MK Updates/Report/Park Observations from MVMCP 12/3

[MissM]

Ok, so everyone knows I was at MVMCP on Friday the 3rd and I noticed a few things I thought I'd share:

- CoP was open for a time at 6pm. We rode it as well as a few other small groups. Once the party started though officially, CoP had already closed for the night. Our theater's seats were in need of some update and repair and John's neck had a very large tear in the back when he turned his head during the 20's. Everything else seemed to be running though with the show.

- Timekeeper was closed and the building was being used as a photo location. You went in through the exit and they used the rails you lean against during the show as the corrals to herd you through the line. You exited out the entrenece. (In fact, we took our photo in the hallway that's normally where you come in.)

- Stitch was of course open and drew lines pretty quickly. Though I was disappointed in it and everyone coming off had negative things to say about it. I'd never heard so many people say only bad things about a ride at Disney before. Everything from the fact it was boring or lame or the seats were uncomfortable - no one had anything positive to say. Bad times. I was embarrased for WDW.

- Wishes was "enhanced" and the finale went off in all 360 degrees around you. Not just the burst next to the castle, but literally surrounding the entire park. It was freakin' amazing.

- The tables/benches and chairs that used to be a seating area around 20k were gone. The space looks really huge now even with the walls still up. In it's place there are several groups of planted trees which are surrounded by wooden fences. I think this is in keeping with the 100 Acre Woods rumor. It looked neat but really different. Sadly, it was night so none of my shots came out.

- The cookies and hot cocoa were super yummy. (just an fyi) And almost no wait time to get them either. Very effecient.

- The new stroller parking area at the old Fantasyland station was being used as a photo op with a Christmas Donald - Donald's Christmas Tree Farm. They strung up lights and it looked really cute. The area itself still looks really nice after the transformation, preserving the small waterfall and landscaped areas.

- The monorail speech was different and included information on Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and Stitch did his evil laugh too.

- The TTA speech didn't sound any different. The Timekeeper portion was not included and there wasn't anything about Stitch. I also didn't see any sponsorship signs or messages though I admit I wasn't looking too hard for them. (I assume they'd be obvious though like other sponsored rides.)

I'm sure there's more, but that's what's coming to mind at the moment. Just thought everyone would be interested.
-m

 

[Hakunamatata]

Thanks for the update and info. Too bad about Stitch.

Maybe you can tell me, or if anyone else knows, was the Haunted Mansion themed for Halloween? We were at DL in September and it was down for "retheming" for Halloween, I think a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. My DW and I are going to WDW in October next year and was wondering if there would be that seasonal change to the attraction.

 

[donaldduck1967]

Maybe you can tell me, or if anyone else knows, was the Haunted Mansion themed for Halloween? We were at DL in September and it was down for "retheming" for Halloween, I think a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. My DW and I are going to WDW in October next year and was wondering if there would be that seasonal change to the attraction.

HM @ WDW was not themed for Halloween

 

[donaldduck1967]

- Stitch was of course open and drew lines pretty quickly. Though I was disappointed in it and everyone coming off had negative things to say about it. I'd never heard so many people say only bad things about a ride at Disney before. Everything from the fact it was boring or lame or the seats were uncomfortable - no one had anything positive to say. Bad times. I was embarrased for WDW.


- The new stroller parking area at the old Fantasyland station was being used as a photo op with a Christmas Donald - Donald's Christmas Tree Farm. They strung up lights and it looked really cute. The area itself still looks really nice after the transformation, preserving the small waterfall and landscaped areas.

You sholud have heard all the negative comments when the redid JIIYI @ EPCOT a few yrs back.

Also Donald's Tree farm used to be on MS on the left hand side in between Emporium and the 2nd set of stores before they expanded the Emporium, it looked relally cool there.

Glad you had fun.

 

[Figment1986]

it looked neat their yesterday.. (no donaled, and it did mess up the stoller parking.. This is next to Mickey's Plilarmagic, even though signs point toward the stroller paking this happened...

 

[Hakunamatata]

it looked neat their yesterday.. (no donaled, and it did mess up the stoller parking.. This is next to Mickey's Plilarmagic, even though signs point toward the stroller paking this happened...

Wow, all those strollers lined up in a row, and one person had to park further out than everyone else....geeesh, theres allways one in the crowd.


( My sincere appollogies if this stroller belongs to anyone on WDWMagic.....)

 

[egionet]

it looked neat their yesterday.. (no donaled, and it did mess up the stoller parking.. This is next to Mickey's Plilarmagic, even though signs point toward the stroller paking this happened...

Fantasyland usually had a CM or 2 arranging the stollers outside of Philhar. But I guess not yesterday.

MissM - sounds like you had fun at the x-mas party. If you have any pics of the redone f-sky stroller/Donald greeting area, I love to see them.

 

[shopgirl146]

How were the crowds and the waittimes? Hope you had fun!

 

[Figment1986]

me: crowds.. thick... waittimes.. moderate to extreme.... MK.

Crowds: medium.... waitime.... reasonable TOT..... mod to extreme everywhere else... MGM

 

[KRangerfan]

I was also at MVMCP on Friday the 3rd....some of my observations:

I agree...Wishes was the best best I have ever seen it..the 360 degree of fireworks was awsome...they took an already great show and made it better.

It was also my first time seeing Stitch and I was disappointed. Its not even close to Alien Encounter and not very fun either...the special effects were lame and in all honesty...i dont even see why they needed to close it for as long as they did... in the "refurbishment" all they added was a stitch AA and a new soundtrack....Very disappointing..

On the special guide map for MVMCP they had a picture of 20,000 leagues represented. I know on the regular guide map they have just a green grassy area, but for some reason, they used an old map of MK with 20k still on it with the posiden statue in the lagoon shown on the map.

There was NO Fastpass on any ride and I LOVED IT!...Now I actually like fastpass, but IMO they have overutilized it and it doesnt work as well when it is on EVERY ride...not having it on ANY ride reminded me of being in the park 5 years ago and not having to worry about "getting to our ride on time". I really miss the Pre-Fastpass days.

I really have to give KUDOS to Disney...even thou the event was "sold-out" the park was very manageable and the wait times were good. They must really limit the number of tix and obviously didnt sell the park out to capacity.

For a special event, MVMCP was a lot of fun, a great night. :xmas:

 

[MissM]

Yeah, lines were really easy and I didn't ever feel like it was overly packed. I've been there many, many times on regular days with MUCH larger crowds. Even the most crowded of areas - like around the hub during the parade and Wishes - were less then an averagely busy day. The longest line was to get a hot dog at Casey's. (Which I think was worsened by the only negative thing - not enough food places were open. I didn't even get a Dole Whip! *horror*)

For the Donald area, I don't have much. I had problems with my flash not having a large enough range in the dark (something I'd never really tried before with my camera) so this is the best I have. (After some extensive lightening)

This is looking at the old skyway station. There's lights strung up (which are much more colorful then this, but trying to artificially brighten the shot washed it out) and the little fence area on the bottom right is the little waterfall. The hill behind the wall was grassy and landscaped.

The sign which was up to announce the meet and greet area. This is the old skyway wooden, entrenece arch.

And this is the area with Donald for the photo itself. Me, Donald and Love.

Many of my pictures came out blurred or too dark, so I'm still working on my gallery but it should be up later on tonight hopefully. But this should give you some idea of the area that Donald was set up at. Looked really nice.
-m
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[Badger Brent]

We were at the mvmcp on 11/28 and got to do the SGE for the first time. Our family of four were all disappointed. My son is 11 and a huge lilo and stitch fan. He even said once a trip would be fine for him. That's not good if you can't get my son to do this ride only once. Before the trip, this ride was all he talked about. Hopefully they spice it up a little. :xmas:

 

[joel_maxwell]

has there been any good feedback (except for the AA improvements) on SGE? storyline, show, concept?

just curious if anyone liked it because i dont know how long something last that no ones likes. hmmmmmmmm

 

[egionet]

Thanks for the attempt at the pics of the f-sky station. Former Fantasyland CM, I can't help but wonder what it looks like! The pic of you and Donald and your love is absolutely adorable!

 

[Stitchfan712]

I was at the christmas party at MK on the 30th, and I have to say, that the reaction to Stitch that I saw was anything but the negative reactions we see online. In fact the only people I actually saw that were disappointed in it,vocally, was a cast member working at Merchant of Venus who called the ride lame.

Contrary to what we're hearing in this and other forums about negative reactions and screaming kids, I seldom heard crying kids during the show and afterwards. the ones that did cry, were toddlers still being carried in their mother and father's arms. Those kids will cry at darkness itself, and it really has nothing to do with the ride.

I went on the attraction repeatedly during my two-week stay, for self-enjoyment and also to gauge the reactions of others. And there really was not as much negativity about it as what has been portrayed online. In fact, on one occasion I went into the chamber and sat next to a man who had a rather sour expression on his face. I overheard him talking to his wife next to him about how he'd heard this ride was lame and that he'd rather be doing something else and not waste time on this. After the show, the man had a smile on his face and said "that was pretty good, actually", as he and his wife got up to leave (I assume it was his wife).

So, again I don't mean to be difficult, but I went there lots of times to observe for myself the reactions, and what I saw was honestly more positive than negative. the most negativity I heard came from cast members and AE veterans, and the ones that weren't in that group, seemed to get hung up mostly on the fact that Stitch called himself "Stitch" and that he landed in Florida instead of Hawaii.

That's a very minor reason to write off an attraction if you ask me. They had to connect it to the florida audience somehow...and...the "stitch" vs "626" thing is a continuity error in the vien of the original movie's storyline, but i don't see it as that big an issue to judge the ride on.


Either it's too scary, not scary enough, too silly or too serious for the people online.


For once, it needs to be said, and I really risk a negative point by saying this but I'll say it anyway: I think a few of us are becoming just a little too demanding about what a disney attraction must be. Must it be tailored to each and every person's individual likings? You cannot please everyone all of the time, there is a middle road. I find that stitch follows that. It's not too dark, it's not too scary...it ties in with the florida audience at the expense of tying in with the original storyline, and I think people are just being a little bit too picky.

First time I saw it, I liked it, but had reservations. The more I saw it, the more I liked it.


Perhaps, it would serve our best interests, to withold judgement based on a single experience at the attraction. Try it several times. My stitchfan friend went with me, and he didn't like it the first time. The second time, he liked it.


While I was there Stitch also consistently held 15-40 minute waits to get in. That's pretty healthy. The ride is new though, and that has a large part in it, but, if Stitch can maintain lines that extend out so far that they block the fastpasses, I say that's a success, and I saw that several times there.

What I also find interesting is that, during the ride itself, people were laughing, screaming when the chili dog breath occurs, and generally enjoying themselves. There was not one single time in which I experienced the attraction where the audience seemed bored or disappointed. Laughter was the main thing to be heard, each and every time.

Either a lot of people are being kind of two-faced....laughing and enjoying the ride during it, then afterwards bashing it...or....we have a very vocal minority who don't like it at all. This is what I saw, and despite my username I really did approach this in an unbiased manner, listening for positive and negative reactions. It's not as negative as people say.



I just had to speak up. What I observed is a bit different than what we're being told online. Please, don't take any offense to this.

 

[MissM]

Oy, get off the soapbox, will ya? I'm just reporting what I experienced. I didn't say it was evil or it should be torn down or that disney sucks or anything as heavy-handed as you're trying to make it out to be. (Not to mention, it was only ONE TINY BIT of the entirity of the post I made.)

EVERY PERSON IN MY GROUP CAME OFF IT SAYING NEGATIVE THINGS. It's not my fault if you don't like that, but that's the reality. People said the seats hurt, the shoulder rests were awful that it was dumb, that it was a disappointment, etc. (NO ONE said anything about landing in Florida or that he was being called Stitch or anything picky like that, they were complaints about the ride, concept and presenation.) I had literally NEVER heard anyone - let alone group after group - sigh and vocalize their unhappiness with the ride like that at Disney. Never.

My Love didn't know anything about it. I didn't tell him about it. And you know what? He still thought it was lame because there was no originality in the story whatsoever. He was disappointed that what he had been exicted and waiting to see (a new disney ride is a major event) was such a let-down.

You may love it and you may want to say all of us are just anti-Stitch, but you're wrong. I liked AE though I didn't love it. I didn't mind that it was getting replaced. I like Lilo and Stitch, own the dvd, Stitch plushes and tons of Stitch pins. (He started my pin collection.) I was looking forward to the ride but was really disappointed with the end result.

So apparently were the people in my theater on December 3rd. Which is terrible. And which really made me feel bad for Disney and WDW. The sheer concept of that many people being that unhappy with a ride at WDW really, really saddens me and is painful since I love the park so much. But, hey, true is true and the ride really is not only a flop, but a sad play on a really popular character. Sorry, but it still takes a good, ORIGINAL concept and good actualization - not just doing a disservice and throwing a popular character out there and hoping it's enough.

Get off the we're all lying bandwagon. Seriously. This isn't even a thread about Stitch anyway.
-m

 

[Stitchfan712]

Oy, get off the soapbox, will ya? I'm just reporting what I experienced. I didn't say it was evil or it should be torn down or that disney sucks or anything as heavy-handed as you're trying to make it out to be. (Not to mention, it was only ONE TINY BIT of the entirity of the post I made.)

Never implied that you did. I'm reporting back that what I observed was quite different from what I've heard, in general, online. Not you specifically, but I have heard lots of complaining on many sites about SGE. That level of negativity just wasn't to be seen while I was there.

EVERY PERSON IN MY GROUP CAME OFF IT SAYING NEGATIVE THINGS. It's not my fault if you don't like that, but that's the reality. People said the seats hurt, the shoulder rests were awful that it was dumb, that it was a disappointment, etc. (NO ONE said anything about landing in Florida or that he was being called Stitch or anything picky like that, they were complaints about the ride, concept and presenation.) I had literally NEVER heard anyone - let alone group after group - sigh and vocalize their unhappiness with the ride like that at Disney. Never.

My Love didn't know anything about it. I didn't tell him about it. And you know what? He still thought it was lame because there was no originality in the story whatsoever. He was disappointed that what he had been exicted and waiting to see (a new disney ride is a major event) was such a let-down.

My friend had a similar reaction. He went on it again though and it was better the next time around. Seems to me SGE is something that takes repeat rides to appreciate.

You may love it and you may want to say all of us are just anti-Stitch, but you're wrong. I liked AE though I didn't love it. I didn't mind that it was getting replaced. I like Lilo and Stitch, own the dvd, Stitch plushes and tons of Stitch pins. (He started my pin collection.) I was looking forward to the ride but was really disappointed with the end result.

But did I say that, MissM? I didn't. Didn't call you all liars, didn't say you were anti-stitch....wasn't bashing you. I apologize that you took offense to my post, I had hoped it wouldn't offend anyone, but we experienced different things down there. My point is...it's not all negative.

So apparently were the people in my theater on December 3rd. Which is terrible. And which really made me feel bad for Disney and WDW. The sheer concept of that many people being that unhappy with a ride at WDW really, really saddens me and is painful since I love the park so much. But, hey, true is true and the ride really is not only a flop, but a sad play on a really popular character. Sorry, but it still takes a good, ORIGINAL concept and good actualization - not just doing a disservice and throwing a popular character out there and hoping it's enough.

Get off the we're all lying bandwagon. Seriously. This isn't even a thread about Stitch anyway.
-m

When did I sa "you're all lying"? I said, "it's not as negative as we're being told". Which means, there are some people who like it, in fact lots of them. It's a mixed bag reaction but I saw far less negativity there in person, than I'm reading online from various sources. Not talking about you Miss M, I am talking about in general.

The storyline is not original. It is silly, playful, and at times, cute, but that's my reaction. It has weak moments.


So please take a breath, and realize I wasn't singling you out or attacking you or "soap-boxing", I was voicing a contrary opinion based on my observations, and letting people know that there are people who did enjoy it down there. I'm sorry that I gave you the impression that you needed to defend your post or yourself. Wasn't my intent.

 

[MissM]

You are still implying that I'm lying. By saying I said, "it's not as negative as we're being told". You're indicating that my report - among with apparently many others - aren't truthful.

Also, you seem to think that your experience (and I dare say your opinion only and overwhelming drive to justify this ride for some absurd reason) is more valid then my own and others. In MY experience everyone hated it, vocalized that hate and myself and my Love were very, very disappointed in the ride. It's not something either one of us will need to see on our next trip. And it's not something the people in my theater will be seeing either. So stop acting like yours is the only valid experience.

I stick by what I saw with my own eyes. Apparently (according to you), I'm in the majority of views on the ride - though you seem to think there's some big conspiracy on the net to badmouth it worse then it is. I'm embarrased for Disney that people were that negative about the ride. It makes me sad - not happy, not like I was hoping it would suck and I could come and say horrible things about it - that the quality of attractions has been reduced to this.


Beside all that though, once again, THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT THE FREAKIN' STITCH RIDE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
-m

 

[Stitchfan712]

You are still implying that I'm lying. By saying I said, "it's not as negative as we're being told". You're indicating that my report - among with apparently many others - aren't truthful.

Also, you seem to think that your experience (and I dare say your opinion only and overwhelming drive to justify this ride for some absurd reason) is more valid then my own and others. In MY experience everyone hated it, vocalized that hate and myself and my Love were very, very disappointed in the ride. It's not something either one of us will need to see on our next trip. And it's not something the people in my theater will be seeing either. So stop acting like yours is the only valid experience.

I'm not. I'm pointing out that my experience was different. I'm not sure why my doing so is causing personal offense, but I have apologized for the offense which was not intentional. I'm not calling you a liar. But I am saying, that I've seen far more negativity about the ride online, than I saw in person. This thing about a "conspiracy theory" is kind of a twist on my words and I'm not implying that, but it does strike me interesting how much more negativity I saw online than in person, that is all.

Thats fine if you don't care to see it on the next trip. It saddens me too that some people are being disappointed by the attraction. Hopefully over the long term we'll see if the attraction is a success, or whether disney will need to re-script it. For now, it's maintaining long lines and doing fairly well, but that, as I said, can mostly be attributed to the fact that it s a new ride, and guests are trying it out for the first time. It's the long term numbers that matter.

This isn't my personal opinion. I enjoyed the ride myself, but I honestly did listen for both sides. I simply heard more positive, and am reporting that back as a contrast to what others might have heard negative about it. I don't see why people are okay with others posting here about people's honest negative reactions, but for me to post a contrast and say "I saw something different" is suddenly just my opinion. Miss M, what you just did there, was called me a liar, which you think I've done to you, and didn't.

In general, in general only, I've heard more negativity online, than I observed in person. I am not calling anyone untruthful. I am posting an honest observation. That is all.

I stick by what I saw with my own eyes. Apparently (according to you), I'm in the majority of views on the ride - though you seem to think there's some big conspiracy on the net to badmouth it worse then it is. I'm embarrased for Disney that people were that negative about the ride. It makes me sad - not happy, not like I was hoping it would suck and I could come and say horrible things about it - that the quality of attractions has been reduced to this.


Beside all that though, once again, THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT THE FREAKIN' STITCH RIDE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
-m

Maybe not, but it was part of your post which I felt like responding to here. Sorry to have offended you. In the future, I won't post dissenting opinions or observations. I'm sorry.

 

[CTXRover]

Thanks MissM for a great report! I'm going to the MVMCP on the 17th, which is also sold out, and I'm glad to hear that even when sold out its still relatively uncrowded feeling.

Good to see Donald's Tree Farm is back...even if its just a photo-op for MVMCP? It used to be on the one side street of Main Street, but I don't remember them having it since they made the Emporium side one long "strip mall".

I do though apologize for keeping the Stitch thing going, but I just wanted to go out on a limb and second the "concept" that Stitchfan was trying to get at.

First, I did like AE better, but I thought Stitch was a fun, harmless MK attraction that has its highlights and lowlights. However, I must agree with Stitchfan that I too have been quite surprised by the negative reaction to SGE. I recognize that in the online Disney fan-site community, and not just here, SGE is being universally bashed. However, I enjoyed it enough to go through it several times and I honestly must say that I've yet to experience and hear people coming off saying its lame or stupid or a waste or that it was disappointing. Now in all fairness though, I don't often hear..."let's do that again" which is often the reaction from VERY good attractions. Generally though, I'd say that the general reaction from the audiences that I've seen it with have at the very least been mildly positive. At least as positive as any of my trips through AE. In my own opinion, I too don't think its nearly as bad as is being reported by most, but obviously that's the reality and I'm also not here to tell or judge anyone on what they say or think...but I don't believe Stitchfan's comments were totally off-the wall. Perhaps its just differences in particular crowd's expectations that alter the perception of it from show to show (?).