Iger and Lasseter: More rides, more often

[Escapay]

And maybe some new scenes in The Great Movie Ride. Better yet, get rid of the damn hat in front of it first...

Escapay

Not a hat fan either, huh?

Hehe, it's a big eyesore for me. (much like that changing picture in front of the castle at MK. It's okay, but looks misplaced on the castle over the clock).

As for CoP...*sigh*, Seasonal's practically another way of saying "near extinction"

Escapay

[Karushifa]

I believe this is how the dinosaur dark ride (forgot the name, sorry!) at Animal Kingdom was done, i.e. you are looking for an iguanadon which looks suspiciously like Aladar as a Carnotaur chases you, yet the ride is not a direct adaptation of Dinosaur.

It's um...called "Dinosaur", lol. Though of course, you were probably thinking of its original (and IMO, superior) name, "Countdown to Extinction".

Escapay

Countdown to Extinction. That's what it was the last time I rode it, thanks. Of course, this is from someone whose family just refers to the rides thusly: "that dinosaur ride", "that Aerosmith ride", "that ride in the big ball", etc, etc. I think the only one my folks know by name is Tower of Terror, since it's my dad's favorite.

[AwallaceUNC]

Didn't Walt build the Sleeping Beauty Castle BEFORE the movie came out so that he could plug the forthcoming film?

While I generally disagree with the 'out with the old, in with the new' mentality, there is a point when some of the older rides just have to be retired. As Walt once said, Disneyland (and by extension, the other parks) will never be completed. However, I also think that a perfect place for new attractions based on current films would be DCA.

DCA already has a contemporary feel to it anyway, and most would agree that is definitely needs more rides and attractions.

Even if this only results in one or two extra attractions a year, I like the general attitude here. It is different thinking and that's a good thing.

I entirely agree. I'm not criticizing the Iger/Lasseter idea at all. My point is simply that this mindset could go too far by constantly ripping out and plugging attractions so that by the time of WDW's 50th Anniversary, only movies made since 1990 are represented, and guests aren't coming anymore because they've lost satisfaction with the parks. That said, I think they know better and that that won't happen.

In the meantime, they don't even need to tear down existing rides. MGM, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom have plenty of empty, wasted space.

-Aaron

[singerguy04]

In the meantime, they don't even need to tear down existing rides. MGM, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom have plenty of empty, wasted space.

-Aaron

I really hope they do focus on filling up Animal Kingdom and MGM in particular. There's plenty that i go to The Magic Kingdom and Epcot to see but my list of must see for the other two?

Animal Kingdom
Safari Ride
Dinosaur
Expedition Everest
Tree of Life

MGM
Tower of Terror
Rockin' Roller Coaster


Maybe if they could add more to California Adventure also!

[GhostHost]

None of the disneyland rides should be taken out. For the ones in CA, there are several that would be no loss. Who cares about a Chicken Little ride when you can ride Mr. Toad.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride shall never be replaced, never!

[Escapay]

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride shall never be replaced, never!

I'm sure people said that at WDW Magic Kingdom too.

All rides are expendable, even the "untouchable" ones.

Escapay

[jwa1107]

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride shall never be replaced, never!

I'm sure people said that at WDW Magic Kingdom too.

All rides are expendable, even the "untouchable" ones.

Escapay

Space Mountain?
Matterhorn?
Splash Mountain?

Haunted Mansion?
well... look what they did to HM in "down and out in the magic kindgom"!!!

[Karushifa]

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride shall never be replaced, never!

I'm sure people said that at WDW Magic Kingdom too.

All rides are expendable, even the "untouchable" ones.

Sad but true. I thought they'd never close down 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Shows how much I know

I think, though, that nowadays rides based on movies are more apt to be changed should Disney Marketing decide to replace an old concept with a new one. This leaves attractions like Mr. Toad, Robinson Treehouse, and 20,000 Leagues subject to the ol' overhaul no matter how beloved they are.

The most "iconic" and popular rides, I think, are ones that aren't even based on movies: Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Pirates of the Caribbean, Rockin' Roller Coaster, Kilimanjaro Safari, Haunted Mansion, and so forth. Those will probably be safer in the long run.

[Escapay]

I'm sure people said that at WDW Magic Kingdom too.

All rides are expendable, even the "untouchable" ones.

Escapay

Space Mountain?
Matterhorn?
Splash Mountain?

Haunted Mansion?
well... look what they did to HM in "down and out in the magic kindgom"!!!

Space Mountain: Yes
Matterhorn: Yes
Splash Mountain: Yes
Haunted Mansion: Yes

The theme parks aren't going to be around forever, and even if they are, popular rides may simply lose their audience and be renovated into something else, torn down for a wholly new ride, or left to gather dust. In the future, a thrill ride like Space Mountain may be seen as kiddie fare, while the newest rage is the revamped Hall of Presidents (a la "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom").

Escapay

[Karushifa]

Space Mountain: Yes
Matterhorn: Yes
Splash Mountain: Yes
Haunted Mansion: Yes

The theme parks aren't going to be around forever, and even if they are, popular rides may simply lose their audience and be renovated into something else, torn down for a wholly new ride, or left to gather dust. In the future, a thrill ride like Space Mountain may be seen as kiddie fare, while the newest rage is the revamped Hall of Presidents (a la "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom").

Escapay

That's kind of a bleak outlook to have...imagine there's no Epcot...no Magic Kingdom, too...

Personally, I've always thought of the Disney parks as more than thrill rides: it's the whole atmosphere that I go for. This sets apart Disney parks from the countless other theme parks in the country that are constantly competing to make the world's scariest/tallest/fastest coasters and whatnot. You don't go to The Haunted Mansion because it's as fast as Rockin' Roller Coaster or as scary as the Tower of Terror. You go because that's what you do at Disneyland, part of the experience is immersing yourself in new and different worlds, all with different things to experience and see.

It shouldn't be Disney's job to make a Six Flags or Busch Gardens clone, because that's not what their parks are for. When they do branch out from their classic rides, they do so in their own unique ways: make themed coasters instead of just plain ol' steel tubes. Create something that whole families can enjoy together, instead of something too scary for the kids. And creating brand new parks to attract different audiences while still allowing the fans of the "classic" attractions to leave the parks happy.

[Disney Princess Ariellen]

Hehe, it's a big eyesore for me. (much like that changing picture in front of the castle at MK. It's okay, but looks misplaced on the castle over the clock).

The only thing I don't like about the changing picture is that it's changing...and the fact that it has a picture of itself in the rotation...thanks, guys, um, we KNOW what Walt Disney World's castle looks like, we're LOOKING at it. I think it should stay on "Disneyland - 1955"...maybe then more people will understand what the Happiest Celebration is for.

As for CoP...*sigh*, Seasonal's practically another way of saying "near extinction"

Yeah, I know, I just hate to think it...but Timekeeper and Wonders of Life both supposedly shut down for good according to rumors, insiders, and a few MousePlanet articles. The TellACasts are still listing them as 'seasonally closed,' but it doesn't sound like that's the case...

To CoP's credit...at least it seems like it's still open, according to the most recent TellACast I received, from March 5-11 of this year. There may be slightly more hope for this one, at least until they decide it's the season to close it.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride shall never be replaced, never!

I'm sure people said that at WDW Magic Kingdom too.

Som people still say that!

[jwa1107]

The theme parks aren't going to be around forever,

and neither will we...

and even if they are, popular rides may simply lose their audience and be renovated into something else, torn down for a wholly new ride, or left to gather dust.

blasphemy!

In the future, a thrill ride like Space Mountain may be seen as kiddie fare, while the newest rage is the revamped Hall of Presidents (a la "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom").

in the future we will all have flying cars and live on the moon and go deadhead. hang on while i bump your whuffie levels up a bit.

[GhostHost]

what exactly happened to the Haunted Mansion and other things during "down and out in the magic kingdom"?

[Escapay]

what exactly happened to the Haunted Mansion and other things during "down and out in the magic kingdom"?

Well it's long and complicated, but I'll try and summarize it:

In the future, no one dies, because if you're dead, you're just cloned and restored from a "backup" of your memories. But any time between your backup and your restoration is lost, though you may get third-party memories and such. So people like to back up often. Of course, this means that you're somewhat cybernetic, in that you have all these electronic gizmos that are a part of you, such as your HUD (it's like your own personal computer within your mind), which allows you to store memories, view people's Whuffies, etc. Also, communication is also done via some type of mechanism in the ear, so you don't even have to speak (it's something called "subvocally") when you're on the "phone' with someone.

Whuffies are essentially a type of currency, though no one outright says it. It's based on other people's...views of you. If you have a high whuffie, people think highly of you and will offer you whatever you want. If your whuffie is low, you don't get as many benefits. So people often like to check each others whuffies via HUD's, while also trying to build up their own.

How this relates to Disney...

Somehow in the future, everything is pretty much run by The Bitchun Society, whose definition I never understood. And Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is also taken over (as is all the other Disney parks, including the fictional-though-it-may-be-fact-one-of-these-days Disneyland Beijing). This one area of Magic Kingdom, Liberty Square, had gotten a revamp at Hall of Presidents. Rather than watch the Animatronics and the zooming in and out of paintings, people sit down in the theater, and their HUDs somehow access some type of file (never understood it), that allowed them to *believe* they were the characters in HoP. Essentially, rather than viewing the attraction, they became part of the attraction.

The same people that did HoP wanted to move on to Haunted Mansion. But one person (forget his name, I haven't read it in awhile) realized that by turning all the rides into HoP (in that everyone becomes the attraction), that there's some magic lost, because they'll all experience the same thing (instead of viewing the same thing and judging it themselves). So he devises his own plan for Haunted Mansion, in which guests not only *become* part of the attraction, but guests viewing it will have wholly different experiences, because it's never the same guest twice that's playing one of the 999 ghosts.

It's a very interesting read and there's a lot more beyond what I've written (there's a murder mystery, which is funny because as I said before, people don't die unless they choose not to be restored from backup), and is well worth the read.

Escapay

[jwa1107]

and there is the "fight" between the HoP clique and the HM clique for control through subterfuge and cons and blackmail; each ride in WDW is controlled by a different clique