Marvel coming to WDW?!?!

[Kman101]

This rumor just makes me sick to my stomach. In 120something pages, my feelings were expressed by others. I love ToT. It's the one must do no matter what for me, besides Mansion. We all know temporary means nothing. I hope this never touches WDW's Tower of Terror. I'm still trying to read many many pages of this thread but has this rumor been put to rest for WDW or are they just letting it die down before they screw us over next year?

I admit I'm guilty of being sort of blase about it going to DCA's Tower of Terror, but it shouldn't go in either, period. I see why some shrug it off for that version and because they want to make that area a more cohesive Marvel land but it shouldn't happen because it sets a bad precedent.

Why can't they just put Guardians of Galaxy into Star Tours (shh everyone; I know you want to cling to the nostalgia of Star Tours but we're going to get better rides representing Star Wars and that doesn't mean exclusion of old characters, considering it's one big universe) and call it a day? I mean, duhhh, perfect fit (after Star Wars Land opens, of course, not now)

 

[Kman101]

The direction that Disney is going is very scary. ToT is a beloved attraction by millions of guests who visit WDW and the Twilight Zone theme is what makes it so special. I was very un-impressed by GotG and it's mind-boggling to think that Disney is actually going to go ahead with this.

If DHS looks like a disaster now, just wait until ToT closes. Please, Disney, do not ruin one of the best attractions at WDW.

I have a huge expletive to use. This is still happening? We know nothing at WDW is truly temporary. Why must they take two things I love and ruin them for me?

And while I loved LOVED Guardians I don't think it was "unimpressive", (but that's your opinion and it's of course valid) it also wasn't quite *as* great as everyone made it out to be. It was a VERY good movie.

 

[RSoxNo1]

My theory on how this played out:
(Blue sky meeting at Imagineering)
"We always say there are no bad ideas at Imagineering... I want to hear everyone give their absolute worst idea."
"What if we put something like Guardians of the Galaxy where it doesn't belong? You know how ed people got when we put Frozen in Epcot."
"What about in old Hollywood? Like Sunset Boulevard... Don't we have tha expansion pad by Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror?"
"Ooh... Child... I love that idea..."
"Wait didn't we put a theater back there?"
"Let's check to see if there's anything on the entertainment calendar..."
(Wait 45 minutes for page to load)
"I don't see anything that indicates there's a theater back there, but I don't think this idea is bad enough"
"Fans would riot in the streets if we did an overlay like..."
(Bob Chapek enters the room)
"... Redo Tower of Terror with Guardians of the Galaxy"
Bob: Hey everyone, what are you talking about?

 

[Wishing Star]

I have no opinion on Tower of Terror being destroyed since I haven't been to Disney in 10 years (although I do hope to go again soon). But I don't think this is surprising considering that we are getting SW Land and Toy Story Land, also keep reading that there might be more Pixar coming later on. Add Bob Iger saying that they will change Disney's Hollywood Studio's name. What do you get? You basically get IP Land.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Do you get what I am saying? The fan community is splintered into so many categories that Disney wins no matter what.

Disney fans today are by and large Disney movie fans first, and everything else is a distant second, and even then the focus is mostly on the animated output. Anything that doesn't directly relate to that is seen as unimportant. It's why some have no attachment to ToT as is. The Twilight Zone is not a "Disney" product, and if it gets replaced with something that is (like GotG), then that's seen as OK or a win.

There are fans who think that turning Splash Mountain into a Zootopia based experience is a wonderful idea. These people have been raised on the current corporate strategy of synergy, where all ideas for attractions, consumer products and television come from the desire to promote the movie studio's brand projects. Would these same people embrace Horizons if it was built today? Probably not. To them "Disney World" is supposed to be a place where everything reminds you of a movie you've seen a hundred times before. Personally, I prefer the Disney theme park that isn't always a commercial for the film studio.

 

[seabreezept813]

Yup, I really don't understand how a lot of my fellow Disneylanders on these boards are ok or just indifferent about losing TZTOT for GOTG. For many many reasons that I have repeated over and over again. With That said is there anything that us over here in Anaheim can do if TDA is set on doing this? I made my phone calls but anything else?

I remember you had some positive things to say when Bob Weiss got promoted.... Does it even matter when someone like Chapek is running the show? So in this case, what does this really mean for us .... we ll just a get a less terrible overlay then if Weiss wasn't there?

Sadly it doesn't seem like Orlando fans are all that outraged either. This thread alone turned into a love for Marvel thread. It is fine to love Marvel and want attractions, but it doesn't exactly help the case for ToT. If people remain happy with IPs then that's what the company will use. I prefer the old MGM approach with max one IP per attraction and a broader era or idea for major theming.

 

[Kman101]

Disney fans today are by and large Disney movie fans first, and everything else is a distant second, and even then the focus is mostly on the animated output. Anything that doesn't directly relate to that is seen as unimportant. It's why some have no attachment to ToT as is. The Twilight Zone is not a "Disney" product, and if it gets replaced with something that is (like GotG), then that's seen as OK or a win.

There are fans who think that turning Splash Mountain into a Zootopia based experience is a wonderful idea. These people have been raised on the current corporate strategy of synergy, where all ideas for attractions, consumer products and television come from the desire to promote the movie studio's brand projects. Would these same people embrace Horizons if it was built today? Probably not. To them "Disney World" is supposed to be a place where everything reminds you of a movie you've seen a hundred times before. Personally, I prefer the Disney theme park that isn't always a commercial for the film studio.

So much the first part. Love this post. I just feel my blood boil hearing those who want Zootopia in Splash Mountain.

 

[Kman101]

Sadly it doesn't seem like Orlando fans are all that outraged either. This thread alone turned into a love for Marvel thread. It is fine to love Marvel and want attractions, but it doesn't exactly help the case for ToT. If people remain happy with IPs then that's what the company will use. I prefer the old MGM approach with max one IP per attraction and a broader era or idea for major theming.

This thread turned into a lovefest for Marvel? I'm still catching up but no. Most of us are outraged at the idea HERE, but I don't waste my time reading other places like Facebook or Twitter where the crazy stans are all in a flutter over it. But WDW supposedly heard the message loud and clear that fans don't want GoTG in ToT. Doesn't mean they won't still do it but the negative feedback was loud as far as I can tell. I think it even trended on Twitter, whether it was good or bad I don't know.

 

[ford91exploder]

That very small majority being the Chinese government, of course. And it does seem a bit hypocritical that Disney will pressure American states over legislation it doesn't like, threatening to remove its business interests, yet seems to have no issue doing business with China despite what China does to its citizens. That's what I'M saying.

Because Money talks and Disney has been blinded by the illusory riches of China, Wonder how Bob is going to feel when the 'official' costume vendor in China says 1Mil US for a Mickey foamhead.... The best and worst part is Disney will have to pay whatever official supplier demands in china, The bad bit is that services in the US will be cut to pay for the bad decision to locate in Mainland China.

 

[Mike S]

I have said before that Al came around at a very unique time and place where his voice could gain significant traction beyond the fan community. It is very tough to do that now, if not impossible. Believe it or not, but my voice beyond this realm gets much more weight at Disney, then this wacky Spirit persona that every fanboi loves (or loves to hate). And it still doesn't do enough.

And we are in an era where everyone in the fan community is more interested in their own BRANDs ... that is whether they have businesses, travel agencies, podcasts, blogs or simply tweet 28.6 hours a day like my old (young) pal the EPCOT Explorer (who lives on the Tweeter, even though he is a middle school teacher now -- really!) They never see the big picture because doing so might require them to put aside their own BRAND building and ... how would you put it in politics? ... oh yeah, reach across the aisle for the good of all fans.

That doesn't happen. And all you get are factions. I see it with Tower so clearly. This will drive them all batty, but ONLY if it happens on both coasts. If it just winds up in Anaheim -- still, the most likely scenario -- then they will think they won something. Go back to my Pirates analogy if you really think you can justify the Marvel overlay in Anaheim. The only reasons it may not happen here, or happen immediately, are cost and the all-too-real issue of closing down the park's premier attraction for 5-8 months when the entire park is already being demo'd.

Fans don't even know what is important anymore because being a Disney fan in 2016 is so fundamentally different from being one in 1976 or 1986 and even really 1996. So many Disney fans are fans of lower quality, lower brow offerings ... don't fundamentally get what set the company apart all the way up to the turn of the century ... and think that (you can fill in the blank here with anything from ESPN to The Incredible Hulk to BB-8 to etc etc) IP acquisitions of the company or new tech projects somehow equate with Walt and WED and Disney Storytelling and it just isn't so.

But, hey, Captain America Civil War is tracking toward being the fifth highest opening film of all-time right now ... so the fact they destroyed EPCOT and Disney-MGM and are adding a cancer to DL and taking the wilderness away from the WL ... that's all cool. Because we all are supposed to care about that ... and hey, keep following your favorite Twits as they let you know just when the new Marvel and Star Wars Tsum-Tsums are available at Disney Store and DisneyStore.com.

Do you get what I am saying? The fan community is splintered into so many categories that Disney wins no matter what.

The way I see it there's two types of fans. Disneyland/Walt Disney World fans, and DisneyParksTM fans. One likes to see WDI shine through amazing originality and the occasional IP attractions where appropriate while the other doesn't care as long as they can say things like, "it's about time for something not so boring," "my kids will like it!!!," "it's about time Disney leveraged more of their IP," "this will have so much more of a 'Disney' feeling!!!," or, my absolute favorite, "Disney is a business, and you're just a hater who doesn't like change."

 

[Kman101]

The way I see it there's two types of fans. Disneyland/Walt Disney World fans, and DisneyParksTM fans. One likes to see WDI shine through amazing originality and the occasional IP attractions where appropriate while the other doesn't care as long as they can say things like, "it's about time for something not so boring," "my kids will like it!!!," "it's about time Disney leveraged more of their IP," "this will have so much more of a 'Disney' feeling!!!," or, my absolute favorite, "Disney is a business, and you're just a hater who doesn't like change."

I really dislike the "my kids find it boring". You do realize your precious one won't be a teenybopper forever. Will they hold that same nostalgic attachement that a parent did when they visited as a kid? It's about the experience and leaving an impression on you. It's why I never buy the argument that Epcot is boring. It's only boring if you let it be boring. Sure, something may not be all that interesting but not everything is going to appeal to everyone. People like to quote Walt and I always bring up the "if you aim for kids your dead" thing. I think Nemo is a good example at EPCOT. Turtle Talk with Crush was a fine addition to the Seas Pavilion. I actually don't even hate they put Nemo into the ride but the fact that it's basically "Where's Nemo" again is why it fails for me. It shows a lack of effort just to put something in there that appeals to the kiddos. And just assuming they would have found the previous attraction boring is doing it a disservice.

 

[AEfx]

The way I see it there's two types of fans. Disneyland/Walt Disney World fans, and DisneyParksTM fans. One likes to see WDI shine through amazing originality and the occasional IP attractions where appropriate while the other doesn't care as long as they can say things like, "it's about time for something not so boring," "my kids will like it!!!," "it's about time Disney leveraged more of their IP," "this will have so much more of a 'Disney' feeling!!!," or, my absolute favorite, "Disney is a business, and you're just a hater who doesn't like change."

And then the vast majority of the public who doesn't give a turd if something is "IP" based or not, or when/how Disney acquired the rights to it, etc. It it a neat ride? Is it fun? That's what people care about, not the business dealings that led to it being there.

 

[mickEblu]

This rumor just makes me sick to my stomach. In 120something pages, my feelings were expressed by others. I love ToT. It's the one must do no matter what for me, besides Mansion. We all know temporary means nothing. I hope this never touches WDW's Tower of Terror. I'm still trying to read many many pages of this thread but has this rumor been put to rest for WDW or are they just letting it die down before they screw us over next year?

I admit I'm guilty of being sort of blase about it going to DCA's Tower of Terror, but it shouldn't go in either, period. I see why some shrug it off for that version and because they want to make that area a more cohesive Marvel land but it shouldn't happen because it sets a bad precedent.

Why can't they just put Guardians of Galaxy into Star Tours (shh everyone; I know you want to cling to the nostalgia of Star Tours but we're going to get better rides representing Star Wars and that doesn't mean exclusion of old characters, considering it's one big universe) and call it a day? I mean, duhhh, perfect fit (after Star Wars Land opens, of course, not now)

This is a great idea. If we were three years into the future I bet they would actually consider this with SWL about to open and Star Tours being expendable. Sadly, they would rather rush this creatively lazy and cheap idea so a Marvel attraction can make its way into the parks ASAP. Because they re not making enough money right? Or at DCA is it because Wizarding World opened and they need a "new" E ticket to contend with forbidden Journey and those scary 15 minute lines its been averaging? What a joke.

On another note why can't they just overlay both Space Mountains? I heard something about WDW's not having the infastructure or something which is probably why there's no Hyperspace Mountain In Orlando but how hard could it be? At least with this overlay, they could just turn off the projectors once they realize what a Dumb idea it is. The TOT overlay is most likely irreversible.

 

[Kman101]

Considering how they can't even properly refurb our Space Mountain here in the swamps (@marni1971) .... sigh, I have little hope of an overlay. And the execs in Orlando will find anyway to not do an overlay. I'm shocked we still get Jingle Cruise. We can't even get Country Bear Christmas anymore.

What a lost opportunity for Space Mountain with their last refurb that was cut by Phil Holmes (who's now, interestingly enough, at DHS). At least Haunted Mansion got the refurb it deserved in 2007.

 

[marni1971]

Haunted Mansion got the refurb it deserved in 2007.

...which funnily enough is uncle Phils baby...

 

[Kman101]

...which funnily enough is uncle Phils baby...

One of the few times we lucked out thankfully

 

[Mike S]

And then the vast majority of the public who doesn't give a turd if something is "IP" based or not, or when/how Disney acquired the rights to it, etc. It it a neat ride? Is it fun? That's what people care about, not the business dealings that led to it being there.

I wasn't really making a point against IP but shoving it absolutely everywhere from a real world country to a 1930's hotel which is why I included "where appropriate." Key examples of appropriate being Indiana Jones in Adventureland, Star Wars in Tomorrowland, Peter Pan in Fantasyland. Some people have said The Jungle Book should overlay Jungle Cruise and the perfect asinine example of Zootopia in Splash Mountain. There's a reason they're called theme parks over just amusement parks. Placement is supposed to mean something. But they don't care as long as they see their favorite brands everywhere. Such is the DisneyParksTM fan.

 

[Quinnmac000]

I wasn't really making a point against IP but shoving it absolutely everywhere from a real world country to a 1930's hotel which is why I included "where appropriate." Key examples of appropriate being Indiana Jones in Adventureland, Star Wars in Tomorrowland, Peter Pan in Fantasyland. Some people have said The Jungle Book should overlay Jungle Cruise and the perfect asinine example of Zootopia in Splash Mountain. There's a reason they're called theme parks over just amusement parks. Placement is supposed to mean something. But they don't care as long as they see their favorite brands everywhere. Such is the DisneyParksTM fan.

Star Wars doesn't fit in tomorrowland, how does a story long long long ago in a galaxy far far away fit into the world of tomorrow?

No the biggest problem not just Disney but theme parks in general which I'm seeing more and more isn't about creating rides that actually move people but more so about creating rides that will create the biggest merchandise sales. Why not for once make an actually sad dark ride because lets face the facts most of the Disney films are really sad that end up with happy endings. No instead we always get the happy and funny film clips put into a ride

 

[Mike S]

Star Wars doesn't fit in tomorrowland, how does a story long long long ago in a galaxy far far away fit into the world of tomorrow?

Despite the opening title everything in Star Wars looks very much like the future in this galaxy. It's not anywhere near the stretch of Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, or Monsters. It does work better in WDW though in the park all about movies.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Despite the opening title everything in Star Wars looks very much like the future in this galaxy. It's not anywhere near the stretch of Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, or Monsters. It does work better in WDW though in the park all about movies.

I know I was using a joke. When you focus on themes and concepts rather than IPs it makes it a lot easier for diversity of rides and characters to be represented. But Theme parks are seeming to go away from that now.