asianway
Well-Known Member
Not even that. Plus a reworked Val
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Jammin Jungle closing in June
- Thread starter drew81
- Start date
CDavid
Well-Known Member
No doubt Disney will spin some of the new nighttime entertainment as making up for the loss of the parade. But its hard to see how entertainment presented in the evenings is in any real way a replacement for an afternoon parade. Clearly there is no direct replacement (a new parade).
Sure, in the future anything is possible, but as with Tapestry of Dreams over at Epcot, if a new parade were developed years down the road, you couldn't really call it a replacement - it would just be a (welcome) new parade where none then existed.
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
probably just more DJ stuff? I loathe that being in the parks. TDO couldnt be more cheap.
asianway
Well-Known Member
Ever been in the MK on NYE? Never again
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
lol I have heard enough to know to never do that lol, or Epcot for that matter.
asianway
Well-Known Member
It's not the crowd. They put a DJ dance party over the park wide PA. It's nauseating
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
, I cant imagine.
mm52200
Well-Known Member
Oh I'm sure a replacement is coming, along with the replacements for the DHS parade, Disney Channel Rocks, the Ziti Sisters, PUSH the trash can, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tapestry of Dreams, and all of the other multiple entertainment options cut with no replacements over the years. We should be thankful that they are bringing Festival of the Lion King back rather than just closing it.
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
While the New Years events at MK and Epcot certainly break the theme of the park, I would say probably 99% of people there actually enjoy the changes because...well you know, it's New Years and the fireworks/accompanying party is the whole reason they are there that late on that specific night in the first place.
There will definitely no parade at Animal Kingdom after this one retires...if you think the parade there causes major crowd flow issues now, think of how bad it would be after Avatar opens and the park is way busier. Its pretty clear at this point the park is going under a long term strategic renovation and Rivers of Light is the big new entertainment offering. Once Lion King opens i've heard the park is really going to go under the knife, and theres no way the parade is going to fit.
There will definitely no parade at Animal Kingdom after this one retires...if you think the parade there causes major crowd flow issues now, think of how bad it would be after Avatar opens and the park is way busier. Its pretty clear at this point the park is going under a long term strategic renovation and Rivers of Light is the big new entertainment offering. Once Lion King opens i've heard the park is really going to go under the knife, and theres no way the parade is going to fit.
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Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
is the castle float moving to AK now? lol
doctornick
Well-Known Member
"Under the knife"? Can you expand upon that? I'm guessing you mean changes for the purposes of guest flow and night time lighting, but not new attractions, right?
The reason I ask is that I'm not convinced that Pandora and Rivers of Light are really enough to make the park "way busier" especially if it is open longer hours. I don't think that the park needs a parade per se, but some sort of major daytime entertainment is IMHO needed if they expect/want people to make a full day of DAK (including buying several meals and merch) -- either that or a whole bunch of new rides, which don't seem to be on the table.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Even with Avatar, you could likely get to park at opening, do everything, be gone by mid-day and then come back. They do need something to extend the day. A parade at least could keep people there until 3 or 4, then dinner, then Rivers of Light. Without a parade or some form of daytime entertainment option, I still see people exiting the park at the same time and coming back later that night.
It would also help to, you know, add a few flat rides (Lion King darkride and Jungle Book dark ride) and do something with Dinoland (the excavator coaster or transform Primeval Whirl into a family friendly dark ride, small world meets dinosaurs).
It would also help to, you know, add a few flat rides (Lion King darkride and Jungle Book dark ride) and do something with Dinoland (the excavator coaster or transform Primeval Whirl into a family friendly dark ride, small world meets dinosaurs).
Trust me - the Disney marketing machine will make sure it does. Also Pandora + Rivers of Light + Night Safari = we're talking big bucks not chump change. It would be great if they added more rides but I don't think thats going to happen right away.
Sorry I should have clarified "under the knife." They are doing major infrastructure work on Discovery Island, Africa, and Asia in order to handle bigger crowds, which basically means lots of work walls.
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doctornick
Well-Known Member
That's what I figured you meant and I think it is needed, so I don't dismiss it.
But I think TDO is really overestimating if they think that Pandora + night show + night safari is going to pack in crowds compared to today's DAK (which includes a day parade). Sure, some people will start going for longer, especially if Pandora is high quality. But I think for a lot of folks, it will just mean that they'll shift their "half day" at DAK from 9am-4pm to 2pm-9pm. Why show up before lunch when you can "do the whole park" in a few hours over the afternoon and early evening and then can catch the big show at night?
Yes, there's enough to easily occupy someone for a full day -- or more. But I'm not convinced that these changes will dramatically increase total attendance among your average park goer who currently views DAK has not having enough to do. They really IMHO need to have a large scale mid day entertainment offering -- if not a parade, then some other type of show -- and/or a bunch of new rides to truly make it a "full day park" in the eyes of many guests.
There is a lot more to do at DAK than people give it credit for, I have no issue finding things to do there for most of the day. It has 3 live stage shows (Lion King, Nemo, Flights of Wonder), that's more than any of the parks other than DHS. There are also 2 animal trials (Pangani, Maharajah) which take 20-30 minutes each, also the vet and other animal education stuff up at Rafiki's Planet Watch which takes longer because of the train. Add 2 major rides to the current lineup and the night safari I think it's enough to keep people in the park until its time to start getting ready for Rivers of Light.
Avatar and Rivers of Light will be huge draws. Have you seen the crowds that Fantasmic, Wishes, Illuminations, World of Color, etc get? Imagine those kind of crowds at DAK at night.
People go for quality not quantity. If something is new, they're hearing a lot about it, and its getting really good reviews, the "lack of [other] dark rides" in the park is not going to stop people from going and checking it out. Look at Disney-MGM Studios when it opened: there was like nothing there other than the bus tour and the Great Movie Ride but the place was PACKED every day.
Avatar and Rivers of Light will be huge draws. Have you seen the crowds that Fantasmic, Wishes, Illuminations, World of Color, etc get? Imagine those kind of crowds at DAK at night.
The new attractions will bring in huge crowds. Avatar will be promoted so much that it will get a lot of buzz throughout the country, and have you seen the crowds that Fantasmic, Illuminations, Wishes, World of Color, etc bring to those parks? When World of Color opened it would be out of viewing (fastpass tickets) literally by 11AM, and that was with 3 shows a night! You had to get to the park by 11AM to see a show that was at 10 that night.
People go for quality not quantity. If something is new, they're hearing a lot about it, and its getting really good reviews, the "lack of [other] dark rides" in the park is not going to stop people from going and checking it out. Look at Disney-MGM Studios when it opened: there was like nothing there other than the bus tour and the Great Movie Ride but the place was PACKED every day.
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Kman101
Well-Known Member
I totally agree you could make a full day out of the current AK, even without Pandora, but the fact is, most don't. Many don't do the trails, don't go to Planet Watch (I rarely ever go there, just as an example), don't want to get soaked on Kali and I'm sure many skip the bird show (which they shouldn't). It can very easily be a full day even without a parade, but it's not seen as one. I'm not discounting Pandora will be busy and it's something new, but the park needs more to make it seen as a full day park.
yeah i totally disagree with this....the fact the park will be open at night with something thats new along with new things to do....im betting at least a 10-13% (conservative number)increase in attendance , and maybe more importantly will take people away from magic kingdom at night
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
Exactly. Rivers of Night seems like it will be a nice addition, but adding one night time show doesn't mean that everyone will stay if they are still finished with most of the attractions after lunch. The bottom line is that without enough attractions (and daytime entertainment like parades) there isn't enough to keep people occupied from open til close.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Park hop.