Rumor D23 2024 WDW Rumors, Predictions & Discussion

[wdwmagic]

Friendly reminder that Stitch is still unused if you’re worried about 2026 having nothing new

Tomorrowland is ripe for three relatively easy additions. Laugh Floor, Stitch, and Buzz could all have something new without major construction.

 

[ednamodedarling]

Seems like Wreck it ralph could come to Buzz if succesful over in tokyo. Or stitch? Would love to see stitch find a new home for an attraction in the park.

 

[James Alucobond]

My only complaint would be that Moana is simply the perfect option for the Adventureland expansion plot and using it elsewhere closes that possibility.

I think other “adventure” options could work there since it’s so visually disconnected. Also, Moana would have been another water ride between other water rides, whereas that’s not as prevalent a format in AK, especially with Encanto presumably swapping back to something dry. I’d be on board with the path instead leading to, like, an Agrabah bazaar with the carpets relocated to a courtyard that also hosts a Cave of Wonders simulator or something.

 

[Magenta Panther]

And yet they did have the free cash to retheme Splash Mountain.

"Are they booing me?"

"Uh, no, no, they're saying 'Boooooooooooo-b Iger, Boooooooooooooo-b Iger'..."


Muppets Most Wanted didn't flop because it was about the Muppets. Muppets Most Wanted flopped because A) it was up against Divergent and B) it was an awful movie.

I actually like the ABC Muppets series, but it had everything going against it: people flipped out because the press releases made them think it was gonna be, like, Avenue Q: The Series or something, with lots of cursing and raunchy humor. That's why the show didn't do better.

Muppets Now was pure crap.

As for Muppets Haunted Mansion and Muppets Mayhem, I don't know how good the Disney Plus ratings for them were, but I think they were pretty well-received.

And what are they doing with the Muppets right now? Nothing. Most of it apparently is because Bob Iger just doesn't give a crap about the franchise.

It might've been. I know that at least one puppeteer (Steve Whitmire) had a problem with the show's writing.

And for what it's worth, there really wasn't that much profanity.

Maybe Iger "doesn't give a crap about the franchise" because it doesn't generate much profit. And because Disney has given the crew behind the puppets every chance to create something successful, and it's pretty much failed. It's just economics, dude. The latest attempt, Muppets Mayhem, was cancelled after one season. What's Iger supposed to do? Keep throwing good money after bad?

Disney Cancels The Muppets: Mayhem Show After Just 1 Season, Ending Plans For Muppetverse

The series ran for 10 episodes.

screenrant.com

Not that the puppets are alone when it comes to doomed attempts to revive vintage characters. Look what's been happening to the Looney Tunes gang. One stinkeroo after another. Plus Pepe Le Pew is getting the Brer Rabbit treatment. Yeesh. Maybe the dead should stay dead, y'know?

 

[wdwfan4ver]

You’re gonna start that “for the 50th” stuff again?

They don’t really do that anymore

Pins and magnets, baby…bob won’t be down with much other than strained prunes by then

You forgot about cupcakes.

 

[Jrb1979]

One thing I find funny is how they have no issues dusting off old plans for a Monsters Inc coaster. Yet refuse to open the vault with the original World Showcase plans.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You forgot about cupcakes.

…I dunno…if the sales fall when the prices go up to $23.99 each…they’ll probably just can them and say “guests wanted it”

 

[MaximumEd]

I’m generally happy with all the WDW announcements. The IP mandate is what it is, so bring on the much needed capacity. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t take the MK budget and spread that around to the other three parks, two of which are terribly lacking. MK will always be the big draw, but why make it more of one? Give the others what it takes to pull their weight.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I’m 50 and have been going to Disney since I was 5. Even I have no interest in TSI. My college aged kids think it’s a joke and a waste of space. I respect those who enjoy it and are sad if it goes away, but the fact is that the majority would not know anything is missing.

True, when we made our first trip to WDW in 1983 my daughters were 7 and 9 years old. We wandered around the island but they didn't find anything that was part of what they could identify with and that was 40 years ago. We and I have been back to WDW a large number of times and have never felt the need or desire to go to TSI again.

 

[mightynine]

One thing I find funny is how they have no issues dusting off old plans for a Monsters Inc coaster. Yet refuse to open the vault with the original World Showcase plans.

No IP, no care

 

[Goofyernmost]

Stuff gets old and crappy or just dated.

They didn't HAVE TO rip out Energy to build Guardians. But Energy had poor satisfaction scores so there was no point in maintaining it as a museum piece

The things they replace are not beloved favorites, with one notable exception that we're not allowed to talk about.

I am assuming that the "notable exception" was Horizons but the reality was that almost no one was riding that anymore either. By the time it started to get into the closing cycle it was almost always a walk on. That was a direct reversal of when it was new and the lines were quite long. It was a good omni-ride attraction but it was almost impossible to update without tearing the whole inner show down and starting over. Nostalgia is fine, but in a place like WDW continued ability to still get people to want to go for specific rides or, at the very least, go because of a lot of good entertainment. That wasn't happening. The only fun big draw, people eater, that was still attracting was World of Motion, and the people paying the bills wanted something different that directly made cars the key focus of the motion.

The same thing applied to Imagination. It got to the point the the only impressive thing about it was the start when you ride around the turntable along with the Dream-finder and Figment. The rest got stale and all the years since then they cannot find anything that would fit in that fantastic building and that is mostly because of the demand for Figment that forced that change. It was terrible when they made the first change and after high demand the did it again to include Figment, but it remains on the edge of mediocre and awful. It sells merch, but it probably still would even with out Figment actively in a ride. With a little imagination Figment and Dream-finder could easily remain the mascots/symbols for the entire park.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

IMO, RoA needs to stay at Disneyland. I am not as miffed about it leaving at WDW as it's not the original, however I understand that ambiance is going to be permanently lost.

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

One thing I find funny is how they have no issues dusting off old plans for a Monsters Inc coaster. Yet refuse to open the vault with the original World Showcase plans.

But I wonder how much new attendance a new country would actually bring today. Especially in a time where it is so easy to see travel vlogs for any country in the world and traveling has become more of a hobby for more individuals.

However, ai do wonder if D23 Brazil could bring a major Epcot announcement (not based on any rumors).

Finally, technology has advanced so much that they may actually be able to do the Monster ride better now vs. years ago

I’m generally happy with all the WDW announcements. The IP mandate is what it is, so bring on the much needed capacity. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t take the MK budget and spread that around to the other three parks, two of which are terribly lacking. MK will always be the big draw, but why make it more of one? Give the others what it takes to pull their weight.

1) Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are all getting additions/upgrades. EPCOT just had a "major overhaul". I don't see it as MK only getting the budget. Also, Villains is wanted by the fans. The best fit is MK.
2) Epic Universe will open soon. If there is a park that could take away MK rank as top theme park in the world, this park could do it. Especially with a phase 2 likely under development

 

[Jrb1979]

But I wonder how much new attendance a new country would actually bring today. Especially in a time where it is so easy to see travel vlogs for any country in the world and traveling has become more of a hobby for more individuals.

However, ai do wonder if D23 Brazil could bring a major Epcot announcement (not based on any rumors).

Finally, technology has advanced so much that they may actually be able to do the Monster ride better now vs. years ago

I'm not talking about a new country but adding major attractions to the countries that are already there. Like the Mt Fuji coaster and the Rhine River cruise

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I am assuming that the "notable exception" was Horizons but the reality was that almost no one was riding that anymore either. By the time it started to get into the closing cycle it was almost always a walk on. That was a direct reversal of when it was new and the lines were quite long. It was a good omni-ride attraction but it was almost impossible to update without tearing the whole inner show down and starting over. Nostalgia is fine, but in a place like WDW continued ability to still get people to want to go for specific rides or, at the very least, go because of a lot of good entertainment. That wasn't happening. The only fun big draw, people eater, that was still attracting was World of Motion, and the people paying the bills wanted something different that directly made cars the key focus of the motion.

The same thing applied to Imagination. It got to the point the the only impressive thing about it was the start when you ride around the turntable along with the Dream-finder and Figment. The rest got stale and all the years since then they cannot find anything that would fit in that fantastic building and that is mostly because of the demand for Figment that forced that change. It was terrible when they made the first change and after high demand the did it again to include Figment, but it remains on the edge of mediocre and awful. It sells merch, but it probably still would even with out Figment actively in a ride. With a little imagination Figment and Dream-finder could easily remain the mascots/symbols for the entire park.

Yeah. As time progresses, it’s clear that listening to the superfans of WDW’s yesteryears is not a prudent business strategy. The fact that original EPCOT Center even existed is honestly somewhat of a happy accident — it’s a miracle rides like Horizons ever happened.

IPs are here to stay. I think it’s telling that the thing that spruced up Universal’s competition with Disney was securing two ultra-popular IPs, which will likely be the leading lands at Epic Universe.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

2) Epic Universe will open soon. If there is a park that could take away MK rank as top theme park in the world, this park could do it. Especially with a phase 2 likely under development

This isn’t really relevant to the discussion, but I think IoA will probably hover over attendance at EU for a long time.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yeah. As time progresses, it’s clear that listening to the superfans of WDW’s yesteryears is not a prudent business strategy. The fact that original EPCOT Center even existed is honestly somewhat of a happy accident — it’s a miracle rides like Horizons ever happened.

IPs are here to stay. I think it’s telling that the thing that spruced up Universal’s competition with Disney was securing two ultra-popular IPs, which will likely be the leading lands at Epic Universe.

I'm not sure if your first paragraph is sarcasm or a belief. I will say this though, you are correct, the fact that we got the original Epcot Center was indeed a miracle of quality and design. The problem was that as time went on and the internet became big, a place like Epcot Ctr. was no longer an exciting place to be when all the information we would ever need is right at our fingertips. Attendance dropped and dropped and dropped because everything was some sort of lesson that didn't change and it was like attending 5th grade for 10 years in a row. That made Disney make Epcot into a drink around the world location. No longer able to draw people in just for the attractions they had to create meaningless festivals as a way for them to make money without actually spending any money to speak of.

I am one of the superfans that was disappointed that the original no longer was there, but I also realized that unless I was willing to pay $500 per day for admission they had to find something else and some other mission for Epcot. It's original mission was wiped out by advances in technology that filled that need that Disney was trying to plug into when it opened originally. It had to change or close up.

 

[Thelazer]

By the time it started to get into the closing cycle it was almost always a walk on. That was a direct reversal of when it was new and the lines were quite long.

It had a very large hourly capacity which kept the lines down. There was the rumored sinkhole thing, but I think that's been disproven.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I'm not sure if your first paragraph is sarcasm or a belief. I will say this though, you are correct, the fact that we got the original Epcot Center was indeed a miracle of quality and design. The problem was that as time went on and the internet became big, a place like Epcot Ctr. was no longer an exciting place to be when all the information we would ever need is right at our fingertips. Attendance dropped and dropped and dropped because everything was some sort of lesson that didn't change and it was like attending 5th grade for 10 years in a row. That made Disney make Epcot into a drink around the world location. No longer able to draw people in just for the attractions they had to create meaningless festivals as a way for them to make money without actually spending any money to speak of.

I am one of the superfans that was disappointed that the original no longer was there, but I also realized that unless I was willing to pay $500 per day for admission they had to find something else and some other mission for Epcot. It's original mission was wiped out by advances in technology that filled that need that Disney was trying to plug into when it opened originally. It had to change or close up.

A little of column A, a little of column B. I do think this community has a fantastic read on the quality of Disney’s modern output but I think many opinions here are conflated with fact in regards to who Disney needs to appeal to. This is especially true for any parks outside of Florida, where the audiences are dramatically different.

But yeah, that’s ultimately why I’m not convinced that a “catching up” of EPCOT’s original ideals would prove successful — because the American culture and sub-culture of attending theme parks have changed dramatically. Call it adaptation, or societal degradation, or whatever, but I doubt we’ll ever see anything approaching it ever again.

 

[Horizonsfan]

Cars aside, TSI absolutely should be refreshed and likely with a more relevant wilderness IP. That said, I'd hate to lose the exploration aspect from MK altogether.

Exploration/play trails are one of the things that makes Disney Parks more than just a really fancy Six Flags.