Frozen ride replacing Maelstrom?

[EricJ]

The problem with Stitch's Great Escape and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor isn't the films, it's the quality of production of these rides that people loathe. Tokyo Disneyland also has a Monsters Inc. attraction, but it is very popular and why? Because it is superior in quality and production. Disney has the ability to make a great attraction regardless of what film they use. TDO just chooses not to put the time, money, or effort into most of what they put out.

The Imagineers also got to think up the later popularity-tested foreign rides themselves, which they're rather good at. (Although DCA was just cleaning up Superstar Limo's mess.)
My point was, SGE and MiL...(er, maybe I'd better not acronym that) were both cases of giving the screaming Screamscape fans their bottle, and making rides that, well, weren't very well thought out, and didn't have much conceptual appeal.
Not to mention, which most fans skip over, that a building tends to be made for one purpose, and you can't "turn" a show building into a ride building without tearing it down from scratch. MI at MK Tomorrowland was going to end up as another show in Timekeeper's building, no matter what the fans wanted. (And, just off a side tangent, how exactly was that mythical "door ride" in fans' minds supposed to work?...Would we hang on to the door for dear life by our knuckles, just like Mike & Sully??)

Also, from what I've seen, Rapunzel is still very popular. People may not be storming down the barricades to see her, but there is still a demand in the parks for her. I find it funny how certain you are that Frozen's popularity will die down by Fall. I believe people said something similar, except they put the time frame in the Spring of this year. And here we are, in the middle of Spring, and the fever for Frozen is still strong. You may not like the film, but it's clear that it's it a chord with a majority of people. I'm not saying this warrants a ride in the parks, but Disney would be a fool to underestimate Frozen's popularity, in fact, they already have.

Tangled IS a Disney classic by whatever 90's definitions you want to apply, but Frozen is still coasting on a lot of outside factors. Not least of which being That Darn Song (and its cult that believes they're getting "life messages" from it), and some of it being fans who didn't see any Disney movie between Tangled and Frozen, and are in love with one movie formula. (I saw Wreck-It Ralph in the theaters, but how long are the lines for Ralph and Vanellope?)

Every marketed Disney Princess has to have a personality, to create identification with the little girls that fan-worship them; Rapunzel had one from the start, and she's here to stay.
The lines from Frozen seem to be more about fans making "pilgrimages" to show their cult-love for the movie, for whatever above reasons--I've seen the park characters finally nail down A&E's respective "personalities", but I'd guess most of the faithful line-fans couldn't even say what those ARE.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Yup, you're @EricJ alright.

 

[FerretAfros]

Not to mention, which most fans skip over, that a building tends to be made for one purpose, and you can't "turn" a show building into a ride building without tearing it down from scratch. MI at MK Tomorrowland was going to end up as another show in Timekeeper's building, no matter what the fans wanted.

Not necessarily. DL's Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear rides were both built within existing buildings designed for theater-based attractions (Country Bear Jamboree and CircleVision, respectively), and both were done within recent memory. Similarly, the building that is currently Redd Rocket's Pizza Port was originally Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars, yet was adapted for a completely different use. Heck, even TSMM at the Studios was built in an old soundstage

Granted, not all attractions will fit in any existing structure, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities. Building a ride is an expensive proposition, and as such they're able to do some things that are fairly expensive to convert an existing building (like leveling the former CBJ theater floors for Pooh). Darkrides are well-suited for this type of use, since they take up relatively little space and can fit into unusual layouts, but there are other possibilities

 

[Nitrokoff]

In regards to Anna and Elsa's popularity dying down. My opinion is that is all but inevitable to happen. It wasn't that long ago that Wreck it Ralph was all the rage. Petitions to make Vanellope an official princess. Asking Disney interactive to make a Sugar Rush game. The hopes a full blown ride. And they got a cozy little corner for M&Gs in DHS. At least they replaced that insufferable bear. Frozen fever much like any "fad" will blow over. Frozen is hot now because, well, it's hot. But let the next film hit and then the next and the next and A&E will become just another set of princesses. Just ask Merida and Rapunzel.

 

[Matt_Black]

In regards to Anna and Elsa's popularity dying down. My opinion is that is all but inevitable to happen. It wasn't that long ago that Wreck it Ralph was all the rage. Petitions to make Vanellope an official princess. Asking Disney interactive to make a Sugar Rush game. The hopes a full blown ride. And they got a cozy little corner for M&Gs in DHS. At least they replaced that insufferable bear. Frozen fever much like any "fad" will blow over. Frozen is hot now because, well, it's hot. But let the next film hit and then the next and the next and A&E will become just another set of princesses. Just ask Merida and Rapunzel.

Uh, I was there last week of October and the first few days of November. Rapunzel and Merida ain't hurting popularity wise, at least as far as meet & greets go. And Twitter lights up whenever Tangled is on TV.

Part of the problem with Wreck-It Ralph is that it skews older and more towards boys. Disney likes to push properties that skew either younger or what's thought of as being girly.

 

[EricJ]

In regards to Anna and Elsa's popularity dying down. My opinion is that is all but inevitable to happen. It wasn't that long ago that Wreck it Ralph was all the rage. Petitions to make Vanellope an official princess. Asking Disney interactive to make a Sugar Rush game. The hopes a full blown ride. And they got a cozy little corner for M&Gs in DHS. At least they replaced that insufferable bear. Frozen fever much like any "fad" will blow over. Frozen is hot now because, well, it's hot. But let the next film hit and then the next and the next and A&E will become just another set of princesses. Just ask Merida and Rapunzel.

Again, it's the personality--Rapunzel, Tiana and even Merida had something in their characters that made them outlive their movies, and stay on as Disney Characters in the classic sense. A&E have some personality, but that's not why fans are lining up for three hours, in the same building where they still want to meet Rapunzel. Here, it's fans wanting to "prove" how much their favorite movie is "their" own movie, and...not saying Big Hero 6 will wipe it off the map seven months from now, but we could really, really use a nice distraction at this point.
At this point, it's like the Lion King rage in '94, and while some people still claim that's their favorite (a lot of the "Greatest Movie Since Lion King!" parroting I thought a bit ironic), I'm sure there are some people kicking themselves today for petitioning it for a Best Picture Oscar twenty years ago.

(And yeah, whatever DID happen to all those fangrrls who wanted to be Vanellope so they could have all their enemies executed? )

 

[Nitrokoff]

What I meant with Merida and Rapunzel is that they no longer enjoy insane queues for a M&G.

 

[Matt_Black]

What I meant with Merida and Rapunzel is that they no longer enjoy insane queues for a M&G.

Not insane, no, but not short by any means, either.

 

[Sped2424]

Although I'm sure that Imagineers are snickering offstage EVERY SINGLE TIME a Disney fan says "Let's have a dark ride based on the current hit-film of the moment!"
The first requirement of the job is Thinking Outside the Box, and that, friend is The Box. It was the "Armchair Imagineer" Fan Box that gave us Stitch's Great Escape ("Why don't they turn Alien Encounter into Stitch Encounter?"), and it was The Box that gave us Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. ("Maybe they could finally turn Timekeeper into a Door Ride!")
Even the Little Mermaid ride wasn't built until they showed us what the ride-through would look like.

I like A&E (well, Elsa, anyway, Anna babbled like an ABC sitcom character) but hated the movie, so call me impartial when talking about Frozen park-representation--
But I'm sure the mania for the characters will die down by next fall, when the mania passes--how crowded was Rapunzel's spot, when Tangled first hit?--but getting a park ride based on a movie with a little too much temporary zeitgeist is the sort of permanent commitment they like to avoid in favor of short-run tests. It's always easy to do something you'll regret years later.

See that would be true, if this "Current hit film" wasn't the highest grossing animated film of all time. I don't blame any of the source films for those poor attractions, I believe the designers/imagineers are at fault there. As for mermaid had TDO wanted to push out the budget to make the version tony baxter designed we would all be praising the ride.

 

[Sped2424]

What I meant with Merida and Rapunzel is that they no longer enjoy insane queues for a M&G.

Says who? Rapunzel still gets 60-90 minute wait times at fairy tale hall and thats on regular days, same with merida.

 

[Matt_Black]

I'm surprised that people don't like the Laugh Floor. I think it's a really neat, unique attraction.

 

[Matt_Black]

Says who? Rapunzel still gets 60-90 minute wait times at fairy tale hall and thats on regular days, same with merida.

And that's only regular days. During special events when Rapunzel is meeting with Flynn, holy cow does that side get busy.

 

[Sped2424]

I'm surprised that people don't like the Laugh Floor. I think it's a really neat, unique attraction.

I just feel could have added some cool monster AA's to the attraction, heck even turn it into a cute little dark ride too! It's just kinda meh.

 

[Bocabear]

I'm surprised that people don't like the Laugh Floor. I think it's a really neat, unique attraction.

I Like Laugh Floor...I just hate it's location. Why can they not put Laugh Floor in the Pixar Studios section of DHS... Monstropolous is not Tomorrowland... at leaast Buzz Lightyear is vaguely sci-fi futuristic... a comedy club for monsters really muddles the theme....and don't even get me started on Stitch's Great Mistake. Horrid. Why not develop some new attractions that are futuristic and fun...it is not impossible to do... Send Laugh Floor to DHS where they really need some new attractions.

 

[Matt_Black]

I Like Laugh Floor...I just hate it's location. Why can they not put Laugh Floor in the Pixar Studios section of DHS... Monstropolous is not Tomorrowland... at leaast Buzz Lightyear is vaguely sci-fi futuristic... a comedy club for monsters really muddles the theme....and don't even get me started on Stitch's Great Mistake. Horrid. Why not develop some new attractions that are futuristic and fun...it is not impossible to do... Send Laugh Floor to DHS where they really need some new attractions.

I give Monsters Inc. a pass as part of the movies premise relies on the notion of interdimensional travel, a long time staple of sci-fi. Also, one of the doors is that of the TARDIS. So that's cool.

 

[Nitrokoff]

Says who? Rapunzel still gets 60-90 minute wait times at fairy tale hall and thats on regular days, same with merida.

I go up there about once a month. the longest I've waited to see Rapunzel lately is 15 minutes. 25 minutes for Merida. And besides, if what you say is true, it still pales in comparison to 240+ waits for A&E.

 

[Sped2424]

I go up there about once a month. the longest I've waited to see Rapunzel lately is 15 minutes. 25 minutes for Merida. And besides, if what you say is true, it still pales in comparison to 240+ waits for A&E.

I live in orlando so I am regularly at magic kingdom, and Rapunzel's wait times are always high always. I am not saying she is more popular than Anna and elsa, just that she is still getting huge wait times.

 

[Nitrokoff]

I live in orlando so I am regularly at magic kingdom, and Rapunzel's wait times are always high always. I am not saying she is more popular than Anna and elsa, just that she is still getting huge wait times.

I don't want to argue. What I'm saying is what I've experienced. Maybe I've just been lucky is all. Right time of the day maybe? The original point I was trying to make is that, the reason people want a Frozen ride is because it's their "omg omg omg favorite movie of all time forever and ever".... until the next one comes out. At which point A&E will have regular wait times, whatever they may be, and the new heroes/heroines will be the talk of the kingdom. Truce?

 

[novawildcat18]

And that's only regular days. During special events when Rapunzel is meeting with Flynn, holy cow does that side get busy.

This makes me wonder what they're going to do when the special events come around. Elsa doesn't have a prince so I wonder what is going to happen to their M&G location during the events, since every other princess (except for Anna) will have her prince with them.

 

[Sped2424]

I don't want to argue. What I'm saying is what I've experienced. Maybe I've just been lucky is all. Right time of the day maybe? The original point I was trying to make is that, the reason people want a Frozen ride is because it's their "omg omg omg favorite movie of all time forever and ever".... until the next one comes out. At which point A&E will have regular wait times, whatever they may be, and the new heroes/heroines will be the talk of the kingdom. Truce?

No one freaked out for a wreck it ralph ride? Or a princess and the frog attraction. Frozen's fan base has little to do with the being the latest it thing as that has never saved a film before instead it has everything to do with the fact that folks just seem to love it. Again you don't become the highest grossing animated film of all time or do the kind of success Frozen has done by just being the latest disney flick. Rapunzels wait times are still high and her character is quite beloved, lets say your argument is true that characters are only popular when their films come out, then why is Belle still getting up to 50 minute waits for her meet and greet when her film is over 20 years old? Point is these characters when they make their presence only get bigger after their initial success, not the other way around.