Avengers: Infinity Defense (DCA)

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I’m relatively familiar with the park layout but now the layout for the Trolley, isn’t this ride going into backstage areas?

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

 

[Jake S]

I’m relatively familiar with the park layout but now the layout for the Trolley, isn’t this ride going into backstage areas?

Yeah, the problem is the Trolley's maintenance area is in the backstage area getting bulldozed for this expansion. There was talk about moving the shed somewhere else in the park, but clearly that has not come to fruition.

 

[DrStarlander]

Yeah, the problem is the Trolley's maintenance area is in the backstage area getting bulldozed for this expansion. There was talk about moving the shed somewhere else in the park, but clearly that has not come to fruition.

I was hoping they'd build a 1930s Spanish style trolley barn "on stage" at the entrance (between Buena Vista St. and Soarin') and have a "Trolley Barn Bar" around the mezzanine with old photos of Los Angeles' trolleys, etc.

 

[Jerroddragon]

They do have the room to build something near Soarin....will they do it? Who knows

but Glad we have a date and people can get a ride on it before its gone

I love it but....also no one rides it and I know there is talks about where or not that matters but we've had this news for a while and I've seen the parks packed and no one one it...so I hate to be that guy but just like people upset about ROA being gone at WDW....the people at the parks aren't using these things and sadly at the end of the day this is a business and wish people did go on these more but they ignore them

 

[DrStarlander]

They do have the room to build something near Soarin....will they do it? Who knows

but Glad we have a date and people can get a ride on it before its gone

I love it but....also no one rides it and I know there is talks about where or not that matters but we've had this news for a while and I've seen the parks packed and no one one it...so I hate to be that guy but just like people upset about ROA being gone at WDW....the people at the parks aren't using these things and sadly at the end of the day this is a business and wish people did go on these more but they ignore them

They could keep the tracks on Buena Vista St. and have a trolley barn since that would add flavor to the old Los Angeles feel and keep the trolley inside it for people to see. Then take it out on the tracks a few times a day with singers on it for a street performance. That is, it doesn't need to be excised from the park, it still can be retained and add to the theming.

And I feel the same way about the Liberty Belle at WDW...create a small bayou-ish lagoon where the boardwalk in front of Tiana's is, park the boat on a concrete underwater pad and make it dining seating or a mint julep bar. As you say "it's a business" and nostalgia is a huge driver of Disney Parks business...so finding creative ways to hold on to things (not everything, of course, can be retained) is so valuable.

 

[Jamesh22]

They do have the room to build something near Soarin....will they do it? Who knows

but Glad we have a date and people can get a ride on it before its gone

I love it but....also no one rides it and I know there is talks about where or not that matters but we've had this news for a while and I've seen the parks packed and no one one it...so I hate to be that guy but just like people upset about ROA being gone at WDW....the people at the parks aren't using these things and sadly at the end of the day this is a business and wish people did go on these more but they ignore them

Always has people on it when I visit - seen people told to wait for the next one because it's full also.

 

[Jake S]

This is something I've been thinking about lately, but apologies if it's a bit half-baked. Part of what makes the Disney parks special is what they offer that's superfluous to the experience. In the past, that's been things like the Magical Express, free parking for hotel guests (now reinstated in Orlando) and, of course, free FastPass. Losing those things hurts not just because you used to get them for free (although, duh), but because it's been paired with Disney charging a luxury price for what now feels like flying coach.

I think these transportation attractions, along with Rivers of America, fit into this category. Few people are buying a ticket to ride the Main Street Carriages, Red Car Trolley or the Liberty Belle. But the fact that these attractions exist creates a sense that there are things available in excess of the E-Tickets that command such a high price.

That's in addition to the vitality that these attractions give to the parks. It's what makes them feel alive, and losing them will make the parks worse — even if it will be challenging to pinpoint why for most guests.

There's also the Walt angle, of course. The trolleys were added to make California Adventure feel more like a place Walt Disney had a hand in. His skepticism about the ways the automobile impacted American life and genuine affection for public transportation is fundamental to what makes Disneyland, well, Disneyland. I'm not someone who believes we need to view all additions or subtractions through the Walt Disney lens (it's flawed!) but I do think there's a kind of grim irony to removing a relatively recent, Walt-inspired attraction for a Marvel ride.

 

[DrStarlander]

This is something I've been thinking about lately, but apologies if it's a bit half-baked. Part of what makes the Disney parks special is what they offer that's superfluous to the experience. In the past, that's been things like the Magical Express, free parking for hotel guests (now reinstated in Orlando) and, of course, free FastPass. Losing those things hurts not just because you used to get them for free (although, duh), but because it's been paired with Disney charging a luxury price for what now feels like flying coach.

I think these transportation attractions, along with Rivers of America, fit into this category. Few people are buying a ticket to ride the Main Street Carriages, Red Car Trolley or the Liberty Belle. But the fact that these attractions exist creates a sense that there are things available in excess of the E-Tickets that command such a high price.

That's in addition to the vitality that these attractions give to the parks. It's what makes them feel alive, and losing them will make the parks worse — even if it will be challenging to pinpoint why for most guests.

There's also the Walt angle, of course. The trolleys were added to make California Adventure feel more like a place Walt Disney had a hand in. His skepticism about the ways the automobile impacted American life and genuine affection for public transportation is fundamental to what makes Disneyland, well, Disneyland. I'm not someone who believes we need to view all additions or subtractions through the Walt Disney lens (it's flawed!) but I do think there's a kind of grim irony to removing a relatively recent, Walt-inspired attraction for a Marvel ride.

There are a lot of things in a Disney park that contribute to the "magic" that would never show up on a spreadsheet or ROI calculation. Disneyland in particular is filled with quirky textural things, including the modes of transit you mention, but also things like the Snow White grotto or petrified tree or Sleeping Beauty walk-through, Main Street. cinema. Sadly, over the years we've lost some, like the Court of Angels and the Fort on Tom Sawyer Island.

The business folks often do not have the appreciation and "feel" for how these things add to the guest experience and contribute to the loyalty, fascination, and lore. When they can't draw a line to the dollars, a feature does not have value. This was not the case in Walt's time because he was an entertainer and he knew how entertainment was not always efficient, linear, rational, explainable. It often came from gut feel, emotion, quirkiness, discomfort, etc.

Many smaller, quaint, non-E-ticket attractions like Swiss Family Treehouse or Fantasyland dark rides -- would struggle to get green-lit nowadays. It's worth fighting to keep -- in some way -- these things (including the DCA trolley) because it will be hard to ever get that kind of thing added later.

And by the way, somewhat off topic but related, as excited as I am about Epic Universe and what Universal is up to in general, I think one thing they could do to "out maneuver" current-day Disney is to fill in this void and embrace these kinds of "old Disney" quirky things. They could set aside a small percentage of their budget and challenge their designers to pitch "weird small stuff" they could layer in to infuse surprise and soul to the parks.

 

[TheUniC6]