Originally Posted By sjhym333 I think I would start differently. I would first make sense of the Studio, a park that grew hodge podge and to me is a mess. They need a creative person to get in there and make sense of the plan, lose the Backstage Studio Tour since there really isnt a Studio there anymore and build something there. It would also give them some space for Star Wars. I would then turn my head to the AK. It could use a couple of attractions and some sort of night time entertainment to give the park some after dark appeal. At the same time they could expand World Showcase a pavillion or two, do something with the spot that Wonders of Life occupies before really taking on Future World. As for the MK. I have mixed emotions about it. It definately could use a new E ticket attraction or two and the FL Dark Rides could use an update. The place could use some new landscaping and less concrete and I would love for them to reopen the Adventureland Veranda and Diamond Horseshoe again as food venues. Heck, right now I would be happy if they brought back Country Bear Christmas
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Which makes me think... interactive activities are "very Disney"? Where is the innovation in that??" It's a loving tribute to Walt's life built by his daughter and not meant to be a technological spectacle. With that said, it's a top notch facility. Beside the primary exhibit halls there is a special events gallery and a screening room/lecture hall. Coincidentally the day I was there Andreas Deja was doing a book signing. Basically it takes you through the story of Walt Disney's life, from his birth to his death. If you've ever read The Art of Walt Disney by Christopher Finch it'll all seem very familiar. It's sort of like that book come to life. The whole thing is done exceptionally well with rare photos, awards, and little details like the aforementioned Disneyland model that gives it that Disney panache and showmanship. There's even a room with animated films projected on wrap-around screens like the Animation attraction at DCA.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I agree with you Sjhym333 - the Studio park needs the most work. It's completely incoherent.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<I agree with you Sjhym333 - the Studio park needs the most work. It's completely incoherent.>> You're both probably right - I was basing my wish on my undying love of 1980's EPCOT Center, and my wish to get it back to the glory days. But realistically, I agree with you all. The Studios is mess. Frankly, I never even go over there anymore when I visit - just not worth the time it takes to get to. Would much rather enjoy the ease of traveling between the MK and Epcot! But, if they did decide to revamp the Studios with a true Star Wars land - and not a half-*ssed effort - then I'd be on the first bus over!! And so would many other crazy Star Wars fans, I'm sure!
Originally Posted By leobloom >> More than rides, WDW needs better maintenance, themed environments and better trained staff. Plus what they have needs huge upgrades in technology and show. << I dunno if I'd say WDW needs those things more than rides. Sure, the place isn't maintained like it used to be. Sure, the tech in many of the attractions needs updating. But the biggest symbol of the resort's staleness is the lack of impressive new attractions. It's been that way for over a decade. When was the last time WDW opened a ride that felt like they really swung for the fences? Safari at DAK? Soarin' is a glorified IMAX movie with a uninspired queue and load procedure. Everest is an incredible queue and mountain with uninspired show scenes. Tower of Terror was probably the last time that WDW opened an attraction that equaled the classics like Pirates, Mansion, and the Mountains. Meanwhile Universal absolutely has earned the crown of opening headlining attractions in Orlando. That's not a good look for WDW.
Originally Posted By leobloom DHS is an awful mess of a park. Last time I was there felt like a prison sentence. Star Tours upgrade was "meh" -- about ten years too late. Midway Mania was fun the first few times, but it's a D-ticket posing as an E-ticket. I'm not sure the Star Wars speeder bike coaster is going to fix this place. Half the park needs to be nuked and built from scratch. DAK becomes more of a joke with each passing year. Haven't been back since Everest's first year. This park isn't worth the price of a ticket. It's a great park during winter for APs or CMs getting into the parks for free. Otherwise, too hot, too little to do, and what there is to do, you've done multiple times before. I don't think Epcot is as bad as most people seem to think, but its problem is one that goes back to its fundamental theme. "Future World" will never be up to date. Energy is stuck in 90s land. Empty pavilions are inexcusable for what Disney charges to visit. Captain EO and the Figment ride? Talk about cutting edge... Nemo, Mission: Space, the Mexico boat ride are asked to do too much for the park's lineup. I guess Epcot's in worse shape than I realized. MK -- Here's an experiment: if you removed the rides that opened before 1981, would MK be worth visiting? A park that gets by on nostalgia alone.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "You're both probably right - I was basing my wish on my undying love of 1980's EPCOT Center, and my wish to get it back to the glory days." Hey, I'd be the first one cheering if Disney announced that EPCOT was going to refocus on its original mission.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>>I dunno if I'd say WDW needs those things more than rides.<<< Leo.. go to Tokyo DisneySea please. A park that is full of eye popping E-Tickets but talking a walk around the park to admire the environments is worth the price of admission alone without ever stepping inside a ride. You guys will simply never understand until you experience that level of disney themed quality.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<I guess Epcot's in worse shape than I realized.>> Exactly. Epcot actually seems to be another park that's getting by on nostalgia as well - except most of the stuff we're nostalgic for isn't even there anymore. It must be because most of the buildings still look the same even though most of the attractions within have been gutted, but I always still get that EPCOT-glory days vibe when I walk around Future World and World Showcase. It's always such a let-down when I walk into the Imagination pavilion and find the sad excuse for an attraction that replaced the marvelous Journey into Imagination, or into Test Track and I look around and think "this used to be World of Motion". Depressing.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Whats amazing to me is that someone had to say "Lets take out the turntable and Dreamfinder and put something else there instead." It seems it would have been easier to leave the turntable and redo the interior parts of the attraction.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "Hey, I'd be the first one cheering if Disney announced that EPCOT was going to refocus on its original mission." Would it be enough to get you to travel back to Florida though?
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn I do wish they'd completely overhaul World Showcase and make it become DisneySea in EPCOT. They can still call it World Showcase.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 Another thing - the transportation system. I know the idea of expanding the monorails is not popular (though I think they could be expanded to great effect), but something needs to be done to update things. Traffic around property - especially near the Downtown Disney and Studios area - is a mess! Are they ever going to do something to fix the problem that doesn't involve adding more buses?
Originally Posted By leobloom >> Exactly. Epcot actually seems to be another park that's getting by on nostalgia as well - except most of the stuff we're nostalgic for isn't even there anymore. It must be because most of the buildings still look the same even though most of the attractions within have been gutted << Good point. Most of the original buildings are still there, so that probably adds to the nostalgic vibe. If they'd bulldozed all the pavilions like they did with Horizons, there probably wouldn't be as much love as there is for Epcot.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> Leo.. go to Tokyo DisneySea please. A park that is full of eye popping E-Tickets but talking a walk around the park to admire the environments is worth the price of admission alone without ever stepping inside a ride. You guys will simply never understand until you experience that level of disney themed quality. << High quality theming needs attractions to be successful. FLE is high quality theming without top-notch attractions, and it's already yesterday's news (or worse, a disappointment) for most people.
Originally Posted By leobloom Could they just maintain the monorail so it doesn't break down regularly? How often does DLR's monorail have breakdowns?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>How often does DLR's monorail have breakdowns?<< I have no specific data, but it always seems very unreliable to me. Even when it's running fine, it's incredibly slow loading and low capacity; I always wonder why the current trains have such limited capacity when the older ones seemed to have so much more. Add in the fact that you can usually walk from the DTD station to the TL one faster than waiting and riding, and it's a pretty useless attraction (as nostalgic as it is)
