Whats Wrong with Disney?

[Jennasis]

Anyone see that Family Guy episode where they flash to Nathaniel Hawthorne writing at his desk, and his wife calls "Nathaniel? What are you doing?"...to which he answers "Ruining Junior High for everyone."

 

[Mad Hattered]

Can someone remind me the last time WDW themed something as well?

Stay away "haters"! More room for us!!!

(see how stupid that phrase looks?)

 

[surferdave]

And this is what passes for 4-year liberal arts degree material now? I guess they do it to keep kids interested in college and not dropping out, but it is simply astounding to me that these courses exist.

For the record, I think Hawthorne is fantastic!

I think you're overreacting. When I was in college over 26 years ago my university had literary classes avaliable on subjects like Tolkien's work, but they were generally free electives, not degree requirements. I'm sure that the integrity of your local barista's college degree is intact.

 

[Burnedout]

I've never read a single Harry Potter book and I loved the WWoHP. I don't see how any of us can predict anything based on only our own experiences.

I watched the movies after wandering hp the first time. It was so wonderfully delightful hanging there it made me want to read them and I'm 50.

I won't go through avatar land because of the movie. I believe it will be beautiful and have rides. That is good enough for most people.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Not to mention.....this is what Disney would have done with the franchise...

 

[MichiganDVC]

Can someone remind me the last time WDW themed something as well?

It looks really nice. I have zero connection to HP and even if I did, I wouldn't spend all the extra money to get to USF from my DVC.

But if it works for you, enjoy it.

I still don't see anything wrong with Disney.

 

[DisUniversal]

Can someone remind me the last time WDW themed something as well?

It looks really nice. I have zero connection to HP and even if I did, I wouldn't spend all the extra money to get to USF from my DVC.

But if it works for you, enjoy it.

I still don't see anything wrong with Disney.

Nothing is wrong with Disney...they're just not the best when it comes to immersive theming and cutting edge attractions in theme parks any longer...at least not on this coast.

 

[JimmyV]

I think that everyone at WDW should have to sit through a James Joyce attraction to earn their fastpasses.

A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man

 

[surferdave]

A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man

You have to sit through a reading of that by Ray Romano. That earns you your FP to meet Elsa. Or whichever princess shows up; your disney magic is subject to change, of course.

 

[BrianL]

I think you're overreacting. When I was in college over 26 years ago my university had literary classes avaliable on subjects like Tolkien's work, but they were generally free electives, not degree requirements. I'm sure that the integrity of your local barista's college degree is intact.

Well, Tolkien skews a bit older, though I'd probably consider Lord of the Rings high school lit. Then again, I started on Hobbit in fourth grade, though it's a bit of an easier read. Well, if one considers Tolkien an easy read; I always found it kinda dry.

Then again, maybe its all these electives that ensure those with degrees work in coffee shops. I do have an English degree, though it's not in Literature thankfully.

 

[BrianL]

Nothing is wrong with Disney...they're just not the best when it comes to immersive theming and cutting edge attractions in theme parks any longer...at least not on this coast.

To be fair though, the HP areas are the only parts of Universal that actually are immersive. I've always felt Uni's feel though was to be like a movie studio, and show you the behind the scenes and such. At Disney, they don't like to crack the façade of fantasy, whereas Uni is supposed to. That's why everything is in a soundstage, Potterlands excluded.

 

[gericoronado]

As for the original question "What's wrong with Disney?", I can only speak for myself when I say there is nothing wrong with Disney. My upcoming vacation consists of flying across the country to stay 17 days/16 nights on-site at WDW. Would I fly from California to Orlando to stay that long at Universal? Nooooooo.

 

[sonofanarchy]

To be fair though, the HP areas are the only parts of Universal that actually are immersive. I've always felt Uni's feel though was to be like a movie studio, and show you the behind the scenes and such. At Disney, they don't like to crack the façade of fantasy, whereas Uni is supposed to. That's why everything is in a soundstage, Potterlands excluded.

Have you even been to Islands of Adventure? There isn't a single soundstage in that park?

Have you seen Springfield?
Have you seen New York?

 

[sonofanarchy]

As for the original question "What's wrong with Disney?", I can only speak for myself when I say there is nothing wrong with Disney. My upcoming vacation consists of flying across the country to stay 17 days/16 nights on-site at WDW. Would I fly from California to Orlando to stay that long at Universal? Nooooooo.

I'm staying the same amount of time, but I'm spending 6 nights of that at Universal.

I'd go insane spending 16 straight nights at WDW. 10-15 years ago, I would never have said that. Now, there's just no way.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I think you're missing the Disboards' key narrative: Disney doesn't build anything new. And when they do, it either isn't built fast enough or it is terrible. Either way, its too crowded. And their attendance is going to drop.

As of late, sorry, but this is sort of true. I haven't been on 7DMT but the very best I've read is that it's a fun, if too short ride. Most people's responses I've read have been "They spent 3 years building that?"

Disney has rested on it's laurels because they've been allowed to do so. I kind of liken Disney to Dodge/Chrysler. For years, they got away with putting out crummy cars because they could, due to their name. Then, the foreign automakers started stepping up their game and then the unthinkable happened - They had to file for bankruptcy.

There's a fantastic exchange of lines in the movie "The American President":

"People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.

Lewis, we've had presidents who were beloved, who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference."

Disney has become the sand.

 

[Mad Hattered]

To be fair though, the HP areas are the only parts of Universal that actually are immersive. I've always felt Uni's feel though was to be like a movie studio, and show you the behind the scenes and such. At Disney, they don't like to crack the façade of fantasy, whereas Uni is supposed to. That's why everything is in a soundstage, Potterlands excluded.

Mmmmkay...

We must have a different view on what "theming" is.


Edit: this site is screwing up because I didn't quote DisUniversal...it was Brian I replied to.

 

[pookadoo77]

I have never watched avatar, dont get the hype...

 

[fairyprincess88]

Not to mention.....this is what Disney would have done with the franchise...

So true and that was the biggest reason the fandom begged JK Rowling to not go with Disney. I remember vividly when the whole theme park thing came to light and Jo asked what people thought and the over whelming response was "YES! AWESOME! Just please not Disney! You don't mean Disney right?"

There was legit fear that we'd see "Chosen One Mickey" and " Lord GoofaMort" or something equally terrifying. Although the fans were pretty positive that Jo would never ever allow her characters to be Disneyfied, it was something that set the entire Potter fandom on a collective meltdown of panic for a good few month. Looking back on it, all the freak outs were quite entertaining.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Can someone remind me the last time WDW themed something as well?

Stay away "haters"! More room for us!!!

(see how stupid that phrase looks?)

My goodness that's beautiful. I'm a HP nerd who waited on line at midnight for the final 3 books. However my love for HP is outweighed by my love for my 3 year old son. I so desperately want to justify the $180+ each it would cost for us to see it in person with dual park admission and their version of Fast Pass. But my kid at 37 inches can go on a total of 7 rides between the two parks and would be bored with most of the Seuss World ones as they're copies of ones he goes on weekly at the Jersey Shore.

I would do anything to justify me getting to check out Simpsons World, HP Land, Spiderman and get to ride my all-time favorite ride The Mummy. But you just can't do it with younger kids.

 

[Mad Hattered]

My goodness that's beautiful. I'm a HP nerd who waited on line at midnight for the final 3 books. However my love for HP is outweighed by my love for my 3 year old son. I so desperately want to justify the $180+ each it would cost for us to see it in person with dual park admission and their version of Fast Pass. But my kid at 37 inches can go on a total of 7 rides between the two parks and would be bored with most of the Seuss World ones as they're copies of ones he goes on weekly at the Jersey Shore.

I would do anything to justify me getting to check out Simpsons World, HP Land, Spiderman and get to ride my all-time favorite ride The Mummy. But you just can't do it with younger kids.

Understood. I realize it's not an ideal place for those with young children (your son's age) but give it time. Give it a few years and I think you will see more attention given to younger kids at Universal. I know that Gringotts has a 42" requirement so they purposely went after a different demographic with this one.

The new Kong attraction they are working on will have no height requirement (although it's yet to be seen how kid-friendly it will be) They are getting ready to totally reimagine the Kid Zone over next to ET to make it more relevant and updated. There are also rumors of a new family-friendly coaster over in the Jurassic Park area.

Give it some time and things will probably work out for you. If you are a Potter nerd then you HAVE to see the areas.

Edit: I think you would really appreciate having a drink in Moe's tavern. Or maybe you don't drink...it's pretty cool if you're a Simpsons fan.