sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
Interesting. Thank you.
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FoTLK To Close in January?
- Thread starter Cmdr_Crimson
- Start date
Interesting. Thank you.
LudwigVonDrake
Well-Known Member
JT, I'm curious. How good are your sources inside the company? Do you have friends in imagineering/parks that give you the inside scoop?
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
No. He doesn't.
As for this rumor, I would hope they have the new theater open before this one closes.
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
I really don't think Disney would do this to its fans. If they do, shame shame on you Disney!
Bolt
Well-Known Member
I think before we starting shouting shame on you Disney, let's get it from an official source. Speculation has been flying all around about this for months and I highly doubt the show would be elimated for good due to the fact that every time I see the show, it's close to capacity, which is close to 1400.
The Legend
Member
Well we all know this show was going to to close at some point to make room for blue alien cat people and if they are flying height balloons now, bulldozers coming in January doesn't seem so out of the question.
I am just wondering is if Disney will cut something else from Animal Kingdom with no immediate replacement, because it is viewed by many as a 'half day' park and removing a lengthy attraction like festival wouldn't help.
I am just wondering is if Disney will cut something else from Animal Kingdom with no immediate replacement, because it is viewed by many as a 'half day' park and removing a lengthy attraction like festival wouldn't help.
Moving it to Harambe makes perfect sense. It fits there for a zillion reasons. And the new theater, hopefully, will be a better theater, as opposed to what it is now -- a barn with risers and an air conditioning system that can't keep up. So this is good.
What is bad is that they are closing the show before building the new theater. Why? The theater is going into (from all reports) undeveloped land. Sure, a closing to move the show elements over and get the cast ready for the new theater would be necessary in any event, but that needn't be more than a few weeks. As the theater construction hasn't started yet (along with the necessary infrastructure (bathrooms, food service, etc.), I doubt it'll be done any earlier than next summer. So that's at least a 5-6 month down time. Unnecessarily long.
Having vented, I will now attempt to give them the benfit of the doubt. The theater needn't be anything particularly special (already proven by the success of the show in a crappy venue), so perhaps it can be built in only a few months and we'll see construction start shortly. @Nick_A, any intel on WHEN the Wild Africa check-in is moving?
What is bad is that they are closing the show before building the new theater. Why? The theater is going into (from all reports) undeveloped land. Sure, a closing to move the show elements over and get the cast ready for the new theater would be necessary in any event, but that needn't be more than a few weeks. As the theater construction hasn't started yet (along with the necessary infrastructure (bathrooms, food service, etc.), I doubt it'll be done any earlier than next summer. So that's at least a 5-6 month down time. Unnecessarily long.
Having vented, I will now attempt to give them the benfit of the doubt. The theater needn't be anything particularly special (already proven by the success of the show in a crappy venue), so perhaps it can be built in only a few months and we'll see construction start shortly. @Nick_A, any intel on WHEN the Wild Africa check-in is moving?
GrumpyFan
Well-Known Member
I have to wonder if they're not planning something more significant than just a new and hopefully bigger/better theater.
The Lion King is one of Disney's most popular movies, with characters and a story that everyone still loves. It has also been quite a profitable franchise as well. I would love to see a highly themed and immerse "mini-land" to host Simba and his friends. I dreamed up just such an idea a while back for a Pride Lands area that I think would fit just nicely at DAK. I think in the time we have building up to Avatar, they could easily throw together a small area such as this. In fact, I would be really surprised if they didn't already have a few ideas and plans lying around at Imagineering that they could use for such an area, if not, they're free to have mine. Going out on a limb here dreaming just a little, but maybe the new VP/Executive Producer, Kathy Magnum, could initiate something like this?
The Lion King is one of Disney's most popular movies, with characters and a story that everyone still loves. It has also been quite a profitable franchise as well. I would love to see a highly themed and immerse "mini-land" to host Simba and his friends. I dreamed up just such an idea a while back for a Pride Lands area that I think would fit just nicely at DAK. I think in the time we have building up to Avatar, they could easily throw together a small area such as this. In fact, I would be really surprised if they didn't already have a few ideas and plans lying around at Imagineering that they could use for such an area, if not, they're free to have mine. Going out on a limb here dreaming just a little, but maybe the new VP/Executive Producer, Kathy Magnum, could initiate something like this?
Ditto. I sincerely doubt they's close the current theater before the new one is ready. There simply isn't any need for them to do that this early. If they were closing FotLK, they'd most certainly be closing CMM at the same time. I sincerely doubt the park could afford to lose that much capacity.
The area the new theater is supposedly going could be leveled and construction could begin without much disruption to the park. They would most certainly be fast tracking this before shutting the current theater down. BlueSkyDisney stated yesterday that basic imagineering was done for the Pandora project and feasibility studies were just about to begin. If this is true, we're at least six months away from any construction. I'd be shocked if they started work before mid-2013 at the earliest.
This sounds like a bad Screamscape rumor.
Agreed. You'd think they'd get construction rolling on the new theater first so it'd be a quick and easy transition. Hopefully that's the real case and the show won't have to go dark while the new theater is being constructed.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
So, that leaves 3-4 years before I need to go into the CMM areas hehe.
The construction of a new theater would probably take a year+. We're at least six months from Pandora starting construction (from many reports) and there's so much space they'll be working with, I'd think they could work around the theater for a few months. We'll see the destruction of the Pocahontas stage and the land clearing around it WAY before we see FotLK or Camp Minnie Mickey closing.
There will more than likely be a few months downtime (if for no other reason than to get the performers and props transferred and ready for the new theater) but there's no way they would take a major show like that down for more than a year.
Scuttle
Well-Known Member
I AGREE! We haven't even seen concept art and they are talking about moving FOLK already!?
This^^^
FOTLK is one of the most popular shows in WDW. I do not think for a second that they are going to shut it down before another theater is built. There might be an overlap of a week or two to move and retrofit floats but I simply can not see them shutting this show down for any length of time.
It's not really brilliant to close such a popular show without having the alternate ready.
Mukta
Well-Known Member
It's also one of the only lengthy respites in a park with very little air conditioning. Hopefully it is only closed for a short time during a cold weather snap.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
I agree with all sentiments about having the show close before the next location is almost ready. The park has a limited number of major draws and capacity to begin with, on top of issues with getting guests to stay up until closing. Doing this as Screamscape says would help Disney, how?
Unless Disney is going to start building the new location within the next few weeks.
Unless Disney is going to start building the new location within the next few weeks.
Zummi Gummi
Pioneering the Universe Within!
Am I losing my mind or was there a time when FOLK was in fact partially outdoors? I seem to remember siting though some HOT performances of that show.
I don't know specifically when WAT's check in is moving, but I'll find out.