Fantasmic Problems...

[lightboy]

Why would they update it?

Because they shouldn't be resting on their laurels. They should be holding themselves to a higher standard.

Better question, why would they continue to present an inferior product, when the company is clearly capable of doing more?

Quality is a great business plan. Period.

Correct, Correct, and Correct.

Apparently ethics is left out of business schools nowadays...

Again, I suspect they are looking at it strictly from a business point of view with very little thought put towards show quality. I also suspect, as long as there are butts in the seat, the show will be continued to be presented in its current form. It's very difficult to sell something to someone that doesn't think there's a "problem". And to that same person...packed amphitheaters do not signify that there is a "problem"...regardless of the quality of show being presented.

You can apply this to many other areas of Walt Disney World. If people keep coming, what's the problem? Why inject excess money (overhauls and remounts instead of refurbishments)into a theme park that has a nonstop continuous flow of guests? I don't agree with this, especially because it goes against everything that the Disney parks were founded on. But it makes sense...I just don't think we're going to see any change in this direction anytime soon...

It's called "Riding the Legacy"...

Maybe it will catch up with them one day...maybe not. They sure are relying on first time visitors (and foreign guests!!!!) more than ever. And this works best with the business plan, because they don't know any different...

 

[Brava Centauri]

^^^^ This.

 

[TP2000]

All excellent and valid points from Posts #36 thru #40.

And yet all of these comments, especially the ones about business ethics, only seem to apply to the leadership team in the Team Disney Orlando building. If it weren't for that little, tiny theme park just off the Santa Ana Freeway in sleepy Anaheim, these comments and criticisms could be used to represent the entire Disney company.

But that little, tiny theme park in Anaheim and what they've recently done with their 20 year old version of Fantasmic! (all at the same time they built and produced that other nightly water show a few hundred yards south of Fantasmic! called World of Color) not only saves face for the larger Disney company, but it must make it just a little uncomfortable for the Team Disney Orlando building. :lookaroun

 

[drew81]

I agree with all the previous posters. Fant! needs the same love and work Disneyland's version got. Lightboy is right and I agree; TDO won't spend the money on the updates. They see no need to do so.

Fantasmic is still a great show and still one of my favorites but it definitely needs some TLC. Maybe Dan Cockerell will be able to get the ball rolling on this????

 

[RSoxNo1]

Correct, Correct, and Correct.

Apparently ethics is left out of business schools nowadays...

Again, I suspect they are looking at it strictly from a business point of view with very little thought put towards show quality. I also suspect, as long as there are butts in the seat, the show will be continued to be presented in its current form. It's very difficult to sell something to someone that doesn't think there's a "problem". And to that same person...packed amphitheaters do not signify that there is a "problem"...regardless of the quality of show being presented.

You can apply this to many other areas of Walt Disney World. If people keep coming, what's the problem? Why inject excess money (overhauls and remounts instead of refurbishments)into a theme park that has a nonstop continuous flow of guests? I don't agree with this, especially because it goes against everything that the Disney parks were founded on. But it makes sense...I just don't think we're going to see any change in this direction anytime soon...

It's called "Riding the Legacy"...

Maybe it will catch up with them one day...maybe not. They sure are relying on first time visitors (and foreign guests!!!!) more than ever. And this works best with the business plan, because they don't know any different...

I went to a business school and was shocked to find that Ethics was not a mandatory class. I don't know if this is the case across the board, but it was where I went to school.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

Didn't Universal just cosmetically refurb an attraction (Spider-Man) and are touting it as being 'new and improved'? Call me crazy, but that sounds like plussing a current offering and marketing it to increase demand. Waits at Spider-Man are longer than I've seen them in years.


Hmmmm, maybe TDO can learn a thing or two from Universal's methods? Maybe a massive overhaul of Fantasmic, which they can then market? Maybe?

 

[Honest John]

I took first-timers in December and the dragon got stuck. They had no idea anything went wrong and were incredibly impressed with the production values and the entertainment experience. The show hits on the 'casual' Disney fans buttons of the picturesque nighttime spectacular -- pyrotechnics, a greatest hit parade of Disney characters and music, a saccharine story...I really think it would be a hard show to replace.

What the first-timers were slightly disillusioned with was the costs of everything, from tickets to food. I don't know if my anecdotal experience with first-timers is standard, but assuming it is, it's really hard to imagine a big rehab for Fantasmic is a high priority. The masses, as far as I can tell anecdotally, are satisfied with the the product (consistently crowded show) but are getting squeamish about costs...

I think the hardcore Disney fans need to remember that what bugs us goes completely unnoticed by a vast majority of park guests, and that theater is still consistently packed. I agree wholeheartedly it's inconsistent and highly-variable for the repeat visitor, but I candidly don't think it's a 'bad' show and I'm confident that 90%+ of the audience isn't really effected by the variable nature of the show. The variable elements that sometimes don't work are lost on most, and there's so much else going on that people still leave impressed.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I took first-timers in December and the dragon got stuck. They had no idea anything went wrong and were incredibly impressed with the production values and the entertainment experience. The show hits on the 'casual' Disney fans buttons of the picturesque nighttime spectacular -- pyrotechnics, a greatest hit parade of Disney characters and music, a saccharine story...I really think it would be a hard show to replace.

What the first-timers were slightly disillusioned with was the costs of everything, from tickets to food. I don't know if my anecdotal experience with first-timers is standard, but assuming it is, it's really hard to imagine a big rehab for Fantasmic is a high priority. The masses, as far as I can tell anecdotally, are satisfied with the the product (consistently crowded show) but are getting squeamish about costs...

I think the hardcore Disney fans need to remember that what bugs us goes completely unnoticed by a vast majority of park guests, and that theater is still consistently packed. I agree wholeheartedly it's inconsistent and highly-variable for the repeat visitor, but I candidly don't think it's a 'bad' show and I'm confident that 90%+ of the audience isn't really effected by the variable nature of the show. The variable elements that sometimes don't work are lost on most, and there's so much else going on that people still leave impressed.

That may be true, but Disney used to hold itself to a higher standard than "it's good enough for the peons."

 

[TalkingHead]

That may be true, but Disney used to hold itself to a higher standard than "it's good enough for the peons."

Not to mention it's a bad long-term business model, not that today's execs care about that. Eventually, visitors will say WDW isn't worth the cost if the product isn't as impressive as it should be.

First-timers may not recognize Fantasmic's shortcomings, but if they return three years later and very little has been added to the parks, they may notice that. It's a fact that the parks aren't plussed, much less maintained, as much as they used to be.

Or what's more likely, WDW will continue to draw a large number of visitors but they will start to spend days at other Orlando attractions, like Universal. I know I feel less compelled to visit the same parks over and over when they don't have new major attractions to offer me.

 

[koryadams]

I am quite mad and jealous that Disneyland's Fantasmic looks better and the Dragon looks so much better there! I hope it is good when I go in a few weeks! I have been in shows and theatre, so I can be a perfectionist especially when it comes to Disney and their live shows!

 

[lightboy]

I took first-timers in December and the dragon got stuck. They had no idea anything went wrong and were incredibly impressed with the production values and the entertainment experience. The show hits on the 'casual' Disney fans buttons of the picturesque nighttime spectacular -- pyrotechnics, a greatest hit parade of Disney characters and music, a saccharine story...I really think it would be a hard show to replace.

What the first-timers were slightly disillusioned with was the costs of everything, from tickets to food. I don't know if my anecdotal experience with first-timers is standard, but assuming it is, it's really hard to imagine a big rehab for Fantasmic is a high priority. The masses, as far as I can tell anecdotally, are satisfied with the the product (consistently crowded show) but are getting squeamish about costs...

I think the hardcore Disney fans need to remember that what bugs us goes completely unnoticed by a vast majority of park guests, and that theater is still consistently packed. I agree wholeheartedly it's inconsistent and highly-variable for the repeat visitor, but I candidly don't think it's a 'bad' show and I'm confident that 90%+ of the audience isn't really effected by the variable nature of the show. The variable elements that sometimes don't work are lost on most, and there's so much else going on that people still leave impressed.

Absolutely correct. That 90% is what Disney counts on. Everything is based off of "majority".

Bad show? Definitely not, I also agree. But what I feel is definitely lacking is any sort of "wow" factor that pushes it above and beyond the "expected" spectacular. Disney's abilities to use technology and leading edge effects are what helps them tell some of the greatest night-time stories ever.

Saying that...if you sat a guest at DHS to watch Fantasmic! and then sat them in Tokyo watching their version...it would be night and day. But...most of WDW's guests will never make it to Asia (where show quality dictates operation) or even California (where show quality and new shows are required for repeat attendance, especially local), and I'm sure Disney counts on that.

 

[lightboy]

Not to mention it's a bad long-term business model, not that today's execs care about that. Eventually, visitors will say WDW isn't worth the cost if the product isn't as impressive as it should be.

First-timers may not recognize Fantasmic's shortcomings, but if they return three years later and very little has been added to the parks, they may notice that. It's a fact that the parks aren't plussed, much less maintained, as much as they used to be.

Or what's more likely, WDW will continue to draw a large number of visitors but they will start to spend days at other Orlando attractions, like Universal. I know I feel less compelled to visit the same parks over and over when they don't have new major attractions to offer me.

Agree on all points. However, I think the "point of exhaustion" from the guests is farther away. Personally, I think Disney's got years and years of legacy left before it starts hitting them hard.

You mentioned you feel more compelled to visit parks that have new attractions. But what about if the old attractions aren't working properly or cut? Does this make an impact on you? My bets are that Mickey expects you to forget what is in the right hand, because they put something in your left hand that is shiny and new. Thus...DHS gets American Idol and Star Tours 2.0 but multiple show effects no longer exist or are broken in Fantasmic.

 

[drew81]

Absolutely correct. That 90% is what Disney counts on. Everything is based off of "majority".

Bad show? Definitely not, I also agree. But what I feel is definitely lacking is any sort of "wow" factor that pushes it above and beyond the "expected" spectacular. Disney's abilities to use technology and leading edge effects are what helps them tell some of the greatest night-time stories ever.

Saying that...if you sat a guest at DHS to watch Fantasmic! and then sat them in Tokyo watching their version...it would be night and day. But...most of WDW's guests will never make it to Asia (where show quality dictates operation) or even California (where show quality and new shows are required for repeat attendance, especially local), and I'm sure Disney counts on that.

If TDO approved a major Fant rehab how long do you think it would take to fix all of the issues? Are we talking 2 to 3 months?

Awhile back a picture was posted of a boat pushing the steamboat at the finale. Do you know if the steamboat has been fixed?

 

[flavious27]

We need a new show, in a new setting. It makes no sense that there is a lake next to that area and all they use it for is boat transportation.