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| What Guests are missing out on |
| Regardless of Disney's short sided policies, Walt Disney Imagineers are still the best in the business, granted their vision is given enough capital to bring into reality. Here are a few examples of what they can and are doing when and if they are given the resources to do so. |
| This proposed area is the often announced, often delayed tribute to mythical animals for Disney's Animal Kingdom. Regardless of what Disney now says, Beastly Kingdom was supposed to exist opening day, but management was too cheap to realize that the park desperately needed another area and more attractions. The land was to contain at least two high quality attractions, one having to do with a unicorn theme, the other being a highly themed roller coaster based on dragons which was supposed to feature the world's biggest animatronic, a fire breathing dragon. (The honor of the world's largest animatronic will now go to Tokyo DisneySeas Journey Into the Center of the Earth Attraction) Disney's Animal Kingdom still doesn't have enough attractions, and instead of biting the bullet and developing Beastly Kingdom, management is ignoring reality and thinking that a few poorly themed, off the shelf kiddie coasters will do just as well... |
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| Photos Courtesy of Joe's Tokyo Disneyland Photo Page |
| No, this is not the Winnie the Pooh ride at Walt Disney World. That ride, although entertaining, cost only 30 million dollars to develop, and most of the money was used to build a gift shop after guests exit the attraction. This is Pooh's Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland, where Oriental Land Company pays the bills, and where Imagineers have virtually free reign to create the world's most amazing attractions. Pooh's Hunny Hunt, recently opened, cost a mind boggling 150 MILLION DOLLARS, and features a completely revolutionary TRACKLESS ride system. When the ride enters a room full of Huffalumps, guests can actually take control of their vehicles and drive around for a certain period of time, and for some reason I'm sure their ride won't consist of cheap plywood cutouts. Disney World's Pooh attraction just doesn't measure up anymore does it? |
| Star Tours 2 |
| When George Lucas announced his long awaited prequel to the original Star Wars Trilogy, many Disney fans assumed that an update of the popular Star Tours attractions was a given. However, over a year after the release of the first film, no announcement of such an attraction has been, or likely will be made. Many people don't know the story of why this is the case, but you would be right that Disney's outright refusal to spend decent money on new attractions played the major part in the attraction never seeing the light of day. Imagineers close to the project have indeed confirmed that an update of Star Tours, based on the movie prequels, was being actively developed in Glendale. Sources indicate the technology involved would have been far greater than the original attraction, and would have featured a variety of in cabin effects and general technology improvements (improved THX sound, digital projection, among other things). This would have been a 100 million plus project, BUT HERE'S THE KICKER. Lucas, in an effort to maintain total control over how his Star Wars universe was portrayed in the attraction, was willing to pay the vast majority of the attraction's development costs. In return, ALL DISNEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR WAS THE REFURBISHMENTS AND MODERNIZATION OF THE EXISTING STAR TOURS CABINS, which would have comprised only a fraction of the total budget. When the budgeteers saw how Lucas wanted technical improvements like digital projectors, THX quality sound, and modifications for in cabin effects, they began to cut such relatively cheap (compared to having Industrial Light and Magic produce a ride film they would have had to pay for) additions, ticking off Lucas to the point of him cancelling the project until an appropriate consideration of new cabin technologies was given to the project by Disney. Here we have a case of Disney being able to construct a high quality e ticket attraction for roughly a third of the cost it would have taken, and the mouse still thought such a project was too expensive. THIS IS PATHETIC!!!! |
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| This is Tokyo Disney Sea, a new theme park being funded by the Oriental Land Company and developed by Walt Disney Imagineering. This park will cost just over 3 billion dollars, and will undoubtedly feature the most amazingly themed and technically complex attractions ever created.Virtually every attraction here will be of high D or E ticket quality, and nothing is being sacrificed fiscally. I'm not saying that Disney's American properties need a 3 billion dollar theme park, but I'm bringing up DisneySea to show you the kind of technology being ignored by current management in favor of mediocrity. |
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| This is an overview drawing of Westcot. Before California Adventure was even considered as a second gate, this spectacular park and resort addition to Disneyland was incredibly close to becoming a reality. Under the original 3.1. Billion dollar proposal, Disneyland would have been transformed from essentially a large parking lot into a world class vacation destination full of gardens, waterfalls, shopping, music venues, and 4000 Disney owned hotel rooms, some overlooking the World Showcase countries within the park. Every initial flaw of Florida's Epcot would have been alleviated. More rides would have been installed. Fewer movies would have been implemented as attractions. No expense would have been spared. Westcot is truly the finest park Disney never built. Why was it never completed? Well, the public relations idiots in the company refused to respond to even the most reasonable concerns of local neighbors, causing a huge revolt, eventually destroying any possibility of a large scale second gate. Instead, we got California Adventure. When Eisner initially talked to Imagineers about the proposed park, he said simply, "amaze me". By the time California Adventure came, his mandate was to make the cheapest park possible, regardless of quality. So instead of getting the proposed 45 minute long boat ride "River of Time", which recounted world history through audio animatronics (what are those, Disney hasn't used them extensively in years) and a highly themed roller coaster along an exact replica of the Great Wall of China, we get a lot of WDW clone 3D shows and off the shelf carnie rides. |
This project, Port Disney, eventually became the inspiration for Tokyo's spectacular DisneySea. This park, to have been located in Long Beach, California, would have been comparable in price (about three billion) to WestCot. There were in all honesty serious environmental concerns dictating the eventual cancellation of the project, but just look at what can happen if a company like Disney is willing to put up respectable capital.
A roller coaster through the Industrial Revolution
The park's proposed "Main Street", a civil war era town.
"Victory Field", which was to be a tribute to the war years of WW 1 and WW 2.
This would have featured an attraction using DisneyVision virtual reality helmets to simulate what it felt like to skydive behind enemy lines. The technology is now being used in some ESPN Zone restauraunts, for about eight bucks a pop. (Sigh)
Another large scale project, brought up not because it didn't come to fruition, but instead because once again it shows what Imagineering is capable of. This kind of quality is being denied because of Eisner's stock options, and nothing else. Last quarter the theme parks and resorts division of the company made half of a billion dollars. They're not in hard times. The guest, however, is (unless he goes to Tokyo).
This statement, from mouseplanet.com, recites a spiel which originally comes
from a guest survey form studying the possible guest
interest in Animal Kingdom
In the recent past, Walt Disney World has added new hotels, new water parks and new rides and attractions at each of the three theme parks. Today, we would like your opinion about a new theme park the company is considering.
I would like to read you a very brief description of the idea and then show a ten minute video of the proposed new theme park.
The newest concept for a Disney theme park elevates the subject of animals into a new experience, creating a day- long adventure into the mysteries and marvels of the animal kingdom. Not just live wild animals, but long-vanished creatures of the past and beasts from myth and fable come to life in a park where guests travel on a safari of discovery through several different lands of animal adventure.
... is a theme park about Animals. Not just live, wild animals, but animals from myth and legend as well as extinct animals from the prehistoric past.
Like a classic Disney theme park, this animal adventure park is divided into several different lands. Each land takes a different look at the subject of animals: Dinoland, where you meet the baddest giants of the past, dinosaurs; Beastly Kingdom, a realm of imaginary animals, dragons and unicorns; Africa and Asia, which together offer safaris into the savannah and through the jungle to see live, wild animals in their natural habitats. These lands are connected by a central hub.
Guests enter the park by walking through Genesis Gardens, a cool, green grotto of flowers and waterfalls that immerses the guests in a world of nature and animals. Leaving Genesis Gardens, guests will cross a bridge over Safari River, a river that flows throughout the whole park, connecting all the lands. They find themselves in Safari Village, a rustic tropical village in lush, jungle surroundings that line the very center of the park. From here, guests will begin their journeys to the different lands of animal adventure.
Rising up above the village is the giant Tree of Life. This enormous tree is the icon, the symbol for this park about animals and nature. Beneath the tree spreads out a garden where guests can wander amid streams and flowered pathways surrounded by birds, deer and other animals.
Leaving Safari Village and crossing the bridge, we pass beneath the skeleton gateway into Dinoland. Dinoland is about the adventure of discovering extinct animals from the past. The land looks like a paleontological dig, a dinosaur dig.
In this land, you have several opportunities for adventure. The main attraction is a thrilling ride that takes us back in time to rescue a few prehistoric creatures from the fiery comet that ended the age of dinosaurs. Giant reptiles threaten us from every side, and, if we don't escape before the comet's crash, we face extinction ourselves! This fast-paced adventure gives the guests a new look at a vanished era.
The Boneyard Playground is a chance to play and learn in a dinosaur dig that's been opened up for an opportunity to explore amidst the fossils and equipment. The Excavator is a rollicking coaster ride through a section of the dig supposedly too dangerous to enter. Somehow, we've gotten in and are having a real good time.
At the edge of the land, there's a humorous touch: One Million Dollars B.C. It's a combination gift shop and reptile house with an eccentric proprietor who takes the subject of dinosaurs to the limit.
Beastly Kingdom is the realm of make-believe animals, animals that don't really exist, out of legends, out of fairy tales, out of storybooks. Like our legends and fairy tales about imaginary animals, this land is divided into realms of good and realms of evil.
The evil side is dominated by Dragon's Tower, a burned, wrecked castle inhabited by a greedy, fire-breathing dragon. He hoards a fabulous treasure in his tower chamber. The castle is also inhabited by bats who speak to us from their upside-down perches. The bats have a plan: they enlist our help trying to rob the dragon and fly us off on a wild chase. At last, we meet the fire-breathing dragon himself and barely escape un-barbecued.
The good side of this land is ruled by Quest of the Unicorn, an adventure which sends us through a maze of medieval mythological creatures to seek the hidden grotto where the unicorn lives. There is also Fantasia Gardens, a gentle musical boat ride through the animals from Disney's Animated Classic "Fantasia". Both the crocodiles and hippos from "Dance of the Hours" and the Pegasus, fauns and centaurs from Beethoven's "Pastoral".
To the north of the park are our two main attraction, the African and Asian Safaris, Journey to Gorilla Valley and Tiger River Rapids. Both safaris are outdoor adventures with real animals, dealing with real issues. In Africa, we're exposed to the poaching of wild animals. In Asia, we're dealing with deforestation.
The African Safari is a jeep safari that takes you from an African village out through the jungle to the broad savannah where you are surrounded by animals such as giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, even elephants. In the end, this wilderness is threatened by poachers. We encounter these poachers, report them and then need to escape in a fast paced adventure down a narrow river canyon. Ultimately, the poachers are apprehended and we are rewarded with a chance to walk through the Gorilla Preserve, a deep, rich jungle where these animals live protected in a beautiful rainforest environment.
For those interested in a deeper look at Africa, we have the Nature Walk, a pedestrian walk where you can get a longer look at your favorite animals and a closer look at smaller or well camouflaged creatures. A series of safari overlook stations offer good views and plenty of information about the savannah animals.
The Asian Safari, Tiger River Rapids is completely different from the African safari. It's a river raft trip. The Asian Safari takes guests upriver on a flexible river raft deep into the heart of a pristine rainforest. Exotic wildlife of Southeast Asia, leopards, orangutans, rhinoceros, monkeys and elephants, live along the banks of the river amid towering trees and tumbling waterfalls.
Guests depart from a colorful Asian village for a journey that will carry them through waterfalls, rapids, mysterious ruins and a realm of rare, endangered animals. Part of the journey takes us through the devastation created by careless logging of the fragile forest, where erosion creates muddy rapids that threaten our raft. Finally, we conclude our journey in a place where man and animal seek to live together in harmony. As the ride comes to an end, we see what was once a maharaja's hunting palace, now the headquarters of Operation Tiger, a program for restoring rainforests and allowing tigers to live there once again.
There is also a Nature Walk that offers a walking tour of the Asian jungle for another look at rhinos, elephants and tigers, providing information and a deeper understanding of jungle life.
In a commitment to world wide animal conservation, Disney's Animal Adventure Park also offers Wildlife Express to Preservation Station, a train ride that takes guests through both safaris to our facilities for conservation and rare animal breeding. There, you can learn about the real work we're doing to preserve endangered species and even get involved with zoos in your own home town through a special computerized link-up.
Disney's new park creates a daylong adventure for the whole family. Shows, rides, attractions and real wildlife safaris offer an incredible selection of animal experiences. Whether you love tigers, teddy bears or Tyrannosaurus Rex, you'll find all your favorite animals right here.
Lot's of cool stuff in that
proposal didn't make it opening day. Animal Kingdom is
still a half day park, and attendence is dropping
higher at this "brand new" park than at others. A good
long term solution would be to build a fully funded
Beastly Kingdom, and some of the smaller animal walks
(the "bunker" units described in the proposal).
Instead, we're getting off the shelf "mad mouse"
coaster and another "dumbo ride". Considering Disney's
likely contention that Animal Kingdom has an older
demographic, they sure as hell aren't doing anything
with that audience. Considering that Beastly Kingdom
was the number one issue for people regarding whether
they would like to visit the park, it borders on
corporate fraud for them to quickly cut the project,
and then assume it wouldn't make a difference in the
guest experience when it's not there opening day. The
reasons why people rated the project so high was
because THEY WERE IMPRESSED WITH THE IDEA'S POTENTIAL.
Once again, this was a time where executives should
have listened to the public, and not Eisner. Why was
DinoLand built? Well, Eisner knew that the still in
production Dinosaur was a dud. Therefore, he overruled
the idea that Beastly Kingdom be built in favor of
having the "synergy" concept of a new ride based on
the movie Dinosaur. Of course, the movie still bombed,
lost countless money for Disney in the investment of
millions of dollars worth of computer workstations,
and we still have no Beastly Kingdom. Would have been
nice though, and would have increased people's time at
the park significantly, especially when considering
other proposals nailed because of budgets from early
park cutbacks at Animal Kingdom.
Sad Side Note:
People estimate the cost to construct the new Animal
Kingdom Lodge weighs in at about $500,000,000 .
Beastly Kingdom (the original, souped up version)
would have cost between $150 million and $200 million.
Now I realise that Disney can make a lot more money in
the short term with hotels, but why did they have to
show such extravagence less than a mile from such a
problematic, empty park? I wish the company would get
some of their priorities straight...