The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[CDavid]

Truth that things may not be sailing very well as mentioned elsewhere.

That is a straight up, distant possibility.

Yes he would and the fallout from it would be disastrous on a PR frontfront

Hmm...I'm trying to read between the lines here, and wondering just how bad I need new glasses. Things are potentially worse than just a lost boat ride, I gather.

That person would be called a pilot. They have been around forever. It has more to do with unions here in the states then it does about necessity. When the practice was started it was absolutely because of the reasons you mentioned. But that was long ago before electronics and channel markers etc. Those pilots are extremely costly. They make six figures. If it was so necessary there wouldn't have to be laws to make it mandatory. Shipping companies would be happy to pay the hefty fee to avoid their ships running aground. Now a days someone can pilot the ship via radio. Its a sham. A legal shake down.

Doesn't Port Canaveral also use pilots? Or at least they did, a few years ago - I recall reading an article about them in one of the port publications.

But I'm not going to get worked up about it until Disney has the guts to announce to the public they are opening up a land that's been cut down from the announced two rides to one ride

It's not like they are ever going to issue a press release just to say we've scaled back a project to save money, though. It just won't be heard from again.

 

[MickeyPeace]

Prior to Frozen, Hunchback was the furthest along in development. I don't know if that has changed since.

Hunchback and Hercules are what I want to see on stage the most.

How does this game work? Am I supposed to be coy and drop more hints or just confirm/deny?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

How does this game work? Am I supposed to be coy and drop more hints or just confirm/deny?

You asked a question, I posted a response. Not sure what this is supposed to mean.

 

[Goofyernmost]

How does this game work? Am I supposed to be coy and drop more hints or just confirm/deny?

Or maybe waiting for someone to show up that cares. Just kidding... I am one that doesn't though. That audience is limited by location, I think.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Could it be that the boat ride would just be pushed back instead of cancelled and do a NFL opening type of deal to make the "books" look better?

Open the soarin ride and a restaurant and gift shop first, and then in the next year or 2 slowly build the boat ride? I could see this as a possibility.

Well, thats kind of the best case interpretation of whats happening should Disney delay the boat ride - because it wants to "do it right." But I would be genuinely surprised if thats the case. They tried it with New Fantasyland and, while phased openings may have helped the financials, it really didn't work well from a PR or park ops or guest satisfaction perspective...at all.

Given the magic that Uni is cooking up, Disney needs Avatarland to have a big premiere. A phased opening over 2 or 3 years won't cut it.

 

[Mike S]

Could it be that the boat ride would just be pushed back instead of cancelled and do a NFL opening type of deal to make the "books" look better?

Open the soarin ride and a restaurant and gift shop first, and then in the next year or 2 slowly build the boat ride? I could see this as a possibility.

It really shows how bad things have gotten when this is a possibility accepted by Disney fans. Can we not get full expansions anymore?

 

[Kman101]

Phase 2 means "never gonna be built". Unless you're apparently Shanghai.

 

[michael.fumc]

Part of me wonders if Disney is wanting this to happen. Avatar - The Land hasn't been well received by many Disney fan. There seems to be a few people who are really excited, many who range between cautiously optimistic to apathetic, and many who are downright hostile to the idea. I wonder if they want Cameron to walk to save face because I don't think they will ever admit it was just a bad idea.

(BTW, no insider knowledge at all. It's just pure speculation on my part).

Also no in formation, but Avatar seemed to lose steam when it comes to info since the Star Wars buy. I know Avatar is a very successful movie when it came to tickets sales, but I see no long fanatic connection to this movie like the Star Wars franchise, I can still remember when the previews of the squeals and even the prequels there was a buzz am excitement. I am not sure, again just my opinion, that when the previews for the new Avatar movies are shown that there will be a "yes!!! Finally!!!" Coming from movie goers. If Avatar doesn't happen or if it is watered down the only reason I will be upset is for DAK, which needs something so desperately. Just my two cents

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hmm...I'm trying to read between the lines here, and wondering just how bad I need new glasses. Things are potentially worse than just a lost boat ride, I gather.



Doesn't Port Canaveral also use pilots? Or at least they did, a few years ago - I recall reading an article about them in one of the port publications.



It's not like they are ever going to issue a press release just to say we've scaled back a project to save money, though. It just won't be heard from again.

Please don't read into that. I've no information on the subject other then James Cameron's history of being a perfectionist.

I could see it happening… But I'm not sure if it's possible without knowing the contract details.

But yes, things can always get worse.

 

[PhotoDave219]

How does this game work? Am I supposed to be coy and drop more hints or just confirm/deny?

You send a private message…

 

[wdisney9000]

It really shows how bad things have gotten when this is a possibility accepted by Disney fans. Can we not get full expansions anymore?

We can only get artist renderings of full expansions. The final product, well, I hope you enjoy M&G's and Splash and Soak Stations. They are all the rage

 

[Nubs70]

A potential issue with the boat ride could be the yet to be defined definition of "navigable water" by the EPA. If the EPA gets their way, the river in DAK will be considered navigable and fall under EPA regulation. So WDW is looking to invest 100's of millions in a project without knowing if their will be new regulations and what the new regulations will be.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Prior to Frozen, Hunchback was the furthest along in development. I don't know if that has changed since.

Hunchback and Hercules are what I want to see on stage the most.

Hunchback opens in La Jolla for an out of town tryout in October.

 

[coolbeans14]

There are films that are easy to suspend disbelief or accept the world that is created. I find Marvel films very difficult. I am still trying to get what super powers Captain America has and why his shield acts so differently depending on convenient circumstance.

But the bottom line -- and I said this last year after seeing Star Trek (which I enjoyed) and Man of Steel (which I did not) -- is that in the CGI age of making more and more mind-numbing 'splosions that filmmakers are paying no heed to what the human carnage would be and simply ignoring it.

Marvel is king of this.

If they do a hulk movie in phase 3, I want them to have a ton of action as a dream sequence (for the trailers of course) then for the rest of it to be a shot for shot take of "jeff who lives at home".

Then while the marvel-everything-exploding fans all sit in shock waiting for the post credit scene, have 90s/noughties pop music playing before a close up of Mark Ruffalo saying "well that was interesting"



And I'll be at the back, staring down as they wonder "but there was no helicarrier?!". And I won't comfort them... I'll laugh at them

...

So the Panama Canal huh?

 

[71jason]

BTW, having been back to Trader Sam's, again I will state that with a few EPCOT exceptions, WDW's adult drinks might as well be kiddie drinks because they are so lacking in alcohol.

You're drinking in the wrong bars. But yeah, the $14 (!) drink my inner child suckered me into buying because of the mini lightsabre tasted like sickly sweet Kool-Ade.

(Make your own jokes about drinking TDO's Kool-Ade...)

 

[wdisney9000]

Is there more to the story of Edgar Wright walking away from Ant-Man other than creative differences, @WDW1974? Eisner tweeted about Disney and Marvel catching heat from the "geek crowd" and now Adam McKay looks to be his replacement? A guy whose more known for comedies, not super hero movies. Was that call made by Feige?

 

[PREMiERdrum]

You're drinking in the wrong bars. But yeah, the $14 (!) drink my inner child suckered me into buying because of the mini lightsabre tasted like sickly sweet Kool-Ade.

(Make your own jokes about drinking TDO's Kool-Ade...)

The blue drinks they had flowing at the new Test Track media event were strong. We didn't black out, but that was only because of self control.

 

[alissafalco]

I doubt he would because he is seeming more and more desperate to turn Avatar into a franchise.

how so?

 

[wdisney9000]

You're drinking in the wrong bars. But yeah, the $14 (!) drink my inner child suckered me into buying because of the mini lightsabre tasted like sickly sweet Kool-Ade.

(Make your own jokes about drinking TDO's Kool-Ade...)

only place at WDW that I feel I consistently get my moneys worth on a "unique" alcoholic beverage is at La Cava. Wifey loves their margaritas and they are usually pretty strong. I recommend the cucumber one. Mizners isnt bad either but I usually just order a goose and cranberry, I woudnt consider that a unique drink. My trick is to order a cheaper drink first, give a decent tip, then order something good and usually they will make it a little stronger. (usually)

 

[PeterAlt]

If true I really doubt the decision comes from anyone in FL. A project this size is usually dictated right from the top. I assume the lowest that decision would probably go is Staggs but I would assume it's more likely Iger.

The decision being made because "stupid tourists" keep coming in droves is probably part of why Iger and his crew would do this. Carsland and DLR is a different animal. The economics are different. With multiday tickets being the norm at WDW it's hard to quantify gains from additional guests. The one economic angle that made me think maybe this project would be different was making AK a full day park. That would be more easy to quantify in meal and drink sales as well as single day ticket sales. I have to assume that if this rumor turns out to be true they have pretty much abandoned the idea of making AK a full day park. Adding 1 new ride isn't gonna get it done. Adding 2 new rides wasn't going to get it done either, but there was some hope that if they were investing this much on Avland that it would potentially lead to some additional smaller scale attractions too to fill out the park. If they are cutting the boat ride then they won't be doing anything else either. Too bad. I really hope that the rumors turn out to be not true. Makes me really doubtful that anything meaningful will be added to DHS for StarWars either.

Let's pray it's not cut!

(and that it's just one of those silly Miceage rumors)