Tower of Terror to be changed to Guardians of Galaxy theme

[Amy]

Aaaannnnnddd.... There you have it. Confirmed.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/ ... mmer-2017/

I'm hoping the story stands on it's own as I've never seen a lot of these latest movies, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars (I know) that these attractions are now going to be based on. I imagine they will be more enjoyable if you are familiar with the movies, but still hoping they make sense otherwise. Kind of like the new Star Wars attraction, I still can enjoy the movie and ride, even if I don't know what the heck people are talking about when they ask which place you went to and who was piloting, etc.

[Wizzard419]

Finally, they can stop paying money to Viacom for a show with such low ratings it is used as filler for when infomercials don't want to buy airtime (that is actually true). A personal favorite joke about the ride was that the scariest part is when baby boomers are forced to explain what a "Twilight Zone" is to their grandchildren.

The building looks pretty cool, not sure if they will have to keep the backside low key though. It can be seen from South OC (on a clear day), so a giant metallic T shaped building would probably p*** off the Irvine Company (they own much of the land in So Cal).

Considering the long construction times and high costs, retrofits may the only realistic way to keep the parks somewhat current. Especially for heavily dated rides.

One thing I don't understand is the high volume of butt-hurt and surprise at this announcement. It was obviously on the radar of fans for the last several months, so no real surprise other than the façade is changing.

[cy1229]

I think the consternation comes from the fact that people really like the ride as it is.

And you'd be really surprised at how many millennials know about Twilight Zone.

Not all of it is your so-called "butthurt", but rather a frustration with things changing for reasons they don't divulge. Surely Disney knows its huge fan following and could find a way to say this is what we're seeing, and this is why we're changing it.

Must businesses explain their decisions? No. But there is a time and place for consideration and ethics in business. It's not only about dollars. Or at least, it shouldn't be.

[Wizzard419]

"Aware of" and "actually spending money on said brand" are two very different things.

Part of it is to meet a city requirement for a tax break, but it obviously the licensing costs were found to be squandered, so they are trying to more intelligently cater to guests and leverage their brands.

While the fans are unhappy, they clearly are not spending as much as the average consumer. If they were, then the changes would not be happening. At the same time, if these fans wanted a voice, they could have one. Disney is a publicly traded company, if they question park leadership they could have bought shares and acted as a voting group. They didn't, and now they are claiming they are not going to renew their APs (they will renew, they always do).

[michelesanchez]

I was at the park on Sunday and did not notice any of the cast members at the entrance of both parks asking for your email to give feed back ( ha ha )...I am kind of sad about the change. to me Twilight zone was sort of CAadv equivelent to disneylands Haunted Mansion where the cast members could kind of play and be a character . I hate when Disneyland announces a new attraction they act like we are getting another attraction ( number wise it is still the same). From what I read ( I could be wrong it will be dropping to music ( they implied music from the movie ) but i think the silence and the noise of the elevator is what enhances the scariness of tower of terror . How is dropping in an elevator to the runaways cherry bomb thrilling????To me this is the equivelant of what they did at WDW world when they changed Alien Encounter to Stitch's escape. My sister when on it and she and her husband still to this day say that was the best attraction they had ever been on . They said it scared them so much they almost wet their pants( I have never been to wdw or on Alien Encounter) . I see people are trying to start a petition but they will not stop it from changing. They have been testing it all last year . That is why the elevator on the right hand side was closed most of last year . if i recall it barely started going this spring which seemed odd to me . That is why CAadv will never be as good as Disneyland most of the attractions They are throway ( the swings, goofy fly school , jumpin jellyfish ) looks like they bought them off the shelf. They are done on the cheap ( anyone remember superstar limo) and there is no heart in them...I dont think it necessarily has to do with the imagineers I think they are given perameters and they have to come up with something. the problem is you have the heads of the companies and divisions in disney who are businessmen not creators or visionaries like Walt Disney who are mandating using certain characters from the films like star wars and Marvel , and attractions are not being created from heads who have visions and imaginations and creativity. That is why i am worried about star wars land also and i was around in 1977 and saw the original as a kid and was a big fan before the last movie came out. a few good editing of Jar Jar binks and phantom menace is as good as the last star wars movie( in My opinion ) There will probably be 2 attractions ( all cg and simulator like star tours) and 4 stores selling all the same merchandise (like in cars land) . And the attractions look to be like they will have a certain height requirement , there will be nothing for kids and parents to enjoy together ( baby switch time) . I like the visceral feeling of moving on a track, seeing figures , with screens and computer graphics blended ( like the way the new shanghai pirates looks to be ) ugh...sigh....sorry i had to get it out

[michelesanchez]

I also think alot of the reason is probably Shanghai. I really do think they are cost cutting. look how they changed the popcorn from Orville Redenbacher to popsecret ( popsecret is like baby popcorn, not as big ) also at the foods they also have this weirdo brand of ketchup and mustard and the packets are very small .before anytime you ordered at Village haus and other places ypou recieved a tray , now they hand you a plastic bin -if you are lucky. The main street popcorn cart is not always up. Alot of attractions are not opening when park opens. The rumour of no fireworks ( except on holidays and such , which I think probably has to do with alot of the remenants from them fall in the back behind fantasyland and toontown and now i t will be Star wars land and they can t close that down early or for a while they run around picking up the pieces that fall down, . so we will have a big galaxy of guardians and then mashed up with monsters inc and frozen for a while .very disjointed and wrong...

[Mousekedude]

I think the consternation comes from the fact that people really like the ride as it is.

And you'd be really surprised at how many millennials know about Twilight Zone.

Not all of it is your so-called "butthurt", but rather a frustration with things changing for reasons they don't divulge. Surely Disney knows its huge fan following and could find a way to say this is what we're seeing, and this is why we're changing it.

Must businesses explain their decisions? No. But there is a time and place for consideration and ethics in business. It's not only about dollars. Or at least, it shouldn't be.

Well said. It's all about the $$ with them these days. Walt is probably doing back-flips in his grave....

[Mousekedude]

I also think alot of the reason is probably Shanghai. I really do think they are cost cutting...

Exactly. Mouseoholic and I have been talking about that for the last couple of years as we've noticed quality and service declining while prices keep rising. Our theory is that they have too many high-cost projects going on (Shanghai, Avatar land, etc...). So they're cutting corners everywhere they can to help pay for them.

[Wizzard419]

I think the consternation comes from the fact that people really like the ride as it is.

And you'd be really surprised at how many millennials know about Twilight Zone.

Not all of it is your so-called "butthurt", but rather a frustration with things changing for reasons they don't divulge. Surely Disney knows its huge fan following and could find a way to say this is what we're seeing, and this is why we're changing it.

Must businesses explain their decisions? No. But there is a time and place for consideration and ethics in business. It's not only about dollars. Or at least, it shouldn't be.

Well said. It's all about the $$ with them these days. Walt is probably doing back-flips in his grave....

That is the part everyone misses, it was ALWAYS about the money. The folksy story of sitting at the park watching the carousel is great when you are trying to get people to come to your property and spend money. The reality was, from the start, this was an attempt at creating a destination vacation spot. Otherwise investors wouldn't have ponied up the cash.

[Wizzard419]

I also think alot of the reason is probably Shanghai. I really do think they are cost cutting...

Exactly. Mouseoholic and I have been talking about that for the last couple of years as we've noticed quality and service declining while prices keep rising. Our theory is that they have too many high-cost projects going on (Shanghai, Avatar land, etc...). So they're cutting corners everywhere they can to help pay for them.

Partially that, but the bigger issue is everything is simply costing more, will continue to rise, and short of a return to slavery, there will not be any relief. Price of fuel going up increases the price of everything, labor continues to get more expensive, even if you are just paying min wage and using seasonal workers. Here, all of those workers are also entitled to sick leave by law. So that also adds to the cost.

[cy1229]

I think the consternation comes from the fact that people really like the ride as it is.

And you'd be really surprised at how many millennials know about Twilight Zone.

Not all of it is your so-called "butthurt", but rather a frustration with things changing for reasons they don't divulge. Surely Disney knows its huge fan following and could find a way to say this is what we're seeing, and this is why we're changing it.

Must businesses explain their decisions? No. But there is a time and place for consideration and ethics in business. It's not only about dollars. Or at least, it shouldn't be.

Well said. It's all about the $$ with them these days. Walt is probably doing back-flips in his grave....

That is the part everyone misses, it was ALWAYS about the money. The folksy story of sitting at the park watching the carousel is great when you are trying to get people to come to your property and spend money. The reality was, from the start, this was an attempt at creating a destination vacation spot. Otherwise investors wouldn't have ponied up the cash.

I didn't say it's not about the money, I said it's not only about the money. There's a responsibility to one's customers and employees.

Unless you're Carrier and you make air conditioning units, and you tell all your 1,000+ employees they're losing their jobs because their manufacturing is moving to Mexico, and you tell the government leaders that they will keep the factory open if they can pay their employees $6 an hour. Then it really is only about the money. I know Disney isn't ranked on the list of best employers for a lot of reasons, but they do a better job than Carrier did.

P. S. Don't buy a Carrier air conditioner, Amy.

[Amy]

Oh, that's awful ~ and no replacement needed thank goodness. (We have an Amana)
Sadly the moving of manufacturing overseas is becoming all too common as one of the larger companies here, CTS, is also moving their production to existing locations in China, Mexico and Taiwan.
I'm a shareholder, albeit not a very large one, and I have to agree with you, it's not only about the money, but in my opinion the cuts in the parks are becoming more noticeable with each trip.

[Wizzard419]

I didn't say it's not about the money, I said it's not only about the money. There's a responsibility to one's customers and employees.

Unless you're Carrier and you make air conditioning units, and you tell all your 1,000+ employees they're losing their jobs because their manufacturing is moving to Mexico, and you tell the government leaders that they will keep the factory open if they can pay their employees $6 an hour. Then it really is only about the money. I know Disney isn't ranked on the list of best employers for a lot of reasons, but they do a better job than Carrier did.

P. S. Don't buy a Carrier air conditioner, Amy.

I was responding more to other people and the usual comment that shows up about why disney theme parks came to be.

Anywho... while one could claim Disney maintains their responsibility towards their workers, they don't. In the semi-distant past, many of the park workers were union and could afford to live in OC. Then in the 80's, they broke them all up (some came back), now the notion of someone being able to live here on a park worker's salary is laughable.

Considering they have been on a pretty steady campaign of doing more with less labor, resulting in rides opening later in the day or not at all, having fewer maintenance people on staff, etc. they probably share the same view that Wendy's and Carl's Jr/Hardees share with a greater push towards automation. The only reason they haven't outsourced the jobs is because it still needs a warm body in the parks. The one way they were combatting this was by having a heavier reliance on temporary workers, you can pay them the minimum and no benefits/sick days. Now, their pay is rising to $15/hr and are required to be given sick leave. Just because you are not able to do the same terrible things that other companies have, doesn't automatically make you better.

[kelpseaweedkelp]

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[NaCler]

I'm ok with the change. Partly because it's in Cali and I know I will most likely not get a chance to go ride it. But, also I don't like having exact copies of rides in multiple parks (other than the original classic attractions, of course). When I visited a couple of years ago we rode the ToT and it was fun but it wasn't as good as WDW's version. I seem to remember that they only drop you once and not the random ride sequence like in WDW. So, changing it to be different from WDW is cool with me. I just hope that WDW doesn't follow suit at some point and change our ToT.