Goodbye to Countdown to Extinction / Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom

It's over and now in the past. The original Countdown to Extinction at Disney's Animal Kingdom was ambitious in some ways and lazy in others. Stealing the exact same track layout as the great Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland was the lazy part but helped contain expenses in a park that was built way over budget. But from there on out, it was a pretty clever and unique take on the dinosaur world. 

Imagineer Joe Rhode and his team brought a great respectful vibe by housing the attraction in a museum, only to counterbalance it with adding much humor to the preshow. OK, sometimes it was cheesy. Very cheesy. I mean, Dr. Grant Seeker? 

In the early years of the new park, it was a thrill ride in a whole new vein from Universal's Jurassic Park. The difference was necessary if Disney was going to stand out from its main dinosaur competitor. It was dark, scary, and exhilarating! When they renamed the attraction to match a new movie, it was a bad move and the beginning of the end. Letting effects go missing, toning down the scare factor, and seeing maintenance become less and less, it was clear Disney suits were planning a change.

I'm very sad to see Disney give up on dinosaurs, but I'm excited for the transition of the land to Tropical Americas. The new Indiana Jones Adventure will surely be a great one, and an Encanto attraction - does it really fit either?- should be charming. It's a kid friendly dark ride this park needs so badly. The land should be beautiful and fit in well with what's in Africa and Asia and Discovery Island- something Chester and Hester's Dinorama never did accomplish.

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Tropical Hideaway Restaurant Coming to Disneyland

It's not the return of my beloved Tahitian Terrace, but the remains of Aladdin's Oasis will be transformed into the brand new Tropical Hideaway! The new "traders market" area is said to also involve "flavors" in addition to new sights and sounds. It's about time something takes over what was a waste of space and in a theme that didn't fit in with the surrounding area.

This could be a good second choice plan for Disneyland's very cramped Adventureland - if and only if- the stellar Polynesian restaurant never returns. Let's face it. It probably never will. This sounds a lot like an outdoor version of Walt Disney World's Skipper's Canteen over at the Magic Kingdom. Minus the evening show featuring the tropical dances of the islands and other musical entertainment. California does have great weather, so an evening meal on the patio along the rivers of the Jungle Cruise could be great.

Overall, I must say this sounds like a solid replacement for dining that the suits removed decades ago. Should some great Imagineers are involved, there's a chance this could even be pretty good. Add in some cool curios, good food, maybe some island drinks, and a great vibe- well, I could almost forgive the suits closing the Terrace. 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

More Than Just Frozen Ever After at Walt Disney World

Frozen Ever After opens soon in Epcot's World Showcase! Elsa, Anna, and friends make their splashy debut in Norway. But that's not all- there's more! 

Like so many of you, I have long resigned myself to the sad fact that Frozen is now taking over the Maelstrom attraction at Norway. Just to recap old ground, I'm not opposed to the film being turned into an attraction at Walt Disney World. It's just in the wrong park. And no, Maelstrom was not an Epcot Center "E Ticket" attraction of old (that designation would belong to Journey into Imagination, World of Motion, and Horizons). What was it? An old attraction that needed a refreshing, not a character infusion. Now that is all settled...

It's clear to this writer that Frozen Ever After just doesn't apply to the ride replacing Maelstrom. In fact, if you look for it, you can find it all over Walt Disney World!

It seems temporary attractions and changes really aren't, broken effects stay that way, and it's now all about guest manipulation versus guest satisfaction and providing the best experience for the travel dollar. Each park suffers from the malady of Frozen Ever After:

The Magic Kingdom- Where to start? Tomorrowland's Carousel of Progress. Stitch should be ditched. No love from Disney suits, but The Hall of Presidents will be getting a forced upgrade due to the Presidential Election. (And both choices are awful!) Adventureland is a disjointed mess, but at least the New Fantasyland feels somewhat fresh from what I can tell. 

Animal Kingdom- This park has probably made the most strides going forward in light of the coming Avatar / Pandora addition. Yet, Dinorama remains a blight on the landscape, Kali River Rapids continues at best to be a waste of an attraction, and the Yeti on Expedition: Everest sadly continues to trip the light fantastic. 

Disney's Hollywood Studios- Aerosmith needs to be booted out of Rock 'N' Rollercoaster. In spite of the still great songs like Walk This Way, Imagineering needs to bring the attraction into the New Century. Over at the Great Movie Ride, new scenes and updated film choices need to be added, but the dancing girls of the opening scenes are still Frozen Ever After. Fantasmic! needs a serious retooling, and in an odd twist of fate, the one attraction that doesn't need an overhaul seems to be in line to get one: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror as it converts into a Guardians of the Galaxy mess. In reality, the whole park is a disaster. You can't give the guests meet and greets and new dining locations to make up for shuttered attractions and construction walls.

Epcot-  My how the once mighty have fallen!  Circle of Life is in the state of rigor mortis, Figment's personality and face lift need an overhaul, but then so does Ellen at Universe of Energy and Martin Short in the Canada film! Ellen looks particularly stuck in the 90's.

That's just Future World! Things are equally bad over at the World Showcase half of the park. Isn't it time for a whole new country to be added to the place? Or at least brand new films for the countries represented? Or even brand new attractions instead of just milking the guests with new places to wine and dine? 

Yes, Walt Disney World is Frozen Ever After- and not in a good way.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Ugly Concept Art from the Parks

Let's be honest here. I love great Imagineering concept art for the Disney parks as much as the next guy, but it's become all too common for the suits to rush through quick and dirty projects into being- and the resulting concept art can be just as ugly.

Animal Kingdom's striking blemish of a land, Dinorama, comes to mind. (I don't care how Joe Rohde tries to convince us its such a good design fit for an otherwise gorgeous park.) So does just about anything from California Adventure at opening. (Even that art for Twilight Zone Tower of Terror shows a kid facing the camera that looks like he's cursing it or saying "What the Heck is this?") The winner in ugly art, however, has to be Walt Disney Studios Paris. Hands down the ugliest of all Disney branded parks past or present. It is very telling that you don't see this kind of crap at Tokyo Disney Sea.

The concept piece above shows off the billboard like entrances for attractions passing themselves off for good design. Imagine paying full price for a park that looks like this. Yet, we do. 

I am so thankful that Universal Orlando upped the stakes by adding Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Otherwise, we'd still be getting garbage like this stateside.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)