Universal announces yet another major attraction, Disney taking a nap

[Jasonflz]

Can't wait to have some giant bugs crawling all over me.:hurl:

 

[magicmaya]

I'm going to universal tomorrow.Want me to get an update?

 

[The Conundrum]

In WDW's refurb, AAs worked for the first time in years, everything looked fresh and brightly painted instead of drab and dingy, and the queue even got refurbed to look like DL's version rather than the previous multicoloured garglemesh. I know you're exaggerating, but people are never happy no matter what Disney do.

- Complain attraction needs refurbished.
- Complain attraction's refurbishment isn't long enough.
- Complain when attraction is closed during your trip.
- Complain when refurbishment changes too much and 'ruins ride's spirit'.
- Complain when refurbishment changes too little and is 'half-assed'.
- Complain refurbishment isn't good enough.

Disney are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Your grouping two or three differnet groups of fans into one and trying to make us sound nuts.

Theres a few people who when rides are closed there trip those people are idiots and need to face reality.

IF a refurbishment is bad and ruins the ride spirit its bad. They damn themselves by doing a bad job like they did with Imagination.

Refurbishments need to happen more frequently like they do at Tokyo and Anahiem and because WDW's attractions are so run down they need to be more extensive. Hopefully they do it right with Hall of Presidents and Space Mountain.

 

[hrcollectibles]

Good for Universal Hollywood .. Its a shame the fire happened.. but its great to see them bringing back Kong. And why is it that anytime universal announces something its Doom and Gloom for Disney. Disney has had plenty of upgrades in its History... I really do not see how King Kong or The New Harry Potter section in Islands of Adventure well make Universal the new King of Theme Parks

 

[SirGoofy]

Good for Universal Hollywood .. Its a shame the fire happened.. but its great to see them bringing back Kong. And why is it that anytime universal announces something its Doom and Gloom for Disney. Disney has had plenty of upgrades in its History... I really do not see how King Kong or The New Harry Potter section in Islands of Adventure well make Universal the new King of Theme Parks

I don't know anyone who thinks that's going to happen. But that's not the point. The point is that Universal is spending money to try and vastly improve their parks, while Disney has the "flagship" theme park complex in the world, and has been virtually ignoring it.

 

[EpcoTim]

I don't know anyone who thinks that's going to happen. But that's not the point. The point is that Universal is spending money to try and vastly improve their parks, while Disney has the "flagship" theme park complex in the world, and has been virtually ignoring it.

I hardly call the new stitch stage and the half assed rehabs ignoring it, its more like a complete and total mistreatment of it. Kind of like how Ike Turner ignored Tina Turner.

 

[Fun2BFree]

Your grouping two or three differnet groups of fans into one and trying to make us sound nuts.

Theres a few people who when rides are closed there trip those people are idiots and need to face reality.

IF a refurbishment is bad and ruins the ride spirit its bad. They damn themselves by doing a bad job like they did with Imagination.

Refurbishments need to happen more frequently like they do at Tokyo and Anahiem and because WDW's attractions are so run down they need to be more extensive. Hopefully they do it right with Hall of Presidents and Space Mountain.

What I was getting at is that Disney can do nothing without getting flak from at least one group of fans. If they change nothing or very little, people complain that the attraction is stale. If they change too much, people complain that the ride is worse off than it was and the changes have destroyed the ride's feel. Despite your claims, people can belong to both groups simultaneously.

That's the real paradox with many fans -- they want something new and fresh, but the second you tamper with something old and beloved, they're up in arms. Space's shorter refurb means they're changing less, causing mass uproar. Yet if they pursued an extensive refurbishment and tore the track out and changed it, people would complain it was too far removed from the original and so worse.

The addition of a few small appropriately-themed Disney characters to DL's IASW caused mass hysteria and rage for 'crossing the line'. Fixing the dolls and giving everything a new coat of paint in WDW's version is met by cries of Disney's cheapness and laziness. No harm meant to any WDWMagic forumites, but people can be exceptionally petty. :shrug:

 

[WDW1974]

I hardly call the new stitch stage and the half assed rehabs ignoring it, its more like a complete and total mistreatment of it. Kind of like how Ike Turner ignored Tina Turner.

That's a line worthy of a :ROFLOLr even three :ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL:.

Seriously, when Disney fans start referring to painting and new queues and making effects that were inop for years operational again vs. NEW major attractions you can tell the pixie dust is in full effect.

The MK's last major addition came in 1992, let's be realistic about what we're talking about when we apologize for management.

I may be happy to see a 'new' HoP ... but I won't present it as anything more than what it is ... the first major redo (i.e. new film) since it opened and a new AA Prez (too bad we couldn't have had Bush for life and then they wouldn't have ever had to do anything). But in the old days they would simply refer to this as a refurb or plussing.

You don't compare it to new major attractions like Manta or Potter etc ...

 

[WDW1974]

No harm meant to any WDWMagic forumites, but people can be exceptionally petty. :shrug:

And no offense, but that's part of the human condition.

And whether some people will complain no matter what Disney does isn't really of any moment. People complain. They always have. Always will. Doesn't mean you allow your parks to get stale, attractions to fall into disrepair and do half-arsed quickee rehabs.

You do things the right way. The Disney Way.

It worked for four decades before they started tearing pages out of the rule book to save money and make more ... funny how people had a whole lot less to complain about at WDW during its first 25 years.

 

[jakeman]

You do things the right way. The Disney Way.

The problem is everyone has their own interpretation of The Disney Way now. While this may call for increase quality across the board (which isn't a bad thing), there will always be someone that claims they didn't get it right.

... funny how people had a whole lot less to complain about at WDW during its first 25 years.

Funny how the complaining started about the same time as the internet.

I wonder if there was an internet like we have today 20 years ago how many "MGM sucks" threads there would be? Or "When are they going to replace the Hook and Pooh elections?"

The internet allows contempt to breed rampantly.

I don't want to get into a "Rawr! Disney is worse now. We are in a depression! I hate Bush and American cars!" debate with you, just pointing out some observations.

 

[DisneyEverest]

The Monster Inc. Coaster should be announced soon.

Really!?! That would be great!

 

[Fun2BFree]

It worked for four decades before they started tearing pages out of the rule book to save money and make more ... funny how people had a whole lot less to complain about at WDW during its first 25 years.

Haven't you heard that old chestnut:
An audience and anonymity makes a normal person an ***hole.

Blame it on having a forum to air grievances, or behind-the-scenes website updates making the average fan better informed, but since the internet's growth, complaints has increased everywhere. This is by no means exclusive to Disney: whether it's video-games, politics or any aspect of life, everyone's complaining about one thing or another.

And here I am complaining about the internet. :lookaroun

EDIT: Dang, beaten by Jakeman. I should stop typing so slow.

 

[WDW1974]

The problem is everyone has their own interpretation of The Disney Way now. While this may call for increase quality across the board (which isn't a bad thing), there will always be someone that claims they didn't get it right.

I don't agree at all (shocking, right?)

Disney's standards have dropped and things that weren't acceptable in everything from custodial to cast grooming to effects on attractions to theming etc have changed ... that's what I talk about when I say WDW of 2009 is a shell of WDW of 1979 or 1989 ... because the basics ... they are largely paid lip service to.

Funny how the complaining started about the same time as the internet.

I wonder if there was an internet like we have today 20 years ago how many "MGM sucks" threads there would be? Or "When are they going to replace the Hook and Pooh elections?"

The internet allows contempt to breed rampantly.

The Internet has played a role, no doubt. But the fact the web opened the world to many doesn't change basic facts either. ... People have said that if there had been an online fan community in 1955 that they would have savaged Walt (which I don't agree with but) when DL opened small and with many temporary areas.

I think the Internet allows people to communicate and share experiences (good, bad, ugly) ... it allows information to spread (as well as mis-information).

But the MK would be stale whether or not these forums existed to about it. There would be a giant out of place cartoon hate at TPFKaTD-MGMS whether or not these places existed.

A fundamental truth is that Disney runs WDW in a different manner in 2009 than it did in 1989 and many of the people making the decisions have a completely different background from the ones making them 20 years ago.

That doesn't change just because you and I can talk about it here.

I don't want to get into a "Rawr! Disney is worse now. We are in a depression! I hate Bush and American cars!" debate with you, just pointing out some observations.

Well ... then you didn't have to write what you just did. Because Disney is worse now. We are in a depression (either that or TGI Friday's just decided to offer all their sandwiches and salads for $5 because they want to be nice to hungry Americans!) I do hate Bush and American cars too. But I didn't bring them up ... I'm just agreeing with ya!

 

[brianplace]

money... money... money...

See, this is the exact thing that has got me fired up over Disney lately, and looking over at Universal who is trying their hardest to earn people's money by commiting to new attractions for the future. Trying to generate buzz for their parks. I was fully anticipating a new Space Mountain. A world-class ride possibly even better than DL has, and something that would re-establish a legend as a destination attraction once again. After the hack and slash of the original plans and, I don't know, the announcement of new DVC properties LEFT AND RIGHT makes me wonder if they've lost sight of why people fell in love with Walt Disney World in the first place...the rides!

I'm not sure if you have looked at TMK's attendance recently but they don't *NEED* to refurb space mountain, or even add any additional rides for years. They could ride this out exactly as is and attendance will still be huge.

DVC properties make them SOOoooo much money it's not even funny - that's why they keep doing them.

Look at the dollars involved and sometimes it better explains why Disney does or doesn't do something. They are a for-profit company who answers to shareholders - and as far as the entertainment industry goes they are s__________g a lot less than their competition in this crappy economy.

 

[WDW1974]

Haven't you heard that old chestnut:
An audience and anonymity makes a normal person an ***hole.

Blame it on having a forum to air grievances, or behind-the-scenes website updates making the average fan better informed, but since the internet's growth, complaints has increased everywhere. This is by no means exclusive to Disney: whether it's video-games, politics or any aspect of life, everyone's complaining about one thing or another.

And here I am complaining about the internet. :lookaroun

EDIT: Dang, beaten by Jakeman. I should stop typing so slow.

All I can add to what I just said is simply the Internet allows people to have vast more sources of information to base decisions.

Whether it has led to more complaining I dunno ... it's led to complaining in a different forum that's certainly true.

 

[brianplace]

I'm not sure if you have looked at TMK's attendance recently but they don't *NEED* to refurb space mountain, or even add any additional rides for years. They could ride this out exactly as is and attendance will still be huge.

DVC properties make them SOOoooo much money it's not even funny - that's why they keep doing them.

Look at the dollars involved and sometimes it better explains why Disney does or doesn't do something. They are a for-profit company who answers to shareholders - and as far as the entertainment industry goes they are s__________g a lot less than their competition in this crappy economy.

oh come on - I can't write
S
U
C
K
I
N
G

but I can write 'crappy?'

dumb.

 

[Fun2BFree]

The Internet has played a role, no doubt. But the fact the web opened the world to many doesn't change basic facts either. ... People have said that if there had been an online fan community in 1955 that they would have savaged Walt (which I don't agree with but) when DL opened small and with many temporary areas.

After the calamity that was the DL opening celebration, media outlets were nearly universally negative. Headlines included:
"Walt's Dream a Nitemare"
"Park Can't Handle Opening Day Crush"
"Disneyland Opens Amid Traffic Jams, Confusion"
"Disneyland Shatters Illusion"
"Gripes Tarnish Disneyland's Glitter"
"Disney's Folly"
"A Hollywood spectacular... a spectacular failure"

If that doesn't sound familiar to forum thread titles, then I don't know what does. The media had a platform to complain in the 1950s, now everyone does. The vital difference between Disney then and now isn't them, it's us.

(Headlines from David Koenig's Mouse Tales)

 

[WDW1974]

I'm not sure if you have looked at TMK's attendance recently but they don't *NEED* to refurb space mountain, or even add any additional rides for years. They could ride this out exactly as is and attendance will still be huge.

I'm sorry, but as a fan (who is also involved in major media and is a shareholder) I don't get that viewpoint.

It just goes against everything that made Disney what it was.

Let a park built on the ideals of always offering the best in themed family entertainment get stale and fall apart?

yeah, sure seems like a very smart business plan to me ... people are stupid, right? Leave the MK as is, with a few coats of paint here and there and new banners for each year's marketing whorefest, and maybe in 2023 add something?

I don't think so. Disney will start hurting very badly if they don't reinvest in their parks. They do have 30,000-plus rooms/timeshares to fill nightly and, despite an ignorant viewpoint, most WDW guests aren't once in a lifers who you can toss out any product and not care about the quality.

 

[The_CEO]

Here we go, more announcements from Universal (well, unofficial announcement). So, what do we have...Harry Potter and Rip Ride Rockit coming to Orlando; Transformers and now Kong coming to Hollywood. That's 4 major BRAND NEW attractions coming to Universal parks in the next 3 years. At Disney we have Cars and Little Mermaid coming to DL, and NOTHING NEW coming to WDW. Awesome!! :brick:

2010 - King Kong - Rumor - (5/20/09) According to a news report filed at Variety and Deadline Hollywood, Universal will open a new King Kong themed attraction in 2010. Even better, the article reports that the new version of Kong will be some kind of “ground-breaking 4-D multi-sensory marvel”. In kind of a confusing concept, the story claims that guests will put on 3D glasses as the tram enters a large soundstage and through projection effects, you are taken to Skull Island, as seen in the Peter Jackson film. Kong isn’t the only threat as guests will encounter giant bats and other dangers before they find themselves trapped in the middle of a colossal battle between Kong and a huge T-Rex.

Tit for Tat. Disney can't always be in the lime light. Patience.

 

[brianplace]

I'm sorry, but as a fan (who is also involved in major media and is a shareholder) I don't get that viewpoint.

It just goes against everything that made Disney what it was.

Let a park built on the ideals of always offering the best in themed family entertainment get stale and fall apart?

yeah, sure seems like a very smart business plan to me ... people are stupid, right? Leave the MK as is, with a few coats of paint here and there and new banners for each year's marketing whorefest, and maybe in 2023 add something?

I don't think so. Disney will start hurting very badly if they don't reinvest in their parks. They do have 30,000-plus rooms/timeshares to fill nightly and, despite an ignorant viewpoint, most WDW guests aren't once in a lifers who you can toss out any product and not care about the quality.

I didn't say it was right; I just said they don't *need* to touch a thing in the Magic Kingdom for quite some time. There is no urgent business case for it.