Disney(World) vs. Disney(land)?

[puntagordabob]

I have a question for those who throw the "Doom and Gloom" Tag around to describe those who are unhappy with WDW in it's current state. How many of you have been to Anaheim in the past 7 years?

I have.... and seeing how well they do things out at Disneyland made the WDW Local part of me just plain sick.... New parades...new enetertainment...new this...new that.... meaningful discounts for their AP holders (counter service location for example!)....a Downtown Disney thats quite lively and hopping after dark....rides in pristine shape....old rides like Snow White looking sweet since they UPDATE the tech in theirs, meanwhile ours looked like carnival ride until Poof they actually REMOVED a ride for a meet and greet. Table Service locations you could have actually a real chance of booking for the same day and having high quality and diverse food selections.....

Disneyland Resort is so tiny.... and yet they make miracles happen in adding stuff normally without destroying something else....

Seriously? Dont get me started..

For the record I LEFT WDW via the magical express to fly to Disneyland (yeah Im Floridian lol)...so this stark contrast was really rudely forced upon us.

 

[puntagordabob]

With what they have been doing with Epcot over the past 10 years do you really trust them to replace the near-perfection that is Reflections of Earth? Upgrade the technology but no new show please. They already ruined my Spaceship Earth.

Epcot Welcomes you to "Duffy the Bear! The Night time Spectacular!"

 

[puntagordabob]

They've got to change this stuff, otherwise it becomes very stale. CBJ and CoP are great examples of how outdated and old attractions just bore repeat guests. WDW needs to change things up to remain fresh.

There you go again speaking an opinion as a fact... which is false.....again.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I like change, as long as said change means you're replacing the product with a superior one. Too often though things are changed just for the sake of making something "new", and not because there's a legitimately better replacement in store. And often in regards to Disney World, the changes are made specifically to make something cheaper to operate or whatnot, not to put out a better product.

Examples of good change-
- Haunted Mansion 2007 redo (most of it)
- Spaceship Earth Irons version (compared to the pre-1994 version)

Examples of bad change-
- Imagination 2.0 and 3.0
- Spaceship Earth Dench version

IMHO, change at WDW falls into 2 categories:

• Change that attempts to improve/update/add something. Regardless of what one thinks of the results, this sort of change is good generally. It means that Disney management is spending money to try to improve things. Walt Disney changed a lot at DL. Sometimes he got it right; sometimes he got it wrong. The point is he was always trying to improve DL. IMHO, all of the changes listed above fall into this category.
• Change that cheapens the WDW experience. This sort of change is bad generally. Examples include reduced Extra Magic Hours, attractions that are closed and not replaced (e.g. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Wonders of Life pavilion), reduced menu options (many of which were popular but couldn't survive under the Disney Dining Plan price structure), and so many little details gone (e.g. paint brush on Tom Sawyer’s Island and plain brown paper napkins instead of location-specific printed napkins). Disney management is not making these changes because they are trying to improve the WDW experience, they are not doing this because they are trying to hold the line on prices (which have greatly exceeded the rate of inflation for many years now), or because they are concerned about long-term shareholder equity (which is accomplished by focusing on ways to increase long-term attendance and revenue growth, a la Carsland or WWOHP). Instead, it appears they made these types of changes because their primary concern is the size of their annual bonuses for the current fiscal year.

Based on information I believe to be reliable that has been posted on these discussion boards, I am optimistic that WDW will begin to have more of the former and less of the later.

 

[Cody5294]

Nope.
Expanding FL into the old 20k spot has been the planned next expansion for at least 10-12 years, predating Legoland.

The old Villain Village concept was my favorite. Much cooler than what we're getting.

What was the Villain Village concept?

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

What was the Villain Village concept?

The one thing I remember reading about was a mountain flume ride where the idea was the Disney villains were chasing you and the drop at the end was supposed to be higher than Splash Mountain.

 

[alissafalco]

The one thing I remember reading about was a mountain flume ride where the idea was the Disney villains were chasing you and the drop at the end was supposed to be higher than Splash Mountain. I hope I remembered it correctly

That would be perfect for HS!!!

 

[Lee]

What was the Villain Village concept?

Villain Village would have occupied the entire former 20K plot. Surrounded by an imposing wall, and entered through large gates, it would have contained villain-themed shops, M&Gs, dining and a large E-Tic flume ride. The ride(Villain Mtn., Dark Mtn., etc,) would have been sort of a cross between the proposed dragon coaster at AK, Jurassic Park at IoA, and Splash. AAs, cool effects and music, long drop.

As I heard it, VV would have been the only place in the MK to find the villain characters. Except for the nights of Mickey's Not-So-Scary. On those nights, at the beginning of the party, a sort of ceremony would happen where the villains would escape and kind of take over the park by chasing the other characters offstage. The party would have then had all the rides, shows and parade take on a villain flavor.
At the end if the night, Sorcerer Mickey would lead a charge up Main St., herding the escaped villains back into VV and locking them in.

That was to have been WDW's assault on Halliween Horror Nights.

Sound better than the current FLE?

 

[FrankLapidus]

Sound better than the current FLE?

Is that a rhetorical question?

I do like the FLE as it is now but this sounds phenomenal. I'm reminded of the saying 'when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is'.

 

[Lee]

Is that a rhetorical question?

I do like the FLE as it is now but this sounds phenomenal. I'm reminded of the saying 'when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is'.

Oh, it's true. It was designed and pitched for MK back in the early 2000's.
I've been trying to track down some art of it for years.

 

[Cody5294]

Oh, it's true. It was designed and pitched for MK back in the early 2000's.
I've been trying to track down some art of it for years.

Can it still be used for future expansion or is their no more space?

 

[alissafalco]

Can it still be used for future expansion or is their no more space?

plenty of space in HS!

 

[FrankLapidus]

Oh, it's true. It was designed and pitched for MK back in the early 2000's.
I've been trying to track down some art of it for years.

If anyone asked me to come up with my dream attraction/land, it would have been this. I don't want to start an Avatar debate in this thread or anything but I do wonder why Disney pay so much money for outside properties when the Imagineers can come up with concepts like this; if they were executed properly, the results could be spectacular. That's just what I think anyway, I understand the appeal of Avatar and the like to Disney in that they have a fanbase but it's hard to believe that something like this didn't go any further; do you know if it was abandoned due to costs or were there other reasons?

 

[menamechris]

Sound better than the current FLE?

Ummm..ya. This would have been phenomenal. Of course, the amazing ideas never seem to see the light of day.

 

[Lee]

...do you know if it was abandoned due to costs or were there other reasons?

If I recall correctly, this was about the same time they were considering a Mermaid ride in Paris. The possibility of cloning it at MK pushed the VV concept aside. That version of Mermaid never got built, but did help pave the way, a couple years later, to the early concepts for FLE.

 

[DougK]

Villain Village would have occupied the entire former 20K plot. Surrounded by an imposing wall, and entered through large gates, it would have contained villain-themed shops, M&Gs, dining and a large E-Tic flume ride. The ride(Villain Mtn., Dark Mtn., etc,) would have been sort of a cross between the proposed dragon coaster at AK, Jurassic Park at IoA, and Splash. AAs, cool effects and music, long drop.

As I heard it, VV would have been the only place in the MK to find the villain characters. Except for the nights of Mickey's Not-So-Scary. On those nights, at the beginning of the party, a sort of ceremony would happen where the villains would escape and kind of take over the park by chasing the other characters offstage. The party would have then had all the rides, shows and parade take on a villain flavor.
At the end if the night, Sorcerer Mickey would lead a charge up Main St., herding the escaped villains back into VV and locking them in.

That was to have been WDW's assault on Halliween Horror Nights.

Sound better than the current FLE?

Wow this sounds fantastic!

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Well, they could tear down Storybook Circus.

 

[Tiggerrules]

All I can say is that would have been awesome. Now I am depressed thinking about what could have been.

 

[asianway]

All I can say is that would have been awesome. Now I am depressed thinking about what could have been.

I've been cheering myself up thinking about how they would have cut that wonderful entertainment by now

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Can it still be used for future expansion or is their no more space?

I'm certainly no insider, but the Pinocchio Village Haus could find itself superfluous soon with Be Our Guest right next door and there are many closed locations if another restaurant is needed. You could probably fit a Peter Pan-sized ride in that building (even though I don't think WDI builds small rides anymore), or I'd bet you could even expand further back over the utilidor entrance.