KPTSN

They also post that the Tink attraction will be like Aquatopia and/or Luigi's Roadsters (DCA). I thought Sleepy Hollow was just a Character Meet, not with a ride attraction, too. Surprise! This was also a translation from a Japanese news source. So.....? Anyone else read anything like this? That sounds really promising! Still quite a bit of mystery with the Peter Pan ride tech. And it looks like Tangled will be the same size as Frozen Ever After at Epcot according to those figures. I was hoping for something a bit grander (doing justice to the lantern scene in the film) but it could still be a nice E-ticket even with a smaller scale than the other two headliners.

Soarin' lines are probably going to be a nightmare when it opens. Remember when Toy Story Mania first opened at TDS?

Imagine what the morning rush at TDS will look like once this new port is open. It's going to be a very long sprint from the entrance gate. The guests coming in from the new hotel will probably be able to get several rides in before the regular guests start making their way into the very back of the park.

I agree that it's the weakest land and not just because it's the smallest. The futuristic lands at the Disney parks have always been the weakest in terms of theme and execution. I wouldn't mind a complete overhaul, but it's pretty unlikely given the limited real estate. I guess Aquatopia could go, but Cape Cod is definitely here to stay given the insane popularity of Duffy. In addition, there is no room for a show building there as it backs up right against the electric railway and main walkway from Mediterranean Harbor.

I think that mural was created before they had any real idea what the 8th port was going to be. The upside is that it is generic enough that it could easily pass as a representation of the Scandinavian port.

I read that the Fantasyland renovation/expansion will open in stages, with the area by Tomorrowland Terrace being the last to be completed. We might see some of it come online in 2017, but the bulk of the additions here and the new port will be open by the end of 2018 and hopefully in time for the 35th Anniversary celebrations.

They will almost certainly follow the naming pattern found in every other land at TDS. I expect the official name to be something like Scandinavian Fjord, as that is the emphasis of the area and not Frozen by itself.

Their most recent press release still maintains they are planning to add multiple attractions in the port. Not sure whether that means more than one E-ticket though. The budget for the Frozen E-ticket is double the budget of other E-tickets, so the rest of the attractions could possibly be smaller scale to compensate (like Cars Land). I'm hoping for an additional boat ride, possibly themed to vikings. There's definitely a lot of ideas to be had here.

I'm guessing they don't feel the need to go over the berm at TDS yet. The parking lots behind the park will most likely be used for additional ports or an expansion of the existing ports in that area.

According to the trusted source who first broke this news back in September, it will be a huge and modern E-ticket. The supposed budget for the ride alone is over $400 million, which is even more than Radiator Springs Racers. It was also strongly hinted that it will be a trackless dark ride.

The Oriental Land Company has announced the details of their expansion plans for both Tokyo Disneyland Park and Tokyo DisneySea Park! http://www.olc.co.jp/en/news/olcgroup/20150428_04e.pdf

I think it's actually smaller. The roof enclosure makes it look a lot bigger than it is, just like at TDS. If you look at the actual rotating carousel structure at SDL (underneath the large roof), it appears considerably smaller. The floor height per level (if it is two-level) also seems quite a bit lower. There was some speculation on another board that it may just be a single level with a very high ceiling.

I love Cedar Point too, but I think a distinction needs to be made between amusement parks and theme parks. Cedar Point is definitely in the former category. You won't find any theming or immersive experiences there, and the park is known rather for its world class roller coasters. An amusement park needs to spend a far lower amount of money building and expanding because they only need to build the bare bones. There is no need for additional decoration beyond building a collection of thrilling rides. On the other hand, theme parks like Disney and Universal spend 10x or more the amount per attraction because creating a cohesive and elaborate environment is critical to the atmosphere and immersion that are integral to a themed experience. When rating a theme park based on its most important purpose (great storytelling and how well it transports guests to a different time and place versus how thrilling its rides are), Tokyo DisneySea is the clear leader (even over other Disney parks) because no other park in the world can match its scale and detail of theming. If I wanted to ride the most thrilling attractions, there are many amusement parks I'd choose before even considering a Disney park of all places.

I actually think Harry Potter was a good addition to IoA. Although I hate what they did with Dueling Dragons and its queue, the land itself added one of the best modern dark rides and arguably set a new standard for immersive environments at Universal. That being said, I have been to both IoA and TDS and agree that the latter is a far superior theme park. Hogsmeade, Lost Continent, and Port of Entry aside, the theming at IoA is nowhere close to the scale and level of detail found at TDS. In fact, parts of the park like Marvel Super Hero Island and Toon Lagoon look downright cheap and tacky with their abundance of cardboard cutouts.

Quick question. Soarin' over California is closed from Jan 6- May 14. Is there a chance of a soft opening on the 14th like they've done with some refurbished attractions in the past, as I will be out of LA from May 15th until September and hoped to get a quick ride in to experience the changes. I have to be at LAX in the morning, so unfortunately can't drop in that day.

Internally, I'm pretty sure Disney considers Toy Story Mania an E-ticket attraction. The lead Imagineer for the attraction described it as such:

I'm hoping we at least get an announcement before summer. I think they have to announce something for TDS' 15th next year, and the new port would make a great teaser since TDS isn't getting anything major for the celebrations (besides the new show replacing Mystic Rhythms).

Yeah, it turns out the final cost of RSR was $350 million and about $600 million for Cars Land as a whole. Quite a shocking figure, though I guess WDI's budgets have always seemed inflated compared to what UC gets for their buck. Even Toy Story Land was over $100 million for 3 cheap carnival rides. About the Frozen E-ticket, the budget has the potential to be even higher due to the show building (like RSR). Apparently, $400 million is the current "low-end" estimate.

I'm gonna call BS on that, Radiator Springs Racers cost ~$200 million, I am extremely skeptical of them spending double that on a single attraction. If I remember correctly, RSR was actually closer to $300 million or even higher by the time it was completed. One of the insiders on another board mentioned the rockwork pushing the budget considerably higher than the initial number released to the public. The fact that this is OLC financing the project and given the marketing power of Frozen, I really wouldn't put it past them to invest big in a project like this. They have roughly $4.5 billion to work with over 10 years, so $400 million for the headliner attraction isn't really that preposterous. The recently finished Wizarding World of Harry Potter area at Universal Studios Japan cost around $450 million to build, so I could easily see OLC spending a similar amount on a equally detailed Frozen port. In any case, this is one project I will definitely be following very closely. The insider in question seems very confident with his sources, but I'm sure nothing is concrete until OLC officially announces the project.

According to leaked insider information, the new port of call being developed is indeed Frozen. Not a surprise given its staggering popularity in Japan. Apparently, the budget for the star E-ticket attraction itself will be over $400 million (at a minimum). Not much else is known about the attraction other than it will likely be housed in the giant ice castle shown in the film. It will be interesting to see how they will juxtapose it with the buildings of Arendelle since that already contains a castle too. I wonder if they will incorporate the rolling hills/mountains that make up the land around Arendelle. I'm really crossing my fingers for groundbreaking stuff. I hope it will be a bit more complex than the trackless rides they've been putting out recently (Mystic Manor and Ratatouille). I'm hoping for something on the level of Forbidden Journey or higher.