Just got back. Big thumbs down for New Fantasyland. :(

[srauseo]

But the Barnstormer doesn't have Buckbeack bowing to you.

Very true

 

[DisUniversal]

If you want to compare kiddie coasters, IMHO, Flight of the Hippogriff is a much lesser ride than Goofy's Barnstormer, and usually has a longer wait.

They're both kiddie coasters, but I always felt the opposite. Looking at the stats, FotH has a maximum height of 42.7 feet, a track length of 1099 feet and a top speed of 28.5mph. Barnstormer has a height of 30 feet, a track length of 679 feet and a top speed of 25mph.

 

[Dreaming~of~Disney]

I don't have time to read through this entire thread but my thought is it's Fantasyland! LOL! Isn't Fantasyland supposed to be for the younger kids? I mean it had Peter Pan's flight, It's A Small World, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh before....none of which are thrill rides LOL. Personally I'm am 39 and I love the new Fantasyland. It's what it's supposed to be, a land of Fantasy where we are able to enter into the Disney stories we all love.

 

[srauseo]

My two cents on NFL after our trip last week.

Barnstormer is pretty good for kiddie coaster. I wouldn't wait more than 15 minutes for it but I liked it enough. We rode during EMH with no wait. My 3yo nephew loved it. His mother took him back several times he enjoyed it so much - so that one was a + for us.

She also LOVED the Dumbo waiting area for the kids. Again, we rode during EMH with no wait but she took the kids back again just so they could play in there. Another +.

I liked the LM ride OK. I wouldn't wait a long time for it but it was cute. 5yo niece and nephew loved this one. I agree it could have been something more than just another clam shell ride.

I thought ETWB was amazing. I went back again without the kids so DH could see it. I think the mirror effect and animatronics are just fabulous. This one gets oohs and awws from me. I teared up a little when Belle danced with the little boy playing the Beast at the end and I didn't even know him. Cute overload! A + from me.

I really liked 7DMT. I loved singing along with the dwarves in the middle and loved the end scene at the cottage, especially the witch! Nephew loved this ride. Another + from me. I wasn't expecting a "thrill" coaster but it was fun.

Everyone from Grandma to the kids loved BOG for dinner. This was one of the best meals of our trip. We had a great server (she was a trainer and really knew her stuff) and the food was excellent. I had the braised pork which sooo good. And the grey stuff was delicious! The whole experience there was fabulous from the setting, to the decor, to meeting the Beast and listening to the talking suits of armor, etc. And getting to drink wine and beer in MK?! A huge + from me.

I didn't even make it in to the circus tents but I'm giving NFL a thumbs up.

And if we are going to insist on comparing Disney and Universal, can we talk about ET for a minute? I actually went on ET last week and that ride is just plain an embarrassment. And Universal includes that as an Express Pass option that people actually pay extra for! If I used my EP to go on ET I would demand a refund. Even Imagination is better than that.

 

[srauseo]

They're both kiddie coasters, but I always felt the opposite. Looking at the stats, FotH has a maximum height of 42.7 feet, a track length of 1099 feet and a top speed of 28.5mph. Barnstormer has a height of 30 feet, a track length of 679 feet and a top speed of 25mph.

Those stats do surprise me but you can't argue with the facts. I'm guessing my impression was impacted by the amount of time I spent waiting.

 

[Planogirl]

And if we are going to insist on comparing Disney and Universal, can we talk about ET for a minute? I actually went on ET last week and that ride is just plain an embarrassment. And Universal includes that as an Express Pass option that people actually pay extra for! If I used my EP to go on ET I would demand a refund. Even Imagination is better than that.

Believe or not some people like that ride. I think that it's a bit odd but I find some things like that no matter what park we're in.

I suppose that they could leave it off the Express but the price wouldn't change so why bother?

 

[L&Lfan]

I'm not an ET fan but I certainly think that attraction is better than the current Journey Into Imagination with Figment OR the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yes! Yes! Yes! Tangled's Rapunzel, next to Tiana, is my fave princess and yes, that would have made a NICE show. Instead we get another LM one.

Tangled would be a great show. And I would love more Princess and the Frog in the parks as well. Whether a show or a ride. A ride could be really amazing with the music from that. Sigh.

 

[ArwenMarie]

And if we are going to insist on comparing Disney and Universal, can we talk about ET for a minute? I actually went on ET last week and that ride is just plain an embarrassment. And Universal includes that as an Express Pass option that people actually pay extra for! If I used my EP to go on ET I would demand a refund. Even Imagination is better than that.

Imagination is better than ET? Nah.

ET is in the same category as Peter Pan to me. It has a huge nostalgia factor. It's in just as bad shape (Peter Pan might be worse). Both are still lovable.

 

[srauseo]

I'm not an ET fan but I certainly think that attraction is better than the current Journey Into Imagination with Figment OR the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow.

I've never done the Legend of Captain Jack but the only thing it seems legendary for is being terrible (see what I did there?).

Is it really that bad?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

there just isn't much to it. It's a little show on a set piece, it's cute, blink and it's over.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I've never done the Legend of Captain Jack but the only thing it seems legendary for is being terrible (see what I did there?).

Is it really that bad?

I wouldn't call it bad, but it is forgettable.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

I don't have time to read through this entire thread but my thought is it's Fantasyland! LOL! Isn't Fantasyland supposed to be for the younger kids? I mean it had Peter Pan's flight, It's A Small World, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh before....none of which are thrill rides LOL. Personally I'm am 39 and I love the new Fantasyland. It's what it's supposed to be, a land of Fantasy where we are able to enter into the Disney stories we all love.

Absolutely It's part of the park that you make memories with your young ones and when those kids (mainly boys) get by their teen years it is a part of the park where you relive those memories. And that lasts forever at that point because grandkids will soon be sharing in those
The Magic is why people keep coming back to WDW and it is certainly something that the universal parks wish they had.

 

[L&Lfan]

I wouldn't call it bad, but it is forgettable.

At least on ET (and Imagination) you can SIT DOWN!




I don't know but I find Universal Orlando/Hollywood to be pretty magical!

 

[Planogirl]

I don't know but I find Universal Orlando/Hollywood to be pretty magical!

Me too. I've always been so thrilled that there is so much magic to be found all around central Florida.

 

[edk35]

We ride all the kiddy rides..... LOL Including Figment and Nemo every time we are in EC. Same at MK.... we hit them all or at least try...this new system though does not cater to that as well though.

 

[think-like-tink]

Hopefully with better Ariel representation in the Magic Kingdom it will mean they can begin to phase out Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I don't think it will happen, but I'd love to see a Tiana-centric jazz show with FOTLK-level production value.

This. Could totally be an amazing show! I love the sound track to this movie. It's my house cleaning music. DD8 and dance around cleaning and singing "almost there"….

 

[MrInfinity]

I really don't know what they were thinking here - other than trying to appeal to the 6 and under crowd. If that's the demographic they were targeting, then they did a decent job.

Well. Yeah. That's the demographic they're targeting. I'd say 9 and under. My 7-year old boy loved it there. Wasn't ideal for our 11- tho.

7DMT - a shorter version of BTMR. Nowhere near as visually appealing as I have come to expect from Disney.

I didn't get to ride it, but I heard it appeals to a younger crowd than BTMRR. So it's like BTMRR, yet still differentiated.

Barnstormer - We, along with the people around us, got off laughing at the absurdity of waiting nearly 1/2 an hour for what could not have been more than a 40 second ride. Seriously?

I agree, but Barnstormer / Dumbo are a nice combination, in that 2-3 year olds can go on Dumbo while our 5-7-11 went on the Barnstormer. They seemed to love it. I don't care for the Circus theme. They already had the Carni theme in Dinoland, they didn't need more of that.

Little Mermaid - Unless you are a 3-5 year old girl, you'll probably nap on this one.

Here I strongly disagree! Our DS2, DD5, and DS7, plus myself and DW all loved the Mermaid ride. It was amazingly done, great animatronics, great movie everyone can relate to, in a nice slow/dark ride. I was pleased w this one.

We didn't get in to BOG, but maybe the restaurant is the one redeeming thing here. I don't know...

You missed a big part of it then. BOG was a very cool restaurant.

One you didn't mention is Enchanted Tales w Belle. Another attraction for that 5-7 crowd. Was great for us, but a 10- and 12- would get little to no fun out of it and cringe the whole time. It's for parents that like to go let their little kids do silly things.

I'm so confused as to why they felt like they needed more preschool attractions.

Because preschoolers are their target demographic of attracting families with young children.

Aren't the most popular/biggest wait time attractions the ones that target older kids/adults?

Sort of. But they don't bring the money. You build the rides that will lock in the families. Then the older kids want to ride thrill rides, great, but that does not bring incremental money. Nor does attracting "teens" to the park because unlike a local Six Flags that targets teens going for the day, Disney instead focuses on the family that will go for a week.

We had a great time overall, but the new Fantasyland got me thinking that my kids - ages 10 and 12 - might be outgrowing WDW which is sad. We've decided that our next trip to Orlando will be our first trip to Universal Studios.

Yeah. It's just not designed for 10- and 12- as the prime audience. Come on WDW is princesses and pirates everywhere, with a thrill ride or two mixed in here and there. Hopefully my youngest will never get that old.

 

[Amirah95]

Hopefully with better Ariel representation in the Magic Kingdom it will mean they can begin to phase out Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I don't think it will happen, but I'd love to see a Tiana-centric jazz show with FOTLK-level production value.

Another great idea. I'd love to see something like that as Tiana is my fave princess.

 

[Amirah95]

We really like the new FL...Mickey's Toon Town had totally dropped off our things to do list. Haven't tried the new Seven Dwarfs coaster but vwe loved the theming and BOG is our new favorite for lunch. I too don't see waiting for Peter Pan but my 26 year old daughter loves it...

Photos with Mickey and Minnie at the Judge's Tent was a must do for us every year and that's the only reason why we went to Toon Town.

They could have left it and made a part of it something from Roger Rabbit. I love Roger Rabbit...and still added onto Fantasyland or do they not have enough land?