Since comparing attractions and expansions in the dedicated threads get off topic… here’s a place to discuss the best / worst and compare Cars in the Frontier, Zootopia in Joe’s park, and Monsters evicting muppets.
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Comparison of WDW expansions - which one is best / worst?
- Thread starter TrainsOfDisney
- Start date
Excellent additions:
-Sunset Blvd (including ToT)
-Fantasmic!/Sunset Amphitheater
-Pandora
-Norway
-Ratatouille
-Imagination Pavillon
-BTMRR
-Splash Mtn
-Carribean Plaza
-Epcot
-Animal Kingdom
I don’t think these additions can really be argued weren’t fantastic. They are also all additions to parks and not replacements.
-Sunset Blvd (including ToT)
-Fantasmic!/Sunset Amphitheater
-Pandora
-Norway
-Ratatouille
-Imagination Pavillon
-BTMRR
-Splash Mtn
-Carribean Plaza
-Epcot
-Animal Kingdom
I don’t think these additions can really be argued weren’t fantastic. They are also all additions to parks and not replacements.
Pandora is really not on theme for DAK or the Disney company as a whole - the execution is amazing.
Ideally Ratatouille would have been customized for Epcot where it became Remy taking us on a tour of France - same ride vehicles and same system - but a bit more Epcot.
Those are getting a bit picky I know
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I don't think Ratatouille is a very good addition. The little area they built isn't great (with the restaurant being just plain bad) and the attraction is average.
That said, it was an addition that didn't replace anything, so it's fine. I just wish they'd used the space for something better, though.
That said, it was an addition that didn't replace anything, so it's fine. I just wish they'd used the space for something better, though.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
Redoing Dinoland is potentially a good idea, though we will see how it turns out. Mind, the theme of dinosaurs will be missed, but dinos were always worthy of a better land. There is SO much potential to create a fabulous new land themed to dinosaurs at WDW! Kids and adults both love dinosaurs! (Universal should consider adding more.)
Pandora is just okay IMO. Parts of it are good, but I always think it could/should have been better, especially Na'vi. And they should have done more with the land itself. There is a small part of the gift shop that sells carnivorous plants, but it would be SO neat if WDW had a much larger area devoted to them. It would have been neat if they could have added an interactive aspect to the land, something a bit like the Potter wands- but interacting with the lands' 'plants.' A little like the gold statues, but with more variety.
Pandora is just okay IMO. Parts of it are good, but I always think it could/should have been better, especially Na'vi. And they should have done more with the land itself. There is a small part of the gift shop that sells carnivorous plants, but it would be SO neat if WDW had a much larger area devoted to them. It would have been neat if they could have added an interactive aspect to the land, something a bit like the Potter wands- but interacting with the lands' 'plants.' A little like the gold statues, but with more variety.
There’s a few interactive elements like that. Walking around the land itself is the highlight. It’s very well done. I’m actually not that impressed with FOP but I love the boat ride - I know I’m in the minority there haha.
TheMaxRebo
Well-Known Member
I love Navi River but wish it was longer - even if not any added thrills just want it to take longer, etc.
FoP I still find great though would welcome an update/new version - but the first few times I did it I was blown away and felt very transported by it
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I think FoP is great the first time you ride it, but it has the same problem that all heavily screen-based attractions do (for me, obviously this isn't the case for everyone) -- once you've experienced it a couple of times it starts to lose something. It's basically just watching a movie.
I'd rather ride NRJ than FoP now that I've been on them both a handful of times.
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
I think Na'vi is the right length. It just needs ~3 limited motion wildlife figures that help with the buildup to the shaman. If I were reworking it from scratch, I think it would be more effective if the boats circled the shaman for much longer, perhaps in front of a Tree of Souls setpiece, but the path is what it is at this point and is partially so because of how it was puzzled into the land.
What Pandora most needs is just a third attraction.
I think the attraction is scoped correctly for the World Showcase, honestly. The restaurant, the show building facade, and a few other things definitely need improvement (which should have been tackled initially), but it's pure extra beyond what was already there and feels similar in scale to other attractions pitched for the area over the years.
TheMaxRebo
Well-Known Member
Maybe more than physical length it is length of time - like you mention about circling the shaman ... I just feel like I'd like more time on the ride to take it in
I do think it is close to being a really great attraction - though the waits it can get are often too high for what it is
Agree about the third attraction - doing an expansion for that and a table service restaurant would really flesh out the land
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
It's less the scale -- they certainly didn't need to build an E ticket -- and more the content. It's just a ride about the movie. The only real connection to France is that the movie takes place in France. I know they weren't going to do anything different, but it's still disappointing.
I don't think it's a very good ride either regardless of the content, but that's a different discussion.
TheMaxRebo
Well-Known Member
It's not my favorite ride but I actually think it fits well and does a good job of getting people exposed a bit to France (goes through Paris there is French spoke in it, etc) and can encourage them to explore more and want to find out more about it and maybe actually visit France.
I think that is what EPCOT should most do - encourage exploration and discovery more than explicit educating and I think the France pavilion does it better than other options (e.g., Frozen)
Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
That's exactly why I'm so big on thrills. At least for me they are more re rideable than a lot of dark rides
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
It's definitely better than Frozen in Norway, since it at least takes place in actual Paris instead of a fictional fantasy land.
WorldExplorer
Well-Known Member
It's not even particularly good about being about the movie. I don't know when or why people started complaining about "book report rides" but I wish Disney would ignore them because this weird compromise they come to where they need to acknowledge recognizable things in the movie but not follow the movie is not worth it. Why is Linguini working at Gusteau's mopping the floors with Skinner around while Le Ratatouille is open and he's also a waiter there? Why are Gusteau's and Le Ratatouille open at the same time; didn't the latter open because the health inspector shut the former down when all the rats tied him up?
I wouldn't care if the ride was good or actually fit, but it doesn't, so I would at least like a comprehendable plot.
And just to reiterate, yes, Ratatouille only fits the way-too-vague theme fans claim ("from and/or taking place in a country or something resembling a country" a.k.a. every film Disney has made) World Showcase is meant to have, not the ACTUAL theme of celebrating countries and culture. They're never going to do the latter again, yes, but that doesn't mean they aren't still breaking theme.
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
I'll be real, I prefer the unexplained melange of atemporal characters, locations, and familiar sequences from Ratatouille to the overwrought afterstories of attractions like Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The former is actually not that different from a classic dark ride where you just phase through a bunch of vignettes without all of the narrative connective tissue.
JackCH
Well-Known Member
I think if I was to rank the current projects (bearing in mind, I don't seem to have quite the same attachment to either the River or Muppets as others on here):
1. Villains Land: Just a straight addition, I think a great fit for MK, and has the most potential.
2. Tropical Americas: I found Dinoland to be an eyesore, the only decent piece being Dinosaur, but even that Indy has widely been seen as the superior version. I think the theming could bring it in line with the rest of the parks beauty and Encanto and Indy have the potential to be fantastic attractions.
3. Monstropolis: I'm excited for the Doorcoaster, I actually think reusing existing buildings that can be easily converted is smart. But, this is the first with negatives: 1) the new show will almost certainly not be as good as Muppets, and 2) Animation Courtyard really should have been done first. My opinion of this will probably increase greatly if something bigger really goes in AC in the next decade.
*Fairly significant gap*
4. Cars: The Good? The main ride could be fun, a decent flat ride is not a bad idea, and the theming could be better than people think. The bad? Rivers of America gone for a questionable fit at best, and this really would have been a slam dunk IP at DHS, and instead it is a controversial one at MK. My final opinion will totally come down to execution and how well they pull off the theming. I won't love it, but I could be persuaded to see it as a net-positive by making MK's Frontierland unique from the others.
5. Mermaid Show: Just glad the space is being used.
6. Villains Show: Whatever.
7. Zootopia: Not a good fit. But better this than the monstrosity that was planned.
1. Villains Land: Just a straight addition, I think a great fit for MK, and has the most potential.
2. Tropical Americas: I found Dinoland to be an eyesore, the only decent piece being Dinosaur, but even that Indy has widely been seen as the superior version. I think the theming could bring it in line with the rest of the parks beauty and Encanto and Indy have the potential to be fantastic attractions.
3. Monstropolis: I'm excited for the Doorcoaster, I actually think reusing existing buildings that can be easily converted is smart. But, this is the first with negatives: 1) the new show will almost certainly not be as good as Muppets, and 2) Animation Courtyard really should have been done first. My opinion of this will probably increase greatly if something bigger really goes in AC in the next decade.
*Fairly significant gap*
4. Cars: The Good? The main ride could be fun, a decent flat ride is not a bad idea, and the theming could be better than people think. The bad? Rivers of America gone for a questionable fit at best, and this really would have been a slam dunk IP at DHS, and instead it is a controversial one at MK. My final opinion will totally come down to execution and how well they pull off the theming. I won't love it, but I could be persuaded to see it as a net-positive by making MK's Frontierland unique from the others.
5. Mermaid Show: Just glad the space is being used.
6. Villains Show: Whatever.
7. Zootopia: Not a good fit. But better this than the monstrosity that was planned.