Making Memories vs. Paying the Bills - What the Future Holds for Disney Parks

Disney's business has been making money off of nostalgia and "remembering the magic" tugging on tear ducts as we remember our first time visiting the vacation kingdom(s). That feeling when you experience Peter Pan's Flight for the first time or hear the trumpeting fanfare of the Main Street Electrical Light Parade with anxiety and curiosities through your child's eyes even though you have seen it dozens of times. 

We all have our favorites but at what point is it time to say goodbye? Surely no one is thinking that Disney is expected to keep all shows and attractions operating as they were on October 1, 1971? Right? Can you imagine how boring that would be? 

There definitely is some discord with fans and guests with some of the recent announcements and rumors going around regarding the future of Disney theme parks. Let's take a look at some of these projects and see how people feel about them.

Current Attraction: THE TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER of TERROR 
Location: DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE   
Will Become: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY -  MISSION: BREAKOUT!
GUEST REACTION: HOT and WARM but cooling
 

Copyright Disney

 

When the rumor/news originally broke on WDWMagic.com by WDW1974, about this refurbishment for the Tower in Florida, people were outraged. Disney denied it and the attention quickly shifted focus to California (and eventually Paris) to concert their Tower attraction into Guardians of the Galaxy. When it was realized that the entire area around the Tower of Terror will be re-themed around Marvel then it makes sense. The California and Paris versions of Tower of Terror pale in comparison to the Florida and Tokyo versions so this actually may be a welcomed change. People are still upset but tempers are cooling as this refurb plays part of a much bigger project including a RnR-coaster/Cap America refurb plus more.

Current Attraction: THE TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER of TERROR 
Location: DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS   
Will Become: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY -  MISSION: BREAKOUT!
GUEST REACTION: NUCLEAR

Since Universal has the lock on 99.9% of all Marvel properties in the East Coast this does not make sense for Disney to pursue since "GotG" would stick out like a sore thumb at the end of Sunset Blvd.. Unlike DCA, this would not become a Marvel themed area and if it did would be pretty minimal. You may have heard this idea is dead...it is not.

Current Attraction: Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
Location: Epcot   
Will Become: Disney - PIXAR Attraction Based on "Coco"
GUEST REACTION: UNKNOWN

  
It appears Donald & Co. will be waiting for their eviction notice in the form of box office totals once "Coco" is released in theaters Fall 2017. No details other than what you can currently dig and find from "Marni1971" and friends on WDWMagic.com. 


Current Attraction: The Great Movie Ride
Location: Disney Hollywood Studios   
Will Become: The Great Mickey Ride
GUEST REACTION: Split - Happy & Confused

 

 "If you are not going to update it, then put it out of it's misery" seems to be the sentiment of many online. Sure "The Great Movie Ride" will be missed but guests will be wowed with a new ride system (rumored to be borrowed/based off of the new Star Wars ride next door) based on the main mouse himself. This rumor has been bouncing around for years and seems to be finally materializing faster than the Wicked Witch of the East in Munchkin-land...or at least for now anyway. There is excitement in that they are FINALLY building a ride around Mickey Mouse but at the cost of a Disney classic. We will see what happens but I feel people will be ok with this one once they see what they come up with.

 

Current Attraction: The Universe of Energy
Location: Epcot   
Will Become: Guardians of the Galaxy
GUEST REACTION: Confused & Mad 

If the Tower of Terror (DHS) to Guardians of the Galaxy overhaul is nixed...this is "Plan B." How does this make any kind of sense for Future World much less Epcot? Anyone? Anyone? Please, if you have a sound reason or theory of how this fits we will be more than happy to publish your theory of how this supports the vision of Epcot.

So....what are your thoughts? Good? Bad? What are they thinking?  

Drop us an email at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

10 Cast Questions: WDW Monorail Cast Remembers Austin Wuennenberg

• 

  
  
  Happy 4th of July! Today we launch a new feature where we ask past and present Disney Cast Members about their experiences in a whole new light.
  
  For our first post we decided to put the spotlight on Walt Disney World Cast Members and how they are remembering Austin Wuennenberg and the tragic accident that occurred in 2009. In honor of Austin, an honorary WDW Monorails tribute was created. Even though this design was not created officially by Disney, it shows the tight bond that Cast Members have for one another.

  
  1. Laura, how long did you work as a Transportation Cast Member in Monorails at Walt Disney World?
  
  From 1999-2004. I started on the Walt Disney World College Program. When I did the Program, they only selected seven students into the Monorail Department out of the thousands College Programmers. I was thrilled because it had always been my dream from the age of 3 to drive the Monorails. I don't know why I always wanted to drive them. I just did. 
  
  
  2. As Walt Disney World is known as a place where families go to visit, it seems there is quite a family environment within the workplace. How is that different than most "normal" jobs?
  
   Disney Cast Members do seem to form a bond and have more of a sense of family than most "normal" jobs. I have had two non-Disney jobs and I have never felt a sense of coworkers being like my family as I did at Disney. Even though it's been ten years since I left the company, I still am very close with a lot of my former coworkers. I am closer with them than the current coworkers I have spent the last ten years with. My current boss said Disney brainwashes the Cast. I disagree. People who have never worked there don't understand and will never understand. I don't think it is so much the Company promoting the family atmosphere in the workplace as it is a byproduct of a unique environment. Is it perfect? Not by any means! Just like a normal family, there is going to be some amount of dysfunction. But overall, it is a very unique environment in which you form tight, lasting bonds with many of your coworkers. You are sharing experiences in an environment that isn't found anywhere else on Earth. Countless families, including my own, are also created when working for Disney. Many of the members of my extended "family" met their spouses while working at Disney. Is Disney really responsible for these relationships? Probably not, but you do have to be a special kind of person to work for the Mouse. So in the long run, maybe Disney is somewhat responsible...
  
  3. As another sad anniversary approaches, WDW Transportation Cast Members are still honor Austin Wuennenberg who was involved in the tragic accident on July 5, 2009. Did you know Austin personally and do you care to share any thoughts or memories about him?
  
    I did not know Austin personally. I only met him once while riding in his front cab when I was just a regular guest. I was with several former Pilots and we started quizzing him and grilling him on everything we could think of pertaining to Monorails. He was entertained and happy to play along. He was also very happy to show off his vast knowledge of the Monorail System. You could tell he truly enjoyed his job. I know that he must have been a wonderful person after seeing the pain I saw in my former coworkers after the accident.
  
  4. The WDW "One Family" Monorail Logo you recently created pays homage to Austin. What inspired you to create this work of art?
  
  

  

  Walt Disney World "One Rail, One Family" Austin Wuennenberg Memorial Design by Laura

   
   I cannot take credit for designing the wings. The wings are based on the wings the pilots wear. After the accident, someone replaced the "Monorail Pilot" on the pilots' wings with "One Rail, One Family" in a graphic image. It has been used by many pilots on their Facebook pages on the anniversary each year. Because the original image has been shared through Facebook so many times, the quality has degraded. As an amateur graphic designer, it irritated me to see this. It seemed disrespectful to the reason we were all doing it, and through no fault of our own. It is the nature of Facebook pictures. Since I don't have the original image and I don't know who created it, I was trying to do everyone a favor and clean it up to make it look better again. While I was working on doing that, the inspiration hit to create a new overall design we could use that incorporated the wings and the ribbons. The design will evolve over the years as I am always learning new techniques that inspire new ideas.
  
  5. What is the significance of the pink and purple ribbons on wither wing of the Monorail Pilot Wings?
  
  The ribbons represent the two Monorails that were lost in the accident - Monorails Purple and Pink. Monorails Purple and Pink were retired by Disney and replaced by Teal and Peach. After the accident, at the memorials held for Austin, many of us wore our pins with ribbons attached to the backs as a symbol of the accident. The ribbons have been symbolic since and I thought they should be incorporated in the design.
  
  6. Do you have additional plans to continue to show the strong bond that Monorail Cast Members have and have had in honoring Austin?
  
  I plan on remembering and honoring Austin each and every year. Even though I was no longer a Cast Member when the accident happened, it still had a great impact on me. It could have happened when I was there and it could have happened to any one of us. It is something that will remain with me and haunt me for the rest of my life for a lot of personal reasons. 
  
  7. What is the biggest thing you miss about being a WDW Monorail Pilot? 
  
   Driving the monorails, of course!
  
  8. If you have any advice for an aspiring Monorail Pilot what would you suggest?
  
  Have fun and enjoy every moment of your time there. It's an experience like no other. Treasure the friendships you make! It truly is like a family. 
  
  9. Which is your favorite color train and why?
  
   My favorite train was whichever train I was driving! Although all of the trains were my favorite, Monorail Purple was and will always be my true favorite train for no other reason than purple is my favorite color. I was always a little happier at work when I saw Purple was my assigned train for the day. 
  
  and finally...
   
  10. Who is your favorite Disney character?
  
   Animated or human? Animated would be Stitch. He's mischievous, but is lovable and just wants to be accepted. Human would be Jack Sparrow because he's just awesome! He's not afraid of what other people think and he's free-spirited.

DisneyQuest: The End of an Error

DisneyQuest was fantastic. It was different. It was innovative. It was an error.

It saddens me that the concept is finally receiving the final nail in the coffin, but it also make me happy to see this longtime neglected attraction close. DisneyQuest is one of the last concepts to remain from the now defunct "Disney Regional Entertainment" department that once had ambitious plans including ESPN Zone and Club Disney establishments.

ESPN Zone note: There are only two locations left both located in California and neither is directly operated by the Walt Disney Company.

For more info about DisneyQuest click here!

The problem with DisneyQuest arose shortly after the chain opened. The business model was flawed leading to the quick abandonment of the American Express sponsored card charging locations throughout the facility. The "pay as you play" model looked like a great money making design, which eventually led to all inclusive play included in your general admission, but soon became problematic. 

Shortly after a few pre-planned updates the innovation of new and exciting offerings dwindled and future planned locations were cancelled. The last remaining location (Walt Disney World) was eventually used to "build value" into group plans and international tickets. It did not cost the company anything extra to add this attraction to new ticket sales and kept enough people coming through the doors to justify keeping it open.

The problem was Disney needed something new for Downtown Disney. Not just a new store and restaurant, but a new brand to keep competitive with Universal CityWalk and International Drive.

Disney Springs is going to breathe new life into the declining entertainment complex. 

How does DisneyQuest fit in? It doesn't. The real estate is worth more than what it was when the West Side opened so changes have to be made. For years it was rumored that it would be converted into an ESPN Zone. With ESPN Zone facing similar problems, this concept would never come to fruition. 

Will the NBA replacement be a slam dunk or a BRICK? 

Disney and the NBA must have something special for this to work. NBA City, locate at Universal Orlando CityWalk, announced its closure the same time the Disney location was announced. *Keep in mind these are two totally different concepts and the NBA City idea is not transferring over. NBA City did ok and am thinking its great location had more to do with its success than the theme.

Just throwing an NBA themed overlay to a building, making it a restaurant and offering interactive games no longer is lightning in a bottle. Playoffs and Finals are seasonal and do not appeal to all guests (or basketball fans as a matter of fact). 

Here are some ideas to make it work:

- Tap into the vast sports broadcasting power of ABC and ESPN to bring state of the art coverage of games and news to visitors.

- Dust off the old "Star of the Day" program from Disney-MGM Studios (yeah, I said it) and host meet and greets with NBA stars.

- Book groups and teams utilizing the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. (Sure there is an ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill but why not go for the upsell?)

What are your thoughts? Are you sad to see DisneyQuest go? Will the NBA replacement work? Will you go?


If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

Dis(ney) & Dat

Today’s Cast Blast is sort of a grab bag from our column on MiceChat.com. We are sent small bits of info and stories from time to time that do not warrant an entire entry, so we thought we would put some of those together for you. These are interesting or fun facts that you may not be aware of.

• - Guests used to try to “check in” at the All Star Café located at the then “Disney’s Wide World of Sports.” The signature themed restaurant was located not far from the All-Star Resorts and there was some obvious name confusion.

• - When working in marketing, another name we considered for “Downtown Disney” at Walt Disney World included “The Disney District.”

• -Marketing and sales Cast Members began efforts to promote “MYST Island” an entire year before it was decided not to move forward with the project.

• We used to take a shortcut, to “Pride Rock” (Disney’s Animal Kingdom Cast cafeteria,) by walking through a dirt field that was located behind “Pocahontas and her Forest Friends.” There was a small concrete slab and loop where some would park knowing that one day it would become Beastly Kingdom. *That area is now ground zero for Avatar.

• One day I was working in guest relations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and a guest claiming to be a professional photographer called to have a special safari set up for him so he could take pictures of the animals. He wanted a personal vehicle to drive him around the savannah as he wished to get whatever shots he wanted. The more we spoke to him the angrier he became, because we were not able to fulfill his request. Turned out he was not a professional photographer at all and just a regular guest who was trying to get special access. We would get quite a few requests from guests claiming to be “professional photographer” in order to get special treatment. Please do not try this…it does not work.

• On the Epcot monorail station located at the TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center), we adopted a wild crow and brought in bird seed for him to eat. Some called him Mr. Pee Pants. He would fly in and land on our hand, arm or shoulder. Little extra things like that really made it special.

• Prior to the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, all opening team Cast Members were involved with a pep rally that really made us all feel like one family. It took place in the then open-air “Theater in the Wild.” The overall theme was “up with people” and built the trust between various departments. There were a lot of unknowns with the park and it was a crucial event to make all the teams feel comfortable.

• One day I was driving home from work and I took an exit off of World Drive and had to come to a screeching stop. There was a minivan parked in the road with barely enough room to get around. I immediately thought something was wrong. Their hazard lights were on and I stopped and jumped out to see what I could do to help. A man rushed up to me and told me to be quiet. I looked and his wife was literally standing about six feet away from a four foot alligator that was in the retention pond in the middle of the exit loop. She was trying to take a picture and he wanted me to be quiet so I wouldn’t scare it away. I warned him that what they were doing was very dangerous, got in my car and drove away.

•  When the water cannon was originally installed at Splash Mountain, we would sometimes try to convince guests that we had the button that would shoot the water.
• At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, some guests would ask us if we had real dinosaurs. My friend would say “why do you think it took them so long to build the park?” Quite a few did think the dinosaurs were real.

Thank you for reading Cast Blast. We are currently working on stories dealing with Cast Members and celebrities. If you have any Cast Member stories involving celebrities please send them to DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com .

 

Kilimanjaro-o-whoa-whoa-whoa Baby!

I was working at Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safaris. I had been assigned to Pram Parking (stroller parking) for this part of my shift. At Kilimanjaro Safaris we would actually take strollers from guests while they were in line and park them in one of our two stroller lots.

On this occasion I was greeting guests and passing their strollers down the hill to my partner. As one family approached me I asked the dad for their stroller and he proceeded to push it right past me and down the hill (he was very excited to be reaching the attraction). As his stroller rolled down the hill and into the other ones already parked I calmly looked at him and informed him that he forgot to take his child out first!


 Be sure to check out EXCLUSIVE articles now available to read at www.MiceChat.com!

If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

DISNEY CAST BLAST ANNOUNCEMENT

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We are very excited to be part of the MiceAge family continuing to provide funny, interesting and insane articles of the day in the life of a Disney Cast Member.

Make sure to follow Disney Cast Blast on MiceChat.com as they will feature exclusive content not seen on the regular Disney Cast Blast blog.

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If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

Illuminations presented by Perkins

Submitted by: Anonymous

Photo by: The Disney Blog

I was a Cast Member at the House of Innoventions at Epcot. We were winding tours down for the night and a fellow tour guide and I were waiting to start the next tour. A big family came up and sat on the two benches to wait. There were about eight people in the group.

The youngest was a baby wearing nothing (not even shoes) but a nasty sagging diaper. In fact it looked like a pretty rough group that looked and smelled like they were there since before rope drop that morning. They took their shoes off and the smell was not pleasant in addition to the body odor.

They looked like they were about to pass out when the dad perked up and said "You know what we need to do?" as he looked at his watch. One of the teenage girls said "what daddy?"

At this point a I am thinking "We need to go see Illuminations" or "One last ride on Test Track" or "ride the big ball"......something.

He sits up on the bench and announces....."We need to go back to Perkins to get some of those banana pancakes again."

If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

Here Comes Peter Cott....nope

Submitted By: Disneyo Sapiens

Picture by: BwanaBlog

It was Easter Sunday at Disney's Animal Kingdom. At mid-afternoon we had a family come in very upset. From time to time wild native Floridian animals would make their way into some of the animal exhibits.

This particular incident involved meerkats. What some may or may not realize, meerkats are very territorial and pretty aggressive animals even for their size. The family explained that while they were watching the meerkats their kids noticed a rabbit in the exhibit. It did not take 60 seconds before the "lookout" meerkat saw the threat, gave the call and banded together for attack. They destroyed the rabbit.

The kids screamed and cried because they thought they had just witnessed the demise of the Easter bunny. I called and confirmed that a bunny did indeed expire in the meerkat exhibit that day.

If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

Well....it IS an animal park...

Submitted by: Disneyo Sapiens

Photo by: @JSpence

We were about to close the guest relations lobby at Animal Kingdom during the first few months after opening in 1998 when a very tired family walked in to get some information. There were three of us in the lobby. Two of us were cleaning and straightening while the third was helping the guests.

The mom and dad had a lot of questions about Disney transportation on how to get from here to there and also mapping out their transportation plans for the next day. It had been raining almost all day and they were hot, wet and as patient as someone who had been in a theme park all day could be. The kids were getting bored. They were nine or ten years old if I had to guess. 

The parents told the kids they could walk around the lobby while they spoke with us about the requested info. For those who may not know we had some pest problems around the park prior and during the first few months of operation. Everything from a huge wasp nest to rats to rabbits...we had it.

As the kids were on the floor playing they both stopped and tried to peek around the corner of the front door outside. It was dark outside and hard to see. I looked at the other guest relations host and pointed over to the kids to see what they were doing. The crept closer and closer to the front door. The parents were oblivious to what was going on. I asked the kids "What do you see out there?"

They both froze. A giant rat ran across the threshold across to the other side quickly followed by another rat running after it. The two kids looked at each other in shock and started backing up towards us. At that time a black snake shot across the entryway following the same paths of the rats.

The kids lost it. They ran up to their parents freaking out and the parents became annoyed dismissing them and their claims. They looked at us and said "uh these kids are tired. We need to get them fed and in bed." We looked at them and agreed and played it off as if we had no idea what had just happened. The kids were horrified to leave that lobby and the parents had no idea.

If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

May the Voban be With You....Always

Submitted by: TrixieDust

Who can forget that smell? Any Cast Member working in the parks is probably familiar with smelly stuff known as Voban.

When I worked at Star Tours we had it on hand cautiously watching as each cabin ended its cycle and guests began to exit. If the guests trickled out as normal we knew we were clear to load with no hassle. If they were running out as if they were being chased by a Bantha, we knew something was wrong. We would run to the cabin to verify that indeed someone puked.

The challenge was getting through the guests, verify the vomit and then communicate that to load. So many times people were loaded into the Star Speeder into a dirty cabin before we could stop them to clean up. Have to be quick on your feet in a galaxy far, far, away....

If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

You Mean I'm Gonna STAY This Size?

Submitted by: Dreamy&Figgy

Photo by: WDWINFO.COM

I was working at Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3D movie at Epcot. During one of the shows the theater went dark and we had to evacuate. There were a few kids and one lady in particular who was freaking out because she was still "shrunk."

She said she was not leaving until we fixed everything and "make her big" again. She could not see outside from the first exit doors the way they are positioned. We walked her to the exit and showed her the exit doors at the top of the ramp leading outside.

If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.

Birds of a Feather - PART II - All the Ducks are Robots

Submitted by: Photoboy

Photo by: Dad from "Dad's Guide to WDW"

 

I have many stories from my Disney Time and vacations. One I want to share today I was doing the College Program and I was apart of the Photopass crew at Magic Kingdom. On this day I had just been moved from the street over to the first aid station to take pictures from that angle of the castle and out guest. 

No one ever really see's the photographer in the spot. So I had tons of time to stare at the ducks over by Casey's Corner.

When from behind me a family comes up and Say's Hello Photoppass Card in hand. 

To which I had then replied out of nor where, " they look real don't they? "

the guest says " What "

Photopass: " The Ducks they look real don't they? "

Guest: " What do you mean? "

Photopass " You know Disney is doing lots of stuff with anamatronics!? "

Guest: " You mean to tell us all these ducks are robots?! "

Photopass: " Yep! "

Guest: " what about that one right there? and the one walking walking around?

Photopass: " Yep, and the one walking around it walks to censors in the ground. Do you see the one sitting under the tree? "

Guest: " Yeah "

Photopass: " It's going to shake it's head! "

Not 2 seconds after I had said that the duck shook it's head! My eyes were wide and huge at what just went on I was like Babe Ruth calling my shot! 

Guest: That's amazing!!! They look so real!

Photopass: I know huh! Well you guys have a great day!! 

 

 

If you are a current or ex-Disney Cast Member and have a story or experience to share, please e-mail us at DisneyCastBlast@gmail.com. All emails will be posted ANONYMOUSLY or by a nickname if you prefer.