Few more details on Monsters, Inc. delay

[polarboi]

I don't understand why they are so high on these screen technologies, they aren't that great.

Actually, the answer to this is pretty simple. Although we all have different tastes and not everyone enjoys the screen-based attractions, the fact is that Turtle Talk has been getting rave reviews ever since it opened as has been far more successful than originally anticipated. Many guests love Turtle Talk, and judging from trip reports scattered around the net, quite a few consider it to be one of the biggest highlights of their trip.

It's new technology, it leaves guests wondering "How did they do that?" and it's generating wonderful word-of-mouth. It's no wonder, then, that Disney is working to take the magic behind that minor attraction in the Seas pavilion and build a bigger, more visible attraction using a similar concept for the Magic Kingdom.

Now whether they're able to generate that same magic still remains to be seen, but I'm hopeful that they can.

-p.b.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

The Laugh Floor Comedy Club was slated to have passholder previews, then a grand opening, in January. But now those won't happen until sometime in the spring, said Disney spokesman Jacob DiPietre.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...l-monsters2806dec28,0,4836215.story?track=rss

Still crossing my fingers for a chance to see it....after January, who knows when I'll be back?

 

[PhotoDave219]

I feel good knowing that they are making an effort to run all these test shows and then take their time... they should've run test shows for Stitch Encounter...

Perhaps this is a result of the stitch fiasco? Maybe they learned from Stitch's Great Mistake.

 

[EpcotServo]

I feel good knowing that they are making an effort to run all these test shows and then take their time... they should've run test shows for Stitch Encounter...

They did. And most of them got great responses. (Applause, laughter, and overall good vibes from the crowds I sat in with on many of the test shows.) From the test shows both I and WDI thought it would be a hit. In fact...I still have heard good reviews for it from real guests. I have NEVER walked out of SGE and heard someone say "That was awful." (Like with Journey Into Your Imagination.) I have heard many kids say they want to go on it again though. Besides, any real Disney fan would know that both Journey Into Your Imagination and the Goosebumps horror maze made SGE look like the Tower of Terror.

 

[basas]

They did. And most of them got great responses. (Applause, laughter, and overall good vibes from the crowds I sat in with on many of the test shows.) From the test shows both I and WDI thought it would be a hit. In fact...I still have heard good reviews for it from real guests. I have NEVER walked out of SGE and heard someone say "That was awful." (Like with Journey Into Your Imagination.) I have heard many kids say they want to go on it again though. Besides, any real Disney fan would know that both Journey Into Your Imagination and the Goosebumps horror maze made SGE look like the Tower of Terror.

Interesting...I've seen MANY guests coming out of SGE...less than impressed.

 

[EpcotServo]

Interesting...I've seen MANY guests coming out of SGE...less than impressed.

But everytime you walk out of there do you hear more then one person say "That was the worst thing I've ever seen!"? In reality it's only "Stitch's Great Mistake" in InternetLand. No one in WDI or the Disney company is shaking their fist to the sky saying "WHY!?!? Why did we build this thing! What fools we were! The company's image is forever stained by our foolish foolishness! -sobbing-"
:lol:
I still fail to see what harm Stitch's Great Escape has done to Disney to say it was a mistake. And to you people who hate it with a passion never-ending, all I can say is this. I think you'll get over it. Going on a ride and not caring for it shouldn't still scar you enough to spend most of your life posting snappy one-liners and quick comebacks about how bad the ride is. Nobody cares.

And yes, we get it. Stitch's great mistake. sounds like escape. got it the first time.

 

[polarboi]

But everytime you walk out of there do you hear more then one person say "That was the worst thing I've ever seen!"? In reality it's only "Stitch's Great Mistake" in InternetLand. No one in WDI or the Disney company is shaking their fist to the sky saying "WHY!?!? Why did we build this thing! What fools we were! The company's image is forever stained by our foolish foolishness! -sobbing-"

You know, it's weird. I love Stitch (the character). I heard in advance that a lot of people didn't like SGE, but I was determined to enjoy it and prove them wrong. As a big AE fan, I knew I'd miss one of my favorite attractions, but I also know that things change and I decided in advance not to compare the two. So I went in with a positive attitude, not expecting too much, but determined to find the merit in this much-maligned attraction. I ended up really not enjoying it. The effects didn't seem believable for some reason, even though I had always found AE's effects to be very immersive.

Now maybe my seat just wasn't functioning correctly. Or maybe the attraction has the lights come on too frequently to be fully convincing. Maybe I just had experienced AE too many times, so it was impossible to find it as involving this time around. But I wanted to believe, and I couldn't. I kept thinking of AE in spite of myself.

I told a friend of mine that it wasn't worth seeing, so we didn't see it. He went back a year later without me and enjoyed SGE. So maybe it's just the prior AE experience? I dunno. Someday I'll go experience it again and see if I have a better time. But I'm still not a Stitch hater. I enjoyed seeing him all over the parks last year. (Don't hate me! :lookaroun )

Sorry for contributing to thread drift, but I couldn't help commenting on this. It's still weird to me how there's such a divide in response over SGE.

-p.b.

 

[Darth Plank]

A comedy club show based on the popular Monsters, Inc. movie apparently isn't quite ready for the big time.

Walt Disney World has confirmed that the opening of its next big attraction -- The Monsters, Inc. The Laugh Floor Comedy Club show -- will be delayed a few months so that Walt Disney Imagineering can make adjustments now that test audiences got to try it out earlier this month.

The Magic Kingdom attraction draws on characters from the 2001 Pixar Animation movie, Monsters, Inc., and uses new technology to give audiences an interactive, sometimes improvisational, robotic comedy show. The attraction was built into the old Timekeeper location in Tomorrowland.

The Laugh Floor Comedy Club was slated to have passholder previews, then a grand opening, in January. But now those won't happen until sometime in the spring, said Disney spokesman Jacob DiPietre.

The delay will give staff members a chance for more training in the complex technology being used, and writers a chance to re-script parts of the show based on audience feedback, he said.

DiPietre would not elaborate on what script changes would be made or why. However, audiences reportedly have been lukewarm to the humor.

Chris Eliopoulos, who was in one test audience, said he thought the overall structure was sound and the crowd found the technology exciting, but the humor was a bit flat and the jokes didn't hit their marks. However, Eliopoulos, 39, of New Jersey, himself a humor writer and cartoonist, respectfully pointed out that humor is hard work.

"Humor that is funny for all ages is even harder," he conceded.

The Laugh Floor Comedy Club is one of three attractions that Disney World expected to open in short order during the early part of the Year of a Million Dreams promotion that began in October. At Epcot, a ride called The Seas with Nemo and Friends opened in November. At Disney's Animal Kingdom, a stage show called Finding Nemo -- The Musical had a soft opening this month and prepares for an official premiere in January.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...l-monsters2806dec28,0,4836215.story?track=rss

It could probally be released this Spring or the Summer

 

[PhotoDave219]

They did. And most of them got great responses. (Applause, laughter, and overall good vibes from the crowds I sat in with on many of the test shows.) From the test shows both I and WDI thought it would be a hit. In fact...I still have heard good reviews for it from real guests. I have NEVER walked out of SGE and heard someone say "That was awful."

Well, clearly you weren't the manager who i talked to after sitting in on a test audience on day 2 of testing. Granted, i'm not in the prime demos of who the ride is aimed at but I let my opinion be heard nonetheless.

 

[EpcotServo]

Well, clearly you weren't the manager who i talked to after sitting in on a test audience on day 2 of testing. Granted, i'm not in the prime demos of who the ride is aimed at but I let my opinion be heard nonetheless.

Well I was there on day one of testing and talked to the main WDI show designer for SGE. I'm not saying that it's wrong to hate the show. I'm just saying that I'm really getting tired of every single thread on every single forum ending up with tons of little "Well I guess they're learning from Stitch's Great Mistake" or "I think this will be the next SGE!" comments. (They're everywhere!) and people assuming that Disney thinks it's a flop. And all these people saying that WDI knows it was a flop. Have they talked to more then five imagineers who all agree they failed? Just because you people don't like it, dosen't mean that IT must be the worst thing in the world. Because that's how everyone on the Disney Intertron is acting.

Sorry to go on rant mode, this whole thing just really bugs me. Anyone who walks on SGE and says it was the worst thing they've ever done should've been forced to wait an hour for Journey Into Your Imagination. That's something worthy of complaining about.
:lol:

 

[EpcotServo]

I told a friend of mine that it wasn't worth seeing, so we didn't see it. He went back a year later without me and enjoyed SGE. So maybe it's just the prior AE experience? I dunno. Someday I'll go experience it again and see if I have a better time. But I'm still not a Stitch hater. I enjoyed seeing him all over the parks last year. (Don't hate me! :lookaroun )

Sorry for contributing to thread drift, but I couldn't help commenting on this. It's still weird to me how there's such a divide in response over SGE.

-p.b.

You know, that's a really good theory. It would explain why everytime I see it half the people watching the show seem to be enjoying themselves, and half seem to not really have any strong feelings anyway. That would explain alot. The less you know about AE the more you like SGE.

 

[marni1971]

....forced to wait an hour for Journey Into Your Imagination

We tried - we couldn`t. There was never any line :lol:

I`d imagine with the tinkering of SGE since it opened - the added visuals, the constant tweaking upwards of the height (and thus age) limit WDI know it`s not been a total success. Don`t blame Imagineering; not at least those who actually redid the attraction. SGE in principle was a flawed concept by basing the attraction on a kid-friendly icon and then using the existing infrastructure and show pattern from an attraction that constantly did what it was designed to - scare people.

If anyone is to account for SGE`s shortcomings it`s those at the top who decided to base it on AE. Those who designed the show only had what they were given to work with.

 

[EpcotServo]

We tried - we couldn`t. There was never any line :lol:

Yea, I waited on the only day there was a line (opening day, after it went 101). The only upside was that I got to see Eisner walking out of the building with a VERY unhappy face.
:lol:

If anyone is to account for SGE`s shortcomings it`s those at the top who decided to base it on AE. Those who designed the show only had what they were given to work with.

Well said. I think they did a pretty good job for what they had to work with. At least a well-enough job to not be bashing on it every other post. (On a thread about a diffrent attraction.)

 

[marni1971]

Yea, I waited on the only day there was a line (opening day, after it went 101). The only upside was that I got to see Eisner walking out of the building with a VERY unhappy face.
:lol

I wish I`d been there to see that! Do you remember if it went 101 with him inside? Either way it`s good to hear what he apparently thought of it. There again, it was well documented he personally red or green lit every major change in the parks - surely he would have known 40% of the track was removed, the ride was sparse, poorly laid out with weak effects, bad lighting desicions and an audio bore; he would have okayed all this. Kind of like DCAs ToT; after his first ride he wanted to know why it was so short compared to WDW. No one had the courage to say "because you cut the budget". Not to mention it was lifted from an already budget-lite design for another park.

Anyhow, back to the OP. I wouldn`t say they are learning from SGE, more from AE. Remember this attraction opened December 1994 for barely a month before Eisner demanded it be shut down and made more scary - and the flagship of new Tomorrowland was closed for another 6 months. Ironically it was the more intense version that would be the attractions undoing (with help from ignorant-of-warning guests) - and led to the SGE saga of a kids attraction in scary show environment I mentioned earlier.

 

[EpcotServo]

I wish I`d been there to see that! Do you remember if it went 101 with him inside?

I talked to a Cast Member after the ride about it, and he said it was 101 for about five minutes when they heard Eisner and his group was coming. Right after they heard that the ride started up. They said it was a close one though. I'll never forget his "I paid money for THIS?" look on his face!
:lol:

 

[CBOMB]

But everytime you walk out of there do you hear more then one person say "That was the worst thing I've ever seen!"? In reality it's only "Stitch's Great Mistake" in InternetLand. No one in WDI or the Disney company is shaking their fist to the sky saying "WHY!?!? Why did we build this thing! What fools we were! The company's image is forever stained by our foolish foolishness! -sobbing-"
:lol:
I still fail to see what harm Stitch's Great Escape has done to Disney to say it was a mistake. And to you people who hate it with a passion never-ending, all I can say is this. I think you'll get over it. Going on a ride and not caring for it shouldn't still scar you enough to spend most of your life posting snappy one-liners and quick comebacks about how bad the ride is. Nobody cares.

And yes, we get it. Stitch's great mistake. sounds like escape. got it the first time.

Great post EpcotServo, it's about time somebody said that. I think polarboi also made a point with his post not liking SGE even though he was trying to be open minded about it. Everyone is not going to love every attraction. If you have a ride that you go on several times each time you are in the park you are definetely going to be disappointed if it is replaced. If TTA was ever replaced I would be on the boards complaing, no matter how good the replacement was. I thought AE was just ok, same for SGE. Same thing for Mr. Toad vs. Winnie, I don't have a passion for any of these rides, but I don't hate them either. No this is not a thread drift, I just think this is what is going to happen to the Monsters Inc. show, no point in calling it the Laughing Floor according to just about every post from people who have seen it, I have yet to see a post that said it was funny, that many people can't be wrong. If they give it a rewrite, and get the right people to be in the show, and make it funny, it will be a big success. It has to compete with the memory of TK though, which already gives it strike one from the TK fans. I'm just happy they are trying to make it a good show, rather than just throwing something together. I think EpcotServo was dead on with so much of the dislike for certain attractions being fueled on the Internet. All I can say is GOD help the replacement attraction for CoP. That is only my opinion which my wife has told me isn't even worth 2 cents.

 

[polarboi]

Well said. I think they did a pretty good job for what they had to work with. At least a well-enough job to not be bashing on it every other post. (On a thread about a diffrent attraction.)

Agreed. The biggest problem is that two of the primary design elements of AE (the darkness and the restraints) work beautifully to create a scary environment but don't lend themselves to kid-friendly attractions. Unfortunately, they are both necessary to make the effects believable.

As a result, making the attraction more kid-friendly automatically lessens the impact of the effects, and the end product is an attraction that obviously had a lot of hard work put into it (and it shows!) but just doesn't live up to its potential because it was designed for something else. Kids don't like uncomfortable restraints and darkness, and the SGE effects, while fine, don't measure up to the intense AE effects.

SGE isn't the worst attraction ever. It's just a disappointment compared to what it was and what it could be.

What really irks me is when people take out their frustrations about SGE on poor little Stitch, who is a fun character (one of Disney's few recent hand-drawn characters that really sticks with you). I thought it was great to hear Stitch on the monorails, in the bathrooms, and around the parks. No, I wouldn't want it to stay that way forever, but it was a fun touch. It reminded me of the (hilarious!) trailers Disney put out when Lilo & Stitch was coming to theaters: the ones that start out like trailers for other Disney classics, only to be invaded by Stitch. It was clever marketing and a bold step for Disney, and I'd love to see more of that kind of thinking in the company and in the parks.

But then, you know, in Internetland, it seems that some of the fans love to complain more than to... you know... be fans.

-p.b.

 

[polarboi]

It has to compete with the memory of TK though, which already gives it strike one from the TK fans.... All I can say is GOD help the replacement attraction for CoP.

Ooooh, yes, that's another thing. Sometimes nostalgia blinds us to the need for change.

Timekeeper needed to go. It was outdated. It had shots of the NYC skyline with the Twin Towers, and the film was showing its age in other ways as well. Now sure, Disney could have poured money into redoing the attraction and keeping it exactly the same, but they decided to replace it with something more modern. That's how they keep the parks fresh.

And I hate to say it, because I love the CoP, but it either needs a major upgrade, or it needs to go too. The current CoP is an embarrassment, and certain issues about how the attraction is made (the rotating building that causes problems every time a guest leaves mid-attraction) make me suspect that a replacement is more likely than a refurbishment. People will gripe and complain, but it's just a fact of life.

It's kind of like the Wonders of Life pavilion. When it was supposedly closed for good, a lot of people here in Internetland complained about it, wishing it would reopen. Well, it did, and now the reports have come flooding in about how it's outdated and just not up to the modern Disney standard. Yes, we're nostalgic for it. Yes, it's good to get pics and see it one last time. But then let's close it and replace it with something new.

My problem with SGE wasn't that it replaced AE, but that it didn't diverge more from AE's technology, which has kept it from being the fun Stitch attraction it could be.

But yeah, don't blame TLF for not being Timekeeper. Timekeeper will live on in our hearts. Bring on the monsters.

-p.b.

 

[lpet11984]

Ooooh, yes, that's another thing. Sometimes nostalgia blinds us to the need for change.

Timekeeper needed to go. It was outdated. It had shots of the NYC skyline with the Twin Towers, and the film was showing its age in other ways as well. Now sure, Disney could have poured money into redoing the attraction and keeping it exactly the same, but they decided to replace it with something more modern. That's how they keep the parks fresh.

And I hate to say it, because I love the CoP, but it either needs a major upgrade, or it needs to go too. The current CoP is an embarrassment, and certain issues about how the attraction is made (the rotating building that causes problems every time a guest leaves mid-attraction) make me suspect that a replacement is more likely than a refurbishment. People will gripe and complain, but it's just a fact of life.

It's kind of like the Wonders of Life pavilion. When it was supposedly closed for good, a lot of people here in Internetland complained about it, wishing it would reopen. Well, it did, and now the reports have come flooding in about how it's outdated and just not up to the modern Disney standard. Yes, we're nostalgic for it. Yes, it's good to get pics and see it one last time. But then let's close it and replace it with something new.

My problem with SGE wasn't that it replaced AE, but that it didn't diverge more from AE's technology, which has kept it from being the fun Stitch attraction it could be.

But yeah, don't blame TLF for not being Timekeeper. Timekeeper will live on in our hearts. Bring on the monsters.

-p.b.

Bravo! :sohappy:

 

[marni1971]

But yeah, don't blame TLF for not being Timekeeper. Timekeeper will live on in our hearts. Bring on the monsters.

I don`t - I blame management. Timekeeper was a great attraction, in my opinion (you didn`t think so - not a problem) but what Irks me most is attractions that are popular (AE, TK for example) are removed for no good reason. New Tomorrowland and its attractions has been discussed heavily in the past, so I won`t go into it again. Neither attraction was showing its age (NYC could have been reshot or cut out; the original From Time to Time has a few minutes of extra footage that could have even been cut in if need be) and both were original.

AE was removed (as we`ve again discussed many times) due to complaints from guests who ignored the mutliple warnings about the ExtraTERRORestrial attraction. Perhaps, like Pulp Fiction, it ended up being too un-Disney to be Disney.

TK was dropped into the all too familiar seasonal opening. Shame of Disney. 15 years ago there was no such thing as seasonal for major attractions. In other words, it`s not filling the theatre everytime; lets save money. The CV was a people eater; no wonder it wasn`t always full. The official reasoning was that the exterior signage wasn`t clear enough there was an attraction inside. So... promote it more. Put up better signs (not just a sandwich board and LED display) Film quality is an issue all over WDW; I`ve heard not good things about the state of Ellens Energy projections; in this day and age it must be time to go digital for storage in the parks? Even 9 projectors running off hard discs or similar would be more cost effective than running 9 35mm projectors with 9 sets of 35mm stock, but that`s another thread drift in an already drifted thread.

Cutting to the chase, there is plenty of room for AE, TK, The Laugh Floor and SGE. The Galaxy Palace is underused (though I`d rather see it used more than go) and the plot between the CoP and the Space Mountain Satellite is an official expansion area - ironically it was almost utilised in an early Tland 94 plan. And over in Fantasyland we waited 10 years for a playground and field. The 20K plot is huge; it could hold Poohs Playground, one or both of the new Tland attractions, and still have space for a major E Ride (and store). SGE could have been built in a show-specific building. If all else fails, Disney MGM is crying out for attractions. If the parks name change rumours are true, The Laugh Floor would have perfect (ABC Theatre anyone?)

I`m not being nostalgic; these were great attractions that could be around today. What I resent is when the replacement either dosn`t measure up to what it replaced, is poor, or didn`t need to replace anything to begin with.