"What's Next" Presentation cancelled.....

[SirLink]

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.

My god - I am surprised. One would think they are in trouble by the sounds of it...

 

[GLaDOS]

Could the news from @drew81 that FOTLK isn't closing until September now have anything to do with the name change? Could Avatar be having more problems?

 

[WDWFigment]

Correct me if I am wrong but is the name change not doing exactly that? Proving to be a rather large letdown?

Ha, touche.

For consistency's sake, they should have stuck with the original name and delivered one of the typical dull presentations. On the bright side, at least after the presentation we'll know 2-3 more themes from Limited Time Magic!!!1!!

 

[wdwfan4ver]

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 always 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 boosting 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 now wonder if that ever was the case.

While it is true that DHS doesn't have a lot for kids and I agree that the shows need to be Reevaluated, remember not all Adult can't go on TOT and RnRC because of Medical reasons and the same thing is true with Star Tours with Adults. I know adults who can't go on Star Tours, TOT and RNRC. If you take a way Star Tours, TOT, RNRC. There is still some stuff for Adults to do, but do a full day is out of question for those people. Doing Toy Story Midway Mania 2 times a day isn't exactly an easy thing to do because of the crowds.

I still wouldn't count on Carlsland being announced on Friday.

 

[WDW1974]

Could the news from @drew81 that FOTLK isn't closing until September now have anything to do with the name change? Could Avatar be having more problems?

Yes, it could.

But that's my last word. I have an afternoon date with Prez Lincoln that I've been looking forward to. Let the speculation continue ...

 

[WDW1974]

Ha, touche.

For consistency's sake, they should have stuck with the original name and delivered one of the typical dull presentations. On the bright side, at least after the presentation we'll know 2-3 more themes from Limited Time Magic!!!1!!

hey, instead of commenting here, you COULD be writing up some observations from a first-timer at DLP (HINT: compare everything to WDW and stick the thread in here or no one will ever know it exists!)

 

[ScoutN]

Ha, touche.

For consistency's sake, they should have stuck with the original name and delivered one of the typical dull presentations. On the bright side, at least after the presentation we'll know 2-3 more themes from Limited Time Magic!!!1!!

I just see this as a double edges sword as it should be. But is this backlash or lack of announcements under the original title worse? Something we will never know sadly. I agree with Spirit. Thoughts on DLP are needed.

@WDW1974 your pal has blown my phone up about DLP the past few days.

 

[Mawg]

A what's next presentation at Fantasyland seems like an announcement of what's next at Fantasyland...Mine coaster, Princess Fairtail Hall, not much substance. Changing the name might mean someone was thinking the name just made it seem too small. Around the World, to me, means they want to share with the press (and everyone else) what's going on all over the Resort. Updates at many parks and at some of the resorts. The fact that the name is important to them makes me believe this is something bigger than an announcement of some new seating at Fantasmic. It's all speculation anyways. If any insider can say what was going to be announced and now isn't, then it's just a name change, may not mean anything, may mean everything. If they had changed the name to something more specific like Night Time Show spectacular, then yes I would be on board that it was dumbed down. But, this name seems just as grand if not grander. One thing is certain we'll find out in 3 days. I have my fingers crossed something big will be announced but I'm not going to hold my breath, and I was never going to regardless of what the name was before.

 

[TP2000]

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.

Wait... Are you saying that DCL has just abandoned the West Coast market entirely for 2014? That all four ships in the fleet will be based in the Gulf of Mexico? Not a single itinerary on the West Coast? Wow.

If I'm reading you right, that's huge. And no one else has picked up on this?

 

[Bolna]

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.

While I find it peculiar that Disney chooses to have all four ships in Florida going to mainly the same ports over and over again (I think they will now have weeks when there are ships at Castaway Cay nearly every day), please note that the Magic and Wonder itineraries were only announced up to April 2014. They might very well go either to Europe or the West Coast after the spring in the warm waters.

 

[CTXRover]

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.

This is not at all surprising. The 2014 itineraries only go through April for Magic and Wonder. The Dream and Fantasy are by contract with Port Canaveral to sail from that port for x number of years after their arrival. For those familiar with the cruising in the Mexican Riveria, many in the industry have altered where they send their ships as current situations at those ports have made it unsafe to visit unfortunately. In fact, DCL was making 2 stops at Cabo San Lucas with their most recent trips and dropping, I believe, Mazatlan. Alaska and European cruises are typically in the summer months anyway, so wait until those are released before worrying about anything.

 

[jdmdisney99]

I haven' read through the entire thread, but here's my two cents;
Is it possible TDO for once did something creative and renamed it "Around the (Walt Disney) World"?

 

[GeorgiaPinesRJB]

Ole Pal Merfie says Avatar is featured in the "Around The World" presentation. Seemingly, it was just a name change.

That's what I was saying, don't know why everyone is searching for the lifeboats. It's a name change, albeit odd, to an already planned announcement/event. Nothing got "canceled." Wished people would stop with their negativity around here...

 

[JEANYLASER]

oh!

 

[John]

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.

Sorry, I dont care.....thats funny!

 

[td1129]

That's what I was saying, don't know why everyone is searching for the lifeboats. It's a name change, albeit odd, to an already planned announcement/event. Nothing got "canceled." Wished people would stop with their negativity around here...

This. And it's more than negativity. It's just plain wrong information. Gotta admit that it shows the true bias of many on here.

 

[WDWYankee15]

While I find it peculiar that Disney chooses to have all four ships in Florida going to mainly the same ports over and over again (I think they will now have weeks when there are ships at Castaway Cay nearly every day), please note that the Magic and Wonder itineraries were only announced up to April 2014. They might very well go either to Europe or the West Coast after the spring in the warm waters.

I suspect they will go back to NYC in the summer months

 

[flynnibus]

I would like to announce.. (but not really announce.. I'll just sneak the change in) that in less than 48hrs I will be changing my Username to 'Around the flynn' ... read into it what you will.

 

[Beholder]

I would like to announce.. (but not really announce.. I'll just sneak the change in) that in less than 48hrs I will be changing my Username to 'Around the flynn' ... read into it what you will.

I'll give you 5 points for that.

 

[underemployedCricket]

Perhaps- they were using a play on the "Next" in Next Gen and wanted to avoid the whole Whats Next with Next?Hmmmm.