mickey04
Member
I honestly don't think that they "damaged" the theme in Adventureland. The only time I hear that is from a few here at the forums. Not actually in MK walking by the attraction. What you hear there is kids asking to ride something that was made for them. Many get scared at Tiki. They get scared on Pirates and can't ride it. They get scared on HM and can't ride it. You're hypothesis about segregating the guests is actually right on target, but the problem is that many of the attractions are not geared to the toddler set... just a few.
My 2yo enjoyed JC, but was not that intrigued by PotC or HM. She likes Tiki somewhat, but was ready to leave after some of the darker moments and never asked to go again. She begged to ride Aladdin over and over. It sounds to me like you want the attractions to fit YOU and not worry about the little ones and try to use your view of the theming as an excuse when in essance you just want something else for you. I think there's room for attractions for all groups. I honestly could care less for Dumbo since it's so slow loading and the lines are long. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have its fans. I'm just not one of them.
I enjoyed AE and thought it was a shame that the warnings were not heeded by some parents. My only support of the change was based on the fact that it wasn't pulling the crowds, didn't generate merchandising sales and it was time for a change. I've seen reports from CMs that said AE had MANY more complaints than SGE and that's the only thing that I agreed was probably accurate. The overall census shows that SGE receives less complaints... not that it helps the attraction. It's still not one that I care for.
You mention that your 2 yo enjoyed the Jungle Cruise, which is I think one of the major aspects that has made that ride so successful. Children enjoy it on one level- namely seeing all the animals and riding in a boat, while adults enjoy the so-bad-its-good humor as well as all the subtle theming. If you put in a Timon and Pumbaa show, it does slowly detract from that theming, making the ride less enjoyable for the older set and more attractive to the younger set. I know I don't necessarily want to get bombarded with a cartoon full of characters I can see elsewhere. And with repeat riding, it just gets annoying. Let's add some new show scenes (perhaps the ones from DL), spruce up the old ones, and get the attraction looking great. That sounds like something everyone can enjoy.