Whats Wrong with Disney?

[disneyjunkie11]

I must be the only person on the planet who has never read a HP book, seen a HP movie, or had a desire to do so. Going to Universal to see all the HP stuff would be wasted on me.

There are two of us

 

[MichiganDVC]

NFL didn't match the original hype shown in the concept art. So when you got there and saw it, it wasn't OMG this is amazing. But more so oh this is nice. Where as Hogsmeade, Universal didn't have to do much to amaze people. People had saw this in movies and then you get in there and its practically the same, its like wow, tear drops like the ones some people get when they get to Magic Kingdom for the first time and see Cindy's castle.

Of course, I didn't spend a ton of time looking at concept art for New Fantasyland, but what I can tell you is that I rarely spent any time at all in Mickey's Toontown and I think NFL looks amazing!! But to others, it's all about the rides.

As usual, and maybe I'm alone here, but I really only care if Disney makes me happy. I don't care how it compares to something else that I'm never going to go to. And they do

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

What's wrong with Disney isn't the IPs or their focus. Whats wrong with Disney is their lack of taking risks. Take a chance. Get Messy.

Careful what you wish for:

 

[DisUniversal]

I must be the only person on the planet who has never read a HP book, seen a HP movie, or had a desire to do so. Going to Universal to see all the HP stuff would be wasted on me.

Why would it be wasted? Plenty of people who've never seen Song of the South seem to enjoy Splash Mountain. People also find a way to enjoy attractions at the MK that aren't based on any book or movie at all.

 

[agavegirl1]

NFL didn't match the original hype shown in the concept art. So when you got there and saw it, it wasn't OMG this is amazing. But more so oh this is nice. Where as Hogsmeade, Universal didn't have to do much to amaze people. People had saw this in movies and then you get in there and its practically the same, its like wow, tear drops like the ones some people get when they get to Magic Kingdom for the first time and see Cindy's castle.

I think this is an important point. "Living up to the concept art" is something Disney hasn't been doing much of lately. I do fervently hope the Pandora "lives up to the concept art". It will be visually stunning if it does. If it is value-engineered, well, that would be adding disappointment to the FLE disappointment.

 

[prudence64]

I must be the only person on the planet who has never read a HP book, seen a HP movie, or had a desire to do so. Going to Universal to see all the HP stuff would be wasted on me.

I'm not a hp person, but I thought it looked fantastic. Unfortunately main ride was down when I was there and everything was too crowded to get close to. But, I think it's impressive looking no matter what.

 

[mellyf]

Careful what you wish for:

<small voice> I actually liked Alien Encounter, although I can't say the same for Stitch.

 

[disneymac000]

Careful what you wish for:

Which was 1000x better than Stitch...so it kinda proves my point that sometimes an actual risk is better

 

[Burnedout]

I'm not a hp person, but I thought it looked fantastic. Unfortunately main ride was down when I was there and everything was too crowded to get close to. But, I think it's impressive looking no matter what.

Bummer you missed it! Id never read the books or watched the films either. Adored harry potter land so much read and watched. Jow can't wait to go back in January!!

 

[DisUniversal]

But I also see the opposite. The Universal fans (not all, but some) dismiss anything Disney does because it's not on par with Harry Potter.

I think people dismiss what Disney does lately because it's not even on par with what we expect (or should expect) from Disney.

 

[mellyf]

I'm not a hp person, but I thought it looked fantastic. Unfortunately main ride was down when I was there and everything was too crowded to get close to. But, I think it's impressive looking no matter what.

I'm not an Avatar person, but I think the concept art looks beautiful, and I look forward to experiencing the finished product...if I can tear myself away from HP eventually.

 

[DisUniversal]

Which was 1000x better than Stitch...so it kinda proves my point that sometimes an actual risk is better

Agree....when you don't take risks, you get this...

 

[disneymac000]

Of course, I didn't spend a ton of time looking at concept art for New Fantasyland, but what I can tell you is that I rarely spent any time at all in Mickey's Toontown and I think NFL looks amazing!! But to others, it's all about the rides.

As usual, and maybe I'm alone here, but I really only care if Disney makes me happy. I don't care how it compares to something else that I'm never going to go to. And they do

Thats the thing. If you say everything is awesome about Disney and that they can do no wrong, they won't try harder to even do better than they are now. As a teacher, I bet you challenge your students who are doing well to do even better (at least I hope you would). You need to do that with Disney also especially if its something you genuinely care about which i can tell you do. Its one of Sun Tzu's principles.

And by no means is Universal perfect but its that former C- student who is working really hard and just got two A++ projects that were just wow.

 

[elizmeyers]

I can't count how many times I've been to Disney in my lifetime, but it's been a lot. I was raised on Disney movies and I absolutely love visiting the parks as a (childless) adult. I had never visited Universal until last December. We vacationed with my mother in law who loves Universal and therefore had to go. I have also never read Harry Potter nor seen the movies. I did enjoy Harry Potter Land and some aspects of Universal. The rides seemed more "advanced" technologically than Disney's. But after half a day of riding their thrill rides, I developed a bit of motion sickness. I also couldn't relate to some of their themes (Marvel comics, Despicable Me...) and I found their rides to be monotonous.
Don't get me started on their food, either. The best meal we had was at The Hard Rock. I live in a city where we are blessed with some of the finest cuisine so Universal food was barely edible to me! I know, I'm being snobbish here.
I really have no desire to visit Universal again because I found it to be a completely different experience than Disney. It felt like a theme park or a fair. It felt too closed in and confined. I suppose Disney's "corporate branding" has worked on me. When I enter a Disney park, I'm reflecting on the experiences that I had as a child with my family and it feels like I'm at home again.
I'm looking forward to Avatar Land. I saw the movie and enjoyed it. I feel that Disney can certainly make it it's own. And every Dis podcast I listen to refers to it as the new night time attraction. That has me intrigued as to what our imagineers have in store for the attractions offered within this land.
I also think that the Star Wars expansion will be great for HS. It should offer rides that might compete with US attractions.
I found some positives in visiting Universal. I liked how the parks were within walking distance of each other. That being said, it creates limits in their future expansions. Also, they are far less expensive to visit than Disney.
I will always be a Disney gal, though

 

[prudence64]

I've only been to IOA. That wasn't my cup of tea. Looked cool, but we didn't find enough to do to get our money worth. Food in the park was bad, I agree. Didn't help that forbidden journey was down and you couldn't breath in Harry potter land it was so crowded. Would be interested in seeing main park someday though.

 

[ks13]

Kong and Jurassic Park aren't possibilities. They are already happening. The other rumor I heard from speaking with several Universal employees is Kid Zone being rethemed to Bikini Bottom. If that happens, Disney can say bye-bye to the 3-9 year old crowd for at least a couple of days.

Hadn't heard about kidzone, You are right I should have said Kong, and Jurassic park construction is underway just not announced yet.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I think people dismiss what Disney does lately because it's not even on par with what we expect (or should expect) from Disney.

This is the problem. Yes, it's natural to compare Disney and Universal, but my main point is just that - Disney isn't matching what they used to do. Honestly, I was appalled at how cheap they made the Little Mermaid ride. I found it insulting to the movie and the Disney name.

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

Hand-drawn animation is all but dead to this and coming generations...just like B&W TV and silent movies are to previous generations.

After the 7DMT opened, we tried watching Snow White again and while the story is timeless, the animation is pretty bad by today's standards.

Kids who have grown up watching movies like Shrek, Tangled, Despicable Me, Toy Story and Frozen aren't going to be be impressed with older style movies like Snow White, Dumbo and Peter Pan.

imho, I think Disney needs to remake some of the classics in CGI so future generations can enjoy them. Then they can release them on Blu-Ray with the original versions as a bonus...for the grandparents.

Wow, my DD's favorite Disney princess movie is not Tangled or Frozen (although our whole family does love it) but Sleeping Beauty. And my boys loved Peter Pan and Jungle Book as much as Toy Story. But, then again my oldest son watched Singin in the Rain with me this spring. And he enjoyed it. So maybe my family is different as we enjoy classics.

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

This is the problem. Yes, it's natural to compare Disney and Universal, but my main point is just that - Disney isn't matching what they used to do. Honestly, I was appalled at how cheap they made the Little Mermaid ride. I found it insulting to the movie and the Disney name.

I think that is what upsets people and why these HP vs Disney threads pop up. Disney is declining and that's a slippery slope. There is a point in which the product Disney is offering will not be worth their price hikes. Do I know that point? No, but it's there and they seem to be racing there. They keep raising prices and cutting costs including maintenance, poor quality merchandise and their restaurant menus/food quality slipping.
I remember loving LM when it first came out and yes I think the new ride was a disservice to all the Ariel fans out there.

 

[Suvadoo]

I must be the only person on the planet who has never read a HP book, seen a HP movie, or had a desire to do so. Going to Universal to see all the HP stuff would be wasted on me.

I was lucky enough to visit Carsland and enjoyed it thoroughly. I had never seen the movie, but the theming was fantastic. If I used the same logic you are using for Harry Potter, "Carsland would've been wasted on me."