It never made sense for Avatar to replace an existing area in one of the two California parks. "Hey Brickey" pointed out that the monorail in both Tomorrowland and the Hollywood Backlot is a serious impediment to Avatar retheming. Retheming the Hollywood Backlot to Zootopia, however, makes a lot more sense, especially since the transition would be less extreme and the monorail would fit right in.
Iger's comment specifically mentions the Flywheel effect which is a business term from Jim Collin's book "Good to Great." It refers to doing small things over and over to create something Big. It's actually the most telling part of his statement and everyone seems to have missed it. He is saying Disneyland forward will be piece by piece (land by land), not a huge project all at once. He is speaking to investors here, not us.
Love the way you ended this video! It’s very clear that you are always thinking about how to make your stories a little more detailed. I appreciate your thoughtful efforts!
I think it's still possible for Avatar Land to end up at the Hollywood Backlot. As part of the construction of the new parking structure on the east side of the resort Disney is planning to demolish the current bus drop off zone and relocate it to the parking structure (as shown in the renderings). If the Avatar Land was expanded into the entirety of the bus drop off zone, and the Disneyland car drop off zone adjacent to the Hollywood Backlot was also relocated to the new parking structure, Disney would open up about 12.5 acres for construction, substantially larger than the land in Florida.
I feel like Avatar is much more unique as a land. Floating mountains, glows at night, etc. Whether I like an IP or not I’m still gonna go so all I care about is: is it interesting to move around in?
I don't love the idea either but it's not hard to see why they are attaching a land to two of the highest grossing movies ever with what 4 more movies in development for Avatar.
Speaking as a software engineer, there have been many times where my team worked on a feature and released it only to have the product team kill it later. So it is possible (however unlikely) that a team was working on that no show counter and a different team entirely could be planning to kill reservations.
I would say it is not possible for Pandora to replace Grizzly Peak. That would ruin the esthetic of the Grand Californian Lodge which is set as a California mountain resort. Grizzly Peak is critical to the hotel setting. The Hollywood Backlot is the most logical spot and that placement does depend on Disneyland Forward as it requires the Eastern Gateway to happen. Certainly, Disney could build Pandora in the expansion area south of the hotels but, the Disneyland Forward rendering does not depict Pandora. That piece of concept art was created years ago, well before the Way of Water was a mega-hit and planned for the Disneyland Resort.
They're not going to diminish capacity, drop 150 million on demo just to put a dinky Avatar in the back lot. Not to mention James Cameron has to have it his way
I never liked the idea of retheming grizzly.. the theme is great! Heck, I skip camping up here in the pacific northwest to go to DL. Having the woods down there is a bonus! Plus, being in the “raft” with other complete strangers is great! You get to face each other and watch their expressions! One of favorite memories is taking pictures for two Japanese foreign tourists while on river run… then I air dropped the pics to them afterwards… I only speak a little Japanese, but friendliness and laughter are two universal languages, right?
Some people love to beat a dead horse, but please Disney give us what appeals to all guests. Ideas like Discovery Bay at Disneyland Park and WestCOT as the third gate is what park goers want to see!
Not all guests want to see what you want to see. There is virtually nothing that appeals to ALL guests at the same time. Whatever doesn’t appeal to you is probably somebody else’s favorite thing.
Yes! Disney needs to remember that theme parks are a storytelling medium capable of standing on their own. Unfortunately, the executives are obsessed with just turning them into add-on experiences for the movies. IP does belong in the park, but they shouldn't be the only focus.
Reservations is bad for guests that are not Disneyland Experts. Normal family will be let down by the 'systems' Disneyland has put into visiting the park.
I don't want Pandora to come to Disneyland and let it stay as an Animal Kingdom exclusive but it would be great to retheme its ride in Galaxys Edge as a Speeder Bike ride
the deal Disney made with the city states that the money that will be spent has tone for entertainment and to increase attendance and capacity. Retiming grizlley area does non of that. yes attendance might increase because it is something new but unless there is a huge capacity increase it would just basically be replacing attractions that are there already. It doesn't really help add to the parks capacity
I think it’s too general a statement to say the reservation system is guest-unfriendly. As an out-of-town magic key holder, making reservations is all part of planning the trip, and is super easy to do. Pre-reservations, as someone who visited the parks multiple times a year, I’d notice the afternoons and evenings would be super crowded, and make for a pretty lousy experience even on weekdays. Since the reservation system went in place, I’ve noticed the evenings are still busy, but noticeably less crazy than before. This has improved my family’s experience, where nighttime doesn’t feel as suffocating as it did in the past. I do understand it is a hassle for locals, but there are guests out there like me who are not local, do pay for Genie+ each visit, and see the reservation system as a passive form of crowd control. Anyway, just sharing my two cents about how it’s not necessarily a negative for ALL guests. I definitely empathize with local magic key holders that it’s more a negative than neutral or positive. Lastly, I really miss fastpass and max pass.
Yeah I don’t have any issues as someone who is out of state now. And no one I know has issues who lives there. I don’t understand the constant complaining about reservations.
I'm a Southern California resident. Last year, I was planning a trip to WDW, but I decided not to go. I had experienced the reservation system at Disneyland, and I didn't want to go through that unpleasantness again or on a multi-day scale.
@@TheChrisJaynes Alternatively, we sent someone from our team to Walt Disney World in March of last year and they had a wonderful experience. Park Reservations were a non-issue, crowds were at a moderate level and they enjoyed themselves. 6 fun-filled days at the Disney Parks. I guess there’s two ways to look at the situation. Fight it and not go, or accept it and have a wonderful time.
What I think is that Disney would have to put the new land closer to the existing park's, than farther because I've been to the Toy story lot before and it's too far away. Now I can see it over by Downtown Disney in one of the lots there and being that it could be connected just behind DCA and that would make it easier. Now would they build a new parking structure on one of the existing parking lots.
I really don’t understand the supposed similarity between Pandora and Grizzly Peak. Trees are completely different and there is no wide open spaces. I do appreciate the thoughts / updates.
Agree with your facts about why the reservation system is stupid. And the people that buy up their lies are some dummies. This isn’t new to Disney, it’s a business that has been extremely successful way before covid. They know their data. Also agree about them closing the gates. It’s happened before but not like people make it seem that the poor family from Louisiana isn’t going to get into Disney and now their vacation is ruined.
I love Disneyland! 1980s 100% Love 1990s 95% Love 2000s 90% Love 2010s 95% Love 2020s 55% Love - Feel like they are making decisions that are not good for guests.
@@disneyguy3116 By the 2030s Disney will have been broken up, taken over and the Make Disney Great Again movement will be underway as the park is pulled backwards to the 1980s.
At the very least, multi day ticket holders should not have reservations. If I go to California for 9 days. I want to get a 4 or 5 day pass and go when it works on the fly on my trip. When I lived there and was a pass holder, we'd sometimes go for only a few hours. This system makes people feel they should stay all day. In a few hours we still spent the same amount of money.
It has been fun speculating BUT it always was Disneyland Forward! yes they needed the approval because the needed the space. BUT the magic words all along where ADD CAPACITY you cant add capacity with a Re Skin or a make over!
Disney should take a poll from the fans for suggestions of what to put into the new expansion. That way the fans of Disney feel like it was their ideas, and if it sucks well it's their fault..
Interesting points and ones I believe BUT I wonder if you took into account how much distance has to be cleared between Walnut St and attractions that are indoor or outdoor. Does that make a difference And as you briefly mentioned but I think is the main point. Nothing happens until eastern gateway is almost done. Sure they could shuffle a few things but my guess is they want more people in the parks so they get a revenue boost while building. Add to that a pretty solid price increase and you have your working capital bumper for building the rest.
The reservation system is in place for the benefit of the out of town guests. They probably spend 10x the money per day as the locals do what with transportation, hotels, food and lodging. If the out of towners experience jammed packed parks they will not come back with their wads of cash which would be bad for Disney’s bottom line.
I hate hearing that they are going to remove or reskin anything. Going forward they should only add and refurbish attractions, maybe plus them a bit. I still wish they would restore Tomorrowland.
The solution to Tomorrowland is to rename it. Renaming it to Yesterland, or something similar, is all that is needed. Then, the land would be fine just as it is.
They're lying. And when I take over Disney and usher in the Make Disney Great Again era, the only things that will be removed is anything that opened after Indiana Jones because it was then that Disneyland was completed. There is no imagination left in the world. I will be bringing back old attractions, too.
Loved the rant at the end! I agree with you 100% it’s crazy. I just had an issue with my cousin that bought a park ticket but had to change the reservation after purchase… he was confused though he was good on the day change, us magic key holders got in fine day of but not him, he had to wait in hopes for there to be a reservation cuz he didn’t actually change the date. I did it quickly for him on the other side of the gate. He got in!! Him and his girlfriend that hadn’t been there in 16 years. So annoying. Once in, everything was fine but they shouldn’t have to go through that. Not everyone can have a homie help them quickly lol. One day ticket. Rarely go and have all that hassle. Come on Disney!
Why are you an Avatar fan? I'm asking sincerely. Whatever it is you like about it is lost on me, so I'd like to know why movies that I thought were horrendous would be so liked by someone else...so much so that they want a theme park to dedicate space, themeing, and attractions for it.
@@TheChrisJaynes The first Avatar movie is the highest-grossing film of all time, and the second Avatar movie is the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time. Both movies are certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes; you're really in the minority if you think they are "horrendous."
@orion7763 First, you weren't the person of whom I was asking this question, but if you were going to respond, with which I'm okay, you could have at least answered my question. I want to know, from someone who liked the films, why you liked the films, especially the first one? Personally, I'm a story guy. First and foremost, the story has to be good. I'm not wowed by special effects. The first Avatar film had great special effects, but the story was dumb, in my opinion. Your opinion is clearly different. All I want to know is why. In person, the handful of people I know who saw the first film all said the same thing, "Great special effects. Stupid story." To my knowledge, none of them saw the second film. I don't think I know anyone who has seen The Way of Water. I'm guessing you've seen both films, which means you liked the first film well enough to see the second. Why? What is it about these films that you liked? I'm not being critical, here. Im not being judgemental. I'm not trolling. I'm simply trying to understand. And let's be fair. I may be in the minority of people who dislike the films from those who have seen them, but the majority of people have never seen them, which means, most people weren't interested in these films from the beginning. I was interested, and I was disappointed.
David, its about time youve come around on this topic. Ive been a critic of your opinions and position on the reservation system, and it only took 3 or 4 years to recognize the truth that the reservation system is a necessary tool in managing park attendance. Other than this one issue i have ever disagree with you on, this is one of the best sources for Disneyland news and why i continued to watch.
With the financial commitment already being given to the forward projects I don't see them putting avatar in the grizzly peak because that would require an retheme of the grand california hotel. Hollywood Backlot seriously needs to be a redo probably to more marvel stuff. I think avatar will be attached to Disneyland. They can do what they did with star wars land as far as the transitions between the lands goes.
Of course it is logical to place it within Disney Forward. They used it as leverage with the City... it wouldn't work in either Grizzly Peak nor Hollywood Backlot. Why take away original ideas to import IP properties?? Zootopia would fit in the backlot and leave Grizzly Peak/Soarin' alone.
I personally am very excited for an Avatar land especially if it ends up being different attractions than Orlando. Flight of Passage is cool but its visuals aren’t quite there for me and many others. The land itself is breathtaking and I’m a little partial as well because I spent 2 years working on Avatar 2 while they were filming here in LA. Considering we can all but almost guarantee there will be a Frozen Land and probably an Encanto/Coco Land, possibly Zootopia, I think and it’s sounding like there will be plenty of options to fulfill nearly everyone’s appetite for new attractions with their favorite characters and lands.
David, we totally detest the Reservation System, we agree with you that Disney is not forthcoming with why the Reservation System is still enforced here at Disneyland, it is for Control purposes. Disneyland wants to get us so used to accepting whatever it decides to do any time, we have no say, even if we adore and love Disneyland. So sad.
I started buying annual passes in the late 80's so I could go for dinner, watch a show, and maybe go on a ride or two, as well as occasionally going for a full day now and then. As a pass holder, I went to the park a lot more often, but usually just for a few hours per visit. I no longer live in CA or FL, but if I did, I doubt I would buy annual passes if I had to make advance reservations or had blackout dates. I want to be able to go when I want and visit for as few or as many hours as I want. The whole point of having an annual pass is flexibility.
Maybe they’ll move the bus turnaround to the OTHER side of Harbor Blvd when they build a huge new Eastern parking garage? That would add 3-4 acres of land to Hollywood land’s 5 acres?? 🤷🏼♂️
Keyholders are probably the best guests to gauge if a day is too busy or not. We've had several occasions where we have walked in and said, maybe tomorrow will be better, and left
Interesting take. Again, we complain that the park isn’t affordable anymore. Then Disney does something about that, and we say “HA the park isn’t busy enough that’s why they have to discount tickets!!!” Well which one do we want? Do we want the park to be packed and expensive or packed and affordable? Disney fans, why can’t we just decide which one we want? We are so back and forth it’s crazy. We want affordability. WE WANT AFFORDABILITY. Walt would want affordability. So let’s not make fun of, or knock Disney for trying to make it affordable for children to attend Walt’s park during the summer.
Pixar Pals lot already used the 2nd floor as designated castmember parking, predominantly for a lot of downtown Disney operating participants as well as parkside castmembers and other downtown Disney castmembers. Lilo lot is for Disneyland hotel CM’s
Suggestions please. I’m coming all the way from New Zealand Jan/Feb for 16 days. Reservations make me nervous. It is cheaper for 16 days to get magic key. BUT you can only reserve 5 days. Do I get MK and hope for the best? Or pay more to make sure we don’t miss days? Any tips or tricks to help?
Hi David. There is a parking lot on the northeast corner of Harbor Blvd and Ball road that Disney bought a few years ago. Do they still have that space for cast members to park? There was some mention of building another parking structure like the Toy Story parking structure. However Disney goes, it will be several years before it will be done. We appreciate how you are trying to get more information about the location. Hopefully it will be revealed soon!
I don’t think pandora is going into Disneyland forward bc bob was saying we have a place for it before the voting. Unless they knew they were going to win the vote beforehand.
Disney World also has four parks two water parks, multiple monorails multiple Skyliners over 10 different hotel/resorts not needing reservations is a completely different thing than Anaheim.
Since the run Disney event is at the harbor Blvd side cast member parking lot, I don’t think they will start anything on the eastern bridge until after September when they have that event…
I can see a Zootopia land replacing Hollywood land which would work nicely incorporating the monorail and be able to make a good transition. Disneyland forward I could see a Frozen land replacing Critter Country, followed by Avatar land.
I’d rather have Neverland than Arendale. Arendale doesn’t seem as “fantastical” to me. Rides based off of Neverland itself would be cool. Keep Peter Pans Flight in Fantasyland. Do Hook pirates, Lostboys, pixies in the new land. It could go next to Critter country and the Fantasy tower. It just makes sense to me. Idk
I honestly don’t think there was any other contingency beyond Disneyland Foreword. Pandora wouldn’t fit anywhere in California Adventure, simply because Pandora isn’t in, around or linked to California. They went to great pains to create ‘lore’ for why the normally New York based Avengers had built a campus in California, so they’re firmly trying to keep California Adventure California themed - even if Little Mermaid can vaguely be linked to California. With regards to the change to the booking system for Magic Key, I’ve noticed in videos evening during quiet days that booking are ‘sold out’, so surely they’re putting that info on no shows because too many key holders are booking and not showing up, preventing others from booking. And why do they still have a booking system? If they know how many people are likely to come, they know how many food places to open, how much merch to stock, how many cast members to bring in. It’s nothing to do with the guest experience, it’s all to do with cutting cost.
The one thing needed from Disney to really be rid of the reservation system is to actually show how busy the parks are. I used to use mouse wait to see the capacity percentage in the parks. If Disney were to actually do that it would really create the same buzz you get when you see a really low wait time for a ride. A good compromise would be to allow key holders to go to the parks after 5-6 pm without a reservation. The reservation system is a hurdle that needs to die.
Avatar has multiple new movies coming so I can see why it is appealing. Same for Arendale and Frozen that has multiple new movies coming in the years. I don’t understand why people are persistent on Neverland. I just don’t see them investing in something like that unless they have more Peter Pan movies planned.
I would build a parking structure in the downtown Disney Parking lot. Tear up the Stitch and parking lot! Build the new land there. Access will be from the critter country to the new land. I had many dreams about this. My engineering mind is running rampant in this. As a new Inspire MK. I don't see why I can't make reservations for October? Single tickets can be booked in October and beyond.
Floor 2 of Mickey and friends and Pixar pals (Coco) is already reserved for cast members and is usually pretty full so they’d need to give cast members 2 floors out of the 6 which seems unreasonable
Grizzly River Run isn't going anywhere. Galaxy's Edge is going bye bye after the government breaks up Disney under antitrust and gives Lucasfilm back to George.
that wouldn't work because with the way Disneyland is designed Arendelle would have to be a part of Fantasyland, but there's no room left in Fantasyland. Avatar is a better choice because it can be its own separate thing without any ties to any other land.
@@JessAnderson1988 NOPE. It could literally be anywhere in the expansion they wanted. Tell me that Batuu could only be near Star Tours and Tomorrowland... You see that's not true.
I wish - if there was enough space - that they would do something like Cosmic Rewind in the Hollywood Backlot. I think Monsters Inc. could easily be relocated
Why don't Disney put carparks underground? Is there an issue with that in California? I live in Sydney and almost all of our carparks go muliple levels underground to use all available land space.
Pandora is an awesome experience in AK and that’s what makes traveling to both California and Florida fun and unique…because each park has different experiences. I would rather see Disney create a new experience at Disneyland forward and not put the same stuff at both parks
Aloha Dave..well I love you, support your channel on Patreon and appreciate all your work. That said, as a guy that only buys three or four day passes( i live in Hawaii and an annual pass makes no since for me since I only go once or twice a year) I like and appreciate the reservation system because i have seen the bifference it makes. i don't mean to put coals of fire on your head but this is one area we disagree. I look forward to the eastern gateway and hope they drop shovels on that post haste. My dream is they get that done while building something on Simba but...close down Tomorrowland and start a rejuvanation of that land including going outside the berm in that area by the current entrance..and rebuld the Peoplemover and put the darned Rocket Jets back on top of that structure like it was years ago! I love you and your channel Dave and thank you again for your work
I feel like Avatar could take over redwood creek only because I feel like it could blend in well with Grizzly similarly how they transition from Big Thunder to Star Wars.
I know I am in the minority, but Avatar is not a draw for me. I did not care for the first movie and didn’t even try to watch the second one. Therefore, the only part of the Disney resort I am okay with sacrificing for Pandora is the parking lot. 😂 Always love your takes and watch every video. Be well!
Total blue sky thinking... What if the majority of the Hollywood part of DCA (everything north of the monorail) was absorbed into Disneyland... specifically Tomorrowland. Guests would then travel to Pandora via a futuristic space port near where the Space Mountain fast pass terminals used to be. Guests accessing the parks from the new parking structure would use a pedestrian corridor that runs basically under the monorail. The empty building facades the line Hollywood Boulevard could be fleshed out into functional shops or dining locations.
We’re all focused on new attractions and lands for Disneyland Forward, but I think most of the expansion will be for Disney hotels. Disney can double dip on out-of-town guests when they also stay on property.
Other than the fact that the opposite has been indicated by management, and it hasn’t been shown in any submitted proposals or concept artwork, you could be right.
I predict the huge esplanade getting smaller and becoming absorbed into the parks. If the new parking garage across harbor because you’ll go through security there
The results of DisneylandForward has my attention. And I hope it does go forward as I follow it. But as much as Iger keeps boasting about Avatar coming to Disneyland, he keeps forgetting about other attractions, like the Avengers e-ticket ride, that still haven't broken ground yet.
It never made sense for Avatar to replace an existing area in one of the two California parks. "Hey Brickey" pointed out that the monorail in both Tomorrowland and the Hollywood Backlot is a serious impediment to Avatar retheming. Retheming the Hollywood Backlot to Zootopia, however, makes a lot more sense, especially since the transition would be less extreme and the monorail would fit right in.
Idk how this would work but they could make the monorail look the monorail from the opening of Way of Water where Jake hijacks the train weapons
Iger's comment specifically mentions the Flywheel effect which is a business term from Jim Collin's book "Good to Great." It refers to doing small things over and over to create something Big. It's actually the most telling part of his statement and everyone seems to have missed it. He is saying Disneyland forward will be piece by piece (land by land), not a huge project all at once. He is speaking to investors here, not us.
Love the way you ended this video! It’s very clear that you are always thinking about how to make your stories a little more detailed. I appreciate your thoughtful efforts!
I think it's still possible for Avatar Land to end up at the Hollywood Backlot. As part of the construction of the new parking structure on the east side of the resort Disney is planning to demolish the current bus drop off zone and relocate it to the parking structure (as shown in the renderings). If the Avatar Land was expanded into the entirety of the bus drop off zone, and the Disneyland car drop off zone adjacent to the Hollywood Backlot was also relocated to the new parking structure, Disney would open up about 12.5 acres for construction, substantially larger than the land in Florida.
2:23 it couldn't be Grizzly Peak because it's themeing is integral to GCH.
I don’t understand the draw for Avatar. I would rather have more Pixar IP attractions. If anything bring Moana instead of Avatar
I feel like Avatar is much more unique as a land. Floating mountains, glows at night, etc. Whether I like an IP or not I’m still gonna go so all I care about is: is it interesting to move around in?
It’s laziness.
It’s already been done/made.
It’s cheaper.
And faster to do.
Why would they it’s just up bob’s alley.
Or lilo and stich or something
There's about $5.2 billion (combined) worth of folks who disagree, it would seem.
I don't love the idea either but it's not hard to see why they are attaching a land to two of the highest grossing movies ever with what 4 more movies in development for Avatar.
I have to say that the Avatar experience at Disney world was amazing, inside and out. But I don't like it enough to have it replace an existing land.
Speaking as a software engineer, there have been many times where my team worked on a feature and released it only to have the product team kill it later. So it is possible (however unlikely) that a team was working on that no show counter and a different team entirely could be planning to kill reservations.
I would say it is not possible for Pandora to replace Grizzly Peak. That would ruin the esthetic of the Grand Californian Lodge which is set as a California mountain resort. Grizzly Peak is critical to the hotel setting. The Hollywood Backlot is the most logical spot and that placement does depend on Disneyland Forward as it requires the Eastern Gateway to happen. Certainly, Disney could build Pandora in the expansion area south of the hotels but, the Disneyland Forward rendering does not depict Pandora. That piece of concept art was created years ago, well before the Way of Water was a mega-hit and planned for the Disneyland Resort.
They're not going to diminish capacity, drop 150 million on demo just to put a dinky Avatar in the back lot. Not to mention James Cameron has to have it his way
@@ChrisLucas3 Yes, they will. The Backlot is a wasted space.
I never liked the idea of retheming grizzly.. the theme is great! Heck, I skip camping up here in the pacific northwest to go to DL. Having the woods down there is a bonus!
Plus, being in the “raft” with other complete strangers is great! You get to face each other and watch their expressions!
One of favorite memories is taking pictures for two Japanese foreign tourists while on river run… then I air dropped the pics to them afterwards… I only speak a little Japanese, but friendliness and laughter are two universal languages, right?
Some people love to beat a dead horse, but please Disney give us what appeals to all guests.
Ideas like Discovery Bay at Disneyland Park and WestCOT as the third gate is what park goers want to see!
Yes, Yes, Yes
This!
Not all guests want to see what you want to see. There is virtually nothing that appeals to ALL guests at the same time. Whatever doesn’t appeal to you is probably somebody else’s favorite thing.
Yes! Disney needs to remember that theme parks are a storytelling medium capable of standing on their own. Unfortunately, the executives are obsessed with just turning them into add-on experiences for the movies. IP does belong in the park, but they shouldn't be the only focus.
Disney is no longer appealing to park goers only to new gens of guests
Reservations is bad for guests that are not Disneyland Experts. Normal family will be let down by the 'systems' Disneyland has put into visiting the park.
I don't want Pandora to come to Disneyland and let it stay as an Animal Kingdom exclusive but it would be great to retheme its ride in Galaxys Edge as a Speeder Bike ride
you may get something like that. in a surprising place perhaps.
Agreed. I want exclusivity, such as not duplicating a part of Cars Land at the Magic Kingdom. 😢
they aren't cloning the pandora from animal kingdom
@@CosmeAcajor yes I know
Pandora is never coming to Disneyland.
the deal Disney made with the city states that the money that will be spent has tone for entertainment and to increase attendance and capacity. Retiming grizlley area does non of that. yes attendance might increase because it is something new but unless there is a huge capacity increase it would just basically be replacing attractions that are there already. It doesn't really help add to the parks capacity
I miss the 24 hr days. There is nothing like coming out of Indiana Jones at 2 am and then saying "what's next?"
I think it’s too general a statement to say the reservation system is guest-unfriendly. As an out-of-town magic key holder, making reservations is all part of planning the trip, and is super easy to do. Pre-reservations, as someone who visited the parks multiple times a year, I’d notice the afternoons and evenings would be super crowded, and make for a pretty lousy experience even on weekdays. Since the reservation system went in place, I’ve noticed the evenings are still busy, but noticeably less crazy than before. This has improved my family’s experience, where nighttime doesn’t feel as suffocating as it did in the past.
I do understand it is a hassle for locals, but there are guests out there like me who are not local, do pay for Genie+ each visit, and see the reservation system as a passive form of crowd control.
Anyway, just sharing my two cents about how it’s not necessarily a negative for ALL guests. I definitely empathize with local magic key holders that it’s more a negative than neutral or positive.
Lastly, I really miss fastpass and max pass.
Yeah I don’t have any issues as someone who is out of state now. And no one I know has issues who lives there. I don’t understand the constant complaining about reservations.
I'm a Southern California resident. Last year, I was planning a trip to WDW, but I decided not to go. I had experienced the reservation system at Disneyland, and I didn't want to go through that unpleasantness again or on a multi-day scale.
@@TheChrisJaynes Alternatively, we sent someone from our team to Walt Disney World in March of last year and they had a wonderful experience. Park Reservations were a non-issue, crowds were at a moderate level and they enjoyed themselves. 6 fun-filled days at the Disney Parks.
I guess there’s two ways to look at the situation. Fight it and not go, or accept it and have a wonderful time.
What I think is that Disney would have to put the new land closer to the existing park's, than farther because I've been to the Toy story lot before and it's too far away. Now I can see it over by Downtown Disney in one of the lots there and being that it could be connected just behind DCA and that would make it easier. Now would they build a new parking structure on one of the existing parking lots.
I bet we see an eastern gateway before we see ground disturbed in the simba parking lot. Thanks David!
Love running into you in the parks.
I really don’t understand the supposed similarity between Pandora and Grizzly Peak. Trees are completely different and there is no wide open spaces.
I do appreciate the thoughts / updates.
I’m not an avatar fan but I love the atmosphere and the ride is really fun.
Agree with your facts about why the reservation system is stupid. And the people that buy up their lies are some dummies. This isn’t new to Disney, it’s a business that has been extremely successful way before covid. They know their data. Also agree about them closing the gates. It’s happened before but not like people make it seem that the poor family from Louisiana isn’t going to get into Disney and now their vacation is ruined.
I love Disneyland!
1980s 100% Love
1990s 95% Love
2000s 90% Love
2010s 95% Love
2020s 55% Love - Feel like they are making decisions that are not good for guests.
100% agree
Agree
By 2030’s no more love for Disneyland!
@@disneyguy3116 i KNOW!! Makes sad for my kids!
@@disneyguy3116 By the 2030s Disney will have been broken up, taken over and the Make Disney Great Again movement will be underway as the park is pulled backwards to the 1980s.
At the very least, multi day ticket holders should not have reservations. If I go to California for 9 days. I want to get a 4 or 5 day pass and go when it works on the fly on my trip. When I lived there and was a pass holder, we'd sometimes go for only a few hours. This system makes people feel they should stay all day. In a few hours we still spent the same amount of money.
It has been fun speculating BUT it always was Disneyland Forward! yes they needed the approval because the needed the space. BUT the magic words all along where ADD CAPACITY you cant add capacity with a Re Skin or a make over!
Finally someone gets it!
Disney should take a poll from the fans for suggestions of what to put into the new expansion. That way the fans of Disney feel like it was their ideas, and if it sucks well it's their fault..
Interesting points and ones I believe BUT I wonder if you took into account how much distance has to be cleared between Walnut St and attractions that are indoor or outdoor. Does that make a difference
And as you briefly mentioned but I think is the main point. Nothing happens until eastern gateway is almost done. Sure they could shuffle a few things but my guess is they want more people in the parks so they get a revenue boost while building. Add to that a pretty solid price increase and you have your working capital bumper for building the rest.
Hot news! You are a great source David!
Love your passionate off the cuff at the end!! So cool!! Please do stuff like that more
The reservation system is in place for the benefit of the out of town guests. They probably spend 10x the money per day as the locals do what with transportation, hotels, food and lodging. If the out of towners experience jammed packed parks they will not come back with their wads of cash which would be bad for Disney’s bottom line.
I hate hearing that they are going to remove or reskin anything. Going forward they should only add and refurbish attractions, maybe plus them a bit. I still wish they would restore Tomorrowland.
Agree!
The solution to Tomorrowland is to rename it. Renaming it to Yesterland, or something similar, is all that is needed. Then, the land would be fine just as it is.
They're lying. And when I take over Disney and usher in the Make Disney Great Again era, the only things that will be removed is anything that opened after Indiana Jones because it was then that Disneyland was completed. There is no imagination left in the world. I will be bringing back old attractions, too.
I have no problem with the reservation system
Then you are the minority and the reservation will be going away soon thanks to the politicians who will outlaw and make it constitute racketeering.
Loved the rant at the end! I agree with you 100% it’s crazy. I just had an issue with my cousin that bought a park ticket but had to change the reservation after purchase… he was confused though he was good on the day change, us magic key holders got in fine day of but not him, he had to wait in hopes for there to be a reservation cuz he didn’t actually change the date. I did it quickly for him on the other side of the gate. He got in!! Him and his girlfriend that hadn’t been there in 16 years. So annoying. Once in, everything was fine but they shouldn’t have to go through that. Not everyone can have a homie help them quickly lol. One day ticket. Rarely go and have all that hassle. Come on Disney!
I can see them placing avatar in place of finding Nemo and Autopia. It would give the “Tomorrowland “ feel
I'm an Avatar fan and I am super excited to see Pandora come to Disneyland, especially in Disneyland Forward, much more room to breath.
Why are you an Avatar fan? I'm asking sincerely. Whatever it is you like about it is lost on me, so I'd like to know why movies that I thought were horrendous would be so liked by someone else...so much so that they want a theme park to dedicate space, themeing, and attractions for it.
@@TheChrisJaynes The first Avatar movie is the highest-grossing film of all time, and the second Avatar movie is the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time. Both movies are certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes; you're really in the minority if you think they are "horrendous."
@orion7763 First, you weren't the person of whom I was asking this question, but if you were going to respond, with which I'm okay, you could have at least answered my question. I want to know, from someone who liked the films, why you liked the films, especially the first one? Personally, I'm a story guy. First and foremost, the story has to be good. I'm not wowed by special effects. The first Avatar film had great special effects, but the story was dumb, in my opinion. Your opinion is clearly different. All I want to know is why. In person, the handful of people I know who saw the first film all said the same thing, "Great special effects. Stupid story." To my knowledge, none of them saw the second film. I don't think I know anyone who has seen The Way of Water. I'm guessing you've seen both films, which means you liked the first film well enough to see the second. Why? What is it about these films that you liked? I'm not being critical, here. Im not being judgemental. I'm not trolling. I'm simply trying to understand. And let's be fair. I may be in the minority of people who dislike the films from those who have seen them, but the majority of people have never seen them, which means, most people weren't interested in these films from the beginning. I was interested, and I was disappointed.
These unscripted parts are truly great!
David, its about time youve come around on this topic. Ive been a critic of your opinions and position on the reservation system, and it only took 3 or 4 years to recognize the truth that the reservation system is a necessary tool in managing park attendance.
Other than this one issue i have ever disagree with you on, this is one of the best sources for Disneyland news and why i continued to watch.
I love these type of videos❤ very exciting news and updates!
With the financial commitment already being given to the forward projects I don't see them putting avatar in the grizzly peak because that would require an retheme of the grand california hotel. Hollywood Backlot seriously needs to be a redo probably to more marvel stuff. I think avatar will be attached to Disneyland. They can do what they did with star wars land as far as the transitions between the lands goes.
So excited! I'm all for more Avatar!
I am excited about the future of Disneyland!
If retheming Grizzly River Run, they could replace the round ride vehicles to rectangle shaped (and not spinning) as in the artists rendering.
Of course it is logical to place it within Disney Forward. They used it as leverage with the City... it wouldn't work in either Grizzly Peak nor Hollywood Backlot. Why take away original ideas to import IP properties??
Zootopia would fit in the backlot and leave Grizzly Peak/Soarin' alone.
I personally am very excited for an Avatar land especially if it ends up being different attractions than Orlando. Flight of Passage is cool but its visuals aren’t quite there for me and many others. The land itself is breathtaking and I’m a little partial as well because I spent 2 years working on Avatar 2 while they were filming here in LA. Considering we can all but almost guarantee there will be a Frozen Land and probably an Encanto/Coco Land, possibly Zootopia, I think and it’s sounding like there will be plenty of options to fulfill nearly everyone’s appetite for new attractions with their favorite characters and lands.
David, we totally detest the Reservation System, we agree with you that Disney is not forthcoming with why the Reservation System is still enforced here at Disneyland, it is for Control purposes. Disneyland wants to get us so used to accepting whatever it decides to do any time, we have no say, even if we adore and love Disneyland. So sad.
I started buying annual passes in the late 80's so I could go for dinner, watch a show, and maybe go on a ride or two, as well as occasionally going for a full day now and then. As a pass holder, I went to the park a lot more often, but usually just for a few hours per visit.
I no longer live in CA or FL, but if I did, I doubt I would buy annual passes if I had to make advance reservations or had blackout dates. I want to be able to go when I want and visit for as few or as many hours as I want. The whole point of having an annual pass is flexibility.
Unless the whole point of an annual pass is to save money on multiple visits. Flexibility isn’t necessarily what DL wants for its annual pass holders
Park size makes reservations needed
Maybe they’ll move the bus turnaround to the OTHER side of Harbor Blvd when they build a huge new Eastern parking garage? That would add 3-4 acres of land to Hollywood land’s 5 acres?? 🤷🏼♂️
Keyholders are probably the best guests to gauge if a day is too busy or not. We've had several occasions where we have walked in and said, maybe tomorrow will be better, and left
There is a huge amount of parking available at Angel Stadium, 300 days a year. You can easily supply a free shuttle for the 3-mile journey.
Interesting take. Again, we complain that the park isn’t affordable anymore. Then Disney does something about that, and we say “HA the park isn’t busy enough that’s why they have to discount tickets!!!” Well which one do we want? Do we want the park to be packed and expensive or packed and affordable? Disney fans, why can’t we just decide which one we want? We are so back and forth it’s crazy. We want affordability. WE WANT AFFORDABILITY. Walt would want affordability. So let’s not make fun of, or knock Disney for trying to make it affordable for children to attend Walt’s park during the summer.
Pixar Pals lot already used the 2nd floor as designated castmember parking, predominantly for a lot of downtown Disney operating participants as well as parkside castmembers and other downtown Disney castmembers. Lilo lot is for Disneyland hotel CM’s
Sounds like Disneyland Forward is actually happening. Bob talks about the Avatar experience A LOT.
Suggestions please. I’m coming all the way from New Zealand Jan/Feb for 16 days. Reservations make me nervous. It is cheaper for 16 days to get magic key. BUT you can only reserve 5 days. Do I get MK and hope for the best? Or pay more to make sure we don’t miss days? Any tips or tricks to help?
It's for security. It will never be wide open again.
Hey bricky did a video of how Avatar can fit into certain parking lots I'm very interesting video and now David's talking about it
Thanks for sharing.
Hi David. There is a parking lot on the northeast corner of Harbor Blvd and Ball road that Disney bought a few years ago. Do they still have that space for cast members to park? There was some mention of building another parking structure like the Toy Story parking structure. However Disney goes, it will be several years before it will be done. We appreciate how you are trying to get more information about the location. Hopefully it will be revealed soon!
I don’t think pandora is going into Disneyland forward bc bob was saying we have a place for it before the voting. Unless they knew they were going to win the vote beforehand.
They need to change the no show policy to the morning of. My aunt was sick and was unable to cancel her reservation the day of.
You get 3 cancellations in 90 days so one day sick shouldn’t be end of the world
What Bob/ Josh need to clear up, OR drop, is “experience”.. That’s the real key word… and we all know what to expect if it’s an “experience”
Preach on them reservations...🙌 Maybe Disney will hear you
Disney World also has four parks two water parks, multiple monorails multiple Skyliners over 10 different hotel/resorts not needing reservations is a completely different thing than Anaheim.
My idea for reservations may be to do it for like holidays and and maybe summer but I don't know. Even my employee pass is super annoying.
Since the run Disney event is at the harbor Blvd side cast member parking lot, I don’t think they will start anything on the eastern bridge until after September when they have that event…
Not only could you not re-skin a land for Avatar but James Cameron would never have that. He's a go big or go home, go full or go none type of guy
Everytime you say put it in Grizzly Peak makes my eye twitch. It's the only land that hasn't changed. That would be tragic
I can see a Zootopia land replacing Hollywood land which would work nicely incorporating the monorail and be able to make a good transition.
Disneyland forward I could see a Frozen land replacing Critter Country, followed by Avatar land.
no other theme park dont have reservation i dont think but i would not put Avatar on disneyland never just saying but love you fresh baked
Didn't go in April, because no reservations available. Went to San Diego and Sea World instead. Very disappointing. The date was April 17 th.
Cast members already park on the Daisy level at Mickey and Friends parking lot.
I’d rather have Neverland than Arendale. Arendale doesn’t seem as “fantastical” to me. Rides based off of Neverland itself would be cool. Keep Peter Pans Flight in Fantasyland. Do Hook pirates, Lostboys, pixies in the new land. It could go next to Critter country and the Fantasy tower. It just makes sense to me. Idk
I honestly don’t think there was any other contingency beyond Disneyland Foreword.
Pandora wouldn’t fit anywhere in California Adventure, simply because Pandora isn’t in, around or linked to California. They went to great pains to create ‘lore’ for why the normally New York based Avengers had built a campus in California, so they’re firmly trying to keep California Adventure California themed - even if Little Mermaid can vaguely be linked to California.
With regards to the change to the booking system for Magic Key, I’ve noticed in videos evening during quiet days that booking are ‘sold out’, so surely they’re putting that info on no shows because too many key holders are booking and not showing up, preventing others from booking.
And why do they still have a booking system? If they know how many people are likely to come, they know how many food places to open, how much merch to stock, how many cast members to bring in. It’s nothing to do with the guest experience, it’s all to do with cutting cost.
16:15 Don't worry, David; you definitely understand business; it's Disney that doesn't know how run a profitable enterprise.
Very true. They just celebrated their 100th year as an unprofitable business.
We should ALL aspire to be as unprofitable as Disney.
I’m kinda bummed. I’d prefer a blue sky land where engineers can make their own magic instead of making a monolithic IP copy and paste land. Sad.
I wonder how much underground parking they could (freshly) bake into designs for whatever goes atop existing lots.
The one thing needed from Disney to really be rid of the reservation system is to actually show how busy the parks are. I used to use mouse wait to see the capacity percentage in the parks. If Disney were to actually do that it would really create the same buzz you get when you see a really low wait time for a ride. A good compromise would be to allow key holders to go to the parks after 5-6 pm without a reservation. The reservation system is a hurdle that needs to die.
Avatar has multiple new movies coming so I can see why it is appealing. Same for Arendale and Frozen that has multiple new movies coming in the years.
I don’t understand why people are persistent on Neverland. I just don’t see them investing in something like that unless they have more Peter Pan movies planned.
I would build a parking structure in the downtown Disney Parking lot. Tear up the Stitch and parking lot! Build the new land there. Access will be from the critter country to the new land. I had many dreams about this. My engineering mind is running rampant in this.
As a new Inspire MK. I don't see why I can't make reservations for October? Single tickets can be booked in October and beyond.
Floor 2 of Mickey and friends and Pixar pals (Coco) is already reserved for cast members and is usually pretty full so they’d need to give cast members 2 floors out of the 6 which seems unreasonable
Doesn’t it say Walt’s ordinal theme park, so that would mean Disneyland?
Keep Grizzly Rapids, Pandora meh. Add another attraction to Galaxies Edge and make it more Lucas Star Wars oriented! 😊
Grizzly River Run isn't going anywhere. Galaxy's Edge is going bye bye after the government breaks up Disney under antitrust and gives Lucasfilm back to George.
How often do can you no show? Do they reset?
You are completely right about reservations and completely wrong about your passive acceptance of Tomorrowland as it is. We all make mistakes.
I still think Avatar will be connected to Critter Country.
I'd rather have Arendelle than Avatar.
I thought that was also a possibility
that wouldn't work because with the way Disneyland is designed Arendelle would have to be a part of Fantasyland, but there's no room left in Fantasyland. Avatar is a better choice because it can be its own separate thing without any ties to any other land.
@@sierramist3249 I hope so. But I meant I want it priority 1
@@JessAnderson1988 NOPE. It could literally be anywhere in the expansion they wanted. Tell me that Batuu could only be near Star Tours and Tomorrowland... You see that's not true.
@@RaechelSykes I think it is because it was mentioned in thier negotiations with the city repeatedly from what I heard
I wish - if there was enough space - that they would do something like Cosmic Rewind in the Hollywood Backlot. I think Monsters Inc. could easily be relocated
Why don't Disney put carparks underground? Is there an issue with that in California? I live in Sydney and almost all of our carparks go muliple levels underground to use all available land space.
Pandora is an awesome experience in AK and that’s what makes traveling to both California and Florida fun and unique…because each park has different experiences. I would rather see Disney create a new experience at Disneyland forward and not put the same stuff at both parks
Aloha Dave..well I love you, support your channel on Patreon and appreciate all your work. That said, as a guy that only buys three or four day passes( i live in Hawaii and an annual pass makes no since for me since I only go once or twice a year) I like and appreciate the reservation system because i have seen the bifference it makes. i don't mean to put coals of fire on your head but this is one area we disagree.
I look forward to the eastern gateway and hope they drop shovels on that post haste. My dream is they get that done while building something on Simba but...close down Tomorrowland and start a rejuvanation of that land including going outside the berm in that area by the current entrance..and rebuld the Peoplemover and put the darned Rocket Jets back on top of that structure like it was years ago!
I love you and your channel Dave and thank you again for your work
I feel like Avatar could take over redwood creek only because I feel like it could blend in well with Grizzly similarly how they transition from Big Thunder to Star Wars.
I just hope I live long enough to see it. Disney construction moves so slow.....😅
Floor 2 is already cast member parking on both structures
Having the res system lets them
Know when to drop rates run specials so hotel specials. They know when people are coming and when they’re not
I know I am in the minority, but Avatar is not a draw for me. I did not care for the first movie and didn’t even try to watch the second one. Therefore, the only part of the Disney resort I am okay with sacrificing for Pandora is the parking lot. 😂 Always love your takes and watch every video. Be well!
Excellent video!
Total blue sky thinking...
What if the majority of the Hollywood part of DCA (everything north of the monorail) was absorbed into Disneyland... specifically Tomorrowland. Guests would then travel to Pandora via a futuristic space port near where the Space Mountain fast pass terminals used to be.
Guests accessing the parks from the new parking structure would use a pedestrian corridor that runs basically under the monorail. The empty building facades the line Hollywood Boulevard could be fleshed out into functional shops or dining locations.
We’re all focused on new attractions and lands for Disneyland Forward, but I think most of the expansion will be for Disney hotels. Disney can double dip on out-of-town guests when they also stay on property.
Other than the fact that the opposite has been indicated by management, and it hasn’t been shown in any submitted proposals or concept artwork, you could be right.
I'm over here just hoping we can end the reservation system for sitting at the bar at trader sams :/
3 no shows in what timeframe? Hmm..yes helpful agree.
I predict the huge esplanade getting smaller and becoming absorbed into the parks. If the new parking garage across harbor because you’ll go through security there
The results of DisneylandForward has my attention. And I hope it does go forward as I follow it. But as much as Iger keeps boasting about Avatar coming to Disneyland, he keeps forgetting about other attractions, like the Avengers e-ticket ride, that still haven't broken ground yet.