With expansions, Pandora, and Galaxies Edge in the rearview mirror is Disney "tapped out" for competing with Epic Universe?

That’s just more replacing things. They really need net new attractions.

Exactly. They need more places for people to BE - to disperse the crowds. It can't be just one thing either, because it concentrates the crowds in one location. Epcot is going to be so much better with Ratatouile and Guardians both online, new and highly desired, especially since Rat didn't even replace anything, so that's a net gain. They have to add bandwidth to eat up the people.
 
I agree but there is absolutely nothing besides Dinosaur going on in Dinoland. They can easily get rid of the carnival games and build a new attraction.

Losing Primeval Whirl was a blow to the area for sure. It wasn't that amazing, but it could draw in some people. Having nothing there is a problem. It is an area ripe for a major addition or even redevelopment, though I do like Dino-Rama as a theme.
 
Losing Primeval Whirl was a blow to the area for sure. It wasn't that amazing, but it could draw in some people. Having nothing there is a problem. It is an area ripe for a major addition or even redevelopment, though I do like Dino-Rama as a theme.
Agreed. On my last trip, every area of AK was crowded...except for Dinoland. Everyone was just using it as a walkway to Dinosaur and that was about it. The carnival game section was a ghost town. I'm really hoping Dinoland gets replaced soon - it needs something new and more exciting to attract people.

But I do agree overall that the parks need more places for crowds to disperse in general. I think Hollywood Studios especially needs this. The new additions are great but most, if not all of them are lower capacity rides when the park desperately needs a people eater at the same level as Great Movie Ride or Ellen's Energy Adventure.
 
At this point there’s no excuse for not at least putting a bunch of characters out there.
 

Agreed. On my last trip, every area of AK was crowded...except for Dinoland. Everyone was just using it as a walkway to Dinosaur and that was about it. The carnival game section was a ghost town. I'm really hoping Dinoland gets replaced soon - it needs something new and more exciting to attract people.

But I do agree overall that the parks need more places for crowds to disperse in general. I think Hollywood Studios especially needs this. The new additions are great but most, if not all of them are lower capacity rides when the park desperately needs a people eater at the same level as Great Movie Ride or Ellen's Energy Adventure.
I agree as well as long as they don't get rid o Dinosaur! I love that herky jerky ride and queue so much!
 
I agree as well as long as they don't get rid o Dinosaur! I love that herky jerky ride and queue so much!
I think at the very least if Dinoland was to be replaced with another theme, Dinosaur will get a retheme rather than torn down and replaced with something completely new. I like the ride, but on my last trip I noticed that a decent chunk of the effects and animatronics were not working. It gave me Indiana Jones in Disneyland vibes. I wish Disney would take time to fix their rides rather than leaving them to degrade over time :(
 
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But I do agree overall that the parks need more places for crowds to disperse in general. I think Hollywood Studios especially needs this. The new additions are great but most, if not all of them are lower capacity rides when the park desperately needs a people eater at the same level as Great Movie Ride or Ellen's Energy Adventure.
It's gotten a bit better with the new lands opening, but I've always thought HS suffered from a layout issue where people would go to one section and get "stuck" there. Sunset Boulevard still has this feel to it where you think people are just caught there.
 
If you re-theme the Dinoland area, Zootopia would be a pretty good choice. Dinosaur might look a little out of place if that happens, but that's what I'd do.
 
I think at the very least if Dinoland was to be replaced with another theme, Dinosaur will get a retheme rather than torn down and replaced with something completely new. I like the ride, but on my last trip I noticed that a decent chunk of the effects and animatronics were not working. It gave me Indiana Jones in Disneyland vibes. I wish Disney would take time to fix their rides rather than leaving them to degrade over time :(
Oh that's a shame to hear. It's my "go to nostalgia" ride when I'm in AK. But it's also a lot of fun for what it is mainly because it feels dangerous...not dangerous on purpose but dangerous like "is this supposed to be like this?" lol
 
or Epic a response to Galaxy's Edge?

But look at all the new things or new to WDW that have come in since I joined DVC.... Pandora.. Galaxy's Edge... Toy Story... Guardians and Ratatouille....and coming soon Tron and Moana water area. Lets finish up the pandemic, get everyone back on their feet and look forward to the future. Let them compete and build and then it will just be better and better and we can pick and choose all the variety if themes to enjoy. A veritable buffet of entertainment.
I do worry about the current trend in Disney attractions though. The complaint about Universal in the past has been the abundance of screen based/simulator attractions. Currently, Disney seems to be building a lot of those and Universal seems to be going the opposite direction. That's one of the things that has attracted us to Universal recently. Generally physical sets/ride systems>screens/simulators. Especially for someone like me who gets motion sickness. I can't even ride Rat. It made me more disoriented and nauseous than any other Disney or Universal ride I've been on. I'm really nervous for Guardians.
 
I do worry about the current trend in Disney attractions though. The complaint about Universal in the past has been the abundance of screen based/simulator attractions. Currently, Disney seems to be building a lot of those and Universal seems to be going the opposite direction. That's one of the things that has attracted us to Universal recently. Generally physical sets/ride systems>screens/simulators. Especially for someone like me who gets motion sickness. I can't even ride Rat. It made me more disoriented and nauseous than any other Disney or Universal ride I've been on. I'm really nervous for Guardians.

Is Disney really building a lot of screen-based simulator rides though? I mean they are including screens, but the rides aren't strongly based on them. GotG iand Slinky are full coasters, as TRON will be. Rise of the Resistance is kind of a hybrid, but I don't think it even compares to simulators and there are a lot of physical sets. MMRR is similar, though to a lesser degree. So, that leaves Smuggler's Run and Ratatouille as the two other newest attractions and I will agree that those fit the bill (though Rat has some physical sets, it relies heavily on screens, moreso than MMRR or RotR). I think it feels like they are building more screen-based attractions than they actually are.
 
Is Disney really building a lot of screen-based simulator rides though? I mean they are including screens, but the rides aren't strongly based on them. GotG iand Slinky are full coasters, as TRON will be. Rise of the Resistance is kind of a hybrid, but I don't think it even compares to simulators and there are a lot of physical sets. MMRR is similar, though to a lesser degree. So, that leaves Smuggler's Run and Ratatouille as the two other newest attractions and I will agree that those fit the bill (though Rat has some physical sets, it relies heavily on screens, moreso than MMRR or RotR). I think it feels like they are building more screen-based attractions than they actually are.
Maybe not simulators but Disney is building more rides that heavily rely on screens. Smuggler's Run, Ratatouille, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway and Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind are all screen focused. Meanwhile at Universal, Velocicoaster, Hagrid's and Secret Life of Pets in Hollywood have little to no usage of screens. Judging from the footage of the Mario Kart ride in Universal Japan, that will be a screen based experience as well but that's a unique case due to it being an augmented reality ride rather than just another simulator.

I'm with the other poster. I'll take a ride with physical sets and animatronics over a screen based ride any day of the week. Disney parks are revered in the way that they are due to their innovative use of audio animatronics in their attractions. Right now it feels like they're copying Universal in making more screen rides more than anything.
 
I don't really recognize a distinction between "simulation" rides and "physical" rides. Screens, like any other technology, are just a tool in the box. It's like with movie special effects. There are "practical" effects and "digital" effects. There's really not too much of a difference between the two. It's all in execution. Practical effects can look just as goofy as digital effects if they're poorly done.

The same is true with rides. The Velocicoaster is a great ride with very few screens. Smuggler's Run is a great ride that is mostly screens. Rise of the Resistance is a great ride that uses every tool in the box. All three are great rides in my book. The ways they get there are less important to me.
 
Maybe not simulators but Disney is building more rides that heavily rely on screens. Smuggler's Run, Ratatouille, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway and Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind are all screen focused. Meanwhile at Universal, Velocicoaster, Hagrid's and Secret Life of Pets in Hollywood have little to no usage of screens. Judging from the footage of the Mario Kart ride in Universal Japan, that will be a screen based experience as well but that's a unique case due to it being an augmented reality ride rather than just another simulator.

I'm with the other poster. I'll take a ride with physical sets and animatronics over a screen based ride any day of the week. Disney parks are revered in the way that they are due to their innovative use of audio animatronics in their attractions. Right now it feels like they're copying Universal in making more screen rides more than anything.
High agree. I saw all the hype for Remy and MMRR and went to see the ride videos and was sooo underwhelmed. Smuggler's and RotR are good examples imo of screens being used to enhance instead of the attraction relying on them completely, or the Shanghai PotC. Even FoP looks underwhelming to me but maybe that one is best in person.
 
I don't really recognize a distinction between "simulation" rides and "physical" rides. Screens, like any other technology, are just a tool in the box. It's like with movie special effects. There are "practical" effects and "digital" effects. There's really not too much of a difference between the two. It's all in execution. Practical effects can look just as goofy as digital effects if they're poorly done.

The same is true with rides. The Velocicoaster is a great ride with very few screens. Smuggler's Run is a great ride that is mostly screens. Rise of the Resistance is a great ride that uses every tool in the box. All three are great rides in my book. The ways they get there are less important to me.
If you don't suffer from motion sickness you probably wouldn't understand. However, even my husband who doesn't understands what we're talking about and even he gets tired of screen ride after ride. For years Universal has gotten a huge smack talk about repetitive screens, sometimes the complaint being lack of imagination given so much reliance on screens and it's just lazy (these were complaints for years) but it's also hard for people who have motion sickness because it severely cuts down on the amount of rides they can do thus it narrows the interest level. Now with Disney having more and more rides they are getting where people with motion sickness is a chief complaint and people are wondering where did the imagination go and is it just laziness on Disney's part.

What these rides are are very important, irrespective of one's enjoyment. Screens aren't just a tool. I think the issue may be you're thinking about it in a technical standpoint but in terms of the complaints ain't no one caring about the technical specs they just want variety lol. They just want to be able to go on rides and dislike when too many cross that motion sickness threshold and repetitive nature. In other words too much swing in one direction becomes the issue and right now that's where Disney has been heading with so many of their new rides featuring screens
 
High agree. I saw all the hype for Remy and MMRR and went to see the ride videos and was sooo underwhelmed. Smuggler's and RotR are good examples imo of screens being used to enhance instead of the attraction relying on them completely, or the Shanghai PotC. Even FoP looks underwhelming to me but maybe that one is best in person.
Flight of Passage is better in person. When I say screen ride, I don't mean to say screens = bad. It's just that a lot of these screen based rides are very underwhelming in execution. Flight of Passage is great. It's basically an enhanced version of Soarin. Rise also does a great job at using screens to better tell the story in ways that were impossible with physical sets. Ratatouille is fine IMO but not the best use of the trackless ride system. The worst of the recent screen rides is in my opinion Runaway Railway. It feels so....empty. Like it's missing something to give it that WOW factor.

I do think a lot of the Universal screen rides are worse than Railway such as Jimmy Fallon, Fast and the Furious and Simpsons but Universal is taking great strides to creating more unique experiences without screens.
 
Maybe not simulators but Disney is building more rides that heavily rely on screens. Smuggler's Run, Ratatouille, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway and Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind are all screen focused. Meanwhile at Universal, Velocicoaster, Hagrid's and Secret Life of Pets in Hollywood have little to no usage of screens. Judging from the footage of the Mario Kart ride in Universal Japan, that will be a screen based experience as well but that's a unique case due to it being an augmented reality ride rather than just another simulator.

I'm with the other poster. I'll take a ride with physical sets and animatronics over a screen based ride any day of the week. Disney parks are revered in the way that they are due to their innovative use of audio animatronics in their attractions. Right now it feels like they're copying Universal in making more screen rides more than anything.

I haven't ridden GotG, but it's still like a roller-coaster, right? The screens are just window dressing if so. It's still not a simulator ride in any way.
 
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I haven't ridden GotG, but it's still liek a roller-coaster, right? The screens are just window dressing if so. It's still not a simulator ride in any way.
Yes it is a roller coaster with only giant screens to look at throughout the ride. It's not a simulator but it's more like riding Space Mountain with screens. IMO not the best coaster in terms of theming. Hagrid's is way better in comparison theming wise.
 
If you don't suffer from motion sickness you probably wouldn't understand. However, even my husband who doesn't understands what we're talking about and even he gets tired of screen ride after ride. For years Universal has gotten a huge smack talk about repetitive screens, sometimes the complaint being lack of imagination given so much reliance on screens and it's just lazy (these were complaints for years) but it's also hard for people who have motion sickness because it severely cuts down on the amount of rides they can do thus it narrows the interest level. Now with Disney having more and more rides they are getting where people with motion sickness is a chief complaint and people are wondering where did the imagination go and is it just laziness on Disney's part.

What these rides are are very important, irrespective of one's enjoyment. Screens aren't just a tool. I think the issue may be you're thinking about it in a technical standpoint but in terms of the complaints ain't no one caring about the technical specs they just want variety lol. They just want to be able to go on rides and dislike when too many cross that motion sickness threshold and repetitive nature. In other words too much swing in one direction becomes the issue and right now that's where Disney has been heading with so many of their new rides featuring screens
If the repetition is what triggers the motion sickness (and I don't know, as you correctly surmised, I don't get sick), then I do understand, but if the "screen-based" ride is poorly done, it will essentially be that kind of repetition. I'm thinking of how Fast & Furious, Simpsons, and Kong are essentially just a box of screens with people sitting in the middle, and they're pretty terrible. Flight of Passage, Smuggler's Run, Mickey and Minnie's, and even the two Harry Potter indoor attractions (I don't want to put all the criticism/praise in exclusively the same buckets) are anything but repetitive, while still being heavily screen based. Bad rides are bad rides. There are just as many set based rides that make people sick, and that's to be expected.
 
If the repetition is what triggers the motion sickness (and I don't know, as you correctly surmised, I don't get sick), then I do understand, but if the "screen-based" ride is poorly done, it will essentially be that kind of repetition. I'm thinking of how Fast & Furious, Simpsons, and Kong are essentially just a box of screens with people sitting in the middle, and they're pretty terrible. Flight of Passage, Smuggler's Run, Mickey and Minnie's, and even the two Harry Potter indoor attractions (I don't want to put all the criticism/praise in exclusively the same buckets) are anything but repetitive, while still being heavily screen based. Bad rides are bad rides. There are just as many set based rides that make people sick, and that's to be expected.
It's what the ride is made out of itself, the screens and the motions together that causes motion sickness for some they can handle a few and others it's one ride and that's it.

The repetitiveness is where people complain because it's "new" (because new doesn't always mean new, it can and often means replacement) ride after ride after ride of the same thing. It's what got on people's nerves with Universal. Mickey and Minnie is still a box (well you're sitting down in the same type of thing as some of the rides you mentioned), Smuggler's Run is still a box although you're in spaceship like seats, Remy is still a box (sure the way the trackless part is cool). Box in this context is just a ride vehicle that moves you but you're being moved for the purpose of starting at screens or you're being jerked around but with screens (smuggler's run jerks you around for instance well it's bumpy lol).

So when you see Disney having a lot of their "new" rides that have a lot of screens in them where the ride relies on those to immerse the guest it's basically what Universal was doing.

Because being bad is subjective. That's not what I'm at least meaning. FOP is a great ride, Fast and Furious isn't but both rely on screens. I don't care that FOP is technically amazing and Fast and Furious is..well IDK how to describe it lol. What they share is that they are both screen based. As is Remy, Mickey and Minnie, Guardians, etc Disney did not used to be like that with a lot of their rides.

Don't get me wrong I like some of these rides but if Universal can take the criticism for years it's now time for Disney to.
 














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