Al Lutz says Fantasyland Budget has been "Reduced"

[HMF]

I wish I had that really goofy/hideous pic of Phil Holmes smiling in that creepy way. It would be hillarious photoshoped on darth's body.

Changed my mind. Make it Rasulo. Even though he's probably more like the Emperor.

 

[The Conundrum]

Changed my mind. Make it Rasulo. Even though he's probably more like the Emperor.

the emperor will always be eisner

 

[sponono88]

Is anyone here actually going to D23? Im considering picking up a ticket just to see the theme park stuff.

I'll be the one shouting at Rasolu

i'm going. the main reason- I want to see the live demo presentation of WoC and the DCA models/artwork.

i'll be the one wearing the I <3 Jay Rasulo T-Shirt

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Someone doctor Jay Rasulo's face in there.:animwink:

:king:

Is anyone here actually going to D23? Im considering picking up a ticket just to see the theme park stuff.

I'll be the one shouting at Rasolu

Wish I could.... But Anaheim is a loooooooooooong way off.


Heck, EPCOT in December is far off. :lookaroun

 

[The Conundrum]

i'm going. the main reason- I want to see the live demo presentation of WoC and the DCA models/artwork.

i'll be the one wearing the I <3 Jay Rasulo T-Shirt

What live demo? Are they gonna have a set up at the convention center or will they actually walk us into DCA to take a gander?

 

[cdunbar]

i'm going. the main reason- I want to see the live demo presentation of WoC and the DCA models/artwork.

i'll be the one wearing the I <3 Jay Rasulo T-Shirt

SHUT UP! They're giving a demo of WOC!!! WooHoo, somebody better take some video/pictures that's all I'm saying!:zipit:

 

[EpcotServo]

Al Lutz should be sentenced to be a WDW Passholder for the rest of his life.

 

[lebeau]

Al Lutz should be sentenced to be a WDW Passholder for the rest of his life.

If I make snarky comments about WDW in my blog, can I have the same punishment?

 

[WDW1974]

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 wouldn't assume that at all. I'd be VERY surprised if all of that gets announced. ST2.0 is a given. And they will do/show something for WDW ... but what is open to interpretation.

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.

It 'could' and 'should' affect capacity in the park in that it has six simulators and doesn't always use them. Can't even tell you the amount of times they do since I spend such little time in said park. If all of a sudden ST 2.0 is a 'must see' again, it will likely eat a whole lot more people per hour than it is now.

And without getting into a large debate, ST was always considered an E-ticket at WDI so the new version would certainly.

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.

Makes sense.

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 would bet Mermaid would immediately become one of the top 'must dos' on anyone's MK list. People don't all do the mountains or all of them. This is a classic Disney type attraction. And it will also eat people as omnimover attractions do.

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.

Not gonna happen, nor should it happen.

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.

I'm was kind of surprised to hear it had been killed based on the above. And Iger has said synergy is very important to him with franchises ... that said, they could always do a cheapo redo on MILF at MK.

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.

I disagree that DAK needs rides. It isn't a ride park to begin with and never was supposed to be. And while I'd love to see more additions, I'd rather -- at this point -- if they took a healthy new look at Rivers of Light and adding a few new animal exhibits.

But this is the problem with WDW becoming the Mousecasprawl that it is. The parks wind up in competition with each other and they all suffer because of it.

 

[Studios Fan]

Good to hear...

As much as I want DHS to get something, I have always thought MI was not a good, or original fit.


The money is better off in MK.

I agree as well. While I would love to see MI, my concern was over how much capacity it would provide.

 

[WDW1974]

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! 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.

Um ... I got nothing to add at all.

I just wanted to reinforce the points you make above. All accurate. There's way too much 'hating on Al' because he makes snarky comments about WDW, most of which are accurate.

 

[EpcotServo]

.

I disagree that DAK needs rides. It isn't a ride park to begin with and never was supposed to be. And while I'd love to see more additions, I'd rather -- at this point -- if they took a healthy new look at Rivers of Light and adding a few new animal exhibits.

But this is the problem with WDW becoming the Mousecasprawl that it is. The parks wind up in competition with each other and they all suffer because of it.

^Second.

It wouldn't be so bad if people considered the parks based on individuality, Theme, and place making, but down here people only want bigger and louder than the last thing they've seen.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

^Second.

It wouldn't be so bad if people considered the parks based on individuality, Theme, and place making, but down here people only want bigger and louder than the last thing they've seen.

Along the same vein, I would love it if they started their expansion around the conservation station area, and made that more accessible and a bigger deal. The first time at the park, I didn't even realize animal-related things went on there.

 

[DisneyCanadian]

the emperor will always be eisner

as evil or as much of an emperor eisner may have been, its because of him we have DHS, DAK, DTD, correct?

he wasn't all bad, may have been a bit of a control freak, and kind started going crazy with regards to the studios, but he did great things for the parks

 

[HMF]

as evil or as much of an emperor eisner may have been, its because of him we have DHS, DAK, DTD, correct?

he wasn't all bad, may have been a bit of a control freak, and kind started going crazy with regards to the studios, but he did great things for the parks

Once Wells died things started going very wrong.

 

[cdunbar]

as evil or as much of an emperor eisner may have been, its because of him we have DHS, DAK, DTD, correct?

he wasn't all bad, may have been a bit of a control freak, and kind started going crazy with regards to the studios, but he did great things for the parks

Well DAK could of been a top notch park, not that it's not now but it could of been even more so...ok this article on Disney and More is an example of what I mean http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2009/02/disneys-animal-kingdom-original-artwork_25.html :wave:

 

[DisneyCanadian]

Once Wells died things started going very wrong.

I totally agree with that statment.

I think Katzenberg would have done pretty well had he been given the chance, instead of Ovitz.

 

[lebeau]

I totally agree with that statment.

I think Katzenberg would have done pretty well had he been given the chance, instead of Ovitz.

You guys are making me relive Disney War all over again! :fork:

 

[DisneyCanadian]

You guys are making me relive Disney War all over again! :fork:

I thought it was an excellent read.

Any other similar books about Disney out there?

 

[HMF]

I totally agree with that statment.

I think Katzenberg would have done pretty well had he been given the chance, instead of Ovitz.

I have to disagree with you there.