Town Square Theater Concept Art

[menamechris]

How is this any worse than when Pooh and Hook used to run for Mayor of Main Street everyday?

That was during the supposed golden age of the mid-90's.

This is very true. I think the theming argument has gotten a little out of hand as of late... But thats just my opinion.

 

[WDWFigment]

The concept art, concept in general, everything, really, looks good to me thus far!

 

[WDWFigment]

My question is this: if you get a Fastpass for Mickey, does it count as an attraction Fastpass? In which case, are you not able to get one for anything else until your Mickey Fastpass becomes valid? Meeting Mickey, despite what others may think, is not on the same tier as riding an attraction, and should not be counted as such when obtaining Fastpasses.

I don't know how it'll work, but if it does operate the same as an attraction Fastpass, and you don't view a meet & greet as on par with an attraction, there's a simple solution: don't get a meet & greet Fastpass.

I would think it'd almost have to operate the same as attraction Fastpasses since it's the only meet & greet that will have FP. If it's put into its own "category," as the only FP in that category, either FPs will go quickly for it, or they will be almost rendered meaningless.

How is this any worse than when Pooh and Hook used to run for Mayor of Main Street everyday?

That was during the supposed golden age of the mid-90's.

Hook ran for Mayor of Main Street? That sounds awesome!

 

[wdwmagic]

Where is this going to be, and are they taking out anything to accommodate? Also, is it just a place to meet characters or what?

This in the Town Square Expo Hall (right hand side as you enter Main Street). It's replacing largely unused theater space that was in the Expo Hall.

 

[lebeau]

Looks good to me.

I'm convinced some people around here just hate the m&g concept and wil rail against anything related to meet and greets.

 

[wdwmagic]

Looks good to me.

I'm convinced some people around here just hate the m&g concept and wil rail against anything related to meet and greets.

A lot of people do hate them, but a lot of people love them. Which is why Character Spot, and the former Toontown meet and greets regularly have/had lines of 60 mins plus.

 

[NewfieFan]

No dates yet, just "spring". Word from inside is that it's going to take a while still.

Thanks for the info!

I think this is a really great spot for Mickey. It will be great for guests to be able to visit Mickey right inside the entrance, and it will give Main Street a big attraction for a lot of visitors.

I do too! I see this as a postive move for the Mouse!

I like it! I personally was never a fan of Mickey being shoved to the back corner of the park in Toontown....

I always felt the same way. When I use to help first timers plan their trip and they would ask where to meet Mickey, I would sometimes get raised eyebrows when I would explain where they had to go to find him. I did get a lot of, "but I thought he would be at the beginning of the park somewhere!?!" Those who knew nothing about WDW or the MK expected him to have a somewhat more central location. I did however like his house in TT, especially after having kids of my own!

My question is this: if you get a Fastpass for Mickey, does it count as an attraction Fastpass? In which case, are you not able to get one for anything else until your Mickey Fastpass becomes valid? Meeting Mickey, despite what others may think, is not on the same tier as riding an attraction, and should not be counted as such when obtaining Fastpasses.

Speak for yourself, my kids would line up to meet Mickey over riding BTMR anyday! Characters are popular and can have longer queues than the rides! And I for one will not turn down the option to get a FP to meet the Mouse!

 

[JimboJones123]

My question is this: if you get a Fastpass for Mickey, does it count as an attraction Fastpass? In which case, are you not able to get one for anything else until your Mickey Fastpass becomes valid? Meeting Mickey, despite what others may think, is not on the same tier as riding an attraction, and should not be counted as such when obtaining Fastpasses.

How does DCA handle this for World of Color?

 

[paul436]

I still am curious as to how well the FP will work with a character. I don't think they can determine the average length of a character visit as accurately as they can determine the average ride time.

With so many character interactions I'm sure that they can have a CM there with a stop watch (or something like that) to time the visits. After a period of time I would think that the data could be collated in such a way so that they can determine the average time of a visit.

There will always be unexpected variables to throw everything off but that can happen on a ride as well.

 

[NewfieFan]

With so many character interactions I'm sure that they can have a CM there with a stop watch (or something like that) to time the visits. After a period of time I would think that the data could be collated in such a way so that they can determine the average time of a visit.

There will always be unexpected variables to throw everything off but that can happen on a ride as well.

I'm sure they already have that info! They know how long hugs, autographs, and a few photos take depending on the size of the party!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Will Mickey have an animated head here, like the ones tested before? Will the character mural remain?

Great idea to include an interactive queue.

 

[JimboJones123]

A lot of people do hate them, but a lot of people love them. Which is why Character Spot, and the former Toontown meet and greets regularly have/had lines of 60 mins plus.

Steve, thanks fo chiming in and being a voice of reason in this thread to so many responses. I always like seeing you active in a thread and controlling the tone of the site in a very classy way.

 

[lebeau]

A lot of people do hate them, but a lot of people love them. Which is why Character Spot, and the former Toontown meet and greets regularly have/had lines of 60 mins plus.

I think they are popular with the general public. The long lines support this notion. But a lot of folks around here bristle any time anything involving a meet and greet gets announced.

Of course, there are some people who get bent out of shape any time Disney spends money on something that isn't an e-ticket thrill ride aimes squarely at middle-aged men, so I don't think they are representative of Disney's target demo...

 

[Neverland]

Hook ran for Mayor of Main Street? That sounds awesome!

Gotta agree, that sounds cool. In Disneyland, characters are allowed to run free around Main Street. You can see Mickey, Peter Pan, the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, and some others. Plus, they already have Mickey's friends doing m&g's in Town Square in the mornings. I don't think it's bad theming. Main Street is the gateway to the Magic Kingdom, it's the path you have to take to get to all the lands, it's the main street. It makes sense to me that you can see classic characters at the entrance; they're there visiting from their lands to greet you and give you a taste of what's to come as you continue into the Magic Kingdom.

I think that the princess castle float rolling through Frontierland every day at 3 is more odd.

 

[MichWolv]

My question is this: if you get a Fastpass for Mickey, does it count as an attraction Fastpass? In which case, are you not able to get one for anything else until your Mickey Fastpass becomes valid? Meeting Mickey, despite what others may think, is not on the same tier as riding an attraction, and should not be counted as such when obtaining Fastpasses.

And I would say that MSEP, despite what others think, is clearly superior to Spectromagic. And that WDW's Space Mountain is better than Disneyland's, despite what others think. And most everybody here would say that Disney World, despite what others think, is a great place to vacation even without kids.

These are opinions. I wouldn't use my FP window at MK on a Mickey meet n greet, but I bet there are a lot that would feel that as a good use of time. If your little one wants to meet Mickey, maybe using a FP on that to avoid what can sometimes be a 60 minute wait is a better idea that using it to avoid a 30 minute wait for Buzz, a 45 minute wait for SM, or a 40 minute wait for Pooh. Heck, I always try to get FPs for Peter Pan instead of other MK rides, even though PPF is not, in my opinion (a far more appropriate phrase than "despite what others think" which implies those others' opinions are less worthy than your own), a great attraction. It's just that the time saved with a PPF FP is greater than the time saved with a Buzz, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, or Pooh FP. Same might apply for Mickey, presuming you were going to do the Mickey MnG anyway.

 

[JEANYLASER]

awesome idea!

 

[wdwmagic]

With so many character interactions I'm sure that they can have a CM there with a stop watch (or something like that) to time the visits. After a period of time I would think that the data could be collated in such a way so that they can determine the average time of a visit.

There will always be unexpected variables to throw everything off but that can happen on a ride as well.

Yes they do indeed have all manner of stats on meet and greet experiences, and corresponding targets for time spent with guests and hourly guest throughput.

 

[NYwdwfan]

Now THIS is a Fastpass that I can support.

I will continue to hate attraction fastpasses until my dying breath, but M&G Fastpasses are a really nice idea to spread out waits. Besides, while dad and junior are seeing the Head Cheese, Mom can shop on Main Street. Genius all around on this one.

BINGO. For people that enter the park and are anxious to get to the rides, then exit the park anxious to get to either an out of park dinner reservation, spend time at the pool, park-hop, etc., they have found a way to bring them back down Main Street for their M&G and then hopefully back up Main Street for the rest of their time in the park. More time passing by those shops = more of a liklihood people wander in and spend some cash.

 

[HandyAndy]

Any word as to whether or not the infamous "talking" Mickey Mouse will be featured?

 

[ajt5027]

Is anyone else worried about possible congestion right at the entrance? I can just see everyone making a bee-line for the Mickey FP in the morning and the line, spilling out onto Main Street and cloging the whole right entrance. Also when Main Street gets crowded, it gets really crowded. Trying to leave the park in/around the mid-parade could be a potential nightmare. Not to mention the quiet dinners (okay sem-quiet) at Tony's Town Square will be...different. I'm curious to see how this will work for Main Stret traffic.