News Primeval Whirl, Stitch's Great Escape and Rivers of Light permanently closed

[rnese]

Glad I got some last rides on PE in December and February (they would open that ride around 6ish on DAH nights, I never did DAH but right after seeing ROL in my way to Dinosaur I found it open with a 5 min wait. I’m a sucker for this type of ride, guess I gotta go back to Kennywood soon.

Just rode Exterminator today. ZERO people in line ahead of me. Not waiting in the concrete box switchback for 45 minutes was glorious!

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

Horizons, 20k, river country, some theaters around DHS, numerous merch and FB locations around the property, half of the Living Seas, the skyway, numerous MK water based attractions....

I’m assuming you are referring to WoL which did close under Iger but it’s death began a few years earlier when it acquired seasonal status under Eisner.

Merch/ODV are not attractions. Closing the Seacabs was a knee jerk reaction to cutting costs after the post-9/11 drop in tourism. The Skyway isn’t something that can be replaced unless you’re replacing the actual cabins, it was removed, and whether or not that’s a good thing is up for debate.

And yes, Wonders went seasonal under Eisner. It did not have to be cut entirely until a replacement was greenlit, but the plug was pulled prematurely and nothing happened for another 12 years.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Stitch - we all knew this. The attraction is dismantled already.

Primeval Whirl - it makes sense to close it to save money, it isn't a crowd pleaser or even a good ride, and seems to be a maintenance nightmare. Hopefully, when things recover, this means Dino-Rama will finally get the axe.

Rivers of Light - I actually really enjoyed it in its original form. It was beautiful and the music was great, almost Reflections of Earth level IMO. It did suffer from pacing issues though and a definite lack of a "punch" or wow factor that nighttime spectaculars need. The entire run of this show's existence was problematic from beginning to end. It sucks that there's now a huge stadium carved into the place that kind of ruined the atmosphere around Everest a bit, but I have confidence that it will be used again... sometime...

I came here to post almost the exact same!


Goodbye RoL. You did have your fans. RoL was underwhelming, certainly. But it had its heart in the right place and was at its finest a mysterious, elevating, beautiful experience.

With RoE and RoL gone WDW lacks seriously in mystique - that overlooked magic ingredient.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'd expect to see as much new out of Disney for these closed areas as we saw all the new stuff after 9/11/2001. That meaning, hope you like triceratop spin, because that'll be it for a long while in that area.

I wonder if they will remove whirl, or just let it stand without operating.

There were no closures directly related to 9/11...other than that I agree with you

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And the same can be said for when Eisner was CEO. This is a Disney problem not an Iger problem.


It was closed several years before Iger took over. It sat around for a few years before they officially announced it would never reopen but even that announcement came before Iger took over.

I’m not gonna say Eisner didn’t do this...he did - regrettably.

But that accelerated.

This one of those “times together” we have where we disagree vehemently to eventually agree...

 

[The Pho]

Glad I got some last rides on PE in December and February (they would open that ride around 6ish on DAH nights, I never did DAH but right after seeing ROL in my way to Dinosaur I found it open with a 5 min wait. I’m a sucker for this type of ride, guess I gotta go back to Kennywood soon.

At least with this closure there’s another one only 5 miles away at Fun Spot Kissimmee.

 

[peter11435]

Merch/ODV are not attractions. Closing the Seacabs was a knee jerk reaction to cutting costs after the post-9/11 drop in tourism. The Skyway isn’t something that can be replaced unless you’re replacing the actual cabins, it was removed, and whether or not that’s a good thing is up for debate.

And yes, Wonders went seasonal under Eisner. It did not have to be cut entirely until a replacement was greenlit, but the plug was pulled prematurely and nothing happened for another 12 years.

I never said merch/odv were attractions. And I wasn’t referring to odv but rather full table service and quick service restaurants and stores. They aren’t attractions but they are still venues that sit empty and are negative for the overall show.

I have not disagreed that things closed under Iger, but it’s not a problem that is unique to Iger. This has been happening in Disney parks for decades.

 

[Mickeynerd17]

Seems I'm one of the few who actually liked PW. Fun little coaster that I'm gonna miss dearly as part of my childhood. Wish I got a video of it though

 

[Touchdown]

At least with this closure there’s another one only 5 miles away at Fun Spot Kissimmee.

My time in Orlando is too precious to waste at a Funspot.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Maybe making a Zoo wasn't the best plan of action... lol

Edit: adding to this... We typically dont stay long at AK anyways... The park just doesnt have too much to do. Whats the attraction count for each park?

 

[peter11435]

Maybe making a Zoo wasn't the best plan of action... lol

That “zoo” is the third highest attended theme park in North America. Behind only the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

 

[Captain Culpepper Cline]

Hmmmm, I know....put a 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea attraction in the lake; with it’s own nighttime show? Cue the giant octopus...

 

[Goofnut1980]

That “zoo” is the third highest attended theme park in North America. Behind only the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

Yes but does it tell you how long a guest will stay at that park... We typically park hop to it. Which counts as a guest for one day, but are there 2-3 hours. Comparitivly I would love to see the dollars spent per park and look at MDE data that shows you how long each person is in the park compared to the other parks. Would be a super fun spreadsheet to make!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

ummm The Good dinosaur, Indiana Jones,
Atlantis or Sinbad 1990.

Want to think about those...real carefully this time?

 

[SteamboatStitch]

Last time I rode PW some time back in 2017, every spin pushed me around very roughly despite the restraints, enough to give me a sore shoulder for the rest of my vacation. Not sad to see it go. That being said, the amount of attractions that are SBNO in WDW is just depressing, and I don't see anything actually replacing any of these three attractions in the short or even long term. Makes me think of the 20k lagoon.

 

[note2001]

When you've produced a product that has people feeling like they're prisoners in their seats and find themselves shuffling their feet just waiting to leave, that's a problem. At least Disney recognizes this.

I hope they find a way to reuse those floats, the animal ones in particular are entrancing.

 

[The Pho]

My time in Orlando is too precious to waste at a Funspot.

Fair enough, but Mine Blower and White Lightning are great wooden coasters, beyond that not much is worth valuable time. I tend to only go when all the other Orlando parks are closed since they’re consistently open the latest.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Who here thinks AK will be the 5pm park again in another month or 2?

 

[Andrew C]

Who here thinks AK will be the 5pm park again in another month or 2?

I wouldn’t doubt it.

 

[tirian]

and Water is wet...
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For me, the issue is that every year, we’re paying more for less. But the love/hate comments are certainly more interesting.