Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Well, that's what WDW Marketing (the geniuses who RUN the resort) are pushing. They'd like to see Adventureland be completely made over to be strictly Pirate-themed (and PoC movie-themed, to be more accurate) according to some kind spirits who have shared this morsel with me. The Adventureland Verandah becoming a Pirate-themed buffet is already a done deal, so I don't think this is as out there as it seems. I almost put this in my 'Where has all the magic gone? thread' but I didn't want it lost. Can you imagine taking an original MK land and just twisting it and all its attractions to fit a synergy with a movie-series that's going to end at some point and whose popularity is going to wane? What's next? Fantasyland becomes Princess and Fairyland? No, this isn't nearly a done deal. But the fact that higher-ups would even consider this tells you how truly out of touch they are with reality.
Originally Posted By Britain I find it hilarious that sometimes the posters on these boards are theme sticklers, complaining when attractions take slight detours from the established theme (DL's Pooh in Critter Country, Nemo subs in Tomorrowland)... And yet, here's a proposal to make Adventureland more "cohesive" and it's getting shot down. Fire at will!
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: My sisters and I find it equally hilarious that some posters on these boards deliberately misinterpret what's REALLY being said, which has to do with ruining the theme of individual attractions all for the purpose of merging one particular Pirate theme into where it doesn't belong. ORWEN: What do Pirates have to do with the Tiki birds? What do they have to do with the Jungle Cruise? ORGOCH: Right on, sister! Ain't ya never heard nothin' 'bout too much of a good thing bein' over-kill? Sheesh!! Ain't so hard to understnd if'n ya asks me. Even ol' dumb Orwen figgered it out. Wouldn't wanna' be in the shoes a nobody dumber 'n her!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I would be okay with it if it was an Imagineering project and not a marketing one. In other words, if they went all out and made a unique PotC land, completely different from all the other Adventurelands. Immersive on a scale that it could easily go head-to-head with Uni's Harry Potter land. But if they're just going to slap on some paint and change some signs, it's gonna suck.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<What do Pirates have to do with the Tiki birds? What do they have to do with the Jungle Cruise?>> Those could be reprogrammed in some fashion to make them piratey. It's the magic carpet ride that would stick out like a sore thumb.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: Ain't no good reason fer makin' them dang Tiki birds inta Pirates. Ain't no good reason ta mess with Jungle Cruise critters ta suit no dang pirates, neither!! If'n it ain't broke, don't fix it!! ORDDU: Exactly. Now, that doesn't mean these same attractions don't need enhancements. But whatever enhancements are made should be limited to the proper themes they already represent.
Originally Posted By MPierce I've been hearing this rumor for a while now, and it just doesn't make any sense to me. I've read that the Treehouse would be replaced with a replica of the Black Pearl that you could explore. I kind of like that idea. Maybe even a makeover of the Tiki Birds swithed over to a Pirates theme. Those 2 attractions do not seem to be very popular anyway. My only cpmplaint about the restaurant is it's a buffet, and it took them long enough to reopen it. At least it's not going to be character meals (I hope). Any more than that, and it would be overkill. They will end up with a lot of people being sick, and tired of Pirates. I understand wanting to get the most out of a product while it's hot, however I think changing the entire feel of Adventureland could be a Major mistake.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I find it hilarious that sometimes the posters on these boards are theme sticklers, complaining when attractions take slight detours from the established theme (DL's Pooh in Critter Country, Nemo subs in Tomorrowland)... And yet, here's a proposal to make Adventureland more "cohesive" and it's getting shot down. Fire at will! << I wouldn't call changing an entire Land into a themed area based on one movie a slight detour. Imagine what the MK would be like if all the othere Lands did the same thing. I guess it would be more cohesive, but I would find it kind of boring. There's my shot. >> ORGOCH: Right on, sister! Ain't ya never heard nothin' 'bout too much of a good thing bein' over-kill? << You would think the people at Marketing could grasp that concept also.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "Can you imagine taking an original MK land and just twisting it and all its attractions to fit a synergy with a movie-series that's going to end at some point and whose popularity is going to wane?" Well, that's exactly what they did to DL's Adventureland (interesting coincidence, don't you think) about 12 years ago. When they opened Indiana Jones Adventure, the entire land was redone to make it fit in. Instead of being generic jungle theming everywhere, there was suddenly a 1930's vibe thrown in, with the setting of a large portion of the land moved from generic jungle to Southeast Asia. They built the two story JC boathouse to help with crowds, and even changed the script to include references to the 30's that just flew over most people's heads. The shops were all reworked and redesigned to make it work. All of teh cast members went from having attracton-specific costumes to a sea of beige. And you know what? It was great! The summer that Indy opened (and perhaps one or two after that) is generally considered to be the best time in DL's history. Finally, the rather generic and mish-matched Adventureland had a real sense of place. Sure, some of the parts of the JC script were changed out, as people didn't understand them, but overall, it was considered to be a great success. Even the addition of Tarzan to the treehouse added a little to the vibe that the area had. Even the newly reworked Aladdin's Oasis (formerly Tahitian Terrace) kept the theme alive and well. However, there were still some problems. As already pointed out, the Tiki Room didn't really fit in, but that wasn't too much of an issue, since it's around the corner from the rest of the land. It was also the first attraction to go back to it's own costumes (Hawaiian shirts). The merchandise in the stores became generic like the rest of the lands, and a lot of the little details were lost with time. As Indy wasn't really that big when the land was redone, he wasn't the focus of the land. However, the land was done to evoke a place where he may have visited. If they want to redo MK's Adventureland to a pirate theme, that's OK by me, but they need to do it well. It doesn't need to have pirate flags and names everywhere. Instead, it needs to look just like a place where pirates may have visited. That way, once the craze passes, the land is still relavent, like at DL. (And who knows, with the new Indy movie, he may become the new cool thing again)
Originally Posted By brotherdave If they do happen to do this, can't they somehow work the Treehouse into the theme? Afterall, a pirate attack against the Robinson family was a major part of Swiss Family Robinson's story. I'd hate to see another piece of Disney history needlessly lost.
Originally Posted By AuroraRose i have to think about this, my whole body is screamong NOOOOOOOOOO! very bad idea, Adventurland is already "cohesive", it's ADVENTURELAND for goodness sake. each ride/attraction represents an adventure--DUH! there is no need to make everything pirates--tear down the treehouse? get rid of tiki birds? you might as well tear down the castle, because magic kingdom is straying further and further from the place i knew and try to still love.
Originally Posted By karlg I'm not dead set against the idea of a Pirate Land as I believe in constant improvement, but pray tell, how will they remake the Jungle Cruise? Will they replace/remake the boats as Pirate ship dingies and then be looking for buried treasure? It does seem that about the only thing that fits the pirate them today is Pirates. So to have a cohesive land, they would have to change everything else.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: It doesn't seem to us that Disneyland's Adventureland was drastically changed by the addition of Indiana Jones, Ferret, duckling. That argument is a bit of a stretch. The Tiki Room--as even you pointed out--remained untouched by Indy. So did Tarzan's Tree House. The Jungle Cruise doesn't really even speak Indiana Jones--to us, at least. ORWEN: In terms or merchandise and certain cast member costumes, though, there was a lot of influence by Indiana Jones. ORDDU: In any event, what the Management types in Florida seem to want to do is over-kill on Pirates and that's just not right.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros When did you go on JC? From what I've heard, the new script only officially lasted a few months, and you all know how quickly the speil can change when people get new material. Chances are that the skippers saw how badly it was bombing and just reverted to the old jokes. And the land wasn't really changed to look like it belonged in an Indy movie. In general, it was just sort of unified and given a more specific sense of place. I will admit that the WDW AL is probably close to the unification that DL's has now. However, the DL version has strayed a bit from the original vision. It wouldn't take that much to make the MK's AL look great and like it all belongs, but it certainly wouldn't look like something from a pirate movie. Even to make it fit the time and theme of the ports that pirates would go to would make it a lot more expensive, and to do it right (so it is still relevant after the pirate craze is over) would be very tough to do. I have no problem with them changing what they have, but they really need to think about the future and plan it long term, not just throw movie stuff everywhere, like a lot of DL's TSI makeover.
Originally Posted By bayrr326 The fact that this is even being considered shows that the marketing people have way too much power at WDW. This has to be one of the dumbest ideas ever. To change one of the lands to Pirates only. A franchise that while popular has already lost a little luster with the last movie. I really hope that this is one of marketings ideas that is ultimately stopped.
Originally Posted By hopemax So if in a few years some other "adventure" thing becomes popular, say, like the Jungle Cruise movie, will they redo the land then too? It seems like if you are going to go with one singular idea, you lose the ability to pounce on anything else. In theory, Disney could get lucky and have 3 or 4 popular "adventure" things. They all fit in Adventureland. Make it PirateLand and then all that fits is pirates, and if people get pirated out?
Originally Posted By sherrytodd Meh. If they were going to do this, shouldn't they have done this in the middle of the movie franchise? Now that the third movie is entering the dollar theaters, I think that this ship has sailed.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<Make it PirateLand and then all that fits is pirates, and if people get pirated out?>> It could be argued that Walt took advantage of the popularity of Davy Crocket and the western genre in general. Have people gotten tired of Frontierland after 50+ years? Again, I can only say that it could be done well... or it could be done badly. We'd just have to see if the rumor is true, and how it pans out. But remember many people rang the alarm when they decided to change the PotC attraction to include references to the movies, and it turned out fine.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy The Carribean Plaza area of the MK is already disjointed from the rest of Adventureland -- has been since the original POTC was added there in the 70s. The Aladdin carpets spinner addition did more damage to Adventureland than adding a few more pirates will ever do.
