Originally Posted By brotherdave Fantasylands at any of the MK parks, by their nature, have mostly appealed to children since the inception of Disneyland. That doesn't mean that adults can't enjoy the attractions with them, but children seem to be naturally drawn to Fantasyland due to the animation connection. Personally, I am looking forward to both the Little Mermaid and the Seven Dwarf coaster. I am applauding Disney for these new efforts and feel they will be very popular with guests of all ages. My major complaint is the repurposing of an existing dark ride. Compared to Disneyland which has five dark rides within a compact area of Fantasyland, the Magic Kingdom was only designed with three (though Mr. Toad was actually split into two different sides when it operated, so technically it could be counted as four, I suppose). With Mr. Toad becoming Winnie the Pooh, it became one larger dark ride leaving only three. Now they will have only two "C"-Ticket type dark rides left. Granted, we're gaining a large "E"-Ticket, but that is mainly a replacement for a previously lost "E"-Ticket (20,000 Leagues). The mine train will basically be a replacement for the soon to close Snow White Scary Adventures, thus no actual gain of the number of attractions here. I personally feel that as nice as these new additions will be, the loss of a dark ride for a meet&greet is a bit short-sighted on Disney's part. They need MORE of this type of attraction in Fantasyland, not less. Those little "C"-Ticket dark rides helped Disneyland become the park it is today, and I feel that the Magic Kingdom needs more of those, too, to help make that area feel more complete, not to mention help spread the crowds out even more.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Fantasyland has been a mess for years. They took out all the kinetics when the subs left and the Skyway was dismantled. They then removed some mature trees and planters. It became very ugly and loaded with concrete. This will change that. And I'm sure I'll enjoy both new attractions too. It just isn't a huge deal, no matter the spin<<< Yeah, but how is the old, icky theme park-y section of FL going to blend with this new, idyllic, green section? HUUUUGE thematic rift. Even with the Castle Walls.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>They need MORE of this type of attraction in Fantasyland, not less. Those little "C"-Ticket dark rides helped Disneyland become the park it is today, and I feel that the Magic Kingdom needs more of those, too, to help make that area feel more complete, not to mention help spread the crowds out even more.<< I couldn't agree more. Fantasyland at DL really is a great place, because there is so much to do. It may be a little overcrowded during peak times, but there's still something special about it. You can spend hours in a relatively small space; at WDW, you can spend about 20 minutes there before you get bored. Having more darkrides would help increase the charm of the area, as well as decrease the absurd waits on the other darkrides. Peter Pan and Pooh have some of the longest lines in the park, so it would make sense to add more attractions like them (like when the Matterhorn had long waits in DL, they added Space Mountain and Big Thunder), not remove them. On my 10 day trip to WDW last spring, I spent no more than 3 hours in Fantasyland. I've spent longer than that in Fantasyland in day trips to DL. While additions like the coaster and Mermaid will be nice, they still need other things to fill out the experience.
Originally Posted By DBitz2 When it's all said and done, and you weigh how many attractions are being lost against how many new attractions are actually being added (and, I'm including ToonTown Fair), seems to me that it's coming out in the negative count, so, other than having a newly "beautified" Fantasyland, are we much better off? I totally agree that it is seriously shortsighted to close yet another dark ride. While the Mine coaster may turn out to be a decent attraction, I feel that they would have been smarter to have come up with a new, "super-duper" Peter Pan ride to replace the very popular, but, very low capacity existing one. Done right, a new version of Peter Pan could have been really great, and, handled a lot more guests than the existing one. And, they could have then used the Peter Pan space for something new. At any rate, ending up with less attractions than they started with doesn't seem too wise to me. The park needs more attractions, not less, to better accomodate the attendance it gets.
Originally Posted By Manfried It seems to me some folks are spending an awful lot of time complaining about the loss of an old and not very good dark ride. I suspect there's some infrastructure reasons for taking that dark ride out too that Disney is not telling us. Let's face it, the attraction is nearly 40 years old, which means the building is nearly 40 years old. That's a lot of rain and use for any building.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I suspect there's some infrastructure reasons for taking that dark ride out too that Disney is not telling us." I doubt that since originally the attraction wasn't going to be touched and the meet & greet was going to be where the Dwarf's mine train thing is going.
Originally Posted By DBitz2 >>Let's face it, the attraction is nearly 40 years old, which means the building is nearly 40 years old.<< The building may be 40 years old, but, the attraction was overhauled in the mid-1990's to the current version, so it isn't exactly 40 years old. And, in my opinion, as far as these kinds of dark rides go, it is a good dark ride. Certainly superior to the Disneyland version. At any rate, removing rides and replacing them with character meet and greets is not a positive step forward in my book.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<It seems to me some folks are spending an awful lot of time complaining about the loss of an old and not very good dark ride.>> The thing is, I would be fine with them replacing SWSA with a newer dark ride - in fact, I'd welcome it. As you said, that ride is nearly 40 years old, and is probably the worst of the Fantasyland dark rides. And since they're adding the new mine train, it makes sense not to have two Snow White rides in the same park. BUT, there's no reason why Disney couldn't have designed a new dark ride to replace it.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>The thing is, I would be fine with them replacing SWSA with a newer dark ride - in fact, I'd welcome it. As you said, that ride is nearly 40 years old, and is probably the worst of the Fantasyland dark rides. And since they're adding the new mine train, it makes sense not to have two Snow White rides in the same park. BUT, there's no reason why Disney couldn't have designed a new dark ride to replace it.<<<< Peter Pan is in FAR worse condition... The sound effects, sound system, AAs look appalling.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Peter Pan is in FAR worse condition... The sound effects, sound system, AAs look appalling. >> True, but Pan has by far more potential than Snow White does.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<Peter Pan is in FAR worse condition... The sound effects, sound system, AAs look appalling. >> <<True, but Pan has by far more potential than Snow White does.>> Exactly, plus, it's much more popular. Disney would be stupid to shut that ride down. Change at WDW can be good - and a change from the Snow White ride to a new dark ride based on another character would be good too. But sadly, the change from a ride to a meet-and-greet - not so good!
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct Does anyone know if the ride/track layout to the snow white mine train is the same as Hong Kong's Grizzly Peak mine train!? It would be a cost saver? No?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo No Dennis, my understanding is that the Mine Train in HK is going to be more intense, very similar to Expedition Everest. This is going to be a ride you can take toddlers on.
Originally Posted By xrayvision 4.5 - I'm excited about the Little Mermaid attraction and wish it were opening simultaneously with the DCA version. What are the timelines on MK's FL expansion openings. Will we see rolling openings similar to DCA, or one grand opening of all attractions at the same time? Kinda answering my own question, I'm assume we'll see all the attractions open all at once vs rolling openings.
Originally Posted By DBitz2 >>Will we see rolling openings similar to DCA, or one grand opening of all attractions at the same time? Kinda answering my own question, I'm assume we'll see all the attractions open all at once vs rolling openings.<< Hasn't the info that Disney released this week stated that things would be open in "phases", as some things will be done sooner than others?
Originally Posted By xrayvision Yep, found an answer to the question: "But that’s just the beginning of what guests will discover when the multi-phase project is completed."
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct Thanks davewasbaloo that intensity for HK will given them all a thrill. This WDW mi e train sounds like a Casey Jr train. I love the one in Paris. I wonder why FL never got a storybook canal ride. We calk it "Little land"
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>True, but Pan has by far more potential than Snow White does.<<< Why? Because you float? Eh.
Originally Posted By brotherdave Not many dark rides offer a suspended experience like Peter Pan. It may not be perfect (and could use a little updating), but I've always enjoyed it for the little details throughout. It's still the best "C"-Ticket dark ride in the Magic Kingdom.
