WDW's Coaster Phobia

[Iowajes]

Marvel. Somehow I don't get the impression that Thor, the Avengers, Iron Man or the X-Men would be best represented in the parks by a children's play area, a stage show, or another Dumbo/Triceretops/Magic Carpets spinning ride. No?

They can't do Marvel in Orlando. Universal owns the rights.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Please I pray, Disney never becomes a thrill coaster parks. There are plenty of them around,6 flags and Uni..........even Bush gardens as some thrill coasters but they are not themed well.

Disney does have some moderate thrill coasters and that great.

Disney is about families, history, nostalgia, unique attractions and story telling, Disney magic and pixie dust.

You change Disney to thrill coasters, you may as well put up 6 flags sign.

AKK

 

[JimmyV]

They can't do Marvel in Orlando. Universal owns the rights.

It's not that cut and dried. Universal only maintains the rights to the characters that have/had been featured up to the point of the acquisition. Marvel charaacters that are not and have never been represented at US are fair game. See: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201403/3914/

Please I pray, Disney never becomes a thrill coaster parks.

I agree. (Although a thrill ride 5th gate might be cool with all the kicked-up rides being in one place, out of the way of all of the haters.) But let's save this discussion for a thread where someone suggests turning Disney into "thrill coaster parks" instead of a thread that asks if one, single, solitary adult coaster might be a good idea.

Disney is about families, history, nostalgia, unique attractions and story telling, Disney magic and pixie dust.

And families have members who outgrow Peter Pan and the HISTK paly area.

 

[Iowajes]

It's not that cut and dried. Universal only maintains the rights to the characters that have/had been featured up to the point of the acquisition. Marvel charaacters that are not and have never been represented at US are fair game. See: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201403/3914/

That article actually doesn't say that at all (and based on the fact that Thor appeared at Disneyland and DCL, but not Disney World- makes it sound like Disney can't use the Marvel characters). It merely says Universal cannot use those that haven't already been represented. So it sounds like they are more in limbo. Maybe Disney can use them, but the author of that article doesn't know.

 

[JimmyV]

So it sounds like they are more in limbo. Maybe Disney can use them, but the author of that article doesn't know.

Hence my use of the phrase "not that cut and dried". I didn't say that Disney can or would use Marvel characters (but if I had to bet....). It is being explored. Heck. All it would take is one negotiation and one big fat check from Disney to Universal to resolve the matter once and for all. Any contract can be re-negotiatied. But this line is fairly clear:

It's been well-established that Universal retains the theme park rights to the Marvel characters it has been featuring in Islands of Adventure. However, Universal cannot add additional Marvel characters to that land without permission from Marvel — which means permission from Disney, which, one can reasonably presume, is not forthcoming.

So we know that Thor will not be at US. Will he appear at WDW? Unknown. But a little greasing of the skids would assure that result!

 

[LBIJim]

California Screamin' is an example of what was wrong with the original DCA and why it went through a huge overhaul a couple of years ago. An unthemed coaster is just, not very "Disney".

The "unthemeness" of California Screamin' WAS the theme. A 1920s era lakeside or oceanside amusement park called Paradise Pier. Disney erred by thinking people would understand the theme. I thought it was a great idea, but obviously i'm one of the few who thought so. If anything, CS and Paradise Pier kept California Adventure from being a total failure until the introduction of Tower of Terror and Carsland.

The same complaints are often made about Primeval Whirl at AK. Yes, it's just a side by side off-the-shelf Spinning Wild Mouse, but I think the intentionally tacky theming is excellent.

A kick-*** coaster would be a great idea for one of the Florida parks. It wouldn't detract from the family atmosphere one bit, and might keep some guests in Disney and away from the other parks. Doesn't need to have any inversions or gimmicks. (Inversions are SO 1987 ). Something like Nitro or Apollo's Chariot or New Texas Giant if steel. If wood, El Toro or The Voyage.

My personal current favorite coaster in Florida is Cheetah Hunt.

Jim

 

[surferdave]

Disney doesn't bother trying to keep the 14+ year olds happy, they just keep building barriers to splitting the theme park visits so their parents won't include anything for them to do by going somewhere else during vacation. That's why we periodically get the dismayed Disney mother here posting her sorrow and surprise when her oldest son "doesn't want to go to Disney World!"

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Uh, died. Some people died.

Two people died after riding Mission Space, but both had serious pre-existing medical conditions. The ride did not kill them. The medical conditions they had would have killed them anyway at some point. Of course none of that matters to anybody who THOUGHT the ride might be killing people.

A Marvel park would be perfect for all the thrill seekers, too bad they don't have the rights in Florida.

 

[Iowajes]

Hence my use of the phrase "not that cut and dried". I didn't say that Disney can or would use Marvel characters

You said they are "fair game". The article makes no such claim.

Of course none of that matters to anybody who THOUGHT the ride might be killing people.

A woman collapsed and died after riding Prince Charming's Carousel. Oddly, there was no uproar like there was Mission Space.

I can't go on coasters, but I still think Disney would benefit from a really good one. I can't go on Mine Train either, though.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

A woman collapsed and died after riding Prince Charming's Carousel. Oddly, there was no uproar like there was Mission Space.

Could be because the two incidents happened within a year, and one was a young child with an undiagnosed heart condition. The other was a woman in her 40s with severe high blood pressure.

Years before, a girl about the same age died after riding Body Wars, and it turned out she had a heart condition, much like the boy on Mission Space. There wasn't any talk about Body Wars killing people that I remember. That's been reserved for Mission Space, possibly because it already had the reputation of making riders feel sick.

 

[JimmyV]

You said they are "fair game". The article makes no such claim.

By that I meant "fair game for an attempt". I think that attempt is coming, or will be resolved through cash considerations.

 

[surferdave]

How is it that the discriminating WDW fan seems to feel that roller coasters are an eyesore, but other standard midway rides are okay with a minimal theming? How many more Dumbo ride imitations is Disney gonna build? People still lament the loss of the Skyway even though it was standard amusement park fare and not in any way pretty.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I agree. (Although a thrill ride 5th gate might be cool with all the kicked-up rides being in one place, out of the way of all of the haters.) But let's save this discussion for a thread where someone suggests turning Disney into "thrill coaster parks" instead of a thread that asks if one, single, solitary adult coaster might be a good idea.



OK Jimmy, A fifth park for major thrill coasters, with Disney theming and storyline .....................hmmm.....................OK....that I could see!


AKK

 

[RnbwSktles]

Disney doesn't bother trying to keep the 14+ year olds happy, they just keep building barriers to splitting the theme park visits so their parents won't include anything for them to do by going somewhere else during vacation. That's why we periodically get the dismayed Disney mother here posting her sorrow and surprise when her oldest son "doesn't want to go to Disney World!"

I think that's a hard demographic to keep happy anyway. And what would it take for a teenager to think Disney is "cool"? 1 coaster? 3? 5? Would any number of coasters ever make Disney sound cool enough that the average teenager would want to spend a week there? If Disney invested in a highly-themed "modern" coaster, it would make the people already going to Disney happy. However, most of those people would go to Disney anyway, and it wouldn't be enough to attract new families.

IMO, 2 out of the 3 major demographics are content with Disney (young children and adults). The children part is obvious, and adults have restaurants and bars to get away and relax at. These are also the 2 demographics that probably spend the most money (souvenirs, BBB, Pirates League, expensive dinners, alcohol, etc). I think in order to make the young adults sector really happy, you have to sacrifice one of the others.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

No doubt I'm in the minority here, but without reading all the replies, I can tell you that as far as I'm concerned Disney doesn't need a kick-a** coaster. There are probably thousands of places people who like thrill rides can go. I know nothing about Sea World's coasters since I'm not into coasters like that. I've been to Sea World, Universal, 6 Flags, and long before we went to Disney we did Hershey, Busch Gardens, etc. etc.
If that's what you want, go to the parks that specialize in thrill rides. Disney has a sampling of thrill rides that are pretty much family friendly.
It's available elsewhere. There are places where Disney can spend millions but I don't think it's on coasters. They spent a bundle on Magic Bands and the RFID technology which isn't to "everyone's" liking either.
It's sort of like R rated movies. Or X rated movies. Not every theater has to have every choice.
Just sayin'

 

[ttintagel]

It's just not their thing. They can't be all things to all people.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

It's sort of like R rated movies. Or X rated movies. Not every theater has to have every choice.
Just sayin'

That may not be the best analogy to make. Most, if not all, movie theaters show movies of all ratings, up to and including R. They do this because movie theaters are trying to appeal to the widest demographic possible. As Disney has always, and continues, to claim to be a park "for the entire family," it wouldn't hurt for them to follow a similar model: offering something for everyone.

I'm not saying they don't offer something for everyone, but the amount of people who seem down on the idea of Disney introducing even one attraction that may not be suitable to a four-year-old is alarming. They claim that Disney should be a park that appeals to anyone, but by not offering more than just kids fare, they're no longer appealing to everyone. It becomes a park aimed primarily at young children, which ironically, is what Walt Disney was initially trying to combat.

 

[JimmyV]

Disney is supposed to be for families and people of all ages.

They can't be all things to all people.

Can both of these be true? Some people contend that Disney is trying to please every demographic, and others contend that there is a demographic that Disney wants no part of. Given movie franchises such as PoTC, Avengers, Iron Man and the like, it seems as if Disney is very interested in the demographic that is most likely to enjoy a kicked-up coaster. Hey. For all we know, Disney is working on this as we speak and all the people here who say that they want no part of a coaster will be the first ones subscribing to the inevitable thread about the timing of the soft opening!

 

[jade1]

That's a bit of a misleading comment. While there are roller coasters that may exceed a mile in track length, it's disingenuous to insinuate that the coaster itself covers that kind of distance. While a fun thing to dream about, using a roller coaster as a transportation system is not feasible...

Yea I guess-have to be some kind of train like HP.

 

[agame2323]

This a bad idea and to understand why you have to understand Roller Coaster Junkies!

I'm roller coaster JUNKIE!!! I'm about 5 -6 hours from Ceder Point and 2 hours from Six Flags Great Adventure NJ. I can't help but enjoy coasters.

Us Roller Coaster enthusiast are wired a bit different than the normal person. Roller Coaster enthusiast CRAVE coasters. But NOT JUST ONE. We want variety. We want to jump off one coaster and go right to the next heart-racer.

So for Disney, in order to please the group of people who would really appreciate a true trill coaster, Disney would have to build MULTIPLE coasters. Essentially, the WDW parks would start to resemble IOA. I love Disney for what it is (although as of late they've been dropping the ball) which is a great place for families. No Coaster Junkie would go to Disney for ONE coaster. Disney would just waste space trying to please the hardcore people like me.

I actually think EE, SM, and RcR are perfect coasters for Disney. I want to be able to take my son on his first Coaster and Disney offers the perfect types of coaster for that occasion.

Besides... could you image THIS thing in a disney park?
http://youtu.be/1iD6gxLEbNU