Disney News, Discussion & an Element of Fun - 2022 Edition

[DisSurfer878]

Some of the things as a DL fan that were disappointing

*No announcement about the Hyperion theater, it's an absolutely beautiful indoor theater still sitting dormant post Covid that NEEDS a new musical. This alone would have been enough IMO to make this day a "win."

*No word on a DL Christmas party for THIS year yet (it was announced Sept 10 last year)

*Paint the Night/Main Street Electric Parade are back to sitting in storage.. (I know haha, I am not going to get sympathy on this one)

*No specifics about dining spaces at the re-imagined Paradise/Pixar hotel

*No closing date for Splash

*No specific opening date for our new Toontown/MRR

*No update on Launch Bay which is a massive, ridiculous empty space in our Tomorrowland

*No announcement about the Downtown Disney remodel except some bakery I have never heard of


Yes, they mentioned a new firework show but as a DL guest, we have to be really careful not to get too excited about that. Our fireworks sometimes run only on weekends because of how landlocked DL is in the city. They also often get canceled or go to a "B mode" because of wind, the smallest amount of wind cancels them. It's not a good idea to plan a DL trip around fireworks, you really need to manage your expectations and just consider it a bonus.

Also, Magic Happens was bound to come back as it was brand new pre-Covid, so that was a non-announcement, anyone could have told you that.

Replacing WOC was not a high priority at all IMO, the regular one and a holiday version to boot, were just fine as is.

Also once again all the "Tomorrowland is getting a refurb!!!!!!" nonsense was... nonsense.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

Well said. Part of my reason for the negativity is I have a 2 year old that I want to take some time but with the direction they have gone the last few years and adding in todays lackluster announcements it's hard to see any good for this company anymore.

I will add about this thread. It's great that it's light hearted and updates the news, the only thing I don't like is the lack of discussion. Each news story may get 2-3 response and it's on to the next thing. Even if you post new threads to discuss some of these news stories they die quickly.


Sorry but like I said it's hard to be positive when the continue to let you down. I expect more from the top theme park company.

Take your kid whether at 2 or 5 or what not and enjoy the parks through their eyes.

 

[Jrb1979]

Take your kid whether at 2 or 5 or what not and enjoy the parks through their eyes.

I would have to convince my wife first. She has no interest paying that much for a trip that only our child will most likely enjoy.

 

[TropicalDIS]

There has been a lot of back and forth on the thread today, especially with people not liking the announcements/lack of. I didn’t say a word. My issue with the particular poster was this was the 3rd thread they commented on where they tried to downplay an announcement people were excited about. I never say anything, but it was too much. I know you’re not my biggest fan, but I try my best on here. I try to keep this a positive thread. I’m not sure why that’s a bad thing. There are plenty of other threads here on The Dis to complain on. I don’t want this to be one of them. Thanks for understanding.

You do a great job mrsap, and I have this thread tagged as one I am always checking to see what the latest updates are. This, and the shopping thread, are both amazing, so thank you!

 

[disneydreamer781]

I couldn't help but notice when Moana was thrown out there for AK, you could hear (crickets) Talk about a lead !

 

[DisSurfer878]

I would have to convince my wife first. She has no interest paying that much for a trip that only our child will most likely enjoy.

I mean a lot of people take their kids to Sesame Place but I doubt 30+ year old adults are having the time of their life. As a parent, you do things because it makes your kid happy.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I would have to convince my wife first. She has no interest paying that much for a trip that only our child will most likely enjoy.

You enjoy it different with kids than when going with out kids. Hard to not enjoy seeing them in the parks.

 

[starlite_]

Folks are heartbroken about "lack of announcements"??? Gosh I wish I had zero life problems to worry about like that. Talk about first world problems.

 

[1lilspark]

I'm very glad that HEA is coming back, I just hope the updates don't mess it up.

Now we just need to figure out what they're going to take out and what they're going to put in (Encanto for sure)...

It's not exactly coming back. The song will be part of a new show.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1569016752771825666

It most likely will be happily ever after 2.0 with Main Street projections, ip introduced between 2017-now and we don’t talk about Bruno added in

What about DISNEYWORLD!!??

This tweeted quote was in regards to mando… it’s cause of the immersion with Star cruiser as if they can’t just move chewie out of launch bay since he already roams SWGE and put mando or other Disney + characters there

I wonder if the Magic Kingdom will get anything for the 100th anniversary. Maybe they didn't announce anything to not step on the 50th celebration still happening? The dreamer in me was really hoping for the electrical parade to come to MK since it just got done at Disneyland.

Happily ever after 2.0 & new Epcot show…

 

[Jrb1979]

You enjoy it different with kids than when going with out kids. Hard to not enjoy seeing them in the parks.

It's why we compromise and go to places like Cedar Point. They have rides for her and rides we enjoy. Since she isn't into any characters yet its not a big deal. If she gets into Disney characters then things will change.

 

[Jrb1979]

Folks are heartbroken about "lack of announcements"??? Gosh I wish I had zero life problems to worry about like that. Talk about first world problems.

I'm not heartbroken but more disappointed. I wanted to see something that gave me hope that maybe they will go back to what they on e were. Today was the day to show that they are not taking Epic Universe seriously. I say that due to how long they take to build new attractions. Today they showed their hand. There is no reason for not having any new attractions coming. Their competition is adding new stuff. One is adding a whole new park and the other is adding another major coaster. The best you can do is replacing 2 night time shows.

 

[disneydreamer781]

When Josh spoke about the character that is exclusive to Epcot, I thought for one split second they were going to FINALLY refurb Journey Into Imagination. I love to see Figment in the park although this probably won't include Dreamfinder I'm sure but this ride not getting a reno was another letdown.

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

Folks are heartbroken about "lack of announcements"??? Gosh I wish I had zero life problems to worry about like that. Talk about first world problems.

I don't think heartbroken is the right word. I think it was jarring as this was SO different than previous park panels. In 2017, more than an hour into the panel, for several minutes, DL gets one big announcement after another. The crowd was going crazy. For example, they announced the return of two parades for DL that year in less than one minute of the total content.

It's possible they want to go to announcing things quarterly or something to help with stock prices rather than do it all at once in bulk at D23. Sharing too soon may also cause disappointment when things like the Main Street theater WDW was suppose to get, are scrapped.

If they want to change the schedule of news, doing it more spread out that's perfectly fine but they could share their plans of how and when they will release more news.

 

[disney-inspired]

I'm not heartbroken but more disappointed. I wanted to see something that gave me hope that maybe they will go back to what they on e were. Today was the day to show that they are not taking Epic Universe seriously. I say that due to how long they take to build new attractions. Today they showed their hand. There is no reason for not having any new attractions coming. Their competition is adding new stuff. One is adding a whole new park and the other is adding another major coaster. The best you can do is replacing 2 night time shows.

As someone who just got back from several days at Universal and IOA, I can see why they don't see them as a threat.

In USO, there is ONE coaster running. Their other coaster, The Mummy was closed and has been closed all summer but it's not even a new ride. The other 'rides' they have that are 'newer' - and I'm saying that to differentiate from ET (which looks SO rough, needs an overhaul) - have the exact same ride mechanics and aren't really rides but motion simulators.

Motion Simulator rides:
- Race Through New York
- Despicable Me
- Transformers
- Amazing adventures of Spider-man
- Simpsons ride
- Fast & Furious - a complete joke and can't believe they spent the money to make that attraction where all you see is screens and the bus jostles you a bit
- Kong: Skull Island - see Fast & Furious

In IOA of they have 5 thrill rides - Hulk, Velocicoaster, Flight of the Hippogriff, Hagrid's Magical Creatures and Doctor Doom's Freefall.
The saving grace for both parks has been the WWOHP. Both areas are great! I rode Forbidden Journey and Gringotts multiple times. I didn't ride Hagrid's but also a big draw for people. The Hogwarts express worked on our first day and was shut down for the rest of the week - no explanation and they didn't alert people so I read many unhappy people who had bought 1 day park to park tickets and found out the only thing that made them buy park to park tickets was closed. The guest service was on a completely lower level compared to the experiences I have had at WDW. The team members were not helpful and looked like they were annoyed to have to help us.

I really don't understand how people spend more than 2 days at USO/IOA. Disney blows them out of the water for attractions (merely in the sheer number of them), entertainment and food. Most of the food I had at USO was pretty bad. I'm not saying WDW has gourmet counter service but there is a lot of variety.

Maybe when Epic Universe comes along things will feel different but I felt I did not get my money's worth between the two parks. I could probably write an essay on the difference in quality between USO and WDW but this post has already gone on long enough but let me just end with this - USO should have worked on upgrading/updating their current parks before expanding. So many things have been left untouched without upkeep and look so bad throughout both parks.

 

[starlite_]

I'm not heartbroken but more disappointed. I wanted to see something that gave me hope that maybe they will go back to what they on e were. Today was the day to show that they are not taking Epic Universe seriously. I say that due to how long they take to build new attractions. Today they showed their hand. There is no reason for not having any new attractions coming. Their competition is adding new stuff. One is adding a whole new park and the other is adding another major coaster. The best you can do is replacing 2 night time shows.

I don't think heartbroken is the right word. ......

I mentioned "heartbroken" because someone on the thread used the word, can't recall who, which is like ridiculous imo for soo many reasons but regardless.

I don't understand why not having an announcement today means they aren't taking it seriously. If it were me, why would I give dozens of announcements today to combat Epic? It doesn't open until when? 2025? No one is planning those vacations right now. If it were me I would wait until next D23 in 2024 or max in Destination in 2023 so that the 2025 big planners have actual recent hype to prefer to go see the new things in Disney instead of going to Epic.
Like, with the attention span folks have these days, by the time 2025 vacations are being planned, whatever announcement could have been made today was gonna be "old" news. It doesn't sound smart to me.

 

[Jrb1979]

I mentioned "heartbroken" because someone on the thread used the word, can't recall who, which is like ridiculous imo for soo many reasons but regardless.

I don't understand why not having an announcement today means they aren't taking it seriously. If it were me, why would I give dozens of announcements today to combat Epic? It doesn't open until when? 2025? No one is planning those vacations right now. If it were me I would wait until next D23 in 2024 or max in Destination in 2023 so that the 2025 big planners have actual recent hype to prefer to go see the new things in Disney instead of going to Epic.
Like, with the attention span folks have these days, by the time 2025 vacations are being planned, whatever announcement could have been made today was gonna be "old" news. It doesn't sound smart to me.

I get that argument and it does makes sense. When you look at how long it takes for them to build new attractions it doesn't make sense to wait a year to announce new attractions. Odds are anything announced next year wouldn't be finished til well after Epic Universe opens. Look at Tron and how long that's taken to get done.

The only thing I can think of is maybe they figure people will check out Epic Universe anyways. Wait til the hype dies down and announce something major to draw them back.

To add to that here's a quote from another poster who knows a lot of inside stuff on Disney.

"Making a 2025 opening would require the design phases for a major ride to be completed within a couple of months from now. A design and
construction schedule far more aggressive than TRON’s original schedule where the design was already determined."

 

[starlite_]

I get that argument and it does makes sense. When you look at how long it takes for them to build new attractions it doesn't make sense to wait a year to announce new attractions. Odds are anything announced next year wouldn't be finished til well after Epic Universe opens. Look at Tron and how long that's taken to get done.

The only thing I can think of is maybe they figure people will check out Epic Universe anyways. Wait til the hype dies down and announce something major to draw them back.

To add to that here's a quote from another poster who knows a lot of inside stuff on Disney.

"Making a 2025 opening would require the design phases for a major ride to be completed within a couple of months from now. A design and
construction schedule far more aggressive than TRON’s original schedule where the design was already determined."

And I repeat, we don't know that they aren't hoping to do that. Why would they announce something if they aren't sure they will have it on time? What bothers me is the assumption that they are sitting on their hands just because they didn't announce anything now. Like, sorry to say but they don't owe us telling us all their plans at D23. And about Tron, I don't think it's fair to judge on that account considering all that has happened the past 3 years. It's not "normal" circumstances.

Your idea of drawing back ppl makes sense as well, specially considering that they aren't having any trouble filling WDW to the brim. Maybe they want the reprieve a little. We cannot know.

 

[Jrb1979]

And I repeat, we don't know that they aren't hoping to do that. Why would they announce something if they aren't sure they will have it on time? What bothers me is the assumption that they are sitting on their hands just because they didn't announce anything now. Like, sorry to say but they don't owe us telling us all their plans at D23. And about Tron, I don't think it's fair to judge on that account considering all that has happened the past 3 years. It's not "normal" circumstances.

Your idea of drawing back ppl makes sense as well, specially considering that they aren't having any trouble filling WDW to the brim. Maybe they want the reprieve a little. We cannot know.

I disagree about Tron. I know what happened the 3 years had an impact but it had an impact on all parks. Yet Universal had no issue building a new coaster in much shorter time.

I don't think they are sitting on their hands. Some of those blue sky announcements might happen and shows they are planning new stuff all the time. After Tron there isn't much coming for a few years. If there was they would have announced it today. At the earliest you're looking at next year for any new announcements. They typically don't announce major additions outside of D23 or Destination Disney. IMO you're looking at 2026 or later at best for anything major coming.

 

[Gusey]

There is a thread dedicated to D23 News & Rumours here if you want move a thread dedicated to what was announced. The first page has a full list of what was announced and what was rumoured : https://www.disboards.com/threads/d23-2022-news-rumours.3887171/

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Good Monday Morning, Everyone!

May your day be filled with unexpected Pixie Dust and hopeful dreams coming true!