News D23 Expo 2019

Mike S

Well-Known Member
During the presentation covering the plans for Spaceship Earth's new 'enhanced' interior show, there was a quick clip of animated, pre-viz concept art showing elements from 'Moana'.
Namely, her iconic boat and the glowing 'spirit ' manta ray character that represents her deceased grandmother in the film.
It was shown to be one of several new elements / show scenes in the updated Attraction.
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Like I’ve pointed out though that could be the extent of it and the people actually on the boat are not movie characters.
 

BlakeW39

Well-Known Member
Alright guys. D23 was awful this year, yes, but let's look on the bright side; just because we didn't get D23 announcements for certain attractions doesn't mean there aren't exciting plans in the work for all four parks, potentially.

Of course the foil to that is the fact that it takes them a lifetime to build anything, and so we'll all be old by the time they get anything done that isn't even announced.

Anyone want to list some things we know are still in the works but not officially announced? Obviously we have Brazil for starters.
 
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flynnibus

Premium Member
The D23 expo CATERS TO FANS LIKE US. Everyone in that audience knew just about everything like we all did. Everything talked about has BEEN TALKED ABOUT. The Bahamas resort is true news, but if anyone even sniffs around rumors they knew.

I agree we're spoiled ahead of time and it ruins these things for all of us, but they managed to surprise us in the past and this one was just a recap, basically. That's fine for a hype panel but they should leverage D23 better.

JMO of course ;)

So leaks undermine the impact of official announcements? Fascinating....
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
I also have to say, so many vloggers were beyond hyped up for 'big announcements'. I feel like a record number of Orlando vloggers hit the skies and traveled to Anaheim. Wonder how those videos are coming? (I snark about vloggers, but I do appreciate several of them who are genuine and do it because they love the parks; many do it for opportunities)
 

phillip9698

Well-Known Member
I'd be kinda ****ed, in all honesty, if I waited that long just for a recap and a few bits of new things. So I guess it says who they're really doing this expo for.

They really need to leverage D23 better (I guess some disagree and don't see the real reason we're all let down).

The casuals aren't in the seats, TRUE FANS are. So I guess they don't care who knows what at the end of the day. I just think they should handle it differently. They view it differently I guess.

You get more "meat" at comic-con. This just seemed like a corporate presentation.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Like I’ve pointed out though that could be the extent of it and the people actually on the boat are not movie characters.

I'm getting the feeling it may be a bit Small Word esque in that there are wink wink nods tying it to IP. We'll see. It probably won't be blatant, I doubt we'll drag at a snails pace past Hercules, but who knows?

I need to know more with this one. I'm just not sure what to think. What was your impression? (You kind of said it but I may have missed if you were asked this before). Watching a live stream is different than actually being there and seeing the footage. It was a lot to take in and just kind of becomes a blur ...
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
I'm getting the feeling it may be a bit Small Word esque in that there are wink wink nods tying it to IP. We'll see. It probably won't be blatant, I doubt we'll drag at a snails pace past Hercules, but who knows?

I need to know more with this one. I'm just not sure what to think. What was your impression? (You kind of said it but I may have missed if you were asked this before). Watching a live stream is different than actually being there and seeing the footage. It was a lot to take in and just kind of becomes a blur ...
I’ve given my impression. I’m a bit tired so just go to my profile and look through my postings to find it. I’m walking back to my hotel.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
We'd probably just get Paint the Night as a hand-me-down.

Paint The Night: Disco Party ... everyone is static and lights flash. Yay. ;)

I feel like an impressive night parade for the 50th of MK would have been a better announcement than the day parade for DL. No one in the audience cared about that. Sure the few floats we saw look excellent and it's hopefully the day parade Disneyland deserves (Soundsational always felt 'budget friendly' to me) but I mean ... meh, lol.

So much could simply be a Disney Parks lawyer approved blog post I guess.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Alright guys. D23 was awful this year, yes, but let's look on the bright side; just because we didn't get D23 announcements for certain attractions doesn't mean there aren't exciting plans in the work for all four parks, potentially.

Of course the foil to that is the fact that it takes them a lifetime to build anything, and so we'll all be old by the time they get anything built that isn't even done.

Anyone want to list some things we know are still in the works but not officially announced? Obviously we have Brazil for starters.

Just off the top of my head, and there could be more I'm missing ...

Brazil
Imagination
Coco in Mexico (wishful thinking though??)
More Mary details (I missed when it's opening)
MK 50th details (which could also just be a blog post I guess)
DAK (we know something seems to be brewing there)
DHS (again, we know something seems to be brewing there, Animation Courtyard, blackbox ride, Launch Bay ... using the space behind Sunset Blvd)

It kind of makes sense to keep that all until 2021, or start teasing it next year.

The Black Box thing seems to be happening and some thought they'd announce that, as well as AK. So ... were things pulled? Were they wrong?
 

Disneyson

Well-Known Member
While I usually agree with the people in these forums... I kinda think the new details we learned were facinating.

- The fact that they’re shaking up the IP in the parades really makes me optimistic, including new stuff like Coco and old stuff like Sleeping Beauty. That fake color-changing dress has been so popular on Insta, I think it’s a triumph that they’ve figured out a way to manifest it in real life. Plus, the Coco puppets look great - I think it’s a really inventive parade, and I’m so glad that I haven’t seen Ariel spinning on a clamshell yet.

- Runaway Railway was “announced” probably just to soothe the Anaheim fans. The audience skews WAY DL, so they needed to say something. The concept art is cute, but the loss of GMR still kills me.

- Shanghai news was nothing, but nice concept art. I see someone taking a giant ice pop... Hope that’s real.

- Hong Kong news was mixed. We’ve seen the castle, but the concept art for Oaken’s is exciting. Mine Train/Matterhorn fusion, methinks. But not an announcement.

- Cirque was nothing.

- Target was nothing. (Though I will be visiting because I am trash)

- We knew about the Avengers before, but I think the Spider-Man Ride is hella disappointing (Looks like an Xbox Kinect game) and the new Jet-Pack E-Ticket looks incredible. Reminds me of the proposed ride before Mission:Space took it’s place. I guess it’d be a two-parter, with the Quinjet flight followed by getting into the jet packs?

- I really like the re-branding of Future World, and I think it makes a lot of sense. Anyone who thinks that ripping out a huge concrete walkway, a smelly vacant building, a generic Mickey meet-and-greet, and a mostly-closed touring science assembly is “killing Epcot” seems a little crazy to me. The Walt statue is way too much for my taste, but I’d much rather meet Mickey in “fantasy gardens” rather than the admittedly ugly facilities we have now. Having permanent structures (replacing a swath of concrete) for the festivals instead of using the corpse of an attraction is a plus in my book. And the design of the entire area, to me, is really attractive and better utilizes the iconic blessing-of-size golf course lawns that exist today. At least the first thing you see when you enter isn’t a pin trading station and a simulated parking lot.

- What they’re doing with SSE reminds me of what they did with DEP - adding a “pixie dust trail” to the ride to sort of tie it together. I really liked the pixie dust trail in DEP, I can see this... laser effect (?) adding visual interest to the ride while maintaining the integrity. I imagine something like Mystic Manor or Test Track, where the magic/inspiration/communication particles/whatever they call it projection-maps onto objects in the room, causing them to come to life, or visually showing communication traveling. Reminds me of the original finale of the ride, which I assume will come back in some form, which is kind of really exciting.

- Space still looks cool.

- Guardians is still questionable but cool.

- Play pavilion is still a weird question mark DisneyQuest rip-off, but at least it’s not a rotting corpse. Also, it was already announced.

- Moana fits as well as a butterfly garden, TBH. And it restores a piece of the Living Seas that was removed: the story of the water cycle. “And it rained... and rained... and rained... and finally, the Seas were born.” I think this is a cute way to get that story back into Epcot, considering the ocean was a literal character in Moana. Also a good excuse for a meet and greet. But why not Adventureland?

- The pavilion movies are... well. Needed. I’m not excited, but kinda angry they weren’t replaced earlier.

- Mary Poppins is a BIG DEAL movie for me, so just having the facade in the UK is a huge win for me. I think they’ll probably talk about the interior ride at Destination D. This got me happy, and any new ride in the World Showcase is a win. If it’s a spinner... okay, Epcot needs some rides like this. If it’s a dark ride... I will be so much more happy.

- The Genie’s gonna be really helpful to first timers. I’m happy for them, but this doesn’t affect me much at all.

- Reflections is still really confusing to me. I hate that Tiana’s restaurant is NOT in Port Orleans. Why not do... um... Home on the Range Steakhouse... or uh... Bambi Hunter’s... Eugh.... I guess this is the best natural movie they could come up with that doesn’t inspire the thought of eating beloved characters... still. Maybe they should have gone non-IP.

- The Galactic Cruiser is cool as hell. The lightsaber battle is cool as hell. It’s just... this was announced already.

- I really like the idea of a new private island. I just have no clue what makes it so magical. Hard for me, at least, to get excited about a patch of land.

So... there really weren’t many “new things” we learned. But the Avengers E-Ticket, Future World Re-Design, SSE Refurb, and Mary Poppins still made me excited. I think it’s criminal that they announced nothing for Figment or, really, what the entertainment would be like for the 50th. But the 4 new things they revealed were kinda worth it for me.
 

bubbles1812

Well-Known Member
I'd be kinda ****ed, in all honesty, if I waited that long just for a recap and a few bits of new things. So I guess it says who they're really doing this expo for.

They really need to leverage D23 better (I guess some disagree and don't see the real reason we're all let down).

The casuals aren't in the seats, TRUE FANS are. So I guess they don't care who knows what at the end of the day. I just think they should handle it differently. They view it differently I guess.

It’s not that I don’t get it. I’m not saying this was anywhere near in line in terms of excitement as the last D23 but what happened was exactly what we’d been told would happen. So I set my expectations accordingly and wasn’t disappointed overall. We over hype this pretty much every time.

As for your giant caps ‘True Fans’ were in the audience... yah, they were. Or rather Disney Fans. (Sorry, the true fans label grinds me. It pops up in every fandom I’ve ever been a part of and usually use of that label turns into a show of what constitutes a true fan).

So I’ll still go back to what I said earlier... Disney’s most important guests were the media, who will excite regular ol’ Joes to come to the park. Of course they don’t really care who knows what in that room. They have your dollar. They have your fandom. They want more people to get excited and join too so they’ll spend their dollar.

We could argue all day that they should take a different approach but that’s the reality of where we are at now, cynical as that is. It should be something to keep in mind while approaching D23 in the future.

And truthfully on that note then, would you rather they do this then just every 3... or 4... or 5... years? So you get substantial announcements each time rather than occasionally modest ones? That might be the only solution. Disney is only going to spend so much money at any one given time. They are already spending large amounts on their last announcements so it was no shock to have this round feel a bit tempered.

They presented what they are doing now and their plans into the early 2020s. You can wish they were doing more (of course I do too), but again, this was/is the reality of their current plans. And what I saw overall, I liked, while still having my wish list of things I hope will eventually get on the docket.
 
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