Is there anything majorly new coming down the pike for WDW?

I could well be wrong, but it looks to me like the only 'new' stuff coming along seems to be tweaks, variations, adjustments and repainting of past attractions.

Is there anything new coming down in the next two, three years? New rides or attractions planned? Something to rival Mission:Space or Mickey's Philharmagic?

I guess I'm picky - I want to be amazed and astounded when I go to WDW. I love the place - but it just seems lately they're in a holding pattern re development.

I'd like to be wrong on that. Anyone got anything wonderful coming down?

Ahhh. The expansion of Fantasyland.. Star Tours Two to name a couple..

:ditto: Read all about the new Little Mermaid ride, the new circus area with "dueling Dumbos", the new Beauty and the Beast restaurant, the numerous refurbs, Star Tours 2, and whatever else they end up doing with "phase 2" of the Fantasyland Expansion that they haven't announced yet. There's quite a bit happening at WDW. And more rumored.

Go to Google maps and look at the satellite image of the MK. The size of the new Fantasy land expansion alone tells you there will be lots of new stuff in a couple of years.

When I first read this thread I thought "your kidding me, right..." then after reading "Something to rival Mission:Space or Mickey's Philharmagic?" I actually agree with the idea that, with the possible exception of Star Tours (had to quit trying this ride years ago :sick: so I don't remember this ride at all) there really isn't anything that most children over 10 years are going to "love".

The Fantasy Land expansion may or may not be painted with Princess Pink from floor to ceiling, and nothing announced for that area appears to be anything close to a thrill ride like Mission Space or a unique show like Philharmagic, so I see a point in the OP.

Compare what Disney is doing to what Universal has done, and well, there is just no comparison IMHO.

I am actually more excited about the Art of Animation resort than I am the Fantasyland expansion...

I guess I should have been a bit more specific. :blush:

A refurb doesn't do much for me - Star Tours II isn't going to be much different than the first unless they're shoving in radically new technology. A repainting of the line, new props to look at and a different high-def projection on a screen in a moving box doesn't really (in my opinon, your mileage may vary of course...) count as 'new'. I don't get enthused about themed restaraunts or resort rooms or makeover sessions for budding pirates or princesses. (Not that there's anything WRONG with those things - it's just difficult to see myself at 50+ going for a Pirate makeover, or trying to get my lovely bride to go for the Princess treatment...)

And the Fantasyland upgrade seems more targeted (as Goofy4theworld says) to the 10 and under crowd. DS hasn't been in that bracket for a while now, and wasn't impressed by it when he was. (Tomorrowland Speedway? YES! Flying Dumbo? No.)

There doesn't seem to be any new high-tech coming down the pike, like at Universal - it's almost like the Imagineering folks are waiting to see whether their new tech will 'stick' before they emulate it or (pleasepleasepleaseWaltplease) surpass it.

They're not even able to fix the YETI, for cryin' out loud...:mad:

Have we reached a peak? Or am I just getting ancient and decrepit and jaded and want the 'wow' back that I recall from 20-30 years back?

There are tiny germs of rumors of a Monsters Inc coaster coming to Hollywood Studios. There were rumors about surveys being given to park visitors at Epcot about what country they would like to see best as a new pavilion and what country they would miss the least. Rumor Shmumors I wish theyd just build something new and awesome. Unfortunately all the BIG cool expansions and parks seem to be going oversees.

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Originally Posted by Jll3Sonex

Or am I just getting ancient and decrepit and jaded and want the 'wow' back that I recall from 20-30 years back?

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Pretty much sounds like it. :D

Seriously, though, Disney is, and always will be, geared towards families. They don't go for the big high tech thrill "wows" that US does, but then, US shoots for the teenager and above crowd. The things that WDW is coming out with is right in line with their vision. There are some other things in the Blue Sky phase right now, like a Monsters Inc, Coaster for DHS. Also, there's some talk about a Tron ride, though that's very early in Blue Sky.

Star Tours, however, is hardly just a "refurb". It will have a whole new storyline, multiple possible endings, 3D, new characters, etc. So it will, in essence, be a new ride.

You know what I don't get? Why it takes SO LONG for a new attraction to come out based on a new movie. It would be really cool if a new attraction was based on TRON, but I doubt that even if it were green-lighted right now, we would see it within the next five years.

I can see it taking a couple of years to design, build, test etc., but we're pushing 10 YEARS on Monsters Inc., for example. Man, that was an extremely popular movie tailor-made for a new attraction, as if they wrote the script around what we would soon be seeing at WDW. But a Monsters Inc. attraction is still Blue Sky. It just seems so weird that there isn't more "synergy" in this area.

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Originally Posted by Aurora

You know what I don't get? Why it takes SO LONG for a new attraction to come out based on a new movie. It would be really cool if a new attraction was based on TRON, but I doubt that even if it were green-lighted right now, we would see it within the next five years.

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They already have "green lit" a Tron ride. But, I personally think this is excessively premature planning. Disney is hyping up this Tron thing SO much, I can almost smell the failure of it once it hits the theatres. It's almost inevitable. What was the last really good Disney live action movie??? And, talk about a cult classic...Tron has just about the most limited audience appeal I can think of.

I am happy to see the work going on over at Disney's California Adventure. That makeover is almost the epitome of excellence in Disney imagineering. It seems that the Disney Co. is placing most of its focus over to the west coast parks, which is nice. WDW has actually gotten a lot of attention in the past decade, and they are trying to "balance" the two resorts (DL and WDW) a bit better, to make them both worthy of extended vacations.

OP, if you feel that WDW has become "stale", I would tell you to strongly consider visiting Disneyland Resort sometime towards the end of 2012, to experience DCA the way it SHOULD have been done originally. And, DL is no slouch either...if you've never been, you should definitely go!

Went to DL back a LONG time ago... (How long? They had the flying saucer ride still going...) :)

California is... iffy. Won't be able to go in the next couple of years, at least. (And with the way that state's economy is going, it'll be interesting to see what happens.)

I realize it's to Disney's economic advantage to not do their upgrades to both their US venues at the same time - but the premise of Disney is that they're the platinum-plated gold standard of amusement/resort parks. Six Flags is a 2-3, Universal a 9, WDW an 11-12. But to stay where they are, they HAVE to (in my opinion) be growing and innovating constantly.

And they aren't. Financially - I understand it's difficult to do. New rides, new experiences are expensive - and not always guaranteed successes. (See "Stitch's Supersonic Celebration". That one crashed and burned so hard it left a crater...)

But I think they've pretty much economized as much as they possibly can, and from what you can see in the parks and from observation on the boards, they're starting to suffer for it. (I think some would say they've been suffering for a while now.)

As far as the Monsters Inc coaster goes - THAT should be fun... if it ever gets built. 2014 at present...

Well - Disney does tend to have the darkest times in their movies right before everything resolves well. I really don't like seeing them play it out in the parks, however!

I have to agree, having gone to US for the first time 3 weeks ago, that Disney could be souping it up more, tech-wise. But what Disney has that US doesn't is the magic. Yes, US has the thrill coasters and edgy shows, but it feels like a 1-2 day park experience. Their employees are just that - people working there. There is no warm feeling, just 2 parks that you can complete in easily a day or two. Plus, we stayed on property. Even that hotel felt different. Guests would return from Citywalk or the Horror nights at 2 am, hooping and hollering down the hallways, nothing being done about it. And, in my family's opinion, without Harry Potter, US would not be worth a second look.

So, yes, US does offer more for the older kids. It does have the high tech rides I wish Disney would work on matching. But it doesn't offer the magical feeling that after you leave, you want to return again and again.

Just my :twocents:

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Originally Posted by Jll3Sonex

California is... iffy. Won't be able to go in the next couple of years, at least. (And with the way that state's economy is going, it'll be interesting to see what happens.)

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I don't really understand this statement. What does the state's economy have to do with deciding to come here on a vacation? The state's economy has been in the tank for at least the past 10 years...it hasn't affected the Disneyland Resort any...in fact, they have stepped up those parks precisely to bring in more tourists and stimulate the local economies. Our state budget problems really don't extend beyond the government run stuff (schools, civil services, etc.)

I live here. I've been in So. Cal for over 10 years. I have seen the DLR evolve over the past decade, and IMO, there has been more done here than at WDW in that time. 10 years ago, I would have laughed at anyone who suggested that DLR can rival WDW in terms of a vacation experience. Now, I think they are very close to being equal, and my preference has shifted from WDW to DLR. Don't be so quick to write it off...

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Originally Posted by BrerGnat

I don't really understand this statement. What does the state's economy have to do with deciding to come here on a vacation? The state's economy has been in the tank for at least the past 10 years...it hasn't affected the Disneyland Resort any...in fact, they have stepped up those parks precisely to bring in more tourists and stimulate the local economies. Our state budget problems really don't extend beyond the government run stuff (schools, civil services, etc.)

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And if the civil services collapse, what of the companies that depend on their stability? A fair amount of... well, this isn't the place for an economics/political debate.

We're on the East Coast, kind of, and we can run a popup down to Ft. Wilderness w/no problems. It'd be considerably more expensive for us to fly/drive to CA, stay on property there, and fly back. It just isn't in the budget for the foreseeable future.

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Originally Posted by Jll3Sonex

It just isn't in the budget for the foreseeable future.

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Now THAT, I understand. ;)

By the way, if you do ever get out here, know that the new Carsland will have a resurrection of the Flying Saucers attraction! It's called Luigi's Tire Something-or-Other.

The Fantasyland expansion has its ups and downs even though I have a daughter I just don't see it as a good idea to turn what will be close to half the size of MK into a big girlie area. There really is only so much one can take of that. As far as technology and ideas goes Disney has tons of both. It's time they started looking for ideas from the archives, current cast members, and dare I say...the general public. Maybe a combination of all that, plus using modern technology WDW could build some rides and areas that the public would love to see and come back over and over to experience.

I'm pretty certain that the answer to the OP's question is no. There's nothing major new coming down the pike for WDW ... at least nothing even close to Mission: Space (although Mickey's Philharmagic? Really? You count that as "major"? :confused:).

You'll get the new LM ride, which will be a very cute dark ride (something I've been begging Disney to add for ages) but most of the rest seems to be restaurants, meet and greets, and maybe a re-theme of Goofy's Barnstormer. I know there's a rumor of some possible attraction that might or might not be a log flume/roller coaster/not either of those things to replace Snow White, but that's very blue sky if you ask me.

In fact, with the way they're "re-thinking" the Fantasyland expansion I almost wonder if the thing will even be done by 2012 or 2013 or whatever the most current date is.

Numbers are out people ... WWoHP kicked Disney's tail this year. They better do something or, magic be darned, they're going to be in big trouble.

Yes, they have "green lit" Imagineering to explore more extensive designs and concept ideas for a Tron attraction but it hasn't been "green lit" to be built yet.. and it's for Disneyland, not WDW at this time. Perhaps Disneyland is exploring a future Tomorrowland update?

I suppose the movie's success (or not) will help with the end result.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the Little Mermaid attraction. :princess: