Official Fantasyland Expansion Q & A (Mickey gets evicted) PART II

[mom2rtk]

Yea it would work better there...
Also with talks of the Monsters inc roller coaster... ( I hope with a new monsters movie )

It would be a much needed shot in the arm for that park. TSM is a great attraction and all.... but part of the insanity comes from the fact that there just isn't enough for the younger set there..........

 

[ipodluvr287]

It would be a much needed shot in the arm for that park. TSM is a great attraction and all.... but part of the insanity comes from the fact that there just isn't enough for the younger set there..........

After they finish this Fantasyland project, they definitely need to work on Hollywood Studios. In my opinion, it has the least things to do. I know its more geared towards shows, but you can only watch so many shows in one day. The only big appeals at that Park are Toy Story Mania, Tower of terror, Rock n Rollercoaster, and Fantasmic. I do think the Beauty and the Beast show is wonderful and has good appeal though, even though its a show. This park can be done in half a day if you go just to do the rides. Honestly, you could probably spend more time at Animal Kingdom. I think a Carsland like the one at DL would be a good idea, and so would a Monsters Inc coaster. They need to put more E-Ticket attractions in this park because Tower of Terror, Rock n Rollercoaster, and Toy Story Mania stay crowded ALL DAY. The fact that Tower of Terror and Rock n Rollercoaster are right next to each other certainly doesn't help distribution of crowds either. Sunset Blvd stays crowded ALL DAY not just because of those, but also because of Beauty and the Beast and Fantasmic. They also need to revamp the characters that are at Hollywood and Vine. They need to get rid of the dumb Playhouse Disney characters and pull in some other ones. I think the Peter Pan character meal is a good idea, but I'm not sure it would fit in here.

 

[skater]

After they finish this Fantasyland project, they definitely need to work on Hollywood Studios. In my opinion, it has the least things to do. I know its more geared towards shows, but you can only watch so many shows in one day. The only big appeals at that Park are Toy Story Mania, Tower of terror, Rock n Rollercoaster, and Fantasmic. I do think the Beauty and the Beast show is wonderful and has good appeal though, even though its a show. This park can be done in half a day if you go just to do the rides. Honestly, you could probably spend more time at Animal Kingdom. I think a Carsland like the one at DL would be a good idea, and so would a Monsters Inc coaster. They need to put more E-Ticket attractions in this park because Tower of Terror, Rock n Rollercoaster, and Toy Story Mania stay crowded ALL DAY. The fact that Tower of Terror and Rock n Rollercoaster are right next to each other certainly doesn't help distribution of crowds either. Sunset Blvd stays crowded ALL DAY not just because of those, but also because of Beauty and the Beast and Fantasmic. They also need to revamp the characters that are at Hollywood and Vine. They need to get rid of the dumb Playhouse Disney characters and pull in some other ones. I think the Peter Pan character meal is a good idea, but I'm not sure it would fit in here.

Yes! These crowds and few attractions are why we usually spend just part of a day at DHS. And the mess at RD is getting scary.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Once Star Tours reopens, the RD rush will split between this and TSM.

Problem with DHS is that it is not well designed. Instead of the hub/spoke model (AK/MK) or adjacent circles (EP), you have a bunch of dead ends. This makes the park seem more crowded.

As for Fantasyland: it seems rather strange, to me, that they would make this big announcement and unveil the plans, and then apparently change it without making it clear what was being changed. If they are taking all of those princess meet/greets out, and PH, and taking out Snow White, then what are they replacing all of that with? That's a LOT of space.

Oh, and what's the source of the Snow White removal rumors? How reliable is this rumor (I really hope it is not true)

 

[Berlioz70]

Problem with DHS is that it is not well designed. Instead of the hub/spoke model (AK/MK) or adjacent circles (EP), you have a bunch of dead ends.

Agreed! I wish Sunset Blvd could somehow wrap around to the Animation Courtyard.

 

[d1gitman]

...As for Fantasyland: it seems rather strange, to me, that they would make this big announcement and unveil the plans, and then apparently change it without making it clear what was being changed...

Personally i think this is intentional. Why would they really show their hand from the get go?

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Personally i think this is intentional. Why would they really show their hand from the get go?

To generate excitement. Get people talking about going to WDW in the next two years. Get people to start making sure they have the time/money for a WDW vacation, and decide to spend their next vacation at WDW, and start planning, getting the planning DVD, the maps, etc.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

I think they have already done that. The intrest is huge. People want to see the end project no matter what it ends up being.

 

[GoofEeyore26]

Rumors are there is going to be a press event on tuesday after mk closing to announce all the updated FLE changes (such as snow white removal, mine coaster, circus land).

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I think they have already done that. The intrest is huge. People want to see the end project no matter what it ends up being.

For the obsessed here on the Dis, yes.

For the general public: they aren't going to plan a vacation 2 yrs ahead when they don't even know what's going to be there.

Well, some do this anyway (looking at the "funniest things I've heard" thread")

 

[Colleen27]

I said it before. I'll say it again. The expansion did not NEED equal time. It WAS equal time.

My kids and I have been watching the official announcement and subsequent rumors with great interest, and it has gone from "Wow" to "Eh" in my mind as the rumor mill has more and more of the interesting features of the expansion scaled back or cut out.

And as far as balance goes, puh-leeze - we're talking about a park where you can hop a boat with pirates, ride no less than FOUR outer-space themed attractions, cruise through the jungle, and ride a runaway train. What can you do with the princesses other than eat and shop? Neither of the two massively popular "girl" franchises - princesses or fairies - have even one marquee attraction, and in fact between the two they only represent two rides - the carousel and Snow White - one of which is terrifying for many girls in the prime princess age range.

I am glad to see that ToonTown is closing before we go, though. As a mom of girls, I absolutely hate the "stand in line in the gift shop" routine for the meet & greets. Even my kids, who generally don't get the gimmies, can get pretty annoying while standing in the longest queue of the whole trip with nothing to do but look around at thousands of things marketed directly to them.

 

[mom2rtk]

Once Star Tours reopens, the RD rush will split between this and TSM.

I'd like to think it would help, but I think once the excitement of the new opening is over and everyone has done it once, it will have absolutely zero effect on TSM. I don't recall every having much trouble with riding Star Tours standby. And while it's ok for girls, they just don't have the drive to do it that little boys do. TSM cuts across gender lines.

The biggest problem with DHS is that it's mostly shows. And while people will do rides over and over (on a given trip, or from trip to trip) they don't always care to do the shows over. While we see BATB every trip, we just hit the others every few trips. The result is that they don't soak up enough people that way. While Disney is not as ride focused as some parks, people do want a certain number of them.

Rumors are there is going to be a press event on tuesday after mk closing to announce all the updated FLE changes (such as snow white removal, mine coaster, circus land).

Honestly, after the last fiasco....... I'm not going to pay a lot of attention to big announcements from Disney on the expansion. I now know it's all subject to change at the whim of a new executive.

Neither of the two massively popular "girl" franchises - princesses or fairies - have even one marquee attraction, and in fact between the two they only represent two rides - the carousel and Snow White - one of which is terrifying for many girls in the prime princess age range.

I am glad to see that ToonTown is closing before we go, though. As a mom of girls, I absolutely hate the "stand in line in the gift shop" routine for the meet & greets. Even my kids, who generally don't get the gimmies, can get pretty annoying while standing in the longest queue of the whole trip with nothing to do but look around at thousands of things marketed directly to them.

And even the carousel has been renamed after Prince Charming. We should have taken that as an omen. I thought it was odd when they announced it, but it was apparently indicative of their whole new approach.

I'm TOTALLY in agreement on not wanting to stand in line in a gift shop. I really wish they would be out around the park. Even if I'm not getting in line to see a particular character, I love seeing them there. I think they add a lot of life to the scenery.

 

[Kurby]

we've never stood in line for any meet and greet. when dd started coming with us we found it easier to book a meal and any of the character breakfast's or dinners killing 2 birds with 1 stone. meet and meal.

now after hearing that what will end up being the longest wait time has to go through a gift show i'm glad, so glad that we started that routine.

there is NO WAY you're see me standing in line in a gift shop to stand there and say no no no no no no no to my dd for the entire wait time. and now we're expecting baby #2 it would be twice as insane to listen to it.

i get the gift shop at the end of rides but come on - that's just pure torture for parents. good money making for them considering a lot of parents will give in and buy something for their child.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

For the obsessed here on the Dis, yes.

For the general public: they aren't going to plan a vacation 2 yrs ahead when they don't even know what's going to be there.

Well, some do this anyway (looking at the "funniest things I've heard" thread")

What you mean there are some people who dont live on the disboards, how shocking . lol . I love that funniest thread too.

 

[Berlioz70]

I know there has been some negativity towards the Rapunzel and Flynn "play n greet" especially knowing that Disney seems to want to go more in this direction for the new Fantasyland Expansion (FLE).

Now the concerns have hit the Orlando Sentinel:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/disney-a-mom-and-the-mouse/2011/01/tangled-play-and-greet-at-magic-kingdom-didnt-live-up-to-our-expectations/

The interesting part, the comments seem to disagree and indicate their children loved the experience. I find it fascinating that there is such a wide range of reactions to the new format. I'm curious to see how it all pans out down the road with the FLE.

 

[mom2rtk]

I know there has been some negativity towards the Rapunzel and Flynn "play n greet" especially knowing that Disney seems to want to go more in this direction for the new Fantasyland Expansion (FLE).

Now the concerns have hit the Orlando Sentinel:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/disney-a-mom-and-the-mouse/2011/01/tangled-play-and-greet-at-magic-kingdom-didnt-live-up-to-our-expectations/

The interesting part, the comments seem to disagree and indicate their children loved the experience. I find it fascinating that there is such a wide range of reactions to the new format. I'm curious to see how it all pans out down the road with the FLE.

I SWEAR it wasn't me!!!

 

[Colleen27]

now after hearing that what will end up being the longest wait time has to go through a gift show i'm glad, so glad that we started that routine.

there is NO WAY you're see me standing in line in a gift shop to stand there and say no no no no no no no to my dd for the entire wait time. and now we're expecting baby #2 it would be twice as insane to listen to it.

i get the gift shop at the end of rides but come on - that's just pure torture for parents. good money making for them considering a lot of parents will give in and buy something for their child.

Exactly. We do the character meals for the ones we can, at the bare minimum one Mickey & friends and one Princesses since Pooh & friends and the other less popular characters are easier to find in the parks with shorter lines, but my girls LOVE Tink so we just HAD to do that long ridiculous line.

If ever there were characters popular enough to warrant a ridiculously overpriced buffet the fairies are it; maybe instead of 7 princess meals they could change just one of them over to Tink & friends. I'd much rather pay big bucks for a meal than stand in that gift shop endlessly saying no to a bunch of junk we don't need!

 

[mom2rtk]

Exactly. We do the character meals for the ones we can, at the bare minimum one Mickey & friends and one Princesses since Pooh & friends and the other less popular characters are easier to find in the parks with shorter lines, but my girls LOVE Tink so we just HAD to do that long ridiculous line.

If ever there were characters popular enough to warrant a ridiculously overpriced buffet the fairies are it; maybe instead of 7 princess meals they could change just one of them over to Tink & friends. I'd much rather pay big bucks for a meal than stand in that gift shop endlessly saying no to a bunch of junk we don't need!

I would think a fairy meal would be SO popular! I used to think it had to to with the fact that they couldn't do the "shrinking" thing like they do at PH, but that's over now anyway. It sounds like the meet & greets will just be at full size ..... So why NOT do a meal? They really do need a little more variety in their character meals.

 

[Berlioz70]

They may be able to keep the shrinking idea at Norway. If they enclose the entrance just a little (put of a curtain) you could shrink right there and then go around the corner to find Tink.

I think that would be a great idea!

I wonder if the fairies do not have a meal because the wings are hard to navigate through close areas with food!

 

[mom2rtk]

They may be able to keep the shrinking idea at Norway. If they enclose the entrance just a little (put of a curtain) you could shrink right there and then go around the corner to find Tink.

I think that would be a great idea!

I wonder if the fairies do not have a meal because the wings are hard to navigate through close areas with food!

Interesting thought on both counts!

Regardless, I'd still like to see them try some new character meals out.

Why they haven't done something Pixar at DHS is just beyond me!

Or maybe some sort of pot luck meal, not the food, but the characters. I know at Disneyland, they have a couple meals that have sort of a surprise assortment of characters, and it's a lot of fun to see who shows up!