I have perspective about the whole thing. I loved running around TSI as a child, but I haven’t visited it at all in recent years. So I agree with the pro removal side that this will be popular with the majority of guests, some of whom inevitably did not know TSI was even there. However, I do think TSI would be a much more heavily traveled (to its detriment) if you didn’t have to take the boat to the island and there was a walkway.
More to the point. It feels illogical that they would choose to rip out the river, which is a part in some way of every castle park besides Shanghai (which itself still has a large water feature.) for this expansion. Disney seems to have looked at the cost of expanding beyond the berm and decided it was too expensive. However, at the same time, every time a new castle park has been built, the imagineers decided that either ROA or some other big water feature was essential to the fung shui of the castle park. Time will tell who’s right.
Is the ride gonna be good? Hopefully, probably.
Is the area going to be well themed? Sure.
Is it gonna be a hit? Yes.
Is it still disappointing they’re taking out the river? Absolutely.
As with the shooting arcade, Disney doesn’t seem to value experiences that not everyone does or is lesser traveled unless you have to pay extra for it. Not everything in a theme park should need to be done every trip for it to be meaningful. There’s benefit in putting things “off the beaten path”, it makes the park feel bigger.
Someone mentioned up thread Disney is taking the park out of theme park, I’m not a Walt-ist. Parks have to change with the times, but I do think that in the quest to stay relevant, Disney can forget that people, even children can enjoy classic things, things that have stood the test of time, unlike some of the fad rides Disney has built in the 21st century. Sometimes Disney can forget the principles of design that made something classic in the first place.
P.S To the people in the thread saying nobody besides us would care about this removal. Obviously Disney thought it was a controversial move by holding off until the end of the convention to reveal TSI would be removed.
/end rambling rant