Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I enjoyed the improvements done to both.

 

Soarin's ride film has never looked better. Riding it now is similar to watching your favorite movie in HD for the first time while remembering what it used to look like in the VHS days. I've noticed little details here & there that I never noticed before. The sea lions actually look like sea lions and not little barking blobs, etc. All the colors pop so much more now. Yosemite and other scenes don't have anywhere near as much fuzzball look as they used to. You can almost read everything on the fighter jets as you fly over the aircraft carrier. If you're familiar with how Blu-ray quality improves the look of skies, flesh tones, colors, landscapes etc, that's mostly what you're going to notice with Soarin' now. Between that and the new Grizzly Peak Air Field outside, it's an enormous improvement.

 

Peter Pan really looks great. The bedroom scene's new effects have added a lot. The flight over London is the best and most active than I've ever seen. If you look quickly at Big Ben, you can see the characters landing on the arms in the clockface. Kids get a kick out of little details like that. The Indian chief didn't speak. Hopefully that was just a one-time thing for me and wasn't some permanent change done in the name of political correctness. The new pixie dust effect towards the end of the ride was pretty cool to see. Overall, there aren't any real changes done to the ride. Everything in it and about it looks better than it ever has before. If this is indicative of where Disney dark rides are going, the future of dark rides looks really bright (pardon the pun).

[jray21]

Good to hear about the upgrades! Can't wait to see them all!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

I will say that of all the upgrades, the Peter Pan ones are the most subtle. They do enhance the ride, but they are not anything really that special. I only say this help some possibly avoid waiting for over an hour. Id watch the video before.

[dylanreich]

The Soarin upgrade is great! I was not a fan AT ALL before, but with the added clarity it's really impressive. I wonder if they're thinking about replacing the film they show at some point down the line.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Rumor is there is a new film for the Shanghai ride. and that new fill would eventually make its way to the others.

[Simipour'sTrainer]

Personally, and maybe I'm the only one who notices, but the film is a bit darker than it was before. I was hoping for the new 4k-quality projectors to really make the colors pop, but it turned out not to be. I also think it's weird that the film doesn't fade to dark anymore and instead fades to blue, which I think kills the illusion of the attraction.

 

Again I'm probably the only one who notices/cares, so take it for what it's worth. Soarin' is still Soarin', with its amazing music and visuals.

[viking86]

This discussion right here is why I cannot stand going to Disneyland. It's so nice being out here in Orlando when 99.9% of the people you run into are visiting the parks for the first time and aren't pretending to be some sort of stupid know-it-all about the parks. They are just happy to be there and appreciative for what everything is. They aren't complaining about a broken door, they aren't trying to one-up each other with some sort of pointless Disney factoid that makes them feel better about their pathetic insecurities, they are just there to enjoy the parks. Yes, they are dumb tourists, but that's WAAAAAY better than being some self-entitled obnoxious Californian Disney fanboy. Thank you dylanreich for reminding me why I don't miss west coast Disney in any way at all.

 

I can confirm that being a dumb tourist in Orlando is AWESOME!!

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I will say that of all the upgrades, the Peter Pan ones are the most subtle. They do enhance the ride, but they are not anything really that special. I only say this help some possibly avoid waiting for over an hour. Id watch the video before.

 

I can't imagine anyone waiting an hour *just* for these changes, or any other little changes. That is beyond comprehension.

 

For me the question is more akin to asking if the experience people are waiting an hour for has improved after the changes. My answer is 100% yes. The changes enhance the existing ride. They did not make Peter Pan a whole new and different ride. Most certainly they are worth checking out.

[bert425]

Peter Pan is my favorite ride at Disney.

 

I'll wait however long the line is (in addition to my fast pass).

[Jew]

I will say that of all the upgrades, the Peter Pan ones are the most subtle. They do enhance the ride, but they are not anything really that special. I only say this help some possibly avoid waiting for over an hour. Id watch the video before.

 

I can't imagine anyone waiting an hour *just* for these changes, or any other little changes. That is beyond comprehension.

 

 

You underestimate Disney AP holders...

[BelizeIt]

Edited July 15, 2015 by BelizeIt

[BelizeIt]

On a positive note....I recently rode the upgraded Soarin over CA. The new format is amazing.....Lets look forward to the future which may be.... Soaring over the world!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Well, its not all bad. The tax currently doesn't exist and isn't even being proposed yet. As well, if the tax does ever come up, Disney is exempt from it, but none of the other businesses are. Also, the city is growing at a massive rate. Since 2013 Anaheim has approved 11 new hotels, totaling 2410 new rooms (two hotels have yet to break ground as of today). And there is the expected increased tax revenue from this Disney expansion. The city also just voted for a new incentive program to encourage the building of 4 diamond hotels instead of budget hotels (which would be great for tax revenue!)

 

I'm saying its not all doom and gloom. The city will find other ways to fund the things that need funding, and may even create some new tax that includes Disney. But I don't think the residents will be hit as hard as your making it seem.

[Simipour'sTrainer]

So what's TPR's overall opinion on "World of Color - Celebrate"? It seems like the Disney fans are divided on it. I saw it on Monday and thought, while flawed, it was better than the original show.

[dylanreich]

So what's TPR's overall opinion on "World of Color - Celebrate"? It seems like the Disney fans are divided on it. I saw it on Monday and thought, while flawed, it was better than the original show.

I agree with you. Better but flawed... If I'm going to watch a show I'll stick to Fantasmic.

[KBrylczyk]

Disney just bought a ton of new land next to their previous purchase of the Carousel hotel. Mark my words - a third gate is coming.

 

http://screamscape.com/html/disneyland_resort.htm#General

 

[Jew]

Slashfilm has a better article:

 

http://www.slashfilm.com/disneyland-land-purchase/

 

Not convinced a 3rd gate is coming based on the current purchases, but it's obvious they are positioning for a major expansion of Disneyland. Parking, Office, and Hotels

[KBrylczyk]

^ While I agree that with the current land purchased a 3rd gate is hilariously out of the question, I stand by my prediction. When DLR bought the Carousel a year ago I immediately thought they were going to start slowly buying up that triangle of land between DLR and I-5. Now with this new, much larger purchase, it only seems more likely. I'll bet the other hotels are simply holding out for more money at this point.

[laqueefa]

Slashfilm has a better article:

 

http://www.slashfilm.com/disneyland-land-purchase/

 

Not convinced a 3rd gate is coming based on the current purchases, but it's obvious they are positioning for a major expansion of Disneyland. Parking, Office, and Hotels

 

I'll take a stab at it. Looks like they could move the offices and storage thats currently behind Toon Town here, and expand the land within the park for more attractions/new land. Didn't Disney upper management said there would be no 3rd gate in that investors call?

[DBJ]

That is a good observation. By moving the backstage offices, etc. behind DL they can grow the park. Wonder if they will acquire the Gardenwalk shortly? Turn the area into new Downtown Disney like district?

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Bulldoze Carousel and you've got a perfect link between Disneyland's eastern gate and where Pumbaa and the other new purchase is.

 

I can easily see Pumbaa becoming a parking garage and the rest of the land used for pedestrian routes, potential new tram loading, handicap/bus parking, etc. All that would be needed is a Vegas-style pedestrian bridge over Harbor, and some expanded traffic flow routes into Pumbaa from I-5 and surrounding area. It wouldn't be too terribly difficult to cut off Manchester right at that Quality Inn (or buy and bulldoze it as well) and build a direct link from I-5 straight into the new purchase and the future Pumbaa garage.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

This new land is absolutely, positively NOT going to be used for a third gate. If Disney is going to build a Third Gate, there are other plots of Disney and NON-Disney land land that are larger and more suited for a third gate. The ONLY way this land would possibly hint at a third gate is if they announce a hell of a lot more parking to be built here. They mentioned a 5K structure when they struck a deal with Anaheim; but to support a third park, and all the Cast Member parking they would lose (if the Toy Story Lot is used) they would need something MUCH MUCH larger.

 

New guests to Disneyland and DCA (from 1.5B expansion), plus Third Gate, plus hiring thousands of new Cast Members for the third gate and all new attractions... Just think about the mass amount of people I'm talking about. So, unless a 12-15k+ structure is announced to hold guests and Cast Members, the resort will not be getting a third park right now.

 

And even if they do buy that whole triangle (which is massively unlikely in any reasonable time frame) Itd still be used for Disney hotels and back of house stuff. The freeway off ramp was designed to have the 5 Northbound traffic use the Disney Way exit to access a future parking structure.....to be built on this newly purchased land. You can see this by looking at google maps. None of this is inside info, its common sense. And I'd bet they can easily re-route the Disney Way exit to end right into the structure.

[jray21]

An official Disneyland app has been released/re-released(?). There used to be an official app, but it's been gone or not updated for a while. Well, they finally released a working official app! It includes official wait times (no more relying on guests to input the times), and you can also link your admission to the app to allow you to get into the parks. Seems like a slow intro to MyMagic+. However, you still have to use your physical tickets for fast passes.

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disneyland/id1022164656?mt=8

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^This is a new App. The old one(s) were all removed from the App Store a few years ago.

[BelizeIt]

What surprises me most about the latest land acquisition, is the price???

That ((small)) piece of land that the Carousel Inn is on gets $32 million, and ((massive)) property behind it which appears to be 5 or perhaps 7 times larger then the Carousal goes for only $16 million more?! How is that even possible???

You would think the lawyers representing that sale would say, well its Disney and they have HUGH financial resources, they will pay what ever it takes to acquire our land. Because Disney needs the land for its future development no matter what the cost.......

Yes there was a hotel on the other property, but there is also a Costco size building on the current one as well. Anyhow, good for Disney because that land acquisition gives them many options for future development of the Disneyland resort.

Edited August 7, 2015 by BelizeIt