Have Disney Execs fallen in love with the cutesy little boat rides?

[Pacolovestacos]

Kind of a spin off thread but with the recent launch of Frozen and now Navi River Journey, the cutesy little boat ride seems to be becoming a thing. Anyone else thinking the same?

 

[Westcoastwild]

Ahahaha. I wondered if you'd make a spinoff.

The thing is they've always played a huge part in the park because they're family friendly. Small world. Storybook. Pirates. Jungle cruise. If it isn't a boat ride, its omnimover because it's the same thing. Really young kids can ride it. Old people can enjoy it. Not physically taxing. Disney is not really into the thrill ride thing.

Maelstrom and Avatar are a bit different. I'd argue that Frozen Ea was specifically designed to be crammed into that space, and boat ride was an easy makeover. It's a little odd they included one in Avatar but maybe it was just a way to put a ride of its type into the land- which is all about nature.

 

[Accident]

have they ever not been in love with them since they invented the system for small world at the worlds fair? It is a very safe for just about anyone ride (if you keep your hands out of the water). shanghai's pirates doesn't seem like a cutesy boat ride... HS doesn't have one and it doesnt' seem like one is coming for it so I don't feel they overuse it. epcot had 2 of them since the start so really the use of boats kind of died down a little (I have no clue what's at paris, hk, japan to know how much they used, I'd assume seaquest has several though).

I haven't really seen avatar but the parts I did see does seem like a river ride fits.. also I think they scored with the navi ride. I suspect the holding tank might be the water that is all aroudn the public space and might even gravity feed na'vi which is why it doesn't drop so they don't have to pump it more than get it up the floating mountains again.. I was surprised it was the "moving water track" since they seem to really love how the free roaming boats at shanghai work for pirates...

 

[anniemae]

Yup. I don't think Disney is the place for thrill junkies. Sure they have a few thrill rides to satisfy those who crave that, but Disney has always been more about family-friendly nostalgia.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

In the case of FEA, they re-purposed Maelstrom (I suppose already in the "cutesy boat ride" category), so I think that had more to do with cost saving decisions. Yeah, the cutesy boat ride is family friendly and they had to offer the little ones something to do there to draw younger families in, IMHO. There are parts of DHS we didn't even venture into until DS was older and met height requirements. If they had only offered thrill rides in Pandora, they would have been cutting off big revenue streams I would imagine.

 

[Robo]

Kind of a spin off thread but with the recent launch of Frozen and now Navi River Journey, the cutesy little boat ride seems to be becoming a thing. Anyone else thinking the same?

No.

 

[DisneyOma]

Kind of a spin off thread but with the recent launch of Frozen and now Navi River Journey, the cutesy little boat ride seems to be becoming a thing. Anyone else thinking the same?

It's always been part of Disney - do some research.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Well I'm not necessarily saying they need thrill rides. Just how about some creativity when designing new rides? Toy story is neither a thrill ride nor a cutesy boat ride and I love it. Dinosaur is another example. So is Haunted Mansion. I would just like to see some creativity.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

It's always been part of Disney - do some research.

I can do without the condescension, thanks.

 

[yulilin3]

I think you have to consider the theme and what they are trying to convey.
TSMM lends itself because it's toys they are talking about, the carnival/winning a toy theme is perfect for it
HM although it doesn't have a height requirement a lot of families pass it up because some kids may find it scary
Dinosaur has a height requirement so it shouldn't be considered in this discussion
FEA could've easily been a dry ride but they already had the infrastructure there. It would've ended up being like Ariel's ride at MK
NRJ I like that it's a boat ride, it fits perfectly with the story of the land, I don't think they could've made this family ride any other way. Unless it was dry ride but same concept

Like others have pointed out Disney has always had boat/dry family rides to accommodate everyone.

 

[Elle23]

I happen to like cutesy little boat rides.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I happen to like cutesy little boat rides.

I don't hate them but how many do we need?

 

[Jennasis]

It's not becoming a thing. It's ALWAYS been a thing. Boat rides are family/age/height friendly.

 

[Liljo22]

I don't see it. FEA was just an overlay to get a Frozen ride in the park. That was a net zero addition. So you are really talking about one ride. When was the last boat ride the executives you are talking about created? Probably 1982 with the Mexico ride? Splash is a highly themed Fume ride so that would not count.

 

[The10sPro]

Not a huge fan of the "cutesy boat rides", but if I'm with people that want to ride them, then I will. I love WDW and I love thrill rides too, but that's why I also go to Universal, Busch Gardens, Six Flags, etc....

 

[Westcoastwild]

Well I'm not necessarily saying they need thrill rides. Just how about some creativity when designing new rides? Toy story is neither a thrill ride nor a cutesy boat ride and I love it. Dinosaur is another example. So is Haunted Mansion. I would just like to see some creativity.

Dinosaur is basically a (poorly done) rip off of Indy. Haunted mansion is awesome but its ride system is the basic omnimover thing.

The last huge addition was what, mine train maybe? And that's like FEA. Tried and tested ride system with an emphasis on new technology. I am not a Frozen fan, but oven I was impressed by the aminatronics

 

[Allison]

Kind of a spin off thread but with the recent launch of Frozen and now Navi River Journey, the cutesy little boat ride seems to be becoming a thing. Anyone else thinking the same?

No, not at all. The boat rides have always existed and FEA is a repurposing of an existing attraction.

 

[maxiesmom]

Kind of a spin off thread but with the recent launch of Frozen and now Navi River Journey, the cutesy little boat ride seems to be becoming a thing. Anyone else thinking the same?

No.

 

[Farro]

I don't hate them but how many do we need?

More. More boat rides.

 

[fbarker]

Well I'm not necessarily saying they need thrill rides. Just how about some creativity when designing new rides? Toy story is neither a thrill ride nor a cutesy boat ride and I love it. Dinosaur is another example. So is Haunted Mansion. I would just like to see some creativity.

Creativity!! WDW is all about creativity. The boat rides are done with great themes and a minute attention to detail. Please make sure you make the distinction between creativity and thrill.