Unpopular opinions about the parks?

[J4546]

I love soarin, imo its a calm relaxing experience and I also like the feeling of my feet dangling in the air, no other disney rides do that. But I get its also boring.

I wish they would add a bunch of new countries in rotation so when you rode it it was a different experience each time. Start with each country at Epcot imo that would be great to have an entire 5-7 minute experience on one country with highlighs and narrations about each one. Something educational as well as fun, imo would be great

 

[DisneyHead123]

I feel like these are mostly “less common” opinions about the park, but not necessarily unpopular. I think we need a satire thread of truly unpopular opinions, a la:

The Hatbox ghost should really just stay in storage forever. Didn’t flow with the rest of the ride. And it has nothing on the new Journey Into The Imagination animatronics, btw.

I’ve lost so much weight since McCarthy started to think about my waistline at the parks! Loviiiing it!!

Genie+? More like Genius+, amiright? Best idea ever.

 

[Splash4eva]

Fastpass+ was great….

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

Fastpass+ was great….

Meh, I liked the parks without any skip-the-line tools during Covid. Lines moved a lot faster… roughly twice to three times as fast.

Also… they got rid of it at the waterparks and I don’t miss the multi-hour wait for Summit Plummit!

 

[Chi84]

Meh, I liked the parks without any skip-the-line tools during Covid. Lines moved a lot faster… roughly twice to three times as fast.

Also… they got rid of it at the waterparks and I don’t miss the multi-hour wait for Summit Plummit!

I'm sure they did move faster when they were limiting capacity during Covid.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

I'm sure they did move faster when they were limiting capacity during Covid.

I think the best showcase of how much Fastpass slows the regular line down is Space Mountain… there are TWO tracks, and Fastpass not only filled up the Omega track, but it frequently would pour into the Alpha side of the track as well. Given this, the standby line moves at least 1/2 the speed it otherwise would.

Sure, it was nice if you could snag a pass for Flight of Passage and walk past everyone in that standby line, but the fact of the matter is that you could do more total rides if there was no skip-the-line option.

 

[Chi84]

I think the best showcase of how much Fastpass slows the regular line down is Space Mountain… there are TWO tracks, and Fastpass not only filled up the Omega track, but it frequently would pour into the Alpha side of the track as well. Given this, the standby line moves at least 1/2 the speed it otherwise would.

Sure, it was nice if you could snag a pass for Flight of Passage and walk past everyone in that standby line, but the fact of the matter is that you could do more total rides if there was no skip-the-line option.

There are a lot of people who either need or want skip the line options. That's why they exist. Without them, there are many who would not choose WDW. In any case, I haven't heard any talk that WDW will ever go all standby, so it's probably not worth the discussion.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

There are a lot of people who either need or want skip the line options. That's why they exist. Without them, there are many who would not choose WDW. In any case, I haven't heard any talk that WDW will ever go all standby, so it's probably not worth the discussion.

That is probably true, I doubt the parks will ever go all standby. HOWEVER, there were many times one would be unable to snag a “Tier 1” Fastpass.

I liked paper Fastpass the most, because it was the most fair. Fastpass+ was better than Genie+ (ignoring the pricing). Obviously, Genie+ is paid which makes it automatically the worst. I did like the extra value with the 90-day window a WDW resort gave you with Fastpass+, though.

 

[Brer Panther]

Moana does not belong in Animal Kingdom.

 

[Fsunolekrw]

Tony’s Town Square, while not being anything spectacular, is perfectly fine theme park food in a good location with decent decor and a nice theme.

Also while waking up early and battling it out online to get certain ADRs is worthwhile, you can get good solid meals at plenty of CS locations and snack kiosks that are every bit as varied as most TS locations if you know which ones to go to.

 

[BlakeW39]

Moana does not belong in Animal Kingdom.

I'd say I agree with this... I don't think Disney even owns more than two or three IPs that would fit in Animal Kingdom. Jungle Book, Lion King... what else? Therin lies one of the core issues with the popular-IP/franchise mandate. I mean objectively Moana has similar themes to DAK in the areas of nature and conservation, and it would be a better fit for DAK than basically any other franchise in Disney's library. But it doesn't fit like a glove either. I mean the film has literally 0 focus on wildlife which is a big part of what Animal Kingdom is about. Like I have said before, an Oceania land more similar to Harambe/Anandapur would be a much better choice for the park.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

I'd say I agree with this... I don't think Disney even owns more than two or three IPs that would fit in Animal Kingdom. Jungle Book, Lion King... what else? Therin lies one of the core issues with the popular-IP/franchise mandate. I mean objectively Moana has similar themes to DAK in the areas of nature and conservation, and it would be a better fit for DAK than basically any other franchise in Disney's library. But it doesn't fit like a glove either. I mean the film has literally 0 focus on wildlife which is a big part of what Animal Kingdom is about. Like I have said before, an Oceania land more similar to Harambe/Anandapur would be a much better choice for the park.

I’ve always thought AK had the best theming of any park, but I’ve never thought it was necessary the best park. Visiting with kids has opened my eyes to this issue more. As a family park, it’s decent. I too think Disney CAN add IP in the Dinoland corner. This is for a few reasons:

1: It’s tucked away so it won’t mess with the overall theme, but it will add something for kids to do. Sure, the park is for families as a whole and not just kids, but I think AK is severely lacking for anyone under 7-10.

2: As you stated, the theming requirement is too strict. There’s not enough that can go into the park with how strict it is theming wise. It doesn’t have “lands”, as much as the park is really one continuous land.

3: Even in its glory, Dinoland was ugly. I love Dinosaur, but everything else sucks.

I think Disney can add Moana where Dinoland is and continue the conservation and nature theme. After all, much of the film is about Moana handling “diseased” trees and rotating the fishing grounds to maintain enough fish in each of the fishing regions to produce a viable amount of offspring for the next season. Leave out the supernatural force and it sounds like a perfect fit for AK!

Zootopia would be fine in the back corner. It would be separated from the rest of the park and would not distract from the overall theme. If anyone despises of it, just don’t walk over there! Besides the Dinosaur ride they would likely just reskin as a police chase ride, everything in this land would be an extension of AK that wasn’t there before.

 

[Splash4eva]

Meh, I liked the parks without any skip-the-line tools during Covid. Lines moved a lot faster… roughly twice to three times as fast.

Also… they got rid of it at the waterparks and I don’t miss the multi-hour wait for Summit Plummit!

Tough to compare crowds during covid to crowds during regular times…

 

[Splash4eva]

I think the best showcase of how much Fastpass slows the regular line down is Space Mountain… there are TWO tracks, and Fastpass not only filled up the Omega track, but it frequently would pour into the Alpha side of the track as well. Given this, the standby line moves at least 1/2 the speed it otherwise would.

Sure, it was nice if you could snag a pass for Flight of Passage and walk past everyone in that standby line, but the fact of the matter is that you could do more total rides if there was no skip-the-line option.

I will respectfully disagree with the statement more rides can be done with no skip the ride option… especially if you are someone who truly knew his to fully maximize the system.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

I will respectfully disagree with the statement more rides can be done with no skip the ride option… especially if you are someone who truly knew his to fully maximize the system.

I understand that viewpoint. Going as myself, I too could do much more with skip the ride options. But just as people who go often can maximize the system, Fastpass+ was horrible for anyone who didn’t know how to maximize the system, for all the good Fastpass options booked up quickly.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

i used to work at a theater years ago that had that movie every friday & saturday night. horrible movie but it was worth watching the performers

I hate that movie…just can’t do it

 

[Splash4eva]

That is probably true, I doubt the parks will ever go all standby. HOWEVER, there were many times one would be unable to snag a “Tier 1” Fastpass.

I liked paper Fastpass the most, because it was the most fair. Fastpass+ was better than Genie+ (ignoring the pricing). Obviously, Genie+ is paid which makes it automatically the worst. I did like the extra value with the 90-day window a WDW resort gave you with Fastpass+, though.

Anyone staying on property had zero issues snagging a top FP and honestly even during the day i would easily get other worthy FP after using our 3rd…

To me the paper FP days were the least fair as unless you rope dropped and had the physical ability to be basically sprinting from kiosk to kiosk you are at a complete disadvantage. I vividly remember when TSM opened going to Studios and tickets being gone within an hour of park opening forcing you to wait on ridiculous lines or skipping ride altogether just as an example.

 

[Splash4eva]

I understand that viewpoint. Going as myself, I too could do much more with skip the ride options. But just as people who go often can maximize the system, Fastpass+ was horrible for anyone who didn’t know how to maximize the system, for all the good Fastpass options booked up quickly.

How can a system that gave you 3 rides at basically when you wanted them as a resort guest (sorry non resort guests but this was a great perk for staying on site so missing out bc of this imo does not make system unfair) I never had issues refreshing and finding rides throughout the day in each park during the FP days. I get everyone has different experiences but for most part i basically did 90% of my rides via FP and we vacationed at Disney to ride rides for most part so day was about that.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

Anyone staying on property had zero issues snagging a top FP and honestly even during the day i would easily get other worthy FP after using our 3rd…

To me the paper FP days were the least fair as unless you rope dropped and had the physical ability to be basically sprinting from kiosk to kiosk you are at a complete disadvantage. I vividly remember when TSM opened going to Studios and tickets being gone within an hour of park opening forcing you to wait on ridiculous lines or skipping ride altogether just as an example.

It all seems like personal preference for the most part. Even Genie+ some vouch for because of the same-day bookings. Paper could be hard but it seemed simple at the time. Fastpass+ worked well and got more and more polished over time, but it was still not without its flaws. In addition, people tend to remember the extremes of things, both the extreme good and the extreme bad. For the most part, I’ve had no issues with most of these different iterations of the skip the line options.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

How can a system that gave you 3 rides at basically when you wanted them as a resort guest (sorry non resort guests but this was a great perk for staying on site so missing out bc of this imo does not make system unfair) I never had issues refreshing and finding rides throughout the day in each park during the FP days. I get everyone has different experiences but for most part i basically did 90% of my rides via FP and we vacationed at Disney to ride rides for most part so day was about that.

The Fastpass+ days were before I moved to Florida, so I can’t vouch for anything outside of the holidays. I’ve travelled with grandparents, who’ve insisted on booking their own passes. The system was complicated for them, and the best ride they got was spaceship earth at Epcot. I’ve had good and bad experiences with Fastpass+, so I can’t really say I’m anything but neutral. I like that without the skip the line options you could be more spontaneous, but it did mean devoting more time for some rides. I don’t think any system was that much better or worse than another, but they all had different strengths and weaknesses.