Disney needs to realize that the "if we make it, the fans will like it" days are long gone. They needs to bring back 90s to early 00s visions back of worrying about quality and new ideas again. There is way too much reliance on IP.
@@johnzimmerman5641 Also Lights Motors Action, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, and the game shows based on Millionaire and American Idol. Oh, and in a world where everyone has a smartphone and can get microtargeted tech ads - BRING BACK INNOVENTIONS!!! 😆😆🤣🤣
@@johnzimmerman5641 Yeah I really need a attraction like Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, please is all want that Disney quality from the late 90's and early 00's
I think when genie+ came in that really did it for me. Overcharging for everything they possibly can. They have a capacity problem and instead of adding new attractions to dispense crowds more they just think to charge more money?! They do need to come back down to earth with how they treat guests.
Even if disney picks up the pace, Universal doesnt have plans to slow down. Epic Universe is not their only current project. They are adding to Hollywood and the existing Orlando parks. They are building a new regional park in TExas. They are looking to expand to the UK. And they have expansion plans already in place for Epic Universe, including a 4th gate right next to Epic Universe (like IOA and Studios). So goodluck Disney. Might be a day late and a dollar short, all because you thought you were untouchable.
Disney use to be the leading animation studio when to came to theatrical animated movies. Then Don Bluth started his own studio and showed that it was possible to compete with Disney and even beat them at the box office. This eventually led to Dreamworks and Universal developing their own animation studios to compete and even beat Disney at the theaters.
@timothybernardi68 They have announced DreamWorks Land coming to Universal Studios Florida. And while they haven't announced them, there has been leaked plans for a Zelda world replacing lost continent and a Pokémon world replacing Simpsons. Those worlds would be upgraded to Harry Potter and Super Nintendo level lands.
@GTNover The Zelda land would be immersive - the Dream Works area, not as much. It'll be more on par with the Sesame Street land at SeaWorld since it's targeted to younger kids. The "Tropical Americas" proposed replacement of AK's Dino Land USA would be more elaborately themed than DreamWorks Destination. Pokémon, on the other hand, would be massive if they tear out the Simpsons buildings and start over.
@@charlesbarnes8977 That'll be smaller in scope than Disney Springs, though. Glad Universal's adding it, and it'll fill a good niche, but it's not on par with a new theme park.
I want all the perks back when staying at one of their resorts...Magical Express, Magic bands, Free fast pass, one extra Magic hour in the morning and the two in the evenings. I can't afford the deluxe resorts. When they removed them, the Magic went with it.
Don’t forget package delivery to your hotel. I want to buy stuff & not carry it around all day. It seems like this service would more than pay for itself.
I'd be so happy if Disney did discounts with all the price gouging they've been doing. And if the Magical Express came back, you can bet I'll shed tears of joy!!
that makes sense if you are local to the area of any of those things, but, most visitors to Orlando are not local so a lot of other costs need to be added in. All of the additional costs add up pretty quick so people are going to be asking themselves which park experience is going to be worth their money and I believe they are going to choose the one with the new stuff...@@timothybernardi68
@@0dylanI’d love to see a break even analysis on this lol. Those drones must be 30-50k minimum overall plus the power, maintenance etc. Long run definitely cheaper but I have a strong feeling this is why we haven’t seen it anywhere here yet. Shitload of upfront investment
Nah, I feel like Edge is fine as is. I lowkey hate all the nostalgia pandering and memberberries that recent Star Wars projects (bar Andor) have been doing, so having something away from all of this is a welcome change
@@BroZilla-vh3tu Well original Star Wars characters like Vader, Han Solo, and Luke will stand the test of time while characters like Kylo and Rey are pretty much already forgotten.
@@disneyresortsfan but they're dead in the timeline of Edge, changing so would remove the impact of their deaths. I mean I really like Kylo and Rey but each to their own
Unfortunately, for the time being I don't think they will respond. I think in the short term they will play it off as no big deal or still second rate but realistically they know they don't have anything ready to go to challenge it
True however Walt Disney World is a large part of it. As far as Cruise lines go the other cruise lines are creating enormouse ships with many attractions geared toward families, I am not so sure DIsney is prepared to invest in ships of that massive size...@@timothybernardi68
@@cuttinol Well, why do you think Disney delayed E-tickets Guardians: Cosmic Rewind and TRON? In large part, because Galaxy's Edge opened about a month before COVID started spreading. That's extremely bad luck that hurt momentum from word-of-mouth on those investments. Now, should they have been more proactive about adding Moana to Animal Kingdom instead of EPCOT? Definitely. If the Finding Nemo musical were moved to DHS, then Moana would have fit under the broad "Tropical Americas" umbrella planned for Dino Land. But a new E-ticket at EVERY park on top of Guardians and TRON is not necessary right away.
I work at Uni Hollywood. The attendance has been astronomical from just one small land. The perks they’re offering to guests and pass holders are sometimes better than what they offer us as team members! Those perks keep them coming back. If you stay at what is considered a deluxe resort at universal Orlando like the hardrock. Your hotel reservation gives you a fast pass with your stay at the parks! Universal FTW🤘🏽🙌🏽!
I hate to say this but Disney is getting there ass handed to them, and the price to get into Epic is going to be cheaper to get into the park. The day of Disney is over for the next 5-6 years.
@@Taydar Everyone who isn't a Disney drone or fanboy all seems to care, as I watch tons of amusement park content and most channels all seem to be hyped for Epic Universe.
I’m not too hyped about Epic Universe. Maybe because we already have a Nintendo universe at Universal Hollywood. I wish they could have built an entire Far Far Away Shrek area like they do at Universal Studios Singapore.
Disney’s dominated the attendance in Orlando for a while now. I believe there was one or two years total since 2000 where a Universal park leapt any of the Disney resort. Having EU and/or the other Universal parks jump over the Disney parks for “5-6 years” probably isn’t anything Disney is overly worried about, especially because I think Disney has good intel that EU is going to give Disney an attendance boost rather than have Universal make a massive snatch of Disney’s market share.
I live in South Florida and for the last 10 years I’ve been going to Disney World and Universal at least once a year, but I feel that once Epic Universe opens I’m going to give Disney World a break because there’s nothing really new or that I’ve never done before.
I believe a lot of people are going to do the same thing...the sting of that lost revenue for them is going to hurt a bit deeper than they are admitting.
Speaking of character, Fast and Furious Supercharge deservedly get criticized as a bad ride but I visited about a week ago and the cast members playing Jamie and Pat in the pre-show were amazing. They were so funny. Same with the cast members presenting the Raptor Encounter. They make an interesting character meet and greet into such a fun interactive show. I'm looking forward to seeing these kind of surprises in the new Epic Universe lands.
My money is on Magic Kingdom bringing back a nighttime parade in 2025 as a way to try and get people over there. It will have been 9 years at that point since MK had a nighttime parade. That alone is kind of crazy to think about. Time goes by so fast.
What will Disney do? Build copy and paste attractions that the international Disney Parks (owned and operated by other entities) paid the development and design costs for.
The magic of Walt is alive and well . . . at Universal. I love Disney and I was an annual passholder for 20+ years. And we live in the Midwest. We let the passes lapse this past September because it just seemed Disney didn’t want us anymore and didn’t care about the parks. I saw the Epic Universe video and felt like I was pulled right back into the nostalgia and amazement and escapism Walt always preached and Disney World used to provide. I hope Disney finds a way to recapture the magic, but it’s much harder to capture than it is to lose.
Disney no longer cares about the parks. All they care about is making movies and shows that lose billions of dollars. Just imagine if they didn’t make She Hulk, Indy Jones 4, The Marvels, Secret Invasion etc. Those 4 projects cost over $1 billion to produce not including market. All projects lost Disney a combined $1 billion. Imagine if they would have put that $1 billion back into Disney World. I’m from the Midwest too and I’d use to take my oldest multiple times a year. I have no desire to take him anywhere.
Disney lost a lot of market share when Harry Potter dropped. So much so they gain enough capital to make a whole new theme park. I can’t imagine how much bigger that will be compared to opening just a land.
The biggest issue with the of the Orlando area in the coming years is labor. Orlando has become so expensive to live there, as well as Florida in general. Getting new hires and talent is going to be difficult at best.
@@timothybernardi68 it depend which department you work for in universal because I am making over 18 and hours at Universal even though Disney it is i think 18 an hour as well.
Disney doesn’t want to admit that the sequel films are not what people want and that it was a bad business decision to center Galaxy’s Edge on Kathleen Kennedy’s films instead of George Lucas. They won’t ever bring in Original Trilogy because they refuse to admit that they were wrong to begin with. They really need a shareholder revolt to fire all the execs who think this way.
Agreed. Just imagine GE with Luke, Han, Leia, R2D2, C3PO, and all the others from Lucas trilogies. It’s just insane they themed this whole thing on the Kennedy films. The obsession with putting the Lucas characters in the shadows is just so dumb.
I'm pretty sure Disney would rather close than invest in their parks at this point. They didn't drop the ball, they decided to take their bonuses and high salaries and then run when it all comes crashing down.
I think you could draw just as big a crowd in Galaxy's Edge with Obi-Wan and Anakin as well. There was a video online about a guy who made a practical General Grievous cosplay that looks amazing. You could bring more villains like him and Maul for walkaround Meet and Greets.
Who do we think about when we talk about Star Wars? Darth Vader, Luke, Leah, Han Solo, Yoda. They should have had them in place from the start. The Star Wars hotel should have been larger and definitely cheaper. Bob Iger made so many bad financial flops that Disney World has suffered big time.
They can get inspiration from Disneyland Paris. Here, we are very used to not having anything new in terms of attractions 😂 and over time they had to become very creative in the entertainment perspective.
Disney doesn't need to add another park or even more attractions. We had 10 park days during our trip and weren't able to see everything! They need to concentrate on having visitors get the most out of their vacations. Yes, our trip was fun, but it was a lot of work. It took so much planning that, although the kids had a good time, the adults were stressed out during most of the trip.
Disney Needs to do the following: 1) Hollywood Studios - Create New Lands at the Stars Tours Adventures/Muppets Space & the Star Wars Cargo Bay Area Next to Little Mermaid 2) Magic Kingdom - Create the Beyond Frontier Land & Create Pantheon Theater 3) Animal Kingdom - Create New Land at Dinosaur (Not Indiana Jones) 4) EPCOT - Create Inside Out Overlay/Retheme Figment Imagination & Create Dark Ride Wreck-It Ralph Attraction at the Play Pavillian Building Do all this within 3 years starting by End of 2025
Bring back GREAT MOVIE RIDE with disney owned ip, add a muppets scene where they mess up retelling of a few movies. Extend galaxy edge to star tours and use muppet theater for a star wars stage show
1) Animal Kingdom -Indoor Lion King ride near the Lion King show -Indoor Jungle Book ride where you get to sing along with Baloo and his friends -Change Dinoland to an Encanto land with a ride similar to that of Mystic Manor and also a walking trail to see animals that are native to the country of Colombia 2) Hollywood Studios -Indiana Jones land -Indoor Bluey stage show
A ride for the bad guy in the princess and the frog would be a big hit. They could have a tunnel where you go fast, and they show cards on the tunnel walls. They could have the masked weirdos almost at the end just before the drop, and when you go fast to before the drop, they could have the "Are you ready" song playing.
This is brilliant and encourages return guests. Provides opportunity for new merch. All they really have to do is change the missions, alternate the walking characters, and change a few banners every so often. Rise of the resistance can stay as-is since it's hidden from the rest of the land or they could make some light overlay and reference to it being a prophecy tbh.
Boy, have I been waiting for you to respond on this topic. Thank you so much. Always enjoy your insights. That said, I would still love for you to analyze the new Epic Universe Park and attractions comparing the designs of the new Epic park to Disney standards.
Good ideas, but I don’t think Magic Kingdom will need the help- it’s the other 3 parks that will need to draw people. Instead of giving Magic Kingdom a new parade, how about give Hollywood Studios a new parade, or animal kingdom- and an easy layup for Disney would be redoing Figment, which they could get reopened by 2026
I agree, Magic Kingdom is what I would call the "kiddie park" so it's going to get the most traffic. Animal Kingdom is my favorite park currently, Hollywood Studios still hasn't figured out what it is-so many people say AK is a 1/2 day park, I say HS is the 1/2 day park. Epcot is the most over-priced food festival in America but I do enjoy it, I don't consider it a park for kids though. Epcot having a 'Parade of Nations' would be cool!
At this point yes, a total reskin of Galaxy's Edge to OT Tatooine and Endor is the only card they have. Unfortunately KK still has her "Ep List" so that's not going to happen.
Jack, your detection of Epic Universe over in the Universal Orlando Resort Park ought to have you bond with your brother to make more Universal Newscast videos.
Unless something has changed in 2025 and 2026 they have a reimagined Test Track, the new Zootopia 3-D show, and Pirates themed cantina coming. Add in a new parade and it’s not a bad line up. They have also announced for 2024 the Country Bears update, Little Mermaid Show update, Tina’s Bayou Adventure and Star Tours updated stories. Their next easy low hanging fruit is the Stitch building and Wonders of Life. Both could have a shorten construction timeframe since they already have those buildings built.
Why is it considered ok now to ONLY have 2 attractions per new land or area? It feels like there's not enough to disperse the volumes of people for one, and it feels like each new land is half-finished. E.g. Toy Story land, Star Wars land, even Pandora. When you compare those to the lands in Magic Kingdom, even without taking into account the expanded part of Fantasyland it had Peter Pan, Small World, Toad's Wild Ride/Winnie the Pooh ride, Dumbo ride, Philharmagic, the Carousel. Even Adventure land which feels narrow and small seems to have more attractions: Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates of the Carribbean, even the little flying carpets. It leaves me feeling like the new lands feel a bit sparse in terms of attractions and over-crowded as there's nothing else to encourage the crowds to spread out. And that's without touching on the up charging at every opportunity, lack of street performers, weird parade times and generally lacking in the magic, which hurts to admit but that was unfortunately our experience in September 2023. 💔
I was thinking of this myself! Seems like a Disney villains land would be a no brainer response to Dark Universe happening in Epic Universe. And Disney themselves have stated that out of all the blue sky concepts they pitched to fans at D23 2022, the Villains idea got the strongest reaction.
Re-theming the former Stich is ABSOLUTELY essential. Plus they need to actually GREEN LIGHT the Beyond Big Thunder project AND the Tropical Americas, and let us know what to expect from them. In particular...how exactly will the Indiana Jones ride center around ANIMALS? (As I've often said, having Indy encountering DINOSAURS would be a perfect "2 birds 1 stone"--keep a lot of the original ride, just add Indy.
Totally agree with the Stitch idea. Green Light Beyond Big Thunder AND fund it properly. Indiana Jones at AK is a BAD idea! Expand his IP footprint at HS God knows they need it there! Don't get rid of Dinosaurs, update it add to it do something as a pre-show "Plus It"
The discount/offer ideas you presented are great but I really love the idea of more characters. One thing I really love about Disneyland is that there are always characters wandering around interacting with guests
They should make a Disney Villain section. It would be a hit. Maybe they could have a water ride for Ursula, a ride for the bad guy from princess and the frog, a Coco ride, a hades ride, Captain Hook with skull rock, Jafar with giant snake and fire, evil queen, maleifacent. Maybe the beast
I think what gets lost in these conversations is that tourism is continuing to grow in Orlando. Expansion of the airport is proof. Universal could gain more market share, but it will need to outpace overall market growth to achieve that. It’s all a double edged sword…Disney knows that people are going to want to visit a brand new theme park (even if they built a new land somewhere in WDW). They also know that announcements before Epic Universe opens could push folks to the new park because they’ll want to wait until the new land(s) are built at Disney. Honestly, the REAL test is going to be how well can Universal retain guests one, two, or three years down the line. Also, we don’t know how guests will think. There are a lot of folks that vacation at Disney and visit Universal for a day. People might just end up swapping out their “Universal” day for Epic Universe and not visit the other two Universal parks. Universal’s new park could end up competing with itself…
Absolutely agree. I think Disney’s lack of announced new attractions for 2025 & 2026 is by design. They don’t want anyone putting off 2024 vacations for 2025-26. People will be drawn to come to Orlando for Epic in those years. I think this video makes great points how Disney could use characters, parades & re-theme of currently closed things, to keep Disney folks to continue to also visit in those years (without spending a lot of capital). Then they can plan new things for 2027 & beyond, to get people to travel again (& not be going head to head with the newness of Epic).
I've always said that if I was in charge, I'd make it my mission to get the most money from Florida Passholders as possible. Not by increasing prices (obviously they go up every year) but by increasing discounts! I live locally and visit the parks about 100 days per year. I don't spend money on about 80 of those days. I pack a backpack of snacks and drinks, or I eat at home before heading to the park or leave once it's dinner time. If they increased the table service discount, added a quick service discount (they had one for a couple months a few years back and I took full advantage!), bigger hotel discounts to lure locals in for a single-night stay or staycation, ticketed event discounts bigger than $5-$10! Those are the types of things I would do to help increase visits by locals, the duration of their visits, and the money they spend on each visit.
Personality, I don't think we really can know, Since I think Iger is retiring in 2026 we really don't know what the philosophy of his replacement will be or what Disney and Universal will be like in later half of this decade. This is a marathon and not a sprint like many armchair analysts on RUclips think.
Some do, some don't. Universal/Comcast didn't just come up with the idea for Epic last year...this project and the concepts for their satellite parks have been in the works for years! This is definitely a "long game" situation and unfortunately Disney is currently getting lapped on the field.
Some great ideas here Jack! From our 2 week trip a year ago, we all agreed that along with the parades, Disney’s meet and greets were infinitely better than Universal’s, which were a lot more random, or literally just a photo. Also, the PhotoPass Magic shots were awesome. Would be great if Disney brought out some unique/previously retired meet and greets once a day in each park, perhaps as a surprise - would build a level of excitement where you wouldn’t know who you’ll see
I believe Disney may accept the new parade inclusion and replacement details along with completing Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Villains' Kingdom and the revival of holiday lights for the boulevard junctions and castles during Christmas. They are up for more character interactions all over the place since artificial intelligent machines are starting to be popular everywhere just like I hoped.
I think they can do a new daytime parade for MK; bring Main Street Electrical Parade or Paint the Night; New stage show in MK and maybe a replacement for Stitch’s Great Escape; a new restaurant and maybe a Frozen and Moana M&G in Magic Kingdom as that would make revenue
It would be cool if they just started maintaining their existing infrastructure. DLR doesn't seem to have the immense issues WDW has... The down time for attractions is just insane. Keep MK and HS (or parts of them) open late on alternating nights, and keep EPCOT open until 11. Do a quick imagining of RNR, BTMR and fix them... Same for FOP and MMRR. Add some more immersion in the parks and stop remodeling everything to look like an airport. Stop nickel and diming. Then just announce new projects they will actually build.
Like you say, Disney needs more in Galaxy's Edge: A premium, character dining experience leveraging their Galactic Starcruiser experience would be something that could be done relatively quickly. Combine that with integrating a wider timeline and characters would bring back the Star Wars fans.
The Fast Track update to the New World of Motion will be a very marketable project. Also, Percy Jackson is the new Harry Potter, isn’t he? I am hoping they will announce amazing new lands and attractions based on Percy Jackson at D23. And leading up to those expansions, there should be Percy Jackson character interactions in the Studios park as soon as 2025, adding to your great idea of playing up characters in Disney World promotions. “Which cabin are you? Find out during Festival of the Half-Bloods, only at Disney World!”
Percy Jackson got 110 million hours of viewership in its first 7 weeks. That's very good, but season 4 of Stranger Things was streamed for 286 million hours in its first opening weekend. And Stranger Things is featured at HHN and has a traveling experience making the rounds, but no theme park land (yet). Disney might consider a themed land if they adapt the full series (or most of it), but otherwise they'd probably look into a standalone attraction at DHS. Meet-and-greets should be feasible for next year, though.
I agree that both IP’s are very popular and that Universal will probably do more with Stranger Things. If Percy Jackson streamed on Netflix instead of Disney+, it may have scored more viewing hours, as Netflix has around 100 million more subscribers than Disney+. I think Percy gives Disney a viable franchise to create worlds similar to the Harry Potter experiences at Universal. There are good merchandising and attraction concepts that can come from Percy Jackson.
@@stephaniejonova The question is how many people will subscribe to Disney+ *specifically* for Percy Jackson. I'm sure it'll be substantial, but it might not be big enough of a streaming "tentpole" to justify its own billion-dollar land. Regardless, that decision won't be made any time soon. Keep in mind that WWoHP wasn't announced until May 2007, just before the 5th movie was released.
@@stephaniejonova Also, Camp Half Blood is probably going to work better as a resort than a theme park land. Maybe a Moderate-level alternative to the Fort Wilderness cabins, with activities families can schedule for kids on off-days as a break from the park. The only place I could see it fit into a Disney park is as an overlay for DCA's Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, possibly theming it to Camp Jupiter. It's very unlikely to replace Tom Sawyer's Island.
Creating an actual camp is a great idea. I've been thinking of what Disney can do to counter the three Harry Potter experiences in Orlando. I do believe that Galaxy’s Edge could be elevated to accomplish this. The land and attractions are already there, and better engagement with park guests, as well as regular special events in support of current Star Wars’ Disney+ and big screen projects, could do it for helping to drive interest to Disney World in the wake of Epic Universe. But Galaxy’s Edge is not yet performing at the level of success that Harry Potter is. Disney appears to be trying to find a new direction in which to go. In Paris, they tabled an even smaller Star Wars land, and the rumor is they will move that project into the Magic Kingdom, bridging the area between Star Tours and a new Ewok Speeder Bike attraction using the TRON Light Cycles ride system. Which makes sense as a coaster attraction is less dependent on being multilingual. I think Percy Jackson has more of the magical appeal that Harry Potter has. I envision a two-level land structure similar to the layout of Mario at Universal. When you enter the land, you encounter a small pond containing a magical fountain and light show. It is surrounded by a path connecting the Half-Blood structures. Two or three are entrances to rides. The others feature dining, shopping, magical experiences, and character meet-ups. All sorts of rides are possible. I see a rapids type of water attraction called “Adventure to Atlantis.” Another attraction could be using the Soarin ride system called “Hermes’ Express.” There are many possibilities, but the main attraction is on the second level. This level is themed to Olympus and is partially hidden by the trees behind the cabins below. Additionally, fake cloud structures, covered with sparkling LED lights, allow Olympus to peak through to the camp below. On this level, one meanders through the long but interesting streets of Olympus, leading to a major new dueling coaster attraction called “Zeus’ Revenge.” I know that the odds of Disney doing a Percy Jackson land soon are not great, but based on the growing popularity of this IP, I still think it could be Disney’s answer to Harry Potter.
Disney World needs the following: A) Bring back Fast Pass and Magical Express B) Its time to bring the Isle of the Lost or Villains Land to either Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. C) Get Mary Poppins into Epcot’s London Pavilion. D) Give resort guests their free one hour before the park opens and 2 hours after the park closes to the public, E) Expand Galaxy’s Edge by adding more Star Wars characters from OG and prequels. I would love seeing a Palpatine terrify kids in the park! F) MARVEL, Marvel & Marvel!!
Disney has to: - More roaming characters in the four parks - Villains Land in MK - Start right now the retheme of Dinoland in Animal Kingdom. - Retheme Animation Courtyard in Hollywood Studios and add a new Land, maybe Marvel or some FOX IP. (If Universal is losing the rights to The Simpsons, that's a good option.)
10:52 I would love to see a *_SpectroMagic 2.0_* Basically updating to music, similar to how _MSEP < Paint the Night._ So they can do the same with the SpectroMagic music, but still keep it *_Grandiose_* as MK needs a soundtrack that mirrors the grandeur of WDW.
I've said this once before, and I'll say it again: Disney has only one long-term option. They must increase the perceived value of their theme park resort offerings. While there are many levers they can pull to accomplish this, Disney really has just two primary tools at their disposal: lower prices while keeping offerings stable, or increase offerings while keeping prices stable. In reality, the best solution is probably a combination of both lower prices and more offerings. When I say lower prices, I'm not just talking about tickets. I'm also talking about hotel rooms, Genie+, Lightning Lane, dining, and merchandise. When I say offerings, I'm not just talking about number of thrill rides. I'm also talking about small dark rides, parades, nighttime spectaculars, indoor shows, live entertainment, resort theming, sightlines, transportation, customer service, cleanliness, marketing, and brand identity.
In 2026, Disney could stage a cherishing sequence for the Pixar characters and the Disneytoon Studios characters by having the Mickey Mouse characters honor them all along with the classic Luxo Lamp. If that were possible, the Disneytoon Studios characters will be hired for the parks, the cay, Aulani and the ships, their image selves will be modernized, they can star on the merchandise and clothing and become toys and figurines, and Melody can take her mother, Ariel's place on the Disney Princess line so the Disney Queen line can be born and feature Ariel, Anna, Elsa and Amaya. That's all because the films made by that late studio are bonding in bundles with the Walt Disney Animation Studios films and that studio was Pixar's sister, despite bonding with Disney and using Digital Ink and Magic for a more professional cartoony design on all the old characters to also include the new ones, alongside fraternal voice cast and identical voice cast.
Magic Kingdom needs to add Drones and Fountains for Happily Ever After!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They need this. Fireworks+Projection+Lights+Drones+Fountains around the castle must be fantastic. Epic Universe will bring big fountains and ponds at their central hub. and they are armed with Nintendo rights. Zelda and Pokemon are rumored to be in. and we know they even bring Netflix such as Stranger Things at HHN. Disney World is now in big crisis under Universal's aggressive strategy.
Bringing back the free bus transportation would be a great marketing move to steal some Resort money from universal. People planning a trip may just pick a Disney resort over universal just for the free transportation, especially if they were considering 1 or 2 days at Disney while they visited Epic Universe
The biggest problem with Disney is that they just don't care anymore. They don't listen to the actual fans. They'll never watch this video. Even if they did, the executives wouldn't greenlight anything compelling. Literally never thought I'd say it, but I'm truly done caring about a company they don't care about themselves.
A note on the Magical Express-I agree wholeheartedly that they need to bring it back. However, ME going away was not Disney’s doing entirely, Mears pulled out of that agreement. The contract was up and they chose not to renew. Why? Who’s to say. So if it’s coming back, the bigger question will be how
I think they should take the Galactic Star Cruiser and turn it into an excursion from the black spire outpost. Forget that it has hotel rooms and just use the rest of it kind of as a dinner show. You book the dinner show, and you take the bus (shuttle) up to the star cruiser for dinner and a show. Let people do some of the pre-existing activities in the star cruiser and return to black spire outpost. Or maybe divorce it from galaxy’s edge and have it more like a hoop-de-doo dinner show where you book it like any other dinner show. Get a bus over to the galactic star cruiser entrance and ride up to the star cruiser. Keeping totally separate from Hollywood Studios, people could book it separately. Could have a lunch show and then a dinner show.
the difference is that while disney was building toy story and galaxy’s edge, universal was working on hagrids, velocicoaster, super nintendo world, on top of all the smaller attractions and refurbs. it’s not like it was just disney opening exciting stuff. while epic universe and the fast n furious coaster are opening, there will be nothing from disney at all
I think Burbank is errogant and hubris and self absorbed. They 100% believe their logo is bulletproof. Fans know this is absolutely the wrong attitude.
I love the character interactions & updates to Smugglers & FoP mentioned. What I would do for the on-site hotel guests is obviously bring back Magical Express, but also all on-site guests get Genie+ included in for the length of stay & if you stay at a deluxe or villa you get 1 free Individual Lightning Lane per day
They definitely need to bring back the perks. I don't know why they ever stopped the Magical Express. A guest without a rental car is a lot less likely to visit Universal and spend money over there. Bring back the shows, parades, nighttime offerings, interactions... Personally, I love Galaxy's Edge to be placed during the sequels, and I don't want to see it going any other direction, but the droids would be great to see. Updated missions for any of the screen based attractions (don't forget Star Tours) would be awesome, and what about an update for Muppetvision? How about some VR or simulator recreations of classic DIsney attractions that no longer exist?
First, Disney introduced IP, then they watered down the experiences, cut down all the perks, and then didn't invest too much in their money generator, the parks. And now the ship has sailed as you said. They don't even have money now, so it's just a matter of time when the Disney Difference is no more.
Set aside building new things in the parks, Disney isn’t even keeping the existing parks in tip top shape! Broken down attractions, peeling paint, dirty spaces, worn down infrastructure, vanilla theming at new hotels, not so magical Cast Members…stuff you would never see until recent times.
Disney needs another CEO like Eisner. Despite his (many) failings, Eisner really understood that Disney could be more than just a company and be something special to people. While Iger did negotiate some great deals, (Marvel, Star Wars, etc.) he immediately started taking all originality out of the parks and replacing everything with IP. The hotels are no longer themed. Prices have skyrocketed while quality has only gone down. I was an annual passholder at Paris for a decade, but I stopped just before the pandemic because the prices have more than doubled and they haven't made anything better to make it worth that. And now they are more than treble the price they were a decade ago, but with fewer benefits. There are so many good theme parks around. I could get annual passes to all 3 theme parks within a few hours of my home for just over half the price of an annual pass to Disneyland. I have a hard time imagining Disney doing anything that will incentivise me to return within the next 5-10 years as the current leadership believes the only Disney difference that matters is the Disney price difference.
Dang i agree totally. Eisner saved disney and it worked as long as frank wells assisted. We need another eisner like ceo who gets it and a slave to wall street
Completely agree. When flying from overseas, like the UK, you may only be able to afford 2 weeks and you'll be really considering more days with Universal than Disney. Imagine if Universal offered a free shuttle from the airport, that would really take a lot of guests. Coming back this year for the 1st time in 24 years is a big deal to us and I can see next year coming back again but spending more time with Universal which is not something I ever thought I'd do. Come on Disney, the Lightning Lane idea for hotel guests would at least keep up with Universal. The amount we are paying for the Polynesian and to not even get breakfast into the price is just madness. Where are the perks?
I agree- especially with the idea that people only have a certain number of vacation days and Disney can’t expect them to automatically assign 3-4 of these to Disney parks anymore. They are going to want to see what’s new and creating all the buzz. So that could be a days park hop to take in Tron and Guardians and then the majority of their days at Universal….
1- Disney should bring back an excellent customer experience like before the nickle and diming and the endless planning. 2- Fill all empty buildings with entertainment (rides or shows). 3- Fix all rides that are ready for a significant facelift (first the Imagination pavilion but there are a ton to fix). 4- Double the attractions in AK and DHS and add at least 2 good rides to Epcot World Showcase to make this full day parks.
Small wins are a strong idea. And they are doing some of that: new Country Bears, Tiana, Zootopia in Animal Kingdom. They need to also add more entertainment as you’ve suggested. Castle Lights in Magic Kingdom is huge as you stated. Bring back the Main Street Electrical Parade. Add Murphy to Fantasmic!.
Interesting remark about epic universe not having a layout conducive to parades. Character parades should be a marketed selling point for the Disney parks
I agree for the most part. First priority is to bring the "magic" back. WDW needs to feel extra special - from Magical Express types of practical perks to Magic Hours and getting rid of things like Genie. Second, overlays for Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain that are must-see. Third, nighttime light parades and decor. Unfortunately for Disney, Epic Universe makes Universal a full weeklong vacation. If parents let most children over the age of 10 choose between Disney and Universal, when EU opens, they will likely pick Universal. We may see a flip, where a family goes to Universal for the main vacay, then one WDW park-hopper day to do Tron and Guardians.
Disney really needs to announce stuff for WDW that isn't just more blue sky concepts that aren't concrete. I would like to think they'll have something ready to talk about at D23 this August. Anyway, here are a few random ideas for how WDW could directly respond to Epic Universe: - Make the Disney Villains land a real project. Disney itself has admitted that out of all of the blue sky ideas they presented to fans, the Disney Villains land had the strongest reaction. Not to mention, it would be the perfect way to respond to Epic Universe's Dark Universe land. - This is probably a long shot, but do something related to video games as a way to respond to Super Nintendo World. Disney did just invest over 1 billion dollars into Epic Games, so maybe they could integrate Fortnite into the parks somehow? They could also do something with Kingdom Hearts, but Disney would probably think it's too niche of a property to build any attractions around. Another option, and one that would be closer in spirit to Super Nintendo World, would be to work with Sega on doing something related to Sonic the Hedgehog. The Sonic franchise has stood the test of time the way that Mario has. Disney has also had a long relationship with Sega, and Sonic has even appeared in both Wreck-It Ralph films. Hell, doing something with Wreck-It Ralph is another option that could connect to other video games as well. - As a response to more Harry Potter, Disney could possibly do something with Percy Jackson. Not only because of the successful Disney Plus series, but the books themselves are distributed by Disney Publishing.
I kinda disagree that they need anything new. There are people out there that haven't seen any of the recent offerings from Disney since Pandora, namely Rise of the Resistance, Gaurdians, and Remy
The thing that gets me here is that Disney have 100% taken their eye off the ball, however - outside of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure - Disney’s new attractions tend to be unique, and different attractions, no one does anything like Runaway Railway, Rise of the Resistance, Ratatouille, Tron, etc. Disney also has a way of monetising everything, which makes it expensive. Disney takes a long while to build anything, but as someone who travels with someone who needs accessibility and ‘quiet spaces’ Disney delivers in a way Universal doesn’t. Universal are quickly building new things. But, most Universal attractions are off the rack with an IP wrapper - standard (but awesome) rollercoaster with a Jurassic theme, standard dark ride mechanism but with a Secret Life of Pets theme, standard dark ride mechanism but with Mario theme and VR headsets. And increasingly not Universal owned licensed IP - Mario is owned by Nintendo, Harry Potter (films anyways) owned by WB. This’ll bump prices up to pay for licensing fees, especially if it’s successful, which can go up or get retracted. Everyone is hyped around Epic Universe based off that one video, yet we haven’t seen the attractions or mostly know what attractions they’re building. For both Orlando parks Universal has not stuck the landing on opening day, with disappointing openings that got fixed over time. Universal rely far too heavily on Harry Potter, three lands across three parks on a franchise that is waning, both box office and controversy surrounding too many people involved. Both have many a pro and con, who will win? Executives, always executives. We’ll just end up forking out far too much money. But ultimately Epic Universe is a big gamble that may pay off IF can stick the landing, or be a costly folly at the worst world financial time if they open with a rushed park.
I can see the commercial now! Bob Iger walks past someone's desk talking on the phone and angrily says "IT NEEDS MORE CHARACTER!" and he keeps saying that throughout the day as he walks by various people and they all scramble around to try to urgently solve the problem. They don't know he isn't talking to them. Then fast forward to Bob in one of the parks and he looks around to find characters all over the place interacting with guests! The executive walking the park with him then turns to him and asks, "Well Mr Iger, did we give it enough characters?" hahaha
I think magic kingdom should add more dark rides like Disneyland in California that represent the classic Disney movies. I would try to expand Hollywood Studios adding more attractions based on Walt Disney’s films like The Great Movie ride but Disney movies we all love! I think that Disney should include free lighting lane for all Disney resort guests at least for one day for all 4 parks so the guests would be encouraged to stay on property. Also add more parades and special ticketed events such as Disneyland does.
I may consist for Disney to have the Be Our Guest Restaurant include the dance floor in the center of it for anyone to dance with Belle and Adam. I want Disney to have its parks go cheap.
They could also bring back a free or discounted dining plan for stays on property - means people would be more likely to do a day trip to universal rather than stay there
My kid told me, and I quote “I don’t want to go to Disney this year. I’d rather go to Epic Universe next year.” All Disney offered in the last 5 years has been a 45 second rollercoaster with a stupidly uncomfortable seat, a poorly acted GOTG Marvel shill, and a Moana water fountain… we will save our money and hit Epic Universe next year.
With how much Universal is investing in fantasy IPs like Harry Potter, Universal Monsters, How to Train your Dragon, etc, I'd like to see Disney further invest in their science fiction attractions and lands like Tomorrowland, World Discovery, Pandora and Galaxy's Edge. Both Tomorrowland and World Discovery have large abandoned buildings completely devoid of any attractions. Tron and Cosmic Rewind were both steps in the right direction IMO.
Awesome ideas as always. I mean, look how popular Long Lost Friends is in Cali. WDW has never done that after hours events with extra characters would be relatively inexpensive and I think would be extremely popular. It feels frustrating that Disney is sitting on all those costumes and just don’t use them.
They will do nothing! They have no money!! They have lost what it takes. Create great family friendly movies and shows. Also create a great park experience. Both of which we get neither from Disney now a days! Their idea of making money these days is to either just raise the price on everything and tell stories that have been told already, multiple times in some cases, but with a modern twist. Make Disney Great Again!!
If you visited Disneyland Paris, you can enjoy visiting Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland along with Disney's Castaway Cay, Aulani and the ships.
I think everything you're saying is very intelligent. Disney should focus on bringing back what made them different... transportation from the airport... bringing your shopping to your room... of course the night parade... some night show at Hollywood Studios, but with big fireworks ...and renovate some attractions... of course Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland Speedway is no longer of interest to anyone in the middle of 2025
I think kids still like a car attraction but they could retheme that to be so much better & new vehicles wouldn’t cost that much. It could be a very quick re-theme
I wasn’t sure about focusing on the character aspect but the way you described it, seems an interesting option. I think a nighttime parade would be a real crowd pleaser. Hopefully we see that. 😃
Disney needs to realize that the "if we make it, the fans will like it" days are long gone. They needs to bring back 90s to early 00s visions back of worrying about quality and new ideas again. There is way too much reliance on IP.
Absolutely
Totally agree
Yeah. 90s and early 2000s. Give us more rocket rods, journey into your imagination, and stitches great escape.
@@johnzimmerman5641 Also Lights Motors Action, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, and the game shows based on Millionaire and American Idol. Oh, and in a world where everyone has a smartphone and can get microtargeted tech ads - BRING BACK INNOVENTIONS!!! 😆😆🤣🤣
@@johnzimmerman5641 Yeah I really need a attraction like Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, please is all want that Disney quality from the late 90's and early 00's
I think when genie+ came in that really did it for me. Overcharging for everything they possibly can.
They have a capacity problem and instead of adding new attractions to dispense crowds more they just think to charge more money?! They do need to come back down to earth with how they treat guests.
Even if disney picks up the pace, Universal doesnt have plans to slow down. Epic Universe is not their only current project. They are adding to Hollywood and the existing Orlando parks. They are building a new regional park in TExas. They are looking to expand to the UK. And they have expansion plans already in place for Epic Universe, including a 4th gate right next to Epic Universe (like IOA and Studios).
So goodluck Disney. Might be a day late and a dollar short, all because you thought you were untouchable.
Disney use to be the leading animation studio when to came to theatrical animated movies. Then Don Bluth started his own studio and showed that it was possible to compete with Disney and even beat them at the box office. This eventually led to Dreamworks and Universal developing their own animation studios to compete and even beat Disney at the theaters.
@timothybernardi68 They have announced DreamWorks Land coming to Universal Studios Florida. And while they haven't announced them, there has been leaked plans for a Zelda world replacing lost continent and a Pokémon world replacing Simpsons. Those worlds would be upgraded to Harry Potter and Super Nintendo level lands.
You forgot to mention the year round HHN attraction they are building in Vegas 😅
@GTNover The Zelda land would be immersive - the Dream Works area, not as much. It'll be more on par with the Sesame Street land at SeaWorld since it's targeted to younger kids. The "Tropical Americas" proposed replacement of AK's Dino Land USA would be more elaborately themed than DreamWorks Destination. Pokémon, on the other hand, would be massive if they tear out the Simpsons buildings and start over.
@@charlesbarnes8977 That'll be smaller in scope than Disney Springs, though. Glad Universal's adding it, and it'll fill a good niche, but it's not on par with a new theme park.
I want all the perks back when staying at one of their resorts...Magical Express, Magic bands, Free fast pass, one extra Magic hour in the morning and the two in the evenings. I can't afford the deluxe resorts.
When they removed them, the Magic went with it.
Don’t forget package delivery to your hotel. I want to buy stuff & not carry it around all day. It seems like this service would more than pay for itself.
That is something they have at Universal@@KforFreedom
@@KforFreedom WDW provides package deliver to resort guests. They need to bring back package delivery for park guests.
Free parking also!! It's unbelievable that they removed it
100% agree with you. Il never go to Disney world again. The prices are shocking compared to what we used to get
I'd be so happy if Disney did discounts with all the price gouging they've been doing. And if the Magical Express came back, you can bet I'll shed tears of joy!!
that makes sense if you are local to the area of any of those things, but, most visitors to Orlando are not local so a lot of other costs need to be added in. All of the additional costs add up pretty quick so people are going to be asking themselves which park experience is going to be worth their money and I believe they are going to choose the one with the new stuff...@@timothybernardi68
How about FINALLY having a drone show in a US park instead of just overseas and do it at DAK which obviously can’t do fireworks anyway?
thats actually genius! i didnt even think of that!!
Yes! Mix it with the show in Epcot and mix in some cultural representation and you’ve got a Disney classic
It should save them money in the long run too. Blastings thousands of dollars of fireworks a night cant be cheap.
@@0dylanI’d love to see a break even analysis on this lol. Those drones must be 30-50k minimum overall plus the power, maintenance etc.
Long run definitely cheaper but I have a strong feeling this is why we haven’t seen it anywhere here yet. Shitload of upfront investment
I read somewhere that MK fireworks alone cost about 20k a day @@0dylan
Galaxy’s Edge definitely needs some improvement and bringing back the original characters to the land would be really amazing 😊
Given they have two lands, they could easily set one around the time of the original trilogy.
Nah, I feel like Edge is fine as is. I lowkey hate all the nostalgia pandering and memberberries that recent Star Wars projects (bar Andor) have been doing, so having something away from all of this is a welcome change
@@BroZilla-vh3tu Well original Star Wars characters like Vader, Han Solo, and Luke will stand the test of time while characters like Kylo and Rey are pretty much already forgotten.
@@disneyresortsfan but they're dead in the timeline of Edge, changing so would remove the impact of their deaths. I mean I really like Kylo and Rey but each to their own
@@BroZilla-vh3tu Well that’s the mistake Disney made by making it a specific timeline🤷♂️
Unfortunately, for the time being I don't think they will respond. I think in the short term they will play it off as no big deal or still second rate but realistically they know they don't have anything ready to go to challenge it
A great response would be a brand new e-ticket attraction at ALL four parks. A refreshment of one attraction at each park would also be a nice bonus
True however Walt Disney World is a large part of it. As far as Cruise lines go the other cruise lines are creating enormouse ships with many attractions geared toward families, I am not so sure DIsney is prepared to invest in ships of that massive size...@@timothybernardi68
@@cuttinol Well, why do you think Disney delayed E-tickets Guardians: Cosmic Rewind and TRON? In large part, because Galaxy's Edge opened about a month before COVID started spreading. That's extremely bad luck that hurt momentum from word-of-mouth on those investments. Now, should they have been more proactive about adding Moana to Animal Kingdom instead of EPCOT? Definitely. If the Finding Nemo musical were moved to DHS, then Moana would have fit under the broad "Tropical Americas" umbrella planned for Dino Land. But a new E-ticket at EVERY park on top of Guardians and TRON is not necessary right away.
They could use a another star wars ride also or attraction
I work at Uni Hollywood. The attendance has been astronomical from just one small land. The perks they’re offering to guests and pass holders are sometimes better than what they offer us as team members! Those perks keep them coming back. If you stay at what is considered a deluxe resort at universal Orlando like the hardrock. Your hotel reservation gives you a fast pass with your stay at the parks! Universal FTW🤘🏽🙌🏽!
Well said! Since we ditched Disney in late 2020 it has been Universal getting all of our money!!
Nintendo World is amazing. Disney has nothing to match. Universal can only do better.
So glad you gave a shout-out to Stella over at Theme Park Stop! 😊 I love it when amazing RUclipsrs promote each other!
I hate to say this but Disney is getting there ass handed to them, and the price to get into Epic is going to be cheaper to get into the park. The day of Disney is over for the next 5-6 years.
Nobody cares about Epic Universe.
@@TaydarI would say millions of people care about Epic Universe
@@Taydar Everyone who isn't a Disney drone or fanboy all seems to care, as I watch tons of amusement park content and most channels all seem to be hyped for Epic Universe.
I’m not too hyped about Epic Universe. Maybe because we already have a Nintendo universe at Universal Hollywood. I wish they could have built an entire Far Far Away Shrek area like they do at Universal Studios Singapore.
Disney’s dominated the attendance in Orlando for a while now. I believe there was one or two years total since 2000 where a Universal park leapt any of the Disney resort.
Having EU and/or the other Universal parks jump over the Disney parks for “5-6 years” probably isn’t anything Disney is overly worried about, especially because I think Disney has good intel that EU is going to give Disney an attendance boost rather than have Universal make a massive snatch of Disney’s market share.
I live in South Florida and for the last 10 years I’ve been going to Disney World and Universal at least once a year, but I feel that once Epic Universe opens I’m going to give Disney World a break because there’s nothing really new or that I’ve never done before.
I believe a lot of people are going to do the same thing...the sting of that lost revenue for them is going to hurt a bit deeper than they are admitting.
Nice showing theme park stop, they realy have done awesome construction updates
Speaking of character, Fast and Furious Supercharge deservedly get criticized as a bad ride but I visited about a week ago and the cast members playing Jamie and Pat in the pre-show were amazing. They were so funny. Same with the cast members presenting the Raptor Encounter. They make an interesting character meet and greet into such a fun interactive show. I'm looking forward to seeing these kind of surprises in the new Epic Universe lands.
My money is on Magic Kingdom bringing back a nighttime parade in 2025 as a way to try and get people over there. It will have been 9 years at that point since MK had a nighttime parade. That alone is kind of crazy to think about. Time goes by so fast.
I had no idea it was that long ago. Yeah-that NEEDS to come back.
It would help.
Competition is always great for the consumer
You have fantastic ideas. I think you've brought up some very good points and the year of the character is such a good idea!!!
Regardless of what happens, the next few years of themed entertainment are going to be very interesting to watch.
What will Disney do? Build copy and paste attractions that the international Disney Parks (owned and operated by other entities) paid the development and design costs for.
The magic of Walt is alive and well . . . at Universal.
I love Disney and I was an annual passholder for 20+ years. And we live in the Midwest.
We let the passes lapse this past September because it just seemed Disney didn’t want us anymore and didn’t care about the parks.
I saw the Epic Universe video and felt like I was pulled right back into the nostalgia and amazement and escapism Walt always preached and Disney World used to provide.
I hope Disney finds a way to recapture the magic, but it’s much harder to capture than it is to lose.
Epic Universe is another land full of IP nonsense
Disney no longer cares about the parks. All they care about is making movies and shows that lose billions of dollars.
Just imagine if they didn’t make She Hulk, Indy Jones 4, The Marvels, Secret Invasion etc. Those 4 projects cost over $1 billion to produce not including market. All projects lost Disney a combined $1 billion. Imagine if they would have put that $1 billion back into Disney World.
I’m from the Midwest too and I’d use to take my oldest multiple times a year. I have no desire to take him anywhere.
Disney lost a lot of market share when Harry Potter dropped. So much so they gain enough capital to make a whole new theme park. I can’t imagine how much bigger that will be compared to opening just a land.
Considering their stock ballooned up thanks to the parks, they’re not really struggling
@@thelastanimator2700They’re in an awful lot of debt, that’s not feasible forever.
@@Jake_5693 That’s factually false
The biggest issue with the of the Orlando area in the coming years is labor.
Orlando has become so expensive to live there, as well as Florida in general. Getting new hires and talent is going to be difficult at best.
@@timothybernardi68 it depend which department you work for in universal because I am making over 18 and hours at Universal even though Disney it is i think 18 an hour as well.
For now...@@timothybernardi68
Universal is gonna have a hard time hiring staff for EPIC Universe as well as maintain their staffs at IOA and Studios
Disney doesn’t want to admit that the sequel films are not what people want and that it was a bad business decision to center Galaxy’s Edge on Kathleen Kennedy’s films instead of George Lucas. They won’t ever bring in Original Trilogy because they refuse to admit that they were wrong to begin with. They really need a shareholder revolt to fire all the execs who think this way.
Agreed. Just imagine GE with Luke, Han, Leia, R2D2, C3PO, and all the others from Lucas trilogies. It’s just insane they themed this whole thing on the Kennedy films. The obsession with putting the Lucas characters in the shadows is just so dumb.
I'm pretty sure Disney would rather close than invest in their parks at this point. They didn't drop the ball, they decided to take their bonuses and high salaries and then run when it all comes crashing down.
That was chapek. Iger in terms of park has said he’ll invest 60 billion
I think you could draw just as big a crowd in Galaxy's Edge with Obi-Wan and Anakin as well. There was a video online about a guy who made a practical General Grievous cosplay that looks amazing. You could bring more villains like him and Maul for walkaround Meet and Greets.
Who do we think about when we talk about Star Wars? Darth Vader, Luke, Leah, Han Solo, Yoda. They should have had them in place from the start. The Star Wars hotel should have been larger and definitely cheaper. Bob Iger made so many bad financial flops that Disney World has suffered big time.
This year is 25th anniversary of Phantom menace, they should definitely bring Darth Maul to the park
They can get inspiration from Disneyland Paris. Here, we are very used to not having anything new in terms of attractions 😂 and over time they had to become very creative in the entertainment perspective.
Disney doesn't need to add another park or even more attractions. We had 10 park days during our trip and weren't able to see everything! They need to concentrate on having visitors get the most out of their vacations. Yes, our trip was fun, but it was a lot of work. It took so much planning that, although the kids had a good time, the adults were stressed out during most of the trip.
Disney Needs to do the following:
1) Hollywood Studios - Create New Lands at the Stars Tours Adventures/Muppets Space & the Star Wars Cargo Bay Area Next to Little Mermaid
2) Magic Kingdom - Create the Beyond Frontier Land & Create Pantheon Theater
3) Animal Kingdom - Create New Land at Dinosaur (Not Indiana Jones)
4) EPCOT - Create Inside Out Overlay/Retheme Figment Imagination & Create Dark Ride Wreck-It Ralph Attraction at the Play Pavillian Building
Do all this within 3 years starting by End of 2025
Figment is a big draw don't think inside out merch sells the same.🤔
you incorporate figment with the inside characters@@TheRogueAttraction
Bring back GREAT MOVIE RIDE with disney owned ip, add a muppets scene where they mess up retelling of a few movies. Extend galaxy edge to star tours and use muppet theater for a star wars stage show
1) Animal Kingdom
-Indoor Lion King ride near the Lion King show
-Indoor Jungle Book ride where you get to sing along with Baloo and his friends
-Change Dinoland to an Encanto land with a ride similar to that of Mystic Manor and also a walking trail to see animals that are native to the country of Colombia
2) Hollywood Studios
-Indiana Jones land
-Indoor Bluey stage show
no more Indiana Jones stuff and I'm with you
@@YoMike91
A ride for the bad guy in the princess and the frog would be a big hit. They could have a tunnel where you go fast, and they show cards on the tunnel walls. They could have the masked weirdos almost at the end just before the drop, and when you go fast to before the drop, they could have the "Are you ready" song playing.
How about SEASONAL updates at Star Wars Galaxy Edge?
Jan-April: Prequel Trilogy
May-Sept: OT
October-Dec: Sequel Trilogy
Update the rides
This would be a good way to figure out whether OG Star Wars or 'New' Star Wars is more financially lucrative. They should test it out.
This is brilliant and encourages return guests. Provides opportunity for new merch. All they really have to do is change the missions, alternate the walking characters, and change a few banners every so often. Rise of the resistance can stay as-is since it's hidden from the rest of the land or they could make some light overlay and reference to it being a prophecy tbh.
Boy, have I been waiting for you to respond on this topic. Thank you so much. Always enjoy your insights. That said, I would still love for you to analyze the new Epic Universe Park and attractions comparing the designs of the new Epic park to Disney standards.
Good ideas, but I don’t think Magic Kingdom will need the help- it’s the other 3 parks that will need to draw people. Instead of giving Magic Kingdom a new parade, how about give Hollywood Studios a new parade, or animal kingdom- and an easy layup for Disney would be redoing Figment, which they could get reopened by 2026
I agree, Magic Kingdom is what I would call the "kiddie park" so it's going to get the most traffic. Animal Kingdom is my favorite park currently, Hollywood Studios still hasn't figured out what it is-so many people say AK is a 1/2 day park, I say HS is the 1/2 day park. Epcot is the most over-priced food festival in America but I do enjoy it, I don't consider it a park for kids though. Epcot having a 'Parade of Nations' would be cool!
My prediction is that Disney will finally give us a nighttime parade in MK and new lagoon show at DAK (drones?) for 2025 at least to have SOMETHING
All they would have to do is take care of some little things that they know that we've been begging for, and that will get the ball rolling.
At this point yes, a total reskin of Galaxy's Edge to OT Tatooine and Endor is the only card they have. Unfortunately KK still has her "Ep List" so that's not going to happen.
Whos kk and whats an ep list
Jack, your detection of Epic Universe over in the Universal Orlando Resort Park ought to have you bond with your brother to make more Universal Newscast videos.
Unless something has changed in 2025 and 2026 they have a reimagined Test Track, the new Zootopia 3-D show, and Pirates themed cantina coming. Add in a new parade and it’s not a bad line up.
They have also announced for 2024 the Country Bears update, Little Mermaid Show update, Tina’s Bayou Adventure and Star Tours updated stories.
Their next easy low hanging fruit is the Stitch building and Wonders of Life. Both could have a shorten construction timeframe since they already have those buildings built.
Why is it considered ok now to ONLY have 2 attractions per new land or area? It feels like there's not enough to disperse the volumes of people for one, and it feels like each new land is half-finished. E.g. Toy Story land, Star Wars land, even Pandora. When you compare those to the lands in Magic Kingdom, even without taking into account the expanded part of Fantasyland it had Peter Pan, Small World, Toad's Wild Ride/Winnie the Pooh ride, Dumbo ride, Philharmagic, the Carousel. Even Adventure land which feels narrow and small seems to have more attractions: Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates of the Carribbean, even the little flying carpets.
It leaves me feeling like the new lands feel a bit sparse in terms of attractions and over-crowded as there's nothing else to encourage the crowds to spread out.
And that's without touching on the up charging at every opportunity, lack of street performers, weird parade times and generally lacking in the magic, which hurts to admit but that was unfortunately our experience in September 2023. 💔
The best response disney can do is by making a villains land! Since universal is making the first ever monsters land !
I was thinking of this myself! Seems like a Disney villains land would be a no brainer response to Dark Universe happening in Epic Universe. And Disney themselves have stated that out of all the blue sky concepts they pitched to fans at D23 2022, the Villains idea got the strongest reaction.
I agree though I believe it should be an addition to Fantasyland, not Beyond Big Thunder Mountain
It’s so weird that Disney doesn’t invest into the division that’s actually making them money.
Re-theming the former Stich is ABSOLUTELY essential. Plus they need to actually GREEN LIGHT the Beyond Big Thunder project AND the Tropical Americas, and let us know what to expect from them. In particular...how exactly will the Indiana Jones ride center around ANIMALS? (As I've often said, having Indy encountering DINOSAURS would be a perfect "2 birds 1 stone"--keep a lot of the original ride, just add Indy.
Totally agree with the Stitch idea. Green Light Beyond Big Thunder AND fund it properly. Indiana Jones at AK is a BAD idea! Expand his IP footprint at HS God knows they need it there! Don't get rid of Dinosaurs, update it add to it do something as a pre-show "Plus It"
The discount/offer ideas you presented are great but I really love the idea of more characters. One thing I really love about Disneyland is that there are always characters wandering around interacting with guests
"Streetmosphere" is a BIG deal! Universal is full of that. Disney used to be...IDK why it's diminished but they should bring it back....
They should make a Disney Villain section. It would be a hit. Maybe they could have a water ride for Ursula, a ride for the bad guy from princess and the frog, a Coco ride, a hades ride, Captain Hook with skull rock, Jafar with giant snake and fire, evil queen, maleifacent. Maybe the beast
I think what gets lost in these conversations is that tourism is continuing to grow in Orlando. Expansion of the airport is proof. Universal could gain more market share, but it will need to outpace overall market growth to achieve that.
It’s all a double edged sword…Disney knows that people are going to want to visit a brand new theme park (even if they built a new land somewhere in WDW). They also know that announcements before Epic Universe opens could push folks to the new park because they’ll want to wait until the new land(s) are built at Disney. Honestly, the REAL test is going to be how well can Universal retain guests one, two, or three years down the line.
Also, we don’t know how guests will think. There are a lot of folks that vacation at Disney and visit Universal for a day. People might just end up swapping out their “Universal” day for Epic Universe and not visit the other two Universal parks. Universal’s new park could end up competing with itself…
Absolutely agree. I think Disney’s lack of announced new attractions for 2025 & 2026 is by design. They don’t want anyone putting off 2024 vacations for 2025-26. People will be drawn to come to Orlando for Epic in those years. I think this video makes great points how Disney could use characters, parades & re-theme of currently closed things, to keep Disney folks to continue to also visit in those years (without spending a lot of capital). Then they can plan new things for 2027 & beyond, to get people to travel again (& not be going head to head with the newness of Epic).
I've always said that if I was in charge, I'd make it my mission to get the most money from Florida Passholders as possible. Not by increasing prices (obviously they go up every year) but by increasing discounts! I live locally and visit the parks about 100 days per year. I don't spend money on about 80 of those days. I pack a backpack of snacks and drinks, or I eat at home before heading to the park or leave once it's dinner time. If they increased the table service discount, added a quick service discount (they had one for a couple months a few years back and I took full advantage!), bigger hotel discounts to lure locals in for a single-night stay or staycation, ticketed event discounts bigger than $5-$10! Those are the types of things I would do to help increase visits by locals, the duration of their visits, and the money they spend on each visit.
Personality, I don't think we really can know, Since I think Iger is retiring in 2026 we really don't know what the philosophy of his replacement will be or what Disney and Universal will be like in later half of this decade. This is a marathon and not a sprint like many armchair analysts on RUclips think.
Some do, some don't. Universal/Comcast didn't just come up with the idea for Epic last year...this project and the concepts for their satellite parks have been in the works for years! This is definitely a "long game" situation and unfortunately Disney is currently getting lapped on the field.
Some great ideas here Jack! From our 2 week trip a year ago, we all agreed that along with the parades, Disney’s meet and greets were infinitely better than Universal’s, which were a lot more random, or literally just a photo. Also, the PhotoPass Magic shots were awesome. Would be great if Disney brought out some unique/previously retired meet and greets once a day in each park, perhaps as a surprise - would build a level of excitement where you wouldn’t know who you’ll see
I believe Disney may accept the new parade inclusion and replacement details along with completing Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Villains' Kingdom and the revival of holiday lights for the boulevard junctions and castles during Christmas. They are up for more character interactions all over the place since artificial intelligent machines are starting to be popular everywhere just like I hoped.
The problem with Disney World vs Disney Land construction is that Disney Land is run much better than Disney World.
I think they can do a new daytime parade for MK; bring Main Street Electrical Parade or Paint the Night; New stage show in MK and maybe a replacement for Stitch’s Great Escape; a new restaurant and maybe a Frozen and Moana M&G in Magic Kingdom as that would make revenue
It would be cool if they just started maintaining their existing infrastructure. DLR doesn't seem to have the immense issues WDW has... The down time for attractions is just insane.
Keep MK and HS (or parts of them) open late on alternating nights, and keep EPCOT open until 11.
Do a quick imagining of RNR, BTMR and fix them... Same for FOP and MMRR.
Add some more immersion in the parks and stop remodeling everything to look like an airport.
Stop nickel and diming.
Then just announce new projects they will actually build.
AMEN!
Like you say, Disney needs more in Galaxy's Edge: A premium, character dining experience leveraging their Galactic Starcruiser experience would be something that could be done relatively quickly. Combine that with integrating a wider timeline and characters would bring back the Star Wars fans.
I was thinking along the same lines they have a themed building that can be utilised into some sort of experience, interactive show/tour/restaurant.
I think if Disney brings back the annual pass prices too. They'll get a lot more business.
The Fast Track update to the New World of Motion will be a very marketable project. Also, Percy Jackson is the new Harry Potter, isn’t he? I am hoping they will announce amazing new lands and attractions based on Percy Jackson at D23. And leading up to those expansions, there should be Percy Jackson character interactions in the Studios park as soon as 2025, adding to your great idea of playing up characters in Disney World promotions. “Which cabin are you? Find out during Festival of the Half-Bloods, only at Disney World!”
Percy Jackson got 110 million hours of viewership in its first 7 weeks. That's very good, but season 4 of Stranger Things was streamed for 286 million hours in its first opening weekend. And Stranger Things is featured at HHN and has a traveling experience making the rounds, but no theme park land (yet). Disney might consider a themed land if they adapt the full series (or most of it), but otherwise they'd probably look into a standalone attraction at DHS. Meet-and-greets should be feasible for next year, though.
I agree that both IP’s are very popular and that Universal will probably do more with Stranger Things. If Percy Jackson streamed on Netflix instead of Disney+, it may have scored more viewing hours, as Netflix has around 100 million more subscribers than Disney+. I think Percy gives Disney a viable franchise to create worlds similar to the Harry Potter experiences at Universal. There are good merchandising and attraction concepts that can come from Percy Jackson.
@@stephaniejonova The question is how many people will subscribe to Disney+ *specifically* for Percy Jackson. I'm sure it'll be substantial, but it might not be big enough of a streaming "tentpole" to justify its own billion-dollar land. Regardless, that decision won't be made any time soon. Keep in mind that WWoHP wasn't announced until May 2007, just before the 5th movie was released.
@@stephaniejonova Also, Camp Half Blood is probably going to work better as a resort than a theme park land. Maybe a Moderate-level alternative to the Fort Wilderness cabins, with activities families can schedule for kids on off-days as a break from the park. The only place I could see it fit into a Disney park is as an overlay for DCA's Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, possibly theming it to Camp Jupiter. It's very unlikely to replace Tom Sawyer's Island.
Creating an actual camp is a great idea.
I've been thinking of what Disney can do to counter the three Harry Potter experiences in Orlando. I do believe that Galaxy’s Edge could be elevated to accomplish this. The land and attractions are already there, and better engagement with park guests, as well as regular special events in support of current Star Wars’ Disney+ and big screen projects, could do it for helping to drive interest to Disney World in the wake of Epic Universe. But Galaxy’s Edge is not yet performing at the level of success that Harry Potter is. Disney appears to be trying to find a new direction in which to go. In Paris, they tabled an even smaller Star Wars land, and the rumor is they will move that project into the Magic Kingdom, bridging the area between Star Tours and a new Ewok Speeder Bike attraction using the TRON Light Cycles ride system. Which makes sense as a coaster attraction is less dependent on being multilingual.
I think Percy Jackson has more of the magical appeal that Harry Potter has. I envision a two-level land structure similar to the layout of Mario at Universal. When you enter the land, you encounter a small pond containing a magical fountain and light show. It is surrounded by a path connecting the Half-Blood structures. Two or three are entrances to rides. The others feature dining, shopping, magical experiences, and character meet-ups. All sorts of rides are possible. I see a rapids type of water attraction called “Adventure to Atlantis.” Another attraction could be using the Soarin ride system called “Hermes’ Express.” There are many possibilities, but the main attraction is on the second level. This level is themed to Olympus and is partially hidden by the trees behind the cabins below. Additionally, fake cloud structures, covered with sparkling LED lights, allow Olympus to peak through to the camp below. On this level, one meanders through the long but interesting streets of Olympus, leading to a major new dueling coaster attraction called “Zeus’ Revenge.”
I know that the odds of Disney doing a Percy Jackson land soon are not great, but based on the growing popularity of this IP, I still think it could be Disney’s answer to Harry Potter.
Disney World needs the following:
A) Bring back Fast Pass and Magical Express
B) Its time to bring the Isle of the Lost or Villains Land to either Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios.
C) Get Mary Poppins into Epcot’s London Pavilion.
D) Give resort guests their free one hour before the park opens and 2 hours after the park closes to the public,
E) Expand Galaxy’s Edge by adding more Star Wars characters from OG and prequels. I would love seeing a Palpatine terrify kids in the park!
F) MARVEL, Marvel & Marvel!!
Disney has to:
- More roaming characters in the four parks
- Villains Land in MK
- Start right now the retheme of Dinoland in Animal Kingdom.
- Retheme Animation Courtyard in Hollywood Studios and add a new Land, maybe Marvel or some FOX IP. (If Universal is losing the rights to The Simpsons, that's a good option.)
10:52 I would love to see a *_SpectroMagic 2.0_* Basically updating to music, similar to how
_MSEP < Paint the Night._ So they can do the same with the SpectroMagic music, but still keep it *_Grandiose_* as MK needs a soundtrack that mirrors the grandeur of WDW.
I've said this once before, and I'll say it again: Disney has only one long-term option. They must increase the perceived value of their theme park resort offerings. While there are many levers they can pull to accomplish this, Disney really has just two primary tools at their disposal: lower prices while keeping offerings stable, or increase offerings while keeping prices stable. In reality, the best solution is probably a combination of both lower prices and more offerings. When I say lower prices, I'm not just talking about tickets. I'm also talking about hotel rooms, Genie+, Lightning Lane, dining, and merchandise. When I say offerings, I'm not just talking about number of thrill rides. I'm also talking about small dark rides, parades, nighttime spectaculars, indoor shows, live entertainment, resort theming, sightlines, transportation, customer service, cleanliness, marketing, and brand identity.
In 2026, Disney could stage a cherishing sequence for the Pixar characters and the Disneytoon Studios characters by having the Mickey Mouse characters honor them all along with the classic Luxo Lamp. If that were possible, the Disneytoon Studios characters will be hired for the parks, the cay, Aulani and the ships, their image selves will be modernized, they can star on the merchandise and clothing and become toys and figurines, and Melody can take her mother, Ariel's place on the Disney Princess line so the Disney Queen line can be born and feature Ariel, Anna, Elsa and Amaya. That's all because the films made by that late studio are bonding in bundles with the Walt Disney Animation Studios films and that studio was Pixar's sister, despite bonding with Disney and using Digital Ink and Magic for a more professional cartoony design on all the old characters to also include the new ones, alongside fraternal voice cast and identical voice cast.
Magic Kingdom needs to add Drones and Fountains for Happily Ever After!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They need this. Fireworks+Projection+Lights+Drones+Fountains around the castle must be fantastic.
Epic Universe will bring big fountains and ponds at their central hub.
and they are armed with Nintendo rights. Zelda and Pokemon are rumored to be in.
and we know they even bring Netflix such as Stranger Things at HHN.
Disney World is now in big crisis under Universal's aggressive strategy.
Jack’s new channel USNY!
I think the best approach Disney can make is “avoid the crowds at Universal and please, Please, PLEASE come to Disney World”
Disney will do what Disney does best…….raise their prices.
Bringing back the free bus transportation would be a great marketing move to steal some Resort money from universal. People planning a trip may just pick a Disney resort over universal just for the free transportation, especially if they were considering 1 or 2 days at Disney while they visited Epic Universe
The biggest problem with Disney is that they just don't care anymore. They don't listen to the actual fans. They'll never watch this video. Even if they did, the executives wouldn't greenlight anything compelling. Literally never thought I'd say it, but I'm truly done caring about a company they don't care about themselves.
A note on the Magical Express-I agree wholeheartedly that they need to bring it back. However, ME going away was not Disney’s doing entirely, Mears pulled out of that agreement. The contract was up and they chose not to renew. Why? Who’s to say. So if it’s coming back, the bigger question will be how
I think they should take the Galactic Star Cruiser and turn it into an excursion from the black spire outpost. Forget that it has hotel rooms and just use the rest of it kind of as a dinner show. You book the dinner show, and you take the bus (shuttle) up to the star cruiser for dinner and a show. Let people do some of the pre-existing activities in the star cruiser and return to black spire outpost. Or maybe divorce it from galaxy’s edge and have it more like a hoop-de-doo dinner show where you book it like any other dinner show. Get a bus over to the galactic star cruiser entrance and ride up to the star cruiser. Keeping totally separate from Hollywood Studios, people could book it separately. Could have a lunch show and then a dinner show.
Disney World REALLY needs to develop the “Beyond Frontierland” area.
the difference is that while disney was building toy story and galaxy’s edge, universal was working on hagrids, velocicoaster, super nintendo world, on top of all the smaller attractions and refurbs. it’s not like it was just disney opening exciting stuff. while epic universe and the fast n furious coaster are opening, there will be nothing from disney at all
I think Burbank is errogant and hubris and self absorbed. They 100% believe their logo is bulletproof. Fans know this is absolutely the wrong attitude.
Time for Disney to start hinting at their 5th gate. We all know it’s in planning.
Let's hope so.
Probably won’t be completed until 2040 given with their track record
I love the character interactions & updates to Smugglers & FoP mentioned. What I would do for the on-site hotel guests is obviously bring back Magical Express, but also all on-site guests get Genie+ included in for the length of stay & if you stay at a deluxe or villa you get 1 free Individual Lightning Lane per day
They definitely need to bring back the perks. I don't know why they ever stopped the Magical Express. A guest without a rental car is a lot less likely to visit Universal and spend money over there. Bring back the shows, parades, nighttime offerings, interactions... Personally, I love Galaxy's Edge to be placed during the sequels, and I don't want to see it going any other direction, but the droids would be great to see. Updated missions for any of the screen based attractions (don't forget Star Tours) would be awesome, and what about an update for Muppetvision? How about some VR or simulator recreations of classic DIsney attractions that no longer exist?
First, Disney introduced IP, then they watered down the experiences, cut down all the perks, and then didn't invest too much in their money generator, the parks. And now the ship has sailed as you said. They don't even have money now, so it's just a matter of time when the Disney Difference is no more.
Set aside building new things in the parks, Disney isn’t even keeping the existing parks in tip top shape! Broken down attractions, peeling paint, dirty spaces, worn down infrastructure, vanilla theming at new hotels, not so magical Cast Members…stuff you would never see until recent times.
Disney needs another CEO like Eisner. Despite his (many) failings, Eisner really understood that Disney could be more than just a company and be something special to people. While Iger did negotiate some great deals, (Marvel, Star Wars, etc.) he immediately started taking all originality out of the parks and replacing everything with IP. The hotels are no longer themed. Prices have skyrocketed while quality has only gone down. I was an annual passholder at Paris for a decade, but I stopped just before the pandemic because the prices have more than doubled and they haven't made anything better to make it worth that. And now they are more than treble the price they were a decade ago, but with fewer benefits. There are so many good theme parks around. I could get annual passes to all 3 theme parks within a few hours of my home for just over half the price of an annual pass to Disneyland.
I have a hard time imagining Disney doing anything that will incentivise me to return within the next 5-10 years as the current leadership believes the only Disney difference that matters is the Disney price difference.
Dang i agree totally. Eisner saved disney and it worked as long as frank wells assisted. We need another eisner like ceo who gets it and a slave to wall street
Completely agree. When flying from overseas, like the UK, you may only be able to afford 2 weeks and you'll be really considering more days with Universal than Disney. Imagine if Universal offered a free shuttle from the airport, that would really take a lot of guests.
Coming back this year for the 1st time in 24 years is a big deal to us and I can see next year coming back again but spending more time with Universal which is not something I ever thought I'd do. Come on Disney, the Lightning Lane idea for hotel guests would at least keep up with Universal. The amount we are paying for the Polynesian and to not even get breakfast into the price is just madness. Where are the perks?
I agree- especially with the idea that people only have a certain number of vacation days and Disney can’t expect them to automatically assign 3-4 of these to Disney parks anymore. They are going to want to see what’s new and creating all the buzz. So that could be a days park hop to take in Tron and Guardians and then the majority of their days at Universal….
1- Disney should bring back an excellent customer experience like before the nickle and diming and the endless planning.
2- Fill all empty buildings with entertainment (rides or shows).
3- Fix all rides that are ready for a significant facelift (first the Imagination pavilion but there are a ton to fix).
4- Double the attractions in AK and DHS and add at least 2 good rides to Epcot World Showcase to make this full day parks.
Small wins are a strong idea. And they are doing some of that: new Country Bears, Tiana, Zootopia in Animal Kingdom. They need to also add more entertainment as you’ve suggested. Castle Lights in Magic Kingdom is huge as you stated. Bring back the Main Street Electrical Parade. Add Murphy to Fantasmic!.
They could always announce a new addition to EPCOT's World Showcase, drum up hype for the new restaurants and cultural experiences
Interesting remark about epic universe not having a layout conducive to parades. Character parades should be a marketed selling point for the Disney parks
I agree for the most part. First priority is to bring the "magic" back. WDW needs to feel extra special - from Magical Express types of practical perks to Magic Hours and getting rid of things like Genie. Second, overlays for Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain that are must-see. Third, nighttime light parades and decor. Unfortunately for Disney, Epic Universe makes Universal a full weeklong vacation. If parents let most children over the age of 10 choose between Disney and Universal, when EU opens, they will likely pick Universal. We may see a flip, where a family goes to Universal for the main vacay, then one WDW park-hopper day to do Tron and Guardians.
Disney really needs to announce stuff for WDW that isn't just more blue sky concepts that aren't concrete. I would like to think they'll have something ready to talk about at D23 this August. Anyway, here are a few random ideas for how WDW could directly respond to Epic Universe:
- Make the Disney Villains land a real project. Disney itself has admitted that out of all of the blue sky ideas they presented to fans, the Disney Villains land had the strongest reaction. Not to mention, it would be the perfect way to respond to Epic Universe's Dark Universe land.
- This is probably a long shot, but do something related to video games as a way to respond to Super Nintendo World. Disney did just invest over 1 billion dollars into Epic Games, so maybe they could integrate Fortnite into the parks somehow? They could also do something with Kingdom Hearts, but Disney would probably think it's too niche of a property to build any attractions around. Another option, and one that would be closer in spirit to Super Nintendo World, would be to work with Sega on doing something related to Sonic the Hedgehog. The Sonic franchise has stood the test of time the way that Mario has. Disney has also had a long relationship with Sega, and Sonic has even appeared in both Wreck-It Ralph films. Hell, doing something with Wreck-It Ralph is another option that could connect to other video games as well.
- As a response to more Harry Potter, Disney could possibly do something with Percy Jackson. Not only because of the successful Disney Plus series, but the books themselves are distributed by Disney Publishing.
I kinda disagree that they need anything new. There are people out there that haven't seen any of the recent offerings from Disney since Pandora, namely Rise of the Resistance, Gaurdians, and Remy
The thing that gets me here is that Disney have 100% taken their eye off the ball, however - outside of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure - Disney’s new attractions tend to be unique, and different attractions, no one does anything like Runaway Railway, Rise of the Resistance, Ratatouille, Tron, etc.
Disney also has a way of monetising everything, which makes it expensive.
Disney takes a long while to build anything, but as someone who travels with someone who needs accessibility and ‘quiet spaces’ Disney delivers in a way Universal doesn’t.
Universal are quickly building new things. But, most Universal attractions are off the rack with an IP wrapper - standard (but awesome) rollercoaster with a Jurassic theme, standard dark ride mechanism but with a Secret Life of Pets theme, standard dark ride mechanism but with Mario theme and VR headsets. And increasingly not Universal owned licensed IP - Mario is owned by Nintendo, Harry Potter (films anyways) owned by WB. This’ll bump prices up to pay for licensing fees, especially if it’s successful, which can go up or get retracted.
Everyone is hyped around Epic Universe based off that one video, yet we haven’t seen the attractions or mostly know what attractions they’re building. For both Orlando parks Universal has not stuck the landing on opening day, with disappointing openings that got fixed over time.
Universal rely far too heavily on Harry Potter, three lands across three parks on a franchise that is waning, both box office and controversy surrounding too many people involved.
Both have many a pro and con, who will win? Executives, always executives. We’ll just end up forking out far too much money. But ultimately Epic Universe is a big gamble that may pay off IF can stick the landing, or be a costly folly at the worst world financial time if they open with a rushed park.
I can see the commercial now!
Bob Iger walks past someone's desk talking on the phone and angrily says "IT NEEDS MORE CHARACTER!" and he keeps saying that throughout the day as he walks by various people and they all scramble around to try to urgently solve the problem. They don't know he isn't talking to them. Then fast forward to Bob in one of the parks and he looks around to find characters all over the place interacting with guests! The executive walking the park with him then turns to him and asks, "Well Mr Iger, did we give it enough characters?" hahaha
I think magic kingdom should add more dark rides like Disneyland in California that represent the classic Disney movies. I would try to expand Hollywood Studios adding more attractions based on Walt Disney’s films like The Great Movie ride but Disney movies we all love! I think that Disney should include free lighting lane for all Disney resort guests at least for one day for all 4 parks so the guests would be encouraged to stay on property. Also add more parades and special ticketed events such as Disneyland does.
I may consist for Disney to have the Be Our Guest Restaurant include the dance floor in the center of it for anyone to dance with Belle and Adam. I want Disney to have its parks go cheap.
They could also bring back a free or discounted dining plan for stays on property - means people would be more likely to do a day trip to universal rather than stay there
My kid told me, and I quote “I don’t want to go to Disney this year. I’d rather go to Epic Universe next year.” All Disney offered in the last 5 years has been a 45 second rollercoaster with a stupidly uncomfortable seat, a poorly acted GOTG Marvel shill, and a Moana water fountain… we will save our money and hit Epic Universe next year.
Stop "re-theming," and start expanding. Build more rides and work out a better queue system.
No expansion room left
With how much Universal is investing in fantasy IPs like Harry Potter, Universal Monsters, How to Train your Dragon, etc, I'd like to see Disney further invest in their science fiction attractions and lands like Tomorrowland, World Discovery, Pandora and Galaxy's Edge. Both Tomorrowland and World Discovery have large abandoned buildings completely devoid of any attractions. Tron and Cosmic Rewind were both steps in the right direction IMO.
Awesome ideas as always. I mean, look how popular Long Lost Friends is in Cali. WDW has never done that after hours events with extra characters would be relatively inexpensive and I think would be extremely popular.
It feels frustrating that Disney is sitting on all those costumes and just don’t use them.
Soul, Turning Red and Luca swung back into theaters and Moana will become a series with its sequel and get a bundle with it.
Disney needs to either get rid of paid parking at the resorts; bring back the Magical Express; and slash their resort nightly rates in half.
They will do nothing! They have no money!! They have lost what it takes. Create great family friendly movies and shows. Also create a great park experience. Both of which we get neither from Disney now a days! Their idea of making money these days is to either just raise the price on everything and tell stories that have been told already, multiple times in some cases, but with a modern twist. Make Disney Great Again!!
If you visited Disneyland Paris, you can enjoy visiting Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland along with Disney's Castaway Cay, Aulani and the ships.
I think everything you're saying is very intelligent. Disney should focus on bringing back what made them different... transportation from the airport... bringing your shopping to your room... of course the night parade... some night show at Hollywood Studios, but with big fireworks ...and renovate some attractions... of course Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland Speedway is no longer of interest to anyone in the middle of 2025
I think kids still like a car attraction but they could retheme that to be so much better & new vehicles wouldn’t cost that much. It could be a very quick re-theme
I wasn’t sure about focusing on the character aspect but the way you described it, seems an interesting option.
I think a nighttime parade would be a real crowd pleaser. Hopefully we see that. 😃