News Paradise Pier Becoming Pixar Pier

[smile]

I think Epcot/Westcot would have worked better among a more liberal west coast audience, one less seeking of family disney experiences. How that local audience would have been nurtured is anybody's guess but I think there was potential to honor the theme of the park more successfully. Once DCA was abandoned for IP, suddenly it was in vogue to throw away the integrity of every second gate. Now they don't even seem to care about the castle parks, but at 28 years old, maybe I'm just old fashioned for throwing up when I see Toy story lands looming over tomorrowlands.

I'll probably never be able to shed my skepticism of the disney parks, no matter how consistently they do tasteful enhancements around Disneyland etc. The company has demonstrated time and time again that their ideal buildout if they could ever get away with it would be Walt Disney Studios Paris and DCA. They hope we wont notice, but we do. They aren't interested in building several pandoras, or a Disneyland Paris. They want the parks to read like the inside of a Disney Streaming service.

dca opens 2/8/01
tds opens 9/4/01

one of these is far greater
one of these is the sister-park to the one that started it all
one of these was not paid for by disney

 

[nevol]

They don't make them like that, because they think they can save $$$ by cutting corners unfortunately. What they don't realize is that people do subconsciously notice the things they're not supposed to be noticing!

so we agree or are you being sarcastic? BTW an insider told me that hundreds of millions have been slashed from the show/media budgets for SW:GE. Have a nice day! Hope you weren't expecting live-action roleplay, a ton of droids, cinema-quality cgi renders, and meticulous character plaster on the shop walls.

 

[nevol]

dca opens 2/8/01
tds opens 9/4/01

one of these is far greater
one of these is the sister-park to the one that started it all
one of these was not paid for by disney

brilliant point.

 

[Rich T]

The only way anyone would care about the dark ride as it is now, is if you're a fan of the movies. I like the attraction, but I don't love it.

Personally, I love Cars 1 and love the dark ride part of RSR. One thing a lot of over-35 adults don't realize, though, is just how hugely popular the Cars franchise has been with kids. We're looking at a whole generation+ who have grown up watching these films at home over and over and over again. Radiator Springs is as familiar and welcoming to them as Fantasyland is to long-time DL fans.

 

[smile]

Hope you weren't expecting live-action roleplay, a ton of droids, cinema-quality cgi renders, and meticulous character plaster on the shop walls.

you'd probably get a better roi if you put that stuff behind some sort of paywall -
oh, i dunno.... a resort hotel, perhaps?

 

[Rich T]

Speaking of things you don't seem to notice...

Pretty! Now I'm trying to picture this model packed to the gills with thousands and thousands of tiny plastic people taking selfies.

 

[dweezil78]

so we agree or are you being sarcastic? BTW an insider told me that hundreds of millions have been slashed from the show/media budgets for SW:GE. Have a nice day! Hope you weren't expecting live-action roleplay, a ton of droids, cinema-quality cgi renders, and meticulous character plaster on the shop walls.

No sarcasm there. We agree on some things, not on others. I don’t believe Paris Studios or DCA is what the company wants across the board, but they can’t all be mega $$$ epics either. For every Pirates there’s a Mr. Toad. Life goes on...

 

[Disneylover152]

But Hollywood Land is supposed to be the golden age of Hollywood. While they never properly remodeled the land, the name, logo, and set decorations show this.

Not to mention that the main thoroughfare in the land is represents Hollywood Boulevard during that era, complete with the Red Cars.

I beg to differ. Most of the design has not changed (since 2001 as a Hollywood Backlot) to match the Golden Age of Hollywood. The Animation Building is still a 1990s design, and the buildings are still just facades.

Not to mention the Disneyland's Website mentions that Hollywoodland is the place where the magic of Disney movies are celebrated.

 

[TROR]

I beg to differ. Most of the design has not changed (since 2001 as a Hollywood Backlot) to match the Golden Age of Hollywood. The Animation Building is still a 1990s design, and the buildings are still just facades.

Like I said, they never properly got to remodeling the land. It was the plan, before Chapek, to fully commit to the 1930's/40's style and properly finish the land like they did with Grizzly Airfield.

 

[smile]

Just so we don't forget, Star Wars Land and Pixar Pier were greenlit by two different management teams. SWL was greenlit by Staggs who brought us Cars Land, Buena Vista Street, and the rest of the DCA remodel. Pixar Pier was greenlit by Chapek who brought us Mission Breakout.

easier to see which came from consumer products, isn't it?
be that as it may, the "ip" insistence actually comes from yet a higher power.

 

[Rich T]

No sarcasm there. We agree on some things, not on others. I don’t believe Paris Studios or DCA is what the company wants across the board, but they can’t all be mega $$$ epics either. For every Pirates there’s a Mr. Toad. Life goes on...

Wait, wait, wait... Ahem. Mr. Toad is a masterpiece of design that shows just how much fun can be created on a small budget in a tiny space. Can we say "For every Pirates there's a Pooh?"

 

[dweezil78]

Wait, wait, wait... Ahem. Mr. Toad is a masterpiece of design that shows just how much fun can be created on a small budget in a tiny space. Can we say "For every Pirates there's a Pooh?"

Haha... I'm talking strictly budgets and level of detail here.

 

[mickEblu]

They don't make them like that because they don't sell movie tickets or enough merchandise.

We're being fed garbage disguised as caviar, and I'm mad about it!

Wow, you seem to have really changed your stance over the last year. Was Pixar Pier the last straw for you? I recall you were much more sympathetic to change during the whole TOT overlay.

 

[Curious Constance]

Personally, I love Cars 1 and love the dark ride part of RSR. One thing a lot of over-35 adults don't realize, though, is just how hugely popular the Cars franchise has been with kids. We're looking at a whole generation+ who have grown up watching these films at home over and over and over again. Radiator Springs is as familiar and welcoming to them as Fantasyland is to long-time DL fans.

First, how dare you rightfully assume I'm over 35.

Secondly, I get how popular it is with kids, I just doubt that over all the dark ride part resonates well with many adults who aren't big Cars fans. I think it could have been more, so you could enjoy it even if you weren't a big fan of the movies.

 

[Curious Constance]

Wow, you seem to have really changed your stance over the last year. Was Pixar Pier the last straw for you? I recall you were much more sympathetic to change during the whole TOT overlay.

Can we talk about how different I am today than I was a year ago? Staggering. I feel like the blinders have been ripped off my eyes and I can finally see!

And I was all for the MB ride, then I went there and rode it and had fun, and all, but I was sad that TOT was gone, and then it was one bad decision after another that was just enough for me.

 

[mickEblu]

Can we talk about how different I am today than I was a year ago? Staggering. I feel like the blinders have been ripped off my eyes and I can finally see!

And I was all for the MB ride, then I went there and rode it and had fun, and all, but I was sad that TOT was gone, and then it was one bad decision after another that was just enough for me.

The last good change I can remember is Grizzly Peak Airfield. I guess “sympathetic to change” was the wrong way to put it. I think many of us are ok with change if they are quality and not quick, IP branding and non sense.

 

[DanielBB8]

First, how dare you rightfully assume I'm over 35.

Secondly, I get how popular it is with kids, I just doubt that over all the dark ride part resonates well with many adults who aren't big Cars fans. I think it could have been more, so you could enjoy it even if you weren't a big fan of the movies.

Ah ha. What’s remarkable is you don’t see the forest from the trees.

Adults love RSR more than the kids. RSR had 120 minutes waits for years before MB opened. Then the adults choose to visit MB and RSR in equal numbers. Kids are afraid of RSR. My kid didn’t want to go on RSR since it was fast and scary.

Sometimes, attraction popularity has nothing to do with movie popularity or demographics. Theme park rides find their own demographic. It’s just an easy recognizable IP.

 

[TROR]

The last good change I can remember is Grizzly Peak Airfield. I guess “sympathetic to change” was the wrong way to put it. I think many of us are ok with change if they are quality and not quick, IP branding and non sense.

Odd that the last unanimously agreed upon good change to the parks was right before Chapek took over.

 

[mickEblu]

Ah ha. What’s remarkable is you don’t see the forest from the trees.

Adults love RSR more than the kids. RSR had 120 minutes waits for years before MB opened. Then the adults choose to visit MB and RSR in equal numbers. Kids are afraid of RSR. My kid didn’t want to go on RSR since it was fast and scary.

Sometimes, attraction popularity has nothing to do with movie popularity or demographics. Theme park rides find their own demographic. It’s just an easy recognizable IP.

RSR falls short for me as well and i don’t think it has to do with IP in my case. The mountain range is stunning, especially at night and It’s obviously a super E ticket but I feel as if the sum is less than all its parts. It’s like dark ride- check. “Thrills” - check. Stunning scenery- check. But the dark ride falls short for me. Not entirely sure why. The AAs are great and the scope/ scale is huge. Maybe it’s because I feel like I’m in a warehouse because all of those lights on the ceiling. Then you get to the thrill portion and it just never quite goes fast enough to feel thrilling for me except for a brief second or two. It’s definitely a unique ride but in the end it’s just not very fun and it feels like something is missing.

To me it’s a good but not great dark ride + moderate thrills + amazing scenery. I think as I write this I figured out what I think is missing - Cohesion. Between everything they tried to cram into this ride they give you too much time to think and it takes you out of the experience and works against immersing you into the Cars world.

 

[Rich T]

First, how dare you rightfully assume I'm over 35.

Secondly, I get how popular it is with kids, I just doubt that over all the dark ride part resonates well with many adults who aren't big Cars fans. I think it could have been more, so you could enjoy it even if you weren't a big fan of the movies.

(Sweating bullets) I was just speaking in general, Constance, and drawing an age line based on my personal experience with my large family. (Squeaky voice) We okay?

My little Sis has a similar opinion about the dark ride part as you. When she finished riding the first time, she looked at me and said, "Okay, now I feel like I don't ever have to watch the movie."