MK Frontierland Shootin' arcade to close and replaced with DVC Member lounge

[Animaniac93-98]

Foxx Nolte's newest book, Hidden History of WDW, includes a chapter on the Shootin' Arcade, outlining its historical precedent. Too bad the book ended up being published shortly before the announced closing.

This was the longest running arcade in MK (At one point Adventureland had 2). Its lasted over 50 years for good reason.

 

[Tha Realest]

May or may not be true, but that’s a bold claim. I also don’t agree with him on his take on the shareholder battle but news is news and I will report.

I’m sure the super accomplished Imagineers are finding replacement source material that somehow improves on one of the unassailably great works of literature.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Putting aside the usual inane comments about how nobody cares and this isn't important etc, absolutely nobody wins by losing another attraction in MK...not even DVC members.

MK is the world's most attended park, yet has a shocking number of empty buildings that were once attractions, restaurants or shops. The park is desperately in need of bringing back that capacity and then some, and having the kinds of experiences you can do without reservations or long waits.

We can debate the merits of the arcade (and yes, it does have them), but diminishing the variety of experiences people can have in the park lessens it as a whole. Nobody visits just for the Treehouse, or Carousel of Progress, but reducing the park to headliner rides and meet n greets turns it into a place like DHS were everyone scrambles to do the same things and is miserable in trying to do so.

Disneyland Paris has not only its own version of this arcade with a unique design, it has a plethora of galleries an exhibits that make the park a far richer place to visit. Disneyland in California is praised for its line up of smaller experiences that can be enjoyed without a height requirement or giving motion sickness. MK needs more of that, not less.

There were other places to put a lounge, and despite the staggering number of poor decisions made for this park in just the past few years alone, this may be the worst one since they replaced a ride with a meet n greet hall.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Boy, I’m no fan of this change, but this thread got paranoid, delusional, and conspiratorial real fast. State of the world, I suppose.

 

[Figments Friend]

It really says something that the relic fake guns are viewed as more problematic than the predatory timeshare industry.

This.

-

 

[aladdin2007]

Hall of Presidents isn't going anywhere, and neither is Liberty Square. Tom Swayer's Island has been an attraction they have looked at cutting for years. I don't see this one as a loss.

depends what they do, sits there empty? fill in the river pave over with concrete? add a connection bridge to an expansion? etc. Its a loss in terms of charm. They seem to be ripping out charm left and right (and now the arcade for an exclusive bar lounge instead of something for all paying guests) and trying to treat the park like its hongkong or shanghai, I dont understand them at all anymore. Condense and save $ condense and save $ I guess. They have shown they have no desire to restore much or operate empty locations. Though I will give them credit for the bear jamboree by the sound of things...that got lucky with a good team apparently.

 

[BrianLo]

Sure, Disney is ultimately most to blame for DVC. From Disney’s cynical, greedy standpoint, however, DVC makes a tremendous amount of sense. For guests, on the other hand, it’s a way to encourage the long-term deterioration of the parks.

I don’t know… doesn’t locking in consumers for 50 years basically create a group of people who will evaluate your product with increasingly cynical lens if it doesn’t continually deliver?

Most of the detractors on this forum are actually longer term DVC.

 

[ChrisFL]

Putting aside the usual inane comments about how nobody cares and this isn't important etc, absolutely nobody wins by losing another attraction in MK...not even DVC members.

MK is the world's most attended park, yet has a shocking number of empty buildings that were once attractions, restaurants or shops. The park is desperately in need of bringing back that capacity and then some, and having the kinds of experiences you can do without reservations or long waits.

We can debate the merits of the arcade (and yes, it does have them), but diminishing the variety of experiences people can have in the park lessens it as a whole. Nobody visits just for the Treehouse, or Carousel of Progress, but reducing the park to headliner rides and meet n greets turns it into a place like DHS were everyone scrambles to do the same things and is miserable in trying to do so.

Disneyland Paris has not only its own version of this arcade with a unique design, it has a plethora of galleries an exhibits that make the park a far richer place to visit. Disneyland in California is praised for its line up of smaller experiences that can be enjoyed without a height requirement or giving motion sickness. MK needs more of that, not less.

There were other places to put a lounge, and despite the staggering number of poor decisions made for this park in just the past few years alone, this may be the worst one since they replaced a ride with a meet n greet hall.

100% this.

Disney seems laser focused on only E-ticket attractions and DVC and not actually other things that make park experiences special, like keeping attractions/people eaters open, having quality food offerings in a variety of places, upkeep of their existing attractions, etc.

 

[SplashJacket]

Every day I realize more and more that this company is no longer building the parks for long-time frequent visit fans like me, and it really makes me very sad after nearly 40 years of visiting. At this point, it's been a few years since my last visit and I really don't plan on going back any time soon.

Ironically, DVC guests are long-time frequent visit fans.

 

[Ayla]

May or may not be true, but that’s a bold claim. I also don’t agree with him on his take on the shareholder battle but news is news and I will report.

LOL Nothing Brayden claims is news.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Disney seems laser focused on only E-ticket attractions and DVC and not actually other things that make park experiences special,

Bob’s legacy in a nutshell.

 

[BrianLo]

I’m not surprised, once I heard it was “marked“ as “problematic“ by that review team (I don’t remember where I heard that I think it was here though) it’s days were numbered. To be quite honest, I don’t really have love for this arcade and don’t really care from that point of view. This does however hold historic value and I value that more.

One thing this does however remind me of is how bad of a problem DVC is becoming. It‘s taking up virtually all the investment at the park (this is only in reference to currently, I expect huge announcements at D23) with the hotels that seem to be built every few years. While the parks contunue to get nothing, now they are encroaching on the parks and removing experiences for this DVC lounges. I’m sure it’s great for all the DVC members but this is clearly getting out of control IMHO.

Side Note: If they announce another DVC property at D23 and don’t announce new additions…I’m not going to be a happy camper in that audience. In a huge arena that kinda announcement isn’t going to fly.

DVC is adding 7+ million WDW points to their portfolio this year. At best they are selling 2 (with Disneyland and Aulani grafted on top). Riviera also has 2.5 million to go.

Just a hopeful frame of reference that there is an actual limit and there’s very low risk of any new DVC projects this cycle.

This isn’t meant to be a merits of DVC post, rather some general context the lounge is being added to sell the flood of points they have added this year, not to promote unknown new projects.

 

[ChrisFL]

Bob’s legacy in a nutshell.

"Which one?"
"Yes"

 

[ToTBellHop]

LOL Nothing Brayden claims is news.

Actually, he claimed there was a bully at the basketball court at recess today and we checked the cameras. It was true. Fifth graders are the worst.

 

[granfiesta]

Ok, this is a serious question.....what is it about Frontierland/Pecos Bill's that is so problematic? Even though I don't agree with it, I know what the Shootin' Arcade problem is (guns, bad!). However, with all of the talk about the (possible) retheming of Pecos Bill's and the (possibly) growing sense of Frontierland negativity, I'm honestly at a loss for why these are so awful.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

Side Note: I feel like they are going a little to “in“ with Princess and the Frog at Disneyland. TWO Giftshops as well as the restaurant and the attraction. That seems like a little much for me and they are sacrificing half of Pooh’s retail space. I’m excited for the new attraction (cautiously) but was there really that much demand for PATF?

You know why they're doing it.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Ok, this is a serious question.....what is it about Frontierland/Pecos Bill's that is so problematic? Even though I don't agree with it, I know what the Shootin' Arcade problem is (guns, bad!). However, with all of the talk about the (possible) retheming of Pecos Bill's and the (possibly) growing sense of Frontierland negativity, I'm honestly at a loss for why these are so awful.

This is just my take, but I don’t think it’s seen as “awful” so much as dated. If you look at Toy Story, there’s the whole theme about Woody being the older gen toy and today’s kids not really doing the cowboy show thing. I think that’s fairly true. I saw a Disney+ show that talked about the Dave’s Crockett movie and what a phenomenon it was at the time, with every little boy in the US wanting a fur cap. But today, cowboy lure is just not something you hear about in kids shows. (I do think Liberty Square is likely safe as colonial era Americana is still a popular theme.)

 

[NiarrNDisney]

Well that's unfortunate! I'm just glad I made sure to try my "shooting skills" (not great lol) on my last few trips.

 

[marni1971]

It’s been a long time since I’ve summoned someone to a thread but here goes hey @marni1971 have you heard anything about this?

Again, this may or may not be true but he does have a track record so it’s worth discussion at the very least.

I haven’t. I don’t think.

 

[ohioguy]

This lends more credence to the idea of Frontierland being transformed into a New Orleans Riverfront region. Now, if BBT becomes new Frontierland, I won’t be mad.

I think this is now the most likely scenario. CBJ will be made part of Liberty Square by the fate of location, if not thematically. It's becoming obvious we're getting a new Frontierland, updated for a new era.