Greetings, and welcome back to the Crossroads! I want to switch gears today from what we’ve lost to what we will lose. Disney has transformed or demolished many attractions in the past, but what Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) has planned is making the fanbase upset. The idea they have to destroy to create is a silly notion in a park with tons of space to expand, but here we are. I’m not sure I’ll ever understand the desire to keep the Florida parks in the same footprint and never expand them to create more capacity. More capacity equals more guests. More guests equals more money from tickets, food, souvenirs, and resort stays.

I guess they don’t like money? Who knows.

The first set of projects has started in Animal Kingdom. The fun Dinoland USA is the first area under the wrecking ball. On the surface, a new area themed around Central and South America seems like a natural fit for the Animal Kingdom park. There is ample room to expand the park’s size and build the new Tropical Americas attractions themed around Indiana Jones and Encanto.

But that’s not what we’re getting. Instead, we get addition by subtraction.

Dinoland USA was an area themed around carnival rides and games anchored by the Dinosaur E-ticket attraction. A boneyard play area was also part of the dinosaur-themed land. Ironically, the Dinosaur ride has already been transformed from Countdown to Extinction into Dinosaur by adding characters from the Disney Animation Studios film and changing portions of the queue. Well, now it gets to become an Indiana Jones attraction. This wasn’t a surprise since it shares the same ride bones as the Indy rides in Anaheim and Tokyo. The Encanto attraction would be new and not a rebuild of an existing ride.

Disney’s second project is the new Cars-themed area and a Villain Land in the Magic Kingdom. Most of this project has been part of the Blue Sky “Beyond Thunder Mountain” planning for years. The idea was to build these areas beyond Big Thunder Mountain, not in front of it. The mountain is an integral part of the Magic Kingdom skyline, and to lose it would be tragic. The area had already lost the top of Splash Mountain when it was transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Where is the Cars attraction slated to be located? Right where the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer’s Island are is where. Not only will the river be filled in, but the Liberty Belle riverboat will go with it. WDI is changing the Liberty Square and Frontier Land area for no reason. The quiet and uneasy queue for the Haunted Mansion along the river? Now, instead of pondering your fate, you can listen to the cars zoom by. It will take away a key piece of the anticipation for the Mansion experience.

The Villain area does appear to be located in a new area past the Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain. I can’t complain too much about that one. New areas to expand the park capacity and the ability to increase attendance are what I thought Disney would be all about: more money.

But alas, here we are.

Lastly, this is the most terrible choice of all they have announced. In Hollywood Studios, Disney has revealed that a Monster’s Inc. area is coming soon. Is it going to be in a new space? Heck no. They’ve decided to further anger the fans by closing Jim Henson’s final project and shuttering Muppet*Vision 3D. The entire Muppet Courtyard is going to close and be transformed. Yes, the indoor roller-coaster may appear cool, but at what cost? Disney tried to make it better by also announcing the Aerosmith-themed Rocking Roller Coaster will become a Muppet attraction.

Wait…what?

So, in Disney’s infinite wisdom, they’ve decided to take a fast ride that kids can’t ride and make it a family IP attraction? Is that what they said? Yes, they did. I love the Rocking Roller Coaster, but the time has come for it to be rethemed. Aerosmith has retired, and there has been negative press concerning Steven Tyler over the past few years. But the Muppets aren’t a good fit. I may be wrong, but Muppets is a good joke between friends that can’t be enjoyed when you’re being shot off the starting line at 60mph and racing in the dark with some lighted features around the track. The Muppets aren’t something that you can get the humor of in that kind of environment. The kids you would want to become fans of the Muppets and buy merchandise won’t be able to ride it, so what’s the point besides trying to quickly pacify an angry fanbase?

For decades, the Walt Disney Company has given us countless hours of fun and enjoyment in the theme parks. They have given us many rides we’ve fallen in love with and wish we could ride every day (Haunted Mansion or Phantom Manor), but now the time has come for that same Disney to take some of our beloved attractions away. It has happened before, and it will happen again. This time feels different, though. This time, it feels like they got caught flatfooted by Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe and had to throw something out there. None of these ideas are really new. The Monster’s Inc. coaster, Cars track, and Villain Land have been ideas out there for years. The Indiana Jones attraction has the same ride system and track layout, but different themes, as Indy rides in two other parks. So yes, I do think this was an attempt to bring the attention back to Disney World.

DId it work?

Yes, but maybe not in the way they wanted it to be. I hope to be proven wrong, and all will be right in the World of Disney, but the crowd is lighting torches and grabbing pitchforks.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let’s talk about it!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you at the Crossroads!

Brent