Mouse Extra

I know what you are saying, two “Web Check” columns and both are about Jim Hill Media.  I promise that we will discuss many more Disney-related websites in the coming days, but I could not simply let today’s post go ignored.  Because today, Mr. Hill has quite literally read my mind.

All too often, the on-line Disneyana community’s initial reaction to any news about proposed changes at the Disney theme parks is to first attack that idea, then endlessly whine about that project in the weeks & months that lead up to the actual opening of that particular attraction.

Mr. Hill has hit the nail on the head, and this is a constant peeve of mine as well.  Forget the actually announced changes.  This nonsense starts long before anyone from Disney stands at a podium or sends out a press release.  Think of all the rumors you’ve read on websites all over the internet.  It doesn’t matter what it is, the Disney fanatic is ready to not only call it terrible, but hammer Imagineering for even entertaining the very thought.  (Of course, ignoring the fact that this is a rumor and no one can be sure they are even considering it.)But when it finally does get to the “official” stage, they go bananas.  Here’s Mr. Hill’s take;

You remember what the initial on-line reaction was like when that proposed POTC change-out was first announced, right? When the news first broke that the Imagineers were considering adding Capt. Jack Sparrow to both the Disneyland & Walt Disney World versions of this theme park favorite … Well, given how loudly the dweebs began howling, you would have thought that the Walt Disney Company was planning on adding a set of enormous Mouse Ears to the Lincoln Memorial. Seriously, there were Disney fans out there who actually compared this relatively minor addition to that attraction to desecration of a national monument.

And the re-done Pirates is an enormous success.  The Jack Sparrow animatronics is so good, I thought it was a costumed cast member when I first saw it…And I knew it was coming!  Imagine young kids seeing that animatronics for the first time.  My 4 year old nephew was certain he was in the presence of the Captain himself.

But Pirates is not the only thing these complainers have been wrong about.  Much bigger changes often get slammed by the fanatics long before they see the completed product.  Look at some of the other attractions that have been re-worked or replaced.  Test Track is incredibly more exciting then the World of Motion.  Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is a vast improvement over the former tenant, as is Mickey’s Philharmagic, just to name a few.  All of these took the place of existing attraction, and all of them have “plussed” the experience.

Whenever things are going to change, we hear about Stitch’s Great Escape and version 2 of the Imagination attraction at Epcot.  Yes, I admit, those were bad.  Stitch is down-right awful, but why is that the benchmark?  Take a look at what WDI has done over at the former Living Sea Pavilion.  The new ride is tremendous, and the old bore-fest that circled the aquarium doesn’t hold a candle to it.  Add that to arrival of Captain Jack, and this habit of assuming the worst in re-dos needs to be reversed.