Where do you think Disney Dropped the Ball

[Hippychickali]

Back to the MGM issue...as an example of how it needs to become more kid-friendly......

I don't have kids but for me, it's not even about kid friendly but maybe "everybody friendly". I think it just lacks so much when it had such great potential.

Ali

 

[disneyaggie]

TO: LSUDis

What a darling picture! How priceless! I remember seeing Cinderella a couple of years ago up close at the Castle and I promise you, I truly thought, "Oh my stars, it's Cinderella"! And I am a full grown adult!

She was absolutely flawless!

 

[Feralpeg]

If they wonder why they have been struggling, perhaps it's because they have "upscaled" themselves out of the market that made them such a success in the first place.

O.K., climbing down from my soapbox now...

Becky

Maybe that's the problem. They aren't suffering. WDW just had a record breaking year and it looks like this one will be the same. Obviously, there are a lot of people out there willing to pay the prices Disney charges.

 

[Feralpeg]

I honestly didn't realize that people thought that Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama was to be taken seriously. I think it's intentional cheesiness is quite clear in their promotional material. I haven't been to AK yet but even the name gives it away to me. I'll have to let you know what I think when I get there. I will be sure to look out for some of the details another poster has mentioned.

Ali

I love Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama. I don't do Primal Whirl because I can't take rides that go in circles, but I love playing the carnival games. I love winning the stuffed toys which I then give to a child walking around with his or her family. They always get these huge grins on their faces. It makes me feel great.

By the way, Universal has a carnival game area as well.

 

[crazymomof4]

Closing "Horizons" in EPCOT and only opening Carosel of Progress (MK) during the busy seasons.
I miss these two every time I'm there!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

TO: LSUDis

What a darling picture! How priceless! I remember seeing Cinderella a couple of years ago up close at the Castle and I promise you, I truly thought, "Oh my stars, it's Cinderella"! And I am a full grown adult!

She was absolutely flawless!

LOL! I'm an adult too and I swear I almost cried when I met Cinderella.

 

[Feralpeg]

You all are missing the mark by concentrating on rides. The most colossal boo-boo Disney ever made was way back before Toy Story, when Pixar was struggling and Disney had a chance to buy Pixar out right. Many in the animation division wanted this to happen in a bad way, including Roy Disney. Well, Michael Eisner vetoed it--end of discussion. Steve Jobs of Apple Computers then stepped in and bought the company, and the rest is history. And this decision has brought Disney to the sorry state it is now in with regard to animation, because many Disney animators, including John Lasseter, left to go to Pixar and other companys (like Dreamworks!).

Tromba

I happen to like the movies that Disney has produced over the past few years. No, they aren't all The Lion King, but they are entertaining. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to let the different animation techniques bother me. As a shareholder, I like the fact that Disney can produce more than one animated film a year. Even though they haven't all done that well at the box-office, they've made up for it in video sales. Don't get me wrong. I loved Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. I thought Toy Story II and III were boring beyond belief.

 

[disneyaggie]

LOL! I'm an adult too and I swear I almost cried when I met Cinderella.

Here's to us "kids at heart"!

 

[Feralpeg]

I think Disney has dropped the ball in several ways:

1. Replacing "Mr. Toad" with "Winnie the Pooh"-- If they wanted a Winnie the Pooh ride, they should have found another place for it and kept Mr. Toad where it was.

2. Getting rid of the Florida-based animation dept.-- After all, what's "Disney's Magic of Animation" without the animators?

3. The constant remaking of classic Disney movies (this also includes all of the lame sequels they keep churning out)-- Certainly someone can come up with some original ideas!

Disney makes a lot of money on those "lame sequels". The video sales do very well.

 

[DLKT]

I honestly didn't realize that people thought that Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama was to be taken seriously. I think it's intentional cheesiness is quite clear in their promotional material. I haven't been to AK yet but even the name gives it away to me. I'll have to let you know what I think when I get there. I will be sure to look out for some of the details another poster has mentioned.

Ali

I've been to AK several times, with my eyes open (so to speak), and I don't even know who Chester and Hester are. I just thought it was a particular look that Disney was going for. "Cheesy" on purpose I guess. Seemed out of place the first time and all the rest.

 

[BamaTigger]

Well, I might get a little slack for this, but I think Disney dropped the ball when the opened the Animal Kingdom!!

Why open up a big ol zoo with a few AND I MEAN FEW rides?? I know it's a THEME PARK and not a thrill park, but I mean honestly, I dont like that park!!
WDW could of taken all that money and improved ALL 3 PARKS and added so much more to every park, including MGM. Like most of the posts, I agree that MGM lacks alot of rides and attractions that need to be added and/or updated. I love that park, but I think that some new rides could be added.

MK could of been updated and done something with Aerial's Grotto, and THEY COULD OF DONE WITHOUT STITCH!!!!

And Epcot could be updated with more technical rides other than Mission Space. And added way more countries and renovated Living Seas to add more attraction to that.

So in my opinion, and IM SORRY ALL YOU AK LOVERS.... but WDW could of done without the AK. Besides, the dad gum walk from the buses is sooooooooo long and it is way toooooooooo hot there with all that enclosed plant life!!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

**** Originally posted by Musky:There are at least twice as many deluxe resorts as there are value. There is no value resort where a family with more that four members can stay (and we all know only lower-class trailer trash have more than 2 kids, anyway.***

I just wanted to clarify that even though there are more deluxe resorts than values, there are MORE value ROOMs than deluxe rooms on property. The value resorts are huge.

 

[BAST]

I honestly didn't realize that people thought that Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama was to be taken seriously. I think it's intentional cheesiness is quite clear in their promotional material. I haven't been to AK yet but even the name gives it away to me. I'll have to let you know what I think when I get there. I will be sure to look out for some of the details another poster has mentioned.

Ali

I agree that it is meant to be intentionally cheesy. But I have no doubt that the principal reason that WDW opened this area was how cheap it was to build (not some needed homage to road side carnivals). I am just very happy that WDW does not have any other area like this.

 

[Feralpeg]

I think it is great that people are so different. It is obvious by this thread that we all see merit in different things. Gosh, that must make Disney's job very difficult. If they spend money on something I like, they've dropped the ball in the opinion of many others. I guess they just have to do their best to make it a well-rounded place that has things that appeal to various tastes and know that they can't please everyone.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I agree that it is meant to be intentionally cheesy. But I have no doubt that the principal reason that WDW opened this area was how cheap it was to build (not some needed homage to road side carnivals). I am just very happy that WDW does not have any other area like this.

Bast, is your screen name after the Egyptian goddess?


I agree, Chester & Hesters seems out of place and cheap for a Disney park.

I usually don't go on the rides there.

 

[John Dobbertin]

Interesting thread -- certainly has been a lot of venting & interesting items & views! Remember, WDW's MK in Orlando is still USA's #1 tourist attraction -- 40k (on average) of us every day of the year. Why? Where else do you go with your family for quality entertainment? WDW draws primarily from the East Coast where prices -- and average incomes -- are above those for "fly-over" country. Hotel rates of $200 (& more) don't alarm these folks. And WDW discounts Big Time for Floridians, and it works!

 

[seashoreCM]

(may be redundant because I decided to reply first and read others;' replies at my leisure later).

Where Disney drops the ball often, accoring to other Disboards posts -- Making reservations, errors abound.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[andrabell]

There is no place on earth than I'd rather be than WDW.

But...I miss Horizons and I wish that Carousel of Progress was open all the time. The part-timing of CoP is like the Disney of today thumbing their nose at Walt Disney. I think that is just sad.

 

[sm4987]

Where to begin. Mission Space, MGM needs much more creativity, Stitch, more to do in Epcot.

I love Disney, but there is so so much more that they can do with all those wonderful parks!

 

[Disney Doll]

~Stitch's Great Escape in the MK. I think this is compeltely lame. Of course, when it was Alien Encounter I thought it was lame. But at least the alie was scary and ugly and not some annoying blue teddy bear thing!
~20,000Leagues Under The Sea should have never been removed
~Not doing anything really great with that 20K space after they removed the ride. I had visions of something based on the movie "Atlantis" with a deep diving submarine etc...sort of like an updated 20K I guess.
~I don't miss The Timekeeper. But I do think they should take that big building and do something better with it. There seem to be an awful lot fo big buildings or big areas of WDW that are "prime" real estate that are not being used to their full potential.
~I love MGM in general, but perhaps Indiana Jones could use an update. Last time I was there, they had shortened the show a bit, but I think they should maybe rework the whole show.
~The Wonders of Life should be reworked, but keep Cranium Command, The Making of Me, and Body Wars. All the other exercise business etc could be gone though.
~Imagination is OK...we stop in every few trips
~I actually think that out of all the parks, Epcot is the one that needs the most work in the Futurworld section. What's there now is no longer "future" stuff...it's beginning to be a bit "past".
~Living Seas...they really stripped this down. They used to have those little cars that took you to the aquarium area etc. Adding the cartoon fish made it a bit cuter for the kids, but I am not impressed otherwise.