MickeyBlog News for March 9, 2020
A new ride opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a new parade marched into Disneyland, an attraction unexpectedly closed for a bit, and Pixar magic only carried a movie so far. Let’s fill you in on a busy Disney week in the latest edition of MickeyBlog News.
Onward Opens…Okay
I’m generally Mr. Positivity when Disney releases new animated movies because, well, they dominate at the box office. However, the latest Pixar release hasn’t lived up to the company’s lofty standards.
Onward earned $40 million in North America, which…is not great. Don’t get me wrong. The movie won the weekend at the box office. It also appears certain to break $100 million. Unfortunately, Pixar films face higher criteria, and Onward’s opening is most comparable to…The Good Dinosaur.
Yes, that film, the black sheep of the Pixar family, debuted to $39.2 million. Now, Onward has done better for a couple of reasons. First of all, Disney notoriously underestimates its opening weekend box office, which means the film probably did slightly better.
Second, The Good Dinosaur opened during Thanksgiving, which boosted its box office total via holiday inflation. So, Onward has done better than the worst of Pixar, but that’s about it.
Onward’s international take was only $26 million, which isn’t great, either. Of course, Coronavirus concerns have shut down many overseas theaters, though. Overall, I would politely describe this opening weekend as pedestrian. There’s nothing to get excited about here.
The Truth about Onward
Pixar had struggled with Onward for quite a while. The company brought in new writers in 2019, which is quite late in the production of an animated movie. However, I thought that the film was marvelous, and I highly recommend it. For whatever reason, it just didn’t strike a chord with mainstream movie-goers, though.
The question that some are asking is whether fear of Coronavirus kept audiences away from theaters. I want to give Onward the benefit of the doubt, but I don’t see any evidence of this in the data. I think my friends at Exhibitor Relations (ERC) summed up the situation perfectly:
Pixar's ONWARD is the #1 movie in North America, delivering $40M.
The quest is far from over, but the truth remains, this is very close to what Pixar's only misfire, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, debuted with on its way to $123M domestic, $332M worldwide.
Any other studio: It's a hit.
— Exhibitor Relations Co. 2: Box Office Boogaloo (@ERCboxoffice) March 8, 2020
ERC is totally right here. Onward absolutely qualifies as a hit for anybody else. For Pixar, it feels like a slight disappointment. The studio will get a chance to redeem itself, as Soul comes out on June 19th.
If you’re like me and loved Onward, I have terrific news. Disney California Adventure has introduced a character greeting. You can hang out with the brothers Lightfoot, Ian and Barley! They’re big and blue and ready to entertain you!
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Open
Coming to you LIVE from Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway one more time!
Posted by MickeyBlog.com on Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Once again, Disney has introduced a magnificent new attraction at the theme parks. After several years of modest growth, park officials have ramped up the E-ticket offerings.
Starting with the debut of Pandora – The World of Avatar, Walt Disney World has introduced a pair of rides at each of its new themed lands. With Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land finally complete, Imagineers moved on to the replacement for The Great Movie Ride. While the overwhelming majority of Disney fans miss that attraction, its successor is a masterpiece.
On Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, park guests enter a cartoon world where Goofy proves that he’s a terrible train conductor. His mishap causes Mickey & Minnie Mouse to go through a series of misadventures.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but MickeyBlog provided a livestream of opening day festivities. You can watch the clip above to get the gist, although it’s definitely an attraction you’ll want to experience on your own. You can fast-forward to the 18-minute mark if you only want to watch the ride.
Mickey & Minnie Miscellany
I must say that I’m blown away by the quality of the attraction. At a couple of moments, I’m unsure whether I’m looking at a digital screen or an interactive set piece. Similarly, the video introduction features a jaw-dropping moment as guests step inside a cartoon world. An Imagineering trick here has blown my mind.
I expect Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway to become one of the most timeless attractions at Disney theme parks around the world. It’s a destination attraction that will drive attendance.
By the way, the Play Disney Parks has added a new Mickey & Minnie trivia game. You may want to download it, as the new ride is experiencing the usual amount of opening week inconsistencies.
PS: Disney’s not operating this attraction during Extra Magic Hours. However, the park will open at 8 a.m. on several days this month to address heightened demand. +So, adjust your park plans accordingly.
The Mystery of Disney’s Haunted Mansion
A bit of intrigue occurred at Magic Kingdom this week. Haunted Mansion suffered a total outage on Monday evening. The incident required the evacuation of all riders on the attraction, as the Omnimover system shut down.
On Tuesday, park officials acted cagey about the return of the Grim Grinning Ghosts. Disney indicated that the ride would come back that day…only, it didn’t. In fact, it remained offline Tuesday through Friday before finally re-opening on Saturday.
Park officials have stayed tight-lipped about the issue, which is a bit unusual. If guests hadn’t explained what had happened during the evacuation, we’d have no idea at all about the situation. Still, everything’s working now, and that’s all that matters.
Magic Happens Parade Debuts
After months of teases about its details, Disneyland finally exhibited its latest parade, Magic Happens. During the 2019 D-23 Expo, executives had trumpeted the dazzling floats that are a huge part of this parade. Thankfully, they did not disappoint.
Starting with Sorcerer Mickey, Magic Happens reveals a batch of floats based on your favorite Disney animated movies. This parade has created several modified musical accompaniments of songs like Remember Me and We Know the Way. And they’re much faster.
You may expect not this, but I swear it’s true. Remember Me has a good beat, and you can dance to it. So, musician and influencer Todrick Hall updated some relatively recent music to make it better for a parade.
The other memorable aspect of Magic Happens takes place away from the floats. Nearly 100 dancers perform throughout the show. Disney has outdone itself with the choreography, although the interpretive dance elements have proven somewhat divisive with fans. I quite like it, but you can and should watch the clip linked above to decide for yourself.
Other Park News
Let’s close this week’s update with a couple of park items. Fans of Primeval Whirl – and there’s GOT to be some of them – have received some good news. To combat Spring Break crowds, Disney will re-open the attraction on select dates in March.
The current schedule calls for ride operation on March 21st through the 23rd and then the 28th and 29th. Those dates are subject to change, and Disney could always add more. Enjoy Primeval Whirl while you can, as rumors persist that it will get stripped for parts at some point.
Finally, your next visit to Disney Springs could include a new food truck! Later this month, Disney will open Hot Diggity Dogs at the Food Truck area. If you guessed that this place will serve hot dogs, you win the gold star!