Legend of Jack Sparrow

[Nick]

There is validity in there NOW since the four years at that park has featured nothing opening except a redone Star Tours.

What I said came off wrong. I agree more should be happening in the parks as a whole, but what I just meant DHS has seen many additions here and there over the past few years and should be getting a large scale overhaul. Not defending the nothing that is going on now in any way, shape or form. It's a park that has so much potential, but even with the additions that it has seen, they have been so "meh" for the most part that the park is in a continued state of stagnation and TSMM continues to have ridiculous waits, while in DCA, TSMM is often just a side attraction to the larger offerings.

That's where they went wrong with this whole "blessing of size" thing. MGM, BB, TL, PI (and West Side), numerous hotels, and DAK were all built from within a 10 year span. Not to mention the DVC boom that followed soon after. As much as Eisner loved the parks and really actually cared about them, he royally screwed us over by over-building the resort during that time period. DLR and UOR are much more guest friendly because of the convenience of having everything in one, centralized area. Now I know it may take a bit to walk in from the UOR parking garage, but once you're there, you're there. It takes a good 18-20 mins to get to MK from DTD. And that's by bus. If you're car, you then have to endure the pain of the monorail or the (delight imo) of the ferry.

I think you get what i'm saying. WDW could easily fix all of this however by adding monorail transportation throughout the resort (or at least parks and DtD). They will have to do something eventually. Monorails only have so long of a life span, which means the current fleet will need to be replaced at some point (likely sooner than later). The question is if they're willing to actually go the extra step and expand when they do that. That part, i'm not counting on. Forever hopeful, but not counting on it.

 

[jubs]

Disney expanding the monorail seems to depend entirely on the source of traffic and the existing alternates compared to the cost of establishing a new station/track. I don't actually recall the number, but a few years ago I read something that said it was a ridiculously cost prohibitive operation to expand the monorail because of the price per mile of track. Someone who knows more about this could possibly clarify? This secondhand information is also really old, and they may, even now, have the means to reasonably extend the track.

 

[Jakemeister]

It's $1 Million per a mile of track. They're ridiculously expensive. Hence the Las Vegas Monorail company going bankrupt.

 

[captainjack]

Not to.mention that Disney would have to bring in someone else to build the trains needed. The fleet they now use (most of them except the trains involved in the accident) were built by Bombardier of Canada and their relationship with WDW died long ago. Not to mention the cost of building one maybe two more maitenance buildings to house the monorails and the extra staff Disney would have to hire to fill these spots. I was in Rails for a year and it's no where as cool of a department to work in as some people think it is. My favorite guest question when i was a pilot was" you must get paid 6 figures to drive these things" :rofl: It would be cool to see the fleet retired and updated but that's a blue sky dream for now. Now...back on topic that Jack Sparrow attraction looks.....ehhh okay IMO. Nothing i would see,more than once but only once to kill my curiosity :thumbs:

 

[Nick]

I'm not saying they are going to extend the rails, but the trains themselves NEED to be replaces eventually. There is absolutely no getting around that. They are already running on borrowed time and Disney knows it.

 

[maxairmike]

*cough* go here *cough* :look:

Now, as for Captain Jack Sparrow...

 

[UNIrd]

Hasn't DHS seen the most new attractions in the past few years than the rest of the parks?

 

[Splatter]

Yes, which puts it into even a sadder perspective.

 

[Brian G.]

Hasn't DHS seen the most new attractions in the past few years than the rest of the parks?

Probably in the past 20 years.

 

[Andy]

Just throwing it out there Seaworld and Busch Gardens have built more attractions than all 4 Disney Parks combined over the last 15 years let alone Universal in just the past 5

 

[Nick]

DHS sees a lot of small scale attention/additions. TSMM was added in 2008, and before that 1999 was the last time a big attraction was added (RnRC). TSMM is only an ok ride too by all standards. Out at DCA, as i've said before, it's more of an appetizer much of the time, as opposed to DHS, where it's the main course.

 

[ReelJustice]

Touring Plans has compared this to Dora the Explorer.

 

[Andy]

Touring Plans has compared this to Dora the Explorer.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

It's $1 Million per a mile of track. They're ridiculously expensive. Hence the Las Vegas Monorail company going bankrupt.

This is completely false. If a monorail is only $1 million per mile, Disney would jump on it. It's more likely $20-30 million per mile.

 

[Scarletwebslingr]

Ah, of course, how could I forget The Rising Star show without the entertainment factor or refreshments.

Doesn't make it any less recent. And Toy Story Mania opened in 2008, bruh. Star Wars, Idol, and Toy Story in four years isn't terrible.

 

[Nick]

Doesn't make it any less recent. And Toy Story Mania opened in 2008, bruh. Star Wars, Idol, and Toy Story in four years isn't terrible.

They've also updated the Disney Junior show since. But the thing is, while they have done stuff at DHS, it's nothing that has been overly impressive or that has handled any of the parks current problems.

 

[jubs]

With Jack Sparrow they seem to be attempting to maintain the theme of a "studios" park, where the rides and attractions are all supposed to be part of the movie-making magic. They kind of broke that trend when they opened ToT and RnR, so I don't understand why ideas like "Jack Sparrow's costumes, guns, and pictures of Johnny Depp" are going to be a substantial addition to this park. They had the right idea with L,M,A and Star Tours 2, because those are concepts that are immersive while maintaining the theme.

 

[SeventyOne]

They've also updated the Disney Junior show since. But the thing is, while they have done stuff at DHS, it's nothing that has been overly impressive or that has handled any of the parks current problems.

There's nothing wrong with "B" and "C" tickets. They made up a lot of the charm of MK back in the 70s/80s. The problem is when the online fan community--with a push from Disney social media--begins to think of a new B or C ticket as something more. That leads to disappointment. Yet to see Sparrow (did if soft open yet?), but I imagine if you've been building it up in your head for months, it fails to live up to hype. If you're a random guest who just stumbles across it one hot August afternoon and kills 15 minutes in there, it's probably a satisfying diversion.

ETA Not to say the park doesn't have substantial problems and need another E ticket or two. Just saying putting a new B in, or a new Disney Junior show, doesn't really affect that equation one way or the other. I think it should be judged on its own terms, not as a potential savior or Potter swatter.

 

[Nick]

There's nothing wrong with "B" and "C" tickets. They made up a lot of the charm of MK back in the 70s/80s. The problem is when the online fan community--with a push from Disney social media--begins to think of a new B or C ticket as something more. That leads to disappointment. Yet to see Sparrow (did if soft open yet?), but I imagine if you've been building it up in your head for months, it fails to live up to hype. If you're a random guest who just stumbles across it one hot August afternoon and kills 15 minutes in there, it's probably a satisfying diversion.

ETA Not to say the park doesn't have substantial problems and need another E ticket or two. Just saying putting a new B in, or a new Disney Junior show, doesn't really affect that equation one way or the other. I think it should be judged on its own terms, not as a potential savior or Potter swatter.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with those additions. They are perfectly fine additions on their own. Hell, the AIE is actually a very authentic, well produced show, but it gets bashed. Much of this, imo, is because while the Studios has added these B and C tickets, they haven't really had any major additions to the park to go with those (also it's not a kid friendly park), so while they may be good on their own, the fan community becomes frustrated that there isn't any major attraction to go along with those. Or even just a Fantasmic! upgrade would please people.

The Studios has things like Streetmosphere as well, which add to the experience, but beyond that, the kinetics aren't there. There's no Red Car Trolly, fountain show, or people mover. Small things like that really add to the overall experience as you are alluding to, and DHS is really lacking in that category tbh.

 

[Scarletwebslingr]

They've also updated the Disney Junior show since. But the thing is, while they have done stuff at DHS, it's nothing that has been overly impressive or that has handled any of the parks current problems.

No, I get that and I agree. I was just clarifying that the "nothing's happened at DHS in the past 4 years but Star Tours" comment is very false.