Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Apparently. The word from Glendale is the Monsters Doors coaster for TPFKaTD-MGMS is dead. Completely. Apparently, TDO has decided that park doesn't need added capacity (under what hallucinogens they were under when they came to that conclusion is anyone's guess). Almost all money coming to WDW is going to MK (and at this point, I don't disagree with that at all). Star Tours 2.0 is obviously on the way. And I've been told a few 'smallish' projects could come to EPCOT. But that's it. The money is going to the stalest MK of them all ... and I'm not gonna criticize it. But it does look like they are trying to kill the Studios. That park is gonna be the one that hurts the most from WWoHP, you watch. People aren't gonna ever give up MK or EPCOT ... but those other Disney parks? Well, that's a different story. As always, things can change. Disney did recently buy the domain 'MONSTERS2.com' so obviously a sequel is on the way and that could revive this coaster ... but for now, that appears very unlikely.
Originally Posted By Disneyday I would imagine that it's not dead, but merely postponed until the Monster's Inc. sequel in 2013. I'm sure that will be the excuse they use if anyone asks.
Originally Posted By leobloom How disappointing. So higher tickets raise prices mean fewer new attractions. That's pure Disney genius.
Originally Posted By Britain If this is what is necessary in order to build some decent attractions in MK, then so be it. Splash Mountain was in... what... '91? Almost 20 years! The studios have been given plenty of love during the past decade. Even though it may be most susceptible to Universal competition, it can coast for another 5 years just fine, I say. MK & Epcot need attention, not crappy updates, real substantial attention.
Originally Posted By leobloom Can you imagine Backstage Tour and Indiana Jones Stunt Show unchanged for five more years? Those two things are so pitiful (especially the Backstage Tour), Disney should be embarrassed to operate them. They've dug themselves a hole. MK needs serious attention, but so does MGM and, let's face it, it wouldn't hurt to add some attractions to DAK.
Originally Posted By danyoung leo, I'm with you on the Backstage Tour - a pretty lame echo of what it used to be. But I still enjoy Indy. I know it's a little long in the tooth, but it's such a great show and so well executed that it still manages to entertain. And it almost always has a full audience, so it must still be holding its own.
Originally Posted By -em >>They've dug themselves a hole. MK needs serious attention, but so does MGM and, let's face it, it wouldn't hurt to add some attractions to DAK.<< Agreed... MK needs some serious D/E Ticket love cause 20 years is too long a gap between large additions (or in another way of looking at it- the park hasn't substantially grown in more than 1/2 its life) But the Studios needs love too- Not necessarily in D/E ticket attractions (cause I will say that TSMM qualifies and is still on its honeymoon phase. though I'd love one) but a few good Cs, redo/update most of the shows and it's good for another few years.. DAK- Needs to get a few things to be able to sustain being open after dark (and be able to be called a full day park) but I don't think they need to be E tickets- A good D and a few Cs would help Epcot- IMO is holding its own right now though if they re-did Illuminations I wouldn't complain...
Originally Posted By sjhym33 Disney doesn't look at each park and its need but rather the whole property. Their mindset is over the last 5 years we have opened Soarin and Everst two big attractions. Since the days when the average guest comes and buys a one day/one park ticket is over they know that the average guest will hit several of the parks. That is the driver in terms of new attractions. And honestly, we aren't the typical guest here. The typical guest will come down once every several years and look at the changes across property and believe that Disney has made some great additions since their last visit.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<Epcot- IMO is holding its own right now though if they re-did Illuminations I wouldn't complain... >> A new Imagination attraction and 3D movie wouldn't hurt either. Oh, and while they're at it, how about something new for Wonders of Life.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer This is more of a bother to me than a disappointment. Sure, I wanted MI, and it would have been nice for MGM, but in the end...Is it original? Was it going to be ***GREAT***? Eh. I'm happy that EPCOT will be getting small things. Hopefully Energy is somewhere on there. I know it's been looked at...And even painted. As for SSE, fiscal year. Shame my trip isn't around then! And while on the topic of MGMDHS....Honestly...I want a DCA for the park.Revamp. Totally. I like it, I think it's a great park, but for me, it needs some new touches. If they could use the "Walt" spin here, I think it would be a good new direction for the park.
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct how much can an enclosed coaster be? Come on ... Last week I visited Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ (I live in Connecticut) and the park has a new coaster this year. It is called Dark Knight and is a cute wild cat style coaster completely enclosed with sets, sound a storyline etc .. very cute and fun. I mean .. is Universal can do the MUMMY, why can't Disney do a kiddie themed version of that for MGM. It can't be THAT much money.
Originally Posted By leobloom >>But I still enjoy Indy. I know it's a little long in the tooth, but it's such a great show and so well executed that it still manages to entertain. And it almost always has a full audience, so it must still be holding its own.>> I guess I'm biased because I've been seeing the exact same show since 1989. Exact. Same. Show. Twenty years and they haven't updated it. The plant in the audience stopped being cute around ten years ago. As much as I didn't like the last Indiana Jones movie, I'd be happy to see them do anything to make the stunt show fresh. Of course, the last Indy movie didn't have many good scenes that would translate to the stunt show. Or maybe we could get a Shia LaBeouf impersonator to swing on vines with animatronic monkeys or watch him get hit in the crotch with branches as he stands on two jeeps that are driving furiously through the jungle. But seriously, I'm sure the show draws a crowd. I usually skip it when I'm in the park, but I saw it when I was there in May. It wasn't a full show by any means, but it had a healthy crowd. I'm not sure if people watch it because it's good, or if it's because there are a limited number of attractions at MGM, and Indiana Jones is a recognizable brand name. Either way, nothing says "poor planning" like a theme park with two stunt shows.
Originally Posted By leobloom >>Disney doesn't look at each park and its need but rather the whole property. Their mindset is over the last 5 years we have opened Soarin and Everst two big attractions. Since the days when the average guest comes and buys a one day/one park ticket is over they know that the average guest will hit several of the parks. That is the driver in terms of new attractions.>> That suggests that Disney expanded too quickly, especially for the prices they charge. If they wanted to charge more for MK and Epcot, then I wouldn't care that the four parks are not equals. But they never would do that, because they have to give the impression that each gate appears to be equal. I think they overbuilt in the 90s. They opened two WDW parks in less than 10 years (1989-1998). DAK is a charming atmospheric park, but really, Disney had no business building a new park in the mid-90s when MGM was, in most people's eyes, the underdeveloped theme park in the WDW catalog. I wonder how different the resort would be if DAK had been shelved, and if the money and attention that have gone to it, had gone to MK, Epcot, and MGM instead. Who knows? I bet that Splash wouldn't be the most recent E-Ticket at MK. We might not have the 80's version of Star Tours masquerading as an E-Ticket. MGM might not be the weakling of the parks. But that's not what happened. And I, for one, still don't see MGM and DAK as equal to the other two parks. They're pleasant, but I couldn't honestly say a day at MGM or even DAK is worth the same price as a day at Epcot or MK.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Funny Leo, for me, a trip to WDW is all about DAK and Epcot. I could go and be happy never venturing to the MK or DHS (then again I feel both Anaheim's and Paris' offerings are better than the MK and DHS, so they are not the draw in Florida for us). But I agree. One of the reasons why Disneyland is a better experience than WDW to me is that so much is packed into a small area. The more you build out in Florida, the more you dilute it (same thing happened in Paris to a lesser extent). But as for 2 stunt shows in a park, I used to love Universal Studios Hollywood when they had the Conan show; Wild, Wild, Wild West Stunt Show and the A-Team Stunt show all running at the same time in the mid 80's. So a park can successfully support multiple stunt shows at the same time.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "I think they overbuilt in the 90s. They opened two WDW parks in less than 10 years (1989-1998)." What about in the 80's when they opened two parks in the same decade, on a much tighter timeline (1982-1989)? I know that Epcot was pretty much fully fleshed out from the beginning, but I would easily argue that MGM was much worse off than DAK when it opened. That park was expanded in a very haphazard way, which I think has added greatly to the feeling of overbuilding for all of WDW. I do think that they should have waited a little longer to open DAK, but I feel like that problem really stemmed from the rush that they went through to get MGM open, and the rush to build out the park that followed.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> I do think that they should have waited a little longer to open DAK, but I feel like that problem really stemmed from the rush that they went through to get MGM open, and the rush to build out the park that followed.>> Oh, I completely agree that MGM was a problem from day 1. It's always seemed to me like it was a knee-jerk reaction to Universal's move into Orlando. Compare that reaction to the thus far "crickets chirping" non-reaction to Potter. But Epcot was a full park when MGM was built. Should MGM have had more when it opened? Hell yeah. I remember visiting the first summer it was open, and witnessing some of the most chaotic, doomsday theme-parking I've ever seen. But what blows my mind is that Disney had the balls to build a fourth gate when MGM was such an impoverished park even in the mid-90s after TOT opened.
Originally Posted By leobloom >>a trip to WDW is all about DAK and Epcot>> And I, too, really like DAK, but more for its atmosphere than its attractions. The theming is impeccable. But I guess I feel like I can find nice botanical gardens around Florida that are more impressive than the gardens at DAK (Fairchild Gardens in Miami, Leu Gardens in Orlando, heck even MacClay in Tallahassee). I do think KSafari is one of the most impressive attractions at WDW. But Dinosaur is a poor man's version of IJA. And the actual Kali ride is marginally better than Six Flags (though the queue is much better). All in all, I feel like $79 to visit DAK is ridiculous. I guess it's a better value if you have a multi-day pass. But as a Florida resident I usually only visit for a day at a time when I go. So DAK is good if I have a park-hopper, but if I had one day at one WDW park, I probably wouldn't spend it at DAK.
Originally Posted By MPierce While it's disappointing that they are not going to keep plusing the Studios, I guess we'll just have to keep perceiving the Studios as a 1/2 day venue. It's a beautiful Park, and really needs some more attractions. However, I can live with what I've got there now, as long as I have a Park Hopper, and Epcot is a relaxing boat ride away. The Magic Kingdom definetly needs some work. If they do all the things there that are rumored, I will be happy with their decision. Besides, I already have enough to rant about when it comes to the escalating prices, and diminishing quality at the World. I need a break from my rage.
