News Disney Leaders Explain How the 'Disney Bubble' Shapes the Guest Experience and What's Next

[MrPromey]

Is there any reason to believe those weren’t the biggest expansions at the time?

Depending on the metric, not at all. Most acreage? Absolutely in at least one instance* but that's never what they're solely implying when they say that and they know it.

They like to play loosely with the meaning of words, just like when Iger said that 7DMT was the first attraction that was guest facing on all sides.

Not to get too political but it's like when people want to argue over what technically constitutes "war plans" as a way of avoiding the true point - obviously, saying Disney's tone-deaf marketing is a lot less important would be an understatement. As a fan and consumer, it's just annoying.

My point was basically, don't be surprised if "biggest expansion in park history" ends up amounting to an e-ticket, a c/d ticket and a lot of retail which barely constitutes calling something a "land" in the traditional sense while technically being true that it does create a lot of underutilized sprawl in the park at a level never seen before there.


*SWL, for sure although NFL is up for debate since much of that space had previously been part of 20k leagues before being taken away and another major chunk was Mickey's Tune Town with much of the original infrastructure staying as a part of the "new" land. Then, in terms of attraction count with what had been lost there previously and what was closed to add, the net gain isn't nearly that impressive unless there is a time limit on when something goes from being permanently closed without replacement to virgin guest facing space for development.

 

[andre85]

Disney likes to play loosely with the meaning of words, just like when Iger said that 7DMT was the first attraction that was guest facing on all sides.

I've actually thought about this before, and I'm wondering...how wrong was he? There are of course some attractions that are fully contained within the walkable area of the park., especially with flat rides and Fantasyland. But ignoring those (given they're not a truly immersive experience), there's also rides like Great Movie Ride but that isn't themed on all sides so I don't think that counts. Then there's it's Tough to Be a Bug at DCA, but that's a show.

But then there's Grizzly River Run...and it's hard to argue that is anything but a full proper ride that's fully contained within a theme park, unless you make animatronics a requirement or something. So unless I misunderstand his quote...yeah, he's wrong lol (wouldn't be surprised if there's other exceptions I'm not thinking of too).

 

[HauntedPirate]

I've actually thought about this before, and I'm wondering...how wrong was he? There are of course some attractions that are fully contained within the walkable area of the park., especially with flat rides and Fantasyland. But ignoring those (given they're not a truly immersive experience), there's also rides like Great Movie Ride but that isn't themed on all sides so I don't think that counts. Then there's it's Tough to Be a Bug at DCA, but that's a show.

But then there's Grizzly River Run...and it's hard to argue that is anything but a full proper ride that's fully contained within a theme park, unless you make animatronics a requirement or something. So unless I misunderstand his quote...yeah, he's wrong lol (wouldn't be surprised if there's other exceptions I'm not thinking of too).

“Sir, there are half a dozen spinners that face the guests..”

“Uhhh… Spinners are circles and don’t have sides!”

 

[MrPromey]

I've actually thought about this before, and I'm wondering...how wrong was he? There are of course some attractions that are fully contained within the walkable area of the park., especially with flat rides and Fantasyland. But ignoring those (given they're not a truly immersive experience), there's also rides like Great Movie Ride but that isn't themed on all sides so I don't think that counts. Then there's it's Tough to Be a Bug at DCA, but that's a show.

But then there's Grizzly River Run...and it's hard to argue that is anything but a full proper ride that's fully contained within a theme park, unless you make animatronics a requirement or something. So unless I misunderstand his quote...yeah, he's wrong lol (wouldn't be surprised if there's other exceptions I'm not thinking of too).

That's the thing. Once you start playing no true Scottsman it's gets easier to agree with him but just a little basic thinking turns up a number of examples from the bare such as the carousel and Teacups and Dumbo (before it was moved and half the fun of the ride removed in the process) all the way up to things like your example in DCA, Spaceship Earth with possibly the most elaborate show building ever created themed on all sides including top/bottom, and of course, more if you count the international parks.

Do I think he lied here?

No. I'm sure he thought what he was saying was true which to me confirms how disconnected and disinterested as a CEO he's always been with the theme park business - puzzling considering how much money it consistently brought in to fuel his acquisition ambitions over the years.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm not so much offended, just wish they would go back to heavily AA dependant attractions that are 7-10 minutes long. Less focus on thrills.

Rise of the Resistance is pretty AA heavy (not really sure what "dependant" implies here) and is 18 mins long so they can and do still make rides like that. There was a time when EPCOT first opened that was more the norm and now it is more the exception but still happens.

Hopefully at least some of the new rides are like that - Encanto probably the most likely to be AA heavy, though Indy could have a few and hopefully the villains dark ride has a lot

 

[HauntedPirate]

Rise of the Resistance is pretty AA heavy (not really sure what "dependant" implies here) and is 18 mins long so they can and do still make rides like that. There was a time when EPCOT first opened that was more the norm and now it is more the exception but still happens.

Hopefully at least some of the new rides are like that - Encanto probably the most likely to be AA heavy, though Indy could have a few and hopefully the villains dark ride has a lot

Don’t conflate “ride time” with all the stuff that happens before you enter the actual ride vehicle.

 

[Agent H]

Don’t conflate “ride time” with all the stuff that happens before you enter the actual ride vehicle.

but when does the ride actually start? The ride is intended to be an experience on the level of pirates at Disneyland or journey to the center Of the earth from Tokyo.

 

[HauntedPirate]

but when does the ride actually start? The ride is intended to be an experience on the level of pirates at Disneyland or journey to the center Of the earth from Tokyo.

Let me know if these words are too big:

When. You. Enter. The. Ride. Vehicle.

 

[nickys]

The saying goes

You have to learn how to follow before you can lead .

The higher ups like to lead Yes persons and when you demonstrate you can follow and show loyalty then one day opportunities for you to lead will follow.

Or “everyone gets promoted to the level of their own incompetence”.

In other words, people are promoted initially for following the company line and being good at that, within their role.

At some point they stop being so good in their role…. but stay at that level for a while because the person who promoted them don’t want others to realise they made a mistake.

Eventually the person responsible be for promoting them move on, and then they might get shown the door. Or not, if their face still fits the corporate image.

 

[nickys]

Let me know if these words are too big:

When. You. Enter. The. Ride. Vehicle.

For Rise though, I’d say the wait time is up until you enter the shuttle. You might still have a wait after that before entering the “holding cell” or whatever it’s called.

 

[MrPromey]

Rise of the Resistance is pretty AA heavy (not really sure what "dependant" implies here) and is 18 mins long so they can and do still make rides like that. There was a time when EPCOT first opened that was more the norm and now it is more the exception but still happens.

Hopefully at least some of the new rides are like that - Encanto probably the most likely to be AA heavy, though Indy could have a few and hopefully the villains dark ride has a lot

If I had to guess, I'd expect Encanto to be built out closer to the AA setup in in TBA than ROTR.

Having ridden TBA for the first time last weekend, I have to say that despite the video not seeming all that bad, it was a huge let down in person with so much of the ride static and in the dark and minimal show scenes with AA, despite them being more advanced AA.

To that point, what compounded this was two glaringly malfuctioning AA in the ride. One being a scene with the crocodile where he had really great overall fluid motion but with his mouth stuck almost closed as his character recited dialog and then the Mama Odie AA at the end which also had great animation, other than her mouth which was stuck really wide open and when I say really wide open, I mean like victims in the 2002 movie, The Ring wide open.*

These more advanced animation like AA are great when they work but when the budget goes so much to them that they have to de-emphasis other scenes in the attraction to allow for them, things are all the worse when they don't work properly.

Rise is really the exception in this regard. When we rode (only visit we've experienced it) the AA at the end for Kylo was apparently down and they had it in B-mode but that had been done smartly enough that unless you knew what should have happened, you'd never notice because instead of the vehicles focusing on where he should have been, they instead went over to the "window" where a CG version of him in a spacecraft facing us delivered his lines and was then shot down before we went to the escape pods.

I knew there was something not working but a general visitor riding with no prior expectations would not have suspected a thing and my son who quickly pointed out the AA problems on TBA, declared rise the best thing ever.

It would be great to see Disney desiging that level of redundancy into their attractions to deal with real world opperating conditions but considering the refub for TBA started after rise was open, that doesn't seem to be something they're willing to comit to, even on most major attractions going forward.

*The video integration on TBA was done well enough in the parts that used it, even if the scenes overall didn't really work, that I think a video replacement for this AA when needed would have worked great, here. Just pointing that out because the video didn't look convincing at all in recordings I saw but there, my son confused the Mama Odie screen over the drop before going to the former "laughin' place" with another AA for the limited time we saw it which to me suggests they could have pulled off something successfully for this single AA, if not for every other scene in the ride.

 

[Jrb1979]

Rise of the Resistance is pretty AA heavy (not really sure what "dependant" implies here) and is 18 mins long so they can and do still make rides like that. There was a time when EPCOT first opened that was more the norm and now it is more the exception but still happens.

Hopefully at least some of the new rides are like that - Encanto probably the most likely to be AA heavy, though Indy could have a few and hopefully the villains dark ride has a lot

Spaceship Earth is a good example of AA dependant and so is Carousel of Progress. Meaning 90% of the attraction is based on AAs telling the story

 

[KDM31091]

It is a puzzling article considering of late they have diminished reasons for guests to stay in the bubble. You get a lousy half hour early entry. No magical express. No free magic bands. No extra discounts on dining/shopping or anything that could make it more sense to stay on property, unless you count the free dining deals where you forfeit any other discount. I love the bubble and the immersion as much as anyone else and have DVC so I'm not paying cash for each hotel stay but if I were I would seriously question the value of staying in the bubble at this point, given many perfectly nice off property alternatives.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

What a coincidence they're talking about the importance of the Disney bubble to the media less than 2 months before Universal launches the park and hotel complex that's meant to justify staying longer at their properties.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Don’t conflate “ride time” with all the stuff that happens before you enter the actual ride vehicle.

but it's a whole experience, a lot of great stuff happens before in the actual ride vehicle

just b/c you aren't sitting down doesn't mean the experience hasn't started. It is a full, and lengthly attraction

 

[TheMaxRebo]

For Rise though, I’d say the wait time is up until you enter the shuttle. You might still have a wait after that before entering the “holding cell” or whatever it’s called.

some of the best parts are the interaction with the cast members before you get to the holding cells, etc - to not count that part is not fair in my mind (you want to not count the preshow with Rey, fine)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

If I had to guess, I'd expect Encanto to be built out closer to the AA setup in in TBA than ROTR.

Having ridden TBA for the first time last weekend, I have to say that despite the video not seeming all that bad, it was a huge let down in person with so much of the ride static and in the dark and minimal show scenes with AA, despite them being more advanced AA.

To that point, what compounded this was two glaringly malfuctioning AA in the ride. One being a scene with the crocodile where he had really great overall fluid motion but with his mouth stuck almost closed as his character recited dialog and then the Mama Odie AA at the end which also had great animation, other than her mouth which was stuck really wide open and when I say really wide open, I mean like victims in the 2002 movie, The Ring wide open.*

These more advanced animation like AA are great when they work but when the budget goes so much to them that they have to de-emphasis other scenes in the attraction to allow for them, things are all the worse when they don't work properly.

Rise is really the exception in this regard. When we rode (only visit we've experienced it) the AA at the end for Kylo was apparently down and they had it in B-mode but that had been done smartly enough that unless you knew what should have happened, you'd never notice because instead of the vehicles focusing on where he should have been, they instead went over to the "window" where a CG version of him in a spacecraft facing us delivered his lines and was then shot down before we went to the escape pods.

I knew there was something not working but a general visitor riding with no prior expectations would not have suspected a thing and my son who quickly pointed out the AA problems on TBA, declared rise the best thing ever.

It would be great to see Disney desiging that level of redundancy into their attractions to deal with real world opperating conditions but considering the refub for TBA started after rise was open, that doesn't seem to be something they're willing to comit to, even on most major attractions going forward.

*The video integration on TBA was done well enough in the parts that used it, even if the scenes overall didn't really work, that I think a video replacement for this AA when needed would have worked great, here. Just pointing that out because the video didn't look convincing at all in recordings I saw but there, my son confused the Mama Odie screen over the drop before going to the former "laughin' place" with another AA for the limited time we saw it which to me suggests they could have pulled off something successfully for this single AA, if not for every other scene in the ride.

I've only ridden TBA twice and both times the AAs were largely working (one time one of the Tiana's was not really moving her mouth) and I felt they were great - how they turn to you and talk to you as you get to them I thought made for a great experience

Obviously that is not the experience everyone gets and there are also stretches with not enough going on (I think plussing the ride with some smaller limited movement AA critters would go a long way).

 

[TheMaxRebo]

It is a puzzling article considering of late they have diminished reasons for guests to stay in the bubble. You get a lousy half hour early entry. No magical express. No free magic bands. No extra discounts on dining/shopping or anything that could make it more sense to stay on property, unless you count the free dining deals where you forfeit any other discount. I love the bubble and the immersion as much as anyone else and have DVC so I'm not paying cash for each hotel stay but if I were I would seriously question the value of staying in the bubble at this point, given many perfectly nice off property alternatives.

Yeah, timing is interesting/puzzling. Our most recent trip we stayed off property (just off property, closer to some of the parks than some of the on property hotels) but it still still feel different. Just not being able to open your room with magic bands, not being able to charge things to your room when in the parks, not being able to take Disney transportation to the parks and having to rely on ride sharing, etc.

So to us the Bubble definitely still exists - but is is "lesser" than in the past when there was DME and you got your magic bands included and sent to you and things like that. It felt like your vacation started earlier.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Funny how they’ve put up a wall
Around the “bubble” with a one way door that only lets people out with awful strategies and prices not in line with the market

 

[HauntedPirate]

but it's a whole experience, a lot of great stuff happens before in the actual ride vehicle

just b/c you aren't sitting down doesn't mean the experience hasn't started. It is a full, and lengthly attraction

Well, then Everest is a 6-minute coaster. And then what’s the “ride time” for Tron and Guardians? Does the timer for Space Mountain start when you hit the star tunnel?

The point you’re missing here is that much of the “experience” before the ride vehicle in Rise can be skipped if things aren’t working. Thus, you cannot count that as part of the “ride time”.

Back to the bubble discussion and not what and what does not constitute “ride time”.