Al Lutz says Fantasyland Budget has been "Reduced"

RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
So the assumption is that WDW will have the following projects revealed at the D23 Expo:

Star Tours 2.0
Soarin' Over the World
Fantasyland Makeover/Ariel's Undersea Adventure

I assume Star Tours 2.0 will take te existing Star Tours up at least one ticket level (depending on your perspective, C to D, or D to E). It will probably not affect capacity in that park, but it will help to spread out the crowds a bit more.

I'm guessing Soarin' Over the World will be a significant enough overhaul, but with Soarin' already considered an E-Ticket, I don't expect this to be a significant change to the attraction lineup from a quality stand point. I'm also not expecting an increase in capacity or a deviation in crowd flow.

The Fantasyland Makeover will be adding a people eating attraction in Ariel's Undersea Adventure, that will add a D/E ticket to the attraction lineup. The other tertiary attractions should result in marginal capacity increases as well.

I look at all of these as good things. Although Magic Kingdom already sees the highest attendance, it was in need of an increase to capacity. Epcot typically handles crowds better than the other parks, however it is still in need of a high capacity E-Ticket as Test Track and Soarin' can't really meet the demand. Adding 1 or 2 additional screens to Soarin' for Soarin' Over the World would be a very significant gesture towards guest satisfaction. Hollywood Studios has two large capacity thrill rides already. That's not to say losing the Monster's Inc coaster doesn't hurt, but I do feel that Star Tours 2.0 makes more sense at this time. It also is a step away from the Eisynergy era where attraction decisions were made more on a marketing standpoint (See: Dinosaur/Countdown to Extinction) than a practical or quality stand point. With that said, I still wouldn't rule out the Monster's Inc coaster to happen a year or two after Monster's Inc 2 comes out.

The problem with all this though is that the Animal Kingdom is the park that is in the most dire need of additional attractions. This was the case since it's inception, and the park still has only 6 rides, 2 of which (Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin) don't really belong in the park. Now, it can be argued that Hollywood Studios also suffers from a weak ride lineup as well (and I agree), but I feel after the addition of Toy Story Mania to DHS, and Ariel's Undersea Adventure to MK, that Animal Kingdom should be next in line to receive a new ride.
 
SirGoofy

SirGoofy

Member
tirian said:
The FL budget was inevitably going to be slashed. WDI always asks for more money than it needs so they can still have a reasonable budget after all the cuts; and as long as certain egos stay out of the project, FL should still be okay. Mermaid is still coming, re-theming is still happening, and the MK is still on track to get better. Any improvement is still an improvement; no use crying over something that WDI knew would never get approved anyway.
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Thanks for this post Tirian.

Although I'm still worried about some of the proposal. Namely the Dumbo land. I was actually quite excited for that, and I fear that's the first thing to go.
 
Exprcoofto

Exprcoofto

New Member
HMF said:
He is full of it' huh. Lets take a look at what he got right
'He was the first to report details about the Constance update in the HM Attic.
' He explained in detail all the changes to POTC almost a year before it happened.
'He was the first to break the story about Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island.
'He was the first to report that Disney characters would be added to It's a Small World and had the Fan Community up in arms before it was officialy announced.
'He gave numerous details about the DCA refurb before they were announced.
'He said that Green Army Men from Toy Story would be directing guests to DCA to ride Midway Mania due to confusing ads.
'And of course he was the first person who told us about the faulty Dragon in Fantasmic at Disneyland which still has yet to debut.
I would say thats a pretty decent track record.
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Thats all Disneyland. What's the track record for WDW?
 
headhoncho34

headhoncho34

Member
The Conundrum said:
Disneyland is getting:

Star Tours 2
Redone & expanded DCA
Restored Rivers of America
Captain EO brought back for limited run
Next gen Hatbox Ghost
Tinkerbell dark ride
upgraded fantasmic

Walt Disney World is getting:

underfunded fantasyland redo

I wish I could see JT's face on September 12th. :ROFLOL:
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Magic Kingdom hasnt gotten any e ticket love since Splash Mountain back in 1992. Also that means that were going to have the same worn down Star Tours while they get the upgraded version. This is disappointing expect WDW's attendance to plummet when WWoHP opens and all these Disneyland projects to be complete.
 
jakeman

jakeman

Well-Known Member
Mstr Gra-c said:
Wait for the dozers and relax...thats what I say.
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Not singling you out by any means, but I continuously find it humorous that we will take a blogger's or a random poster's word for negative news but have to wait for physical signs of progress for positive news.

I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm just pointing out that trend.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
HMF said:
He is full of it' huh. Lets take a look at what he got right
'He was the first to report details about the Constance update in the HM Attic.
' He explained in detail all the changes to POTC almost a year before it happened.
'He was the first to break the story about Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island.
'He was the first to report that Disney characters would be added to It's a Small World and had the Fan Community up in arms before it was officialy announced.
'He gave numerous details about the DCA refurb before they were announced.
'He said that Green Army Men from Toy Story would be directing guests to DCA to ride Midway Mania due to confusing ads.
'And of course he was the first person who told us about the faulty Dragon in Fantasmic at Disneyland which still has yet to debut.
I would say thats a pretty decent track record.
Click to expand...

It's an amazing track record. And there were plenty of other big scoops in 2006, '07 and '08 as well.

Just the past few months Mr. Lutz also was the first to break the news on;

  • Muppets being used in new campaign before they arrived for filming
  • Captain EO being considered for a return engagement at Disneyland
  • Halloween themed fireworks show with a flying Zero character
  • A flying Dumbo character for the new summer fireworks show
  • The name Summer Nightastic and the theme and thinking behind it
  • The news about Tiana's Showboat Jubilee this fall

And now today Al Lutz has just broken the news on three more things:

  • Hat Box Ghost returning to Haunted Mansion in January
  • Tinkerbell dark ride planned for Disneyland
  • 2010 media campaign built around the concept of volunteering in your community and getting a free ticket to Disneyland for your hours worked

That last one has major implications for WDW as well, as I'm sure the volunteer campaign will be national instead of regional.

He may not be a WDW fan, and as a native Southern Californian the intense bond Mr. Lutz and the rest of us share with Disneyland can not be understated, but his track record speaks for itself. It's unprecedented in the online community, and usually scoops the LA Times, OC Register, etc.

Heck, Al Lutz was the one that scooped the world on Lindsay Lohan being drunk on her birthday at Disneyland. TMZ had to link to Miceage on that one! :eek: And this was bold stuff since this was when she had just finished Herbie The Love Bug and Disney was still trying to position her as America's Sweetheart, before any of us knew what a drunken, drugged out mess she was. Al Lutz got that story first.
 
cdunbar

cdunbar

Active Member
Captain Hank said:
As far as I know, all WDW park VP's and their staff already have their offices located in the park that they run. I know for sure where Epcot's is--I've been in it--and I'm pretty sure where MK's and DAK's are. I'm a bit fuzzy on where DHS' executive offices are, though--the old Animation building, probably.
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Huh, well I didn't know that! Thanks for the info!:wave:
 
_Scar

_Scar

Active Member
TP2000 said:
It's an amazing track record. And there were plenty of other big scoops in 2006, '07 and '08 as well.

Just the past few months Mr. Lutz also was the first to break the news on;



  • Muppets being used in new campaign before they arrived for filming
  • Captain EO being considered for a return engagement at Disneyland
  • Halloween themed fireworks show with a flying Zero character
  • A flying Dumbo character for the new summer fireworks show
  • The name Summer Nightastic and the theme and thinking behind it
  • The news about Tiana's Showboat Jubilee this fall
And now today Al Lutz has just broken the news on three more things:



  • Hat Box Ghost returning to Haunted Mansion in January
  • Tinkerbell dark ride planned for Disneyland
  • 2010 media campaign built around the concept of volunteering in your community and getting a free ticket to Disneyland for your hours worked
That last one has major implications for WDW as well, as I'm sure the volunteer campaign will be national instead of regional.

He may not be a WDW fan, and as a native Southern Californian the intense bond Mr. Lutz and the rest of us share with Disneyland can not be understated, but his track record speaks for itself. It's unprecedented in the online community, and usually scoops the LA Times, OC Register, etc.

Heck, Al Lutz was the one that scooped the world on Lindsay Lohan being drunk on her birthday at Disneyland. TMZ had to link to Miceage on that one! :eek: And this was bold stuff since this was when she had just finished Herbie The Love Bug and Disney was still trying to position her as America's Sweetheart, before any of us knew what a drunken, drugged out mess she was. Al Lutz got that story first.
Click to expand...

What's his track record with WDW?
 

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