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Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Discussion Thread

p. 149 - Cars Frontierland expansion, new nighttime parade, and new Villains Land announced at D23!

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Again, the news is trying to invent news so that they can report on the news that they made. I've seen headlines like "Splash Mountain Controversy" and "Disney Facing Backlash" but the headlines should be "Random dude on Twitter named Fred Tweets that they should re-theme Splash Mountain" and "Online Petition with a Few Hundred Signatures wants there to be a Princess and the Frog themed boat ride".

 

This is not a news story. This is only being shared because they can get a lot of engagements and comments because they want thousands of people to believe that half of the country is offended by a boat ride with a cartoon bear just because one person Tweeted something. Then they know that those people will be so over-the-top that the (well-intentioned) other side comes back and yells at those people and the process continues perpetually forever while they get tons of clicks and views on a fake news story.

 

We have the power to not do this right now.

Edited by coasterbill
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Disney cancelled the Halloween parties, I'm curious to see if Universal ends up cancelling Halloween horror nights next...

 

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/06/19/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party-at-disney-world-will-not-take-place-in-2020-due-to-covid-19-pandemic/

 

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Disney World will not take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Disney posted online on Thursday.

 

Disney officials said with stage shows, parades, and fireworks they would not be able to host the events.

 

A decision on this year’s Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and the EPCOT Candlelight processional has not been made at this time, according to Disney.

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Since this hasn't been posted in earnest here in the forum, here's the rundown for everything regarding the openings at Walt Disney World, pulled from the Parks Blog and some other sources:

 

  • Park reservations go live for resort guests (including resort guest passholders) on June 22, non-resort annual passholders on June 26, and all other ticket holders on June 28, at 7 AM eastern each day
  • You must have your ticket or pass linked in MyDisneyExperience to make a reservation
  • New vacation bookings and park tickets open for 2021 dates on June 26
  • Park hopping is temporarily suspended, each reservation can only be for one park per day
  • Annual passholder previews are on July 9 and 10 for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom
  • Events and spectaculars are suspended, characters will still make occasional appearances throughout the day
  • No FastPass, Single rider queues, or Rise of the Resistance boarding passes
  • All major attractions will be open with the exception of Princess Fairytale Hall, Town Square Theater, Up A Great Bird Adventure, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Fantasmic
  • Spaceship Earth's renovation has been delayed and it will re-open in its current state with EPCOT

 

In addition, there are reports that guests staying in resorts that will not be reopening with the parks are being asked to relocate to a resort that is open. Some reports are saying that guests are being asked to pay full price to upgrade, but others have said that they are not being charged if they do not choose a specific resort to relocate to. Your mileage may vary.

 

Hopefully I didn't miss anything or give any incorrect information.

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Some reports are saying that guests are being asked to pay full price to upgrade, but others have said that they are not being charged if they do not choose a specific resort to relocate to.

I would most certainly hope they are being charged full price. I'd be pretty pissed off to know that we paid full price for our DVC Deluxe Resort room only to find out that someone who booked a room at a value like Pop Century got to stay at our resort at their value rate.

 

I highly doubt Disney is actually doing this.

Edited by robbalvey
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I highly doubt Disney is actually doing this.

I have doubts as well, that seems a little out of character (heh).

 

I originally was going to include the initial reporting of all resort changes being forced paid upgrades in the list as stuff that was actually happening, but as I was getting the research together I started reading some reports / comments on other fan sites / social media channels that some people who Disney called to change (not the guest calling Disney) were offered the upgrades free of charge.

 

Again, it's not completely clear and not having an impacted resort reservation myself, I can't independently confirm.

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Its kind of a conundrum. You pay full price for the Deluxe by choice, but someone who had a reservation at Pop and wants to keep it cant stay there because its not opening. So they piss you off by letting people win the resort lottery, or they piss off someone by making them pay full price for a hotel they didnt want in the first place at no fault of their own. Its a no win.

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I agree that it is annoying. If you saved for a once in a lifetime trip or spent extra time putting money away to get a better room, the last thing you want to hear is how someone got it for a fraction of the cost. Especially because, even though it's a minority, there are those that have to be extremely vocal about it for 'bragging rights' and tell everyone loudly how lucky they are and draw attention to it whatever chance they'll get.

 

It reminds me of a buddy, who saved for ages to get nice seats on the airplane for him and his wife's honeymoon trip only to have someone across get a free upgrade, and spend most of the flight waving her phone around trying to Instagram everything, pester the attendants, and declare loudly how amazing everything was. He said she was louder than the young baby a couple of seats ahead.

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Its kind of a conundrum. You pay full price for the Deluxe by choice, but someone who had a reservation at Pop and wants to keep it cant stay there because its not opening. So they piss you off by letting people win the resort lottery, or they piss off someone by making them pay full price for a hotel they didnt want in the first place at no fault of their own. Its a no win.

You don't go into a car dealer and get a BMW for the same price as a Toyota because they just sold out of that Toyota you wanted. That's not how it works.

 

It would be one thing if the difference between Pop Century and a DVC was like fifty bucks, but we are talking a few hundred dollars a night here.

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Oh I absolutely get why you (or any full price payer) would be pissed. Happened at a Guns n Roses concert I went to. They upgraded all the nose bleeds to floor or lower bowl to fill in the stadium. That sucked. I just see the customer service problem too, especially when its of no fault to the customer. I do wonder how many people the moderate and value closures really affect, as most Disney fan families ive talked to say they dont want to spend that money for a watered down experience and theyre holding off until everything clears up.

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200625070815-splash-mountain-reimagine-exlarge-169.jpg.f90e86b41604efc17c29d1c148be0d1b.jpg

 

Disney just announced big changes to Splash Mountain at both USA parks:

 

The log flume ride — which is based on the controversial 1946 film "Song of the South" — isn't going anywhere. Instead, it will be rethemed to star the characters from the 2009 animated film, "The Princess and the Frog," which features Disney's first Black princess.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/25/media/splash-mountain-disney/index.html

Edited by SharkTums
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I'm seriously excited for this. I love Splash Mountain but I have no real attachment to any of the characters or the story in the ride. The Princess and the Frog was a lot of fun though, and any ride with a chance to feature Keith David doing a Disney Villain song...yes please.

 

No idea what it would actually end up looking like but some of the proposed (entirely unofficial, not made by Disney) concept art going around earlier looked amazing, too.

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I'm one of the biggest Splash Mountain fans so this is sobering for me to see, but after letting it sink in for a few minutes I may be ok with this.

 

The reason I love Splash Mountain is because it's a long ride that tells a complete story (while mixing in drops). As long as Disney goes all out and leaves no dead spots with the theming, I think the retheme could be just as special of a ride.

 

The conversion of Maelstrom into Frozen was a big upgrade in my mind. And one I was more skeptical about was the West Coast retheme of Tower of Terror into Guardians. I love the Hollywood Tower/Twilight Zone theme, but they did a fantastic job with that ride and I preferred it to the version it replaced. Disney has earned the benefit of the doubt.

 

Although I do wish Chip n Dale finally got their own ride if I could pick what it were being rethemed to.

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It looks like a pretty easy replacement too, imo. A lil sad to see a classic go that I and many others grew up with fond memories of, but I'm far more stoked stoked to see new life breathed into an old attraction and see Disney willing to grow past a more-or-less "troubling" IP (even if little to almost none of the IP's troubling aspects were represented in the ride, I'm more excited to see Princess and the Frog come to Magic Kingdom)! Plus, another princess to be represent in the parks with their own ride!

 

I'm pretty confident in what Disney can do with a refresher after seeing Maelstrom -> Frozen.

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Splash Mountain is easily my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom, but if they do this well (and there's no reason to believe that they won't) then I'm on board and excited to see the changes.

Edited by coasterbill
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I adore Splash Mountain, but the Song of the South has sat uncomfortably with me for several years and I think this is a classy response by Disney that by including their first black princess goes further than I expected. I'm cautiously excited about the future for the ride.

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I'm kind of impartial on this news, I love Splash, probably my favorite ride on property, but I'm sure this re imagined version will be even better than the original so why not.

 

I am curious to see how they integrate it into Magic Kingdom, Disneyland's makes sense with the attraction being right next to New Orleans square but in Florida the bayou right between Thunder mountain right next to frontier land might feel a little off. Then again Splash mountain is set in the south so it's pretty much the same thing lol. Maybe swampy re-theme of Thunder Mountain is in the works further down the line and that whole area goes New Orleans .

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I was kind of skeptical at first, since the current splash mountain is pretty iconic, but after a few minutes, I think this retheme will work out perfectly.

 

I can't wait to see it when its done. Has there not been a confirmed date for the closure of Splash Mountain yet?

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Man this is a bummer on a lot of levels. I’m not so much bummed about the characters leaving but the ride just won’t be the same without the iconic music. Every time I ride this ride today it gives me rush of nostalgia. It will be missed, but I can’t say I’m surprised in today’s society.

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