Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[HenryMystic]

No doubt it has, but popular doesn't necessarily equal profit. A large percentage of the people who see the Lights before Christmas are APs--they'd have to be, it's the slowest time of the year. I suspect a lot are maingated in, as well--hard to believe people would spend $90 for a 15-minute experience. There is no event-specific merchandise--Christmas Mickeys and what-not, but those can be sold anywhere. I guess High Octane gets a boost selling "Snowballs" [still makes me snicker] but that's at most a 1-hour increase--even with a line down the stairs, management makes them shut down at 7:00 p.m. While I'd miss the Lights--annual tradition to kick off the holiday season--I can easily see how Cars Land would be far more profitable.

If this plan goes through, I'm gonna come down and close this out with you guys one last time.

 

[71jason]

This is sacrilege, I know, but I do wonder if TDO is overestimating the appeal of Star Wars. SWW are huge, filled parking lot huge. But I think their limited nature feeds the mystique. Dressing up in costume, lining up at 5:00 a.m. for merch, there's a certain amount of "geek cred" that comes from attending SWW. That gets lost when anybody can buy the exact same T-shirt or pin 365 days a year. Same goes for a year-round meet-and-greet with Darth Vader or Greedo--will it be as cool/popular when everybody who visits WDW can do it?

Don't misunderstand, I think the E-ticket will be huge. But I don't know if Star Wars can ultimately move merchandise on a daily basis the way Cars and Princesses and Harry Potter seem to. Was Tatooine Traders ever really that busy outside of SWW? Because, if Cars Land is the model, we'll be looking at 3 or 4 clones of it.

 

[HMF]

It's not limited to media conglomerates.

It happens all the time in Government as well, which is why I find it hilarious when people blindly trust large corporations and complain about Government which is quite common in this country when in reality they operate in a very similar way. That's why I have nearly the same amount of trust (or lack thereof) for both.

 

[Darth Sidious]

Or any number of great American BRANDS from the past that either don't exist or exist in much smaller form today ...

I get the idea that many fans just view WDW as 'too big to fail' akin to the great Wall Street banking lie ...

There was an article on Spielberg talking about the potential demise of Hollywood due to the blockbuster strategies. It made me think... Iger, Iger, Iger. Good thing TWDC is pursuing two candidates for CEO that have connections to Spielberg, and I would hope, understand this. Unless they are no longer in the running.

 

[Darth Sidious]

It's not limited to media conglomerates.

 

[stevehousse]

Are there any reports of anything being added or taken away from the animation courtyard area?

Also, it would make sense to tear down pizza planet and add a Muppet Ride replacing the space! I don't see why they would take the muppet area away.

Have you heard anything about a Star Wars dark ride in addition to the speeder bike coaster?

As much as people don't want it, I can totally see them either retheming sci fi to cars, or tearing it down and actually moving it more into the Pixar place area. Remember, this type of restaurant has already been talked about as an addition to carsland in dca. There is artwork out there somehwere for it, they showed it on a television show.

 

[ChrisFL]

This is sacrilege, I know, but I do wonder if TDO is overestimating the appeal of Star Wars. SWW are huge, filled parking lot huge. But I think their limited nature feeds the mystique. Dressing up in costume, lining up at 5:00 a.m. for merch, there's a certain amount of "geek cred" that comes from attending SWW. That gets lost when anybody can buy the exact same T-shirt or pin 365 days a year. Same goes for a year-round meet-and-greet with Darth Vader or Greedo--will it be as cool/popular when everybody who visits WDW can do it?

Don't misunderstand, I think the E-ticket will be huge. But I don't know if Star Wars can ultimately move merchandise on a daily basis the way Cars and Princesses and Harry Potter seem to. Was Tatooine Traders ever really that busy outside of SWW? Because, if Cars Land is the model, we'll be looking at 3 or 4 clones of it.

I agree its possible that unless it's a major blockbuster attraction for Star Wars, we might not see a big increase. DHS already opened a new Star Tours 2, and I don't think it bumped up attendance hardly at all. Add that to the fact that all of the SW fanbois go there every year during SWW....I don't see it being much of an improvement.

I think the Donnie and Marie light show could go to DAK, nothing like hundreds of animals having seizures near guests also having seizures...fun for all!

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

This is sacrilege, I know, but I do wonder if TDO is overestimating the appeal of Star Wars.

. . . a year-round meet-and-greet with Darth Vader or Greedo--will it be as cool/popular when everybody who visits WDW can do it?

As long as StarWarsland is big enough to be beautiful and a world in and of itself where people want to spend, I think it will work. I'm guessing Star Wars meet and greets will be popular with a broader segment of guests than just the princess meet and greets . . . same idea though if they go with 365 days a year / meet and greets.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

So DHS refurb wouldn't be announced at D23?

The DHS refurb is a secret project that actually already began on the third shift with invisible workers. It won't be announced until a couple years after it is up and running, even then it will be hard to find info about, it will also only be accessible to super fans who know the true meaning of DHS.

Some secret projects already completed include the Indy clone from Disneyland which is hidden behind a fake wall of vines at DHS.

 

[NoChesterHester]

This is sacrilege, I know, but I do wonder if TDO is overestimating the appeal of Star Wars. SWW are huge, filled parking lot huge. But I think their limited nature feeds the mystique. Dressing up in costume, lining up at 5:00 a.m. for merch, there's a certain amount of "geek cred" that comes from attending SWW. That gets lost when anybody can buy the exact same T-shirt or pin 365 days a year. Same goes for a year-round meet-and-greet with Darth Vader or Greedo--will it be as cool/popular when everybody who visits WDW can do it?

Don't misunderstand, I think the E-ticket will be huge. But I don't know if Star Wars can ultimately move merchandise on a daily basis the way Cars and Princesses and Harry Potter seem to. Was Tatooine Traders ever really that busy outside of SWW? Because, if Cars Land is the model, we'll be looking at 3 or 4 clones of it.

How long has it been since you were in a Toys R Us? Have you seen the droves of children dressed in Star Wars Halloween Costumes every year? Have you seen what happens to a website by putting "Star Wars Episode VII" in an article title?

Star Wars is as big as it has ever been. 27 BILLION worth of sales and tickets as a franchise over its lifetime, and no I'm not just making up that number. (Source StatustcBrain)

 

[Taylor]

How long has it been since you were in a Toys R Us? Have you seen the droves of children dressed in Star Wars Halloween Costumes every year? Have you seen what happens to a website by putting "Star Wars Episode VII" in an article title?

Star Wars is as big as it has ever been. 27 BILLION worth of sales and tickets as a franchise over its lifetime, and no I'm not just making up that number. (Source StatustcBrain)

Episode 7 is going to pull in historical numbers will more then likely top The Avenegers and if its a great movie might get close to the two billion mark.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Somebody talked to a castmember who said that they overheard their supervisor saying that a Cantina restaurant will be put into DHS near Star Tours. So, I guess rumor confirmed! LOL

I think that these bogus rumors are easy to spot as they often use, "appears" and "looks like" and the author describes in vague terms what they know as if they saw model of something new at DHS behind scrims in low lighting. "Appears" that it may have a ride, "looks like" the green light has been given for all of these projects.

Hilarious the conversations the insiders must have with their sources:

"What is going on at D23?"

"Appears that they probably will talk about Avatar . . . my crystal ball is fuzzy and can't see what is going to happen with StarWarsland . . . looks like a ride, though could be a meet and greet. Definitely see company brass in a room . . . talking excitedly about something."

 

[John]

IMHO Osborne lights will be gone as it seems to fit into Disney's elimination of a Christmas presence in the parks. I am sure there will always be a little something for us believers. But as time goes by expect to see less and less. The decorations are already a mere shell of what they used to be. As Pixiesnorter said....why should they do anything? the parks are packed. See park attendance at Christmas. Osborne lights probably take a army of cast members to install/remove......labor = cost a very bad word for TDO. Not to mention that for obvious reasons Disney more and more wants to be the poster child for everything PC. If you think about what Pixiesnorter says he is right about some things. Disney has very little motivation to anything when there are people lining up with money in hand.

Since I don't know squat from shineola around here I will just say this last thing and let all of you "know it alls"
have the thread. Disney is no longer about making the guest experience the best it can be.......its about making the guest spend as much as possible while giving them less......

 

[djkidkaz]

I'm going to be extremely upset if they bring Carsland to DHS without the full RSR experience. That is the selling point of the whole land. People aren't flying out to California so they can visit a cars themed hot dog stand or cars themed store selling toys they can get at Walmart. They are making trips based on those awesome commercials of guests riding through the mountains of Radiator Springs in Lightning McQueen. If they change it to a dark ride, it will be a HUGE mistake that Disney will regret. This is definitely a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it, copy it!

 

[stevehousse]

I honestly don't care what comes and goes at this point inside the park! As long as there are new rides that my whole family can enjoy I will be happy. We love DHS but is sucks that my kids can really only go on 2 rides!

 

[Skyway]

Couple thoughts---

RSR "lite"-- I've go no problem with this. The only benefit of using the expensive TT technology on the DCA version is for the high speed race at the end, which can currently be experienced at Epcot, yet is also subject to weather closures. 3/4 of DCA's RSR could have been achieved using any dark ride vehicle system. Imagine if WDW replaced the outdoor run finale with an updated version of the old SpeedTunnels (from WoM, If You Had Wings), using HD Pixar animation of a race through the desert, maybe even ending at the Piston Cup. It would make WDW's RSR similar but different (just as Nemo on the 2 coasts are similar but different). It would reduce the risk of weather closures. It would likely reduce technical down times. It could potentially create higher capacity. And it should free up money for other projects.

Osborne Lights-- It seems the lights help DHS for 6 weeks, but that space is wasted 48 weeks of the year. If you owned a store, you would be foolish to rope off your Christmas decoration aisles after the holidays. You'd replace the shelves with different merchandise. But unlike a store, Disney can't easily swap out sections of a theme park throughout the year. So it's best to use the area in a way that can produce the most interest and profits year-round. Also, keep in mind that the SoA were never intended to be a walk through. They're were originally a set piece seen from the trams, no different than Catastrophe Canyon. Osbourne Lights were a very well received band-aid on a park with a terribly disorganized master plan. Maybe after 25 years, it's time for DHS to hit reset on its haphazard growth.

Muppets-- For the same reasons above, Muppets is a victim of being set down in a park without a firm master plan. Although I'm pleased to hear it might be relocated to the Mermaid show building and maybe updated, the rumored gains of CL and SWL are worth the loss.

Capacity-- Some have said it is pointless to destroy so many existing areas (like Backlot Tour) only to replace them with "just a few new attractions" in CL and SWL. BLT tour may have capacity, but its certainly not prompting 23% attendance growth as CL has the proven possibility of doing. So much of BLT, SOA,LMA, and even the current Muppets/Star Tours/Indy area is inaccessible or wasted space. By simply opening up BLT to foot traffic with shops and restaurants, they will improve capacity even before adding attractions.

 

[Funmeister]

So, they killed the very popular Super Soap Weekends (before they murdered ABC Daytime) and then they killed the very popular ESPN Weekends.

Now, they want to scale back the most popular event they have? They sure know what they are doing, don't they?

Don't forget the Epcot Kite Fest and Sci-Fi convention in Tomorrowland! Just kidding....those were horrible!

 

[RSoxNo1]

I didn't discuss anything but the project at hand. But I am reasonably sure that more ... should say something about Avatar will get shown to the public and they'll likely everything from the MK's new parade to the Grand Flo DVC to the changes coming to the Disney Magic ... and that's just the Florida end of things.

There will be considerable P&R announcements because they need it to really justify D23 Expo continuing. There is a lot of doubt as to whether this may well be the last one and there are factions in the company determined that it goes forward ... so you'll hear things unlike the waste that was the 2011 Expo.

I'm still not sure what the benefit was of leaking the Star Wars info though, can you elaborate on that?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Somebody talked to a castmember who said that they overheard their supervisor saying that a Cantina restaurant will be put into DHS near Star Tours. So, I guess rumor confirmed! LOL

I think that these bogus rumors are easy to spot as they often use, "appears" and "looks like" and the author describes in vague terms what they know as if they saw model of something new at DHS behind scrims in low lighting. "Appears" that it may have a ride, "looks like" the green light has been given for all of these projects.

Hilarious the conversations the insiders must have with their sources:

"What is going on at D23?"

"Appears that they probably will talk about Avatar . . . my crystal ball is fuzzy and can't see what is going to happen with StarWarsland . . . looks like a ride, though could be a meet and greet. Definitely see company brass in a room . . . talking excitedly about something."

You know why this is done, right? It's because people like yourself question every rumor from trusted sources. The internet community is rabid and they don't understand that things change. If you look at it objectively, Jay Rasulo has a worse track record of information than anyone that's perceived as a trusted insider on here.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'm going to be extremely upset if they bring Carsland to DHS without the full RSR experience. That is the selling point of the whole land. People aren't flying out to California so they can visit a cars themed hot dog stand or cars themed store selling toys they can get at Walmart. They are making trips based on those awesome commercials of guests riding through the mountains of Radiator Springs in Lightning McQueen. If they change it to a dark ride, it will be a HUGE mistake that Disney will regret. This is definitely a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it, copy it!

It's probably safe to say that the replacement will be less costly, but without knowing what that replacement is, it's hard to say definitively that it will be worse. Radiator Springs Racers is a great ride that anchors a great land, but the $340 million price tag is obscene. If I had to chose between Indiana Jones Adventure and Space Mountain or Radiator Springs Racers, I would take IJA and SM every time.