Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
All of which don't have a movie franchise tied to them.
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Magic Kingdom Had a Lot More Stuff!
- Thread starter Animaniac93-98
- Start date
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Yes, that was my point. Haha
DAK - 2 of the top 3 are safaris and Everest.
And Soarin is #3 at Epcot.
So guests do enjoy non-IP attractions.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Yes.
The Electrical Water Pageant still runs after more the 50 years!
Incredible that it has survived all the ups and downs, cost cuts, and other changes.
Let us hope it continues to delight….and continue to light up the lagoon at night….for many more years to come!
Go Team Barges!
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Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
I'd take Laugh Floor over Circlevision and Buzz over If You Had Wings or Dreamflight, but that's it - and those are very minor considerations. Otherwise, you're absolutely correct, the stagnation or decline of MK is striking.
Great thread.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Haunted Mansion has 3 films.....
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Another thing that had faded away is the parks small exit gift shop just outside the parks front gate..This seems to reflect mostly Epcot and MK/TTC..I always liked to make a stop when they were still open even tho it was the last minute place to pick up a minor item here and there. But after Covid Mickey's Gift Shop at TTC And just a year later the Gift Stop at Epcot out of nowhere closes as well. Leaving you to do any last minute shopping under SSE.
WorldExplorer
Well-Known Member
Animal Kingdom has/had one, too.
hismattjesty
Well-Known Member
While true, the films were spawned from the attraction. The IP wasn't forced or shoehorned into an existing space.
Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
Yes but those were based on the attraction.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Yep, DHS and AK still have their exit shops..
DHS has Movieland Memorabilia
AK has 2...
The Outpost Shop by the Bus station Walkway..
And Garden Gate Gifts just as you enter the front gate..
The decline of EPCOT is well documented and known, both because of the fan base the park developed beyond the scope of Disney fandom and because it is much more obvious. Hard not to notice the difference between the original and current Imagination ride, Wonders of Life sitting empty and that Horizons was torn down and totally replaced.
Magic Kingdom's decline is less obvious to the casual observer, especially if you never went before 2005. The park's overall layout and buildings are much the same, and this was especially true before 20,000 Leagues was demolished. Nearly all the attractions once sold as E-tickets still exist in some form, as do most of the larger restaurants. The park's enduring popularity has enabled Disney to just leave things closed or only replace existing attractions instead of building new ones. Since Splash Mountain opened in 1992, the only rides built on land not occupied by any before were The Barnstormer (which replaced a petting zoo), Magic Carpets and TRON.
But the overall park experienced has been whittled down by homogenized retail, an emphasis on character meet and greets over entertainment and a series of lackluster changes propped up by IP. Show quality has been poor for a long time and the food situation is inexcusable for a park this busy. For how expensive this park has become to visit, the customer deservers much more, but it's been all too easy for Disney to treat this as their cash cow and take as much out while investing as little back in. Unfortunately, Cars and Villains won't solve these issues either because they will simply repeat many of these same mistakes.
docryan8404
New Member
Yes! My wife and I went a couple of years ago for our anniversary and we were at the pool/hot tub and I heard music and then saw the lights. I hadn't seen the parade forever and I was so excited! Our kids haven't even gotten to see it due to still being the parks or already at the resorts. We stayed at Poly one time and we sat on the beach watching for it. Unfortunately the lights weren't working so all they got was the music. They did see some from the monorail but that's not the same thing.BTW, I love the Tony Baxter fan club thing!! He, Bob Gurr, Marty Sklar, Herb Ryman, Marc Davis, Yale Gracey, Claude Coats, X Atencio and of course John Hench.Yes.
The Electrical Water Pageant still runs after more the 50 years!
Incredible that it has survived all the ups and downs, cost cuts, and other changes.
Let us hope it continues to delight….and continue to light up the lagoon at night….for many more years to come!
Go Team Barges!
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docryan8404
New Member
Our first trip in 2009, Epcot had the Electric Umbrella (where my daughter lost her tooth) and the recycling exhibit (don't remember what pavillion it was in but our kids loved it). Now those are gone. When we go to Epcot we spend more time in World Showcase than Future World. We do Living with the land, Nemo and Spaceship Earth and Figment but that's all we do there. Mission Space we won't due because we don't like those type of rides. We did Test Track but we don't like fast rides and our daughter gets motion sickness (even on Barnstormer). They need to bring back the pavillions that Epcot was built for. Epcot wasn't built for Test Track or rides like that, it was built to display things about the future and the world (I mean, it's like the Worlds Fair). It's supposed to represent how technology can help us live better and display innovations.
docryan8404
New Member
My very first trip was
My very first trip was in the early 80s. I remember when Dumbo was actually in Fantasyland. I never knew that they had a skyliner until I was watching a YouTube video about obscure Disney history.
New Fantasyland? Give me Old Fantasyland any day!
I won't talk about the attractions only because it's a matter of taste whether you prefer Mr Toad, 20,000 Leagues and what not over what is there now. I'll only point out that on this map, where PhilharMagic is now was vacant until 1987 when Magic Journeys made its way over here from EPCOT. The first 3D movie to play in this theater also ran the old Donald Duck cartoon "Working for Peanuts" as its pre-show.
Fantasy Faire is where there used to be a rising stage for performers, like the one in Cosmic Ray's.
I personally get a kick out of Magic Kingdom once having a quick serve named after a character from The Black Cauldron
Troubadour Tavern became Peter Pan's FastPass distribution area, Royal Candy Shop became Seven Dwarf's Mining Company but when Fairy Tale Hall opened it stopped being a store at all.
Magic Kingdom used to have these kiosks throughout the park where you could buy your A-E ticket books without having to go back to the front gate or City Hall. After ticket books ended these became simple merch kiosks like "Nemo's Niche". I believe most are gone now except one in Adventureland?
Needless to say any version of the Snow White dark ride is better than having a meet 'n greet hall in its place
I really liked The King's Gallery. Another OG store that lasted over 30 years before becoming BBB. MK not having these kinds of stores diminishes its appeal to older guests IMO.M
docryan8404
New Member
I was watching a video the other day and the used to sell guns at Disney (don't remember if it was Land or World).
docryan8404
New Member
That's fine but when I go, I like to not see rides based on movies, or have movies thrown in my face, especially when some are not that great. My daughter loves Ariel and we go on Undersea Journey and my son goes on Mine Train but I don't really like Buzz and we won't do Tron. They are making more thrill rides and taking things that EVERYONE can do away since not everyone can or will do thrill rides. But they are making more things IP and taking the old stuff away. Yes, Walt said "Disneyland (or World) will never be complete..." but taking away Tom Sawyer and Liberty Belle in favor of a movie that doesn't fit the area doesn't mkae sense. Even Tiana doesn't really fit since she takes place in the 20th Century Louisiana, NOT the frontier. But it is also like Hollywood Studios. It was built to represent movie making and now it has nothing to do with making movies. It's putting you in a movie and is meant to be interactive, which is fine, but if it is STUDIOS, then they need to have things that have to do with making movies (like Indiana Jones).
Agent H
Active Member
You know sometimes I get jealous thinking about all the history some of you have experienced then I remember that in 20 to 30 years future Disney fans will be just as as jealous of me having been at galaxy edges and runaway railways opening day and I am both humbled and saddened by that.
WorldExplorer
Well-Known Member
Yep, DHS and AK still have their exit shops..
DHS has Movieland Memorabilia
AK has 2...
The Outpost Shop by the Bus station Walkway..
And Garden Gate Gifts just as you enter the front gate..
Garden Gate Gifts is open, but I haven't seen the Outpost open since before COVID.
Chi84
Premium Member
My comment was more about attitudes toward changes rather than the changes themselves. People differ on what they like and that’s perfectly fine.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Joe Rohde has some excellent thoughts on why some of us feel the way we do about changes -
“The real world is brutally amoral and relentless in its rate of destruction and replacement. There are few refuges from this assault. Theme parks, at their best, can be such places, secular though they are. People step out of the chaos and into an ordered world where time is arrested…
That’s why it’s such a shock when time intrudes, either with changes, or more tellingly with new events that are too anchored in contemporary relevance.”