tAll Encompassing Disney Thread

[SimonBolivar 11062]

2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

How can it?  Those places are designed to force people into close proximity all over the place.  Disney is no different.

Yep

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by SimonBolivar

[mdmost 43920]

Those pictures look no different than when I was there in October 2018, just without masks. 

Disneyland may not open in July after all. The employee's union wants the opening pushed back. Disney was trying to reopen on the anniversary of Disneyland's opening day. We'll see how it goes. I just can't see any reason to go to one of the parks right now unless you just really, really have a desire to go and do not care about distancing from others or that others won't be distancing from you. We've already resigned ourselves to not going to either park till 2021. Though we may go to WDW since we haven't been since 2015. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by mdmost

[Baboontyme 2882]

It sounds like the WDW employees are pushing back, as well, though in smaller numbers. I also have to think the NBA may have a say in things. I would be surprised if WDW opens on 7/11 or whatever the planned date is. This is nuts. 

[mdmost 43920]

Disneyland reopening is now delayed.

[Baboontyme 2882]

Ha, I read this morning that Disney is retheming Splash Mountain for Princess and the Frog. Probably a wise move. 

[mdmost 43920]

It is. I never understood how you could have a ride based on a banned movie. Princess and the Frog is a nice replacement. I’m partial though. On our Halloween trip a few years back, my daughters got to ride the Riverboat with Tiana and they loved it. One of the best pictures I got from that trip

[Michael Knight 13217]

When are they gonna retheme Space Mountain to be Ric Flair

[CooterBrown 18287]

7 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:

When are they gonna retheme Space Mountain to be Ric Flair

The guitarist, Buckethead, is a huge Disneyland fan.  He wrote a guitar solo to match the Space Mountain ride that he listens to on earbuds when he rides that ride. I'd like them to use that for a bit. He also has asked to play a Halloween concert at DLR.  A former nine inch nails member's dad is the DLR music director so he was pitching him the idea a few years back.

 

Edited June 25, 2020 by CooterBrown

[thunderlounge 8407]

4 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

Ha, I read this morning that Disney is retheming Splash Mountain for Princess and the Frog. Probably a wise move. 

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
 

 

Bad mouse! Bad mouse!

[mdmost 43920]

We've been watching a fun YouTube channel called Offhand Disney. He dives into a lot of the history of the rides, lands, and most interestingly old abandoned Disney projects. He had a really good video on the Splash Mountain change. He had a pretty astute observation about how people react to anytime Disney changes a land or ride and then the eventual realization that Disney made a change for the better with the exception of a few like Journey Into Imagination and getting rid of the People Mover at Disneyland. 

Seeing stuff this morning from WDW reopening. It will be interesting to see how many of these changes like partitions in rides and characters in the distance where guests can't interact in close proximity with them will stick around after the pandemic is over. 

[Both Tacos 1827]

We've been watching a fun YouTube channel called Offhand Disney. He dives into a lot of the history of the rides, lands, and most interestingly old abandoned Disney projects. He had a really good video on the Splash Mountain change. He had a pretty astute observation about how people react to anytime Disney changes a land or ride and then the eventual realization that Disney made a change for the better with the exception of a few like Journey Into Imagination and getting rid of the People Mover at Disneyland. 


Seeing stuff this morning from WDW reopening. It will be interesting to see how many of these changes like partitions in rides and characters in the distance where guests can't interact in close proximity with them will stick around after the pandemic is over. 

More interesting is who will determine when the pandemic is over.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[SimonBolivar 11062]

1 hour ago, mdmost said:

We've been watching a fun YouTube channel called Offhand Disney. He dives into a lot of the history of the rides, lands, and most interestingly old abandoned Disney projects. He had a really good video on the Splash Mountain change. He had a pretty astute observation about how people react to anytime Disney changes a land or ride and then the eventual realization that Disney made a change for the better with the exception of a few like Journey Into Imagination and getting rid of the People Mover at Disneyland. 

I think it depends on the park

Let's look at the "recent" changes

 

Magic Kingdom:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage - Replaced by Ariel's Grotto (worse, but then replaced by 7DMT so better)

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride-  Replaced by Pooh - (I'd say worse, but I think most like Pooh better and I do like Pooh too)

Skyway- Replaced by nothing (I get why they closed it)

Snow White's Scary Adventures - replaced by Princess Fairytale Hall (worse)

The Timekeeper- replaced by Monsters Inc (worse, what does Monsters Inc have to do with the future?)

ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter- replaced by Lilo & Stitch (worse, but now it's nothing even though neither attraction was very good)

 

 

 

Epcot:

World of Motion: Replaced by Test Track (I'd say worse, but I think most people would say better)

Horizons: Replaced by Mission Space (catastrophically worse)

Universe of Energy: Replaced by coaster of the month (RIP Future World)

Wonders of Life: Replaced by nothing and now will be Play! (we'll see what happens with the new pavilion but even WoL was better than nothing)

The Living Seas: Replaced by The Seas with Nemo & Friends (worse)

Circle of Life: Replaced by Awesome Planet (better)

Journey Into Imagination: Lulz we all know this one

Food Rocks: Replaced by Soarin (better)

Innoventions: Replaced by new spine (I was cast at Innoventions and I think this nothingness is better than Inno)

El Rio Del Tiempo: Replaced by 3 Caballeros (worse)

Maelstrom: Replaced by Frozen Ever After (much worse)

Illuminations: Replaced by HarmonioUS (we'll see but big shoes to fill)

 

Studios:

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Replaced by Toy Story Mania (much better)

The Magic of Disney Animation: Replaced by Star Wars Launch Bay (much worse)

Light's Camera, Action!: Replaced by Star Was Galaxy's Edge (much better)

Backlot Tour: Replaced by Toy Story Land (better)

The Great Movie Ride: Replaced by Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (Worse, MMRR looks charming as all get out but it replaces the 2nd best attraction in the park that was a line eater)

 

Animal Kingdom:

Flights of Wonder: Replaced by Up! ( I don't like either, but supposedly Up! was a disaster)

Tarzan Rocks: Replaced by Nemo the Musical (wash but it was time)

Camp Minnie/Mickey: Replaced by Pandora (much better)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Baboontyme 2882]

How can anything be worse than Snow White's Scary Adventure.

[mdmost 43920]

I like classic dark rides. I should've mentioned he's more of a Disneyland guy and was referencing how people freaked out when Tower of Terror was converted to Guardians of the Galaxy. People also freaked out a bit with the addition of Star Wars Land and the removal of Bugs Land. I think the only real downgrade you can talk about was ditching Country Bear Jamboree for Winnie the Pooh but honestly, it's not that bad as it adds another dark ride. 

[CooterBrown 18287]

I like classic dark rides. I should've mentioned he's more of a Disneyland guy and was referencing how people freaked out when Tower of Terror was converted to Guardians of the Galaxy. People also freaked out a bit with the addition of Star Wars Land and the removal of Bugs Land. I think the only real downgrade you can talk about was ditching Country Bear Jamboree for Winnie the Pooh but honestly, it's not that bad as it adds another dark ride. 

Pooh is also a complete acid trip.

They better not fuck with Mr Toad. Ever.

[SimonBolivar 11062]

On 7/9/2020 at 3:13 PM, Baboontyme said:

How can anything be worse than Snow White's Scary Adventure.

It wasn't perfect, but a ride being replced by a meet and greet is never good. I do remember reading about the special needs guy who had ridden it thousands of times before it closed and boy did that guy love it.. 

[SimonBolivar 11062]

Primeval Whirl, Stitch's Great Escape, and Rivers of Light closed for good. 

 

That looks like the easiest cost cutting moves right there and I won't miss any of them.

[mdmost 43920]

I saw that Spaceship Earth's renovation and the Mary Poppins ride in the UK pavilion are both on hold. I'd imagine Disney won't be doing anything new for a good 2 to 3 years. They'll finish up the funded projects but won't look to add or redo anything until they recover everything that's been lost and will continue to be lost until they can get the parks back to full. 

Part of me really hates all the Disney people I'm seeing online who seem thrilled at how slow it is at WDW right now. Nothing like putting cast members at risk so you can ride Expedition Everest over and over again. Surely there's a point where Disney is losing even more by having such low numbers. 

Edited July 17, 2020 by mdmost

[Baboontyme 2882]

You'd have to be a psycho to want to go to one of the Florida parks right now. For many reasons. 

[SimonBolivar 11062]

7 hours ago, mdmost said:

I saw that Spaceship Earth's renovation and the Mary Poppins ride in the UK pavilion are both on hold. I'd imagine Disney won't be doing anything new for a good 2 to 3 years. They'll finish up the funded projects but won't look to add or redo anything until they recover everything that's been lost and will continue to be lost until they can get the parks back to full. 

Part of me really hates all the Disney people I'm seeing online who seem thrilled at how slow it is at WDW right now. Nothing like putting cast members at risk so you can ride Expedition Everest over and over again. Surely there's a point where Disney is losing even more by having such low numbers. 

Everyone wants to be a Disney vlogger these days. Spaceship Earth is probably my favorite attraction so it makes me sad it gets put on the back burner. If they could create something as good as the Jeremy Irons version then we're missing out. Of course they could fuck it up too. We've been spoiled for too long with new stuff (even if I'm too old school to like most of it. It slowing down for a bit was only a matter of time.

 

Also Robin Lopez has his Disney shit down.

 https://mobile.twitter.com/rolopez42

Edited July 18, 2020 by SimonBolivar

[Both Tacos 1827]

Not Disney but my wife got an email the other day from Universal abs they are selling buy 2 days, get 2 days free to be used anytime next year. Not sure if sales like that are usual?

[mdmost 43920]

Discounts aren't that unusual. I usually get buy 3 days get 1 free tickets for Disneyland. Buy 2, get 2 seems like they're hurting for money and want to get anything they can right now. It's very telling that WDW opens last weekend and everyone is freaking out because the numbers in Florida are really awful. Yeah, Universal had been open since the first week of July.

Edited July 18, 2020 by mdmost

[LonghornSean 4103]

OK, this looks pretty cool at least from a design perspective.

 

[SimonBolivar 11062]

Joe is out. Hello an even quicker demise to IP wasteland.

[kmac30 416]

Wife is pushing for WDW visit with capacity lower. I guess there’s a 35% off deal that she’s all about. Price was still pretty high for a 4 night stay (2 adults 3 kids).

What are thoughts on a Vrbo and driving into the parks daily? Last time I was there I feel like the line to get in was long. No way it can be like that now.

I’m hoping this will be our last visit to WDW, so I want to make it a good one. Any thoughts? Ideas? Stupid comments?

[SimonBolivar 11062]

25 minutes ago, kmac30 said:

Wife is pushing for WDW visit with capacity lower. I guess there’s a 35% off deal that she’s all about. Price was still pretty high for a 4 night stay (2 adults 3 kids).

What are thoughts on a Vrbo and driving into the parks daily? Last time I was there I feel like the line to get in was long. No way it can be like that now.

I’m hoping this will be our last visit to WDW, so I want to make it a good one. Any thoughts? Ideas? Stupid comments?

When are you going? WDW has really limited the perks of staying on site recently. Extra Magic Hours is gone to be replaced by every park being opened 30 minutes earlier to resort guests which is useless, Fastpass+ isn't a thing right now, and starting December 31, 2021 they're discontinuing the free buses that go from MCO to the resorts after adding daily parking fees at the resorts a few years back.

 

I'd stay offsite for sure, if I went at all. I've seen mostly negative reviews lately with long waits and a lot of entertainment is gone possibly for good.

[Baboontyme 2882]

You'd be better off flying to Paris or Tokyo or something. At least your fellow park goers will be more respectful and less...American. 

[LW Goatman 1129]

1 hour ago, kmac30 said:

Wife is pushing for WDW visit with capacity lower. I guess there’s a 35% off deal that she’s all about. Price was still pretty high for a 4 night stay (2 adults 3 kids).

What are thoughts on a Vrbo and driving into the parks daily? Last time I was there I feel like the line to get in was long. No way it can be like that now.

I’m hoping this will be our last visit to WDW, so I want to make it a good one. Any thoughts? Ideas? Stupid comments?

We've done on site, off site, etc. Unless you are staying at one of the higher end on site places, just stay outside the park. The buses and all of that stuff at the lower end places is a beating. 

I'd go to one of those disney forums to see what day in day out action is like, what is open, what is closed, etc.

We cancelled last falls trip due to covid. Assuming all is well, we will go back in october or so...hopefully for the last time.

[kmac30 416]

Thanks for the input. Staying offsite just seems more appealing to me since a lot of the stuff isn’t available. We had some friends go recently and I’ll have to check in how the park was. Looking at going during school days, so hopefully less crowded.

[CooterBrown 18287]

Watch some of YouTube channels dedicated to WDW. While overall crowds are smaller, lines are in some cases longer than normal. There’s no Fast Passes right now. According to one I watched yesterday, food orders have to be done via the mobile app and most pick up windows are booked up a day or two in advance so you have to pick your restaurant, meal time, and food at least a day ahead of time.

[LonghornSean 4103]

Been to WDW many times, but think we've stayed on site every time, except maybe once. Without Magical Express, and Fast Pass+ and the perk of being able to book those 30 days earlier (or whatever), we may have to consider offsite lodging for our next trip. We had a trip booked for summer 2020 which we pushed to 2021 for now.

20 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Watch some of YouTube channels dedicated to WDW. While overall crowds are smaller, lines are in some cases longer than normal. There’s no Fast Passes right now. According to one I watched yesterday, food orders have to be done via the mobile app and most pick up windows are booked up a day or two in advance so you have to pick your restaurant, meal time, and food at least a day ahead of time.

I saw some videos of people in the parks over the holidays, and it seemed like they were mobile ordering food shortly before eating while in the park and not having to do it days in advance.

Also, while parks may be admitting a smaller number of guests, it's not as if they are staffed at full capacity. There are fewer cast members as well so ride wait times are probably similar if not longer. And attraction capacities are definitely lower with parties all being separated from each other within ride vehicles and shows.

Although without Fast Passes, lines should in theory keep moving pretty swiftly which helps mentally with longer waits. Downside being most ride preshows (study room in Tower of Terror for example) are skipped entirely.

Edited January 14, 2021 by LonghornSean

[Baboontyme 2882]

kmac I have no idea how this plays during Covid but we always stay offsite here and it's been awesome for us. Could not be easier to get on property from there (for an off property resort), has access to all of the amenities at the big hotel with a free golf cart ride if you want, smaller pools and a fitness center right outside your room, full kitchen, etc. We rent a car. 

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcorp-marriotts-royal-palms/

[SimonBolivar 11062]

On 1/13/2021 at 3:34 PM, LW Goatman said:

We've done on site, off site, etc. Unless you are staying at one of the higher end on site places, just stay outside the park. The buses and all of that stuff at the lower end places is a beating. 

I'd go to one of those disney forums to see what day in day out action is like, what is open, what is closed, etc.

We cancelled last falls trip due to covid. Assuming all is well, we will go back in october or so...hopefully for the last time.

I'd agree with this especially without Fastpass being an option. Prices at the value and moderate resorts are crazy compared to the Gaylord and other top places nearby.

[SimonBolivar 11062]

On 1/14/2021 at 1:52 PM, Baboontyme said:

kmac I have no idea how this plays during Covid but we always stay offsite here and it's been awesome for us. Could not be easier to get on property from there (for an off property resort), has access to all of the amenities at the big hotel with a free golf cart ride if you want, smaller pools and a fitness center right outside your room, full kitchen, etc. We rent a car. 

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcorp-marriotts-royal-palms/

For reference it's actually closer to property than where we lived as College Program workers.

[Continental Op 3934]

On 1/15/2021 at 5:15 PM, SimonBolivar said:

For reference it's actually closer to property than where we lived as College Program workers.

All hail Vista Way!

In other news, it looks like the pandemic is giving Disney a golden opportunity to get rid of shit they've wanted to get rid of/drastically change for awhile;

--Disney Magical Express is getting shitcanned, probably because the expense to Disney isn't worthwhile since having that no longer creates a captive audience thanks to Uber etc..

--Disneyland annual passes.  Apparently the California parks were overrun by annual pass holders. 

[CooterBrown 18287]

17 hours ago, Continental Op said:

--Disneyland annual passes.  Apparently the California parks were overrun by annual pass holders. 

Yep. The few people I know that grew up in Orange County said everyone went to DLR several times a week. Sometimes they'd just go for an hour before going out.  Locals also flood in for the fireworks every evening.  None of that is going to happen without an annual pass. 

The sweet spot will be going to DLR from the end of the annual pass to before whatever replaces it starts.  Gonna be nice crowds during that window. Assuming it ever even opens back up again.  

[mdmost 43920]

Our early June 2020 trip to San Diego and DLR that had to be cancelled would've been in that window where all passholders were blocked. The crowd levels on the tracking sites were 1-4 most days which is ridiculously low. Now I have no idea when we'll return and how much of an s-show it will eventually be. Hell, I even wonder if DLR will open this year with how bad California has been handling Covid. So maybe summer 2022? DLR will take a while to slowly roll out even allowing people back in beyond Orange County. I think cancelling the AP program was a smart idea. That place gets way too crowded towards the mid-afternoon. Having a system where the passholders have to register each day in advance with only so many slots available seems like a much better way to manage the crowds. 

We may end up trying for WDW for the next trip since they'll have all the experience of how to make it work in a post-Covid world. I couldn't imagine going to WDW right now. 

Edited January 18, 2021 by mdmost

[orange dream 1295]

We planned a last minute trip to WDW January 6-10.  Stayed at the Riviera Resort and overall had a good time.

PARKS:

Park capacity limits are nice but certainly not a line eliminator on the most popular rides.  Having said that, we got to ride everything we had interest in with our longest wait (60 minutes) for anything being that stupid Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Rail at Hollywood.  Most rides had waits of 15 mins or less and the premium rides were usually waits of between 30-45 minutes. The virtual queue system for the Galaxy's Edge ride is kind of frustrating but I'm not sure what the alternative is.  Basically they open the system on their app at 7 AM for people who have Hollywood Studios reservations for that day and give out spots until they are full.  Unfortunately they sell out in approximately 5 seconds. No joke.   There is a 2nd round of spots available on the app at 2pm for people who are physically in the park at 2pm that day.  Those spots sold out in about 12 seconds.  Fortunately we got spots in that 2nd group on our day at Hollywood.  The ride (and that whole Star Wars area) is pretty neat.

The Tron ride being built at Magic Kingdom looks like it is going to be awesome.  Not sure when it will open but I'll look forward to that on our next trip.

We went to Epcot each night to ride 1 or 2 rides and have dinner.  They are undergoing some pretty significant renovations in the front part of the park.  Not sure exactly what the plans are but alot of the walkways are boarded up with construction going on behind.

Alot of the shows are not operating (Indiana Jones, Lion King, etc.)  Not a big deal to us, but might be important to some.

I'm not sure why they don't still do fastpasses.  I think that would smooth the crush on some of the most popular rides and I don't see how it is harmful to the social distancing goals.  Have they said why no fastpasses?

FOOD ISSUES:

The mobile dining ordering places are actually pretty easy, you just need to make sure to think a little in advance if it is a popular spot (Woody's lunchbox) or when you're hungry for lunch at noon it can be disappointing to find out their next pick up time is 3:15.  There are still plenty of walk up food places and even most of the mobile order places are readily available throughout the day.

Reservation places were more hard to come by for us but part of that is we didn't decide we were going until about 5 days before our first day in the park and then we didn't bother looking for reservations anywhere because we thought that with 35% capacity that the restaurants should be open.  We were wrong. 

TRANSPORTATION:

It had been 3 or 4 years since the last time we were there and since then they have built the Disney Skyliner system.  It connected our resort (Riviera) shown in the background of photo below directly to Epcot and with one transfer at the Caribbean Beach Resort station to Hollywood Studios.  Pretty slick and beats the heck out of the busses.  I hope they will expand that system throughout the WDW universe.

 

 

Really fun trip and just by dumb luck our trip coincided with all the brouhaha at the Capitol Building and its aftermath so I was successful in ignoring that mess as much as humanly possible.

[kmac30 416]

We booked in late Feb. After reading here and talking to someone who goes a lot about offsite locations, I mentioned it to her and I thought she was going to have panic attack. We looked into it, but in the end I told her to just figure something out. We’re staying at Bay Lake something in a 2 room villa. It has a kitchen and laundry machines so that will be solid. I can pack in a backpack and just do laundry. Going to rent a car in case we want to do other things after parks close - I guess they’re closing earlier than before. 5-7?

My kids are going to love it and we signed my son up for making light sabers. He will freak out.

[Don Johnson 4847]

On 1/20/2021 at 3:22 PM, kmac30 said:

We booked in late Feb. After reading here and talking to someone who goes a lot about offsite locations, I mentioned it to her and I thought she was going to have panic attack. We looked into it, but in the end I told her to just figure something out. We’re staying at Bay Lake something in a 2 room villa. It has a kitchen and laundry machines so that will be solid. I can pack in a backpack and just do laundry. Going to rent a car in case we want to do other things after parks close - I guess they’re closing earlier than before. 5-7?

My kids are going to love it and we signed my son up for making light sabers. He will freak out.

Stayed at Bay Lake the last time we went and it was fantastic.  So convenient.  

[kmac30 416]

Last time we went we had 3 strollers. We won’t have them this round. Can you carry backpacks on the rides?

[CooterBrown 18287]

6 minutes ago, kmac30 said:

Last time we went we had 3 strollers. We won’t have them this round. Can you carry backpacks on the rides?

Push around one stroller just to have a place to store shit and have a drink holder.

[Don Johnson 4847]

We are going Spring Break.  Trying to make restaurant reservations and the selection is just shitty.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3873]

On 1/13/2021 at 4:34 PM, LW Goatman said:

We've done on site, off site, etc. Unless you are staying at one of the higher end on site places, just stay outside the park. The buses and all of that stuff at the lower end places is a beating. 

I'd go to one of those disney forums to see what day in day out action is like, what is open, what is closed, etc.

We cancelled last falls trip due to covid. Assuming all is well, we will go back in october or so...hopefully for the last time.

The beauty of staying at Pop Century is with how many rooms there are there is a bus to every park roughly every 10 minutes.  If it is just the kids and myself, we'll be in the parks all day and all the room is for is us to shower and sleep we stay at the Pop for bus service.  Now we do supplement that with a few taxi/uber/MinnieVan rides for convenience when needed. Town car service from MCO to the Pop does earn you some looks.

Best thing about being on property is checking your bags in at the resort on departure day for your return flight, hitting a park, and then using a car service to MCO.

[DonkeyCigars 143]

Is it just me or is going to Disneyworld/land during this pandemic a bit....well, what’s the word?

[MNLonghornFUKM 8975]

Is it just me or is going to Disneyworld/land during this pandemic a bit....well, what’s the word?

Wife is on Disney mom fb groups and basically the word is it’s been awesome going there. It’s cordial, nobody is running over people because they have to be at x spot at x time.... and my personal joy- there’s no foreigners. I feel American’s are the minority at of the theme parks in Orlando when I’ve gone.


We’re planning on road tripping to Florida end of March and try to hit up the Nashville zoo and Atlanta aquarium on the way. Was supposed to do Disney last April. We are hoping to check out Disney for a few days before heading over to Melbourne beach

[Baboontyme 2882]

Sign me up for the all foreigners no Americans extra magic happy hours please.

[mdmost 43920]

1 hour ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

and my personal joy- there’s no foreigners. I feel American’s are the minority at of the theme parks in Orlando when I’ve gone.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8975]

Lol.

[mdmost 43920]

Because holy shit