Magic Kingdom 50th Anniversary Plans

[ford91exploder]

I hope WDW get's this type of treatment for it's 50th.

We all wish, But what WDW will get is upcharge events.

 

[rioriz]

The MK is a theme park for the masses and is not meant to be exclusive. King Stefans is sufficient. Fine dining can be found plenty of other places on property (with more on the way!)

BoG does what it is supposed to do. Which is why guest's love it.

IMO

I can't believe I'm doing this but I agree. FL is not the place to serve high end french food. There are picky eating kids, frustrated adults, and some of societies undesirables that tromp through that place and want nothing more than something familiar and quick to eat.

In that, BoG meets it's mark

 

[brb1006]

These cupcakes are FREE!!!! at WDW they would be 19.95+tax, Sometimes I wonder whether DL and WDW are run by the same company...

This one of the rare moments where I envy Disneyland.

 

[Fox&Hound]

It doesn't count because it isn't an expansion at all. It is simply repurposing parts of Fantasyland that were allowed to rot and adding Toontown Faire to the acreage. That's it. A new restaurant that has lousy food, insufficient restroom facilities and a theme that makes no sense (oh, all while multiple WDW restaurants have sat for years, sometimes decades closed!), a costly meet-and-greet that is really for little girls and arrested development fanbois, a decent (but short) kiddie coaster that they didn't even pay to develop as they just 'borrowed it' from Shanghai's menu, doubling a spinner and moving it from an iconic locale to the back of the park in the swamps, a lousy dark ride (Mermaid would have been fine opening in the early 90s!) etc. That's how I can be dismissive. Never has so much been spent and never has something been hyped so much with so little substance.

I'll repeat, the last major addition to the MK was Splash Mountain back in 1992, although I'll say the 1994-95 Tomorrowland 1/2 redo that changed the look of the land and gave us Alien Encounter and Timekeeper was better than what was done in Fantasyland.

Well I disagree with you 100% on all of your points, but, that's what makes this world great- we can have different opinions =) Sorry to hear you hate NFL so much....Hopefully you will enjoy Avatar and whatever may come to DHS. Enjoy your weekend!

 

[George]

Using the largest show building (Small World ) and dropping it onto the map, you can see there is plenty of room for a few new attractions of a grand scale...if they chose to do it. You could fit another 4 "Small World" show buildings into the space the Speedway takes up. Several "Peter Pan" sized rides could fit...As well as another large show building between Pirates and Splash...might play hell with the parade route though....Point is, there is plenty of space withing the boundaries without stretching further outside the park... Also Tomorrowland has the most open space of any of the lands...and in my opinion could use the most help.View attachment 101606

Love the idea of 4 PPFs. Talk about really solving the wait time problem once and for all. :lookaroun

 

[Magenta Panther]

Love the idea of 4 PPFs. Talk about really solving the wait time problem once and for all. :lookaroun

I think that Neverland is an entity WDW could expand upon, with a well-realized Pixie Hollow and Captain Hook's ship, for starters. If WDW wants to build attractions with longevity by using a Disney-adapted franchise that's well-loved and has proven staying power, it can't do much better than Peter Pan.

 

[George]

It doesn't count because it isn't an expansion at all. It is simply repurposing parts of Fantasyland that were allowed to rot and adding Toontown Faire to the acreage. That's it. A new restaurant that has lousy food, insufficient restroom facilities and a theme that makes no sense (oh, all while multiple WDW restaurants have sat for years, sometimes decades closed!), a costly meet-and-greet that is really for little girls and arrested development fanbois, a decent (but short) kiddie coaster that they didn't even pay to develop as they just 'borrowed it' from Shanghai's menu, doubling a spinner and moving it from an iconic locale to the back of the park in the swamps, a lousy dark ride (Mermaid would have been fine opening in the early 90s!) etc. That's how I can be dismissive. Never has so much been spent and never has something been hyped so much with so little substance.

I'll repeat, the last major addition to the MK was Splash Mountain back in 1992, although I'll say the 1994-95 Tomorrowland 1/2 redo that changed the look of the land and gave us Alien Encounter and Timekeeper was better than what was done in Fantasyland.

I generally agree with this, but I don't feel quite as strongly. For example, I think the Mermaid ride is OK though it does have issues and could have been better. For me, the big issue is a real expansion where things aren't shuttered before being replaced hasn't happened in a while. Plus, I agree wholeheartedly with the Splash Mountain sentiment. I have felt for years that MK cries out for a serious top of the line E. I would prefer a non-thrilling Haunted Mansion top of the line type ride to a "thrill" ride, but anything that is cutting edge and immersive would be appreciated. I will say, I am also bothered by closed counter service eateries, though I wouldn't call BoG's food lousy. Not great, but not lousy either. I looked up the menu there (I've eaten lunch at BoG once and dinner once) and saw breakfast was offered. I had no idea. I will nominate the $19.99 French toast sticks as the worst value I've ever seen in my life even taking into account the pastry plate the table gets to share. You could change my mind if I'm told the French toast sticks come dusted in gold with a slab of bacon as a side. Even then, I'm not so sure.

It's astonishing. It's a freaking "French" restaurant (well, supposedly set in France) that serves ham sandwiches and cupcakes.

Croque Monsieur's are incredibly French though. However, when I've had them in Paris I'm typically dropping 5 bucks or so (though I will say that for better or for worse, the $11.49 or whatever isn't out of line with the prices around the rest of property). What bothers me the most is that if you're going to do pommes frites, they have to be freshly cut and fried and the final product has to kick . The French, surprisingly, do French fries really well.

 

[George]

I visit DL frequently when I'm on the left coast it's why I have a Premier Passport (provides admission to WDW and DL) you don't hear me constantly carping about DL do you?, Sure there are some warts but they are minor and usually fixed next day (UNLIKE WDW).

Is there some type of audio plug in that I need to install?

 

[George]

I think that Neverland is an entity WDW could expand upon, with a well-realized Pixie Hollow and Captain Hook's ship, for starters. If WDW wants to build attractions with longevity by using a Disney-adapted franchise that's well-loved and has proven staying power, it can't do much better than Peter Pan.

I think a TinkerBell dark ride where we, the guests, are shrunk down to fairy size and then whiz around the forest with Tink and her friends on some type of adventure would be fantastic. It really is a good ip for theme park stuff.

 

[tirian]

This one of the rare moments where I envy Disneyland.

Have you been there?

The entrance turnstyles make pixie-dust sounds with every rotation. Main Street still has attractions. The castle walkway is open all day because kiddie shows are in a covered theater in the back of FL. And "When You Wish upon a Star" constantly plays in the castle's entrance. During Christmas time, the holiday fireworks show plays every night for all Guests—not just at hard-ticket events—and the snow on Main Street smells like peppermint.

When it comes to details, DL still pays attention.

 

[Cesar R M]

I can't believe I'm doing this but I agree. FL is not the place to serve high end french food. There are picky eating kids, frustrated adults, and some of societies undesirables that tromp through that place and want nothing more than something familiar and quick to eat.

In that, BoG meets it's mark

Thats what quick service and fastfood areas are for.
not need to ruin it for those looking to have a food experience.

 

[mahnamahna101]

I agree you should not have to replace a ride to add a new one. But if you got rid of TSI and put an E-ticket out there, yes, the ride count does improve by 1- to the hundreds of people who walk past TSI and never venture out there or went once and were not impressed. People always say how NFL did not add a lot of rides but replaced older ones. Well, I sure wasn't getting a lot of use of out 20,000 leagues for the past few years or riding the rubble of the Skyway tram. I view it much more than does the ride count improve. It should be, does guest satisfaction improve. Doubling Dumbo and adding an indoor queue. Improvement! Rotting 20,000 space and now Ariel. Improvement. But, in theory, I do agree that with the "blessing of size" we should not have to tear down to continue building. Just my thoughts...

But Tom Sawyer Island is a huge part of Frontierland's asethetic appeal... and it's one of the last quiet MK attractions.

I'd much rather they expand Frontierland in other ways.

• Below Splash (1 attraction)
• North of Big Thunder/HM (2 attractions and TS restaurant)
• Reopen Golden Horseshoe
• Add drawbridges to RoA
• Make Polly's a yearround location

3 new attractions, two reopened venues and one new TS. Without having to shutter anything, including the Riverboat or TSI. The rignt amount of Imagineering can allow the attraction count to increase, rather than stay the same.

Tomorrowland is similar

• Main Street parking lot (1 attraction)
• On top of CoP (1 attraction)
• Between Space/CoP (1 attraction)
• Behind Space/Speedway (4 attractions)

7 attractions without completely removing the Speedway.

 

[mahnamahna101]

It doesn't count because it isn't an expansion at all. It is simply repurposing parts of Fantasyland that were allowed to rot and adding Toontown Faire to the acreage. That's it. A new restaurant that has lousy food, insufficient restroom facilities and a theme that makes no sense (oh, all while multiple WDW restaurants have sat for years, sometimes decades closed!), a costly meet-and-greet that is really for little girls and arrested development fanbois, a decent (but short) kiddie coaster that they didn't even pay to develop as they just 'borrowed it' from Shanghai's menu, doubling a spinner and moving it from an iconic locale to the back of the park in the swamps, a lousy dark ride (Mermaid would have been fine opening in the early 90s!) etc. That's how I can be dismissive. Never has so much been spent and never has something been hyped so much with so little substance.

I'll repeat, the last major addition to the MK was Splash Mountain back in 1992, although I'll say the 1994-95 Tomorrowland 1/2 redo that changed the look of the land and gave us Alien Encounter and Timekeeper was better than what was done in Fantasyland.

What's sad is that New Fantasyland could have really been something special.

Wonderland/100 Acre Wood take over Cosmic Rays/Speedway
B&TB E-ticket as headliner
SWSA gets Sleeping Beauty replacement
Cirque Mickey and Casey Jr. replace tents and Barnstormer
PPF, IASW and Pooh upgrades

There was so much potential for improvement. So much opportunity to significantly increase MK's capacity. And they blew it, in both departments, for the most part.

 

[TP2000]

When it comes to details, DL still pays attention.

These cupcakes are FREE!!!! at WDW they would be 19.95+tax, Sometimes I wonder whether DL and WDW are run by the same company...

The cupcakes were free. I had three of them on Friday; two in Disneyland and then one more at DCA. They had multiple distribution areas set up in each park with Cast Members just wandering around with trays of these fresh, yummy gourmet Diamond Celebration cupcakes.

And yes, I was a hog and shouldn't have had three in one day. And yes, I also wonder if Disneyland and WDW are run by the same company sometimes.

 

[Bocabear]

[QUOTE="Croque Monsieur's are incredibly French though. However, when I've had them in Paris I'm typically dropping 5 bucks or so (though I will say that for better or for worse, the $11.49 or whatever isn't out of line with the prices around the rest of property). What bothers me the most is that if you're going to do pommes frites, they have to be freshly cut and fried and the final product has to kick ***. The French, surprisingly, do French fries really well.[/QUOTE]

I have had the Croque Monsieur... OMG that was not even close to what a croque monsieur should be...it was just a ham sandwich with cheese on dried out whole wheat bread with soggy fries.
I LOVE the theming and decor of the restaurant (except for the visible soda fountains) Decor-wise I think they were extremely successful in their execution...but seriously the food needs much help...you can't always use the excuse that people have picky kids for everything.
They used to have great chicken strips at Columbia Harbor House which have now been replaced by spongy processed nuggets...the reason? Some people have picky kids... (I suspect they would have a higher profit margin with the processed chicken nuggets as well)
So, because some people have picky kids we have to eat garbage quality food ?

 

[TP2000]

Dateline Disneyland has a great photo recap of Disneyland's 60th celebration on July 17th, 2015. There are a lot of good ideas here that WDW should use for their 50th, including but not limited to...

Live orchestras for dancing, free cupcakes, brilliant retro photo ops, original 1955 park maps handed out, free I Was There! buttons, Richard Sherman playing piano in front of the Castle, etc., etc. Are you paying attention Orlando suits?!?
http://micechat.com/106724-disneyland-celebrates-60/

I particularly enjoyed the grand parade of original 1955 Cast Members, including key Disney execs like Richard Nunis, Jack Lindquist, Ron Dominguez, etc. who also went to Florida for a time and had key exec roles getting WDW open in 1971. They interspersed the original '55 Cast Members with current Cast Members in their uniforms from around the Disneyland Resort, and it was hysterical and cute and utterly charming. It gave you a lump in your throat, and was done so well. The beaming pride of the former and current CM's was infectious.

1955 Cast Members Marty Sklar and Bob Gurr (also opened WDW)

Bob looks like he just won the World Series. Of life.

1955 Cast Members Richard Nunis and Jack Lindquist (also opened WDW)

Lesser known but just as deserving 1955 Cast Members were also featured.

Interspersed with Disney Characters and current front-line Disneyland Cast Members who are getting the place ready for the next 60 years. A brilliant idea for an anniversary parade if I ever saw one!

I sure hope someone in Team Disney Orlando was taking notes in Anaheim this weekend.

 

[janoimagine]

The cupcakes were free. I had three of them on Friday; two in Disneyland and then one more at DCA.

I heard Bricker @WDWFigment went 60 for 60 ... or at least thats what he tweeted ... Im not sure if he was serious or not ... but when it comes to good food and good free food, he doesn't mess around ... I could see him put 60 away ... the kid must have a metabolism like a pack of termites.

 

[brb1006]

Dateline Disneyland has a great photo recap of Disneyland's 60th celebration on July 17th, 2015. There are a lot of good ideas here that WDW should use for their 50th, including but not limited to...

Live orchestras for dancing, free cupcakes, brilliant retro photo ops, original 1955 park maps handed out, free I Was There! buttons, Richard Sherman playing piano in front of the Castle, etc., etc. Are you paying attention Orlando suits?!?
http://micechat.com/106724-disneyland-celebrates-60/

I particularly enjoyed the grand parade of original 1955 Cast Members, including key Disney execs like Richard Nunis, Jack Lindquist, Ron Dominguez, etc. who also went to Florida for a time and had key exec roles getting WDW open in 1971. They interspersed the original '55 Cast Members with current Cast Members in their uniforms from around the Disneyland Resort, and it was hysterical and cute and utterly charming. It gave you a lump in your throat, and was done so well. The beaming pride of the former and current CM's was infectious.

1955 Cast Members Marty Sklar and Bob Gurr (also opened WDW)

Bob looks like he just won the World Series. Of life.

1955 Cast Members Richard Nunis and Jack Lindquist (also opened WDW)

Lesser known but just as deserving 1955 Cast Members were also featured.

Interspersed with Disney Characters and current front-line Disneyland Cast Members who are getting the place ready for the next 60 years. A brilliant idea for an anniversary parade if I ever saw one!

I sure hope someone in Team Disney Orlando was taking notes in Anaheim this weekend.

The last time WDW did something like this was during the 100 Years Of Magic Celebration back in 2001 - 2003. Complete with a brand spanking new daytime parade,new shows for Hollywood Studios, and we're selling snowglobes (This was before 9/11 was thought off which is why Disney don't sell snowglobes in the parks anymore.)

 

[MaxW]

why would 9/11 make them stop selling snowglobes?

 

[RSoxNo1]

why would 9/11 make them stop selling snowglobes?

The amount of water in a snow globe exceeds the amount that an airline will allow you bring as a carry on. People were being forced to throw away snow globes at the airport.