News Round Up

[Dfan79]

Whoa, Rteetz you are on the ball with your updates. Good job my man.

 

[DDLand]

Side-by-side duplicates of Soarin', TSMM and Dumbo instead of building original new rides.

I've seen absolutely nothing concrete, just a lot of rumors. The gist of the rumors is that, yeah, Disney is planning to spend a lot, but also, they're going to prolong the construction by spreading it out over as many quarters as possible. Hence the need for a sales showroom to pre-sell the expansion.

I will be very happy to be surprised to the upside, or the nearside or whatever you want to call it.

Alright, that really doesn't offend me as much as it does others. The distaste of that strategy makes very little sense to me. The costs are negligible and the benefits are large for a lot of different people. If you were to make the argument that valuable real estate was being used for the Soarin' expansion and we missed out on it because of that, then I would be angry. It's just they were going to use the real estate for back stage operations and I'd rather they open up more show space. Plussing the attraction and the like.

I've seen the numbers 2.8 billion on DHS, 300 million+ on MK, and 300 million+ as the best estimates. Divided over 5 years that's 680,000,000 a year at just WDW. That doesn't upset me one bit. What do you want them to spend each year?

It should be awesome.

 

[Dfan79]

I agree that Tomorrowland needs another E though. I'd personally get rid of Speedway and build something else in there.

I concur, the speedway doesn't even fit with the theme of Tomorrowland. But you know the traditionalists would go bonkers if they got rid of it. The most we can hope for is a rethemeing with Futuristic Cars or Pixar Cars.

 

[Josh Hendy]

The type of coaster isn't the problem. The problem is that many reports say Space Mountain is falling apart. As DDLand says, they have to replace the rails.

I must not be paying attention ... when the last major refurb of Space Mountain happened I was under the impression that the track and/or support structure were completely replaced, with the exact same design as previously.

Either I was mistaken about the refurb, or perhaps the new rails have become loose or shaky even faster than the old ones did?

Wikipedia says, "April 19, 2009: Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom closes for an extensive refurbishment. It would include new effects and a complete rebuild of the track."

In any case, a significant building program in Tomorrowland would be OK with me. The place has 1 great ride (SM), 2 good rides (Buzz and PeopleMover), 1 meh (Astro Orbiter), and 3 complete zeroes (Carousel, Stitch, Laugh Floor).

 

[Tigger's ally]

the new rails have become loose or shaky even faster than the old ones did?

Wikipedia says, "April 19, 2009: Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom closes for an extensive refurbishment. It would include new effects and a complete rebuild of the track."

Sounds like my nerves these days.

 

[Josh Hendy]

And while I'm beefing about Tomorrowland ... Cosmic Rays is pretty outdated and unimaginative as well. The AA lounge singer gag isn't very funny or entertaining, and it doesn't take much imagineering to come up with a really fun, exciting take on a futuristic, sci-fi cafeteria. Think of a space station with views of the earth or other planets going by on flat-screen "windows". Or a Jetsons/Cloud City diner. Not to mention that they could come up with a far, far better menu if they thought about it for 5 minutes. Look at the Leaky Cauldron, Three Broomsticks and Springfield USA. The bar has been raised so high beyond "Cosmic Rays Generic Hamburgers Without the Hot Cheese Sauce" that it's not even funny.

 

[rteetz]

I must not be paying attention ... when the last major refurb of Space Mountain happened I was under the impression that the track and/or support structure were completely replaced, with the exact same design as previously.

Either I was mistaken about the refurb, or perhaps the new rails have become loose or shaky even faster than the old ones did?

Wikipedia says, "April 19, 2009: Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom closes for an extensive refurbishment. It would include new effects and a complete rebuild of the track."

In any case, a significant building program in Tomorrowland would be OK with me. The place has 1 great ride (SM), 2 good rides (Buzz and PeopleMover), 1 meh (Astro Orbiter), and 3 complete zeroes (Carousel, Stitch, Laugh Floor).

I believe that is the rebuild that was going to happen but never did.

 

[rteetz]

I love the idea of a new E-ticket at MK. However, I think the priority should be maintenance at the already existing rides. All the mountains could use some additional work. And let's hope the Pirates refurb solves most of the existing issues.

According to Martin on wdwmagic some animatronics are being replaced with brand new ones.

 

[Dean Marino]

The Walt Disney company has upped its share in euro Disney to 79%

Huh? This one both surprises me, and gets me thinking.... euro Disney is doing HORRIBLY. I wonder if Disney Corp. is seeking to buy out the interlopers, then raise the bar?

 

[luisov]

I must not be paying attention ... when the last major refurb of Space Mountain happened I was under the impression that the track and/or support structure were completely replaced, with the exact same design as previously.

Either I was mistaken about the refurb, or perhaps the new rails have become loose or shaky even faster than the old ones did?

Wikipedia says, "April 19, 2009: Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom closes for an extensive refurbishment. It would include new effects and a complete rebuild of the track."

In any case, a significant building program in Tomorrowland would be OK with me. The place has 1 great ride (SM), 2 good rides (Buzz and PeopleMover), 1 meh (Astro Orbiter), and 3 complete zeroes (Carousel, Stitch, Laugh Floor).

I don't think they did, but I may be wrong. If that's the case, they didn't do a good job. Many people keep saying it needs another extensive refurb.

Huh? This one both surprises me, and gets me thinking.... euro Disney is doing HORRIBLY. I wonder if Disney Corp. is seeking to buy out the interlopers, then raise the bar?

I think they are doing just fine. Not really for Disney standards, but it's still above Europa Park, Efteling, Alton Towers and all the other big parks in Europe. Isn't it Europe's most visited theme park?

 

[Dean Marino]

And while I'm beefing about Tomorrowland ... Cosmic Rays is pretty outdated and unimaginative as well. The AA lounge singer gag isn't very funny or entertaining, and it doesn't take much imagineering to come up with a really fun, exciting take on a futuristic, sci-fi cafeteria. Think of a space station with views of the earth or other planets going by on flat-screen "windows". Or a Jetsons/Cloud City diner. Not to mention that they could come up with a far, far better menu if they thought about it for 5 minutes. Look at the Leaky Cauldron, Three Broomsticks and Springfield USA. The bar has been raised so high beyond "Cosmic Rays Generic Hamburgers Without the Hot Cheese Sauce" that it's not even funny.

Sadly, with a few exceptions, one could pretty much bulldoze Tomorrow Land & replace it.... but that's just an opinion. Perhaps the larger issue is the very same one facing HS: "What is this thing supposed to BE"? Disney is getting faced with that question on a LOT of very expensive fronts right now.... I guess I don't expect them to fight a reno-war on more than one front at a time .

 

[DDLand]

Huh? This one both surprises me, and gets me thinking.... euro Disney is doing HORRIBLY. I wonder if Disney Corp. is seeking to buy out the interlopers, then raise the bar?

Disney now has a controlling share, and is contributing a large chunk of capital to restore it to its original glory. On the epic plan:
http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2015/06/disneyland-paris-reveal-all-about-dlp.html

 

[umichigan10]

DHS is removing it's tip board

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2015/07/disneys-hollywood-studios-tip-board.html

they probably said why bother, there's nothing to put up here anyway lol

 

[luisov]

Sadly, with a few exceptions, one could pretty much bulldoze Tomorrow Land & replace it.... but that's just an opinion. Perhaps the larger issue is the very same one facing HS: "What is this thing supposed to BE"? Disney is getting faced with that question on a LOT of very expensive fronts right now.... I guess I don't expect them to fight a reno-war on more than one front at a time .

Maybe it'd be a controversial decision, but I think they should turn Tomorrowland into Discoveryland. They could change Tomorrowland every 5-10 years, but as long as technology keeps developing, the place will feel dated pretty quickly. Discoveryland, on the other hand, is an ageless celebration of invention and creativity. Plus, I love steam punk theming.

They could do that... or go full sci-fi.

 

[Mouse of Mystery]

I'm also surprised by the Frontierland expansion. Not only would I hate to see Tom Sawyer's Island go away, but that's a really good transition between Frontierland and Liberty Square. I think it'll stay.

I too would rather see an update of Tomorrowland, as it's looking decidedly more like Yesterdayland. Plus with BTMM and Splash Mountain, why does Frontierland need another big ride?

 

[RhodyOrange]

Where are they going to be able to put the new attraction in Frontierland? Is something going to be replaced?

 

[rteetz]

Huh? This one both surprises me, and gets me thinking.... euro Disney is doing HORRIBLY. I wonder if Disney Corp. is seeking to buy out the interlopers, then raise the bar?

Well earlier this year the Walt Disney company did a buyout of Disneyland Paris becoming the majority owner. Now they have upped their share. Currently and going through the next five years or so both parks in Paris will be gong through major renovations with rides shut down six months at a time for updates.

 

[rteetz]

I'm also surprised by the Frontierland expansion. Not only would I hate to see Tom Sawyer's Island go away, but that's a really good transition between Frontierland and Liberty Square. I think it'll stay.

I too would rather see an update of Tomorrowland, as it's looking decidedly more like Yesterdayland. Plus with BTMM and Splash Mountain, why does Frontierland need another big ride?

There is an expansion pad behind rivers of America and next to big thunder. Tom Sawyer is another option. No one really knows much about details of that yet. A frontierland expansion has been on and off again for many years.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Where are they going to be able to put the new attraction in Frontierland?

They could put something outside the the railroad tracks to the north of Splash and west of Big Thunder. There's some backstage buildings there but I would think they could be moved west and condensed.

 

[soniam]

DHS is removing it's tip board

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2015/07/disneys-hollywood-studios-tip-board.html

they probably said why bother, there's nothing to put up here anyway lol

Also, they could be trying to ward off the inevitable remarks about how they should maybe actually have a park with rides and attractions or just close it down, or remarks about going to other parks particularly Universal.