The top 10 fails of WDW

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Original Poster
10. Doug: Live!... A rip off of the Nickelodeon/Disney series, Doug. You should face the facts, Doug belonged to Nickelodeon, not Disney. A tacky job in production, only lasted from 1999 to 2001 at Hollywood Studios.


9. The Great Movie Ride... filled with incredibly outdated films in which most of everyone is probably not even familiar with "Singing in the Rain". Some updated movies could be added to the attraction, and the animatronics are outdated as well. Although the movie and the Wizard of Oz scene is enjoyable. Perhaps some updated movies in the video scene, even tho there's a 1 second clip of Finding Nemo.

8. Original Universe of Energy... This is one of the retro rides that gave Epcot it's bad reputation on being "boring", and it was an extremely boring attraction. The best parts of it were the preshow and dinosaur scenes. Luckily, the replacement with Ellen and Jeapordy was a fairly good decision with a 70% chance of entertainment.


7. The Making of Me... as much as I hate to rat out on anything in the Wonders of Life pavilion, this truly was a Disney fail. You don't expect to go to a Disney theme park and find a movie that teaches kids how babies are made. It's just not right, in any theme park really. Although it did have some pretty good and funny parts, not the worst but an embarassing attraction for Disney to even own.

epcot_-_the_making_of_me_logo.jpg



6. Food Rocks... Personally I love this old show, but it did have it's mistakes. The script, music, and characters were great! The show was very funny, but the fact that Disney decided to use plastic 2D cut-outs made it a cheasy attraction. This could have been a really good show, if it weren't for the cheasy AA's, so you either have to like it for the comedy, music, and script, or just hate it because Disney went cheap on the very last step.

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5. The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management... A show that basically makes fun of the original Tiki Room show. In which it replaced the original because of it's low audience, but got even a lower amount of audience 2 years after it opened. Starred by Iago and Zazu, Iago basically ruins the whole show with outdated music the half of the 16 and unders haven't even heard of before. Thank gosh it caught on fire and destroyed Iago, he had it coming. Zazu shouldn't be punished tho, he was actually trying to defend the tiki room, so let's just rip off his current feathers and replace them with orange ones!


4. The 3 Cabelleros... A cheap ride in the Mexico pavilion looking at random videos of Donald having a good time in mexico when all of a sudden his two friends (that basically nobody has heard of) comes to wreck the day with a concert. The only kind-of good part about this ride is the Mexican version of It's a Small World.. El Rio del Tiempo at least was enjoyable with real Mexican culture.


3. Journey into YOUR Imagination/Journey into your Imagination with Figment... these two attraction have been named as the worst attraction in Disney history by many people, tho not enough to get to #1. The first version basically did not include figment like it did in the original, nor Dreamfinder. Imagination and Scientists just don't seem to please tourists I guess. Luckily Figment came back to please the 5 and under year-olds.

2. Stitch's Great Escape... I truly think this replaced ALIEN Encounter because Disney wanted to use a Disney character, and not a Universal movie. Not because it frightened children. Who knows why Disney is so willing to get Stitch in a successful ride at a Disney theme park!? Stitch has been a failure in all classes of rides so far: Talking with Stitch, Tortured by stitch, watching a show that only lasted 2 months with stitch and Screwing up the Tiki Room..with stitch. Keep him in the parades and meet and greets and he'll fit perfectly there. People don't want to be burped in the face by a chili dog and have their hair messed with by a slimy alien anymore, okay?

1/2. Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian... Honestly, this is just an advertisement for the film. The most work Disney did into this "ride" was a big door. Enter the door, and see a boring film on how Narnia is a great movie and that you should spend your money and by it! This ranks very close to Sounds Dangerous...

1. Sounds Dangerous... Strap some old/broken headphones on worn by millions of strangers since it's opening in a run-down theater with uncomfortable seats and watch a low quality film of Drew Carry sticking a camera in his mouth. Honestly there are no words on how to describe how horrible this attraction is. It's so horrible the WDWMagic forum users barely think about it anymore!


- WondersOfLife

The last original pavilion. :king:
 

Duckfan

Member
I agree with some of what you said, but I really enjoy the new Mexico ride(for obvious reasons), and Maelstrom is still one of my favorites. What they've done to Imagination is a travesty though, and something that makes me mad every time I visit WDW. I always thought the Making of Me seemed oddly inappropriate for a theme park as well.

PS, the Alien in Alien Encounter was an original design, ostensibly from George Lucas. It was not from the Alien films, which were produced by the Fox studio, not Universal.
 

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
10. Doug: Live!...
9. Maelstrom... As much as most of us like this ride, 99.9% has to agree that it's always not worth waiting 30 minutes to ride a 25 second ride. The storyline and theme is great, but as of to this day it is extremely short and outdated. As well as having to wait on getting through the doors to get past a pointless movie on an advertisement of Norway and probably missing the time for The Great American Adventure.

Be careful what you wish for :wave:.
 

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Original Poster
I agree with some of what you said, but I really enjoy the new Mexico ride(for obvious reasons), and Maelstrom is still one of my favorites. What they've done to Imagination is a travesty though, and something that makes me mad every time I visit WDW. I always thought the Making of Me seemed oddly inappropriate for a theme park as well.

PS, the Alien in Alien Encounter was an original design, ostensibly from George Lucas. It was not from the Alien films, which were produced by the Fox studio, not Universal.


Strange, I thought it was related to the movie in some way.. :shrug:

I love Maelstrom too, it's nice that it has fastpasses.. here's what I understand about the ride tho: People on ship see floating head with shiny eye saying stuff nobody quite understands. Go through a village caught on fire. Meet a three headed troll that wants you to disapear and casts a spell on you. Bot goes backwards and pass a random polar bear seen. Amazingly get back to the tree-troll and somehow makes your ship go down a waterfall without touching you and without getting wet. Ride by an oil well and arrive back to reality. :)


- WondersOfLife

The last original pavilion. :king:
 

maxairmike

Well-Known Member
Here's the Maelstrom summary that many of my friends and I have come up with/use on a regular basis:

- Adventure, peril, shiny eye!
- Burning village, viking fury!
- Oh look, trolls!
- Polar bears? Where's the Coke bottles!?
- More trolls
- Oil rig...?


On the whole, pretty agreeable list, especially the Stitch/Narnia part.
 

redshoesrock

Active Member
Strange, I thought it was related to the movie in some way.. :shrug:

It's a long story, here's the Cliff Notes:

Yes, originally the alien was the Sigourney Weaver Alien because the Imagineers felt it would save story set-up time since you didn't have to explain what it was; everyone knows the Alien. But other Imagineers thought it would be too scary, so they talked to George Lucas who talked to Michael Eisner, and then Eisner said, "Make your own alien, and George Lucas will help."
 

redshoesrock

Active Member
2. Stitch's Great Escape... I truly think this replaced ALIEN Encounter because Disney wanted to use a Disney character, and not a Universal movie. Not because it frightened children. Who knows why Disney is so willing to get Stitch in a successful ride at a Disney theme park!?

DOUBLE POST!!!

As a former Tomorrowland CM, I can tell you why Alien Encounter closed: because at the end of the day, not enough guests went through it. It got so bad word-of-mouth that it was too scary it was quite common to have only one chamber open for the day because there weren't enough guests going through to need both chambers open. Stitch, while yes a very big dud, does actually pull in more guests than Alien did. Hand to God. Stitch was put in because, believe it or not, little kids love Stitch. Asian people love Stitch as well, LOVE Stitch. I don't know why, but I can tell you that not only have I been told that by managers who are familiar with Tokyo and Hong Kong, but I have first-hand knowledge. Whenever I opened Stitch and I was running the doors (the CM who gets on the PA before you go in), when there were guests from Japan or China or wherever in Asia they would make a *beeline* to Stitch like it was Space Mountain. I remember thinking as I watched them literally dash over to me, "Oh you fools."
 

MacDuffieMuppet

New Member
Here's the Maelstrom summary that many of my friends and I have come up with/use on a regular basis:

- Adventure, peril, shiny eye!
- Burning village, viking fury!
- Oh look, trolls!
- Polar bears? Where's the Coke bottles!?
- More trolls
- Oil rig...?


On the whole, pretty agreeable list, especially the Stitch/Narnia part.

Close, but its more like:
- The Spirit of Norway (in a Norwegian accent)
-Ummm burning village
-Creepy Troll-> Disappear, Disappear, Back! Over de falls
- Rawr Polar Bear! and penguins
-Oh look the outside, and a winking troll!
-Oil Rig!!!!!
-"Welcome Back Riders!"

The ride always makes me come off laughing. Although I was waiting in line at Nemo today on my visit and the girl in front of me didn't like Nemo, she wanted to go that viking ride again!

Speaking of some Disney fails, I think Nemo was a fairly big one. They got rid of ride where you could see the entire aquarium 2nd largest in the country and 3rd in the world. Disney should be showcasing their aquarium as not many guests really know about.

I do agree with many of the fails. I do greatly miss the figment of my childhood.
 
I don't think I would classify Maelstrom as a fail because it clearly hasn't failed. People stand in line for it, ride it, and it seems as though most enjoy it. It was a much needed "ride" for the World Showcase, it didn't take the place of anything that was originally better like in the examples of Imagination or Stitch or Under New Managment. Those ideas failed because they left most people saying, "Wow, why didn't they just leave this attraction alone in the first place?"

I always considered Prince Caspian to be temporary, the sort of thing Studios needs to keep up with their theming. So in that sense it's not a failure so much even though it isn't something that could really stand as a permanent attraction.
 

ChrisFL

Premium Member
Ok, this is how I understand the plot of the Maelstrom ride...

You start out by seeing the eye, and he sends you back in time to the era of the great explorers...

you pass through the ships setting off for the unknown...

you see the 3 headed troll, and to the left, you see 2 large eyes of some beast....

the troll sends you over the falls, past Valhalla, and some of the envrionments...

once you start moving forward again, you're back where you were with the trolls, the large beast creature is now very old and only has one eye open, and the terrain has been changed by modern life and you end up near the oil rig.
 

The Duck

Well-Known Member
I agree with most of the list. I still like Maelstrom (although, I'll agree that it's a bit nonsensical and leave me alone for the film!). As for as Gran Fiesta Tour, I'll admit that the Three Caballeros is a fairly obscure Disney film but it still has a loyal fan base:D. Personally, I prefer the new theme music (AKA "Ay Jalisco, no te Rajes") over the original music any day. PLUS... it stars, "The Duck"! :sohappy:(and Jose' and Panchito as well). Also, since Jose' Carioca is a Brazilian parrot and still very popular in Brazil, I've often wondered why the Brazilian tour groups haven't been demanding a Jose' M&G. Donald has been the "Lone Caballero" for the past few years.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
IF Maelstrom is a fail, why is there often a line? It dosn`t load slow?

You didn`t like the UOE. I loved it. EPCOT Center wasn`t a theme park. It was better than the current version. IMHO compared to yours.

The Making of Me... so what? A sensitive film on a sensitive subject. Congratulations to Met Life for not shying away.
 

rkelly42

Well-Known Member
Personally I have to disagree with a couple of fails on the list, that being maelstrom and UoE. I enjoy both these rides and look foward to them when I visit Epcot and usually ride them multiple times.
 

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Original Poster
Personally I have to disagree with a couple of fails on the list, that being maelstrom and UoE. I enjoy both these rides and look foward to them when I visit Epcot and usually ride them multiple times.


From about 10 to 6... I just used those attraction because I ran out of actually bad ones.
 

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Original Poster

captainkidd

Well-Known Member
Here's my list:

10. DVC - Could be so much better than it is. Lower the dues and give me housekeeping, and we'll talk.

9. Epcot Resort Transportation - Why in the world do 5 Deluxe Resorts share 1 bus?

8. Stitch - No need to beat a dead horse. It sucks, we all know it, move on.

7. Universe Of Energy - The most boring attraction at WDW.

6. Removal of classic rides at Epcot (Horizons, World of Motion).

5. Free Dining - Not so much a fail for the company, as a fail for the consumer looking to eat at some of the sit-down restaurants. If you can't afford to eat on vacation, don't go.

4. Downtown Disney - Where to start? Removal of Pleasure Island? Virgin? Starabillias? What was once a beautiful nighttime attraction, has become an afterthought.

3. Great Movie Ride - Good God, can you change the script already?

2. Prince Caspian - This "attraction" is so bad, I almost hate to waste space on any list talking about it. Why is this still open?

1. Disney Resort Rates - They've gotten out of control. Even the moderates are getting too pricey for what they offer.
 

loveofamouse

Well-Known Member
Here's my list:

10. DVC - Could be so much better than it is. Lower the dues and give me housekeeping, and we'll talk.

9. Epcot Resort Transportation - Why in the world do 5 Deluxe Resorts share 1 bus?

8. Stitch - No need to beat a dead horse. It sucks, we all know it, move on.

7. Universe Of Energy - The most boring attraction at WDW.

6. Removal of classic rides at Epcot (Horizons, World of Motion).

5. Free Dining - Not so much a fail for the company, as a fail for the consumer looking to eat at some of the sit-down restaurants. If you can't afford to eat on vacation, don't go.

4. Downtown Disney - Where to start? Removal of Pleasure Island? Virgin? Starabillias? What was once a beautiful nighttime attraction, has become an afterthought.

3. Great Movie Ride - Good God, can you change the script already?

2. Prince Caspian - This "attraction" is so bad, I almost hate to waste space on any list talking about it. Why is this still open?

1. Disney Resort Rates - They've gotten out of control. Even the moderates are getting too pricey for what they offer.



This is a big one for me. The main thing of disney resorts was it was a better deal and you got to stay on property. Now, for what they offer, it's way too pricey. At the Value level, you get a very small room, a basic hotel room. Even the bedding isn't that nice. For the same price, you could stay out in town with a more comfy room and continental bkfast. When you look at the moderate level, yeah you get a bit more adult themeing and a percentage of less families but the rooms aren't that much bigger. Yet, you're paying almost twice value rate. Honestly, for our next trip, we are probably getting a vacation home out in town. They run about the same prices as value and moderate levels but with an entire house with a private pool.
 

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