News Round Up 2017

[DizFanFamily]

So a few weeks ago, LOL asked for an un-biased - average joe opinion of Avatarland/Pandora. While I am mostly a stalker who reads the boards when i can't take any more of work, I feel I meet the bill. We just returned from 8 days at the world. We haven't been there for 2 years, but have hit CA in between (we split time between the 2 coasts).
Anyway - I was there with the family, and my kids were very vocal with their assessment of AK. My DS who is 15 and saw Avatar in the theaters when it came out and loved the 3-D more than the movie itself but rewatched it recently and my 11 year old DD who thinks James Cameron needs to learn how to tell a story in less than 2 hours. It took her 4 days to sit through Avatar. Anyway, we all thought the land was beautiful. We were a bit disappointed as from the advertising we thought the lighting would be more interactive at night. They found one display that was interactive, but mostly it was just blacklight and pretty flowers light up. The boat ride was nice but just a one and done ride - they would never wait more than 15 minutes to ride it. The banshee ride was awesome. We had 2 fp's for it and loved it (i was a bit nauseous after the first ride but did better on the second). They said they would definitely wait in line for an hour for the ride (but not 3hrs - the standard standby time while we were there). That said, they still don't feel AK is a full day park (unless you stand in line for 3 hours for the banshee). The rides and exhibits just don't have the draw to do them over and over again. We did do the safari 2 times in one day, and they could ride Kali all day long if the line wasn't so stifling hot to stand in. They walked around and looked at the animals - but it was hot so they were just sleeping - so in general they thought that was a bit boring. They are too old to do the kidcot type activity that AK has. The assessment was Pandora was a great addition to AK, but it still needs more.

NOTE: I know others on the board LOVE AK - no disrespect to them, but for a return family who doesn't spend much time in restaurants, we couldn't find enough to do - also the light show the night we planned to watch was canceled for technical difficulties - so that brought everyone down too.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If anyone is interested in a bit more info regarding Nintendo in the parks they talk about it briefly today on the DIS Unplugged Universal Edition again (in the beginning of the show) since the groundbreaking for Japan. They talk a bit about the statement regarding Mario Kart ("state of the art" was used in the statement) though I'm unsure if the statement about the ride is just in regards to Japan only or about what will also come to us.

Craig thinks that Japan might be more limited to Mario whereas we may get more variety like Donkey Kong (and I remember one of their past episodes talked about patents).

 

[Madonna3]

So a few weeks ago, LOL asked for an un-biased - average joe opinion of Avatarland/Pandora. While I am mostly a stalker who reads the boards when i can't take any more of work, I feel I meet the bill. We just returned from 8 days at the world. We haven't been there for 2 years, but have hit CA in between (we split time between the 2 coasts).
Anyway - I was there with the family, and my kids were very vocal with their assessment of AK. My DS who is 15 and saw Avatar in the theaters when it came out and loved the 3-D more than the movie itself but rewatched it recently and my 11 year old DD who thinks James Cameron needs to learn how to tell a story in less than 2 hours. It took her 4 days to sit through Avatar. Anyway, we all thought the land was beautiful. We were a bit disappointed as from the advertising we thought the lighting would be more interactive at night. They found one display that was interactive, but mostly it was just blacklight and pretty flowers light up. The boat ride was nice but just a one and done ride - they would never wait more than 15 minutes to ride it. The banshee ride was awesome. We had 2 fp's for it and loved it (i was a bit nauseous after the first ride but did better on the second). They said they would definitely wait in line for an hour for the ride (but not 3hrs - the standard standby time while we were there). That said, they still don't feel AK is a full day park (unless you stand in line for 3 hours for the banshee). The rides and exhibits just don't have the draw to do them over and over again. We did do the safari 2 times in one day, and they could ride Kali all day long if the line wasn't so stifling hot to stand in. They walked around and looked at the animals - but it was hot so they were just sleeping - so in general they thought that was a bit boring. They are too old to do the kidcot type activity that AK has. The assessment was Pandora was a great addition to AK, but it still needs more.

NOTE: I know others on the board LOVE AK - no disrespect to them, but for a return family who doesn't spend much time in restaurants, we couldn't find enough to do - also the light show the night we planned to watch was canceled for technical difficulties - so that brought everyone down too.

I agree with you. It is lacking.

 

[skier_pete]

Just as a mention, I am usually first in line to take advantage of a system - I was always all for using FP+ late - but this whole "bring in multiple wristbands for booking extra fastpasses on expired tickets" seems like beyond working the system. I'm glad they are stepping down on this.

 

[rteetz]

So a few weeks ago, LOL asked for an un-biased - average joe opinion of Avatarland/Pandora. While I am mostly a stalker who reads the boards when i can't take any more of work, I feel I meet the bill. We just returned from 8 days at the world. We haven't been there for 2 years, but have hit CA in between (we split time between the 2 coasts).
Anyway - I was there with the family, and my kids were very vocal with their assessment of AK. My DS who is 15 and saw Avatar in the theaters when it came out and loved the 3-D more than the movie itself but rewatched it recently and my 11 year old DD who thinks James Cameron needs to learn how to tell a story in less than 2 hours. It took her 4 days to sit through Avatar. Anyway, we all thought the land was beautiful. We were a bit disappointed as from the advertising we thought the lighting would be more interactive at night. They found one display that was interactive, but mostly it was just blacklight and pretty flowers light up. The boat ride was nice but just a one and done ride - they would never wait more than 15 minutes to ride it. The banshee ride was awesome. We had 2 fp's for it and loved it (i was a bit nauseous after the first ride but did better on the second). They said they would definitely wait in line for an hour for the ride (but not 3hrs - the standard standby time while we were there). That said, they still don't feel AK is a full day park (unless you stand in line for 3 hours for the banshee). The rides and exhibits just don't have the draw to do them over and over again. We did do the safari 2 times in one day, and they could ride Kali all day long if the line wasn't so stifling hot to stand in. They walked around and looked at the animals - but it was hot so they were just sleeping - so in general they thought that was a bit boring. They are too old to do the kidcot type activity that AK has. The assessment was Pandora was a great addition to AK, but it still needs more.

NOTE: I know others on the board LOVE AK - no disrespect to them, but for a return family who doesn't spend much time in restaurants, we couldn't find enough to do - also the light show the night we planned to watch was canceled for technical difficulties - so that brought everyone down too.

Keep in mind the bioluminescence hasn't been the most reliable thing. The night I was there not all of it was working.

 

[Madonna3]

Keep in mind the bioluminescence hasn't been the most reliable thing. The night I was there not all of it was working.

That kinda proves the point, no?

 

[skier_pete]

So a few weeks ago, LOL asked for an un-biased - average joe opinion of Avatarland/Pandora. While I am mostly a stalker who reads the boards when i can't take any more of work, I feel I meet the bill. We just returned from 8 days at the world. We haven't been there for 2 years, but have hit CA in between (we split time between the 2 coasts).
Anyway - I was there with the family, and my kids were very vocal with their assessment of AK. My DS who is 15 and saw Avatar in the theaters when it came out and loved the 3-D more than the movie itself but rewatched it recently and my 11 year old DD who thinks James Cameron needs to learn how to tell a story in less than 2 hours. It took her 4 days to sit through Avatar. Anyway, we all thought the land was beautiful. We were a bit disappointed as from the advertising we thought the lighting would be more interactive at night. They found one display that was interactive, but mostly it was just blacklight and pretty flowers light up. The boat ride was nice but just a one and done ride - they would never wait more than 15 minutes to ride it. The banshee ride was awesome. We had 2 fp's for it and loved it (i was a bit nauseous after the first ride but did better on the second). They said they would definitely wait in line for an hour for the ride (but not 3hrs - the standard standby time while we were there). That said, they still don't feel AK is a full day park (unless you stand in line for 3 hours for the banshee). The rides and exhibits just don't have the draw to do them over and over again. We did do the safari 2 times in one day, and they could ride Kali all day long if the line wasn't so stifling hot to stand in. They walked around and looked at the animals - but it was hot so they were just sleeping - so in general they thought that was a bit boring. They are too old to do the kidcot type activity that AK has. The assessment was Pandora was a great addition to AK, but it still needs more.

NOTE: I know others on the board LOVE AK - no disrespect to them, but for a return family who doesn't spend much time in restaurants, we couldn't find enough to do - also the light show the night we planned to watch was canceled for technical difficulties - so that brought everyone down too.

Curious do you skip the shows? (FotLK, Flights of Wonder, and Finding Nemo) These are the favorite things of our family at AK, and typically takes close to 1/2 a day to do that by themselves. I am a big proponent of AK, but will admit that I understand how some people would consider it a 1/2 to 3/4 day park. (We would typically like 1.5 days there.) Now DHS last trip we spent 5 hours there.

 

[rteetz]

That kinda proves the point, no?

Maybe your expectations were too high?

Personally even though I didn't have the full affect I still really enjoyed it.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I was just going to post this about Frozen. I remember being at another movie and they showed the trailer - which at least at that time was just Olaf and Sven...no idea at all that it was going to be a "princess" movie...I remember thinking they were marketing it more toward "boys" having just put out Tangled and Princess and the Frog.

they have been fighting that for years - I just listened to the latest Connecting with Walt podcast and Walt claims the reason Pollyanna didn't perform better at the box office was due to the name and people assuming it was only for women and children - so I think sometimes they go the other way pushing that "boys will like it too! Really, believe us!!! Please!!!!"

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Maybe more just hasn't been announced, but I'm getting kind of annoyed (not really, but lack for a better word), that they are calling this land Super Nintendo World. Everything I've seen has been focused around Mario characters. If the whole land is dedicated to one property (Mario) why not call it Mario Land? I know Super Mario Land is taken by the Gameboy game. Are there going to be other properties in this land besides ones based in the Mario world?

It's just me being nitpicky I think...but it would be like Disney opening a land that focuses on nothing but Mickey Mouse and calling it "Disney Island" or something.

Maybe they are planning for expansion. Have a Donkey Kong Treehouse? Megaman Interactive section?

One of the patents that was found clearly looks to be for a Donkey Kong mine train type ride - so I think it will be more than just Mario but for marketing Mario sort of represents Nintendo

 

[danikoski]

One of the patents that was found clearly looks to be for a Donkey Kong mine train type ride - so I think it will be more than just Mario but for marketing Mario sort of represents Nintendo

I would like to see a Yoshi carousel.

 

[sachilles]

Wondering if the average rumors and news section participant is a park hopper, or a one park a day person? I see the comments that AK isn't a full day park...and I can see that. However, my family and I park hop. We always do one park in the AM till after lunch, take a break and do an afternoon evening park. Sometimes a third park if things are late enough. Sort of keeps things fresh. So we may only spend half a day at a time at AK, we do it multiple times in one trip.

 

[Lightsoutx12]

Probably pretty late, but I recently read that Disney is planning on showing off their plans for Star Wars Land at D23. I can't wait for the expo now.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wondering if the average rumors and news section participant is a park hopper, or a one park a day person? I see the comments that AK isn't a full day park...and I can see that. However, my family and I park hop. We always do one park in the AM till after lunch, take a break and do an afternoon evening park. Sometimes a third park if things are late enough. Sort of keeps things fresh. So we may only spend half a day at a time at AK, we do it multiple times in one trip.

We often just do one park per day ... generally easier on the planning and don't take up time changing parks ( but some trips we do some hoping - most often to go to dinner at EPCOT or something like that). As my kids get older we might do more hopping though

We really like AK, so even before Pandora would spend a hole day there - but I also get why not everyone feels the same way about that park. That's the beauty of WDW - lots of options and you can vacation there a ton of different ways

 

[MissGina5]

So a few weeks ago, LOL asked for an un-biased - average joe opinion of Avatarland/Pandora. While I am mostly a stalker who reads the boards when i can't take any more of work, I feel I meet the bill. We just returned from 8 days at the world. We haven't been there for 2 years, but have hit CA in between (we split time between the 2 coasts).
Anyway - I was there with the family, and my kids were very vocal with their assessment of AK. My DS who is 15 and saw Avatar in the theaters when it came out and loved the 3-D more than the movie itself but rewatched it recently and my 11 year old DD who thinks James Cameron needs to learn how to tell a story in less than 2 hours. It took her 4 days to sit through Avatar. Anyway, we all thought the land was beautiful. We were a bit disappointed as from the advertising we thought the lighting would be more interactive at night. They found one display that was interactive, but mostly it was just blacklight and pretty flowers light up. The boat ride was nice but just a one and done ride - they would never wait more than 15 minutes to ride it. The banshee ride was awesome. We had 2 fp's for it and loved it (i was a bit nauseous after the first ride but did better on the second). They said they would definitely wait in line for an hour for the ride (but not 3hrs - the standard standby time while we were there). That said, they still don't feel AK is a full day park (unless you stand in line for 3 hours for the banshee). The rides and exhibits just don't have the draw to do them over and over again. We did do the safari 2 times in one day, and they could ride Kali all day long if the line wasn't so stifling hot to stand in. They walked around and looked at the animals - but it was hot so they were just sleeping - so in general they thought that was a bit boring. They are too old to do the kidcot type activity that AK has. The assessment was Pandora was a great addition to AK, but it still needs more.

NOTE: I know others on the board LOVE AK - no disrespect to them, but for a return family who doesn't spend much time in restaurants, we couldn't find enough to do - also the light show the night we planned to watch was canceled for technical difficulties - so that brought everyone down too.

I think what is most tough about AK is that it's hard to really grasp how much there is to do in the park because I was under the same impression. if you didn't go this time I DEFINITELY suggest the Festival of the Lion King in the future!

Also if you aren't going with Park Hopper, it's a great chance to explore resorts and DS! So maybe not a full day park quite yet but DEFINITELY closer than it was before

 

[jpeterson]

Wondering if the average rumors and news section participant is a park hopper, or a one park a day person? I see the comments that AK isn't a full day park...and I can see that. However, my family and I park hop. We always do one park in the AM till after lunch, take a break and do an afternoon evening park. Sometimes a third park if things are late enough. Sort of keeps things fresh. So we may only spend half a day at a time at AK, we do it multiple times in one trip.

We don't park hop. Kids are young and it's better for us to focus on one park at a time. We are also 2 days in Animal Kingdom people though.

 

[pepperandchips]

It looks like the Mark Twain began test runs around Tom Sawyer Island as well.

Was there yesterday and can confirm. There were tripods set up in the lower level so I was wondering if they were just taking the Mark Twain out to test before filming a promo or something. There were lots of manager-looking CMs on board! My time stamp says 1:10 pm. Sad we missed the train and Rivers of America, but all the more reason to go back.

Off the subject of the Mark Twain, but slightly news related: we did Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout twice and it was... fine. The story is pretty thin, in my opinion, and they don't do enough to set up the story if you are using fastpass. The screens in between drops didn't add much to the experience for me, though I did find that they made the ride seem longer than the Tower of Terror attraction feels to me (not sure whether the ride time is actually longer or not). I liked the addition of the music and would definitely ride GOGMB again but still prefer DHS Tower of Terror.

 

[Moliphino]

they have been fighting that for years - I just listened to the latest Connecting with Walt podcast and Walt claims the reason Pollyanna didn't perform better at the box office was due to the name and people assuming it was only for women and children - so I think sometimes they go the other way pushing that "boys will like it too! Really, believe us!!! Please!!!!"

Like calling them Tangled and Frozen rather than Rapunzel and The Snow Queen. At least Moana got her movie named after her.

Wondering if the average rumors and news section participant is a park hopper, or a one park a day person? I see the comments that AK isn't a full day park...and I can see that. However, my family and I park hop. We always do one park in the AM till after lunch, take a break and do an afternoon evening park. Sometimes a third park if things are late enough. Sort of keeps things fresh. So we may only spend half a day at a time at AK, we do it multiple times in one trip.

We always park hop. I can't remember the last time I only went to one park in a day.

 

[BigRed98]

I've only been to Universal once about 5 yrs ago and it was just meh compared to Disney World imo. As of now I have no interest to go back Bc I personally don't care about Harry Potter. But once Nintendo land comes to Orlando I will be going to Universal for one day to see the land. I think it's going to be a game changer for Universal if done right. Hopefully not every ride is a simulator or screen based.

 

[rteetz]

Wondering if the average rumors and news section participant is a park hopper, or a one park a day person? I see the comments that AK isn't a full day park...and I can see that. However, my family and I park hop. We always do one park in the AM till after lunch, take a break and do an afternoon evening park. Sometimes a third park if things are late enough. Sort of keeps things fresh. So we may only spend half a day at a time at AK, we do it multiple times in one trip.

Normally I am a park hopper. My three day trip last week was only one park per day.