'Villains Unleashed' hard ticketed event coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios in August

[lebeau]

Ever see Hunchback of Notre Dame? Ride Alien Encounter? Go to Pleasure Island back in it's hey day? Disney can be edgy and risqué too, and do it very well! It's not like there's some law saying it's impossible for Disney to be.

None of those things were all that successful.

The problem is, the Disney brand is the opposite of edgy and risqué. If you are looking for that kind of entertainment from Disney, you will be perpetually frustrated. There are other places to go for that sort of entertainment.

 

[doctornick]

None of those things were all that successful.

The problem is, the Disney brand is the opposite of edgy and risqué. If you are looking for that kind of entertainment from Disney, you will be perpetually frustrated. There are other places to go for that sort of entertainment.

I agree. Disney is not going to provide "edgy and risqué" entertainment. It just does not fit the context of the branding at the parks. If you expect or hope for that, you will be disappointed.

That said, I don't see what is "edgy and risqué" at all with Oogie Boogie. It seemed to be a perfectly reasonable fit for a Disney park. I think there's a huge gap between "aimed towards toddlers" and "only appropriate for adults" and Oogie Boogie's show fit perfectly fine within that gap, much closer to being appropriate for young children than it was adults only.

I can only imagine how sheltered a child must be if that show was regarded as problematic by some parents.

 

[lebeau]

I agree. Disney is not going to provide "edgy and risqué" entertainment. It just does not fit the context of the branding at the parks. If you expect or hope for that, you will be disappointed.

That said, I don't see what is "edgy and risqué" at all with Oogie Boogie. It seemed to be a perfectly reasonable fit for a Disney park. I think there's a huge gap between "aimed towards toddlers" and "only appropriate for adults" and Oogie Boogie's show fit perfectly fine within that gap, much closer to being appropriate for young children than it was adults only.

I can only imagine how sheltered a child must be if that show was regarded as problematic by some parents.

Yeah I didn't see anything edgy or risque about that show. My kids probably wouldn't have liked it. But I wouldn't have been angry about it either.

I do get the impression Disney could have done a better job getting the message across. But it sounds like the whole event was managed very poorly. This is not surprising to me as it is a theme with these "premium" experiences this year. They are quickly slapped together and poorly thought-out cash grabs. From my own experiences and the feedback I have heard from others, it seems like every one of these offerings falls short of its potential.

Since it seems likely Disney will continue with Villains events, hopefully they learn from their mistakes and do better next time. In terms of content, that probably means choosing an appropriate tone and communicating that to guests. The problem with choosing a more mature tone is that Disney won't want to turn off families that might unwittingly buy a ticket to an event that turns out to be ill-suited to them. Disney wants it both ways which is a sure-fire way to disappoint everyone.

 

[NowInc]

I wouldn't say this was Quickly thrown together. They did toss money into this whole thing. The issues came with management and a lack of organization. There was plenty to do, and it was leaps and bounds better than last years..but they really need to focus on how to make this event less of a "You snooze you loose" type of deal.

 

[asianway]

I wouldn't say this was Quickly thrown together. They did toss money into this whole thing. The issues came with management and a lack of organization. There was plenty to do, and it was leaps and bounds better than last years..but they really need to focus on how to make this event less of a "You snooze you loose" type of deal.

If there was plenty to do, there wouldn't be 3 hour lines.

There were many characters they could have done back to back they did not. There were costumes they could have used for meet n greet they did not.

Or sell fewer tickets.

 

[NowInc]

If there was plenty to do, there wouldn't be 3 hour lines.

There were many characters they could have done back to back they did not. There were costumes they could have used for meet n greet they did not.

Or sell fewer tickets.

Selling fewer tickets falls under better management. It WAS oversold. The park is small, and they had things going on almost everywhere, so I still say plenty to do...just too many people trying to do them at once.

 

[lebeau]

Selling fewer tickets falls under better management. It WAS oversold. The park is small, and they had things going on almost everywhere, so I still say plenty to do...just too many people trying to do them at once.

That's basically where I'm going with "quickly thrown together". Even a little forethought could have avoided some of these failures. It's not like Disney is a newcomer to the business. They should be able to anticipate a lot of these problems.

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

Selling fewer tickets falls under better management. It WAS oversold. The park is small, and they had things going on almost everywhere, so I still say plenty to do...just too many people trying to do them at once.

The more tickets they sold, the larger the budget became for the event. If they sold less, they wouldnt have.had as many fireworks/character/staff/other entertainment.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Selling less tickets per night over several nights would have been better for total revenue and overall crowd control. Trying to squeeze as much as possible to justify a one-night event was the first major mistake.

 

[NowInc]

The more tickets they sold, the larger the budget became for the event. If they sold less, they wouldnt have.had as many fireworks/character/staff/other entertainment.

True, but there is a difference between selling enough tickets or selling way too many. It was clear that once again they didn't expect the turnout they got (running out of hot dog buns for example)

 

[asianway]

True, but there is a difference between selling enough tickets or selling way too many. It was clear that once again they didn't expect the turnout they got (running out of hot dog buns for example)

Simple-raise the price to $149 and make it a boutique event

 

[NMBC1993]

If this Oogie Boogie revue is pushing it over the edge for some parents, they don't want to know what I imagined a DHS Halloween event would entail.

The way I've always envisioned it, the event would start around the main stage similar to the welcome party they do at HHN in Hollywood. All of a sudden you start hear the happy, whimsical music from the previous Boo to You parade with several bits of character dialog. The final voice we hear is Minnie Mouse saying "Happy Halloween everyone! Hope it's not...(the voice starts to get staticy and lower in pitch as we hear the final words)....so scary". Right after that the Marilyn Manson version of 'This is Halloween' starts up and we see roaming characters from NBC making their way towards the stage (there's even a scarecrow Jack being pulled along). Finally we see the scarecrow come to life, light himself on fire (They've got the stunt team at LMA after all) and perform the iconic dance into the well as Jack Skellington rises out to welcome guests to "his latest offerings for this year's Halloween"....he is the king of Halloween after all.

After that guests make their way towards several haunted houses (they've got the space) set up throughout the park based on original ideas, as well as one house dedicated to Jack and the gang. Throw in tons of roaming characters (one idea I had involved making a scarezone with Disney Villains, but the characters are wearing outfits that have more of a creepy cosplay vibe so Disney can keep the actual characters "pure"). Top everything off with some food and beverage options and you've got a swinging 18+ style event!

But unfortunately until Disney gets their heads out the "family friendly" mode their in....we'll have to settle for these types of events.

 

[fred vinzant]

Me, my wife, and 6 year old daughter went and had a blast. We read the warning for the Oogie Boogie show and decided best not to go with my daughter. I have since watched it on video and saw no problems, so I let my daughter watch the video and she enjoyed it also . We met 16 different characters including Maleficent, got faces painted, enjoyed the dance party, rode TOT & RNR coaster, and watched an amazing fireworks show. If it happens again, we will definitely be there.

 

[Suspirian]

If this Oogie Boogie revue is pushing it over the edge for some parents, they don't want to know what I imagined a DHS Halloween event would entail.

The way I've always envisioned it, the event would start around the main stage similar to the welcome party they do at HHN in Hollywood. All of a sudden you start hear the happy, whimsical music from the previous Boo to You parade with several bits of character dialog. The final voice we hear is Minnie Mouse saying "Happy Halloween everyone! Hope it's not...(the voice starts to get staticy and lower in pitch as we hear the final words)....so scary". Right after that the Marilyn Manson version of 'This is Halloween' starts up and we see roaming characters from NMBC making their way towards the stage (there's even a scarecrow Jack being pulled along). Finally we see the scarecrow come to life, light himself on fire (They've got the stunt team at LMA after all) and perform the iconic dance into the well as Jack Skellington rises out to welcome guests to "his latest offerings for this year's Halloween"....he is the king of Halloween after all.

After that guests make their way towards several haunted houses (they've got the space) set up throughout the park based on original ideas, as well as one house dedicated to Jack and the gang. Throw in tons of roaming characters (one idea I had involved making a scarezone with Disney Villains, but the characters are wearing outfits that have more of a creepy cosplay vibe so Disney can keep the actual characters "pure"). Top everything off with some food and beverage options and you've got a swinging 18+ style event!

But unfortunately until Disney gets their heads out the "family friendly" mode their in....we'll have to settle for these types of events.

That sounds really cool. I think a Twilight Zone themed event would be pretty cool as well although NBC would probably be a bigger draw though

 

[Matt_Black]

None of those things were all that successful.

Uh, Hunchback was the 5th highest grossing film of 1996, making over $500 million between tickets and merchandise. So if that's "not successful" then give me some of that!

 

[imagineer boy]

If this Oogie Boogie revue is pushing it over the edge for some parents, they don't want to know what I imagined a DHS Halloween event would entail.

The way I've always envisioned it, the event would start around the main stage similar to the welcome party they do at HHN in Hollywood. All of a sudden you start hear the happy, whimsical music from the previous Boo to You parade with several bits of character dialog. The final voice we hear is Minnie Mouse saying "Happy Halloween everyone! Hope it's not...(the voice starts to get staticy and lower in pitch as we hear the final words)....so scary". Right after that the Marilyn Manson version of 'This is Halloween' starts up and we see roaming characters from NMBC making their way towards the stage (there's even a scarecrow Jack being pulled along). Finally we see the scarecrow come to life, light himself on fire (They've got the stunt team at LMA after all) and perform the iconic dance into the well as Jack Skellington rises out to welcome guests to "his latest offerings for this year's Halloween"....he is the king of Halloween after all.

After that guests make their way towards several haunted houses (they've got the space) set up throughout the park based on original ideas, as well as one house dedicated to Jack and the gang. Throw in tons of roaming characters (one idea I had involved making a scarezone with Disney Villains, but the characters are wearing outfits that have more of a creepy cosplay vibe so Disney can keep the actual characters "pure"). Top everything off with some food and beverage options and you've got a swinging 18+ style event!

But unfortunately until Disney gets their heads out the "family friendly" mode their in....we'll have to settle for these types of events.

Now that would be truly awesome.

 

[71jason]

Or sell fewer tickets.

Heard from reputable sources this was capped at 12k. I don't see how you go much below that without becoming Pirates & Princesses.

The real issue: meet-and-greets are not anything to build a theme park around. They don't have the capacity. Anna & Elsa get the headlines with their 5-hour lines, but the simple fact is a tiny fraction of guests are coming to WDW for that. You need to build around the mass loaders.

Which reveals an even bigger issue: the powers that be at TDO don't really understand the fundamentals of how theme parks work. Revenue and cost, sure, like good MBAs, but capacity/guest flows/weenies? Nope.

 

[Mike S]

That sounds really cool. I think a Twilight Zone themed event would be pretty cool as well although NBC would probably be a bigger draw though

Omg, a million times YES!!!!!!!!!!!

The Twilight Zone: Hollywood of Terror

 

[asianway]

Heard from reputable sources this was capped at 12k. I don't see how you go much below that without becoming Pirates & Princesses.

The real issue: meet-and-greets are not anything to build a theme park around. They don't have the capacity. Anna & Elsa get the headlines with their 5-hour lines, but the simple fact is a tiny fraction of guests are coming to WDW for that. You need to build around the mass loaders.

Which reveals an even bigger issue: the powers that be at TDO don't really understand the fundamentals of how theme parks work. Revenue and cost, sure, like good MBAs, but capacity/guest flows/weenies? Nope.

12k should have been a decent crowd if anyone was going on rides, but that's not why they were there. I saw a picture of a girl solo in a TOT car. Know what TSMM wait was?

 

[NMBC1993]

That sounds really cool. I think a Twilight Zone themed event would be pretty cool as well although NBC would probably be a bigger draw though

An event like that would be cool as well, but yeah NBC has that huge fan base behind it. A Twilight (Scare)Zone area would be awesome though! They could theme the area around Sunset Blvd and if possible (Per the contract with CBS) bring in characters from other episodes in the series. That way they could branch out with the theme!