Disney fallen short or behind without more Roller coasters

[zebsterama]

Our family enjoys both Disney and Universal. I love the Disney World parks, but in truth they're in dire need of some non-family friendly adult thrill rides. I'm hoping rides like TRON, Guardians, and Star Wars help to bring some of the dark thrill (which Walt loved) back into focus; it can't be gumdrops and pixie dust all the time (although I do appreciate both).

I enjoyed 7 Dwarfs Mine Train for what it is -- but come on -- there's a real need to do something edgy, something dark. Back in the 70's when Space Mountain opened - that was cutting edge ... that was a real thrill ride ... not really a family ride. The Disney Corp has money coming out of their ears - they can (and should) cater to both types of fans IMO.

Even Pirates and Haunted Mansion we're pretty edgy / dark in their heyday -- we need more of that.

 

[bcla]

I enjoyed 7 Dwarfs Mine Train for what it is -- but come on -- there's a real need to do something edgy, something dark. Back in the 70's when Space Mountain opened - that was cutting edge ... that was a real thrill ride ... not really a family ride. The Disney Corp has money coming out of their ears - they can (and should) cater to both types of fans IMO.

They're dealing with record visitation every year, even though they're raising prices. Walt Disney's intent was not to build a seedy amusement park, and his specific intent was that rides would generally be tame.

 

[L&Lfan]

I think more thrill rides at Disney will come naturally and out of necessity. Marvel and Star Wars are properties that don't lend themselves easily to "kiddie rides".

 

[zebsterama]

They're dealing with record visitation every year, even though they're raising prices. Walt Disney's intent was not to build a seedy amusement park, and his specific intent was that rides would generally be tame.

They don’t have to be seedy; they have to be dark IMO - see dark moments of Splash Mountain, the old Snow White ride, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain.

They can be tame, but they don’t have to be lame - see Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain.

Having record numbers, doesn’t mean being stagnant.

If so, why is TRON coming to the Magic Kingdom?

I’m pushing the 1/2 century mark on this planet. I grew up (like I’m sure many of us have) with Disney, and Disney World - it’s still fantastic, but IMO, it needs to focus its efforts beyond the Fantasy Land demographic.

In doing so, that doesn’t have to equate to catering to themes of seediness, nor tameness.

As I stated in my original point, Disney built rides that were both fun and scared you a little - those continue to be the best rides at the Magic Kingdom. I’m sure Walt had some say in their production. IMO, we need more of that.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Is Mission Space intense enough for you? That's not our "laughing spot," so we didn't bother to ride it on our last trip to WDW. Expedition Everest was fun. Space Mountain jostles us around too much, and scared the snot out of DGD age 6. Some people need thrill rides. Others just enjoy the Disney themed rides. On the other hand, the 7 Dwarfs mine train didn't live up to the hype, and just wasn't worth waiting over an hour in line.

 

[monorailsilver]

No more! I want rides I can ride without turning green,

 

[skyblue17]

They don’t have to be seedy; they have to be dark IMO - see dark moments of Splash Mountain, the old Snow White ride, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain.

They can be tame, but they don’t have to be lame - see Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain.

Having record numbers, doesn’t mean being stagnant.

If so, why is TRON coming to the Magic Kingdom?

I’m pushing the 1/2 century mark on this planet. I grew up (like I’m sure many of us have) with Disney, and Disney World - it’s still fantastic, but IMO, it needs to focus its efforts beyond the Fantasy Land demographic.

In doing so, that doesn’t have to equate to catering to themes of seediness, nor tameness.

As I stated in my original point, Disney built rides that were both fun and scared you a little - those continue to be the best rides at the Magic Kingdom. I’m sure Walt had some say in their production. IMO, we need more of that.

Not to mention that Disney now does a fantastic job of catering to people of all ages. Not everyone who visits Disney and enjoys the Disney experience is there with small children. Every ride at Disney is still, for the most part, family-friendly. I've been on Tower of Terror with 4yos. Including rides that are more stimulating for the senses, whether it be physically through a more unique ride design like Everest, Soarin or Flight of Passage, or through a different type of story, would be fantastic and appeal to a lot of guests. And so long as they aren't at the expense of the rides that already exist, why not? Not everything needs to appeal to everyone, but continuing to find new ways to be creative, exciting AND potentially thrilling would be cool.

 

[bcla]

As I stated in my original point, Disney built rides that were both fun and scared you a little - those continue to be the best rides at the Magic Kingdom. I’m sure Walt had some say in their production. IMO, we need more of that.

Walt was dead and buried by then. But pretty much every ride and attraction on opening day (except Country Bear Jamboree) was just a variation on what was already at Disneyland and overseen by Walt himself. And Country Bear Jamboree was something Walt oversaw for the Mineral King project that never got anywhere.

 

[zebsterama]

Not to mention that Disney now does a fantastic job of catering to people of all ages. Not everyone who visits Disney and enjoys the Disney experience is there with small children. Every ride at Disney is still, for the most part, family-friendly. I've been on Tower of Terror with 4yos. Including rides that are more stimulating for the senses, whether it be physically through a more unique ride design like Everest, Soarin or Flight of Passage, or through a different type of story, would be fantastic and appeal to a lot of guests. And so long as they aren't at the expense of the rides that already exist, why not? Not everything needs to appeal to everyone, but continuing to find new ways to be creative, exciting AND potentially thrilling would be cool.

Agree 100% - as long as existing experiences are not being negatively impacted ... why not?

 

[tex1989]

Without stepping into a hornets nest of the discussion I would point out a couple of things. First only two Disney coasters come anywhere close to competing with true thrill coasters. Expidition Everest and Rock and Roll Roller Coaster. Everything else is mild on the coaster scale. That's fine by me because Disney's forte is story telling and immersion so every ride tends to be a good story as opposed to other parks. As I grow older I still like the thrill rides but appreciate Disney rides even more. The whole Six Flags thing is sort of ridiculous. I view it this way, I make multiple trips to Florida a year to visit WDW. We enjoy the total package including the Parks, Golf, Dinning, Shopping etc. It is a destination. We live in the Houston area and our Six Flags Park (Astroworld) closed in 2001 or so and we have not been to Six Flags since. It was not a vacation destination. It was a get a season pass for $50 and go for short durations several times a year to ride the thrill rides period. We did not go for the shows, the theming, the food, or the shopping. We went to ride rides that's all. Now given that I am not passing any judgement on what type of people go to Six Flags vs WDW other than what I stated. Six Flags is an afternoon of thrill rides. WDW is a vacation you immerse yourself in. To me Universal is somewhere in between, not merely thrill rides and not quite a full weeks worth of vacation but somewhere in the middle.

Beyond that I don't think you can classify anyone based on the park of their preference other than to say some think for the price Disney does not have enough thrill rides.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

No more! I want rides I can ride without turning green,

 

[monorailsilver]

View attachment 348987

That is questionable!! We didn't ride it in August but we rode the one in AK...then I went on Everest, took me a good 30 min to recover!

 

[skyblue17]

That is questionable!! We didn't ride it in August but we rode the one in AK...then I went on Everest, took me a good 30 min to recover!

The Aladdin one is the best one anyway! ;-)

 

[OhDannyBoy]

I'll admit, if Disney had more thrill rides and roller coasters I would have been more loyal, but it's not really their style.

 

[bcla]

Without stepping into a hornets nest of the discussion I would point out a couple of things. First only two Disney coasters come anywhere close to competing with true thrill coasters. Expidition Everest and Rock and Roll Roller Coaster.

That's not quite accurate. There are Disney parks outside of Florida. Matterhorn Bobsleds was revolutionary at the time. California Screamin' (now The Incredicoaster) had state of the art LIM launch system that accelerated up a hill, rather than using weights/flywheels or a traditional chain lift. This one doesn't go crazy, but it's pretty good.

Here's a rundown of Disney coasters:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/08/14-must-do-coasters-at-disney-parks-around-the-world/

 

[tex1989]

That's not quite accurate. There are Disney parks outside of Florida. Matterhorn Bobsleds was revolutionary at the time. California Screamin' (now The Incredicoaster) had state of the art LIM launch system that accelerated up a hill, rather than using weights/flywheels or a traditional chain lift. This one doesn't go crazy, but it's pretty good.

Here's a rundown of Disney coasters:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/08/14-must-do-coasters-at-disney-parks-around-the-world/

Have ridden California Screamin and the Matterhorn and enjoyed both. I was not addressing the innovation of the operating systems but rather the thrill (or intensity if you will) of the rides. I have ridden the original Cyclone on Coney Island, the copycat Texas Cyclone at Astroworld and countless others in Ohio, California, St Louis, and Atlanta and was merely pointing out that the intensity of any Disney ride is less than the Super Thrill Rides at other parks.

I also noticed in the link posted that it includes a Water Park Coaster which I find interesting as the technology and ride design for it was purchased from a Water Park design company in Texas affiliated with Schliterbaun in New Braunfels Texas which is in my humble opinion the best Water Park in America. We have ridden every ride there many times and also at their Galveston and South Texas locations and Disney has nothing on them when it comes to water parks.

 

[bcla]

Have ridden California Screamin and the Matterhorn and enjoyed both. I was not addressing the innovation of the operating systems but rather the thrill (or intensity if you will) of the rides. I have ridden the original Cyclone on Coney Island, the copycat Texas Cyclone at Astroworld and countless others in Ohio, California, St Louis, and Atlanta and was merely pointing out that the intensity of any Disney ride is less than the Super Thrill Rides at other parks.

That kind of ride is generally not that expensive. If Disney Parks did that, it would probably be spending $4 million on the ride itself, and $20 million on dressing it up. Early DCA was kind of a disaster because they spent $4 million on a ride and $100,000 to dress it up.

 

[B4DlandOpened]

You know exactly what that poster means.
"Universal/Six Flags-type demographics" is obviously a code for certain racial/socioeconomic groups.

I certainly hope that it is not a code. There is no place for that among Disney lovers!

However, Neal Gabler includes this possibly anecdotal account of Disney's remarks after visiting amusement parks prior to his building Disneyland:

Rudy Ising...recalled his and Walt's visits to Electric Park (Kansas City), an amusement park, and how...Walt told him, "One of these days I'm going to build an amusement park—and it's going to be clean!" p. 484

As Disneyland was designed to block out the world, it was also designed to offer a particular kind of psychological experience that one didn't ordinarily find at an amusement park or carnival, much less in reality.
Most amusement parks, in fact, were like Warner Bros.' cartoons...noisy, chaotic, bombastic, subversive.
One was made to feel like the social rules didn't apply there, that one was entirely free.
Walt Disney...intended his park to provide just the opposite-not freedom but control and order. p. 498

Neal Gabler - Walt Disney The Triumph of the American Imagination

BTW - these days, we have a surfeit of obnoxious, rude, entitled, angry people across all social-economic, racial, religious, etc. categories.

 

[Cubbiecakes]

I certainly hope that it is not a code.

Nope, just someone trying to insert their beliefs into my mouth.