Yeah I feel like they just pulled a bunch of shit off the shelf they had mostly developed, dusted it off and said see we've been working on these and now were gonna do it!
Because this is the same stuff Universal did before IoA opened. They claimed it would change everything and reimagine theme parks. It didn't - and it took them a year before it was in a good place. The same will happen with Epic. FACT: Universal has NEVER managed to do a good job opening a new park in Florida. NEVER. Take a look at the tiny Epic Universe parking lot. Take a look at blocking passholders and requiring multiday entry tickets. They did that multiday entry trick in 1999. It backfired. At least IoA had City Walk and a big garage. Epic Universe does not have enough parking and will need to rely on busses from the main garages traveling down Kirkman. Epic Universe is going to be a massive failure. It will draw a crowd, but it will have a lot of maintenance and operations issues all while eroding attendance at the other two parks. NBC Universal will either have to invest more to fix it or just let it ride. By the time Universal gets it right by late 2026, Disney will begin opening new attractions that will surpass anything Universal is doing. And Universal will slash budgets and let their legacy parks decay. Universal is in terrible shape. They just saw 10% declines at each park in 2023. That is not people saving up for Epic Universe - it is a testament to how bad their parks are at the moment. So few attractions and so many in severe states of disrepair. And Epic Universe has nothing special. An unthemed Mack racer, a lightly themed spinner that is the same model as Cobra's Curse in Tampa, and a family launch that is the same model as Darkoaster and Arctic Rescue. A couple of Zamperla flat ride variants. A Mario Kart ride that does not go fast and that most people say is better without the AR goggles - and it breaks ALL THE TIME in Japan and California. A Donkey Kong coaster that is highly likely to break and been delayed in Japan due to technical problems. Another Kuka variant with animatronics that will be broken 50% of the time. A Ministry of Magic Spidey clone with one added feature, but a very similar layout and feel to Spidey and Transformers. The exterior theming will be great. The coasters will be fun - but have so little theming. I expect this park will disappoint most but will do well for the first few years, though I doubt it passes 10 million per year.
From my perspective, what disney is doing is trying to fight an IP war against universal. Small problem in that universal now have accessed to not only harry potter but Nintendo which included but not limited to Mario, Zelda and most importantly Pokemon, literally the most recognizable franchise in the world and they think they could beat it using IP that they themselves destroy and devalued. This is just disney going in to a gun fight with a rusty knife against universal who is dual wielding BFG 9000.
Watch Disney try to respond to Nintendo in the Universal Parks by somehow implementing Fortnite into their parks. They did just recently heavily invest into Epic Games, after all.
I mean to be fair, Disney as a brand is still a pillar of what is means to be "American" or at least associated with the American identity. So it won't go away that fast.
@@TheItachiIshtar In all seriousness, this could actually be a good idea. Despite being too ridiculous to think of, it actually could happen. Because remember that LEGO have made a Fortnite game? That is kinda big as LEGO hasn't really made a video game outside from their own IP or other traditional media IPs. Meaning that for a video game, that's big news.
I can't wait for absolutely nothing to be built and for Disney to be broken up like Standard Oil and lose all its acquisitions, sending it back to the 1960s.
Whats ironic is that Disney used to invest in the long term, focusing on building up generations of loyal customers with a consistent product. The entire business model for Disney in the 70s-90s was to create characters and experiences that impacted a child in such a way that they carried it into adulthood, so they can bring their own kids to Disneyworld and repeat the process. It seems that Disneys business model from 2000s onward has been filled with cash grabs, empty promises and sporatic desicions. This doesnt feel like something well thought out, this feels like desperation because they spent the last 10 years telling fans they no longer matter, and now are losing money hand over fist and need to make drastic moves to recoup.
@@AttractionIdeasnegative. Disney paid approximately 13 billion dollars for Hulu. Epic Universe at opening will be approximately 7.4 billion dollars. Almost 2 Epic Universe theme parks... not 4.
Disney is pulling an Intel move. They've slept on their competitive advantage for too long, and after a long season of raising costs while reducing customer value, they're scrambling to catch up. I wish them well and hope for excellent experiences, but I've come to lower my expectations.
D23 is weird because it's like a way for executives to get massive praise for announcing things and getting people hyped for some hypothetical project that will most likely not happen or be significantly worse than it was described in the reveal, in which people applaud and cheer over a concept photo. It feels like a horrible relationship where Disney strings along fans with false promises to get them to stay and keep spending money and effort on them lol
Except this time around they’re actually telling us they WILL be doing these projects instead of blue sky, which is what people have been wanting! We got that during D23, and yet people are STILL complaining and raising concerns. What do people fucking want man?
Disney has also promised a ton in the past and failed to deliver on a lot of it. Seeing just how for many of these attractions/additions they showed some clearly very quickly cobbled together artist renderings I’m not holding my breath
In order to maintain goodwill with their customers, they need to 1. Get rid of Genie+ 2. Get rid of park reservations 3. Add capacity 4. Stop raising prices Instead they’re replacing beloved attractions and filling their already crowded parks with construction zones. Also, why are they replacing Tom Sawyer island when Tomorrowland Speedway is RIGHT THERE
So should beloved attractions stay until they can't be fixed anymore? Because despite nostalgia being a factor in Disney's strategy, I do think we need to build new park areas.
The thing is, Universal played this so well. They kept this hidden for so long. Construction has been going on for awhile and then they announced at the time where Disney would have no shot of getting something GOOD out in time. Disney was the big brother who didnt see his little brother for a few years and suddenly the little brother, Universal, comes back taller and bigger. And now Disney is trying to remind everyone that they are the bigger park with a major case of Napoleon syndrome.
I don't hate Disney, but I, and probably many others, would LOVE to see them humbled. Forget about a "true fight" if Disney needs to be beaten down so they don't get complacent like this again. They're still in a spot where even if they did a slightly better job in the parks right now and got acceptable returns, they'd still just sit back and go "Yeah, we're Disney. We're doing fine. We're the best." I want them to be given a white hot reason to return to the quality that was originally expected of them.
Disney has fumbled the bag so hard it almost makes me wonder if they know about some potential upcoming sabotage caused by some cataclysmic event and that’s why they’re not spending too much money
From Reuters: "Disney agreed to take full control of Hulu and pay Comcast at least $8.6 billion for the remaining 33% stake". Disney is basically footing the bill for Epic Universe. In addition to the other very expensive acquisitions (20th Century Fox, etc.), I have no idea how the company is gonna have enough cash for these "big" investments.
@@stephaniestewart-lq9zp Actually, that's not true. If Universal was scaled to disney's size, they would be profiting and making more money. Apparently they're already making more even with their size
I think a few of these won't actually get built. Some of the others might be scaled-back, and will take 5+ years to build. That's how they tend to proceed after making announcements (Epcot, Mama Odie's tree, etc.).
This’ll most likely occur with the cars “expansion” so we’re probably gonna get a very scaled down ip dump that destroyed an opening day attraction, and that they will literally have to drain out all that water and burry it all up which seeing how big the lake is would take well over like 3 years just so all the ground is stable which doesn’t seem like something Disney would really take the risk of doing for this single ride ip dump that’ll most likely experience more downtime than the already unique radiator springs racers in the west coast
And that would be the absolute worst way to respond to Epic Universe. Disney stressed that these were all "real projects that are actually happening" at their D23 presentation after years of feeding us blue sky pitches. It would be a very bad look for them to suddenly go "Whoops, budget cuts!", when this is the time for them to be seriously competitive.
I think this too...the concept art is very vague for all of these projects because they can build it however they want in the end and people can't complain too much about well it doesn't match the concept art. I have a feeling they will pull back on some of the things inside these lands for "budget cuts" like they've done with nearly everything else recently. I just think these projects to some extent will end up like the recent Epcot improvement projects which were either cut entirely or done half-ass.
I feel like the thing Disney should’ve prioritized is the fact that they ARE different from epic universe. The latter seems amazing, yeah, but the park from what I’ve seen seems to be a lot less… I don’t know if magical is the word, but it’s very out there and grandiose, like it’s designed to be a theme park first and a place second. Disney’s got a talent they really haven’t been tapping into of making a place first and a park second, and the rivers of America were one of the crucial pillars of that in magic kingdom. I think they’d greatly benefit from focusing on the park being the destination rather than the rides, and providing a cohesive, all-inclusive experience.
I'm still really skeptical about some of these, especially the villains land. It seems almost too grand and "Blue Sky" for modern Disney, unless they scale it down a bit to make it more believable idk. I can still see them cancelling it.
Yeah I bet it’ll get scaled down and budget cut. Just like the new avatar land they promised us for us at Disneyland, which was shown as a huge amazing land in concept art. But someone pointed out that (from the physical model of the land at d23) in reality it’s going to be small and crammed in the Hollywood backlot area of dca. It’s going to only have one ride and a few gift shops/a restaurant
they havent built a new land that wasn't subject to massive budget cutting and reducing scope and vision, star wars land, avatar, they're all a shadow of their original concepts, the same will happen to villian land, if it happens at all
I agree. The villains land in particular just feels like an immediate response to Universal. Oh, you're building a creepy and dark land in your new theme park? WE COULD DO THAT TOO YOU KNOW Like, it goes directly against the modern Disney brand image (squeaky clean, SO family friendly that it's leaning towards "unenjoyable for adults," etc) It really just feels like a way to try and make people forget about Dark Universe at Universal
Disney theme park history 101 every single land they’ve conceived has been scaled back, this is true since the very beginning, it’s not the size of the land that makes it great it’s the theming and atmosphere.
@@loopholesloopy The only "recent" land I can think of that wasn't dramatically scaled back is Cars Land, but the future of DCA depended on it so that's probably why
Disney just shot themselves in the foot. I don't foresee them being able to pull the rabbit out of the hat. They're already backtracking on their announcements. They don't know what they're doing obviously.
The only announcement they might be backtracking on ( and this is only a rumor as far as I can see) is cars land and that’s only because of the backlash, everything else seems to be full steam.
@@stanfordite1 That's not possible considering the government agency responsible will likely be massively depowered. Also why has Amazon or Microsoft not been broken up yet?
@@nikolaspaz8820 No they didn't. It's not happening and Disney has no right to remove any of these things. Disney would have permits rejected if they tried.
One of the funniest things about Attraction Ideas is that he's the only commentary youtuber I know that can read off a script while sounding like he's ranting off the top of his mind 🔥
Having Cars and Villains Land where RoA used to be would create waaay too much crowding in one concentrated spot. Having Cars Mountain to the west of BTM and then Villains Land to the north of Fantasyland spreads the new crowds far away from each other and draws them through all of the other stuff, aka how big box stores arrange their stores.
Yeah. Fantasyland should get more expansions and more rides including some dark rides that’ll add capacity in order to connect to the villains themed land up north. I definitely want a Sleepy Hollow dark ride in Liberty square near the Haunted Mansion and adjacent to Fantasyland.
@@SlushysSecretlook up the “western river expedition”. When Big Thunder Mountain was built, a big plot (along with the area for splash mountain) was put aside for this expansion. In the end they only used less than half of it to create splash mountain, but they still have a lot of space available (that could fit most of cars land at DCA) off to the side of Big Thunder that has gone unused. People thought “Beyond Big Thunder” meant they’d finally be using this plot as well as the area at the back of the river.
@@carminecdinoproductions Sleepy Hollow would be AMAZING! Trackless would probably work best when you're being chased by the Headless Horseman...then again, it would probably be too scary for them to create.
No Cars is ever coming and there is no Villains land coming either. We need less IP in the parks and when I take over Disney I will make it great again by removing IP.
I get that Magic Kingdom needs capacity, but they really should pull the trigger on the Main St. Theater that they axed. People need air conditioned spaces at MK. They should have put 90% of their effort into Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios to make them more rounded experiences and spread out the crowds.
I agree, to defend against Universal the money would be better spent at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios...because visitors to Orlando are almost always going to go to Magic Kingdom no matter what. Massive upgrades to those two lesser parks also could have been done without replacing existing attractions to maximize their impact (and then Disney could have gone back and replaced those aging areas and attractions in another wave after 2028, once the market had stabilized).
Which is why it’s an essential piece of history at Hollywood studios that needs to be persevered and not thrown onto Disney plus which removes its purpose and the charm of Jim’s career
@@SlushysSecretit'll be sad seeing it go, but since they disregarded Splash Mountain's history, I think they'll end up doing the same thing with Muppet vision
@@ChuckE.CheesesIllinois aside from the America sings animatronics being saved and the ride being the first log flume in a Disney park, it’s not even close to the amount of work that Jim built into his career over the years, and brought a new light to puppet art, especially since this was the last ever project Jim would ever get to work on, and would be the end of him working on the creative arts he brought into the world. Overall splash mountain is still preserved at Tokyo, and whilst the removal of the WDW was in clumsy and a disastrous manner (in which they did not consider even testing if the new electric animatronics could even withstand the amount of moisture they are being exposed to) Splash Mountain in the end of the day is an attraction that will be missed by all and brought all many joy to the parks and brought a unique theming aspect that Disney no longer has, but unlike the only ever built land for Jims creation ever that holds the last ever project the man himself worked in which he worked on countless years building his career to show that puppeteering was and still is an amazing creative art, it would be most disrespectful to completely destroy the man’s legacy and place it on a poor streaming service and loose all the value it had in it, which is even worser than the destruction of splash on its own. So in conclusion Muppet Vision holds even more historic value of the man that brought new and unique artistic values to puppetry over the countless years, than a well themed log flume ride that did save a good portion of animatronics from an attraction that Marc Davis did work on, and was a unique retelling of the original Song of the South folk tale, as well as bringing a refreshing attraction to the parks during the summer and especially in the humid weather of the east coast, it still could never compare to the last ever project that Jim Henson would ever get to work on for a small land of his work in which that work isn’t as present or respected as Zip a dee do da
@@SlushysSecret And if they replace it? Because they will have to eventually replace that ride, as money rules over creative vision. Even if you say that's not the case, it still is the case. Because there is no solution that a multi billion company will value an artist's vision for a legacy. That's simply impossible in captialism.
I’d Rather have the Tropical Americas land be located elsewhere at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a new empty plot of land rather than a reimagining of Dinoland USA and I want some dinosaurs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom while we could get new expansions to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in empty plots of land that could double its size and include more rides, shows, and animal attractions.
5:56 - This is my exact thought on them building new stuff. Like, it's cool that you're building new stuff, but how long will it take realistically? That cake bake shop in Disney Springs is still not built and that is just a restaurant, not a complicated ride.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Cake Bake Shop gets cancelled. It's kinda baffling how they got a big WDW location to begin with when it's just a small local restaurant chain from Indiana.
@@phillinsogoodexactly, I’m local to Disneyland in California and I was excited for the avengers e ticket ride that they had announced back in 2019. It was supposed to be finished 2021 but due to budget cuts and them gutting nearly half of imagineering, it wasn’t built when originally promised. It’s towards the end of 2024 now (nearly 5 years after its original announcement), and they still haven’t even broken ground on it yet. This years d23 they canceled it for an entirely different avengers ride, but it’s going to take them another 5+ years to actually build it even though construction is starting on it next year. So by the time it opens it’ll be nearly 10 years since it’s original announcement 😂. Not to mention avengers campus is terrible so it really needed that one good ride.
@@dayoldbread1696 yes so imagine all these wild plans they have ALL AT ONCE i might add and encanto and surrounding is "2027" which means 2028-2031 being generous and same with cars. Villains land is ATLEAST 2030 with how much they have going on. that's before they cancel it too lol. What makes it sadder is Universal's making a world-class theme park in 2 years AND has 3 hotels, a whole highway and bus network, and is AHEAD of schedule right now (Spring 2025 and if I had to guess it would open during spring break or somewhere close) Universal's waving them off as they pass them in this race LOL
It’s sad, really. Disney never put effort into the parks because they were so focused on creating a media empire, and now that empire has fallen, and Disney is left desperately trying to put the pieces back together without knowing where they fit. 😂🎉
The scramble is crazy to see in real time. Disney has been using their legacy as leverage for too long and universal will blind side them in the coming years. I still think the tide will raise all ships but universal is going to win
Until a few years ago, part of my family used to take a big trip (resort and everything, as international fans) to Disney every two years or so. But considering the changes the company have been introducing, last year they had to admit that there was no new or old attraction that could justify the expense that taking such a vacation would entail. The parks were simply out of their budget range.
I think Disney is still banking on having a ton of ppl who are loyal fans and will come no matter what… and they’ve been feeling this way for so long they forgot they needed to move. And this goes all the way back to New Fantasyland…
Great analysis! This year, after 10 years of ownership, we sold our DVC shares, it was just too expensive (and too hard to find an open booking) and too crowded at the parks. We had a great time over the 10 years and got our money's worth but the Parks just were not adding the value to the ownership that they used to. Over the course of those 10 years, we started hitting Universal more and more. As you point out, Disney is really giving Universal a huge jump at a critical time.
For a few years now, I’ve felt that Universal is improving while Disney is getting worse, and that feeling absolutely continues with these announcements.
I think Disney thought that the reason why people are excited for Epic Universe is because of all the "big IPs" that are going to be presented. The two biggest and most modernly recognizable IPs that are being presented are Harry Potter and Nintendo. Dark Universe is based on the Universal monsters, which isn't a currently and extremely popular IP, but Universal is using it anyways because they know that they can actually make some fun and unique attractions/experiences with it. Poseidon Entertainment did a video on the new Secret Life of Pets dark ride at Universal Hollywood, and how it doesn't rely on guests to be fans of, or have at least seen, the film the ride is based on to understand or enjoy the ride.
On top of that… don’t think there’s a big clamoring for a How To Train Your Dragon land either. But they’re taking the world of that IP and creating something original and exciting.
@@dm06012 HTTYD I think will be a real sleeper land. It's beautifully done and I think will resonate very well with younger families. It's also their largest land in the entire park so lots for children to see and do there.
Maybe Disney was paying attention to the "big IPs" but what they failed to notice was Celestial Park. Having a gorgeous Central Park of landscaping, water features, well-organized show area, a hotel overlooking the park that adds, not detracts, from the overall aesthetics, with a fireworks show behind the hotel. CHEF'S KISS in terms of layout. This non-IP area is what will truly make this park a unique joy to visit, it will be a bigger part of the soul of this park than people realize.
Which makes it really ironic since Universal was all about the IPs since inception, and now Universal has creatives in charge who know how to make good with immersing people into the worlds of these IPs versus Disney forcing them into places they don't belong just to grab short-term attention.
4:59 I thought Disney was going to suffer through the next few years because of EU, but A WHOLE CAROUSEL!!! Epic Universe is gonna have a run for its money.
Why is Disneyworld building over existing stuff? It's so massive you'd think they'd have some room to build... New things without taking out the old? I've never been to Disneyworld so I don't know.
Disney has turned many people off with the extra charges everywhere when they are already the most expensive parks in the world. As a transplant patient, taking away my DAS was the last straw for me. I'm close to WDW and never go anymore. The magic is gone for me. I'm getting where I don't even like to look at my Disney collectables. I used to be a big fan but not anymore.
I grew up going to WDW from '99-'17 and absolutely loved it but I haven't been back in a long time because of prices and just not liking how Disney has been running their parks. I'm now married and pregnant with our first child. I'm genuinly excited to see WDW go through a 'reconstruction' era in the next couple years so hopefully by the time my kid is 5-6, the park will be ready for us to fully enjoy. Because if I had a school-aged kid right now, we'd be going to Universal and NOT WDW!
I am actually pulling for Disney, but I have to admit this is not an apples to apples competitive response, if we are talking about Orlando only. And of course we all know universal is planning other major additions to their Orlando parks. Vullians land and Cars land could open at the same time a rumored Pokemon & Zelda lands open.
As a theme park fan you should. Only silly stans and haters would want Disney to fail. Disney succeeding means universal will keep going with epic. Competition is a great thing.
@@remyd8767 100%. This whole universal versus Disney dialogue is a lot like Samsung versus Apple. One company pushes the other and in the end we all are supposed to win.
Animal kingdom has lost its identity. It was meant to celebrate past, present, and imaginary animals. Pandora, while great, will be an average subland based on a series that does make money bit doesn't stay relevant, haven't heard anyone talk about the second film. Now they're replacing the dino area. They could have added new rides, making it into a land lost to time but instead decided to use IP. Heck Indian Jones is about archeology and exploring ancient artifacts nothing to do with animals.
It’s getting to the point now where Disney is gonna need to open a 5th gate to contain everything they wanna do. There’s only so much you can cram in. And only so much room they can currently expand into within the parks they have. I really feel like one more park will be inevitable within the next 20 years. It’s remarkable that they haven’t already done so in the last 25 years since Animal Kingdom. The only question is where do they have room for one?
The fact that Disney didn't start at doing this type of plan a decade ago to properly compete with Epic Universe like you've mentioned really speaks volumes on how Disney still has this arrogant mentality of them thinking no one can touch them because of their place in theme park history despite the clear fact that it was that type of hubris was what gave Universal such an upper hand with The Wizard World of Harry Potter in the first place. One would think they'd learn from that the first time and make proper plans to make sure history doesn't repeat itself like any sane company would but no they let their ego get the better of them again and now history is again repeating itself. Even if they manage to get all of their planned line up done in time before this decade ends the damage will already be done. Universal by then will reign supreme as the new king of the Orlando theme park area or at least share a tie with Disney with it. What isn't doing any more favors for Disney is that they're still fanatical with budget cuts and saving money meaning not only are they still not making sure their existing parks function properly but it'll also mean that many if not all of their upcoming attractions will either be scaled down at best and canceled at worst. I could be wrong on both fronts but still Disney isn't going to be winning people over in the future if they keep being ego driven cheapskates.
Disney's strategy yesterday: "Use your imagination and come up with something worthy of Disney magic" Disney's strategy today: "Here an IP, there an IP, everywhere an IP"
They shouldn't get rid of Muppet Vision, if anything they should refurbish the audio and some effects. The movie is still holding up (hard to make Jim Henson's work look bad) Muppet Vision should be permanent, until interest gets so low that they can just put the movie on a streaming service (yuck) or release a DVD with the movie on it.
The last park that NEEDS expansion or big eye catching rides is MK. That’s their golden child, wait times usually less than 30 depending on the ride, plenty of iconic rides and attractions and landmarks. So WHYYYY do we need cars to REPLACE ROA ???? The other parks DESPERATELY need expansion for more capacity and yet… all they do is replace ????? It just doesn’t make sense
It’s crazy how long it takes a new ride to work it’s way through Disneys bureaucracy. Universal is making an entire park in, what, 2 ish years? It takes Disney nearly twice that typically for any major single ride…
To be fair, Epic Universe is something that has been in the works since before covid...which makes it worse because it shows how much you can do when you plan ahead.
You’re 100% correct that expansion would not disrupt the existing areas, but I think that Disney’s strategy at this point is to just replace rather than undergo refurbishments that might be even more costly. Think what’s happening with lots of old infrastructure. It’s cheaper to just bulldoze it and build again rather than to try to keep something old continually new. Those costs mount and end up being bandaids. I’m not justifying Disney making these choices, I hate the idea of Rivers of America being filled in. But from what I’ve read, the Rivers are a big upkeep issue to maintain and they’d likely rather just be rid of the problem.
That's the thing. Many times, you must take the gamble. That's the big problem Disney is expirecing. Rather than take risk and deal with some issues for big potential profit return.
I'm SO anxious about how the Cars area will turn out. Because it seems like there's some thematic dissonance going on at least with the concept art they showed. Along with making Fronteirland as a whole feel SUPER cramped. Will it add capacity? Yeah! But it sure won't feel like it when they've completely filled up the only truly open space in Magic Kingdom with a bunch of trees and rocks and a huge new attraction! There's no room to breathe, no room to relax anymore. Yes the island and riverboat weren't popular anymore and needed a change but SURELY therebwas a better option here where they could at least keep some of the water? I'm so tired of walking through a million narrow walkways, just give me some SPACE sometimes, you know? From a purely visual standpoint, negative space is important sometimes and the water was a beautiful and calming thematic element that had amazing sightlines. They have more space... they could have used it 😔
What really astounds me is that a Villains Land is the perfect concept for a fifth gate! Think about Disney parks during Iger… slapping IP lazily into spots while removing all the charm and originality that made these places special. Well, every one of their IPs could be used in a Villains park, BUT you could build their worlds with charm and originality because you have a blank canvas. On top of that… a Villains park takes air out of the Epic Universe balloon even though it’d be years away. You take one of their new concepts for their new park and one-up it with all your beloved IPs and wipe it off the map. Instead, it’s a land, wedged into a place where it doesn’t make sense if they even build it at all. Their biggest idea barely qualifies as a half-measure.
The extended queue for Muppets is used for Rise of the Resistance. So they may not put the new ride there. The old Star Wars Hotel area could work. I think it’s good they are finally replacing some old attractions. But they waited to long to do so. And they didn’t give us a date for the new Villains land, so they probably just started planning. So that is years away. However, when Universal announced Epic Universe they gave us a timeline of 2 years. (Then COVID messed that up). But Disney seems to think it is okay just to put a fresh coat of paint on something raise prices and call it day. And… announce a new park with zero ETA.
Disney doesn't want to add more capacity, because it doesn't want to hire more cast members. I don't think they're back to employing the number of cast members they had pre-pandemic. That's why attendance is lower than before; visitors sense they simply can't handle more people since they don't have enough employees. Why do you think they have so many rides down all the time? Budget cuts. They don't have enough cast members who can maintain and repair the rides. Until they are willing to hire more people, Disney is never going to expand the way they should, instead of destroying their older areas to make way for newer ones. Imagine digging up an opening day, destination attraction, something that makes Frontierland appropriately themed, for an IP that made progressively less with each installment. An IP that doesn't even fit the theming of the land, and removes a cooling, restful feature that teaches about the history of America, for additional pavement and heat collecting features. Blows my mind.
While these announcements aren’t ideal, credit where it’s due they are taking steps in the right direction in terms of investing in the park could it be better yes but at least it’s something
It would be a brilliant chess move for Universal / Comcast to announce a multi-billion dollar upgrade for USF and UIA to be complete in 2028/2029 (about when Disney's big guns come online). They could take the market share gain they will get over the next few years and cement it in as the "new normal" in terms of market share spit. It would be the wisest timing and investment possible.
Actuqlly...Disney will make out financially once Epic opens.........more people going to FL.... When Epic opens ..ultimately also results will result in higher attendance at disney in the long run...it happened in the early 90s when the first Universal parks opened....it will happen again
Everything started going downhill when they shut down 20,000 leagues under the sea. That closure affected the feel of the park and took away a significant portion of the magic. Prior to the closure of that ride going to the magic kingdom you felt like you could go anywhere and have any kind of experience when they close that that feeling went away. They continue to water down and shut down and tear down below attractions and replace them or not replace them at all and just destroy everything that made the part balance impressive and exciting.
All these D23 park upgrade plans will be delayed and budget cut to a shell of what they presented. Grrrr I hate it when they bulldoze an attraction and replace it and call it a park expansion. No no its not an expansion. Literally thousands of acres of land to use keep the rides you have “update if needed” but just build more. Idiots. The Epcot remodel is a sad joke. Several years to build an empty building with an outdoor stage area in fun sun all day. Going to Tokyo Disney next year with some friends, from what I have seen and read it’s like Disney World of the past. Cant wait. Trying to learn Japanese at least a little before we go. Hard language!!!
Maybe Disney should bring back the Discovery River Boats with some changes along with the Rivers of Light show that’ll close the Discovery River Boats for the day in order to prepare for the nighttime show!
Getting rid of Tom Sawyer Island and the Riverboat and replacing it with Cars attractions will not benefit the parks in the least. This area is the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park. They should be capitalizing on this and perhaps make the area more appealing. This move, if it happens, will mark the death of the Magic Kingdom. No more unique experiences, no more original ideas, no more love for Walt's vision, just IP here and there just for the sake of it.
Josh and Bob have no business running the company anymore. Bob stole the profits from the parks to make a series of terrible movies, and Josh made park promises he never intended to honor. They both need to go.
I don't get how Universal can do so many things in a short period of time. Disney.... I've been waiting and waiting for them to shut down dinosaur and do the whole Indiana Jones thing for like a whole year. Just ridiculous.
Here’s my issue with that about removing Tom Sawyer Island, and rivers of America. They don’t have to do it. They have plenty of land to put these new lands in new attractions in without taking away Tom Sawyer Island, and the rivers of America. So you can satisfy the Disney purists as you call them And put something new in. That’ll draw new crowds. Thanks for the video.
I don't know how ANYONE can think these announcements mean anything at all. As always, they are simply string people along, and they continue to feed on it. Promises, promises. I'll stick to Universal, thanks.
im glad i got my hubby to go to Disneyworld 4 years ago so he could go to Muppet vision.. Ive been worrying about it going away. last we went to Florida 2 years ago we only did universal for the week we where there first time i didnt go to disney at all on a Florida trip.
I think D23 was kind of lackluster for WDW, Disneyland got like 5 new rides that aren’t supposed to replace anything but backstage building and parking lots. Disney World had so much potential with all their IPs they have, I don’t understand how they haven’t put IPs like planet of the apes or Lion King at animal kingdom in any significant way or even an IP like Alien at their horrible Tomorrowland in one of those empty buildings they have without attractions instead they focus on building rides on new movies that they don’t even know if they will stand the test of time like Encanto and even Cars is a franchise that isn’t as beloved today
i went to universal orlando the first time this year after being a disneyland kid my whole life, i am never going to disneyworld lmao universal changed my life and with epic universe i dont think disneys every getting my money now that im an adult
I just said the other day, by the time those expansions open they could be competing with Zelda Pokémon Luigi’s mansion monsters land expansion potter expansion etc. it’s been to late since Disney sat around with wizarding world 😂
None of these expansions are ever happening. I also look forward to Universal going back to the 1990s complete with Back to the Future, Jaws, Kongfrontation, and Earthquake.
Villains Land is a *committed* blue sky concept, which is worse than blue sky. Committed by corporate means it is built out of negative pressure to put anything villian’ish there on time, instead of being positively motivated by a creative talent (like Walt was) to build something creative and exceptional.
I disagree with your thing for magic kingdom, if you say the words there are 4 parks and nothing to do thats not on the consumers thats disneys fault. Along with the fact that I dont want new attractions I want old ones to be fixed. Adding new rides wont solve their long lines crisis just make it worse.
I’m not surprised that Disney’s response to Epic is just to pull a bunch of random IPs out of their ass and make a ride out of it
Universal has been very aggressive with growth and development in the last decade or so. Disney on the other hand has been very reactionary
@@ryancarter2959 very very very very very very very very very very reactionary lol
Yeah I feel like they just pulled a bunch of shit off the shelf they had mostly developed, dusted it off and said see we've been working on these and now were gonna do it!
Because this is the same stuff Universal did before IoA opened. They claimed it would change everything and reimagine theme parks. It didn't - and it took them a year before it was in a good place. The same will happen with Epic.
FACT: Universal has NEVER managed to do a good job opening a new park in Florida. NEVER. Take a look at the tiny Epic Universe parking lot. Take a look at blocking passholders and requiring multiday entry tickets.
They did that multiday entry trick in 1999. It backfired.
At least IoA had City Walk and a big garage. Epic Universe does not have enough parking and will need to rely on busses from the main garages traveling down Kirkman.
Epic Universe is going to be a massive failure. It will draw a crowd, but it will have a lot of maintenance and operations issues all while eroding attendance at the other two parks. NBC Universal will either have to invest more to fix it or just let it ride.
By the time Universal gets it right by late 2026, Disney will begin opening new attractions that will surpass anything Universal is doing. And Universal will slash budgets and let their legacy parks decay.
Universal is in terrible shape. They just saw 10% declines at each park in 2023. That is not people saving up for Epic Universe - it is a testament to how bad their parks are at the moment. So few attractions and so many in severe states of disrepair.
And Epic Universe has nothing special. An unthemed Mack racer, a lightly themed spinner that is the same model as Cobra's Curse in Tampa, and a family launch that is the same model as Darkoaster and Arctic Rescue. A couple of Zamperla flat ride variants. A Mario Kart ride that does not go fast and that most people say is better without the AR goggles - and it breaks ALL THE TIME in Japan and California. A Donkey Kong coaster that is highly likely to break and been delayed in Japan due to technical problems. Another Kuka variant with animatronics that will be broken 50% of the time. A Ministry of Magic Spidey clone with one added feature, but a very similar layout and feel to Spidey and Transformers.
The exterior theming will be great. The coasters will be fun - but have so little theming. I expect this park will disappoint most but will do well for the first few years, though I doubt it passes 10 million per year.
and epic universe isn't a bunch of IP's?.....oh yes! It is!! 😂
From my perspective, what disney is doing is trying to fight an IP war against universal. Small problem in that universal now have accessed to not only harry potter but Nintendo which included but not limited to Mario, Zelda and most importantly Pokemon, literally the most recognizable franchise in the world and they think they could beat it using IP that they themselves destroy and devalued.
This is just disney going in to a gun fight with a rusty knife against universal who is dual wielding BFG 9000.
Watch Disney try to respond to Nintendo in the Universal Parks by somehow implementing Fortnite into their parks. They did just recently heavily invest into Epic Games, after all.
@@TheItachiIshtarcant wait for a ride about the fortnite lore and the zero point😊
I mean to be fair, Disney as a brand is still a pillar of what is means to be "American" or at least associated with the American identity. So it won't go away that fast.
@@TheItachiIshtar In all seriousness, this could actually be a good idea. Despite being too ridiculous to think of, it actually could happen. Because remember that LEGO have made a Fortnite game? That is kinda big as LEGO hasn't really made a video game outside from their own IP or other traditional media IPs. Meaning that for a video game, that's big news.
I can't wait for all of these things to open one year behind schedule and fail to get into the virtual queue for every single attraction.
one year? try ten.
@@FrappeInsider does it suck to be you?
Of course, all what opens first this or the Six Flags stuff.
@@IG88IGLOO. 😂So true!!!!!!
I can't wait for absolutely nothing to be built and for Disney to be broken up like Standard Oil and lose all its acquisitions, sending it back to the 1960s.
Whats ironic is that Disney used to invest in the long term, focusing on building up generations of loyal customers with a consistent product.
The entire business model for Disney in the 70s-90s was to create characters and experiences that impacted a child in such a way that they carried it into adulthood, so they can bring their own kids to Disneyworld and repeat the process.
It seems that Disneys business model from 2000s onward has been filled with cash grabs, empty promises and sporatic desicions.
This doesnt feel like something well thought out, this feels like desperation because they spent the last 10 years telling fans they no longer matter, and now are losing money hand over fist and need to make drastic moves to recoup.
Don't forget that Disney is basically paying for Epic Universe because of that Hulu deal....
They paid for like 4 Epic Universes in that deal lol
@@AttractionIdeasnegative. Disney paid approximately 13 billion dollars for Hulu. Epic Universe at opening will be approximately 7.4 billion dollars. Almost 2 Epic Universe theme parks... not 4.
😅
Universal: "Oh, and by the way, the park wasn't cheap. You ought to know you bought it."
@@AwesomeMooseSmile i mean they paying for the 4th park also. there is still room on the epic universe land for a whole nother park
Disney is pulling an Intel move. They've slept on their competitive advantage for too long, and after a long season of raising costs while reducing customer value, they're scrambling to catch up. I wish them well and hope for excellent experiences, but I've come to lower my expectations.
D23 is weird because it's like a way for executives to get massive praise for announcing things and getting people hyped for some hypothetical project that will most likely not happen or be significantly worse than it was described in the reveal, in which people applaud and cheer over a concept photo. It feels like a horrible relationship where Disney strings along fans with false promises to get them to stay and keep spending money and effort on them lol
Except this time around they’re actually telling us they WILL be doing these projects instead of blue sky, which is what people have been wanting! We got that during D23, and yet people are STILL complaining and raising concerns. What do people fucking want man?
I am more ready for epic universe than Disney
I agree
Well that’s actually in devilment unlike these. We will just have to wait
@@Syrup-n3t yummy
Disney has also promised a ton in the past and failed to deliver on a lot of it. Seeing just how for many of these attractions/additions they showed some clearly very quickly cobbled together artist renderings I’m not holding my breath
@@ryancarter2959 wow
Something you forgot to mention is that if Muppet Vision goes, Star Tours is likely to go as well.
There’s space behind numbers so if they did, probably not
Depends. They could take out the restaurant for the ride and put laugh factory into the existing theater.
no not really… I don’t think they would just remove 2 rides right next to each other, especially something like startours
Removing 2 high capacity attractions for one likely low capacity ride would be such a smooth brained decision.
Maybe they could expand the Star Wars area from Star Tours to Galaxys Edge, and do a MuppetVision Star Wars show.
In order to maintain goodwill with their customers, they need to
1. Get rid of Genie+
2. Get rid of park reservations
3. Add capacity
4. Stop raising prices
Instead they’re replacing beloved attractions and filling their already crowded parks with construction zones. Also, why are they replacing Tom Sawyer island when Tomorrowland Speedway is RIGHT THERE
I agree with all of your points except for #3. I’m currently a cast member and we do not need more capacity 😂
And get rid of resort fees!
So should beloved attractions stay until they can't be fixed anymore? Because despite nostalgia being a factor in Disney's strategy, I do think we need to build new park areas.
The thing is, Universal played this so well.
They kept this hidden for so long. Construction has been going on for awhile and then they announced at the time where Disney would have no shot of getting something GOOD out in time.
Disney was the big brother who didnt see his little brother for a few years and suddenly the little brother, Universal, comes back taller and bigger. And now Disney is trying to remind everyone that they are the bigger park with a major case of Napoleon syndrome.
I don't hate Disney, but I, and probably many others, would LOVE to see them humbled. Forget about a "true fight" if Disney needs to be beaten down so they don't get complacent like this again. They're still in a spot where even if they did a slightly better job in the parks right now and got acceptable returns, they'd still just sit back and go "Yeah, we're Disney. We're doing fine. We're the best." I want them to be given a white hot reason to return to the quality that was originally expected of them.
You actually have a good take. They can get a step back, then they return to glory.
Disney has fumbled the bag so hard it almost makes me wonder if they know about some potential upcoming sabotage caused by some cataclysmic event and that’s why they’re not spending too much money
How did they fumble the bag when they are still making more money than universal theme parks?
From Reuters: "Disney agreed to take full control of Hulu and pay Comcast at least $8.6 billion for the remaining 33% stake". Disney is basically footing the bill for Epic Universe. In addition to the other very expensive acquisitions (20th Century Fox, etc.), I have no idea how the company is gonna have enough cash for these "big" investments.
@@stephaniestewart-lq9zp Actually, that's not true. If Universal was scaled to disney's size, they would be profiting and making more money. Apparently they're already making more even with their size
@@stephaniestewart-lq9zp these people all have sub 20 IQs
@@FrappeInsider wrong...laughably wrong. You cant stop being wrong and embarrassing yourself
I think a few of these won't actually get built. Some of the others might be scaled-back, and will take 5+ years to build. That's how they tend to proceed after making announcements (Epcot, Mama Odie's tree, etc.).
This’ll most likely occur with the cars “expansion” so we’re probably gonna get a very scaled down ip dump that destroyed an opening day attraction, and that they will literally have to drain out all that water and burry it all up which seeing how big the lake is would take well over like 3 years just so all the ground is stable which doesn’t seem like something Disney would really take the risk of doing for this single ride ip dump that’ll most likely experience more downtime than the already unique radiator springs racers in the west coast
And that would be the absolute worst way to respond to Epic Universe. Disney stressed that these were all "real projects that are actually happening" at their D23 presentation after years of feeding us blue sky pitches. It would be a very bad look for them to suddenly go "Whoops, budget cuts!", when this is the time for them to be seriously competitive.
I think this too...the concept art is very vague for all of these projects because they can build it however they want in the end and people can't complain too much about well it doesn't match the concept art. I have a feeling they will pull back on some of the things inside these lands for "budget cuts" like they've done with nearly everything else recently. I just think these projects to some extent will end up like the recent Epcot improvement projects which were either cut entirely or done half-ass.
Nothing will ever be built.
I feel like the thing Disney should’ve prioritized is the fact that they ARE different from epic universe. The latter seems amazing, yeah, but the park from what I’ve seen seems to be a lot less… I don’t know if magical is the word, but it’s very out there and grandiose, like it’s designed to be a theme park first and a place second. Disney’s got a talent they really haven’t been tapping into of making a place first and a park second, and the rivers of America were one of the crucial pillars of that in magic kingdom. I think they’d greatly benefit from focusing on the park being the destination rather than the rides, and providing a cohesive, all-inclusive experience.
I'm still really skeptical about some of these, especially the villains land. It seems almost too grand and "Blue Sky" for modern Disney, unless they scale it down a bit to make it more believable idk. I can still see them cancelling it.
Yeah I bet it’ll get scaled down and budget cut. Just like the new avatar land they promised us for us at Disneyland, which was shown as a huge amazing land in concept art. But someone pointed out that (from the physical model of the land at d23) in reality it’s going to be small and crammed in the Hollywood backlot area of dca. It’s going to only have one ride and a few gift shops/a restaurant
they havent built a new land that wasn't subject to massive budget cutting and reducing scope and vision, star wars land, avatar, they're all a shadow of their original concepts, the same will happen to villian land, if it happens at all
I agree. The villains land in particular just feels like an immediate response to Universal. Oh, you're building a creepy and dark land in your new theme park? WE COULD DO THAT TOO YOU KNOW
Like, it goes directly against the modern Disney brand image (squeaky clean, SO family friendly that it's leaning towards "unenjoyable for adults," etc)
It really just feels like a way to try and make people forget about Dark Universe at Universal
Disney theme park history 101 every single land they’ve conceived has been scaled back, this is true since the very beginning, it’s not the size of the land that makes it great it’s the theming and atmosphere.
@@loopholesloopy The only "recent" land I can think of that wasn't dramatically scaled back is Cars Land, but the future of DCA depended on it so that's probably why
Disney just shot themselves in the foot. I don't foresee them being able to pull the rabbit out of the hat. They're already backtracking on their announcements. They don't know what they're doing obviously.
The only announcement they might be backtracking on ( and this is only a rumor as far as I can see) is cars land and that’s only because of the backlash, everything else seems to be full steam.
@@Mammothsaber-4457 Nothing will be built and Disney is being broken up.
@@Mammothsaber-4457they already filed permits for it it’s happening
@@stanfordite1 That's not possible considering the government agency responsible will likely be massively depowered. Also why has Amazon or Microsoft not been broken up yet?
@@nikolaspaz8820 No they didn't. It's not happening and Disney has no right to remove any of these things. Disney would have permits rejected if they tried.
One of the funniest things about Attraction Ideas is that he's the only commentary youtuber I know that can read off a script while sounding like he's ranting off the top of his mind 🔥
Having Cars and Villains Land where RoA used to be would create waaay too much crowding in one concentrated spot.
Having Cars Mountain to the west of BTM and then Villains Land to the north of Fantasyland spreads the new crowds far away from each other and draws them through all of the other stuff, aka how big box stores arrange their stores.
Yeah. Fantasyland should get more expansions and more rides including some dark rides that’ll add capacity in order to connect to the villains themed land up north. I definitely want a Sleepy Hollow dark ride in Liberty square near the Haunted Mansion and adjacent to Fantasyland.
@@SlushysSecretlook up the “western river expedition”. When Big Thunder Mountain was built, a big plot (along with the area for splash mountain) was put aside for this expansion. In the end they only used less than half of it to create splash mountain, but they still have a lot of space available (that could fit most of cars land at DCA) off to the side of Big Thunder that has gone unused. People thought “Beyond Big Thunder” meant they’d finally be using this plot as well as the area at the back of the river.
@@carminecdinoproductions Sleepy Hollow would be AMAZING! Trackless would probably work best when you're being chased by the Headless Horseman...then again, it would probably be too scary for them to create.
@@caseycb79 Maybe it’ll make for an exciting E-ticket thrill ride!
No Cars is ever coming and there is no Villains land coming either. We need less IP in the parks and when I take over Disney I will make it great again by removing IP.
I get that Magic Kingdom needs capacity, but they really should pull the trigger on the Main St. Theater that they axed. People need air conditioned spaces at MK. They should have put 90% of their effort into Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios to make them more rounded experiences and spread out the crowds.
I agree, to defend against Universal the money would be better spent at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios...because visitors to Orlando are almost always going to go to Magic Kingdom no matter what. Massive upgrades to those two lesser parks also could have been done without replacing existing attractions to maximize their impact (and then Disney could have gone back and replaced those aging areas and attractions in another wave after 2028, once the market had stabilized).
I want a Lion King themed ride to come to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Africa section!
11:04 You do know that Muppet Vision 3-D is the LAST project that Jim Henson EVER worked on?
Which is why it’s an essential piece of history at Hollywood studios that needs to be persevered and not thrown onto Disney plus which removes its purpose and the charm of Jim’s career
@@SlushysSecretit'll be sad seeing it go, but since they disregarded Splash Mountain's history, I think they'll end up doing the same thing with Muppet vision
@@ChuckE.CheesesIllinois aside from the America sings animatronics being saved and the ride being the first log flume in a Disney park, it’s not even close to the amount of work that Jim built into his career over the years, and brought a new light to puppet art, especially since this was the last ever project Jim would ever get to work on, and would be the end of him working on the creative arts he brought into the world.
Overall splash mountain is still preserved at Tokyo, and whilst the removal of the WDW was in clumsy and a disastrous manner (in which they did not consider even testing if the new electric animatronics could even withstand the amount of moisture they are being exposed to) Splash Mountain in the end of the day is an attraction that will be missed by all and brought all many joy to the parks and brought a unique theming aspect that Disney no longer has, but unlike the only ever built land for Jims creation ever that holds the last ever project the man himself worked in which he worked on countless years building his career to show that puppeteering was and still is an amazing creative art, it would be most disrespectful to completely destroy the man’s legacy and place it on a poor streaming service and loose all the value it had in it, which is even worser than the destruction of splash on its own.
So in conclusion Muppet Vision holds even more historic value of the man that brought new and unique artistic values to puppetry over the countless years, than a well themed log flume ride that did save a good portion of animatronics from an attraction that Marc Davis did work on, and was a unique retelling of the original Song of the South folk tale, as well as bringing a refreshing attraction to the parks during the summer and especially in the humid weather of the east coast, it still could never compare to the last ever project that Jim Henson would ever get to work on for a small land of his work in which that work isn’t as present or respected as Zip a dee do da
Don’t replace muppets disney
@@SlushysSecret And if they replace it? Because they will have to eventually replace that ride, as money rules over creative vision. Even if you say that's not the case, it still is the case. Because there is no solution that a multi billion company will value an artist's vision for a legacy. That's simply impossible in captialism.
I’d Rather have the Tropical Americas land be located elsewhere at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a new empty plot of land rather than a reimagining of Dinoland USA and I want some dinosaurs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom while we could get new expansions to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in empty plots of land that could double its size and include more rides, shows, and animal attractions.
5:56 - This is my exact thought on them building new stuff. Like, it's cool that you're building new stuff, but how long will it take realistically? That cake bake shop in Disney Springs is still not built and that is just a restaurant, not a complicated ride.
meanwhile universal built a whole minions land retheme in 0.000001% of the time
Ooooh good point!! They take so long to open things
I wouldn't be surprised if the Cake Bake Shop gets cancelled. It's kinda baffling how they got a big WDW location to begin with when it's just a small local restaurant chain from Indiana.
@@phillinsogoodexactly, I’m local to Disneyland in California and I was excited for the avengers e ticket ride that they had announced back in 2019. It was supposed to be finished 2021 but due to budget cuts and them gutting nearly half of imagineering, it wasn’t built when originally promised. It’s towards the end of 2024 now (nearly 5 years after its original announcement), and they still haven’t even broken ground on it yet.
This years d23 they canceled it for an entirely different avengers ride, but it’s going to take them another 5+ years to actually build it even though construction is starting on it next year. So by the time it opens it’ll be nearly 10 years since it’s original announcement 😂. Not to mention avengers campus is terrible so it really needed that one good ride.
@@dayoldbread1696 yes so imagine all these wild plans they have ALL AT ONCE i might add and encanto and surrounding is "2027" which means 2028-2031 being generous and same with cars. Villains land is ATLEAST 2030 with how much they have going on. that's before they cancel it too lol.
What makes it sadder is Universal's making a world-class theme park in 2 years AND has 3 hotels, a whole highway and bus network, and is AHEAD of schedule right now (Spring 2025 and if I had to guess it would open during spring break or somewhere close)
Universal's waving them off as they pass them in this race LOL
It’s sad, really. Disney never put effort into the parks because they were so focused on creating a media empire, and now that empire has fallen, and Disney is left desperately trying to put the pieces back together without knowing where they fit. 😂🎉
The scramble is crazy to see in real time. Disney has been using their legacy as leverage for too long and universal will blind side them in the coming years. I still think the tide will raise all ships but universal is going to win
Disney's really cheap to do anything significant these days and it's sad to see
Yikes, at the moment I thought Disney was going to get its redemption. I just find them digging a deeper hole for their grave for this company.
Guys.... these disney attractions are far over due for replacement they're life spans. But yes expansions are totally needed
No they are not. Disney is not building anything new and when I take over, Disney will go backwards and bring back old things to make it great again.
This is too little too late from Disney. Epic Universe is gonna sweep.
I better not fucking see you at disney ever again then
Meanwhile me a Hong Kong resident just happy that my Disneyland is getting a new ride 🥲
Until a few years ago, part of my family used to take a big trip (resort and everything, as international fans) to Disney every two years or so. But considering the changes the company have been introducing, last year they had to admit that there was no new or old attraction that could justify the expense that taking such a vacation would entail. The parks were simply out of their budget range.
I think Disney is still banking on having a ton of ppl who are loyal fans and will come no matter what… and they’ve been feeling this way for so long they forgot they needed to move. And this goes all the way back to New Fantasyland…
Exactly. They sat back and did nothing for way too long.
Great analysis! This year, after 10 years of ownership, we sold our DVC shares, it was just too expensive (and too hard to find an open booking) and too crowded at the parks. We had a great time over the 10 years and got our money's worth but the Parks just were not adding the value to the ownership that they used to. Over the course of those 10 years, we started hitting Universal more and more. As you point out, Disney is really giving Universal a huge jump at a critical time.
For a few years now, I’ve felt that Universal is improving while Disney is getting worse, and that feeling absolutely continues with these announcements.
Exactly.
I am going to spend the vast majority of my 2025 Orlando vacation time at Universal.
We're giving Disney a MAJOR benefit of the doubt in that we're assuming that these projects will actually be fully realized... or even completed.
Disney plays way too safe, when it comes to new attractions for parks these days!
Best theme park channel on YT right now
I think Disney thought that the reason why people are excited for Epic Universe is because of all the "big IPs" that are going to be presented. The two biggest and most modernly recognizable IPs that are being presented are Harry Potter and Nintendo. Dark Universe is based on the Universal monsters, which isn't a currently and extremely popular IP, but Universal is using it anyways because they know that they can actually make some fun and unique attractions/experiences with it. Poseidon Entertainment did a video on the new Secret Life of Pets dark ride at Universal Hollywood, and how it doesn't rely on guests to be fans of, or have at least seen, the film the ride is based on to understand or enjoy the ride.
On top of that… don’t think there’s a big clamoring for a How To Train Your Dragon land either. But they’re taking the world of that IP and creating something original and exciting.
@@dm06012 HTTYD I think will be a real sleeper land. It's beautifully done and I think will resonate very well with younger families. It's also their largest land in the entire park so lots for children to see and do there.
Maybe Disney was paying attention to the "big IPs" but what they failed to notice was Celestial Park. Having a gorgeous Central Park of landscaping, water features, well-organized show area, a hotel overlooking the park that adds, not detracts, from the overall aesthetics, with a fireworks show behind the hotel. CHEF'S KISS in terms of layout. This non-IP area is what will truly make this park a unique joy to visit, it will be a bigger part of the soul of this park than people realize.
@@DrStarlander Don't forget the completely original themed roller coaster 😄
Which makes it really ironic since Universal was all about the IPs since inception, and now Universal has creatives in charge who know how to make good with immersing people into the worlds of these IPs versus Disney forcing them into places they don't belong just to grab short-term attention.
I was waiting for this video!
After what the executives did to Epcot, i have little faith it will be done well
4:59 I thought Disney was going to suffer through the next few years because of EU, but A WHOLE CAROUSEL!!! Epic Universe is gonna have a run for its money.
Why is Disneyworld building over existing stuff? It's so massive you'd think they'd have some room to build... New things without taking out the old? I've never been to Disneyworld so I don't know.
They have the space for it. They just don't want to spend the money on worthwhile expansions because they're greedy and shortsighted.
Because of the conflict between Desantis. Governor of Florida moved is dissolve the Reedy Creek Development District.
Im surprised Disney hasn't said they were going to build a 5th park.
Disney has turned many people off with the extra charges everywhere when they are already the most expensive parks in the world. As a transplant patient, taking away my DAS was the last straw for me. I'm close to WDW and never go anymore. The magic is gone for me. I'm getting where I don't even like to look at my Disney collectables. I used to be a big fan but not anymore.
Disney should be EXPANDING, not REPLACING. 🤦♂️
I grew up going to WDW from '99-'17 and absolutely loved it but I haven't been back in a long time because of prices and just not liking how Disney has been running their parks. I'm now married and pregnant with our first child. I'm genuinly excited to see WDW go through a 'reconstruction' era in the next couple years so hopefully by the time my kid is 5-6, the park will be ready for us to fully enjoy. Because if I had a school-aged kid right now, we'd be going to Universal and NOT WDW!
I am actually pulling for Disney, but I have to admit this is not an apples to apples competitive response, if we are talking about Orlando only. And of course we all know universal is planning other major additions to their Orlando parks.
Vullians land and Cars land could open at the same time a rumored Pokemon & Zelda lands open.
As a theme park fan you should. Only silly stans and haters would want Disney to fail. Disney succeeding means universal will keep going with epic. Competition is a great thing.
@@remyd8767 100%. This whole universal versus Disney dialogue is a lot like Samsung versus Apple. One company pushes the other and in the end we all are supposed to win.
Animal kingdom has lost its identity. It was meant to celebrate past, present, and imaginary animals. Pandora, while great, will be an average subland based on a series that does make money bit doesn't stay relevant, haven't heard anyone talk about the second film. Now they're replacing the dino area. They could have added new rides, making it into a land lost to time but instead decided to use IP. Heck Indian Jones is about archeology and exploring ancient artifacts nothing to do with animals.
It’s getting to the point now where Disney is gonna need to open a 5th gate to contain everything they wanna do.
There’s only so much you can cram in. And only so much room they can currently expand into within the parks they have.
I really feel like one more park will be inevitable within the next 20 years.
It’s remarkable that they haven’t already done so in the last 25 years since Animal Kingdom.
The only question is where do they have room for one?
The fact that Disney didn't start at doing this type of plan a decade ago to properly compete with Epic Universe like you've mentioned really speaks volumes on how Disney still has this arrogant mentality of them thinking no one can touch them because of their place in theme park history despite the clear fact that it was that type of hubris was what gave Universal such an upper hand with The Wizard World of Harry Potter in the first place. One would think they'd learn from that the first time and make proper plans to make sure history doesn't repeat itself like any sane company would but no they let their ego get the better of them again and now history is again repeating itself. Even if they manage to get all of their planned line up done in time before this decade ends the damage will already be done. Universal by then will reign supreme as the new king of the Orlando theme park area or at least share a tie with Disney with it.
What isn't doing any more favors for Disney is that they're still fanatical with budget cuts and saving money meaning not only are they still not making sure their existing parks function properly but it'll also mean that many if not all of their upcoming attractions will either be scaled down at best and canceled at worst. I could be wrong on both fronts but still Disney isn't going to be winning people over in the future if they keep being ego driven cheapskates.
Cars in Frontier Land is absolutely wild. What's next? A Star Wars ride in there too?
Disney's strategy yesterday: "Use your imagination and come up with something worthy of Disney magic"
Disney's strategy today: "Here an IP, there an IP, everywhere an IP"
They shouldn't get rid of Muppet Vision, if anything they should refurbish the audio and some effects. The movie is still holding up (hard to make Jim Henson's work look bad) Muppet Vision should be permanent, until interest gets so low that they can just put the movie on a streaming service (yuck) or release a DVD with the movie on it.
The last park that NEEDS expansion or big eye catching rides is MK. That’s their golden child, wait times usually less than 30 depending on the ride, plenty of iconic rides and attractions and landmarks. So WHYYYY do we need cars to REPLACE ROA ???? The other parks DESPERATELY need expansion for more capacity and yet… all they do is replace ????? It just doesn’t make sense
As soon as booking opens for Epic Universe, take my money!
The two hotels already opened for booking
11:46 Well this aged well…
No it didn't.
Talk about not being a fan of the Muppets and the importance of the Muppet vision 3D.
He did a poo emoji for animation courtyard!🤣🤣🤣
It’s crazy how long it takes a new ride to work it’s way through Disneys bureaucracy. Universal is making an entire park in, what, 2 ish years? It takes Disney nearly twice that typically for any major single ride…
To be fair, Epic Universe is something that has been in the works since before covid...which makes it worse because it shows how much you can do when you plan ahead.
It's wild that the best park (animal kingdom) has the lowest numbers
All choices have consequences Disney! I give you back all my memories I've built at the parks, but I'm taking my family to a Epic Universe. 😎
Can’t wait till all that Disney stuff opens in 30 years because of how slow they build attractions
14:52 dude we’re literally getting a Indiana jones ride in Orlando that’s a huge win
You’re 100% correct that expansion would not disrupt the existing areas, but I think that Disney’s strategy at this point is to just replace rather than undergo refurbishments that might be even more costly. Think what’s happening with lots of old infrastructure. It’s cheaper to just bulldoze it and build again rather than to try to keep something old continually new. Those costs mount and end up being bandaids. I’m not justifying Disney making these choices, I hate the idea of Rivers of America being filled in. But from what I’ve read, the Rivers are a big upkeep issue to maintain and they’d likely rather just be rid of the problem.
That's the thing. Many times, you must take the gamble. That's the big problem Disney is expirecing. Rather than take risk and deal with some issues for big potential profit return.
@@General_Belu you’re not wrong, I’m just pointing out the reality of their strategy
The Rivers are not closing and Disney has no right to remove them.
I'm SO anxious about how the Cars area will turn out. Because it seems like there's some thematic dissonance going on at least with the concept art they showed. Along with making Fronteirland as a whole feel SUPER cramped. Will it add capacity? Yeah! But it sure won't feel like it when they've completely filled up the only truly open space in Magic Kingdom with a bunch of trees and rocks and a huge new attraction! There's no room to breathe, no room to relax anymore.
Yes the island and riverboat weren't popular anymore and needed a change but SURELY therebwas a better option here where they could at least keep some of the water? I'm so tired of walking through a million narrow walkways, just give me some SPACE sometimes, you know? From a purely visual standpoint, negative space is important sometimes and the water was a beautiful and calming thematic element that had amazing sightlines.
They have more space... they could have used it 😔
Cars is not coming.
Hope youre right @stanfordite1
What really astounds me is that a Villains Land is the perfect concept for a fifth gate! Think about Disney parks during Iger… slapping IP lazily into spots while removing all the charm and originality that made these places special. Well, every one of their IPs could be used in a Villains park, BUT you could build their worlds with charm and originality because you have a blank canvas. On top of that… a Villains park takes air out of the Epic Universe balloon even though it’d be years away. You take one of their new concepts for their new park and one-up it with all your beloved IPs and wipe it off the map.
Instead, it’s a land, wedged into a place where it doesn’t make sense if they even build it at all. Their biggest idea barely qualifies as a half-measure.
Universal > Disney
No contest
@@ChaseAnderson-jj1jq lol...the delusion
Unless Disney buys Comcast like a plot twist, even though they are not for sale.
@@JudgeDunfeeTheParkitecter That's not allowed and both Disney and Comcast are being broken up.
The extended queue for Muppets is used for Rise of the Resistance. So they may not put the new ride there. The old Star Wars Hotel area could work.
I think it’s good they are finally replacing some old attractions. But they waited to long to do so.
And they didn’t give us a date for the new Villains land, so they probably just started planning. So that is years away.
However, when Universal announced Epic Universe they gave us a timeline of 2 years. (Then COVID messed that up). But Disney seems to think it is okay just to put a fresh coat of paint on something raise prices and call it day. And… announce a new park with zero ETA.
Good video man! 🤟
Disney has done a lot of announcements in the past and they they don't execute or highly change. Let's see what actually gets done.
If universal gets a Pokémon expansion disney is finished
Disney doesn't want to add more capacity, because it doesn't want to hire more cast members. I don't think they're back to employing the number of cast members they had pre-pandemic. That's why attendance is lower than before; visitors sense they simply can't handle more people since they don't have enough employees. Why do you think they have so many rides down all the time? Budget cuts. They don't have enough cast members who can maintain and repair the rides. Until they are willing to hire more people, Disney is never going to expand the way they should, instead of destroying their older areas to make way for newer ones. Imagine digging up an opening day, destination attraction, something that makes Frontierland appropriately themed, for an IP that made progressively less with each installment. An IP that doesn't even fit the theming of the land, and removes a cooling, restful feature that teaches about the history of America, for additional pavement and heat collecting features. Blows my mind.
Could Disney get the people who designed Fantasy Springs and Zootopia in Tokyo Disney and Beijing to come up with ideas.
when Epic is built those construction workers are going to need a new project at the old Universal Parks ;)
Love the vids mane alway wating for your new ones🙏🏻
While these announcements aren’t ideal, credit where it’s due they are taking steps in the right direction in terms of investing in the park could it be better yes but at least it’s something
Universal has a golden opportunity to upgrade the other two parks and hollywoods park in 2026 and 2027
It would be a brilliant chess move for Universal / Comcast to announce a multi-billion dollar upgrade for USF and UIA to be complete in 2028/2029 (about when Disney's big guns come online). They could take the market share gain they will get over the next few years and cement it in as the "new normal" in terms of market share spit. It would be the wisest timing and investment possible.
@@DrStarlander absolutely agree
Universal has Mario. That’s all I need and they have my money
Actuqlly...Disney will make out financially once Epic opens.........more people going to FL.... When Epic opens ..ultimately also results will result in higher attendance at disney in the long run...it happened in the early 90s when the first Universal parks opened....it will happen again
Everything started going downhill when they shut down 20,000 leagues under the sea. That closure affected the feel of the park and took away a significant portion of the magic. Prior to the closure of that ride going to the magic kingdom you felt like you could go anywhere and have any kind of experience when they close that that feeling went away. They continue to water down and shut down and tear down below attractions and replace them or not replace them at all and just destroy everything that made the part balance impressive and exciting.
All these D23 park upgrade plans will be delayed and budget cut to a shell of what they presented. Grrrr I hate it when they bulldoze an attraction and replace it and call it a park expansion. No no its not an expansion. Literally thousands of acres of land to use keep the rides you have “update if needed” but just build more.
Idiots.
The Epcot remodel is a sad joke. Several years to build an empty building with an outdoor stage area in fun sun all day.
Going to Tokyo Disney next year with some friends, from what I have seen and read it’s like Disney World of the past. Cant wait.
Trying to learn Japanese at least a little before we go. Hard language!!!
Maybe Disney should bring back the Discovery River Boats with some changes along with the Rivers of Light show that’ll close the Discovery River Boats for the day in order to prepare for the nighttime show!
Getting rid of Tom Sawyer Island and the Riverboat and replacing it with Cars attractions will not benefit the parks in the least. This area is the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park. They should be capitalizing on this and perhaps make the area more appealing. This move, if it happens, will mark the death of the Magic Kingdom. No more unique experiences, no more original ideas, no more love for Walt's vision, just IP here and there just for the sake of it.
They're not getting rid of Tom Saywer Island or the Riverboat and have no right to.
Disney is about destruction not expansion.
Very sad there removing dinosaur and bugs life they should put Indian jones somewhere else and just get rid of Dino USA but keep dinosaur
I want some Bug’s Life and Dinosaur representation at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
Josh and Bob have no business running the company anymore. Bob stole the profits from the parks to make a series of terrible movies, and Josh made park promises he never intended to honor. They both need to go.
I’ve been waiting for this video
I don't get how Universal can do so many things in a short period of time. Disney.... I've been waiting and waiting for them to shut down dinosaur and do the whole Indiana Jones thing for like a whole year. Just ridiculous.
Here’s my issue with that about removing Tom Sawyer Island, and rivers of America. They don’t have to do it. They have plenty of land to put these new lands in new attractions in without taking away Tom Sawyer Island, and the rivers of America. So you can satisfy the Disney purists as you call them And put something new in. That’ll draw new crowds. Thanks for the video.
really cannot even believe they'd CONSIDER paving over Rivers of America
I don't know how ANYONE can think these announcements mean anything at all. As always, they are simply string people along, and they continue to feed on it. Promises, promises. I'll stick to Universal, thanks.
Honestly all of these are super weak. Epic Universe is gonna kill em
im glad i got my hubby to go to Disneyworld 4 years ago so he could go to Muppet vision.. Ive been worrying about it going away. last we went to Florida 2 years ago we only did universal for the week we where there first time i didnt go to disney at all on a Florida trip.
I think D23 was kind of lackluster for WDW, Disneyland got like 5 new rides that aren’t supposed to replace anything but backstage building and parking lots. Disney World had so much potential with all their IPs they have, I don’t understand how they haven’t put IPs like planet of the apes or Lion King at animal kingdom in any significant way or even an IP like Alien at their horrible Tomorrowland in one of those empty buildings they have without attractions instead they focus on building rides on new movies that they don’t even know if they will stand the test of time like Encanto and even Cars is a franchise that isn’t as beloved today
i went to universal orlando the first time this year after being a disneyland kid my whole life, i am never going to disneyworld lmao universal changed my life and with epic universe i dont think disneys every getting my money now that im an adult
I just said the other day, by the time those expansions open they could be competing with Zelda Pokémon Luigi’s mansion monsters land expansion potter expansion etc. it’s been to late since Disney sat around with wizarding world 😂
None of these expansions are ever happening. I also look forward to Universal going back to the 1990s complete with Back to the Future, Jaws, Kongfrontation, and Earthquake.
Villains Land is a *committed* blue sky concept, which is worse than blue sky. Committed by corporate means it is built out of negative pressure to put anything villian’ish there on time, instead of being positively motivated by a creative talent (like Walt was) to build something creative and exceptional.
I disagree with your thing for magic kingdom, if you say the words there are 4 parks and nothing to do thats not on the consumers thats disneys fault. Along with the fact that I dont want new attractions I want old ones to be fixed. Adding new rides wont solve their long lines crisis just make it worse.