â€˜American Idolâ€™ is â€œGoing to Disney World!â€

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Feb Fri 15, 2008 6:36 pm

I think one of the major objections is that Idol is very faddish. It's not based on a classic film or television show that has stood the test of time, and it's nearly impossible to imagine that the attraction will still be there 10 years from now. Most people don't really think of Disney attractions as being temporary, but if you consider this to be the thing that occupies the flavor-of-the-month spot in the Studios, it doesn't sound so bad.

It's just another reason I think the Studios theme is extremely lame, but if you're going to accept the premise of the Studios as a decent idea for a theme park, this kind of thing makes sense.

meticulus9 · Post by **meticulus9** » Feb Fri 15, 2008 9:15 pm

QuickGold wrote:
meticulus9 wrote:
QuickGold wrote:I love how everyone complains about Idol being "non-Disney" and therefore "cheap" and "not Disney-like" yet no one here complains about Star Tours or Indiana Jones Adventure/Epic Stunt Spectacular and those are VERY non-Disney.

but those attractions have built a great ride/show around a concept. auditions for american idol? I need to pay to get intoDHS for that? where as Star tours has a great queue and ride. Indy shows you how stunts are preformed....what will idol do? show me how people audition? Wow soooo novel.....

But I do admit its good to fill the theater and that it prob will be popular....just not something I will participate in unless I hear really good things about the show
Last I checked Idol is immensely popular and I don't think there will be much of an issue with filling it up.

My point with my original argument is don't call bringing Idol "cheap" or "selling out" when Disney has done it with Indy or Star Tours or Tower of Terror and then don't complain about that.

didn't say it was not going to fill the theater. also didnt call it selling out, but did say the other ideas were 1) better 2) more interesting. did imply that there are other ideas out there that would better use that space for more than a few years.

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Feb Fri 15, 2008 9:35 pm

It's not based on a classic film or television show that has stood the test of time,

not stood the test of time, isnt this liek season 6 or 7 already? now-a-days that is much longer than other TV shows. With high school musical being so huge among kids now, this will fit in great with Disney.

Cheshire Cat · Post by **Cheshire Cat** » Feb Sat 16, 2008 10:33 am

I didn't think the show was still as popular as a lot of people are saying... So, I guess it's just not popular around where I live anymore. I stopped watching mid-season 3 and by season 4 most people I know were through with it also. I just checked the ratings though and I guess the numbers reveal it's only just become a popular show compareed to the ratings ealrier seasons have gotten.

ghostelias · Post by **ghostelias** » Feb Sat 16, 2008 3:11 pm

I really think the idea and concept is such a pathetic one, i really don't think this attraction will do well because there is no incentive really. As Ricky on Inside The Magic said the only reason why the show is popular is because people like to watch Simon Cowell laugh at them and tell them they are awful.

DisBeamer · Post by **DisBeamer** » Feb Sat 16, 2008 10:16 pm

jeremyleo wrote:My kids will be too young to participate in this but I am certain they will want to watch auditions. I wonder how they will deal with auditions for folks from countries outside of the US. If they were to win, getting to an actual Americal Idol audition in a US city might prove to be a challenge.

I'm on the fence with this one. I am not a big Idol fan - not even the Canadian version - but I do like the idea of a cool interactive attraction, especially with the departure of Millionaire. No matter if's great to see investment in new attractions.

This is a really good point. What about international visitors? I'm pretty sure you can't be on AI if you're not a US citizen (or on any of the international versions, if you're not a citizen of those respective countries - I know this was the case with So You Think You Can Dance, anyway). I guess they'd get a consolation prize of some sort?

Post by **js3901** » Feb Sat 16, 2008 10:22 pm

lebeau wrote:
js3901 wrote:
QuickGold wrote:I love how everyone complains about Idol being "non-Disney" and therefore "cheap" and "not Disney-like" yet no one here complains about Star Tours or Indiana Jones Adventure/Epic Stunt Spectacular and those are VERY non-Disney.
I personally couldn't care less what's "Disney" or not while there. Aerosmith, Twilight Zone, and the Great Movie ride may not "be Disney", but they have Disney touches to them. Same thing with Star Tours and Indy (both the show in WDW and the ride in DLR). a place in WDW for people to get a "Fastpass" to an actual audtion for American Idol is a bad idea on the part of the resort management, IMHO. I would've kept WWTBAM:PI! (maybe reducing the audience size or something) to move in there, rather than put American Idol in there.
I gotta wonder why you would prefer an attraction based on a game show that was over-exposed and cancelled years ago over an attraction based on a show that is currently on the air with very high ratings.

I get that it's "non-Disney". I get that a lot of us don't have any interest in it. But obviously the American Idol brand is a popular one. And if "Disney touches" can make an Aerosmith ride acceptable, why couldn't Disney make a suitable attraction out of one of the most popular shows on television?

Sure, it could bomb. But Millionaire already failed in Disney's eyes. There's no reason to bring it back over something that has the potential to be a hit.

I feel that with Millionaire, people could actually learn a little something, while being entertaining (like the original EPCOT enter was). There is nothing to be learned from American Idol. I agree with meticulus9 and packwingfn in that it's a good way to put something into the empty space, but there are better ways to do so. Captain Schnemo brings up some good points in that AI is "faddish", though that could be said about several attractions in WDW, this one just moreso. but meticulus9 brings up the best point of all - why do I have to pay my good money to get up on stage and "audition" for an audition on American Idol? makes no sense.

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Feb Sun 17, 2008 12:17 am

i just tihnk its funny how normally i have found disney fans very open minded and willing to at least try new attractions before shunning them, and here I feel as if everyone has a pre-concived idea already about this. All of the people that I know watch the show, watch it for the actual singing, not simon's rants. There have been some great finds from this show, and who knows how well this will do? Like I said earlier, I feel this wil be fun. This adds yet another option for people to do in a park with a few attraction that many people can't do(star tours, tot, rrc) due to medical conditions. I know my parents cant do those rides anymore, but they would love to watch people attempt to sing, who knows there may even be some people that dont suck. Once again, this gets my thumbs up...hopefully it will live up to my expectations, if not, it will be just another buildig i walk by, but I will at elast give it a chance.

Cheshire Cat · Post by **Cheshire Cat** » Feb Sun 17, 2008 10:07 am

I'll wait to see it before Id ecide if I like it, but right now the setup just seems...odd (is that the word) weird? I don't know. Maybe if it were all prestaged with actors pretending to audition - that way we would know that some of them are good and Simon could still be mean without actually being mean. Of course, having it all staged would sort of defeat the purpose. How would everyone else feel about that?

I'm not really into AI anymore, but I would go to see this just to see how they plan on running it.

meticulus9 · Post by **meticulus9** » Feb Sun 17, 2008 6:50 pm

here's to js3901.....lol.....cheshire cat has a good pt....right now we are all debating a concept....lets see how they pull it off prior to making the final decision.....still don't like the idea, but ill try it once....and if i dont llike, i won't go back to that attraction....the unofficial guide says it best "try everything b/c you don't know what you will like/dislike and disney rides might suprise you"

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Feb Mon 18, 2008 2:03 am

Idol has a built-in "yuck factor". A lot of people like it, but a lot of people also really hate it, and won't sample the attraction based on the perfectly reasonable assumption that if they hate the show, they will probably hate the attraction.

There aren't a lot of people who hate Indiana Jones and Star Wars (at least the first trilogy) and animated Disney films, although there are plenty of people who don't really like them but wouldn't object to an attraction based on them. Universal is full of attractions based on mediocre films that didn't knock anyone's socks off, but didn't exactly inspire hatred. Again, it's the whole Studios thing.

lebeau · Post by **lebeau** » Feb Mon 18, 2008 9:34 am

I fully understand why everyone is down on this idea. It has no appeal to me either. I haven't watched AI regularaly since the first season (when it was on in the summer and nothing much else was on).

I can't sing. I've got no interest in auditioning. And I can't imagine using my valuable Disney time watching others audition.

But, some people will be interested in this. It may even draw some AI die-hards to Disney for the first time. It's not replacing anything. And it fits in with the Studios theme as well as anything else.

Sure, it'll probably be gone in 5 years or so, but maybe it won't be. I gotta say, "no harm/no foul" for this.

Or at least let's wait and see.

mindy0509 · Post by **mindy0509** » Feb Mon 18, 2008 11:56 am

I think the biggest flaw of this "attraction" is not all age groups can try out. I am not a big fan of idol but I know there is age restrictions. I am assuming Disney would have to enforce this restriction since the winners are actually going to get the opportunity to try out for American Idol. I will probably skip this attraction but can see why many people might enjoy it since the show is so popular.

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Feb Mon 18, 2008 10:11 pm

There aren't a lot of people who hate Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

Actually most people I know do not like either one. I am a huge star wars fan, and most of my friends make fun of me because of it. Most females I am friends with do't liek either one, but they have all done star tours adn the stunt show and liked it. Time will tell if this attraction makes the grade.

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Feb Tue 19, 2008 7:24 am

Thank you for helping to make my point.