Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway confirmed

[RSoxNo1]

What is incredibly frustrating is that moderately intelligent people on here (I'm selfishly lumping myself into that category). Are able to see the proverbial forest from the trees. Occasionally Disney sees the light but it usually takes a fresh set of eyes internally to make those changes. Some recent examples come to mind.

• Original New Fantasyland seemed to female heavy. It was defended internally through the likes of Jim Hill and others who were fed information and talking points. Rasulo and Staggs switch jobs and Staggs' son(s) saw Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
• Toy Story Mania and Soarin' were underbuilt from a demand vs. capacity standpoint. Many people were vocal that they needed to address the issue. Disney ultimately adds capacity to both attractions.
• Frozen Ever After was put in a questionable location with a questionable capacity. They seem to be sticking this one out. The approach others suggested on TSM and Soarin' was to build up the parks with new attractions as opposed to new capacity. Perhaps they taking that approach to the capacity issues of Frozen Ever After.
• Capacity issues at Flight of Passage - This was identified by yours truly the moment the blueprints leaked. If this is cloned anywhere else in the world I would hope they'd address this. @marni1971 and others have also indicated that there may be additions to Pandora in the works in the form of more Flight of Passage capacity or an additional ride.
• Na'vi River Journey and Flight of Passage in the same building - This was a mistake and not really much they can do here.
• Next Gen - Perhaps the biggest of all of these, it has proven to be a money pit, and while things have moved forward there are major issues still ongoing that simply shouldn't be happening considering the investment. Beyond that the unnecessary biproduct of the technology/infrastructure updates are the worst part - the over planning component that hasn't been replicated anywhere else in the world. I don't understand why the insistence on hyper scheduling is still there.

 

[fradz]

I agree with your points, but this one I don't understand:

Na'vi River Journey and Flight of Passage in the same building - This was a mistake and not really much they can do here.

Why is it a mistake, if I may ask? I'm not knowledgeable enough about the issues they're having there.

 

[GlacierGlacier]

I agree with your points, but this one I don't understand:

Why is it a mistake, if I may ask? I'm not knowledgeable enough about the issues they're having there.

It means if one needs to be evacuated due to say, a fire alarm, both rides need to be evacuated.

They're also (reportedly) tied together power & AC-wise, so again, if either of those fail it fails for both.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Next Gen - Perhaps the biggest of all of these, it has proven to be a money pit, and while things have moved forward there are major issues still ongoing that simply shouldn't be happening considering the investment. Beyond that the unnecessary biproduct of the technology/infrastructure updates are the worst part - the over planning component that hasn't been replicated anywhere else in the world. I don't understand why the insistence on hyper scheduling is still there.

I think this complaint gets cause-and-effect backwards. People were hyper scheduling their WDW vacations long before Next Gen, they were just doing it on clipboards and spreadsheets rather than in an official WDW environment.

I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland for early 2019 and I'm much more stressed not being able to plan than I ever am planning WDW.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I haven't seen this in the last several pages, so for the sake of efficiency, what's the current best guess at opening date? Starting to plan dining and whatnot for August 2019.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I think this complaint gets cause-and-effect backwards. People were hyper scheduling their WDW vacations long before Next Gen, they were just doing it on clipboards and spreadsheets rather than in an official WDW environment.

I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland for early 2019 and I'm much more stressed not being able to plan than I ever am planning WDW.

I will admit, not being able to book dining or see park hours until "last minute" is stressful for me at DL and at Universal Orlando. Disney has conditioned me to play 6 months out.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I haven't seen this in the last several pages, so for the sake of efficiency, what's the current best guess at opening date? Starting to plan dining and whatnot for August 2019.

Between late August and Halloween is the best I would commit to. Anyone arriving after Halloween should certainly be able to ride unless a sink hole develops. I think there is a good chance of soft openings by the first Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2019 but I would NEVER plan a vacation with that in mind.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I will admit, not being able to book dining or see park hours until "last minute" is stressful for me at DL and at Universal Orlando. Disney has conditioned me to play 6 months out.

Disney didn't do that, it's human nature. I'm going to Ireland in 2020 and I'm already planning that, too. Disney has nothing to do with it.

Between late August and Halloween is the best I would commit to. Anyone arriving after Halloween should certainly be able to ride unless a sink hole develops. I think there is a good chance of soft openings by the first Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2019 but I would NEVER plan a vacation with that in mind.

If anything, we'd be trying to avoid it.

 

[Kevin_W]

It means if one needs to be evacuated due to say, a fire alarm, both rides need to be evacuated.

They're also (reportedly) tied together power & AC-wise, so again, if either of those fail it fails for both.

I still wouldn't qualify that as a failure. it's a cost/benefit analysis. There are significant cost savings in a single building, single HVAC system, etc. they can weigh those savings (both capitol and operational) vs. the risk of evacuation/failure.

 

[Thebolt]

The entertainment world seems to have steadily pushed out windows; with concerts often being booked 12 months in advance these days. Its a reflection of supply and demand, where you either fall in line or miss out.

The current cutbacks are a reflection on that, they see a drop in demand and little prospect of sorting that for 12 months - so they reduce the supply. Down the line, demand should grow off the back of the new developments.

The big gamble is can they keep demand high? If this start to fall, they would need to look at the pre-planning as there would be a glut of last minute customers expecting to get on things without that option.

Star Wars and maybe Avatar 2-5, Epcot, Tron, the 50th etc. should make the next 5 years OK... you'd hope a 5th gate is pencilled in maybe 10-15 years down the line as you can bet Universal will have a 4th park by then and a similar resort offering on their doorstep.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

Where will the exit be?

at the end!

 

[es135]

I think this complaint gets cause-and-effect backwards. People were hyper scheduling their WDW vacations long before Next Gen, they were just doing it on clipboards and spreadsheets rather than in an official WDW environment.

I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland for early 2019 and I'm much more stressed not being able to plan than I ever am planning WDW.

I was definitely feeling that stress prior to my trip this year. DLR is such a different beast. I learned that the less in stone plans I had, the more enjoyable the trip. Spring for the maxpass and enjoy!

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

at the end!

 

[Jambo Joe]

Why am I not surprised you would argue with me about this...LOL.

I specifically said that I basically love clones. I defend them all the time. So your little lecture was really unnecessary.

My personal feelings, as I succinctly stated, are based upon the fact that we lost such a major, unique ride in the most prominent area of the park for a ride that apparently is not as special or appropriate to the location that it was originally thought to be.

That is all.

I do agree that Disney is more willing to pack more stuff in their two California parks. Doesn’t feel like twice the stuff for twice the parks.

Perfect! I'll be there at the end of September so I'll give the gondolas a try. If I come back on here, I survived. If I don't, then you should probably avoid the gondolas.

I'll review the Mickey ride if I survive the gondolas.

You should livestream your experience in case you don’t come back so we know what happened to you. We need to know whether the searing heat, the death plunge, drowning in the lake, alligator consumption, or even decapitation by snapping cables did the job.

 

[trainplane3]

You should livestream your experience in case you don’t come back so we know what happened to you. We need to know whether the searing heat, the death plunge, drowning in the lake, alligator consumption, or even decapitation by snapping cables did the job.

I thought about that but it'd have to go to LiveLeak. That would be very non-Youtube friendly.

 

[MinnieWaffles]

What is incredibly frustrating is that moderately intelligent people on here (I'm selfishly lumping myself into that category). Are able to see the proverbial forest from the trees. Occasionally Disney sees the light but it usually takes a fresh set of eyes internally to make those changes. Some recent examples come to mind.

• Original New Fantasyland seemed to female heavy. It was defended internally through the likes of Jim Hill and others who were fed information and talking points. Rasulo and Staggs switch jobs and Staggs' son(s) saw Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
• Toy Story Mania and Soarin' were underbuilt from a demand vs. capacity standpoint. Many people were vocal that they needed to address the issue. Disney ultimately adds capacity to both attractions.
• Frozen Ever After was put in a questionable location with a questionable capacity. They seem to be sticking this one out. The approach others suggested on TSM and Soarin' was to build up the parks with new attractions as opposed to new capacity. Perhaps they taking that approach to the capacity issues of Frozen Ever After.
• Capacity issues at Flight of Passage - This was identified by yours truly the moment the blueprints leaked. If this is cloned anywhere else in the world I would hope they'd address this. @marni1971 and others have also indicated that there may be additions to Pandora in the works in the form of more Flight of Passage capacity or an additional ride.
• Na'vi River Journey and Flight of Passage in the same building - This was a mistake and not really much they can do here.
• Next Gen - Perhaps the biggest of all of these, it has proven to be a money pit, and while things have moved forward there are major issues still ongoing that simply shouldn't be happening considering the investment. Beyond that the unnecessary biproduct of the technology/infrastructure updates are the worst part - the over planning component that hasn't been replicated anywhere else in the world. I don't understand why the insistence on hyper scheduling is still there.

Oh yeah, booking 3 fastpasses is totally hyper scheduling every single minute...

 

[networkpro]

at the end!

Maybe in a gift shop ?

 

[AEfx]

I do agree that Disney is more willing to pack more stuff in their two California parks. Doesn’t feel like twice the stuff for twice the parks.

I haven't seen a count for awhile, but yes - I do believe that both coasts have roughly the same number of attractions, we just spread them out across four parks on this coast, as opposed to two on the west.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Oh yeah, booking 3 fastpasses is totally hyper scheduling every single minute...

It's the stuff you have to schedule before and after those 3 passes that become problematic. ADR's.. what rides or attractions you can ride and still make your FP's and ADR's and take bathroom breaks. How long you can browse in a gift shop without missing your windows. How long it takes to walk from the gate to the FP or Attraction. How long it takes to get from an attraction on one side of the park to the FP on the other side. Sitting down at your computer and deciding six months out what food and park that you will likely be visiting or in the mood for 6 months later. Working those 3 Fastpasses around the rest of the decisions that you have made considering time and place so far in advance. Still think that scheduling 3 FP's is all that there is to it? One certainly can't look forward to a restful vacation, however, you can always relax when you get back at work.

 

[NormC]

You don't have to hyper schedule anything. You can go and wing it and still have a great vacation. I got BOG dinner reservations on the same day once. Same for Crystal Palace and 50's diner and other places. Going in April and haven't scheduled anything yet.