News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Rosso11]

That is not what I have heard from anyone. One insider says this entire project is happening because of Iger period.

Well then what you’ve heard goes against someone I know personally who is actively working on this project and has been from the beginning. Believe who you want.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’m one of these people. You pay a premium to go to Disney and then to see a whole portion of the park is not used/under used is disappointing. Maybe an analogy, you pay a premium for a nice steak at a nice steakhouse. But you just cut off 20% of the steak and not eat it.

You are also a brand new member - which is a bit suspicious. Quite a few members joined to support this project.

That analogy really doesn’t work - more along the lines of you want steak and are upset that the kitchen wastes time and space on a vegetarian dish cause steak is all they should serve in your opinion.

do California residents really want to visit a park that has so much of its theming based off California?

When done properly yes. California is a huge state. Dollywood celebrates the Smoky Mountains and the heritage of the area.

 

[James Alucobond]

You are also a brand new member - which is a bit suspicious. Quite a few members joined to support this project.

Quite a few joined to complain about it too. It's nothing nefarious. Events like D23 will drive new membership.

 

[Disney Analyst]

A podcast I listened to yesterday had suggested that Disney is surprised at the negative feedback they are getting on the demise of ROA.

I doubt this. Disney knows their fans. They know how we react. This is why they held the full reveal until after the expo. They knew it would not be a popular decision among the diehards.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Quite a few joined to complain about it too. It's nothing nefarious. Events like D23 will drive new membership.

And some who joined to support are clearly Disney fans - but I do get a bit suspicious! Haha

 

[Disstevefan1]

The new folks who joined the boards to support the very stupid decisions Disney is making are allowed to be wrong.

 

[MickMinn22]

You are also a brand new member - which is a bit suspicious. Quite a few members joined to support this project.

Why is it suspicious? Followed on the forum for 1-2 years, decided to offer up my opinion on the projects. More than happy to share my Disney resume if you’d like.

I didn’t think the analogy would work after posting and rereading Very fair critique on a poor analogy.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I didn’t think the analogy would work after posting and rereading Very fair critique on a poor analogy

Going back a ways…. I was never a fan of Off-Kilter, just not my thing. When I walked by I never said “what a waste of entertainment money.” When they got cut I was very sad because I knew the same reason they got cut (budget cuts) - would result in my favorite live entertainers get cut in the future. World Showcase Players, Chair Stacking in France, citizens of Hollywood, citizens of Main Street, etc.

 

[October82]

Replacing the river does lead to new attractions. It keeps them from having to use more expansion space in the back of the park. So instead of a river and island few people want to experience we get a Cars area and some time in the future something else will go in the unused space that wasn’t used during this expansion.

It's best to say that you don't appreciate the RoA and would prefer a Cars attraction in that space rather than assume that no, or even a small number of people, make use of the space. Every guest who visits WDW experiences the RoA. It's the core of 30-40% of the park's space and what separates a Disney park from Six Flags.

Disney isn't hurting for space in the Magic Kingdom. It appears to simply be less expensive to remove the RoA than deal with the water and flood management risks for some of the expansion areas surrounding the park than the alternative. As a Disney fan, you should note that this is not in service to you. Removing large themed spaces from the park that many guests enjoy directly and all guests benefit from is not increasing the number of attractions in the park. Attraction count simply isn't a metric that Disney optimizes for. They're looking mainly at the value of the IP.

 

[docnabox]

Bob Iger was in the room - the cars announcement got no reaction. Even if I’m 100% sure of a product if 12,000 people don’t react at all to a major announcement I’m at least going to have a meeting and question the project.

Especially when all other announcements except the Walt AA got very good reactions.

Having heard of the lack of response to this announcement at the convention, I have wondered whether the full rendering they cowardly revealed the next day would have been shown during the actual announcement had the response been better than it was. I feel like they knew this was not going to go over very well with some folks but were surprised just how little anticipation it created even from the start. The cynic in me has even wondered if the Villains area would have even been brought up at all had this Cars announcement been a success. As I recall, Villains was sort of tacked on at the end after voices here and elsewhere were commenting on a lack of more information on that. And then it sort of dropped at the end as I remember. Just made me think that had the Frontierland changes gone over better, Villains would have been held back and it was sort of used as an olive branch. I know, sort of conspiracy level stuff, but I have wondered.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

DCA just have a lot of issues. I know they are trying to get it fixed but there’s no denying the theming is all over the place in that park…also, do California residents really want to visit a park that has so much of its theming based off California? Not sure what they were thinking with that.

They don’t, which is why Disney has shifted away. The “park about California” was a failure.

Now, theming is all over the place but Californians love it, and DCA is more successful than ever.

 

[Bocabear]

I think the initial idea was about people visiting Disneyland from all over the country and world....and California being such a big state they could create California-centric attractions to give a taste of the regions of California... Well....that was the thought.....

 

[October82]

They don’t, which is why Disney has shifted away. The “park about California” was a failure.

Now, theming is all over the place but Californians love it, and DCA is more successful than ever.

DCA 1.0 was a poorly and cheaply executed theme park. The California theme was not the problem and mainly consisted of - often in bad taste - puns and Hollywood in-jokes. It's a case study in how companies can fall victim to group think and a loss of their core competencies.

Much of the reimagining through 2012-2015 was a reinvestment in the California theme and drove much of the park's attendance gains. The much less successful Marvel and Pixar overlays are the move away from that theme and, in many places, are a return to the same lack of quality design work that characterized the park in 2001.

 

[Brer Panther]

I don't think having an IP in and of itself is the problem.

I like Cars, I'm sure the ride will be fun, but I'm not on board with getting rid of Rivers of America.

I think I may be the one person who actually sort of liked that movie.

I like it too. Although I think the commentary by Rutt and Tuke is better than the movie itself.

For the first time ever,...Universal will now have it's own three day park/hotel "bubble" too.

I'll stick with Disney, thanks. Islands of Adventure looks neat, but I have no interest in doing Universal Studios or Epic Universe.

Mickey and Minnie's houses - not replaced

What currently stands in Storybook Circus where Mickey and Minnie's houses were? I'm curious.

 

[October82]

I think the initial idea was about people visiting Disneyland from all over the country and world....and California being such a big state they could create California-centric attractions to give a taste of the regions of California... Well....that was the thought.....

DCA is a mix of Disney's America (who would want to go to a park about the USA in the USA?) and EPCOT's World Showcase.

The problem wasn't the concept but the extremely poor execution. Many successful attractions in DCA, in other Disney parks, and in competing parks are "California" themed - often with concepts based in Hollywood, national parks, California coasts, the Gold Rush, or San Francisco/Bay Area. Almost none of that made it into DCA 1.0 and, although some elements were added in 2010-2012, much of it is still missing from the park.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The “park about California” was a failure.

I think you are confusing a few things - DCA 1.0 wasn’t a failure but had major issues that needed to be fixed.

DCA 2.0 fixed many things - many of them improved on the California theme - Buena Vista Street, Grizzly Peak Airfield, red car trolley etc.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Going back a ways…. I was never a fan of Off-Kilter, just not my thing. When I walked by I never said “what a waste of entertainment money.” When they got cut I was very sad because I knew the same reason they got cut (budget cuts) - would result in my favorite live entertainers get cut in the future. World Showcase Players, Chair Stacking in France, citizens of Hollywood, citizens of Main Street, etc.

Not a fan of Off Kilter??? WHAT!!! LOL LOL Just teasing you although I was definitely one of their fans for sure. I spent countless hours over there watching the shows. You are correct on the cuts to Entertainment though. It happened the following year that Mulch, Sweat and Shears ( Another band I was a fan of) was cut from the Studios, in addition to a lot of other acts over those two years. Then Covid happened and Entertainment hasnt been the same since. A popular theory floated on here is that Disney simply cant hire cast for those roles. That is definitely not correct as most of the Entertainment cast I know is still in the Central Florida area and have not been hired back on a full time basis by Disney. Also my niece is very involved in local regional theatre productions here in NYC/ Long Island etc. I keep an eye on the Disney Auditions page and send her anything that I think she is qualified for and might want to audition for. There hasnt been much in the way of replacing Entertainment like that. Marie

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

Disney isn't hurting for space in the Magic Kingdom. It appears to simply be less expensive to remove the RoA than deal with the water and flood management risks for some of the expansion areas surrounding the park than the alternative.

If I may add to your point - some are saying Disney has to leave some expansion pads open for the future. But, it's been 50 years. When exactly do people think Disney will make use of them? My guess is if not now, they never will. And for the very reason you mentioned. Flood management won't get any cheaper in the future.

 

[Cliff]

Having heard of the lack of response to this announcement at the convention, I have wondered whether the full rendering they cowardly revealed the next day would have been shown during the actual announcement had the response been better than it was. I feel like they knew this was not going to go over very well with some folks but were surprised just how little anticipation it created even from the start. The cynic in me has even wondered if the Villains area would have even been brought up at all had this Cars announcement been a success. As I recall, Villains was sort of tacked on at the end after voices here and elsewhere were commenting on a lack of more information on that. And then it sort of dropped at the end as I remember. Just made me think that had the Frontierland changes gone over better, Villains would have been held back and it was sort of used as an olive branch. I know, sort of conspiracy level stuff, but I have wondered.

I was told by sone friends of mine that: "No Cliff,...Josh was NOT "affraid" to tell the live audience that Cars was being built on top of the Rivers of America". They INSISTED to me that Josh had to move fast because his time was limited.

Josh's time was limited??? That show was LOADED full of fluff and filler! No...Josh WAS 100% affraid that he would get booo'd.

I'm not even convinced that Josh himself wants to destroy the Rivers of America. I suspect this decision comes from over his head by the same small group of executives that demanded Splash Mountain be destroyed.

I might be wrong...but I suspect that Josh might not really want this on top of the river either.

By the way....Off Kilter is THE actual BEST live act that has EVER played on ANY Disney property...period. (in my humble opinion)

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I'm not even convinced that Josh himself wants to destroy the Rivers of America. I suspect this decision comes from over his head by the same small group of executives that demanded Splash Mountain be destroyed.

Josh is clearly eyeing that CEO spot - he ain’t gonna get that by arguing with Iger.

Josh has the opportunity when he becomes CEO to prove that he cares - 1st day hire back Tony and Joe. Now I’ll be convinced. Haha