Disney's Imagineers and DisneySea Revealed shows on Travel Channel tonight

[wdwguide]

At 9 pm EST tonight (at least where I live), these two brand-new Disney documentaries will debut on the Travel Channel, which should be very interesting!

 

[toefungus]

I can't wait until they're on. Tommrow night at 9pm they're having Animal Kingdom too!

 

[Mr D]

DCA will never be seen in the same way as TDS, also was the section of the Mira Costa, would Eisner have ever greenlighted such opulance at WDW?
However the part about the "subs" shed no light that they are NOT underwater, so far as I am watching this right now I am definately making plans to go there instead of WDW.
Would be a nice change to see guests in formal clothes instead of tank tops and t-shirts.

 

[wdw4us2]

TDS - Spectacular!

It's amazing to be reminded what can be achieved when the bottom line isn't saving $$.

Does anyone think Ei$ner will ever learn that principle?

Lisa

 

[Another Voice]

DisneySea - what happens when a company treats its customers like guests.

California Adventure - what happens when a company treats its customers like disposible wallets.

I wonder which theme park will still be around to celebrate a 10th anniversary?

 

[toefungus]

I thought that the Imagineers show was very well done. It was amazing to see some of the ride systems they've come up with, especially tot's. By the way they were talking about Mission:Space, I'm really getting excited about this!

 

[hopemax]

So anyone know what the plan is for the huge walking audio-animatronic that they showed at the end? The show mentioned something about running dinosaurs, but is this something that could show up in the US parks, or is this something that OLC is footing the bill for?

 

[manning]

what happened? Did Walt Disney get reincarnated as the Oriental Land Company?

 

[PKS44]

Other thoughts while watching both shows-

It's great to see Disney parks on TV--why is this only seen on the Travel Channel? Why has Disney channel distanced itself from the parks? Or remember the network specials when Epcot opened or the MK opening...I think that one had Dick Van ****(this website forum is automatically censoring the guy's name--it will not let me spell the man's name-unless I do it this way-Vandyke-pretty ridiculous) and Mac Davis sang a nice song about Marceline-Walt's home town...those shows made you really interested and excited about going to the parks.

Why does EVERY show on the Travel Channel have that annoying kinetic editing where the camera is either always moving, or any steady shot is never shown for more than 3 seconds...really annoying and consistently seen in almost all their shows like this-even with that annoying editing though TDS looks spectacular...but I must confess that seeing people wait in line for 2 hours for steamed sausage rolls convinces me that Disney speaks the truth when they say the Japanese market cannot be compared to the US...I see no way that would happen here.

Paul

 

[Mooobooks]

I can't tell you how annoyed I am: I have stinking DIGITAL service from Comcast and 200 channels, pay $60 a month, and they don't offer The Travel Channel.
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

 

[hopemax]

but I must confess that seeing people wait in line for 2 hours for steamed sausage rolls convinces me that Disney speaks the truth when they say the Japanese market cannot be compared to the US...I see no way that would happen here.

Really? Why don't you visit the collecting board and see how many people are willing to stand 4+ hours in lines for the opportunity to purchase pins. During one pin promotion at DL, they started lining up at 5 PM the day BEFORE. Americans are just as willing to stand in line for something they want as the Japanese.

 

[PKS44]

hopemax-

I see your point, but I think there is a difference...those "limited edition" collectible lines are for something that could last for ever and may even appreciate in value... and are not offered every day...on the other hand, cerainly we have seen with the NY Soup Nazi, the popcorn place in Chicago, the Krispy Kreme craze, people will line up for food in the US...but not for 2 hours...and can you tell me where people in a US theme park will pay for admission-- then spend 2 hours in line for "fast-food" sold everyday from a cart? Food that, well, in a very short time won't be worth ****, it will just be ****? While I marvel at both groups passion for what they want and personally could not see myself waiting for either pins or gyoza, I still don't see US theme park goers ever acting like that over everyday food...

Paul

 

[Lesley]

Those giant gyoza looked good! But you have to have eaten gyoza to even know what to expect. Don't know if I'd be willing to stand in line that long for them though.....I can get a pack of frozen ones at Trader Joes.

Ah, I really want to go to Japan.....and I think it would be best if we all learned some Japanese!

One interesting note....my 7yo ds didn't get a very good impression of TDS from the show. He said it looked like all shows and no rides! They were kind of light on showing the rides, weren't they?

My dh was quite impressed by the Mira Costa. He thinks we may actually see something like TDS in the US someday....he has high hopes for the post-Eisner era. I think we'll just be making travel to Japan a priority.

 

[hopemax]

and can you tell me where people in a US theme park will pay for admission-- then spend 2 hours in line for "fast-food" sold everyday from a cart?

I really don't think it's as far out of the realm of possibility as you do. Last June (and last year was a slooow June), I was in MK waiting for Spectromagic and I wanted popcorn. We had a spot in Liberty Square, and so I went to the cart that was parked near the intersection of Frontierland and Liberty Square. I waited 45 minutes for my popcorn (I was on day 3 of playing "tour guide" to 12 family members who hadn't been to Disney before, so I really needed a break ) If there was only one popcorn wagon in the entire park, I can easily see 2 hour lines forming. Same thing if there was only one Churro cart in Disneyland.

 

[EUROPA]

Both were great shows..It got my wife and I excited again (like we needed any help) for our trip in Nov.

If you ever been to WDW-MK on Christmas, Thanksgiving, July 4th then you will see people line up for 2 hours for just about anything. Seems that TDS has those kinds of crowds on a regular basis.

 

[Captain Crook]

My kids both went to bed after 3/4 of the TDS show. We all watched the imagineering show and liked it. We have all watched the Paris DL show at loved it & while I saw some great things at TDS, it failed to make my kids or wife thrilled...My nine year old, in fact said "I'd rather go to Paris".

I'm with Paul on the lines. Certainly folks in America will wait for some things but fast food? I don't think so & I think the screams would be huge if this hapened day in, day out and Disney chose NOT to open another window as the Japanese have done. No, I believe the Japanese are very different consumers.

Other comments: Mr. D, if you expect 'dress up' in 95 degrees & 90 % humidity I think you've been in the frozen north too long...

The Casa Mira looks REAL nice. This sure looks like it beats the heck out of Univesal's lame Portinfino area...But a mile long corridor???

Voice, I saw a LOT of spinners. Is that acceptable in Japan? Oh, I know the water boats controlled by laser is cool technology but its still just a kiddie ride. Two tiered Carousel...Way cool, but still...Just a carousel. I'm sure I saw Jumpin' Jellyfish!

I will say that Disney in NO WAY could have replicated somehing like this at DL. DCA doesn't have enough room. That is no excuse for what they did wrong at DCA but still the TDS vs DCA argument is on pretty shaky ground.

The Travel Channel: It's great to see Disney opening up to other sources. They don't need this stuff on the Disney Channel because most DC watchers are already in the Disney family. Further, it seemed quite obvious that opposite of Mr. Voices' view, Disney must be quite pleased and proud of the work that has been done at TDS to have allowed such a report to go forward.

TDS...Looks very good to me. But innovative? Not a chance. Just a modern day, no expenses spared, quality theme park. Would Walt have bult it? No way. Been ther done that. Walt would have been far more likely to have built AK or Discovery Cove (with more innovation than was given to either)...

 

[Mooobooks]

Hope: there IS only one churro cart in the Magic Kindom in Disney World! I have never seen a line, and I am usually the only one there when I have one (as I must) each day.

 

[airlarry!]

Mon Capitaine:

We are somewhat in agreement here. I'm talking about your comment that Walt wouldn't have built TDS.

My thought, and it may be semantics, is that there are two answers to this question, or rather two questions to this answer.

Walt wouldn't have built TDS (unless he had to for financial reasons -- ie building MK to improve upon the surrounding area's problems around DL or funding his Epcotopia) just for the sake of building a nautical Disneyland, correct.

But what if you phrased the question this way (and more pertinent to the discussion of Ei$ner's Disney v Walt's Disney):

If Walt were to greenlight a second park at Tokyo Disney Resort in the same mold as Disneyland, or let's say as a sequel to Disneyland, what would he have built? Without chipping at his brain...err...picking his brain, we'll never know, but I would submit that Tokyo Disney Seas is as close as we could get to what a second park should look like.

I guess the question is simple and could be applied to everything the present company does:

Walt hated sequels, but if he had to make one, would he make ___________________? Insert Tokyo Disney Seas or Tarzan & Jane and the philosophy should answer the question for you.

BTW: I've never been, but family has visited Disney Paris and they fell in love with the 'newer' version of Main Street. Their only problem with it is either the European disregard for queues or inadequate queue design in the park.

 

[Another Voice]

Hey – one culture has people that will wait in line for two hours for a sausage bun; the other has people that will wait in line for a month to see a sci-fi movie sequel.

First, let me shock our good Captain by agreeing with him. I don’t think DisneySea is truly innovative – just an extremely well done example of the best that Disney theme parks can offer. No, it isn’t innovative as Discovery Cove or even as the original DisneySea-Port Disney would have been. Still, it’s really nice to see someone attempt and achieve quality even if it is “only” an incremental improvement. It's a vast difference from California Adventure's "what's the least we can get away with" design plan.

There was never any thought about building DisneySea in Disneyland’s parking lot. As it was said to me – “putting DisneySea in the middle of landlock suburbia is as stupid as building a California themed park and putting it in California”. When Eisner killed Port Disney, he also killed any hope of seeing DisneySea. Of course a lot of what’s in DisneySea was supposed have shown up in other places – the American Waterfront is very similar to the original (and superior) version of Main Street for Euro Disney, the Little Mermaid Lagoon was supposed to go into the empty submarine pits in Orlando and Anaheim and ‘Center of the Earth’ would have gone in either Fantasyland or Adventure out in the Magic Kingdom. Even the Mira Costa hotel was originally designed for the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon (between the TTC and the Contemporary).

No doubt that had any of those items had been built as intended, our good Captain would have been praising them as the greatest achievements of all time. It’s not a matter of Japan getting better designs, it a matter that the Japanese management treats their customers better. Entertainment doesn't work like other industries. When you make soap you have to worry about margins and brand image. In entertainment, you have to "wow" people. Build something that people want to see and they will beat down the doors to give you their money. That's what Walt found out in 1955 and the Oriental Land Company found out in 2002. Eisner, without an understanding of what it really takes to create entertainment, learned what happens when you do not give the audience what they want first at Animal Kingdom and then DCA. Sadly, it appears he'll never really understand and it's time he goes to spend some family time in the Hamptons.

And yes, Captain, there are some spinners at DisneySea. And if Dino-Rama looked one-tenth as well as The Little Mermaid Lagoon I’m sure there’d be much less complaining. Again, it’s not the ride mechanism that matters as much as the story. Somehow a giant two story carousel filled with creatures from 1001 Arabian Nights set in a tiled and golden temple says a lot more than a half-sized merry-go-round wedged underneath a steel roller coaster. As they said in the Imgineer show - story, story, story, story, story, story, story, story.

Did anyone catch the fiber optic model of the castle in the background of the interviews during the Imagineers’ show? The one with all the flickering lights putting on a tremendous show? If you’re really interested in knowing what it’s for – Tokyo Disneyland has an anniversary coming up. The same show for Orlando has been cancelled.

 

[YoHo]

Americans wouldn't spend two hours in line for Fast Food?!?!?

Do you people actually live in this country? Have you been to a Krispy Kreme. (especially one north or West.)

2 hours isn't all that bad a wait. You have a line of the door and people ordering 4 or 5 dozen doughnuts.
There is a Krispy Kreme in San Jose/Santa Clara area of California. Reasonably Close to Intel's corporate Headquarters. Intel has 4 private Jets a day from San Jose up to Hillsboro Oregon. Oregon has no Krispy Kreme. At least 4 dozen doughnuts are moved north on each of those flights.

And AV, one month? Where were you? People lined up for Star Wars Ep2 starting in January That's 5 months.

No, Americans would never act like those kooky Japanese.