Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<From the looks of it, it looks pretty great for the kids and their parents.>> I'm not sure I'd agree with that. Are there really that many children who want to "put on a show" for Belle? Seems so hokey and forced to me. If they really didn't want to design another dark ride for B&TB, why not at least a true walk-through attraction through Beast's Castle or something - like that Mystery Tour they used to have in Tokyo Disneyland? Something like that would have appealed to a much larger audience at least.
Originally Posted By danyoung Wow - TDLFAN and HMButler not liking something new at WDW. I am shocked, SHOCKED I tell ya, by how surprised I am at this!
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Are there really that many children who want to "put on a show" for Belle? Seems so hokey and forced to me." With a few exceptions most everything Disney does is "forced and hokey". Let's just be honest: this thing isn't for anyone over the age of 7 or 8 who isn't without kids in tow.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 << Let's just be honest: this thing isn't for anyone over the age of 7 or 8 who isn't without kids in tow.>> Agreed. Frankly, I think the target audience is even narrower than that - those kids also have to be interested in meeting/interacting with Belle. As a little side attraction, I really don't have a problem with it. And at least they only added one of these. Still though, having finally done Mermaid at DCA and seeing how unremarkable that attraction is, that doesn't really leave much that's "exciting' for anyone over the age of 10 at WDW's new Fantasyland. And with nothing else in the works for the MK, I think it was a mistake to focus so much on just the younger demographic with this expansion.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt It's only a mistake if they don't offer something new in the near future to offset it. Disney parks have always had attractions squarely aimed at kids - it's not like Fantasyland wasn't there before. Hopefully the next major project in the MK will be something with a lot more appeal for adults.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<Disney parks have always had attractions squarely aimed at kids>> That's true to an extent - but there are attractions whose main appeal is to children, but adults can enjoy too without kids, and then there are attractions like this one that really only aim at children. Most of Fantasyland, pre-extension, fell into the first category. Most adults could enjoy attractions like Small World, Peter Pan, and even the Tea Cups. Really, of the original attractions, only Dumbo and the Carousel come to mind as ones that only kids would want to ride - and even those have their adult fans. But this new "play-along" experience seems to fall way more heavily into the category of "only kids will like this". Maybe you're right, and this won't become a trend at the MK. I hope so - but I'm not convinced that Disney won't continue to add more of these "kids-only" interactive experiences at WDW.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Most of Fantasyland, pre-extension, fell into the first category. Most adults could enjoy attractions like Small World, Peter Pan, and even the Tea Cups. Really, of the original attractions, only Dumbo and the Carousel come to mind as ones that only kids would want to ride - and even those have their adult fans." I'm not so sure that I agree. The average 20-50 year old adult, walking into the Magic Kingdom or Disneyland for the first time, would be unlikely to make a bee-line for Snow White, Casey Jr (at DL), or Small World. Even if they did I doubt that most adults without children would be impressed or enamored with these rides. Much of the appeal of these attractions for the adults here is that we remember them from our childhood or we are experiencing them today with our own kids. Lifelong Disney park fans who have grown up going to the parks for decades have difficulty forming objective opinions about these things.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<The average 20-50 year old adult, walking into the Magic Kingdom or Disneyland for the first time, would be unlikely to make a bee-line for Snow White, Casey Jr (at DL), or Small World.>> I'm not saying they're a main draw, or anything. And they are, in fact, mostly geared towards young people. But I think they can, at least, be enjoyed by people of all ages. This new play-acting thing with Belle - probably not as much. Sure, the details and animatronics look GREAT, and I'd love to see them - but I'm not sure I then want to sit through a session of kids playing make-believe. And I'm sure most adults without kids will feel that way too. I just think it's a shame that Disney missed a chance to create a Beauty and the Beast attraction that might appeal to a wider demographic.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "The average 20-50 year old adult, walking into the Magic Kingdom or Disneyland for the first time, would be unlikely to make a bee-line for Snow White, Casey Jr (at DL), or Small World." And this is why we give my husband such a hard time. One of our favorite things to do is look at our Splash Mountain picture where me and the two kids are laughing and having a ball and all you can see is an outline of my husbands shirt, the rest of him is hiding inside the log! Oh how we laugh and laugh and laugh.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I just think it's a shame that Disney missed a chance to create a Beauty and the Beast attraction that might appeal to a wider demographic." Yes, I agree, however the Little Mermaid attraction is exactly that. There are enough things to see and do at WDW that appeal to me that it's pointless to be upset about one or two well crafted kiddie oriented meet and greets in Fantasyland. People who know me on these boards will remember that not too long ago I frequently got really bent about the expansion of Disney characters all over the parks. It still bugs me, but I've accepted it and focus on the things that I like. The overall quality of the new additions in Fantasyland look excellent, so I'm sure I'd enjoy experiencing the area even if I'm not so keen on meeting Belle or some other princess. "Oh how we laugh and laugh and laugh." I really wish I could see the three of you chuckling. Your poor husband. lol You and your kids would really get a kick out of my last Space Mountain picture.
Originally Posted By tashajilek "There are enough things to see and do at WDW that appeal to me that it's pointless to be upset about one or two well crafted kiddie oriented meet and greets in Fantasyland" Thats exactly how i feel. My SIL took all her kids to Disneyland and only 2 of the 4 kids were able to do most everything. My 3 year old Nephew was too scared to ride HM, was scared after POTC which are the 2 rides everyone claims iS fun for the whole family. My Nephew could only do Fantasyland, Toon Town, Bugsland and a few other things while the other 2 could do all the same rides adults can. If you ask me there really isnt much a child under 5 years old can do at a Disney park and there is even less at the MK than Disneyland. So if there is one new meet and greet at WDW that i dont care than i wont visit it.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>It sound like the Imagineers tried to do their best with the concept that they were given<< To really grasp the idea of how extraordinary the Imagineers can be when creating concepts into real 3D experiences, look no farther than Tokyo DisneySea for proof of what those guys can do given the proper tool$. Immersion goes beyond "looking pretty". That's the epic fail of Belle's Enchanted tales. Substance baby, substance.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Wow - TDLFAN and HMButler not liking something new at WDW. I am shocked, SHOCKED I tell ya, by how surprised I am at this!<< May I remind you Danno.. this so called "attraction" does not feature a buffet.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Obviously you (TDLFAN) take this stuff way more seriously than I do.<< Hans, really? This coming from the person with the highest number of posts in this thread???
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Yes, really. TDLFAN, like you, I enjoy this community and I like hanging out here and chatting about things. However I avoid going on and on about anything Disney related that way that you do with TDLR. It's like you have some kind vendetta or something. We all understood it long ago, that from your point of view at least, TDLR is the king of all Disney resorts. There is no need to continue driving that point home here; otherwise, it gives the impression that you are obsessed. As for me, well I don't visit the resorts much; I haven't been to WDW in 6 or 7 years, made my first trip to DL in 4 years this summer, and I have little interest in visiting the parks in Japan or France again. I couldn't care less about whether DL's Peoplemover ever returns, arguing about Tokyo DisneySea vs. DCA, debating how much better Universal is than WDW, or delving into the latest behind the scenes gossip about the Imagineers or Disney Parks management. Sure, I get geek out in those conversations from time to time, but I rarely, if ever, do I get my drawers twisted because Disney is doing something that I dislike.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I don't get why it's such a big deal or hard to understand that Disney will do somethings or heck even a lot of things to appeal to little kids. And the whole "It only appeals to kids and not adults" doesn't really apply because there will be a lot of adults who also happen to be parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc who will be tickled pink to see their kid take part in this and will get a whole heck of a lot of enjoyment out of it.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<I don't get why it's such a big deal or hard to understand that Disney will do somethings or heck even a lot of things to appeal to little kids. >> Well, it depends on why you like Disney in the first place. My love of Disney started when I was a child in the 1980s - when Disney meant a lot more than just "kids stuff". They had just built EPCOT Center - a park definitely not geared towards small children. I was 5 or 6 on my first visit - and have been enamored with it ever since. At that time, the rest of WDW, including the Magic Kingdom, was also geared more towards experiences that adults could enjoy with or without children. This was before cartoon characters had invaded all parts of the Magic Kingdom - the other lands were still more adult oriented. So, that's why I think it's "a big deal" that Disney no longer does that. I don't want to have to visit WDW with children to enjoy myself - I want to be able to go with adults and have fun. That doesn't mean everything has to be geared towards me, but I think the majority of experiences at WDW should be designed to please adults, as well as children. But that's just my personal opinion. Obviously others, including today's Disney Company, see things differently.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I think this will be a huge hit. It's very creatively done, and I can picture countless little kids' eyes opening wide at all of this cool stuff. Really amazing how the newest animatronics move so fluidly.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: I'm sure I'll just love it! It already looks much better than our drab marshes in Morva!
