At the close of another decade, was Disney CEO Robert Iger and his board good for the development of the Disney theme parks during that time? Were the last ten years filled with memorable, iconic attractions, lots of clones, or were the parks let to stagnate because it was more important to purchase the rights to iconic intellectual properties? The answer may be surprising. Going park by park, let's take a look at what was added to the parks and rank some of the newest attractions.
Excluded from the list and the ratings are attractions that first debuted at another park (The Little Mermaid), a light redressing transformation of one park attraction into another (such as California Adventure's Orange Stinger into Silly Symphony Swings), scene additions to films (Wonders of China changing its name to Reflections of China), pay to play additions (Savi's Workshop), traditional Disney character meet and greets, parades, theater shows, and scavenger hunt games. It most certainly doesn't include the Company's focus on trendy merchandise and limited edition snacks nor does it include park maintenance and upkeep. Using the classic "A" through "E" Ticket designations, here are the decade's scores both for each park and the individual attractions that opened during that time.
A special thank you to the Touring Plans site for the chronological list of attractions when my memory failed me.
Character interactions? Sure, but put attractions first.
It's really not a surprise that Walt Disney's baby has mostly been left to exist on nostalgia and good will for the last decade. Until the debut of the Star Tours like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ("D") in May of this year, the last attraction of any significance was Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in 2007. Prior to that? Indiana Jones Adventure in 1995!
This past decade, the park has existed on meet and greets (everyone from the Frozen sisters to Marvel and Star Wars characters), parades (Mickey's Soundsational Parade), and nighttime shows. Sure, they did have money to spend if they wanted, and they did, but it was invested next door in Disney California Adventure. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is a strong addition, but it does not make up for a decade of neglect to the original Magic Kingdom. Hopefully, Rise of the Resistance will open a new decade of significant artistic and financially successful growth.
What were they thinking?
In mid-October of 2007, Robert Iger announced a significant investment into the dismal, laughing stock of the industry theme park with this stunningly honest assessment, "Any time you do something mediocre with your brand, that's a withdrawal. California Adventure was a brand withdrawal." Changes came early in the decade. World of Color ("A") opened to great reviews in 2010. The Little Mermaid ("D") and Buena Vista Street (if it were an attraction itself, I'd give it an "E") arrived in 2011, but the best was yet to come. The magnificent Cars Land and it's centerpiece Radiator Springs Racers ("A") came in 2012 and with it the crowds Disney wanted from the opening of the park.
From that point forward, however, it's been a mixed bag of success and failure. Guardians of the Galaxy- Mission: BREAKOUT! ("E") earned it's mixed reception. Fans of the newly focused park decried losing it's in-theme Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and expressed concern this would be the beginning of California Adventure becoming a catch-all park. They were right. Although there transformation of Condor Flats into Grizzly Peak was a good move and very well done, Pixar Pier is not just a step backward but a fall down the ladder.
Let's take a look at The Walt Disney World parks and see if they fared any better this past decade.
It's sweet but should have been so much more.
Much like Disneyland, this park remained focused on drawing from loyal commitment from its glory days. Facing stiff competition from Universal Orlando and its striking creative and financial success with Harry Potter, Disney suits allowed the Imagineers some breathing room as they created a brand New Fantasyland, rebutting at the end of 2012. Enchanted Tales with Belle ("C") and the Little Mermaid Ride were pleasant additions, placeholders until the arrival of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ("D") in 2014. The expansion should have been much more than it is. When guests talk most about a themed restaurant, you know the mark was missed.
The previous decade gave visitors a Stitch inspired replacement for Alien Encounter, an Aladdin spinner in Adventureland, and two new theater presentations, Mickey's Philharmagic and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. All very telling. Two decades in a row of minimal investment into Florida's beloved and flagship Disney park. You've got to go back to Splash Mountain in 1992 to see something of substance.
The original EPCOT Center was incredible.
I guess it is time to let it go.
Frozen Ever After ("D") replaced Norway's Maelstrom in 2016. All else amounted to changes in live entertainment and more character greetings. Mission Space came in 2005 and Soarin' before that in 2003. That's a decade and a half of limited investment into what was once the most unique and compelling theme park Disney Imagineers ever designed! I could go on seemingly forever with how I feel about that (and I guess I did here after my September trip), but I won't in this article. It's Spaceship Earth, The American Adventure, Soarin' and Test Track that keep this park rated as high as it is.
Kylo Ren saves the day at the Studios?!?
As troubling the lack of care I see in Epcot, things are just as bad at the Studios. But this has always been a park that has suffered from a lack of clear vision and ongoing care and investment. Before looking at the decade, let's look backward to the one before it. Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show screamed into the park in 2003 and a cloned Toy Story Mania came two years later. Earlier than that, you have to go back to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster in 1999 and the iconic Tower in 1994 for anything worth writing home about.
As for this last ten years, replacing one very minor attraction for another (The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow) was the order of the day until Toy Story Land came into being at the end of the decade. Slinky Dog Dash ("D") should have been a highly themed "E" Ticket but instead is a very fun, lightly themed thrill ride. Alien Swirling Saucers ("B") adds to the fun but is a carnival ride pure and simple.
The simple Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy ("B") is pure filler, a peacemaker for kids too small to ride the neighboring thrill rides. The only reason the Studios rates higher than Epcot is due to last Summer's opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and its headliner attractions. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run came first but Rise of the Resistance ("E") is the one every guest really wanted. With the original and still greatest Twilight Zone Tower of Terror there and Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway coming soon, the attraction line up will remain much too light but still enjoyable- if you can get reservations for the headliners.
An unbelievable journey.
If you are spotting a trend with the Florida parks, it will continue when you look at the statistics for Animal Kingdom. Looking beyond 2006 and the opening of Expedition: Everest, it's easy to see this park as well as the other three were largely ignored in favor of foreign investments until - thankfully- Harry Potter rightfully earned a full day away from Central Florida vacationers. Competition is a good thing! For better or worse, Rivers of Light came in during the decade.
But it was the Memorial Day weekend opening of Avatar / Pandora in 2017 that finally brought something new and incredible to this beautiful but undernourished park. Flight of Passage ("E") is my current favorite attraction on the property. It's exhilarating! The smaller Na'vi River Journey ("D") is lacking, but it is a beautiful if peaceful water excursion. In our family, the park is still not worth the price of a one day ticket or a full day. I may be the lone exception to this view. What will the next decade hold?
Did Disney's overseas parks do any better? Depends where you're looking... (A note about the Tokyo Disney Resort: It is owned by the Oriental Land Company and not Disney, but I included its here for a bit of fun. The Chinese parks are a partnership between Disney and the Chinese government. Disneyland Paris is now fully owned by the Company.)
No rescuing needed at this park!
This one surprised me. Very much! Seems as if Oriental Land Company is now looking to the American parks for direction. Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek opened in 2009, so it is ineligible. (And Pooh's Hunny Hunt opened to widespread acclaim in 2000.) Beyond the park's immaculate upkeep, there were changes to classic attractions. The Jungle Cruise found an evening focused upgrade, but not much else came into play during these years. Guess what did open? The simple Stitch Encounter ("C") theater show in 2015. Even though I have not seen this for myself- and this is true for all the Asian parks- it certainly cannot be something more than another version of Turtle Talk with Crush. Lots of fun, but nothing extraordinary. The park will certainly benefit from next year's opening of the sure to be exquisite Beauty and the Beast attraction.
This park sets the standard for Imagineering in Asia.
Although Toy Story Mania is extremely popular, it is a clone of the California Adventure original and therefore also not considered. 2017's Nemo and Friends SeaRider, a reworking of the opening day Stormrider, also is ineligible, and neither is the Japanese version of Soarin' which opened this year. These are solid additions to filling out an already strong attraction roster. Much like the Beauty and the Beast additions to its next door neighbors, this park will also benefit by the Fantasy Springs addition, bringing Frozen, Peter Pan, and Tangled to life.
In Japan, seems the focus was in strengthening the brand by keeping parades and shows fresh and by building new building additional hotels to create a more fully realized resort for the crowds sure to come in the following decade. How did the Chinese parks fare? Let's look at Paris first.
The castle gallery in Paris.
1995. Let me say it again. 1995. The most beautiful of Magic Kingdoms has been without a major new attraction since that year when Space Mountain debuted. Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast replaced Le Visionarium in 2006. The park touted parades and shows, seasonal events, and a refreshed Star Tours.
In a shrewd and potentially unethical but highly profitable decision, the Walt Disney Company allowed this park to struggle and age for decades- until they could buy out the rest of the shares for reduced prices in 2017 and own it all. Once that happened, seemingly every part of the park was refurbished or enhanced, including a brand new take on Phantom Manor. Maintenance and upkeep should be a standard part of the Disney park experience, nothing worthy of praise. Will they begin the new decade with a long deserved "E" Ticket to the first park? It's long overdue.
A Parisian original Headed to Epcot in 2020.
Much like the Disneyland and California Adventure comparison, this second French park received the money for new attractions. The big budget Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy ("E") and the surrounding area opened in 2014. Cheaper filler attractions are found in Toy Story Playland from 2018. An exact line up of what was built in Hong Kong years earlier. What was prior? Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular came 16 years earlier. Very big expansion plans have been recently announced, but otherwise, the park remains a poorer stepchild to the masterpiece next door.
From looking at the facts so far, it seems as if the parks were not a priority for The Walt Disney Company for the last decade unless they were threatened by competition or significantly decreasing attendance. Back to the Chinese parks...
So much more than another version of the Haunted Mansion.
Entering the new decade, the park celebrated its fifth anniversary, but the future of the park was at risk. Government officials and visitors seemed to instinctively know that Disney once again delivered an inferior product, another "brand withdrawal". It's a Small World opened in 2008, but it did not deliver an uptick in attendance. The park relied on special events to draw crowd that continued to decline. In the midst of a cultural clash and an ongoing heavy competition with the mainland, Hong Kong officials insisted Disney step up their game and invest heavily into the park to ensure its success. So they did.
A proposed package of additions was approved, all funded by Disney. These were strategically designed to give the park its own identity in order to compete with the coming Shanghai Disneyland. The easily built Toy Story Land opened at the end of 2011 with a roster of attractions that would later open in Paris: RC Racer ("B"), Slinky Dog Spin ("B"), and Toy Soldier Parachute Drop ("B"). A little more than half a year later, Grizzly Gulch would open with its premier attraction, Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ("E"). Think Expedition: Everest meets Big Thunder Mountain Railway. A very solid line up was definitely coming into play, but the finest attraction of the bunch would come next: Mystic Manor ("E") in 2013. Fairytale Forest, simple gardens with a Disney touch, came in 2015.
Without the legal restrictions imposed in the States, Hong Kong Disneyland was actually the first Disney park to bring in Marvel attractions. The Iron Man Exerience ("E") joined the roster in 2017, with a reworking of the old Buzz Lightyear system, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! opening two years later. Although bid additions are coming in the new decade, the one we are finishing shows Hong Kong Disneyland is serious about earning its place among Disney theme parks.
Photo by Mark Willard on the Disney Parks Blog.
The youngest in the Disney park family opened in 2016 to mostly very mixed reviews. Where it is good, it is spectacular! Where it's bad, it is very bad, revealing lots of filler to be found in the park, particularly in Fantasyland, the weakest of all the park's lands and the least inspired version of the land in any castle park. Standouts worth mentioning- meaning not duplicates of earlier developed attractions- include the award winning Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure ("E") and the original version of the much anticipated TRON Lightcycle Power Run ("E") that is coming to Florida's Magic Kingdom.
There are more attractions to be found. Other park originals include Voyage to the Crystal Grotto ("C"), and Camp Discovery's Challenge Trails ("D"). A more recent addition in 2018 is yet another Toy Story mini-land, whose only unique attraction is a reworked spinner. Next decade's Zootopia land will inspire and bring in another "E" Ticket attraction. "Authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese" indeed.
What's the final scorecard?
What did we discover by looking back at the last decade and Disney's investment into its parks? The facts speak for themselves.
In the last ten years, the Chinese parks were the ones with the most significant investment in major new attractions. The Tokyo Disney Resort is still stellar and will continue to be so for decades to come. Things will change in Paris, Orlando, and California with continued investment in new attractions in each park, making next decade's ranking something that should look very different.
Regardless of the rankings and ratings, one fact rings true: No secondary theme park can hold the emotional legacy of a Magic Kingdom. When families remember their trips together, these are the places that first come to mind. Walt Disney was a genius.
(Images copyright The Waly Disney Company.)
There are more attractions to be found. Other park originals include Voyage to the Crystal Grotto ("C"), and Camp Discovery's Challenge Trails ("D"). A more recent addition in 2018 is yet another Toy Story mini-land, whose only unique attraction is a reworked spinner. Next decade's Zootopia land will inspire and bring in another "E" Ticket attraction. "Authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese" indeed.
Marvel is the next decade invasion.
Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland - "E"
California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios - "D"
Animal Kingdom - "C"
Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Tokyo Disneysea and Walt Disney Studios Paris - "B"
Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris - "A"
What did we discover by looking back at the last decade and Disney's investment into its parks? The facts speak for themselves.
In the last ten years, the Chinese parks were the ones with the most significant investment in major new attractions. The Tokyo Disney Resort is still stellar and will continue to be so for decades to come. Things will change in Paris, Orlando, and California with continued investment in new attractions in each park, making next decade's ranking something that should look very different.
Regardless of the rankings and ratings, one fact rings true: No secondary theme park can hold the emotional legacy of a Magic Kingdom. When families remember their trips together, these are the places that first come to mind. Walt Disney was a genius.
(Images copyright The Waly Disney Company.)
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