'The Little Mermaid' attraction for WDW?

[Fun2BFree]

The 100 Million Dollar figure fascinates me. Why spend so much on a ride from a 20 year old movie? Sure, DCA needs more good rides, and it is certainly getting them with the massive expansion coming in the next four years.

But 100 Million for a kiddy ride based on a 20 year old movie? (22 years old by the time the ride opens in 2011).

The only thing I can think is that maybe WDI is going to use the DCA version of this snazzy new ride to sell to other parks around the world? I mean face it, there isn't a Disney theme park property on the globe that couldn't easily accept a Little Mermaid themed attraction. If anything, Disney's California Adventure is one of the least logical parks to get a Little Mermaid ride. Any of the Magic Kingdoms could slot this into their Fantasyland with no problem. DisneySea, perfect fit. Animal Kingdom or one of the Studios Parks? Sure, no problem. About the only park less obvious than DCA for a Little Mermaid ride would be Epcot.

Not that I'm complaining. The current round of plans and announcements for DCA's immediate future has me giddy with excitement. And that's not even the end of it. There are more rides and announcements coming for DCA over the next several months. And then there's the plans to revamp Disneyland's Tomorrowland, expand Anaheim's Downtown Disney, add new Disney hotels at GardenWalk, etc., etc.

Awesome times ahead for Anaheim! The future hasn't looked this bright for Anaheim since Walt Disney was alive! :sohappy:

Even then, though it is a fairly old movie, it remains popular. Besides, the price tag is needed to get it just right. And a Little Mermaid retheming of the Living Seas would have been just as probable as the Finding Nemo one. :shrug:

And yes, this announcement might be enough for me to book my first DL trip after DCA is fixed.

 

[michael92]

yeah, now that i think about it, the littl emermaid ride doesnt fit with the california theme.. like the monsters inc didnt fit with the hollywood theme.. or was there a secret storyline i wasnt aware of?
carsland, on the other hand, would fit perfectly with DCA! the car-culture of california, "the" known landscape...

 

[raven]

I don't know why everyone gets so testy about Jim Hill, he is right a fair percentage of the time, he does come up with some interesting thoughts, and as much as I hate to say it this site is not batting 100% either.

That isn't a fair comparison between the two sites. The majority of WDWMagic's rumors are from it's members. Jim Hill posts his own rumors and speculations. I completely ignor everything that I hear from that site anymore due to his history of getting things wrong on both the "official news" and his blurbs in the Unofficial Guide to WDW.

As for a Little Mermaid attraction at WDW, nowhere have I seen it officially posted that WDW will get any of that money that DCA is getting for it's upgrade. The Little Mermaid attraction is for DCA and it didn't say it was the dark ride that was originally planned.

$100 Million for a dark ride seems very high compared to other parks that can put in a huge coster for $40 Million. Grant it Disney does theme it's attractions way better than anyone I know it still seems very high. If there is any truth to this spending then the company, in my opinion, is getting taken for a "ride" themselves by the laborors and suppliers for what the outcome they are actually getting.

Again, these are only my opinions on the subjects to don't bash me too hard. :animwink:

 

[marni1971]

Just as an example, think classic `dark ride` - continuous ride system. Environmentally controlled interior show scenes. Animated figures. Storyline. Visual effects. Memorable score. Possibly even a showpiece building to put it all in. Think Horizons. Total cost at 1983 opening? $70 million. All of a sudden $100 million in 2007 dosn`t seem that much.

 

[Enigma]

Just as an example, think classic `dark ride` - continuous ride system. Environmentally controlled interior show scenes. Animated figures. Storyline. Visual effects. Memorable score. Possibly even a showpiece building to put it all in. Think Horizons. Total cost at 1983 opening? $70 million. All of a sudden $100 million in 2007 dosn`t seem that much.

Yup and remember what John Lassettre said at the 2006 Annual Shareholder meeting:

"I Promise you all I am going to help make rides that are so good...your gonna get off and run back in line again"

John Lasseter is like Honest Abe...he never lies.

Plus him and the guys at Pixar (and most of the folks at Imagineering) are huge disney parks fans (they probably even watch your videos martin). Bob Weiss said John Lasseter started freaking out when he saw the concept to revive the old flying saucers as part of Carsland and greenlit it immediatly partly because of the nostalgia factor.

 

[nibblesandbits]

Even then, though it is a fairly old movie, it remains popular. Besides, the price tag is needed to get it just right. And a Little Mermaid retheming of the Living Seas would have been just as probable as the Finding Nemo one. :shrug:

And yes, this announcement might be enough for me to book my first DL trip after DCA is fixed.

Same here. I was actually just considering booking a trip for next year, but after all these announcements, I think I want to wait a few years now.

BTW, can anyone please post the timeline for this project. I went to look on MiceAge, and well, it seems to be like a needle in a haystack. (Although I didn't search too hard anyway, but I always seem to skip over things, and then someone else finds it really easy. :lol: )

 

[abreadcrumboi]

With the official announcement of the Disneyland Resort enhancements and additions, it seems the long-loved and lost “The Little Mermaid” attraction may finally see the light of reality. Granted this attraction will be in vein, but not exactly the same as the concept drawings, layout, and 3D ride through we have all seen and drooled over on the “The Little Mermaid” DVD, but with a rumored 100 million dollar plus budget, this attraction may certainly be the best Disney dark ride attraction on the planet. Though I would love a completely original attraction to take up residence on the primo 20,000 Leagues plot, I would certainly be thrilled to welcome a state-of-the-art clone attraction paying proper homage to one of Disney’s greatest animation achievements. How does everyone feel? It’s great that Disney’s California Adventure is getting so much well-deserved TLC, but with this massive budget and huge bounty of new attractions this is basically a whole new theme park for them. I’m a wee bit jealous!:zipit:

I think that a Little Mermaid ride would be awesome.... it fits in perfect with Fantasy Land .. and the feeling of being underwater will be really cool... I would love to see a ride like this

 

[AEfx]

The 100 Million Dollar figure fascinates me. Why spend so much on a ride from a 20 year old movie? Sure, DCA needs more good rides, and it is certainly getting them with the massive expansion coming in the next four years.

But 100 Million for a kiddy ride based on a 20 year old movie? (22 years old by the time the ride opens in 2011).

Um, my guess is you haven't seen the DVD sales figures from the recent re-release? Truth is, that "20 year old movie" is pretty darn evergreen for Disney.

Regardless, people don't come to Disney parks to experience the newest promotional tool for whatever Disney film they are pushing at the moment. They expect classic Disney characters, and the Little Mermaid single-handedly brought back the Disney animated feature and certainly qualifies.

This is the 2nd best news I could have imagined ever coming out of WDI; the only reason it is 2nd best is because I wish it was coming to WDW first, LOL. For many people, the "magic" of Disney Parks is largely in it's dark rides, and Disney has been woefully inadequate in providing them for quite some time. When you say "kiddie" ride I think Dumbo - and this ain't no Dumbo, LOL. Just because it's not a fast-moving thrill ride doesn't mean it's Kiddie", but I guess that's just a matter of semantics.

I couldn't be more thrilled, and let's hope that we do get our own as well. I don't care if it's a "clone" LOL. That's simply a fan community gripe and really has little to do with the average park guest's experience. The vast majority of people will never visit more than one Disney theme park site and it's largely irrelevant to how well an attraction will be received. Ask people getting off Soarin' in Epcot if they care that an identical attraction exists in CA and they will tell you, "No, 'cause I'm here enjoying it in FL".

AEfx

 

[TP2000]

I couldn't be more thrilled, and let's hope that we do get our own as well. I don't care if it's a "clone" LOL. That's simply a fan community gripe and really has little to do with the average park guest's experience.

Very true. I feel the same way about the new DCA entrance turnstiles. I thought they looked great. And then some folks on boards started griping that they were a "clone" of the MGM Studios entry turnstiles. They are? Who cares?

I'm a Disney park fan. I've been to WDW multiple times. And I don't even remember what the entry turnstiles looked like at MGM. I'm sure they were lovely, but that is not something that sticks out about my vacation; the entrance turnstiles to a theme park.

Just make them look nice, and I could care less if a similar design exists in Orlando.

As for Little Mermaid popularity, don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining about the lavish new Little Mermaid ride DCA is getting. I guess I was just surprised to see something so major built on a movie that isn't the trendy new thing. But, Little Mermaid is certainly a classic, so it deserves something great for its first ride.

And the question about the "landmark building", the Little Mermaid ride at DCA certainly looks like it's being housed in a stunning, landmark building. There are WDI images of it over on the Micechat boards. Gorgeous! And huge!

 

[TP2000]

BTW, can anyone please post the timeline for this project. I went to look on MiceAge, and well, it seems to be like a needle in a haystack. (Although I didn't search too hard anyway, but I always seem to skip over things, and then someone else finds it really easy. :lol: )

It's discussed and plotted out in the Al Lutz update on 10/18, titled "Elephant Acknowledged - What they said they would do to fix DCA, and what they didn't say... yet." on the Miceage welcome page.

I'm not sure I can cut and paste stuff from another website here, especially a website some folks here seem to be very jealous of, so I think it would be safest for you to just go read it on your own.

 

[AEfx]

As for Little Mermaid popularity, don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining about the lavish new Little Mermaid ride DCA is getting. I guess I was just surprised to see something so major built on a movie that isn't the trendy new thing. But, Little Mermaid is certainly a classic, so it deserves something great for its first ride.

And that's exactly why I'm so happy about this. Besides the fact TLM is my favorite Disney film (I think it's even better than Snow White, I'm a heretic, I know), it's so heartening to see Disney deciding to make a great ride and not worrying about if it's tied to their next/last feature hit. Finally, they are treating the parks like theme parks that need great experiences, not just promotional tools for the feature film division.

I still lament the fact they are getting it first, but I'm so happy it's coming anywhere at all I'll get over it, LOL. Our Fantasyland has always been woefully short on dark rides IMHO, and I hope when we finally get this one it's the best. That said, I'd be fine with it being a Pooh-type ride; anything to get more dark rides at WDW is fine by me.

AEfx

 

[nibblesandbits]

It's discussed and plotted out in the Al Lutz update on 10/18, titled "Elephant Acknowledged - What they said they would do to fix DCA, and what they didn't say... yet." on the Miceage welcome page.

I'm not sure I can cut and paste stuff from another website here, especially a website some folks here seem to be very jealous of, so I think it would be safest for you to just go read it on your own.

Thanks...see, I knew I'd overlook the article. Staring me right in the face! :wave:

 

[FECNS]

That Would sound Awesome to me to see A Little Mermaid Ride, But it still might be scraped for some PIXAR Ride of course, thats all they seem to want to build anymore

 

[marni1971]

That Would sound Awesome to me to see A Little Mermaid Ride, But it still might be scraped for some PIXAR Ride of course, thats all they seem to want to build anymore

I guess that`s what makes it all the more excting.

Personally, I`m waiting still for The Black Hole darkride and the TRON Arcade.

 

[Scar Junior]

I guess that`s what makes it all the more excting.

Personally, I`m waiting still for The Black Hole darkride and the TRON Arcade.

You might want to make yourself a sandwich... something tells me you'll be waiting a while.

 

[Enderikari]

especially a website some folks here seem to be very jealous of

Me thinks you have mistaken jealousy for disgust.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Yeah...I'm SOOOO jealous I keep frequenting here instead of there...

 

[JimboJones123]

Am I really the ONLY person that would be HAPPY AS COULD BE if we NEVER saw another CLONE ATTRACTION???


Does Disney not have ANY other ideas on the table besides a big bad of a Mermaid ride? At least make an Indy/Dinosaur type attraction where it can be rethemed. Beauty and the Beast? A real Aladdin attraction?

Give us SOMETHING DIFFERENT on each coast. Make "each" worth visiting again. DCA had Sorin' as exclusive. That didn't last long. Nor did WDW's TOT????

NO MORE CLONES!
NO MORE CLONES!

 

[Brian Noble]

Here's the thing. How many "non-fanatics" have ever been to both domestic resorts?

I'm guessing the number is rather small. If that's right, then clones are a great idea. You give people in both halves of the country a convenient opportunity to see what you believe is your best work. You get to amortize the development costs against the (mostly disjoint) set of visitors to both resorts.

True, the fanatics would appreciate fewer clones. But, let's face it---the fanatics are going anyway.

For the record, I don't mind them at all, and in some cases are glad they are there. Orlando is much more convenient to me than is Anaheim. Dragging my kids across three time zones is a once every so often thing. Visiting sunny Florida during the dead of winter is an every year sort of thing. I love Soarin---despite the fact that it has little to do with the Land pavillion, I'm glad it is there, because I get to enjoy it every year, not every so often.

I'd imagine our West Coast friends might feel the same way about Tower---even though the exterior doesn't tell anywhere nearly the same story that Florida's does, it's still a great attraction.

 

[DizFanatic]

:goodnevilI'll take a clone of a $100M ride any day! I've been to California only once, and may return in a few years (especially with the DCA expansion) but think of all the great things that have been cloned over the years. Now I wouldn't want a clone of Superstar Limo, but with the developement & design budget out of the way with the first installation of an e-ticket, that can leave enough dough for an e-ticket clone and some additional little toys.

Imagine WDW without the likes of Space Mt., Splash Mt., Haunted mansion, Pirates and most other MK attractions.

I'm not saying that all e-tix should be cloned, I do like the individuality of different parks, but the little Mirmaid... I want my clone! (if it's a true Disney E-ticket of course)

Now when do ewe get our Jim Henson's Muppet dark ride?