lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Who ever said anything about Cars Land being announced?
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"What's Next" Presentation cancelled.....
- Thread starter huntzilla
- Start date
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
There are several reasons for TSM and Star Tours 2 not raising the bar attendance wise. Beyond the marketing issues around Star Tours I think the biggest issue is that Hollywood Studios simply stands out as a thematic mess. Large pockets of it are poorly themed and guests seem to be voting with their wallets. This was a major problem at DCA. DCA had a decent enough attraction lineup prior to the $1.5 billion investment, but that money went a long way to rebranding that park. For DHS, their attempt at rebranding was some signage, and a couple of very solid new attractions (TSM and ST2.0). The park needed more, it needs an overhaul, perhaps of DCA level proportions. People have soured on parts of that park.
People criticize the Animal Kingdom for being a half day park, but outside of Dinorama the park looks beautiful. Even Dinorama has better theming than many areas of DHS, and it sounds like the current proposals for DHS are going to continue to be bandaids. Unfortunately it sounds like a wholesale rebranding of the park isn't happening.
Atomicmickey
Well-Known Member
I think the "news and rumors" section of the board could be
changed to
"Your Daily Dose of Disney Frustration and Heavy Sighs".
Because that's what it feels like.
changed to
"Your Daily Dose of Disney Frustration and Heavy Sighs".
Because that's what it feels like.
disneyflush
Well-Known Member
Since when does not being able to follow through on an announcement been enough to stop Disney from making said announcement? The reasons behind this must be pretty interesting.
agree said the fantasmic benches...i would love to know the real reason
sometimes message boards over analyze things but in this case it is interesting why the name change
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
I think you give the media too much credit... The Orlando Sentinel and Generic Disney Blog 1 aren't going to challenge Disney.
dreamscometrue
Well-Known Member
No only td, but in general I've found there to be more nastiness and personal attacks the past year or so on here. It's making it less fun to visit the forums. Perhaps we need some clowns or something to put us in better humor.
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Clowns! EEEEK! No clowns for me thank you.
captainkidd
Well-Known Member
Jeez, the least they could do is a quick presentation about the increase in ticket prices and TIW.
I don't think that this is a local and social media event at all, this is a big event - events like this usually get at least a little blurb in some German media (or are even the reason for a longer article in a travel section). And Germany (especially in comparison to the UK) is not even a big market for the Disney parks, so if they invite German media they are really inviting a lot of media! And among them might be some critical ones.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
I appreciate the thematic issues at DHS but suspect 95% of patrons simply don’t notice. IMHO their attention is on “rides” and characters along with some interest in “shows”, not on whether the areas fit well together thematically. Furthermore, I suggest most have small children in tow. No matter what adults like to think, WDW continues to market towards the kiddie crowd.
Today, DHS has only 4 “rides” that draw people in: TOT, RnRC, ST, and TSM. If you’re a family with small children, TOT and RnRC are out, leaving you with just ST (assuming the children are over 40”) and TSM. TSM’s long lines are discouraging.
In terms of “shows”, Little Mermaid and Disney Junior are sure to please the young ones, maybe Beauty and the Beast as well. Mom and Dad might want to see Indiana Jones and will drag the youngsters along, even if the kids have never seen an Indy movie. Despite the recent movie and as evidenced by the theater always being 2/3 empty, I don’t think most kiddies even know who the Muppets are. Backlot Tour, American Idol, Disney Animation, and GMR are “grown up”, not much of an appeal to families with small children. Most simply don’t “get” One Man’s Dream. LMA suffers similarly; perhaps calling it the “Car Stunt Show” might have helped. When it comes to shows, DHS is top-heavy. Kids have a hard time sitting still. At best, you’re going to get them sitting for 4 shows and I suspect 3 is a more realistic limit.
Adding this together, I suggest that WDW’s “typical” family is going to do 2 rides and 3 shows at DHS before deciding they are done and want to head back to MK where all the kiddie rides are. Having toured DHS with small children several times, we were always done in half a day. As an adult, I had things I wanted to do but the rest of the family wanted to head elsewhere.
Carsland at DHS should be a resounding success but there’s a decent chance adding it to DHS would mean the typical WDW patron is going to simply skip one of the shows they might have seen and still scurry back to MK after half-a-day at DHS. This will not help DHS.
DHS’s problem is not disjointed themes. It’s that it has too many attractions that don’t appeal to the kiddie patrol. Carsland would help but possibly at the price of attendance at DHS’s remaining shows. I suspect rather than significantly boost park attendance, Carsland at DHS might cause DHS’s remaining shows to be emptier than they already are. IMHO, the shows at DHS need to be completely reevaluated.
I went to MK during Thanksgiving week. People were packed on the walkways with long lines on all the rides. Yet Country Bear Jamboree and Laugh Factory were half-full. Carrousel of Progress (one of my family’s favorites), Hall of the Presidents, and the Enchanted Tiki Room were ghost towns. Even at a park as popular as MK, its shows largely were ignored during a holiday week.
You might think I’m suggesting DHS needs to be “dummed down” the way Epcot was. Maybe. IMHO, MK is the most “dumbed down” park at WDW. It also happens to be the most popular.
My hope was that the now renamed “What’s Next” presentation was going to include Carsland, perhaps even a vision for DHS. Given yesterday’s events, I continue to wonder.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Whether or not it was just a 'name change' isn't really the point, Henry. There was a reason behind an 11th hour name change. And it was to change expectations/perceptions of what the event was all about and what it would entail.
As someone who has been to Disney media events (back when they were for actual media and not Mommy Bloggers and creepy-looking dudes named Lou), WDW has always had a 'What's New, What's Next' presentation of some kind with that wording (at least as far back as 1990 when I first went to one).
Clearly, Disney feared something ... maybe they simply thought there was too much chatter in the fan community over things from Avatar to Cars Land to Star Wars to mystery Frontierland projects that are never gonna happen and they felt that if all they did was offer what was on the table under the current wording that there would be a backlash. This wording allows them to focus on new locations of meet and greets or recently renovated rooms at Dixie Landings if they choose.
As to Merfie, I heard he was saying that Aulani was going to be part of the presentation, which (if true) speaks to their troubles out on Oahu. Apparently, they have been doing quite well in season, even selling out on many nights (and the resort isn't completely open yet), but during slower periods the resort occupancy is hovering in the 30s and Disney resorts (hell, any resort) isn't built to operate at that level in the black.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Exactly.
Disney is flying folks in from all over the globe, esepcially European markets.
So, to claim this is just for the local loser bloggers and podcasters isn't true at all. Indeed, Disney has pared its social media invite list and even some of the locals (who they don't have to offer hotels or even meal vouchers for) are off the list. So, there are plenty of legit media around O-Town this week.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
The first part is VERY troubling given that TDO is looking to shutter CoP in the near future. But, again, this is their MO. You don't update attractions, you don't maintain them, you don't advertise them and then you use the lower guest counts as an excuse to do what you always wanted to do to begin with.
And no dumbing down is required of any Disney parks. Seriously, they've already been made comfortable for the Honey Boo Boo crowd. What's next? A Super WalMart next to AoA?
I never expected Cars Land to be announced this week being that, to my knowledge it hasn't been approved yet, but might they have hinted at something? Sure. Clearly, they won't be doing that ... but they will fly a million-dollar (multi million?) unltralight that looks sorta like a dragon over the area at night when everyone is drunk and that's gotta count for something.
Aulani had a LONG writeup in The Disney Files' most recent issue regarding the pool expansion. I can easily see them building that up as a waterpark style offering.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
One other strange thing ... not necessarily part of this discussion, but if it doesn't appear on News and Rumours here then it doesn't get read.
But DCL announced its 2014 intineraries today ... have no idea if they'll have any part of the WDW event this week or not ... but in a very strange (telling?) departure from recent years, they are sticking close to home.
Alaska? No. Hawaii? No. Mexican Riviera from LA? No. Europe? No. ... somewhere new like Asia or Australia? No.
Instead, in what seems like a blast from 2002, in 2014 the four ships will be sailing either Bahamas or Caribbean cruises exclusively with THREE ships based in Port Canaveral (the new ones alongside the returning MAGIC) and the Wonder sailing from both Miami and Galveston.
That is a major retrenchment for Disney into the oversupplied markets and one wonders if this is just a one year blip.
But DCL announced its 2014 intineraries today ... have no idea if they'll have any part of the WDW event this week or not ... but in a very strange (telling?) departure from recent years, they are sticking close to home.
Alaska? No. Hawaii? No. Mexican Riviera from LA? No. Europe? No. ... somewhere new like Asia or Australia? No.
Instead, in what seems like a blast from 2002, in 2014 the four ships will be sailing either Bahamas or Caribbean cruises exclusively with THREE ships based in Port Canaveral (the new ones alongside the returning MAGIC) and the Wonder sailing from both Miami and Galveston.
That is a major retrenchment for Disney into the oversupplied markets and one wonders if this is just a one year blip.
WDWFigment
Well-Known Member
I think it's very well possible that the substance of the presentation changed. People around here have hinted that there might actually be some substance to this presentation based on the strong, credible rumors that have been floating around the last few months.
Conversely, this could just be a name change to match the always-intended substance of the presentation. For as long as I've been a member here, these "What's Next?" presentations have excited people on the forums with anticipation of grand announcements, only to be eventual letdowns when they announced approximately nothing beyond marketing campaigns, insignificant additions, or...benches.
At one point, I'm sure the "What's Next?" presentations gave insight into future projects...but that hasn't been the case for at least the last four or five years. Maybe the original media "save the date" included the "What's Next?" moniker as a placeholder since it's the name that has been used for years, and the final schedule simply changed that name to something more accurate for what Disney does with these presentations, present-day? It wouldn't take a marketing genius to look at the years of fan disappointment from the online community and determine that maybe a new name for these presentations is in order. As for the timing, it does seem suspicious that it's last minute, but the final schedule (which differed from the initial one) for the DCA 2.0 event wasn't provided until the last minute, either. Last minute event changes certainly are not atypical for Disney.
All of that said, when I first saw tweets about the name change, my gut reaction was that the presentation had been scaled back for some reason related to the projects to be discussed. The totality of the circumstances do seem to raise some red flags.
Conversely, this could just be a name change to match the always-intended substance of the presentation. For as long as I've been a member here, these "What's Next?" presentations have excited people on the forums with anticipation of grand announcements, only to be eventual letdowns when they announced approximately nothing beyond marketing campaigns, insignificant additions, or...benches.
At one point, I'm sure the "What's Next?" presentations gave insight into future projects...but that hasn't been the case for at least the last four or five years. Maybe the original media "save the date" included the "What's Next?" moniker as a placeholder since it's the name that has been used for years, and the final schedule simply changed that name to something more accurate for what Disney does with these presentations, present-day? It wouldn't take a marketing genius to look at the years of fan disappointment from the online community and determine that maybe a new name for these presentations is in order. As for the timing, it does seem suspicious that it's last minute, but the final schedule (which differed from the initial one) for the DCA 2.0 event wasn't provided until the last minute, either. Last minute event changes certainly are not atypical for Disney.
All of that said, when I first saw tweets about the name change, my gut reaction was that the presentation had been scaled back for some reason related to the projects to be discussed. The totality of the circumstances do seem to raise some red flags.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Yes ... most resorts in the islands have amazing pool areas, so I am not surprised.
I was told the fact that half the pool area was closed this fall was why they were offering CM discounts of 70% (yeah, I would have gone had a CM friend been able/willing at that price!)
Conversely, this could just be a name change to match the always-intended substance of the presentation. For as long as I've been a member here, these "What's Next?" presentations have excited people on the forums with anticipation of grand announcements, only to be eventual letdowns when they announced approximately nothing beyond marketing campaigns, insignificant additions, or...benches.
Correct me if I am wrong but is the name change not doing exactly that? Proving to be a rather large letdown?