Is everything just IP mandate quota now?

[Centauri Space Station]

I’m glad you put “new” in quotations because I’m 99% sure they’re keeping the same track layout as Dinosaur. This company is creatively bankrupt.

Yeah because reusing attractions hasn’t been done for decades before

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Come on guys.. just 10 more messages to 150.. from a throw-away account who stirred you up with a single post!

May I introduce you to my dear friend Katiebug?

 

[WaltWiz1901]

Well, aside from Lilo and Stitch. Maybe the backlash for Stitch's Great Escape scared them away from doing another Stitch attraction, but I highly doubt it.

the closest we have to another Stitch attraction is either Stitch Encounter or (if you're in Tokyo) the Tiki Room...both of which again utilized existing show space for the most part.

not to be one of those people who cry "[X movie] needs a ride!", but the absence of a tastefully done Stitch ride seems to me like the byproduct of both the film being released during that time period where the management Imagineering answered to favored cheap-and-cheery overlays and replacements over near anything else (at least domestically) and the management who would supersede them putting what they think are the flavors of the day above all else thanks to that acursed IP mandate

 

[Brer Panther]

What could they actually do for a big Lilo and Stitch ride? I can't think of anything. I don't think a book report dark ride would be very good... some sort of live show?

 

[Professortango1]

Yeah, a Lilo and Stitch ride sounds boring to me as the charm of the film is the slice of life kid and their dog story. I mean I guess you could look at the random alien spaceship chase at the end and model a ride after that, but it's all pretty generic.

I'd like to see a world where each Fantasyland had 3-4 unique old school pretzel darkrides. I don't need big trackless rides like Tokyo's BatB, I would love a simple little darkride with 2-3 fun illusions/show scenes and cute filler moments. I love the FL darkrides at Disneyland and how there is so much artistry to take in and enjoy with a wait time of less than 10 minutes. I

If you can't deliver a Fantasy Springs Frozen-level attraction, don't give us the Epcot/Hong Kong version, give us a modern Snow White or Pinocchio where we wind through tight scenes and gags. None of the show scenes or events in FEA warrant a ride of the scale. It opens with promise, but once you get to the top of the lift hill, you start to question your choices. Characters just standing and singing towards you. Not an epic amount, like in Small World. Or in big elaborate scenes like Pirates. Just Kristoff playing his instrument with Anna in front of a wall. Then we meet Elsa and leave. As a little crash door darkride, that's fine. As a boat ride with a lift and drop, it feels like a ride aimed at babies.

Let some rides and stories be little charming experiences that fill your day rather than epic events that require long waits. Variety is what makes Disneyland the best park in the world. I wish the company would return to offering a variety of experiences at a theme park rather than always going for the same IP-driven projects designed to sell Lighting Lanes.

 

[HMF]

the closest we have to another Stitch attraction is either Stitch Encounter or (if you're in Tokyo) the Tiki Room...both of which again utilized existing show space for the most part.

not to be one of those people who cry "[X movie] needs a ride!", but the absence of a tastefully done Stitch ride seems to me like the byproduct of both the film being released during that time period where the management Imagineering answered to favored cheap-and-cheery overlays and replacements over near anything else (at least domestically) and the management who would supersede them putting what they think are the flavors of the day above all else thanks to that acursed IP mandate

I had not seen Lilo and Stitch when it was first released in 2002 and literally watched it for the first time a few months ago. I did experience SGE in November of 2004 however and it didn't exactly make me clamor to watch the source material to put it lightly.

 

[WaltWiz1901]

I'd like to see a world where each Fantasyland had 3-4 unique old school pretzel darkrides. I don't need big trackless rides like Tokyo's BatB, I would love a simple little darkride with 2-3 fun illusions/show scenes and cute filler moments. I love the FL darkrides at Disneyland and how there is so much artistry to take in and enjoy with a wait time of less than 10 minutes.

If you can't deliver a Fantasy Springs Frozen-level attraction, don't give us the Epcot/Hong Kong version, give us a modern Snow White or Pinocchio where we wind through tight scenes and gags. None of the show scenes or events in FEA warrant a ride of the scale. It opens with promise, but once you get to the top of the lift hill, you start to question your choices. Characters just standing and singing towards you. Not an epic amount, like in Small World. Or in big elaborate scenes like Pirates. Just Kristoff playing his instrument with Anna in front of a wall. Then we meet Elsa and leave. As a little crash door darkride, that's fine. As a boat ride with a lift and drop, it feels like a ride aimed at babies.

Let some rides and stories be little charming experiences that fill your day rather than epic events that require long waits. Variety is what makes Disneyland the best park in the world. I wish the company would return to offering a variety of experiences at a theme park rather than always going for the same IP-driven projects designed to sell Lighting Lanes.

agreed wholeheartedly with this. the push towards making near every new attraction a flashy tech demo with lots of marketing pull behind it leans more towards being a detriment than an actual benefit, as both Disney and Universal are proving (Epic Universe says hi in its current underbuilt self).

of course, even in the context of Fantasyland alone, there can be and has been room for both types to co-exist so long as there's a reasonable balance - Tokyo's Fantasyland manages to get along just fine with its trio of standard blacklight/busbars and pair of extravagant state-of-the-art dark rides of everyone's dreams. and even the newer FL-adjacent land in the neighboring park has a simple busbar ride to go with its main draws (outdoor, mind you), so clearly somebody in Imagineering still acknowledges the benefits of having "short and sweet" filler attractions to support the bigger headlining E-tickets

 

[Brer Panther]

I'd like to see a world where each Fantasyland had 3-4 unique old school pretzel darkrides. I don't need big trackless rides like Tokyo's BatB, I would love a simple little darkride with 2-3 fun illusions/show scenes and cute filler moments. I love the FL darkrides at Disneyland and how there is so much artistry to take in and enjoy with a wait time of less than 10 minutes.

The novelty of trackless dark rides has worn off. I don't like getting parked in front of a screen for five minutes and having the ride turn into a simulator. If you need to rely on stuff happening on a screen, just make the ride a simulator, not a dark ride.

Let some rides and stories be little charming experiences that fill your day rather than epic events that require long waits. Variety is what makes Disneyland the best park in the world. I wish the company would return to offering a variety of experiences at a theme park rather than always going for the same IP-driven projects designed to sell Lighting Lanes.

agreed wholeheartedly with this. the push towards making near every new attraction a flashy tech demo with lots of marketing pull behind it leans more towards being a detriment than an actual benefit, as both Disney and Universal are proving (Epic Universe says hi in its current underbuilt self).

of course, even in the context of Fantasyland alone, there can be and has been room for both types to co-exist so long as there's a reasonable balance - Tokyo's Fantasyland manages to get along just fine with its trio of standard blacklight/busbars and pair of extravagant state-of-the-art dark rides of everyone's dreams. and even the newer FL-adjacent land in the neighboring park has a simple busbar ride to go with its main draws (outdoor, mind you), so clearly somebody in Imagineering still acknowledges the benefits of having "short and sweet" filler attractions to support the bigger headlining E-tickets

I agree with both of these. All I can think of is that they think guests think normal busbar dark rides are boring, but there are lots of ways you can make dark rides exciting without going the trackless route or making it a Midway Mania clone.

Didn't they have a patent for a Monsters Inc. ride for Shanghai where the track split into two a couple times? Heck, why not bring the Ride and Go Seek idea to an American park? That's a nice way of making a ride interactive without relying on screens. I think that would make for a much better Zootopia ride than the trackless one Shanghai got.

 

[iamgroot61]

Meh, Disney has ALWAYS been about IPs. All of the dark rides (Snow White, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan) were based on Disney "IPs" before they even called them that. People need to get over the perceived negative connotation. People's love of these "IPs" is what drives the development of attractions. It's a good thing.

 

[Jrb1979]

Meh, Disney has ALWAYS been about IPs. All of the dark rides (Snow White, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan) were based on Disney "IPs" before they even called them that. People need to get over the perceived negative connotation. People's love of these "IPs" is what drives the development of attractions. It's a good thing.

Again difference was they mixed in original attractions with IP attractions to FIT THE THEME OF THE PARK. Now it's all about IP regardless of how it fits.

 

[Professortango1]

Meh, Disney has ALWAYS been about IPs. All of the dark rides (Snow White, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan) were based on Disney "IPs" before they even called them that. People need to get over the perceived negative connotation. People's love of these "IPs" is what drives the development of attractions. It's a good thing.

Disneyland had the IP-based attractions in Fantasyland as smaller Spookhouse-style dark rides. The rest of the park had attractions that may have been inspired by IPs or genres, but the attractions were original experiences that were not stepping into a movie but rather a thematic extension of the land itself. The Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise were both a part of Adventureland. Same with Pirates and HM for NOS.

This made the park seem larger and more varied because we weren't running from Star Wars to Pooh to Tiana to Moana but rather going from an optimistic worlds fair of the future to the American Frontier to an exotic tropical outpost filled with wildlife and ancient Gods.

I do love both Star Tours end IJA, but they started a trend that weakened the importance of the land and instead let the IP attraction start to define the land. But the integrity of nostalgic cartoon carnival rides were kept to the Fantasyland identity and the other lends were still a live action world .

Country Bear opened that door as the idea was similar to Tiki Room,,but the bears obviously became more cartoony and less playful beats that will still chase you up a tree. Splash would follow with the real world of Critter Country would open up to a hidden world of Beer Rabbit and Co.

The first cartoon intrusion I can recall was the Aladdin carpets in MK. Aladdin was set up with a dinner show at DL's Adventureland, Frontierland received a Hunchback show, and then once Buzz and Nemo took root in TL as physical attractions, the fight was lost.

 

[HMF]

Meh, Disney has ALWAYS been about IPs. All of the dark rides (Snow White, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan) were based on Disney "IPs" before they even called them that. People need to get over the perceived negative connotation. People's love of these "IPs" is what drives the development of attractions. It's a good thing.

You do realize that even the attractions you mentioned initially never had their title characters appear (Toad still doesn't) because WED assumed people were intelligent enough to infer that "they" were inhabiting the role of the character, right? That approach would be unthinkable to today's Disney where they think all guests care about is familiarity and cross-promotion.

 

[larryz]

Yeah, a Lilo and Stitch ride sounds boring to me as the charm of the film is the slice of life kid and their dog story. I mean I guess you could look at the random alien spaceship chase at the end and model a ride after that, but it's all pretty generic.

You could very easily re-theme GotG:CR to Lilo and Stitch, replacing the pre-show with an upgraded X-S-Tech display and then working scenes from the movie into the actual ride portion.

If Disney hadn't purchased Marvel, I expect that's what we would have seen go up in that space.

 

[Professortango1]

You could very easily re-theme GotG:CR to Lilo and Stitch, replacing the pre-show with an upgraded X-S-Tech display and then working scenes from the movie into the actual ride portion.

If Disney hadn't purchased Marvel, I expect that's what we would have seen go up in that space.

And that's my issue with Cosmic Rewind; its a generic fly through space coaster with a random IP preshow shoved in cheaply.

 

[Mr. Engagement]

You do realize that even the attractions you mentioned initially never had their title characters appear (Toad still doesn't) because WED assumed people were intelligent enough to infer that "they" were inhabiting the role of the character, right? That approach would be unthinkable to today's Disney where they think all guests care about is familiarity and cross-promotion.

There has definitely been a shift in the storytelling approach to themed attractions, but I wouldn't chalk it up to intelligence. Some of these things are just creative trends that began as designers trying to wow guests who grew familiar with first-person book reports.

 

[HMF]

There has definitely been a shift in the storytelling approach to themed attractions, but I wouldn't chalk it up to intelligence. Some of these things are just creative trends that began as designers trying to wow guests who grew familiar with first-person book reports.

Some of it was guest demand. It certainly was in 1983 when the revised Fantasyland at Disneyland but a lot of the things happening today indicate that most of the higher ups at Disney don't have much respect for the intelligence of most of their guests. I am not suggesting Disney attractions should become these complicated esoteric abstractions Stay withing the public taste but so much of what Disney puts out now has this condescending talking down to the rubes cynicism that certainly was not there for most of the last century but has been running rampant since Iger took over and even before that there were signs of it ETR-UNM being the most famous example.

 

[Pizza Moon]

Disney used to be a good company, making good products for good people,

but everything has been really, REALLY bad lately

I mean, let's be completely honest. The last original attraction that wasn't tied in to a movie franchise was Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom in 2006.

That's 20 years ago.

And they just took out Tom Sawyer Island

They've just given up completely, no?

If you’re Disney and you have a catalogue that is so deep you don’t even have major rides for billion dollar beloved IPs like Inside Out, Aladdin, Lilo and Stitch, The Incredibles, Moana, Nightmare Before Christmas, Jungle Book, and others, why would you make an original ride that doesn’t kill two birds with one stone and maximizes your return on investment?

I want original things too like the Adventureland Treehouse, a Figment redo, and Mystic Manor, and they should do that too, but I struggle to see a world in which their current strategy doesn’t make sense.

If they do things like Pandora, Cars Land, Tropical Americas and the Coco/Ratatouille rides, I have have less issues than just shoehorning Frozen or Tiana’s, but they have to be done right too, from the lands to the rides. Placemaking is importantly but not everything.

 

[Goofyernmost]

To me the bottom line is, if it is well done, entertaining and stays within the borders of the theme, I don't give a rats butt if it is an IP or not. I loved Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Snow White and countless others because the were good and well done. I didn't dismiss them because someone else other than Disney had the first vision. If it aligned with the things that most people enjoy then I fail to see the problem.

The idea that it is bad is just a personal opinion.