Disney announces or teases a ton of attractions at D23

There’s a lot of daylight between “little-to-no planning ahead” and a “prohibitive” amount of planning, and I don’t think “it’s a vacation” justifies the former in all cases. If you were going to New York City I would expect you to figure out the key sights you wanted to see, to get tickets to the shows you wanted to see, to check the hours and days things are open, and so on. If you were going to the beach, maybe not so much.

Granted, people may categorize amusement parks as more like a beach and less like New York City. But that seems faulty in the case of Disney World, which is not like any other amusement park, which should be obvious from the fact that you’re spending five figures to go there. (Or at least traveling hundreds or thousands of miles.)

As an amusement park enthusiast who has not been to WDW in about 30 years - if that’s not a contradiction in terms - my plan for a possibly upcoming visit is:

• identify the things I think are can’t miss (Star Wars isht, Everest, safaris, Runaway Railroad) and figure out how to do those
• assume I’ll get to do a bunch of the iconic stuff (jungle boats, haunted mansion, pirates, etc)
• hope for some of the in-betweens (Guardians, test track, Avatar stuf, Tron, etc)

There’s a, you know, slider that determines what’s a can’t miss and what’s not. But if you behave as if everything is in the can’t-miss bucket, you don’t really understand life, let alone Walt Disney World.

That last thing you said is exactly how I feel about the subject. It's judgmental, I know, but I still agree.

I like the planning for WDW to an extent.

But I’m the type that only goes there once every 5-6 years. I think If I lived in Orlando, it would be a lot easier to just pop in and take my time doing things without all the planning.

When I was there back in June, we planned, prioritized certain rides and used the heck out of the Fast Passes, and I paid the extra to guarantee ride time on Tron and GoTG rides.

Didn’t do many shows and fancy restaurants at all, my family prefers rides.

I didn't think this was deserving of a new thread or news submission, but what remains of the Dino-Rama portion of Dinoland USA at AK closes at the end of Sunday.

Even before they took out Primeval Whirl I always felt this area was a wasted opportunity. For a family friendly area of the park there simply weren't enough things to do. You had a low capacity Dumbo style ride, the only midway games on WDW property and a spinning mouse coaster with a stricter height requirement than the neighboring Expedition Everest. And other than Jeff I don't know of anyone that liked Primeval Whirl. On the flip side, Primeval Whirl is the only coaster I have ever been trained to operate, worked on and done a full track walk on. I wasn't sad to see it go, but it's been quite depressing seeing a 2007-era Geauga Lake style hole surrounded by a fence where it once stood these past few years.

I hope they give a few weeks notice when they announce the last day for Dinosaur. The Indiana Jones replacement will be infinitely superior, but I have a nostalgic spot for Dinosaur/Countdown to Extinction both from riding it new as a kid and working the ride in my 20s.

https://www.wdwmagic.com/at...y-2025.htm

My kid loved Primeval Whirl. I still think the Reverchon spinning mouse is one of the best stock models ever.

I'll fess up: I liked PW as well. We used to get some great spins on that thing.

I think they're great fun, but they feel a bit sketchy.

I've slipped through the brakes on at least one, seen staff pushing cars that shouldn't need pushing and the whole restraint set up is a little odd.

.... but they do spin.

I think Primeval Whirl is one of those hot button issues that divides Disney fans. On one hand you have the fans that are aghast that the ride(s) is removed and on the other you have the purists who were aghast that Disney featured a state fair coaster to begin with.
I’ve been on a ton of those prolific rides and only a few stick out as memorable experiences. Beech Bend, Cypress, and Niagara’s Fantasy Island come to mind as good ones, I guess proving that one doesn’t need a fancy or expensive ticket to enjoy a good spinning mouse. (Of note is Cypress’ ride that found its next home at Kissimmee’s Fun Spot, where they for some reason slowed the ride down considerably.)
Oh anyway, I always thought Disney did an acceptable job with the area. For a family-oriented, Dino-fantasy boardwalk land it wasn’t bad, but it clearly gave the vibe of a mere placeholder that was never intended to be anything but a supporting character. I’d think everyone would agree that the new plans definitely send things in the right direction.

It quickly gave that park ride capacity, which it desperately needed. I think they did an OK job dressing up a stock ride. I don't know what a purist even is, other than someone who hates everything not there on opening day. Certainly my kid, in his under 10-days, never had anything to say about the quality of the theme or if it was "Disney enough." He just laughed his ass off and wanted to ride over and over again.

“He didn’t know enough to realize he wasn’t having fun”.”

Disney purist =. Someone who complains about everything Disney parks, then proceeds to spend money there over and over.

I just want some non IP attractions, please. Not everything needs to have animated characters crammed into it or retrofitted into it.

I’m trying to think of a non IP ride? Something like Living with the Land?

Or Carousel of Progress?

Expedition Everest?

Yea. Everest is probably one of the best modern era non IP rides for sure.

Test Track, Mission Space, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids.

Soarin'

...or Maverick.

The IP argument has gone around and around in circles for years. I guess in my old age I've become a little more practical about it. If I was going to invest $100+ million dollars on a new attraction, would I be willing to take a bet on something "brand new" or something "tried and tested"? I mean, if you think about it, that is really the question movie studios have been asking for a long time...and the answer is evident in sequels.

When I think about this in practice, the first thing that comes to mind is the new Remy Adventure ride at Epcot. As a "ride"...well, it is fine. But, it's nothing to write home about. The draw, probably for most people, is the opportunity to enter into the world of a beloved movie. The Frozen overlay of Maelstrom is another example. As a ride it's fine, but the long lines of today are much more significant than the lines in the later years of Maelstrom.

I'd like to see what the Imagineers might come up with if they were unleashed...but I get why someone controlling the purse strings is hesitant to take chances with 9+ figure investments.

On top of that, "too much IP" is one of those things that the Extremely Online Fan Community says in part as a marker of "I am a proper fan." I have never, not once, seen a guest waking around any Disney park say anything like: "Gee, I wish there was less Disney here."

And yes, that includes Epcot.

Speaking of which: If you've not yet seen the Journey of Water, I thought it was a great example of the original EPCOT Center vibe of edutainment. Having the Moana hook will bring a lot more people to the exhibit than would otherwise visit, and once there they will actually learn something.