Beyond Big Thunder

[Brian Noble]

the Mary Poppins ride

Yes, canceling Yet Another Spinner was such a blow to Epcot.

no animatronics on Cosmic Rewind

I'm not sure how anyone gets off Guardians disappointed that there were no animatronics unless it's knee-jerk dogmatism.

 

[adamreisinger]

Hulk would be a reasonabyly easy retheme. Spider-Man though would be a major loss. Personally I say keep it - it actually has the coolest versions of the Marvel characters.

There's a reasonable compromise here (though I don't know if "reasonable" and "compromise" are in these two companies' vocabularies): Universal can continue to use the characters as they appeared in the comics and related TV series as of the time of their agreement. Disney would then be able to use the characters as they appear in the MCU (which is what they've been doing at DL and in Paris anyway).

 

[Brian Noble]

"Universal gets to keep doing what it is contractually allowed to be doing and Disney gets to do new things not contractually allowed" is not a compromise.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Marvel Island would be a big loss I think for IOA. Hulk is a HUGE ride for them. And it isn't really that old. Imo, that would be the biggest ride loss as Spiderman is kind of lame and needs some updating. But the land as a whole is pretty cool. Having 2 boys, I never underestimate the power of superheroes lol. Add the fact that you can see Captain America and Spiderman wandering the area, and get pics without waiting in a huge line like meet and greets at Disney, is a pretty cool thing. As much as I love Disney, I'd hate to see Marvel leave Universal.

Spiderman is actually my favorite ride at all of UO

 

[Brian Noble]

Spidey has really held up well. It manages to have heart and be a spectacle despite being older technology. It is vastly superior to the Transformers use of the same ride system.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Spidey has really held up well. It manages to have heart and be a spectacle despite being older technology. It is vastly superior to the Transformers use of the same ride system.

I recently heard that some of the ride vehicles from the now-defunct Japan version are now being used at the Florida one!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1782475474641248518

 

[NickC]

Okay, everybody! Let's go! What do we think? What do we want to see???

My opinion may not be very popular, but I'd rather see WDW spend that money on the guest experience beyond new rides/lands/attractions. I never felt entitled to anything at WDW, but it was those little touches that made me want to return each year. They are moving away from that. But people are still going, so-as I said-my opinion isn't a popular one. We keep going too, and I think a lot of that is nostalgia and memories--because we had a great time, not because there is a new land.

 

[Captain UP]

My opinion may not be very popular, but I'd rather see WDW spend that money on the guest experience beyond new rides/lands/attractions. I never felt entitled to anything at WDW, but it was those little touches that made me want to return each year. They are moving away from that. But people are still going, so-as I said-my opinion isn't a popular one. We keep going too, and I think a lot of that is nostalgia and memories--because we had a great time, not because there is a new land.

Totally fair comment. Can you elaborate at all on what you mean specifically?

 

[BrianL]

Totally fair comment. Can you elaborate at all on what you mean specifically?

Well, for me, a night time parade would be a good start. The fact is, while I welcome expansion, MK needs it the least. They could bring back some street performers, etc. and that would make a big difference (not to mention general maintenance). The other parks are where they really need more attractions.

 

[adamreisinger]

Well, for me, a night time parade would be a good start. The fact is, while I welcome expansion, MK needs it the least. They could bring back some street performers, etc. and that would make a big difference (not to mention general maintenance). The other parks are where they really need more attractions.

I definitely miss things like a night time parade and more frequent street performers. Those types of things would pull people out of lines to experience them, which would improve the experience around the park for others. Right now it feels like the only things pulling people out of lines are meals and shopping (I know it's not LITERALLY just those two, but it doesn't feel like there's the variety of non-attraction experiences there had been a few years ago).

 

[jade1]

I lean toward expansion, but miss a few other things.

 

[wabbott]

Well, for me, a night time parade would be a good start. The fact is, while I welcome expansion, MK needs it the least. They could bring back some street performers, etc. and that would make a big difference (not to mention general maintenance). The other parks are where they really need more attractions.

Can you say Main Street Electrical Parade?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I never got to see Paint the Night at DL but the videos of it look amazing. Something like that or a new and improved MEP would make me very happy. Lots of lights and colors and a great song, plus new and innovative floats. Some callbacks to past paredes... One can dream!

 

[adamreisinger]

I never got to see Paint the Night at DL but the videos of it look amazing. Something like that or a new and improved MEP would make me very happy. Lots of lights and colors and a great song, plus new and innovative floats. Some callbacks to past paredes... One can dream!

I saw Paint the Night one time at DCA, and it remains to this day my favorite parade. It's just SO gorgeous. An updated version of that with modern technology (yes, even more modern than 2017) would be amazing.

In general, the parks could use more nighttime entertainment, which would lead toward keeping them open later (assuming Disney would be willing to invest in the staffing to keep them open later). A night show at Animal Kingdom, so people could experience Pandora at night again. A post-fireworks Castle projection show. A nighttime parade. These would all be huge improvements over the current status and don't require building anything or tearing up parking lots or roads or anything like that.

 

[kylenne]

I saw Paint the Night one time at DCA, and it remains to this day my favorite parade. It's just SO gorgeous. An updated version of that with modern technology (yes, even more modern than 2017) would be amazing.

In general, the parks could use more nighttime entertainment, which would lead toward keeping them open later (assuming Disney would be willing to invest in the staffing to keep them open later). A night show at Animal Kingdom, so people could experience Pandora at night again. A post-fireworks Castle projection show. A nighttime parade. These would all be huge improvements over the current status and don't require building anything or tearing up parking lots or roads or anything like that.

I would bet dollars to donuts AK gets a new nighttime show when Tropical Americas opens. At that point that's enough for the "it's a half day park" crowd (sidenote: that's a lie) to stick around long enough for the evenings, and I can't see these random drone shows at Disney Springs as anything but trial runs for an AK show. I could swear I saw at least one insider alluding to it a while back.

 

[adamreisinger]

I would bet dollars to donuts AK gets a new nighttime show when Tropical Americas opens. At that point that's enough for the "it's a half day park" crowd (sidenote: that's a lie) to stick around long enough for the evenings, and I can't see these random drone shows at Disney Springs as anything but trial runs for an AK show. I could swear I saw at least one insider alluding to it a while back.

Having seen the drone shows at DLP, I'd love to see them integrated at MK too (as a supplement to the fireworks, obviously, not a replacement)

 

[NickC]

Totally fair comment. Can you elaborate at all on what you mean specifically?

Well, a lot has been posted already. And I agree with a lot of it.
This is all just my opinion. But, I remember posting in the SWGE thread before it was built that I was afraid that some of the 'customer magic' budget would be used to build Star Wars. Everyone who has been going to WDW for a number of years has stories of something unexpected and extra. I have my examples, but if I posted them, it would seem pretty trivial. My few recent, less than pleasant interactions would also seem pretty inconsequential and not worth fussing over. But, it's the collective customer experience that made us choose WDW over other destinations. There is a lot of talk about new attractions/lands and I'm just not hearing much about the total guest experience and nostalgia. Unless the new attractions get the most air time. I don't know.

 

[Captain UP]

Well, a lot has been posted already. And I agree with a lot of it.
This is all just my opinion. But, I remember posting in the SWGE thread before it was built that I was afraid that some of the 'customer magic' budget would be used to build Star Wars. Everyone who has been going to WDW for a number of years has stories of something unexpected and extra. I have my examples, but if I posted them, it would seem pretty trivial. My few recent, less than pleasant interactions would also seem pretty inconsequential and not worth fussing over. But, it's the collective customer experience that made us choose WDW over other destinations. There is a lot of talk about new attractions/lands and I'm just not hearing much about the total guest experience and nostalgia. Unless the new attractions get the most air time. I don't know.

I don't want to pile on, but I've really had to come to terms with the cast member "magic" being way lower in recent years. Maybe it was a Covid thing, maybe too many relaxed policies.

But I'm NOT going there with cast members here! Saw a dude get raked over the coals here a couple years ago for making some fairly valid points and yeah...God bless every one of them.

 

[ForWhomTheMouseTolls]

I honestly had a ton of cast member against guest experiences recently. Seems like they all think we are out to scam them. I had DVC for a discount, and they made me:

Show them my MDE
My ID
The App
Login into the DVC site

I get it’s a big abused discount, but I felt like they thought I was lying. I don’t want magic. I just don’t want to be consistently questioned.

 

[Brian Noble]

Seems like they all think we are out to scam them.

If you read the DVC boards, you'll find a surprising number of resale owners are trying to do exactly that. I suspect the Powers That Be have asked the front-line cast to start cracking down---and their jobs might be conditioned on how well they do that.

Then throw in the fact that some of those resale owners believe they are entitled to the discounts and...yeah, I see why some CMs might get grumpy.