Just before this video ended, it hit me: Disney management is *not* making mistakes -- they've making cold, calculated decisions. As long as they're able to draw enough people in, "just good enough" will always be their target. In the original parks, even details like line-of-sight intrusions to maintain the specific atmosphere of each land were pre-planned and important. Now, it's just a case of "this is an amusement park." They really don't give a hoot about the magic, or about setting the bar higher than the competition; they just care about making sure they have something to draw people onto the properties and leave their money behind when they leave. i know a lot of *former* Disney fans who aren't doing that anymore, it'll be interesting to see how long this chapter lasts... and if there's going to be anything left for a next (hopefully better) chapter in the history of the company.
I still believe that these decisions are mistakes. It's great for short-term profit, but they're opening the doors to competitors, especially Universal. I don't know how if places like Europa Park or Phantasialand are considered direct competition to Disney in Europe, but I can see people making a decision to choose those places instead.
@@PoseidonEntertainment that’s exactly what it is: short-term profit, long term damage. It happened a lot under Eisner, but the Iger/Chapek era is considerably worse creatively. Eisner was at least still concerned with innovation, but then he’d cheap out with maintenance and horrible sequels to the classic animated movies. He hurt the Disney brand as far as ruining our memories of the classic films, but at least he was still interested in making innovative attractions at the parks.
I've written this in other videos but one of Disney's biggest advantage over their competitors was the nostalgia factor. People who went to the parks as kids grew up loving the company and took their kids in turn. What's going to happen in 20 years when a whole generation of kids didn't grow up going to Disney because their parents couldn't afford to go (or if they could afford it, it wasn't even close to worth the price tag)? People excuse a lot of what Disney does because of nostalgia, but when they lose that edge, and people look at them like any other theme park, they won't be able to coast off of the nostalgia factor and will lose visitors.
@@wil.d_sage exactly!! I’ve said the same thing! I’m a school bus driver and one day years ago I polled 65 kids on my elementary run. Three of them had been to a Disney park. Disney is setting itself up for a dismal future
@@PoseidonEntertainment just remember if it comes to it there’s no doubt in my mind the government would happily hand them another bailout. Americas former best propaganda machine might someday be called into service again given it seems like everyone’s at each others throats these days
The iron man ride took everything from rock n rollercoaster and made it dull and boring. They could’ve added music from AC/DC and more lights on the ride itself but Disney just doesn’t know how to make good rides anymore I guess
Said this before, but Disney took every wrong lesson from Universal's success with Potter, figuring it could be mimicked with any popular property. It can't: Potter is a "lived in" world with literary DNA and the ability to appeal to all five senses. Meantime, who wants to visit "Avengers Campus"? Same with Galaxy's Edge: Star Wars is not really about physical locations, given each world in it is just "the ice planet", "the forest moon", etc. The only other property you could make this work with is probably Tolkien's Middle-Earth...and it seems Universal might've gotten the rights to that, too! Beyond that, all the talk of "now you can live what you watched in the movies"...man, if I want to take part in a movie, I'll *watch the movie*. Theme parks are a different medium than films; if you're going to adapt a film property for a theme park, it has to be done in the "language" of themed entertainment, while most of this comes off as slapping a brand on a relatively generic experience, like putting a movie character's likeness on a juice box so more kids will ask their parents to buy it.
The noticeable difference between Universal's Wizarding World and Disney's Galaxy's Edge and Avenger's Campus is that Universal have embraced the original source material and kept faithful to the lore of that material. Disney however, have these IP's and instead of giving the fans what they want, they give them what the company wants you to want, and damn the fans.... Galaxy's Edge and the Starcruiser are the biggest culprits... If they had just made Tatooine (as supposedly planned) themed around the original trilogy, people would have absolutely embraced it from day one - instead they're trying desperately to force you to like the Disney Star Wars... on Rise of the Resistance, imaging Leia appearing instead of Rey, Vader being on the bridge with Tarking... and on Smuggler's run, you could have had an animatronic Chewie or Nien Nunb instead of Hondo. Oga's Cantina should have been the Cantina from New Hope - imagine animatronics of the Modal Nodes instead of DJ Rex... same with the Starcruiser... make it a cruise to Alderaan arriving just before the Death Star blows it up for example, then having to escape.
@@dazblue5515 I don’t think you’re wrong that the reception to Galaxy’s Edge would’ve been better, but even then Star Wars lacks a lot of the aspects of a more “literary” world that make things like Potter work so well; like, you read and get a sense of what the smells are in a place, you learn about foods and drinks and wonder what they’d taste like, you hear about specific locations and their history and wonder what it’d be like to explore them…and Star Wars simply isn’t about all of that, it’s instead based around cinematic/visually driven experiences (spaceship fights, lightsaber duels) that work great for individual rides (like Star Tours) but don’t really add up to a complete world people would get as hyped to “live” in, I think.
@@jmn327 I get what you mean, but disagree in some aspects. I think the original trilogy set out what Star Wars is - and Tatooine especially is instantly recognisable... but it's the aliens, the vehicles, architecture etc. - you instantly recognise as SW... now take Galaxy's Edge or the Starcruiser - it has very little to none of those tbh. And whilst it's correct that HP has a literary background, the Wizarding World is primarily based on the movie franchise too - Diagon Alley is not what you imagine it to be, it's what it looks like in the movies (although wider) etc. etc.
Nah this is just Disney lacking any sort of creativity. They literally could’ve made the rainbow bridge to connect Asgard and Wakanda and Knowhere together. There was so much potential for a marvel theme park at Disney and yet they just went with a normal industrial campus.
I find it so bizarre that when I think of a Marvel attraction, the first thing that pops into my head is Hulk, not one of the high tech themed rides made by the company that owns Marvel, but a green rollercoaster at a different companies park Really shows how a fun ride is a lot more impactful than an overly ip based one
Well, because people will remember the Hulk Coaster cause it’s iconic and good, I don’t know if people will remember web slingers or flight force in years time.
I appreciate you calling out Iger for a lot of this. Most Disney fansites want to lay the blame at Chapek's feet, but Iger called the shots for a lot of what's wrong with Disney. Endless budget-cutting happened throughout Iger's tenure while prices skyrocketed. I'd really like to see you do a deep dive into the pros and cons of Iger's decisions.
One possibility for why Disney is doing this is that the current Marvel popularity might not last all that much longer and that the attractions might not age well as tastes and interests change. It’s possible that Disney is anticipating this by creating attractions that can be more easily “reimagined” into the next big thing.
@@benjamincliman2735 - The superhero genre was just a fad, and Disney knows that. Which is why they are building rides that can easily be rethemed in 15 years.
I think a lot of is has to do with just how much the international market has become the primary market. They don't care if it's a great experience or even good for most people when they reliability have enough European, South American, Asian and Middle Eastern tourist who can afford the premium for the good ride experience. Their MO seems to be squeezing out local visitors and so-called middle class families until they hit the exact plateau of what people will tolerate and still hit annual goals. It's an attitude of "screw it, they're already paying more for less, let's see how little we actually have to do."
The most frustrating thing about this Embarassment of a park is... that it worked. After it opened visitor numbers spiked and overall...Disney is making a profit and is most likely getting away with lazy uninspired attractions and making tons of money by selling cheap plastic garbage at a high price.
Something that fascinates is that Disney has stopped caring what their buildings look like. This is the company that left a major legacy in Googie Architecture (Space Mountain, Contemporary), hired post-Modernist starchitects, and mastered vernacular architecture (Grand Floridian/ Californian). Yet the biggest franchise is history is in bland buildings.
I went to the Boardwalk for dinner last night and had never approached it from the front. While the building itself isn't that architecturally significant, I liked how you approach it on an incline with the lobby centered up on a hill, giving it a grand feeling. It made me realize that Disney hasn't built anything like this in decades, only capable of building generic Hilton towers instead.
Walt Disney had something current management doesn't have; he was a filmmaker. He knew it was important to put on a good show and capture your audience right from the opening credits. When you arrive at Disneyland's Magic Kingdom, even before you enter the gates, you can see and hear the Disneyland Railroad. When you walk through the tunnels, you're greeted to Street Cars, Horse Draw Carriages, and Double Decker buses. Main Street is alive with motion and energy. You can see the energy of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland from the Hub. The Carrousel is spinning and peeking through the Castle, while the Astro Orbiter is spinning right out front. Emerging from Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, you can see Dumbo spinning, Peter Pan flying, and Casey Jr. thinking he can. Deeper in, Teacups are moving, Alice's caterpillar is crawling down leaves, canal boats are floating by, and bobsleds are careening down the Matterhorn. The point is; the land has energy, and you can see and feel this in every land Walt Disney, the film maker, had a hand in. The old Tomorrowland had the People Mover out front creating energy. Then the Astro Orbiter further in. On the water, Submarines were floating by. On the ground, Autopia cars were motoring by. In the sky, Monorails were whizzing by, as were the Skyway buckets. Galaxy’s Edge and the new Marvel lands lack energy. From the moment you enter them, you can see and hear that they are dead lands. There’s no energy. Nothing is moving. Everything that moves in these lands is hidden in show buildings. Can this be what Imagineers are proposing to Disney management? Seem unlikely. Disney’s current management doesn’t understand how to put on a show and get their guests excited from the moment they enter the park or land within the park. Even Michael Eisner, also a filmmaker, knew how to do this before the failure of Euro Disney scared him off from taking any more chances. Bring back Eisner? No. Of course not, but it’s too bad that Disney lost John Lasseter because he managed to put some movement and energy into Cars Land before he was ousted.
Yes, Walt Disney was a filmmaker but what he was first and foremost was a storyteller. Walt knew how to tell a fantastic story. That's what his films were and his theme parks are: they tell a story. Beyond that, Walt Disney was a visionary and he knew how to recognize talent in others. Unfortunately, management at Disney now focuses on the bottom line and not on a superior product.
This explains why Universal's Harry Potter and Super Mario lands are so good. At the one I've been to, at least (Osaka). As soon as you approach, your viewpoints are clearly controlled. The lands open up with a long approach and sense of anticipation, followed by epic payoffs with music and motion. Things in the lands have motion, interaction, and are way more intricately detailed than previous Universal offerings. They just suck you in and don't let go. The tide is certainly turning.
The kinetic synergy in the original lands made for awesome storytelling: Tomorrowland (subs, autopia, monorail, peoplemover, astro orbiter, skyway) Frontierland (mine train, stagecoach, burro ride) Rivers of America (Columbia, Mark Twain, canoes, keel boats, ferries to the island, and the island itself) And you didn't have to walk far to engage in multiple rides. But it made for a huge problem: can't fix or replace one without impacting the others. The newer thinking requires compartmentalized rides in individual spaces; easier to fix, but farther to walk, and mostly invisible from the public eye.
It hurts especially knowing that there are so many people in this company that DO care and DO want to create fantastic rides, experiences and immersions but are consistently kneecapped by a management that seems to be more and more risk adverse and focusing on the bottom line. Of all the big entertainment companies Disney of all things can afford to go big or go home and take the occasional loss. But at least they would have TRIED.
It's what kills me about how people will still say "Disney can't do classic EPCOT Center like attractions without sponsors"...meantime, Disney itself has more money than god at this point, unlike in the 80s when EPCOT Center was built. Disney could be doing things none of us could even imagine, pure ambition with the financial muscle to back it up, and instead they're content with creating advertisements for Disney+.
I think it's kind of worse--it's not that they're risk adverse and focused on the bottom line, that'd be an improvement. It's that they're strangely determined to only take risks when it is absolutely certain to go ahead and bite them on the rear (like playing Russian roulette with an automatic)...and then they go and cut corners in the places where they absolutely have to be willing to commit the necessary capital to get a return. This isn't 'too focused on the bottom line,' at the end of the day: It's being too focused on saving money to make the necessary capital investments needed to keep having the amounts of money they've got.
@@ryohoshi8445Um akshully market forces are guaranteeing that doesn't happen just like they always do under capitalism. Its akshully impossible for a company to act like Disney is acting because the market is self correcting and means we never lose things that people love because of chasing short term profits. Akshully. I'm so glad we have market capitalism to guarantee our culture.
Here's a way to "fix" an Avengers Training Facility themed queue that I literally thought of just now, sitting on my ass, watching this video: Have the queue move through different rooms in the Avengers compound, with a TON of small props and visual narrative elements. An extremely high tech kitchen with cookbooks left out by Vision as he learns about human food. Maybe a cabinet is open and each avenger has their own shelf, we can see how each of them organizes their food and what food they have, a wine fridge full of Asguardian wine with a label "too strong for mortals", maybe even a dog bowl in the corner labeled "Rocket" but it just has like a regular sandwich or unopened can of beans because no one knows what Rocket eats anyway. Grocery lists! Hand towels! Personalized mugs! Maybe it's a smart kitchen attached to Friday and she interacts with small props on a 10 minute loop, a kettle boils over and she turns off the burner, a light bulb goes out and she orders a new one. She could get a call from Captain America that he'll be back soon and could she please start brewing his coffee etc! ALL THAT they could pack into one fake kitchen. A queue hallway that's just a long hall full of bedroom doors slightly ajar. In the movies/shows we see Wanda has a nice bedroom with all sorts of detail, recreate that and other avengers bedrooms and just leave the doors slightly open so guests and peek into each room as they pass by! Those rooms can be fully static and would still be interesting. Heck even having all the doors open except one would be interesting and build in some character! Who's room is that? Why do they have it closed? Have guests walk through a garage/workshop that has all of Tony Starks fancy cars, maybe a beat up bike for Peter Parker, mounts for the Falcons different wings! Black Widows motorcycle! Bags of fertilizer in the corner for Groot! They could literally just make room after room of the compound jam packed with details and easter eggs, I know fans have all sorts of headcanons about the Avengers living and training together at the compound sitcom style. This would be such an easy way to play into that aspect of the universe, which could also remain pretty timeless. Christ they could have a trophy room that's just full of all the random junk the avengers have collected over the years, props can be removed and added as new movies come out. Black Widow died? Redecorate her room for Miss Marvel! It seems so easy to pull fun ideas and inspiration from the MCU, there is SO much there that the movies barely scratch the surface of. Detailed theming is such a good way to build out the world and teach us completely new things about characters we'd never know otherwise, like what kind of tea Thor drinks or what bedspread Hawkeye has. Ugh. So much wasted potential. Great video as always.
You've highlighted the exact issue. They can't even bother with the most superficial of theming. I remember when all the Disney parks stans were criticizing the Velocicoaster queue because "it's just concrete". That's definitely the aesthetic, yet still manages to pack in detail in a way that Avengers Campus has certainly failed in doing.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Yup! It's concrete that someone actually put some thought and love into! It's got cool lighting and fun videos. I don't see any fake dinosaurs in the Avengers queue! All Disney does now is make me excited to see what Universal makes next. (Also thanks for the response wow! I already said great video but truly your content is off the charts quality wise, love everything you put out)!
This is something I got to give to universal such as in the spider man or MIB queue ( although those attractions are older) it's easy to imagine the queue is actually a part of someone's daily life with little cheeky details. More recently, with the Wizarding world areas, there's a bunch of little details and appropriately themed extras (like knockturn alley being very ac'd)
Yes! I love your ideas. This is what Avengers Campus needs: detail, texture, humor (and not dumb slapstick humor). Make these characters fun and interesting! Make the police alive, not a sterile office park.
Removing the Pym’s Kitchen pretzel element is a perfect metaphor for the degradation of Disney’s creativity. I’m just in utter shock at how bland and sanitized this land looks, especially compared to “lower-end” parks. AND THIS IS WITH THE NUMBER ONE FILM FRANCHISE OF ALL TIME! The idiocy is UNBELIEVABLE! How did Chapek get his contract extended again?! #SaveDisney
Chapek was head of parks under Iger. He did have a lot of control over what happened in the park design even while Iger was CEO. Look into all the promised features for Galaxy’s Edge that Cheapek cut, only to later include exclusively behind the $6000 Galactic Starcruiser paywall….
I have not been to Avengers Campus in person, so I can’t say this opinion is from person experience. But given the knowledge that Tony Stark was supposed to be the one that built this park, I think it’s safe to say sterile was the angle Disney was going for, and it makes sense story wise (Tony is a very high tech/high maintenance person). Was it the best decision? No, not in the slightest, but at least they gave it a reason to make sense (story wise)
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 You clearly have not been to a Universal theme park in Florida. They beat Disney to death in terms of quality, management and guest satisfaction. Also room rates can be crazy cheap for a vacation.
I feel like the trap Disney fell into when creating Avengers "Campus" is just that--trying to stick so strongly to a storyline that it seems underwhelming. How exciting could basically a military training facility be? Avengers is based in the real world so the only thing exciting they could make in "their style" that could look interesting would be creating Asgard or Wakanda etc and then it limits them to one specific part of a massive IP. I think it was always intended as a meet and greet land to showcase screen accurate costumes, that are pretty great when compared to the cheap-costume esthetic found in Marvel Island in IOA. I'm not sure any one attraction could make it much better.
Sticking to the MCU was a mistake for sure. Since they've already professed that their theme park renditions are not the MCU, they could have certainly gotten a lot more creative with it.
An Asgardian or Wakandan 'embassy' or even a Shambali shrine/temple mini-land inside an overall Marvel themed zone would actually be a great idea. Maybe even have a villains zone in the form of a fake jail or a recently cleared HYDRA base. All those would really let people make interesting theming and sets for attractions. Which is why it won't happen.
The thing about Wakanda is that it's not limited to one specific franchise. We've seen all of the avengers gathered in Wakanda during Infinity War. And there doesn't even have to be a story reason for the avengers to all be in wakanda. Or why not make the land new york city? Boring compared to Wakanda/Asgard but far better than a military base. You could have the spidey animatronic swing between two skyscrapers, and with forced perspective make an Avengers Tower (or retheme the exterior of Guardians to it). They went with the most sterile option possible. I wish they treated Star Wars/Marvel like Fantasyland where characters can gather and interact just because it's fun!
I think the main problem is that unlike with Marvel Superhero Island at Universal, which was based off the comics, and therefore can have more style and personality, Avengers Campus is based off the MCU movies, which outside of Guardians of the Galaxy and maybe Thor, all look dull, sterile, and boring. So needless to say, any attraction you make is also going to look dull, sterile, and boring. Which is why the two best rides Disney has made so far are both based on Guardians of the Galaxy
I'm not sure if I necessarily agree. The Flight Force queue is mostly just metal panels on the walls. Surely they could have put in more detail than that? If the Velociocaster queue can pack in detail among all the concrete, then Disney can as well.
I don't think basing it on the movies is the problem as much as it is a lack of effort. Even from the movies, areas/attractions bringing locations like Wakanda, Asgard, kamar Taj, etc to life could be incredible. Even a New York City setting could be interesting if done right, Maybe set it during an invasion or something. Or even something like the Sanctum Santorum just being around at the park. Make it the queue of a Doc strange themed ride similar to the Hogwarts castle at Universal. Or how about a ride where items are scaled up to make you feel like Antman. There's so much they could do even with just movies as inspiration that it's pretty baffling we got what they gave us.
I can’t respond to the park attractions themselves since I haven’t been to Florida’s since 1973 and Anaheim’s since 1977, but I don’t think the MCU and other Marvel movies are necessarily visually unattractive…garish might be the word for many of them, but the bigger problem is that for the most part they’re just not good movies (though many have been graced with surprisingly good main and supporting performances ((and mostly rotten acting by the villains)) ). I understand movies must be different than source material as cinema is different than novels, plays, comics, or history, but way too often the movies alter the comic’s plots, context, and motivations in ways that don’t improve on the original (Thanos as an ecology-minded terrorist with good intentions as opposed to the hundred percent superior 1972 and ‘77 version of him wanting to destroy life so impress the personification of Death, with whom he is in love with and desperately pining for). When mainstream superhero comics made on a shoestring on a monthly basis are better than big budget films made over a year’s or more time, something is wrong.
@@pauldavidartistclub6723 I read marvel comics and disagree entirely. Even your specific example of the changes to Thanos, imo that's an example of the movies making great changes that are much more interesting and believable than the comics. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I'm glad the movies do their own thing and don't just copy and paste the comics verbatim. And honestly the comics haven't been consistently good in a long time so that's a pretty hard disagree on your last statement too. It sounds more like you are bitter about the MCU not being exactly like the comics than giving actual reasons for them being bad movies, which as someone who is a fan of the MCU, I can admit there are certainly reasons one could form that opinion and not everything they release is good. Regardless of your opinion, the movie franchise is arguably the most popular in the world, while the comic industry as a whole still remains incredibly niche and struggles to survive. The movies are not Disney's problem
@@DraxWithASax I’m actually more upset that superhero comics have taken over the movie and entertainment industry than anything else. No the change in Thanos’’ motivation was a rotten idea. Of course, as I said myself movie adaptations have to be able to be altered from the original, and even added to, in order to make a good movie, not just a staid replica…Steve Tesich’s screenplay for The World According to Garp being an excellent example of being true the the spirit of the John Irving novel, and yet being free enough to change things in a good way for a film version. Yes Marvel Comics have been bad for a very long time. Very long. With a few major exceptions they’ve been weak since at least the second half of the 1970’s, and were pretty much artistically bankrupt through the 1980’s (again with a few big exceptions). Whether or not the movies are gigantic hits is not in dispute, but that isn’t relative to their actual quality, is it? Popularity doesn’t equal good, most especially in this era.How does this relate to Disney (or other) amusement parks? Well I have no kids, nieces or nephews to have to take them to them, so have no imminent concern that I’ll be at any soon, so don’t really care outside of casual interest to see what they’re like nowadays (I hadn’t been there since Florida in 1973 and California in 1977….; and from what I hear the one park I would be interested in, Epcot, is no longer the permanent World’s Fair/Expo67 it was intended to be when the Disney Corp finally built it, so there goes that.
As a former Disney CM I have no plans to visit another Disney park in the next few years. When I go to Orlando next year I plan to visit Universal. Those parks are just better now. Now I’ll admit Universal had a few duds recently too, but between Kong, Fast and Furious, Bourne, Hagrid’s, and Velocicoaster you have way more hits than misses. Even the themed lands you’re starting to see at Cedar Fair parks is starting to rival anything new Disney is coming out with recently. It’s bad when the County Fair section at Carowinds and Area 72 at Kings Island has more theming than Avengers Campus.
Fully agree. Over the last 7 years, the misses for Disney have been Toy Story Land, Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus (including all of their attractions in these lands, and yes that means ROTR), Nano Battle, Mickey and Minnie, and now this ride. Only hits I would consider are Pandora, Ratatouille, and Cosmic Rewind (just barely though). If you look at Universal, the only misses have been Fast and Furious and that new Kung Fu Panda ride in Beijing. Maybe Kong too. Jimmy Fallon, while not a hit either, is honestly pretty solid. Then the actual hits are Veloci, Hagrid’s, Gringotts, Bourne, the Jurassic World retheme to River Adventure, the Jurassic World Adventure ride, Secret Life of Pets, and Super Nintendo World (and all of its attractions). More hits than Disney 👍
Should mention tho that while for me ROTR isn’t a hit, it’s still pretty solid. It’s like Jimmy for me in this case. Solid, but not a hit. Knowing the simps for the ride tho, they won’t care and either call me a clown, or contrarian, or something along those lines.
What did Disney think was going to happen when they fired a bunch of their imagineers leaving them to be swept up by Universal? You think this crap is embarrassing for Disney now, wait until Universal opens that Nintendo park in the states
Honestly I feel like all the Marvel stuff just isn’t meant to stay.. it feels like it’s a purposeful jump on a trend, not an investment, and something that can be easily torn down and replaced once it’s no longer popular. A worrying trend compared to attractions that are build remain relevant for generations.
I bet you’re absolutely right. When the superhero movie goes the way of the Western in 10-20 years they want to be able to reskin it. However, if they put the effort and creativity in, a superhero land could be as iconic in the future as something like Frontierland is despite the fact that its Western inspirations are no longer at the cultural forefront.
I wonder if part of it is kind of the nature of the MCU. They're not at all bad movies, and millions of people genuinely enjoy them, but they kind of feel...I dunno, I've always equated them with getting a burger from Wendy's: it's better than most of the other main chains, sure, but after you've experienced it you just kind of move on with your day. To make a really deep, immersive themed space based on an IP, you probably want it to be an IP that really transports people to a fully realized fictional world, not just "vague military-style campus" or whatever.
The newer attractions are almost always built with the porpose of replacement, and not expansion. Disney has abandoned actually expanding their areas, rather “expanding” with new parks. Then they just mix and match similar attractions to the different IP-related parks. A horrible decision for satisfying the consumer, but the most direct and obviously capitalistic solution to profiting from a theme park. Pump IP, mix attractions for standardization and less cost, and maximize money
That’s probably true, since although right now Marvel (and DC) are ubiquitous in popular culture, I highly doubt there will be long term staying power, though what do I know…I said Marvel Comics themselves were through by the end of the 1970’s, and they really did hit creative rock bottom by the mid-1980’s…the 90’s weren’t even worth thinking a second about, and though one might argue the art has improved in the ‘00’s, some of the time anyway, the content and presentation is drek, pumped out endlessly just to keep the copyrights in motion, and to feed the much bigger beast of Disney, and merchandising.
The details I found in Universal's comic book area was fun, goofy, and kind of campy, but still so much more interesting than what Disney can offer. Why not give this land a beautiful color pallet so that there is something that pops and catches your eye everywhere? How did they expect this land to appear on Instagram, which is one of the best free marketing tools they have?
You I’ve thought of giving super hero island a new look, nothing like avengers campus, I was thinking more, some new paint on the buildings and maybe get some artwork of the big concrete cutouts of the marvel characters,like with a new artist, a good one, like Mark Bagley, or Patrick brown, or even Patrick Gleason, maybe even give them a more modern version of the costumes for the art too like what universal version of what characters have on, I don’t know it’s just a thought, nothing major
This land is supposed to tie into the movie universe, which isn’t fun to explore because from a design perspective none of the avengers buildings or aesthetics are very interesting to look at
The Disney Company is purely in the profit harvesting mode with the parks division. The market has told them that demand is inelastic due to the pull of their IP and the nostalgia/goodwill they have built up pre 2007. The parks division will continue to drag its feet with uninspiring and slow additions until the market tells them otherwise which likely won't happen in this decade to any significant degree. They will continue to focus on profit centers like new DVC resorts and even those are thematically bland and will ruin former imagineers efforts that were done with sight lines, etc. Thanks for another great video
It's such a slow market to adjust because of all the people who save up for years to visit, at least in Orlando. I think that when Epic Universe finally hits them and provides a reality check, it'll change not just the narrative in Orlando about which is the better value for many, but could hurt their reputation internationally.
One can only hope that Epic Universe will be the best thing that happened to the Disney parks division since the Wizarding World. Seems like Universal’s the only party forcing Disney to dedicate more capital to improving the parks.
@@nataliejarosz9360 I'm hoping that Epic Universe will open Disney's eyes and make them rethink their parks approach to be more creative, but I'm worried that they'll make the mistake they did when Wizarding World opened and they tried to compete by investing haphazardly into an IP area via Avatar - something that only worked due to the creativity of Imagineers at the time; given how the rides have gone downhill since, we can't count on that miracle twice.
@@cataquackwarlord5389 Well said - that reactionary park addition working was a fluke because they still used Imagineers's capabilities properly at the time, but sadly not so much in recent years. In the Imagineering Story series, one of them says that a delicate balance has to be struck between budget and being able to try out new things and have the liberty to fail in order to push back boundaries. It was sad to hear because that balance is clearly not being met under the new management.
I’m not particularly optimistic about how Disney will respond to Epic Universe based on how they responded to Wizarding World. Their attempts at building their own immerse worlds have largely failed. New Fantasyland was underwhelming. By rushing, they stuck with old IPs and had no space to utilize Tangled and Frozen. Pandora was a good use of a disappointing choice of IP. Hopefully they have room for growth if the Avatar sequels do well. Toy Story Land is fine. I’ve always liked Midway Mania and Slinky Dog is a good well-themed kiddie coaster. Galaxy’s Edge was very disappointing although Rise of the Resistance is a good use of Disney imagineering tech even though it is an operational nightmare. Seems like they’ve given up on immersive lands and are sticking with poor attractions. They’ve gotten a kick in the pants and done nothing with it. They made their choice to spend on making it easier to spend less on labor and nickel and dime guests. They aren’t deviating from that choice. And even if they went to the drawing board after Summer 2025 and announced a slate of innovative new attractions, they wouldn’t be ready until 2030 at the earliest.
I want to say your RUclips channel is honestly criminally underrated! Your videos are well thought out and are very entertaining and educational! I love theme park videos and your channel has been one of my favorites that I keep coming back to. Keep up the good work!
Looking back at it, it does seem kind of generic lol. I definitely didn’t mean to sound like a bot 😅 It was probably cause I made the comment when I was a bit tired
Your comment on "generic sci-fi" aesthetics reminded me of how much "generic, sci-fi" stuff Disney's been doing as of late. Aside from a few exceptions, most of their major attractions lately has been sci-fi themed with very similar aesthetics. I assume it would be easier to put in some blank "themed" backdrops rather than putting the effort to attention-to-detail that they've been renowned for.
I think that Brayden from Mickey Views tweeted something funny related to this. I don't recall exactly what he said, but it was something along the lines of Disney Imagineering how shooting for bland concrete but with a "twist" as theming. Something like "an airport terminal" but with Iron Man and friends.
@@clax5612 Well I did mean the main hub, but now that you mention it I can see it that way as well. Whatever it is, I hope it's just as well themed as the other lands.
The really crazy thing is that Six Flags has specifically come out and stated that they're looking to significantly improve the quality of the park experience. Now, I'm fairly certain that they simply have Cedar Fair in their sights, not Disney, but it would be amusing if Six Flags (of all chains) ends up delivering a better guest experience than the House of Mouse does.
Well, it turns out that they did have Cedar Fair in their sights, but not in the way I expected. Selim Bassoul is still a colossal tool who cheaped out on everything though.
Oh yeah, with Cedar Fair now at the helm in everything but name, it’ll definitely get better. They were always the better park imo (obviously I’m biased bc my only exposure to Six Flags was freaking Kentucky Kingdom lol)
I love how Tony Stark is still alive, when Sam Wilson and Ms. Marvel are battling 'generic video game robots'. Seems like Disney Paris doesn't even know the Marvel Continuity.
As a X WDI employee.. from 1995-2013 ... I agree 100% how horrible this new attractions have been.. the New Universal theme park is going to dominate Walt Disney World ... All creating team from that park are X WDI employees and 50% worked on Mount Everest..
To be fair, Walt Disney Studios was ALWAYS going to make the inferior Avengers Campus. Obviously, Disney shouldn't have a park that sucks in the first place and they should've gotten their first Avengers Campus right. But knowing what we know about both of those and the fact that Chapek is still in charge it was inevitable that their Paris second gate version of Avengers Campus would be embarrassing.
@@machomachoduck2096 Criticizing WDSP without mentioning the new version of the TOT which is great and three of the bests Disney park shows in the world (Mickey and the Magician, Mickey's Christmas Big Band & Disney Jr Dream factory) is not fair.
@@theodau the park is a mess as a whole but I wholeheartedly agree. They might have the very best ToT and those shows are brilliant. A version of Big Band Beat should come to every resort, it really is the gold standard for theme park entertainment.
The footage shown of Ms. Marvel and Captain America is from the Marvel restaurant on the Disney Wish, when the battle shown is supposedly taking place with you onboard. So they just used the same footage to save money 🤦♀️ ridiculous. For a company who claims they can’t have the legacy Star Wars characters in Galaxy’s Edge because of continuity they sure don’t seem to care about continuity here!!
Disney turning the entire Marvel brand into something that can coincide with the MCU was one of the worst marketing moves ever. The MCU has the blandest aesthetic imaginable with an unnecessary focus on realism and tech. The only saving graces are Guardians of the Galaxy, whom James Gunn isn’t even apart of, and Doctor Strange who doesn’t even have a show anymore. What a waste of a land.
Well said! And I’m still annoyed that it’s been 4+ years since they promised us that avengers e ticket ride yet they haven’t even started construction on it yet (here at California adventure)
A recent leak may have answered the question of "Why can't Disney get Marvel right?", and it's very simple: when Disney is hiring people for Marvel, they view anyone being a fan of the original Marvel comics as a "red flag". Rather than building on the existing characters/lore, they want all their new hires to have their own takes on everything[, narrative consistency or character building be damned].
I love your videos so much. It feels like you're the ONLY one speaking up about these issues on this platform. Thank you so much for your videos! Keep doing you!
I think that too many people are desperate for media access or something. I'm also probably more cynical. I'm not a "Disney" fan so much as I am a "theme park" one.
Agree. All the main Disney RUclipsrs dare not say anything bad about Disney or they’ll lose their early press credentials which means less viewers and money for their channel. That’s why I don’t want any of them because their all fake
The Avengers Campuses just feel like a vehicle to hock Marvel merch, just like Galaxy's Edge is with Star Wars merch. I was a huge Marvel comic book fan in high school, so my family took me to Universal's Islands of Adventure for the Superhero Island. I thought it was a really quaint celebration of the Marvel IP, and had a lot of merch I was interested in as a comic book fan. Compared to that Avengers Campus is deeply disappointing, because it only celebrates the MCU (which itself is a gutted version of the comics) and not the company's history like Super Hero Island. The MCU version of Marvel is just too bland and devoid of intrigue, it feels so homogenized. So of course a theme park land based around it would be lifeless. And the merch only appeals to MCU fans, there's nothing that ties back into the source material from what I've seen (Universal actually sold comic books, and I don't believe Campus does despite Disney OWNING MARVEL COMICS).
When Guardians opened, Epcot was instantly flooded with Loki and Infinity Gauntlet merch. It really shows how little they care about theming and instead providing a backdrop to sell merch.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Mission Breakout’s initial launch without the campus already proved that. And I mean they long since given up with Epcot’s thematic integrity so may as well fully commit to selling out. (I realized they could easily rebrand Future World into being a Marvel land due to the similar vague futuristic design)
Yeah. You do have a point. While I respect the MCU for being able to get as close to replicating the comics on screen as they have while still remaining financially viable, sticking closely to it and its aesthetic is going to create some issues. So much of the MCU's Earth-bound heroes are basically framed as high-tech military. So, there's a lot of chrome and concrete and people throwing around the word "facility". A lot of the more organic, lived-in elements are lost. I mean, in the comics for ages the Avengers were headquartered in an Early 20th Century mansion retrofitted with all sorts of Stark technologies. That would be an interesting place to hold a ride queue, wouldn't it?
I’ve always liked to imagine how the concept of an MCU themed land would be at it’s fullest potential. I imagine something grandeur and enticing as the Avengers Helicarrier, a working Headquarters or practically anything at its fullest scale that captures the excitement of the MCU…besides just a campus with no e-tickets. I like how Universal’s Hulk coaster is brilliantly used as a way for guest to easily spot and identify the grand scale of Marvel and its characters, which reels them into that section of the park. So why is it so hard for Disney to apply that same level of ambition for arguably its biggest money maker? Why settle for a re-theme instead of an original? It’s destined to make them $$$, why not go all out?
The other difference between Superhero Island and Avenger's Campus is that when you're in Superhero Island, there are pictures of heroes and villains everywhere. You feel like you're in a comic book. Avenger's Campus looks just so lifeless and monotone.
Considering the next project is likely the Splash Mountain retheme. This makes me worry that they'll butcher that ride as well since Splash is considered one of the best rides imagineering has made.
lol that Iron Man costume looks like a Halloween costume straight out of the box. I understand they can't make an actor lug around a metal suit all day, but why didn't they make any effort at all to make it look even a little realistic?
Perhaps the issue is Marvel itself. Translating a homogenized cinematic universe into a static land naturally obfuscates any details these parks previously achieved
It makes me so mad that a company who can afford to open their own space exploration company cuts corners to insane extents when it comes to giving rewarding and immersive experiences to the people they make their money from. They have literally no valid reason to cut corners
I think it would be really cool if disney invested in an entirely marvel themed theme park, so they could depict wakanda, earth, space, asgard etc all in one.
Yea but like… much better. Universal level. Though Marvels kinda dead now anyway so I wouldnt build it now, unless they got the comic rights from Universal
When the Marvel land in DCA was being conceptualized, Joe Rohde was the project lead and we’re led to believe that he was going to bring a Marvel New York park with the level of detail he is known for, based on a few interviews he has had on the topic. Instead, he was quietly released from the project and the Marvel lead became imagineer Scott Drake, known for his refurb of Test Track. Drake specializes in futuristic, Apple-esque aesthetics and scrapped the gritty New York concept for a sterile Avengers Campus, and that design aesthetic has been consistent with all the Marvel attractions to date, other than Guardians Breakout, which was Rohde’s last Marvel project, and has become a stepchild. This provides some context on why the Marvel attractions are what they are today, however it’s also worth pointing out that Marvel Studios does approve these designs as well, so they have some explaining to do on why they think this is a good way to portray their brand. There is another reality with a Marvel park designed with Rohde’s insane attention to details and Tom Staggs as the CEO, but unfortunately you will need a trip through the multiverse to see it.
I really wonder what the original plans were. Because there was a big hatch with an Avengers logo on it and I believe some SHIELD people in hazmat suits doing some research or some such.
@@onehorseopensleigh the same guy who designed the new test track designed the Tron ride. He clearly has a design style he prefers and sticks with it and it seems the parks keep approving it.
I was in Disney Paris this past summer and wanted to say that flight force is genuinely one of the roughest coasters I’ve ever been on. It left bruises on my arms and back after only 3 rides. Also, it was constantly breaking down, which wasn’t reflected in online wait times. It was broken down at least 6 times in the 3 days I was there.
I think some of the problem here, is not just laziness but also an issue with source material. The Marvel movies are VERY drab and grey - and the main location of them has been set on Marvel's version of America - so its not appropriate to go for outer space as a setting, because that's just guardians aesthetic, rather than generally marvel, and the same goes for settings like Wakanda. Pandora and Galaxy's Edge work more because their source material has more clearly defined aesthetic, architecture and flora - Marvel movies ARE mostly grey buildings - so how was the attraction going to be anything but that - if they were basing them generally of the MCU as a brand? It seems an ill advised idea from an artistic standpoint to begin with - if they'd gone with marvel COMICS like universal studios did - thats a different matter.
You nailed it. Imagine if the Japanese were managing these parks. They needed to add 10 attractions years ago to attract the crowds. The smaller reginional parks are far more creative.
The thing that's important to point out that a lot of expense in making attractions is design, prototyping and iteration. So when an attraction is cloned Its actually often much cheaper to make and so when they cheap out, it's them cutting corners on something that's already cheaper
Seeing how Disney/Marvel treats their movie studio as a factory pushing out constant mediocre projects with too many corporate notes and over rushed, underpaid, VFX work........ It makes total sense the marvel land would carry on the tradition of grey blandness.... This is a video I agree with you pretty much entirely....
So we keep a pretty good Roller Coaster and one the best dark rides in the world? Instead of a crappy Spider-Man ride and a crappy Aerosmith Retheme with just screens on the coaster?! Cool
@@kyogresfunchannel yes! That’s my point. I think you misunderstood my comment completely. Hulk and Spider-Man are some of my favorite rides in any theme park ever. I’m sorry if what you understood was “aw man now Universal keeps dumb Super Hero Island”, because what I am saying is “THANK GOD I GET TO KEEP MY SECOND FAVORITE LAND IN ISLANDS AND MY 7th AND 5th FAVORITE RIDE EVER! TAKE THAT DISNEY NO MID SLINGERS FOR YOU!”
@@NinthShinigami No sorry I was making a joke because I am happy that we have Hulk which is a really good coaster and Spider-Man which is still one of the best dark rides in the world. Don’t worry I totally understood what you meant by having those two rides, and also Doctor Doom which is really well themed and the ride is pretty good not great but kind of fun.
Went to Disney last Christmas and was so underwhelmed with the merchandise. Every store was the same and nothing special or seemingly different regardless of park, store, ride. Plus the major plug of 50th gear again all the same was very annoying. Left with little, bought the stuff we couldn’t get on Amazon. It shouldn’t be so hard to find a tigger doll.
Web Slingers is Toy Story Mania, but without everything I loved about the latter. Unlike TSM’s charming theming, vibrant colors, and nice music, Web Slingers has a boring and generic aesthetic and no music at all. And in TSM, you pull on a physical object, while in Web Slingers, you have to figure out a tricky sensor, and you have to buy an 80$ whatever to not do so.
We were just in Disneyland and DCA last week (visiting DCA on 7/12). Avengers campus was horrible. We spent about 30m there before getting out. Not even my 10 year old son who loves all the Marvel stuff was interested in the land.
There's nothing really to do other than bake in the sun. I wouldn't wait for W.E.B. Slingers again and I know while technically part of the land, Guardians still manages to feel separate.
they only have one good marcel attraction and it’s cosmic rewind. I just visited all four parks in orlando and rode nearly ever ride available, and Guardians blew me away after my first blind ride on it. It was a well designed coaster with a pretty engaging queue and pre-show, and made other disney attractions like space mountain look like trash (if that’s good or bad im not sure) Only thing is, like you said, it does not fit at all at Epcot, and would’ve fit much better at Hollywood Studios (this is assuming they wont make a whole Avengers Campus in Orlando)
Besides this, supposedly Cosmic Rewind cost $500m to build... Compare that to Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure ($300m) or Expedition Everest ($100m). Where exactly did that $500m go for something with shittier theming of generic SciFi panels and some projections thrown up against a wall compared to far richer theming of the other two examples? Seems an awfully inflated cost for that 🤔
I've seen more detail on a family owned putt putt golf course than there is in the entire Avengers Campus. I can't believe they extended his contract for another 3 years. Businesses crash faster than ever and they need bigger plans than let's wait. Disney has too many pots going, it's gotta let something go or the whole place is gonna burn.
I believe that Chapek's contract extension made sense. He IS making money for the company, even if consumers are coming to change their minds about their relationship with Disney. When you need to save up for years to visit, I think it's going to take a while for the market to shift. It also looks weak for the company to fire him when he's so new and would have dropped the stock price further. I have my doubts that he'll stay beyond his contract extension.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Well consumers changing their minds on Disney is not realy his fault. he just fired the guy who was behind alot of the bad ideas that tanked their movie division and well he has to cut cost as much as possible because of how much Iger paid for Fox, Disney is in pretty bad shape right now.
The only park I'd save up money for is Universal, with Epic Universe coming I don't think Disney has plans for when that attendance dip is gonna hit. Might check out some local putt putt if in the area rather than go to Dis-Mall-ney.
Love your video, but have to disagree with Paris’ RNRC theming. The exterior is a joke, but the interior is 100 times better than the US version. Instead of silly cardboard cutouts, you have a lightshow that is perfectly setup in synchronized with the music and the ride. Each ride is a unique « soindtracker » (i.e. unique music and lightshow). Videos really don’t do it justice. The launch by itself with the light effects is itself way more intense here. Finally, it’s also more expensive to maintain a full lightshow running some 12hrs a day than just to have the theming the Florida ride has. Whether you prefer one or the other is a question of taste, but the Paris one is still really high quality. One of my all-time favorite rides. Even the music mix on it is different and more thrilling imo
@@PoseidonEntertainment It’s really videos that don’t do justice how impactful the lightshow is in my opinion. Sadly you won’t be able to experience it anymore, because we now have a god awful ride that is less themed in terms of interior than Space Mountain 1975… Sad state Disney is in right now…
I'm sad it's gone. It was like an abridged concert with everything timed to the music. I'd swear even the track! That alone makes it well themed to a metal band's music
Huh I never noticed how sterile and militaristic the Disney marvel park offerings were. By tying them on the MCU they're stuck with a pseudo flashy aesthetic. Everything is a military style compound for some reason. Marvel comics are so colorful and exaggerated but Disney keeps everything sterile and joyless... I guess like what the MCU became.
I love the cynacism coming from this channel tbh, cuz it’s all true and well deserved. I still love visiting Disney parks but some attractions and shows are so lazy it hurts, ie. the Doctor Strange show in California Adventure. Waiting 30 min in line in the glaring heat for a show where there were corny one liners and like 2 interesting magic tricks sucked! My cousin from out of the country enjoyed the other lands much more than the Marvel land, and she was a fan of all the movies :(
I don't know if anyone noticed this, but in the new Avengers Flight force queue line, at 15:30 you can see them directly advertising the new Disney wish cruise ship with Ms. Marvel fighting those robots on the deck. They weren't even being clever with that one, they just basically have her fighting on their new cruise ship, just so they can just advertise yet another vacation destination to you IN THE QUEUE OF A RIDE!! I don't know about you, but I find that just to be extremely tacky to me.
I mean on web slingers here at California Adventure they want you to buy $60 web slinger upgrades which allow you to shoot better and earn more points. When I first found that out I was like what the hell lol
As much as Universal’s Superhero Island is tacky, it at least has some depth and theming. Care was put in. All these Disney attractions seem like they were just banking on the IP because they know people will still ride them. Sometimes I wonder if they keep these rides bland so they can retheme them if something better comes around.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I'm not big on superhero stuff, but Super Hero Island's colorful and zany atmosphere is interesting enough that I'd at least walk through it. In contrast, my family is going to Paris this summer, and I plan to avoid Avengers Campus entirely. Shows how even just a little effort into actual creativity and immersion in parks (or lack thereof) can make or break an attraction.
100% agree. Rise of the Resistance feels like a Triple and not a home run. Its sterile and has no connection to the Original or Prequel series. I will say though Radiator Springs is amazing.
Which itself started under Eisner, not Iger.. Which he jammed a shitty IP onto it. Eisner says what you want about the guy but there was still a sense of risk and originality under him
the people who talk bad about that ride have not been on it, I swear. You go in a space ship, get sucked through a tractorbeam, walk through a star destroyer and fall 20 feet with an escape pod. It's an awesome ride, on par with any universal attraction imo. The sequels are bad but the prequels suck just as much. Just turn Kylo into Darth Vader
On the part about the dining options, it just hit me how starkly different Disney and Universal's offerings are. I went to Universal Japan not long ago, and I had the choice of having my lunch in either a pizzeria in the New York area straight out of Little Italy, the Lost World diner with Jurassic jungle foliage & tropical resort architecture or the Three Broomsticks in the beautifully-recreated Harry Potter village of Hogsmeade. All of these options (the first two of which are from over 20 years ago) kick the stuffing out of an Avengers Campus that is supposed to be the very best of what theme parks can offer!
Did... did anyone else notice that the video of Rocket in the queue is literally recycled from the B version of Mission Breakout's pre-show? They didn't even bother to animate another video of Rocket for this ride!
Disney is placing all their money in streaming as the parks suffer. Disney must pay their marketing team big bucks to spin the park experience into something great.
I absolutely hate their marketing. It's always so self-congratulatory and simultaneously condescending. I seriously doubt that the new water play area of Toontown will "expose guests to the magic of Disney storytelling".
Honestly what wild is that they're kind of messing up in terms of creating new shows for streaming, for a lot of the same reasons they're messing up the parks. Not doing a lot of new "long term" programming or original content, but instead tying everything to existing IP and releasing content that primarily exists to promote additional content in the future. (And of course merch, can't forget about merch.)
I can't believe they didn't even replace the train for the Iron Man coaster. There is no excuse because they replaced the trains on Hyperspace Mountain when they rethemed that! That should tell you just how cheap this retheme is: they couldn't even be bothered to order new trains from Vekoma
Yep the marvel section completely sucks! There was absolutely nothing to see or do there. The spiderman ride was broken! Then I had to wait two hours for a 2 min. Guardians ride. Oh what fun. No marvels characters were even seen!! THE ROBOT SPIDERMAN WAS ALSO BROKEN!!!! Smugglers Run is basically a video game.
5:28 Wow, not even gonna mention Radiator Springs Racers in 2012?? Even though its basically a reuse of the Test Track ride system, it does everything a Disney ride should very well. It has story, theme, characters and thrills. I don't even like the Cars franchise, but I still think it's one of the best attractions they've ever made.
It was a bold stroke of genius for this land to creat synergy by both reflecting the current state of marvel comics but the MCU as well. Truly no better time to be alive for a marvel fan
Speaking as someone who consumes way, *way* too much superhero media, when I see how these Avenger and MCU-based attractions have turned out, it just feels like a half a billion dollar version of a bad tie-in movie or video game. Trying to stick too close to the overall MCU brand is honestly knee-capping themselves, and only works in places that already have a generic sci-fi theme going, like say a Tomorrowland in bad need of an overhaul. It's Disney, they could easily bring to life some of the more fantastical locations of the MCU, even making certain spots exclusive to certain parks if they really wanted people to go globetrotting to get the full experience. At least with Marvel Superhero Island at IOA, they used the comic book theming and aesthetic to their advantage; not only is everything bright and colorful (if a touch corny by modern standards) but you have merch shops that feel like browsing a cool comic shop. It's the reason why they could get away with one of the three attractions in that land being a moderately themed drop tower! And that's with it being sandwiched between two of the best rides in IOA, of not of the entire Universal resort area. It's a little hokey, but that's part of it's charm. It was always meant to be a celebration of the comics, even back when the plans centered around the area being themed to DC comics. This just feels like a half-baked cash grab with no real direction behind it other than sticking as much marketable IP in them as possible. Almost makes me worried with what'll happen when the X-Men and the Fantastic Four finally get integrated into the MCU...
The Avengers Campuses are gonna age like milk and it really disappoints me bc I was hoping Disney would do something exciting and innovative with the IP
The saddest part is that Avengers Campus Paris is a genuine aesthetic improvement over what it replaced. It took the area from bad county fair and “upgraded” it to a suburban outdoor mall with rides
I liked the emphasis on "green space" from the people who worked on it. Yeah that's great, but if the best that Disney Imagineering can do is incorporate some standard landscaping, then we have a problem.
I must say, this is the point of view of someone who lives far away from Disneyland Paris. As I’m gonna trust that your opinion on the American parks and their Marvel additions is based on your experience, let me bring you my experience as someone who’s had an annual pass for Disneyland Paris for 14 years now. For years, we European fans have dreamed of having the attention the American parks have, we asked for investments and we finally got some for the first time since Ratatouille opened 8 years ago. Our parks have been left behind for so long, so much so that for years, if I wanted to try something new, I had to fly over the Atlantic. Trust the word of someone who’s used to Walt Disney Studios Park and Disneyland Park, someone who grew up in those parks : I went there on the 16th for the first AP Preview, and I welcome the addition, I had fun, I had the biggest smile on my face because we finally have an America level land, even though it might be super bland. Yes Flight Force is super empty and feels super half baked, yes WEB Adventure is a clone of WEB Slingers, yes everything feels like concrete land, but man, I have never lived an experience so immersive in Disneyland Paris than at its Campus ! I was a recruit the whole time, I staid in character, I met the characters who excel at speaking both French and English and at selling that they’re the real deal ! I’m also a cynic towards anything in life, but especially towards Disney, but this time, I have to disagree with you, Avengers Campus Paris is the best addition to Disneyland Paris since Space Mountain De La Terre à la Lune opened.
I visited Disneyland Paris twice and will go this year. The MagicKingdom has some great rides there and done even some classics better. But the Studio is a mess. I once had a discussion with a friend, that while I enjoyed Rise of the Resistance and Galaxys Edge, I am of the opinion that the Wizarding world is doing a much better job at immersion. It allows cosplay, it allows the wands to be used (in WDW you pay 200 dollar and can't use the lightsaber), it gets it story across and you know exactly where in the story you are. Disney rarely does a great job communicating the story of a land/ride. But most of the "New Gen Attractions" lack the effort.....
When I went to Hong Kong Disneyland in 2017, just a mere 3 months after they opened the Iron Man experience, I didn't know what to expect. But I certainly expected something better than a retheme of Star Tours. The accompanying restaurant and gift shop didn't impress me either. And all this was when Iger was still in charge, too. So when I saw what they had planned for the first Avengers Campus at Disneyland, I was further disappointed that they were going to double-down on the cheap rethemes of existing rides. It's rather telling that they have no interest in doing better than what Universal already offers for Marvel fans, even when they did have the cash to do so prior to the shutdowns.
guardians in epcot is a ton of fun but has so many issues all the time with projections not working and sliding back on the ride. it feels obvious that everything marvel for the parks is just kinda rushed and slapped together
Six Flags and Cedar Fair both do theming better than Disney now, and that’s pretty sad. Also, how do they build 2 Avengers Campus areas and still don’t have a Shawarma shop in either, it’s as if they haven’t watched their own movies.
The reason I think it is bad is because the disney parks seem to be just doing cash grab rides to capture the success of the Marvel universe and all of them are just lazy rethemes or copies of previous attractions where the original ride did it better. Other than cosmic rewind. The potential of marvel rides are so large and Disney is just floundering to use any of it.
The second I saw a video of Flight Force, I could not stop laughing! It is such a cringe and cheap ride! It makes Cosmic Rewind look like a masterpiece!
I’ve done Mission Breakout and Cosmic Rewind numerous times. They are both an “eh” from me. At least Mission Breakout has a fluid animatronic. Cosmic Rewind is fun and enjoyable, but that’s it. I will never forget my disappointment in the first show scene right before the launch. I rode on the first day of passholder previews with a bunch of excited guests. The scene right before the launch had everybody with the same expression “well that is bad”. I have noticed the Cosmic Rewind become significantly worse over the months. I went back for July 4 and rode 3 times. All of my rides in July I noticed that the spins were virtually nowhere to be found and I no longer felt like I was in space. They have turned up the lights, now you can visibly see each individual wall panel. It’s just disappointing that a creative company has become so underwhelming in a span of a few years.
@@christopherthedisneydude6621 I agree man. I’ve only ridden it once so I can only go off that one experience, but I thought it was better than average. 8/10. Maybe if I went back on it I’d change my mind lol
When Xpress Platform 13 (the outdoor's version of Rock'n'rollerCoaster in Holland) has more theming than Flight Force, you know they screwed something up.
I’d definitely consider rise of the resistance to meet disneys standard. I’ve been extremely critical of Disney over the past years but that ride is incredible in theming, immersion, and effects and is my favorite ride in the parks as someone who has never watched starwars
@@PoseidonEntertainment I see what you mean but I consider the preshow to be a part of the ride so taking it out when looking at the ride doesn’t seem fair. I look forward to seeing the video and your in depth take when it comes out
Well then I really don't understand why there is still no Galaxys Edge in Paris... they just got a cheap Avengers campus instead... And you have to bear in mind that in Europe the theme parks are usually also very well themed. Just look at what Europapark and Phantasialand are doing. There you have top notch theming for half of the price of Disneyland AND you also have World class roller coasters. Just look at FLY in Phantasialand and imagine what this coaster themed to Ironman could have been. That would have been a blast. Instead they cheaply refurbished RocknRoller coaster, didn't even buy new trains or at least add the newer more comfortable vest restraints. Why didn't they let RocknRollercoaster as it was and went for another new ride like Guardians of the Galaxy? For me it looks like they did not want to invest into Paris. So sad... and still no Galaxy's Edge in sight in Paris...
Part of the problem Disney has is that they're making they're theming worse but they're still trying to be family parks. At least six flags makes up for lack of theming with big rollercoasters and just sheer numbers of rides. Honestly with some of the less developed parks Disney would be better off Essentially making a sixflags, they should just buy good rides off the shelf for their budget parks
Absolutely shocks me they couldn't build the Avengers mansion. The limitations of the MCU compared to Universal’s use of the actual source material show’s the issues with the MCU in itself and its lack of comic bookish elements.
Walt Disney made two ground breaking theme parks and laid plans to build a literal "city of tomorrow" before passing away. Modern Disney, "I dunno here's a recycled rollercoaster lol."
Lol exactly! Also when avengers campus was first announced I was excited since Disneyland is my home park. Everyone was speculating how good web slingers would be. I was lucky enough to be able to go opening week and I was completely disappointed when I left. The campus itself looked good, although it was small. But the Dr strange show was awful and felt like a cheap birthday party magician. Web slingers barely lasted 2 minutes, it was all screens with no real physical sets aside from the pre show, encouraged you to buy a $60 plastic add on, and was just bad. Literally felt like a six flags ride. The e ticket quinjet ride was going to be the saving grace, but recently Disney canceled it for a way lower budget multiverse ride. They suspiciously aren’t using the term e ticket for the multiverse ride, so I feel like it will be as cheap and lackluster as webslingers or will only be just an ok ride. I’m hoping one day they will use the mostly empty Hollywood backlot area of California adventure as an expansion pad
Saw the Avengers Campus back in late April. My wife and I didn't have huge expectations, and Disney managed to score lower than that. The moment that summed up the whole experience best was waiting around for about 40 minutes with everyone for the Spiderman show. After waiting in the sun we finally get to see Spidey. The whole thing is maybe a 2-minute show; brief dialogue, Spiderman makes his leap and it ends. The whole crowd looked around, confused, "...is that it?" That moment is the entire Avengers Campus/Marvel area of Disney California Adventure. I felt embarrassed for Disney. It was awkward.
Just before this video ended, it hit me: Disney management is *not* making mistakes -- they've making cold, calculated decisions. As long as they're able to draw enough people in, "just good enough" will always be their target. In the original parks, even details like line-of-sight intrusions to maintain the specific atmosphere of each land were pre-planned and important. Now, it's just a case of "this is an amusement park." They really don't give a hoot about the magic, or about setting the bar higher than the competition; they just care about making sure they have something to draw people onto the properties and leave their money behind when they leave. i know a lot of *former* Disney fans who aren't doing that anymore, it'll be interesting to see how long this chapter lasts... and if there's going to be anything left for a next (hopefully better) chapter in the history of the company.
I still believe that these decisions are mistakes. It's great for short-term profit, but they're opening the doors to competitors, especially Universal. I don't know how if places like Europa Park or Phantasialand are considered direct competition to Disney in Europe, but I can see people making a decision to choose those places instead.
@@PoseidonEntertainment that’s exactly what it is: short-term profit, long term damage. It happened a lot under Eisner, but the Iger/Chapek era is considerably worse creatively. Eisner was at least still concerned with innovation, but then he’d cheap out with maintenance and horrible sequels to the classic animated movies. He hurt the Disney brand as far as ruining our memories of the classic films, but at least he was still interested in making innovative attractions at the parks.
I've written this in other videos but one of Disney's biggest advantage over their competitors was the nostalgia factor. People who went to the parks as kids grew up loving the company and took their kids in turn. What's going to happen in 20 years when a whole generation of kids didn't grow up going to Disney because their parents couldn't afford to go (or if they could afford it, it wasn't even close to worth the price tag)? People excuse a lot of what Disney does because of nostalgia, but when they lose that edge, and people look at them like any other theme park, they won't be able to coast off of the nostalgia factor and will lose visitors.
@@wil.d_sage exactly!! I’ve said the same thing! I’m a school bus driver and one day years ago I polled 65 kids on my elementary run. Three of them had been to a Disney park. Disney is setting itself up for a dismal future
@@PoseidonEntertainment just remember if it comes to it there’s no doubt in my mind the government would happily hand them another bailout. Americas former best propaganda machine might someday be called into service again given it seems like everyone’s at each others throats these days
The iron man ride took everything from rock n rollercoaster and made it dull and boring. They could’ve added music from AC/DC and more lights on the ride itself but Disney just doesn’t know how to make good rides anymore I guess
Said this before, but Disney took every wrong lesson from Universal's success with Potter, figuring it could be mimicked with any popular property. It can't: Potter is a "lived in" world with literary DNA and the ability to appeal to all five senses. Meantime, who wants to visit "Avengers Campus"? Same with Galaxy's Edge: Star Wars is not really about physical locations, given each world in it is just "the ice planet", "the forest moon", etc. The only other property you could make this work with is probably Tolkien's Middle-Earth...and it seems Universal might've gotten the rights to that, too!
Beyond that, all the talk of "now you can live what you watched in the movies"...man, if I want to take part in a movie, I'll *watch the movie*. Theme parks are a different medium than films; if you're going to adapt a film property for a theme park, it has to be done in the "language" of themed entertainment, while most of this comes off as slapping a brand on a relatively generic experience, like putting a movie character's likeness on a juice box so more kids will ask their parents to buy it.
The noticeable difference between Universal's Wizarding World and Disney's Galaxy's Edge and Avenger's Campus is that Universal have embraced the original source material and kept faithful to the lore of that material. Disney however, have these IP's and instead of giving the fans what they want, they give them what the company wants you to want, and damn the fans....
Galaxy's Edge and the Starcruiser are the biggest culprits... If they had just made Tatooine (as supposedly planned) themed around the original trilogy, people would have absolutely embraced it from day one - instead they're trying desperately to force you to like the Disney Star Wars... on Rise of the Resistance, imaging Leia appearing instead of Rey, Vader being on the bridge with Tarking... and on Smuggler's run, you could have had an animatronic Chewie or Nien Nunb instead of Hondo. Oga's Cantina should have been the Cantina from New Hope - imagine animatronics of the Modal Nodes instead of DJ Rex... same with the Starcruiser... make it a cruise to Alderaan arriving just before the Death Star blows it up for example, then having to escape.
@@dazblue5515 I don’t think you’re wrong that the reception to Galaxy’s Edge would’ve been better, but even then Star Wars lacks a lot of the aspects of a more “literary” world that make things like Potter work so well; like, you read and get a sense of what the smells are in a place, you learn about foods and drinks and wonder what they’d taste like, you hear about specific locations and their history and wonder what it’d be like to explore them…and Star Wars simply isn’t about all of that, it’s instead based around cinematic/visually driven experiences (spaceship fights, lightsaber duels) that work great for individual rides (like Star Tours) but don’t really add up to a complete world people would get as hyped to “live” in, I think.
@@jmn327 I get what you mean, but disagree in some aspects. I think the original trilogy set out what Star Wars is - and Tatooine especially is instantly recognisable... but it's the aliens, the vehicles, architecture etc. - you instantly recognise as SW... now take Galaxy's Edge or the Starcruiser - it has very little to none of those tbh.
And whilst it's correct that HP has a literary background, the Wizarding World is primarily based on the movie franchise too - Diagon Alley is not what you imagine it to be, it's what it looks like in the movies (although wider) etc. etc.
Well put. But then superheroes are meant for the comic book medium, and shouldn’t be what drives today’s movie and television production.
Nah this is just Disney lacking any sort of creativity. They literally could’ve made the rainbow bridge to connect Asgard and Wakanda and Knowhere together. There was so much potential for a marvel theme park at Disney and yet they just went with a normal industrial campus.
I find it so bizarre that when I think of a Marvel attraction, the first thing that pops into my head is Hulk, not one of the high tech themed rides made by the company that owns Marvel, but a green rollercoaster at a different companies park
Really shows how a fun ride is a lot more impactful than an overly ip based one
Well, because people will remember the Hulk Coaster cause it’s iconic and good, I don’t know if people will remember web slingers or flight force in years time.
I myself think of the Spider-Man attraction in the same park.
Universal Marvel is so fun!
Does anyone like the Spider-Man ride that's also at a different companies park?
Guardians at Epcot is really good too
I appreciate you calling out Iger for a lot of this. Most Disney fansites want to lay the blame at Chapek's feet, but Iger called the shots for a lot of what's wrong with Disney. Endless budget-cutting happened throughout Iger's tenure while prices skyrocketed. I'd really like to see you do a deep dive into the pros and cons of Iger's decisions.
When I see people say they want Iger back, I think “Why? He’s not as bad as Chapek, but he’s still pretty bad lol”
I just blame bob and keep it simple
@@C0ldIron lmao
Bob Iger sucked the soul out of Disney 10X more than eisner ever did. Iger was the definition of evil capitalist, and I'm a capitalist lol.
One possibility for why Disney is doing this is that the current Marvel popularity might not last all that much longer and that the attractions might not age well as tastes and interests change. It’s possible that Disney is anticipating this by creating attractions that can be more easily “reimagined” into the next big thing.
Too bad the decreasing interest in Marvel is also their own fault. Otherwise, it could have remained popular for a while yet
My thoughts exactly, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a re-theming in 10 years
Or rather they are squeezing the IP for all it's worth before it becomes irrelevant.
@@benjamincliman2735 - The superhero genre was just a fad, and Disney knows that. Which is why they are building rides that can easily be rethemed in 15 years.
It feels like Disney is so disconnected from its audience
I think a lot of is has to do with just how much the international market has become the primary market. They don't care if it's a great experience or even good for most people when they reliability have enough European, South American, Asian and Middle Eastern tourist who can afford the premium for the good ride experience.
Their MO seems to be squeezing out local visitors and so-called middle class families until they hit the exact plateau of what people will tolerate and still hit annual goals. It's an attitude of "screw it, they're already paying more for less, let's see how little we actually have to do."
Disney's old business model: World's Greatest Theme Park!
Disney's current business model: TOURIST TRAP
The most frustrating thing about this Embarassment of a park is... that it worked. After it opened visitor numbers spiked and overall...Disney is making a profit and is most likely getting away with lazy uninspired attractions and making tons of money by selling cheap plastic garbage at a high price.
Something that fascinates is that Disney has stopped caring what their buildings look like. This is the company that left a major legacy in Googie Architecture (Space Mountain, Contemporary), hired post-Modernist starchitects, and mastered vernacular architecture (Grand Floridian/ Californian). Yet the biggest franchise is history is in bland buildings.
I went to the Boardwalk for dinner last night and had never approached it from the front. While the building itself isn't that architecturally significant, I liked how you approach it on an incline with the lobby centered up on a hill, giving it a grand feeling. It made me realize that Disney hasn't built anything like this in decades, only capable of building generic Hilton towers instead.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Yeah. The new hotels are almost offensive at that price range.
Great point Jarred Johnson.
Walt Disney had something current management doesn't have; he was a filmmaker. He knew it was important to put on a good show and capture your audience right from the opening credits.
When you arrive at Disneyland's Magic Kingdom, even before you enter the gates, you can see and hear the Disneyland Railroad. When you walk through the tunnels, you're greeted to Street Cars, Horse Draw Carriages, and Double Decker buses. Main Street is alive with motion and energy. You can see the energy of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland from the Hub. The Carrousel is spinning and peeking through the Castle, while the Astro Orbiter is spinning right out front. Emerging from Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, you can see Dumbo spinning, Peter Pan flying, and Casey Jr. thinking he can. Deeper in, Teacups are moving, Alice's caterpillar is crawling down leaves, canal boats are floating by, and bobsleds are careening down the Matterhorn. The point is; the land has energy, and you can see and feel this in every land Walt Disney, the film maker, had a hand in. The old Tomorrowland had the People Mover out front creating energy. Then the Astro Orbiter further in. On the water, Submarines were floating by. On the ground, Autopia cars were motoring by. In the sky, Monorails were whizzing by, as were the Skyway buckets.
Galaxy’s Edge and the new Marvel lands lack energy. From the moment you enter them, you can see and hear that they are dead lands. There’s no energy. Nothing is moving. Everything that moves in these lands is hidden in show buildings. Can this be what Imagineers are proposing to Disney management? Seem unlikely.
Disney’s current management doesn’t understand how to put on a show and get their guests excited from the moment they enter the park or land within the park. Even Michael Eisner, also a filmmaker, knew how to do this before the failure of Euro Disney scared him off from taking any more chances. Bring back Eisner? No. Of course not, but it’s too bad that Disney lost John Lasseter because he managed to put some movement and energy into Cars Land before he was ousted.
I disagree about Lassiter, but this was a very well written comment, and you deserve way more upvotes.
Yes, Walt Disney was a filmmaker but what he was first and foremost was a storyteller. Walt knew how to tell a fantastic story. That's what his films were and his theme parks are: they tell a story. Beyond that, Walt Disney was a visionary and he knew how to recognize talent in others. Unfortunately, management at Disney now focuses on the bottom line and not on a superior product.
This explains why Universal's Harry Potter and Super Mario lands are so good. At the one I've been to, at least (Osaka). As soon as you approach, your viewpoints are clearly controlled. The lands open up with a long approach and sense of anticipation, followed by epic payoffs with music and motion. Things in the lands have motion, interaction, and are way more intricately detailed than previous Universal offerings. They just suck you in and don't let go. The tide is certainly turning.
The kinetic synergy in the original lands made for awesome storytelling:
Tomorrowland (subs, autopia, monorail, peoplemover, astro orbiter, skyway)
Frontierland (mine train, stagecoach, burro ride)
Rivers of America (Columbia, Mark Twain, canoes, keel boats, ferries to the island, and the island itself)
And you didn't have to walk far to engage in multiple rides. But it made for a huge problem: can't fix or replace one without impacting the others.
The newer thinking requires compartmentalized rides in individual spaces; easier to fix, but farther to walk, and mostly invisible from the public eye.
@@aaronsarchive82 Disagree with what sorry, if it wasn't for John there wouldn't be Pixar or... you know all of these lands?
It hurts especially knowing that there are so many people in this company that DO care and DO want to create fantastic rides, experiences and immersions but are consistently kneecapped by a management that seems to be more and more risk adverse and focusing on the bottom line. Of all the big entertainment companies Disney of all things can afford to go big or go home and take the occasional loss. But at least they would have TRIED.
It's what kills me about how people will still say "Disney can't do classic EPCOT Center like attractions without sponsors"...meantime, Disney itself has more money than god at this point, unlike in the 80s when EPCOT Center was built. Disney could be doing things none of us could even imagine, pure ambition with the financial muscle to back it up, and instead they're content with creating advertisements for Disney+.
@@jmn327 Disney has plenty of money for shareholders not for quality attractions.
I think it's kind of worse--it's not that they're risk adverse and focused on the bottom line, that'd be an improvement. It's that they're strangely determined to only take risks when it is absolutely certain to go ahead and bite them on the rear (like playing Russian roulette with an automatic)...and then they go and cut corners in the places where they absolutely have to be willing to commit the necessary capital to get a return. This isn't 'too focused on the bottom line,' at the end of the day: It's being too focused on saving money to make the necessary capital investments needed to keep having the amounts of money they've got.
@@largol33t1 I wouldn’t be surprised if Universal offered more competitive salaries in 2025 for that very purpose.
@@ryohoshi8445Um akshully market forces are guaranteeing that doesn't happen just like they always do under capitalism. Its akshully impossible for a company to act like Disney is acting because the market is self correcting and means we never lose things that people love because of chasing short term profits. Akshully. I'm so glad we have market capitalism to guarantee our culture.
When epic universe opens I hope Disney has a wake up call.
Agreed
They won’t
IF Epic Universe opens.
@@Rgoidwhat do you mean if? The park is almost done 😂
Here's a way to "fix" an Avengers Training Facility themed queue that I literally thought of just now, sitting on my ass, watching this video: Have the queue move through different rooms in the Avengers compound, with a TON of small props and visual narrative elements. An extremely high tech kitchen with cookbooks left out by Vision as he learns about human food. Maybe a cabinet is open and each avenger has their own shelf, we can see how each of them organizes their food and what food they have, a wine fridge full of Asguardian wine with a label "too strong for mortals", maybe even a dog bowl in the corner labeled "Rocket" but it just has like a regular sandwich or unopened can of beans because no one knows what Rocket eats anyway. Grocery lists! Hand towels! Personalized mugs! Maybe it's a smart kitchen attached to Friday and she interacts with small props on a 10 minute loop, a kettle boils over and she turns off the burner, a light bulb goes out and she orders a new one. She could get a call from Captain America that he'll be back soon and could she please start brewing his coffee etc! ALL THAT they could pack into one fake kitchen. A queue hallway that's just a long hall full of bedroom doors slightly ajar. In the movies/shows we see Wanda has a nice bedroom with all sorts of detail, recreate that and other avengers bedrooms and just leave the doors slightly open so guests and peek into each room as they pass by! Those rooms can be fully static and would still be interesting. Heck even having all the doors open except one would be interesting and build in some character! Who's room is that? Why do they have it closed? Have guests walk through a garage/workshop that has all of Tony Starks fancy cars, maybe a beat up bike for Peter Parker, mounts for the Falcons different wings! Black Widows motorcycle! Bags of fertilizer in the corner for Groot! They could literally just make room after room of the compound jam packed with details and easter eggs, I know fans have all sorts of headcanons about the Avengers living and training together at the compound sitcom style. This would be such an easy way to play into that aspect of the universe, which could also remain pretty timeless. Christ they could have a trophy room that's just full of all the random junk the avengers have collected over the years, props can be removed and added as new movies come out. Black Widow died? Redecorate her room for Miss Marvel! It seems so easy to pull fun ideas and inspiration from the MCU, there is SO much there that the movies barely scratch the surface of. Detailed theming is such a good way to build out the world and teach us completely new things about characters we'd never know otherwise, like what kind of tea Thor drinks or what bedspread Hawkeye has. Ugh. So much wasted potential. Great video as always.
You've highlighted the exact issue. They can't even bother with the most superficial of theming. I remember when all the Disney parks stans were criticizing the Velocicoaster queue because "it's just concrete". That's definitely the aesthetic, yet still manages to pack in detail in a way that Avengers Campus has certainly failed in doing.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Yup! It's concrete that someone actually put some thought and love into! It's got cool lighting and fun videos. I don't see any fake dinosaurs in the Avengers queue! All Disney does now is make me excited to see what Universal makes next. (Also thanks for the response wow! I already said great video but truly your content is off the charts quality wise, love everything you put out)!
This is something I got to give to universal such as in the spider man or MIB queue ( although those attractions are older) it's easy to imagine the queue is actually a part of someone's daily life with little cheeky details. More recently, with the Wizarding world areas, there's a bunch of little details and appropriately themed extras (like knockturn alley being very ac'd)
Yes! I love your ideas. This is what Avengers Campus needs: detail, texture, humor (and not dumb slapstick humor). Make these characters fun and interesting! Make the police alive, not a sterile office park.
Removing the Pym’s Kitchen pretzel element is a perfect metaphor for the degradation of Disney’s creativity. I’m just in utter shock at how bland and sanitized this land looks, especially compared to “lower-end” parks. AND THIS IS WITH THE NUMBER ONE FILM FRANCHISE OF ALL TIME! The idiocy is UNBELIEVABLE! How did Chapek get his contract extended again?! #SaveDisney
@@machomachoduck2096 but Cheapek could have fixed it and made it better! He probably cheapened it
Chapek was head of parks under Iger. He did have a lot of control over what happened in the park design even while Iger was CEO. Look into all the promised features for Galaxy’s Edge that Cheapek cut, only to later include exclusively behind the $6000 Galactic Starcruiser paywall….
As French 🇨🇵. I actually love our Avengers Campus. Stop being picky and difficult Americans
I have not been to Avengers Campus in person, so I can’t say this opinion is from person experience.
But given the knowledge that Tony Stark was supposed to be the one that built this park, I think it’s safe to say sterile was the angle Disney was going for, and it makes sense story wise (Tony is a very high tech/high maintenance person).
Was it the best decision? No, not in the slightest, but at least they gave it a reason to make sense (story wise)
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 You clearly have not been to a Universal theme park in Florida. They beat Disney to death in terms of quality, management and guest satisfaction. Also room rates can be crazy cheap for a vacation.
I feel like the trap Disney fell into when creating Avengers "Campus" is just that--trying to stick so strongly to a storyline that it seems underwhelming. How exciting could basically a military training facility be? Avengers is based in the real world so the only thing exciting they could make in "their style" that could look interesting would be creating Asgard or Wakanda etc and then it limits them to one specific part of a massive IP. I think it was always intended as a meet and greet land to showcase screen accurate costumes, that are pretty great when compared to the cheap-costume esthetic found in Marvel Island in IOA. I'm not sure any one attraction could make it much better.
Sticking to the MCU was a mistake for sure. Since they've already professed that their theme park renditions are not the MCU, they could have certainly gotten a lot more creative with it.
The trap was when the family sold it to corporate interests.
Asgard, Wakanda or Kamar Taj. But yeah, the overt decision to stick with a "high tech military" approach isn't doing it any favors.
An Asgardian or Wakandan 'embassy' or even a Shambali shrine/temple mini-land inside an overall Marvel themed zone would actually be a great idea. Maybe even have a villains zone in the form of a fake jail or a recently cleared HYDRA base. All those would really let people make interesting theming and sets for attractions. Which is why it won't happen.
The thing about Wakanda is that it's not limited to one specific franchise. We've seen all of the avengers gathered in Wakanda during Infinity War. And there doesn't even have to be a story reason for the avengers to all be in wakanda. Or why not make the land new york city? Boring compared to Wakanda/Asgard but far better than a military base. You could have the spidey animatronic swing between two skyscrapers, and with forced perspective make an Avengers Tower (or retheme the exterior of Guardians to it).
They went with the most sterile option possible. I wish they treated Star Wars/Marvel like Fantasyland where characters can gather and interact just because it's fun!
I think the main problem is that unlike with Marvel Superhero Island at Universal, which was based off the comics, and therefore can have more style and personality, Avengers Campus is based off the MCU movies, which outside of Guardians of the Galaxy and maybe Thor, all look dull, sterile, and boring. So needless to say, any attraction you make is also going to look dull, sterile, and boring. Which is why the two best rides Disney has made so far are both based on Guardians of the Galaxy
I'm not sure if I necessarily agree. The Flight Force queue is mostly just metal panels on the walls. Surely they could have put in more detail than that? If the Velociocaster queue can pack in detail among all the concrete, then Disney can as well.
I don't think basing it on the movies is the problem as much as it is a lack of effort. Even from the movies, areas/attractions bringing locations like Wakanda, Asgard, kamar Taj, etc to life could be incredible. Even a New York City setting could be interesting if done right, Maybe set it during an invasion or something. Or even something like the Sanctum Santorum just being around at the park. Make it the queue of a Doc strange themed ride similar to the Hogwarts castle at Universal. Or how about a ride where items are scaled up to make you feel like Antman. There's so much they could do even with just movies as inspiration that it's pretty baffling we got what they gave us.
I can’t respond to the park attractions themselves since I haven’t been to Florida’s since 1973 and Anaheim’s since 1977, but I don’t think the MCU and other Marvel movies are necessarily visually unattractive…garish might be the word for many of them, but the bigger problem is that for the most part they’re just not good movies (though many have been graced with surprisingly good main and supporting performances ((and mostly rotten acting by the villains)) ). I understand movies must be different than source material as cinema is different than novels, plays, comics, or history, but way too often the movies alter the comic’s plots, context, and motivations in ways that don’t improve on the original (Thanos as an ecology-minded terrorist with good intentions as opposed to the hundred percent superior 1972 and ‘77 version of him wanting to destroy life so impress the personification of Death, with whom he is in love with and desperately pining for). When mainstream superhero comics made on a shoestring on a monthly basis are better than big budget films made over a year’s or more time, something is wrong.
@@pauldavidartistclub6723 I read marvel comics and disagree entirely. Even your specific example of the changes to Thanos, imo that's an example of the movies making great changes that are much more interesting and believable than the comics. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I'm glad the movies do their own thing and don't just copy and paste the comics verbatim. And honestly the comics haven't been consistently good in a long time so that's a pretty hard disagree on your last statement too. It sounds more like you are bitter about the MCU not being exactly like the comics than giving actual reasons for them being bad movies, which as someone who is a fan of the MCU, I can admit there are certainly reasons one could form that opinion and not everything they release is good. Regardless of your opinion, the movie franchise is arguably the most popular in the world, while the comic industry as a whole still remains incredibly niche and struggles to survive. The movies are not Disney's problem
@@DraxWithASax I’m actually more upset that superhero comics have taken over the movie and entertainment industry than anything else. No the change in Thanos’’ motivation was a rotten idea. Of course, as I said myself movie adaptations have to be able to be altered from the original, and even added to, in order to make a good movie, not just a staid replica…Steve Tesich’s screenplay for The World According to Garp being an excellent example of being true the the spirit of the John Irving novel, and yet being free enough to change things in a good way for a film version.
Yes Marvel Comics have been bad for a very long time. Very long. With a few major exceptions they’ve been weak since at least the second half of the 1970’s, and were pretty much artistically bankrupt through the 1980’s (again with a few big exceptions).
Whether or not the movies are gigantic hits is not in dispute, but that isn’t relative to their actual quality, is it? Popularity doesn’t equal good, most especially in this era.How does this relate to Disney (or other) amusement parks? Well I have no kids, nieces or nephews to have to take them to them, so have no imminent concern that I’ll be at any soon, so don’t really care outside of casual interest to see what they’re like nowadays (I hadn’t been there since Florida in 1973 and California in 1977….; and from what I hear the one park I would be interested in, Epcot, is no longer the permanent World’s Fair/Expo67 it was intended to be when the Disney Corp finally built it, so there goes that.
As a former Disney CM I have no plans to visit another Disney park in the next few years. When I go to Orlando next year I plan to visit Universal. Those parks are just better now. Now I’ll admit Universal had a few duds recently too, but between Kong, Fast and Furious, Bourne, Hagrid’s, and Velocicoaster you have way more hits than misses. Even the themed lands you’re starting to see at Cedar Fair parks is starting to rival anything new Disney is coming out with recently. It’s bad when the County Fair section at Carowinds and Area 72 at Kings Island has more theming than Avengers Campus.
Fully agree. Over the last 7 years, the misses for Disney have been Toy Story Land, Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus (including all of their attractions in these lands, and yes that means ROTR), Nano Battle, Mickey and Minnie, and now this ride. Only hits I would consider are Pandora, Ratatouille, and Cosmic Rewind (just barely though).
If you look at Universal, the only misses have been Fast and Furious and that new Kung Fu Panda ride in Beijing. Maybe Kong too. Jimmy Fallon, while not a hit either, is honestly pretty solid. Then the actual hits are Veloci, Hagrid’s, Gringotts, Bourne, the Jurassic World retheme to River Adventure, the Jurassic World Adventure ride, Secret Life of Pets, and Super Nintendo World (and all of its attractions). More hits than Disney 👍
Should mention tho that while for me ROTR isn’t a hit, it’s still pretty solid. It’s like Jimmy for me in this case. Solid, but not a hit. Knowing the simps for the ride tho, they won’t care and either call me a clown, or contrarian, or something along those lines.
@@NinthShinigami Jimmy Fallon is the kind of ride I would have loved as a kid
What did Disney think was going to happen when they fired a bunch of their imagineers leaving them to be swept up by Universal? You think this crap is embarrassing for Disney now, wait until Universal opens that Nintendo park in the states
This is our French Avenger Campus 🟦⬜🟥🇫🇷
Honestly I feel like all the Marvel stuff just isn’t meant to stay.. it feels like it’s a purposeful jump on a trend, not an investment, and something that can be easily torn down and replaced once it’s no longer popular. A worrying trend compared to attractions that are build remain relevant for generations.
I bet you’re absolutely right. When the superhero movie goes the way of the Western in 10-20 years they want to be able to reskin it. However, if they put the effort and creativity in, a superhero land could be as iconic in the future as something like Frontierland is despite the fact that its Western inspirations are no longer at the cultural forefront.
I wonder if part of it is kind of the nature of the MCU. They're not at all bad movies, and millions of people genuinely enjoy them, but they kind of feel...I dunno, I've always equated them with getting a burger from Wendy's: it's better than most of the other main chains, sure, but after you've experienced it you just kind of move on with your day.
To make a really deep, immersive themed space based on an IP, you probably want it to be an IP that really transports people to a fully realized fictional world, not just "vague military-style campus" or whatever.
I have to disagree I love avengers campus it looks amazing
The newer attractions are almost always built with the porpose of replacement, and not expansion.
Disney has abandoned actually expanding their areas, rather “expanding” with new parks. Then they just mix and match similar attractions to the different IP-related parks.
A horrible decision for satisfying the consumer, but the most direct and obviously capitalistic solution to profiting from a theme park. Pump IP, mix attractions for standardization and less cost, and maximize money
That’s probably true, since although right now Marvel (and DC) are ubiquitous in popular culture, I highly doubt there will be long term staying power, though what do I know…I said Marvel Comics themselves were through by the end of the 1970’s, and they really did hit creative rock bottom by the mid-1980’s…the 90’s weren’t even worth thinking a second about, and though one might argue the art has improved in the ‘00’s, some of the time anyway, the content and presentation is drek, pumped out endlessly just to keep the copyrights in motion, and to feed the much bigger beast of Disney, and merchandising.
The details I found in Universal's comic book area was fun, goofy, and kind of campy, but still so much more interesting than what Disney can offer. Why not give this land a beautiful color pallet so that there is something that pops and catches your eye everywhere? How did they expect this land to appear on Instagram, which is one of the best free marketing tools they have?
You I’ve thought of giving super hero island a new look, nothing like avengers campus, I was thinking more, some new paint on the buildings and maybe get some artwork of the big concrete cutouts of the marvel characters,like with a new artist, a good one, like Mark Bagley, or Patrick brown, or even Patrick Gleason, maybe even give them a more modern version of the costumes for the art too like what universal version of what characters have on, I don’t know it’s just a thought, nothing major
This land is supposed to tie into the movie universe, which isn’t fun to explore because from a design perspective none of the avengers buildings or aesthetics are very interesting to look at
The Disney Company is purely in the profit harvesting mode with the parks division. The market has told them that demand is inelastic due to the pull of their IP and the nostalgia/goodwill they have built up pre 2007. The parks division will continue to drag its feet with uninspiring and slow additions until the market tells them otherwise which likely won't happen in this decade to any significant degree. They will continue to focus on profit centers like new DVC resorts and even those are thematically bland and will ruin former imagineers efforts that were done with sight lines, etc.
Thanks for another great video
It's such a slow market to adjust because of all the people who save up for years to visit, at least in Orlando. I think that when Epic Universe finally hits them and provides a reality check, it'll change not just the narrative in Orlando about which is the better value for many, but could hurt their reputation internationally.
One can only hope that Epic Universe will be the best thing that happened to the Disney parks division since the Wizarding World. Seems like Universal’s the only party forcing Disney to dedicate more capital to improving the parks.
@@nataliejarosz9360 I'm hoping that Epic Universe will open Disney's eyes and make them rethink their parks approach to be more creative, but I'm worried that they'll make the mistake they did when Wizarding World opened and they tried to compete by investing haphazardly into an IP area via Avatar - something that only worked due to the creativity of Imagineers at the time; given how the rides have gone downhill since, we can't count on that miracle twice.
@@cataquackwarlord5389 Well said - that reactionary park addition working was a fluke because they still used Imagineers's capabilities properly at the time, but sadly not so much in recent years. In the Imagineering Story series, one of them says that a delicate balance has to be struck between budget and being able to try out new things and have the liberty to fail in order to push back boundaries. It was sad to hear because that balance is clearly not being met under the new management.
I’m not particularly optimistic about how Disney will respond to Epic Universe based on how they responded to Wizarding World.
Their attempts at building their own immerse worlds have largely failed.
New Fantasyland was underwhelming. By rushing, they stuck with old IPs and had no space to utilize Tangled and Frozen.
Pandora was a good use of a disappointing choice of IP. Hopefully they have room for growth if the Avatar sequels do well.
Toy Story Land is fine. I’ve always liked Midway Mania and Slinky Dog is a good well-themed kiddie coaster.
Galaxy’s Edge was very disappointing although Rise of the Resistance is a good use of Disney imagineering tech even though it is an operational nightmare.
Seems like they’ve given up on immersive lands and are sticking with poor attractions.
They’ve gotten a kick in the pants and done nothing with it. They made their choice to spend on making it easier to spend less on labor and nickel and dime guests. They aren’t deviating from that choice. And even if they went to the drawing board after Summer 2025 and announced a slate of innovative new attractions, they wouldn’t be ready until 2030 at the earliest.
I want to say your RUclips channel is honestly criminally underrated! Your videos are well thought out and are very entertaining and educational! I love theme park videos and your channel has been one of my favorites that I keep coming back to. Keep up the good work!
I think that’s because this is a puppet account
Looking back at it, it does seem kind of generic lol. I definitely didn’t mean to sound like a bot 😅 It was probably cause I made the comment when I was a bit tired
Overrated is more like it.
Your comment on "generic sci-fi" aesthetics reminded me of how much "generic, sci-fi" stuff Disney's been doing as of late. Aside from a few exceptions, most of their major attractions lately has been sci-fi themed with very similar aesthetics. I assume it would be easier to put in some blank "themed" backdrops rather than putting the effort to attention-to-detail that they've been renowned for.
Lmao like their star wars hotel
I think that Brayden from Mickey Views tweeted something funny related to this. I don't recall exactly what he said, but it was something along the lines of Disney Imagineering how shooting for bland concrete but with a "twist" as theming. Something like "an airport terminal" but with Iron Man and friends.
Hopefully Epic Universe isn't generically Sci-Fi either
@@dasoupsoup What lands would be Sci-Fi? The hub is more celestial themed than anything futuristic from whats been leaked so far.
@@clax5612 Well I did mean the main hub, but now that you mention it I can see it that way as well. Whatever it is, I hope it's just as well themed as the other lands.
The really crazy thing is that Six Flags has specifically come out and stated that they're looking to significantly improve the quality of the park experience. Now, I'm fairly certain that they simply have Cedar Fair in their sights, not Disney, but it would be amusing if Six Flags (of all chains) ends up delivering a better guest experience than the House of Mouse does.
Well, it turns out that they did have Cedar Fair in their sights, but not in the way I expected. Selim Bassoul is still a colossal tool who cheaped out on everything though.
It won’t be.
@@Rgoid what do you mean? The two companies merged.
@@alaeriia01 So what?
Oh yeah, with Cedar Fair now at the helm in everything but name, it’ll definitely get better. They were always the better park imo (obviously I’m biased bc my only exposure to Six Flags was freaking Kentucky Kingdom lol)
I love how Tony Stark is still alive, when Sam Wilson and Ms. Marvel are battling 'generic video game robots'. Seems like Disney Paris doesn't even know the Marvel Continuity.
Looking at that scene I suddenly realized that the fight is taking place on a DCL ship.
As a X WDI employee.. from 1995-2013 ... I agree 100% how horrible this new attractions have been.. the New Universal theme park is going to dominate Walt Disney World ... All creating team from that park are X WDI employees and 50% worked on Mount Everest..
@@onehorseopensleigh Like "Imagineer" and Disney mouth piece Zach Riddley? If he is the future of WDI, Disney is in deep trouble.
To be fair, Walt Disney Studios was ALWAYS going to make the inferior Avengers Campus. Obviously, Disney shouldn't have a park that sucks in the first place and they should've gotten their first Avengers Campus right. But knowing what we know about both of those and the fact that Chapek is still in charge it was inevitable that their Paris second gate version of Avengers Campus would be embarrassing.
I'm sorry but you're completely wrong. The Paris version is much much better and is much more detailed that the California one
@@theodau trueeeee
@@machomachoduck2096 Criticizing WDSP without mentioning the new version of the TOT which is great and three of the bests Disney park shows in the world (Mickey and the Magician, Mickey's Christmas Big Band & Disney Jr Dream factory) is not fair.
California looks like crap tho, Paris looks brilliant.
@@theodau the park is a mess as a whole but I wholeheartedly agree. They might have the very best ToT and those shows are brilliant. A version of Big Band Beat should come to every resort, it really is the gold standard for theme park entertainment.
The footage shown of Ms. Marvel and Captain America is from the Marvel restaurant on the Disney Wish, when the battle shown is supposedly taking place with you onboard. So they just used the same footage to save money 🤦♀️ ridiculous. For a company who claims they can’t have the legacy Star Wars characters in Galaxy’s Edge because of continuity they sure don’t seem to care about continuity here!!
Disney turning the entire Marvel brand into something that can coincide with the MCU was one of the worst marketing moves ever. The MCU has the blandest aesthetic imaginable with an unnecessary focus on realism and tech. The only saving graces are Guardians of the Galaxy, whom James Gunn isn’t even apart of, and Doctor Strange who doesn’t even have a show anymore. What a waste of a land.
Well said! And I’m still annoyed that it’s been 4+ years since they promised us that avengers e ticket ride yet they haven’t even started construction on it yet (here at California adventure)
A recent leak may have answered the question of "Why can't Disney get Marvel right?", and it's very simple: when Disney is hiring people for Marvel, they view anyone being a fan of the original Marvel comics as a "red flag". Rather than building on the existing characters/lore, they want all their new hires to have their own takes on everything[, narrative consistency or character building be damned].
I love your videos so much. It feels like you're the ONLY one speaking up about these issues on this platform. Thank you so much for your videos! Keep doing you!
I think that too many people are desperate for media access or something. I'm also probably more cynical. I'm not a "Disney" fan so much as I am a "theme park" one.
Agree. All the main Disney RUclipsrs dare not say anything bad about Disney or they’ll lose their early press credentials which means less viewers and money for their channel. That’s why I don’t want any of them because their all fake
The Avengers Campuses just feel like a vehicle to hock Marvel merch, just like Galaxy's Edge is with Star Wars merch.
I was a huge Marvel comic book fan in high school, so my family took me to Universal's Islands of Adventure for the Superhero Island. I thought it was a really quaint celebration of the Marvel IP, and had a lot of merch I was interested in as a comic book fan.
Compared to that Avengers Campus is deeply disappointing, because it only celebrates the MCU (which itself is a gutted version of the comics) and not the company's history like Super Hero Island. The MCU version of Marvel is just too bland and devoid of intrigue, it feels so homogenized. So of course a theme park land based around it would be lifeless. And the merch only appeals to MCU fans, there's nothing that ties back into the source material from what I've seen (Universal actually sold comic books, and I don't believe Campus does despite Disney OWNING MARVEL COMICS).
When Guardians opened, Epcot was instantly flooded with Loki and Infinity Gauntlet merch. It really shows how little they care about theming and instead providing a backdrop to sell merch.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Mission Breakout’s initial launch without the campus already proved that. And I mean they long since given up with Epcot’s thematic integrity so may as well fully commit to selling out. (I realized they could easily rebrand Future World into being a Marvel land due to the similar vague futuristic design)
At least Smugglers Run is a decent ride and Rise of Resistance is probably the best attraction Io have ever been on.
Yeah. You do have a point. While I respect the MCU for being able to get as close to replicating the comics on screen as they have while still remaining financially viable, sticking closely to it and its aesthetic is going to create some issues. So much of the MCU's Earth-bound heroes are basically framed as high-tech military. So, there's a lot of chrome and concrete and people throwing around the word "facility". A lot of the more organic, lived-in elements are lost. I mean, in the comics for ages the Avengers were headquartered in an Early 20th Century mansion retrofitted with all sorts of Stark technologies. That would be an interesting place to hold a ride queue, wouldn't it?
@@AdamYJ you're so right, a queue through the Avengers mansion would be extremely cool. The MCU characters barely feel like they live anywhere
I’ve always liked to imagine how the concept of an MCU themed land would be at it’s fullest potential. I imagine something grandeur and enticing as the Avengers Helicarrier, a working Headquarters or practically anything at its fullest scale that captures the excitement of the MCU…besides just a campus with no e-tickets.
I like how Universal’s Hulk coaster is brilliantly used as a way for guest to easily spot and identify the grand scale of Marvel and its characters, which reels them into that section of the park.
So why is it so hard for Disney to apply that same level of ambition for arguably its biggest money maker? Why settle for a re-theme instead of an original? It’s destined to make them $$$, why not go all out?
The other difference between Superhero Island and Avenger's Campus is that when you're in Superhero Island, there are pictures of heroes and villains everywhere. You feel like you're in a comic book. Avenger's Campus looks just so lifeless and monotone.
Because the good imagineers left Disney for Universal, and are now putting all of that care and dedication into Nintendo world
Considering the next project is likely the Splash Mountain retheme. This makes me worry that they'll butcher that ride as well since Splash is considered one of the best rides imagineering has made.
lol that Iron Man costume looks like a Halloween costume straight out of the box. I understand they can't make an actor lug around a metal suit all day, but why didn't they make any effort at all to make it look even a little realistic?
Universal: “Where did your failure lead you? Back to me.”
I just wish they would do another Marvel dark ride. I don't know if they even can, but I would certainly like to see it.
7:56 Eyyyy you’re using the LEGO Marvel music again!
The lore implications of Tony Stark knowing about Ms Marvel and Sam Wilson as Captain America are concerning
Perhaps the issue is Marvel itself. Translating a homogenized cinematic universe into a static land naturally obfuscates any details these parks previously achieved
It makes me so mad that a company who can afford to open their own space exploration company cuts corners to insane extents when it comes to giving rewarding and immersive experiences to the people they make their money from. They have literally no valid reason to cut corners
It's just depressing seeing Disney put little effort into IP based attractions, instead of making new fun and unique ones,
I think it would be really cool if disney invested in an entirely marvel themed theme park, so they could depict wakanda, earth, space, asgard etc all in one.
You mean like Gakaxy Edge? 😏
Yea but like… much better. Universal level. Though Marvels kinda dead now anyway so I wouldnt build it now, unless they got the comic rights from Universal
When the Marvel land in DCA was being conceptualized, Joe Rohde was the project lead and we’re led to believe that he was going to bring a Marvel New York park with the level of detail he is known for, based on a few interviews he has had on the topic. Instead, he was quietly released from the project and the Marvel lead became imagineer Scott Drake, known for his refurb of Test Track. Drake specializes in futuristic, Apple-esque aesthetics and scrapped the gritty New York concept for a sterile Avengers Campus, and that design aesthetic has been consistent with all the Marvel attractions to date, other than Guardians Breakout, which was Rohde’s last Marvel project, and has become a stepchild.
This provides some context on why the Marvel attractions are what they are today, however it’s also worth pointing out that Marvel Studios does approve these designs as well, so they have some explaining to do on why they think this is a good way to portray their brand.
There is another reality with a Marvel park designed with Rohde’s insane attention to details and Tom Staggs as the CEO, but unfortunately you will need a trip through the multiverse to see it.
Rhode made the best Marvel ride... I wish we'd seen his vision of the whole campus
That explains… a lot
I really wonder what the original plans were. Because there was a big hatch with an Avengers logo on it and I believe some SHIELD people in hazmat suits doing some research or some such.
@@onehorseopensleigh the same guy who designed the new test track designed the Tron ride. He clearly has a design style he prefers and sticks with it and it seems the parks keep approving it.
I was in Disney Paris this past summer and wanted to say that flight force is genuinely one of the roughest coasters I’ve ever been on. It left bruises on my arms and back after only 3 rides. Also, it was constantly breaking down, which wasn’t reflected in online wait times. It was broken down at least 6 times in the 3 days I was there.
Disney bludgeoning us to death with IP that will almost instantly become dated is exhausting and boring.
I think some of the problem here, is not just laziness but also an issue with source material. The Marvel movies are VERY drab and grey - and the main location of them has been set on Marvel's version of America - so its not appropriate to go for outer space as a setting, because that's just guardians aesthetic, rather than generally marvel, and the same goes for settings like Wakanda.
Pandora and Galaxy's Edge work more because their source material has more clearly defined aesthetic, architecture and flora - Marvel movies ARE mostly grey buildings - so how was the attraction going to be anything but that - if they were basing them generally of the MCU as a brand? It seems an ill advised idea from an artistic standpoint to begin with - if they'd gone with marvel COMICS like universal studios did - thats a different matter.
At this point, I'm convinced EuroDisney is just a dumping ground for their bad ideas.
When you point out the difference in the Pym's Kitchen practical effect, it's really obvious where they cut corners.
You nailed it. Imagine if the Japanese were managing these parks. They needed to add 10 attractions years ago to attract the crowds. The smaller reginional parks are far more creative.
The thing that's important to point out that a lot of expense in making attractions is design, prototyping and iteration. So when an attraction is cloned Its actually often much cheaper to make and so when they cheap out, it's them cutting corners on something that's already cheaper
Seeing how Disney/Marvel treats their movie studio as a factory pushing out constant mediocre projects with too many corporate notes and over rushed, underpaid, VFX work........
It makes total sense the marvel land would carry on the tradition of grey blandness....
This is a video I agree with you pretty much entirely....
Thank God Universal kept Marvel, they helped us Floridians dodge a major bullet like Avengers Campus. Now we keep Hulk and Spider-Man :)
So we keep a pretty good Roller Coaster and one the best dark rides in the world? Instead of a crappy Spider-Man ride and a crappy Aerosmith Retheme with just screens on the coaster?! Cool
@@kyogresfunchannel yes! That’s my point. I think you misunderstood my comment completely. Hulk and Spider-Man are some of my favorite rides in any theme park ever. I’m sorry if what you understood was “aw man now Universal keeps dumb Super Hero Island”, because what I am saying is “THANK GOD I GET TO KEEP MY SECOND FAVORITE LAND IN ISLANDS AND MY 7th AND 5th FAVORITE RIDE EVER! TAKE THAT DISNEY NO MID SLINGERS FOR YOU!”
@@NinthShinigami No sorry I was making a joke because I am happy that we have Hulk which is a really good coaster and Spider-Man which is still one of the best dark rides in the world. Don’t worry I totally understood what you meant by having those two rides, and also Doctor Doom which is really well themed and the ride is pretty good not great but kind of fun.
@@kyogresfunchannel ah ok lol
@@NinthShinigami it’s all good
Went to Disney last Christmas and was so underwhelmed with the merchandise. Every store was the same and nothing special or seemingly different regardless of park, store, ride. Plus the major plug of 50th gear again all the same was very annoying. Left with little, bought the stuff we couldn’t get on Amazon. It shouldn’t be so hard to find a tigger doll.
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind: wind, screens, more wind, projections, headache, the end.
Web Slingers is Toy Story Mania, but without everything I loved about the latter. Unlike TSM’s charming theming, vibrant colors, and nice music, Web Slingers has a boring and generic aesthetic and no music at all. And in TSM, you pull on a physical object, while in Web Slingers, you have to figure out a tricky sensor, and you have to buy an 80$ whatever to not do so.
Ok but I love how…. More casual you sound in this video. You even threw in some humor. You seem more relaxed and I like that. Keep it up 😃
When Epic Universe opens, I'm gonna pack my bags for a long fun week.
We were just in Disneyland and DCA last week (visiting DCA on 7/12).
Avengers campus was horrible. We spent about 30m there before getting out. Not even my 10 year old son who loves all the Marvel stuff was interested in the land.
There's nothing really to do other than bake in the sun. I wouldn't wait for W.E.B. Slingers again and I know while technically part of the land, Guardians still manages to feel separate.
they only have one good marcel attraction and it’s cosmic rewind. I just visited all four parks in orlando and rode nearly ever ride available, and Guardians blew me away after my first blind ride on it.
It was a well designed coaster with a pretty engaging queue and pre-show, and made other disney attractions like space mountain look like trash (if that’s good or bad im not sure)
Only thing is, like you said, it does not fit at all at Epcot, and would’ve fit much better at Hollywood Studios (this is assuming they wont make a whole Avengers Campus in Orlando)
It really does look like Six Flags. That Iron Man costume looks like it came off the rack at Party City!
"It looks like it was dreamed up by Six Flags" **OOOOOOOF**
Besides this, supposedly Cosmic Rewind cost $500m to build... Compare that to Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure ($300m) or Expedition Everest ($100m). Where exactly did that $500m go for something with shittier theming of generic SciFi panels and some projections thrown up against a wall compared to far richer theming of the other two examples? Seems an awfully inflated cost for that 🤔
It's stupid expensive for what you're getting, but I'm quite sure that a large chunk of that cost went towards licensing the music.
I've seen more detail on a family owned putt putt golf course than there is in the entire Avengers Campus. I can't believe they extended his contract for another 3 years. Businesses crash faster than ever and they need bigger plans than let's wait. Disney has too many pots going, it's gotta let something go or the whole place is gonna burn.
This is the best comment here for the first sentence alone lmaoooo 👍
I believe that Chapek's contract extension made sense. He IS making money for the company, even if consumers are coming to change their minds about their relationship with Disney. When you need to save up for years to visit, I think it's going to take a while for the market to shift. It also looks weak for the company to fire him when he's so new and would have dropped the stock price further. I have my doubts that he'll stay beyond his contract extension.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Well consumers changing their minds on Disney is not realy his fault. he just fired the guy who was behind alot of the bad ideas that tanked their movie division and well he has to cut cost as much as possible because of how much Iger paid for Fox, Disney is in pretty bad shape right now.
The only park I'd save up money for is Universal, with Epic Universe coming I don't think Disney has plans for when that attendance dip is gonna hit. Might check out some local putt putt if in the area rather than go to Dis-Mall-ney.
Love your video, but have to disagree with Paris’ RNRC theming. The exterior is a joke, but the interior is 100 times better than the US version. Instead of silly cardboard cutouts, you have a lightshow that is perfectly setup in synchronized with the music and the ride. Each ride is a unique « soindtracker » (i.e. unique music and lightshow). Videos really don’t do it justice. The launch by itself with the light effects is itself way more intense here. Finally, it’s also more expensive to maintain a full lightshow running some 12hrs a day than just to have the theming the Florida ride has. Whether you prefer one or the other is a question of taste, but the Paris one is still really high quality. One of my all-time favorite rides. Even the music mix on it is different and more thrilling imo
I didn't think about it that way, but you make a pretty compelling argument.
@@PoseidonEntertainment It’s really videos that don’t do justice how impactful the lightshow is in my opinion.
Sadly you won’t be able to experience it anymore, because we now have a god awful ride that is less themed in terms of interior than Space Mountain 1975… Sad state Disney is in right now…
I'm sad it's gone. It was like an abridged concert with everything timed to the music. I'd swear even the track! That alone makes it well themed to a metal band's music
Huh I never noticed how sterile and militaristic the Disney marvel park offerings were. By tying them on the MCU they're stuck with a pseudo flashy aesthetic. Everything is a military style compound for some reason. Marvel comics are so colorful and exaggerated but Disney keeps everything sterile and joyless... I guess like what the MCU became.
I love the cynacism coming from this channel tbh, cuz it’s all true and well deserved. I still love visiting Disney parks but some attractions and shows are so lazy it hurts, ie. the Doctor Strange show in California Adventure. Waiting 30 min in line in the glaring heat for a show where there were corny one liners and like 2 interesting magic tricks sucked! My cousin from out of the country enjoyed the other lands much more than the Marvel land, and she was a fan of all the movies :(
I don't know if anyone noticed this, but in the new Avengers Flight force queue line, at 15:30 you can see them directly advertising the new Disney wish cruise ship with Ms. Marvel fighting those robots on the deck. They weren't even being clever with that one, they just basically have her fighting on their new cruise ship, just so they can just advertise yet another vacation destination to you IN THE QUEUE OF A RIDE!! I don't know about you, but I find that just to be extremely tacky to me.
I mean on web slingers here at California Adventure they want you to buy $60 web slinger upgrades which allow you to shoot better and earn more points. When I first found that out I was like what the hell lol
I hadn't initially realized it was the ship, but yup, that appears to be the case.
As much as Universal’s Superhero Island is tacky, it at least has some depth and theming. Care was put in. All these Disney attractions seem like they were just banking on the IP because they know people will still ride them. Sometimes I wonder if they keep these rides bland so they can retheme them if something better comes around.
I can understand why people would be turned off to Super Hero Island, but at least it feels like a genuine effort to create something interesting.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I'm not big on superhero stuff, but Super Hero Island's colorful and zany atmosphere is interesting enough that I'd at least walk through it. In contrast, my family is going to Paris this summer, and I plan to avoid Avengers Campus entirely. Shows how even just a little effort into actual creativity and immersion in parks (or lack thereof) can make or break an attraction.
100% agree. Rise of the Resistance feels like a Triple and not a home run. Its sterile and has no connection to the Original or Prequel series. I will say though Radiator Springs is amazing.
Which itself started under Eisner, not Iger.. Which he jammed a shitty IP onto it. Eisner says what you want about the guy but there was still a sense of risk and originality under him
the people who talk bad about that ride have not been on it, I swear.
You go in a space ship, get sucked through a tractorbeam, walk through a star destroyer and fall 20 feet with an escape pod.
It's an awesome ride, on par with any universal attraction imo.
The sequels are bad but the prequels suck just as much. Just turn Kylo into Darth Vader
@@jarkkehhh213 man, the first IP ride was in the 80s, greenlit by Eisner. It's star tours, and it's a classic...
@@Courier_333 ride theming and story matters. I didnt say it was bad. I just said it was a 3/4 instead of a 4/4.
@@photodude24 I wasn't necessarily talking about you, but more the RUclipsr.
I respect not being totally in love with it
When superhero Island at Islands of adventure that was made 20 years ago is better than this you know there's problem
On the part about the dining options, it just hit me how starkly different Disney and Universal's offerings are. I went to Universal Japan not long ago, and I had the choice of having my lunch in either a pizzeria in the New York area straight out of Little Italy, the Lost World diner with Jurassic jungle foliage & tropical resort architecture or the Three Broomsticks in the beautifully-recreated Harry Potter village of Hogsmeade. All of these options (the first two of which are from over 20 years ago) kick the stuffing out of an Avengers Campus that is supposed to be the very best of what theme parks can offer!
I swear. They built “military industrial complex” the land. Who would want to go here and see concrete and steel everywhere.
That's a pretty great description. It's a meme in the making.
Did... did anyone else notice that the video of Rocket in the queue is literally recycled from the B version of Mission Breakout's pre-show? They didn't even bother to animate another video of Rocket for this ride!
Not even from pre-show (I think)! It's from one of the commercials for mission breakout!
Disney is placing all their money in streaming as the parks suffer. Disney must pay their marketing team big bucks to spin the park experience into something great.
I absolutely hate their marketing. It's always so self-congratulatory and simultaneously condescending. I seriously doubt that the new water play area of Toontown will "expose guests to the magic of Disney storytelling".
Honestly what wild is that they're kind of messing up in terms of creating new shows for streaming, for a lot of the same reasons they're messing up the parks. Not doing a lot of new "long term" programming or original content, but instead tying everything to existing IP and releasing content that primarily exists to promote additional content in the future. (And of course merch, can't forget about merch.)
I can't believe they didn't even replace the train for the Iron Man coaster. There is no excuse because they replaced the trains on Hyperspace Mountain when they rethemed that! That should tell you just how cheap this retheme is: they couldn't even be bothered to order new trains from Vekoma
Yep the marvel section completely sucks! There was absolutely nothing to see or do there. The spiderman ride was broken! Then I had to wait two hours for a 2 min. Guardians ride. Oh what fun. No marvels characters were even seen!! THE ROBOT SPIDERMAN WAS ALSO BROKEN!!!! Smugglers Run is basically a video game.
It just shows how Disney just don't care anymore.
5:28 Wow, not even gonna mention Radiator Springs Racers in 2012?? Even though its basically a reuse of the Test Track ride system, it does everything a Disney ride should very well. It has story, theme, characters and thrills. I don't even like the Cars franchise, but I still think it's one of the best attractions they've ever made.
He discussed it in detail on one of his other popular videos.
He said that he really likes it.
Those costumes look like they came from Spirit Halloween.
I don't know what I love more, your content or your perfectly timed ads. All very impressive. New subscriber here!
It was a bold stroke of genius for this land to creat synergy by both reflecting the current state of marvel comics but the MCU as well. Truly no better time to be alive for a marvel fan
This comment is so underrated lmaooo
You do such a great job covering all these rides/parks etc! Definitely deserves more than 1M subs!!!!
Because bad customer service, underpaid workers, budget cuts and overpricing = more money
Speaking as someone who consumes way, *way* too much superhero media, when I see how these Avenger and MCU-based attractions have turned out, it just feels like a half a billion dollar version of a bad tie-in movie or video game. Trying to stick too close to the overall MCU brand is honestly knee-capping themselves, and only works in places that already have a generic sci-fi theme going, like say a Tomorrowland in bad need of an overhaul. It's Disney, they could easily bring to life some of the more fantastical locations of the MCU, even making certain spots exclusive to certain parks if they really wanted people to go globetrotting to get the full experience. At least with Marvel Superhero Island at IOA, they used the comic book theming and aesthetic to their advantage; not only is everything bright and colorful (if a touch corny by modern standards) but you have merch shops that feel like browsing a cool comic shop. It's the reason why they could get away with one of the three attractions in that land being a moderately themed drop tower! And that's with it being sandwiched between two of the best rides in IOA, of not of the entire Universal resort area. It's a little hokey, but that's part of it's charm. It was always meant to be a celebration of the comics, even back when the plans centered around the area being themed to DC comics. This just feels like a half-baked cash grab with no real direction behind it other than sticking as much marketable IP in them as possible. Almost makes me worried with what'll happen when the X-Men and the Fantastic Four finally get integrated into the MCU...
The Avengers Campuses are gonna age like milk and it really disappoints me bc I was hoping Disney would do something exciting and innovative with the IP
The saddest part is that Avengers Campus Paris is a genuine aesthetic improvement over what it replaced. It took the area from bad county fair and “upgraded” it to a suburban outdoor mall with rides
I liked the emphasis on "green space" from the people who worked on it. Yeah that's great, but if the best that Disney Imagineering can do is incorporate some standard landscaping, then we have a problem.
@@PoseidonEntertainment exactly. Like I said, suburban outdoor mall
I must say, this is the point of view of someone who lives far away from Disneyland Paris. As I’m gonna trust that your opinion on the American parks and their Marvel additions is based on your experience, let me bring you my experience as someone who’s had an annual pass for Disneyland Paris for 14 years now.
For years, we European fans have dreamed of having the attention the American parks have, we asked for investments and we finally got some for the first time since Ratatouille opened 8 years ago.
Our parks have been left behind for so long, so much so that for years, if I wanted to try something new, I had to fly over the Atlantic.
Trust the word of someone who’s used to Walt Disney Studios Park and Disneyland Park, someone who grew up in those parks : I went there on the 16th for the first AP Preview, and I welcome the addition, I had fun, I had the biggest smile on my face because we finally have an America level land, even though it might be super bland. Yes Flight Force is super empty and feels super half baked, yes WEB Adventure is a clone of WEB Slingers, yes everything feels like concrete land, but man, I have never lived an experience so immersive in Disneyland Paris than at its Campus !
I was a recruit the whole time, I staid in character, I met the characters who excel at speaking both French and English and at selling that they’re the real deal !
I’m also a cynic towards anything in life, but especially towards Disney, but this time, I have to disagree with you, Avengers Campus Paris is the best addition to Disneyland Paris since Space Mountain De La Terre à la Lune opened.
I agree
As Dutchy, I disagree.
Also space mountain and retuned Star Tours where meh.
@@hassathunter2464 my opinion of it has worsened since 2022, ignore my comment hahaha
I visited Disneyland Paris twice and will go this year.
The MagicKingdom has some great rides there and done even some classics better.
But the Studio is a mess.
I once had a discussion with a friend, that while I enjoyed Rise of the Resistance and Galaxys Edge, I am of the opinion that the Wizarding world is doing a much better job at immersion. It allows cosplay, it allows the wands to be used (in WDW you pay 200 dollar and can't use the lightsaber), it gets it story across and you know exactly where in the story you are.
Disney rarely does a great job communicating the story of a land/ride.
But most of the "New Gen Attractions" lack the effort.....
When I went to Hong Kong Disneyland in 2017, just a mere 3 months after they opened the Iron Man experience, I didn't know what to expect. But I certainly expected something better than a retheme of Star Tours. The accompanying restaurant and gift shop didn't impress me either. And all this was when Iger was still in charge, too. So when I saw what they had planned for the first Avengers Campus at Disneyland, I was further disappointed that they were going to double-down on the cheap rethemes of existing rides. It's rather telling that they have no interest in doing better than what Universal already offers for Marvel fans, even when they did have the cash to do so prior to the shutdowns.
guardians in epcot is a ton of fun but has so many issues all the time with projections not working and sliding back on the ride. it feels obvious that everything marvel for the parks is just kinda rushed and slapped together
It took them, what, five years to build Guardians and that's still how it feels? It's a testament to how incapable they are.
Rushed 😂 are you serious ? Universal are building a themepark in the less time ffs😂
@@Davidoneill1967 who cares?
@Davidoneill1967 That doesn’t mean that it will FEEL rushed. Building something at a fast paced doesn’t necessarily mean the quality will be worse
Six Flags and Cedar Fair both do theming better than Disney now, and that’s pretty sad. Also, how do they build 2 Avengers Campus areas and still don’t have a Shawarma shop in either, it’s as if they haven’t watched their own movies.
The reason I think it is bad is because the disney parks seem to be just doing cash grab rides to capture the success of the Marvel universe and all of them are just lazy rethemes or copies of previous attractions where the original ride did it better. Other than cosmic rewind. The potential of marvel rides are so large and Disney is just floundering to use any of it.
If only disney would put in half the effort they do into milking every penny from guests into building compelling and interesting attractions
The second I saw a video of Flight Force, I could not stop laughing! It is such a cringe and cheap ride! It makes Cosmic Rewind look like a masterpiece!
Ikr? At least Guardians is somewhat new, but this is just a really cheap re theme of Aerosmith lol
I’ve done Mission Breakout and Cosmic Rewind numerous times. They are both an “eh” from me. At least Mission Breakout has a fluid animatronic. Cosmic Rewind is fun and enjoyable, but that’s it. I will never forget my disappointment in the first show scene right before the launch. I rode on the first day of passholder previews with a bunch of excited guests. The scene right before the launch had everybody with the same expression “well that is bad”. I have noticed the Cosmic Rewind become significantly worse over the months. I went back for July 4 and rode 3 times. All of my rides in July I noticed that the spins were virtually nowhere to be found and I no longer felt like I was in space. They have turned up the lights, now you can visibly see each individual wall panel. It’s just disappointing that a creative company has become so underwhelming in a span of a few years.
@@christopherthedisneydude6621 I agree man. I’ve only ridden it once so I can only go off that one experience, but I thought it was better than average. 8/10. Maybe if I went back on it I’d change my mind lol
Couldn't they have bothered to at least do star projections or something? It's just darkness....
When Xpress Platform 13 (the outdoor's version of Rock'n'rollerCoaster in Holland) has more theming than Flight Force, you know they screwed something up.
I’d definitely consider rise of the resistance to meet disneys standard. I’ve been extremely critical of Disney over the past years but that ride is incredible in theming, immersion, and effects and is my favorite ride in the parks as someone who has never watched starwars
If you removed the pre-shows, I don't think that the ride is anything special. I'll probably do a more in-depth breakdown in a few months.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I see what you mean but I consider the preshow to be a part of the ride so taking it out when looking at the ride doesn’t seem fair. I look forward to seeing the video and your in depth take when it comes out
@@PoseidonEntertainment aint it a part of the ride tho?
Well then I really don't understand why there is still no Galaxys Edge in Paris... they just got a cheap Avengers campus instead...
And you have to bear in mind that in Europe the theme parks are usually also very well themed. Just look at what Europapark and Phantasialand are doing. There you have top notch theming for half of the price of Disneyland AND you also have World class roller coasters. Just look at FLY in Phantasialand and imagine what this coaster themed to Ironman could have been. That would have been a blast. Instead they cheaply refurbished RocknRoller coaster, didn't even buy new trains or at least add the newer more comfortable vest restraints. Why didn't they let RocknRollercoaster as it was and went for another new ride like Guardians of the Galaxy? For me it looks like they did not want to invest into Paris. So sad... and still no Galaxy's Edge in sight in Paris...
Part of the problem Disney has is that they're making they're theming worse but they're still trying to be family parks. At least six flags makes up for lack of theming with big rollercoasters and just sheer numbers of rides. Honestly with some of the less developed parks Disney would be better off Essentially making a sixflags, they should just buy good rides off the shelf for their budget parks
MCU: Space with retro theme, earth with retro theme, Asgard, Wakanda , China, high tech labs, multiverse...
Disney: grey concrete walls
Grey concrete walls with Christmas lights to make it look "high-tech".
Absolutely shocks me they couldn't build the Avengers mansion. The limitations of the MCU compared to Universal’s use of the actual source material show’s the issues with the MCU in itself and its lack of comic bookish elements.
Walt Disney made two ground breaking theme parks and laid plans to build a literal "city of tomorrow" before passing away.
Modern Disney, "I dunno here's a recycled rollercoaster lol."
Lol exactly! Also when avengers campus was first announced I was excited since Disneyland is my home park. Everyone was speculating how good web slingers would be. I was lucky enough to be able to go opening week and I was completely disappointed when I left. The campus itself looked good, although it was small. But the Dr strange show was awful and felt like a cheap birthday party magician. Web slingers barely lasted 2 minutes, it was all screens with no real physical sets aside from the pre show, encouraged you to buy a $60 plastic add on, and was just bad. Literally felt like a six flags ride. The e ticket quinjet ride was going to be the saving grace, but recently Disney canceled it for a way lower budget multiverse ride. They suspiciously aren’t using the term e ticket for the multiverse ride, so I feel like it will be as cheap and lackluster as webslingers or will only be just an ok ride. I’m hoping one day they will use the mostly empty Hollywood backlot area of California adventure as an expansion pad
Absolutely love your videos man
Saw the Avengers Campus back in late April. My wife and I didn't have huge expectations, and Disney managed to score lower than that. The moment that summed up the whole experience best was waiting around for about 40 minutes with everyone for the Spiderman show. After waiting in the sun we finally get to see Spidey. The whole thing is maybe a 2-minute show; brief dialogue, Spiderman makes his leap and it ends. The whole crowd looked around, confused, "...is that it?"
That moment is the entire Avengers Campus/Marvel area of Disney California Adventure. I felt embarrassed for Disney. It was awkward.
I absolutely adore Disney but the fact it's failing due to terrible workers makes me so sad-