New ride closure rumors

[Wizzard419]

Maybe it's a "no-brainer" in the sense the person who came up with had "no brains". I have a feeling it will be more like Gran Fiesta Tour overlay they did El Rio Del Tiempo. If you think about what they did with that ride, it wouldn't be too hard to change it back (much like they were able to do with the Tiki Birds over at MK).

TBF, almost all rides become stale after a few years, which is why they need so update refurb.

If comparing to USO, remember USO will tear out an attraction entirely and put something else in its place. Jaws out, Diagon Alley in. Disney seems to rarely do that. Look how long they've kept the IJ Stunt Show around. I think USO strategy has worked for them. I do think Disney needs to consider it too for their studio theme-park.

Probably, not so much a concern over changing it back (no one will mourn the change of the ride), but it will most likely be considerably more involved than the fiesta tour (change in audio, swap out videos, update hardware) considering there would likely be some major pieces of sets to change out, and the final scene would need to be gutted unless there was an oil drilling scene I missed in the film. Throwing the cheapest actor in the movie into an overlay of the existing film (such as they did for China and the People's Republic of Canada) would not surprise me though. It's cheap and even when it is stale, no one cares because they are just walking through the theater anyway.

There is a difference though, when a ride is normally made it should be "evergreen", if you don't touch if for 10 years regulars will notice but the average person might not. When using pop culture, you don't get that luxury. First it starts out with "I love this franchise", 5 years later "Hey, it's those guys...", 10 years later "Ok, one of them died from ODing, another has a reality show, and the other is too fat/old to even be considered similar to their former self"... which eventually leads to 20 years later "Daddy? What is all this and why does none of it make sense?".

I think Disney has accepted the same strategy as USO, mainly no longer treating the park as a "Behind the scenes experience", but now that USO has caught up there is no where they can really out perform. They both know you need to regularly churn out top level thrill rides, they both know the service options need to be great for the cost, and they both know you need higher end dining than fast food.

[mindflipper]

I'm not saying they will change it back, but the overlays allow them the option if they so choose some future day that they can change it back. It took a small fire in the Tiki Room to make the option to change it back because it was financially cheaper to change it back than to rebuild the damaged AA. After all, the HMH and IASWH at DLR has showed them that an overlay can be done seasonal, so why can't overlay be done longer than that? A FROZEN overlay to MAELSTROM would allow Diz to capitalize on the film, and once it becomes yesterday's news, they can yank it out. These franchise changes to rides don't have to be permanent changes.

[Wizzard419]

The only reason that I would think an overlay to Malstrom would be way more involved is that you couldn't work in "These two broads showed up and messed with stuff", the character designs are staggeringly different and there are shared characters that wouldn't mesh up in terms of personality or appearance. Then dumping them into the north sea, at the foot of the troll oil platform... that was always a weird ending, you abruptly jump back through time and end up in an oil field in a storm.

Speaking of Tiki room... the Uh-Oh AA figure may be making a return as part of the WDW version of Trader Sams (at least going by the concepts). Hopefully it is at a better scale than the Triton statue they repurposed for the DCA version of the little mermaid.

[theBIGyowski]

If they do re-imagine it using the characters from Frozen...please please please don't make it a retelling of the movie!

I know ITTBAB is a theater show...but it is a great example of using characters to tell a story that is not a retelling of the movie. You want to go into the characters' world...feel like you are part of it...just like you do in each of the lands in the theme parks.

Let's be realistic here though...it will be difficult to change the ride while keeping the same track/river layout...and if they do gut the whole thing...you are talking about a very long downtime. But maybe that's what we would need to create something of value.

[cy1229]

If they do re-imagine it using the characters from Frozen...please please please don't make it a retelling of the movie!

I know ITTBAB is a theater show...but it is a great example of using characters to tell a story that is not a retelling of the movie. You want to go into the characters' world...feel like you are part of it...just like you do in each of the lands in the theme parks.

Let's be realistic here though...it will be difficult to change the ride while keeping the same track/river layout...and if they do gut the whole thing...you are talking about a very long downtime. But maybe that's what we would need to create something of value.

It would be really cute if they built on the trolls. They don't factor heavily into the movie, but they do have an important story to tell. Maybe if they told the story of Frozen from the trolls' perspective... and in the end, instead of seeing oil rigs far off in the distance, we see the celebration at the castle from the trolls' perspective in the forest. Something like that.

[Wizzard419]

It is kind of a weird space to work with, with the switch tracks and all making a large chunk of the ride viewed only going backwards.

[Cardinals314]

One issue I easily see is how the queue will handle the crowds. One of the main reasons why the M&G was sent over to MK was that Disney didn't want people to wait for so long outside. The queue would need to be totally changed in my opinion.

[theBIGyowski]

One issue I easily see is how the queue will handle the crowds. One of the main reasons why the M&G was sent over to MK was that Disney didn't want people to wait for so long outside. The queue would need to be totally changed in my opinion.

good call

that queue is not built to handle large crowds at all

[RobinSandusky]

As much as I enjoy the GMR, it's probably time to put it to rest. It's been combating relevance for at least ten years - and perhaps that's being generous. Yes, classic movies will always be classic, but not even a single syllable of adjustment to the script after all these years. A re-write of the old patter might make it seem a little more fresh in its final days.

Every time I hear some 21-year-old kid tell me that FOOTLIGHT PARADE is one of his "personal favorites," I cringe.

No, it's not.

And you're not even close to pretending that it is.

As for Maelstrom, I only just rode it for the first time in 2012, after multiple visits to the world and passing it by. We rode it for the amusement factor of how crazy dated it was, and we continue to laugh about it. I agree, however, with another poster that mentioned that Frozen, someday, will also be dated. It's a tough nut to crack, to be sure.

[Wizzard419]

An important first step for pretty much every attraction in WS is to update the movies, I don't mean throw in a character and recut it, I mean shoot new footage start to finish. Even better, remove said film based attraction and put something interesting in.

[MrPhil]

... well, in terms of movies, Canada seems up to date but when it comes to France - oh my

[ImagineerWannabe]

*singing* O Canada! *end singing* Wilderness doesn't change much Most of the cities being concrete jungles sort of helps things look current as well. Although construction is crazy everywhere so the skylines certainly aren't accurate. I really like how it makes fun of the old movie, and Martin Short is always fun

[Safari Canuck]

They did reshoot about 70% of the Canada film. And the other 30% is old reused footage.

It still looks quite a bit better than the old one though.

WHAT ABOUT ALL THE DHS stuff closing like American Idol and Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!

Though it will be nice to see some of it go for new Star Wars stuff I wish that IJSS was still going to be there. I like that show.

[cy1229]

WHAT ABOUT ALL THE DHS stuff closing like American Idol and Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!

Though it will be nice to see some of it go for new Star Wars stuff I wish that IJSS was still going to be there. I like that show.

I never went to IJSS. I was never interested in it. They could eliminate LMA, too, and I wouldn't complain. I'm not one to want to sit and watch a bunch of shows, and much of DHS is that. Maybe with some new Star Wars stuff it won't be a half-day park for us.

[Wizzard419]

Especially when many of the shows have you sitting outdoors in the humid Florida weather.

I always wonder why they didn't seem to ever update the dialogue for the show. If I recall they were still using the "We are just finishing up filming for Raiders", which had released 8 years prior to the show opening.