Disney has continually said the moving and doubling of Dumbo is to meet ridership demand. I say, just by moving Dumbo from it's iconic, behind Cinderella's Castle spot, will decrease demand for the ride.
Many WDW commercials in the 80s and 90s had a family flying in Dumbo with Fireworks or the castle behind them. All of that will be lost in the move. So basically this mini-land just for Dumbo is pointless, in my books.
Only time will tell if I am wrong.
EXCELLENT points! Perhaps inspired by those commercials, I began experimenting with riding Dumbo during the fireworks when I first moved to the area (now seasonally) in 2006. And I LOVED it! It's the only attraction that you can ride during the fireworks in which you can still focus on the fireworks really well, still hear the audio, etc.
And the view is AMAZING! The ride is perfectly positioned symetrically behind the castle to be in the center of it all. You can see the shells going off all around you - the Castle shells, and the shells from behind the park. When you can time it just right to be airborne during the Grand Finale, this effect is even more sublime - especially for shows like Fantasy In the Sky (New Year's Eve) when they have the "perimeter shells"!
One of my most cherished WDW memories to this day is NYE 2006/07 (my first NYE at WDW). The crowds were packed like sardines on the ground during the fireworks, even in Fantasyland, yet Dumbo was a WALK-ON! Since there was no line, the CM's let the few of us on the ride keep staying on during the entire show, so I saw the entire NYE show from the air, except for when Dumbo landed, which was still a good viewpoint. Right before the Grand Finale started, when Mickey and the gang started counting down backwards from 10 to ring in 2007, the CMs stopped the ride at it's highest position, when all the Dumbos automatically rise to the top near the end of the cycle. This guaranteed that everyone on that cycle had a perfect bird's eye view (or in this case, elephant's eye view
) of the entire Grand Finale.
As one can imagine, this entire experience BLEW ME AWAY and was truly one of those unexpected Disney Magical Moments I will NEVER forget.
No, you're right, it's original spot was behind the castle, and it was great there. But this move makes a lot more sense. The ride will have a quicker queue, interactive circus games, the queue will be in the shade, and it will be in a more fitting spot (Storybook Circus) rather than behind the castle.
So there's really no harm from this move, unless you're really nostaglic.
You make great points about the expanded capacity and theming. As
Dumbo is my favorite movie, I am curious to experience the new format myself, as any music, characters, references, and storytelling from the film that they can incorporate into the new version will certainly be welcome by me.
However, I will also miss the current location. NOT because of nostalgia, but because I'll be losing my favorite location in the park from which to view the fireworks! Sure, you will still see them from the new location, but it will feel more removed and off-center, in an Astro-Orbiter sort of way, rather than having the sense of being surrounded by them.
