Nothing Goofy about Disney park moves

[TubaGeek]

It has nothing to do with understanding. I just choose to not dwell it what they did, and look towards what they could do with it. The infrastructure opens up a plethora of options, Disney just needs to take advantage of them.

You're absolutely right about that: when I first heard about Magic Bands, I was very excited for their potential. They could still follow through on these "Blue Sky" ideas, but how much more will they cost? What other plans and projects will be shelved because of them?

 

[danlb_2000]

First of all, USAToday is barely a newspaper, IMO. It's a collection of puff pieces for the most part. This article is no exception. The reporter was fed the facts and he did what he was told, like a good little puppy.

You know, we've been talking here for a long time about what would be an effective "Potter swatter" for WDW. Most of us agree that Avatar sure as heck ain't it. Nor is Star Wars. The main reason is that NEITHER have that Disney connection in the public's mind. Remember, DCA in Disneyland didn't succeed in large part because - in Robert Iger's own words - it wasn't "Disney" enough. (The guy's a hypocrite, though - he says that, then buys the rights to Avatar to shoehorn it into AK, while ignoring the possibilities of home-grown product like The Lion King and Jungle Book...but I digress).

But now, Disney may have that "Potter swatter"...in Frozen. But it all depends on how ambitious Disney will get about it. Whether it will build a major attraction, or major area, or just stick with the meet-and-greets.

Sadly, it'll probably be the latter...

I have seen the quote from Iger, but I think it had as much if not more to do with the fact that a lot of the attractions there were of poor quality, off the shelf or just not very innovative. Having Disney characters in a park isn't necessary for it to succeed, early Epcot is proof of this. Yes, people do want to see Disney characters, but they will also be happy with high quality attractions that are based on non-Disney IP. The Indiana Jones ride at DL is an example of this, one of the best, if not the best, ride in a US Disney park.

If Disney were to do an immersive land with new innovative rides built around Star Wars, it would be huge!

 

[CDavid]

it just isn't logical to dwell on things we have no control over.

That would pretty much spell the end of our discussions here, and all the debates we have over the workings of The Walt Disney Company. We have no real control, short of voting with our wallet, over anything Disney does or doesn't. At best, all we can do is make our opinion known - because we certainly have one - and hope we might occasionally exert some small, indirect influence through our discussions with like-minded individuals. But even with no control whatsoever, it remains perfectly appropriate (and even useful) to discuss and debate the topic(s) at hand, such as the overly vague, blatantly misleading piece of "spin" which gave birth to this thread.

The article's author was spoon-fed some information and typed it up into an article. .

I'd love to spoon-feed the author some information about Disney myself...

 

[danv3]

That article was worthy of Oceania's Ministry of Truth.

 

[dstrawn9889]

You saw "dwelling", I say "venting".
And I'm starting to think you don't realize how much they could have done with 2.5 billion... All those maintenance issues? Gone. Empty pavilions? Restored. Expansion plots? Filled with E-tickets.

how much of that was infrastructure that needed updating anyway? that would have been replaced this cycle?

 

[bethymouse]

and now they want us to save $$$ by staying more nights in their hotels! Insane!

 

[vinnya1726]

Oh, how appropriate. You, who complains about all the "bashing" is now asking why Disney doesn't deserve the crowds it has. Maybe if you opened up your mind and READ the "bashing", you would educate yourself and find the answer to your question.
And yes, there is much more to do now than there was more than 40 years ago. That's not a very hard bar to overcome. If you really want to see where "the rides are better", though... give Universal a fair shot.

That might be true for some, but not for everyone. Their are a lot of people out their that are not into "E" tickets only, and Universal is geared much more toward those after thrills than Disney. I know we not like how Disney is spending their money, but we also must remember that it was Walt's goal to create a FAMILY PARK. He did not want to create a park for adults and teenagers, but for everyone. So yes, what Universal is doing is some nice work, but they do not have the family appeal that Disney has.

 

[TubaGeek]

how much of that was infrastructure that needed updating anyway? that would have been replaced this cycle?

Nowhere near 2.5 bil. Do YOU have a solid number?

That might be true for some, but not for everyone. Their are a lot of people out their that are not into "E" tickets only, and Universal is geared much more toward those after thrills than Disney. I know we not like how Disney is spending their money, but we also must remember that it was Walt's goal to create a FAMILY PARK. He did not want to create a park for adults and teenagers, but for everyone. So yes, what Universal is doing is some nice work, but they do not have the family appeal that Disney has.

No, but at least Uni innovates the few "everyone" rides they have. One Fish, Two Fish and Kang and Kodos may just be spinners, but they're innovative spinners. When was the last time Disney innovated on an "everyone" ride?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

That might be true for some, but not for everyone. Their are a lot of people out their that are not into "E" tickets only, and Universal is geared much more toward those after thrills than Disney. I know we not like how Disney is spending their money, but we also must remember that it was Walt's goal to create a FAMILY PARK. He did not want to create a park for adults and teenagers, but for everyone. So yes, what Universal is doing is some nice work, but they do not have the family appeal that Disney has.

But as a 50 year old adult, I get a plethora of attractions that even die hards say "I liked it because my 4 year old was beaming". 4 year olds beam at the park playground next to my house. I'm not booking $700/night hotel rooms for toddler pleasing attractions. I'm not 4 and I am not amused.

 

[xdan0920]

But as a 50 year old adult, I get a plethora of attractions that even die hards say "I liked it because my 4 year old was beaming". 4 year olds beam at the park playground next to my house. I'm not booking $700/night hotel rooms for toddler pleasing attractions. I'm not 4 and I am not amused.

Give a 4 year old a cardboard box. They will be beaming. Just grinning from ear to ear and having a grand old time.

 

[ford91exploder]

A E-ticket ride is not necessarily a THRILL ride, KS is one example, PotC is another, Mermaid COULD have been an E-ticket ride had the thought shown in the queue carried to to the ride, Haunted Mansion is an E ticket as is Hunny Hunt in Tokyo.

 

[ford91exploder]

That article was worthy of Oceania's Ministry of Truth.

Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia...

 

[asianway]

Yeah, but you're insane if you don't see it as grossly imbalanced.
Just my opinion.

It's the serious mental illness that runs rampant in this community

 

[Magenta Panther]

Sorry for contributing to thread drift but, to your point, ...

Tower Of Terror might be WDW's best single attraction.

Absolutely.

 

[Magenta Panther]

"Definitely an E-Ticket"? Disney doesn't even have Star Tours on the A-list of FP+ options. And Test Track was an improvement, but there were no real changes to the actual ride.

Frozen is big right now, but a Potter Swatter...?

True, it's hard to say what will have staying power and what will not...but Frozen seems to have moved beyond merely being a box-office hit; it's a phenomenon. I think TDO would be very smart to start planning a Frozen area in Fantasyland, and if it's really smart, create an attraction/dark ride around it. JMHO.

 

[jlsHouston]

A E-ticket ride is not necessarily a THRILL ride, KS is one example, PotC is another, Mermaid COULD have been an E-ticket ride had the thought shown in the queue carried to to the ride, Haunted Mansion is an E ticket as is Hunny Hunt in Tokyo.

I finally rode Mermaid. I guess I need to ride it a couple of more times. I just did not feel the awe. I feel the awe when I take off flying in Peter Pan. I smile riding my clam through Nemo. I am in anticipation sailing thru PotC. The queue in Winnie is fun and trying to read the pages as fast as we are moving through the ride is always a kick, and I love the queue in Dumbo, great place to cool down and ease my sore feet while kiddos play. I dunno...I had a hard time following the sequence of scenes in Mermaid...I can't really put my finger on why I wasn't smiling or in awe or anticipation maybe too much detail maybe not enough. I definitely will be riding it a few more times in hopes of falling love with it.

 

[jlsHouston]

It has nothing to do with understanding. I just choose to not dwell it what they did, and look towards what they could do with it. The infrastructure opens up a plethora of options, Disney just needs to take advantage of them.

Options? The infrastructure of nextgen opens up options for whom? The resort guest? A day guest? A dvc member? I don't see this MM+ stuff as anything more than a never ending flushing toilet. I bet by the time they get half of the software tweaked where it works without having daily blips, it will be almost obsolete and I really don't know squat about IT things.

 

[jlsHouston]

My children absolutely loved wearing the MBs on our trip last year. Doing "Mickey to Mickey" (my 4 yo said that constantly) was an enjoyable diversion. My niece and nephew (ages 11 and 9) are going next month and they just got their MBs in the mail and were so excited. My niece took a photo and texted it with her phone to all the family. (As an aside, my brother in law is was saying to me the other day how thrilled he was to have the FP+ all planned out (I helped) and will have less to worry about and think about when he is down there.)

It's easy to blow off the Magic Bands are pointless or even annoying, but I think Disney realized that for many folks they do add a (small) amount of magic to a WDW trip. I'm not saying they were worth the billions of dollars of investment or anything, but I don't agree with the argument that they aren't a positive at all.

The argument is not that they aren't a positive. They are just a manifestation of the the HUGE waste of money and talent and energy on something that is returning so little value to the the guest, the customer.
And in business...one of the rules is: if you don't take care of your customer, somebody else surely will.

 

[flavious27]

My children absolutely loved wearing the MBs on our trip last year. Doing "Mickey to Mickey" (my 4 yo said that constantly) was an enjoyable diversion. My niece and nephew (ages 11 and 9) are going next month and they just got their MBs in the mail and were so excited. My niece took a photo and texted it with her phone to all the family. (As an aside, my brother in law is was saying to me the other day how thrilled he was to have the FP+ all planned out (I helped) and will have less to worry about and think about when he is down there.)

It's easy to blow off the Magic Bands are pointless or even annoying, but I think Disney realized that for many folks they do add a (small) amount of magic to a WDW trip. I'm not saying they were worth the billions of dollars of investment or anything, but I don't agree with the argument that they aren't a positive at all.

Mb and FP+ are going to be a sticking issue the same as cloning rides. I like the technology that is being used and also the course that this lead to when going to not only wdw but other theme parks. At the same time, scheduling what attractions to ride and when months ahead of time isn't something most people do not want to do. There are also concerns about privacy and the data that is used.

I would hope that disney has a continuous evaluation on both MB and FP+, and updates both as to surveys and comments from guests and online communities. What would probably be the best give and take for guests would be that guests can opt out of MB and FP+, along with passes being evenly split by guests using FP, FP+, and walk ons.

 

[Captain Neo]

Writer of that article must have ignored the Spirit thread