Now that some time has passed since this year's D23 Expo, I wanted to sit down and get my thoughts out there. First off, I'd like to note that I did not attend the Expo, and all of the information I have is from live reporting by the Disney Parks Blog. In this post I will be talking solely about my feelings toward the Walt Disney World park announcements.
It's been a lot to digest but I'll start by summarizing my thoughts. I think Disney is moving in the right direction for sure because I feel like Disney have been resting on their laurels while Universal Orlando has been whipping their butt. Sad but true. However, I'm not all gung-ho about every single thing Disney announced at the Expo.
TRON Coaster Concept Art
Let's start with the positive. At the Magic Kingdom, I am super excited about the official announcement of the rumored
TRON coaster! The moment I saw YouTube video of the TRON Coaster in Shanghai I was blown away and wished it would come to Walt Disney World. When Test Track changed after the loss of GM's sponsorship, there were rumors it would become something TRON and I really hoped it would happen. I love the TRON franchise and based on what Disney did in Shanghai, I know it can be an incredible attraction!
I'm also thrilled that we're not losing a ride in order to make way for this new attraction. While some rides need to be replaced (and I would have gladly sacrificed the Tomorrowland Speedway for TRON) sometimes it's also necessary to create entirely new rides, especially if a park is lacking attractions. I do however have one reservation here and that is the concept art looks like this new addition will make Tomorrowland kinda cramped. I hope that is not the case and maybe I'm just looking at the artwork all wrong. The addition of Harry Potter over at Universal's Islands of Adventure has made for some very narrow guest walkways and it gets so congested I don't even want to bother sometimes. Hopefully that won't be the case here.
Moving on to Disney's Hollywood Studios now. Of course as a Star Wars fanatic I'm excited for the opening of Star Wars land in 2019! It now has an official name
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and the
model that was unveiled at D23 just blows my mind. I am at this stage skeptical that it will be finished on time because that's looking like an impressive feat and videos I've seen of current construction at Hollywood Studios really don't look like much is going on and we're only 2 years out. Hoping for now Animal Kingdom-esq delays here.
The
hotel accompanying Star Wars land that was also announced at D23 sounds very impressive and immersive and I know already that I'd love to stay there, but based on what it offers and the fact that Disney's recent additions (Copper Creek and the Polynesian Bungalows) are out of reach for 95% of people, I'm thinking this hotel is going to be an extortionate price and I will never get to stay there in my life time.
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway Concept Art
Moving on to the things I'm kinda bummed about...
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway will be replacing The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios. As much as I love and adore The Great Movie Ride and I always will, I know it needed updating. While people like me appreciate classic films, that doesn't appeal to every Disney park goer and I know that. However, I don't like that modern Mickey cartoons are the replacement. I love the old, classic Hollywood feel of Hollywood Studios and I hope for that to always be around. The new Mickey cartoons don't fit with that.
I don't hate the whole concept, I just would have preferred to see maybe a progression of Walt's work from Steamboat Willie to present or something like that. I think that would have kept in line with Hollywood Studios better. I'm also sad to lose the Cast Member interaction because I think only the Jungle Cruise is left now in that respect. I hope this attraction is done well and I will end up loving it despite the fact that instead of looking goofy, in these new cartoons our beloved Goofy looks like a stoner hobo.
We also got a few more details on
Toy Story Land. We will receive two new attractions: Slinky Dog Dash, a family coaster, and Alien Swirling Saucers. Toy Story Land will open next summer.
Guardians of the Galaxy Concept Art
Now let's talk about Epcot. I'm really not sure how I feel about
Guardians of the Galaxy replacing Ellen's Energy Adventure. Again, I know that was a dated attraction although not irrelevant with Ellen Degeneres being more popular than ever, and Jamie Lee Curtis and Bill Nye still being big names. However, I liked the more adult nature of Epcot and how Future World looked into the future both imaginatively and realistically. Replacing an important topic with fictional characters in fictional space - I just don't know.
I'm sure the ride will be very well done and don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Guardians! I'm just not sure this fits. I guess I should count my blessings and be thankful that my beautiful Tower of Terror is still standing. (Oh Mickey I hope I didn't jinx that!) I also don't know how it's even possible to have a Guardians ride in Epcot when Universal own the theme park rights to Marvel in Florida. I guess that deal must have excluded the Guardians property for some reason.
Mission: SPACE Restaurant Concept Art
Back to the positive, I think the upcoming
Mission: SPACE restaurant looks and sounds really awesome! I know some people aren't huge fans of the ride, but come one, who doesn't want to eat dinner like they're on a space station?! You can imagine you're in any one of your favorite space movies, looking out at Earth (or even Star Trek) but with better food than space food.
Over in the France pavilion we will have a
Ratatouille ride before 2021 much like the same attraction in Disneyland Paris. I think this ride will be really cute and I've heard great things about the attraction in Paris. Disney did not say if anything would need to close to make way for this new addition and I hope we don't lose any of the French eateries or stores in that pavilion because that would really be a shame to lose a taste of France for an animated film.
I have no issue with Ratatouille being added because it takes place in actual France and thus will be at home in the pavilion. Unlike Frozen, while inspired by Norway takes place in a fictional place that does not accurately resemble Norway and has removed an attraction reflecting authentic Norwegian places and culture for something make believe. I also think it doesn't hurt to add more rides at Epcot as long as the authentic country experience is quashed.
The Minnie Van Fleet
Disney also announced
"Minnie Vans" will be coming to Walt Disney World. They begin operating this month from just three resorts but will soon be rolled out property wide. Transportation will initially cost $20 per trip, regardless of how many are in your party or where on property you want to go. I have no issue with this at all, in fact I think it's great that they are continuing their free transportation but if you do need something faster, you can use the Minnie Van. Plus how cute are the cars?!
This service had been rumored for a while and is aimed at taking business away from Uber and Lyft while guests are on property. That's okay with me because I don't mind giving Disney money for a service like this that I may actually need and can choose whether or not I use. Plus I trust Disney more than a random Uber driver. I've used Uber and the service was good, the driver was nice, the car was clean, but I would never use Uber when traveling alone. I know there's background checks but that's not foolproof and stranger danger! I digress...
This service can be used easily with an app and I would assume therefore that the same benefits or not needing cash or a card when using Uber will apply to the Minnie Van. I think $20 isn't bad, especially if you're a family, and it's easier than differing prices per destination. But if Disney really wants Uber's business, they'll need to keep an eye on their prices and not get greedy and increase too steeply too quickly, or guests will choose Uber.
Disney Skyliner Concept Art
And finally, the
Disney Skyliner. This is a gondola system much like the now extinct Skyway in the Magic Kingdom. The Disney Skyliner will transport guests from the Art of Animation, Pop Century, and Caribbean Beach Resorts to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot. My issues with this are: 1) this is super old technology to be implementing in 2017, 2) they had a skyway back in the day that they removed for some reason, why is that reason not an issue now? 3) I think this transportation, while fun for some, will be painfully slow in terms of the journey and embarking and disembarking, 4) While the cars themselves will look cute, I think all the cables and pylons will make Walt Disney World overall look very messy, and 5) I have safety concerns with this ride.
Toy Story Land Concept Art
My biggest disappointment overall is the short notice Disney gives when they close an attraction. It was announced that the replacements for Ellen's Energy Adventure and The Great Movie Ride will not be complete until 2021 - that's 4 years away. What's the rush to close both in less than 30 days? It would take the sting away (because even if you want the replacements, some people like myself will still miss the originals) if guests had the chance to experience their beloved attractions one last time. My trip is 3 months away but I will be two months to late to catch Ellen and The Great Movie Ride one last time. Only 29 days notice was given before the closing date. I'll be even more annoyed if they sit there dormant for ages like the Backlot Tour did for about a whole year after it closed.
My final thoughts here are about Disney vs. Universal. Many people cried out that Universal should be scared because of Disney's D23 announcements. Hardly. Universal already have the upperhand with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. These announcements are just Disney catching up. We won't see any of these new additions until next summer, when there will be two new Toy Story rides. By that time, Universal will be close to unveiling their Fast and the Furious ride.
Yes, Star Wars land will draw a ton of people to Disney two years from now, but Harry Potter is still a huge draw, with rumors of more expansions. Even if there aren't any further Harry Potter expansions, Nintendoland is also in the works for Universal. It's great to have healthy theme park competition and I'm not vouching for one over the other here, I juts think the news out of D23 is still not enough to claim Disney has left Universal in the dust.
This has been a long article and I thank you for reading! Feel free to share any comments that you have!
