No Mickey, No Dragon='s LessThanFantasmic

[Cosmic Commando]

Phase 3, not 2 ;-)

But as for F!.... TDO have hit a low again. I can't go into specifics but it could have rivalled the original in the not too distant future. But now we have missing effects and untrustworthy set pieces. Yes, both versions are complex and have multiple B plans, but having seen the originals third refurbed version last year I was so spoilt I can't watch the east coast version again.

Yes, Murphy had big problems, from a cross of 3rd vendor and WDI thinking they know better, but in all fairness it was Glendale who gave Murphy his new name. After all he only snapped. And was fixed. Orlandos version of the show just has fail after fail using equipment well past it's sell by date.

And I actually liked the Pochohontas part

How wonderful it would be to know the things you know...

I feel the same way about WDW's version just from watching youtube videos of Murphy and DL's version! Yes, Murphy had some very public problems, but they FIXED him.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

It looks like Transformers isn't coming here, after all ... basically because there's too much other stuff on the way, including Potter's HUGE, mind-blowing expansion.

But Transformers does nothing for me since I have no interest in the films ... I'm sure I'll check out the ride in Hollywood next year, though.

~GFC~

I guess that means DHS will be hurting big time once Potter's expansion, and King Kong are completed if nothing happens at DHS. Avatarland is going to help AK against the new additions that Universal is getting.

I love Star Tours: The Adventure continues, but DHS needs more updating on current attractions or stuff that needs to be get a rid of like Sounds Dangerous!.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

I saw Fantasmic on August 28th and there was no problems.

It is a shame that Sorcerer Mickey doesn't show up. I blame these mess on the lack of Maintenance on the show since Fantasmic first started in 13 years ago at DHS. Disney needs a rude awakening by guests not showing up on for shows or attractions because they are too cheap to do maintenance.

 

[steve2wdw]

Has Sorcerer Mickey been missing for all the performances lately, or is it sporadic? The reason I ask is the same reason I wonder why all the railroad ties are disappearing from Big Thunder. Could they (foolishly) be doing pre-rehab work on certain effects (like Mickey's lift) to keep the overall downtime to a minimum? I say foolishly because it certainly makes for bad show, but I wouldn't put it past management to think that it's acceptable for a certain % of the effects to be down before the show goes dark for a night. As to the Big Thunder reference, could the early removal of the ties actually speed up track work (or track replacement) when the shutdown occurs, thereby keeping the rehab to 5 months instead of 6 or longer? Back to F!...sadly, for the first time since it's debut, I opted to skip it on my last trip of 7 days during the 40th. Got in 4 extra trips on Star Tours instead of waiting with the masses for un-F!

Having been frequenting the World since '73 (when I was 12), when I read posts by WDW1974, I don't always agree with his tone (I've been told I should have been a diplomat), but almost always agree with the issues he brings to the table. 10 years ago, I was in denial about the state of WDW, but like Sleeping Beauty (although I'm no beauty), I've been awaken (awoke-neither sound right, but you get my drift) from my slumber and have really noticed the change in the neighborhood. Here's my big question....how can someone like T Staggs visit DL, then visit WDW and find it acceptable? Or does he, and we've yet to see any results? I'll be watching the return of F! and BTMR and their level of "freshness" and subsequent upkeep as a gauge to the future of the WDW parks. If their rehabs are treated with the same attention that Main St has received over the last year or two, then maybe the Dark Days of the Vacation Kingdom could be coming to an end. I'm still trying to be a "glass half full" kind of guy, but TDO is certainly testing my resolve. To paraphrase Roz, I'll be watching (but ironically, not "that show").

Over and out....that was way longer than I ever intended.

 

[steve2wdw]

Phase 3, not 2 ;-)
And I actually liked the Pochohontas part

I don't mind it either....when it's effects are 100%.

"And one more thing".....While I love the tech advanced Murphy, I don't think he (or actually she) is scary enough. Almost looks to "cartoony" to me, reminds me of Peter Pans croc...give us Murphy 2.0, with a more menacing look.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

If more of these fanboys and sweatshirt moms could travel to another disney resort, they'd see how much WDW feels like you're getting ripped off for what you pay. Nearly everything I've seen at DLP surpasses WDW's standards since 2000. And the spirit is not fanboy dreaming. The wizard boy and the goblins want to take up some land at USF

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

Steve you're from Saco?! That's Funtown USA territory! :sohappy:

 

[uklad79]

I'm a DVC owner... Next visit I plan to only stay at a resort and NOT do any of the parks... May as well use my DVC, I'm paying for it... I just didn't get excited this time with the parks...

That's not good that you have bought into DVC and now don't want to do the parks. I wonder how many people are now locked with DVC which makes Disney think they have a captured audience so they will keep coming.

Also I wonder how many people are being over dramatic and will still go to the parks after all they are on here discussing them.

 

[steve2wdw]

Steve you're from Saco?! That's Funtown USA territory! :sohappy:

Sure is! New waterslides coming to Splashtown next season.

 

[koryadams]

I'm from the show business and have done shows before, and when I hear this, it's upsetting. I love Fantasmic, and I understand it is a huge production...but come on Disney! There are way more shows that are much more technical and they run smoothly! No Mickey OR Dragon? How in the world did they pull that off?

I know there can always be problems and malfunctions...but the show must go on...no matter how bad it gets.

I have seen some youtube videos of messed up Fantasmic showings...

 

[TP2000]

But as for F!.... TDO have hit a low again. I can't go into specifics but it could have rivalled the original in the not too distant future. But now we have missing effects and untrustworthy set pieces. Yes, both versions are complex and have multiple B plans, but having seen the originals third refurbed version last year I was so spoilt I can't watch the east coast version again.

Thank you for that. :wave:

Here's the thing, and I am wading into this rather funny thread carefully as it is quite obvious that the superior Disneyland version of Fantasmic! is shark bait around here, but...

Yes, Disneyland's new Fantasmic! dragon had issues on multiple nights the first season it appeared in '09, in addition to that infamous night on August 28th, 2010 when it had its "collapse" on the stage. But it was back a few weeks later, and has been operating quite grandly ever since, for more than a year now. And Disneyland performs the show twice or thrice per night for weeks and months at a time during peak periods. Just tonight, an off-season Thursday in October, Fantasmic! was performed twice at Disneyland at 9:00PM and 10:30PM, with the park closing at 11:00PM.

But here's the real point... at least Disneyland went to the effort and expense of upgrading their show.

The new animatronic dragon is the most famous, or infamous, because of its technical problems that first year or so. But the new dragon was just one part of the the multi-year and multi-month rehabs the Disneyland show got from 2007 to 2009. They replaced all the old 1990's technology both on the mainland side of the show and the island side of the show. New LED lighting and skytracker lighting throughout the show, new digital projection effects on the stage, the old water screen 70MM film projectors replaced with new HD digital projectors (a HUGE improvement), new LED lighting on the boats and floats, Flotsam and Jetsam jetski floats added, an all new Tick-Tock Croc float, new pyro and laser effects on the island, dynamic new audio system installed throughout the viewing area, etc., etc.


Flotsam and Jetsam by PirateTinkerbell, on Flickr

At least Disneyland spent the money and did the hard work to make all those improvements. It was a huge project, and they spread it out over three years with multi-month rehabs each year to achieve it. I'm sure some pencil pusher could have come up with a PowerPoint presentation that would have proved the money and upgrades wouldn't noticeably increase park attendance year over year. But instead, TDA knew that the old 1990's tech of Fantasmic! was starting to look tired and dated. So instead of standing pat and not spending the money, they went for it and spent a big chunk of cash and really plussed up and polished an already popular show.

The result is the Disneyland version of Fantasmic looks and feels just as 21st century fresh as World of Color next door, while still maintaining its classic vibe.

The WDW version of the show premiered in 1998 and was already at a handicap for having several additional minutes of water screen segments instead of Disneyland's live action. The Columbia/Peter Pan segment is missing, and the much larger Mark Twain makes for a grander finale'. But now it's been almost 15 years, and WDW hasn't done one thing to upgrade and plus the show. The lighting, the audio, the projections, the spefx, the stagecraft, they are all still stuck in the 1990's at WDW.

And now we're in the second decade of the 21st century and there is a gread deal of impressive new technology that could improve the WDW show, not to mention using newer or more popular Disney material (Hello, Pocahontas, your agent called to let you know you haven't had a call-back in years).

Yeah, Murphy was delayed by three months in 2009, and then had that embarassing night in 2010 when it collapsed onto the stage. But you know what? They fixed the stupid dragon a few weeks later. They didn't just throw in the towel and forget about it. And at least TDA is willing to spend some money and expend some energy to improve and plus up the show. The differences between TDA and TDO couldn't be more glaring than when comparing the current differences between the two Fantasmic! shows in America.

 

[devoy1701]

TP2000 has an excellent post right above me that sums up the majority of the problem. It seems that TDO needs to do ROI calculations on any addition/expansion/upgrade/refurb in any of the parks...both how much more will it earn/bring it and how much they might lose should they take an attraction down for some period of time.

Over in the BTMRR Refurb thread the point was made that at any given time refurbs and closures are expected and that people should not expect all attractions to be available all the time just because they paid for an admission ticket. Yet whenever something goes wrong with important show elements we hear the excuse "well they can't close an attraction just because of (yeti, kuka arm, sorcerer mickey, earthquake cavern, etc) because people are expecting this attaction to be open!"

I wish WDW would stop looking at individual attractions, stores, restaurants, and offerings for the individual ROI each return and go back to looking at them as part of the larger offering. Is it too late to get rid of supersized Emporium?

I haven't seen the plans (and am not going to go over them like a fanboi with the Fantasyland redo art when I do) ... but, yes, they will be removing and moving quite a bit ... but this satisfies Rowling and allows UNI to reap Potter benefits in two gates instead of one.

And I am very much looking forward to it.

Jaws has had its time ...

Very interesting and VERY smart. It doesn't work out for your for single day, single park guests...but we all know that the Orlando Resorts would prefer people stay multiple days and visit multiple parks. What better way to do it than to put Uni's most popular franchise into both gates? Before people could very easily say "well we only have time for one Uni park...sounds like another gamechanger!

Brilliant!

 

[RSoxNo1]

I don't want to focus on one person with an agenda to spin/lie for Disney when it is being done en masse by people looking for freebies from Disney ... besides, it will be my post that 'MOM' goes after first and I don't like my writing to diappear into the ether.

But as a WHOLE the fan community is largely responsible for Disney's continuing lowering of standards. I talked to a Celeb Imagineer out at DLR last month at length and this was HIS opinion/words (not mine, but I agree). Disney has used Social Media/Fan Sites (not saying this one, talking in general) to perpetuate a myth that they are the best at what they do and that the product of 2011 is not only better than UNI/IOA/anyone else but that it is better than what Disney put out in 1971 or 1991. It's a total pile of fetid cow turd, but that is what Disney's Social Media Department is paid to peddle ... and it helps if you have 'independent' sites agreeing with that viewpoint and trying to silence voices that point out that ... no, it isn't OK that people pay $85-plus a day to get into the Studios and when they see a signature show, so many effects (including key ones) aren't working.

This isn't a matter of bashing Disney or hating it as the feeble-minded critics will trot out.

This is a matter of giving guests what they paid for. What they have come to expect.

Not interested in excuses. I have seen this show probably 10 times in the last 2-3 years and there have always been significant issues with it. That's not acceptable ... unless you have a Disney Lifestyle site and want a free cruise on the Fantasy in March!

We've discussed this in the past. Most people assume that the likes of Lou Mongello and others get free stuff from Disney all the time. No doubt that he gets preferential treatment as a member of the media, but I do think that you're exaggerating this somewhat.

One of my co-hosts speaks with Lou regularly (although less regularly now that he moved from Naples) and he claims to have never been gifted anything like park admission or hotel stays from Disney. I do admit that the Disney Fantasy thing seems somewhat suspicious - there were a lot of media members on there and I have to assume that at the very least they got a break on the price.

I also know that as a member of the "media" I was able to get in free to the D23 Expo, but I was only given one press credential for our site so we still had to pay for my fiance/"photographer". That seems to have been a function of the size of our site though because I know other Disney sites had a much larger "media" presence.

As for Lou and his tours of Disney World, I guess he is legal because he had a Florida Travel License (I'm probably butchering what it actually is) that legally allows him to do these tours. This differs from the tours that Jim Hill did in Disneyland many years ago.

It looks like Transformers isn't coming here, after all ... basically because there's too much other stuff on the way, including Potter's HUGE, mind-blowing expansion.

But Transformers does nothing for me since I have no interest in the films ... I'm sure I'll check out the ride in Hollywood next year, though.

~GFC~

Again, another tease of this Sunday's show - we talk about some of the expansion possibilities for Potter, but it sounds like WDW1974 has more info on this than I do.

As to Spidey ... act like a Disney fanboi ... walk in wearing a Grumpy tee and Mickey cap and pin lanyard and yell 'we own you ... hear that Spidey Freak ... we OWN you!' throughout the queue and, indeed, all of Super Hero Island. You'll feel so much better until security comes ...:ROFLOL:

I fully support this idea.

I haven't seen the plans (and am not going to go over them like a fanboi with the Fantasyland redo art when I do) ... but, yes, they will be removing and moving quite a bit ... but this satisfies Rowling and allows UNI to reap Potter benefits in two gates instead of one.

And I am very much looking forward to it.

Jaws has had its time ...

Nope. Both expanding in IOA and BEYOND ... and I just heard it this week, but have had it confirmed by two others.

That be the plan ... apparently connected by the Hogwarts Express.

But Amity, Jaws and Fear Factor stage (which isn't used most of the time) would cease to exist under the plan.

~GFC~

That's not exactly a direct route, but I love the idea of a train between the two parks...

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=28.4743878&lon=-81.4722705&z=16&l=0&m=b&search=universal studios

Feel free to discuss it here (or shoot me an email/PM). But DAK is my second favorite WDW park. EPCOT will always be No. 1, despite Disney's attempts to destroy/water down it over the past dozen years. THAT park made me the Disney fanboi for life I am. But both of those parks can make me happy just sitting on a bench soaking up the sun (and Pixie Dust!)

I haven't hidden the fact that DAK was my favorite park, but I also feel that those people that say that Epcot is their favorite park do so out of nostalgia more than anything. There could be a bit of that in me having grown up with the Animal Kingdom (going there on opening day and at least every year since).

Growing up, Epcot was my favorite park. While I enjoy Test Track and Soarin' and I love Illuminations, I really don't have the attachment to Future World anymore.

 

[brightlillstar]

Hopefully they are going to fix this when Fantasmic! goes down at the beginning of next year?

OMG Flotsam and Jetsam look AMAZING! I hope they bring that to WDW! (or have they?? I haven't been since '08). HOLY CRAP.

Honestly, I haven't been to WDW in 3 years, going in Dec, planning an October 2012, hoping to get back on yearly trips. If there's no Sorcerer Mickey and no dragon when I go, i will cry. F! is one of the things I most look forward to at WDW

 

[Figment4Ever]

I was at the 9:30 show on October 2 and it was PERFECT. The torches were lit on the boats, the dragon worked great, and Sorcerer Mickey was there the whole time. Weird that someone else was there the same day (I assume at the earlier show) and it was not working.
Not justifying in any way, I've seen the show in various B modes and it definitely can be disappointing - just saying I don't think Sorcerer Mickey is out for good until after the refurb. :shrug:

 

[Captain Chaos]

That's not good that you have bought into DVC and now don't want to do the parks. I wonder how many people are now locked with DVC which makes Disney think they have a captured audience so they will keep coming.

Also I wonder how many people are being over dramatic and will still go to the parks after all they are on here discussing them.

I love the rooms I can get with the DVC... I have no issues or complaints along those lines, and I am glad I bought into it.. This past trip, just last week, I didn't have the enjoyable time in the parks that I normally do. Let me make sure I am clear. I had a great time in Magic Kingdom for the 40th. Spent it with great friends who live down in Orlando. DHS was just OK, though Star Tours is awesome, Tot is a fav and RnRC is still fun. I just hate the park overall. Epcot was just OK to me. AK is now my 2nd favorite WDW park on theme alone, and AK didn't overwhelm me this time. I said before I may just have Disney burn out. I'm not saying I didn't have a good time at all, just not the good time I normally have. Something in the parks are lacking for me. They have remained too stagnant. A year or two off from the parks may do me some good.

I have friends in the area who I can spend more time with if I don't visit the parks. And that is what I plan on doing my next trip. There are so many other things to see or do in Orlando and Florida in general, I plan on taking advantage of that next time. And of course, visit Universal. and dine off property.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I was at the 9:30 show on October 2 and it was PERFECT. The torches were lit on the boats, the dragon worked great, and Sorcerer Mickey was there the whole time. Weird that someone else was there the same day (I assume at the earlier show) and it was not working.
Not justifying in any way, I've seen the show in various B modes and it definitely can be disappointing - just saying I don't think Sorcerer Mickey is out for good until after the refurb. :shrug:

I did the first show. Cause I stayed and hit a few rides during EMH. Now I feel like I was robbed!!!! Torches worked but Sorcerer Mickey didn't. I'm mad now!!!!

EDIT: Actually, I'm lying. I did the second show. I was online when the first show let out. Nope, Sorcerer Mickey was NOT there during the second show. Nope. Not at all.

 

[WDWFigment]

Feel free to discuss it here (or shoot me an email/PM). But DAK is my second favorite WDW park. EPCOT will always be No. 1, despite Disney's attempts to destroy/water down it over the past dozen years. THAT park made me the Disney fanboi for life I am. But both of those parks can make me happy just sitting on a bench soaking up the sun (and Pixie Dust!)



I'm just visiting. I've got some business coming up that will take too much time to be here regularly and then I'm headed to Europe for a month. ... But I'm also reasonably sure I'll wind up back again at some point after that ... and then leave again ... and then come back.

I've found as much as I like Disney and talking about it, that there's a point where you just need to step back for a while. Like a self-imposed timeout to help keep relatively sane.

I'm always glad to be talking/discussing/debating with you, Tom. You have a functioning brain, which is a great place to start. Oh, and I hardly agree with everything I say too :ROFLOL: ... OK, I do agree with most of it!

And scary as it may be, I DO really know what I am talking about most of the time.

Now ... what's for dinner (good thing I'm not at WDW or I'd have to had made my decision 180 days ago!)?

~GFC~

The problem, as I see it, is that Animal Kingdom is too contrived, spending too much time on style to the detriment of substance. To illustrate, a while back I read an article (and heard a podcast) discussing all of the hidden details and backstory in Dinoland. This backstory is great, but it is not substitute for quality substance. I think it is more an afterthought, added as somewhat of a ‘smokescreen’ or to explain away why Dino-rama is such an eyesore. I couldn’t care less that it’s an “authentic” eyesore, it’s an eyesore with cheap carnival attractions, nonetheless. Now, Dinoland is a bit of an extreme example, but the case of "style over substance" exists throughout DAK. From the meticulously crafted posters (what was the fake poster budgment for this park, like $200 million?!) and facades in Africa to the seating area in Flame Tree BBQ. I could gush with superlatives over the details in that park. The problem is, these details seem to exist at the expense of substance, which is not acceptable in my opinion.

I have this same concern in other areas of the park. So much thought, time, and effort went in to making the “Disney Details” truly remarkable, but at what cost? The number of quality-themed Disney attractions is seriously lacking, to the point that the park doesn’t offer sufficient entertainment options to justify staying there a full day. DAK lacks any traditional Omnimover dark rides, which I find bordering on absurd. Frankly, I think Disney should have spent about half as much as it did on Everest (even if it worked, assuming budgets are finite--and at Disney in this era they definitely are, as we both know!--the Yeti, an AA only visible for a couple of seconds, was a colossal waste of money), and used the rest of the budget to add a couple of C or D ticket attractions.

The biggest issue I have with Animal Kingdom after the “style over substance” qualm is that, despite its best efforts with the “Natazu” campaign, its attractions are not all that dissimilar to a well-done zoo. The thing is, if the attractions really weren't 'zoo-like', Disney wouldn't have had to utilize the Natazu campaign at all. The attractions could speak for themselves, and there would be a clear divide between it and a zoo. I think running the campaign is an implicit concession that a problem exists, and needs marketing to "fix."

Granted, attractions like Flights of Wonder and Kilimanjaro Safaris are well done “edutainment,” but I believe the rest flounders somewhat as simple ‘walk around looking at animal exhibits’. To me, it lacks the proper execution in those particular attractions to distinguish itself from a plain ‘ole zoo.' Contrast many of these attractions with the Living Seas pavilion (when it opened), TLS took you to a fictional seabase and really sold a story around which the animals were presented. It framed the whole experience really well, and made it, to me at least, stand out so much more than the "walk around and see stuff" methodology of DAK.

In sum, if the park would add some Omnimover attractions and create real entertainment value in the “zoo attractions,” (at least framing them in a manner more fitting of a theme park) I could see it as on par with the other parks. Actually, I think it could easily become the BEST domestic Disney theme park. The infrastructure is there, and the park certainly has the foundation laid in the details, but I think it's several attractions away from being there.

I realize others are likely to disagree, saying I'm missing the point of the park as a non-theme park experience, but the thing is, it IS a theme park. No matter how people might try to re-categorize it to shift expectations, it presents itself as one of the 4 Disney theme parks in Florida, but it doesn't deliver as a theme park should. To be sure, the theme is well-executed, but that's not sufficient for it to pass muster as a great theme park.

 

[Alektronic]

How wonderful it would be to know the things you know...

It's really not that wonderful to know alot of the inside information, because it can be really disappointing and disconcerting if you really know what goes on behind the scenes.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

The problem, as I see it, is that Animal Kingdom is too contrived, spending too much time on style to the detriment of substance. To illustrate, a while back I read an article (and heard a podcast) discussing all of the hidden details and backstory in Dinoland. This backstory is great, but it is not substitute for quality substance. I think it is more an afterthought, added as somewhat of a ‘smokescreen’ or to explain away why Dino-rama is such an eyesore. I couldn’t care less that it’s an “authentic” eyesore, it’s an eyesore with cheap carnival attractions, nonetheless. Now, Dinoland is a bit of an extreme example, but the case of "style over substance" exists throughout DAK. From the meticulously crafted posters (what was the fake poster budgment for this park, like $200 million?!) and facades in Africa to the seating area in Flame Tree BBQ. I could gush with superlatives over the details in that park. The problem is, these details seem to exist at the expense of substance, which is not acceptable in my opinion.

I have this same concern in other areas of the park. So much thought, time, and effort went in to making the “Disney Details” truly remarkable, but at what cost? The number of quality-themed Disney attractions is seriously lacking, to the point that the park doesn’t offer sufficient entertainment options to justify staying there a full day. DAK lacks any traditional Omnimover dark rides, which I find bordering on absurd.

The biggest issue I have with Animal Kingdom after the “style over substance” qualm is that, despite its best efforts with the “Natazu” campaign, its attractions are not all that dissimilar to a well-done zoo. The thing is, if the attractions really weren't 'zoo-like', Disney wouldn't have had to utilize the Natazu campaign at all. The attractions could speak for themselves, and there would be a clear divide between it and a zoo. I think running the campaign is an implicit concession that a problem exists, and needs marketing to "fix."

Granted, attractions like Flights of Wonder and Kilimanjaro Safaris are well done “edutainment,” but I believe the rest flounders somewhat as simple ‘walk around looking at animal exhibits’. To me, it lacks the proper execution in those particular attractions to distinguish itself from a plain ‘ole zoo.' Contrast many of these attractions with the Living Seas pavilion (when it opened), TLS took you to a fictional seabase and really sold a story around which the animals were presented. It framed the whole experience really well, and made it, to me at least, stand out so much more than the "walk around and see stuff" methodology of DAK.

In sum, if the park would add some Omnimover attractions and create real entertainment value in the “zoo attractions,” (at least framing them in a manner more fitting of a theme park) I could see it as on par with the other parks. Actually, I think it could easily become the BEST Disney theme park. The infrastructure is there, and the park certainly has the foundation laid in the details, but I think it's several attractions away from being there.

I realize others are likely to disagree, saying I'm missing the point of the park as a non-theme park experience, but the thing is, it IS a theme park. No matter how people might try to re-categorize it to shift expectations, it presents itself as one of the 4 Disney theme parks in Florida, but it doesn't deliver as a theme park should. To be sure, the theme is well-executed, but that's not sufficient for it to pass muster as a great theme park.

Your points make sense, but I guess the only problem comes in at where do you draw that balance. Build a park with a lot that has no theme, people complain. Build a park with incredible themes and less substance, people complain. It's an unfortunate situation, especially with the way WDI budgets soar to incredible heights that P&R can only do so much. It also doesn't help that the internet allows us to critique these things to death. Maybe Disney should start contacting Universal creative to handle some projects for them on a more reasonable budget. :lol:

I am hoping that Avaland does something to fix the balance of Animal Kingdom. I'm still very hesitant about the theme (as most of us are), but I am hoping that the attractions add a very good boost to the park and give people a reason to spend not just a day, but multiple days. Guess we will see what plays out over the next 5 years though.