To sum up this thread in a nutshell, and any discussion about the subject there after, the parks are in the best place they have ever been.
Breaking it down.
1) If the attractions that were replaced were of any value to the current Disney guest, they would still be there, pure and simple. The age old worthless crutch that a attraction "lost its sponsor" is meaningless. Space Mountain has not had a sponsor in over 5 years, but its still there. Now why is that? Simple, the ride still moves people into it. If any of the other attractions still packed in guests, they would still be there.
Jimmy Thick-Now is the time!!!
The bolded text is something that I have come to realize, sadly. I think most WDW guests don't care as much about theming or staying constant. But to me, that should be the heart of WDW. Immersive experience where you aren't an audience, you are a participant! WDW is at its best when everything ties together and forms a complete, consistent and coherent experience. I'm not so sure if this decides whether we are better off now or then, but today certainly has the disadvantage of inconsistency.
Allow me to pick on my all-time favorite attraction, the Haunted Mansion. Just look at the ridiculous new HM queue, lauded as being "interactive" and "Fun" and keeping "true" to Disney standards. Are you kidding me? It is completely out of sync with the vision of the rest of the attraction. It's cartoony, goofy and unrealistic within the context of the rest of the attraction. Any suspension of disbelief that one might have during HM is completely ripped to shreds with the cartoony queue. Consistency is key too. The Sea Captain who, in the hallway, has a startling and terrifying picture. Telling us he might be dangerous. He's holding a spear and covered in sea weed. His ghostly ship looks like it crashed in the background..is this how he died? Drowning at sea?!!?
Then we find out in the end of the ride...oh it's all ok! These are grim GRINNING ghosts who come out to socialize! They mean us no harm! Great storytelling. However...in the queue...the Captain is....pickled in brine as a cartoon who spits out water once in a while and sneezes. Are you kidding me?
Unimaginative and unrealistic within the world of the Haunted Mansion. Ever notice that the ghosts are all stylized to look like REAL humans? Even Madam Leota, Little Leota and the Bride have real human faces sourced from filmed footage. Then why, tell me, is the queue made up of a bunch of cartoon characters? Inconsistency, and it irks me to no end.
Am I splitting hairs? Yes. Of course I am. But consistency all around is something that Disney is known for, and it slips terribly in some areas. Tell me how, in any way, shape or form, "Toy Story Midway Mania" makes ANY sense within the context of the movie? We are taught from the first moments of Toy Story (original) that these toys DO NOT TALK around humans, with the exception of the skit pulled on Sid. We learn in TS2 that these toys are delicate and might be priceless. They must be taken care of, and we spend an entire movie worrying about the well-being of Woodie. TS3 brings it back around to teach us about how loving of these toys Andy is, and how awesome they are to play with...but even when their "lives" are threatened, they never talk in front of Andy.
Now let's look at the ride at DHS. The toys are throwing a surprise party...for who? Andy. And they are going to play games, and WE, the audience, have to help them get ready. Excuse me? Did the imagineers watch ANY of the films?
We throw objects at them, shoot guns, darts, and all of these things. We put them in harms way, these precious toys. In a carnival. Under Andy's bed. To get ready for him to come back. Right. This attraction, while fun, has no tie-in to the film except that we are throwing things at Toy Story characters. Then at the end, we get a 'score' that doesn't correspond to anything. It's just a video game score. Fantastic. At least Buzz LIghtyear's score corresponds to your galactic rank as space hero! This ride would have worked better with Donald Duck, for crying out loud.
TSMM is a classic example of using effects to tell a story and not vice-versa. It's the same problem George Lucas and Spielberg run into with the new Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. Storytelling takes a back seat to CGI-infested fight scenes. Great effects, cool scenes and lightsaber duels...but poor storytelling and inconsistency. You can't let effects tell th estory. You only use them to ENHANCE a story you already have.
I apply that same logic to WDW. Sure, there are plenty of innovative and amazing things all over WDW that have happened over the years, but a lot of them are at the expense of the experience and story that is being told. There is also something to be said about original "classic" attractions that have lasted all these years. Simple, unadorned, direct. The "classics" contain great story telling, entertainment and imagination all with PAINSTAKING detail to everything.
Sorry for the long rant, but it's the insane amount of NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL, as I have outlined here, that makes me think wonder if we are not in a better place than we used to be at WDW. Most people don't care, so maybe I should learn not to care either.
I love Walt Disney World just as much as any of us do. That's why I'm so critical of it at times. It COULD be a whole lot better.
Some imagination, huh?
End of rant.
Plus I vote no "Dinning Plan" (food is much worse now) and no "Fast Pass". Prior to FP I was able to do everything in any of the three parks twice a day (yep pre AK).
