Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[WDW1974]

Ah that's a scenario where its a little easier to see where Muppets may have a presence in the new park at their existing home. Still, I know long discussions were had about whether or not it was worth keeping the Mama Melrose kitchen and using it in a new venue, and dark Tatooine alleyways and a seedy Mos Eisley Cantina do not leave a lot of room for Muppets less than 200 meters away. Which then lead to "hey, while we're copying ideas over from France anyway" logic being applied to the Muppetvision venue.

But hell, if they are going after Indy and the backstage support buildings, they can have their cake and eat it too.

One possibility for a continued Muppets presence in the park would be in the same location they made their Disney debut in.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Yep ... but I am wondering what Disney will do to their other Studios breadwinner -- SWW's -- when they embark on this massive makeover. ... The Ozzy and Sharon Lightacular will be history. There is nowhere for them to stick them (their current location is because they paved all of the backlot sets for LMA) now. ... But what of SWW's? I would guess they'll continue them, but they may be scaled back a bit because of space and construction issues.

Is the ending of Ozzie and Harriet's Light Show (Let's see how far removed we can get this from the actual name) something that's been confirmed, or is it assumed because of where the construction is taking place?

 

[Funmeister]

The problem with that is that these buses and boats are on a fixed route. They are going to run back and forth even if no one is on the bus or boat. Expenses are not significantly affected. They are not on demand. Even if they only had one person using a hopper, they have to follow the schedule so that they don't strand someone where they don't want to be. And besides that the only buses or boats that are affected are those that run from park to park. I'm thinking that this is a much smaller portion of the service by and large.

Disney has attempted on-demand transportation and it has failed miserably. The largest instance being the ill-fated "Magic On-Demand" campaign. The transportation may very well be too big for its britches to do something like that effectively and may require an extreme overhaul in order to work.

 

[articos]

AK Lion King is being moved. Rare perhaps but not impossible.

Very rare. But no, not impossible.

 

[WDW1974]

Need to plan trip to WDW for the Holiday season this year or next it seems!!! I have never been there in that time frame and kind of expected the lights be around for ever because they are so popular!!!

The lights most likely will be around two more years. They are my favorite part of Christmas season at WDW. That said, there are other entertainment options they could do when the makeover is happening and post.

Or they could simply move the lights over to Golden Oak!!!

 

[asianway]

Yep ... but I am wondering what Disney will do to their other Studios breadwinner -- SWW's -- when they embark on this massive makeover. ... The Ozzy and Sharon Lightacular will be history. There is nowhere for them to stick them (their current location is because they paved all of the backlot sets for LMA) now. ... But what of SWW's? I would guess they'll continue them, but they may be scaled back a bit because of space and construction issues.

I'm hearing MAJOR scaling back on SWW in '14 due to Georgie being out of the picture.

 

[yoyoflamingo]

The lights most likely will be around two more years. They are my favorite part of Christmas season at WDW. That said, there are other entertainment options they could do when the makeover is happening and post.

Or they could simply move the lights over to Golden Oak!!!

Maybe George K will buy all the Golden Oak houses to try and put them all by him.

 

[spaceghost]

@pheneix's post was really rambling and out there . . . and totally made up as I don't think anybody believes that Burbank is looking at StarWars, Carsland, and Pixar rides for DHS! Sure, you can report a rumor that WDI/Burbank is "looking at" doing something, but even if something never happens it isn't not true.

Remember Lee said probably half a year ago that they were practically . . . oh so close to doing Carsland at DHS and it was all but a done deal.

I don't see the bulldozers.

So if four people on an internet forum say something is going to happen with regards to Disney and parks it will? Some of these people have a very negative view of Disney's parks, and no doubt they want DHS "fixed" pronto even if there weren't rumors implying this very thing.

It depends on the four people.

 

[articos]

Carousel of Progress got moved across the country.

Edit: I'd just mention that it's much easier to move a theater show or a flat ride to a different location than it is to move a ride with tracks and sets. I could easily see, say, Laugh Floor moved to DHS without too much problem -- you just need to put the screen tech and the decor in another theater. If TDO wanted to spend the effort to do so.

Different time. Would almost never happen today.

 

[WDW1974]

The only place I'll stick my feet down about removal is Sci Fi...

I loved it as a kid, my kid loves it, and it's something that needs to stay.

I think the status of Sci-Fi is akin to Muppets. It 'might' stay in its current form or not ...

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Don't take it out of context. Dollywood would never be able to compete attendance-wise with Epcot. Go re-read your posts...we were talking about it being a second tier park compared to other WDW theme parks. Do not insult the intelligence of the readers of this forum with blurring the "facts" of your own posts. When DHS DOES announce the expansion would you prefer starting your own thread admitting you are wrong or would you prefer to just add a post here?

I don't think the average person would think that referring to Epcot/DHS/AK as "second-tier" parks, of course means among Disney parks. Added together, these parks get close to 30 million, a lot more than just MK.

I have said that DHS has a legitimate *expansion* plan via the parking lot/across World Drive. Saying that ripping out Backlot/LMA/SoA for Carsland ain't gonna happen. Refuting nebulous proof that DHS is in trouble.

 

[WDW1974]

If all of this plus Avatar get built maybe Osborne Lights would move to EPCOT. It is wildly popular around Christmas time and was used to draw guests to an otherwise less popular park. The lights couldn't be setup in their current form, but maybe somewhere in WS or even better use the abandoned Wonders of Life pavilion. It wouldn't be hard to build some fake building fronts inside the pavilion to string the lights up on.

Um ... Ah ... No.

 

[Darth Sidious]

One possibility for a continued Muppets presence in the park would be in the same location they made their Disney debut in.

Let me guess... Cloning the rumored Broadway show into a condensed version?

 

[Nemo14]

Maybe they coul string them up with the Lights of Winter....................oh, nevermind.

 

[doctornick]

I think the status of Sci-Fi is akin to Muppets. It 'might' stay in its current form or not ...

Well, that's interesting. That seems to be a bit backtracking on your earlier comments which indicated that the Muppets were gone if the current plans proceed.

So, do you think that it's still being decided where and how to do the expansion including whether or not the Muppets show goes?

Honestly, the Muppets and Sci Fi are the only things I'd be upset about losing. I like the Osborne Lights, but have faith they'd show up somewhere if removed from DHS. The rest of it (LMA, Backlot, HISTK, the SOA, even Indy) I'm okay with losing for this proposed expansion.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I can't imagine the facades for the Osborne Lights would be too costly to reproduce elsewhere (still suggesting behind RnRC). It's probably difficult to quantify how much revenue they generate, but they are certainly wildly popular. I believe they were the highest rated attraction at DHS across all age groups according to Touring Plans polls, not sure of @lentesta can verify.

As for other Pixar content, it makes too much sense for them to build the door coaster on both coasts simultaneously, but it doesn't seem like it's included in this plan.

 

[WDW1974]

Compared to the 1970s and 1980s, MK has more attractions today. For example, Space Mountain opened in 1975, Big Thunder Mountain in 1980, and Splash Mountain in 1992. Toontown opened in 1988. 20K closed in 1994.

It all depends on what year you want to use as baselines ... The MK had more attractions in say 1992 than it did in 2002 or even 2012. Of course, character meet and greets were not considered attractions in the 70s or 80s too. And capacity overall has gone down as dining locales and shops were shuttered and live entertainment venues disappeared. The MK of today is a far emptier experience now.

 

[doctornick]

As for other Pixar content, it makes too much sense for them to build the door coaster on both coasts simultaneously, but it doesn't seem like it's included in this plan.

I remain extremely skeptical that they would remove all of LMA/Backlot Tour/HISTK/SOA (and have an empty Soundstage 1 sitting there) and only add Cars Land with 2 attractions. If they are really using all of that space, I've got to think that additional Pixar attractions are in the works. Cars Land simply can't use up that much room.

 

[WDW1974]

Universal's taking money out of WDW's pocket today. In the "WDW/Uni Wars", Uni's been winning a lot of battles lately. Even though I personally cheer for Uni and support them with my vacation dollars, I don't let my personal feelings interfere with my professional assessment that Disney is still winning the war. With approximately 24,000 acres, 30,000 onsite resort rooms, 4 major theme parks, 2 water parks, an expansive and growing shopping district, WDW's got a lot of weapons in its arsenal.

IMHO, the casual vacationing public is going to climb over each other at the chance to experience Star Wars Land and Pixar Land at DHS. I know people bash the Avatar IP but, if executed properly, IMHO any IP will be successful, including Avatar.

This line of discussion began with:

To suggest that WDW "won't compete with Universal" is simply wrong and, IMHO, to suggest that Orlando vacationers won't spend "as much time at MK" as they always have in the past, even with WWOHP in full bloom, smacks of drinking the Uni Kool-Aid we so often accuse the pixiedusters of drinking. There's no avoiding it; MK dominates the Orlando theme park scene and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. WDW's problem is not MK; it's the other 3 theme parks and it appears TWDC is starting finally to do something about them. In the mean time, Uni will continue to have a good run until WDW actually fixes these.

Automotive Detroit fell apart because it got complacent; it didn't take the overseas competition seriously. Uni's gains so far are largely because TWDC fell asleep at the wheel. (Remember, WDW had the inside track on Harry Potter and blew it.) If WDW wakes up and stops being complacent, then Uni will never be more than a thorn in WDW's side. If Disney wakes up, WDW will continue to dominate the Orlando vacation scene for the foreseeable future.

A major overhaul of DHS, Avatar at DAK, NFL & a new parade at MK, and a revitalized DTD suggests TWDC is waking up. Quoting Isoroku Yamamoto's most famous mythical statement, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

Now, what's up at Epcot besides a new movie for Soarin'?

I don't disagree about Disney's mammoth prescence in O-town. But I think there is a point being missed and that is Disney losing guests to UNI ... And once you do, it takes a helluva lot to get them back, something Walt understood but the arrogant leaders of WDW today do not. Five more years of next to nothing new at WDW while UNI is constantly adding AND pushing the bar of immersive themed attractions/parks can (and will, IMHO) alter vacation habits.

Just because a company has been on top doesn't mean it always shall be.

 

[HMF]

Eric Jacobson is the current voice of Frank's Piggy, though, and I doubt that would change.

Not to be confused with the WDI Portfolio leader of DHS and the other non-Animal Kingdom Parks at WDW.