The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[TP2000]

Frozen absolutely could be a franchise to compete with Potter, and one that no one saw coming. Instead they're electing to shoehorn it into a boat ride that has a 964 ft track.

I'm of Swedish extraction. But on an Epcot visit around '87 I was still happy to see our neighbors from Norway get a real World Showcase pavilion, as a broader Scandinavian-American rather than just a Swede. But then I went on the ride and it seemed very, very short.

964 feet, huh? Shorter than I thought. Suddenly I'm glad I'm not Norwegian.

 

[FigmentJedi]

History repeats itself

Could you imagine how insane the Save Toad campaign would be in this age of Social Media?

 

[Mike S]

History repeats itself

Could you imagine how insane the Save Toad campaign would be in this age of Social Media?

The connection goes much deeper than that. A relatively cheap replacement built here compared to a brand new trackless ride in Tokyo. Of course there's the obvious difference of Pooh actually fitting in Fantasyland and the ride opened much quicker I think. Since history is repeating itself so vividly, I'm getting a Dinosaur

 

[FigmentJedi]

The connection goes much deeper than that. A relatively cheap replacement built here compared to a brand new trackless ride in Tokyo. Of course there's the obvious difference of Pooh actually fitting in Fantasyland and the ride opened much quicker I think. Since history is repeating itself so vividly, I'm getting a Dinosaur

That's exactly it.

Dinosaur doesn't really count. Ride was always intended as a loose tie-in to the film, featuring animation of Aladar in the preshow since day one. They just made it more glaringly obvious with a title change and switching the statue outside. The Styracosaurus is actually still in Animal Kingdom though, just hanging out backstage at Kilimanjaro Safaris by the jeep motorpool acting as a sort of mascot for the CMs.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Re: Frozen at DHS. This is the type of stuff that the Studios should be used for. They should have the popular new movie present in some capacity in a day and date type thing. They strung together Frozen Summer Fun LIVE in less than 2 weeks, and they have theaters that can accommodate this sort of thing. Then, if something proves to be a success you can expand it within the Studios or in other relevant parks.

I have no problem with what they did with frozen at the studios. None at all. It was a no-brainer and it was something the guests were clamoring for.

And I'm talking about the guests to come you're on vacation, not the hard-core fan boy locals

Frozen does not appeal to me. It's not aimed at me. I certainly don't fall inside the demographic. However… The 12-year-old girls love it. And frankly, that's who Disney is aimed at.

So makes perfect sense to do something inexpensive that the guests really enjoyed. God for bid we let them have some fun…

 

[PhotoDave219]

Frozen absolutely could be a franchise to compete with Potter, and one that no one saw coming. Instead they're electing to shoehorn it into a boat ride that has a 964 ft track.

I'm in door, air-conditioned Airedale pavilion at the studios would be amazing.

 

[Mike S]

That's exactly it.

Dinosaur doesn't really count. Ride was always intended as a loose tie-in to the film, featuring animation of Aladar in the preshow since day one. They just made it more glaringly obvious with a title change and switching the statue outside. The Styracosaurus is actually still in Animal Kingdom though, just hanging out backstage at Kilimanjaro Safaris by the jeep motorpool acting as a sort of mascot for the CMs.

Um, what? I wasn't making a reference to the ride Dinosaur at all It's a joke.

Edit: Never knew the Styracosaurus was backstage at KS though.

 

[flynnibus]

Norway is not going anywhere, they aren't going to rename the place, and the only thing that is going away is one loosely-associated esoteric-at-best ride with snow scenes which is being replaced by another loosely-associated ride with more snow scenes that also happens to be based on a film with huge demand (and the inevitable equal amount of fanboy backlash), and thankfully adding another M&G location for these characters that people are spending incredible amounts of time (3 and 4 hours) waiting in line for.

I'd love if they instead were adding some massive new attraction in Fantasyland, don't get me wrong - this is far from a whack-job idea, it really does make some amount of sense.

So adding an Aladdin ride to Morroco is up next?
How about adding Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.. the Ride... to Germany?
Maybe we can add some James Bond attractions to England..
and I think a stage show from the movie Traffic would be a great fit for Mexico

Since setting and local characters seem to be the minimum requirement... we've pretty much opened the door to endless possiblities for WDI! World Showcase can finally stop being about countries and cultures and can get down to what it really should be... a sampling of places where movies where we get to appreciate those movies with attractions dreamt up by WDI.. and staffed by slave labor courtesy of the International College Program.

 

[FigmentJedi]

So adding an Aladdin ride to Morroco is up next?

Thankfully, the Moroccan government is actively involved in managing their pavilion.

 

[Cesar R M]

Because Epcot. Free admission at PI, or nail 'em for $90 A day plus each bite of food, each drink, each snack, each souvenir, from each country and whatever that mess up front with the tombstones is.
Clearly the guy who thought up the different booze drinks per country got a promotion and a nice shiny set of gold painted Mickey ears.




Yeah well... Because they have it set up so you have to plan months ahead, if you plan on eating at any sit down restaurant, or want FPs for the e tickets without using standby for everything. They've taken the fun out of landing at your destination and making it up as you go along...

And that frozen parade was pitiful. I watched a few videos from it's debut, and the floats looked seriously empty. Have they filled them since? Or added more characters to them?

give credits where credit is sue.. I mean.. they at least did not used the castle float.. right? riiiiight?

For those keeping score at home... My "Hi Tom!" comment got through the corporate sensors at 3:37 PM Pacific Time.

Even after "Tom Staggs" (AKA a Communications Major @ UCLA intern sitting in a Burbank cubicle) started "answering" some of the comments. But "Tom Staggs" (Hey kid... Go Bruins!) didn't answer my comment and question to him. But at least I got my comment through.

so.. I wonder how many "Tom Staggs" are actively monitoring the threads at disney blogs and websites.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Potter neutralizer?

Its not Potter that needs neutralised

 

[celluloid]

Exactly. Diagon Alley will have opened at minimum 2 years before anything that could be considered competition will open. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Hogsmede opened in 2010. A half a decade is not exactly a competitive goal.

Especially when you have over five times the resources and budget potential.

 

[PeterAlt]

I just learned something that I find very disturbing!

Did you know that in the early 2000's, Disney owned a sliver of land that crossed I-4 that actually bordered International Drive, not far from Sea World and the convention center? Here's a map showing land ownership during that time.

As you can see, they had a contiguous finger extending out and actually touching the west side of International Drive.

The moron (Iger?) who decided to sell this is truly a moron and short-sighted. As International Drive area builds up, with USO, the convention center and connecting resorts, Sea World, etc., the I-Drive area is a very important market Disney had an easy opportunity to cypher visitors from.

A monorail extension could have run on contiguous Disney property to International Drive. During the early 2000's, there was a plan to connect all of I-Drive via an elevated automated people mover (APM). The APM was planned as one of the feeder systems for the high speed rail project that Jeb Bush later cancelled. The WDW monorail extension to I-Drive would have been serviced by that APM.

Even with that HSR project cancelled, Disney should never have sold that land because holding it would have allowed future access to I-Drive no matter what future technology is used to access it.

If you don't believe these plans existed (the I-Drive APM and the Disney monorail extension to it), just search the Orlando Business Journal for articles they published during that time period. There is an article about it and it includes a copy of a document that shows a map of the then-planned I-Drive APM and Disney's monorail extension to it!

 

[Jose]

@WDW1974 are they going to expand the track of maelstrom for the frozen ride?

 

[SJN1279]

@WDW1974 are they going to expand the track of maelstrom for the frozen ride?

A member said that the unload station may become the load and unload station creating an extra scene. In its current form Maelstrom is 4 minutes long. More than enough for a solid dark ride(which Maelstrom never really was).

 

[Jose]

A member said that the unload station may become the load and unload station creating an extra scene. In its current form Maelstrom is 4 minutes long. More than enough for a solid dark ride(which Maelstrom never really was).

thanks!

 

[Rosso11]

I just learned something that I find very disturbing!

Did you know that in the early 2000's, Disney owned a sliver of land that crossed I-4 that actually bordered International Drive, not far from Sea World and the convention center? Here's a map showing land ownership during that time.

View attachment 65767

As you can see, they had a contiguous finger extending out and actually touching the west side of International Drive.

The moron (Iger?) who decided to sell this is truly a moron and short-sighted. As International Drive area builds up, with USO, the convention center and connecting resorts, Sea World, etc., the I-Drive area is a very important market Disney had an easy opportunity to cypher visitors from.

A monorail extension could have run on contiguous Disney property to International Drive. During the early 2000's, there was a plan to connect all of I-Drive via an elevated automated people mover (APM). The APM was planned as one of the feeder systems for the high speed rail project that Jeb Bush later cancelled. The WDW monorail extension to I-Drive would have been serviced by that APM.

Even with that HSR project cancelled, Disney should never have sold that land because holding it would have allowed future access to I-Drive no matter what future technology is used to access it.

If you don't believe these plans existed (the I-Drive APM and the Disney monorail extension to it), just search the Orlando Business Journal for articles they published during that time period. There is an article about it and it includes a copy of a document that shows a map of the then-planned I-Drive APM and Disney's monorail extension to it!

I'm pretty sure Disney still ownes most of that land. That's where most of the college program stays during their tenure. The Commons, Chathum Square and Patterson Court as well as Mickeys Retreat which is avalable for all CMs is back there.

 

[aladdin2007]

A member said that the unload station may become the load and unload station creating an extra scene. In its current form Maelstrom is 4 minutes long. More than enough for a solid dark ride(which Maelstrom never really was).

It was solid when effects worked and before they let it deteriorate.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yes and he's right. Outside of the hard-core Disney or shall I say Epcot fanboys, Nobody cares about figment outside of that group.

(And for those who are going to flame me, be prepared to back up your assertions. Prove that this means I could've wrong.)

Your average park guest from bum crap America does not know who he is, does not care who it is, and is not interested in learning who is.

I'm a fan myself. But the character recognition there is insanely low.

The real pressure to put Figment back into the ride came from the hit to merchandise sales.

I think that what you said applies now, but, I'm not sure that it did then. Figment, during the original, was very well known and liked. Thus the problem with merchandise sales when he was let out of his cage. If he hadn't been popular back then there would not have been a push for the merchandise. The new ride had no identifiable icon to attach to merchandise, whereas, Figment had always been a big seller up to that point. So left with the decision to have a ride with no dicernible marketable character vs. a small representation of Figment in the remake, made sense in your statement that it was merchandise sales that drove the change to Imagination #3. I think that back then, both merchandising and fan support had an influence on redoing it to what we presently have.

So adding an Aladdin ride to Morroco is up next?
How about adding Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.. the Ride... to Germany?
Maybe we can add some James Bond attractions to England..
and I think a stage show from the movie Traffic would be a great fit for Mexico

Since setting and local characters seem to be the minimum requirement... we've pretty much opened the door to endless possiblities for WDI! World Showcase can finally stop being about countries and cultures and can get down to what it really should be... a sampling of places where movies where we get to appreciate those movies with attractions dreamt up by WDI.. and staffed by slave labor courtesy of the International College Program.

Actually, those sound like good ideas. Let's hope the "The Spirit" is right and this board is being watched. Personally, I can't wait for the James Bond British overlay.

 

[PeterAlt]

I'm pretty sure Disney still ownes most of that land. That's where most of the college program stays during their tenure. The Commons, Chathum Square and Patterson Court as well as Mickeys Retreat which is avalable for all CMs is back there.

No. It's been sold. There's a regular development there now.

This is the former Disney property that would have touched the west side of the southern section of International Drive.