Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks

[HMF]

Are you sure? Some of them are live animals! There are now some real horses in the Indian Village. The pictures I saw depicted the static figures in poses that work well visually. They have deer drinking from the river and guys spying from the banks, so that looks more believable than critters in mid stride. I'm not sure if they still have the Shaman who is very well animated.

Keep in mind that this is coming from the more radical group of fans but some of their complaints are valid

These Mountain Lions dont look fake at all with their obviously painted on
fur.

I don't think i even need to comment on this one.

 

[sponono88]

RoA has always had static animal figures, it's nothing new really. The lions could be a bit less shiny, I agree, but I don't see how it detracts from the overall refurb and the rest of the additions (like the live animals, the new landscaping, and improvements/TLC to the RoA and F! infrastructure.)

And when you say the complaints come from a pretty radical group, you really aren't kidding!

 

[TP2000]

Looks like more bad news from Disneyland's Rivers of America. Apparently Tony and Kim's budgets were cut and the new "additions" are plastic animals that can be bought at your local Wal-Mart.

Oh, for gosh sakes, no offense but that's the silliest thing I've ever heard. I have actually seen this stuff with my own eyes, from the Canoes on Saturday and from the deck of the Columbia on Tuesday afternoon. It looks great!

You can't judge stuff by some hi-def pics taken with a zoom lense and some Photoshopping. You have to see this stuff in person, in real life and real sunlight, from the exact perspective that the Imagineers created it to be viewed from (and it's not a 14 Megapixel hi-def zoom lense post-Photoshop). That bird pictured above is set high up on a wood beam, literally 50 feet away from the nearest canoe or the deck of a passing riverboat. No one will ever see that silly bird in real life as close up and clear as a fanboy with a 300 dollar digital camera will capture it and hold it up as proof the rehab wasn't as good as it could have been. In real life and from 50 feet away, the bird looks fine.

The Rivers of America has always had some static animals and humans, placed alongside moving animals and humans. The latest additions are no exception; some of them move, some of them don't. But they all look much better than what was there before. And the live horses in the Indian Village are a really fun touch.

Disneyland Internet fanboys are some of the most notoriously critical people on the planet. Walt Disney could return from the grave for a seminar in the Disneyland Hotel ballroom in honor of Disneyland's 55th Anniversary this summer, and these same "fans" would harp on Walt for not flooding the sets when he brought back Small World from the World's Fair. There's no pleasing 'em! :lol:

My advice? Get to Disneyland and ride the Canoes or the riverboats yourself. Experience all this new stuff in real life. It looks and feels fantastic! :animwink:

And for the record, I've been to several Wal-Marts, and none of them sold plastic theme park animals. Target doesn't even sell those!

.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Keep in mind that this is coming from the more radical group of fans but some of their complaints are valid

These Mountain Lions dont look fake at all with their obviously painted on
fur.

I don't think i even need to comment on this one.

I see your point, and as was already said above, these figures are meant to be seen as part of a very large vista and at a distance, not zoomed in on (like the bird) and held up as a lone element. (Like standing an inch from paintings in a gallery, it's a different experience). Few AA figures can hold up to similar extreme close up scrutiny. The river has always had static figures and granted, I'd agree on the sheen level, but in their proper context they are no doubt an improvement over what was there. They are posed in a natural way that makes sense for being static and that helps alot. When you look at them you don't expect them to move. The Jungle Cruise has the same type of painted figure finishing as to hold up in the weather (Lion cubs in the african veldt scene). Could they be more realistic? Sure, they can always be better. I doubt they ever set out to make them all AAs, just a more interesting display and it seems like they've done that by the review above. It's like asking why the figures at the Wax Museum are only Wax

 

[HMF]

I see your point, and as was already said above, these figures are meant to be seen as part of a very large vista and at a distance, not zoomed in on (like the bird) and held up as a lone element. (Like standing an inch from paintings in a gallery, it's a different experience). Few AA figures can hold up to similar extreme close up scrutiny. The river has always had static figures and granted, I'd agree on the sheen level, but in their proper context they are no doubt an improvement over what was there. They are posed in a natural way that makes sense for being static and that helps alot. When you look at them you don't expect them to move. The Jungle Cruise has the same type of painted figure finishing as to hold up in the weather (Lion cubs in the african veldt scene). Could they be more realistic? Sure, they can always be better. I doubt they ever set out to make them all AAs, just a more interesting display and it seems like they've done that by the review above. It's like asking why the figures at the Wax Museum are only Wax

Remember' I am not as upset about it as some people are. So I am just repeating what the more over-the-top Disney fans are saying. I actually think most of them look fine.

 

[Giraffe Lounge]

Looks like Disney bowed to some public pressure and decided not to end Aladdin the musical over at Disneyland Resort. (Disney Parks Blog)

Eddie, did you ever work on a project that got radically reworked or canceled because of public reaction?

 

[Lee]

I think the new figures look great.:shrug:

 

[sponono88]

Looks like Disney bowed to some public pressure and decided not to end Aladdin the musical over at Disneyland. (Disney Parks Blog)

Eddie, did you ever work on a project that got radically reworked or canceled because of public reaction?

DCA And I was surprised they changed their minds on this. I don't think i've ever seen Disney give an official closing date, announce it everywhere including park maps, and then go back and say 'Never mind!"

Nevertheless, i'm really happy about this. I love the show, and after all these years it's still extremely popular with guests. With brand new visitors coming into the park to see World of Color, it makes sense to keep the show around for a while longer.

 

[TP2000]

Remember' I am not as upset about it as some people are. So I am just repeating what the more over-the-top Disney fans are saying. I actually think most of them look fine.

Yes, I understand. :wave:

But it's worrisome that Internet fans a thousand miles from Disneyland look at a few pictures taken with zoom lenses and decide the rehab was a failure. That picture of that silly bird that is perched up on a wood beam high above the water is the perfect example. In real life, in a real canoe or from the decks of the Sailing Ship Columbia, that silly bird sitting up on a wood plank looks great.

It would be like judging Pirates of the Caribbean on this picture below. Taken with a digital flash camera, zoomed in much closer than the normal view from the boat, and completely out of context with the rest of the set and show. It looks fake and low-quality, like a Dime Store window display. But when you see the entirety of Pirates of the Caribbean, it's a fantastic attraction.

http://www.family-vacation-getaways-at-los-angeles-theme-parks.com/images/PiratesSparrowFace.gif

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Looks like Disney bowed to some public pressure and decided not to end Aladdin the musical over at Disneyland Resort. (Disney Parks Blog)

Eddie, did you ever work on a project that got radically reworked or canceled because of public reaction?

Here's the first three that come to mind.

"Mission:Space" added the second "non spin" choice to the ride experience to give a broader audience access to the show.

I've had the Aladdin Oasis dinner show close because it was not making enough money although the guests loved it.

They added Wine to Walt's menu at DLP.

 

[MarkTwain]

Looks like Disney bowed to some public pressure and decided not to end Aladdin the musical over at Disneyland Resort. (Disney Parks Blog)

Eddie, did you ever work on a project that got radically reworked or canceled because of public reaction?

I got s'more...

Western River Expedition being replaced by MK's Pirates

Disneyland bringing back Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland the first time it was removed

Disneyland relocating the rainforest scene in their it's a small world after the fan-run "Save the Rainforest" campaign protested its planned removal

Bringing Figment back to Imagination

(Arguably) Keeping the Carousel of Progress around

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Iron Man 2

Just saw Iron Man 2. Wow. I really enjoyed it. There are lots of Disney "inspired" references in it. Richard Sherman even wrote a song for it.

Awesome movie. Here's the song..

http://www.starkexpo2010.com/

 

[Master Yoda]

Just saw Iron Man 2. Wow. I really enjoyed it. There are lots of Disney "inspired" references in it. Richard Sherman even wrote a song for it.

Awesome movie. Here's the song..

http://www.starkexpo2010.com/

I noticed that too when I saw the movie last night.

 

[wm49rs]

I noticed that too when I saw the movie last night.

I loved the "Stark Expo." And when Howard Stark was discussing his vision for the future- straight out od Walt discussing EPCOT....

 

[wserratore1963]

Here's the first three that come to mind.

"Mission:Space" added the second "non spin" choice to the ride experience to give a broader audience access to the show.

I've had the Aladdin Oasis dinner show close because it was not making enough money although the guests loved it.

They added Wine to Walt's menu at DLP.

Eddie,
Just wondering if there was ever any plans to extend the monorail to DHS? Thanks for all your insights and wisdom this thread quickly becoming one of my daily reads.
Thanks

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Eddie,
Just wondering if there was ever any plans to extend the monorail to DHS? Thanks for all your insights and wisdom this thread quickly becoming one of my daily reads.
Thanks

They used to have meetings where they discussed the transportation issues of WDW and solutions were brought up and monorail expansion was one way to do that but is considered cost prohibitive given the capacity and compared to buses, etc.

 

[MouseketeerCole]

Here's something I posted at MiceChat, but I thought it might also be of interest to people who read this thread.

It seems to me that two of the major issues for ardent Disney fans are the balance between original attractions versus sourced attractions (ie. based on a film or other media property), and increasingly the amount of interactivity (or rather activity versus passivity) in attractions. So what I thought I'd do is create a table of Disney attractions since opening to check out the ratios through Disneyland's history.

I tried uploading it directly to this post but I couldn't figure out tables, so instead I've uploaded it here.

The table includes (I think) every Disneyland attraction I know of (not including shows and fireworks). If I've missed some, please let me know - I'm sure I'll have a few mistakes. Some attractions which are different in name only (Big Thunder Ranch Petting Zoo and Little Patch of Heaven Petting Zoo) have been consolidated as one. Active I've defined incredibly broadly as any attraction that involves input from the guest - so yes Buzz is active, but so is Dumbo (you pull a lever) and Autopia and so on.

So what does the data tell us?

Sourcing

In Disneyland's history, 69% of attractions have been original and not based on an established media property.

During opening year 1955, 68.6% of attractions were original.

Of all the attractions that came and went during Walt's life, 76.7% were original.

At present, 46.2% of Disneyland's current attractions are original.

Interactivity

In Disneyland's history, 24.8% of attractions have been active.

At opening, 14.3% of attractions were active.

Of all attractions existing until Walt's death, 18.4% were active.

At present, 38.5% of Disneyland's attractions are active.

----

So there we go - some data to back-up (or refute!) people's claims. We can see here 'What Walt Did' as well as trends across time. I'm not making any statement here - I'm not meaning to agree or disagree with any 'sourced attractions are bad' or 'interactivity is bad' points of view, or vice versa. I just wanted to contribute something to the debate!

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Here's something I posted at MiceChat, but I thought it might also be of interest to people who read this thread.

It seems to me that two of the major issues for ardent Disney fans are the balance between original attractions versus sourced attractions (ie. based on a film or other media property), and increasingly the amount of interactivity (or rather activity versus passivity) in attractions. So what I thought I'd do is create a table of Disney attractions since opening to check out the ratios through Disneyland's history.

Woah. You've put lots of effort into this chart. Great work. It will be interesting to hear perspectives from the data. Gang?

 

[MouseketeerCole]

Glad you see some value in it Eddie! The weird things Disney fans spend their time on..!

Someone suggested a chart would be a good way to show the trends, so I made two charts (thanks to the power of Excel), one for sourcing and one for activity;

There's a big jump in sourced and active attractions in the early 1990s. That's due to the addition of Mickey's Toontown, where almost every attraction is both sourced and active (I think the only exception being the Jolly Trolley). Still, it shows the basing attractions on films is predominantly a 90s phenomenon - it was only two years ago that the number of sourced attractions overtook original ones.

 

[TTA Announcer]

Eddie, any idea if there were or are any plans to bring an Indiana Jones themed coaster to DHS, such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in DL Paris?