Mouse Extra

The Disney internet community is filled to the brim today with tributes and kind words for Disney’s Animal Kingdom on this its tenth anniversary.  Blogs, podcasts, and websites are turning their attention to Disney World’s fourth gate which up to now has largely gone unappreciated, ignored and often downright maligned.  And I do expect the usual suspects to issue some snarky and thinly veiled jabs on this anniversary.

It is certainly true that the Animal Kingdom opened as something much less than many had hoped.  We all heard rumors for years leading up to its opening of things like a mind-blowing dragon rollercoaster, but they were not there when the rope dropped.  Instead we had only a few attractions and lots of promises for the future.  I can not argue with the feeling that DAK opened as something less than it should have.

But where I disagree with the DAK-haters is in how things have progressed since then.   Even when I first entered the park back in 1999, I liked what I saw.  The feeling and atmosphere was perfectly presented.  I was blown away by the authenticity of the Africa section and I couldn’t take my eyes off the Tree of Life.  Not to mention that Kilimanjaro Safaris was perhaps the most exciting new attraction I had seen at Walt Disney World since the opening of Epcot Center.  Unlike the somewhat neutral feeling I had when the Disney-MGM Studios first opened, DAK hit a chord with me.  The potential was there.

Then the additions began to trickle in, and I became hooked.  The Festival of the Lion King is Walt Disney World’s best live show and I can stay for hours in the Maharajah Jungle Trek watching tigers romp around.   But it was Expedition Everest that put this park over-the-top for me.  It is an experience that is nothing short of amazing, combining everything that separates Walt Disney Imagineering from the rest of the theme park world.

These last ten years have certainly not been disappointment free.  But what we are starting to see is a park that can really be incredible.  Sure it needs something for the after dark hours and perhaps another e-ticket or a new land to make it even better.  But Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as it currently exists, is worth the trip.  It has incredible live shows, terrific thrill rides, and beautifully presented wildlife.  “Jambo Everyone!”

We will continue our tribute to this great park, and to help mark Earth Week, with a special article each day on one of the great animal species found at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Check back tomorrow for a look at DAK’s most celebrated four-legged star, the African Elephant.

We generally don’t discuss Disneyland that much on Mouse Extra as much as we should.  And I certainly try not to discuss the Re-Imagineering blog, whether we agree with it or not, as it clearly has a one-sided agenda.  But they posted a letter yesterday from Kevin Blair, the son of Imagineering legend Mary Blair, lambasting rumors of changes to It’s A Small World.  It has become the talk of the Disney internet community and I just couldn’t help but comment on it.

I would suggest you read the entire letter, but the part that is making the most waves deals with a rumor that WDI may insert Disney characters and remove the rainforest sequence while adding a patriotic tribute to America.

My Mother and I have always had a strong sense of patriotism for America and I DO support a tribute to America. Disneyland has several venues, which are perfect places for this tribute including “Main Street USA” or “New Orleans Square”; unfortunately the “It’s a Small World” ride is NOT one of them. Once again this will marginalize the children of the world theme and bastardize my Mother’s original art. Furthermore ripping out a rainforest (Imaginary or otherwise) and replacing it with misplaced patriotism is a public relations blunder so big you could run a Monorail through it.

First, we obviously have some political overtones in this statement with regards to the rainforest area.  Saying it will be a public relations blunder is assuming that folks will see some symbolism into the change that reflects upon certain conservation issues.  That may be the case for some, but I am not so sure that the majority of guests are going to walk away from the ride thinking Imagineers are a bunch of planet killers.  Disney actually does a lot for conservation, especially at the Animal Kingdom, and I don’t think their efforts in saving the real rainforest are going to be trumped because they dismantled a cardboard one.

The other thing that truly drives me nuts is this “misplaced patriotism” statement.  I’m sorry, but has Kevin Blair seen these plans?  I don’t believe he has, so how can he possibly judge it as misplaced?  It may very well turn out to be terrific and fit in perfectly.

No, the issue here is not misplaced patriotism or saving the rainforest.  It’s about purism.  These other issues are simply rationalizations for saving the classic ride from a major refurbishment regardless of whether or not the changes are for the better.  Here is the next paragraph.

As a former WED employee I am saddened to realize the degradation of the company’s talent and focus and the subsequent decline at the Disneyland Park itself. I cannot believe someone from WDI was paid to come up with such an idiotic plan as this.

An idiotic plan?  How do you know it even is a plan?  Has WDI announced something?  No, they have not.  These conclusions have been reached on a completely conceptual basis and are not rooted in hard information.  It’s an internet rumor!  Is that truly enough to slam WDI like this?

I can’t help but be reminded of my favorite Diane Disney-Miller quote…

“…with the park, it’s something you could change, something that can grow.  But the people who really love it won’t let them change any of the old attractions.  I don’t think he ever thought that would happen.”

I understand the children of Mrs. Blair want her terrific creations to endure forever, but that is simply not the Disney way.  For better or for worse, Walt wanted time to march on inside the park.  I know this may not be a popular notion among Disney purists, but it is what it is. 

Anyone who has taken the Magical Express and stayed at a non-deluxe resort knows exactly how much room for improvement there is in Disney World’s bus system.  We have all waited in the afternoon for what seems like over a half an hour, with screaming and sun exhausted kids, in the blistering heat for a bus to take us back to the resort for nap or a swim.  We have all seen buses for other resorts come by two or three times while we wait impatiently for ours.  And forget trying to connect to anywhere!

Well, perhaps those days are behind us to some extent.  We have all heard about improvements coming to the buses, but earlier this week the Touring Plans website reported some really positive news…

After extensive delays, the Disney bus system upgrades have finally implemented the functional features then merely the aesthetic uses. Driver have begun being dispatched over the radio according to the computer monitoring system and will soon begin receiving the same data by the in-cabin computer read outs. Guests should see a noticeable reduction in wait times at bus stops soon.

Will there be a truly noticeable difference in wait times?  Only time will tell on that, but we can not under state the importance of this.  Disney World has built a wonderfully expansive complex with scores of things to do and places to eat.  Those who choose, by Disney’s own suggestion, to not rent a vehicle and take their transportation often find much of Disney World out of reach.  They need to close that gap and open great resort restaurants to people who otherwise wouldn’t bother.

I am sure you have all read and heard in recent weeks about the upcoming reopening of Disney’s Treehouse Villas.  According to the Orlando Sentinel earlier this week, the project has definitely been given the green light but many folks are still wondering how exactly they will be offered to the public, as Disney has been very short on details…

Disney officials haven’t made much of the villas for years, and even now they aren’t willing to discuss their plans in any detail. The company sought and received permission from the South Florida Water Management District recently to tear down the villas and replace them. Disney World spokeswoman Andrea Finger said at least some of the new units would be available for use by resort visitors — the first time any of the Treehouse Villas have been open to the public in several years.

The central question is whether these will open as a new resort to any guest or if they are to become a DVC property, perhaps an extension to Saratoga Springs.  (If you want to get an incredible detailed look at these possibilities, try DVCNews.com’s articles from last week.  They have one on why it will be a DVC and one on why it will not.)  So far, Disney has refused to answer this question and have been unusually tight-lipped in the rumor department. 

I honestly would be surprised if this is a Vacation Club resort.  It just doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.  While these resorts certainly fit into the “home away from home” idea of the DVC, there are only 60 of them.  In order to make money on the rooms, DVC needs to sell timeshare interests in amounts that correspond directly to the number of actual properties they have.  60 is such a small number, I just can’t see them investing the money for that. 

Also keep in mind that the DVC has two very exciting properties they are going to focus on once Saratoga Springs sells out, the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Contemporary.  Will there really be a big market for the Treehouses with these two out there to buy instead?  I’ve been wrong about this before, so I wouldn’t be shocked if the DVC takes it over, but right now it seems unlikely.

It appears the Disney Company is doing better than perhaps expected only a few days ago.  According to this morning’s Orlando Sentinel, the theme parks are once again helping to the move the company in the right direction.

Disney reported a strong quarter in its parks-and-resorts segment, where revenue totaled $2.77 billion, up 11 percent from a year earlier, and operating profit reached $505 million, up 25 percent.

Staggs (Chief Financial Officer) said Disney World’s attendance for the quarter was up 4 percent, leading to a record combined attendance for the company’s American theme parks. Disney World also saw hotel-occupancy increase to 89 percent, and per-guest spending increase 3 percent.

This seems to be a familiar story these days.  The parks in America really seem to be heading in the right direction as far as attendance is concerned.  We can not deny that as a result the parks have also grown and that growth appears to be far from slowing. 

But this paragraph below brings up a subject that I still scratch my head over…

Still, Disney executives entertained the prospect of more economic pressures coming to bear on the company. Staggs noted that Disney’s experience with the 2001 recession showed it can adjust theme-park hours, entertainment offerings and other labor-related costs to “dial up and down” the parks’ expenses. He also noted that the parks-and-resorts division is more buffered now by a larger offering of less-expensive hotel rooms, and the resiliency of its cruise-ship and time-share sales. And, he noted, advance hotel bookings are running ahead of last year’s pace — a good sign.

“Adjust theme park hours” means cutting theme park hours, and that is a major change that has largely gone unnoticed over the last few years.  As attendance and booking levels continue to increase, one has to wonder when these hours will “adjust” their way back to the pre-2001 levels. 

Today, the Magic Kingdom closes at 8pm, yesterday it closed at 7.  The Studios closes today at 7pm, as does Epcot’s Future World.  This means that every customer who has paid for a “full day” is told to leave hours before nearly every shopping mall in the country closes, and people don’t pay loads of cash to get into a shopping mall.  It is time for these cost-cutting measures to change.  These hours must be increased.

I don’t care what any Hollywood elitist tells me.  I will harp on this forever.  Ratatouille deserved to be nominated for Best Picture.  But the Academy Award nominations just came out and the Disney-Pixar film was not on the list.

However all was not lost.  Amazingly the Academy members, who obviously feel that animated films are beneath them, managed to nominate Ratatouille for Best Original Screenplay.  All of the experts are calling this nomination a “big surprise”.  I wonder, is it surprise because they felt something else should be nominated?  No, they feel it is a surprise because even though they feel this great film should be awarded, no one expected the snobbery to give any plaudits to a “kid’s film”.

In 2001 the Oscars added a category for “Best Animated Feature Film”.  Since that time, we can pretty much guarantee that “Beauty and the Beast” will be the last animated film nominated in the Best Picture category.  One would have thought that Ratatouille might have busted through that firewall.  Apparently that is not the case.

So, congratulations to the folks at Pixar for this surprising nomination.  The “best reviewed film of the year” gets a little love after all.  But wouldn’t you think being so positively reviewed would help get it a “Best Picture” nomination?