Fantasyland in Soft Opening-Live Updates NOW

[Suellen]

All I know is it was awesome to see! Loved riding Little Mermaid and even met a dis'er in line!

Happy Birthday Emily!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Think I'll have any chance at seeing this area on my trip 11/12 to 11/17? I arrive too late for AP previews but before official previews on 11/19.

 

[mousermerf]

It's their product, they can limit whomever they want from advance screenings however they choose. It's not manipulative, it's business.

Considering Disney allows sites like TP.com and others (myself included) to operate under what would ordinarily be considered copyright infringement to any other company, they have a right to protect their property, IP, and name. In exchange for the free advertising and promotion that these sites give, Disney gives a little back since it's in both of their best interests.

And there are quite a number of people who are Disney-blessed (again, myself included) who do put up negatives about WDW. I've said I hated hotels, restaurants, rides, etc, but instead of saying "Stitch is terrible" I say "Stitch is a ride I don't like because x, y, z". Yet I still get my invites for WDW events. You can post a negative about Disney, you just can't trash Disney. It's a fair tradeoff since why, with limited time and space, would Disney want to give invites to people who trash their product?

Saying "Stitch is terrible" is an honest and valid assessment. Saying otherwise is really painting a prettier picture for Disney. It has the lowest guest satisfaction ratings of any attraction in the park.

 

[mousermerf]

Think I'll have any chance at seeing this area on my trip 11/12 to 11/17? I arrive too late for AP previews but before official previews on 11/19.

There's no reason not to have it open.

 

[bwang123]

Disney uninvites any website that posts information that's negative - no matter how truthful or fact based. That's manipulative.

The purpose of this type of press is to hype your product. Why are you going to invite anyone that is likely to write negative articles? As long as Disney doesn't force the bloggers write positve articles,there is no issue. This happens in businesses outside of Disney as well. In sports, if a reporter constantly bashes a player, there have been times where the athlete denies interviews with them.

Everyone will have an opportunity to visit and can write whatever they want.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Saying "Stitch is terrible" is an honest and valid assessment. Saying otherwise is really painting a prettier picture for Disney. It has the lowest guest satisfaction ratings of any attraction in the park.

No, saying "Stitch is terrible" is an un-backed opinion which Disney doesn't like. It's negative, it's not informative, and it's an argument, and it's not a review or a commentary. It's simply a statement.

Saying "I do not recommend Stitch because it's dark, loud, will most likely be frightening to young children, and there is an overhead restraint that will prevent you from easily leaving the show with your children if you need to. As an adult traveler, I personally don't like Stitch because I feel the story is lacking, the effects that they use are not Disney's best, and because it was a hasty solution to a problem created with the previous attraction (which was aimed exclusively towards teenagers and adults and featured strong sci-fi elements and a PG-13 storyline) was removed. As a result, I feel like the final product is both too childish and mediocre for adults and too scary and inappropriate for most young children with a presentation and seating that is confusing and overly intimidating (dark, overhead restraints over the chairs like a rollercoaster). For families looking to get a Stitch fix, try looking for him just to the right of Spaceship Earth in EPCOT, at a meet-and-greet in Tomorrowland, or by going to 'Ohana for some one-on-one, special interactions with both Lilo and Stitch, as well as everybody's favorite Mouse. Family-oriented ride alternatives to Stitch can be found in Fantasyland and include Peter Pan, Pooh, and Little Mermaid. I personally enjoy the interactive nature of Phillharmagic, which combines the sensory technology partially used on Stitch with a 3-D show element that has an entertaining story and may be more appropriate for younger audiences... Though parents can easily leave the theater if the show is too loud, dark, or generally frightening for their children."

That is both well thought out, provides options, conveys that the ride isn't good for a multitude of reasons without giving away the details of the ride (a big Disney no-no), and provides explanation and tells people what other places they can visit instead that may be a better fit. Disney has no issues with stuff like that.

 

[mousermerf]

You just admitted you change the way you write to please Disney..

 

[Tropical Wilds]

You just admitted you change the way you write to please Disney..

I'm struggling to see where out of what I wrote I said, implied, or inferred that I changed how I wrote to suit Disney.

 

[natasha423]

Watched the video.. Pretty cool!! Not going to post about it since I dont want to talk about stuff in it and have spoilers..

Where can I find this video?
TIA

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Where can I find this video?
TIA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjqpMOZ3b-M

 

[kaligal]

No, saying "Stitch is terrible" is an un-backed opinion which Disney doesn't like. It's negative, it's not informative, and it's an argument, and it's not a review or a commentary. It's simply a statement.

Saying "I do not recommend Stitch because it's dark, loud, will most likely be frightening to young children, and there is an overhead restraint that will prevent you from easily leaving the show with your children if you need to. As an adult traveler, I personally don't like Stitch because I feel the story is lacking, the effects that they use are not Disney's best, and because it was a hasty solution to a problem created with the previous attraction (which was aimed exclusively towards teenagers and adults and featured strong sci-fi elements and a PG-13 storyline) was removed. As a result, I feel like the final product is both too childish and mediocre for adults and too scary and inappropriate for most young children with a presentation and seating that is confusing and overly intimidating (dark, overhead restraints over the chairs like a rollercoaster). For families looking to get a Stitch fix, try looking for him just to the right of Spaceship Earth in EPCOT, at a meet-and-greet in Tomorrowland, or by going to 'Ohana for some one-on-one, special interactions with both Lilo and Stitch, as well as everybody's favorite Mouse. Family-oriented ride alternatives to Stitch can be found in Fantasyland and include Peter Pan, Pooh, and Little Mermaid. I personally enjoy the interactive nature of Phillharmagic, which combines the sensory technology partially used on Stitch with a 3-D show element that has an entertaining story and may be more appropriate for younger audiences... Though parents can easily leave the theater if the show is too loud, dark, or generally frightening for their children."

That is both well thought out, provides options, conveys that the ride isn't good for a multitude of reasons without giving away the details of the ride (a big Disney no-no), and provides explanation and tells people what other places they can visit instead that may be a better fit. Disney has no issues with stuff like that.

People who do independent reviews don't care what Disney likes and what Disney doesn't like.

People who get disney scoops and free Disney stuff will obviously have to stay in Disney's good graces. Everyone understands that...or should. They're either selling Disney themselves or helping to sell Disney by tempering criticism.

You aren't independent if you're keeping in mind what Disney might not like, lol.

Mousemerf obviously has an axe to grind with WDWmagic, but he has a point here.

 

[pigletto]

Can't wait!!! C'mon February!

 

[Spunky946]

We were watching the video of the ride and I said wouldn't it have been cool to be just wandering around and found it was open and been one of the first to ride? Dh said no, I have not drank the koolaid like you did. Lol.

I can't wait until January

 

[mesaboy2]

When I woke up this morning, I was so hoping I'd get a fascinating back-and-forth on the merits and practices of modern PR campaigns. What a fabulous Friday it's been!

Anything interesting happen in MK today?

 

[smitch425]

When I woke up this morning, I was so hoping I'd get a fascinating back-and-forth on the merits and practices of modern PR campaigns. What a fabulous Friday it's been!

Anything interesting happen in MK today?

 

[momofkids]

Love it!

 

[Pig Pen]

NOOOOO! I just got home from EPCOT! I didn't bring my smart phone to the park so didn't know a thing about this.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

People who do independent reviews don't care what Disney likes and what Disney doesn't like.

People who get disney scoops and free Disney stuff will obviously have to stay in Disney's good graces. Everyone understands that...or should. They're either selling Disney themselves or helping to sell Disney by tempering criticism.

You aren't independent if you're keeping in mind what Disney might not like, lol.

Mousemerf obviously has an axe to grind with WDWmagic, but he has a point here.

Well, I'm independent, I write what I write without regards to what Disney does or doesn't think about it, yet I've been invited to 3 promotional events at WDW, one of which I took them up on. I've written negative things, even about the new FLE, but I've still had invitations extended. When I was part of the study last week, they asked me why I wrote I did or didn't like various things, and I told them, but at no point was I told to only be nice about Disney or say great things. Perhaps it's different for the big sites, which I'm certainly not to the degree they are, but I was told point blank that one of the reasons I and a few of my other fellow bloggers were chosen because we were able to provide constructive feedback which included negative observations.

I think if you're on the scale that some sites are, or perhaps writing with the express goal of getting invites, perhaps things are different. That said, I write what I write and if Disney invites me, fantastic, and if they don't... That's fine too. And so far, I've been invited, more then once, despite saying negative things. I don't write with the goal of being invited, but I won't turn it down if I don't have to.

 

[PEANUT1]

I'm in absolute heaven reading through this thread. I even got a little teary looking at all of the photos

We leave in 18 days...if there are no soft openings while we are there, I am praying I get a reservation to do the DVC preview Nov 4 or 5.

 

[Sammie]

And since you're all sitting safely at home reading this on a computer..

You don't feel the least bit bad for the family who wanted to see new Fantasyland but who is over at Epcot or Studios or Animal Kingdom oblivious to the area being open because these websites - who knew it would be open - didn't post the information?

Not in the least, many will never even see it or Epcot, or Studios or Animal Kingdom.