The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[TeriofTerror]

So I am not the only one who notices the "Tone" of 74's request to check out the Mom's kitchen. Of course, after just watching "O'Brother. . ." the other night, I pictured that fresh pie sitting in the windowsill. "We're in a tight spot. . ."

And you know what I always say about '74 -- "He's bona fide."

 

[asianway]

In case anyone isn't paying attention on Twitter... the fences are being removed around London. Hogwartz Express wait time sign is reportedly now on.

Soft Opening could be imminent, and could end at any time. If you're near the parks... have fun. Don't be disappointed when (not if, WHEN) Gringotts goes 101 and doesn't come back up. If you do get to ride, it may not be 100%.

At this point I think mgmt is just trolling them, I know I would be

 

[CinematicFusion]

Not at all. If you told me Disney paid absolutely nothing for the Avatar rights, I would be 100% on board. And as I said, I'll bet the area will be great, and there's no doubt that AK needs it. But to think that good money got spent on this IP... (Sigh) It's no Harry Potter. It's no Star Wars. Those are going to provide cachet to whatever attractions they are themed around. Avatar just doesn't have that level of fan base or loyalty. I'm very excited to see what Joe R and WDI create for AK, but the fact that it's Avatar-based doesn't up the excitement level one iota for me, the way HP or SW would.

That is what I'm saying. Avatar the name doesn't excite most on this board. Fill in the blank as to why, everyone has a reason.

However, if this new land was created out of the blue with only disney imagineers, I believe everyone would be on board with this new concept coming to Ak.
It's the re- imagined beastly kingdom with a fantasy world and fantasy animals.
People wouldn't compare it to Star Wars or potter because it wouldn't be a franchise.

I think this is how Disney views this land. It fits perfect with the Ak concept and the original ideas of the park.
It having the name Camercon and Avatar is just a plus. If Cameron nails the next three movies...it's a complete win.

If the next three movies are complete bombs...the themed land will still be a huge success and bring in a million more guests in the first year.

The name avatar isn't what sells this land. it's the ability to explore a fantastical exotic fantasyland. That was part of the original concept of AK and its finally being realized.

 

[PhotoDave219]

At this point I think mgmt is just trolling them, I know I would be

The only thing I can see happening? Using that thousand person crowd the test out the procedures with the Hogwarts express.

Guinea pigs. With live tickets.

Beyond that? Not a chance… In my opinion of course. This is all just speculation of course, in the finest tradition of message boards everywhere.

 

[WildcatDen]

And you know what I always say about '74 -- "He's bona fide."

Golf Clap

 

[JediMasterMatt]

,

Other than monstropolis, it feels underwhelming.

You should keep in mind that these DLR projects are all near term, with many of them happening before what is already announced (Pandora and Rivers of Light) opening in Orlando. While none of these will be as big as Pandora, the sheer volume and speed by which the changes arrive speak volumes about the differences between the two resorts.

Your letting the feelings on one movie cloud your judgement of a land that fits perfectly into AK.
If this wasn't called Avatar...people would be flipping out over the new fantasy land with mystical creatures coming to Ak.

Precisely. Regardless of the quality of the IP in question, the execution of it will determine if it is a success or not. A good case in point is Cars Land. I hate with a passion the Cars IP. I think is pandering (not Pandoraing) property set in a universe that doesn't make any sense - a word where Cars are people but yet the cars have seats? My apathy for the property doesn't change the fact that I think Cars Land is the best executed themed Disney environment in the US. It doesn't change the fact that once I step into Radiator Springs, I'm transported into an all ecompassing fantasy environment and all of my discontentment with Cars the IP goes out the window (which why do the cars in Cars even need windows if there is no need to keep passengers dry?). Cars the IP reeks of an idea that was originally sold under the guise of "what our cars were actually alive and have lifes of their own when we weren't around" and then someone reminded Lassiter that it was a bit too close to Toy Story's premise.

Pandora will be the same. The IP will play 2nd fiddle to the execution of expansion. If it is executed on the level of Radiator Springs and the floating mountains are as impressive as the Cadillac Range and Ornament Valley, nobody will care. I have good faith that Cameron will not let us down. His ego is too big to let this fail. If Howard Rothman was unable to keep Cameron's budget in check, I wish the Weatherman good luck in trying to keep TDO on a leash with him.

When we get closer to Pandora's opening, I think a lot of the negativity over the Avatar IP ebb away as they will be seeing the land under construction and the 3 sequel movies will be far enough along in development to generate some buzz.

They also mention an update to World of Color. Hopefully they create a more cohesive flow to it. Having Olaf host the winter version could be a clue in how they retool the regular show.

The Marvel stuff is definitely the most controversial in the piece. Here you massive film franchises and he best you can muster are meet and greets. In addition to theme concerns, the location creates problems because there is no room to expand if they decide to put in rides at a later date. Since they are thinking of putting it in DCA, I can’t wait to see Avengers 2 set in California.

The parking structure is way overdue. They can’t build it fast enough. There have long been rumors that Disney owns a lot more land in Anaheim thru 3rd parties than what is officially known.

I don’t know why TDA expected a sudden drop in AP sales. Of course there was going to be an initial surge in AP renewals and upgrades after stopping new sales of So Cal AP’s. If they truly want to cut down on the number of AP’s they would eliminate the monthly payment option at 0% interest. I don’t think they want to cut down on AP sales though. They just want to alter their visiting patterns. They have played around with different ways over the last few years in trying to get AP’s to visit a certain way. Some of have been more successful than others. I hate to say this as an AP myself, but they may look at My Magic + as a way out of the Friday and Sunday crushes of AP visitors. Instead of scheduling your Fastpass +, AP’s may have to plan or not plan to visit on a particular day. Once a day reaches its reservation limit, no more AP’s will be allowed in. They could also manage how many visits AP’s get per tier in a given year.

WoC was designed to have sections easily swapped in an out. Trying to structure it to have a story would likely lose that ability. It works fine the way it is in my opinion. The real issue with WoC is something that is environmental. The sightlines and the limitations of them really prevent the majority of the guest to apperciate the wonder of this show. When viewed from the front and center it is awe inspiring. The ability for the water droplets to capture the luminiosity of the LEDs still takes my breath away.

The Marvel move is likely out of necessity. They need to use the IP and they need to get them out of Tomorrowland when the construction hammer comes. Plus the more traffic they can steer to DCA the better. The longer view of what becomes of TomorrowStarWarsland is going to be a challenge. Huge influx of crowds to DL is definately something that is not needed until DCA can hold more of the crowds.

Ultimately, DLR will have to have some place to stick their increased attendance and the blessing of park hopping/curse of park hopping will change the traffic patterns for the resort. When expansion comes down the street, no longer will a walk across the Esplanade be convienient for guests that want to take advantage of a night in DL. Of course the true secret is this model will be to build reasons in the expansion to stay there the whole day.

Kinda like the problem in Orlando with AK and DHS.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It isn't odd. You get the media in, have them do the marketing for you for free.
But allowing time between a media preview and grand opening allows time for you to work out operational issues & allow time for the free marketing to pay off.

I was meaning something more like Expedition Everest where soft openings were regular and consistent before the media event and the grand opening. Get a few good weeks of soft openings done and then schedule a media event and grand opening ceremony. This is sort of the approach taken by Six Flags where they don't typically announce an opening far in advance and then it opens when it is ready.

 

[Lee]

And you know what I always say about '74 -- "He's bona fide."

And...he's a Dapper Dan man.

 

[bhg469]

And...he's a Dapper Dan man.

Well ain't this place a geographical oddity? Two weeks from everywhere!

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

And...he's a Dapper Dan man.

So where is he now? Down at Woolworth's buyin' nipples?

 

[culturenthrills]

idk for sure that that is the trend but I think they could have easily offered AP holders access at the same time TM/CM got preview access.

If I remember correctly they eventually had AP after hours events for Hogsmeade but I don't think it was until after the summer the first year. They will probably eventually do the same thing. Or at least I hope so since I am an AP

 

[Cesar R M]

If that is true it seems a bit extreme but after yesterday it's perfectly understandable.View attachment 57953

thats insane... D:

 

[Cesar R M]

Dragon 2 was a letdown for me too.
I was completely surprised by how good the the first one was. There was a logic and a danger to the dragon flying scenes that fly circles, so to speak, around the similar scenes in Avatar. I can't think of another animated movie that has as perfect an ending as Dragon 1.
It was very pretty to look at, and the music is still great, but the lack of focus in the plot impedes the emotional drive that made the first one so engaging.

Edit: That Cartoon Brew article is a little misleading, though. I don't think the layoffs at Dreamworks are tied to the performance of Dragon 2.
The big slide in Dreamworks' stock price started earlier this year, even before Peabody and Sherman came out.

I think the culprit of the fall of stock started with Rise of the Guardians, worsened with TURBO.

The trend continued with Peabody and now with Dragon2.

 

[Bairstow]

I think the culprit of the fall of stock started with Rise of the Guardians, worsened with TURBO.

The trend continued with Peabody and now with Dragon2.

Wasn't Rise of the Guardians the beginning of a long, upward trend in Dreamworks' stock?

Sadly, I see this current setback playing out by Dreamworks just farming out more and more of its grunt work to its cheaper studios in India.

 

[culturenthrills]

Down I-Drive, Sea World has a new promotion: $15 off weekend tickets, $30 off weekday tickets, if you buy online. That seems close to desperate.

I am really starting to get worried about SeaWorld Parks. i would be interested in what Spirit has to say. They seem to have alot of management problems and have been making some poor choices with attractions lately. Falcon's Fury is still not open and no one is saying when. That has been a disaster esp when you already had all those commercials running and billboards up.
BGW management has nearly ruined that park. Ruining they Festhaus, destorying the themeing of Banbury Cross where now it looks like someone puked Union Jack's all over the place. And if rumors are true, cramming in a low capacity coaster for next year in Festa Italia, next to Apollo's Chariot.
When is SWO finally gonna admit that the Antartica ride was a failure and let you see the penguins without having to wait 30-45 minutes for that crappy ride. And another cheap expansion for Aquatica that does little to address the capacity issues of that park. When they really needed a 4-6 person raft slide that would really have some high capacity.
I knew the good times were gonna end when AB was taken over. I really hate InBev.

 

[culturenthrills]

The only thing I can see happening? Using that thousand person crowd the test out the procedures with the Hogwarts express.

Guinea pigs. With live tickets.

Beyond that? Not a chance… In my opinion of course. This is all just speculation of course, in the finest tradition of message boards everywhere.

Yeah, I don't know why they haven't opened HE. They have thousands who would be more than happy to ride it and they crew needs the training with a real crowd and as a bonus it would make UNI look good and get more positive reaction out there.

 

[71jason]

I think part of what caused this soft opening madness isn't only the internet - which existed for many other major expansions the past several years, including WWOHP Part 1

Internet, no. But Twitter was still relatively new then--Potterwatch was the reason I joined. Too new for anyone to have built up much of a reputation of reliability. It was all about the discussion boards back then, which fewer people could check "on the fly."

Keep in mind that Hogsmeade still had soft openings when vacation package previews were happening (yes, before the official opening). But there was never this crazy, concentrated demand... I guess Uni's marketing did a little too well trumpeting how wonderful Diagon Alley is.

No, there was this a continuing crazy demand for Hogsmeade softs. See my earlier post about a Sunday line that stretched back into JP. Crowds grew worse and worse as word that it might open spread.

 

[Bairstow]

I am really starting to get worried about SeaWorld Parks. i would be interested in what Spirit has to say. They seem to have alot of management problems and have been making some poor choices with attractions lately. Falcon's Fury is still not open and no one is saying when. That has been a disaster esp when you already had all those commercials running and billboards up.
BGW management has nearly ruined that park. Ruining they Festhaus, destorying the themeing of Banbury Cross where now it looks like someone puked Union Jack's all over the place. And if rumors are true, cramming in a low capacity coaster for next year in Festa Italia, next to Apollo's Chariot.
When is SWO finally gonna admit that the Antartica ride was a failure and let you see the penguins without having to wait 30-45 minutes for that crappy ride. And another cheap expansion for Aquatica that does little to address the capacity issues of that park. When they really needed a 4-6 person raft slide that would really have some high capacity.
I knew the good times were gonna end when AB was taken over. I really hate InBev.

I won't be able to see TurtleTrek or Antarctica until the fall, but that is worrying, especially when Manta was such a home run.
Sea World really seemed to have some good momentum going for them in 2012.

 

[71jason]

idk for sure that that is the trend but I think they could have easily offered AP holders access at the same time TM/CM got preview access.

Universal more of a locals park than WDW, a lot more APs who would take advantage of that. Like Mardi Gras, I imagine 90% of that crowd is APs.

 

[71jason]

When is SWO finally gonna admit that the Antartica ride was a failure and let you see the penguins without having to wait 30-45 minutes for that crappy ride.

They still make me sneak in to see the polar bears rather than wait in line for a 20-year-old crappy ride. But yeah, agreed on all points.

I really hate InBev.

Hasn't been InBev in a while. The parks are their own entity now--some small consortium of the Busch family, I believe. But while Busch was better than Harcourt, I always get the feeling no one who truly understands the business have ever run those parks. Everything is just a little bit off.