DHS Makeover - What we know so far.....

Andrew C

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
danlb_2000 said:
Mine Ride for the M&G yes, but I would have also liked Pixie Hollow to have stayed. We really wouldn't have lost much of value from Story Book Circus and it would have added an additional ride to the land.
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Was the Pixie Hollow to be similar to DL's version, M&G?
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
PorterRedkey said:
What ride was to be included with Pixie Hollow?
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I believe this was going to be a version of Lady Bug Boogie from DCA...

4743.Circus-16.jpg-500x0.jpg
 
Chris82

Chris82

Well-Known Member
Lee said:
It feels (to me) and was, cheap. The only reason for its existence at all was as a cost saving alternative to their other plans (Pixie Hollow, etc.). Recycle the tents, light overlay on Barnstormer, a (ugh) water play area....

I'll agree that the added spinner is a capacity boost, but it's at the expense of its former iconic location and was done in part as a test case for the NextGen queue system.

Yawn.
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For me, the thing that's far more worrisome for the future of DHS isn't Storybook Circus/New Fantasyland's low budget or low ambition. It's this weird feeling I get that's hard to articulate. It's like no one with any creative authority was actually trying to make an emotional connection with guests, resulting in a whole area that's curiously bland. It's definitely possible to achieve something awesome within budget constraints if you're creative enough, and clearly they had budget for some things - Little Mermaid, Seven Dwarfs, at least. The problem with these lands isn't that they were constrained, it's that they don't seem to be even trying to maximize awesomeness within those constraints.

I think about Walt's involvement in the early days of Disneyland, and how so many of the decisions boiled down to "Walt thinks this is going to be awesome." Even if they had to do things on a shoestring, there was at least somebody with authority trying to maximize excitement and emotional impact. Was there anyone serving that role in these newer areas? Someone sitting in on meetings, getting people excited, saying, "Hey, you know what would be really cool?" Except for possibly Be Our Guest and some theming here and there, it sure doesn't feel like it.

I don't know. Maybe I'm being too cynical. Maybe there was a spokesperson-for-awesome in all the meetings, saying things like:

"You know what would be awesome? Retheming Barnstormer to be a circus... plane... thing!"
"You know what would be awesome? Gliding by brief scenes from The Little Mermaid in a clamshell!"
"You know what would be awesome? If we moved Dumbo from over here to over there."
"You know what would be awesome? What if we let guests ride a mine car through that one song from Snow White and Seven Dwarfs? Everyone loves that one song, right?"

But I kinda doubt it.
 
Disone

Disone

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
That's what I was thinking.
image.jpg

Doesn't scream world class themed entertainment to me.
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ehh. That picture does it no justice. We are going to have to agree to disagree. I have listed the reason I like and what they did specifically that I have not like. Danlb_2000, that was a great post of the girl centric and cheaper version of new Fantasyland 1.0 before Tom Staggs came in and changed it to what we now have. In doing so he admitted to share holders there was a "slight increase" in cost.
I can take a picture like the above of many parts of a Disney theme park that does not scream world class theme park. Not going to do so as its a moot point. Storybook Circus is well done. I expect Toy Story Land to be on the same level. I expect Star Wars land to be higher.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Disone said:
ehh. That picture does it no justice. We are going to have to agree to disagree. I have listed the reason I like and what they did specifically that I have not like. Danlb_2000, that was a great post of the girl centric and cheaper version of new Fantasyland 1.0 before Tom Staggs came in and changed it to what we now have. In doing so he admitted to share holders there was a "slight increase" in cost.
I can take a picture like the above of many parts of a Disney theme park that does not scream world class theme park. Not going to do so as its a moot point. Storybook Circus is well done. I expect Toy Story Land to be on the same level. I expect Star Wars land to be higher.
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Disclaimer: The use of my name in this post in no way indicates that I endorse the views and opinions of the poster.
 
Marlins1

Marlins1

Well-Known Member
Disone said:
Oh we have both been to the same Storybook Circus. I said Storybook Circus does not come across as done on the cheap and I stand by that. It takes you to a romanticized version of a circus that previously only existed in movies and dreams. It is loaded with details big and small. The Dueling Dumbos are beautiful and add a kinetic energy. It is not a e-ticket nor does it have one, but it was not meant to be. It was meant to address a capacity issue they had for decades with the Dumbo. It was not meant to inspire a new population to buy a ticket into the Magic Kingdom, it was meant to add to the value of the day they are already enjoying inside the park. On this scale, Storybook Circus exceeds Mickey's Toontown fair, which did feel cheap and inconsistent. And they spent 10s of millions of dollars to do that, address a capacity issue with Dumbo and greatly improve the aesthetics of this corner of the Park.

I do agree with the idea that Goofini should go. I would like to see a Casey Jr. theme version of Maters Junkyard Jamboree in its place. Goofini is obsolete as family coaster experience compared to 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and is poorly themed compared to the rest of the area. Maters ride system has yet to make its debut at WDW. Replace the tractors with little Casey Jr.'s, and have the guests sit in the little yellow tenders that swing left and right as the trains chug around each other to Casey's theme song or others from the Dumbo Soundtrack.
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I think Storybook Circus is mediocre overall but I agree that the Dumbo capacity increase and the improvements to its appearance were huge and very much needed.
 
Chris82

Chris82

Well-Known Member
Mark Devries said:
I remember Tony Baxter talking about how he should have pushed for a the limited Tomorrowland 98 budget to be spent on one great attraction, rather than spread thin. Perhaps New Fantasyland would've been better off with an e-ticket version of Ariel or Mine Train, rather than both?

Re Toy Story Land, it looks like the purpose of the place is to add kid-friendly rides to DHS, in which case it'll probably serve it's purpose well (and permits more of the DHS budget to go to the marquee Star Wars attractions).
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Yeah, that Tony Baxter interview on the Season Pass Podcast made an impression on me too (if that's what you're referring to). It was something like, "I realized no one was going to credit me for doing the best I could with the resources I had. No one cared what my constraints were." That stuck with me.
 

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