Attractions going away

[trainingupmy4princes]

Don't know the answer to any other than that changes to Poly were announced before, but: (a) Great Movie Ride is truly antiquated with too many movies and actors, both in the ride through and at the end movie, that even many of the adults, not just kids, now attending don't know; (b) I can't imagine replacing Soarin with a "local flight." What would that consist of? Flying over sink holes, swamps, golf courses and the 20,000 man made lakes surrounded by condominiums?; (e) every time we go, attendance at Captain EO keeps getting lighter and lighter; nevertheless they really need to do something about the whole Imagination pavilion and before dealing with that, shouldn't they first do something with the Wonders of Life pavilion?

I think the Great Movie Ride has a lot of the classics so is fine the way it is. I recently DVR'ed Singin in the Rain and watched with the kids and they enjoyed it. I personally enjoy watching classic movies with the kids that don't have questionable material or violence like current movies. Most of these movies were welll before my time but worth looking up. Now I wish they would have picked better than Aliens to represent the SciFi genre after all Star Trek has more relevance and lasting power then Aliens ever had. But over all the Great Movie Ride is about just that Great Movies (IMO current movies are not anywhere near the level of the great Classics with a few exceptions)

My family loved Frozen but I think it should be an attraction elsewhere. Maelstrom is fine the way it is.

 

[SuperRob]

Did anyone read the comments on the original article?

Someone claiming to be a GMR CM says the ride is not going away. They then go on to say that Star Wars is NOT coming to DHS but Carsland might.

It funny that all the insiders say the exact opposite.

Calling a Park CM an "insider" is a stretch. They're intentionally kept in the dark on a lot of stuff.

That said, all of these things are either rumored or already happening, with the sole exception of Captain EO and The Great Movie Ride. Captain EO could go away and I wouldn't shed a tear, but it would most likely get replaced with something much more current, since the return of Captain EO was only temporary anyway. Soarin' is getting an upgrade to fit more with Epcot (Soarin' the World is the rumor). Maelstrom has been rumored to get a Frozen overlay of some sort, which I think would work fine to capitalize on the "surprise" popularity of Frozen* (but likely would overload the poor ride, which I always considered to be a hidden gem, with guests). The Poly waterfall is sadly going away, being replaced with a smaller water feature, and an additional water feature added to the sign out front.

The Great Movie Ride is a wild card here. It's no longer the central "weiner" of the park, long ago replaced with the Sorcerer Mickey hat. No one can disagree that it is in desperate need of a rehab (some broken effects and animatronics) and an update (the films made sense when it was MGM Studios, not so much Disney's Hollywood Studios), but there are many like myself that still love the ride. However, given the cost to bring the ride up to current lofty standards, management may have realized that if they eliminate that ride they could expand Pixar Place, or with some some creativity, level everything from the GMR diagonally to the Backlot Tour (casualties: GMR, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Lights Motors Action, Studio Backlot Tour, Studio Catering Co., and American Film Institute Showcase) and have the entrance to Cars Land** extend right from Pixar Place.

I'd rather them just EXPAND what is still my favorite park, but that likely terrifies the money people. Being able to shut down an entire section of the park can save on costs while they change it up. They may have seen from the "New Fantasyland" expansion that guests will put up with it.

* I say "surprise" because they knew it would be a hit, but they had no idea how big a hit, or that Elsa would be the focus of it.
** I'd prefer more Star Wars stuff, but now that Cars Land has already been completed at DCA, it's cheaper to just build another one from the existing dev work than to envision something new.

 

[Buttrcp16]

Not Maelstrom!!! It's my favorite! I love Frozen as much as the next person, but to give Maelstrom the "Frozen" treatment would make me pissed! I don't see how they could do that without entirely changing the ride, vs. something like what they did to POTC, which was very subtle and kept the integrity of the ride (easy enough to do since the movie had scenes taken straight from the ride).

 

[Reddog1134]

Calling a Park CM an "insider" is a stretch. They're intentionally kept in the dark on a lot of stuff.

I meant that the CM's are NOT the "insiders". This CM said one thing but the "insiders" have said the opposite.

 

[SuperRob]

I meant that the CM's are NOT the "insiders". This CM said one thing but the "insiders" have said the opposite.

Gotcha, sorry for the misunderstanding. But you hear a lot of people take CM chatter as gospel in these parts.

 

[Reddog1134]

Gotcha, sorry for the misunderstanding. But you hear a lot of people take CM chatter as gospel in these parts.

There HAS to be some CM's with real inside info. I just think they are smart enough to realize they wouldn't be CM's very long if they went around talking about it.

 

[TimothyG]

http://q104.cbslocal.com/2014/05/08...ns-that-are-going-away/#.U2zo0DVQsjt.facebook

I wonder if there is any truth to this?

1. Great Hollywood ride
2. Fountains at Poly
3. Soarin over Cali (being replaced by local flight)
4. Captain So
5. Malestrom

Nothing is set in stone until they actually start construction (even then is not necessarily 100%). Construction was supposed to start on a Star Wars Land, Cars Land, DHS/AK monorail expansion, a Monsters Inc coaster, Beastly Kingdom, etc. Some of the stuff was supposed to happen with plans, but those plans changed. Some things were just figments of imagination that never were going to happen.

Here's my opinion.

1. I really hope this doesn't happen. It desperately needs a makeover but I don't think they would get rid of it. I can't think of a better way to utilize that space. I mean, what kind of attraction would you put in such an iconic Hollywood building?

2. Yep. Those are gone. From my understanding they were a maintenance nightmare, spent a lot of money maintaining it and so they want to scrap them. It's a shame and it's a purely business decision about the bottom line.

3. Sort of Confirmed. There was filming done at WDW for a new Soarin' film which somewhat confirms it. Nothing official has been announced by Disney so it is speculation, but I would bet its to update Soarin. Especially because the California film was only supposed to be temporary.

4. Captain EO really needs to go. I don't know what they will put in there. I kind of want them to get away from a 3D show, but there's really nothing else they could do in that space. I think it may be a while before something replaces it though.

5. They better not do a Frozen overlay, but I could totally see Disney doing this. It is a great business proposition and Disney would totally make a ton of money selling Froze merchandise in that store. On paper, it looks great and a no-brainer. But I will hate it even though it really is a good movie.

 

[livinlife25]

I would be very unhappy if they closed Great Movie Ride! Definitely one of my favorites

 

[kiramay]

I would be so sad to lose maelstrom. Especially for a Frozen ride.

 

[bookgirl]

http://q104.cbslocal.com/2014/05/08...ns-that-are-going-away/#.U2zo0DVQsjt.facebook

I wonder if there is any truth to this?

1. Great Hollywood ride
I think this is a nice break from the heat but won't be heartbroken if it leaves
2. Fountains at Poly
ehhh never stayed there so no loss
3. Soarin over Cali (being replaced by local flight)
Like soarin but would be happy to have a Florida version
4. Captain So
Not a fan be glad when it's gone
5. Malestrom
I love Malestrom and would be sorry to see it go

Rumors are rumors till they actually happen so not going to worry till it actually happens.

 

[SuperRob]

Nothing is set in stone until they actually start construction (even then is not necessarily 100%). Construction was supposed to start on a Star Wars Land, Cars Land, DHS/AK monorail expansion, a Monsters Inc coaster, Beastly Kingdom, etc. Some of the stuff was supposed to happen with plans, but those plans changed. Some things were just figments of imagination that never were going to happen.

Yup. Most recently with Hyperion Wharf. Eventually you get to a point where there's no turning pack, but Hyperion Wharf was probably the most recent notable project where construction had actually started and then halted while they changed direction.

 

[SandiR]

I don't care at all about The Great Movie ride, so it doesn't much matter to me if it gets replaced.

I loved Frozen as much as the next grown-up person, but how sad if they replaced Maelstrom with a Frozen ride. When I'm I'm in the countries, I like to feel like I'm getting a little taste of that country's history and culture and that definitely wouldn't happen with a Frozen ride.

If Disney wants to use a new film, they should build an additional Soarin ride rather than replacing what they have. Maybe that would cut down the 90 minute lines.

 

[leebee]

I like Maelstrom just the way it is! While I think Disney will capitalize on the success of Frozen, I'd like to see it happen in a new venue and not take away from something that's already there. I think there's a lot of un-used space (or at least, not well-attended space) at DHS now that the actual movie/animation studio has moved; maybe they could set up something in that space. I could see trying to use some of the empty space at Epcot, but that wouldn't really fit in with Future World, would it? (although how some of the stuff that's there- Captain EO?- fits in stretches the imagination…)

I would like to see them do Soarin' over the USA, or Soarin' over Europe. So much cool stuff to see! Actually, now that the technology works so well, they could open a second Soarin' venue to handle the crowds. Epcot is FULL of EMPTY space; they should use it.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Not The Great Movie Ride! That's one of my favourites!

 

[Blakelynn]

Not Maelstrom! That's my favorite ride at Epcot!

 

[MichaelaF]

So let me just say that I adore the Great Movie Ride, and it's one of my favorite rides. But it has a lot of "issues".

1) We all know it's dated, as is much of the park, really, along with a lot of the films in there. That's the obvious one.

2) Rumors have gone around and around ever since the hat went up that there have been issues with the rights to the Theatre facade, and while I don't think it's quite as big of a deal as folks have said (it's still up 13 years later, after all), I believe there is some truth to it. I think that getting rid of the facade would solve some legal/rights issues. I also think that while the hat is relatively universally hated, they would still need a new icon, since I don't see them seriously going back to the Earful Tower (the trees have grown up a lot, and it's so far out of the way, especially since the Backlot Tour is limited....well, it just wouldn't make much sense)....so they would need that space for a new icon. Killing two (or three, or four) birds with one stone, getting rid of it.

3) It's prime real estate for a high-capacity ride that doesn't attract the crowds it used to. I can definitely see them wanting to repurpose that area for something else.

In other words, I think its days are sadly numbered, though I would HOPE they would just update it.

Concerning Malestrom....it's all about the benjamins, ya'll. No single attraction (I'm not counting F&W or F&G festivals) in the World Showcase has brought as much foot traffic as Elsa and Anna did. Of course, it was too crazy so they had to move them to MK. Which means they absolutely will want a Frozen attraction in Norway to fill that hole. Not only will it pull crowds away from MK (and PFH) towards the aging Epcot (which they will apparently start taking care of), especially during non-festival times of the year, it will also give Epcot another top tier FP+ that people care about (I know Malestrom is a FP now, but it's not a super desired one) it's a fast, cheap and easy way to get a Frozen attraction up. I think it'll be an overlay (of sorts), but I also think they'll probably build a larger queue for it. There's plenty of space both behind Norway and next to it (sorta....on the non-China side) to expand the queue area. I'd be shocked if this doesn't happen, honestly. I think they will probably also build a larger Frozen ride at the MK eventually, but that's years down the line, and will take a lot more design time and money. In the meantime, Malestrom Frozen overlay makes a TON of sense.

The water feature at the Poly has been a major mold/humidity issue, from what I understand, along with it being a pain to upkeep. I'm super sad to see it go, too.

 

[siskaren]

This thread should be on the Rumors & News board.

 

[Reddog1134]

2) Rumors have gone around and around ever since the hat went up that there have been issues with the rights to the Theatre facade, and while I don't think it's quite as big of a deal as folks have said (it's still up 13 years later, after all), I believe there is some truth to it. I think that getting rid of the facade would solve some legal/rights issues. I also think that while the hat is relatively universally hated, they would still need a new icon, since I don't see them seriously going back to the Earful Tower (the trees have grown up a lot, and it's so far out of the way, especially since the Backlot Tour is limited....well, it just wouldn't make much sense)....so they would need that space for a new icon. Killing two (or three, or four) birds with one stone, getting rid of it.

Its a false rumor. There was no such thing as architectural copyright when the original theatre was built.

My theory is that Disney wanted a grander park icon so they built the hat. They placed it in front of the theatre so that promotion pictures would showcase their own creation instead of a recreation of a existing landmark.

 

[dragonfly57005]

As long as it isn't the Teacups disappearing, my kids will be happy

 

[MichaelaF]

Its a false rumor. There was no such thing as architectural copyright when the original theatre was built.

My theory is that Disney wanted a grander park icon so they built the hat. They placed it in front of the theatre so that promotion pictures would showcase their own creation instead of a recreation of a existing landmark.

I don't think it's a visual/architectural issue, I understand that part. I do think there's a naming/ownership issue, in part because they never refer to it as the Chinese Theatre anymore (as they did early on), and mostly ignore it. I don't think it's a huge issue for them to avoid those things, but I do think it's just another reason (on top of many) that it will make things easier on them to just get rid of it. I don't disagree with your theory on the main why they wanted the hat up there, though.

I have no proof of course.