DAK AVATAR breaks ground

[Atomicmickey]

By "Lion King", do you mean that the dinky Festival is going to be upgraded?

You complain that there's not enough Disney, and then you call FotLK 'dinky'?
Around these boards--and in my conversations with 'regular folks' out there,
it's considered one of, if not THE best show on Disney property.

I have had people comment 'who needs La Nouba' when you have something as impressively stages as FotlK?

I get your likes and dislikes, but I don't understand running down FotlK, it's a great
tribute to, and attraction based on, the film. And it's seemingly only going to get
bigger and better---at least in presentation.

Let's celebrate when things are good, doncha think?

 

[Groxtak]

I've personally witnessed it happen from my own rides (not talking about youtube). I don't know whether it still occurs now, but it certainly happened more than once from my frequent rides during the general 2010-2012 time frame. It definitely happens, or did at least. I haven't visited WDW since early 2012 though so I don't know whether it still happens.

Even assuming all the effects were still working on the ride, Everest still fell a bit short of the classic Disney standard. A good ride certainly, and with amazing potential. And i've not ever had the privilege of seeing the yeti working in person, but the videos look awesome. But even with all of that it still feels incomplete compared to the now ancient (but still as awesome as ever) Big Thunder. One major thing that bugs me immensely is the backwards part that goes inside the mountain. They made no attempt to theme this part and it completely ruins the immersion when you can see the obviously completely naked steel structure inside (made even more obvious with all the light pouring in from the holes in the rockwork that further illuminate the cheapness). Enclosing that tunnel with an ice crystal lined cavern would go a long way to improving the ride. I don't know if this is even possible to do at this point (probably), but that would fix my biggest complaint with the core concept of the ride (this is again not including the obvious broken effects which should go without saying).

Maybe after Avatar is finished, they should put EE through a long rehab that would include fixing everything that's broken AND adding new effects and structures. If they did this, AK would be as close to perfect as it could be. New lands and attractions afterwards would be less-costly animal-related ones... No biggie when programmed into a multi-year cap-ex plan....

 

[Tom Morrow]

Yes it is completely filled back in.

No it isn't, there are still visible backstage elements and big patches of land with no landscaping. That said it looks much better than it did when they initially removed the bamboo trees.

 

[Magenta Panther]

You complain that there's not enough Disney, and then you call FotLK 'dinky'?
Around these boards--and in my conversations with 'regular folks' out there,
it's considered one of, if not THE best show on Disney property.

I have had people comment 'who needs La Nouba' when you have something as impressively stages as FotlK?

I get your likes and dislikes, but I don't understand running down FotlK, it's a great
tribute to, and attraction based on, the film. And it's seemingly only going to get
bigger and better---at least in presentation.

Let's celebrate when things are good, doncha think?

Wow, some low standards exist around here.

FotLK consists of a bunch of painted-up rejects from Cirque de Soleil jumping around on trampolines, and giant fuzzy puppet versions of Simba, Timon and Pumbaa, et al. I read about the show here before I saw it, and thus had high expectations. Sadly, I was VASTLY underwhelmed when I saw it.

Please detail to me why you think it's so dazzling. I think Voyage of the Little Mermaid is even better than FotLK.

 

[Magenta Panther]

No, the fabulous Lion King stage show that is one of the best shows on the property. Not sure which Lion King you are refering to.

The lame one where guys jump around on trampolines a lot. There's another, better Lion King show on property? Where? Where?

 

[mm52200]

Wow, some low standards exist around here.

FotLK consists of a bunch of painted-up rejects from Cirque de Soleil jumping around on trampolines, and giant fuzzy puppet versions of Simba, Timon and Pumbaa, et al. I read about the show here before I saw it, and thus had high expectations. Sadly, I was VASTLY underwhelmed when I saw it.

Please detail to me why you think it's so dazzling. I think Voyage of the Little Mermaid is even better than FotLK.

You realize that the trampoline part is only a few minutes of the show? You must have missed the flame twirler, the beautiful acrobatic, the stilt walkers, the amazing singers, the wonderful dancers, and the four floats with huge giant puppets. You must not have been at the right show. You think Voyage of the Little Mermaid is better? Well that explains most of your opinions on here then.

 

[Magenta Panther]

You realize that the trampoline part is only a few minutes of the show? You must have missed the flame twirler, the beautiful acrobatic, the stilt walkers, the amazing singers, the wonderful dancers, and the four floats with huge giant puppets. You must not have been at the right show. You think Voyage of the Little Mermaid is better? Well that explains most of your opinions on here then.

Yes, I'm not easily impressed.

 

[AndyMagic]

I never understood the love for Festival of the Lion King. Maybe it's because I've seen so many Broadway productions including the original Lion King at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street. To me, FOTL looks like a bad college production of a musical. It was built to be temporary and for some strange reason it became a fan favorite. Still trying to figure out why/how.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I never understood the love for Festival of the Lion King. Maybe it's because I've seen so many Broadway productions including the original Lion King at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street. To me, FOTL looks like a bad college production of a musical. It was built to be temporary and for some strange reason it became a fan favorite. Still trying to figure out why/how.

THANK you. You said it much better than I did.

 

[Figment2005]

No it isn't, there are still visible backstage elements and big patches of land with no landscaping. That said it looks much better than it did when they initially removed the bamboo trees.

Not doubting you but when was your last visit?

 

[ford91exploder]

I never understood the love for Festival of the Lion King. Maybe it's because I've seen so many Broadway productions including the original Lion King at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street. To me, FOTL looks like a bad college production of a musical. It was built to be temporary and for some strange reason it became a fan favorite. Still trying to figure out why/how.

Look at it's competition and then ask question again

 

[Figaro928]

I believe that is for all the DAK improvements. Avatar, Lion King, night show, safari night edition.

Just curious, Is that a high or low budget?

 

[Figaro928]

I never understood the love for Festival of the Lion King. Maybe it's because I've seen so many Broadway productions including the original Lion King at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street. To me, FOTL looks like a bad college production of a musical. It was built to be temporary and for some strange reason it became a fan favorite. Still trying to figure out why/how.

two words... Air Conditioning

It's cute - but if you're going to compare it to Broadway it'll doesn't stand a chance

 

[Tom Morrow]

Not doubting you but when was your last visit?

Last week.

 

[Figment2005]

Last week.

Oh okay.

 

[WED Purist]

No, it's lame in my opinion, primarily because of the broken yeti. Its queue, after all, is all ABOUT the yeti. But thanks to TDO's indifference, the only glimpse we get of the yeti is that fake-looking animation where he's tearing up the tracks. It is obviously animation, obviously on a screen. And doesn't a Windows menu pop up on it occasionally? Kinda kills the mood. Without the yeti payoff at the end, Everest is just a roller coaster with some nice fiberglass-mountain theming. That's enough for some folks, I guess...

I thought you didn't even go to AK. Not even in the last three trips to AK (you ought to edit that by the way). How do you know what the Yeti looks like. I can't even start on "fiberglass-mountain theming" without sounding vitriolic.

 

[WED Purist]

How do people complain about the lengthy construction schedule and the lack of theming detail simultaneously? How do they blame the Portfolio Creative Executive for and eight year old piece of animation not working? Why do so many people constantly deride Disney, while claiming a love for what it used to be without knowing what used to be there? When Pandora is done, it won't matter if you have seen the movie or not; the land will be amazing. That was always the intention; Pandora represents the intrinsic value of nature.

 

[TalkingHead]

I thought you didn't even go to AK. Not even in the last three trips to AK (you ought to edit that by the way). How do you know what the Yeti looks like. I can't even start on "fiberglass-mountain theming" without sounding vitriolic.

Just curious what your opinion is of the backwards section of the ride.

I'm not a huge fan of the pacing of the ride (too many starts and stops), but the dark, light-leaking interior has always seemed like a missed opportunity to me.

 

[WED Purist]

The backward section was (and is) so effective for people who don't know it's coming. Most riders have talked to friends or watched a show on the Discovery/History chanel, or have seen Stacey Aswad; so there is no surprise. But for those who have no idea, they have no idea.

 

[TalkingHead]

The backward section was (and is) so effective for people who don't know it's coming. Most riders have talked to friends or watched a show on the Discovery/History chanel, or have seen Stacey Aswad; so there is no surprise. But for those who have no idea, they have no idea.

I assume you mean the surprise is that the train is going backwards. But even if that section was better themed--or if there were even some basic effects added (like red eyes a la the Matterhorn), I think it would improve the ride substantially.