themonkeyisthesultan
Well-Known Member
Definitely another minor thing, but they are currently working to expand the resort bus dropoff area at Animal Kingdom.
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bethymouse
Well-Known Member
I know minor things need to be done, and that the mine train is not "minor", but come on!
parker4fm
Active Member
There's been a few reports that the floats are badly damaged, so this is unlikely. That said a new parade (day parade I believe) is in preps for spring 2014.
yep..go back and read or watch the video where disney has always said construction starts in 2013
Fantasmic
Well-Known Member
I'll believe it when I see construction pictures. I just can't believe it would take 2 YEARS to start construction... IMHO they should not announce things until construction has begun. (cough Hyperion Wharf cough)
i agree that seems like a long time but i imagine it takes a long time to come with plans /design ...so maybe 2 years to plan and 3 for actual construction..i do agree with you it seems like a long time
themonkeyisthesultan
Well-Known Member
I think they only made the announcement about Avatar when they did because James Cameron is a very recognizable man and he was about to tour Animal Kingdom with very recognizable Disney higher ups. People probably would have pressed for an explanation if one hadn't been provided. The announcement and Cameron's tour of the park occurred very close to each other.
I don't think the timing is too out of whack given the early stage the announcement was given at and the egos involved.
I don't think the timing is too out of whack given the early stage the announcement was given at and the egos involved.
Pixiedustmaker
Well-Known Member
It's hard to figure out what 7DMT is trying to be. We've already got a mine train ride, and 7DMT doesn't have enough dark scenes to qualify as a dark ride. 7DMT is almost like they designed a smallish swinging mine train coaster and then somebody asked them to add in the Dwarfs so they changed a mine scene to have dwarfs and put in Snow White's cottage at the end.
For the price and time of construction, I don't get why they didn't just go all the way and add something like 10 dark ride scenes, that would have blown people's minds! They could have had the mine train travel to the expansion pad behind ETwB/Belle's Village-Gaston's where they could have put a showbuilding to house the scenes. Splash seems to have a fair number of show scenes, seems like in Fantasyland you'd want to push storytelling to the max. It seems that 7DMT just has the dwarfs in the mountain, and then Snow White in front of a cottage. So, the ride will rely on landscaping and thrills, but they seem kinda tame . . . can't see adults making this a must see attraction like Splash, can't see little kids making this a must-see attraction like Pooh/Peter Pan, maybe a narrow age range of 8 to 10 year old boys will call this their must-see attraction . . .
misterID
Well-Known Member
I think they rushed to announce Avatar for two reasons: 1) Harry Potter's success blindsided them. 2) They were not expecting the backlash from D23 from the lack of WDW projects. It's the first time I've ever seen the official blog stop deleting negative posts and comments because they just couldn't keep up with the number of complaints. Staggs had to make a statement that WDW was getting some big projects in the future that they couldn't comment on yet and he understood the anger and disappointment.
Again, I never saw that before, either.
Lexxweb
Active Member
Am I the only one that's completely content with what we already have? I don't need a new E-Ticket every year. It should be several years in between each E-Ticket, so when it comes it feels special. Disney already has a ton of classic attractions with re-ride value, and a lot of them have had advancements made in the past few years to keep them fresh and modern.
Personally, I like Disney's approach vs. Universal's. Universal has been opening up major attractions left and right, and they still have another big one coming. I'm not even all that excited about Transformers. It is what it is. It's very easy to become over-saturated with new attractions. Too much of a good thing makes you lose sight of everything that already exists. WDW is already an amazing resort, we'll always be getting new things. I'm just enjoying them as they come, because when they do it means something. It's not every year, and Disney does a great job at making a big deal out of everything (I mean that in a good way).
Personally, I like Disney's approach vs. Universal's. Universal has been opening up major attractions left and right, and they still have another big one coming. I'm not even all that excited about Transformers. It is what it is. It's very easy to become over-saturated with new attractions. Too much of a good thing makes you lose sight of everything that already exists. WDW is already an amazing resort, we'll always be getting new things. I'm just enjoying them as they come, because when they do it means something. It's not every year, and Disney does a great job at making a big deal out of everything (I mean that in a good way).
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
No certainly not, but each park needs a really good attraction every 4-5 years to stay fresh (along with proper refurbishments, upgrades, minor attractions and refreshing shows). That's not unreasonable at all for the industry.
In this case though WDW has 4 parks not 1 - but they feel the need to budget and operate like they are just dealing with 1. That suddenly means a park runs 16-20 years without a major attraction and starts falling behind on proper upkeep, upgrades etc. etc. That is the unacceptable problem.
It's also the reason a 5th park is a horrible idea until they change their mentality and fix the current parks they have, but that's an aside...
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
OOOOOOOooooo a "photo update".... how journalistically groundbreaking! I'm sure the New York Times will be knocking at their door for the exclusive.
/sarcasm
/realmediadoesntgivea(Pooh!)
/wealreadyhavetortugatavern
/disneywontspendthemoney
/thisrumorshasbeenaroundforyears
Timothy_Q
Well-Known Member
No, we don't need new E-tickets every year. As long as the attractions we have are still relevant, up-to-date and in good conditions. That is definitely not the case. Especially with Epcot.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
The thing is, building E-tickets still results in sustained attendance growth. Disney had a trend of new E-tickets every 3.75 years to grow attendance at the parks. That seems to have shifted to larger land expansions every 4-5 years. It's hard to tell at this point whether it's a true shift in philosophy or a belief that substantial growth is no longer possible.
Conversely, Universal's build cycle has obviously been more agressive of late (after years of standing pat)
2007
December 23: Disaster! (Upgrade over Earthquake)
2008
May 15: The Simpsons Ride (Upgrade over Back to the Future)
2009
August 19: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (New Attraction)
2010
June 18: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (New Attraction)
2012
June 9: Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (Upgrade over Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast)
2013
May/June: Transformers The Ride 3-D (New Attraction)
2014/2015
Wizarding World of Harry Potter Phase 2 (2+ New Attractions, Upgrade over Jaws)
For Disney fans, this is discouraging simply because for every year except 2011 (and possibly 2014 depending on construction times), Universal has opened a new D/E ticket, whether it be an upgrade or a new attraction. Comparatively, Disney's build cycle looks like this:
2005
May 5: Soarin' (New Attraction, Significant upgrade over Food Rocks)
May 5: Lights, Motors, Action (New show, upgrade over Residential Street)
2006
January 26: Expedition Everest (New Attraction)
2008
May 31: Toy Story Midway Mania (Upgrade over Who Wants to be a Millionaire)
2011
May 20: Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (Upgrade over Star Tours)
2012
October 12: Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid (New Attraction, upgrade over 20K Leagues Under the Sea)
2014
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
2016/2017
World of Avatar
When the quantity and quality of attractions is compared, and the aggressiveness of the building is assessed, Disney is significantly behind. Since Expedition Everest opened, Universal has opened 6 of the next 9 attractions across the two parks (counting Transformers later this year). What's even more telling is how these 9 attractions stack up against each other.
Having said all that, Carsland as we know it isn't the answer. As awesome as Carsland is, it's simply not the answer in Florida. The Monster's Inc Coaster would be a good start, The Project Morpho simulator and boat ride could also be solid answers. The biggest thing though is that Disney needs to build things that guests haven't seen before.
Conversely, Universal's build cycle has obviously been more agressive of late (after years of standing pat)
2007
December 23: Disaster! (Upgrade over Earthquake)
2008
May 15: The Simpsons Ride (Upgrade over Back to the Future)
2009
August 19: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (New Attraction)
2010
June 18: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (New Attraction)
2012
June 9: Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (Upgrade over Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast)
2013
May/June: Transformers The Ride 3-D (New Attraction)
2014/2015
Wizarding World of Harry Potter Phase 2 (2+ New Attractions, Upgrade over Jaws)
For Disney fans, this is discouraging simply because for every year except 2011 (and possibly 2014 depending on construction times), Universal has opened a new D/E ticket, whether it be an upgrade or a new attraction. Comparatively, Disney's build cycle looks like this:
2005
May 5: Soarin' (New Attraction, Significant upgrade over Food Rocks)
May 5: Lights, Motors, Action (New show, upgrade over Residential Street)
2006
January 26: Expedition Everest (New Attraction)
2008
May 31: Toy Story Midway Mania (Upgrade over Who Wants to be a Millionaire)
2011
May 20: Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (Upgrade over Star Tours)
2012
October 12: Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid (New Attraction, upgrade over 20K Leagues Under the Sea)
2014
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
2016/2017
World of Avatar
When the quantity and quality of attractions is compared, and the aggressiveness of the building is assessed, Disney is significantly behind. Since Expedition Everest opened, Universal has opened 6 of the next 9 attractions across the two parks (counting Transformers later this year). What's even more telling is how these 9 attractions stack up against each other.
Having said all that, Carsland as we know it isn't the answer. As awesome as Carsland is, it's simply not the answer in Florida. The Monster's Inc Coaster would be a good start, The Project Morpho simulator and boat ride could also be solid answers. The biggest thing though is that Disney needs to build things that guests haven't seen before.
misterID
Well-Known Member
Carsland would be good to a certain extent. Even though people hate to hear it, it will attract a bunch of guests who will never go to California and attract locals (imagine that?).
But you're right, originality would go a long way. If they opened Avatarland AND a Mysterious Island/Beastly Kingdom hybrid they once planned, it would be a game changer for Animal Kingdom, imo.
But you're right, originality would go a long way. If they opened Avatarland AND a Mysterious Island/Beastly Kingdom hybrid they once planned, it would be a game changer for Animal Kingdom, imo.