HUGE news/rumors

sanctumsolitude

Active Member
Plus, Pixar characters are not allowed to be in the same parade/photo as Disney characters. Something about the contracts, etc.

Impossible. The Stars and Motor Cars parade features both Disney and Pixar characters (and Lucasfilm too!).

Especially now that Disney owns Pixar.
 

ilovechipndale

New Member
I actually heard they were getting rid of Spectro completely, although I don't believe my source mentioned exactly when they were doing so. I do consider him to be a fairly reliable source regarding updates in Entertainment and will ask him next time I see him if he has any more information regarding the subject.
 

Plutoboy

New Member
I think what WDWKat26 meant was that the Pixar characters cannot be in the same photo as traditional Disney characters. Disney does have a long standing policy that certain characters cannot be pictured together.... not sure of why but that's just the policy I remember from my character training years ago.

In terms of parades..the different characters are allowed to be in parades together. I too have been told that Spectro is on it's way out....no timetable was given but I definitely think it's time. The parade is just too old.:(
 

CThaddeus

New Member
My thoughts:

Though I like the current queue music/announcements in the Jungle Cruise, the Timon and Pumbaa videos don't bother me. In fact, I like the idea. I wish they would follow this strategy with more attractions that lack anything interesting in the queue. For example, the wait for Big Thunder would zip by if something more was going on. I'm not saying they have to use established Disney characters, though I'm not against it, either. Maybe set up the back story for the attraction. The "history" of Big Thunder would be fun to watch, if done well. I'm not sure why some don't get the connection for Timon and Pumbaa to the Jungle Cruise. They live in Africa, in the jungle. Now, Buzz Lightyear introducing the Jungle Cruise...let's not be silly.
Someone else mentioned next they'll do it to the Haunted Mansion. It's been done, and it's a massive success. True, it's only in California right now - Haunted Mansion Holiday - but I'm sorry, anyone who thinks it can't work NEEDS to come here and experience it for themself. Now, Buzz Lightyear's ghost haunting the Mansion...let's not be silly.
Spectromagic could always use more floats and characters. I see no problem with that, though as someone already mentioned it shouldn't have to go on hiatus for something that could be introduced little by little like the current daytime parade.
As for the Pixarfication of the Parks - as long as it's done well, I don't mind at all. In fact, I encourage it, with the possible exception of the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (and that's a location issue, not an attraction issue). If we can get good, new attractions in what used to be an EMPTY space, then I'm a happy guy. I don't want to see existing attractions die for the sake of new ones, but that's a whole other topic.
And finally, I definitely hope Journey Into Imagination is in for a nice, long rehab...if it means a decent, intelligent, creative attraction returns. Now if only they could bring Billy Barty back from the dead...
 
Oh, I didn't realize they had cocaine in the Tree house

Didn't you hear? All of us at Vista Way got the memo weeks ago...;)

My thoughts:
Though I like the current queue music/announcements in the Jungle Cruise, the Timon and Pumbaa videos don't bother me. In fact, I like the idea. I wish they would follow this strategy with more attractions that lack anything interesting in the queue.

Have you actually listened to the background loop for the Jungle Cruise queue? Absolutely hilarious, and sets the tone for the ride so much better than Timon and Pumbaa ever could.

I'm not sure why some don't get the connection for Timon and Pumbaa to the Jungle Cruise. They live in Africa, in the jungle.

The Lion King, however, doesn't take place in the 1940's, as far as I can see. Timon and Pumbaa in a preshow would rather ruin that piece of theming, imo.

Someone else mentioned next they'll do it to the Haunted Mansion. It's been done, and it's a massive success. True, it's only in California right now - Haunted Mansion Holiday - but I'm sorry, anyone who thinks it can't work NEEDS to come here and experience it for themself.

Now, I agree, give Haunted Mansion a nice, California-esque refurb. But not the HMH overlay. And yes, I've seen it, and yes, I like it. However, I felt kind of bad for the people who were taking their only trip, their first trip, and possibly their last trip, and instead of getting to see the Haunted Mansion in all of it's glory, saw a bunch of glowing Nightmare Before Christmas cutouts.


As for the Pixarfication of the Parks - as long as it's done well, I don't mind at all. In fact, I encourage it, with the possible exception of the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (and that's a location issue, not an attraction issue). If we can get good, new attractions in what used to be an EMPTY space, then I'm a happy guy. I don't want to see existing attractions die for the sake of new ones, but that's a whole other topic.
And finally, I definitely hope Journey Into Imagination is in for a nice, long rehab...if it means a decent, intelligent, creative attraction returns. Now if only they could bring Billy Barty back from the dead...

I'm not going to be completely difficult, I do agree with you here :)
 

WDWKat26

New Member
I think what WDWKat26 meant was that the Pixar characters cannot be in the same photo as traditional Disney characters. Disney does have a long standing policy that certain characters cannot be pictured together.... not sure of why but that's just the policy I remember from my character training years ago.

In terms of parades..the different characters are allowed to be in parades together. I too have been told that Spectro is on it's way out....no timetable was given but I definitely think it's time. The parade is just too old.:(


Ah yes, that's what I meant. I forgot about Stars and Motorcars. Anyway, here's the thing. Spectro Magic is practically my home. I'm there 5, almost 6 days a week and with everything that's been going on, there's no way they're going to add more characters. Plus, if the parade is "on it's way out" as many people are saying, then why would they add more characters just to take it out? As of right now, it's not leaving anytime soon so don't get your hopes up too much about this rumor. Just like all rumors, we should be taking it with a grain of salt. Also, a lot of the information that Disney CM's are sworn to keep secret sometimes does get filtered out. But, i'm wondering how reliable this "friend" is that he knows all of these things that are "supposed" to happen. Unless he's an imagineer or a very high up manager at the parks, then I find some of these rumors hard to believe.
 

drew81

Well-Known Member
Ah yes, that's what I meant. I forgot about Stars and Motorcars. Anyway, here's the thing. Spectro Magic is practically my home. I'm there 5, almost 6 days a week and with everything that's been going on, there's no way they're going to add more characters. Plus, if the parade is "on it's way out" as many people are saying, then why would they add more characters just to take it out? As of right now, it's not leaving anytime soon so don't get your hopes up too much about this rumor. Just like all rumors, we should be taking it with a grain of salt. Also, a lot of the information that Disney CM's are sworn to keep secret sometimes does get filtered out. But, i'm wondering how reliable this "friend" is that he knows all of these things that are "supposed" to happen. Unless he's an imagineer or a very high up manager at the parks, then I find some of these rumors hard to believe.

I found the character additions hard to believe too, Kat. Especially with the way staffing is.
 

rileyspaw

New Member
Thanks for all the information! In my opinion, MICKEY's TOONTOWN needs another attraction. Along with that I think wider walkways are in order. GOOFY's BARNSTORMER, the train station, and character greetings are great but some type of ride attraction is necessary IMO!
 

jedimaster1227

Active Member
Well dont they usually close the facility down before they make an announcement? They did that with Timekeeper and there doing it now with Who Wants to be a millionare (they still havent announced Midway Mania)

Sometimes...Wonders of Life has been closed on and off much like the Timekeeper was at the end of its time, but nothing has really gone on inside of there, and nothing has been announced. It just wouldn't make sense for them to close an attraction out of the blue like that without a good reason. JII still works, it just isn't that great. If they still are going to announce a new version, they would have to announce a closing date first (especially with this attraction because the media will be all over Disney because of the pavilion's history).
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Both of these rehab rumors match up with the info Al Lutz posted on todays Miceage update! Apparently a group of MK managers went out to Disneyland a couple weeks ago to tour the rides in Disneyland that are better maintained and/or have better technology than their counterparts in Magic Kingdom. Disneyland's Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear were all specifically visited by this group of Magic Kingdom suits.

If the MK suits went on Jungle Cruise and Space Mountain at Disneyland, both of which had recent big-budget rehabs that added all sorts of new technology and modern special effects, than that bodes well for the versions in Florida's Magic Kingdom. Right?! :sohappy:
 

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
I've changed my sig for the possible JII update. Though the budget won't be as big as the original, there's obvious reasons why. Considering they have a track and preexisting figures such as Figment to work with, it's really going towards new sets, new Dreamfinder figures and new effects.
 

imagineer boy

Well-Known Member
disneyworld66 said:
Just leave Space Mountain alone its a classic!!!!!!

Oh come on, it will be the same Space Mountain, just newer and fresher. They will replace the track, but it will be the same layout as before.
 
Sometimes...Wonders of Life has been closed on and off much like the Timekeeper was at the end of its time, but nothing has really gone on inside of there, and nothing has been announced. It just wouldn't make sense for them to close an attraction out of the blue like that without a good reason. JII still works, it just isn't that great. If they still are going to announce a new version, they would have to announce a closing date first (especially with this attraction because the media will be all over Disney because of the pavilion's history).

I hate to say it but I disagree the media would care for Journey Into Imagination as much as they would for an attraction like Tower of Terror or Pirates of the Caribbean. Reason being is Figment was a great ride but the character is more or less a secondary character. I myself am a big fan of Figment and the Dreamfinder but at the same time it really won't be much of a hype because of the nature of the character. You won't be seeing average park guests get very excited when seeing Figment as much as you would seeing Stitch. Figment's weakness is he has not been in a movie and is not marketed at children as much as he is at fans. You ask who the mascot of EPCOT is and the answer you'll probably get is Mickey or Stitch. I am all for them announcing a new version, they released five Dreamfinder and Figment items last weekend so its obvious they want to at least market the characters to sell merchandise. The ride itself in every version lacked. The story needs to be established and made clear for it to be a success. Every attraction reaches its prime the original did 12 years ago. I liked it, a lot of people enjoyed it. But times change and your target audience changes. The new version was aimed at the video game and computer crowd. EPCOT is about education and the new one was a poor attempt at the concept of the park. Adding Figment in just made the ride offensive to anyone who had intelligance. Figment was rude and disruptive hardly a childish delight. The new version is welcomed but if they are going to ruin the identity and purpose of the character(s) then I would suggest starting something new. I hope that whatever they do fits the theme and has a purpose. Just making a random ride to please a few fans does not justify a cause. If its in a major plan to bring EPCOT back to it's prime I am all for it. Either way we shall see. Like every rumor its only a matter of time until we see the truth.
 

Magicot

Member
OK, here's my gut feeling:

-JII will start a rehab within months

-JC will get a refurb but NOT with Timon and Pumbaa. It just seems like it would be a huge mistake if they added those characters. And the vast majority on this thread is against it rather than the usual split views. It just doesn't make sense why they would do this.

-Space Mt. will get a refurb with new track, sound and lighting, but the same track layout

-The Seas will be all blue in no time

-Spectro will get new characters to breathe some new life into the parade, even if only a little

-We will see a new Soarin' film by 2008

-Toontown will see some changes here and there in the next year

Lee, Corrus, am I even close?
 

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