Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
And this was unfortunately one of the many things that set that wonderful park up for failure. It’s a beauty to behold, but man the consequences were sharp.
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MK Big Thunder Mountain to receive full retrack
- Thread starter TheCoasterNerd
- Start date
Given the on-going refresh of Big Thunder Mountain, I wonder if there's any gas left in the tank for some needed "quality of life" improvements for The Barnstormer? While it’s a solid starter coaster, it remains a pretty boring entry in the Disney catalog, even after the Storybook conversion.
For starters, losing the intimidating chain-dog clacking lift would be a huge first step in making the ride less scary for kiddos (the target audience). Implementing speakers around the track to trigger Goofy’s narration and sputtering plane sound effects would also improve the experience. I mean, where's the iconic "AAAH HOO HOO HOO HOOEY!"? Repainting the "plywood Billboards" on both sides so the "crash gag" is actually visually easier to comprehend would be an easy win as well. Installing a static or limited-motion figure of Giggles the Chimp (Goofy's airplane mechanic, I guess? Who knew?) and adding a queue pre-show in that classic "Goofy’s How-To" animation style.... Disney could finally establish a clear "stunt show" backstory.
It’s an okay coaster as it stands, but a story-based refresh would truly take it to the next level. If Big Thunder can get a refresh (without an IP no less!) then surely "The Great Goofini" is deserving of an upgrade. Rant over. Looking forward to seeing the Big Thunder effects upgrade. I suspect, it will have a clearer story now.
For starters, losing the intimidating chain-dog clacking lift would be a huge first step in making the ride less scary for kiddos (the target audience). Implementing speakers around the track to trigger Goofy’s narration and sputtering plane sound effects would also improve the experience. I mean, where's the iconic "AAAH HOO HOO HOO HOOEY!"? Repainting the "plywood Billboards" on both sides so the "crash gag" is actually visually easier to comprehend would be an easy win as well. Installing a static or limited-motion figure of Giggles the Chimp (Goofy's airplane mechanic, I guess? Who knew?) and adding a queue pre-show in that classic "Goofy’s How-To" animation style.... Disney could finally establish a clear "stunt show" backstory.
It’s an okay coaster as it stands, but a story-based refresh would truly take it to the next level. If Big Thunder can get a refresh (without an IP no less!) then surely "The Great Goofini" is deserving of an upgrade. Rant over. Looking forward to seeing the Big Thunder effects upgrade. I suspect, it will have a clearer story now.
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TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
It was better before the conversion. See: AA chickens.
If there is one thing I want to be known for it’s my love of AA chickens and swinging opossums!
Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
They should update Barnstormer by getting rid of it and replacing with a good, modern kid’s coaster. There’s been a ton of growth where kid’s coasters are concerned in the last decade. Barnstormer is from an area where kid coasters were quite lazy.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
This is just laughable. The park largely performed well and as expected. The design of the park had nothing to do with overbuilding the larger resort or prematurely building a weak second gate instead of renegotiating the land deals.
Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
Even Disney themselves acknowledges this is not true. The park, and indeed the resort as a whole, fell well short of Disney’s hopes and expectations and while not the sole reason for the disaster the company became for fifteen years after was one of the major dominos that started that process.
There’s been countless books and documentaries, both unofficial and from Disney themselves, that have gone deep into the initial failure of Euro Disney that took years to recover from.
DLP is a gorgeous park but it was indeed a huge failure when it opened. The whole project was.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
It was like three years, and it was the resort as a whole more than the park. Visitation was fine which is why they pushed the capacity improvement program. The resort was profitable for the second half of the 90s following the opening of Space Mountain: De la Terra à la Lune.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Huh? Framing what you see from each land set the park up for “failure” (by definition DLP is not a failure, since ya know…. You can still visit it.)
HMF
Well-Known Member
I do like the idea though I have to admit another re-theme might be necessary considering not long after the Storybook Circus opened, the actual circus went out of business. So, the cultural significance and overall concept of the circus will likely be lost to future generations or at least looked back on in a negative light.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
HMF
Well-Known Member
Let's just say the "Old West" angle that had been the hallmark of Frontierland for over fifty years that is clearly on its way out with everything other than BTM is not a surprise to me. As I said BTM itself will look oddly out of place in the near future.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
How could the actual circus go out of business when it wasn’t one business? I’m assuming you’re referring to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey which Feld Entertainment has revived. Storybook Circus is also very much rooted in the massive train-based circuses that ended decades before the land opened.
HMF
Well-Known Member
Let's not pretend that Ringling was not to the Circus business what Disney is to the Theme Park business and yes, it was eventually revived but only after a major legal and PR fiasco and several years of inactivity. Plus, Feld himself admitted that a major part of that was that live entertainment wasn't exactly thriving in the digital age besides the obvious reason.
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Kittlesona
Active Member
Any word on previews or potential soft opening? How far in advance of the official date did Buzz start opening back up?
AidenRodriguez731
Well-Known Member
Sure but if Disney went out of business you wouldn't just close down everything that references theme parks and say "oop, theme parks went out of business, let's close up shop!"
Even then, I feel like the circus is one of those nostalgic times, it's fantasyland anyway, it doesn't currently have to exist to still fit the land (just like how you don't have bustling medieval villages with castles still guarding them)
Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
The money they sunk into that extra detail that makes the park so beautiful and unique is part of what put the resort in such a precarious place when it initially floundered so hard is what I meant. It was a double edged sword. They invested the time and money to go that extra mile and it in the end turned into a problem for them, which is perhaps part of the reason why they’ve not done something that ornate for a castle park since.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
What I’m talking about is intentional framing and good design. That’s not something that costs extra.
It’s like you’re reaching for a reason that Disneyland Paris is an example of why Disney should design things on the cheap - is that what you think? Or am I reading too much into that?
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
I thought the original problem with the EuroDisney resort was the overbuilding of the hotels for the crowds that mostly day-trip... that is what I understood at the time... The park was doing fine, maybe not their anticipated crowd levels, but the problem was the multiple fully staffed resort hotels.....
They look too chill for it to be the "Wildest Ride in the Wilderness" lol