News Disney CFO Christine McCarthy says Disney will continue to focus on existing intellectual property for new park investments

[BlakeW39]

I don't think Guardians is better than Everest, although that's mainly because the story part of Guardians is essentially unintelligible nonsense and it doesn't even properly use the Guardians IP. The coaster itself is good, but almost everything around it is badly designed. I think the overall Everest experience is better.

TRON isn't even in the conversation.

I never rode it while it was working but based on what I have heard and what can be seen via on ride footage....EE may be one of the best themed thrill rides ever created. Or it was. Then the yeti broke. Then the train steam and mist effects, which provided atmosphere. And now I consider it lower than DL's BTMR, let alone Hagrid.

 

[CoasterSnoop]

Everest worked for about a year and a half…

A “titan”??

I mean…it was cool…but I barely remember it.

It’s kinda six flags since. Not terrible…doesn’t make the top 10 in town…because it was built around a story and the story doesn’t work

The Yeti did, at least. I want it to be fixed as much as the next guy because it being down absolutely hurts the overall experience of the ride. But the Yeti figure being static doesn't impact Everest's story, which is what I'm talking about.

Are you implying that the Yeti being static made Everest comparable to a Six Flags ride? My friend, that has to be a joke. Even in a very well-themed park like Busch Gardens Williamsburg, something as intricate as Everest even without the Yeti would be out-of-place. In a Six Flags park? The chain where last year's Dr. Diabolical at SFFT was considered a "huge step in theming for the company" because it has a dodgy preshow? Not even close, try again.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how the story doesn't work. I could explain how it does with flying colors, but I feel any walk through in the area surrounding the ride, the queue, and ridethrough should make it pretty clear. It's one of the very few modern theme park rides whose story isn't spoonfed to riders and is instead presented "as-is" for you to piece together. "The natural world is not ours to monetize, it belongs to the animals'" and "further human intervention will lead to nature itself fighting back, and nature always wins" told in a unique and unforgettable manner only an amusement ride could.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

And yet another rehashing of the edutainment was better event though the world as experienced by the majority of the public was a much different place than it is today.

Who said anything about better? I said it made more money - an objectively true statement.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The Yeti did, at least. I want it to be fixed as much as the next guy because it being down absolutely hurts the overall experience of the ride. But the Yeti figure being static doesn't impact Everest's story, which is what I'm talking about.

Are you implying that the Yeti being static made Everest comparable to a Six Flags ride? My friend, that has to be a joke. Even in a very well-themed park like Busch Gardens Williamsburg, something as intricate as Everest even without the Yeti would be out-of-place. In a Six Flags park? The chain where last year's Dr. Diabolical at SFFT was considered a "huge step in theming for the company" because it has a dodgy preshow? Not even close, try again.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how the story doesn't work. I could explain how it does with flying colors, but I feel any walk through in the area surrounding the ride, the queue, and ridethrough should make it pretty clear. It's one of the very few modern theme park rides whose story isn't spoonfed to riders and is instead presented "as-is" for you to piece together. "The natural world is not ours to monetize, it belongs to the animals'" and "further human intervention will lead to nature itself fighting back, and nature always wins" told in a unique and unforgettable manner only an amusement ride could.

I get it…”the detail”…

…it’s the classic animal kingdom argument and we’ll probably have a varied opinion.

 

[BlakeW39]

I get it…”the detail”…

…it’s the classic animal kingdom argument and we’ll probably have a varied opinion.

A DAK detractor?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't think Guardians is better than Everest, although that's mainly because the story part of Guardians is essentially unintelligible nonsense and it doesn't even properly use the Guardians IP. The coaster itself is good, but almost everything around it is badly designed. I think the overall Everest experience is better.

TRON isn't even in the conversation.

From a compete design standpoint (i.e. the theming, ride experience, queue, etc. all together as one), I think Everest is probably still the best coaster at Disney. Big Thunder is in the conversation but Everest offers more from a physical thrill standpoint for people who rate that highly. I assume Hagrid's is better (if only because it's fully working), and Revenge of the Mummy is pretty close, but that's about it IMO. Something like Velocicoaster is in a separate conversation to me because it's just a coaster rather than a themed experience (I know there's some theming but it's a very minor part of the experience).

Well we disagree

That’s all I got

 

[BlakeW39]

From a compete design standpoint (i.e. the theming, ride experience, queue, etc. all together as one), I think Everest is probably still the best coaster at Disney. Big Thunder is in the conversation but Everest offers more from a physical thrill standpoint for people who rate that highly. I assume Hagrid's is better (if only because it's fully working), and Revenge of the Mummy is pretty close, but that's about it IMO. Something like Velocicoaster is in a separate conversation to me because it's just a coaster rather than a themed experience (I know there's some theming but it's a very minor part of the experience).

Agreed across the board...although I think the best coaster Disney's got now is BTMR on the west coast. Besides that though, EE possesses a level of detail that in Orlando is really only found at DAK and maybe IOA. That said, I think Hagrid's theming is definitely less strong than EE, and you can tell they reused some stuff from the former Dueling Dragons coaster. Enormously fun ride, but I do think OG Everest may have remained Orlando's king in terms of story coasters had it ever been fixed. Controversial I know. I love Hagrids but to those who disagree with me, next time you're on the attraction pay attention to the show scenes. They don't all look....mmm...stellar, to be honest.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I get it…”the detail”…

…it’s the classic animal kingdom argument and we’ll probably have a varied opinion.

I mean, it's hard to argue that the attraction isn't hugely popular with no sign of that changing, which was their initial point.

The fact that its popularity hasn't really waned at all despite major show elements failing is the very reason they haven't bothered to fix them.

I dislike that about the ride and its operation, but Everest absolutely caused a titanic shift in the financial success of Animal Kingdom and continues to pack people in.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I mean, it's hard to argue that the attraction isn't hugely popular with no sign of that changing, which was their initial point.

The fact that its popularity hasn't really waned at all despite major show elements failing is the very reason they haven't bothered to fix them.

I dislike that about the ride and its operation, but Everest absolutely caused a titanic shift in the financial success of Animal Kingdom and continues to pack people in.

The “earth shattering” narrative about that one ride is…I feel…a bit exaggerated.

Disney fans aren’t notoriously the best judges of ride systems.

But to each their own.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

A DAK detractor?

No…at least not in those terms.

I’m a big fan…but I don’t gloss over the failures and limitations that still plague it today

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The “earth shattering” narrative about that one ride is…I feel…a bit exaggerated.

Disney fans aren’t notoriously the best judges of ride systems.

But to each their own.

Not sure who said anything about it being "earth shattering", or how that's relevant to the point that the ride reversed the fortunes of the park it's in despite featuring no pre-existing IP.

 

[BlakeW39]

The “earth shattering” narrative about that one ride is…I feel…a bit exaggerated.

Disney fans aren’t notoriously the best judges of ride systems.

But to each their own.

I'll be honest, I do think you're being a little hard on EE. As someone who has somewhat derided it in the past for being broken down, I think the coaster itself is very fun, some good Gs on the banked turn and a solid drop, and going backwards is nice as well. Really showcases the story too, unlike a certain coaster at EPCOT.

No…at least not in those terms.

I’m a big fan…but I don’t gloss over the failures and limitations that still plague it today

What do you mean by "those terms?" Definitely agreed DAK is a flawed park. Like all of those in Orlando, really. It's underbuilt and most of its attractions have been left to rot with broken effects. And it has Dinoland which was a bust especially since dinosaurs as a concept have so much potential. That said. I still the detail and theming make it something truly special in terms of domestic theme parks.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'll be honest, I do think you're being a little hard on EE. As someone who has somewhat derided it in the past for being broken down, I think the coaster itself is very fun, some good Gs on the banked turn and a solid drop, and going backwards is nice as well.
What do you mean by "those terms?" Definitely agreed DAK is a flawed park. Like all of those in Orlando, really. It's underbuilt and most of its attractions have been left to rot with broken effects. And it has Dinoland which was a bust especially since dinosaurs as a concept have so much potential. That said. I still the detail and theming make it something truly special in terms of domestic theme parks.

I really like dak. But it was horribly over budget/ opening short of a full compliment…and they gave up trying to catch it up. As Disney always seems to do.

Yes…I know crazy Joe really made those downspouts in harambe pop…but the standard defense has always been…”it’s not about what they cut…it’s about the DETAIL of what they did build”

It’s Disney…the biggest mistakes they’ve made in parks for 30 years is not building the full concept and then not going back and completing it. It’s not a 25 year invested park.

The reality is Truth is almost always in the middle. We can like the park and point out flaws and Expect more.

Fans not balancing the two have given License to rip Epcot apart. That was a mistake.

 

[BlakeW39]

I really like dak. But it was horribly over budget/ opening short of a full compliment…and they gave up trying to catch it up. As Disney always seems to do.

Yes…I know crazy Joe really made those downspouts in harambe pop…but the standard defense has always been…”it’s not about what they cut…it’s about the DETAIL of what they did build”

It’s Disney…the biggest mistakes they’ve made in parks for 30 years is not building the full concept and then not going back and completing it. It’s not a 25 year invested park.

The reality is Truth is almost always in the middle. We can like the park and point out flaws and Expect more.

Fans not balancing the two have License to rip Epcot apart. That was a mistake.

"crazy Joe," hahahaha. Yeah I pretty much agree with all of this. I definitely don't think that the quality of what was built at DAK is an excuse for them not building enough of it. They're two separate issues. Yes what was built is very good and I don't think it should have been scaled back for budgetary reasons. But they definitely needed more than what was there on opening. And for a park that's 25 years old it's PATHETIC how little expansion has occurred, and on top of that half the rides have just been allowed to sit there not fully working? Disney's standards are at the floor, I really don't get it. So short-sighted.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

There is obviously a place for Disney Film IP within the parks, generally speaking, since they've been in the parks in some way since Day 1. But that doesn't mean it makes sense everywhere all the time always, and certainly doesn't mean no non-IP attractions have made an impression. People have spent decades coming home telling their neighbors about Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, it's a small world, Big Thunder, Space Mountain . . . many of Disney's Park-Original attractions are legitimately world famous, and I would argue that the originality, exclusivity, and surprise of such rides is not an insignificant part of what made the parks so successful in the first place and to this day.

Yep, originality is what made Disney the entertainment behemoth it is today, beyond just the theme parks.

Disney created a market for animated feature films. There were no stats saying that cartoons are popular now therefore make cartoons.

Disney redefined what a theme park could be. There was no data to say people want coasters that are also a mountain therefore you should build that.

Disney is what it is because they took risks and created unique offerings to build an audience. To expand a market of entertainment offerings people would pay for.

It's sad that one of the great creative companies of our lifetime would base their new offerings on a stats driven exercise of spoon feeding people more of what they already know and like.

 

[celluloid]

The company is going to need to produce a lot better than Frozen and Toy Story sequels if they are going to really run with this.

Oh look, The Muppets are going to ride another EPCOT original.

 

[Chad Thundercaulk]

It's sad that one of the great creative companies of our lifetime would base their new offerings on a stats driven exercise of spoon feeding people more of what they already know and like.

The company has been going downhill since the Fox Acquisition. It was saved once in the 80’s, and hopefully it can be again, but there are some hard years ahead.

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

IP often has a shelf life, and if the attraction itself isn't very good to great outside of the IP nexus (or if you're lucky enough to have IP that maintains popularity for a very long time), you're basically committing yourself to needing to do major overhauls every 15-20 years to replace the outdated IP that no longer interests/attracts new guests.

That's likely why Splash Mountain lasted as long as it did, Song of the South theming notwithstanding. This makes me wonder if the Paul Rudish incarnation of Mickey Mouse will continue to be the theme for Runaway Railway within the next decade or be changed to the "classic" Mickey we all know.

I've always been somewhat concerned Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in DL will be given the axe considering it already happened in WDW, people aren't as familiar with The Wind in the Willows as they were when the ride initially opened (and this probably explains why its wait times are never as long as its contemporaries).

 

[celluloid]

That's likely why Splash Mountain lasted as long as it did, Song of the South theming notwithstanding. This makes me wonder if the Paul Rudish incarnation of Mickey Mouse will continue to be the theme for Runaway Railway within the next decade or be changed to the "classic" Mickey we all know.

I've always been somewhat concerned Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in DL will be given the axe considering it already happened in WDW, people aren't as familiar with The Wind in the Willows as they were when the ride initially opened (and this probably explains why its wait times are never as long as its contemporaries).

Toad has definitely transcended the film and tv to theme park zeitgeist on its own, I know what you mean though. The modern execs have it just one marketing push away from being replaced to a plush seller.

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

Toad has definitely transcended the film and tv to theme park zeitgeist on its own, I know what you mean though. The modern execs have it just one marketing push away from being replaced to a plush seller.

The same could be said for the Br'ers and look what happened to them.