Those of you who read this past weekend’s “Why For” may recall that I said that “… the Walt Disney Company is this very dynamic organization.” Well, scratch that. As of this past Friday afternoon, Disney officially became a very schizophrenic organization.
Why for? Because — after spending all of last week insisting that it was actually a “Monsters, Inc.”-themed ride, rather than “Miss Piggy’s Superstar Limo,” which would be replacing DCA’s late, lame “Superstar Limo” attraction — Imagineering management suddenly sent out an e-mail this past Friday afternoon announcing that this Pixar-based project was cancelled.
And what was the reported reason for this stunning reversal? WDI staffers who allegedly received this e-mail said that DCA’s “Monsters, Inc.” ride was being shut down because “… Disney Company executives felt that they couldn’t justify the project’s $14 million price tag.”
Now $14 million may sound like an awful lot of money. But please keep in mind that the Imagineers just spent $30 million turning Critter Country’s Grizzly Hall into “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” … and this new Disneyland ride has been damned with faint praise by both Disney annual passholders as well as the mainstream press.
So now senior officials at Disney are supposedly having trouble stomaching the idea that they’ll have to spend $14 million in order to turn “Superstar Limo” into a “Monsters, Inc.” based ride? Does that excuse sound somewhat fishy to you?
Well, it did to me. Which is why I spent a lot of time on the phone this weekend, talking with several veteran Imagineers about what just happened. And these WDI guys offered up some very interesting theories about the motives behind this abrupt cancellation.
Some Imagineers told me that it was probably NOT a co-incidence that — on the heels of all the tepid reviews that “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” had received — that Disneyland Resort officials all-of-a-sudden opted to take another look at the “Monsters, Inc.” project. I’m told that Disney Company execs were particularly upset by Robert Niles’ review of the ride (which appeared in the “Calendar” section of this past Thursday’s “Los Angeles Times”) which started off by saying:
“Once upon a time, Disneyland built innovative, exciting attractions that helped make it the world’s most popular and beloved theme park. Today, many of its former designers are out of work, laid off from Disney’s kingdom. Some did go on to design other companies’ parks, such as Universal’s spectacular Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Fla. Those who remain work with meager budgets, turning out retreads of previous designs.”
Given that the Imagineers who were working on DCA’s “Superstar Limo” redo were reportedly using “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” as the template for their “Monsters, Inc.” project, “Pooh”‘s poor reviews may have given Disney execs pause. Or at the very least, given them a reason to have some very serious second thoughts. Which is why the WDI guys that I spoke with on Saturday and Sunday are suggesting that — in Disney-speak — “… couldn’t justify the project’s $14 million price tag” could actually be translated to mean “… maybe we’d better go out and find some more money ASAP so that we can do this DCA ride right.”
Still other folks that I spoke this weekend with suggested that the real reason the “Monsters, Inc.” ride project suddenly got shut down was because Disney is now having second thoughts about where they should put this Pixar-based project. Let’s remember that — back in late 2000, when WDI first talked about adding a “Monsters, Inc.”-themed dark ride to California Adventure’s assortment of attractions — this ride was actually pitched as an addition to Paradise Pier. It was supposed to have been a spook house-type attraction that would have been built along the boardwalk, right underneath “California Screamin’.”
More recently, there’s been a lot of talk around WDI about turning the back-most portion of DCA into a Pixar-land. With rides, shows and attractions based on “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story II,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo” being built in that area in California Adventure that stretches from “Flik’s Fun Fair” all the way out to the bridge that leads to Paradise Pier and the “Ariel’s Grotto” restaurant. So perhaps what the sudden cancellation of this “Monsters, Inc”-themed “Superstar Limo” redo is really suggesting is that this idea is actually gaining some momentum within the Mouse House.
Now where this all gets intriguing is that … even though the latest version of the “Superstar Limo” redo has officially been cancelled, the Imagineers are still going ahead with their plans to modify / redo all of the SSL ride vehicles. Over the next few weeks, these “Superstar Limo” vehicles will receive the Roger Rabbit treatment (I.E. following the advice of Disney’s lawyers, dozens of new safety features — seat belts, lap bars, etc. — will be added to each car).
So someday soon, these “Superstar Limo” ride vehicles will be ready to roll through this DCA show building again. The only question is … what sort of scenery will these limos be rolling past then? A bigger budget version of the “Monsters, Inc.” ride? The same old “Superstar Limo” scenery? Or — God help us — could “Miss Piggy’s Superstar Limo” actually be making its way off of WDI’s drawing boards?
Me personally? I’m more intrigued by the Imagineers who told me that they’re desperately trying to get the limos out of the “Superstar” building for good. Why for? Because — someday very soon — Disney’s going to start tearing down the now-closed “Hollywood & Dine” restaurant complex to make way for DCA’s version of Disney-MGM’s “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.” Which — if you’ll remember — is yet another attraction where Disney theme park guests board a limousine in order to take a wild ride through Hollywood.
Obviously, building a new version of “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster” right next door to “Superstar Limo” makes about as much sense as building a copy of Animal Kingdom’s “Primeval Whirl” right next door to “Mulholland Madness.” It’s just … redundant. And — given that “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster” will obviously be more popular with DCA guests than the original “Superstar Limo,” “Goofy’s Superstar Limo” and/or “Miss Piggy’s Superstar Limo” — that’s why these Imagineers are pushing for Disney management just to gut the SSL show building and start from scratch with … a “Monsters, Inc.”-themed ride … a DCA version of Paris’ “Armageddon” effects show … ANYTHING other than “Superstar Limo” redux.
Obviously, this situation is still very much in flux, folks. Which is why I’ll be keeping an eye on things. Give you guys a heads up should things change … again.
Speaking of giving you guys a heads up: It’s official. Yours truly WILL be giving tours of Walt Disney World’s theme parks on Saturday, May 3rd and Sunday, May 4th. The tentative schedule for the beta test of JimHillMedia.com’s WDW tours goes as follows:
Saturday, May 3rd at 10 a.m. – Walking Tour of the Magic Kingdom
Saturday, May 3rd at 2 p.m. – Walking Tour of Disney-MGM Studios theme park.
Sunday, May 4th at 9 a.m. – Walking Tour of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Sunday, May 4th at 5 p.m. – Walking Tour of Epcot.
The fee for this inaugural run of JHM Disney World tours will be $30 per person per tour. And slots WILL be limited. Only 8 – 10 people per tour. So — if you’re interested in coming along — send me an e-mail ASAP at my stadlerhill@mindspring.com address and I’ll put you on the list.
Beyond that … any thoughts you’d like to share about this “Monsters, Inc.” / “Superstar Limo” debacle?