What if Disney Started Pandering to Diehard Park Fans Rather Than General Audiences?

[Miru]

Picture this: after DECADES of (varyingly justified) complaints about the parks making bad changes, Disney decides to do a complete 180 on their recent efforts. They decide to appeal more to diehard park fans than general audiences for the decade to come; this would include;
* Reverting several attractions to their original theming and storylines; such as Submarine Voyage, Splash Mountain, Paradise Pier, etc.
* New original rides.
* Reduced costs
* Return of elements such as annual passes and Magical Express.

How would you react, how would the general public react to all of these changes, and most importantly, how could they mess this up?

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Are you sure they EVER were making decisions based on fans of any level of dedication? Lately all decisions seem to stem from purely financial decisions.

 

[Californian Elitist]

There are diehard fans and there are traditionalist fans, who can be considered diehards. Not all diehards are alike though. I know plenty of diehard Disneyland fans who go nuts for the place and support and enjoy the recent changes that have been occurring over the past few years.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Are you sure they EVER were making decisions based on fans of any level of dedication? Lately all decisions seem to stem from purely financial decisions.

A year ago, I would have argued that the corporate Disney of 2020 was pandering to Chinese audiences. But now that they're trying to pander more to their American audiences and be "Inclusive", they're going to have to cut the umbilical to China. Iger has made just about every major decision with China in mind.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

I've never cared for the Pier in any of its iterations, I say it's a fair game to be completely replaced. I'd love to see Pacific Wharf finally get it's own ride.

 

[Buck Wheelie]

I think there would be a lot more Mickey, Donald, Pluto, etc and a lot less Star Wars.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They did this from 1985-2005...

I don’t get why this is a “hypothetical” scenario?

I also don’t see the point...it’s over, Johnny!!!

 

[Rich T]

I’m a huge fan of classic Disneyland, but I would never vote for the return of Annual Passes. The era of locals “living” at the park is one of the top worst things to ever happen to Disneyland.

 

[Zorro]

I would be down for this! Make it happen, Disney!

 

[CaptinEO]

They need to just make stuff for themepark goers, not Disney nostalgia fans and not strictly IP based rides. They are so lost now they are beyond the point of no return.

People want to be wowed and see and experience things they've never imagined before. Not witness a character from a movie go through the story of a movie.

 

[SuddenStorm]

People want to be wowed and see and experience things they've never imagined before. Not witness a character from a movie go through the story of a movie.

Fantasmic! struck the perfect balance here back in '92. A balance Disney has yet to find again.

 

[SuddenStorm]

There are diehard fans and there are traditionalist fans, who can be considered diehards. Not all diehards are alike though. I know plenty of diehard Disneyland fans who go nuts for the place and support and enjoy the recent changes that have been occurring over the past few years.

Yep- I'm friends with many diehard fans who have very different opinions of the park then I do. They're huge fans- just different opinions.

Interestingly, if I was put in charge I wouldn't make any major changes to the modern park- just little stuff throughout.

I'd change Galaxy's Edge to be focused around the OT, since that's the era of Star Wars I would consider to be an 'American Mythology' with Luke Skywalker appealing to decades of children the same way Davy Crockett did in the '50s.

I'd keep Splash Mountain it's current theme. I'd get rid of Constance and axe the Holiday Mansion.

I'd bring back the real Fantasmic, but utilize the new '17 technology tastefully throughout to improve the original show.

I'd work to differentiate the merchandise between the shops instead of every shop basically selling the same bland merchandise.

Tomorrowland is where I'd make the most changes but that's a post for a different time.

 

[Miru]

They need to just make stuff for themepark goers, not Disney nostalgia fans and not strictly IP based rides. They are so lost now they are beyond the point of no return.

People want to be wowed and see and experience things they've never imagined before. Not witness a character from a movie go through the story of a movie.

Incredicoaster to its credit did have a new story... but it was atrocious, especially for that IP.

 

[CaptinEO]

Fantasmic! struck the perfect balance here back in '92. A balance Disney has yet to find again.

What's great about fantasmic is they utilize the whole library of Disney animation and also made something new out of it.

If current Disney imagineering made fantasmic in 1992 it would only have characters and music from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, and Aladdin. Also at the end it would have an uninspired generic dance number with an auto tuned singer about "remembering magic" or something corny like that.

Heck modern imagineering ONLY uses those 4 films as their "retro films" and axes anything older than Mermaid.

 

[Miru]

What's great about fantasmic is they utilize the whole library of Disney animation and also made something new out of it.

If current Disney imagineering made fantasmic in 1992 it would only have characters and music from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, and Aladdin. Also at the end it would have an uninspired generic dance number with an auto tuned singer about "remembering magic" or something corny like that.

Heck modern imagineering ONLY uses those 4 films as their "retro films" and axes anything older than Mermaid.

Well, more modern than Seven Dwarves Mine Train, that is... (was that the last one not counting Enchanted Wish?)

And I agree there should be more use of as much as the catalog as possible. Even the bad ones.

 

[PippinHotPassion]

A year ago, I would have argued that the corporate Disney of 2020 was pandering to Chinese audiences. But now that they're trying to pander more to their American audiences and be "Inclusive", they're going to have to cut the umbilical to China. Iger has made just about every major decision with China in mind.

I wonder if Iger feels that Shanghai Disney was his monument, his everlasting legacy like Disneyland Paris was supposed to be with Eisner? Iger is so adamant about Disney breaking into China partially because it would prove his fortitude as a leader of the company. Eisner failed at his international park for a myriad of reasons and Disneyland Paris is seen as the Disney Park that just can't make it. Iger wanted to break into a market that was even more elusive and lucrative and it pains him to see all his attempts to make his mark are in vain as China is a sleeping giant.

I’m a huge fan of classic Disneyland, but I would never vote for the return of Annual Passes. The era of locals “living” at the park is one of the top worst things to ever hapoen to Disneyland.

Could you imagine what would happen if Disney decided that only resort guests were allowed to visit the parks? They'll probably sugarcoat it by saying that resort guests don't have to pay for admission anymore (except for special events like the Halloween and Christmas parties).

 

[Nirya]

I think it could be easily argued that Disney has catered the DLR in particular to die-hard fans. It’s been catered to the AP crowd that will continually show up for whatever cheap promotion is thrown out that week, will wait in lines for an exclusive popcorn bucket, and will pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege of a themed night in the park. They’ve catered to the die-hards who went and made blogs and YouTube accounts showing off a life constantly spent in their parks, thus making others try to join that lifestyle.

Disneyland realistically hasn’t been for the general public since the 50th anniversary. For good or ill, Disney has focused on their new wave of die-hard fans, which is coincidentally why the move away from AP passes is really fascinating.

 

[el_super]

How would you react, how would the general public react to all of these changes, and most importantly, how could they mess this up?

We've seen some things get reverted back over time, like some of the changes in Pirates or Lincoln. I think typically, even with the AP crowd, changes open as the hot new thing, and then quickly fade into obscurity again. Back in 1998, there was a fairly widespread belief that the time to replace the Submarines had come and it was time for something new. The original usually only had a wait around 20 minutes. Bringing it back would probably result in a line for a few months, but it wouldn't address the flaws that caused it to be replaced in the first place.

I suppose in the end it really depends on what you mean by diehard fans. I'm sure a lot of people out there consider themselves diehard fans, and wouldn't care one wit if characters were added to small world or the castle got repainted. I'm sure at the other end, you could probably find someone who really wants to see Big Thunder ripped out for the old Mine Train.

Are you sure they EVER were making decisions based on fans of any level of dedication? Lately all decisions seem to stem from purely financial decisions.

Hmmmm..... so you think that the fans don't actually make them any money?

 

[Miru]

I think it could be easily argued that Disney has catered the DLR in particular to die-hard fans. It’s been catered to the AP crowd that will continually show up for whatever cheap promotion is thrown out that week, will wait in lines for an exclusive popcorn bucket, and will pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege of a themed night in the park. They’ve catered to the die-hards who went and made blogs and YouTube accounts showing off a life constantly spent in their parks, thus making others try to join that lifestyle.

Disneyland realistically hasn’t been for the general public since the 50th anniversary. For good or ill, Disney has focused on their new wave of die-hard fans, which is coincidentally why the move away from AP passes is really fascinating.

You’re ignoring things like Pixar Pier in this case; removing less-familiar content in favor of things the general public of the time will love.

 

[Mac Tonight]

If someone handed me the keys to Disneyland as it currently sits, I would enact the following changes:

1. The removal of ALL Star Wars and Pixar IP from Tomorrowland, leading to a complete land overhaul
2. The cancellation of PatF re-skin of Splash
3. Revert POTC back to it's pre-Depp form (though I might keep one Capt Jack hidden as an Easter Egg)
4. Unlock GE from it's strict timeline and bring in a stronger OT presence
5. Reduce HMH's operations to be during Christmas only

I'll tackle DCA at a later time.