Rumor Bye Bye (Tiki) Birdies?

[999th Happy Haunt]

Save The Tiki Room Instagram just popped up.
http://instagram.com/save_the_tiki_room

 

[Andrew C]

Save The Tiki Room Instagram just popped up.
http://instagram.com/save_the_tiki_room

Which one of y'all started this?

 

[jt04]

What are the odds that the birds stay as is? ANY chance at all?

I wouldn't be surprised to see that entire 'island of buildings' given over to food and beverage essentially. With a smattering of gift shops and entertainment options. Anchored by 33 and a few themed eateries with several fine menus to choose from.

Tiki Room will live on at DL where it is close to a national landmark. IMO.

 

[jt04]

Which one of y'all started this?

Obviously by someone who never learned how the world works.

There is also the possibility the OP has created a straw man here so he can claim he saved the attraction when it was never on the chopping block. Cult of personality anyone?

 

[jt04]

I believe the Country Bears share that same building. Will they be evicted as well?

Both attractions were dumbed down around 2011/2012. I came on these boards and said that this was a strategic plan by TDO to reduce popularity over the long term.

I agree. I don't think they are part of the long range plan and have not been for a long time. Too passive for a rapidly changing audience. I do think the bear animatronics could get repurposed elsewhere on property. FW or WL?

 

[MuteSuperstar]

Disney has no problem closing attractions or replacing or changing them. Why would you expect them to feel differently about distractions?

And yet they still list worthless BS like the Disney/Pixar Short Film Festival in MDE as an attraction. I haven't been in 3 years, they don't have FP+ for THAT do they?

I guess the CircleVision movies are in the distraction pile too. A pity if they go. I still find them vastly more entertaining than Soarin.

 

[DDLand]

Obviously by someone who never learned how the world works.

There is also the possibility the OP has created a straw man here so he can claim he saved the attraction when it was never on the chopping block. Cult of personality anyone?

You're so right! Has anyone seen Disneyland's Tower of Terror recently? He thinks we'd fall for his information! Ha!

Oh...

Mission: BREAKOUT! is like physical embodiement of why people come to Spirited Threads. Could anyone have made that up?

 

[MuteSuperstar]

Yes, the Disney Pixar Snooze-fest has a FP

Wowsers. Would be funny were it not so pathetic. Thanks for the info.

 

[Kman101]

To be blunt, those in charge are idiots if they think we'll spend more just because we aren't waiting 85 minutes for Splash Mountain. Sorry but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard and I believe they really do believe that theory. It makes me want to spend LESS.

 

[MuteSuperstar]

To be blunt, those in charge are idiots if they think we'll spend more just because we aren't waiting 85 minutes for Splash Mountain. Sorry but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard and I believe they really do believe that theory. It makes me want to spend LESS.

I believe it. I certainly blame the termites in management but I also blame the modern crowds for this mentality. I truly think a lot of people would rather stand in a 60 minute line for a 3 minute attraction so they can stare at their stupid phones, rather than have to pay attention to a 10-12 minute attraction that they can walk right on to.

 

[lazyboy97o]

To be blunt, those in charge are idiots if they think we'll spend more just because we aren't waiting 85 minutes for Splash Mountain. Sorry but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard and I believe they really do believe that theory. It makes me want to spend LESS.

They believe it because Paul Pressler is still the king of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The model of people staying longer so people spend more comes from retail. Disney continues to try and operate their theme parks as 1980s malls.

 

[NearTheEars]

No it wasn't.. but you're on a roll so why stop now.

The old Hollywood feel is quite nostalgic. The park however, as you know, was all about a working studio.

 

[ford91exploder]

They believe it because Paul Pressler is still the king of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The model of people staying longer so people spend more comes from retail. Disney continues to try and operate their theme parks as 1980s malls.

We now have Paul Presslers Avatar aka Chappie. How long will it be before we get the real thing back

 

[andysol]

No, now, Goof, when I start talking bluntly about WDW's Guest makeup some folks take offense. So, let's not call trash trash ... let's call them simply 'People I wouldn't want living next door to me' or 'People I'd walk the other way from if I saw them in a grocery store' etc.

I absolutely (read my last few posts) believe that Disney did and does want to spend the pittance it costs for even 'nice' meet-greet-and-gropes like the Meet Mickey deal on MSUSA and the new Frozen sisters location at EPCOT, then having actual attractions.

Do you want me to go summon @TP2000 to the thread to explain how two Anaheim parks have twice the attractions that four Orlando parks have? (and that is being generous on the attraction front) A M&G costs so, so, so much less then even a half-assed new attraction like a few of what were added in New Fantasyland. Disney will always prefer this dumbing down of Guests who are too stupid to realize that you don't pay thousands of dollars for foamhead or Princess meetings.

As to Guests being more respectful ... I can argue both sides of that easily. But I can also add that the way WDW has changed into a reserve everything, pay extra/upcharges for everything, no relaxation component has given us the typical 21st century Guest. If I were dumb enough to spend $5,000 on a WDW vacation, then I'd be trying to see and do it all ... and that adds up to a lot of ugly situations in the parks.

I don't get that vibe in Anaheim, Paris, Hong Kong or Tokyo.

I can't like this post enough.

You're so right! Has anyone seen Disneyland's Tower of Terror recently? He thinks we'd fall for his information! Ha!
View attachment 199975

Oh...

Mission: BREAKOUT! is like physical embodiement of why people come to Spirited Threads. Could anyone have made that up?

But he said it was coming to WDW- so clearly he knows nothing and just makes stuff up

 

[tirian]

This is 100% correct. If this was 1990, the reaction would be different (of course, it's unlikely this would have happened in '90). Disney doesn't deserve fan trust at the moment, and it will take a lot for them to earn it back. Look at the history of Disney replacements: Snow White became a meet and greet, Horizons became M:S, 20,000 Leagues became a hole in the ground for 10 years, Wonders of Life and Cranium Command became a seasonal classroom, WoM became TT, the Animation Tour became an exhibit space for a few reproduced props, Imagination became... something. The list goes on and on.

Why would anyone trust WDW at this point?

This!

I'd like it more than once if I could. So many things they've replaced have been lackluster, or sat empty ... why should we trust them?

And the actual new "additions" are mostly style over substance. The exteriors and queues are fantastic but the rides leave a lot to be desired. They aren't awful, but they're certainly lacking.

Not to mention all the charm they've cut away over the years, from Main Street becoming one long store, to certain entertainment acts getting cut, to restaurants sitting empty half of the year in probably the busiest park in Orlando ... why would they instill confidence in us?

Quoted for truth. Even Soarin' over the World has lost the tiny artistic touches that made the original mind blowing in its day, such as lifting the audience in darkness to wow them with the first scene and musical crescendo.

Edit: Pandora and SWL prove that WDI still knows how to make excellent attractions. The issue is whether Disney can replace a beloved classic with something that is significantly better, rather than change for the sake of change. Why didn't NFL include both the original Snow White and the Mine Train? Why was Maelstrom turned into a pop culture princess boat ride in a park dedicated to the real world and real cultural mythology? Those are the missteps that confuse and dismay dedicated fans.

 

[JoeCamel]

Quoted for truth. Even Soarin' over the World has lost the tiny artistic touches that made the original mind blowing in its day, such as lifting the audience in darkness to wow them with the first scene and musical crescendo.

Edit: Pandora and SWL prove that WDI still knows how to make excellent attractions. The issue is whether Disney can replace beloved classics with something that is significantly better, rather than change for the sake of change.

But, but neither of those have opened yet? How do they prove anything?

 

[Sneezy62]

Alrighty then. I feel like you're going out of your way to split linguistic hairs to avoid admitting you're wrong. Buuuuut have fun with that!

The reality is that yes, Disney trades deeply in nostalgia, whether it's using old music cues, bringing back fan-favorite attractions, basing entire parks on nostalgic themes, or keeping things "retro". A CM once told me that EPCOT is thought of as their "80s park", and given the retro-Epcot feel of Test Track 2.0, I can see what they're going for. I hope they don't forget that legacy attractions are deeply steeped in generations of nostalgia.

I don't think Tropical Serenade is liked for it's nostalgia factor as much as it is liked for it's place setting factor. I'm not a regular at WDW. Sporadic visits after the first three years it was open and then nothing from 1979 to 2009. A new relationship with someone who had never been brought me back. The area behind the Castle was cramped and crowded without the open expanse of lagoon. I'm sure that's improved since NFL opened. Tomorrowland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland were never truly separated from the rest of the park. Indeed Tomorrowland Terrace gave one wonderful views of the hub and Castle and Wedway even gave one glimpses out of the park toward Contemporary. Liberty Square and the Rivers and Frontierland all blend and meld together. In thirty years these places had changed. Some good changes some not so good.

Adventureland remained. Timeless. Yes there was a big camel spitting on people riding magic carpets in the middle of all that thatched and wickered pineapple goodness, but even that didn't take you out of the place. That place where you could hear elephants playing in river on one side and the chatter of tropical birds on the other. Removing the Tiki Room with it's pre show and thunder will steal a great deal from that place. Not it's nostalgia, that lives within the visitor. No loosing the Tiki Room will steal some of the timelessness.

 

[doctornick]

I think CBJ is relatively safe now. It pulls in good numbers and gets good guest satisfaction scores from what I'm told.

This, to me, is the oddest piece of info on this thread. I'm pretty surprised the CBJ pulls "good guest satisfaction scores" if the Tiki Room does not. I'm not saying that one attraction is clearly superior to the other (I prefer the Tiki Room, but personal tastes and all) but they are very similar in scope and execution, no? What exactly would drive CBJ to be better received than the Tikis? Better chairs?

 

[Rteetz]

This, to me, is the oddest piece of info on this thread. I'm pretty surprised the CBJ pulls "good guest satisfaction scores" if the Tiki Room does not. I'm not saying that one attraction is clearly superior to the other (I prefer the Tiki Room, but personal tastes and all) but they are very similar in scope and execution, no? What exactly would drive CBJ to be better received than the Tikis? Better chairs?

Location might help?

I have the same question however I prefer CBJ to Tiki Room. I'd prefer both to stay of course tho.

 

[MuteSuperstar]

CBJ - cornpone antics and country music
Tiki - 60's polynesian kitsch and old-showbiz/variety show feel

Not making any judgements of current crowds (out loud), but I can see why the former allegedly gets better feedback. Don't get me wrong, I still find CBJ quite amusing too.
I consider both classics and both should remain but vastly prefer Tiki for the atmosphere and, yes, nostalgia. And smart people could find a way to update it and still be respectful to the original. Heck, I didn't even hate Under New Management, but mainly because of Rickles and Gilbert, certainly not because of the maddening blaring of "Conga". Shudder.