So have you heard/read about recent changes planned for Walt Disney World? That is a loaded question, because when you are a Neurotic Disney Person, you are (first) a very special person. And then (second) someone in tune with news about the parks. News comes in two forms – the good news and the bad news. It seems to me that we may need another category of news, because depending on your point of view, changes made to the parks are either good or bad. Not everyone is going to agree a change has improved an attraction or it has totally ruined the ride experience.
Where should I start?
Disneyland plans a PC makeover for its Pirates of the Caribbean attraction The auction scene – a parade of women being auctioned off by pirates – is being revised. By next year it will be pirates trying to loot the town of its valuables. It will also include a female pirate.
There’s been some chatter among the Disney community over this change. Plenty don’t want the ride to change at all. Leave it alone; this is the way Walt intended it to be. And plenty feel the change is warranted. I’m in this camp. I like change and I like it especially when perceptions and values have evolved over the decades. This is a good change.
Disney Files Permit For New Ride In Epcot’s France Pavilion
Big changes are coming to the France pavilion. The plans are to install an attraction similar to that of the Ratatouille ride in Disneyland Paris.
Haven’t found anything yet about the fate of the film that’s currently there. Here’s another situation of how much is too much change. Wasn’t EPCOT to be a showcase of countries of the world? Walt wanted to emphasize the educational benefit of a trip around EPCOT. Yet we are seeing more attraction ride based on Disney and Pixar properties for example: Maelstrom/Frozen; Disney Studios/Star Wars Land; Animal Kingdom/Pandora. These changes are in response to the competition Disney is receiving from the Universal Parks and its expansions of the Wizarding World. As much as I want to stay true to Walt’s vision of the parks, it is also true the parks need to update, expand and re-purpose attractions in order to stay viable.
The parks will always have its magic for me. Gone are the days of just showing up without reservations for attractions or restaurants. I lament the innocence of that time and rather dread the work involved in having to plan a Disney vacation. Having said that, I do look forward to having an immersive Star Wars experience, traveling through Paris with a rat’s eye view, or riding a Nordic vessel, or floating down a river in Pandora.
Change is good. Keep it coming. But never lose the magic.
Letty has loved all things Disney since she was child. Her first visit to the world was back in 1978. Since then she has returned as a spring break college student; as a young woman traveling with her boyfriend (now husband); and her last visit as a wife and mother of twin girls. Every trip was magical. Keeping her Disney fix between visits, she immerses herself researching all she can about the Disney Company. She reads about resort operations, movie profits, cruise lines, theatrical productions, merchandise, and global operations. She looks forward to sharing her research about this company that has created magic for generations.
