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

[UpAllNight]

So I've mentioned this on another thread but hopefully someone here can provide some answers, or a glimmer of hope.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones have now been at the park for close to or over 20 bloomin years. Surely, surely, Disney is going to put all 3 of them out of their misery during this redo? I don't think anything bothered me more during my last visit than the stale entertainment offerings at this park.

 

[roj2323]

So I've mentioned this on another thread but hopefully someone here can provide some answers, or a glimmer of hope.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones have now been at the park for close to or over 20 bloomin years. Surely, surely, Disney is going to put all 3 of them out of their misery during this redo? I don't think anything bothered me more during my last visit than the stale entertainment offerings at this park.

The rumor is at some point yes all 3 attractions will be getting changes. The little mermaid is rumored to be becoming a Rapunzel (tangled) show, Beauty and the Beast is rumored to be getting changes to the theater to enclose it and the show itself is rumored to be getting a visual update to coincide with the live action movie release although I've also heard long term rumors of it getting bulldozed for a park expansion. The bulldozed rumor sounds more like a long term 10 years out rumor however. As for Indy that is also rumored to be getting replaced with a ride but the rumors got much more fuzzy when the Starwars Land project grew and got moved from Echo Lake to the back of the park. I personally wouldn't expect any changes with Indy until Starwars land opens at the soonest.

 

[DinoInstitute]

although I've also heard long term rumors of it getting bulldozed for a park expansion.

(psssttt....Disney...put your Mickey ride there! )

 

[Next Big Thing]

So I've mentioned this on another thread but hopefully someone here can provide some answers, or a glimmer of hope.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones have now been at the park for close to or over 20 bloomin years. Surely, surely, Disney is going to put all 3 of them out of their misery during this redo? I don't think anything bothered me more during my last visit than the stale entertainment offerings at this park.

The worst part is besides Indy, none of the shows in this park are of any real quality. BatB is a sad, sad excuse for a theatrical show and LM, while better, is still nothing special. Frozen can be fun because of the narrator actors, but it's still hastily thrown together.

I wish we had a REAL theatre on the scale of DCA's Hyperion. It would allow for a high quality show in one location and get ride of most other shows. To me, i'd rather quality over quantity. Right now DHS has Quantity when it comes to shows with a dedicated theatre (compared to most Disney parks). The quality is simply not there, imo.

 

[Goofyernmost]

So I've mentioned this on another thread but hopefully someone here can provide some answers, or a glimmer of hope.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones have now been at the park for close to or over 20 bloomin years. Surely, surely, Disney is going to put all 3 of them out of their misery during this redo? I don't think anything bothered me more during my last visit than the stale entertainment offerings at this park.

I always feel that it is necessary to add in there that it is only stale to those of us that are obsessed and have gone dozens of times. To every first time visitor, of which there are plenty, it is brand new. All in our perspective. I still enjoy all of them accept BatB but, that might be because I have never had an interest in seeing it not because I was tired of it.

 

[UpAllNight]

I always feel that it is necessary to add in there that it is only stale to those of us that are obsessed and have gone dozens of times. To every first time visitor, of which there are plenty, it is brand new. All in our perspective. I still enjoy all of them accept BatB but, that might be because I have never had an interest in seeing it not because I was tired of it.

As these shows get older the amount of people that have seen and done the shows increases though, and it looks awful that they are still runnning the same ones. I had a 10 year gap between seeing them again, and they just felt tired to me.

 

[Matt_Black]

As these shows get older the amount of people that have seen and done the shows increases though, and it looks awful that they are still runnning the same ones. I had a 10 year gap between seeing them again, and they just felt tired to me.

And there are some people who enjoy watching them repeatedly. The Haunted Mansion is pretty much the same as it's always been, with all the big show scenes staying more or less the same, does that feel tired?

 

[Princess Leia]

The quality of BatB has gotten worse over the years. My family noticed it on each trip we took. The thing that sticks out to me the most is the 'Kill the Beast' segment. It was shortened a bit since the mid 90s. When my friend went this summer, she and her family loved it, but when she showed me pictures, nothing seems to have changed since 2008. And that's not good.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid is a pretty decent show, but minus the live actors, the same thing can be seen on the Little Mermaid ride, including the shortened spark notes version of the second half of the movie via video screen. A 40 minute musical would be preferable to that, so if that's what they're thinking about with Tangled, I welcome it.

As for Indy... I love that show so much, but it's gotten stale. While I'll miss the action it provides, unless it became a highlights stunt show of the original trilogy, it's time to go. Another option I'd be okay with is an updated show, plus a ride.

I haven't seen Frozen sing a long in person, but that's one that should drop the rushed pretense and become a full show already.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Among other things, Orlando is conference town. A lot of people come on business and have only a day or two to spare at parks. And they are often without families then so park decisions will be different. DHS still has some unique rides that may be compelling to get you in there - in my case Star Tours and GMR (yes, GMR), people with more thrill-oriented taste might say ToT or Aerosmith. Then you are basically facing a choice to either fork over $100 for 3-4 rides you really want to go to or pick another park.

Then if you really are concerned about it... you pick another park. Disney has been accused of many things but being a charity organization is not one of them. If you think that riding a few rides in a theme park is worth $100.00 then you pay it. I don't think that anyone is held at gunpoint to do so. That is a judgement call to be made by each individual not by a committee. If we need some one to make decisions for us, perhaps we are to young to be going to theme parks without our mommies and daddies to make decisions for us. The idea that they charge to much, is just unrealistic. They are allowed to charge whatever they want to charge and then we have the responsibility to decide if what they charge is worth it.

In other words the only time it can be truly said that they are charging too much is when people refuse to go to it because of the costs vs. the offerings. That will fix itself. If we stand at the booth and pay the admission all the while complaining about how overpriced it is... then tough, we just did something stupid. Disney might cater to the stupid, but, they didn't create them.

 

[Goofyernmost]

As these shows get older the amount of people that have seen and done the shows increases though, and it looks awful that they are still runnning the same ones. I had a 10 year gap between seeing them again, and they just felt tired to me.

I've been to CoP about a gazillion times. I have been to SSE about the same. Neither of those have changed much over the years. The context of the shows have never changed, yet, I love to go to them. In that respect, the degree of staleness that they take on is in direct proportion to your personal enjoyment of them. We will usually find, to reuse a previously, slightly altered famous saying... the fault is in ourselves.

So if the majority of visitors feel the same way you do, you should all just not go to them anymore and before long, it will be closed and not replaced by anything for 10 or so years. That's how they do things in todays Disney.

 

[Mike S]

I've been to CoP about a gazillion times. I have been to SSE about the same. Neither of those have changed much over the years. The context of the shows have never changed, yet, I love to go to them. In that respect, the degree of staleness that they take on is in direct proportion to your personal enjoyment of them. We will usually find, to reuse a previously, slightly altered famous saying... the fault is in ourselves.

So if the majority of visitors feel the same way you do, you should all just not go to them anymore and before long, it will be closed and not replaced by anything for 10 or so years. That's how they do things in todays Disney.

Just WDW. DLR just replaced DCA's aging Aladdin show with a brand new Frozen show. I saw it once and enjoyed it very much but it was time for a change. Theme park shows or entertainment shouldn't last that long.

Let's not forget fireworks, parades, nighttime spectaculars, etc.

 

[UpAllNight]

I've been to CoP about a gazillion times. I have been to SSE about the same. Neither of those have changed much over the years. The context of the shows have never changed, yet, I love to go to them. In that respect, the degree of staleness that they take on is in direct proportion to your personal enjoyment of them. We will usually find, to reuse a previously, slightly altered famous saying... the fault is in ourselves.

So if the majority of visitors feel the same way you do, you should all just not go to them anymore and before long, it will be closed and not replaced by anything for 10 or so years. That's how they do things in todays Disney.

Few points;

Not everyone does research before going to a park. When you pay top dollar you expect top product. And when you're in the park I'd guess some people go to see the shows simply to fill their day.

I don't think rides are comparable. There's a lot more thought and detail in the rides mentioned, so I don't put them on a level playing field with shows. Who watches the same movie again and again? If it's Christmas, and it's a good film maybe....but you wouldn't watch an average film every year just because it's on tv. Disney benefit from their captive audience once they're in, but to what extent on guest experience and satisfaction?

And there are some people who enjoy watching them repeatedly

Which is the kind of attitude that justifies Disneys under investment. Come on now, you're not excusing them running average shows so long are you? Broardway and West End shows do well to get as good a run!

 

[Matt_Black]

Few points;

Not everyone does research before going to a park. When you pay top dollar you expect top product.

Caveat emptor.

Come on now, you're not excusing them running average shows so long are you?

Indy? AVERAGE? Them's fightin' words!

 

[Leahbobeah]

I don't go to the parks just for the rides, it is the all over experience I want. Sometimes it is nice just to wander round take in the sights and sounds or grab a drink and something to eat and pass the time people watching.

Amen!! I was just explaining this to my husband who has never been to WDW (insert gasps here). Its not about the rides/shows - its all about the atmosphere.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Few points;

Not everyone does research before going to a park. When you pay top dollar you expect top product. And when you're in the park I'd guess some people go to see the shows simply to fill their day.

I don't think rides are comparable. There's a lot more thought and detail in the rides mentioned, so I don't put them on a level playing field with shows. Who watches the same movie again and again? If it's Christmas, and it's a good film maybe....but you wouldn't watch an average film every year just because it's on tv. Disney benefit from their captive audience once they're in, but to what extent on guest experience and satisfaction?

Which is the kind of attitude that justifies Disneys under investment. Come on now, you're not excusing them running average shows so long are you? Broardway and West End shows do well to get as good a run!

I'm not excusing anybody of anything. I am trying to get the point across that until we look at a place like "any" theme park in the big picture instead of the "what have you done for "ME" lately we can never be objective about what to expect or demand. You have also put your own philosophy in there when you say that "you wouldn't watch an average film every year just because it's on TV" no, probably not or at least you wouldn't, however, because you classify something as average doesn't mean that it is the same for everyone.

How do we armchair CEO's judge what is an under investment, an over investment or an exactly correct investment. We don't know all the reasons, we don't know all the variables, we don't know how much of an increase in attendance it takes to justify the expenditure of million of dollars in a theme park attraction. Hell, most of us have all we can do to figure out our own finances, much less that of a multi-billion dollar corporation. To pretend that we do is just silly. I would venture a guess and say that if there are people out there that are actively, legitimately doing that type of job right now, in the same magnitude, they are not spending time posting on a discussion board. In other words, we do not have a clue about what it takes to operated a company the size of Disney. We do not have a clue about the complexities of finance and re-investment. We don't even have the ability to visualize how much money a Million Dollars is, much less how to put it to the best use. Why do we keep thinking that we do.

As for the one that knows how much money they are spending and haven't bothered to research where they are spending it, I have no sympathy. Even if I did, perhaps what they expect out of it is a whole lot different then our expectation. You cannot just put a blanket definition on everyone. Not everyone is obsessed with "rides" instead of the whole package of shows along with rides and other attractions. Even when they are done with the DHS expansion, which as far as we can tell is only adding 4 more things to the venue, will it be worth the higher price then. I really didn't add much to what is already there, at least on the surface. It is all in what something is worth to you individually. If others agree with you then they will simply not go more then once. It really doesn't look like that is happening even to the most disgruntled of us.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Just WDW. DLR just replaced DCA's aging Aladdin show with a brand new Frozen show. I saw it once and enjoyed it very much but it was time for a change. Theme park shows or entertainment shouldn't last that long.

Let's not forget fireworks, parades, nighttime spectaculars, etc.

A great show can play forever and Aladdin was great. Luckily Frozen is every bit as good. The shows in that have played in that theatre are shows I think could play forever in a theme park and not get old. Unimpressive, lip-synched shows like we see at DHS get old pretty quick.

 

[Grumpy4196]

Would have been nice to have Aladdin move to the East coast for a while.

 

[ToTBellHop]

A great show can play forever and Aladdin was great. Luckily Frozen is every bit as good. The shows in that have played in that theatre are shows I think could play forever in a theme park and not get old. Unimpressive, lip-synched shows like we see at DHS get old pretty quick.

I know. It's astonishing that DAK has two phenomenal (for a theme park) shows with live singers while the entertainment-themed park has entertainment that is either ancient or terrible, and none of which are up to FotLK's or Nemo's standard. DHS of all parks should have a true Broadway-style show (which BatB is not, despite what they say).

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

I know. It's astonishing that DAK has two phenomenal (for a theme park) shows with live singers while the entertainment-themed park has entertainment that is either ancient or terrible, and none of which are up to FotLK's or Nemo's standard. DHS of all parks should have a true Broadway-style show (which BatB is not, despite what they say).

I would love to have a Mary Poppins musical show. Is the Frozen show at DL that good. I'm surprised that WDW didn't push to have it replace BatB while it was red hot.

 

[Princess Leia]

Is the theatre that housed Hunchback still available?

I'm not saying that bringing that show back would be a great idea for TDO, since Disney didn't even come out with a 20th anniversary Blu-Ray this year, but it was my favorite show at the park...