News Primeval Whirl, Stitch's Great Escape and Rivers of Light permanently closed

[DisneyDebRob]

I don't get people that say this at all. Animal Kingdom is far and away the prettiest park. The nature trails are awesome. We can spend two days there easily. It's our favorite.

We have spent 2 days there and still didn’t get a chance to do everything. Every trip now to Disney we plan at least 2 and a half days at AK.If you think of AK as FoP,the yeti and safari then you can do it in a day with a meal or two. Skipping the shows, the trails and everything else is not giving one of the best parks Disney has ever made justice.

 

[Brer Panther]

Yup! I can even remember the story where I believe it was Chapek, who pitched an inside out replacement of imagination devoid of Figment to Pete Doctor, to which Pete defended figment and wanted him to remain at Epcot.

If only John Musker and Ron Clements stopped them from announcing a Princess and the Frog retheme of Splash Mountain.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

I think the name you are looking for is Paul Pressler.

I know about his terrible reputation for a very long time. He was responsible for DCA and it was approved his watch.

I read about him back in the 2000s and really should've been investigated due to his attitude with maintenance at Disneyland. He turned multiple Disneyland attractions into time bombs due to his no maintenance attitude. Him and Cynthia Hairriss did very bad things at Disneyland. Disney had to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with the guests family receiving money from the Big Thunder Mountain railroad actually becoming a runaway train due to no maintenance.

The thing is Eisner appointed him.

As Far as WDW goes, some of the stuff had no inkling to Paul Pressler due to time frame.

I know Paul had some say at WDW due some of the stuff like Spaceship Earth not becoming a roller Coaster called time Racers was due to him. The catch is he did not have a say for WDW not as long as he did at Disneyland. He had almost 4 years for influencing stuff for WDW.

Paul was not President of Walt Disney attractions aka now known as the Chairman of Disney Parks and resorts before December of 1998. Primeval Whirl was under Pressler's reign like you said. The 3rd version of Imagination ride was under his reign also.

Pressler had nothing to do with Enchanted Tiki Room under New Management since the original Tiki room at the Magic Kingdom closed down in 1997. Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management reopened in 1998 before Pressler had a chance to get his hands on this.

He had nothing to do with with the original Imagination closing down and getting a 2nd version of the ride since that was planned before Paul became President of Walt Disney attractions just 2 months after the attraction closed. The 2nd version of the imagination ride opened up almost a year after the first version closed down.

What happened for the 2nd version of imagination was an imagineer blunder, not a management issue. I think you know the imagineer who did that since he is right now the head imagineer responsible for Epcot's makeover.

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

Here is a look at Primeval Whirl today.

Cast were getting pictures in-front of the ride, although no walls yet.

Primeval Whirl overview

Primeval Whirl overview

www.wdwmagic.com

It looks like they had plans to reopen it. There are the 6ft markers on the floor by the entrance.

 

[DVCakaCarlF]

It looks like they had plans to reopen it. There are the 6ft markers on the floor by the entrance.

Good point...I wonder if it hit a “point of no return” regarding maintenance?

 

[WEDway Inc & Company LLC]

It looks like they had plans to reopen it. There are the 6ft markers on the floor by the entrance.

Good point...I wonder if it hit a “point of no return” regarding maintenance?

I hate to say it, but there was no chance of that ride reopening to guests ever.

 

[Rhinocerous]

It's a large company. I would imagine the group tasked with deciding what could re-open "safely" under COVID is independent from who made the decision to close it. I expect those lines were set down at every attraction on the list.

 

[celluloid]

It is nice to dream and blue sky about what investments could come later, but these cuts were made officially to cut another dime trying to fix the spending for things low on the guest satisfaction list.

 

[BromBones]

I never said wildlife didn’t take up residence there.

Again by you logic they would never build anything anywhere and could never replant a planter. Have you ever seen how many bunnies, ducks, birds, and insects take up residence in their flower and garden displays? I guess they can never replace those now.

Argument ad absurdum. There is a very big difference between moving a planter or some dirt around a flower and excavating massive amounts of dirt and plant life where animals have already chosen to make their nests, burrows and possibly laid their eggs.

But we'll ignore that environmental destruction by Disney in their "environmental preservation park"...because there's profit to be had.

 

[MrPromey]

I don’t think a big budget fantasy adventure film about Figment and Dreamfinder would bomb. At all. Especially with Favreau.

To be clear, I was 100% joking in my original post where I proposed the idea.

 

[BromBones]

Just to be clear. Are you really arguing that Disney caused irreparable damage to the environment by adding Rivers Of Light, and not continuing to support it? Would it have been okay if the show was still active? What are the metrics you are using to measure the loss of habit, and how is a 50mW power production not significant?

Talk about stepping over a dollar to pick up a penny....

That is the assumption YOU are taking from what I said.
I didn't like that they put in Rivers of Light anyway because that was a beautiful, scenic, natural spot.
The "environmental champions" at Disney are anything but. Funny you who cling to the environmental preservation always give Disney a pass for destroying the environment just to build more rides for you to spend your time on.

But go on with your straw man arguments.

 

[peter11435]

Argument ad absurdum. There is a very big difference between moving a planter or some dirt around a flower and excavating massive amounts of dirt and plant life where animals have already chosen to make their nests, burrows and possibly laid their eggs.

But we'll ignore that environmental destruction by Disney in their "environmental preservation park"...because there's profit to be had.

Lol.

Obviously the flower planter discussion is boarding on hyperbole, but it’s not too far off regarding some of the large flower and garden displays where entire trees are moved. And surely you know eggs were laid their too. But your argument is still one that implies that nothing should ever be developed or built.

 

[MrPromey]

What happened for the 2nd version of imagination was an imagineer blunder, not a management issue. I think you know the imagineer who did that since he is right now the head imagineer responsible for Epcot's makeover.

To be fair, the original changes to Imagination were not done in an attempt to modernize or improve the existing ride. They were done to provide a cheap refurb with lower maintenance costs to a sponsor that was seeing their financial prospects wash down the drain with the sweeping revolution of digital photography*.

I mean, what we got was horrendous and the attempt to fix it wasn't much better but I don't think anybody involved in that project thought they were making anything to be proud of at the time.


*Something Kodak actually invented but somehow chose to totally ignore in an effort to save their film business.

 

[BromBones]

Lol.

Obviously the flower planter discussion is boarding on hyperbole, but it’s not too far off regarding some of the large flower and garden displays where entire trees are moved. And surely you know eggs were laid their too. But your argument is still one that implies that nothing should ever be developed or built.

No, It's VERY far off. It was a point made in the absurd because you actually thought it would work...and it didn't.
How do you know eggs were NOT laid there?

And now you go for the Straw Man argument trying to make a point that I never made.
In a park that prides itself on "environmental preservation and consciousness"...it's quite hypocritical to tear out what had developed as a natural environment over years simply to make more money.
The only reason they made the arena for Rivers of Light was to make more money and keep the park open in the evening as well.

You can't be an environmental champion and kill nature or acres of trees without planting new ones.
Isn't that why you environmentalists were so upset with the lumber industry, which led to the banning of paper bags and the recycling push...only to give us plastic bags....which apparently are now bad.
The difference between the lumber industry and Disney is that the lumber industry cuts down acres of trees...but continues to plant acres of new ones. Disney doesn't plant as many new trees as they cut down.

 

[3-D]

To be clear, I was 100% joking in my original post where I proposed the idea.

Well it’s not a bad idea at all. I’ve thought they should develop the Figment and Dreamfinder IPs for years.

 

[tanc]

Bring back extraTERRORestrial

 

[Lirael]

Time to build Kuzcotopia!

View attachment 484835

I know this is a joke, but i would actually love it if that were true.

Add a simple falling down elevator type ride where you fall after hearing Izma's "Pull the lever Kronk" and also add some "pet the llamas" corral for the little kids and me (which AK already has) plus a rapid river ride...
...Anyway, since my immersion with AK already went out the window with Avatar, I don't care why, I'd love Kuzco stuff anywhere.

 

[cjkeating]

I hate to say it, but there was no chance of that ride reopening to guests ever.

Why?

 

[trainplane3]

Why?

We should find out when Bio flies next...

 

[NelsonRD]

That is the assumption YOU are taking from what I said.
I didn't like that they put in Rivers of Light anyway because that was a beautiful, scenic, natural spot.
The "environmental champions" at Disney are anything but. Funny you who cling to the environmental preservation always give Disney a pass for destroying the environment just to build more rides for you to spend your time on.

But go on with your straw man arguments.

This is your argument, not mine. I was asking for your clarification on how a 50mW power plant is insignificant, and asked for some metrics on how a stage theater damaged the environment, other then you used to see a few squirrels there.