Why are some movies ignored?

[Brer Panther]

Disney has such a large library of animated movies, most of which I'm sure would make great rides. How come very few of them aren't? Does it really all come down to how much money they make?

 

[WondersOfLife]

Disney has such a large library of animated movies, most of which I'm sure would make great rides. How come very few of them aren't? Does it really all come down to how much money they make?

That can't be true.. If that were true, we wouldn't have Splash Mountain.


I think the whole thing is that the cartoons all mainly are in Magic Kingdom, which is now just about full. Heck it has a butt load of attractions centered around cartoons.

Hollywood Studios was designed I believe more for the live-action films, but also features a few of their hits like Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, and even has Art of Animation.. But cartoons aren't what I believe Studios was originally intended for and therefore does not have as much of a toon atmosphere.

The same can be said for EPCOT. Originally have NO toons based off of Disney movies. It is slowly gaining some toons in the parks, but, like you mentioned, only the ones that make lots of money (Lion King film, Finding Nemo, Frozen)

Animal Kingdom, AGAAIIN... Not really a park focused on Disney movies/cartoons per-say. Even though classics like Robin Hood Rescuers could easily be put in here.. I don't think thats what the original purpose was. Even DINOSAUR was originally not based off of the movie when it first opened. A Bug's Life wasn't what I believe PIXAR's biggest success but it works well here. Also you have the lion king and at one time Pocahontas had a little show, and of course there's Nemo again.. But again, not really the purpose of the park's original intentions.


So yea, thats what I think it is. Magic Kingdom has all the toons, while the other three theme parks are slowly changing into MK #2, #3 and #4 as time progresses.



Anoooother thing to look at this.. This goes with your "only the movies that make big money" part. You would be incredibly SHOCKED as to how many kids AND teens have not seen the popular Disney classics... When I was touring our Aladdin show to 30+ schools, I would always ask the kids I was directing if they have seen the Disney movie of Aladdin.. About 28 out of those 30 schools had a majority of kids say "no." Followed by "But I like Frozen! And Finding Nemo! And Big Hero 6!!!"

Most of this new generation up to the age of say, 17, haven't seen movies like Aladdin, Hercules, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan... Heck, half of the time nobody's even HEARD of Atlantis, Oliver & Company, Treasure Planet, Dinosaur.. It's kind of shocking. And even now, I'm STARTING to hear kids say they haven't seen the 00's such as Lilo & Stitch, Emperor's New Groove.. Ect. So yea, popularity really does play into affect as time goes on.

On the other hand, Beauty & The Beast, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Lion King... Those are still quite popular. Therefore they still have a larger presence in the park.

 

[Soarin2u]

For many fans, sometimes seeing rides directly derived from movies is slightly less appealing than an original ride. Classics such as PotC and HM were original concepts that really stood out just because of their charm and quality, not because they were themed to your favorite movie.

Really is comes down space (if it fits or not) and time. Disney Movies (particularly Pixar) can take 4-7 years to make with all the animation (80% of that time) , voicing, writing, planning, etc. It wouldn't shock me if just to plan a ride would take just as long if not longer. No, the actual construction isn't too terrible in length but think about everything that it requires to be done before breaking ground.

You also can't just put Mary Poppins in World of Wonders at Epcot, it doesn't fit along. Some movies just don't have locations that would fit with the story .

Lastly. Disney doesn't try to keep there hands too full. With avatarland, Disney Springs and Frozen, I say they have their hands on enough. One step at a time. Even if they weren't full in the past, I am sure they were planning many of the things we've seen built recently.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

So yea, thats what I think it is. Magic Kingdom has all the toons, while the other three theme parks are slowly changing into MK #2, #3 and #4 as time progresses.

Walt Disney World alone is turning into the MEGA Magic Kingdom..
MK- Fantasyland
Epcot - (sort of) Tomorrowland
AK - Adventureland
DHS - Stuck in an odd limbo and can't figure what it is quite yet..

 

[Chef Mickey]

That can't be true.. If that were true, we wouldn't have Splash Mountain.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but remember, we are in a different time now with different management. Splash was 20+ years ago.

Iger has proven his team is not capable of producing a great out of seemingly nothing, such as Splash Mountain. Iger is more about margin extraction, cost cutting, and focusing on Media vs park additions. I'd argue we've gotten exactly 0 great rides from his tenure. The closest thing to greatness was Fantasyland Expansion, but it left a lot to be desired. Its crowned jewel, the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train leaves almost everything to be desired and sort of fell flat.

Unfortunately, I do think the pass/fail test is based upon, "how can we monetize this?" In the end, it's all about money, but Splash made MK greater...these newer rides make MK perhaps better, but they don't focus as much on being great as much as they do on how much money will we make and save.