While I am not saying I am for this change (I love Tower of Terror), saying that this ride is the one that breaks the theme of "California Adventure" is simply not true. What do Bugs Land, Little Mermaid, and Cars Land have to do with a California Adventure? And for that matter, what do Monsters Inc and Muppets (well... what used to be Muppets) have to do with a Hollywood Land theme? That section of the park has never really made any sense to me. Those break the theme of the park just as much as this does. "California Adventure" has been a disjointed park for quite some time. Granted, I still love it and I always have a blast when I'm there. But it's definitely not as the name of the park implies and hasn't been since I've been going there. I'm definitely sad to see ToT leave us and I think it would have been better to just build a whole new attraction for Guardians. But, hopefully once they start transitioning the rest of Hollywood Land into Marvel, it won't seem so odd.
Good jumping off point, because this is really a more nuanced situation than it really seems. I've been back and forth on Twitter all night with some of the most ardent defenders who are absolutely running in circles trying to make sense of all the differing arguments. And yeah: it's not as black-and-white as it seems. So as follows:
1) I think the Tower of Terror is better at Walt Disney World
2) I still like the DCA version of Tower of Terror
3) I really liked Guardians of the Galaxy
4) I am not against a GotG attraction or Marvel Land in DCA
5) I am totally 100% against this idea
So let me sort it out from there jumping on the very idea that DCA, thematically is a hot mess. That is definitely true, however DCA 2.0, or as I'll refer to it "DCA 2012" tried smoothing the ties as much as possible. If we lump in the delayed Grizzly Peak Airfield from last year into the mix, we can say that there was a good chunk of it that was "fixed". I'll disagree that Mermaid does not fit as it ties into the Paradise Pier/dark ride theme, but Bugs Land is definitely a weak spot. Cars Land is closer to Arizona than California, but the Route 66 aspect at least ties it in much better. And of course Buena Vista Street explains itself. The sorest spot was, for sure, the area behind Hollywood Land with MuppetVision and Monsters Inc languishing in that bizarre purgatory area. However the addition of the Red Car Trolley itself more than improved the thematic transition between BVS, Hollywood and ToT. IMO, this was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2012 DCA which improved on the area around there which was a little blander than it should be. Now there was more of a kinetic energy to the spot.
So when Marvel was rumored I was instantly onboard because I figured that this was finally, at long last, the solution to that purgatory area... the one unsolved element of DCA 2012. We all knew that Disney wanted Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America to have rides, and man the things you
could do. With the news that the bus depot was on the chopping block, that meant more room for bigger showbuildings, and better experiences. Could you imagine an E-Ticket trackless ride in the Collector's realm? Or a GotG coaster with Awesome Mix Vol 1? It would be a couple new great additions and finally fix one of the most problematic spots in the park!
...but no. Instead of fixing an existing problem, they are instead taking away the cohesion that they made work. Instead they are doing a cheap overlay to get a franchise in as fast as possible because god forbid they could've been working on them in those empty showbuildings for the last couple years. And I don't want to hear a lick about capital expenditures and multiple projects: clearly Universal is able to do it! But the third highest attended theme park resort
in the world can't do it? It has to take away a still-popular attraction for it? It has to ruin a great fix that WDI did just a half-decade back... for what?
From my perspective, even the public is wretching at this half-baked idea. It's a confusing, bewildering idea to the point that Joe Rhode even has a hard time describing what the heck this is supposed to be. This isn't "see what works", this is being forced. And everyone can see it, it's just a matter of whether or not you like it. But make no mistake, Bob Chapek wants his IPs now and fast. This is the kinda crap that eventually led to Eisner's ousting. If you rush a project, people are going to know. That's why DCA 2001 was such a failure and DCA 2012 was such a success. Yet a half-decade later instead of fixing the problems already there, we're fixing something which wasn't broke to begin with? Even if the ride wasn't popular, this version is bringing the randomized drop profiles! Y'know, the ones Tower was SUPPOSED to get for years?!
I'm sorry, I'm just not onboard with that idea at all. And to fully answer your post
@HereWeGo, I have to ask one back: how does a Red Car Trolley fit in Marvel Land? Or next to um... whatever this is supposed to be? I don't know, but the idea that makes my stomach plummet is that it doesn't... so it's gotta go.
Also in respect to
@Jonathan's post about Toy Story: The Musical, I also wonder if they're in far too deep. On one hand, Disney delayed ToT's closing until next January, however they also have already shot footage with several A-List and B-List actors including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Benincio Del Toro and Vin Diesel's and Bradley Cooper's voices figure promimently in this as well. That, combined with the props and sets already being built for the plug-and-play installation can't be that cheap. The question is if it's at least enough to where Disney can stop for a second and look at the vitrol all across the board.... and I don't just mean fans. I don't remember the last time I saw the actual public pretty upset about this, along with actual booing in the Marvel panel itself at Comic Con. I would say I wouldn't count on it, but it's not impossible to happen.
Also
@Jon is right, the building in the concept art looks ugly as sin. And supposedly they're doing this in six months time.