The NEW Disney Decade???

[pjammer]

Originally posted by Testtrack321
Something people needs to remember is this:

thrill rides don't just appeal to teens

What families in the 50's or 70's liked was tottally different than now. And Walt knew it was changing, that's why Future Port (now Space Mountain) and the Matterhorn were created. Today's families like thrill rides the same if not more than the traditional slow ride.

If this was true wouldn't Universal have more families in it?? Wouldn't IOA be a sucess instead of a failure. I know people like thrill rides. And its not just teens. I won't deny it. But I believe that Disney sucess has been its perfect blend of "Thrill" rides and "slow" rides. But the thrill ride demographic is not normally small children and older adults. I would say the main age range is 12-32. But you can't just tear down your most sucessful slow ride and build a thrill ride. You start to do that then your building another Universal Studios. And I thought Universal was the one always trying to copy Disney...not the other way around.

Also I think Spaceship Earth is an emotional ride. It may not make you cry but Im always moved by the great story it tells. And when you get to the planetarium at the top...Im just like WOW. I could stay here forever. One time, when I worked their, I had an elderly lady come off and take my hand and say "Thank You." She said it was the most beautiful thing she had ever been on. And keep shaking my hand and thanking me. She was on the verge of tears. When you see reactions like that on a day to day basis its hard to imagine why anyone would want to destroy it.

I think it does need a rehab. But not a total one. More like the one they did in 94. And update. Redo some of the end sequences and lay down some new track and ride vehicles. But keep the story. Keep the theme.

 

[niteobsrvr]

Originally posted by pjammer
I would say the main age range is 12-32. But you can't just tear down your most sucessful slow ride and build a thrill ride. You start to do that then your building another Universal Studios. And I thought Universal was the one always trying to copy Disney...not the other way around.

You have to take in factors other than age when looking at who likes thrill rides. I would say 12 to maybe 50. THen factor in if the person is single or married. Then factor in Married with or without children. Then factor in the ages of the children. The demographic is a lot bigger than one might think. We may lose a couple in their late twenties to 40's for a little while so their children can grow to an appropriate size and age, then they are right back to the thrill rides. Sharing expereinces among generations just like on the dark rides.

It is this sharing of experiences that makes Disney's rides, both thrill and dark, popular. They also know that they have to continually adjust the ride mix and freshen things up.

I think it does need a rehab. But not a total one. More like the one they did in 94. And update. Redo some of the end sequences and lay down some new track and ride vehicles. But keep the story. Keep the theme.

I would have to disagree here. A minor update wouldnt garner the interests of most guests for more than one more trip through. That means you would spike ridership on SSE for a little while and then it would be right back to the way it is now. It doesn't necessarily have to become a thrill ride, but it does need to notch up the entertainment and WOW level a little bit.

When EPCOT opened people were amzed by SSE. 20 years later, it has become slightly behind the times. It is very difficult to keep up with the future in a way that is financially sound for Disney. Not to mention, technology has changed so much since SSE was conceived, that the things that could be done now to tell the same story could be phenomenally better than relatively static animatronics. It makes more sense to tell a story and entertain in such a way that revamping a ride every few years would not be necessary.

Thats why Test Track is about testing automobiles and not about the future of transportation. To do anything like that would mean that major parts of the ride would need overhauls every 5 years or so.

The concept behind Mission: Space is similar because for the forseeable future, we will be launching to the skies on rocket based propulsion systems. The way the system is set up they can change the feel of the ride by changing the video, etc but they dont have to rebuild the ride from scratch every few years to reflect current trends in space travel.