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

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

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?

With Frozen I think they were in love with 'we can do this on the cheap'. (That's one of the most disappointing rides I have ever been on... it took them how long to produce that thing???!)

Navi is at least more unique.

 

[goofy4tink]

While it's easy to understand that some people want more 'adult' attractions, we need to remember that WDW is all about 'family'. The biggest problem I have at US/IoA or a SixFlags, is that there are few rides/attractions that will appeal to families. Sure, there are thrill rides and there are kiddie rides. But inbetween rides? Nope. Disney does a decent job of including rides that families can enjoy together. Water/boat rides fill a need....and yes, it's a great thing to have a boat ride to just sit and relax on when it's hot/humid outside!!!

 

[Robo]

Cutesy.

 

[Klayfish]

Personally, I love the cute boat rides. I'll sort of straddle the fence here...I like them a lot, but also wouldn't want them completely overdone. There are several of them throughout WDW and I think that's wonderful. I wouldn't want them to disappear, nor would I want all the rides to turn into boat rides. A nice balance is perfect.

I think WDW has a great mix of attractions for all ages, tastes and preferences. Thrill rides, family rides, moderate thrills, shows, etc... I truly hope they don't push more and more toward being a thrill ride park. I am an unapologetic WDW defender, but one thing that would make me change my mind is if they went fully down that path of thrill rides...or superhero type themes.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

I think my son (6 years old) must be a Disney exec! He'll go on any boat ride, anywhere! He loves them - except for Splash Mountain & FEA, because he is scared of the drops. I agree, boat rides are great for families and people of all ages. We plan multiple fast passes for Small World so that my son can ride it as much as possible.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Can't have too many cute boat rides at Disney. It's always been that way.

Personally, I wish they had kept Maelstrom and added a ride for Frozen. I like Frozen EA very much, but I will always miss the trolls, polar bears, and oil rig in Maelstrom.

 

[jedijake]

Valid point and interesting discussion but pirates, FEA, its a small world couldn't be more different. Personally i love them all don't compare attractions on ride systems, Spaceship Earth and HM = Same ride system completely different experiences.

 

[GillianP1301]

The entire reason for Disney parks existing was to build a park that an entire family could enjoy together and the "cutesy boat rides" fit quite well into that category. They are all extremely well themed, so I can't say I agree that they lack creativity and I also don't feel like Small World feels anything at all like Pirates or any other boat ride they have. They are all quite unique.

 

[ajwolfe]

My thrill seeking family loves the boat rides at Disney. We love our coasters and other thrill rides but go to other parks for those. To us Disney is about family fun that we can all do together regardless of who is with us and have the memory of doing those since we started going.

I have to disagree that they aren't creative. Every boat ride is different and unique in it's on way.

 

[CeruleanMoon]

I love these kind of rides too, honestly. The thing about most run-of-the-mill amusement parks is that there is a large focus on thrill rides. It's all about how fast can they flip you, spin you, race you, etc. I just can't tolerate that stuff as much now that I'm older! I love how at Disney I can immerse myself in a theme or a place and enjoy it without worrying about ride heights, ride tolerances, motion sickness, etc. That's what makes Disney special.

 

[TXHauntedMansionFan]

Being the dad of two small girls who enjoy the boat rides and will continue to do so for the next 7-8 years, I am glad that Disney has these rides available. If/when the time comes where they want more thrill rides, I suppose that we'll head to Universal for their coasters/etc.

I think that the boat rides really personify what we look for in a Disney vacation. They are immersive, tell a story and are accessible for the entire family.

 

[Klayfish]

Besides, if they did away with Living with the Land, I'd lose a prime nap spot in Epcot (yes, I know Ellen is a good spot too). I like the ride, I truly do. But something about the very gentle motion of the boat and the very gentle voiceover...I sometimes need to put toothpicks under my eyes to hold them open.

 

[bladiator]

Besides, if they did away with Living with the Land, I'd lose a prime nap spot in Epcot (yes, I know Ellen is a good spot too). I like the ride, I truly do. But something about the very gentle motion of the boat and the very gentle voiceover...I sometimes need to put toothpicks under my eyes to hold them open.

I'm totally with you on this one. Strum that gentle guitar and soothe me with your botanical words!

 

[wareagle57]

I find it hilarious that there are simultaneously threads worrying/commenting that Disney is becoming too much like universal and using screen only based attractions, and also that they are becoming too infatuated with boat rides.

 

[Accident]

Thinking about this thread a little more...

I'm really not sure how adding 1 boat ride in about 20ish years makes it an obsession..

MK has maintained 3 boat rides, they even removed 1 and the last added was more of a moderate thrill with a cute boat ride so not even the same style.
Epcot has only had 3 and still says at 3, repurosing a ride track isn't like they added a boat ride to me.
MGM/HS never had one and still none planned as far as I know.
AK had a new raft ride, not sure I would call it that.. (do we consider the old river boat ride a cutesy boat ride? in that case they had 2 and removed 1).

So really, they have been favoring a lot of other ride systems for decades and only just now did that add a new one which is fitting to the environment.

 

[Bay_Lake_Tower]

The three rides that stand out in my mind at WDW as being the gold standard for Disney rides are (in no particular order) POTC, HM, and Splash. I think ToT also gets an honourable mention for being so well themed.

Those three are all about creativity, story, theming, and with Splash utilizing IP in a way that's far superior to a simple ride through of the movie. I guess my point in regards to "cutesy little boat rides" is that I'm not really concerned with the ride type, what really makes a Disney ride a home run to me is the details. I don't want the focus to be on advanced ride systems and thrills, I want them to push the envelope in terms of story telling and immersing the riders in the world they've created. If a cutesy little boat ride fits in with that, great.

 

[Liljo22]

Thinking about this thread a little more...

I'm really not sure how adding 1 boat ride in about 20ish years makes it an obsession..

MK has maintained 3 boat rides, they even removed 1 and the last added was more of a moderate thrill with a cute boat ride so not even the same style.
Epcot has only had 3 and still says at 3, repurosing a ride track isn't like they added a boat ride to me.
MGM/HS never had one and still none planned as far as I know.
AK had a new raft ride, not sure I would call it that.. (do we consider the old river boat ride a cutesy boat ride? in that case they had 2 and removed 1).

So really, they have been favoring a lot of other ride systems for decades and only just now did that add a new one which is fitting to the environment.

The OP might have made a better case if they claimed Disney has an obsession with omnimovers but that those are people eaters and the more the better. I think a boat ride works best in Pandora especially since they wanted to show the nature side of the planet rather than two technology based rides.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

As long as they don't create a Star Wars boat ride as part of that land, I'm good.

 

[DisneyOma]

I can do without the condescension, thanks.

Condescension? From someone who called some of the most well-themed attractions "cutesy little boat rides" one would think that was condescension. The research I was hoping you would do was based on Walt Disney's original idea for a theme park - create attractions the whole family could enjoy. There's so much stuff out there about his philosophy, hence the point to do some research. If you think the boat ride in Pandora is cutesy, perhaps Universal is more your speed?

 

[Sparkly]

Boat rides are so Disney! It's one of the unique things about the parks that you don't get much in other theme parks and I love them as much as I do ToT, BTM etc.