PHOTOS - Inside the interactive indoor queue set to open in July at Dumbo

[rodserling27]

Glad to see there are quite a few people that feel as I do. Makes me feel a bit more sane.

 

[Slugger]

If you don't like it get a fastpass. Then you will skip the entire play area. I had the chance to visit the Dumbo queue yesterday and I really enjoyed it.

 

[amazingwdw]

Space Mountain - everyone who enters the queue is able to play the interactive games.
Winnie the Pooh - everyone who enters the queue is able to touch, grab, pull, wipe, and enjoy the queue.
Haunted Mansion - everyone who enters the queue (on the interactive side) can pull, touch, and interact with the crypts and have a hauntingly good time
Dumbo - everyone who enters gets air conditioning and a choice of bench.

Notes from the video:

• 
  "Parents will be able to sit, enjoy the air conditioned space, and their kids will be the circus performers."
  
  What a great activity! I'll have loads of fun on this bench :snore:
  
  
• "A big net climbing structure"
  
  I sure hope Dumbo doesn't get caught in it :lol:
  
  
• "Kids can go up in a burning building; they can go, uh, climb on a disc challenge and do their own aerialist act"
  
  See that? "Kids." There is no intention for their parents or really anyone else to utilize the "interactive" elements of this queue.
  
  
• "Bounce on trampoline climbers"
  
  ...Which light up when you step on them, and are in no way like trampolines

The surrounding playground is built for children and is accessible to small, flexible adults. Besides sitting on a fire truck, I do not see how everyone who enters the queue is able to participate like all the other "next-gen" queues.
For what this could have been, it is disappointing. But apparently, this is all it was planned to be It is unfortunate that there is very little for us "old folk" (12+) to enjoy in this addition.

But that being said, I'll be sitting on that bench in the back, right under a current of A/C waiting my turn to ride that marvelous little pachyderm! :sohappy:

 

[NewfieFan]

I am glad that some kids will enjoy this, but the issues as I see them:

1. The video show teenagers jumping and running around, pretty quickly, in a darken play area. The pizza joint near where I live has one of these and they limit the age of the kids to under 8 or something as obviously, big teenagers can seriously hurt pre-schoolers, and even kids 8 and under, you can't have toddlers playing in this thing with bigger kids, period. Legally, Disney is going to have to limit the age of the kids or else be faced with a slew of lawsuits when the first kid gets hurt. I bring this up as I'd hate to see a young kid get hurt!

2. The video shows parents playing. 95% of parents won't want to play in this structure, and as it should be age limited, they'll have to be outside of it. It is silly that they show a parent going down the slide as by and far that won't happen, or even be allowed to happen. The happiest memories are when parents are doing things with their kids, like tossing balls in hoops or playing some other game.

I'm just going to address your first two points... how is this area any different from the current play areas in WDW? They've handled "kids" of all ages, why can't this one? There's no limit on who can enjoy those. You'll get a handfull of bigger kids running around but most will sit and wait. If this playground is deemed dangerous than they'll have to address HISTK and The Boneyard playground. The only time I've seen kids get hurt is when one kid crashes into another kid. I never seen a parent or older child hurt a young child. Not saying it doesn't happen but kids get hurt b/c they run into other kids. It's the nature of children of playing. If that is a problem, then you might as well shut down every play area. And as for parents playing in the structure, again I would recommend you spend a few minutes in the other playgrounds in WDW. While a few parents will park themselves somewhere, most parents are chasing their kids around, following them through tunnels, and yes, sliding down the slides. I imagine the same thing will occur in this queue. And by the way, I don't know if you're a parent or not... but parents like to play with their kids in these play areas. Something strange happens when you have a child, all of sudden their interests become your interests. So for those saying this is not something parents and children alike can enjoy together... I have to ask, are you a parent!?!

a relative of mine works on Dumbo. it's a hot mess over there. yes there is going to be issues of kids putting their kids in there and parents not watching them. they dont even know if a castmember will be in there to "babysit" when things get out of hand or heaven forbid it gets overcrowded. yes it's going to slow up the line when they dont answer their pager fast enough. they should just have a height limit for kids riding alone on the ride. the current system is too confusing and they have to move people around so kids will be near their parent and who can ride together and who cant. they arent even sure if someone will monitor the casey jr splash area (that is until someone will undoubtedly get hurt). I love Disney and the parks but there is no common sense anymore. People dont make their kids behave. People cut in line, shove and are rude. They are encouraging the hispanic countries to come back in tour group droves that hugely annoy the heck out of me when they put 1 person in line then when they get near the front 20 more crowd in. It's ridiculously annoying there sometimes and I no longer enjoy it the way I did 15-20 years ago. I hate fastpass. It just slows up the regular line beyond belief. the 80/20 rule is horrible. I hope nextgen is better.

Ummmmmm, I don't even know how to respond to this post! What is a hot mess? You're telling me there's not going to be CMs monitoring the play area and the splash area!?! Yeah, right!

Kids love play areas . . . up to a point, and that point is reached when they get hurt or get tired out. IMHO, interactive circus games would have required less exertion, (you exercise enough walking around WDW), and would have held kid's attentions longer.

It'll be interesting to see if the pager system will work. Some parents will have a problem getting their kids to come down, and they'll have to hand out a lot of pagers, meaning having to pay for 2-3 extra castmembers to hand out/monitor pagers and patrol the play area.

Do you have kids? Kids love exertion!!!! Kids are born with more energy than they know what to do with. I wish it could be extended into adulthood but apparently it has an expiry date. So kids have no choice but to burn it off. The Dumbo queue does just that!

 

[DznyRktekt]

It would be interesting to know how many of the people that are complaining about the new queue actually have children in the "dumbo demographic" say 10 and under......makes you wonder.

I have a 4-year old and a 2-year old, and am not the least bit excited about this concept after it being built up prior to its construction as something for all ages. I don't like the -here sit on a bench while your kids run around-mentality of that video.

I was just hoping for more than a place where I sit and surf or make ADR's on my iPhone. Won't catch me doing this at AK, Epcot, DL or Carsland. Feels more like McKingdom every day. Now it has a playplace. Strange they stopped serving the fries.

 

[Vader2112]

Several of you are right an interactive this is horrible to have something to do for kids before they get on a ride designed for them. They should have made it a gift shop on the way into the ride so they would have a captive audience for 30 to 40 minutes. Impulse buys galore from the parents of the I want it/Can I have set...

 

[rodserling27]

i have a 4-year old and a 2-year old, and am not the least bit excited about this concept after it being built up prior to its construction as something for all ages. I don't like the -here sit on a bench while your kids run around-mentality of that video.

I was just hoping for more than a place where i sit and surf or make adr's on my iphone. Won't catch me doing this at ak, epcot, dl or carsland. feels more like mckingdom every day. Now it has a playplace. Strange they stopped serving the fries.

:lol::sohappy:

 

[Lucky]

OK, so anyone over 12 will be bored by the Circusland Playplace while they're waiting for the ride. But won't they be bored by the ride too? If the ride is designed for kids under 12, is it really that scandalous if the queue is designed for them too?

We rode Dumbo when the kids were younger (we don't now that they're over 12 and find it boring), and it would have been a far better experience if we could have waited in an AC'd tent. This is a major improvement. They may have promised more ("fun filled family games") than they're going to deliver, but that's a footnote. The headline is that they'll now have two spinners and a sunstroke-resistant waiting area.

 

[wdweric2.0]

I have a 4-year old and a 2-year old, and am not the least bit excited about this concept after it being built up prior to its construction as something for all ages. I don't like the -here sit on a bench while your kids run around-mentality of that video.

I was just hoping for more than a place where I sit and surf or make ADR's on my iPhone. Won't catch me doing this at AK, Epcot, DL or Carsland. Feels more like McKingdom every day. Now it has a playplace. Strange they stopped serving the fries.

Show that video to your children, wonder what their opinions would be. Then tell them it doesn't excite YOU and that your family is going to wait outside until its your turn to ride.

As far as McKingdom.......boneyard,HISTK,Mission Space

 

[sshindel]

I feel like I am taking crazy pills here! My first reaction to the photos and more so the video was to imagine how much fun my children would have playing here. This is a queue we are talking about, right? The thing that we do while waiting to ride the main attraction, the Dumbo ride. My previous experience waiting in line for Dumbo was filled with trying to keep my kids from swinging on the chains and injuring other guests, while fielding the question "Is it our turn yet?" for the millionth time. Now I get to watch (and join in, does no one else join their children on the other Disney playscapes???) my kids enjoy a well themed play area, all while in an air conditioned building instead of the sun.
I keep hearing McDonalds thrown around here, and maybe in other parts of the country, the playplaces are nicer than the ones I've been in, but this looks NOTHING like a McDonalds playplace. Are you referring to the type of material that they use, which is used to be durable and hold up to repeated play? Is this the issue? If this was not made of this material, would this thread be filled with 16 pages of "Well, that will be nice the first 2 weeks until it all breaks!".
Maybe you all can ask the cast members if your pager ticket will work outside as well, and you can pace slowly back and forth outside of the tent. I'll be inside with my kids, watching the smiles on their faces as they play, and then while they ride one of their favorite rides.

 

[DznyRktekt]

Show that video to your children, wonder what their opinions would be. Then tell them it doesn't excite YOU and that your family is going to wait outside until its your turn to ride.

As far as McKingdom.......boneyard,HISTK,Mission Space

Point taken, and great examples of the other areas. :wave:

 

[coolbeans14]

It's just clicked with me, Mcdonalds in USA have playgrounds???? I feel robbed of a childhood...

 

[J03Y]

jumping on the bandwagon, this does look crappy. very poorly set up imo. and from what others have said, it's true this is just going to slow things down, the opposite effect they wanted i'm sure. the place will get crowded very quickly.

 

[Lucky]

It's just clicked with me, Mcdonalds in USA have playgrounds???? I feel robbed of a childhood...

Some - most of them in the suburbs and at interstate exits do, but generally not in downtowns. E.g. the one near the White House that Bill Clinton used to go to doesn't have a McPlayground.

I think they started building them in the 1980s.

 

[bhodge]

ridiculous

It just AMAZES me that people keep complaining and complaining about this - MOVE ONE FOLKS. I totally agree that if you don't like the sue you won't like the ride and ITS NOT FOR YOU. WOW some people just want to complain about everything. If it had the "cool interactive midway games" that people keep saying they thought it would have - everyone would have complained abut how it used too many screens. I haver kids - by the time we get back to the world they will have most likely "outgrown" dumbo, but I LOVE the idea of this. Who says you can't interact and play with your kids in this area? Who says your kids WNAT you to play with them in this area - some times kids just want to run - have fun and interact with other kids. That is what will happen here and that is the success of this.

 

[DznyRktekt]

It just AMAZES me that people keep complaining and complaining about this - MOVE ONE FOLKS. I totally agree that if you don't like the sue you won't like the ride and ITS NOT FOR YOU. WOW some people just want to complain about everything. If it had the "cool interactive midway games" that people keep saying they thought it would have - everyone would have complained abut how it used too many screens. I haver kids - by the time we get back to the world they will have most likely "outgrown" dumbo, but I LOVE the idea of this. Who says you can't interact and play with your kids in this area? Who says your kids WNAT you to play with them in this area - some times kids just want to run - have fun and interact with other kids. That is what will happen here and that is the success of this.

Missing the point. One doesn't have to outgrow anything at Disney. That was the base of Walt's desire to build Disneyland in the first place.

 

[MichWolv]

Anyone want to guess how long it will be before that mini dumbo near the ceiling of the tent stops rotating and then not get fixed? DiscoDumbo down the road. :lookaroun

I suspect you're right about this!

Okay, so we now have video of the entire area. No carnival games, no real interactivity, its basically an indoor playground for the little ones.

Now, its not the worse thing in the World, and no doubt the kiddies will love it, and everyone will appreciate the AC, but I still find it underwhelming. And I can't help but wonder if this place will look as inviting when its filled with a couple hundred people.



Sums it up pretty well. I'm still somewhat shocked that the only thing they could hype about this for adults is the fact there are benches in air conditioning.

But I'm sure the average family will adore this thing so who am I to make judgments? :shrug:

I can certainly understand being underwhelmed if you were expecting something more. But it'll be a huge improvement compared to a switchback outdoor slow-moving line.

I totally agree with everyone's thoughts about the thing. Kids will definitely love it. It's just very difficult to believe that a glorified McDonald's playground and Applebee's-style pagers are becoming a part of the Magic Kingdom.

Show that video to your children, wonder what their opinions would be. Then tell them it doesn't excite YOU and that your family is going to wait outside until its your turn to ride.

As far as McKingdom.......boneyard,HISTK,Mission Space

The advance here is that the playground what you do while waiting in line. We always hit the Boneyard and HISTK areas and it always annoys me that I'm wasting time in a nice playground as lines for actual attractions get longer and longer. Change that to playing in the playground instead of waiting in line and it's a big deal.

 

[J03Y]

It just AMAZES me that people keep complaining and complaining about this - MOVE ONE FOLKS. I totally agree that if you don't like the sue you won't like the ride and ITS NOT FOR YOU. WOW some people just want to complain about everything. If it had the "cool interactive midway games" that people keep saying they thought it would have - everyone would have complained abut how it used too many screens. I haver kids - by the time we get back to the world they will have most likely "outgrown" dumbo, but I LOVE the idea of this. Who says you can't interact and play with your kids in this area? Who says your kids WNAT you to play with them in this area - some times kids just want to run - have fun and interact with other kids. That is what will happen here and that is the success of this.

okay, you need to calm down. some of us just think it's a little bland, not even the fact that it doesn't have cool hi-tech touch screens. we don't need the cool and fancy stuff to have a good time at Disney World, still gonna ride the Dumbo ride cause ya know, this whole Storybook Circus thing is far out and Dumbo is also part of our childhood.

and we're not obligated to like everything anyway, so chill. it's not like we're killing you with our disappointment :shrug:

 

[WondersOfLife]

Really. REALLY? Everyone being worked up about the queue line for a (Most likely going to offend possibly every classic-Disney park fan on this side) kiddie ride? Oh my God this is far from what I was expecting guys! They put a lot of theming for a little carnival ride and of course WDWMagic users are the first to complain. I'd be happy with what you've got. I could see all of you complaining "They should've done something with the queue line" if they didn't do ANYthing. I for one am very pleased with what they made and looks a LOT better than I expected. Well done Disney! :sohappy:

-WondersOfLife


The last original pavilion. :king:

 

[Enchantâmes]

Really. REALLY? Everyone being worked up about the queue line for a (Most likely going to offend possibly every classic-Disney park fan on this side) kiddie ride? Oh my God this is far from what I was expecting guys! They put a lot of theming for a little carnival ride and of course WDWMagic users are the first to complain. I'd be happy with what you've got. I could see all of you complaining "They should've done something with the queue line" if they didn't do ANYthing. I for one am very pleased with what they made and looks a LOT better than I expected. Well done Disney! :sohappy:

-WondersOfLife


The last original pavilion. :king:

Missing the point.

btw putting that little WOF thing at the end of each post is pretentious and makes no sense because Wonders of Life was not an original Epcot Pavilion it opened 7 years after the park opened.