The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[Alanzo]

My soon to be five year old daughter is at 39" (she's on the shorter end) and while hitting 40" will open so many rides I'm kind of anxious about how she'll react. She was able to do Smuggler's Run last year and loved it but the thrills were not as intimate as Guardians. I think, at least, she kept her eyes open on Gadget's coaster which was an improvement from the goofy coaster in wdw in 2022.

That being said, still gonna try some of the newly unlocked rides with her. Daddy's not getting any younger.

 

[DrAlice]

Looks like it closed https://www.ksbw.com/article/pea-soup-andersen-buellton-closed/46342280

I saw that article this morning too. However, it was rather vague on details. Here's another one:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01...y-closes-in-buellton-for-a-while-or-for-good/

It sounds like the Santa Nella location will stay open for now. Having said that, the Santa Nella location has noticeably gone downhill over the last 10 years. It used to be the cleanest rest stop on I-5. Not any more. Each trip south we expect it will be the last visit to Hap-pea and Pea-wea.

 

[mickEblu]

My soon to be five year old daughter is at 39" (she's on the shorter end) and while hitting 40" will open so many rides I'm kind of anxious about how she'll react. She was able to do Smuggler's Run last year and loved it but the thrills were not as intimate as Guardians. I think, at least, she kept her eyes open on Gadget's coaster which was an improvement from the goofy coaster in wdw in 2022.

That being said, still gonna try some of the newly unlocked rides with her. Daddy's not getting any younger.

Lol go for it! As her dad, you have a pretty good idea of how she’ll do. I’m ok with “that was a little scary.” Mission Breakout for example I know would just be terrifying and cruel. Oddly enough I’m pretty sure I would have taken him on TOT by now. It was much more tame.

My daughter is super petite too. I don’t think she’ll hit 40 inches until she’s 5 years old like your daughter

 

[CaptinEO]

I was just thinking - would an original attraction even be appreciated here in the States anymore? I know we sometimes complain about too much IP and the fact that we don't get any original attractions anymore but as a parent I can say that it is exciting when I can take my kids for the first time on a new (or old) ride based on IP they know or love. I think for an original attraction to have a chance it either has to be thrill based or be on the scope/ scale of something like POTC. There's absolutely no way they would ever invest POTC money in 2024 to build an original attraction of that scope, scale and quality. Especially hard to take that risk when you own half of the IP in the world.

As it stands the consumer has shown they are fatigued with Disney IP. Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and even a Buzz Lightyear film failed.

If anything they need to build things away from their IP as of current. 5 Years ago it was unheard of for any of these series to have failures and a Toy Story, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones land were all in the cards as well as a Lightyear Tommorowland Overlay.

It's extra insulting that parks are carrying the company right now but they are tying them to failing properties.

They need to listen to the market.

 

[Phroobar]

Sure, which is why I haven’t taken my son on Mission Breakout even though he’s been 40 inches and riding Space, BTMRR etc for the last few years because I think it would terrify him. My point is that it’s another advantage for families looking for more to do together. More options are obviously better than fewer. At 40 inches you have more options for families than at 48 inches which is when the family coasters open up at Knotts. Even though I can’t figure out why rides like Jaguar have such a tall height requirements.

Jaguar should not have the height requirements that it has. If you are over 5'10" it is almost impossible to ride with someone else in those cars. My brother and I are both 6' 2" and we sat in the front car of Jaguar. It was majorly scary because of the narrow track and you are so exposed.

Knott's Camp Snoopy is getting a new family coaster to replace the Timberline Twister. This one is longer and has a lower height restriction. It opens Memorial day this year.

 

[mickEblu]

Jaguar should not have the height requirements that it has. If you are over 5'10" it is almost impossible to ride with someone else in those cars. My brother and I are both 6' 2" and we sat in the front car of Jaguar. It was majorly scary because of the narrow track and you are so exposed.

Knott's Camp Snoopy is getting a new family coaster to replace the Timberline Twister. This one is longer and has a lower height restriction. It opens Memorial day this year.

View attachment 762577

The new camp Snoopy concept art looks great as does the coaster. Looking forward to checking it out this Summer. Heck, I still need to check out the current Camp Snoopy in the daytime. We still haven’t gone since that terrible trip back in August. I’m probably going to pull my son out of school one of these days so we can go do Ghostrider, Timber Mountain Log Ride, Sierra Sidewinder and Pony Express. He’s tall enough for Hangtime but won’t do it. I don’t want to do it either though lol.

 

[Phroobar]

I don't think Disney/Universal parks fit in the theme park industry. The theme park industry has a lot of locations dotted though the country while Disney/Universal only have a couple. Disney/Universal parks are tourist vacation destinations while other parks are local day/fun with family locations.

We lucky people that live close by don't treat Disneyland and Universal Studios as vacation destinations. We treat them like the rest of the country does as family fun day. Those that can't afford Disney prices for a day go to Knotts. That is why the park is packed and needs to be expanded.

Cedar fair could close most of their parks in order to Disney-fy the remaining. However that isn't their market and they can't compete against multi-billion dollar soulless corporations anyway.

 

[Consumer]

The worst thing Star Wars land did was destroy these remnants of Nature's Wonderland. Admittedly I love the new Big Thunder trail, but I find a lot of charm in these old rock structures. I wonder how long the two tunnels along the Rivers of America have until something new comes along or they decay with age.

Speaking of Nature's Wonderland, I wonder what ever became of all the animatronics. I believe some went on to have a second life on Big Thunder, but I had heard a rumor long ago they were buried beneath Frontierland, which seems hard to believe. It's a shame they weren't preserved and repurposed for Grizzly River Run.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The worst thing Star Wars land did was destroy these remnants of Nature's Wonderland. Admittedly I love the new Big Thunder trail, but I find a lot of charm in these old rock structures. I wonder how long the two tunnels along the Rivers of America have until something new comes along or they decay with age.
View attachment 762622
View attachment 762623

Speaking of Nature's Wonderland, I wonder what ever became of all the animatronics. I believe some went on to have a second life on Big Thunder, but I had heard a rumor long ago they were buried beneath Frontierland, which seems hard to believe. It's a shame they weren't preserved and repurposed for Grizzly River Run.

Man it's heartbreaking to think of how awesome this area was, and what it became when Galaxy's Edge was built.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Potrock shared the new name tags on Linkedin-

I don't hate them, though I wish they were park specific.

 

[Consumer]

Man it's heartbreaking to think of how awesome this area was, and what it became when Galaxy's Edge was built.

Took some digging, but I finally found what I was looking for. About a decade ago I came upon this fella Sam Towler's concept for a Nature's Wonderland revival that would have fit into where Galaxy's Edge sits today. Unfortunately the original blog has since been deleted and so only a few photos remain of the model from this armchair concept, which you can find here. It's worth noting Towler did have a job at Imagineering for some time and given the cascades along the Rivers of America found in this model, I've often wondered if he's the one responsible for their addition.

Towler also is responsible for the model of Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland that can be viewed at Walt's Barn in Griffith Park.


EDIT: Aha! I have found the video of the model. Given how buried the records of this man's ideas are, I think it lends some validity to my theory that he may have contributed to the Rivers of America reworking.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

True. Unfair comparison. No theme park in the country outside of Universal is going to make those kind of rides. Even Disney hardly makes them anymore. However there is charm to have a simple ghost train. The only one that can compete and is not owned by a multi-billion dollar entertainment conglomerate is Efteling in the Netherlands which totally outdoes most Disney/Uni parks.

​

The park is beautiful! But the characters are creepy looking- even those that are supposed to be cute.

 

[Phroobar]

The park is beautiful! But the characters are creepy looking- even those that are supposed to be cute.

I think that goes for Knott's Log and Mine train ride. Both rides had total rebuild with new AA characters a few years ago. The characters were designed as homage to look like the original wooden characters. Ghost town has a lot of the original wooden mannequins.

 

[TP2000]

Hi gang, and a happy MLK weekend to all!

I was at a dinner party tonight and the host was playing modern music (trying to be hip, but slightly failing at our age) so I reminded him that it was MLK weekend and wouldn't it be fun to play some Motown instead to celebrate? The mood of the entire party lifted noticeably after the music changed. Yes, Reverend King and a bunch of Motown stars upstairs should thank me. But in all honestly, God bless every one of them that did so much to advance our nation back in the 60's.

Did Disneyland do anything for MLK weekend, I wonder? Was it busy? Or just a normal winter weekend?

I also saw that Portland has some of the lowest recorded January temps on record today, down around 12 degrees with blowing snow, and that hundreds of thousands of Portlanders are without power tonight, and have been without power all day long. Yikes, those temps are unheard of in Portland! You can darn well bet there will be a lot of busted pipes and tales of misery by tomorrow, in addition to some deaths of the homeless that now camp out across that once-beautiful city. So sad, really.

 

[TP2000]

Took some digging, but I finally found what I was looking for. About a decade ago I came upon this fella Sam Towler's concept for a Nature's Wonderland revival that would have fit into where Galaxy's Edge sits today. Unfortunately the original blog has since been deleted and so only a few photos remain of the model from this armchair concept, which you can find here. It's worth noting Towler did have a job at Imagineering for some time and given the cascades along the Rivers of America found in this model, I've often wondered if he's the one responsible for their addition.
View attachment 762628

Fascinating! It's interesting that this version of Nature's Wonderland has multiple indoor show spaces, compared to just the one indoor show space for the 1961-77 original. I agree with you, the riverside areas around where the Indian Village is look remarkably similar to what showed up there in 2018.

Although, I do have to wonder, what would the hourly capacity be on that redone Nature's Wonderland train? I ask, because it would take up a lot of space that is now Star Wars Land, where thousands of extra visitors can now inhabit on walkways, in stores, the Millenium Falcon: Target Run ride, a couple restaurants, dealing with the crabby hostesses who seem on the verge of a nervous breakdown out in front of Oga's Cantina, searching in vain for Ky'le From Tustin at one of the snack bars, etc., etc.

Would a Nature's Wonderland 2.0 train ride have accommodated the same amount of people that the eastern half of Star Wars Land does on that same property? Something tells me it wouldn't, as much fun as it would be.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Some thoughts from my trip a few weeks ago-

It's absolutely ridiculous that they're still showing the covid preshow at Indiana Jones Adventure. I'm worried the change is permanent, given the refurb a few months ago would have been the perfect opportunity to bring back the old show. I'm not a fan of the new projections that replaced the rat tunnel- but they're still an improvement over what was there before.

MMRR needs some reworking. Redoing all of the show scenes to take place at night would go a long way to helping it feel less like a giant empty warehouse.

I'm realizing that nothing came from the announced Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin changes other then the trunk and sticking Jessica Rabbit in a trench coat? Let's add that to the long list of changes Disneyland has made that were entirely unnecessary.

Jungle Cruise is in rough shape, missing the lost expedition pole and the Ancient Cambodian Shrine (built by Ancient Cambodian Shriners). This also means the new 'Skipper Felix' character is missing, and I hope for good- as the attempt of adding a story to the attraction entirely misses the point of the attraction.

The new Treehouse is well done, and way better than the Tarzan iteration. That ostrich is a nice touch and one of the better things Disney has done recently.

The Genie+ interface is unintuitive and confusing. I've used it five or so times now and still get confused in the app. Maxpass was easy to use and understand- I hope they make changes to make it more accessible.

I hope Disney starts focusing on the Courtesy key. Oftentimes CM's seemed grumpy at the entrances of attractions, or lost in their own conversations about how they hate their schedule or something. They don't need to verbally greet each guest but a simple smile and nod can go a long way.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Some thoughts from my trip a few weeks ago-

It's absolutely ridiculous that they're still showing the covid preshow at Indiana Jones Adventure. I'm worried the change is permanent, given the refurb a few months ago would have been the perfect opportunity to bring back the old show. I'm not a fan of the new projections that replaced the rat tunnel- but they're still an improvement over what was there before.

MMRR needs some reworking. Redoing all of the show scenes to take place at night would go a long way to helping it feel less like a giant empty warehouse.

I'm realizing that nothing came from the announced Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin changes other then the trunk and sticking Jessica Rabbit in a trench coat? Let's add that to the long list of changes Disneyland has made that were entirely unnecessary.

Jungle Cruise is in rough shape, missing the lost expedition pole and the Ancient Cambodian Shrine (built by Ancient Cambodian Shriners). This also means the new 'Skipper Felix' character is missing, and I hope for good- as the attempt of adding a story to the attraction entirely misses the point of the attraction.

The new Treehouse is well done, and way better than the Tarzan iteration. That ostrich is a nice touch and one of the better things Disney has done recently.

The Genie+ interface is unintuitive and confusing. I've used it five or so times now and still get confused in the app. Maxpass was easy to use and understand- I hope they make changes to make it more accessible.

I hope Disney starts focusing on the Courtesy key. Oftentimes CM's seemed grumpy at the entrances of attractions, or lost in their own conversations about how they hate their schedule or something. They don't need to verbally greet each guest but a simple smile and nod can go a long way.

I think the current IJA preshow is actually a *bit* longer than what they were originally showing post-reopening, because I remember thinking in 2022 that it was odd that they cut out the part about the seat belts of all things, but then that was back this year. No idea why they haven't just restored the whole thing, other than the fact that it doesn't seem like they're stopping groups from proceeding past the projection room anymore.

Genie+: Agreed. I've found it easiest to just go to the Tip Board on the app and toggle it to only show G+ attractions.

 

[Consumer]

If I were tasked to make a list of the Disney canon, this would be my list:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
Dumbo
Bambi
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Lady and the Tramp
Peter Pan
Sleeping Beauty
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Mary Poppins
The Jungle Book
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King
Pocahontas
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan
Lilo and Stitch
The Princess and the Frog
Tangled
Frozen
Moana

These are the only movies that are deserving of representation within Disneyland. I'm sure many would disagree, but I don't care because I'm right. If you don't see your favorite Disney movie on this list it's because your favorite movie actually sucks and isn't that good.

 

[SuddenStorm]

If I were tasked to make a list of the Disney canon, this would be my list:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
Dumbo
Bambi
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Lady and the Tramp
Peter Pan
Sleeping Beauty
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Mary Poppins
The Jungle Book
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King
Pocahontas
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan
Lilo and Stitch
The Princess and the Frog
Tangled
Frozen
Moana

These are the only movies that are deserving of representation within Disneyland. I'm sure many would disagree, but I don't care because I'm right. If you don't see your favorite Disney movie on this list it's because your favorite movie actually sucks and isn't that good.

My list would probably be more selective than yours- but if we're talking overall representation I do agree everything here should at least have a T shirt or something for sale in the park.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Toad should be on there, unless we aren't counting it because it's two shorts not one feature length film.

While not Disney's best work, The Sword in the Stone should be on this list, if only because of how awesome it is in Fantasyland.

I have no issue with the Original Star Wars Trilogy and Indiana Jones Trilogy being represented in Disneyland. The Sequel Trilogy should be nowhere near the place.

 

[Consumer]

My list would probably be more selective than yours- but if we're talking overall representation I do agree everything here should at least have a T shirt or something for sale in the park.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Toad should be on there, unless we aren't counting it because it's two shorts not one feature length film.

While not Disney's best work, The Sword in the Stone should be on this list, if only because of how awesome it is in Fantasyland.

I have no issue with the Original Star Wars Trilogy and Indiana Jones Trilogy being represented in Disneyland. The Sequel Trilogy should be nowhere near the place.

I didn't include The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad or The Sword in the Stone because those movies aren't very good. That doesn't mean Mr. Toad's Wild Ride or the Sword in the Stone need to be removed from the parks, just that I don't think either deserves representation in the parks. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is a success because the ride is good, not because the movie it is based on is good, similar to Splash Mountain.

I agree about Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and I would also include the Muppets and many of Pixar's earlier films, I just left them out because they're not really Disney.