Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl And with Autopia losing its Chevron sponsorship, how about this: Autopia 2020 All-electric vehicles, demonstrating a "smart highway" concept. No center guide rail. Alternate paths, and a computer-assisted drive-by-wire system that allows guests to choose alternate paths, while still keeping them from running off the road. Depending on how much time they spend on the first lap through the track, they might be given the option of a second lap. When the guest's time is up, the system would gently guide the vehicle back to the station, and if the battery was low, to a charging lane. And maybe equip each vehicle with an autosound system that can call up any atmosphere loop in the Park, and a whole bunch of attraction, parade, and Disney movie soundtracks.
Originally Posted By ImgineerBob The article was written by Al Lutz so I wouldn't read to much into it, beleive it when you see consturction walls
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt He's actually been pretty accurate with his reporting for the past few years.
Originally Posted By FaMulan I heard an unsubstantiated rumor that TPTB were looking at the removal of the Peoplemover track. I'll believe it when I see it.
Originally Posted By ImgineerBob as an Autopia cast member, i can say that Autopia is still amazingly popular with lines of usually an hour long in peak times, I don't see disney scrapping a ride like that. If anything they'll get rid of the gas cars and bring in electric ones which will instantly bring them into the future. This seems to me to be more of what Al would like to see rather then what will happen.
Originally Posted By oc_dean The subs reopened in 2007, just -FIVE- years ago. And the amount rumored, that went into it, was some 70-100 million dollars! With that large amount invested into that attraction, I highly doubt the co. is going to be calling for it to be demolished any time soon. This is one rumor from Mr. Lutz that I am taking with one tiny grain of salt.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "If anything they'll get rid of the gas cars and bring in electric ones which will instantly bring them into the future." I think you mean instantly bring them into the present. There is nothing futuristic about electric vehicles.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "The subs reopened in 2007, just -FIVE- years ago. And the amount rumored, that went into it, was some 70-100 million dollars!" Well he did say that it's the most expensive attraction to operate at the resort and has a very low throughput of only 800 guests per hour, so there is incentive to replace the attraction. It does sound a bit far fetched, but if you figure it might be another 5 years before anything new opens in that spot it'll probably be time for them to go or at least updated by then anyway.
Originally Posted By oc_dean I'll throw this one in too: I think it's been a pipe-dream of some within WDI, for a long time, to reinvent the north/west section of Disneyland. I made friends with a WDI-A employee back in the late 80s. And he said they wanted to do, what Lutz is saying now ... back then. To tear out practically everything, (subs, both Autopias, Motor Boat Cruise) and reinvent the area. Sounds like there are some within WDI, still trying to push for this to become reality - even if 25 years later. But I think their roadblock is Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Once that reopened in 2007, with millions and millions poured into it .... It just pushes any such idea ... further down the line. I see the same problem with Pooh in Critter Country, and Buzz in Tomorrowland. One ride, very underwhelming. Another, ill-placed synergy. I don't think Disney is going to tear out Pooh. They socked 30 million for it back 2003. I expect they want all the mileage they can out of that! Same for Buzz. I hate the idea of a Pixar toy in Tomorrowland. But as they say - "It's still relevant for today's youth" ... so they aren't going to be taking out that popular toy out of Tomorrowland anytime soon! And the same goes for that talking fish who is also still "relevant to today's youth"! *gag*
Originally Posted By oc_dean Surely, many people do not like the Kindergarten show within the subs, but the attraction itself, is still cool. Nemo could eventually be transitioned out, in favor of a new show, transplanted into those acrylic boxes. It is the only attraction of it's kind in the world. No other Disney park has a ride that does travel literally under water. A mall in West Edmonton Canada ... there's is now out of commission. WDW's has been gone since '94. DL's is the last. If it goes, I certainly hope it's replacement is pretty spectacular, and a worthy replacement for what I think may be the world's only underwater experience, that IS under water, and not done artificially - like everything else.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>The subs reopened in 2007, just -FIVE- years ago. And the amount rumored, that went into it, was some 70-100 million dollars!<< MBA 101: Those are sunk costs (pun not intended - that's the actual term). They won't enter into the decision. >>It is the only attraction of it's kind in the world.<< And there are good reasons! <------doesn't get all that excited about being 6 feet under water anyway.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "But I think their roadblock is Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Once that reopened in 2007, with millions and millions poured into it .... It just pushes any such idea ... further down the line." I would think that the Monorail beams would be a bigger obstacle to building something than the money spent on Nemo. Unless of course they plan to remove it too. "MBA 101: Those are sunk costs (pun not intended - that's the actual term). They won't enter into the decision." This exactly. Plus, based on how spectacular Cars Land is performing, there is even more incentive to remove the Tomorrowland relics from DL's very first expansion and reinvent that corner of the park. I'm hoping that this is more than just a rumor.
Originally Posted By cerise667 """Nemo was a bad idea then and is a bad idea now. Lots of bucks with not much bang. You get into a cramped, uncomfortable vehicle and watch a confusing, poorly written TV show on tiny screens with lousy sound. It makes no sense at all if you haven't seen the movie, and not a whole lot more if you have. And not a single one of the jokes gets so much as a smile from the sardine passengers.""" I keep telling myself I need to bit the bullet and get in that line (it usually is a long enough line)... laughing, thank you, now I don't feel so bad for not doing so ;-) we had seen it in the viewing room with a friend who cannot handle small spaces, it was not very impressive but then... we are not the target age group I suppose.
Originally Posted By ecdc I like Nemo, you're all monsters. Autopia though...every time I go on that ride (for my lovely children's sake) I feel my soul flicker and die.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros This quote has me wondering about the accuracy of his sources: >>The Submarines have the dubious distinction now of being the costliest attraction to operate and maintain at Disneyland, and just the cost of replacement bulbs alone for the underwater projection screens can tally tens of thousands of dollars per month.<< While the costs are undoubtedly high, I would be absolutely shocked if they were higher than the Disneyland Railroad. That's the only attraction that has its own dedicated maintenance team constantly working on keeping it in shape. Between the neverending track repairs, and the constant work required to keep the steam engines running, the cost of running the DLRR is much, much higher than the Subs. I suspect that even the cost of the Twain is close to, if not higher than, the cost of the Subs. While the Subs don't have the higest ridership numbers, neither do the Twain or DLRR, so the cost per passenger (which is what they really look at) is very high on all of them. And I do find it suspicious that Al's commentary made no mention of the PeopleMover track or the Monorail beam. If they're serious about doing work back there (and taking out Autopia and the Subs is about as serious as it gets), they'd reconfigure the overhead tracks too. There's just no sense in working around obsolete infrastructure that has no reason to be there.
Originally Posted By tashajilek I wouldnt be into a new Pixar or Marvel attration replacing the Subs or Autopia either.
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>Al Lutz: "It's no secret that the Submarines have no friends in Anaheim’s operations departments, where they are disliked for their inefficiency, very low ride capacity (800 riders an hour at full speed), and very high cost of maintenance. The Submarines have the dubious distinction now of being the costliest attraction to operate and maintain at Disneyland." The funny thing about this ^^^ It's spoken as if THEY JUST FIGURED THIS OUT! We could go back to the height of a Disneyland administration that was hyper-conscious about Ride-costs in ratio to ride capacities ... across the park. The years being mid 90s through roughly 2003. Give you a hint ... initials P.P. The ride was vilified back in Paul Pressler's time for the reasons given above. Then a different administration comes in, and maintenance cost - like magic - not an issue. And it reopens in '07. But, all of a sudden, now it's back to "If the ride count is this xxx - and the cost is xxxx" ... I got this to say - I see a bias from one administration to the next. Who's really to say the basis of the attraction is not worthy? If Nemo was a fairly easy layover, so is another show. For 3 decades ... (60s,70s,80s) Disneyland ran this ride - no problem. Al sort of makes it sound as if the operations department is a whiny little bunch who may not like their jobs. "Oh darn, I have to work on that maintenance-intensive ride today, I hate my job." Well ... from 1959 .. and for the next 3 decades ... the ride was enjoyed by millions. Couldn't have been that hard. I hear the DLRR, and the Mark Twain, and Columbia have high operations costs vs. ride capacity ratio. Should those rides be removed? Seems to depend on what biases are created from one administration to the next. And the biases from one imagineer to the next, and from one exec to the next in Burbank. And lets not forget .... Miceage has also been talking about a few other rumored ideas for a couple years - Tron, new TL makeover, Tinkerbell attraction in Motor Boat cruise for 2013 opening, more recently - Wizard of Oz land, Stark Expo ... above Frontierland .......... So ;-) my point being .... Not everything that comes out of the mouth of Miceage comes to fruition. And even if this is remotely true for Innoventions, Autopia, and the subs, where is the guarantee it will be on a par with Carsland? And we have absolutely zero idea what they would replace the subs with. Just a lot of speculation and high hopes at the moment. For how do we know Disney is going to pump the right amount of funds to make it right? Or like some recent rumors that seem to be going no where ... makes me wonder if Al's contact isn't giving false information just to get a feel from people out on the net, from one site to the next? Want a feel? Here's my 2 cents - The only thing that should replace the last attraction of it's type in the world, should be something with the right amount of funds to do it right. And be original. NO movie tie in. Want to date it? Want to make it *relevant* to just the current pop trend? Don't be fools. And for gosh sakes ... if you guys really want to build something for future generations to call classic, and be popular for decades - Don't place your audiences in the passive position of watching a movie replayed in full 3D reality. Make it something that puts the rider in the position of creating his/her own story (like Haunted Mansion, and PotC pre-Jack Sparrow.) I think we are all for new things, but the co. can't cop out on cost. And to redo this massive area, definitely will require a huge budget.
Originally Posted By Bellella ImgineerBob, do you really think that the people in charge FINALLY might give Autopia electric cars? Because if so, that's just too good to be true. If it is true, I will show my full support by going on it on all future trips to D-land. I have been personally boycotting the ride simply because of their fossil fuel burning. I see the conversion of Autopia to all-electric as an all-sides-winning boost, and I hope what you say is true and will be carried out very quickly. Goodbye Chevron!! And it's about time you left!! The Finding Nemo subs being demolished? I highly doubt that they will kill that ride after having put so much effort into it. Especially after the fact that it's only been open for a few years. I hardly ever get to go on the subs, seeing as how the line is always so long. I know the ride is a slow-goer, but it's immensely popular. Personally, much as I deplore the fact that they had to turn to character synergy to make the ride popular, I find the underwater projection system totally amazing. And how can the subs be inefficient when they run on electric power? I thought the old diesel engines were more of a maintenance headache? Innoventions- I feel this place has run its course, but I'd hate to see the Carousel Theater go. On the other hand, if it means saving Autopia and the subs, and if they really can't see their way clear to bringing back the Carousel of Progress or anything awesome, the theater may have to be sacrificed. Marvel, please, for the sake of good taste and sanity, stay out of Disneyland. If they want to put you in DCA or build a whole other park just for you, so be it. But at Disneyland, I highly doubt you would ever fit, and I hope they know better than to try.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I personally never liked the WDW sub ride... I thought it was claustrophobic and had cheesy effects. Especially in Florida, the subs were hot and stinky. How do I put this nicely... some of the foreign visitors to WDW do not exactly share the hygeine standards that you probably take for granted in Southern California. But the removal of that ride caused far more wailng and gnashing of teeth than the removal of any other. I guess you do have to give it credit for being a uniquely Disney attraction.
Originally Posted By dagobert If Disney is going to remove these attractions to reboot the Tomorrowland, they should also get rid of Buzz Lightyear. WDI should try to build a real Tomorrowland with no connections to any franchise. Another possibility would be to rename the land when building something new.
