Disney Updating Rides but Actually Making Them Worse

[DizneyRox]

Hmmm... I didn't see a reference to SSE or O' Canada. Both good examples of the dumbing down of America IMHO.

I think we're looking at more of a rule than exceptions to ride "upgrades".

[Ian]

Hmmm... I didn't see a reference to SSE or O' Canada. Both good examples of the dumbing down of America IMHO.

I think we're looking at more of a rule than exceptions to ride "upgrades".

I haven't seen the new Canada movie yet, but I agree on SSE.

That entire attraction has most definitely downgraded over the years.

[brownie]

I haven't seen the new Canada movie yet, but I agree on SSE.

That entire attraction has most definitely downgraded over the years.

I miss the Jeremy Irons narration, but once you know about your picture being taken, you can have some fun with that. I had my son between my picture and the answers we chose.

[Ian]

I miss the Jeremy Irons narration, but once you know about your picture being taken, you can have some fun with that. I had my son between my picture and the answers we chose.

Okay, so I do agree with this. The picture part is kinda fun and yeah you can get some laughs out of it. My kids like it for sure and I find myself giggling about it from time to time, as well.

But the thing is for me that it feels cheap. And maybe it's just me being too hard on the ride, but I think it feels cheap. Not cheap in a monetary sense necessarily, but intellectually cheap.

The original Spaceship Earth was majestic. The score, the Walter Cronkite narration, the vision ... it was a truly inspiring and intellectually original attraction. I just feel like they've done away with that. It's not bad necessarily ... just different and, IMO, not as worthy of a place in a theme park as grand as Epcot.

[Hog]

I liked the addition of Jack Sparrow to PoTC, but his figure is so much smoother and better than all the others, so that it stands out.

The first time I rode this after the change I thought it was a real person I was amazed to find out it was animatronic. I think they should slowly update all animatronics in the park to be more like Captain Jack

[PETE FROM NYC]

IMHO, both Energy and The Seas were dumbed down from learning experiences to jokes. I really can't say that Mexico has improved, either.

[big blue and hairy]

One big mistake for us would have been replacing Monster Sound Show (a cheesy but fun, interactive attraction that had a Martin Short-Chevy Chase movie) with the Drew Carey Sounds Dangerous snoozefest.

Really really big mistake. Sounds Dangerous is completely lame. Monster Sound Show was fun. DW & I participated in it.

[Biolante]

I agree about Space Ship Earth. It's like they didn't even try. Half of the ride is pretty much empty now.

[big blue and hairy]

To me the most depressing update, is The Magic of Disney Animation. That was my favorite attraction in (then) Disney-MGM Studios. It was completely gutted, with a few simplistic video games, and one cool thing, The Animation Academy. To take a working animation studio with some of the funniest videos I've ever seen, and turn it into well....that... they should be ashamed.

[Ian]

You know I'll throw another one out there that a lot of people may not think of, but I miss Superstar Television at DHS. That was really fun and AI just holds very limited appeal for me.

[faline]

The original Spaceship Earth was majestic. The score, the Walter Cronkite narration, the vision ... it was a truly inspiring and intellectually original attraction. I just feel like they've done away with that. It's not bad necessarily ... just different and, IMO, not as worthy of a place in a theme park as grand as Epcot.

I agree. The original focus of Epcot was on education. That has been badly eroded since then.

[texas211]

Alien is ... I don't think you know how well regarded that movie is in critic's circles.

I don't think we really need any war movies in the ride either. It would add politics and real world death and misery, which is kind of a drag for something that is supposed to be fun.

Many things are highly regarded by critics, I don't feel should be embedded in rides.

I'm not suggesting anything dramatic. But some of the great WW2 movies like Run Silent Run Deep, or some of the John Wayne or Robert Mitchum WW2 movies. The feel good, WW2 type movies.. I think they are an important part of cinema history, and not controversial. Especially since pretty much in ww2 is dead. Now I wouldn't put Pearl Harbor or anything more modern of WW2.

[big blue and hairy]

You know I'll throw another one out there that a lot of people may not think of, but I miss Superstar Television at DHS. That was really fun and AI just holds very limited appeal for me.

I completely agree. Although AI is well done, I really enjoyed Superstar TV. DW and I were in that too, on the same trip as Monster Sound Show.

[Mousemates]

Originally Posted by Biolante

Alien is ... I don't think you know how well regarded that movie is in critic's circles.

I don't think we really need any war movies in the ride either. It would add politics and real world death and misery, which is kind of a drag for something that is supposed to be fun.

I understand your sentiments but the reality is that there is plenty of death and misery in many of the movies already included in the ride (including Alien). A whole lot of the cowboy movies are essentially war movies (armed conflict between ranchers/homesteaders and indians). The gangster movies also have lots of real world death and misery too.

Death, misery and war itself are part of the human condition. Great movies do not avoid these issues, but find a way to show people who triumph in the midst of them. Now, I'm not saying I'm for the inclusion of a "carnage scene from Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now"...but to exclude war movies in totality would be a mistake.

[bertasso59]

Imagination was the worst update ever,the original was beautiful,charming and 'imaginative'.The next incarnation was horrible and throwing Figment into just makes me miss the original even more.
I also miss The Living Seas without so much Nemo,I miss the original film here and also in The Land without Timon and Pumba.
All in all,Disney has forgotten the promise to make EPCOT more for the adults

[Mogie]

I agree 100%. Taking old rides and simply injecting Disney characters to make them more relevant to today's date is a cheap method Disney has used multiple times ineffectively in my opinion. The Donald duck boat ride in mexico is terrible. The Jack Sparrow addition bothers me less since the movie did a great job of paying homage to the original rides, but still clashes obviously at some points in the ride. These rides are by far inferior to the rides that are themed from concept to creation, like Splash Mountain. Even the rides that don't have disney characters, like Exp Everest, Tower of Terror, Dinosaur etc work so well for Disney.

[DizneyRox]

Dinosaur is actually from the 2000 Disney movie of the same name. Used to be Countdown to Extinction until the movie was released. Quite honestly, I think in the process they toned down the ride a bit as well so this might qualify as a similar problem, however I think the effects that don't work anymore are a much bigger issue with Dinosaur.

[3Cabsfan]

I'll take the "boring" Universe of Energy over the current one. I like Ellen but she does not belong in the attraction. It was a dumb idea!

[texas211]

Death, misery and war itself are part of the human condition. Great movies do not avoid these issues, but find a way to show people who triumph in the midst of them. Now, I'm not saying I'm for the inclusion of a "carnage scene from Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now"...but to exclude war movies in totality would be a mistake.

Like I said, I think the WW2 "feel good" movies were important to cinema, history. Personally Run Silent Run Deep, or The Enemy Below.

But having a flag raising, or the Saving Private troupe walking the country side is both important a nice nod to those who were there.

[BrerGnat]

Dinosaur is actually from the 2000 Disney movie of the same name. Used to be Countdown to Extinction until the movie was released. Quite honestly, I think in the process they toned down the ride a bit as well so this might qualify as a similar problem, however I think the effects that don't work anymore are a much bigger issue with Dinosaur.

Seeing how this movie was SO popular , I don't understand why they stuck with this name change. Why didn't they go back after the movie flopped so hard? Why continue to associate a ride with a failed movie?