Disney Rumors for July 2020
The latest batch of Disney rumors will let you know what’s canceled and what’s possibly in the offing.
The whispers I’m hearing aren’t great ones, but Imagineers aren’t giving up hope despite the recent budget cuts.
Stitch Ain’t Coming Back
One of the worst-kept secrets at Walt Disney World involves Stitch, one of the greatest and most lucrative Disney characters of the 21st century.
Park officials didn’t do Stitch any favors when they gave Experiment 626 his own ride at Magic Kingdom.
Less than 18 months after Lilo & Stitch debuted in theaters, the popular albeit terrifying ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter at Tomorrowland closed.
Magic Kingdom replaced it with Stitch’s Great Escape!, one of the worst attractions in recent Disney theme park history.
Nothing matters more to park managers than guest satisfaction surveys. Sadly, Stitch’s Great Escape! frequently scored at the bottom of these polls.
A while ago, Magic Kingdom officials accepted that the attraction was a bust. They switched Stitch’s Great Escape! to seasonal operation.
Eventually, cast members leaked that Imagineers had disassembled the apparatus for the ride.
What’s Next for the Cursed Building?
Frankly, that building might be cursed. This Tomorrowland space has hosted Flight to the Moon and Missions to Mars, too.
Nothing ever works here. However, Disney plans to try again.
I’ve previously mentioned rumors about a Wreck-It Ralph attraction coming to this building.
Well, after the pandemic shut down society, park officials kept hope alive here. Disney filed plans with the city to demolish the interior of the ride.
Now, I should stress that nobody at the time appreciated just how much Coronavirus would damage the economy and Disney in particular.
Even so, the future of Tomorrowland apparently included Wreck-It Ralph.
Disney’s tearing up pieces from Stitch and the previous Alien Encounter to create the requisite space.
Unfortunately, even the theoretical of Wreck-It Ralph comes with a problem because that’s how it’s going for Disney these days.
The Blue Sky plans call for handheld controllers or the like, some sort of interactive device.
If that sounds familiar, it’s precisely the kind of theme park interface that Disney has deactivated during the pandemic.
I just don’t think we’ll roll back to a point where people are comfortable with this sort of device for several years.
So, the theoretical Wreck-It Ralph ride doesn’t even fit 2020 theme parks. It’ll need tweaking.
The Other Dead Ride
Disney recently took another attraction off the board.
In my estimation, this one also qualifies as a mercy killing. I dislike very few Disney rides, but Primeval Whirl never did anything for me.
I wasn’t alone in this opinion, as Primeval Whirl generally finished right there on the bottom of the surveys alongside Stitch’s Great Escape!
Park officials have planned to close this odd little roller coaster for a while now.
The pandemic provided the perfect excuse, as Disney could do it without making a fuss.
You may have noticed that DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom isn’t fully operational at the moment.
This themed land includes a high volume of those high-touch interfaces I just mentioned.
So, much of DinoLand couldn’t work anyway. With it down, park officials killed two birds with one stone.
Primeval Whirl has left for good, and the rest of DinoLand U.SA may follow it.
I would have expected this to happen almost immediately if Disney weren’t so cash poor.
The Animal Kingdom Imbalance
I’ve previously discussed standing plans for either a second Avatar themed land or an Indiana Jones land.
I’ve questioned the value of a second Pandora on the other side of the park, just as I’ve indicated the need to balance Animal Kingdom.
Currently, guests flock to Pandora – The World of Avatar. If they head to DinoLand U.S.A., they may stop at DINOSAUR for a bit.
However, most guests are walking the path to Asia for a trip on Expedition Everest.
For a park strategist, that’s a waking nightmare of a problem. They design theme parks specifically to attract guests to every themed land.
When people ignore a section, that means the money Disney spent building and maintaining it is a total waste of time.
So, barring something unforeseen, DinoLand U.S.A. appears as dead as the creatures that gave it the name.
If you’re a fan of this themed land, I’m relaying terrible news, and I know it.
The worst part is that I can’t even recommend that you spend a lot of time there. Most of it is closed right now.
The best thing you can do is hope that Disney’s finances keep Dinoland U.S.A. open after the pandemic subsides.
The Other Cancellations
Okay, here comes the really bad news. A couple of months ago, I leveled with you that most Disney rumors won’t have happy endings this year.
Disney cut capital expenditures by $900 million. As a reminder, Pandora – The World of Avatar cost $500 million.
Imagineers can do a LOT with almost a billion dollars.
Unfortunately, Disney doesn’t have that money in 2020, which has led to several cancellations.
The most obvious of them is Rivers of Light.
This nighttime presentation never struck a chord with audiences, even though it was undeniably beautiful.
Park officials revamped it on multiple occasions, eventually turning a daring story about the nature of life into a few melodic songs supporting illuminated floats.
Nothing ever seemed to work, as guests refused to stay at the park just for the show.
Folks, that’s the entire point of nighttime presentations.
So, Disney has closed Rivers of Light forever. And this is one of two changes that don’t come with rumors about potential replacements.
At some point, Animal Kingdom officials will prioritize a nightly show. Unfortunately, that time is probably several years away.
Along those lines, the Mary Poppins attraction appears dead. And I want to be clear here.
I’m not saying delayed; I mean dead. Some Disney executives had soured on the idea after Mary Poppins Returns failed to excel at the box office.
The movie did fine, but it didn’t reinvigorate enough people’s passion for the character, which annoys me since I love it.
In an odd way, the pandemic has given Disney an excuse to pull the plug on something that had lost support.
As things stand, park officials must find a way to debut Ratatouille and Tron Lightcycle Power Run over the next 18 months. Another ride would have been too much.