Mt Fuji Rumor is back

[MJMcBride]

http://www.mouseextra.com/2007/11/2...-the-world-showcases-first-e-ticket/#comments

What do we think about this rumor or any other e-ticket coming to World Showcase?

 

[KYMickey]

I personally don't think it's ever going to happen! There are several reasons I don't think it's going to happen the least of which is money.

First off IMHO WS is not the place to put E-attraction. World Showcase is very different from the rest of Disney in that it informs as much as entertains. Putting a major attraction there would distract from this goal. I do believe some new countries may be built your guess here sometime in the near future. Also WS opens later in the day and with the cost incurred to build an attraction like Mount Fuji it would need to be open the maximum amount of time. Maybe if an attraction was built at Canada or Mexico that could be opened early without opening all of world showcase but Japan is in the middle and thus all of WS would have to be opened early!

Secondly I believe the more emphasis will be put on completing AK and rebuilding existing rides (ie. Space Mountain and Test Track) and those projects will require considerable resources both financial and personnel wise.

And for a 3rd point the work that is going to occur at DL for California Adventure will also consume considerable resources.

We can all hope that Mount Fuji will occur but realistically I believe there are many other projects that will occur first and probably are better for both Disney and the majority of visitors.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

http://www.mouseextra.com/2007/11/2...-the-world-showcases-first-e-ticket/#comments

What do we think about this rumor or any other e-ticket coming to World Showcase?

Given what Expedition Everest has done to boost attendance at Disney's Animal Kingdom, I can imagine that WDW management would like a roller coaster at Epcot -- the only WDW theme park without a roaster coaster (unless you count Test Track as a roller coaster).

However, the credibility of this particular rumor suffers greatly due to the following paragraph (originally at The Disney Reporter and then quoted at Mouse Extra):

It has not ‘officially’ received the green-light but is considered a shoe-in to do so as Mitsukoshi has offered to put up money, as they have the past few years for the great redos of their department store and dining facilities at EPCOT.​

It makes no sense that "Mitsukoshi has offered to put up money" (which would be in the $100 million ballpark for a major immersive thrill attraction). Sponsors pay sponsorship fees to to gain advertising exposure, consumer goodwill, and favorable reputation. Mitsukoshi operates primarily in Japan, with some additional operations in China and Europe. Mitsukoshi only has one retail/restaurant complex in the entire United States -- the Japan pavilion at Epcot.

Why would Mitsukoshi "put up money" for the thrill ride? It just doesn't make sense. Given that the Mitsukoshi funding is an integral part of the rumor at The Disney Reporter, it makes me wonder if their source really has any idea of what's going on.

Would Mitsukoshi's revenue at Japan pavilion at Epcot jump so dramatically that profits would increase even after accounting for the cost of the ride? Would Mitsukoshi gain so much goodwill from the relatively small number of Japanese tourists at Epcot? If Mitsukoshi really wants to sponsor a Disney "E" ticket thrill ride, would WDW really be a better location than the Tokyo Disneyland resort?

Sure, Mitsukoshi has invested in improvements to their Epcot retail store and restaurants -- but they derive revenue from those operations!

If the rumor had been that a Japan-based, global consumer products company (such as Sony) would be the sponsor, then the story would have seemed more plausible.

 

[adabob]

I think that it sounds cool

But i dont know we will haave to see what happens. I think what Disney chooses will be for the best.

 

[KYMickey]

But i dont know we will haave to see what happens. I think what Disney chooses will be for the best.

My my, we must be having a good day to believe the Disney will actually do the best thing for its customers! The only thing they will do the best for is the bottom line.

 

[DOOM1001]

I'm a rollercoaster nut so i would be all for it,however it would have to be tucked away somewhere in the back of the pavillion as I wouldn't want the current atmosphere when you're at World Showcase to be disrupted.

 

[GreyStr0ke]

In order to build a an E-Ticket ride in Japan, They would have to utilize the plot of land behind Japan, The American Adventure and Italy. That would be the only place where they would even come close to having enough room to buil a ride of that magnitude. Which in turn would mean that it would quite clearly disrupt the scenery of most of if not all of the other countries. Being that the plot of land is mainly behind The American Adventure, which is located in the center of World Showcase, I think that it would be viewed as the centerpiece of Epcot rather then Spaceship Earth.

 

[daannzzz]

"E" ticket does not mean it has to be some huge, gigantic thrill ride, coaster, drop tower, fast, scary thing. It could be one or part or none of those. Next door is a great "E" ticket called the American Adventure.
Take a look at the photo in the post above. The building at the back of the Japan pavilion couls be covered with a.... mountain perhaps and a coaster (if so desired) coudl be designed to fit in the building and some of the mountain. Then again they could put in an "E" ticket theater presentation with AA's (not that Disney would do this now) and some new unkown spectacular effects. But a mountain could be erected on top the building just for show. Or perhapd a large replication of Godilla.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

"E" ticket does not mean it has to be some huge, gigantic thrill ride, coaster, drop tower, fast, scary thing. It could be one or part or none of those. Next door is a great "E" ticket called the American Adventure.

True. But in the context of this Mt. Fuji rumor (and in the context of Epcot "needing" a roller coaster), "E" ticket would mean a major thrill ride.

Take a look at the photo in the post above. The building at the back of the Japan pavilion couls be covered with a.... mountain perhaps and a coaster (if so desired) coudl be designed to fit in the building and some of the mountain. Then again they could put in an "E" ticket theater presentation with AA's (not that Disney would do this now) and some new unkown spectacular effects. But a mountain could be erected on top the building just for show. Or perhapd a large replication of Godilla.

The building at the back of the Japan pavilion was built to house a relatively small revolving theater show, Meet the World (which was never installed at Epcot). Its footprint is too small for a thrill ride, even a small ride like Goofy's Barnstormer.

However, the existing building could hold the pre-show/queue, and perhaps even the load area for a thrill ride. The actual ride building (presumably resembling Mt. Fuji) could be directly behind the existing building, directly in line with the Japan pavilion. The ride building footprint would be similar to Space Mountain at Disneyland -- not nearly as large as GreyStr0ke is suggesting. It would need to straddle over the water management channel, but that's not a big deal (see Beach Club Villas).

Also, by being a little further away, you gain two benefits: The illusion of a larger mountain when viewed from the front of the Japan pavilion, and being far enough away to be hidden from Morocco and the American Adventure.

In summary, I think Mt. Fuji is doable -- but that doesn't mean I think it's a good idea, nor does is mean that I now believe this rumor.

 

[daannzzz]

From reading these rumors on different sites it sounded like there would be something big built behind Japan and that it may or may not be a mountain and that the mountain may or may not contain a rollercoaster. Seems pretty vage to me though I also read that there would be an E ticket.
If you look at a bit larger overhead view you can see that the main part of the Rock'nRoller coaster building is about the same size as the building at the back of Japan. If they added space above (including a mountain and another building to the side (perhaps behind Morroco) they could fit in a fair sized thrill coaster. Yes the track wold be convoluted (which can be fun). I don't hink (and certainly hope) Disney does not build some giant exposed hyper coaster back behind Epcot with the final 15 seconds going inside a mountain that is built to block the view of the coaster structure.

 

[minnie61650]

I have also been reading rumors that something "big" is going to be built behind/or on top of the Meet the World building Japan.

The Meet the World building is the rectangle building just behind the towers. Mt. Fiji in the artwork rests upon that building.

I am hoping that whatever form this rumor takes that it will have a new attraction with it and not just be a facade.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[adabob]

My my, we must be having a good day to believe the Disney will actually do the best thing for its customers! The only thing they will do the best for is the bottom line.

I didnt mean that for the people i meant more for the bottom line for better attendence

 

[Uncleromulus]

Dreams are a Wish your Heart Makes.
Now who said that??
Anyway, doubt this will come to pass (if at all) anytime in the foreseeable future.
Will say tho that World Showcase could use something new---

 

[daber]

I remember hearing or reading something a long while ago that the Mt. Fuji idea was scrapped because of some people holding Mt Fuji sacred and Disney not wanting to offend those beliefs. But I could be wrong.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Of course when it's built nobody will be able to ride it until 11:00--. Imagine the rush when the World Showcase ropes drop.
STAMPEDE!!!!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Of course when it's built nobody will be able to ride it until 11:00--. Imagine the rush when the World Showcase ropes drop.
STAMPEDE!!!!

Although I don't like the idea of a big thrill ride on the far side of World Showcase Lagoon, chances are that such a ride would lead to an earlier opening of World Showcase.

I remember when all of Epcot opened at the same time. World Showcase would be largely empty for the first two hours because guests tended to stay in Future World for the first few hours. There just wasn't anything at World Showcase that would motivate guests to head to the far side of World Showcase right away.

A big-draw, high-capacity thrill attraction in Japan (or Italy) would change the guest patterns at Epcot. Many guests would immediately head for such an attraction, after which they would stay in World Showcase for a while.

Epcot would be able to handle more guests per day, which would be a good thing because of all the new hotel room capacity (AKV, Western Beltway, Four Seasons, Bonnet Creek hotels and timeshares, off-site) that will put more of a strain on the Disney parks.

 

[Uncleromulus]

You're probably right--they would be hard put to keep the 11:00 opening time.
We always used to head straight FOR World Showcase when Epcot used to open all at once. We did the few rides there and the American Pavillion show...a bit of shoppng also in Germany and that movie in France.
Then, when the other crowd started heading TO World Showcase, we were heading back into a relatively light crowd for Horizons, Spaceship Earth, etc.

 

[adabob]

I have also been reading rumors that something "big" is going to be built behind/or on top of the Meet the World building Japan.

The Meet the World building is the rectangle building just behind the towers. Mt. Fiji in the artwork rests upon that building.

I am hoping that whatever form this rumor takes that it will have a new attraction with it and not just be a facade.

Just my 2 cents.

Where did u get this cool picture????

 

[mitros]

And another old WS rumor once again re-rears it's {ugly} {noisy} {not fit for WS} head.........

 

[KYMickey]

The costs to open World Showcase 2 hours earlier would be astronomical when you look at the amount of staff hours that would be required this. I believe that cost plus the cost of building the new ride means it isn't going to happen! Also if you look at the unused (or underutilized) buildings in Future World the option of putting a new ride they're certainly looks more economical, which is what Disney is all about these days.

If anything is built in WS it'll probably be another country are two which would be more in keeping with the purpose of WS.