Don’t count out Disney’s Hollywood Studios Countdown to Fun! parade just yet

Jim Hill

14 years ago

So it's been just over two weeks since Disney's Pixar Pals
Countdown to Fun! Parade made its debut at Disney's Hollywood Studios. And based
on the large number of Guest complaints that this retooled version of Block
Party Bash has reportedly received so far, it's clear that Countdown to Fun!
hasn't exactly won over theme park fans. Not yet, anyway.

Which is somewhat frustrating to the folks at Walt Disney
World Entertainment. Given that many of the changes that they made to DHS's street
pageant (EX: folding in characters from more recent Pixar films like "Up" and
"Ratatouille") were made in direct response to earlier Guest complaints.

Though – to be honest – the biggest change that was made to
Block Party Bash as it was revamped into Countdown to Fun! (i.e. the elimination
of this 35-minute-long street party's three show stops) was made at the request
of the people who work Ops at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

"And why did Ops ask that those show stops get cut?," you
ask. Long story short: Block Party Bash was originally designed for Disney
California Adventure and its wide open spaces.
And thanks to the curb-free performance corridor that runs through
Disneyland Resort's second gate, DCA had no trouble accommodating those
over-sized "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc." and "A Bug's Life" parade units. Not
to mention the more-than 60 dancers, 16 acrobats, 12 pairs of jumping stilts
and 30 electric scooters who originally performed in this street pageant.

But when Block Party Bash completed its nearly three year
run at DCA in January of 2008 and was then packed up & shipped off to Walt
Disney World … Well, as you can see by the photo below …

… Block Party Bash proved to kind of a tight fit for Disney's
Hollywood Studios. Especially when this street pageant moved through this theme
park's Hollywood Boulevard area.

And then when you factored in how difficult it was for
Guests & Cast Members to get across DHS whenever this 35-minute-long street
party was being presented … Well, at least from an Ops point of view, it made
sense to ditch those show stops while Block Party Bash was being reworked to become
Countdown to Fun!

But based on the number of Guest complaints that this
retooled street party has received so far, it's clear that Walt Disney World
Entertainment seriously needs to up Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun! Parade's fun
quotient.

But don't count out Disney's Hollywood Studios Countdown to
Fun! parade just yet. Tom Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, is
aware of Guest concerns about this parade. Which is why – when Tom was in town
last week to attend that Disney Dream / New Fantasyland combo press event – he
made a point of dropping by DHS and personally checking out Countdown to Fun! And
from what I hear, Staggs wasn't exactly pleased with what he saw.

So just as the Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday, look for
characters like Mr. Potato Head & additional entertainment elements to be folded into Countdown
to Fun! in the coming weeks. I've also been told that a "Cars 2" -themed pre-parade
will be added to this street party sometime in the late Spring just ahead of the
June 24^th release date of that Pixar sequel. Which will then hopefully
help beef up Countdown to Fun!

One Pixar Pal that
will NOT be returning to Countdown for Fun! is Bo Peep. But that's supposedly
due to story-driven reasons because this revamped DHS parade ends with a
celebration of "Toy Story 3." And since – as that Lee Unkrich film reveals – (slight
spoiler ahead) Ms. Peep is one of the members of the Andy's Room gang who's
disappeared over the years due to those yard sales & garage sales that Andy's
Mom would hold annually … Well, that's
why Bo had to go.

FYI: if you'd like to check out Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun!
for yourself, Jeff Lange got video of
the opening day version of this street pageant.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSOoA6lHsHE]

You'll also find some photos of the revamped parade units at
JeffLangeDVD and MouseSteps. So go take a look at those pix & come on back here to JHM and share your thoughts
about Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun!

How do you think this retooled parade compare to the
original Block Party Bash?

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AjXwq1VRJ0]

Do you think adding additional characters &
entertainment elements will sufficiently improve Countdown to Fun! Or would you
prefer that Walt Disney Parks & Resorts fund the development &
construction of an all-new parade for that theme park? Something that's
deliberately scaled to fit Disney's Hollywood Studios' somewhat problematic
parade route?

Your thoughts?