Originally Posted By gmaletic >gmaletic, you had a good thought, but Pooh being in the back of the park has nothing to do with it being a walk on. I think it has something--not everything--but something to do with it. No question that an attraction can succeed being on the outskirts of the park, as you point out, but all things being equal it will hurt attendance. (Splash Mountain would no doubt attract even bigger crowds if it were sitting, say, where Dumbo is.) >I'm not sure either...but I dont see it being all that much greater than the other Fantasyland dark rides. Pooh vehicles hold six people and can board at least two vehicles simultaneously; Peter Pan vehicles hold two and can, I believe, board one vehicle at a time. That's a big difference. >As for Roger Rabbit, I think this is the most overated attraction of all time. I never could figure out why this was considered an E ticket?? Just anecdotal evidence here, but I'd contest the "overrated" part because I haven't run into many people that like it all that much. And despite my fondness for it, I wouldn't consider it an "E" Ticket. Given its similarity to Fantasyland dark rides (all "C"s), I consider it a plussed version of those, probably qualifying it as a "D". (This, despite the fact that I think it's better than some other attractions that would be considered "E"s.) For comparison, what else might be a "D"? I think Buzz Lightyear feels like a "D" to me, and personally I'd consider Soarin' a "D" as well. (True, Disney could probably get away with labeling it as an "E"--but for my money, no movie attraction qualifies as an "E", even if the seats do move up and down.)
Originally Posted By Doobie Does that mean you'd make Star Tours a D as well? If so, would you have made it a D when it opened in 87? Or only now that simulators have become so commonplace? Doobie.
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror It's an awfully long walk to Autopia, Small World, Roger Rabbit, Mickey's House, and even Splash Mountain. None of those attractions ever (typically) has a short line. More people would queue up for Pooh if there were demand for it. If it had more to offer, there would be demand.
Originally Posted By Doobie Pooh is the only one of those that's both the only attraction in the area and a dead end. I'm sure Pooh would do better numbers if it were a better attraction. I'm also sure it would do better numbers if it were in a more trafficked location. Both things are factors. Doobie.
Originally Posted By Doobie To add to that ... I believe the Country do much better at WDW than they did at DL. I'm sure the audience is part of that, but I think the location is also a huge part. Doobie.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << I'm also sure it would do better numbers if it were in a more trafficked location. >> I'm not sure the traffic is the issue as much as the fact that you can walk by Pooh and not really know that it's there. The ride loading and unloading area is obscured by landscaping, and the entrance to the ride is detached from the show building. If you aren't seeking out Pooh, you could walk right by and not even know there was a ride back in there. I find Pooh to be on par or better than Monster's Inc. in DCA.
Originally Posted By DLTheo That is a really good point. Even know the ride is there, it takes a moment for me to figure out how to get to the entrance of the ride.
Originally Posted By gmaletic Doobie said: >Does that mean you'd make Star Tours a D as well? Great question. I think that Disney could get away with calling Star Tours an "E" for two reasons. One, the Star Wars brand name could credibly give a one-level "bump" to any attraction it's attached to. Secondly--and my reasoning here is getting admittedly mushy--Star Tours feels a little more like a complete experience given that its queue is fairly rich in detail. It's almost--but not quite--an attraction unto itself. It raises the whole experience to be a tiny bit more than just a "movie" ride. (Let me say that I'm not--and never really have been--a big Star Tours fan.) But here's the killer question: what about Body Wars? It was essentially Star Tours without the brand name and without the interesting queue. Would that have been a "D" or an "E"? And admittedly, I have to say that it still feels like an "E" to me. And if Body Wars is an "E", then Soarin' probably needs to be an "E" as well. (The "D" I initially gave to Soarin' might just be my personal bias: Soarin' to me feels more like "America The Beautiful" in Circlevision 360 (which I'm going to guess was a "D" ticket) rather than a ride-type, "E" ticket attraction.) (And this whole discussion also brings up the interesting question: back in the ticket era, was any attraction ever demoted? i.e., a "E" to a "D", "D" to a "C", etc. It would seem that something like Body Wars would have had to been taken down a notch during its lifetime.)
Originally Posted By DLTheo << And this whole discussion also brings up the interesting question: back in the ticket era, was any attraction ever demoted? i.e., a "E" to a "D", "D" to a "C", etc. It would seem that something like Body Wars would have had to been taken down a notch during its lifetime.) >> I believe the answer is yes. Weren't America Sings and the Mine Train both bumped down to D from E tickets before they closed?
Originally Posted By bravebrother Doobie, there is huge traffic around Pooh and it doesnt help it one bit (Im sure everyone here has fought there way through that area) I really believe that people are just disinterested in riding Pooh because of the quality of the attraction. How many of us walk by an attraction and see it has no line and say hey lets jump on, there is no wait?? I sure do. Not with Pooh, People see that and just keep on walking....I think that speaks volumes...
Originally Posted By gmaletic bravebrother said: >I really believe that people are just disinterested in riding Pooh because of the quality of the attraction. Just as I did in my post, let me question that statement: what do you mean by the "quality of the attraction?" Why do you perceive Pooh to not be a quality attraction? Is it not of higher quality than most of the attractions in Fantasyland (most of which feature painted flats while Pooh features dimensional characters, Pepper's Ghost and fiber optic effects, an outdoor boarding area, a character that's probably more popular than any other...even the chance to see a glimpse of characters from the Country Bear Jamboree?) I'm not getting how that doesn't add up to something that wouldn't be considered one of the better attractions in the park.
Originally Posted By gmaletic I should correct one statement I just made: most of the Fantasyland rides no longer feature painted flats. The only one that I believe does would be Mr. Toad.
Originally Posted By bravebrother >>Just as I did in my post, let me question that statement: what do you mean by the "quality of the attraction?" Why do you perceive Pooh to not be a quality attraction? Is it not of higher quality than most of the attractions in Fantasyland (most of which feature painted flats while Pooh features dimensional characters, Pepper's Ghost and fiber optic effects, an outdoor boarding area, a character that's probably more popular than any other...even the chance to see a glimpse of characters from the Country Bear Jamboree?) I'm not getting how that doesn't add up to something that wouldn't be considered one of the better attractions in the park.<< No,..Pooh is not a higher quality of any darkride in Fantasyland.Thats the problem...It was done on the cheap end. Dont forget Snow White, Peter Pan and Pinocchio all have similar special effects that you mentioned for Pooh. And like you said, Pooh probably being the most popular Disney character should of had a much higher quality attraction installed.
Originally Posted By Doobie I don't think most guests think "Pooh opened 30 years after the Fantasyland rides so should be much better". And think they compare what is now to what is now. And Pooh is at least on par with the Fantasyland rides whether it was done on the cheap or not. I go back to the Country Bears. Logic says they had just as much traffic in the area as Pooh does yet the numbers there weren't very good. And yet essentially the same attraction here in Florida in a much more prominent location does much better. Location does matter. It's not everything - a better Pooh attraction would do better - but it does matter. Doobie.
Originally Posted By bravebrother Your probably right Doobie, Location does matter...to a point. If the attraction was any good it wouldnt matter where it was, people would make an effort to go to it. What I am saying is that I think Pooh's location is fine in DL. It,s right across from Splash mountain, ya cant get too much better than that!
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <I believe the answer is yes. Weren't America Sings and the Mine Train both bumped down to D from E tickets before they closed?> Yes in both cases, the the Mine Train fluctuated between D and E for a few years, as did the Twain and Columbia. In the early 60's, all (then) four FaL dark rides were D's. As more D's and E's were added, they were downgraded to C's, and Alice for some reason became a B by the mid 70's. They stayed at that level till tickets disappeared. <And yet essentially the same attraction here in Florida in a much more prominent location does much better. > I think location does matter, but also didn't DL's have twice the capacity (two theatres rather than one)?
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP I don't like Pooh because I'm way cramped in the seat. I've finally figured out that if I sit in the front of the honey pot and twist myself just so, my feet won't fall asleep by the end of the ride. And thus I don't make much of an effort to ride it. I usually sit it out while others take the toddlers in our group on the ride.
Originally Posted By gmaletic >I think location does matter, but also didn't DL's have twice the capacity (two theatres rather than one)? Yes, DL's had two theaters.
Originally Posted By liveforvacations I happen to think location does affect the Pooh ride and I don't think being near the exit of Splash Mountain is a good location. I think that people are interested in looking at their pictures and talking about the ride and may possibly not notice Pooh. I think each ride in Fantasyland is very visible and I know I have been on each of them at least once, even if I only chose to go on Pinocchio once. Was the Country Bear Jamboree in the same place? The reason I ask is because I was at Disneyland on five occasions before it closed (pre-LP when I was uninformed) and I never saw the show and don't even recall seeing the attraction and I went on Splash Mountain mutiple times on each trip.
Originally Posted By bravebrother Pooh is not by the Splash Mountain exit. It's across from Splash's Main enterance. So what is wrong with that??? The location is fine.
