Disney Playing catch up with Universal... Potter Disney's biggest mistake in 20 years...

FrankLapidus

Well-Known Member
that's why I said critically as well...

Still doesn't mean a a lot; do you agree with everything a critic says? Critics opinions also change over time, some of Disney's best loved classics were ripped to pieces by the critics when they were first released.

Let's see what the critics say about Avatar in ten and twenty years time. It won't be the highest grossing film forever and once its not that won't suffice as a defence for the rehashed storyline and forgettable characters.
 

AndyMagic

Well-Known Member
The Banshee ride after all the budget cuts...
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This is accurate but it will be surrounded by an elaborately themed show-building with details no one will see that the Imagineers add after "research" they gather from 5 "business trips." Also they will spare no expense on the queue to get people REALLY excited about what is to come. When the ride itself is a let down people will be too busy trying to get to their next ride reservation to reflect on it.
 

Mouse Trap

Well-Known Member
Still doesn't mean a a lot; do you agree with everything a critic says? Critics opinions also change over time, some of Disney's best loved classics were ripped to pieces by the critics when they were first released.

Let's see what the critics say about Avatar in ten and twenty years time. It won't be the highest grossing film forever and once its not that won't suffice as a defence for the rehashed storyline and forgettable characters.

We could point out dozens of theme park rides based off movies that were sub-par. That does not mean the ride/land will be sub-par as well.
 

mahnamahna101

Well-Known Member
I didn't see this brought up yet but Steve Burke and Ron Meyer came to 30 Rock in New York to do a "leadership spotlight" for all employees at Comcast and NBCUniversal. They were joined via satellite by Universal Creative. The entire presentation was exclusively about the Parks and Resorts division. Savannah Guthrie moderated the discussion and at one point she asked Steve Burke why Comcast is investing so heavily in the theme parks. His response was remarkably detailed and honest. He talked about how he has always loved theme parks both personally and as a business opportunity. He went through the financials for the parks and pointed out how they not only provide stable revenue but they also provide a great opportunity to create a positive image and brand for NBCUniversal as a whole. He said the key to a successful Parks and Resorts division is continued and aggressive investment across the board in rides and attractions. And then he brought up the D-word and said each expansion offers an opportunity to impress a first-time guest and that they plan to challenge the idea that Disney must be the de-facto premiere theme park destination. Universal Creative chimed in toward the end and said Burke actually encourages them to push the envelope and "go bigger." It's almost like this guy wants this to be his personal legacy.

Precisely why I truly believe the tables will noticeably turn as early as MK's 50th.

Steve Burke gets the value of themeparks much better than Staggs, Rasulo and Iger combined.

More importantly, he's a CEO who encourages the creatives to go wild... sounds like a certain innovator that launched the modern theme park to begin with ;)

I'm excited to see Universal's achievements over this decade. They're shooting to be their own destination - smaller than WDW, but high quality overall.

Pandora just can't compare. And Star Wars Land is 5 years off at the earliest IMO. 50th seems more likely.

Disney's biggest mistake is doing too little, too late since 2006.
 

Mouse Trap

Well-Known Member
Precisely why I truly believe the tables will noticeably turn as early as MK's 50th.

Steve Burke gets the value of themeparks much better than Staggs, Rasulo and Iger combined.

More importantly, he's a CEO who encourages the creatives to go wild... sounds like a certain innovator that launched the modern theme park to begin with ;)

I'm excited to see Universal's achievements over this decade. They're shooting to be their own destination - smaller than WDW, but high quality overall.

Pandora just can't compare. And Star Wars Land is 5 years off at the earliest IMO. 50th seems more likely.

Disney's biggest mistake is doing too little, too late since 2006.

Why do you believe Pandora can't compare? Have you seen the visuals of the movie? Disney very well has the potential for a grand slam here if they can capture Pandora in the same way the movies did. Now if they will....
 

FrankLapidus

Well-Known Member
We could point out dozens of theme park rides based off movies that were sub-par. That does not mean the ride/land will be sub-par as well.

That wasn't the initial point, the initial claim made was that Avatar is a better film than either of Cameron's Terminator films because it made more money. It didn't better them critically so that argument is moot.

I don't disagree with your point either, I really have no interest in Avatarland or whatever its called so I'm not all that interested in whether or not its sub-par. I think its a mistake and that will never change but I'm past caring about it at this point.
 

FrankLapidus

Well-Known Member
Precisely why I truly believe the tables will noticeably turn as early as MK's 50th.

Steve Burke gets the value of themeparks much better than Staggs, Rasulo and Iger combined.

More importantly, he's a CEO who encourages the creatives to go wild... sounds like a certain innovator that launched the modern theme park to begin with ;)

I'm excited to see Universal's achievements over this decade. They're shooting to be their own destination - smaller than WDW, but high quality overall.

Pandora just can't compare. And Star Wars Land is 5 years off at the earliest IMO. 50th seems more likely.

Disney's biggest mistake is doing too little, too late since 2006.

And Disney had him and let him go.

Now we could up with Jay Rasulo as the company's CEO.
 

mahnamahna101

Well-Known Member
Why do you believe Pandora can't compare? Have you seen the visuals of the movie? Disney very well has the potential for a grand slam here if they can capture Pandora in the same way the movies did. Now if they will....
I meant to all of the stuff Universal is doing over the next decade.. the insiders have heard Universal is going to be a complete different resort by the 2020s
 

Quinnmac000

Well-Known Member
Why do you believe Pandora can't compare? Have you seen the visuals of the movie? Disney very well has the potential for a grand slam here if they can capture Pandora in the same way the movies did. Now if they will....

Its not the fact they can't do, the question is will they cut corners or full out do what it takes to get an area that stunning as the visuals seen in the film. Are they going to use quality materials to create this place or use cheap rockwork and concrete
 

Mouse Trap

Well-Known Member
That wasn't the initial point, the initial claim was that Avatar is a better film than either of Cameron's Terminator films because it made more money.

I don't disagree with your point either, I really have no interest in Avatarland or whatever its called so I'm not all that interested in whether or not its sub-par. I think its a mistake and that will never change but I'm past caring about it at this point.

Ah I see. The issue here is that money in the box office could very well lead to money in a theme park, good story or not (see: Transformers series). If great story brought people through the gates, we'd all be waiting for The Shawshank Redemption Land to open up.

I think Disney went along the lines of, if the visuals of Avatar brought in this much $$$ in the box office, the visuals of Avatar (if possible) in a theme park will bring in a respectable amount of $$$ as well. Just my way of answering why.
 

BigTxEars

Well-Known Member
Precisely why I truly believe the tables will noticeably turn as early as MK's 50th.

Steve Burke gets the value of themeparks much better than Staggs, Rasulo and Iger combined.

More importantly, he's a CEO who encourages the creatives to go wild... sounds like a certain innovator that launched the modern theme park to begin with ;)

I'm excited to see Universal's achievements over this decade. They're shooting to be their own destination - smaller than WDW, but high quality overall.

Pandora just can't compare. And Star Wars Land is 5 years off at the earliest IMO. 50th seems more likely.

Disney's biggest mistake is doing too little, too late since 2006.

Seems there was some doubt among many people of Disney animation ever getting it's glory back before Little Mermaid :)

Then along came other studios in the 90s and 2000s and many thought Disney would get out done again in animation. Flash forward and the last two Disney animation films have been home runs, heck the ball from Frozen is still in the air :)

I would also add Bolt was the equal of any non Disney animation film in the last decade IMO, just my shameless Bolt pimping !

Who knows what the future holds but I would never bet against Disney when it comes to film or theme parks.

I hope both Uni and WDW go leaps and bounds ahead of where they are now at the parks, we go to both so we win if they do.

I am not a huge Avatar movie fan but I think it fits well at AK and it could be great if down correctly. If they can do what they did at NFL again at AK with Avatar then I will be happy :)

Again not a huge Star Wars fan (Star Trek for me!) but it has huge potential at DHS, it could easily out do Potter in draw if done correctly IMO.
 
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Mouse Trap

Well-Known Member
Seems there was some doubt among many people of Disney animation ever getting it's glory back before Little Mermaid :)

Then along came other studios in the 90s and 2000s and many thought Disney would get out done again in animation. Flash forward and the last two Disney animation films have been home runs, heck the ball from Frozen is still in the air :)

Who knows what the future holds but I would never bet against Disney when it comes to film or theme parks.

I hope both Uni and WDW go leaps and bounds ahead of where they are now at the parks, we go to both so we win if they do.

I am not a huge Avatar movie fan but I think it fits well at AK and it could be great if down correctly. If they can do what they did at NFL again at AK with Avatar then I will be happy :)

Again not a huge Star Wars fan (Star Trek for me!) but it has huge potential at DHS, it could easily out do Potter in draw if done correctly IMO.

Precisely. Competition is good, and it's what keeps companies on the edge trying to think of the next big thing. Love the Disney animation reference as well, never looked at the current lack of innovation in the parks with that in mind.

Now that Uni finally has some leverage under its belt, I'm sure WDW and UO will be battling back and fourth for that one "oh so important" extra day for quite a while.
 

AndyMagic

Well-Known Member
Why do you believe Pandora can't compare? Have you seen the visuals of the movie? Disney very well has the potential for a grand slam here if they can capture Pandora in the same way the movies did. Now if they will....

I think most of us agree that Disney/Cameron will nail the visuals and the land will be jaw-droppingly beautiful. In the end though, the surrounding environments need to support a worthy blockbuster attraction. Get rid of Soarin 2.0 altogether, replace it with a true E-ticket dark ride through the forests of Pandora using a modified EMV ride system and make the boat ride into a nice long D-Ticket and I'm on board.
 

Mouse Trap

Well-Known Member
I think most of us agree that Disney/Cameron will nail the visuals and the land will be jaw-droppingly beautiful. In the end though, the surrounding environments need to support a worthy blockbuster attraction. Get rid of Soarin 2.0 altogether, replace it with a true E-ticket dark ride through the forests of Pandora using a modified EMV ride system and make the boat ride into a nice long D-Ticket and I'm on board.

Gotcha. And with that, I'm with you.
 

Quinnmac000

Well-Known Member
This is James Cameron, he likes to film stuff. Hints why he wanted a screen based ride rather than a dark ride utlizing AAs. Besides one great thing is now we call at blue people all day long and feel sorry for the poor castmembers who got stuck with that job covered in blue makeup all day
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AndyMagic

Well-Known Member
exactly...

and look what they built at Europa Park (video from another dis site)

Impressive and exactly the kind of experience that should have been considered. I've said it many times before but it bears repeating. There is something inherently different about a ride that physically takes guests on an adventure vs. a ride that simulates the entire adventure. There is nothing wrong with using projection and video technology along the way like Spider-Man or even Ratatouille does but the lack of transitioning through space has an effect on pacing, immersion, suspension of disbelief, and the feeling of scope.
 

CinematicFusion

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I think most of us agree that Disney/Cameron will nail the visuals and the land will be jaw-droppingly beautiful. In the end though, the surrounding environments need to support a worthy blockbuster attraction. Get rid of Soarin 2.0 altogether, replace it with a true E-ticket dark ride through the forests of Pandora using a modified EMV ride system and make the boat ride into a nice long D-Ticket and I'm on board.

What is the boat ride going to be like? If it's a d- ticket on the level of seven dwarfs mine train and then they add soarin 2.0
That might be enough for me.
How do you ride in soarin2.0? Are you on a dragon? If they have some new amazing ride tech for soarin it could be awesome.
 

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
The Nighttime show at AK will be pretty minimal. It will not be anywhere close in quality to World Of Color or Fantasmic. It will be a "nice to have" but definitely not a "must see." The original concept would have been similar to World Of Color and the final version has been reduced to a small-scale Bellagio fountain show with some water projections.

Disappointing but not at all surprising, given the challenge of trying to find/build enough suitable viewing areas in that park.
 

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