It drives me UP THE WALL when people say “You just don’t like change.” Unbelievably ignorant and stupid thing to say. Folks, all progress is change but not all change is progress.
Or that when it comes to Disney parks specifically that people quote Walt saying "Disneyland will never be finished." Okay, sure the parks are going to change. But the change needs to be justified. The burden of persuasion lies with the people wanting the change, not the people wanting to keep a great attraction. Change is not justified by virtue of being change. It needs to actually improve on what is already there or it shouldn't go into the parks.
Yea! Cause they always think they will like the change. But they throw an even worse temper tantrum when change finally goes in a direction they don't like
I always tell people this example. When I worked for Disney in the early 2000s a little sign that came loose. I offered to fix it with a zip tie temporarily and was told that was not “Disney look” by my manager and sat there for 20 minutes until maintenance got there to fix it properly. Can you even imagine looking at maintenance now that they’re still following the same play book? HELL NO. lol.
Ah, the facade for a shop fell down in Hollywood Studios six months ago right? I haven't been, but last I heard, construction walls were up for months and I'm not sure if it has even been fixed yet.
Another thing people say that drives me crazy is when you are critical about something and they parrot the old“if you don’t like it, just don’t go. Shorter lines for me.“ It’s not even an argument. Just a dumb statement.
I hate pointless change that only ever seems to result in an empty shell of what once was. I recently went to Tokyo Disneyland and was genuinely amazed to see, among a myriad of new things, a Disneyland close to the one I grew up with in the early 00s. Funny how the most faithful Disney park (that I’ve been to) isn’t even owned and operated by them 🤣
@enchantingkatie we got really lucky around April time frame last year. Bought tickets out of LA for January. For my family of 3 it surprisingly was around 1700
@enchantingkatiewhere do you live? We flew there in October for about $300 each round trip. Zipair is a really affordable option, and Tokyo Disneyland is an absolute must for any Disney fan
My thing with Disney is most people never fell in love with the company for its rollercoasters, so why go out of the way to do something like that? I go to Disney not for thrills but for immersion. I want story and atmosphere. Not a 60 second experience I waited 60 minutes for.
Coasters certainly have their place, but only when I think it makes sense in balancing the park or conveying a particular experience. Fantasyland is still my favorite area of Disneyland because of its dark rides.
For the "it should have been a coaster" crowd, I think it's because for the 2 examples you gave, Mario Kart and Fast & Furious, those franchises are known for thrilling high speed action
mario kart is known as a game, they went the highly themed game-ride route instead of a less themed coaster and i think that’s the right decision. feel like it’s one of those rides you need to go on to understand why it’s good because the effects don’t come across on camera.
I think that F&F could have been better as anything else, but speed is not necessary. Bourne does have vehicle scenes, so I thought that a sit down show similar to that but more focused on vehicular action would probably be a better fit for the building.
Here’s the thing, your opinion about IP in every new attraction that Disney builds is valid and I agree it’s kind of maddening and I wish they would allow the Imagineers to also be storytellers that come up with their own creative ideas, but it feels a bit hypocritical that you criticize Disney for this yet, when was the last time Universal built an attraction that wasn’t IP based? I get that you’re talking about quality as well and maybe some of the more recent Universal attractions are believed to have a higher quality than some of the Disney ones, but you can’t deny that Rise of the Resistance is at least incredibly innovative and for years when Universal was just building mostly screen-based attractions, Disney was coming up with new and creative ride systems and animatronics.
Toon Lagoon is one of my favorite areas to just be in. I skip the rides on many trips because of the amount of water they dump on you. I love Dudley's so sometimes I grab my poncho and get in line. The IPs don't particularly appeal to me themselves, but it's the charm that they bring. If Universal plans to change them in the future I hope they keep that cartoony charm. Also, Suess Landing is kind of a kids area but the IP is familiar to older generations like mine. I appreciate this land and its rides so much!
I agree with all of this. toon lagoon just reminds me of the Sunday paper in the 90s. I love the vibe the aesthetic, and it's cross generational charm. (Also ppl know Popeye and Betty boop, so come on....)
I recently went on Ripsaw Falls and, after riding it for the first time in over a decade and having a blast, I actually became interested in learning more about Dudley Do-Right and watched every single short made. The next time I came back I realized just how much love was put into the ride with all of the silly references to the episodes. For instance, a billboard advertising Snidely Whiplash’s Log Jam Lager states it contains 2% marigold extract: most people would see it as a throwaway joke on foodstuff containing weird ingredients, but if you watched the cartoons you would know that Dudley Do-Right is so allergic to marigolds that he becomes completely harmless. I should also mention the animatronic for Nell is completely missing from the railroad tracks. I know the Mounties always get their man, but somebody got their girl before they did.
LOL I agree! This ride also got me into watching Dudley do right and it’s one of my favorite shows now. In fact it’s my favorite ride of all time now , its colors and theme is just hard to beat especially with the nostalgia. I also noticed the Nell is gone , went on May 28th and August 2nd , both dates she is still gone, must be getting some extensive repairs.
What i want out of a ride is for it to be fun, to be re-rideable, and to have at least moderately good theming/storytelling. The IP shouldn't matter as much if the attractions are pretty good.
@@uhhhhhhh4040 Guardians is actually a good example. It has no business being in Epcot, but it is such a fun ride you just don't care. If it were in the correct park with better theming, in a land designed around it, then of course it would even better. 😀
Another pet peeve, you already mention is that Disney-quote "Disneyland will never be completed", which is used to justify Walt Disney World replacements of greatly themed areas and rides. Disney also said "The Florida Project gives us the blessing of space" but you never hear that quoted. Disneyland doesn't have the space but replaces less and adds more than WDW which is really odd to me. I appreciate that you put so much emphasis on capacity as I believe it is overlooked by many. I've earlier calculated that the hourly capacity of Magic Kingdom rose with only 10 % between 2002 and 2019 (when I did the calculations) but the attendance rose by 50 %. The top 5 people eaters are all attractions from the early- and mid 70s and the top 10 only had two attractions that weren't from the 70s (Little Mermaid and Splash Mountain, which is now closed but will reopen again soon and Tron is probably also up there in terms of capacity).
Yep, not unexpected, since now Disney gets money twice. First when they save money on constructing the ride and second when guests pay extra to skip the long lines because of low capacity. @@SalivatingSteve
@@Robbedem So they’ve destroyed operational efficiency and the guest experience in order to get more money from Genie+ and lightning lane. I haven’t been to Disneyland since 2019 before Galaxy’s Edge opened and FastPass was free. It’s too expensive and crowded now. I can buy a Knott’s season pass for less than the price of a single day at Disney and it’s way less of a hassle getting inside the park, whereas Disney requires an hour just to park and take the tram, it’s a mission!
"The blessing of size" sounds like "maintenance costs" to executives who are okay with only achieving the bare minimum in guest satisfaction. It's becoming more and more clear that this is a bubble waiting to burst. Perhaps with how quiet summer was last year, maybe it has? From what I read from travel agents, WDW bookings are way down this year and the return of their discounts is an interesting sign.
Never understood the mentality of 'Just replace X with a roller coaster' or 'That space should be used for a coaster!' when said space couldn't fit a kiddie coaster. My guy, you know what you get when you just try to cram full-size rides in anywhere you can? You get Six Flags Magic Mountain. You NEVER want to be Magic Mountain. MAGIC MOUNTAIN doesn't even want to be Magic Mountain. Also, I feel like change as a whole just needs to be... thoughtful. Things SHOULD change over time, but it should always have a good reason and there should be thought put into what it becomes. When you just shut things down or change them without thinking, you get the stagnation EPCOT had to endure for what felt like eternity. But that said, sometimes things NEED to change for a park to even survive; see also California Adventure, Disney's Hollywood Studios. Also, if you're gonna change things to do brand building/synergy, AT LEAST MAKE SOMETHING GOOD. PLEASE. Do it right and you can outlast the brand entirely... see here, Waterworld.) EDIT: WHO THE HELL IS TALKING TRASH ABOUT TOON LAGOON?! I will fight them in a parking lot! I WILL FIGHT THEM ON THE MOON!
Even if people don't know who the specific cartoon characters are in Toon Lagoon, the theming and set decoration is so good that it just feels like stepping into a cartoon. A concept that I think is evergreen
Thank you very much for saying it. I also hate the absurd “Walt said it would never be complete, shouldn’t be a museum” argument for changing / ruining things that people loved, things that didn’t need to be changed.
Adding to your Toon Lagoon (IOA) discussion: 1) Many creatives and managers were 30-50 y/o in the mid 1990s when Toon Lagoon IP was chosen; 2) Those people were kids watching cartoons (Sat morn) in the 1960s-70s on FOUR CHANNELS; 3) many OLD comic/cartoon IP was syndicated and repeated endlessly on some channels; 4) So many mid aged or elderly probably loved Toon Lagoon initially PS: If you think that UNSTOPPABLE classic IPs cannot fall off --> Just ask people ages 20-40: what is MASH??
@@DarkSkyRender I teach classes with 20-30 year old students who only occasionally get MASH references. However, I get to use jokes and bits from MASH, and they think its mine!!
As someone without much knowledge on the IPs used in Toon Lagoon, the land itself is so well themed that it doesn't matter. IP tie ins are not required to make something cool and fun, especially if the IP itself is fun. I didn't think it was outdated (apart from the land itself showing some age). Especially since it fits so well with Superhero Island since they both have similar comic strip inspired theming.
The point isn't that "people these days don't know about it, therefore we should get rid of it"; the point is that "we should teach people about this, so they don't forget about it."
I talked about this a bit in my "90s" video, but I think that a large reason that Comic Strips were chosen as a theme was because Hollywood was trying to revive a lot of these old properties with contemporary films after the success of Tim Burton's Batman. They thought "1940s characters" were the winning formula, not super heroes.
I totally agree with your first point. I love most of the roller coasters at Universal, but I always wish there were more plain, easy-going, dark rides, similar to Magic Kingdom to break up the focus on thrill and/or 3-D effects.
It seems as if epic universe will have more of a focus on families and not solely intense rides for teens and adults, which should bring some balance to that
I like Universal's thrills, but they do lack accessibility. Weirdly, E.T. was the only original ride with a height requirement in its first decade of operation.
What I also really dislike is that many people proclaim that you have to be positive about every change and if you're critical say "how can you know that, you haven't experienced it yet", while those people also haven't experienced it. Apparently it's allowed to have a positive opinion before it's done, but not a negative one. This is especially common when popular attractions get changed of replaced. I think you can put higher standards when a good ride is replaced, it should be at least a lot better than the thing it replaced. Especially when it's by choice (instead of e.g. a fire or when it's improbable to maintain).
I don't think that being critical of Disney before a ride opens is unreasonable, because, well their track record has not been great. I've been hearing good things about TBA though, so I'm hoping that's a positive surprise.
Just because you aren't a chef doesn't mean you can't say a plate of crap is not edible, or just because you aren't an engineer doesn't mean you can't say a bridge failing is bad. Knowledge can give authority to an opinion but it doesn't dismiss an opinion.
@@delusion5867 There's a comedian who has a bit on that very thing. He's criticizing bad parenting, a heckler in the audience asks him if he's a parent, he says no, the heckler tells him he then has no right to call out others on parenting. He then responds by saying, "I don't have to be a pilot to be able to look at a helicopter stuck in a tree and say, 'Wow! The dude messed up!"
Whose is saying Popeye ain’t revelant!? Just let me has me spinach and I’ll show ‘em what’s what! I’ll moiderate ‘em! I’ll lay ‘em amongst the sweet peas!
It’s not relevant in the same way as more modern IPs but it’s iconic and memorable, and the raft ride is perfectly themed. It’s one of the best fits of an IP to a ride type in the world.
@@MrStGeorgeIllawarra It isn’t. It’s only being used as a virtue signal. It was never a super popular movie compared to other Disney animated movies. They are trying to promote a revisionist history to pretend this is a highly regarded and in demand theme park ride.
Okay, so I've gotten some actual responses to this, which I wasn't expecting. I was just using it as an excuse to type out some Popeye-like dialogue. I even purposefully misspelled "relevant" to imitate Popeye's unique pronunciation of words. But since we're here talking anyway, I was actually glad this "irrelevant" IP was there because it was relevant enough for me (though, I was not a fan of how drenched I got). You see, the last time I went to Universal, I found myself increasingly falling into the generation gap, the culture gap or both. Because as I've gotten older my taste in IP has either gotten old, become too obscure or foreign, or I've just gravitated to stuff that can't easily be adapted into a theme park ride. Some I have seen but I haven't developed the same type of attachment to them I would have when I was young. So, I get that time keeps moving forward and most people my age are there to bring their kids who are super into this stuff. But, as a middle aged cartoon fan, I was glad to see ol' Popeye and Bluto.
I'm in the camp that theme parks need to not always have new roller coasters. I've gotten annoyed at Busch Gardens making yet another roller coaster instead of something different and exciting. I guess it's a low maintenance thing.
He made a great video on BG if you havent seen it. Your disappointment with their recent additions is likely a result of misplaced expectations: it is no longer the highly themed disney/universal contemporary that we grew up with, but a low-budget thrills-based park that fills the niche of a six flags/cedar fair park in FL. Ive found that, while I still lament what could have been, keeping the park's new mission statement in mind has allowed me to appreciate what they've been up to lately: Sure, a highly themed experience in pantopia or congo would be nice, but i cant complain about a contender for world's greatest coaster in my backyard!
@@jmcbango in talking about Bush Gardens Williamsburg. So much of their focus lately has been roller coasters. Their latest one, Darkoaster, uses the building that Darkastle, a dark ride, was in. I think 3 of their 4 latest rides were coasters.
The Busch/SeaWorld parks need some actual well designed dark rides. I know that'll never happen under leadership now, but I think they could really turn things around that way.
We are blessed to live very close to Cedar Point and have annual passes. I don’t mind so much when they build or replace coasters, since that is their whole thing being the “Coaster Capital.” But, as crappy as they were, I miss their old Dark rides: the Pirate Ride and Disaster Transport, because they were indoor and something different. Cedar Point even tore down their (previously IMAX) theater to make room for more coasters. They literally have the Snoopy/Peanuts IP and could make an incredible dark ride! Now the only way to get out of the sun or rain is to go eat at one of the restaurants or shop. At least they still have a really nice Frontierland area that’s shady, and I will not be happy if they remove that for more coasters. 🤷♀️
Cat in the Hat is a top tier ride. As someone who works in theater, the entire ride (as is forbidden journey) is lit with theatrical lighting fixtures and is so detail oriented with the backlight room , plus it being an AC’d area on a hot day makes it a must ride every time I go. As a teen growing up in Florida when we would go with friends in the winter riding the water rides was always a trauma bonding experience and standing shivering in the outside line for Spider-Man is still a core memory.
The only issue with Cat in the Hat is the maintenance. I criticize Disney for its maintenance standards, but a lot of Islands is in really rough shape.
I know you’ve mentioned Meow Wolf before, but I’d love to see a video dedicated to talking about those attractions. I think they’re a very unique form of themed entertainment that has a lot of potential, and they seem to be looking to continuously expand with 3 locations already as well as a dark ride in Denver and in a mall in Texas
It's certainly interesting, but I've only managed to get to the one in Vegas. I want to visit the others eventually, but if they're as complex as Omega Mart, then it might not make for an interesting video.
On the "the ip doesn't matter that much" point, I gotta say I do not care whatsoever for Avatar (the blue people one) and think it is a horribly overrated film/franchise, but Pandora at Animal Kingdom is AMAZING. It's probably my favorite individual themed land behind the Harry Potter ones (granted, I haven't been to a Nintendo land or DisneySea yet)
I’m with you. I believe the reason the Avatar franchise has made so much money has very little to do with the characters or story and everything to do with the enchanting beautiful world and arguably best digital effects ever created on film. And Disney did a fantastic job at Animal Kingdom recreating that world to totally immerse you. I still hate IPs being a thing at Animal Kingdom though, just like at EPCOT. I wish Disney would distribute IPs between Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, where they have always had a place. I’ve read they will be replacing Dinoland and the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom with something, and I will not be surprised if it will rely on an IP. Why not keep Dinoland and make it amazing instead? Kids love dinosaurs!
I think we’re all tired of the over reliance on IP - in fact, I think it puts you on the back foot as a ride designer. Like “I swear this is not just a callous money grab”
I agree with your Toon Lagoon analysis. My first time at Islands of Adventure was back in 2005 for a school field trip. My friends and I knew who Popeye was, but we didn't know who Dudley was. We loved the ride so we asked our parents and our chaperones if they knew more about it. Sometimes things that are unknown but are also IP can end up drawing in new audiences.
I don't like the idea that something shouldn't be built because people won't know what it is. If the characters are interesting in the context of the attraction, prior knowledge shouldn't hinder anyone's enjoyment.
As a forty something mom who grew up on theme parks, and began watching your videos out of curiosity, I can say that I really enjoy them. At first I thought to myself “okay, here’s a young guy that needs to learn a little bit about talking to the audience.” But it didn’t take long for me to understand that you’ve got a talent for retaining facts and ferreting out history that most people don’t know or understand. You are correct in saying that a lot of people just parrot opinions without truly thinking them through, or trying to find out why that opinion is popular to begin with. I have come to really enjoy your channel, and the objective way that you approach your commentaries. While inserting your own preferences, you never try to sway your audience in one way or the other. I can appreciate this, in a world where most people push “taking a side”. I’m genuinely tired of a lot of the mega corporations giving the general public “good enough” and passing it off as acceptable instead of giving us “excellence” in our theme park experiences. I do believe there are a couple still really striving for that ultimate experience, but those willing to put forth the time and effort to hold onto multi-generational consumers become fewer and fewer every day in the face of corporate greed. It’s incredibly interesting to me to hear someone younger point these things out in a factual way. We need more intelligent people in this world instead of herds of sheep all following each other to the cliffside. Your open way of stating the facts is refreshing. I can see that quite a lot of research and effort go into your videos. Keep up the good work!❤
I'm with you on the not every ride needs to be a coaster. Not everyone likes coasters. Not every member of a party may be tall enough to ride one. Sometimes you just want to enjoy yourself. Its ok for there to be more than one type of ride system.
Supercharged should be a coaster though. Add a lot of screens and make it a street race. (Or at least, a fast and furious ride should be actually thrilling)
Right. I don’t think anyone would say specifically that a roller coaster should have replaced Disaster and Beetlejuice, but a Fast & Furious ride SHOULD actually be fast. And a coaster is a good option for something like that. It could have gone anywhere in the park.
I think that if the building were re-used for a queue/station and had a small scene before launch, yeah I do think it would make sense if it left the building. Still annoyed with the indoor coaster sentiment though.
I'm sick and tired of seeing the opinions expressed that you listed out. Your response was very thorough and well put. Now, when I hear someone not understanding that Horizons was a people eater, or that Toon Lagoon is amazingly themed regardless of IP, I'll send them to this video. Thank you for doing the work for the rest of us.
Just wanted to say thank you for what you do. You are FAR from alone in all of the opinions you express, and it's nice to have at least one channel presenting them in a quality format amidst the ever-increasing sea of "brand worshippers".
i kind of disagree slightly with the rollercoaster point. like if they were to just throw one in randomly like they did with guardians, then its a horrible idea. but if a well themed and thought-out rollercoaster opened in an already themed land. for example, instead of smugglers run, then it would be a welcomed addition. like hagrids, or the velocicoaster for example
Galaxy's Edge is shooting only for diegetic ride systems, so I don't see a coaster fitting at all. Maybe if it was indoors, but you run the risk of just creating another Space Mountain.
I work in Toon Lagoon and I love it! Yeah, most guests may not know a lot of the characters, but the crazy artwork and whatnot makes it a nice place to walk through. There's soooooo many little hidden easter eggs. Heck, even the music changes depending on what you're standing next to yet it's the same theme. It's all very intertwined and I'd absolutely love to see this area get updated. Maybe even a new ride with updated effects showing off the comics. I don't know, but I've been full of ideas for this area to help it grow
There's a lot of "iconic" park music that people like to always bring up, but I think that the sea shanties down by the lagoon are some of the best that people miss.
Your frustrations are how I feel about people and the entertainment industry. I've worked in film and TV for 15 years, done everything from broadcast TV station work to being a full-on producer. I've written, been published, designed, and coordinated major productions. The list is extensive. So nothing infuriates me quite like people who have never even set foot on a film set acting like they know more than the people making these projects. But because it's entertainment, it's presented in a similar manner. It's their opinions, so they can't be wrong... however...THEY CAN BE WRONG, especially when discussing the processes that go into everything. It's just amazing when I try to clarify things about the industry and some 48 year old house mom from bumblef, Iowa says I know nothing. It's mind numbing listening to people.
Definitely agree on all these points. My biggest pet peeve is always any arguments against my opinions that can be summed up as 'you hate change/anything new'. I want to see change in the form of new things being ADDED more often then 'new' things REPLACING things. Some of that is good, but they are focusing too much on it now to the detriment of the parks as it results in too much stuff not being up and running combined with more often then not a reduction in capacity when it finally opens.
Yes capacity! This is everything. It is the reason we have fast pass and Genie Plus. They have cut capacity out of the parks for the last couple decades
Your videos are some of the very best in the theme parks commentary ecosystem. The are informative and thought provoking. Well produced and enjoyable. Change nothing, ignore the contrarians and weirdos and opinion thieves.
13:49 popeye has a fabulous twitter apparently and has recently regained some popularity again due to his being a) saying he's too humble for pronouns (on account of all of his nouns bein amateurs) and b) having actually had casually nuanced takes on gender by saying he's also a mother to Sweet Pea in addition to a father I'm not that old and used to watch his cartoons when they re-ran on TV, we stan a masc and casually nonbinary sailor!
When people suggest rollercoasters, they are not thinking from a critical perspective on what's good for the park. It is explicitly for them, because they (presumably an enthusiast) want a roller coaster, and rollercoasters are popular with enthusiasts.
Disney should turn the Epcot Spaceship Earth geosphere into the Death Star. Seeing as how history and legacy have no meaning to the company as it is now, and Emporer Igertine would love it
Spaceship earth needs to stay it’s the last remain of classic 80s Epcot.Back when the park had meaning and purpose .Not just a place for ips to be shoe horned in
Disney current problem is that their parks are loosing their identity. One cause is the ip mandate. Why is frozen in epcot? Also introducing rollercoaster for the sake of it, would make Disney parks less Disney. Disney world has 4 themeparks and they should at least feel distinct.
The IP mandate it awful. I see so many people gushing over San Fransokyo and it's just so obviously a cheap overlay that clashes visually with everything.
The land itself can stir the imagination even if the ride iits designed around is dull. San Fransokyo may get people thinking about cyberpunk or animeland. Funny enough, adding street characters or vendors that are specific reminders of the IP may take people out of it.
My only real gripe would probably be the use of projection on animatronics and screen work like at the Fast and Furious intro. In earlier videos they looked pretty seamless. I've compared older videos to recent videos of attractions like F&F, Runaway Railway, 7 Dwarfs Mine Coaster, etc and I noticed how worn and obvious the effect now looks. I was wondering if theres any way they plan to fix or remedy this issue.
I was absent-mindedly thinking about how the Dr Seuss attractions would be fascinating to encounter as a European millennial, since, outside of the now mostly forgotten (by everyone except Onceler fangirls) Illumination movies, his works are almost completely unknown here… and then you hit me with people complaining that they don’t know Hagar, the Phantom and *Popeye*!?! The “I don’t know the IP, therefore it’s not interesting” reflex is a real thing to contend with, but sheesh. Talk about limited reference pools.
Now I hate the Mario kart ride, not because it’s not a rollercoaster, but because it was basically advertised as one despite being slower than an airport baggage claim converter belt.
Very glad and lucky to have enjoyed the Walt Disney World of the Miller/Walker and somewhat of the Eisner era. Left up to Iger, the park is devolving into a souless, dirty and low qualtiy cell phone generation nightmare. Heartbreaking to say the least.
Just because the new Disney doesn’t have more original ip, and uses more movie brands in it. Doesn’t mean it’s not creative or not a lesser work of art. It’s not creative, and feels like commercial rather then a work of themed art. It’s because it’s not creative and feels like a commercial. There’s a lot you can do with the Guardians and time travel to teach history in a simulator ride like Star Tours.
Whenever people say "They just need to add a rollercoaster." I point out how Cedar did just that to Knott's and while it was great at first the rush to fill that tiny park with thrill rides ultimately resulted in a few ride nearly too rough to ride, and half the park being down for maintenance at any given moment. You genuinely can got to Knott's on a weekday, do every big ride, a few small rides, and even a show or two in just a few hours, and then there's nothing else to really do because half the coasters are down.
The current Fast and Furious ride is poor example for not replacing everything with a rollar coaster since that dark ride really is lousy and could use some help.
Love the thumbnail! The opinion I’m personally absolutely tired and annoyed of hearing is how Rise of Resistance is the greatest thing Disney has ever made, and that Galaxy’s Edge is great. Like have y’all forgotten the exceptional classic Disney rides with FULLY fleshed out scenes and impressive effects that have aged like fine wine? Rise is a good ride the first time, but I don’t think there’s much re rideability to it. A lot of the effects feel like gimmicks to me. People always tell me how it feels so immersive too, and while I can’t take away from their experiences, let’s not act like it’s the only Disney ride to feel immersive. Other Disney rides feel fully immersive thru their queue and ride. And the queue is the only thing I think really feels immersive, and is what’s most remembered. Far as I go, it’s a decent ride. Galaxy’s Edge doesn’t even compare to Pandora, much less Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and Super Nintendo World for me, and I could write a whole other argument as to why. I say all this as a HUGE Star Wars fan. I agree fully with your Toon Lagoon one, as a Floridian, when I go to Islands, it’s always nice getting drenched at Popeye’s and Dudley to cool off on a scorching hot day 👍
I actually don't feel like I see much praise for Rise anymore lol. The people who always had to say "THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!!" have now moved on to Cosmic Rewind. I like Rise well enough, but I'll never go out of my way to wait for it, because as you said, it does lack that re-ridability factor. Every time I go on Pirates or Haunted Mansion or Small World, I always notice something new. I think that a slow moving Star Wars attraction, one packed with detailed scenes, would probably resonate a lot better with people.
It feels like any time I see talk of RotR it’s about how anyone who praises it is a shill. I HATE everything about what Disney has done to Star Wars. They’ve killed SW for me. I don’t think Galaxy’s Edge is particularly cool it feels more like a shopping center than an experience to me. All that in mind I thought RotR was easily one of the coolest and most immersive rides I’d ever been on. It’s exactly why I’m perfectly ok with change in the parka to see what modern technology can create in a new theme park ride.
@@ftrwrwbg I'm with you - Galaxy's Edge was kinda meh, the prequels and sequels are junk, yada yada - but Rise was a damn good ride. I was totally blown away when I rode it for the first time. And I still thought that even AFTER a long and miserable wait with a bunch of cranky kids in tow!
Thanks for speaking the truth as always. Don't be discouraged by those claiming you're too negative, we need critical thinkers and there are way, way too few of them in this fandom.
The Capacity arguments are the worst. People complain about long lines, then accept rides being torn down to be replaced by new rides that often have equal or less capacity, achieving nothing. Worse is when "capacity" is used to raise prices or other wise charge customers more as a "deterrent" to lower crowd levels. But at the same time if attendance drops the parks freak out and complain about low attendance and then use that to raise prices too.
Great video, as always. I love how people don't seem to realize having to wait 3+ hours in line -OR- pay extra is just horrible design. I remember thinking an hour was too long a wait in the 90s, and bringing a book to read when solo queuing in the early aughts was unbearable. The book got a lot of funny looks though. 🤣
I often visit theme parks solo and I always bring a book for the queues! It just makes sense to have something to enjoy whilst waiting in line. People do look at me oddly at times but other people strike up.conversations about what I'm reading, so I'm winning all round!
As always Poseidon, very well-crafted video! Your analysis of EPCOT's opening-day attractions and capacity definitely stuck with me, as well as the comparison to DHS (yikes). Your references to Cosmic Rewind were also telling. I love Toon Lagoon and Seuss Landing (especially) as well.
I don't think they should just slap a roller coaster everywhere, but I think galaxy's edge could use an outdoor rollercoaster where you're on the speeder bikes from Empire strikes back and has tons of practical effects like ewok animatronics. I know it wouldn't thematically make sense but still a cool idea.
I had an idea for a version for Journey Into Imagination, it's a trackless ride that holds the same theme as the original with a central room with little enclaves for show scenes, and adds a Music section, themed to 1950s Americana.
Disney has proven to me that they don't do trackless rides very well. They waste an immense amount of space and follow mostly linear paths. I think that another JII omnimover would be just fine. I wouldn't rebuild the original ride, but conceptually, something similar would work in exploring different artistic disciplines.
@@PoseidonEntertainment yeah, that's the idea, I know Disney's track record is dubious at best but I feel there's a lot you could do focusing on the arts
Here's the idea in full: Intro: The Intro is the same as the original version with the Dream flier and Dreamfinder as he makes Figment and they go through the dream vault, which in this version is full of all sorts of locked boxes, going back to the dawn of locks with safes, steamer trunks, etc. piled high, with some open with creative ideas before entering Art. Art: Art is an homage to the classical art period with sharp oil edges mixing with rounded mosaic dots. Dream-finder is wearing an artist's smock and beret as he pains a journey with a massive color-changing paintbrush as the ride cars waltz. The sections are portraits, Landscapes, Life, and Death. Portraits see artists painting various people, getting a view of their lives as the people and their portraits change over time. Landscapes have the riders ride through a vast Life heads into a tavern full of drunken merriment where the booze flows like water out of Niagra Falls before leaving and heading into the bustling city streets, where the townsfolk have set up a carnival. Death depicts the warriors of old fighting battles in a massive conflict. The ride cars go through the painting and enter Writing. Writing: Writing is very dark; it's set in a forest where the branches of the trees are made of letters at night with the only light being the moon with many trees; the ride cars scurry around the almost pitch black hub, in the middle on the edge of a cliff as the Dreamfinder is dressed like the Phantom of the Opera, typing on a typewriter pipe organ. The ride cars are aimless yet fast, leaving riders unsure of where they're going and disoriented by the identical and thick woods. The show scenes are Frankenstein, The Tell-Tale Heart, Dracula, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Frankenstein features Dr. Frankenstein looking over the lifeless corpse of the monster from a balcony, lording over guests as his creature is brought to life, and standing up with Dr Frankenstein, realizing the error of his hubris. The Tell-Tale Heart has Cops and the narrator chatting idly as a heart beats louder and louder, with only the narrator able to hear it. Dracula has Riders enter his castle before being greeted by the man himself, going through catacombs, and being chased by his brides and then wolves as you finally escape the castle. Lastly, Sleepy Hollow has riders cross a bridge before being pursued by the headless horseman through the woods, then returning the way they came. The riders exit through the cave below the Dream-finder. Music: The cars exit Writing and are hit with tonal whiplash as Music is a Neon-soaked 1950s fever dream. The ride cars enter through the Auto Works. They are spinning fast around coupes and sedans, mimicking swing dancing with the Dream-finder. They are made to look younger in a leather jacket, T-shirt, and jeans sitting on the back of a Caddy, while Figment wears a Letterman jacket. The ceiling is adorned with flashing neon signs that spell outlines to famous rock and roll songs ("Oh baby that's a what I like," "Lay off of my blue suede shoes," "Let's do the Twist," "You ain't nothing but a hound dog" etc.) The area itself is a small town city-scape with 8 buildings, "JC's bail bonds, Presley and Berry Autoworks, Everly Bros. Music shop, Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. memorial gymnasium, Buddy's Bowling alley, Perkin's Shoes, Orbison's Theatre and the Sugar Bowl Malt Shop." There are 4 Segments, The Sock Hop, Drag Race, Rock and Roll show, and Lovebirds. The Sock Hop is a small gymnasium dressed up as a sock hop where Animatronic teens on their on-moving platforms dance around as cars are paired up, mimicking swing dance. The Drag Race goes through JC's Bonds and sees a black 1958 Pontiac Bonneville race a ruby red 1932 Ford Coupe hot rod with the cars almost hitting them head-on. The Rock and Roll Show is at Orbison's Theatre, where "Ace High" Sampson is rocking and rolling with his band, swiveling his hip and jamming out on his acoustic guitar to an audience of screaming fans. Lovebirds goes into Buddy's bowling alley and features couples sipping malts and doing things deeply in love. The ride cars exit through the malt shop and into Theatre. Theatre: The cars enter Theatre, and it has a very 1920s vibe with Dreamfinder and Figments on a stage in Tuxedos. Meanwhile, the ride cars behave freely, but not as chaotically as music with four brightly lit marquis. The sections are Comedy, Tragedy, Puppetry, and musicals. Comedy sees caricatures of Abbot and Costello, the Marx brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges do their thing. Tragedy is more Greek-oriented with Dante's Inferno and Oedipus Rex, as well as the end of Frankenstein and the finale of Hamlet. Puppetry features puppets ranging from ancient Corn dolls to the Muppets putting on various shows. Musicals see Opera singers mix with more Disney-like musicals and the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, creating a rather absurd scene. The riders move on to science before the stage sinks to the floor. Science: As the ride vehicles enter Science, they're met with a 1960s Space Age laboratory with Dream-finder Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Inventions. Biology has scientists studying various animals in humorous ways, like measuring a giraffe's neck and putting a platypus under black light. Physics shows humorous examples of physics in motion, such as Newton's balls and the old Feather and Bowling ball trick. Chemistry sees riders shrink down and see inside of a drop of water. Inventions show off famous inventions and their creators, like Edison and his bulb and Whitney and his Cotton Gin. Finale: The Finale has Figment singing "One little spark" as videos of him using the arts play on film reels in the background before passing famous figures who used their imaginations for writing, art, theatre, science, and music (like Hemingway, Einstein, Picasso, Elvis and Arthur Sullivan).
Disney needs to do SOMETHING with the people mover track that’s jsut decaying outside of the show building locations, it’s honestly a very sad eyesore.
The thing that shocked me about this video is that people don't like Cartoon Lagoon! I've only had the pleasure of going to Universal Orlando twice in my life, but I was completely enchanted by Cartoon Lagoon both times. Sure the Wizarding World and Jurassic Park were cool, but Cartoon Lagoon was just magical to me, someone who grew up reading the comics in my grandparent's newspapers and watching Boomerang on Cartoon Network, People need to stop saying its bad because "No one knows the characters". You DO know the characters, you just don't care about them, and in your mind that means they deserve to be tossed out like some week old trend. Absolutely not! I will always take dated but immersive themeing over cheaply done marketing cash grabs.
I absolutely love highly thematic areas, and would rather have a very immersive land with easter eggs to explore and only 1 ride, than have a bland land with 3 coasters
As a classic cartoon fan, I DESPERATELY wanna go to Toon Lagoon. I feel like I'd instantly die upon entry, God forbid they get rid of it! Especially before I can go!
It drives me CRAZY when people say that Rafiki’s Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom needs to turn into Wakanda, or frankly, go anywhere. It’s literally the ANIMAL HOSPITAL. Not only would they have to spend however many millions of dollars building a land there, they would also have to relocate and rebuild specialized veterinary equipment for exotic animals. Insanity. Stop saying it. Shut up and take the train back there next time you’re at DAK.
Yeah, that's another annoying opinion that I see a lot. I'm pretty sure the idea that Animal Kingdom needs Wakanda came from Grace Randolph, which is absolutely one of the worst takes I've encountered.
14:31 I love this point! I have no issues with all new attractions being based on IP on its own. However it seems like often times Disney is building uninspired low budget lands and attractions and slapping IPs on them to attract visitors. One thing I loved about IOA is you don't have to be familiar with the IP's to enjoy the lands and attractions they offer. I've never read Harry Potter or seen any of the films and yet I enjoy the attractions, love browsing the shops, and drink tons of butter beer.
There’s a fair few videos of yours that I strongly disagree with, but you are absolutely correct here; both on account of people misattributing Walt’s words, as well as how unbelievably stupid it is to genuinely believe that an opinion can never be objective fact.
I don't enjoy roller coasters much at all, but I agree that Fast and the Furious definitely deserves to be a roller coaster over a static simulator. Mario Kart should at least be a little faster if not a full roller coaster. It's literally a RACING game.
I agree with most of the things u mentioned, for example I only know about popeye but I still love toon lagoon, the theming is so immersive but I think it's also the nostalgic part for me, I would be devastated if they change everything. On the other hand, idk why I'm actually excited for the princess and the frog ride?? maybe it's because I've only been to splash mountain once and I loove TPAF movie? like maybe it would've been better if they built a completely different ride instead of re-theming. I just hope the new ride mix well to the frontier/adventure land theme so that my immersion don't get ruined sorry for bad english
You woke up an chose violence for this one haha. I mostly agree with your entire video. Only thing I disagree with is, other than location, you’ve gotta admit that Fast & Furious should be a rollercoaster. That makes more sense than so many others IMO
An indoor coaster? No. Now that Hollywood has opened the doors for a less themed thrill coaster? Yeah, I'm down for that. I wouldn't want a third thrill coaster in the park, but two would balance it quite well.
I'd argue that the *illusion* of speed can be done just as well. Coasters need a lot of track that gets chewed up quickly. The six axis vehicles used in Transforners can make you think you're going quickly in scenes. Part of the problem is a choice of using a bus for a high-speed mayhew ride. Buses are clunky and not as maneuverable, and since your views on the sides and top are obscured, you can't get as immersed in the prerendered visuals with a family of strangers and ceilibg gentky rocking with you. Tram rides work better with practical effects surrounding the enclosed vehicle shell. Smaller vehicles can accelerate in multiple directions--and it is the acceleration, not pure speed, that makes a ride thrilling.
As someone who visited EPCOT in June 1994, I can assure everyone, it was NOT empty. Even with the capacity-monster nature of the old rides, we waited 30-60 minutes for most of the major attractions, (Journey into Imagination was by far the most crowded,) and struggled to find viewing lines for the fireworks because of how many people there were. It was way more "empty" when I returned to visit in August 2009. (Mission: Space and Soarin' were the only rides with long lines.)
I think the people who defend whatever decisions Disney makes are doing it because they feel like their own decision to continue to visit the parks is being attacked. It's perfectly acceptable to say that you don't like the price hikes, the app-ification of the experience, the loss of on-property hotel perks or some of the newer rides, but that you still think it's worth it to ride The Haunted Mansion again.
Personally, I would say most people wanting the Mario Cart ride to be a roller coaster are not considering its placement in any park at all, but are rather expressing their opinion on what kind of ride would best encapsulate the game source material. I agree that a themed roller coaster fits the spirit of the fast, chaotic racing game better than a dark ride does.
The thing with Toon Lagoon is that the whole land is just plain fun. It doesn't really matter if you know the source material or not, since most of the attractions are easily understandable. The little gags littered across Toon Lagoon are funny without knowing the material, and as someone with little knowledge on many of the comic strips and cartoons the land is based on the whole land feels nostalgic and is very enjoyable.
Someone needs to section off a part of a Six Flags with Starship Troopers theming just to generate endless internet arguments. A roller coaster themed around the Arachnids, an arcade with shooting gallery games, Sgt Zim's obstacle course...
On the topic of toon lagoon, walking through and having next to no idea who most of these characters are is, to me, kinda part of the charm? It adds to the feeling of the area as being a kinda novelty montage pastiche you can walk through. I don't think it would maintain the same sense of reverence if they were all instantly recognizable.
If they got rid of Toon Lagoon I’d be pissed. I know the cartoons there, and the water rides are such a perfect break in the middle of the trip if it’s hot. I remember on my last trip there there was a dude bro, someone who looks like the opposite of the demographic, absolutely gushing over Rickshaw Falls and how much he loved Dudley Do Right as a kid. Had a blast with him on the ride.
I thoroughly enjoy, and generally tend to agree with most of your opinions/assessments (though I rarely comment). This time is no different, however, this time I felt the need to comment. I am a well travelled enthusiast, having ridden well over 1,000 coasters at ~ 283 locations in 16 countries. Yet, I would never consider myself an “expert”, as the more I learn and discover, the more I realize I don’t know. Here, an old adage comes to mind: “All theme parks are amusement parks - yet, not all amusement parks are theme parks”. Some are quasi-related, as they can’t find a singular identity. A majority of “enthusiasts” nowadays cannot differentiate between the two, and usually equate them, and are just “park enthusiasts”. For me - a “theme park” has to have an all-immersive experience, consistent from beginning to end in the “land” or “area” of the park I happen to be in. Giving an area a “western” theme, with the obligatory cowboy hats/guns and a sign with a snake - yet the shops are generic and the ride-ops having the same uniforms throughout the whole park, does not equate to the immersive experience of theming. IMO - there are very few “theme parks” in the United States, and none of them are perfectly consistent. The better ones that come to mind: DL, MK, IOA, AK, Gilroy Gardens, SDC, DW, BGW, BGT and the Legolands (I might include the Peppa Pig park, but I haven’t been there). Many have lost their identity and/or their way: KBF, USF, DCA, EPCOT, HS and DCA. Then there are parks that had an identity and are now trying to change them: the Sea world parks and USH. I consider all CF and SF parks to be expensive, glorified carnivals (not bad by any means, just facts). In 1999, IOA set a new standard for “theme parks” everywhere!! When I visited IOA during the preview days in April ‘99, my friends and I all noticed a specific thing that set them apart from everyone else - the walkways. They were all painted, stamped and textured to match the theme of the land, and had matching trash receptacles and benches. All other parks (aside from the “Main Streets” in DL and MK), had concrete or blacktop walkways. Within 2 years, ALL Disney parks had new walkways, and themed trash receptacles. Talk about impact! Dark rides and shows, stores and restaurants, all play an integral part of what makes up theming. A complete “dark ride” (queue/preshow/ride/exit) is what makes a memorable experience. A “standout” roller coaster will not make or break a theme park, but it can make or break an amusement park. Thank you for your videos, and the work you put into them.
I had no idea that IoA set the standard for stuff like trash cans lol. I always assumed that it was a Disney park standard and wouldn't have assumed that the changes were so recent either. I'll have to look out for that whenever I sift through old footage.
The optimist looks upward and loses his footing. The pessimist looks downward and hits his head. The realist looks onward, and adjusts his path accordingly.
I'd say a major reason that Popeye, Do Right, and R&B have relevance in the millennial consciousness is because they all had live action movies in the 90's and early 2000's. The only reason I, a thirty-something, am familiar with Dennis the Menace is because I had the 1993 film on VHS. The animated shows could sometimes be found on TV Land or Cartoon Network, and while they may be available on streaming services now, you're not likely to know they're there unless you're actively looking for them because they aren't advertised. None of this is to say that Toon Lagoon should be leveled due to declining cultural relevance. Splash Mountain was based on a film Disney has largely disavowed since it's last theatrical re-release in 1986, with no official hard copies available except outside the US. It was nevertheless a much beloved ride. Toon Lagoon could be too if Universal hadn't left it for dead. Make it looks less like the setting for a creepypasta and reintroduce these characters via new cartoons and/or a marketing nudge from streaming, perhaps an "Oldies" category filling TV Land's old niche. Nostalgia still sells, but there are decades other than the 80's.
I did wonder how the revival of these characters in the 90s led to my understanding of them. I never saw any of the films or bothered to watch the re-runs, but I was still well aware of who they were. I think that the Flintstones are another good example too. Really, any re-runs on Cartoon Network probably did a lot to expose kids to these characters. I still agree though. Even if you're not familiar with the IP, the attraction design should more than be able to make up for the lack of context. I think that most people were surprised to learn that Splash Mountain was based on a film, always just taking the characters at face value as something produced specifically for the ride.
We are in a day and age, unfortunately, where anyone who has a computer or smartphone can claim to “be an expert” and have an important opinion. While all opinions are valid, not all-and very few-are actually important. It seems our nation has been blanketed by an overburdensome mantle of the Dunning-Kruger Effect and we have lost our ability to think critically, especially when it comes to our own talents, skills, and experiences. One can have an opinion but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world needs to or has to hear it, and quite honestly: most of the time the world is a better place WITHOUT it.
I can’t say I’m a fan of the Dudley Do Right character (just never grew up with it) but that ride is mind blowing to me it’s so incredibly detailed and fun
I have a video idea. What if you became the CEO of Disney? How would you change the parks? If you want you could make it a series, also doing Universal and SeaWorld etc.
An obscure one, but "The Adventurers Club could've stayed open when PI closed." (Or relocated to a park, usually DAK, which makes even less thematic sense.) The Club's humor relied on a certain number of unknowing guests wandering in every night to work. Having nothing but in-the-know fans there ruined the comedy.
I wasn't old enough to experience it, so I have no perspective on that. However, it was my understanding that it was one of only a few clubs still profitable by the time PI was demolished, so I wouldn't be opposed to seeing it return. At the very least, the concept seemed interesting.
You have the most intelligent, well-thought-out discourse on amusement parks that I have ever seen on the internet. As an old fogey, I resent the "You are just afraid of change"mantra. I love Disneyland, and I'm okay with new attractions being added, but I despise new people coming in and altering or covering what the original designers came up with. The original creators of the Haunted Mansion came up with a classic, and people loved it. It never needed improvement. Go invent your own attractions and see if they become classic.😢
Yeah, the "you just don't like change" sentiment is nothing other than lazy discourse. There's a reason that Haunted Mansion has resonated with people for decades.
Speaking of embarrassing corrections, I misspelled "Controversial" in the first 8 seconds in the video.
💀
Add a roller coaster
"Controvserial" 😆 Real talk, though, spelling mistakes in videos is a great way to farm engagement from people trying to correct it.
I assumed it was an intentional mistake
I personally eat controvserial for breakfast everyday 🥣
Poseidon Entertainment should replace this video with an indoor roller coaster
🤣
It drives me UP THE WALL when people say “You just don’t like change.” Unbelievably ignorant and stupid thing to say. Folks, all progress is change but not all change is progress.
Fr dude
Change for the sake of change is largely ineffective, it needs to have a real purpose beyond a shakeup.
@@platinumspike9578 AMEN
Or that when it comes to Disney parks specifically that people quote Walt saying "Disneyland will never be finished."
Okay, sure the parks are going to change. But the change needs to be justified. The burden of persuasion lies with the people wanting the change, not the people wanting to keep a great attraction. Change is not justified by virtue of being change. It needs to actually improve on what is already there or it shouldn't go into the parks.
Yea! Cause they always think they will like the change. But they throw an even worse temper tantrum when change finally goes in a direction they don't like
I always tell people this example. When I worked for Disney in the early 2000s a little sign that came loose. I offered to fix it with a zip tie temporarily and was told that was not “Disney look” by my manager and sat there for 20 minutes until maintenance got there to fix it properly.
Can you even imagine looking at maintenance now that they’re still following the same play book?
HELL NO. lol.
You're lucky they fixed it within 20 minutes. Now it would take days.
Ah, the facade for a shop fell down in Hollywood Studios six months ago right? I haven't been, but last I heard, construction walls were up for months and I'm not sure if it has even been fixed yet.
Another thing people say that drives me crazy is when you are critical about something and they parrot the old“if you don’t like it, just don’t go. Shorter lines for me.“ It’s not even an argument. Just a dumb statement.
Its always the Disney worshippers that say this
@@M50A1 “Pixie Dust snuffers” as I like to call them.
@@MonsterKidCory Amen.
@@spinlok3943 Yeah, exactly. A fitting name
This is the Micechat community in a nutshell. Criticize anything and you’re shamed for not accepting change.
I hate pointless change that only ever seems to result in an empty shell of what once was. I recently went to Tokyo Disneyland and was genuinely amazed to see, among a myriad of new things, a Disneyland close to the one I grew up with in the early 00s. Funny how the most faithful Disney park (that I’ve been to) isn’t even owned and operated by them 🤣
Agreed...
I’ve heard good things about Tokyo Disney.
@enchantingkatie we got really lucky around April time frame last year. Bought tickets out of LA for January. For my family of 3 it surprisingly was around 1700
@enchantingkatiewhere do you live? We flew there in October for about $300 each round trip. Zipair is a really affordable option, and Tokyo Disneyland is an absolute must for any Disney fan
Tokyo DisneySea is GORGEOUS
Rollercoasters are usually unique, thrilling, and exciting. Motion simulators with screens all start to feel the same and get redundant.
My thing with Disney is most people never fell in love with the company for its rollercoasters, so why go out of the way to do something like that? I go to Disney not for thrills but for immersion. I want story and atmosphere. Not a 60 second experience I waited 60 minutes for.
Im glad I stopped frequenting social media cliques because of people who think media exists only to be dopamine generators and nothing more
Coasters certainly have their place, but only when I think it makes sense in balancing the park or conveying a particular experience. Fantasyland is still my favorite area of Disneyland because of its dark rides.
Exactly. If you want more thrill rides, go to Universal/Cedar Fair/Six Flags.
@@Croz89 Or Busch Gardens.
This is a beautiful comment.
For the "it should have been a coaster" crowd, I think it's because for the 2 examples you gave, Mario Kart and Fast & Furious, those franchises are known for thrilling high speed action
mario kart is known as a game, they went the highly themed game-ride route instead of a less themed coaster and i think that’s the right decision. feel like it’s one of those rides you need to go on to understand why it’s good because the effects don’t come across on camera.
Agreed. Mario Kart should have been a coaster.
Both should have been something along the lines of the Test Track ride system, not a coaster.
I think that F&F could have been better as anything else, but speed is not necessary. Bourne does have vehicle scenes, so I thought that a sit down show similar to that but more focused on vehicular action would probably be a better fit for the building.
Here’s the thing, your opinion about IP in every new attraction that Disney builds is valid and I agree it’s kind of maddening and I wish they would allow the Imagineers to also be storytellers that come up with their own creative ideas, but it feels a bit hypocritical that you criticize Disney for this yet, when was the last time Universal built an attraction that wasn’t IP based? I get that you’re talking about quality as well and maybe some of the more recent Universal attractions are believed to have a higher quality than some of the Disney ones, but you can’t deny that Rise of the Resistance is at least incredibly innovative and for years when Universal was just building mostly screen-based attractions, Disney was coming up with new and creative ride systems and animatronics.
Toon Lagoon is one of my favorite areas to just be in. I skip the rides on many trips because of the amount of water they dump on you. I love Dudley's so sometimes I grab my poncho and get in line. The IPs don't particularly appeal to me themselves, but it's the charm that they bring. If Universal plans to change them in the future I hope they keep that cartoony charm.
Also, Suess Landing is kind of a kids area but the IP is familiar to older generations like mine. I appreciate this land and its rides so much!
I agree with all of this. toon lagoon just reminds me of the Sunday paper in the 90s. I love the vibe the aesthetic, and it's cross generational charm. (Also ppl know Popeye and Betty boop, so come on....)
I'm so upset they don't do anything with that circus tent stage where they used to have a Toon Lagoon show there
I recently went on Ripsaw Falls and, after riding it for the first time in over a decade and having a blast, I actually became interested in learning more about Dudley Do-Right and watched every single short made. The next time I came back I realized just how much love was put into the ride with all of the silly references to the episodes. For instance, a billboard advertising Snidely Whiplash’s Log Jam Lager states it contains 2% marigold extract: most people would see it as a throwaway joke on foodstuff containing weird ingredients, but if you watched the cartoons you would know that Dudley Do-Right is so allergic to marigolds that he becomes completely harmless.
I should also mention the animatronic for Nell is completely missing from the railroad tracks. I know the Mounties always get their man, but somebody got their girl before they did.
LOL I agree! This ride also got me into watching Dudley do right and it’s one of my favorite shows now. In fact it’s my favorite ride of all time now , its colors and theme is just hard to beat especially with the nostalgia. I also noticed the Nell is gone , went on May 28th and August 2nd , both dates she is still gone, must be getting some extensive repairs.
What i want out of a ride is for it to be fun, to be re-rideable, and to have at least moderately good theming/storytelling. The IP shouldn't matter as much if the attractions are pretty good.
100%. A well themed ride is just 50 percent to me. I can forgive a lot if the ride itself is fantastic.
@@LChatmanFLexactly. I was very skeptical about Guardians in Epcot but that is so good I kind of forgive that part
@@uhhhhhhh4040 Guardians is actually a good example. It has no business being in Epcot, but it is such a fun ride you just don't care. If it were in the correct park with better theming, in a land designed around it, then of course it would even better. 😀
Another pet peeve, you already mention is that Disney-quote "Disneyland will never be completed", which is used to justify Walt Disney World replacements of greatly themed areas and rides. Disney also said "The Florida Project gives us the blessing of space" but you never hear that quoted. Disneyland doesn't have the space but replaces less and adds more than WDW which is really odd to me. I appreciate that you put so much emphasis on capacity as I believe it is overlooked by many.
I've earlier calculated that the hourly capacity of Magic Kingdom rose with only 10 % between 2002 and 2019 (when I did the calculations) but the attendance rose by 50 %. The top 5 people eaters are all attractions from the early- and mid 70s and the top 10 only had two attractions that weren't from the 70s (Little Mermaid and Splash Mountain, which is now closed but will reopen again soon and Tron is probably also up there in terms of capacity).
They already wasted it on Magic Band system
Perfectly how Disney+ being thorn in the flesh for media division.
I agree, the WDW parks all need more capacity. Disneyland is smaller, yet has more attractions.
Yep, not unexpected, since now Disney gets money twice. First when they save money on constructing the ride and second when guests pay extra to skip the long lines because of low capacity. @@SalivatingSteve
@@Robbedem So they’ve destroyed operational efficiency and the guest experience in order to get more money from Genie+ and lightning lane. I haven’t been to Disneyland since 2019 before Galaxy’s Edge opened and FastPass was free. It’s too expensive and crowded now. I can buy a Knott’s season pass for less than the price of a single day at Disney and it’s way less of a hassle getting inside the park, whereas Disney requires an hour just to park and take the tram, it’s a mission!
"The blessing of size" sounds like "maintenance costs" to executives who are okay with only achieving the bare minimum in guest satisfaction. It's becoming more and more clear that this is a bubble waiting to burst. Perhaps with how quiet summer was last year, maybe it has? From what I read from travel agents, WDW bookings are way down this year and the return of their discounts is an interesting sign.
"cat in the hat is one of the coolest dark rides out there" my man when we rode it in 2022 it smelled like pee
I didn't say it wasn't in good condition lol
Never understood the mentality of 'Just replace X with a roller coaster' or 'That space should be used for a coaster!' when said space couldn't fit a kiddie coaster. My guy, you know what you get when you just try to cram full-size rides in anywhere you can? You get Six Flags Magic Mountain. You NEVER want to be Magic Mountain. MAGIC MOUNTAIN doesn't even want to be Magic Mountain.
Also, I feel like change as a whole just needs to be... thoughtful. Things SHOULD change over time, but it should always have a good reason and there should be thought put into what it becomes. When you just shut things down or change them without thinking, you get the stagnation EPCOT had to endure for what felt like eternity. But that said, sometimes things NEED to change for a park to even survive; see also California Adventure, Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Also, if you're gonna change things to do brand building/synergy, AT LEAST MAKE SOMETHING GOOD. PLEASE. Do it right and you can outlast the brand entirely... see here, Waterworld.)
EDIT: WHO THE HELL IS TALKING TRASH ABOUT TOON LAGOON?! I will fight them in a parking lot! I WILL FIGHT THEM ON THE MOON!
Even if people don't know who the specific cartoon characters are in Toon Lagoon, the theming and set decoration is so good that it just feels like stepping into a cartoon. A concept that I think is evergreen
Thank you very much for saying it. I also hate the absurd “Walt said it would never be complete, shouldn’t be a museum” argument for changing / ruining things that people loved, things that didn’t need to be changed.
Adding to your Toon Lagoon (IOA) discussion:
1) Many creatives and managers were 30-50 y/o in the mid 1990s when Toon Lagoon IP was chosen;
2) Those people were kids watching cartoons (Sat morn) in the 1960s-70s on FOUR CHANNELS;
3) many OLD comic/cartoon IP was syndicated and repeated endlessly on some channels;
4) So many mid aged or elderly probably loved Toon Lagoon initially
PS: If you think that UNSTOPPABLE classic IPs cannot fall off --> Just ask people ages 20-40: what is MASH??
I am in that age range and I love MASH, but your point does stand that I am a minority.
@@DarkSkyRender I teach classes with 20-30 year old students who only occasionally get MASH references. However, I get to use jokes and bits from MASH, and they think its mine!!
As someone without much knowledge on the IPs used in Toon Lagoon, the land itself is so well themed that it doesn't matter. IP tie ins are not required to make something cool and fun, especially if the IP itself is fun. I didn't think it was outdated (apart from the land itself showing some age). Especially since it fits so well with Superhero Island since they both have similar comic strip inspired theming.
The point isn't that "people these days don't know about it, therefore we should get rid of it"; the point is that "we should teach people about this, so they don't forget about it."
I talked about this a bit in my "90s" video, but I think that a large reason that Comic Strips were chosen as a theme was because Hollywood was trying to revive a lot of these old properties with contemporary films after the success of Tim Burton's Batman. They thought "1940s characters" were the winning formula, not super heroes.
I totally agree with your first point. I love most of the roller coasters at Universal, but I always wish there were more plain, easy-going, dark rides, similar to Magic Kingdom to break up the focus on thrill and/or 3-D effects.
Exactly, I miss rides like old Journey, World of Motion, Horizons
It seems as if epic universe will have more of a focus on families and not solely intense rides for teens and adults, which should bring some balance to that
I like Universal's thrills, but they do lack accessibility. Weirdly, E.T. was the only original ride with a height requirement in its first decade of operation.
What I also really dislike is that many people proclaim that you have to be positive about every change and if you're critical say "how can you know that, you haven't experienced it yet", while those people also haven't experienced it. Apparently it's allowed to have a positive opinion before it's done, but not a negative one.
This is especially common when popular attractions get changed of replaced. I think you can put higher standards when a good ride is replaced, it should be at least a lot better than the thing it replaced. Especially when it's by choice (instead of e.g. a fire or when it's improbable to maintain).
I don't think that being critical of Disney before a ride opens is unreasonable, because, well their track record has not been great. I've been hearing good things about TBA though, so I'm hoping that's a positive surprise.
Just because you aren't a chef doesn't mean you can't say a plate of crap is not edible, or just because you aren't an engineer doesn't mean you can't say a bridge failing is bad. Knowledge can give authority to an opinion but it doesn't dismiss an opinion.
@@delusion5867 There's a comedian who has a bit on that very thing. He's criticizing bad parenting, a heckler in the audience asks him if he's a parent, he says no, the heckler tells him he then has no right to call out others on parenting. He then responds by saying, "I don't have to be a pilot to be able to look at a helicopter stuck in a tree and say, 'Wow! The dude messed up!"
Whose is saying Popeye ain’t revelant!? Just let me has me spinach and I’ll show ‘em what’s what! I’ll moiderate ‘em! I’ll lay ‘em amongst the sweet peas!
It’s not relevant in the same way as more modern IPs but it’s iconic and memorable, and the raft ride is perfectly themed. It’s one of the best fits of an IP to a ride type in the world.
I'd argue how the hell is Princess and the Frog relevant today.
@@MrStGeorgeIllawarra It isn’t. It’s only being used as a virtue signal. It was never a super popular movie compared to other Disney animated movies. They are trying to promote a revisionist history to pretend this is a highly regarded and in demand theme park ride.
@@josephbrown9685 To be fair, Song of the South wasn't really relevant either.
Okay, so I've gotten some actual responses to this, which I wasn't expecting. I was just using it as an excuse to type out some Popeye-like dialogue. I even purposefully misspelled "relevant" to imitate Popeye's unique pronunciation of words. But since we're here talking anyway, I was actually glad this "irrelevant" IP was there because it was relevant enough for me (though, I was not a fan of how drenched I got). You see, the last time I went to Universal, I found myself increasingly falling into the generation gap, the culture gap or both. Because as I've gotten older my taste in IP has either gotten old, become too obscure or foreign, or I've just gravitated to stuff that can't easily be adapted into a theme park ride. Some I have seen but I haven't developed the same type of attachment to them I would have when I was young. So, I get that time keeps moving forward and most people my age are there to bring their kids who are super into this stuff. But, as a middle aged cartoon fan, I was glad to see ol' Popeye and Bluto.
I'm in the camp that theme parks need to not always have new roller coasters. I've gotten annoyed at Busch Gardens making yet another roller coaster instead of something different and exciting. I guess it's a low maintenance thing.
He made a great video on BG if you havent seen it.
Your disappointment with their recent additions is likely a result of misplaced expectations: it is no longer the highly themed disney/universal contemporary that we grew up with, but a low-budget thrills-based park that fills the niche of a six flags/cedar fair park in FL.
Ive found that, while I still lament what could have been, keeping the park's new mission statement in mind has allowed me to appreciate what they've been up to lately:
Sure, a highly themed experience in pantopia or congo would be nice, but i cant complain about a contender for world's greatest coaster in my backyard!
@@jmcbango in talking about Bush Gardens Williamsburg. So much of their focus lately has been roller coasters. Their latest one, Darkoaster, uses the building that Darkastle, a dark ride, was in. I think 3 of their 4 latest rides were coasters.
The Busch/SeaWorld parks need some actual well designed dark rides. I know that'll never happen under leadership now, but I think they could really turn things around that way.
We are blessed to live very close to Cedar Point and have annual passes. I don’t mind so much when they build or replace coasters, since that is their whole thing being the “Coaster Capital.” But, as crappy as they were, I miss their old Dark rides: the Pirate Ride and Disaster Transport, because they were indoor and something different. Cedar Point even tore down their (previously IMAX) theater to make room for more coasters. They literally have the Snoopy/Peanuts IP and could make an incredible dark ride! Now the only way to get out of the sun or rain is to go eat at one of the restaurants or shop. At least they still have a really nice Frontierland area that’s shady, and I will not be happy if they remove that for more coasters. 🤷♀️
Cat in the Hat is a top tier ride. As someone who works in theater, the entire ride (as is forbidden journey) is lit with theatrical lighting fixtures and is so detail oriented with the backlight room , plus it being an AC’d area on a hot day makes it a must ride every time I go.
As a teen growing up in Florida when we would go with friends in the winter riding the water rides was always a trauma bonding experience and standing shivering in the outside line for Spider-Man is still a core memory.
The only issue with Cat in the Hat is the maintenance. I criticize Disney for its maintenance standards, but a lot of Islands is in really rough shape.
I didn’t like the opinions on this video. I think we need to replace this channel with a rollercoaster actually
I know you’ve mentioned Meow Wolf before, but I’d love to see a video dedicated to talking about those attractions. I think they’re a very unique form of themed entertainment that has a lot of potential, and they seem to be looking to continuously expand with 3 locations already as well as a dark ride in Denver and in a mall in Texas
It's certainly interesting, but I've only managed to get to the one in Vegas. I want to visit the others eventually, but if they're as complex as Omega Mart, then it might not make for an interesting video.
On the "the ip doesn't matter that much" point, I gotta say I do not care whatsoever for Avatar (the blue people one) and think it is a horribly overrated film/franchise, but Pandora at Animal Kingdom is AMAZING. It's probably my favorite individual themed land behind the Harry Potter ones (granted, I haven't been to a Nintendo land or DisneySea yet)
I've only seen the first film and thought it was just okay, but I agree, the land is fantastic. Good design always outshines IP.
I’m with you. I believe the reason the Avatar franchise has made so much money has very little to do with the characters or story and everything to do with the enchanting beautiful world and arguably best digital effects ever created on film. And Disney did a fantastic job at Animal Kingdom recreating that world to totally immerse you. I still hate IPs being a thing at Animal Kingdom though, just like at EPCOT. I wish Disney would distribute IPs between Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, where they have always had a place. I’ve read they will be replacing Dinoland and the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom with something, and I will not be surprised if it will rely on an IP. Why not keep Dinoland and make it amazing instead? Kids love dinosaurs!
I think we’re all tired of the over reliance on IP - in fact, I think it puts you on the back foot as a ride designer. Like “I swear this is not just a callous money grab”
not only that but they're just using like the same 6 or 7 ips everywhere too
what does ip stand for ??
Bob Iger is not. He's only interested in money not you.
@@allysoncampos1055 : Intellectual property.
I agree with your Toon Lagoon analysis. My first time at Islands of Adventure was back in 2005 for a school field trip. My friends and I knew who Popeye was, but we didn't know who Dudley was. We loved the ride so we asked our parents and our chaperones if they knew more about it.
Sometimes things that are unknown but are also IP can end up drawing in new audiences.
I always loved how the land gave something for my grandparents to relate to whenever we visited
I don't like the idea that something shouldn't be built because people won't know what it is. If the characters are interesting in the context of the attraction, prior knowledge shouldn't hinder anyone's enjoyment.
As a forty something mom who grew up on theme parks, and began watching your videos out of curiosity, I can say that I really enjoy them. At first I thought to myself “okay, here’s a young guy that needs to learn a little bit about talking to the audience.” But it didn’t take long for me to understand that you’ve got a talent for retaining facts and ferreting out history that most people don’t know or understand. You are correct in saying that a lot of people just parrot opinions without truly thinking them through, or trying to find out why that opinion is popular to begin with. I have come to really enjoy your channel, and the objective way that you approach your commentaries. While inserting your own preferences, you never try to sway your audience in one way or the other. I can appreciate this, in a world where most people push “taking a side”. I’m genuinely tired of a lot of the mega corporations giving the general public “good enough” and passing it off as acceptable instead of giving us “excellence” in our theme park experiences. I do believe there are a couple still really striving for that ultimate experience, but those willing to put forth the time and effort to hold onto multi-generational consumers become fewer and fewer every day in the face of corporate greed. It’s incredibly interesting to me to hear someone younger point these things out in a factual way. We need more intelligent people in this world instead of herds of sheep all following each other to the cliffside.
Your open way of stating the facts is refreshing. I can see that quite a lot of research and effort go into your videos. Keep up the good work!❤
I'm with you on the not every ride needs to be a coaster. Not everyone likes coasters. Not every member of a party may be tall enough to ride one. Sometimes you just want to enjoy yourself. Its ok for there to be more than one type of ride system.
Supercharged should be a coaster though.
Add a lot of screens and make it a street race.
(Or at least, a fast and furious ride should be actually thrilling)
Right. I don’t think anyone would say specifically that a roller coaster should have replaced Disaster and Beetlejuice, but a Fast & Furious ride SHOULD actually be fast. And a coaster is a good option for something like that. It could have gone anywhere in the park.
Uhh no. It shouldn’t exist. Bring back the older ones that it replaced
No, it should be something along the lines of Radiator Springs Racers.
Agree
I think that if the building were re-used for a queue/station and had a small scene before launch, yeah I do think it would make sense if it left the building. Still annoyed with the indoor coaster sentiment though.
I'm sick and tired of seeing the opinions expressed that you listed out. Your response was very thorough and well put. Now, when I hear someone not understanding that Horizons was a people eater, or that Toon Lagoon is amazingly themed regardless of IP, I'll send them to this video. Thank you for doing the work for the rest of us.
7:02 this statement with the B-roll of the Frozen ride is perfection.
2:56
I've never heard this in my life. What I do hear is that Galaxy's Edge should be re-themed to Star Wars.
And it should.
Just wanted to say thank you for what you do. You are FAR from alone in all of the opinions you express, and it's nice to have at least one channel presenting them in a quality format amidst the ever-increasing sea of "brand worshippers".
"You can have an opinion, but I am legally required to inform you that you have an incorrect opinion."
i kind of disagree slightly with the rollercoaster point. like if they were to just throw one in randomly like they did with guardians, then its a horrible idea. but if a well themed and thought-out rollercoaster opened in an already themed land. for example, instead of smugglers run, then it would be a welcomed addition. like hagrids, or the velocicoaster for example
Galaxy's Edge is shooting only for diegetic ride systems, so I don't see a coaster fitting at all. Maybe if it was indoors, but you run the risk of just creating another Space Mountain.
I work in Toon Lagoon and I love it!
Yeah, most guests may not know a lot of the characters, but the crazy artwork and whatnot makes it a nice place to walk through.
There's soooooo many little hidden easter eggs. Heck, even the music changes depending on what you're standing next to yet it's the same theme. It's all very intertwined and I'd absolutely love to see this area get updated. Maybe even a new ride with updated effects showing off the comics. I don't know, but I've been full of ideas for this area to help it grow
There's a lot of "iconic" park music that people like to always bring up, but I think that the sea shanties down by the lagoon are some of the best that people miss.
This video needs a rollercoster
Your frustrations are how I feel about people and the entertainment industry. I've worked in film and TV for 15 years, done everything from broadcast TV station work to being a full-on producer. I've written, been published, designed, and coordinated major productions. The list is extensive. So nothing infuriates me quite like people who have never even set foot on a film set acting like they know more than the people making these projects. But because it's entertainment, it's presented in a similar manner. It's their opinions, so they can't be wrong... however...THEY CAN BE WRONG, especially when discussing the processes that go into everything. It's just amazing when I try to clarify things about the industry and some 48 year old house mom from bumblef, Iowa says I know nothing. It's mind numbing listening to people.
Definitely agree on all these points. My biggest pet peeve is always any arguments against my opinions that can be summed up as 'you hate change/anything new'. I want to see change in the form of new things being ADDED more often then 'new' things REPLACING things. Some of that is good, but they are focusing too much on it now to the detriment of the parks as it results in too much stuff not being up and running combined with more often then not a reduction in capacity when it finally opens.
Yes capacity! This is everything. It is the reason we have fast pass and Genie Plus. They have cut capacity out of the parks for the last couple decades
Your videos are some of the very best in the theme parks commentary ecosystem. The are informative and thought provoking. Well produced and enjoyable. Change nothing, ignore the contrarians and weirdos and opinion thieves.
13:49 popeye has a fabulous twitter apparently and has recently regained some popularity again due to his being a) saying he's too humble for pronouns (on account of all of his nouns bein amateurs) and b) having actually had casually nuanced takes on gender by saying he's also a mother to Sweet Pea in addition to a father
I'm not that old and used to watch his cartoons when they re-ran on TV, we stan a masc and casually nonbinary sailor!
When people suggest rollercoasters, they are not thinking from a critical perspective on what's good for the park. It is explicitly for them, because they (presumably an enthusiast) want a roller coaster, and rollercoasters are popular with enthusiasts.
Disney should turn the Epcot Spaceship Earth geosphere into the Death Star.
Seeing as how history and legacy have no meaning to the company as it is now, and Emporer Igertine would love it
that would be ironic because europa park copied the dome and now has a coaster with the IP that star wars stole from in it.
Emperor Igertine fits snuggly along with Bob Paycheck
Spaceship earth needs to stay it’s the last remain of classic 80s Epcot.Back when the park had meaning and purpose .Not just a place for ips to be shoe horned in
@@nox5555 Star Wars is based on French cabaret?
@@nox5555 yapper alert ‼️🗣️🗣️yapper alert ‼️🗣️🗣️ yapper alert ‼️ 🗣️🗣️🚨🚨
Mario Kart didn't need to be a coaster, but it needed to have some speed. It's literally based on racing.
Disney current problem is that their parks are loosing their identity. One cause is the ip mandate. Why is frozen in epcot? Also introducing rollercoaster for the sake of it, would make Disney parks less Disney.
Disney world has 4 themeparks and they should at least feel distinct.
The IP mandate it awful. I see so many people gushing over San Fransokyo and it's just so obviously a cheap overlay that clashes visually with everything.
Disney has always from the very beginning had plenty of rides based on specific ip. Not sure why now it’s controversial.
The land itself can stir the imagination even if the ride iits designed around is dull. San Fransokyo may get people thinking about cyberpunk or animeland. Funny enough, adding street characters or vendors that are specific reminders of the IP may take people out of it.
The irony is there are people now who criticize everything Disney does but then praises universal when they do the same thing 😂
My only real gripe would probably be the use of projection on animatronics and screen work like at the Fast and Furious intro. In earlier videos they looked pretty seamless. I've compared older videos to recent videos of attractions like F&F, Runaway Railway, 7 Dwarfs Mine Coaster, etc and I noticed how worn and obvious the effect now looks.
I was wondering if theres any way they plan to fix or remedy this issue.
I was absent-mindedly thinking about how the Dr Seuss attractions would be fascinating to encounter as a European millennial, since, outside of the now mostly forgotten (by everyone except Onceler fangirls) Illumination movies, his works are almost completely unknown here… and then you hit me with people complaining that they don’t know Hagar, the Phantom and *Popeye*!?!
The “I don’t know the IP, therefore it’s not interesting” reflex is a real thing to contend with, but sheesh. Talk about limited reference pools.
Controversial or Controvserial? 0:07 😮
I cannot believe I messed that up, especially since I took the time to spell check it and somehow failed
Now I hate the Mario kart ride, not because it’s not a rollercoaster, but because it was basically advertised as one despite being slower than an airport baggage claim converter belt.
Very glad and lucky to have enjoyed the Walt Disney World of the Miller/Walker and somewhat of the Eisner era. Left up to Iger, the park is devolving into a souless, dirty and low qualtiy cell phone generation nightmare. Heartbreaking to say the least.
Just because the new Disney doesn’t have more original ip, and uses more movie brands in it.
Doesn’t mean it’s not creative or not a lesser work of art.
It’s not creative, and feels like commercial rather then a work of themed art.
It’s because it’s not creative and feels like a commercial.
There’s a lot you can do with the Guardians and time travel to teach history in a simulator ride like Star Tours.
Whenever people say "They just need to add a rollercoaster." I point out how Cedar did just that to Knott's and while it was great at first the rush to fill that tiny park with thrill rides ultimately resulted in a few ride nearly too rough to ride, and half the park being down for maintenance at any given moment. You genuinely can got to Knott's on a weekday, do every big ride, a few small rides, and even a show or two in just a few hours, and then there's nothing else to really do because half the coasters are down.
Yeah, I've only really had that experience there. I still haven't had a chance to get on Xcelerator
The current Fast and Furious ride is poor example for not replacing everything with a rollar coaster since that dark ride really is lousy and could use some help.
"you want another indoor coaster next to mummy and gringott?" Ding Ding Ding!!!
Love the thumbnail! The opinion I’m personally absolutely tired and annoyed of hearing is how Rise of Resistance is the greatest thing Disney has ever made, and that Galaxy’s Edge is great. Like have y’all forgotten the exceptional classic Disney rides with FULLY fleshed out scenes and impressive effects that have aged like fine wine?
Rise is a good ride the first time, but I don’t think there’s much re rideability to it. A lot of the effects feel like gimmicks to me. People always tell me how it feels so immersive too, and while I can’t take away from their experiences, let’s not act like it’s the only Disney ride to feel immersive. Other Disney rides feel fully immersive thru their queue and ride. And the queue is the only thing I think really feels immersive, and is what’s most remembered.
Far as I go, it’s a decent ride. Galaxy’s Edge doesn’t even compare to Pandora, much less Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and Super Nintendo World for me, and I could write a whole other argument as to why. I say all this as a HUGE Star Wars fan. I agree fully with your Toon Lagoon one, as a Floridian, when I go to Islands, it’s always nice getting drenched at Popeye’s and Dudley to cool off on a scorching hot day 👍
I actually don't feel like I see much praise for Rise anymore lol. The people who always had to say "THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!!" have now moved on to Cosmic Rewind. I like Rise well enough, but I'll never go out of my way to wait for it, because as you said, it does lack that re-ridability factor. Every time I go on Pirates or Haunted Mansion or Small World, I always notice something new. I think that a slow moving Star Wars attraction, one packed with detailed scenes, would probably resonate a lot better with people.
We skipped galaxy’s edge during our last trip- I used to love Star Wars too. Cool the first time, but no interest in going back.
It feels like any time I see talk of RotR it’s about how anyone who praises it is a shill. I HATE everything about what Disney has done to Star Wars. They’ve killed SW for me. I don’t think Galaxy’s Edge is particularly cool it feels more like a shopping center than an experience to me. All that in mind I thought RotR was easily one of the coolest and most immersive rides I’d ever been on. It’s exactly why I’m perfectly ok with change in the parka to see what modern technology can create in a new theme park ride.
@@ftrwrwbg I'm with you - Galaxy's Edge was kinda meh, the prequels and sequels are junk, yada yada - but Rise was a damn good ride. I was totally blown away when I rode it for the first time. And I still thought that even AFTER a long and miserable wait with a bunch of cranky kids in tow!
Thanks for speaking the truth as always. Don't be discouraged by those claiming you're too negative, we need critical thinkers and there are way, way too few of them in this fandom.
Fast and Furious supercharged needs to become a rollercoaster if it's going to be themed after Fast and Furious...
It could be a show similar to Bourne Spectacular
The Capacity arguments are the worst. People complain about long lines, then accept rides being torn down to be replaced by new rides that often have equal or less capacity, achieving nothing. Worse is when "capacity" is used to raise prices or other wise charge customers more as a "deterrent" to lower crowd levels. But at the same time if attendance drops the parks freak out and complain about low attendance and then use that to raise prices too.
Great video, as always. I love how people don't seem to realize having to wait 3+ hours in line -OR- pay extra is just horrible design. I remember thinking an hour was too long a wait in the 90s, and bringing a book to read when solo queuing in the early aughts was unbearable. The book got a lot of funny looks though. 🤣
I often visit theme parks solo and I always bring a book for the queues! It just makes sense to have something to enjoy whilst waiting in line. People do look at me oddly at times but other people strike up.conversations about what I'm reading, so I'm winning all round!
As always Poseidon, very well-crafted video!
Your analysis of EPCOT's opening-day attractions and capacity definitely stuck with me, as well as the comparison to DHS (yikes). Your references to Cosmic Rewind were also telling.
I love Toon Lagoon and Seuss Landing (especially) as well.
The real problem comes from bad justification of their opinion that is worse.
I don't think they should just slap a roller coaster everywhere, but I think galaxy's edge could use an outdoor rollercoaster where you're on the speeder bikes from Empire strikes back and has tons of practical effects like ewok animatronics. I know it wouldn't thematically make sense but still a cool idea.
Pod racing, maybe have the planet that's in the Hollywood Studios have its own version of it.
Thank you for calling out these people that dont understand and are ruining THEME parks.
I had an idea for a version for Journey Into Imagination, it's a trackless ride that holds the same theme as the original with a central room with little enclaves for show scenes, and adds a Music section, themed to 1950s Americana.
Disney has proven to me that they don't do trackless rides very well. They waste an immense amount of space and follow mostly linear paths. I think that another JII omnimover would be just fine. I wouldn't rebuild the original ride, but conceptually, something similar would work in exploring different artistic disciplines.
@@PoseidonEntertainment yeah, that's the idea, I know Disney's track record is dubious at best but I feel there's a lot you could do focusing on the arts
Here's the idea in full:
Intro: The Intro is the same as the original version with the Dream flier and Dreamfinder as he makes Figment and they go through the dream vault, which in this version is full of all sorts of locked boxes, going back to the dawn of locks with safes, steamer trunks, etc. piled high, with some open with creative ideas before entering Art.
Art: Art is an homage to the classical art period with sharp oil edges mixing with rounded mosaic dots. Dream-finder is wearing an artist's smock and beret as he pains a journey with a massive color-changing paintbrush as the ride cars waltz. The sections are portraits, Landscapes, Life, and Death. Portraits see artists painting various people, getting a view of their lives as the people and their portraits change over time. Landscapes have the riders ride through a vast Life heads into a tavern full of drunken merriment where the booze flows like water out of Niagra Falls before leaving and heading into the bustling city streets, where the townsfolk have set up a carnival. Death depicts the warriors of old fighting battles in a massive conflict. The ride cars go through the painting and enter Writing.
Writing: Writing is very dark; it's set in a forest where the branches of the trees are made of letters at night with the only light being the moon with many trees; the ride cars scurry around the almost pitch black hub, in the middle on the edge of a cliff as the Dreamfinder is dressed like the Phantom of the Opera, typing on a typewriter pipe organ. The ride cars are aimless yet fast, leaving riders unsure of where they're going and disoriented by the identical and thick woods. The show scenes are Frankenstein, The Tell-Tale Heart, Dracula, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Frankenstein features Dr. Frankenstein looking over the lifeless corpse of the monster from a balcony, lording over guests as his creature is brought to life, and standing up with Dr Frankenstein, realizing the error of his hubris. The Tell-Tale Heart has Cops and the narrator chatting idly as a heart beats louder and louder, with only the narrator able to hear it. Dracula has Riders enter his castle before being greeted by the man himself, going through catacombs, and being chased by his brides and then wolves as you finally escape the castle. Lastly, Sleepy Hollow has riders cross a bridge before being pursued by the headless horseman through the woods, then returning the way they came. The riders exit through the cave below the Dream-finder.
Music: The cars exit Writing and are hit with tonal whiplash as Music is a Neon-soaked 1950s fever dream. The ride cars enter through the Auto Works. They are spinning fast around coupes and sedans, mimicking swing dancing with the Dream-finder. They are made to look younger in a leather jacket, T-shirt, and jeans sitting on the back of a Caddy, while Figment wears a Letterman jacket. The ceiling is adorned with flashing neon signs that spell outlines to famous rock and roll songs ("Oh baby that's a what I like," "Lay off of my blue suede shoes," "Let's do the Twist," "You ain't nothing but a hound dog" etc.) The area itself is a small town city-scape with 8 buildings, "JC's bail bonds, Presley and Berry Autoworks, Everly Bros. Music shop, Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. memorial gymnasium, Buddy's Bowling alley, Perkin's Shoes, Orbison's Theatre and the Sugar Bowl Malt Shop." There are 4 Segments, The Sock Hop, Drag Race, Rock and Roll show, and Lovebirds. The Sock Hop is a small gymnasium dressed up as a sock hop where Animatronic teens on their on-moving platforms dance around as cars are paired up, mimicking swing dance. The Drag Race goes through JC's Bonds and sees a black 1958 Pontiac Bonneville race a ruby red 1932 Ford Coupe hot rod with the cars almost hitting them head-on. The Rock and Roll Show is at Orbison's Theatre, where "Ace High" Sampson is rocking and rolling with his band, swiveling his hip and jamming out on his acoustic guitar to an audience of screaming fans. Lovebirds goes into Buddy's bowling alley and features couples sipping malts and doing things deeply in love. The ride cars exit through the malt shop and into Theatre.
Theatre: The cars enter Theatre, and it has a very 1920s vibe with Dreamfinder and Figments on a stage in Tuxedos. Meanwhile, the ride cars behave freely, but not as chaotically as music with four brightly lit marquis. The sections are Comedy, Tragedy, Puppetry, and musicals. Comedy sees caricatures of Abbot and Costello, the Marx brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges do their thing. Tragedy is more Greek-oriented with Dante's Inferno and Oedipus Rex, as well as the end of Frankenstein and the finale of Hamlet. Puppetry features puppets ranging from ancient Corn dolls to the Muppets putting on various shows. Musicals see Opera singers mix with more Disney-like musicals and the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, creating a rather absurd scene. The riders move on to science before the stage sinks to the floor.
Science: As the ride vehicles enter Science, they're met with a 1960s Space Age laboratory with Dream-finder Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Inventions. Biology has scientists studying various animals in humorous ways, like measuring a giraffe's neck and putting a platypus under black light. Physics shows humorous examples of physics in motion, such as Newton's balls and the old Feather and Bowling ball trick. Chemistry sees riders shrink down and see inside of a drop of water. Inventions show off famous inventions and their creators, like Edison and his bulb and Whitney and his Cotton Gin.
Finale: The Finale has Figment singing "One little spark" as videos of him using the arts play on film reels in the background before passing famous figures who used their imaginations for writing, art, theatre, science, and music (like Hemingway, Einstein, Picasso, Elvis and Arthur Sullivan).
RIDE CAPACITY! Such an important point
That "no new IP =bad park" take is so painful when my home park is Efteling...
That's the top park I want to visit. It just looks like it has so much charm.
Disney needs to do SOMETHING with the people mover track that’s jsut decaying outside of the show building locations, it’s honestly a very sad eyesore.
Well, at least it's shade for when you stand in line for a sour cherry pretzel.
The thing that shocked me about this video is that people don't like Cartoon Lagoon! I've only had the pleasure of going to Universal Orlando twice in my life, but I was completely enchanted by Cartoon Lagoon both times. Sure the Wizarding World and Jurassic Park were cool, but Cartoon Lagoon was just magical to me, someone who grew up reading the comics in my grandparent's newspapers and watching Boomerang on Cartoon Network,
People need to stop saying its bad because "No one knows the characters". You DO know the characters, you just don't care about them, and in your mind that means they deserve to be tossed out like some week old trend. Absolutely not! I will always take dated but immersive themeing over cheaply done marketing cash grabs.
I absolutely love highly thematic areas, and would rather have a very immersive land with easter eggs to explore and only 1 ride, than have a bland land with 3 coasters
As a classic cartoon fan, I DESPERATELY wanna go to Toon Lagoon. I feel like I'd instantly die upon entry, God forbid they get rid of it! Especially before I can go!
It drives me CRAZY when people say that Rafiki’s Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom needs to turn into Wakanda, or frankly, go anywhere. It’s literally the ANIMAL HOSPITAL. Not only would they have to spend however many millions of dollars building a land there, they would also have to relocate and rebuild specialized veterinary equipment for exotic animals. Insanity. Stop saying it. Shut up and take the train back there next time you’re at DAK.
Yeah, that's another annoying opinion that I see a lot. I'm pretty sure the idea that Animal Kingdom needs Wakanda came from Grace Randolph, which is absolutely one of the worst takes I've encountered.
This is the difference between Poseidon and most other theme park RUclipsrs. Not just saying what’s wrong but why it’s wrong and how to do better.
14:31 I love this point! I have no issues with all new attractions being based on IP on its own. However it seems like often times Disney is building uninspired low budget lands and attractions and slapping IPs on them to attract visitors. One thing I loved about IOA is you don't have to be familiar with the IP's to enjoy the lands and attractions they offer. I've never read Harry Potter or seen any of the films and yet I enjoy the attractions, love browsing the shops, and drink tons of butter beer.
Definitely getting old because I have seen many an episode of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley do right, and George of the jungle!
There’s a fair few videos of yours that I strongly disagree with, but you are absolutely correct here; both on account of people misattributing Walt’s words, as well as how unbelievably stupid it is to genuinely believe that an opinion can never be objective fact.
I don't enjoy roller coasters much at all, but I agree that Fast and the Furious definitely deserves to be a roller coaster over a static simulator. Mario Kart should at least be a little faster if not a full roller coaster. It's literally a RACING game.
I agree with most of the things u mentioned, for example I only know about popeye but I still love toon lagoon, the theming is so immersive but I think it's also the nostalgic part for me, I would be devastated if they change everything.
On the other hand, idk why I'm actually excited for the princess and the frog ride?? maybe it's because I've only been to splash mountain once and I loove TPAF movie? like maybe it would've been better if they built a completely different ride instead of re-theming. I just hope the new ride mix well to the frontier/adventure land theme so that my immersion don't get ruined
sorry for bad english
You woke up an chose violence for this one haha.
I mostly agree with your entire video. Only thing I disagree with is, other than location, you’ve gotta admit that Fast & Furious should be a rollercoaster. That makes more sense than so many others IMO
An indoor coaster? No. Now that Hollywood has opened the doors for a less themed thrill coaster? Yeah, I'm down for that. I wouldn't want a third thrill coaster in the park, but two would balance it quite well.
I'd argue that the *illusion* of speed can be done just as well. Coasters need a lot of track that gets chewed up quickly. The six axis vehicles used in Transforners can make you think you're going quickly in scenes.
Part of the problem is a choice of using a bus for a high-speed mayhew ride. Buses are clunky and not as maneuverable, and since your views on the sides and top are obscured, you can't get as immersed in the prerendered visuals with a family of strangers and ceilibg gentky rocking with you. Tram rides work better with practical effects surrounding the enclosed vehicle shell. Smaller vehicles can accelerate in multiple directions--and it is the acceleration, not pure speed, that makes a ride thrilling.
As someone who visited EPCOT in June 1994, I can assure everyone, it was NOT empty. Even with the capacity-monster nature of the old rides, we waited 30-60 minutes for most of the major attractions, (Journey into Imagination was by far the most crowded,) and struggled to find viewing lines for the fireworks because of how many people there were. It was way more "empty" when I returned to visit in August 2009. (Mission: Space and Soarin' were the only rides with long lines.)
Popeye is about to get a major popularity boost with the character entering the public domain.
Will it? It'll be interesting to see how things play out
I can't wait for the new horror movie, "Popeye Is a Scary Guy Now"
I am tickled by #9 in your list of shame. I met Roy Rogers once when I was a kid, and that's my least famous claim to fame. xD
I think the people who defend whatever decisions Disney makes are doing it because they feel like their own decision to continue to visit the parks is being attacked. It's perfectly acceptable to say that you don't like the price hikes, the app-ification of the experience, the loss of on-property hotel perks or some of the newer rides, but that you still think it's worth it to ride The Haunted Mansion again.
Personally, I would say most people wanting the Mario Cart ride to be a roller coaster are not considering its placement in any park at all, but are rather expressing their opinion on what kind of ride would best encapsulate the game source material. I agree that a themed roller coaster fits the spirit of the fast, chaotic racing game better than a dark ride does.
The thing with Toon Lagoon is that the whole land is just plain fun. It doesn't really matter if you know the source material or not, since most of the attractions are easily understandable. The little gags littered across Toon Lagoon are funny without knowing the material, and as someone with little knowledge on many of the comic strips and cartoons the land is based on the whole land feels nostalgic and is very enjoyable.
Someone needs to section off a part of a Six Flags with Starship Troopers theming just to generate endless internet arguments.
A roller coaster themed around the Arachnids, an arcade with shooting gallery games, Sgt Zim's obstacle course...
On the topic of toon lagoon, walking through and having next to no idea who most of these characters are is, to me, kinda part of the charm?
It adds to the feeling of the area as being a kinda novelty montage pastiche you can walk through.
I don't think it would maintain the same sense of reverence if they were all instantly recognizable.
If they got rid of Toon Lagoon I’d be pissed. I know the cartoons there, and the water rides are such a perfect break in the middle of the trip if it’s hot. I remember on my last trip there there was a dude bro, someone who looks like the opposite of the demographic, absolutely gushing over Rickshaw Falls and how much he loved Dudley Do Right as a kid. Had a blast with him on the ride.
I thoroughly enjoy, and generally tend to agree with most of your opinions/assessments (though I rarely comment). This time is no different, however, this time I felt the need to comment.
I am a well travelled enthusiast, having ridden well over 1,000 coasters at ~ 283 locations in 16 countries. Yet, I would never consider myself an “expert”, as the more I learn and discover, the more I realize I don’t know.
Here, an old adage comes to mind: “All theme parks are amusement parks - yet, not all amusement parks are theme parks”. Some are quasi-related, as they can’t find a singular identity. A majority of “enthusiasts” nowadays cannot differentiate between the two, and usually equate them, and are just “park enthusiasts”.
For me - a “theme park” has to have an all-immersive experience, consistent from beginning to end in the “land” or “area” of the park I happen to be in. Giving an area a “western” theme, with the obligatory cowboy hats/guns and a sign with a snake - yet the shops are generic and the ride-ops having the same uniforms throughout the whole park, does not equate to the immersive experience of theming.
IMO - there are very few “theme parks” in the United States, and none of them are perfectly consistent. The better ones that come to mind: DL, MK, IOA, AK, Gilroy Gardens, SDC, DW, BGW, BGT and the Legolands (I might include the Peppa Pig park, but I haven’t been there). Many have lost their identity and/or their way: KBF, USF, DCA, EPCOT, HS and DCA. Then there are parks that had an identity and are now trying to change them: the Sea world parks and USH. I consider all CF and SF parks to be expensive, glorified carnivals (not bad by any means, just facts).
In 1999, IOA set a new standard for “theme parks” everywhere!! When I visited IOA during the preview days in April ‘99, my friends and I all noticed a specific thing that set them apart from everyone else - the walkways. They were all painted, stamped and textured to match the theme of the land, and had matching trash receptacles and benches. All other parks (aside from the “Main Streets” in DL and MK), had concrete or blacktop walkways. Within 2 years, ALL Disney parks had new walkways, and themed trash receptacles. Talk about impact!
Dark rides and shows, stores and restaurants, all play an integral part of what makes up theming. A complete “dark ride” (queue/preshow/ride/exit) is what makes a memorable experience. A “standout” roller coaster will not make or break a theme park, but it can make or break an amusement park.
Thank you for your videos, and the work you put into them.
I had no idea that IoA set the standard for stuff like trash cans lol. I always assumed that it was a Disney park standard and wouldn't have assumed that the changes were so recent either. I'll have to look out for that whenever I sift through old footage.
The more Disney focuses on IP the less of a difference there is between them and Universal. Which is not a good thing.
The optimist looks upward and loses his footing. The pessimist looks downward and hits his head. The realist looks onward, and adjusts his path accordingly.
I'd say a major reason that Popeye, Do Right, and R&B have relevance in the millennial consciousness is because they all had live action movies in the 90's and early 2000's. The only reason I, a thirty-something, am familiar with Dennis the Menace is because I had the 1993 film on VHS. The animated shows could sometimes be found on TV Land or Cartoon Network, and while they may be available on streaming services now, you're not likely to know they're there unless you're actively looking for them because they aren't advertised.
None of this is to say that Toon Lagoon should be leveled due to declining cultural relevance. Splash Mountain was based on a film Disney has largely disavowed since it's last theatrical re-release in 1986, with no official hard copies available except outside the US. It was nevertheless a much beloved ride. Toon Lagoon could be too if Universal hadn't left it for dead. Make it looks less like the setting for a creepypasta and reintroduce these characters via new cartoons and/or a marketing nudge from streaming, perhaps an "Oldies" category filling TV Land's old niche. Nostalgia still sells, but there are decades other than the 80's.
I did wonder how the revival of these characters in the 90s led to my understanding of them. I never saw any of the films or bothered to watch the re-runs, but I was still well aware of who they were. I think that the Flintstones are another good example too. Really, any re-runs on Cartoon Network probably did a lot to expose kids to these characters.
I still agree though. Even if you're not familiar with the IP, the attraction design should more than be able to make up for the lack of context. I think that most people were surprised to learn that Splash Mountain was based on a film, always just taking the characters at face value as something produced specifically for the ride.
The people saying Dudley Do-Right is a better themed experience than Splash Mountain are some of the most insane people ever.
No, it's certainly not better themed, but it's better than what most other parks offer
We are in a day and age, unfortunately, where anyone who has a computer or smartphone can claim to “be an expert” and have an important opinion. While all opinions are valid, not all-and very few-are actually important. It seems our nation has been blanketed by an overburdensome mantle of the Dunning-Kruger Effect and we have lost our ability to think critically, especially when it comes to our own talents, skills, and experiences. One can have an opinion but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world needs to or has to hear it, and quite honestly: most of the time the world is a better place WITHOUT it.
I can’t say I’m a fan of the Dudley Do Right character (just never grew up with it) but that ride is mind blowing to me it’s so incredibly detailed and fun
I have a video idea. What if you became the CEO of Disney? How would you change the parks? If you want you could make it a series, also doing Universal and SeaWorld etc.
An obscure one, but "The Adventurers Club could've stayed open when PI closed." (Or relocated to a park, usually DAK, which makes even less thematic sense.) The Club's humor relied on a certain number of unknowing guests wandering in every night to work. Having nothing but in-the-know fans there ruined the comedy.
I wasn't old enough to experience it, so I have no perspective on that. However, it was my understanding that it was one of only a few clubs still profitable by the time PI was demolished, so I wouldn't be opposed to seeing it return. At the very least, the concept seemed interesting.
You have the most intelligent, well-thought-out discourse on amusement parks that I have ever seen on the internet.
As an old fogey, I resent the "You are just afraid of change"mantra.
I love Disneyland, and I'm okay with new attractions being added, but I despise new people coming in and altering or covering what the original designers came up with.
The original creators of the Haunted Mansion came up with a classic, and people loved it. It never needed improvement.
Go invent your own attractions and see if they become classic.😢
Yeah, the "you just don't like change" sentiment is nothing other than lazy discourse. There's a reason that Haunted Mansion has resonated with people for decades.