DAK 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom

[Blobbles]

AND lieutenant Beck to Admiral Ackbar?? When the Star Destroyer captures you... "It's a Trap!"

I mean.. come on people.

SWGE’s big flaw in hindsight was the sequel trilogy use. I know at the time of design and announcement it hadn’t crashed and burned yet, but in hindsight it would’ve been more well received as the OT.

 

[celluloid]

My best judgment about today's E ticket categorization, extrapolating from what's widely agreed to an E ticket, is that it's a combination of:

1. Scale
2. (High-Quality) Detail

The attractions that pretty much everyone agrees to be an E ticket have both of those: Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, etc.

Attractions seem to be viewed as D tickets when they lack one of those two, for instance:

• Mine Train and Na'vi River Journey are beautifully detailed, but too small/short to be considered E tickets.
• "it's a small world" is actually a massive-scale attraction, but the sets are too simple to make it an E ticket (despite it being rightly beloved, of course, and indeed being one of my own favorite attractions).

Of course, caveats include:

• When something was vastly larger scale than most attractions at the time it was built (factor 1), that might outweigh its relative lack of high-quality detail (factor 2), which would be why "it's a small world" and Jungle Cruise used to be viewed as E tickets.
• A unique/novel characteristic might for a time push something to E ticket status whose lack of scale and/or high-quality detail would otherwise relegate it to below E ticket status, e.g., Soarin' (which, as flying theaters become more common, may eventually be relegated to D ticket status).
• Attractions with a high level of thrill and/or iconic placement might be viewed as having E ticket status, at least for a time, despite lacking in some of these other factors.

In all, I'd suggest that the E ticket concept remains useful, so long as it's understand as a family resemblance category that allows for disagreement about the categorization of some attractions.

With all that being said, I hope Encanto contains both the level of scale and the level of high-quality detail that I'd suggest would make it an E ticket for all...

This may be oversimplifying it in some ways and overcomplicating it in others if people don't also take into account fluidity.


20K and Hall of Presidents were once E Tickets.
Demand shifts.

Star Tours was without a doubt an E ticket its opening and just being a Simulator of that caliber was a fresh new concept and industry elevating standard in the late 80s.

20K was certainly not an E Ticket when it was about to close and popularity dwindles down but still being valuable enough to keep around for at times years until a time is right to change if ROI of operating is worthwhile.

Hall of Preidents definitely did not need its extended queue decades later and does not going near 50 years later, it is not an E ticket at all anymore but sitll.

Because by its nature, the ticket system was demand-based. Fluidity.

 

[BrianLo]

Just to confuse people further, Na’vi is technically internally a C ticket. Hitting above its weight class for sure. And yes Flight of Passage was at one time a D, but I’d argue horribly misclassified or they plussed it.

I like the made up F ticket designation because it provides a bit more nuance to things. Rise, Radiator Springs Racers, honestly technically even Kilimanjaro. Park defining things that are boundary and monetarily pushing. Tower of Terror in its heyday, Disneyland Pirates in its heyday.

So Encanto definitely isn’t that, I can say that for sure. It’s either a D+ or an E (unless it’s truly bad) and I think the definitions there are super grey. They are sort of the same thing. Do E tickets get a billboard on the highway? Because yes, Encanto will get one of those.

I think ride time if it’s slow moving will determine the takeaway. 6+ minutes and I think there will be arguments. ~8+ (doubt it) and it’s clearly an E. Below 6minutes and no thrill component, I think would fall down a grade.

 

[ChewbaccaYourMum]

If boarding groups is still even a thing in 2027-- do we think both Indy and Encanto will be a boarding group situation?

 

[Gusey]

I see an F-Ticket / ILL-Tier attraction category for those with Individual Lightning Lanes (Tron, Seven Dwarfs, Cosmic Rewind, Rise of Resistance and FOP). Disney is marketing them as the must do at park because you have to pay extra to get in their lightning lanes, they're not included with normal Lightning Lane. That's why Tiana's went to normal Lightning Lane vs ILL

 

[UNCgolf]

I thought both SWGE rides were Es? Obviously, most feel one is better, but Rise (on all cylinders) is next level. F ticket?

I think Smuggler's Run is terrible. It would be better as just a Millennium Falcon walkthrough -- the cockpit is great but the video game is much, much worse than what someone can play at home.

If FoP was internally classified as a D I'd assume Smuggler's Run was too, but maybe not since it's interactive.

 

[Drew the Disney Dude]

Documentation underway.

 

[MisterPenguin]

E-Ticket Dilemma

1. The ticket tier was initially established by the internal cost of the ride. Higher priced E-Tickets were meant to recoup the cost of a higher priced ride to build.

2. Higher cost rides were usually more popular because more money was spent to make them spectacular. Thus, in the mind of the general public, any very popular ride with long lines must therefore be an E-Ticket. We see this even when the ticket system was done away with, that even lower tier rides that had long lines because their PPH capacity was low, were deemed "E-Ticket" because: "Look at those lines!!"

3. Before the ticket system was abolished, Disney started to use the Ticket tiers to control wait times. C-Ticket rides with long lines get bumped up to D. D-Ticket rides that became walk-ons got downgraded to C. Alice had three different tier designations.

4. Today, ordinary guests still use "wow, look at the line, it's really popular" as their understanding of what an E-Ticket is. Superfans, such as the ones in these forums try to guess what tier Imagineering is using, which they keep secret. Because, after all, the super fans here are clearly equal, if not superior, to anyone currently working in WDI.

Also...

When people don't care for one of the E Ticket rides, they argue vehemently that it's only a D Ticket.​

When people really like a D Ticket ride, they argue vehemently that it's indeed an E Ticket ride. ​

​

- M. Pengiun​

Also...

A-E TICKET ATTRACTIONS

Hello all, It's been a while since I have been on the forums. But I have a question for anyone, I'm trying to find a list or what I can find about what attractions are under what tickets (A-E)? Also I'm only looking at attractions in the magic kingdom, and all attractions new and old...

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[BrianLo]

If FoP was internally classified as a D I'd assume Smuggler's Run was too, but maybe not since it's interactive.

It (Smugglers) was internally classified as an E and then Rise was the kitchen sink. I agree that it isn’t successful and I think I like current Star Tours more. We’ll see if a different ride experience can rescue it.

Smugglers misfire is currently reflected across the board. It’s a low priority lightening lane, waits are generally low, it isn’t monetized, it isn’t advertised. But the intention and scaling suggest a better experience than we got. I’d also say the same about Dinosaur, but that’s similarly on an E ticket skeleton.

The trouble with FOP is that in early plans when a third attraction existed it was a D. I’m not sure what Joe considered the final product. Because nothing about that queue experience suggests we think we are building a D ticket here. Then nothing since that point suggests anyone internally thinks FOP isn’t a headliner. From guest experiences, GSAT, popularity, advertisement and monetization. But I know that puts the likes of SDMT up for considerations and ya… unfortunately it is to the general public.

Currently Villains Land is pitched as containing two E tickets and technically Avengers Campus is destined to be a double E/?C-D/B land

 

[JackCH]

But I know that puts the likes of SDMT up for considerations and ya… unfortunately it is to the general public.

I would argue SDMT could legitimately be an E... It's one thing is it's probably too short, but it has a fairly impressive dark ride section, is a coaster with major theming and rock work, and a pretty extensive queue. It also is pretty clearly the "Headline" attraction of Fantasyland. And it is obviously popular. In an E-ticket competition it would get whooped, but I think it qualifies by most metrics one would use, except probably ride-length.

 

[Blobbles]

I would argue SDMT could legitimately be an E... It's one thing is it's probably too short, but it has a fairly impressive dark ride section, is a coaster with major theming and rock work, and a pretty extensive queue. It also is pretty clearly the "Headline" attraction of Fantasyland. And it is obviously popular. In an E-ticket competition it would get whooped, but I think it qualifies by most metrics one would use, except probably ride-length.

To me it was THE most popular and unofficial somewhat headline of the park until tron.

 

[celluloid]

Not perfect but if a ride has its own commercial campaign, you can count in the likelihood it is opening as an E ticket.

 

[Timothy_Q]

Considering DAK's anemic slate of rides (and even worse for family rides), Encanto is gonna draw insane crowds regardless if it ends up being an E or D ticket, so hopefully they've chosen a ride system with a really high capacity

 

[DarkMetroid567]

It (Smugglers) was internally classified as an E and then Rise was the kitchen sink. I agree that it isn’t successful and I think I like current Star Tours more. We’ll see if a different ride experience can rescue it.

Smugglers misfire is currently reflected across the board. It’s a low priority lightening lane, waits are generally low, it isn’t monetized, it isn’t advertised. But the intention and scaling suggest a better experience than we got. I’d also say the same about Dinosaur, but that’s similarly on an E ticket skeleton.

I’m still not really sold that Smugglers Run = bad is a common opinion outside forums like these. The wait times are usually pretty competitive, at least at Disneyland, and bewilderingly I had a few guests tell me they preferred it over Rise when I worked at WDW Rise. I guess I would love to see what the actual scores are.

EDIT: Oh wow, it’s currently the longest wait at DL, but I imagine there’s a capacity issue there.

 

[celluloid]

I’m still not really sold that Smugglers Run = bad is a common opinion outside forums like these. The wait times are usually pretty competitive, at least at Disneyland, and bewilderingly I had a few guests tell me they preferred it over Rise when I worked at WDW Rise. I guess I would love to see what the actual scores are.

EDIT: Oh wow, it’s currently the longest wait at DL, but I imagine there’s a capacity issue there.

If it was truly as good as that...they would no feel the need to invest and add different missions to it.

 

[James Alucobond]

If it was truly as good as that...they would no feel the need to invest and add different missions to it.

Uh, they add new routes to Star Tours all the time and it's by no means bad. Smugglers Run was designed to be able to swap missions—I don't think it getting new ones is indicative of perceived quality. If anything, I would think they might have left new missions undelivered for much longer than they should have because they saw the existing product as "good enough". That's not to say I particularly like it, either. I only find it decent if your group is big enough to staff the entire ship.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Uh, they add new routes to Star Tours all the time and it's by no means bad. Smugglers Run was designed to be able to swap missions—I don't think it getting new ones is indicative of perceived quality. If anything, I would think they might have left new missions undelivered for much longer than they should have because they saw the existing product as "good enough". That's not to say I particularly like it, either. I only find it decent if your group is big enough to staff the entire ship.

Exactly. The new Mando version will come out about 7 years after the ride opened!

 

[celluloid]

Uh, they add new routes to Star Tours all the time and it's by no means bad. Smugglers Run was designed to be able to swap missions—I don't think it getting new ones is indicative of perceived quality. If anything, I would think they might have left new missions undelivered for much longer than they should have because they saw the existing product as "good enough". That's not to say I particularly like it, either. I only find it decent if your group is big enough to staff the entire ship.

Bad and E ticket are two different things.

No one said it was a bad ride. Difference.

You prove the point with Star Tours. Star Tours was an E ticket demand when it opened in the late 80s because it was the first Major Theme Park Motion Simulator that set the new standard for them to follow.

They changed it to adventures continue to increase demand status in 2011. They keep adding synergy because it is easy to do, and to keep demand interesting to a ride that is no longer seen as top tier as Tower of Terror, Rise etc...



Quality and demand are different.

 

[celluloid]

Exactly. The new Mando version will come out about 7 years after the ride opened!

This is the part about fluidity with demand. It does not have the same demand it did (by the time period of seven) years ago because it was new.

Major attractions like Rise of course lose this too with time like any, but the hold is stronger. Like Tower, they remain the iconic major attractions.

 

[ToTBellHop]

This is the part about fluidity with demand. It does not have the same demand it did (by the time period of seven) years ago because it was new.

Major attractions like Rise of course lose this too with time like any, but the hold is stronger. Like Tower, they remain the iconic major attractions.

Smuggler’s is interesting because the setting and queue will remain iconic. It’s the most-photographed location in the land. But, a new video will certainly drive LL bookings.