News Round Up 2016

[TheMaxRebo]

So a couple comments. Saw the ark on Saturday but didn't know it was new. It was very cool.

Muppets: watched the liberty square show today, the Paul Revere one. Very funny. Pretty good size crowd gathered. I'd like to catch another one.

We were back in MK for the end of the day/start of the party. Haven't done it since 2010. Crowds seem crazy big. People were sitting on curb for parade spot at 7:15. All that money to have to spend half your night waiting on the parade.

I honestly thought with the big price increase for the party the crowds would be a bit lower - obviously I was wrong

 

[Iowamomof4]

I honestly thought with the big price increase for the party the crowds would be a bit lower - obviously I was wrong

Actually, if you take a peek at the MNSSHP thread, most folks there are saying the parties have been quite manageable this year. The only one that generated consistent crowding complaints was 9/25 and that has been the only sold-out party that has happened so far. 10/31 has also sold out, but obviously hasn't happened yet.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Actually, if you take a peek at the MNSSHP thread, most folks there are saying the parties have been quite manageable this year. The only one that generated consistent crowding complaints was 9/25 and that has been the only sold-out party that has happened so far. 10/31 has also sold out, but obviously hasn't happened yet.

But does that equate to "manageable"

A $90 ticket for 6 or so hours is a bad value if there are what can be characterized as "moderate to heavy" daytime crowds

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I honestly thought with the big price increase for the party the crowds would be a bit lower - obviously I was wrong

...they drink the sand

 

[Budshark]

But does that equate to "manageable"

A $90 ticket for 6 or so hours is a bad value if there are what can be characterized as "moderate to heavy" daytime crowds

Went 10/2 after skipping last year. Crowds were low. Rides were easy to get on. Saw a couple characters and did lots of pictures (party specific ones). We enjoyed it. Like most things Disney I don't look at the cost. I have an option before I buy. Once I buy I don't look back.

Call the parties what they are. Unique parade, show, fireworks, character M&G, and now they've done a really nice job with the magic shots. Throw in some rides. All in all a good night for us. I won't speak for next year when it's $100/ticket. We haven't made that decision yet - although next year will be November so Christmas party decisions.

 

[ej119]

I find it interesting that there has been a big Muppets push. Thinking back to when their latest show aired, a lot of us here were thinking the fate of the Muppets would be decided based on how the show did. I remember thinking, "well, if it does well they will probably give Muppets a greater presence since people actually will watch/like it, and if it tanks then they can remove it from the park because it shows people don't care for it as much anymore". I can't remember the order of events. Did they announce PizzaRizzo first before they cancelled the show? The did start putting the "stage" show in Magic Kingdom before they cancelled the television show? Was all this stuff in the works banking on the fact that the TV show would be a hit...now they've spent too much money to not go forward on anything?

It's just interesting to me. Cancelling a TV show (which makes sense if the ratings suck), but then, seemingly, do an all out blitz to get them more face time?

I'm not complaining, as long as what they do to them doesn't suck.

As some others echoed, I was wondering the same thing. I actually enjoyed the new Muppets show for the most part; and I thought it could have excelled in season two. When it was cancelled, I immediately worried that they would disappear from the Parks altogether.

My theory is that the Muppets currently suffer from a generation gap in terms of recognizability and affection, and Disney knows this. Nostalgia wasn't enough to make "Muppets Most Wanted" or "The Muppets" (show) popular (and to some, high-quality). So I'm wondering if by increasing the Muppets' presence in the Parks and relaunching something that appeals to the younger set (i.e. Muppet Babies), they hope to bridge that gap and foster a new generation that loves this IP?

And I will always welcome more Muppets!

 

[LSLS]

But does that equate to "manageable"

A $90 ticket for 6 or so hours is a bad value if there are what can be characterized as "moderate to heavy" daytime crowds

Our tickets were $70 something, and we got more things done than we could on an mk park day. The only lines were for the rare characters. We ealked onto most rides including princess mg. Honestly when you compare to the price of a single day ticket, it was a bargain (though i will say the crowds were pretty low when we went).

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Hmmm...ok, then I would ask if the Halloween event is confirming what has been grumbling around here the last few months: are the rumors that say attendance has hit a property wide snag true?

Do they have an issue in orlando?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

As some others echoed, I was wondering the same thing. I actually enjoyed the new Muppets show for the most part; and I thought it could have excelled in season two. When it was cancelled, I immediately worried that they would disappear from the Parks altogether.

My theory is that the Muppets currently suffer from a generation gap in terms of recognizability and affection, and Disney knows this. Nostalgia wasn't enough to make "Muppets Most Wanted" or "The Muppets" (show) popular (and to some, high-quality). So I'm wondering if by increasing the Muppets' presence in the Parks and relaunching something that appeals to the younger set (i.e. Muppet Babies), they hope to bridge that gap and foster a new generation that loves this IP?

And I will always welcome more Muppets!

Excellent post...

My take is that the muppet "push" is part of the "chapek effect"

...as is with other things (guardians of terror), they are insistent on pushing EVERYTHING that they own as a source of "long term revenue"...even if the people really don't want it.

In essence, management thinks Disney is "too big to fail".

The case can be made that there are other examples: avatar being the easiest (third party IP but a unique situation in james cameron who has the finances to "ignore" parts of the Hollywood deal making process that almost no one else would), and even toy story land.

Yeah...I'm serious. I know toy story is "bank"...new movie...blah blah blah...

But will it continue to grow/be stronger? Or flatline? Tom hanks gonna last forever? It's possible that the Schtick and the look of Pixar becomes less appealing...just saying.

They have this block of characters with the muppets...they're insistent on using them...be damned.

It's been haphazard. I mean - did they HAVE to jam "muppets most wanted" down our throats without a minute to catch our breaths?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Actually, if you take a peek at the MNSSHP thread, most folks there are saying the parties have been quite manageable this year. The only one that generated consistent crowding complaints was 9/25 and that has been the only sold-out party that has happened so far. 10/31 has also sold out, but obviously hasn't happened yet.

Went 10/2 after skipping last year. Crowds were low. Rides were easy to get on. Saw a couple characters and did lots of pictures (party specific ones). We enjoyed it. Like most things Disney I don't look at the cost. I have an option before I buy. Once I buy I don't look back.

Call the parties what they are. Unique parade, show, fireworks, character M&G, and now they've done a really nice job with the magic shots. Throw in some rides. All in all a good night for us. I won't speak for next year when it's $100/ticket. We haven't made that decision yet - although next year will be November so Christmas party decisions.

Thanks for the additional perspectives

I understood in the past one of the draws of the parties was that crowds were relatively low and you could get on rides easily, etc - but then that went away as they got more and more crowded

If raising the price brings back that positive aspect then I think that is great

 

[DrunkJam]

Pandora will be, by all accounts, open when we go. We'll check it out.
It's not high on our to do list, we're not madly waiting for it, I haven't even seen the film, but, maybe that means I'll give it a fairer shot. If it is super immersive and fun, I'll love it. Otherwise, you know, *bof*

 

[mcjaco]

Hmmm...ok, then I would ask if the Halloween event is confirming what has been grumbling around here the last few months: are the rumors that say attendance has hit a property wide snag true?

Do they have an issue in orlando?

When we were there I felt the crowds were pretty typical. What I couldn't figure out was the queue wait times. I don't think anything was over 30 minutes, except Peter Pan, Seven Dwarves, and Space Mountain. And that was with BTMRR down. It was like that across all the parks. It felt crowded, but the lines were very manageable except the big ticket rides. As long as you FP for those, you could get everything done pretty quickly throughout the whole week.

 

[smitch425]

But does that equate to "manageable"

A $90 ticket for 6 or so hours is a bad value if there are what can be characterized as "moderate to heavy" daytime crowds

We spent over 9 hours in the park with our party ticket on Friday, and it was the lowest crowds we've ever had for a party. The overall crowds last week were insane, so it was money well spent.

 

[rteetz]

News

Front of park pick up option removed from shop Disney parks app

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...isney-parks-app-adds-new-delivery-options.htm

 

[rteetz]

Photo update

Pizzerizzo update

http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/pizz...rizzo-latest-at-disneys-hollywood-studios.htm

 

[rteetz]

News

Resort specific cups coming back?

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/10/photo-disney-parks-moving-back-resort-specific-cups/

 

[rteetz]

Today in Disney history

The Wonders of Life pavilion opened in 1989.

 

[jlundeen]

Today in Disney history

The Wonders of Life pavilion opened in 1989.

One of my first memories of WDW (our FIRST trip - 2 adults 2 kids about 8 and 10 years old) was walking up the hill to WOL, and looking up to see the Goodyear Blimp overhead! Then visiting Body Wars and Cranium Command...great memories!! Must have been in 89, but I thought it was 88. Could be wrong, though.

 

[rteetz]

One of my first memories of WDW (our FIRST trip - 2 adults 2 kids about 8 and 10 years old) was walking up the hill to WOL, and looking up to see the Goodyear Blimp overhead! Then visiting Body Wars and Cranium Command...great memories!! Must have been in 89, but I thought it was 88. Could be wrong, though.

I get this info from a twitter page that tweets Disney history info. It's possible they might've had the date wrong.

 

[eXo]

Rumor
From ScreamScape:

"In an interesting bit of news mentioned to me, those leaks last week about the Star Wars Stormtrooper battle/escape themed dark ride were apparently fairly on target, including the bit about getting out of the vehicle in mid-ride to walk around a themed environment before jumping back on and taking off once again on your dark ride experience.
The trick here is that when you get out to explore the environment, you will apparently be going on a specific path, where I imagine you will be kept separate from other guests somehow either by timing your experience to run through specific rooms in a specific order, or perhaps you will enter into one specific room of a group of identical rooms. Either way, from what I'm told, the actual vehicle you return to will not be the exact same one.
Between this and a ride experience that takes place inside a very large multi-level building structure, and an experience being designed from the bottom up to be the most intense themed adventure story attraction that Disney can tell, we are looking at something coming down the pipe that will be like nothing any of us have experienced before. "

They also mention something about a rumor in regards to converting the Rock' N Rollercoaster being converted into some sort of Hyperspace Mountain for the release of Rogue One, and how this has been dropped.....

Personally, I find it more surprising that anyone thought this would happen. Shut down yet another ride at DHS for over a month to try and add some kind of Rogue One overlay? That is nuts.