DHS Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway confirmed

[Bender123]

Not to get back into it BUT it was an a) outdated ride system, b) outdated story, c) over-reliant on "cast members as actors", and generally not nearly as popular as it should be in that location. Could they have updated it? Sure. However, that's what leadership is about: making tough choices. You don't have to agree (or even spend your $$ there) if you don't want to.

Nostalgia aside, and yes I was mesmerized by the GMR in the 90s, what they are building sounds MUCH more interesting to me than a GMR with new scenes...

Ehhhhhh…

This argument could also be used to replace Jungle Cruise, which actually fits your concerns better than GMR. The boat system is very outdated, the story is laughable 1960s cornball dad jokes, it has a huge plot of very valuable land in the most popular park and its completely reliant on cast members.

I have no issue with MMRR coming, I think it will be an incredible ride and a great addition. The issue I have is its doing the WoM->TT thing and replacing a classic with something that, while great, ever so slightly erodes that history that keeps the parks connected to the Disney Corp of old.

 

[FigmentFan82]

Ehhhhhh…

This argument could also be used to replace Jungle Cruise, which actually fits your concerns better than GMR. The boat system is very outdated, the story is laughable 1960s cornball dad jokes, it has a huge plot of very valuable land in the most popular park and its completely reliant on cast members.

I have no issue with MMRR coming, I think it will be an incredible ride and a great addition. The issue I have is its doing the WoM->TT thing and replacing a classic with something that, while great, ever so slightly erodes that history that keeps the parks connected to the Disney Corp of old.

Totally valid and well written perspective on the matter! Thanks!

 

[FigmentFan82]

And I’d support removal of the Jungle Cruise, too.

These parks aren’t museums. They are businesses. Always have been.

I'm curious if JC will get some refurb/overlay to synergize with the film release next year

 

[marni1971]

I'm curious if JC will get some refurb/overlay to synergize with the film release next year

Pray to god no.

Probably will. Given the current regimes mentality.

 

[Bender123]

And I’d support removal of the Jungle Cruise, too. So long as what replaces it is state of the art, immersive, and amazing - something that will please 90%+ for decades to come.

These parks aren’t museums. They are businesses. Always have been.

Cant it be both? It seems like one of WDW and DL greatest strengths is that they have one foot in the past as they build futuristic rides. Honestly, the contrast between Tiki Birds and something like the incoming Tron is what I love about WDW that you just cant get anyplace else.

 

[Casper Gutman]

And I’d support removal of the Jungle Cruise, too. So long as what replaces it is state of the art, immersive, and amazing - something that will please 90%+ for decades to come.

These parks aren’t museums. They are businesses. Always have been.

That’s an incredibly shallow understanding of the Disney parks, but in your defense, it’s one I suspect the company’s executives share.

The parks ARE businesses. But they are businesses whose success is based on public perception of a very complicated brand, a brand historically linked to a complex combination of nostalgia, a coherent, optimistic worldview, unparelleld artistry, and other elements the vast majority of companies don’t need to worry about. Disney isn’t making widgets, as much as they might like to be.

The parks are businesses. But they are also works of art. Deeply significant elements of both American and international pop culture. In the case of DL and, to a much lesser extent, WDW, historic landmarks. Disney management seems to wish they weren’t those things, but they are, and that is a part of their huge success.

But you’re right in that despite all that they shouldn’t be museums. But glibly inviting replacement attractions at WDW ignores the key facts that 1) all the parks desperately need more capacity and 2) Disney’s track record with replacement attractions is horrendously bad. Embarrassments like Imagination and Mission: Space are monuments to this. Since ToT 25 years ago, Disney has managed to construct a total of two classic rides - RSR and AKs Safari, and the latter has gone through more then its share of growing pains.

I look forward to MMRR, but the fact remains that we lost an AA-driven masterpiece in favor of an entirely screen based attraction. Screens seem to be “state-of-the-art” right now - witness Rat, Falcon, and MMRR - but that doesn’t necessarily make them better then what went before. And I very much doubt that screen-based rides will please crowds for “decades” - I’d be willing to bet that much of what WDW is currently building will look archaic in less then 15 years.

 

[Bleed0range]

I don't think anybody will argue with you on fit...the issue most people have is that it took sacrificing a timeless classic to get here. There wasn't really a valid reason to replace GMR when MMRR could have also been built.

I feel like this forum, full of admittedly hardcore WDW fans, puts GMR on a bit of a pedestal. I don’t know anyone who ever felt like the ride was some sort of classic on the levels of Pirates or HM. It was a serviceable ride that I think was a few notches below the Disney magic standard and anyone’s attachment to it is mostly nostalgia.

This new ride has the kind of Disney magic deserving of the park icon and better fits now with the changing theming of HS.

I went on GMR as sort of a “thing to do” to get out of the heat, but I don’t miss it THAT much. It ran for a very, very long time too.

 

[MisterPenguin]

This argument could also be used to replace Jungle Cruise, which actually fits your concerns better than GMR. The boat system is very outdated, the story is laughable 1960s cornball dad jokes, it has a huge plot of very valuable land in the most popular park and its completely reliant on cast members.

I'd fully support killing of Jungle Cruise for a better use of the land, presuming something of the order of Pandora/FoP. And give up PotC for Shanghai's version. And the current coaster in Space Mountain for a much better one with a smoother ride and better FX. And IaSW for a much better updated one (preferably in Epcot). And Speedway for electric TRON racers (or RC Racers in TSL). I would have been totally on board with TGMR having most of its scenes updated and MMRR going elsewhere, as long as TGMR was indeed updated.

Many of these attractions are noted for being the worst version of their cloned siblings or terribly outdated or terribly maintained, and yet, even with that acknowledgment, people throw their bodies in front of the wrecking ball because they're preserving their nostalgia, not a good experience for the next generation.

Frankly, its selfish.

 

[RobotWolf]

Despite the occasional exception, Nostalgia is an investment with increasingly diminishing returns.

 

[kthomas105]

The GMR was the thesis for the park the way it was originally intended to be consumed. Disney is changing that thesis so it is understandable as to why they removed it. I enjoyed the GMR and wish they would have updated it or even changed the approach but the GMR (and Universal Studios) was the precipitous start of Disney-MGM Studios. When you understand it from that perspective it makes it easier to get rid of because your larger objective is to change the scope of the park and the GMR stood opposed to that as a relic of a bygone park. The options were to remove and replace or update, we all know what they chose and based on past records that may indeed be for the best.

 

[kthomas105]

Despite the occasional exception, Nostalgia is an investment with increasingly diminishing returns.

Nostalgia, enjoy it while you can!

 

[Casper Gutman]

I'd fully support killing of Jungle Cruise for a better use of the land, presuming something of the order of Pandora/FoP. And give up PotC for Shanghai's version. And the current coaster in Space Mountain for a much better one with a smoother ride and better FX. And IaSW for a much better updated one (preferably in Epcot). And Speedway for electric TRON racers (or RC Racers in TSL). I would have been totally on board with TGMR having most of its scenes updated and MMRR going elsewhere, as long as TGMR was indeed updated.

Many of these attractions are noted for being the worst version of their cloned siblings or terribly outdated or terribly maintained, and yet, even with that acknowledgment, people throw their bodies in front of the wrecking ball because they're preserving their nostalgia, not a good experience for the next generation.

Frankly, its selfish.

Most of that sounds eminently reasonable. And completely implausible.

We won’t get Shanghai Pirates or an updated IaSW. Worst case, we’ll get Imagination. Best case, we’ll get a load of screens. And I have very real doubts screen-heavy rides will delight future generations.

 

[Missing20K]

Despite the occasional exception, Nostalgia is an investment with increasingly diminishing returns.

Especially for a media conglomerate that markets nostalgia to a large portion of it's audience. Particularly the nostalgia held by those in the age brackets of 30-50 and 50-70. Those age brackets that are now having children and grandchildren and would like them to experience the themed environments and experiences they themselves enjoyed when they were in the 0-30 age bracket.

 

[Missing20K]

And they are having SO much trouble attracting people to the parks....

Where did I ever say they are having trouble with attendance?

 

[RobotWolf]

Especially for a media conglomerate that markets nostalgia to a large portion of it's audience. Particularly the nostalgia held by those in the age brackets of 30-50 and 50-70. Those age brackets that are know having children and grandchildren and would like them to experience the themed environments and experiences they themselves enjoyed when they were in the 0-30 age bracket.

Except those children and grandchildren want their own, new experiences. The nostalgia that their parents hold so dear is perpetually lame... apparently. Disney is painfully aware of this as nostalgia is their main product.

 

[Missing20K]

Except those children and grandchildren want their own, new experiences. The nostalgia that their parents hold so dear is perpetually lame... apparently. Disney is painfully aware of this as nostalgia is their main product.

Oh cool, I can't wait for my daughters to take myself and my wife and her grandparents to Disney.

EDIT: You're second sentence was what I was trying to point out in my other post. DIS markets nostalgia. It fills rooms.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yeah, kids and teens are all about nostalgia (and always have been)... they just FLOCK to history museums.

Yeah yeah, Disney is about everyone playing together, but one of the happiest things for parents is see is: their kids happy...

Nothing new here, always been the case.

OK, you seem to be really struggling with the concept of nostalgia. Museums don’t capitalize on nostalgia (unless you’re several hundred years old.)

You know what does capitalize on nostalgia? The MCU. The DCEU. Star Wars. Jurassic World. Godzilla. Aladdin. Lion King. Dumbo. Mulan. Detective Pikachu. Sonic (heh). Men in Black. Shaft. Child’s Play. Toy Story. LEGO. Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark. It. Rambo. The Addams Family. Maleficent. Terminator. Planet of the Apes. Mission: Impossible. Charlie’s Angels. Jumanji. Bad Boys For Life. Peter Rabbit. Fantasy Island. Trolls. Legally Blonde. Scooby Doo. Candyman. Top Gun. Ghostbusters. Coming to America. Bill & Ted. Hercule Poirot.

Stranger Things. The Connors. Will & Grace. Hawaii Five-0. Magnum PI. Gilmore Girls. Twin Peaks. Murphy Brown. Veronica Mars.

But no. Nostalgia has NO place in modern pop culture. It certainly isn’t one of the central elements in all of popular culture of the last 20 years, the core of Disney’s entire approach to entertainment. No one likes nostalgia.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I'd fully support killing of Jungle Cruise for a better use of the land, presuming something of the order of Pandora/FoP. And give up PotC for Shanghai's version. And the current coaster in Space Mountain for a much better one with a smoother ride and better FX. And IaSW for a much better updated one (preferably in Epcot). And Speedway for electric TRON racers (or RC Racers in TSL). I would have been totally on board with TGMR having most of its scenes updated and MMRR going elsewhere, as long as TGMR was indeed updated.

Many of these attractions are noted for being the worst version of their cloned siblings or terribly outdated or terribly maintained, and yet, even with that acknowledgment, people throw their bodies in front of the wrecking ball because they're preserving their nostalgia, not a good experience for the next generation.

Frankly, its selfish.

I've been advocating for the removal-or-massive-refurbing of Jungle Cruise for a while now. The ride is cringe-worthy. Cornball, dated effects - it's way overdue for a change. I must admit, however, that I have no idea how to actually refurb it so that it would be made better. Perhaps a removal/replacement is the only real solution. Yeah, it's a Walt Original, but to quote Walt, "Disneyland isn't a museum", so maybe it really is time for it to go...

 

[Missing20K]

OK, you seem to be really struggling with the concept of nostalgia. Museums don’t capitalize on nostalgia (unless you’re several hundred years old.)

You know what does capitalize on nostalgia? The MCU. The DCEU. Star Wars. Jurassic World. Aladdin. Lion King. Dumbo. Detective Pikachu. Sonic (heh). Men in Black. Shaft. Child’s Play. Toy Story 4. LEGO. Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark. It. Rambo. The Addams Family. Maleficent. Terminator. Planet of the Apes. Mission: Impossible.

Stranger Things. The Connors. Will & Grace. Hawaii Five-0. Magnum PI. Gilmore Girls. Twin Peaks. Murphy Brown. Veronica Mars.

But no. Nostalgia has NO place in modern pop culture. It certainly isn’t one of the central elements in all of popular culture of the last 20 years, the core of Disney’s entire approach to entertainment. No one likes nostalgia.

Mickey. Mouse.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Mickey. Mouse.