Mary Poppins Attraction - UK Pavilion

[Parkscope Joe]

It was 100% a carousel concept when Tom Fitz was over the Epcot revamp. Then Epcot was given to Zach and the drift began.

A man who unironically uses brand activations, yeah he's quickly rising up my poop list.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

A man who unironically uses brand activations, yeah he's quickly rising up my poop list.

Haven't really heard too much from him recently..

 

[HandsomePete]

A man who unironically uses brand activations, yeah he's quickly rising up my poop list.

He’s a good guy, but obviously went to the Josh D’Amaro University of Doing What Will Keep Your Job.

Also, his creative background is in architecture, which is imo different than the OG Imagineer backgrounds. Storytelling and architecture are different to me.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

He’s a good guy, but obviously went to the Josh D’Amaro University of Doing What Will Keep Your Job.

Also, his creative background is in architecture, which is imo different than the OG Imagineer backgrounds. Storytelling and architecture are different to me.

Just like how the current WDI head is from an architecture background. This explains a lot.

 

[Tobias]

Disney could spend millions a year to maintain a show and it would be practically nothing compared to the revenue they bring in. Disney world has the most expensive tickets in the industry. I and other guests pay enough money to not have them cry poor about operating costs. If Disney were to say they were closing the show to focus on new entertainment investment in animal kingdom that would be more acceptable, yet they have not even brought entertainment otherwise back to pre pandemic levels with record revenue. Something is better than nothing because I go to the parks as a GUEST, not an investor. Is Disney paying you for savings from not operating this show? Did they give you a discount?

I do wish they had just kept the original version but either way as a guest staying multiple days it's something to do that I appreciate. There are many other Disney rides that are worse experiences yet they keep running because Disney has so much demand to do anything. I would rather see this 1000 times than go on small world. Disney spends a ton of money to develop a show, raises ticket prices more than enough to cover their insane budgets, and then cancels a show because they don't like the maintenance costs yet still raises prices for the park while not developing a replacement. I feel so sorry for Disney. It must be so hard for them. View attachment 18606

I know you're unhappy RoL closed, that's perfectly understandable for anyone who liked the show. But please don't insinuate anyone as an investor to the company for telling you why it closed. Its closure was not a mystery, after all if the show was doing just fine, it would probably still be running to this day. I think we can all agree with that.

But Disney changing the show to RoL: We are One just a few years after the show opened is a pretty good indicator the show wasn't doing just fine. We are One was them attempting to "fix" it. However, that show ended up being absolutely awful, so the "fix" didn't work, and that was the final nail in the coffin. The pandemic closure was the mercy kill on that one. They then put in KiteTales and that show literally flopped, making it the 4th show that has quickly come and gone in that location, I honestly think KidZone wasn't the only place that has a curse lingering about!

As much as I would like to have a show back there, they need a hit which they've yet to find for it. I honestly think they need to put in the time and money to build a structure/base for a fountain show. Will they actually do it? Heck if I know, Disney's track record for nighttime shows hasn't been the best lately, that and they're always weird with their money. That's led to stuff like RoL being underfunded and Harmonious being way too much for something they're ultimately (and thankfully) taking down.

And yes, the company does get quite a bit of revenue. As much as I would love for them to invest in additions (additions, not replacements save for an exception or two) to Epcot, Studios and AK as they all still need a lot of work...Disney just isn't doing it. AK is still a half-day park and will have less rides than Epic Universe when that opens up. Studios still has capacity issues and dead zones such as the Animation Courtyard. Epcot is Epcot so it STILL needs a lot of work even with all that's been done to it. MK needs the least work, but they still could very well divert money into more for that as the other parks still suffer. It's frustrating as all heck that their choices from the past and present are seriously biting them in that regard.

And this canned Poppins attraction really exemplifies some of the issues here. All they needed to do was put in a carousel, put a nice little park around it and you've got a delightful little attraction that'll add capacity and even help out WS in the attraction department. But they tried making it something it didn't need to be, that got morphed into a teacup ride with multiple pre-shows and an unnecessary price tag, and we're back at square one with issues.

 

[HandsomePete]

And this canned Poppins attraction really exemplifies some of the issues here. All they needed to do was put in a carousel, put a nice little park around it and you've got a delightful little attraction that'll add capacity and even help out WS in the attraction department. But they tried making it something it didn't need to be, that got morphed into a teacup ride with multiple pre-shows and an unnecessary price tag, and we're back at square one with issues.

The boldest bit is the nail-on-the-head synopsis of what WDI has turned into over the last 10-15 years. It’s not what it used to be.

You see it in the things that do get built, you see it in the things that don’t get built, and it’s the primary reason for “things the general public never hears about” not happening.

 

[shiekra38]

Just like how the current WDI head is from an architecture background. This explains a lot.

This explains most of the Epcot redo actually

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

This explains most of the Epcot redo actually

Im surprised a famous chef isn’t running Epcot at this point

 

[shiekra38]

Im surprised a famous chef isn’t running Epcot at this point

*insert joke about food festivals and the amount of restaurants vs rides at Epcot*

But in all seriousness, many of the things added to Epcot since the redo, do in fact "look" very nice

 

[Tobias]

The boldest bit is the nail-on-the-head synopsis of what WDI has turned into over the last 10-15 years. It’s not what it used to be.

You see it in the things that do get built, you see it in the things that don’t get built, and it’s the primary reason for “things the general public never hears about” not happening.

And that's incredibly unfortunate, as mentioned earlier World Showcase is ripe for several smaller/Fantasyland-style attractions. A flatride here, a smaller dark ride there, it would help balance things out, add capacity etc. But how can any smaller attraction be added when WDI is trying to build (and pay for) a teacup ride like an E-Ticket?

I honestly think WDI would benefit of re-learning/straight-up learning the K.I.S.S. method, Keep it Simple, Stupid. Not everything needs to be an E-Ticket, not everything needs a pre-show (let alone multiple), not everything needs a story. Not everything needs a giant word salad focusing on the unimportant aspects of whatever's being added, the list goes on.