Rumor Bye Bye (Tiki) Birdies?

[FigmentJedi]

And haven't they learned that Stitch DOESN'T an attraction make? Nor fix? And as for waxing that whole "it's from Tokyo Disneyland!" angle...let them pull that BS when they decide to give us as much attention to detail and awesome rides instead of the crap we've seen over the last two decades...

The problem is that these Stitch attractions are always shows when the mischievous side of Stitch they like to keep emphasizing would work better for a dark ride. He's a character built for action and physical comedy and those are strengths that lend themselves better to dark ride show-scene compositions then theater in the round.
Like imagine if instead of Stitch's Great Escape, they decided to build a dark ride at the former Skyway building site and do a sci-fi flavored version of Mr Toad to put us through Stitch's mayhem in the streets as their idea of a "prequel ride".

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Just catching this thread. Oyyy. That's some chunk of news. Tiki Room is one of those attractions that we don't really do any more but I'd be sad to see it go. Another classic attraction being put to rest is sad...nostalgia dying, I feel like.

As for the other news/rumors mentioned in the original post, wow I've got to keep up with things. I didn't know any of those things were coming along.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

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?

The problem you have is that most of what you listed happened under Eisner's watch - not Iger. I am NOT defending Iger in any way shape or form, but in lots of ways, Eisner was just as bad during his last 10-12 years in office.

 

[Kman101]

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?

 

[Kman101]

The problem you have is that most of what you listed happened under Eisner's watch - not Iger. I am NOT defending Iger in any way shape or form, but in lots of ways, Eisner was just as bad during his last 10-12 years in office.

To be fair, a lot of it hasn't been corrected. It doesn't matter to me who it was under, it was still done.

 

[Yert3]

I suspect such a list does not exist - at the very least in it's present form. ANY attraction, regardless of how popular and iconic, can have inappropriate IP crammed into it...

I know it doesn't exist. That's why I said "I wish" there was one.

 

[Kman101]

The problem is that these Stitch attractions are always shows when the mischievous side of Stitch they like to keep emphasizing would work better for a dark ride. He's a character built for action and physical comedy and those are strengths that lend themselves better to dark ride show-scene compositions then theater in the round.
Like imagine if instead of Stitch's Great Escape, they decided to build a dark ride at the former Skyway building site and do a sci-fi flavored version of Mr Toad to put us through Stitch's mayhem in the streets as their idea of a "prequel ride".

Stitch deserved a much better attraction than he got. A script change would improve the attraction immensely. But they'd rather gut it and replace it. I loved Alien Encounter but I wouldn't hate Stitch so much if it was a good attraction. The animatronics are all left over so they're great, but that doesn't make a good attraction. Look at Frozen. Impressive animatronics but a lackluster attraction. That too deserved better. They're only looking for a quick fix.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

To be fair, a lot of it hasn't been corrected. It doesn't matter to me who it was under, it was still done.

I was replying to the statement that this would never have happened in the 90's, yet it did all the time. I will grant you that not all of it has been corrected, but let's not confuse nostalgia with facts.

 

[stretchsje]

I don't necessarily like the idea, but a restaurant with Jack Sparrow and animatronic birds would probably please guests with money.

My wife thinks Moana belongs there. She's right; it'd fit the theming.

 

[_mickey_]

As much as I like Stitch (and I did like the Tokyo version of the Tiki Room - I'm easy to please), I think a Moana overlay (if they choose to go that route) would fit better.

They could have a story-line in line with the movie where something along the lines of an "Enchanted Tiki Stone" has been removed from it's resting place (that now dead console in the middle). Since the stone has been removed (by Maui in Hawk form?), the tropical paradise would begin to fade and the Tiki birds would begin to lose their voices. Cue Moana, who helps out the Tiki birds by telling a story/singing a song, prompting Maui to return the stone, followed by the "Your Welcome Song"...

Annnnd that's enough ramblings from me for a Monday morning!

 

[_mickey_]

This is how I have been feeling about this year + Disney closings/refurbs

These were my reactions:

 

[RobbinsDad]

To be honest, and I know some will consider this blasphemy, I didn't mind Under New Management. It was unnecessary true, but the principle behind the attraction was the same - enjoy a show, laugh a little, experience Adventureland. If there is an option to use the space for dining and incorporate the birds, like a Tiki Room meets Rainforest Cafe scenario, that wouldn't be too bad. Even insert Stitch/Moana in the show if they must. But for God's sake, don't turn it into another stinking meet and greet.

 

[JohnD]

I find it charming. But my family jokes about how it was 10 minutes of their lives they'll never get back. I can't imagine that the average park guest gets much out of it.

It was impressive and technologically advanced in the 60s. People were wowed by the fact that a whole show could be put on by these robotic things. But today it's not really special, and certainly not very advanced, on the technological side. Instead, it rides on charm alone. Even the charm doesn't reach everyone, like my family,

I think it could do really well with a major update (not Under New Management) to both the story and the effects.

I like it too. I also like the mix of rides and shows, especially on a hot summer day. On those days, I'm glad for Tiki, Bears, HOP, Philarmagic, and COP. As for ETR, I'm a sucker for the birds, flowers, idols, and tikis performing.

 

[MichWolv]

To be honest, and I know some will consider this blasphemy, I didn't mind Under New Management. It was unnecessary true, but the principle behind the attraction was the same - enjoy a show, laugh a little, experience Adventureland. If there is an option to use the space for dining and incorporate the birds, like a Tiki Room meets Rainforest Cafe scenario, that wouldn't be too bad. Even insert Stitch/Moana in the show if they must. But for God's sake, don't turn it into another stinking meet and greet.

I also didn't mind UNM, particularly when it was new. it did feel dated very quickly, though, and I was glad for the change back to classic Tropical Serenade.

If they update to include Stitch, like in Japan, or Moana, I'd probably be fine. But killing this show entirely would annoy me significantly.

 

[RSoxNo1]

No. Wrong.

That area of DCA looked great and fit the theme perfectly when they added the Red Cars. Now, it looks so unbelievably bad that it looks like it would fit into a local park.

Great is being awfully generous. Sunset Boulevard in DHS looks great. Hollywoodland before Mission Breakout was not at that level. There were components of it that were good, but aside from the Red Cars themselves, I wouldn't call any of it "Great". In many areas it was disjointed.

That doesn't excuse the change in the attraction because all it does now is further degrade the theming in the area.

 

[JohnD]

The structure should be kept. If things do change inside.

Let me guess: Moana. It's already Polynesian.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Classics are just that. ... do people get more from Small World or Mission Space? Mansion or Little Mermaid? Peter Pan or Primeval Whirl? ... And TDO has removed other newer classics (Imagination, Horizons for two examples) for crappy replacements. Imagination has eaten up so many tens of millions of dollars for two re-dos and there are plans (possible right now) for another because they sucked so badly (no, of course no fanboi/Imagineer jokes here ... never!)

The Birdies will never be one of the most popular attractions, but that doesn't mean they are ready for retirement either.

For me, personally, it means a lot because my grandmother was very ill her final three years on Earth. And it was during this time that she made her only two visits to WDW. The first was about a year before EPCOT opened and she absolutely loved the Tropical Serenade and singing with the tiki room denizens. If I close my eyes, I can picture it. I still like it more in Anaheim ... and find the whole fanboi lovefest with the Orange Bird over the last half dozen years to be very, very odd though.

Current Disney management views nostalgia as a burden, except when it comes to limited run t-shirts.

 

[Otterhead]

Current Disney management views nostalgia as a burden, except when it comes to limited run t-shirts.

Or Epcot. Or Magic Kingdom. Or Hollywood Studios, an entire park based on the idea of nostalgia.

 

[RunnerEd]

I'll go ahead and be a voice of support for change/removal. We were at WDW a few weeks ago and sat through the Tiki room. My wife and I talked about it after it was over. Other than nostalgia, neither of us can think of a good reason to keep it. We thought it was a good place to cool off and the kids were bored.

 

[GrammieBee]

To me one of the major problem with this whole philosophy of "out with the old and in with the new" is that with ever increasing crowds, by just changing an existing attraction, you end up with a net gain of ZERO. Plus, they also close or eliminate attractions altogether and the gain is less than zero. (Is that even possible?) Logically what they need is to build or create more attractions to "absorb" more people, not to change classics because they are not "current" or bore the little ones.
Build the new,
But keep the old.
For one is silver,
The other gold.