My Daughter is So Disappointed

[hellotim]

We are huge fans of Disney and WDW. We visited in August for the third time. My daughters are 16 and 11. This year they wanted to do the big coasters at Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens. Whilst these parks don't have the same style as the Diseny parks we had to admit that they are more attractive to teens who just want some exitement. Even my 11 year old found the Disney rides tame. On the last 2 days they wanted to go back and do the coasters again instead of the usual trip back to MK.

Ever since getting back we have been awaiting the news from D23. We crossed our fingers that AK, HS and EFCOT would get some coasters. Afterall Universal gets Harry Potter next year. Surley Disney would bring out the big guns!

When I told my daughters that the only announcement was a new star tours and an exansion of fantasy land for the under 10's they couldn't hold back their sadness. Next time we visit I am not sure that I can justify the price of Disney tickets with the lack of stuff for teenagers. I think overall that Disney are overlooking a huge market.

What do you guys think of the announcements? Are you disappointed or exited?

 

[AlienBrain]

I posted on the fantasy land thread that I think the Princess themed stuff they are doing there is not a smart move in my opinion. The reason is because Disney is going to go further into the "girly" direction. Ever since getting rid of Mr. Toad, I think that Fantasy Land has been going in the wrong direction (except for Philharmagic ... love that).

Anyway, I share your sentiments. But I can also tell you that when they get older, they will prefere Disney again. It happened to me too. Up to the age of about 13 I loved Disney more than Universal. Hated going to Universal. From 13 to 21 I loved Universal, Busch Gardens, and Six Flags. But I didn't really care for Disney. Ever since 21 I have loved Disney more than Universal. I don't really like going to Universal or any roller coaster parks much any more. I prefer "attractions" over "rides." Funny how you change with age.

But anyway, I think that the fantasy land expansion seems a little too girly for me. Disney should have done SOMETHING for the boys if the expansion is that large.

 

[hellotim]

I totally agree with your view on this. Fantasy land is clearly themed for younger girls. I think the biggest issue is that the bulk of the build will create some meet and greets and more places to eat. I do think that MK needs some better quality food outlets similar to crystal palace but to do all that work and only create one new ride! Looking at the concept art it looks like its going to be similar to Nemo and Friends at EPCOT. I think the other disappointment is the time scales. Nothing starts until next year. Lets hope that Disney have some more announcements up their sleeves. AK and HS really need something new.

 

[OrlandoMike]

When I told my daughters that the only announcement was a new star tours and an exansion of fantasy land for the under 10's they couldn't hold back their sadness. Next time we visit I am not sure that I can justify the price of Disney tickets with the lack of stuff for teenagers. I think overall that Disney are overlooking a huge market.

Ever consider a vacation at Cedar Point?

 

[hellotim]

Ever consider a vacation at Cedar Point?

So what is cedar point and where is it?

 

[lugnut33]

OK, so lets say every single ride in fantasyland is geared towards little girls. Let's take a look at the rest of the park:

Adventureland:
Boy related rides are, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Aladdin, and Swiss Family. I'm not sure what gender Tiki is related to. Can't forget about the new Pirates Tutorial show and the Pirates makeover which are both boy related.

Frontierland:
Boy related rides are, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and Tom Sawyer Island. Not sure what gender Country Bear Jamboree is related to.

Liberty Square:
I'm not sure anything here is boy or girl related, but I suppose Haunted Mansion is. Otherwise you've got the Riverboat and Hall of Presidents which I don't consider girlie stuff.

Tomorrowland:
Boy related rides are, Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, and Monsters. I'd consider the TTA and Carousel of Progress to be gender neutral.

Heck with it, we really should look at Fantasyland just for the fun of it. Gender neutral rides would be Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Philharmagic, Dumbo, Teacups, and Winnie The Pooh.

If you really look at the overall park I think you'd find it not as slanted towards girls as you think it is. I actually believe part of the problem is unless it is a wild thrashing ride some people consider it girlie, when in fact it's kid oriented.

 

[marius97]

So what is cedar point and where is it?

OMG!!! "What is Cedar Point?" Being from Ohio, my eyes hurt reading that. Cedar Point is only the world capital for thrill rides. Nothing in the world can come close to touching the number and scale of thrill rides that Cedar Point has. Granted, Cedar Point doesn't theme there rides like WDW or Universal does, but CP's thrill rides are what most teens would be looking for. Check them out at cedarpoint.com. CP is located in Sandusky Ohio right on Lake Erie about an hour East of Toledo.

 

[AlienBrain]

OK, so lets say every single ride in fantasyland is geared towards little girls. Let's take a look at the rest of the park:

Adventureland:
Boy related rides are, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Aladdin, and Swiss Family. I'm not sure what gender Tiki is related to. Can't forget about the new Pirates Tutorial show and the Pirates makeover which are both boy related.

Frontierland:
Boy related rides are, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and Tom Sawyer Island. Not sure what gender Country Bear Jamboree is related to.

Liberty Square:
I'm not sure anything here is boy or girl related, but I suppose Haunted Mansion is. Otherwise you've got the Riverboat and Hall of Presidents which I don't consider girlie stuff.

Tomorrowland:
Boy related rides are, Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, and Monsters. I'd consider the TTA and Carousel of Progress to be gender neutral.

Heck with it, we really should look at Fantasyland just for the fun of it. Gender neutral rides would be Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Philharmagic, Dumbo, Teacups, and Winnie The Pooh.

If you really look at the overall park I think you'd find it not as slanted towards girls as you think it is. I actually believe part of the problem is unless it is a wild thrashing ride some people consider it girlie, when in fact it's kid oriented.

I see where you are coming from. I looked through your post and bolded everything I think is gender neutral. You left out feminine attractions such as the Bibiddi Bobbidi Boutique (don't know if I spelled it correct).

My problem is that, not until recently, Disney didn't have any boy-specific stuff in MK. Now with the Pirate thing, they have satisfied it.

Don't get me wrong. I love going to MK. It's my favorite park. I'm not complaining. What I am suggesting is that they could be making a mistake by doing the whole Princess thing. I will still be going. But families with all boys may not go in that area.

Name one area of MK that a family of all girls wouldn't go to. I already know the answer to that questions: none. The reason being I grew up in a family of all girls. And we went to all the areas.

I just think that everything at Disney was gender neutral and the Princess thing will be a more feminine attraction. I am questioning why they are doing Princesses when they have so many other movies/cartoons to choose from.

And I don't mistake kiddie rides for girly rides. I love going on Snow White, etc. I am just bitter that Disney got rid of Mr. Toad and will now be adding Princesses.

UPDATE: Scratch what I said. It's seeming like they will be incorporating areas for villians as well. So that is, I guess, boy themed. I have no qualms with it anymore. Specifically, I have heard about a tavern themed after the tavern in Beauty & The Beast where Gaston hangs out, decorated with deer antlers, etc.

 

[lugnut33]

Gaston's Tavern (I have a feeling they won't use that name) sounds so awesome. I just hope they have sing-alongs of the "Gaston" song from Beauty and the Beast, with the beer and spitting included.

 

[Chellymouse]

Ever consider a vacation at Cedar Point?

We live an hour away from Cedar Point! If anyone wants to travel to Sandusky OH, it's WELL WORTH THE TRIP!! 17 roller coasters and nearly half of them have been recent record breakers (in the last 10 years anyway) You won't find a better coaster park in the continental US!

 

[Dervis]

As a 20 year old male, I can deffidently say that MK needs some more dude friendly attractions. Even back when I was 11, I remember thinking that MK was pretty lame. It isn't that Frontierland and Tommorwland aren't cool, it's just that all of the "dude" attractions MK has to offer are reletively lame with the exception of Space Mountain....and even thats about a 4 on the thrill o meter. Disney just needs something more "extreme" in MK to get boys, tweens, and guys in general to be excited to go to MK.

Don't get me wrong, I love Magic Kingdom and no trip to Disney would be complete with out being there...but thats all I really care about. Being there.

 

[hellotim]

OMG!!! "What is Cedar Point?" Being from Ohio, my eyes hurt reading that. Cedar Point is only the world capital for thrill rides. Nothing in the world can come close to touching the number and scale of thrill rides that Cedar Point has. Granted, Cedar Point doesn't theme there rides like WDW or Universal does, but CP's thrill rides are what most teens would be looking for. Check them out at cedarpoint.com. CP is located in Sandusky Ohio right on Lake Erie about an hour East of Toledo.

OK, I live in the UK and the states is a big place right? Anyhoo just googled cedar point and wow scary man. Looks awesome.

 

[DC7800]

Whilst these parks don't have the same style as the Diseny parks we had to admit that they are more attractive to teens who just want some exitement. Even my 11 year old found the Disney rides tame.

The idea that teens prefer thrill rides (coasters) over classic Disney (omnimover, etc.) experiences is, at best, a stereotype. While many teens do want a greater level of physical thrills from attractions than they did as a child, that isn't true of every teen, nor to the same degree in every young person. Many still enjoy the story and "theming" of Disney attractions, facets not found in "decorated" coasters at parks such as Six Flags. No matter how wild the ride or how appealing that factor is to the individual, even many thrill-seeking teens can still appreciate the presentation aspects of a Disney attraction.

Regardless, by definition teens don't remain teens for very long. Maybe six years ago, your daughters likely loved most everything about Fantasyland. In six or so years from now, your oldest daughter could conceivably return to Walt Disney World with her own daughter, with far different priorities for what types of attraction they are looking for. Certainly you may all enjoy coasters for the next several decades at least, but as time passes they may hold less appeal. For these and other reasons, the teen market is one Disney would be well advised to leave to Universal.

Again, that doesn't mean that Disney attractions won't hold much appeal to teenagers - just the opposite. Disney attractions are supposed to appeal to all age groups ("an amusement enterprise where the parents and the children could have fun together" - Walt Disney), and while that means some rides will be more interesting to kids, or teens, or adults, all experiences should be accessible to and enjoyable by everyone. To that end, consider who Disney's "audience" is. There are far more young children, seniors, and adults who aren't interested in typical amusement park rides ("thrill rides") than found in most parks. At the same time, most teens aren't vacationing alone - they are with their family of adult parents (sometimes grandparents) and younger siblings, which definitely shapes what types of attractions Disney should be building. Epcot, in particular, is often attractive to adults and seniors without children along; The parks core audience was attracted to the sedate omnimover attractions of the original Future World. Thrill rides - including roller coasters - don't belong in Epcot (note the many failures of Mission Space).

Now, that said, there are some serious problems with the Fantasyland announcements. If Disney attractions are indeed to hold broad appeal (your teens, my senior parents, young kids, and us adults) something more than Mermaid is required. The other parks need new attractions also, again with wide appeal, but that in no way precludes minor thrill elements (Maelstrom) or kid interests (Toy Story characters in Mania) in select attractions.

 

[skier_pete]

Sorry, Disney has a basic policy of those looking for thrills look elsewhere...think about the most thrilling ride there - perhaps RnRC? What's that one, about a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10? Maybe the orange Mission:Space is a 7.

Disney is marketing to families, age 1 to 101...in doing so, they tend to leave out the teens, though not all teens mind. My sister and BIL have a 20 year old son...they still take him to Disney once a year. They might spend a day at Uni, but he loves Disney. Disney wants rides you can take your child and grandma on. For every thrill junkie out there, there are 5 ride chickens. If you thrills, Disney basically says feel free to vacation elsewhere.

I personally don't think Universal has ALL that much to appeal to a true thrill junkie...but definitely is aimed at the teen. The way I view it this is when parks are most popular.

0-12 years old - Disney
12-25 years old - Universal
25-100 years old - Disney

Looks like Disney's got 87 % of the market.

BTW, for those that haven't heard of it, Cedar Point is a perfect spot for the hard-core thrill ride junkie, though I advise not showing up on a weekend....they may have 17 coasters, but the lines are typically 1-2 hours each, and you will be lucky to ride 5 of them on a summer Saturday. It's about 4 hours away for us, but don't go because my 6 year old would not go near those rides even if she were

SkierPete

 

[Chopair1]

As a 20 year old male, I can deffidently say that MK needs some more dude friendly attractions. Even back when I was 11, I remember thinking that MK was pretty lame. It isn't that Frontierland and Tommorwland aren't cool, it's just that all of the "dude" attractions MK has to offer are reletively lame with the exception of Space Mountain....and even thats about a 4 on the thrill o meter. Disney just needs something more "extreme" in MK to get boys, tweens, and guys in general to be excited to go to MK.

Don't get me wrong, I love Magic Kingdom and no trip to Disney would be complete with out being there...but thats all I really care about. Being there.

Dude freindly rides............ Is that like the two blonds on a waterbed ride.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I love the plans and I'm a few months from 30! lol

I'm sorry your daughter isn't excited, maybe the rides will be cooler than you're thinking? The reno of 20k Leagues has potential to be awesome if well done, albeit not a thrill ride.

Remember, Space Mt. is being reno'd and I have high hopes for it.

As far as Disney's plans, this is what I tell the kids- you get what you get, and you don't get upset.

You can always do Disney AND Universal, it doesn't have to be either or.

 

[Budshark]

I personally don't understand some of the complaints.

First off - the saying we use is :You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

They have only removed Mickey and Minnie from Fantasy/Toon Town. Everything else is IN ADDITION. Now, with that said - Disney never has and never will be about rides. Imagine walking through/around the castle and you see Belle's castle on a hill - Ariels castle, Belle's village, Aurora's castle, in the background you see a carnival with a huge tent and a roller coaster.

What is more Disney than that? If people were waiting for a death defying 60' plummet from the top of Cinderellas castle into a lagoon and into an inverted swoop... well... you obviously haven't been watching Disney very closely.

I am sorry you are disappointed. Luckily there are roller coaster parks. Disney just isn't, and hopefully never will be, one of them. As the previous poster said, enjoy all the parks. I'm certain when Harry Potter opens and people spend some time there, they'll say its nice, fun to visit, but lacks that Disney Magic. And when the new FantasyLand opens, they'll say its nice, has that Disney Magic, but lacks a big roller coaster... Well... You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!

Just my opinion.

Chris

 

[Condorman]

I personally don't understand some of the complaints.

First off - the saying we use is :You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

They have only removed Mickey and Minnie from Fantasy/Toon Town. Everything else is IN ADDITION. Now, with that said - Disney never has and never will be about rides. Imagine walking through/around the castle and you see Belle's castle on a hill - Ariels castle, Belle's village, Aurora's castle, in the background you see a carnival with a huge tent and a roller coaster.

What is more Disney than that? If people were waiting for a death defying 60' plummet from the top of Cinderellas castle into a lagoon and into an inverted swoop... well... you obviously haven't been watching Disney very closely.

I am sorry you are disappointed. Luckily there are roller coaster parks. Disney just isn't, and hopefully never will be, one of them. As the previous poster said, enjoy all the parks. I'm certain when Harry Potter opens and people spend some time there, they'll say its nice, fun to visit, but lacks that Disney Magic. And when the new FantasyLand opens, they'll say its nice, has that Disney Magic, but lacks a big roller coaster... Well... You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!

Just my opinion.

Chris

Well said, Chris. Well said.

 

[skier_pete]

Re: Budshark

As I like to say: Nail...meet head.

SkierPete

 

[lugnut33]

Hey condorman, where's your friend mouseaholic?