Marvel coming to WDW?!?!

[EPCOTCenterLover]

So many random thoughts:

• What about "the blessing of size"?
• RnRC ruined the aesthetic of the area surrounding ToT already- but that doesn't mean we should get rid of the last truly great attraction at the Studios. (Tower not RnRC!)
• The parks were a highly profitable and successful work of art under Walt and Eisner- now they are just a giant cash register?
• And on and on and on...

 

[Brer Panther]

Certainly they can come up with a scenario from current Disney IP that can work for Splash. How about "Moana"?

How would Moana fit in Frontierland?

 

[DisKid]

The budget cuts continue at WDW (and DL) to make up for the overspending that is happening in China. Chefs are being told to buy cheaper ingredients and plate the food differently so smaller portions can be served, all while prices rise (and not one Lifestyler/Tweeter/Blogger or Podcaster will rip them for it). You could serve these people a pile of cow pooh on a plate and so long as it was from Disney, they'd eat it and tell you how tasty it was.

"The American parks have been asked to cut labor and expenses by double digit percentages in order to help pad the bottom line of the Parks & Resorts division while Shanghai slurps up huge amounts of labor, captial and free cash flow to get the park open on time and without too much embarassment. [WDW and DLR] are now directly subsidizing the Chinese Communist Party to get the Shanghai property barely able to open on time by June. Can you imagine what the vehemently anti-Communist and pro-American Walt would have thought of that?"

Here we are, 37 pages in and no response to these other bombshells @1974 posted on page 3, post #52!! Having the chefs being told to get CHEAPER ingredients and serve smaller portions is outrageous also! The portions aren't all that much sometimes already and getting cheaper ingredients? I wonder how many chefs will leave because they don't want their name tarnished doing this? Getting cheaper quality ingredients , less food, and still raising prices?

And then having the parks cut labor and expenses by double digits to help the bottom line for an unopened park? Just so Iger can show a profit for shareholders? It's going to be a lot of fun at the parks with cuts going on.

I agree, changing the name of ToT should be considered sacrilegious and heads should roll for anyone who suggested it.

I think Iger is trying all he can to ruin the American parks.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Another thought: why even use Guardians in Anaheim? Disney's hand is forced in Orlando due to the Unversal contract. But in Anaheim? It's not. There's much more popular and better-recognized fodder in the Marvel cannon, why the heck wouldn't they pick something or someone else? Want to bet merchandizing sales for Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, Iron Man, Spider-Man, or Captain America blow away those of Groot? Or that every five-year-old boy asks for an Avengers birthday party, not a Guardians party? Those characters are far more iconic to the brand.

Is Disney so bent on avoiding park exclusives now that they'll actually avoid their best I.P. to avoid a park exclusive?

The eternal, elusive dream of the brand obsessed executives is a theme park organization so subservient to the Studio that attraction openings coincide with release dates. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens May 5, 2017 followed by Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 a year later.

 

[Suspirian]

How would Moana fit in Frontierland?

that's the joke

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So many random thoughts:

• What about "the blessing of size"?
• RnRC ruined the aesthetic of the area surrounding ToT already- but that doesn't mean we should get rid of the last truly great attraction at the Studios. (Tower not RnRC!)
• The parks were a highly profitable and successful work of art under Walt and Eisner- now they are just a giant cash register?
• And on and on and on...

"The blessing of size" is no longer relevant. Even if they have the physical space to build ten theme parks, they never will and never should grow much beyond what they current offer. Future "new" things will mostly be replacements and improvements to old things. Most American families can only vacation for one week at a time so it makes no sense for them to build more than you can experience in a week (give or take).

Again, I'm not defending this idea. I just don't think the "blessing of size" is a relevant criticism.

 

[Atomicmickey]

that's the joke

How about these permanent changes:

Change the Haunted Mansion to Ghostbusters.
Change Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to Fast and the Furious
Change Little Mermaid to Disney Channel: Submerged
Change It's a Small World to E.S.P.N. Sing-Along with LeBron
Change Big Thunder to Lone Ranger or . . . John Carter, ha.
Change Peter Pan to E.T. Oh, wait.

 

[Ryan H. Serowinski]

It would be so awesome to have Guardians of the Galaxy taking over the Tower of Terror at WDW

 

[CDavid]

"The blessing of size" is no longer relevant. Even if they have the physical space to build ten theme parks, they never will and never should grow much beyond what they current offer..

The Walt Disney World Resort is supposed to be - and once was - about far more than just "all theme parks, all the time". The question is not how many theme parks you can cram in, but rather what other appropriate developments you need that space for.

Much land has previously been squandered through poorly planned placement and development.

 

[ford91exploder]

Does he get a tinfoil hat now or does he have to construct his own?

Padawan learners must construct their own... I do suggest Mu-Metal instead of conventional aluminum foil though...

 

[Mike S]

Does he get a tinfoil hat now or does he have to construct his own?

No. He gets cookies. The Dark Side has cookies.

 

[TeriofTerror]

Good god man, don't put that out there. People from Disney actually read this stuff. They are doing a fine enough job messing things up without us helping them. If the next rumor to break is a change to Splash I'm holding you personally responsible. It won't be Lone Ranger though since that flopped.

Let's see: how to get rid of a theme Disney would prefer to bury and simultaneously promote a new property? An anthropomorphic rabbit and fox... OMG, Splash Mountain is going to become Zipping Through Zootopia, isn't it? (I hate myself already.)

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The writing on the wall is in Spirit's post- Rock n Roller Coaster is next.

The planned/rumored Captain America (formerly Iron Man) coaster in DCA will go behind the ToT. What's nearby ToT in Orlando? RnRC. It won't be themed with the the Cap's iconic shield without an expensive deal with Universal, but it does seem that this layout would pretty closely mirror the other coast. Which is what Disney likes now, apparently.

Hollywood Studios will get its west-coast equivalent of DCA's Marvel Land, with two e-tickets, without building a single new ride.

...which is as bad as I thought WDW would be before I ever went.

I imagined Great Adventure with Mickey's face plastered on the rollercoasters. (Boy was I wrong back in 1999!)

Now they are just plastering whatever is popular over whatever is less popular.

But it was an awesome 17 year run for me. Now it actually does seem to be going downhill, and I am not one to jump on that bandwagon without some real evidence. What no one has mentioned is WDW1974 even said they are messing with my food (!!!) That's one of our huge reasons for going - the resort restaurants and some other ones. Smaller portions and higher prices? ?!

This is the second huge failure of a "Shanghai Surprise." (Sorry, Madonna!)

If you can't afford a park in China, don't build a freaking park in China!

Because guess what - when the stress of China on the company is out of the way (presuming it will be profitable) nobody is going to voluntarily say, "Hey, we've got all these people paying $15 parking fees, $15 resort fees, and more money for less food - while restricting food at the gate - let's start putting more food on plates again and cut our profits!"

Our upcoming big blowout trip of September 2017 is looking more and more like our last hurrah and AP. Maybe a 2-day trip here and there every few years just to see what's up after that - when SW is done, etc.

 

[Mike S]

Here we are, 37 pages in and no response to these other bombshells @1974 posted on page 3, post #52!! Having the chefs being told to get CHEAPER ingredients and serve smaller portions is outrageous also! The portions aren't all that much sometimes already and getting cheaper ingredients? I wonder how many chefs will leave because they don't want their name tarnished doing this? Getting cheaper quality ingredients , less food, and still raising prices?

And then having the parks cut labor and expenses by double digits to help the bottom line for an unopened park? Just so Iger can show a profit for shareholders? It's going to be a lot of fun at the parks with cuts going on.

I agree, changing the name of ToT should be considered sacrilegious and heads should roll for anyone who suggested it.

I think Iger is trying all he can to ruin the American parks.

Reminds me of a park I visited last summer for the first time.


Six Flags.

 

[TangledUpInKnots]

Let's see: how to get rid of a theme Disney would prefer to bury and simultaneously promote a new property? An anthropomorphic rabbit and fox... OMG, Splash Mountain is going to become Zipping Through Zootopia, isn't it? (I hate myself already.)

Heaven help whoever touches my beloved Splash Mountain...for any reason! However, your name was catchy!

 

[TeriofTerror]

Can we get a TL;DR of the past dozen pages?

No. Nothing ticks me off more than when people say, " I was too lazy to read what other people wrote, but you should all listen to what I have to say." (Note: You actually refrained from doing that, which is why I hurriedly jumped on your post to make a point that has been bugging me but doesn't actually apply to you. Thank you and I'm sorry!)

 

[Kate F]

Let's see: how to get rid of a theme Disney would prefer to bury and simultaneously promote a new property? An anthropomorphic rabbit and fox... OMG, Splash Mountain is going to become Zipping Through Zootopia, isn't it? (I hate myself already.)

I recommend you go look at the tweets I found in the Zootopia Characters Confirmed thread. Be prepared to cringe.

 

[TeriofTerror]

Heaven help whoever touches my beloved Splash Mountain...for any reason! However, your name was catchy!

I'm so with you. Most of the classic attractions are favorites of mine from childhood, but Splash Mountain was one I got to experience for the first time as an adult, when there on my honeymoon after what felt like an unbearably long absence. I was so happy to see that Imagineering was still on top of its game! I also felt that way about ToT and... and... um....

 

[Tony the Tigger]

No, I apologize for not explaining in more detail. When DHS was first established in 1989 it was Disney-MGM Studios. They licensed the name MGM, the logo, Leo the lion and other content from MGM to legitimize the park. After all, as I said before, Disney was not a major player during the golden era of Hollywood. Disney was nothing more than a small independent studio.

MGM was the epitome of glamour and big studio production during the golden age of Hollywood. They, of course, weren't the only big studio but MGM was the leader during that period.

You see, the idea behind Disney-MGM Studios is that you had real working studio productions taking place while also celebrating the golden age of Hollywood. And it worked, for awhile.

The working studio concept dried up and MGM was filing lawsuits against Disney before the park even opened. And this was also the time when the ownership of MGM was being bounced around between Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner and others. Disney got caught in the middle while these brokers were pealing off the movie assets of MGM.

I liked the original idea of the park but I think Disney should leave that concept to Universal and instead concentrate upon their real strength.

For example, The Twilight Zone ToT has always seemed very weak to me. Why license the rights to an old CBS TV show? I think Disney is now asking the same question. Disney has many properties that could provide the theme for repeated drops from an old hotel. They could call it "Wally's Dumpster Drop".

Because the Twilight Zone is iconic and timeless, for starters.

You can use that phrase, and people know exactly what you mean. It permeates pop culture in songs and everything else. What's stopping the next TV reboot? The concept is solid, and even the old black and white ones are still in reruns on Syfy on a regular basis.

It tells you something about the ride before you ever get on it. It conveys a feeling similar to the Haunted Mansion. It makes you feel creepy and anticipate bizarre things before you even enter - thus making the ride better. A drop ride is a drop ride. A drop ride with a storyline is better. A drop ride with a storyline that is named after something that by title alone conveys the mood of the ride is brilliant and not comparable to Wally's Dumpster Drop, which can be found at any carnival.

 

[Mike S]

I recommend you go look at the tweets I found in the Zootopia Characters Confirmed thread. Be prepared to cringe.

I just looked.

I've lost my faith in the humanity of the Disney fan base. This is why Guardians of the Tower of Terror is thought of as a good idea in the halls of Burbank/Glendale. These pixie dusted jackasses are begging for it.