In the Theme Park side of the Disney company, creativity has been at somewhat of a shortage. Following the late 80’s and into the early 90’s, Disney had gotten really cheap regarding new projects and new attractions. While this continues to persist today, one can easily see an era of Disney in which they would consistently retheme attractions to fit the “modern” audience rather than replace them with completely new experiences. Often, these are the laziest projects to come from Disney, lacking individuality and wearing the dependence on making a cheap buck on its sleeve.
Recently however, Disney has diversified their project base, with multi-million dollar expansions being announced side by side with cheap overlays attempting to cash into a popular property. We can analyze these mistakes to find a trend in lazy development, one that the Disney company is no stranger to.
No company has a perfect track record, and learning from prior mistakes can promote a proficient future, rather than retreading disappointing ground.
10.) Countdown to Extinction to Dinosaur — Disney’s Animal Kingdom
One of the key attractions at Animal Kingdom on opening day was Countdown to Extinction, a thrilling dark ride that used a ride vehicle similar to that of Indiana Jones in Disneyland, blending animatronic based dark rides with thrilling, fast, and eventful experiences.
While popular, Disney saw an easy way to blend the then-recent film Dinosaur with the already existing CTE, resulting in a pointless but cheap overlay of an already simplistic attraction.
Now, there’s a reason why this is the lowest on the list, the overlay did nearly nothing. What it did add was some absolutely dreadful CGI at the end of the attraction, better narration, and a different statue in the front.
Personally, it’s not a bad overlay really. The fact that Disney shoehorned a really bad film into this attraction is bad in and of itself, with the statue in the front looking absolutely disgraceful, however the attraction doesn’t really suffer because of it. Not necessarily bad, rather, it’s more a disappointing change.
9.) Endor Vendors to Tatooine Traders — Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Star Tours opened in Disneyland in 1987 to major acclaim. A simulator attraction based on such a famous franchise was destined to be a success, leading Disney to bring it to other theme parks.
In Hollywood Studios, Disney capitalized on the Star Wars license by developing an entire themed area based on the forest moon of Endor, complete with an empire base and a giant AT-AT, becoming a key aspect in Hollywood Studios itself.
That is, until the 1990’s, when George Lucas’s 4th child, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, was ready to be released, amassing popularity that was unheard of. To commemorate this release, WDI rethemed Endor Vendors into Tatooine Traders, the same gift shop with a new theme to it. Inconsequential, but the theming doesn’t blend in the slightest.
First, what used to be a themed area to Endor became a forested area with a desert building somehow propped up next to it. From Forest to Desert to Muppet Plaza, this was the first example of poor theming at what was then MGM Studios. In addition, it serves as a reminder of the hype behind one of the worst movies in the Star Wars franchise (the worst being 2).
Yes this gift shop retheme was absolutely pointless, but in a way, that’s the reason why it’s so bad.
8.) Pizza Planet to Pizzerizzo — Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Pizza Planet was a mistake.
The food was dreadful, the prices were bonkers, it was constantly packed and louder than anything you could imagine, it was a serious mess.
But the charm of the establishment was there, when it first opened. Arcade games that were actual games rather than claw machines lined the walls, offering a similar experience to that of Starcade at Disneyland (Rest in Peace). Toy Story music and statues reminded people like me of our childhoods, as Toy Story was a tremendous part of my upbringing.
Another large part of my childhood was the Muppets, an obsession I held for my developing years and onward. So when I heard that a Muppet themed restaurant would replace Pizza Planet, I was beyond ecstatic. As the news released, describing that the quality of the pizza would remain the same, my hope faltered. Opening to dismal reviews (aside from the beer they served), many gave up on the idea.
On my trip to Walt Disney World this June, I experienced Pizzerizzo for myself, realizing that it was in fact awful, and somewhat worse than Pizza Planet.
The design was a lot less interesting, less unique, and everything tasted absolutely awful. When the restaurant had arcade games, at least then you could understand why the food wasn’t up to par, but the fact that there are so many seating rooms (that often go unpopulated) defines the establishment as a restaurant over a “fun spot.”
Pizzerizzo is the epitome of poor dining at a theme park, which, Disney seemingly can’t escape from, even with the chances to improve being handed to them on a silver platter.
7.) Country Bear Jamboree to Country Bear Vacation Hoedown — Various Resorts
Getting this out of the way now, I’m not really a fan of Country Bear Jamboree.
Sure, it’s a classic attraction, but it’s not really that interesting. What served as an example of advanced animatronics at the time now stands as a classic in the same way that It’s a Small World is. If that attraction had released now, the music would immediately annoy everybody, and it wouldn’t be too impressive. However, it’s become a classic attraction in the minds of many, making it a key experience at the Disney Parks.
The same can be said of the original Country Bears show. Sure it’s a bit cringey, but audiences can see how it stood as a classic attraction at Walt Disney World that, at the time, held a charm in tune with that of WDI.
To capitalize on the popularity of the show, Disney pushed for another show to replace the one at Magic Kingdom, as well as one to be put in Disneyland at the same time. This led to the creation of Country Bear Vacation Hoedown, a sequel of sorts that opened in the current location of Winnie the Pooh in Disneyland.
Where the original is a classic, the fact that this one is represented less in popular culture cements it as more of a cheesy replacement, not on the same level of the original.
Truly there’s not much to say, the show follows the same “variety show” style of the original without the charm of the time. It’s been removed in Disneyland, and returned to the original in WDW, with the only park currently showing this being Tokyo Disneyland.
6.) Tomorrowland Peoplemover to Rocket Rods — Disneyland
Something that is extremely important to Tomorrowland in all of the Disney Parks is Kinetic Energy. Seeing objects moving across the area shows evidence of a progressive and technologically impressive future. Vehicles floating above you with bright lights and fantastic music are key parts of Tomorrowland, making the removal of the Peoplemover in Disneyland a real shame.
Opening in 1967, the Peoplemover at Disneyland ran across the top of a compact Tomorrowland. It looked a lot older than the one that opened in Walt Disney World years after, but was basically the same exact attraction.
In 1998, Michael Eisner was interested with a new concept of New Tomorrowland, a change that would implement new attractions in Tomorrowland related to more futuristic and thrilling experiences. That, and multiple accidents (one resulting in death) led to the closure of the Peoplemover.
What followed was an attraction called Rocket Rods. Truly, it was only a faster version of the Peoplemover and nothing more. Short bursts of speed were matched with areas in which cars would slow to a crawl. Basically, the track had too many curves and turns with the cars unable to hit high speeds in such spots. Large straight-aways of speed would end in slow crawls across jarring turns.
Low capacity with long lines and a disappointing attraction eventually led to this attraction’s demise, resulting in the closure 2 months after opening. The track still remains, empty and crowding walkways.
Replacing the Peoplemover with Rocket Rods was a pointless decision itself, but Rocket Rods allowed for the track to go without use. If Rocket Rods had never happened, we would still have the kinetic energy that the Peoplemover had provided.
Rocket Rods took two itself and the Peoplemover down with it, making a cheap retheme a harbinger of negative consequences.
5.) Space Mountain to Hyperspace Mountain — Disneyland and Disneyland Paris
Now, I love Star Wars as much as the next guy, but seriously?
Look, a Star Wars coaster sounds pretty awesome I understand that, but as precedent for what is to come, this should be a little scary.
Taking Disneyland in California, the closure of Space Mountain for a Star Wars overlay was already an odd choice. See, Space Mountain is such an iconic ride to so many people that closing it for a pretty lengthy period of time, just to replace it without an end date was really odd. There was no confirmation that it was a limited time offer, seemingly it would continue forever.
This begs the question, “is nothing sacred?” Which, is a fair question to ask. Space Mountain has been a staple in the Disney parks since it opened, so replacing it with a cheap overlay was an odd decision. From videos, it didn’t look all that impressive, and word of mouth wasn’t too kind either.
Eventually, the Space Mountain in Disneyland did return to its former glory, and the Season of the Force concluded.
But Hyperspace Mountain came back, and this time, it wanted blood.
Disneyland Paris is often regarded as the point where Imagineer dreams are born as well as realized. With complete creative control given to the Imagineers, especially Tony Baxter, the park is a realized dream of Disney historians and fanatics.
What should be noted at this point is that their Tomorrowland is branded to match Jules Verne and other science fiction writers of the past, all important to Paris itself as well as fantasy as a genre.
Long story short, their Space Mountain was branded to Jules Verne’s From Earth To the Moon, then rebranded to Space Mountain: Mission 2. Both of these attractions matched the Discoveryland motif of classic science fiction and represented historical fantasy blended with modern design.
Recently however, Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain replaced the attraction, stripping unique theming from the ride and replacing it with the core reason why the Imagineer who developed it, Tony Baxter, left the company in the first place.
What some would say was the best Space Mountain because of its style has now become an advertisement, turning what was then a love letter to Parisian science fiction into a cheap overlay for Star Wars struck at the core of Disneyland Paris.
Anything to make a quick buck I suppose.
4.) Tower of Terror to Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout — Disney’s California Adventure
Now, of course this was going to be on the list.
We’re fresh off the controversy, everything still cutting deep and wounds bleeding. Surely this one doesn’t require any in depth explanation as to what happened.
Tower of Terror opened with the park, DCA got a renovation in 2010 or so to fix theming and make the area cohesive, Tower blends with the new Buena Vista Street, in 2017 the Tower is replaced with a Guardians of the Galaxy overlay that reeks of cheap funding and sticks out like a sore thumb.
A Disclaimer: I have not personally been on the attraction, nor anywhere near it. I’m not here to comment on the attraction itself but merely what a retheme can do to overall theming of the park.
Specifically, a giant bronze eyesore that can be seen from 1920’s California (Buena Vista Street) doesn’t fit as well as a 1920’s hotel did in the past. What used to be a centerpiece of theming, blending multiple styles of Californian architecture to really push the “California” aspect of Disney’s California Adventure, is now a shoehorned Marvel advertisement that doesn’t quite fit with the majority of that park.
From the same thinktank that blended the theming of MGM’s Tower with EPCOT’s Morocco Pavilion, this is a pretty big blemish, not only on the theming of DCA but the motto of the company itself.
3.) Norway to Arendelle — EPCOT
There’s some personal bias here I’ll admit it.
In 1988, the brainchild of Imagineers such as Joe Rohde and Randy Carter opened in the Norway Pavilion at EPCOT, titled Maelstrom. The attraction was a boat ride through scenes of Norwegian mythology including trolls and fights with magnificent Polar Bears. What the attraction lacked in length it made up for in sheer character. Every turn of the boat was met with a new landscape, something that peaked the imagination while delivering a short introduction to the history of a country that goes underrepresented in our culture. From the lift hill detailing the “spirit of Norway” to the drop leading guests into a modern world of oil-rigging and other Norwegian exports, the attraction became a classic in the minds of many Disney fans, and a popular one at that.
See, Maelstrom would rarely (from my memory) a wait time below an hour. The attraction was low capacity and a cold detour from a hot park. To children and adults, this was one of the more interesting things to do at the park (despite any thrilling aspects of the attraction) and thus, it remained popular with the guests.
However, Disney had other plans. Following the breakout success of Frozen, an animated film set in the fictional world of Arendelle, a theme park attraction became the next venture of WDI. It was eventually announced that the Maelstrom would close in 2014, and Frozen Ever After would open in 2016.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that the World Showcase (and EPCOT as a whole) needs more experiences to its name. What I didn’t understand is why WDI would replace an attraction that already garners an intense wait time, rather than focus their efforts on something else in the World Showcase. EPCOT was and still is in dire need of new experiences, so pushing out an already popular attraction for one that won’t (and didn’t) succeed the original in average wait time doesn’t make much sense to me.
What also should be noted is that the excuse that Arendelle is “inspired” by Norway doesn’t really give it an excuse to be in the World Showcase. Where the Maelstrom actually represented a world culture, this tells a Disney story. Notice how in the Gran Fiesta Tour the Three Caballeros are in Mexico instead of a fictional world based in Mexico. The attraction is fantasy for sure, but it manages to blend a scenic tour of Mexico with an IP based story. The same can be said for the Ratatouille attraction that will be introduced to EPCOT in the future. The attraction will blend culinary history with intellectual property, developing an independent experience as well as one that represents the unique history of France. The Frozen attraction delivers a Fantasyland dark ride with no relation to the World Showcase. If I had blindfolded you before bringing you in, and asked you what we should do next after this attraction, you’d likely tell me that we should head to Tomorrowland.
That’s the core issue here. No matter how well they rethemed the Norway pavilion’s exterior (they did, minus removing the waterfall and replacing it with bland rockwork), it’s more a fantasy pavilion rather than an actual representation of the Norwegian culture whereas the previous attraction did that job extremely well.
Disney decided to replace the prime example of the goals of World Showcase with the antithesis of the thesis statement. Negating that the attraction is uneventful, it was seemingly developed only to cash into a fad, without the care that would’ve allowed it to last a lifetime.
2.) Journey into Imagination to Journey into Imagination with Figment — EPCOT
Oh boy, this is a doozy.
So in 1983 Journey into Imagination opens to major acclaim. Tony Baxter and the Sherman Brothers both had hands in the development of this attraction, and in turn the character of EPCOT. Following the Dreamfinder, an individual who seems to be solely focused on unleashing the imagination, and his friend “Figment” through a world of imagination and freedom of thought.
This was developed during a time in which attractions were really all Spaceship Earth but for different topics. Rides didn’t have a plot per se, but they would direct guests on a sightseeing tour of sorts through a multitude of different topics.
Spaceship Earth did communication, Horizons did technology, World of Motion did transportation, Living with the Land did agriculture, and Journey into Imagination did just that, Imagination.
This attraction lasted until 1998, when a deal with Kodak to sponsor the pavilion created a few issues. See, Kodak didn’t want to sponsor what they believed to be a “dated” attraction and demanded a refurbishment as soon as possible. Disney at that time really needed sponsors for EPCOT due to a lack of park traffic, WDI obliged, and created Journey into YOUR Imagination.
It lasted about a year.
Apparently, on or around opening day, Michael Eisner rode the attraction, and on the spot demanded another attraction be developed and this was to be replaced as soon as they could. Guests were guided through the Imagination Institute with Dr. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle) in order to test the guest’s Imagination. Figment was relegated to a few cameos here and there, and the Dreamfinder was not present. Going as quickly as it came, one would think it would’ve been a harmless detour.
But it wasn’t.
Opening in 2002, Journey into Imagination with Figment attempted to fix most of the mistakes with the second incarnation. While the Dreamfinder was still exempt from the attraction, Figment was placed in the spotlight with Eric Idle once again reprising his role as Dr. Nigel Channing. Much of the previous incarnation was kept however. The queue remains the same, the pre-show is the same, the computer screens in the beginning are the same, the butterfly-mirror effect is the same, the ending explosion is the same, it’s all just a giant mess.
If Kodak had never ordered that refurbishment, we wouldn’t have had to deal with the terrible second version or the cheaply done current incarnation. So much is left over from the second one to the extent where it makes sense why it’s not in such an impressive state.
The fate of Imageworks is one thing, but refurbishing an iconic attraction to the point of irreversibility is leading some to believe that Figment won’t return to the pavilion once again. Out of any rumor from the Disney Community, I believe this to be the most unfounded. History shows that the last time this was done, it didn’t go to well.
The best we can say now is that Kodak is out of business, so I suppose they got what they deserved.
1.) Paradise Pier to Pixar Pier — Disney’s California Adventure
This wound is still fresh, making it the worst of them all.
In 2001, Disney opened Disney’s California Adventure, to no acclaim. It was generally unpopular as it was done in the cheapest way possible just to have it out as soon as they possibly could.
The only area that worked (relatively) however was Paradise Pier, a representation of classic Californian boardwalks, housing multiple cheap attractions, as well as California Screamin’, one of if not the best roller coasters Disney has in its library.
Around 2010, the refurbishment of Disney’s California Adventure (not a cheap one mind you) led to a complete revitalization of the park. What was once a joke in the community became an actually respectable park. Paradise Pier in particular got an impressive facelift, almost being the cornerstone of the park. World of Color, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, brighter lighting, Toy Story Midway Mania, Paradise Pier became one of the core parts of DCA, improving was was previously a dismal park.
Tragedy struck at D23 however, when Disney announced that they would be re theming the entire area away from the boardwalk theme in favor of Pixar and its properties.
I personally could not understand why they would do such a thing. Park traffic won’t increase, they’re spending money following a massive overhaul, and the idea is dated beyond belief. I’m sorry to say but Pixar isn’t what it used to be. It’s no the reliable animation studio that we used to look up to, and that’s probably Disney’s fault. The demand for sequels rather than unleashing creative potential pushes films like Inside-Out to the side in favor of movies like Cars 2 and Incredibles 2, movies that, while based in properties that were previously entertaining, only seem to be cash grabs without creative integrity.
There’s a reason why the good Pixar films (Wall-E, Up, Inside-Out) are made without the idea of sequels in mind. Pixar films aren’t made to be capitalized upon, they’re works of art. This both explains why Disney believes that this overlay is such a good idea and exactly why it won’t work.
At this point, we know so little about what is actually going to happen. We know that the Fun Wheel is getting rethemed to Pixar and Friends, a theater will open, and so will a confectionery themed to the Inside-Out character Bing Bong, but that’s about it. The fate of California Screamin’ and the assorted carnival attractions are still in the air as we wait for more information.
Here’s a tip from the desk of Ryan Dorman to you, Disney. You can have it for free, I promise it’ll help. Ok here we go.
Bail.
Look, we all have bad ideas. Some of us make bad food, others bad articles, but if I can remind you of the princess fantasyland that was announced and then secretly scrapped, the writing is all over the walls.
Pixar doesn’t belong in Paradise Pier for any reason other than the fact that you could make money from the idea. Even then, the retheme won’t direct more people to the park because people’s faith in Pixar is faltering as it is. Disney Animation has become the gold standard, no longer is it Pixar. Stick to themed lands rather than blatant shoehorning, stick to what you do best rather than what you used to do so poorly.
In Conclusion:
It’s not necessarily the fact that IP’s are bad inherently, but when the company gets lazy and decides to give classic attractions a new coat of paint just to market on a fad is when mistakes are made.
Take Pandora: The World of Avatar. When that was announced I had little to no faith, but I was delightfully astonished and surprised. I then realized that this wasn’t a retheme like Frozen had been (the event that killed my trust), rather it was a completely new project in which the sky was the limit. Imagineers weren’t barred to creative constraints as they weren’t repurposing, rather, they were creating entirely new experiences.
Re-Themes and overlays however represent the laziest a theme park company can get. If the idea isn’t good enough to the point where it can exist as a separate project, it should be scrapped rather than glued onto an already existing experience. Disney exceeds when they allow their Imagineers to develop completely new experiences, but they fail when they constrain them to reusing and replacing classic attractions that are removed before their time.
But what do you think? Be sure to tweet me @OpentheDorman to discuss this list, as it’s a topic I really enjoy talking about! Also, be sure to follow @BoardwalkTimes for all of the latest news from the site, as well as our podcast Boardwalk Talk hosted by myself and @OpenMothersMale that we release every other week! Thanks for reading!
Ryan Dorman is a Columnist and the Content Director for the Boardwalk Times
