In the months leading up to the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, whenever I spoke with Disney insiders about what the Company was going to do in response to this highly-anticipated Islands of Adventure addition, Mickey's mantra was pretty much the same: Just wait 'til you see Fantasyland Forest.
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But now that The Wizarding World has been open for a month and has proven to be this enormous success, the message coming from the Mouse House has changed. Now it's DCA's Cars Land - rather than this $300 million expansion of WDW's Magic Kingdom - that's being hyped as Disney's Potter Swatter
Mind you, this isn't just because Cars Land will be opening before Fantasyland Forest (DCA's brand-new "land" is expected to open to the public sometime in late Spring of 2012, whereas Phase II of Fantasyland Forest isn't supposed to be completed 'til 2013). But - rather - because this addition to WDW's Magic Kingdom has reportedly hit a few snags.
Like what? Well, for starters, there's Disney's board of directors. Who aren't exactly the biggest fans of the Fantasyland Forest project. And why not? Because Jay Rasulo (who was then head of Disney Parks & Resorts but is now the Company's Chief Financial Officer) announced this ambitious WDW expansion last September at the D23 EXPO before the board had actually okayed this expansion project. Which is why they've been somewhat slow when it comes to okaying all of the cash necessary for construction.
Thomas Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and ResortsCopyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Which suits Tom Staggs (who used to be Disney's CFO but is now head of Disney Parks & Resorts) just fine. Given that Staggs reportedly isn't all that enthusiastic about the version of Fantasyland Forest that Rasulo signed off on. Which is why Tom would supposedly like to step away from the previously announced expansion plan (which relies far too heavily on the Disney Princess franchise for his taste) and then go with an assortment of new rides & attractions for the Magic Kingdom that would have far broader appeal. That could be all things to all people, rather than betting the farm on a single franchise.
You see, what Staggs knows that - in the wake of "The Princess and the Frog" 's under-performance at the box office late last year - The Walt Disney Company took a long hard look at its Disney Princess franchise. Which has been experiencing some allegiance erosion lately (This is one of the main reasons that "Rapunzel" was retitled "Tangled." So that this Nathan Greno & Bryon Howard film could then distance itself [a bit, anyway] from this over-extended brand).
So as of right now, though site prep is well underway behind all of those construction walls that you'll find towards the back of the Magic Kingdom ... The only previously-announced Fantasyland Forest expansion project that's absolutely positively going forward at this point is "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure." Garner Holt has already completed construction of many of the undersea creatures that will be featured in this dark ride. And meanwhile - towards the very back of the Fantasyland Forest construction site - Disney is installing pieces of timber to help brace & stabilize the two walls of the old "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" show building that remain standing. So that these walls can eventually be incorporated into "The Little Mermaid" 's show building.
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"And why would Disney want to do something like that?," you ask. Well, this actually has to do with the permits that the Mouse's construction team has to pull for the Fantasyland Forest project. You see, if there's at least one wall left standing from the previous structure that you can then incorporate into your new construction project ... Well, that means that you can call this project a renovation. Which involves a far-less costly permit than a full-blown, brand-new construction project does.
Anyway ... Getting back to Fantasyland Forest now ... Given that the Company's Disney Princess franchise suddenly appears to need some shoring up (Which is why there are reportedly plans in the works for Disney Jr. to begin airing a Disney Princess TV series sometime after this cable channel transitions over from being SoapNet in 2012), it just makes sense to slow down things a bit. Get a better grasp on what Magic Kingdom Guest want to see / what consumers would really respond to.
This is actually why the plans for the Pixie Hollow portion of Fantasyland Forest were pulled back for retooling earlier this year. You see, the Company's currently doing a bit of course correction on its Disney Fairies franchise. Doing everything it can to make sure that this brand-new brand is properly positioned for future growth.
"And what's wrong with the Disney Fairies franchise?," you ask. To be honest, over the past year, the Company has realized that they're been placing far too much emphasis on Tinker Bell and not enough on all the other characters that populate Pixie Hollow. Which is why they've actually swapped the release dates of the 2011 & 2012 Disney Fairies movies. So that what was originally supposed to have been the home premiere for 2012 (i.e. "Tinker Bell and the Race through the Seasons") will now be released in the Fall of 2011.
"And why is Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment doing that?," you query. Well, "Race through the Seasons" features a storyline which has Tinker Bell coaching other fairies. So that they'll then be able to take part in this Never Land sports competition. And it's hoped that this particular home premiere can then be used to introduce some new Disney Fairies characters that consumers will be quicker to take to their hearts than they did Vidia, Silvermist, Rosetta, Fawn and Iridessa.
Anywho ... That's why Pixie Hollow has been pushed back to Phase II of the Fantasyland Forest expansion project. So that The Walt Disney Company will then have time to tinker with its Disney Fairies franchise and hopefully then be able to expand the appeal of this brand beyond a single character (i.e. Tinker Bell).
But as for the rest of the Fantasyland Forest project ... With the exception of "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure" and the "Be Our Guest" restaurant (which Magic Kingdom officials are hoping will take some of the heat off of Cinderella's Royal Table. So that returning WDW visitors who are looking for a memorable dining experience will opt to eat at this 552-seat venue rather than angling for yet another reservation at that 130-seat restaurant high up in Cinderella Castle), everything else is kind of in flux right now. As the Imagineers try & address some of Tom Staggs' concerns about this expansion project.
Speaking of which ... Can it really be a co-incidence that - just as Staggs is supposedly telling WDI to take an "All Things to All People" approach when it comes to adding new rides, shows and attractions to the Magic Kingdom that rumors began circulating about something of size being added to Frontierland? Could it be that the Imagineers are trying to bring some sort of balance to this theme park? Adding a boy-centric attraction to the Kingdom to counteract all of that girl-friendly stuff that's supposed to be built as part of Fantasyland Forest?
Know this, though: The one aspect of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter that Disney truly envies / would love to be able to emulate is the robust retail sales that this Islands of Adventure addition has been experiencing. Guests standing in line for an hour to gain entrance to a gift shop is every theme park operator's dream. The only problem is - since the Disney Princess franchise seems to have (at least temporarily) peaked - it's unlikely that carts & shops selling crown & gowns is likely to get the same sort of rabid response that that Harry Potter fans have shown when it comes to the merch that's on sale at Zonko's and Dervish & Bange's.
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So if you had the opportunity to help the Imagineers retool their original plans for the Fantasyland Forest, what would you do? Especially taking into consideration that - given the enormous amount of money that the Company is looking to spend on this Magic Kingdom addition - that Disney would like to get a Potter-sized return on its investment.
Your thoughts?
What does all this mean for Mickey's Toontown Fair? Is that still going down, and if so, when?
It would be far better to have another superior e ticket attraction alongside of the Little Mermaid attraction.
I'm talking about a major Beauty and the Beast attraction. Those two attractions are all you need in the new
Fantasyland. The rest of the money {Budget} could go for "something of substance" in Frontierland.
Now you've got all the bases covered. And forget the rest of the Princess stuff.
3 major attractions for the same money.
1. The Little Mermaid ride
2. Beauty and the Beast attraction
3. A new Frontierland attraction.
All for the same $300 million budget, but with far greater appeal. It will draw the crowds.
Phineas and Ferb Go to the Wild West coaster/dark ride hybrid? I always thought they would make a better fit in Adventureland...
I think they should expand Adventureland, it's becoming stale, it has not seen a major addition since PotC and with a current and extremely successful franchise at the movies, it offers a lot of merchandising opportunities. At least more than decades old cowboy and indians-lore. And it is appealing to boys just as well. Bring in Fire Mountain! Or Indiana Jones Adventure. Frontierland is good enough, other lands are much more in need of additions and plussings.
Wasn't the Indy 500 supposed to get a "Cars" makeover? I haven't heard about it in quite a while, but that would be a fairly cheap and easy solution to make something a little new in the parks. And I think that Jeff's idea of a B&tB attraction sounds excellent. Wouldn't necessarily help the boy market, but it sounds excellent.
I'm glad that the Mermaid ride & Be Our Guest restaurant aren't affected- I'm so excited for those.
I'm still curious about if Pixie Hollow is necessary; in three years, even, will people care? If it were Never Land, then absolutely, that would be amazing, but Pixie Hollow? I'm not knocking the Tink films- I haven't seen them- but I think that maybe a movie or franchise that has showed staying power for years might be a better choice...
And what about the "Monsters, Inc." ride? I know that that would be in Hollywood Studios, but any news on that? Boys like "Monsters, Inc."
I guess that merchandising is mostly geared toward kids, but it seems to me that the most successful theme park expansions are those that appeal to adults. The Harry Potter franchise may have originally been intended for kids, but it has broad appeal with adults and that is why, in my opinion, the Wizarding World is so successful. Disney seems to be starting with a merchandising idea and then trying to build theme park expansion around it. As a guest I would prefer the opposite approach. Start with a quality ride or idea for a new land, one that appeals to adults as well as kids, and the merchandising will follow. I think that is what Universal did with Harry Potter. They didn't start with an idea to sell butterbeer and then develop a land around it, they strated with a popular book franchise and people couldn't wait to line up to buy a piece of it.
Hey Jim, love the new look, much easier to comment and see others' comments.
I totally agree with most of the posts: great that they will keep B & the B restaurant; and of course Little Mermaid sounds like it will be amazing. AND, I like the idea to do something great with the FAIRIES b/c it seems like there is so much they can do with them.
As far as for other projects: do kind of like they did in 2006 where there was one great addition to each park:
--Monsters' Inc Coaster for DHS
--A new pavillion for World Showcase OR WORLD OF COLOR for EPCOT, imagine what great things they could do with WOC sort of technology and working in lasers and lighting with the pavillions
--Australia for ANIMAL KINGDOM, including some new animals and a PHINEAS & FERB "backyard beach"/Great Barrier Reef attraction. THEY REALLY NEED TO CAPITALIZE on PHINEAS & FERB before it is too late. ***Disney has a habit of waiting too long to capitalize.
FRONTIERLAND: would love for them to spread the wealth to the rest of the park; NOT Indiana Jones, but love the idea of FIRE MOUNTAIN or JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH; (perhaps JOURNEY could be placed on Tom Sawyer's Island, which is an area that needs to be reimagined.
Why are they overlooking the obvious and not just bringing DCA's Carsland to WDW? Cars is THE single best money machine they've had from a consumer products standpoint, so why not exploit all the already-completed design work for Carsland in WDW and get the best of both worlds?
The way it has seemed to me as of late, the Mouse has turned a big round deaf ear to the core fan base in many ways. The return to hand drawn animation is great, but "Princess and the Frog" was a no brainer in stories that will not bring back a renaissance. As soon as I heard about the old animation my hopes went up and then the needle in the balloon was the story. Still, great movie, but a boner of a gamble. So in regards to the Fantasyland Expansion, why don't they listen to the fans for once instead of them telling us what we want? For example, why not bring back some classics, like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride? Sure, go for the epic stuff, but if you're spending the money, why not add a few fan favorites? The Mouse seems to be looking enviously across the road at the wizard kid and wondering why they all like him more. The answer? It's what the fans wanted.
My suspicions have been confirmed...When I first heard about this project the first thing that came to my mind was " I can't belive they are building a whole new land aroud an audience for young and pre teen girls. What are they thinking? Where is the balance? What is the draw for boys? Disney should definitely balance that land out for everybody. Turn pixie hollow into neverland, build on the pirate theme for boys especially since POC4 is coming out. Put in a thrill ride for the older kids and alike. I hope Disney doesn't drop the ball on this one. The reason HP is working is because it does cater to everyone and not just a certain segment.
I'm definitely in agreement that the Fantasyland Forest expansion is too girl-centric, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that tweaks are more needed than a re-think. Keep the theme, maybe even the name, but put in valid options for the boys, too.
Instead of going to see just Sleeping Beauty read a story, how about giving a choice between her story and Prince Phillip's ripping tale of dragon slaying?
That's the thought process that needs to be used for this project.
The Fairies expansion is worth keeping on the table, but again...why just Fairies? Why not Neverland, with a big chuck of Fairies in it?
Keep a chunk of land set aside, too. Just so people can keep dreaming about Villain's Mountain (not that it wouldn't go great, placed behind a dark and twisted section of forest...)
But the big screw up in this project, or missed opportunity (if you want to be nice), is the Toontown Fair/Dumbo's circus conversion.
First off...whomever decided on going with Dumbo's clowns as the re-theme for Barnstormer is an idiot. I don't care if it was Lassetter, Iger, or Mickey himself. Near ten percent of the world's adults are scared of clowns (Coulrophobia), no one really knows how many children are (permanent, or childhood fears), but to top it off, these are some of the most unlikeable clowns outside of horror films! Bravo!
Look, Dueling Dumbos is fine, but don't try to theme an entire area around it. You want a re-theme for the Toontown Fair area? Three words: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Build it, and a new generation will love you, and the park, forever.
Of course we're talking about the same people who, twenty-eight years later, _still_ haven't figured out that it would be a cool idea to change the name of the Tomorrowland Arcade to Flynn's. Or to put in a claw machine filled with three eyed aliens.
To meet it seems that Adventureland shpould be focused on more than Frontierland for a new expansion. Of course some of these ideas would be pending on the success of thier theatrical release but how about...
- A new interactive Swiss Family Treehouse (based on the upcoming re-make..if it's happening)
- A clone of the 20,000 Leagues ride from Tokyo Disney Sea? Make it a little more "adventerous" based on the upcoming re-make of the film.
- A few have mentioned a clone of Carsland from DCA but I think that is going to fit perfect at the end of Pixar Place at DHS utilizing portions of Catastrophe Canyon.
- I do agree a cars layover of the Indy Speedway would instantly add popularity from boys in the park. (Of course this could cause confusion if a Cars attraction is at MK and DHS but this has happend before with HISTA at Epcot and HISTK: Movie Set Adventure at DHS.)
- They could build a new Pirates thrill ride (long rumored Pirates themed Splash Mountain for DLP) in addition to the current POTC.
- What about a National Treasure themed interactive game in Liberty Square/Adventureland/Frontierland like Kim Possible at Epcot?
I think it is key that just one new stand alone attraction is not going to solve the boy demographic problem. Whatever is decided needs to be fully immersive and interactive to keep them coming back.
One word, AVATAR
Is the Frontierland expansion going to tie-in with Bruckheimer's re-boot of the Lone Ranger that's due out in the 2012 timeframe? I know that Depp is interested in playing Tonto, so you could have Johnny in both Adventureland and Frontierland (plus you can add him to Fantasyland due to his Mad Hatter).
It's nice to see that somebody's out there is using their head. There were some good ideas in the Fantasyland expansion, but as it's been said by many, it leaned too heavily toward princesses.
Like others have stated here, I completely agree that a Cars overlay for the Tomorrowland Speedway would seem to be the best way to tilt this project back toward the boys. Then perhaps one other attraction in Fantasyland might be just enough. I seem to recall that there were some rumors awhile back regarding a mine coaster using theming from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, perhaps they could dust off those plans and look at that again.