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Walt Disney World: Non-Theme Park Discussion
Matt N
TS Member
I wasn’t sure where to put this, so I apologise if this is the wrong thread for it, but when the request “Disney - Where Dreams Come True” was given to an AI image generator, it generated these images:
(Source: AI Generated Nonsense)
They’re… interesting, to say the least. I must admit, I think they’re both slightly terrifying and kind of funny in equal measure…
(Source: AI Generated Nonsense)
They’re… interesting, to say the least. I must admit, I think they’re both slightly terrifying and kind of funny in equal measure…
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Zeock
TS Member
I thought this thread would be the best place to share this:
insidethemagic.net
Disney Finally Eliminates Genie+ Feature Completely
You ain't never had a friend like him.
Joel
TS Technical Admin
I absolutely outright refuse to click or read ITM articles because they are worse than the Daily Mail for sensationalist and awful click-bait articles (never mind the actual quality of writing being awful too) and misleading the public and enthusiasts, and many people have blocked them too.
However I assume the clickbait title relates to the claim that Genie+ is now in its "on-the-day" only sale phase as the option to pre-purchase Genie+ ended just as 2023 general tickets went on sale in the US.
However I also hate to burst their bubble - because that's technically incorrect - certainly the UK market could still pre-purchase Genie+ for 2023 tickets so long as they were paid in full before the cut-off deadline - so it still won't be 100% on-the-day purchases only, although the percentage will be a lot higher!
However I assume the clickbait title relates to the claim that Genie+ is now in its "on-the-day" only sale phase as the option to pre-purchase Genie+ ended just as 2023 general tickets went on sale in the US.
However I also hate to burst their bubble - because that's technically incorrect - certainly the UK market could still pre-purchase Genie+ for 2023 tickets so long as they were paid in full before the cut-off deadline - so it still won't be 100% on-the-day purchases only, although the percentage will be a lot higher!
Zeock
TS Member
What good sites can you think of for non-clickbait Disney info? WDW News Today is another site I can think of for Disney info, but that also has a bad reputation.
Joel
TS Technical Admin
I still use WDWNT as a source (and certainly would over ITM).
I do think the main host (avoiding his name on purpose for SEO purposes.. and I certainly prefer other presenters for their YouTube updates
) can be a little too biased and outspoken at times and enjoys calling out TWDC on a number of issues particularly where they have (or haven't) responded to WDWNT - however that all aside, WDWNT at least do not attempt to be clickbait to users in order to drive traffic to their site, and will at least give articles with honest titles!
Although just seen this show up in YouTube, and I'll be giving this tripe a wide berth too...
I think I just don't genuinely enjoy "opinion" pieces in all honesty - I'd rather just be told the news/information/facts and form my own judgements or opinions on it.
Otherwise most of my other news sources are just individuals followed on Twitter for the most interesting aspects of news from the world of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
I do think the main host (avoiding his name on purpose for SEO purposes.. and I certainly prefer other presenters for their YouTube updates
) can be a little too biased and outspoken at times and enjoys calling out TWDC on a number of issues particularly where they have (or haven't) responded to WDWNT - however that all aside, WDWNT at least do not attempt to be clickbait to users in order to drive traffic to their site, and will at least give articles with honest titles!Although just seen this show up in YouTube, and I'll be giving this tripe a wide berth too...
I think I just don't genuinely enjoy "opinion" pieces in all honesty - I'd rather just be told the news/information/facts and form my own judgements or opinions on it.
Otherwise most of my other news sources are just individuals followed on Twitter for the most interesting aspects of news from the world of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
jon81uk
TS Member
I usually use WDWMagic and their forums, but they only really post actual news on the website that is reliable and not clickbait. But WDWMagic forum actually has a filter that bans use of WDWNT due to a long-running feud of some type. I think there is an issue with WDWNT stealing rumours from the WDWMagic forums and passing it off as their own news.
I also liked easyWDW quite a bit, the photo tours and information was good and Josh's cynicism was closer to fun rather than just ranting, unfortuantly he passed away last year.
Without a trip planned I've not really been checking the WDW forums as there isn't much that excites me about the Disney parks right now, but I occasionally check for Universal news.
Inside the Magic is the worst though, I used to get alerts on the Google app and it thought I was interested, but it was constantly ITM clickbait headlines with the article containing nothing of substance and often not living up to the headline in any way.
I also liked easyWDW quite a bit, the photo tours and information was good and Josh's cynicism was closer to fun rather than just ranting, unfortuantly he passed away last year.
Without a trip planned I've not really been checking the WDW forums as there isn't much that excites me about the Disney parks right now, but I occasionally check for Universal news.
Inside the Magic is the worst though, I used to get alerts on the Google app and it thought I was interested, but it was constantly ITM clickbait headlines with the article containing nothing of substance and often not living up to the headline in any way.
Zeock
TS Member
I think I can slightly understand why they are angry. The quality of attractions at US Disney is declining,and so is the cleanliness standard. This is all happening while the prices are increasing. The most sensible way to protest would simply be to boycott the parks, not to complain on a forum though.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Disney lost its touch ecer since Bob Iger came in, and it slowly declined in quality and creativity since. Yeah, Michael Eisner made a mess, but you could tell he was really passionate and creative. We need more CEOs like him personally, as long as someone's there to help them.
Is it subjective to say that I think The Haunted Mansion is still better than rise of the resistance?
Zeock
TS Member
I 100 percent agree with the first paragraph.
I understand people that say THM is still better than Rise. If you want a critical video that isn't negative for the sake of it, I would recommend this video:
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKVkjx98pNs
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Seen the video already, great shout out though! Really like Poseidon Entertainments videos! Filled with very valid and non biased criticism, check his video on Epcots downfall. His best IMO. I really didn't care much about old Epcot until this video came up, but wow, it really makes me sad how we've lost this version and vision of The Original Epcot for Sci fi stuff and IPs.
From: https://youtu.be/5K8FepaAhw8
Zeock
TS Member
Yep, this and his video on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind both made me wish that Epcot was back to how it was when it first opened, whereas before that, I didn't care about Epcot in general.
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Trooper Looper
TS Member
I think another great video is his Avenger Campus ones, either one, but I'm picked the DLP one. It really just shows the lack of creativity from Disney. Yes, it's better than the area what sat there before, but they really did Rock N Roller Coaster NASTY!! That and a land based on the avengers doesn't make any sense for a Park about STUDIOS and Filmmaking. At least the buildings in the old area actually looked like Hollywood Studio buildings. They could've improved the area so much and could've gone full on the Studio idea, but the instead decided for the (kinda) cheap Marvel IP option.
From: https://youtu.be/tsDkByRDiOY
Zeock
TS Member
Totally agree with him and you. Avengers Assemble: Flight Force was a good ride, but the theming was not up to Disney standard. Don't get me started on the Iron Man animatronic. It moves like an A1...
There was so much potential with an Avengers themed land. We are led to believe that the legendary Joe Rohde was at one point the project lead. His idea was apparently a Marvel New York area (still wouldn't fit in with Walt Disney Studios) with the level of detail that we are used to from him. However, he was replaced by a different Imagineer, who is famous for leading the 2012 Test Track refurb, so we are left with this.
Ian
TS Team
By that measure Rise of The Resistance and the rest of Galaxy’s Edge in Florida are inappropriate for their park too.
The whole Studios theme has never really worked, and is as good as dead at Disney across both their Studio parks (to the point they even recently tested the water for a rebrand of DHS). It was always a crap concept at WDS, and only really worked at DHS because they did a decent job of creating themed buildings for Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard. Even if the “studio” was poorer the “Hollywood” element was realised well.
Even at Universal they’ve sort of given up on it and gone for more generally themed rides. Shows aside you’ve only really got Mummy and Jimmy Fallon as anything of note that have any guise of a film/tv studio IMO.
By all means Avengers Campus has its faults, but the fact it isn’t “studios” themed is waaay waaay down on the priorities list.
But anyway, we’re straying from WDW now.
Joel
TS Technical Admin
All 3 of these videos scream negative from the titles though... but again, if they are opinion pieces, I know I wouldn't take well to them anyway!
The real issue is that - honestly - we're all unique individuals and all have different tastes, desires and expectations of what we want from our experiences and interactions at theme parks. And whilst they [Disney] and many others try to broadly appeal to most of those expectations, there will never be pleasing some people, be it the purists, the enthusiasts, the value for money, the families.... etc etc.
I was asked this week a similar question by some new work colleagues of "What is your favourite ride?" which I find an incredibly hard question to answer, because it depends what I'm looking for or wanting from a ride, particularly in a given moment.
I always fall back to hardware - and more specifically technology - which is why I am so passionate about Disney, as they spend so much time and energy (and money) trying to perfect those experiences and still I believe lead the market in doing so.
For me, Rise of the Resistance and its setting of Galaxys Edge and Batuu will always be an incredibly impressive and immersive attraction and experience. Is it true to the Star Wars canon and story? No bloody idea, but I can appreciate it at its face value and marvel in the technological advances that help to create that overall experience.
Epcot is a whole other debate, and I wouldn't defend or condone their handling of Epcot particularly in its recent changes and construction work. But I do firmly believe and agree that its incredibly difficult to create an 'interesting' and 'exciting' portrayal of the future as the curve of technological advances flattens out versus the big ideas in the 70s and 80s. How on earth can a company keep a whole park up to date as a sci-fi and futuristic experience when technology is moving faster than they can perfect and capitalise on it for the masses - so I do believe the diversification of Epcot from its original concept was inevitable in hindsight.
Guardians of the Galaxy - well my honest opinion after riding it was that it was a great, fun and fairly unique experience. Was it mind blowing like Rise of the Resistance was for me? No. But it still adds value, still drives forward technology, and still has room for improvement too (*coughanimatronicscough*)... but I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a silly, stupid, out of place or pointless addition to the park either.
I'll leave it for there now as I feel like I already have an essay going on here hahaha!
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Definitely agree with you on Guardians of the Galaxy. A great looking experience, but in wrong park! Like Gman once said, "The right, man in the wrong place can make all the difference."All 3 of these videos scream negative from the titles though... but again, if they are opinion pieces, I know I wouldn't take well to them anyway!
The real issue is that - honestly - we're all unique individuals and all have different tastes, desires and expectations of what we want from our experiences and interactions at theme parks. And whilst they [Disney] and many others try to broadly appeal to most of those expectations, there will never be pleasing some people, be it the purists, the enthusiasts, the value for money, the families.... etc etc.
I was asked this week a similar question by some new work colleagues of "What is your favourite ride?" which I find an incredibly hard question to answer, because it depends what I'm looking for or wanting from a ride, particularly in a given moment.
I always fall back to hardware - and more specifically technology - which is why I am so passionate about Disney, as they spend so much time and energy (and money) trying to perfect those experiences and still I believe lead the market in doing so.
For me, Rise of the Resistance and its setting of Galaxys Edge and Batuu will always be an incredibly impressive and immersive attraction and experience. Is it true to the Star Wars canon and story? No bloody idea, but I can appreciate it at its face value and marvel in the technological advances that help to create that overall experience.
Epcot is a whole other debate, and I wouldn't defend or condone their handling of Epcot particularly in its recent changes and construction work. But I do firmly believe and agree that its incredibly difficult to create an 'interesting' and 'exciting' portrayal of the future as the curve of technological advances flattens out versus the big ideas in the 70s and 80s. How on earth can a company keep a whole park up to date as a sci-fi and futuristic experience when technology is moving faster than they can perfect and capitalise on it for the masses - so I do believe the diversification of Epcot from its original concept was inevitable in hindsight.
Guardians of the Galaxy - well my honest opinion after riding it was that it was a great, fun and fairly unique experience. Was it mind blowing like Rise of the Resistance was for me? No. But it still adds value, still drives forward technology, and still has room for improvement too (*coughanimatronicscough*)... but I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a silly, stupid, out of place or pointless addition to the park either.
I'll leave it for there now as I feel like I already have an essay going on here hahaha!
Matt N
TS Member
As @Ian has put very eloquently, I think that the studio theme park as a theme park archetype is arguably a bit obsolete in this day and age. Studio theme parks were built for a bygone era where "the magic of movie making" was all the rage, and everyone wanted to see behind the scenes of movie production. However, these studio parks lost their attraction a tad when things like special features were added to DVDs, and with things like behind-the-scenes videos and blooper reels from the films being just a tap away on YouTube these days, the need to see movie production in action is far less pressing than it was a few decades ago.
As such, studio theme parks as originally built became a bit redundant, and their flaws from an immersion standpoint became more evident. Therefore, the focus has had to move more towards immersing guests within the worlds of their favourite movies. With this in mind, I'd argue that Avengers Campus is a brilliant fit for the modern day Walt Disney Studios, and it seems to have gone down pretty well with the average guest, from what I've heard.
I would argue a similar point for Epcot. I will concede that Guardians of the Galaxy does seem like a slightly odd fit within Epcot without knowing much about it (I haven't watched or read an awful lot about Cosmic Rewind), but I would personally argue that the original vision of Epcot is a bit outdated within the modern theme park industry, and the recent enhancements were necessary to make the park more appealing to the modern visitor. I'm aware that Epcot was designed to be an educational haven and a beacon of hope for the future rather than a playground for Disney's latest and greatest IPs, but rightly or wrongly, this garnered it a reputation for being "the boring Disney park". I'd wager that IPs have helped to combat this problem considerably.
Also, both sections of Epcot in their original form were arguably problematic to some degree from a longevity standpoint.
Future World essentially suffers from what Imagineers have coined "the Tomorrowland problem", wherein any theme based on the future has a finite shelf life due to "tomorrow" always coming, on a large scale. This means that the original attractions, while "futuristic" in the 1980s, arguably look a bit "retro" in 2023.
I think that World Showcase was less problematic from a longevity standpoint, but it still has its issues. It's a lovely area, and very well-themed, but with global flights now being more readily available than ever to facilitate people visiting the real countries represented, its original purpose of advertising the different countries of the world is arguably a bit obsolete in this day and age. Now that the countries themselves are more accessible than ever, and the original purpose of the Epcot countries as "pavilions" to advertise their respective real life countries is a bit irrelevant, the countries arguably lack substance on an individual basis, and building IP rides within the countries does help to remedy that to some extent.