Disney announces or teases a ton of attractions at D23

This all reminds me of the time we were at Disneyland, and standing in the middle of Main Street, weighted/weighed down by a Disney annual pass lanyard with 20 pounds of trading pins and a Mickey backpack, was a guy who looked absolutely miserable, sneering at all the people around him.

I like this "key to happiness" quote that was supposedly from the Dali Lama:

Expect nothing. Accept everything. ;)

Curious to see if they shoehorn an IP into Test Track. Cars wouldn't really work in that spot.

What's the last attraction that went into WDW that wasn't contingent on use of an IP, Expedition Everest ?

Soarin' update?

You're right. Seems like lately, Disney has been working to fit more popular, existing IPs into attractions lacking popular IPs.

Even temporarily with the Holiday overlay with Haunted Mansion...

Not exactly D23 related and probably not worthy of a new post, but a handful of bloggers started posting maps and renderings from a recently released environmental impact study on Disneyland expansion. It focuses on what looks to be an extension of DLP to the north of Disneyland Hotel and DCA to the south of that hotel and surrounding Paradise Pier. (The blog I linked below mentions it could be a third gate.) There's also maps of a potential park on the Toy Story parking land that has hotels and several apartments on the same block. There's mention of the east garage and entry that died out a few years ago and the possibility of some sort of people mover and the Skyliner. I'm sure there's a lot of take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt in this, but hey, at least they didn't fleece over a lot of innocent convention goers. I normally don't like linking to any of the blogs, but this seems like a pretty level headed take on everything:

https://mickeyvisit.com/dis...RnA3ibEv-s

I’d hate to see DLR turn into Florida lite. The reason I love it so much is because it’s smaller and doesn’t require nearly as much effort to have fun.

That’s progress, I guess.

I probably agree with that sentiment. If the expansion around the hotels to the west is simply an extension of the existing parks, that's not all that bad. Another gate on the Toy Story lot is likely to be a steep hill to climb.

Don’t get me wrong, I love WDW, and the fact that there are so many different ways to vacation there, but I prefer the different experiences between coasts.

DLR just feels nostalgic and in a sweet spot for what it is.

Every time I go to Disneyland, which I admit isn’t often, I look around and say something like “Welp, it looks like they finally ran out of space.” But it seems like they never do.

Raven-Phile:

The reason I love it so much is because it’s smaller and doesn’t require nearly as much effort to have fun.

Agree with this 100%. I really enjoy Disneyland, much more than any of my handful of visits to WDW for this very reason... At least at the time, it's been a few years.

The parks are fine, on both coasts, but I simply will not visit WDW because it's just way too much hassle/work for something that should just be "show up and have fun!". It's the complete opposite experience for me, so I simply vote with the wallet as they say.

Disney doesn't seem to be selling the Disneyland Forward project as a third gate, rather an expansion of the two parks currently in existence at DLR. At this point Disney is trying to change the zoning on the current land to allow theme park expansion, but are still very early in that process. If anyone is concerned about the charm of DLR being ruined by this project I'd say you have at least six years.

SteveWoA:

I simply will not visit WDW because it's just way too much hassle/work for something that should just be "show up and have fun!".

But you can't argue about the distance between the front gate and parking facility

SteveWoA:

The parks are fine, on both coasts, but I simply will not visit WDW because it's just way too much hassle/work for something that should just be "show up and have fun!".

Contrary to what the Internet says, this is possible and happens everyday.

As I've got older, the thought of going to WDW makes me tired just thinking about it. On average I've been once every 12 years so on that basis I am due a trip but have very little interest in doing so.

We'll hit up LA next year and do a few days at Disneyland, but the thought of three or four times that long at WDW .... eugh.

The Fastpass set up alone sounds exhausting, they can have any amount of money from me they want when I get there to skip lines, but I am not planning stuff months in advance or getting up at stupid o' clock to book on a ride I enjoyed in Paris 5 years ago.

Imagine living in a world where you can choose to not do all that, make the trip, and still have fun. It blows my mind that the planning urban legend about WDW has been chiseled in stone by the innerwebs.

Exactly. For some reason, WDW is more susceptible to the "You aren't having fun unless..." trope than almost anywhere else I've been. And it's not just about the attractions. It's also about this restaurant, or that special tour, or the other particular place to watch the fireworks.

I think it comes down to why I am going there. Am I there to go do a bunch of specific things, or am I there to have a good time with friends and family--or even just have a good time away from work, friends, and family! If I'm there for the latter, then the attractions and the restaurants and the tours and the shows are just the stage on which the good time happens. And it's a lot easier to have fun that way.

I can definitely be an uber-planner, because I'm just wired that way. But over time I've learned to let more of that go, and my trips are better for it.

For me I think the stress comes in going so infrequently, I feel like I have to ensure that everyone gets to do everything that they need to do, see the new stuff etc. If we could swing by once a year and enjoy it without feeling like we had to do anything at all, because we would be back before we know it - maybe that's different (?). I completely understand the way Brian describes it - but it feels like a pretty expensive 'stage' - for 25% of the cost of a trip to WDW we just did a trip around Europe to five of the countries in World Showcase.

We're in a better position to pay for it than we ever have been but our desire to do it is rock bottom.

If we want to "do Disney" - Disneyland is a better deal for us in almost every way. Being captive in the WDW Disney machine got old.

But that's the thing... you don't have to do all of things to have a memorable, awesome time. I see the same thing on the cruise line, and I'm like, you're on a Disney cruise in the tropics. When is that not ideal?

I do understand that - I guess in some ways that's quite an adult way of thinking about it. The kids know what's in those parks and want to do everything that they have seen on Instagram and Tiktok (and share photos and videos of themselves doing all the things on Instagram and Tiktok ... *Eye roll*.

I don't want to do two weeks at Disney - I'm bored of that, I want to holiday in the real world and immerse myself in the Disney thing for a few days as part of a broader trip. Spending two or three days at Disneyland gives us the opportunity to do everything that we want to do. Spending two or three days at WDW, not even visiting every park feels like an odd proposition.