A Spirited Dirty Dozen ...

[Kman101]

My problem with Mermaid still stems from the fact that I can see black walls behind me, going into the Ursula section you can see plain black walls, the ceiling is poorly done, the "animatronics" scream plastic and cheap (most of them) .... the lighting change helped but the ride is still very much lacking. Is it nitpicking? Probably but Pan's old, Mermaid isn't, so I'm more critical of Mermaid. The great exterior and queue leads up to a book report ride that's ultimately lackluster. Pan desperately needs an overhaul though. Even Paris gets updates to Pan before we do!

With Mermaid I'm personally not immersed and taken out of the ride. It's not like Pirates or Mansion where I feel completely immersed and don't catch myself looking around and the bare walls and ceiling.

 

[brb1006]

My problem with Mermaid still stems from the fact that I can see black walls behind me, going into the Ursula section you can see plain black walls, the ceiling is poorly done, the "animatronics" scream plastic and cheap (most of them) .... the lighting change helped but the ride is still very much lacking. Is it nitpicking? Probably but Pan's old, Mermaid isn't, so I'm more critical of Mermaid. The great exterior and queue leads up to a book report ride that's ultimately lackluster. Pan desperately needs an overhaul though. Even Paris gets updates to Pan before we do!

With Mermaid I'm personally not immersed and taken out of the ride. It's not like Pirates or Mansion where I feel completely immersed and don't catch myself looking around and the bare walls and ceiling.

I had a similar feeling with the Pooh's Hunny Hunt ride at Tokyo where you actually feel like you're inside the Hundred Acre Woods and jumped into the storybook.

 

[Mike S]

I think Mermaid in Florida is a fine attraction. It's no E or D, but it's not supposed to be; it's a nice filler attraction and well executed. I think a lot of people's problems with it stem from the queue being grander than the actual ride itself (which really didn't bother me, I knew what to expect going into the ride as I imagine most did so I just appreciated the nice queue)

The problem is that all of NFL feels like filler and there's no big headliner.

That's actually what bugs me about the tower. I personally really don't think the design is that ugly, actually kind of cool, but the fact that it's so clearly just overlaying the exact shape of the ToT looks ridiculous and really lazy.

The design will also stick out like a sore thumb. I am not looking forward to seeing that mess from inside Cars Land.

 

[DinoInstitute]

The problem is that all of NFL feels like filler and there's no big headliner.

The design will also stick out like a sore thumb. I am not looking forward to seeing that mess from inside Cars Land.

I think 7D feels like a headliner of the area, even though it could be better (let's not bring that little feud into this thread too though ). But it's not like NFL really needed to be an expansion with a headliner, it just needed to add more to do and clean up FL a bit.

Also, yikes! I never thought about the view from CL having never been, that'll be a bit weird

 

[NobodyElse]

Word on Twitter from user @vashsky that the new DLR hotel on the DTD parking lot will have a restaurant with views of NOS and RoA. Therefore a visual protrusion into the park and visible from Frontierland etc. anyone know of any truth to this? @marni1971 @WDW1974

I invite you and any other presumed Right Coast folks to visit the Disneyland Resort section of these forums. Many people there will be happy to present you with more informed and realistic conclusions and answers to questions. As stated elsewhere, it's physically impractical (if not impossible) to get a decent viewing of Fantasmic! from anywhere across Disneyland Drive. If the top of said hotel ends up being visible from within NOS, it will likely be unobtrusive (and perhaps even blend in).

 

[njDizFan]

My problem with Mermaid still stems from the fact that I can see black walls behind me, going into the Ursula section you can see plain black walls, the ceiling is poorly done, the "animatronics" scream plastic and cheap (most of them) .... the lighting change helped but the ride is still very much lacking. Is it nitpicking? Probably but Pan's old, Mermaid isn't, so I'm more critical of Mermaid. The great exterior and queue leads up to a book report ride that's ultimately lackluster. Pan desperately needs an overhaul though. Even Paris gets updates to Pan before we do!

With Mermaid I'm personally not immersed and taken out of the ride. It's not like Pirates or Mansion where I feel completely immersed and don't catch myself looking around and the bare walls and ceiling.

I didn't have high hopes for this attraction when I visited last month but to my suprise it was worse. Again, great queue but the ride portion was so dissapointing. A 3rd grade book report ride with bare walls and a simple loop. No feeling of immersiveness. It felt like I was riding around a warehouse. Granted it didn't help that the ride stopped twice and I was staring at the Ariel AA for like 5-7 minutes.

It felt lazy and uninspired. The pooh ride(even though I have issues hearing the audio) is so much more fun and whimsical. I would even prefer the Mexican pavillion ride by a mile.

 

[RoysCabin]

Mermaid seems to encapsulate what feels so off about New Fantasyland, I think. It's large, it appears grand, but when you stop and consider it for a moment you kind of realize that it's fairly empty, the way that a pause in New Fantasyland today kind of makes one realize "wait a minute...largest expansion in park history...how is there the same number of attractions as before?"

Feels like a ride like that either needs to move toward E ticket territory by trying to be something greater than a book report (maybe make it a more immersive experience of being under the sea, with the sensations that are meant to go along with that, before a big finale as you make your way to the surface world?), or scale it back into something more quaint and intimate, a style that can mask some small deficiencies and work off sheer charm. A lot of New Fantasyland seems hopelessly caught between the two styles, whereas original Fantasyland was pretty squarely in the second camp.

 

[Mike S]

I think 7D feels like a headliner of the area, even though it could be better (let's not bring that little feud into this thread too though ). But it's not like NFL really needed to be an expansion with a headliner, it just needed to add more to do and clean up FL a bit.

Why should our Fantasyland be the only one that didn't get a big new headliner in its expansion?

Disneyland:

Tokyo Disneyland:

Also rumors of Alice here and in Shanghai.

Also, yikes! I never thought about the view from CL having never been, that'll be a bit weird

Yes, I've been there and it's perfectly visible.

Mermaid seems to encapsulate what feels so off about New Fantasyland, I think. It's large, it appears grand, but when you stop and consider it for a moment you kind of realize that it's fairly empty, the way that a pause in New Fantasyland today kind of makes one realize "wait a minute...largest expansion in park history...how is there the same number of attractions as before?"

Feels like a ride like that either needs to move toward E ticket territory by trying to be something greater than a book report (maybe make it a more immersive experience of being under the sea, with the sensations that are meant to go along with that, before a big finale as you make your way to the surface world?), or scale it back into something more quaint and intimate, a style that can mask some small deficiencies and work off sheer charm. A lot of New Fantasyland seems hopelessly caught between the two styles, whereas original Fantasyland was pretty squarely in the second camp.

 

[brb1006]

Speaking of New Fantasyland, @marni1971 just made a new tribute video to the area.

 

[brb1006]

Why should our Fantasyland be the only one that didn't get a big new headliner in its expansion?

Disneyland:

Tokyo Disneyland:

Also rumors of Alice here and in Shanghai.

Yes, I've been there and it's perfectly visible.

I bet Tokyo Disneyland could pull this up. Look at there for example. I bet they would follow the original concept for the Mermaid attraction.

 

[DinoInstitute]

Why should our Fantasyland be the only one that didn't get a big new headliner in its expansion?

Disneyland:

Tokyo Disneyland:

Also rumors of Alice here and in Shanghai.

Because they are separate projects built at different times/for different reasons. I mean yeah more headliners is always great but this is just unnecessarily comparing them.

 

[Mike S]

Speaking of New Fantasyland, @marni1971 just made a new tribute video to the area.

Too bad those amazing wardrobe and Lumiere AAs were wasted on a M&G.

Edit: Villains Mountain also looked incredible

Because they are separate projects built at different times/for different reasons. I mean yeah more headliners is always great but this is just unnecessarily comparing them.

Oh I know the reasons.

Elsewhere: "this will really wow them."

WDW: "eh, good enough."

 

[PiratesoftheHM]

I invite you and any other presumed Right Coast folks to visit the Disneyland Resort section of these forums. Many people there will be happy to present you with more informed and realistic conclusions and answers to questions. As stated elsewhere, it's physically impractical (if not impossible) to get a decent viewing of Fantasmic! from anywhere across Disneyland Drive. If the top of said hotel ends up being visible from within NOS, it will likely be unobtrusive (and perhaps even blend in).

Thanks for the advice. This thread is pretty anything-goes and Spirit often posts about DLR and other Disney resorts, not just WDW.

 

[NobodyElse]

Thanks for the advice. This thread is pretty anything-goes and Spirit often posts about DLR and other Disney resorts, not just WDW.

Yeah, his threads get pretty unwieldy, and people seem to latch onto them without straying elsewhere (where pertinent information might be readily available).

I predict that if a restaurant goes in at the top of the new hotel, it will not have any kind of decent view of Fantasmic! (but will however likely have a great view of the fireworks). I further predict that if/when all this construction comes to pass, somebody will see a green flash and perhaps the top arc of some pyro and claim they saw Fantasmic!, and they were right all along. That's the beauty of vague internet predictions.

 

[BrianLo]

Why should our Fantasyland be the only one that didn't get a big new headliner in its expansion?

Tokyo Disneyland:

Also rumors of Alice here and in Shanghai.

Alice is officially cancelled in Tokyo, the redress of some areas of old Fantasyland seems off the table along with anything for Small World. Frozen for TDS is on a prolonged hiatus (although should come eventually - like 2022/2023).

I have no doubts B&TB will be stellar and/or groundbreaking, but Tokyo's grand expansion is taking out the Speedway and a theatre to gain an E-ticket, better theatre and a whip ride. Still arguably better than NFL - but sadly reduced to barely enough.

Someone's been 'WDW-fying' Tokyo's plans, I'm not sure who to blame.

 

[Mike S]

Alice is officially cancelled in Tokyo, the redress of some areas of old Fantasyland seems off the table along with anything for Small World. Frozen for TDS is on a prolonged hiatus (although should come eventually - like 2022/2023).

I have no doubts B&TB will be stellar and/or groundbreaking, but Tokyo's grand expansion is taking out the Speedway and a theatre to gain an E-ticket, better theatre and a whip ride. Still arguably better than NFL - but sadly reduced to barely enough.

Someone's been 'WDW-fying' Tokyo's plans, I'm not sure who to blame.

@WDW1974 said that the plans for Alice were far from dead right after that newer announcement came out.

Concerning old Fantasyland I found this in the most recent announcement:

Tokyo Disneyland Facilities Development Plan

Grand Circuit Raceway, StarJets and some food facilities and shops currently in Tomorrowland will close permanently to make way for the proposed redevelopment. The expansion of Fantasyland will include a theater for live performances and a new area anchored by a major attraction themed to Beauty and the Beast. In neighboring Tomorrowland and Toontown, a new attraction and a Disney Character greeting facility will be opened in each themed land respectively. Total investment for the development of the new area and facilities is expected to be about 75 billion Japanese yen. In addition, plans are being developed for new versions of current attractions and entertainment programs.

This also caught my interest:

Plans for fiscal year 2021 and after

Investment plans for the further development of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, applicable for fiscal year 2021 and after, are currently being considered by Oriental Land.

For Tokyo Disneyland, the new development plans will apply to all seven themed lands, including Fantasyland as mentioned earlier in this release. An area-based development for each themed land, to take place in stages, is intended to leave a lasting impact on the Park.

The large-scale development plans for Tokyo DisneySea, making use of multiple expansion sites, are meant to achieve a rapid evolution of the only Disney park themed to the sea, and thereby broadly raising the degree of Guest satisfaction from both a qualitative and quantitative standpoint.

In addition, Oriental Land intends to investigate various ways to add more value to Tokyo Disney Resort® as a whole, such as increasing the number of guest rooms at the hotels within the Resort.

Moreover, regarding plans for further growth through new business other than the Tokyo Disney Resort business, Oriental Land will continue planning for a new and separate business segment that is not constrained by a specific timeframe.

http://www.olc.co.jp/en/news/olcgroup/20160427_01e.pdf

It does stink that TDS's Frozen port has been put on ice for now but it sounds like the plans are still moving right along at DL which is much easier to get to.

Edited to add more info.

 

[BrianLo]

@WDW1974 said that the plans for Alice were far from dead right after that newer announcement came out.

As per @SweetDuffy101 there is a fan magazine with an interview from the OLC president this month stating the plans for Alice are officially dead.

It's something I'm waiting for @WDW1974 to return to ask about, but I'm inclined to accept the newer info at face value.

 

[Mike S]

As per @SweetDuffy101 there is a fan magazine with an interview from the OLC president this month stating the plans for Alice are officially dead.

It's something I'm waiting for @WDW1974 to return to ask about, but I'm inclined to accept the newer info at face value.

Well that's disheartening to hear. I hope the money goes elsewhere in Fantasyland. The info I added to my other post seems to suggest that there's still upgrades coming like what they just did with Peter Pan.

 

[Matt7187]

It does stink that TDS's Frozen port has been put on ice for now

I see what you did there...

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Random, but did anyone notice (as of now) the top 4 highest grossing movies of the year are Disney movies? Captain America, Zootopia, Jungle Book & Finding Dory.