News Paradise Pier Becoming Pixar Pier

[Professortango1]

Personally I think the issue with Mermaid is that it’s a classic dark ride, next to nothing. At Magic Kingdom it’s close to other quality attractions including Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Generally if an attraction is by itself, it’s a huge e-ticket. The attraction itself is one of my wife’s and daughters favorites. I think the ultimate solution is to put a quality attraction in the Goofy Sky School spot, which I consider the single worst Disney attraction in the world and a continuing embarrassment for DCA.

It also has no emotional theme. Each darkride has an emotional element the ride taps into, this one is just centered around the songs of the movie. So what we get is a checklist of songs without any emotional weight to make us care or to involve us in the story. Its a very passive experience.

 

[britain]

Sounds like a sketchy rumor until more insiders weigh in. However, I do find it amusing that The Little Mermaid, the classic film that had been promised as an attraction in park after park throughout the 90's Disney Decade and finally was built in DCA... is considered by all of us to be fair game for replacement.

If it was true I think it could use that omnimover space just fine. Coco is really about atmosphere, not plot. Keep the track, tear down the non-load bearing walls, go on a musical trip through nighttime candlelit cemeteries to the land of the dead and back. Combine that with what is becoming a regular Mexican fiesta area in that corner of the park anyway, and it all sounds good to me.

And if they're smart they should share development costs with another El Rio de Tiempo proposal.

 

[mickEblu]

It also has no emotional theme. Each darkride has an emotional element the ride taps into, this one is just centered around the songs of the movie. So what we get is a checklist of songs without any emotional weight to make us care or to involve us in the story. Its a very passive experience.

The omnimover track just going around every show scene and never through any doesn’t help either. It reaffirms that we re just watching this story, not a part of it.

 

[mickEblu]

Sounds like a sketchy rumor until more insiders weigh in. However, I do find it amusing that The Little Mermaid, the classic film that had been promised as an attraction in park after park throughout the 90's Disney Decade and finally was built in DCA... is considered by all of us to be fair game for replacement.

If it was true I think it could use that omnimover space just fine. Coco is really about atmosphere, not plot. Keep the track, tear down the non-load bearing walls, go on a musical trip through nighttime candlelit cemeteries to the land of the dead and back. Combine that with what is becoming a regular Mexican fiesta area in that corner of the park anyway, and it all sounds good to me.

And if they're smart they should share development costs with another El Rio de Tiempo proposal.

Yeah just the IP alone almost guarantees that the attraction would be better than Mermaid no matter the constraints or how bad the imagineers do. It ll be nice and dark with more black lighting and feel more like a traditional dark ride. It also seems like it could make better use of the omnimover system. Of course I’d prefer a purpose built Coco attraction and it’s a no brainer to bring the improved Pan ride system from Shanghai. A flying Coco D ticket would be such a slam dunk in So Cal.

As crazy as it seems that they would actually be willing to scrap Mermaid so quick it’s obvious that it’s widely been looked at as a disappointment in every category except capacity. I don’t find it so far fetched considering the money they spent to retheme an already popular TOT to a 20 story Marvel ride that will have been sitting in Hollywoodland for 5 years by the time Marvel Land opens up.

It also makes sense when you consider the odd land left behind after Pixar Pier known as Paradise Park or whatever they heck they called it. It makes sense that the Pixar Pier they opened pat summer was just phase 1. I’m not sure how long it ll take but Paradise Park with a few off the shelf flat rides and Mermaid doesn’t seem too long for this world. All I hope is that Paradise Gardens remains.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Yeah just the IP alone almost guarantees that the attraction would be better than Mermaid no matter the constraints or how bad the imagineers do. It ll be nice and dark with more black lighting and feel more like a traditional dark ride. It also seems like it could make better use of the omnimover system. Of course I’d prefer a purpose built Coco attraction and it’s a no brainer to bring the improved Pan ride system from Shanghai. A flying Coco D ticket would be such a slam dunk in So Cal.

I like your flying idea... but I also just want a romantic boat ride haha. But add drops and levels.

 

[mickEblu]

I like your flying idea... but I also just want a romantic boat ride haha. But add drops and levels.

That also sounds fun and DCA could use a boat ride. I imagine it wouldn’t be too hard to move Mermaid to Fantasyland as part of the FL expansion but at the same time probably not worth the effort or valuable real estate space at DL.

 

[mickEblu]

I just want an attraction where I don’t feel like I’m in a show building. They haven’t done that since Pirates and Mansion. I would also include most of the interior scenes of Splash to the last lift hill and certain parts of BTMRR.

 

[NateD1226]

I don't like the Little Mermaid ride, so I would not mind it leaving. It is very boring and it makes me feel disconnected from the movie and ride.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Coco deserves better than a redo of an existing attraction. Gut the whole building and start over.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I just want an attraction where I don’t feel like I’m in a show building. They haven’t done that since Pirates and Mansion. I would also include most of the interior scenes of Splash to the last lift hill and certain parts of BTMRR.

Does Indy feel like a show building to you? It doesn't to me. Just curious.

 

[mickEblu]

Does Indy feel like a show building to you? It doesn't to me. Just curious.

Yeah the main lava room feels like a show building and so does everything from the rat projection to the boulder. I mean it’s really well done, just not on POTC/ HM level. A lot of it is the lighting of course (POTC and HM are darker. The cheap effects and plywood soldiers from the rat to the boulder don’t help.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Nor does the giant snake help. I see where you can feel that way. Then again, few attractions can compare to the Holy Grail of POTC / HM! Still amazing after 50 years!

 

[socalifornian]

How important are these @Old Mouseketeer

 

[Disneysea05]

Parade buildings, attractions offices, characters/entertainment dressing rooms, break rooms, outdoor vending offices and workspace, and maintenance shops.

This was my area back when I was a CM

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

How important are these @Old Mouseketeer
View attachment 372060

I used to think there was room for another attraction back there with an entrance in the space of the old Maliboomer pad (where Inside Out is going now), but that was when I mistakenly thought they could ever do away with the Disney Way extension on the Southern (Katella) border (I had hoped for Phantom Manor). Now I fear Disney Way is there to stay basically forever.

I'm not sure that area can be used for anything other than BOH. Maybe they could do another Midway Mania, eliminate the Boardwalk Games and maybe Bing Bong's and shoehorn a C or D-Ticket for some future Pixar Blockbuster. But they would have to relocate the West Vehicle Maintenance building (the one outside your boundary at bottom left) and put everything in the large building at the top of your area against the back of Incredicoaster either in a basement or second story. This could give you as much room as the Midway Mania show building. It's an expensive proposition, but they are running out of land. I would expect it to be used after they exhaust the other potential expansion pads, including Goofy's and Hollywoodland. But I've been wrong before.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Yes, OM. Disney is obligated to keep the former tram route open in a deal with the city. It will now be used as a secondary exit for the parking structures as needed. Basically to be placed on east bound Disney Way to use the I-5 on ramps right there.

 

[captveg]

Mermaid is just too isolated. If they could add more D/E ticket rides around it it would likely do better. It's just not a ride people head towards for specifically, but if there were better rides/attractions where Wine Country/Blue Sky, Goofy/Corndog and Redwood Creek Challenge trail are currently that would liven up the area significantly. You could have a "dark ride central" in DCA similar to the core of FL.

 

[mickEblu]

Mermaid is just too isolated. If they could add more D/E ticket rides around it it would likely do better. It's just not a ride people head towards for specifically, but if there were better rides/attractions where Wine Country/Blue Sky, Goofy/Corndog and Redwood Creek Challenge trail are currently that would liven up the area significantly. You could have a "dark ride central" in DCA similar to the core of FL.

I agree that if Mermaid was surrounded by more Fantasyland style dark rides (not necessarily Es) it would probably be perceived to be better. However the fact that it’s isolated should be offset by the fact that it’s smack in the middle of the park right off the main entrance corridor.

 

[captveg]

I wouldn't call that whole side of the park "the Middle". One of the problems with the DCA layout is that it's a park without a hub middle. Everything seems to be in its own disconnected corner/pocket past the entrance. To me, LM is part of the "back right" corner (when looking at the park from the entrance).

 

[mickEblu]

I wouldn't call that whole side of the park "the Middle". One of the problems with the DCA layout is that it's a park without a hub middle. Everything seems to be in its own disconnected pocket past the entrance.

What would you call the middle ?