I'll toss in a few attractions in the past 15 years that are just as good, better, or thematically make sense in addition to the section they were installed in (in other words-- Probably did not replace anything/anything of value)...
Keeping in mind: Hollywood Studios identity shifted over to "step into the movies" style... And Epcot, well, we'll just say Epcot is the "throw stuff here" park with no identity...
1). Galaxy's Edge/Rise of the Resistance... worthy land replacement given the direction the park decided to go.
2). Toy Story Land... To an extent. Could have been better, but worthy land replacement given the direction the park decided to go, and a park that needed more children's attractions.
3). Remy's Ratatouille Adventure... Did not replace anything. Was an addition.
4). Cosmic Rewind... "Wrong or right park" debate aside, nobody can say this isn't better than Ellen's Energy Adventure. (This is what people mean when they say Zootopia might night fit AK, but it still could have at least been a good attraction to replace bugs with)
5). Journey of Water... It's kinda stupid, but it did not replace anything. Additions without replacing are hardly ever downgrades.
6). Tron Lightcycle Run... "Wrong or right park" debate aside, it did not replace anything. Was an addition.
7). Seven Dwarfs Mine Train... Technically a replacement for the old dark ride, I'd argue it is a superior attraction, nostalgia aside.
8). The rest of new Fantasyland... TECHNICALLY didn't replace anything, considering leagues we closed for years. Addition is good. One can say little mermaid isn't a great ride, but again, nothing was there before... And it fits the park. So woohoo.
9). Pandora - The World of Avatar... Another example of an unlikely franchise that shouldn't fit in AK but was at least ATTEMPTED by the legend that is Rhode to fit corporate's ridiculously stupid idea into a park it SHOULDN'T belong... Into an under-utilized area of the park, which basically didn't replace anything since Lion King relocated. Sooo... Even if one is not a fan of it being in AK, it's still an addition that basically replaced nothing. Win win. Good attractions and beautiful scenery with it.
10). Awesome Planet... Replaced an aging film with a new film that carries the same message. Is as good as the old attraction.
11). Test Track 3.0... Can either be classified as being as good/the same as the old attraction, or a wonderful improvement depending on who you ask.
12). Country Bear Musical Jamboree... Can either be argued as the same experience, or better. Gung-ho crazy nostalgic people will vouch for OG, but the fact is, the new Disney-music version is NOT a bad show, and the ratings have gone drastically up to prove this.
18). Adding Coco to Philharmagic... Didn't replace a scene, and was an addition to the attraction, plussing it up.
Attractions in the last 15 years that DONT work...
1). Tiana's Bayou Adventure... This argument is worn out and tired, but, at MINIMUM, it just simply is not to the same quality of storytelling as the original... Plus thematically not making sense. Without bringing ANYthing else into the equation, that alone is not worthy of the replacement. If you're going to respond to this post, skip TBA and choose something else below. This one is old and worn out.
2). Upcoming Cars attraction in Frontierland... I am SPECULATING that this attraction will probably be great, but it does not fit in the land it is being shoehorned into... With the addition of losing MANY scenic elements that make Frontierland... "Frontier"land. It not thematically making sense at all just is what it is. Probably should have just replaced Tomorrowland Speedway with a cars attraction if they were going that route. Not a good move.
3). Zootopia, of course... Already not thematically making sense with the park or its location... But even if you scratch that out and just look at the quality of the attraction, it is a step down from what it replaced. One could argue more people can "enjoy" it... But that does not mean that it is a worthy contender, when they have gotten ride of half of the elements that made Bugs memorable. If Bugs was made to terrify you, then it obviously succeeded. If Zootopia was made to do........ Anything? Then it failed. All cards are stacked against it.
4). Frozen Ever After... Unlike Ratatouille, Frozen replaced an original attraction that was unique, and of a good classic quality in the sense of other popular classics around the resort. Frozen should have either been in addition to Norway, or put in Magic Kingdom's New Fantasyland.
5). Beauty and the Beast: Sing-Along... Will IdF still plays for two hours at night, this attraction was not necessary, and is simply just a DVD add-on menu extension, while IdF, while boring to many people, was unique to Epcot and as a theme park experience.
6). Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway... As some have stated, should not be the park's icon (or main street weenie) attraction. Its a good ride, and whether it is better than GMR is, I think, more of a personal opinion. But I'll say there were probably 4 better locations this could have gone without getting rid of the masterpiece that was GMR.
7). HISTA --> EO --> Short Film Festival... Need I say anything more?
The list can go on and on and on... I am tired now. There are a LOT more I could list that Disney has done or is about to do WRONG.... Which is sad. But, oh well.
. I remember visiting Disney in the late '90s, and most of the time I told myself, "Gee, I really miss ____...," it was, more-often-then-not, IMMEDIATELY followed by, telling myself "BUT the replacement with _______...make WDW, overall, even better than it has ever been before." For example, replacing old Circlevision with Timekeeper and Food Rocks with Soarin' (there are exceptions to the rule like Imagination 1.0, and the "jury is still out" over replacing TSI with Cars...as I've said repeatedly I'm refraining judgment on the many new additions of the last several years simply because I haven't been in several years...although CR seems a vast improvement over Ellen's Energy Adventure, and RoR vastly better than looking at the facade of the Golden Girls' house).
