adventure World.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Oh I agree, but they don't care about that now. They are willing to spend money to increase capacity. They spent a ton of money fixing DCA (about 3/4 of what it needed), then they proceeded to spend more money putzing around with DCA, making changes they didn't need to make (Guardians, Pixar Pier) or were not really upgrades (Avengers Campus, Muppets-->Phillarmagic), all while leaving alone the Hollywood corner that needed fixing in the first place. So now, they've run out of things to change unnecessarily, which requires them building new stuff.

Honestly, DCA's ship has sailed on being a cohesive park. It's our version of Disney Adventure World.

It will be renamed Disney Fun World next year along with Epcot becoming Disney Happy World.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

It will be renamed Disney Fun World next year along with Epcot becoming Disney Happy World.

Wait you forgot the new Epcot format! It would have to be World Happy, but they have to have Disney in front, so I guess it's...Disney World Happy?

 

[Ayla]

Look at how much people trash NRJ -- the complaints generally boil down to it not being an E ticket. They mostly relate to things that would hypothetically be great additions, but would increase the scale (and corresponding budget) to at least D+ status if not E.

And that's in a land that has an E!

People trash NRJ because you get to the end and say "that's it?!" I wonder how often CM's hear "we waited in line for that?"