Stuff You'd Like to See in a Disney Park

Loomis · Post by **Loomis** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:29 am

As a similar notion to the 'Random Stuff' thread, I thought I'd start this thread just as a way of throwing out random ideas relating to the park and what you'd like to see in it.

My first suggestion is borrowed from a MiceChat thread. The idea was to have a Vault Disney Store on Main Street.

Everybody loves their Disney films and hates them going out of print. So why not cater to a niche market, and always have a small selection of the otherwise OOP titles available at the parks in a nostalgia-based store. They could have unique packaging - making them collectable to those who already own the editions - and still be available to those who missed out, but have made the effort to go to the in-park store.

Ok, I've got the ball rolling...

Wonderlicious · Post by **Wonderlicious** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 1:47 pm

I can't believe that I never noticed this thread. Here's a good few things that I would love to see in a Disney theme park:

More References to Obscurer Material
Whilst there are references to the not so big films throughout the Disney parks, even with a number of rides based upon the rarer titles being present (Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Splash Mountain and parts of the Storybook Land boat ride), it would be nice if Disney would reference some of the short films, package films, older TV shows and post-Jungle Book pre-Little Mermaid animated classics a bit more, even if in the form of a shop or restaurant.

More References to some of the Grand Classics
It shocks me to think that the likes of 101 Dalmatians, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan and Bambi hardly feature in any form in the Disney parks aside from some (though not many) walk-around characters being present. And whilst there is some coverage of them, there aren't really a lot of nods to Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia and The Lion King, which is a shock considering their popularity.

crunkcourt · Post by **crunkcourt** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:00 pm

Most of all I'd like to see a Mary Poppins themed ride. Perhaps a dark ride that takes you on the many adventures that her and the Jane and Michael go on. Maybe you could even be Jane and Michael going through the dark ride.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:51 pm

It's a real shame that Disney has been holding out for so long in doing any kind of Mary Poppins attraction. As you may know, a Poppins attraction was originally planned for Walt Disney World, but I believe it was Roy Disney who said "No, make Fantasyland just like it is in Disneyland, California". I bet if Walt had lived there would have been a Poppins ride.

There were several ideas developed for Mary Poppins rides over time. Most involved riding on carousel horses through the Jolly Holiday sequence or riding in hanging umbrellas over London and scenes, etc.

There have been many requests for Mary Poppins rides from the public. I hope Disney decides to actually do it one day. It seems odd that one of the greatest hits of all time and the namesake for it's MAPO park imagineering division is not represented fully in the parks.

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:51 pm

I would love for there to be (and you should've seen this coming) an Alice giftshop located by the Mad Tea Party in Walt Disney World. Every other Disney park has something to compliment the Mad Tea Party with:

Disneyland - Alice in Wonderland Dark Ride
Disneyland Paris - Alice's Curious Labyrinth
Tokyo Disneyland - The Queen of Hearts Restaurant

I'm not sure about Hong Kong Disneyland, but either way, it seems odd that WDW is so sparse in its Alice environment compared to the others. I've read about how Disney Imaginners debated numerous times about having a replica of Disneyland's dark ride in WDW but decided that since Alice was already represented in Florida, that they should focus on something else. I partially agree with that because it would be unfair for Alice to have two attractions in Florida's park when there are more popular Disney movies that have none. This is why I think a gift shop is a great idea. Most Disney attractions have corresponding shops (or at least carts), and Alice merchandise is pretty minimal in the parks as it is (all I ever keep finding are pins, purses, and framed artwork too costly to even breathe on). A giftshop with some exclusive merchandise would be wonderful for fans like me. It can sell things such as action figures, costumes (can you believe the World of Disney store had NO Mad Hatter hats?), snowglobes, dolls, plushes, storybooks, and other little odds and ends. I'm really eager to know what kind of stuff Tokyo Disneyland sells because the coolest Alice merchandise I find on Ebay is always without fail from Japan.

Timon/Pumbaa fan · Post by **Timon/Pumbaa fan** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 9:40 pm

Well I already somewhat said this idearight here, but I'd like to see Disney use more stuff that isn't Disney at the parks.

I know they're called Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but everything at the parks don't have to be owned by Disney.

Even though they're not owned by Disney, you can't help think Star Wars is Disney when you go to Star Wars Weekends, or think Indiana Jones is Disney when you see them sell IJ merchandise. Plus, there's no denying Star Tours and the various Indiana Jones attractions across the world are great attractions, and you almost consider them part of the "Disney family" because of their greatness. I would like Disney to make more of that.

Now of course, a lot of "franchises" are already taken(Loony Tunes, Charlie Brown, Universal properties etc.) I still think there is A LOT of "non-Disney franchises" that they could find to use, particularly stuff from "MGM" to make it "Disney MGM Studios" more "MGM".*

I also agree with what Joe said, it would be sweet to see stuff from "less-popular" Disney films! C'mon Disney, let's see attractions for "Home on the Range", "Treasure Planet" and "Chicken Little"!

*I know MGM has been bought by Sony, and that they're thinking about taking the "MGM" part out of the name "Disney MGM Studios", but it would still be cool to see stuff like The Pink Panther and James Bond at the parks.

Kram Nebuer · Post by **Kram Nebuer** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:50 pm

Wonderlicious wrote:I can't believe that I never noticed this thread. Here's a good few things that I would love to see in a Disney theme park:

More References to Obscurer Material
Whilst there are references to the not so big films throughout the Disney parks, even with a number of rides based upon the rarer titles being present (Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Splash Mountain and parts of the Storybook Land boat ride), it would be nice if Disney would reference some of the short films, package films, older TV shows and post-Jungle Book pre-Little Mermaid animated classics a bit more, even if in the form of a shop or restaurant.

There is, at least I think there is. Casey's Corner is a hot dog/Coca Cola soda fountain on Main Street at Disney World (and I think Disneyland). I'm pretty sure it is definitely in reference to the classic poem about the baseball player, but I'm not sure if they are also addressing the short from Make Mine Music. Also, I've seen pictures of walking character versions of Jose Carioca and Panchito Romero Miguel Junipro Francisco Quintero Gonzalez (I'm pretty sure I spelled some of that wrong

).

Wonderlicious wrote:More References to some of the Grand Classics
It shocks me to think that the likes of 101 Dalmatians, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan and Bambi hardly feature in any form in the Disney parks aside from some (though not many) walk-around characters being present. And whilst there is some coverage of them, there aren't really a lot of nods to Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia and The Lion King, which is a shock considering their popularity.

Again on Main Street, Tony's Town Square Restaurant is indeed based on Tony's from Lady and the Tramp. Mulan (as Ping) was part of the Cinderella's Surprise Celebration show that was replaced by Cinderellabration. BatB, Aladdin, TLM, and TLK all have their own stage shows at either Disney Studios, Disney's California Adventure, or Animal Kingdom. Some are also featured in parade and the aforementioned Cinderellabration and have their own attractions in addition to shows. It's true that their presence is highly concentrated in only specific areas of the parks outside of parade and meet n greet, but I can't think where else they can give nods to the classics. We have have to remember the parks aren't JUST a place to honor the movies. It has to have some originality.

Though with the popularity of the Pixar films, its puzzling to see their presence rapidly taking over the parks whereas the Disney Classics aren't as present as one would think them to be.

A Kingdom Hearts park is what I want!

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:32 pm

I would like to see more of the Disney character statuettes/figurines. When I was a kid, the parks sold just about every character you can think of. I have a few of them from back then, such as this one: http://www.webcases.com/d1074.jpg ... then the gradually reduced their selection. Over time, the quality and material that they were made out of improved. In the last decade, the Disney Store carried a few of them, the Disney villains in particular, and I have a few of those as well.

These days, they only have the Disney princesses, Mickey, and Minnie, and even those are hard to find. (Well, they had Elliot from Pete's Dragon 2 years ago). I went to get Jessica Rabbit last week and was crushed to learn that they had discontinued it mere weeks beforehand.

They do make smaller, cheaper figurines of other characters, but those aren't the ones I want. Come on, Disney, bring these back! They are the perfect souvenirs!

-Aaron

Fidget1234 · Post by **Fidget1234** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:14 am

At Downtown Disney, or maybe in Toontown I would love, love, LOVE to see a replica restaurant of House of Mouse cartoon show featuring Mickey as the emcee on stage and character dining w/ many misc. mixed disney characters! Like instead of a one character theme like at all the rest of the character dining places-you'd have a mix of meet & greets w/ a princess/prince, villian, pooh character, side kick, random mix- never know who u will see.

Donald could greet u at the door as u walk in, Daisy could assist at the reservations desk when u check-in.

The big screen showing classic shorts/house of mouse/mickey mouse works toons. And random live dance/song numbers performed by the disney characters on the stage w/ audience participation.

How awesome would that be in reality?

Raydawggie · Post by **Raydawggie** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:40 pm

More villains stuff! Rides, shows, even a whole land or park.

Fidget1234 · Post by **Fidget1234** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:28 pm

omgoodness-
Ray has emerged from the polls & games forum!! haha.

good to see ya ray.

Gurgi30 · Post by **Gurgi30** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 11:38 pm

I'd like to see the return of Dreamflight, Horizons, World of Motion, the original Tiki show, 10,000 Leauges Under the Sea, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. While Test Track is a solid ride and Buzz Lightyear's Sit and Spin is decent, the rest of the replacements, if any, for these rides are very weak.

I understand that some of them were dated but these were some of the more interesting rides because you couldn't experience them anywhere else. While the magic is still there it seems that Disney is trying to become more like Universal Studios or Six Flags and less like Disney. To me this is a sad state of affairs and hopefully JL will fix this soon because on their best days those parks shouldn't be able to touch Disney.

Also, they need to remove the stupid Disney hat and wand from Spaceship Earth. It truly looks horrible.

pinkrenata · Post by **pinkrenata** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:42 pm

Gurgi30 wrote:I'd like to see the return of Dreamflight

Dreamflight was awesome! Sure, it was empty most of the time, but that just made it all the cooler because there was never a line to ride it. It's funny that they used the exact same track for the Buzz Lightyear ride. Every time I've been on it I've gotten a little sentimental when I recognize the various areas.

Kram Nebuer · Post by **Kram Nebuer** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:12 pm

pinkrenata wrote:Dreamflight was awesome! Sure, it was empty most of the time, but that just made it all the cooler because there was never a line to ride it. It's funny that they used the exact same track for the Buzz Lightyear ride. Every time I've been on it I've gotten a little sentimental when I recognize the various areas.

Lol, me too! LIke the tube room going through space. I remember that part in Dreamflight. When we first rode it as kids, there was no one in line so the cast members let us stay in our vehicles for probably 4 or 5 straight ride throughs! It was great, but haha, our parents must've been so bored.

Anyhow I agree about the hat at MGM. I think it's a great attraction/show piece, but had not been blocking the wonderful theater behind it, I would love it and not dislike it. I wonder if the hat can be moved, or better yet the Great Movie Ride. The hat is a great "weenie" and icon, but the Great Movie Ride deserves to show off its facade elsewhere in the park where its view is not obstructed. Also, the hat ruined the arial view of Mickey Mouse's face.

I remember those figures Aaron talked about. I started to collect them from the Disney Store, but the product line went away before I could finish and save up money for more. I wanted to get the Seven Dwarfs and all the Mickeys, but I only got Steamboat Willie, Sorcerer's Apprentice, and the Brave Little Tailor. I hope Disney brings them back so I can finish what I started!

A HOUSE OF MOUSE RESTAURANT WOULD BE UBER AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cool idea, Fidget1234!!!

The only problem though is the characters speaking...until they invent a convincing voice transformer for the characters to use, I don't think the restaurant would work very well. It'd be like "Hi Daisy! We have reservations for two. What table? Sorry, I didn't catch that...ummm...waiter, can you help us? Oh wait, penguins don't talk either...ummm..." Unless they use regular cast members and just make it a character meal, it'd be possible. But that kind of takes the idea away...hmmm...I love the Sci-Fi Dine-in, but I'd love it more if they renovated it to look like the House of Mouse! It's perfect!

pinkrenata · Post by **pinkrenata** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:56 pm

My whole deal with the sorceror's hat at MGM is that it detracts from the whole old Hollywood style that made the park so unique in the first place. What is it being used for now? The last time I was there, I think it was a pin trading place or something or other. What they should do is move it to another spot and use it as an entrance to some sort of new attraction.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:41 pm

pinkrenata wrote:My whole deal with the sorceror's hat at MGM is that it detracts from the whole old Hollywood style that made the park so unique in the first place. What is it being used for now? The last time I was there, I think it was a pin trading place or something or other. What they should do is move it to another spot and use it as an entrance to some sort of new attraction.

Renata speaks with wisdom beyond her years!

-Aaron

Fidget1234 · Post by **Fidget1234** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:15 pm

pinkrenata wrote:My whole deal with the sorceror's hat at MGM is that it detracts from the whole old Hollywood style that made the park so unique in the first place. What is it being used for now? The last time I was there, I think it was a pin trading place or something or other. What they should do is move it to another spot and use it as an entrance to some sort of new attraction.

It's still a pin trading station and gift shop.
Character meet & greets outside the perimeter of the hat as well, and at night the many different lights & pictures still shine down on the ground from it. There used to be game kiosks there as well...but i dont remember seeing them last time i went in May. It was ESPN the weekend there- so the front of it was blocked off for the stage.

Argenbrit · Post by **Argenbrit** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:39 pm

I'd love to see more of the Disney Afternoon shows.

Starion · Post by **Starion** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:39 pm

[quote="pinkrenata"]My whole deal with the sorceror's hat at MGM is that it detracts from the whole old Hollywood style that made the park so unique in the first place.p/quote]

The sorceror's hat does seem out of place at MGM studios. I think the watertower with Mickey Mouse's ears is more appropriate.

Like Argenbrit said, I too want to see more characters and rides related to the Disney Afternoons. A Mary Poppins ride or show would be nice too.

brownie · Post by **brownie** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 5:45 pm

AwallaceUNC wrote:I would like to see more of the Disney character statuettes/figurines. When I was a kid, the parks sold just about every character you can think of. I have a few of them from back then, such as this one: http://www.webcases.com/d1074.jpg ... then the gradually reduced their selection. Over time, the quality and material that they were made out of improved. In the last decade, the Disney Store carried a few of them, the Disney villains in particular, and I have a few of those as well.

These days, they only have the Disney princesses, Mickey, and Minnie, and even those are hard to find. (Well, they had Elliot from Pete's Dragon 2 years ago). I went to get Jessica Rabbit last week and was crushed to learn that they had discontinued it mere weeks beforehand.

They do make smaller, cheaper figurines of other characters, but those aren't the ones I want. Come on, Disney, bring these back! They are the perfect souvenirs!

-Aaron

Definitely. They should make decent-looking figurines for everyone, not just people who can afford it. Some of their PVC figures from the '90s look really good.

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