Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Blue Sky Buzz: Shanghai Hopes...

He's got high hopes...



With only a couple days to go before the Mini-Con, I thought it was time to address a few things...

I know that several sites have reported on several rumors about Shanghai Disneyland. Blue Sky has been relatively quite on the subject lately. Part of that is having to deal with the real world and the limits of time I have. The other part is that I promised my Bothans not to speak about certain thing until the fall. I've also only spoke to them a few times in the past several months. Tom Staggs is a very good leader, that apparently understands the workings of Imagineering better than Jay Rasulo ever could. And he's also good at stopping leaks. But from what I've heard, I'm slowly becoming a fan of the direction he is headed. Staggs is a business man first, but he's someone that seems to get what most bean counters don't. And having him in charge of the parks could offer great opportunities ahead. Time will tell, but I think the Walt Disney Company is a world away from where it was a decade ago. And I clearly think he is the obvious candidate to replace Bob Iger when he decides to step down. Which I hope he realizes in his tenure before Eisner did.

That said, lets move on to Asia:

First off, the rumors that you've heard about a TRON attraction are true. It will take the place of Space Mountain in this sixth Magic Kingdom styled park. It is the giant white dome you see in that overview artwork piece the company released when they officially announced the resort a while back. It will be enclosed in darkness so that you won't see the exposed beams that shoot the lightcycle-type vehicles through the world of Tron (And yes, like the websites are saying, it is based on the Vekoma Motobike System designs).

As we were the first to break this, yes the water attraction that we mentioned is called the "Lost World River Rapids" and it is the mountain that you see in that artwork that was released (you did click on the link to "The Lost World" novel right?). I was able to tease what it was, but I wasn't able to reveal the name. Now that it's out, I can say that the stories are correct and there is more. Remember when Bob Iger mentioned that this park will be uniquely Chinese? Well, that's one of the reasons this attraction was approved. China is home to the largest collection of dinosaur finds in the world and the Mouse wants to play this up. The ride itself will be influenced by the GRR attraction that we have here in California, but it will be different. First off, it will have dinosaur audio-animatronics on it. Unless they make budget cuts, like happened on GRR, which have twice ended the inclusion of AA's, then you can expect a prehistoric experience. Also, the rockwork is very beautiful and extravagant. It is also expensive and over budget in design. Let's hope that the project isn't downscaled because the design is quite lovely and will become an instant classic. Please don't cut the beauty simply because of the cost overruns, Mr. Staggs.

Some people have noticed that Mayan temple over in the Adventureland area and have supposed that it is a Indiana Jones attraction. I can confirm that it is not. As of now, there are no plans to include the Man in the Hat on opening day. Things could change, but the designs of this attraction are not based on the Lucasfilm property. What it is, I can't say at this time, but wanted to tell you what it's not.

I know that sites are starting to report that the area will include a new "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction with elements based on the designs of the attraction that was proposed for Hong Kong Disneyland. I can't confirm this, but there was/will be a POTC stunt show similar to the Indiana Jones one at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Whether this to be done in conjunction with or in place of the attraction, I'm not sure. As always, time will tell, and maybe we'll find out in not too much time.

There will be no Frontierland as of my last talks with the Bothans. Not that it hasn't been mentioned, but the plans for anything related to something that would go in such an area, would be placed in another land. While Japanese don't have any conception of what a "frontier" is, the Chinese experience with that term is known and considered far more negative. Hence the decision to not have a land named for it. In truth, Shanghai itself is the true Frontierland; wild, untamed and full of energy.

Just like HKDL has a variation of the Haunted Mansion, the Shanghai park will have variations on classic Disney attractions. In this case, the "Jungle Cruise" will be part of the park when it opens up in 2015/16, albeit with the same kind of variations that you see between the original Haunted Mansion and Mystic Manor. But it will be classic WDI from the designs I know of.

Over in Fantasyland, the "Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster" is a go. This appears to be a clone of the one being built in the Extreme Expansion of WDW's Fantasyland. Another attraction that will be found in this land that is not in China's other Disney park is "Peter Pan" and a variation of the classic "Winnie the Pooh" ride. Plans are evolving and discussions are ongoing as to which other attractions are to be included. Expect at least one, possibly two more to join these on opening day.

That slow flume ride beneath the castle is also true as well. But, while some sites have reported that it will go throughout the entire park, it will actually only travel around Fantasyland. But it will be a beautiful ride through that popular land. The experience you get will be one of an enveloping fairytale, but done with the Imagineer's golden touch.

Disney and it's Imagineers have had a difficult time adjusting to Chinese culture and their way of doing things. It is a learning experience and a frustrating one at times. The way that things are constructed and the guidelines that China uses are not what WDI expects and it has been a challenge dealing with the way things are done in the Middle Kingdom, and Shanghai in particular. Let's just say the tools they use, figuratively and literally are different than what Glendale is used to working with.

There will be plans and models shown at the D23 Expo, but I wouldn't expect everything or most of what has been revealed here to debut. Unless Staggs changes the initial plans then we can really expect an overview with some minor surprises. But we'll have to wait for that big, beautiful tomorrow to find out.

Because tomorrow is only a tomorrow away...

29 comments:

Christopher said...

I hope they use the Tokyo version of Winnie the Pooh instead of the Orlando one!

Great update, Honor!

Insider Desider said...

Yeah, I've heard that the safety standards that the Chinese are using Disney is not used to. They are driving the execs and Imagineers batty!

Astounder said...

I hope they don't cut the budget for Lost World River Run, it sounds really fun. Now if they'll just put some cool AA's of Grizzlies and the like on GRR!

Tom said...

Lost World River Rapids? What a lame name...
And Pooh is the only Fantasyland darkride in HKDL, how could you forget that Honor?! ;-)

The rest sounds really good, this is so exciting, the Tron ride alone makes me want to visit this park!!!

Anonymous said...

I believe that he was saying Peter Pan would be the one not from HKDL and Pooh would be a variation of the existing attractions. Not that both were not in Hong Kong.

Arty C. Doyle said...

Lost World River Rapid sounds lame? I don't think so. The Lost World sounds great and the description of the mountain sounds like it could be fun as well.

Som Ttaggs said...

From what I hear about Staggs whittling down the five lands (it was really four, not five. There never was a Frontierland planned), to three lands, it sounds like Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. This is the same layout as HKDL. Which I have no problem with depending on the number of attractions and the attractions themselves.

This line-up looks promising.

Joshamee Gibbs said...

I hope they do put in the Pirates ride from HKDL, it was awesome and a mistake for the local government to reject it.

Anonymous said...

A stunt show for Pirates? Really?? REALLY???

Anonymous said...

I hope they approve that Tron ride to replace Innoventions in Anaheim. Because the R & D is already paid for, it seems like a no brainer.

Agent Mouse said...

Wait till you see the carousel developed for the gardens in front of the castle.

Anonymous said...

Who cares? It´s in Shanghai; as far as I´m concerned, it might as well be on the moon...

Michael said...

I'll bet 5 Disney Dollars that Honor's comment "Because tomorrow is only a tomorrow away" is a serious D23 hint and not just a continuation of the Big Beautiful Tomorrow reference.

Anonymous said...

"Imagineer's golden touch"??? You're joking, right? Nothing "golden" has come from WDI in at least 15 years.

This is typical disney propoganda: Design something that appears to be good; hard sell it as something great and amazing and wonderful. Employ unqualified, uncreative "talent" because they are the brothers, neices, sons and daughters of ourselves or our wall street cronies. Confirm that management and bean-counters have creative signatory approval over said oproject. Make it crappy by cutting corners at every turn of actual development. Over compensate by spending tons of cash marketing as something good and magical with our bloated PR machine. After we've oversold to our already numb and brain dead fanbase, suck the cash out of their pockets with out outrageously inflated prices. Then we will pat ourselves on the back for our "golden touch".

Disney's competitors in China and Universal are going to faciliate the diseased disney company's death by simply allowing disney to conduct business as usual until it whithers and dies or crushes itself to death from its own top-heavy approach to "creativity".

Stanton said...

Bitter are we? I think it's a bit harsh to say the last 15 years has been devoid of creativity. Guess you've never ridden "Expedition Everest", or "Mission Space", or "Toy Story Mania", or...

Anonymous said...

I hope the hint "Because tomorrow is only a tomorrow away..." is in reference to Disneyland's Tomorrowland. That would be really neat.

Anonymous said...

I miss the blue sky buzz's that had to do with the parks here in america.

Anonymous said...

I have ridden ALL of the attractions at ALL of the American parks including Everest, Mania and Space and felt that they were ALL lacking the attention to detail, surprises and originality that was synonymous with the disney parks in the years prior to Frank Wells untimely death. Furthermore, EVERY time I have visited ANY of the parks in the last ten years, I always left disappointed by the glaring lack of new creativity and park maintenance; left frustrated by the lack of restraint as evidenced by the hoards of guests crammed into the park w/o regard to the guests already there (all for more cash); left angered by the lack of consideration towards the guests by the CM's and horrified by the arrogance of guest relations and/or event services for their blatant disregard for the customers, fans and guests. The only art they have mastered in the last two decades is manipulating the fanbase to squeeze more money out of them and offering nothing in return.

You know I'm right.

It is ALWAYS a regrettable experience and this former fan never visits the parks anymore or sees any of the bland, monotonous and unoriginal movies. I am also dedicated to changing the perception that disney has any value in any of their offerings and I will not stop until I have succeeded.

Anonymous said...

Ok this sounds like fun and all, BUT when in the hell am I going to make it all the way there. I live in Chicago.... so it will be a long time before I see this. And what in the world is the American parks going to get? I just came back from WDW, and besides Disney Hollywood, all the parks there are lame and boring. Epcot needs a update really bad. MK needs a lot more to do and before you say it, come on its only one more new attraction more in the end when Fantasyland is done. WDW needs help and it needs it asap. Disney does not stay loyal to its loyal fans. They rather leave everything the way it is here in the states, and fight the differences in China to give the a brand new MK with everything new and exciting while everything rots here. I'm sorry , but in my eyes Universal Orlando is kicking WDW's booty right now.

Anonymous said...

Anon at 5:26pm...

WIGGINS????? Loser lol, wasting your life by complaining about something you hate.

Go get a girl friend. Or off yourself. Either one is good.

Speaking of micechat. Honor, do you do anything involving D23? I noticed the freaks at micechat have their owns disney guests and legends. Is it not sort of breaching some expo grounds by having your own 'meet and greet' with Disney legends in your exposition booth and not through the official show? Seems to me like MC is being their douchey selves and wanting the expo to be about them as much as they can...

After all, NO other website exists except MC. They now even remove references to other websites on their forums.

What a bunch of psychotic douchebabies.

Yen Sid said...

To Anonymous August 18, 2011 5:26 PM

I have to ask, have you been to Tokyo Disney Resort?

Tokyo Disney Seas is the most creative and visually stunning theme park on the planet. It is pristine and the park maintenance is of the highest standard, as is Tokyo Disneyland. The cast members (CM) at the Resort are (in my experiences) extremely helpful and respectful; I do agree though that the parks have been crowded, though I still enjoyed walking around the parks, enjoying the beautiful architecture, even if the rides have long queues.

Again have you visited Hong Kong Disneyland? I agree that the park, in virtually all respects, is the same as other Disneyland theme parks around the globe. Again, however, the park maintenance and cast members are of a high standard, expected from a global service industry.

Disneyland Paris is once again another example of the Imagineers’ ability to create visually beautiful locations of ‘Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy’...agreed that maintained and cast members are however below what is to be expected from a Disney Resort.

I cannot comment on Disneyland California, because I have as yet been there. However, Walt Disney World (WDW) is a metropolis of attractions and entertainment that no other single private company in the world rivals. Agreed, that new attractions at WDW are few and far between, however, Disney is now a global business and WDW has seen a large amount of investment over the years, and thus there can be periods of less new activity as they invest elsewhere. After all, they are the most popular theme park complex, so they must be doing something right! Service wise, through my personal experience, WDW CM have been very respectful and helpful albeit not as much as Tokyo or Hong Kong.

I feel sorry for you that you can longer see the ‘magic’ that Disney Parks create for millions throughout the world. However, everyone is allowed there own opinion...and hopefully one day in the future they create something that in turn creates a spark of childhood happiness in you.




To Anonymous August 19, 2011 7:29 AM

‘They rather leave everything the way it is here in the states,’...I have to somewhat disagree with your statement...they have invested well of a billion dollar into Disney California Adventure theme park, have invested a huge sum of money into a new resort in Hawaii and have launched a brand new Cruise ship in 2011 (the Disney Dream) and are building another for 2012 (The Disney Fantasy).

On top of these projects, In Disneyland California Resort, they are redesigning Main Street USA, creating a new area in Fantasyland, re-imagineering the Disneyland Hotel and have recently opened Star Tours 2.Finally, WDW they are also expanding Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.

So, I believe, they are investing a lot into the USA section of Disney Parks and Resorts and in an ever changing and globalising world Disney need to break into new markets such as China, after all it is a private organisation, thus its main objectives (I expect) are to make money and increase its brand power. Also, though, by bringing Mickey Mouse and their famous theme parks to China it allows more children around the world to hopefully get the same great magically feeling as children have in USA since the 1950’s.

Feel free to comment on my thoughts. Thanks

Brian said...

"Ok this sounds like fun and all, BUT when in the hell am I going to make it all the way there. I live in Chicago.... so it will be a long time before I see this. And what in the world is the American parks going to get? I just came back from WDW, and besides Disney Hollywood, all the parks there are lame and boring. Epcot needs a update really bad. MK needs a lot more to do and before you say it, come on its only one more new attraction more in the end when Fantasyland is done. WDW needs help and it needs it asap. Disney does not stay loyal to its loyal fans. They rather leave everything the way it is here in the states, and fight the differences in China to give the a brand new MK with everything new and exciting while everything rots here. I'm sorry , but in my eyes Universal Orlando is kicking WDW's booty right now."

+1
Well Said.

Anonymous said...

On top of these projects, In Disneyland California Resort, they are redesigning Main Street USA, creating a new area in Fantasyland, re-imagineering the Disneyland Hotel and have recently opened Star Tours 2.Finally, WDW they are also expanding Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.

Seriouslly....They are adding a pool with slides to the outdated Disneyland Hotel. The hotel needed a vast makeover. The rooms were horrible and old. The main street expansion is a joke. Its essential another meet n greet. They need to expand WDW with some new rides. Magic Kingdom is lacking Matterhorn, Finding Nemo, Indy, Mr. Toad, Story Book, Alice, Pinnocio, etc.

The new snow white train ride and meet n greet is a complete joke. No wonder why Universal is doing so well.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at August 19, 2011 12:16 PM, is that the best you can do? BTW- your comment herein indicate that you must be a Justin Beiber fan with poor writing skills. Umm... go back to school and show you are capable of learning something, "douchebaby".

Yen: No, I have not been to TDS. However I am aware of the park's superiority over the Disney owned parks. But I also happen to know (first-hand) that the reason why the Tokyo parks are so much better is because OLC demands that their parks be designed and built to the highest possible standards. Even when WDC actually attempts to encourage them to cut corners, the OLC refuses. The japanese have FAR more cultural integrity than we do and it is reflected in the parks and elsewhere. But they also know that if you short-change your customers, you will lose those customers.

People are beginning to realize how the WDC is taking advantage of them and will soon grow as fed-up as I have. Changes are coming and mouschwitz is going to start paying the price for their greed and arrogance

Anonymous said...

Bwahahahahahaaaaaa!

You're just upset I was able to call you out from a simple post Wig.

Keep on stewin'. Douchebaby!

Anonymous said...

" Is it not sort of breaching some expo grounds by having your own 'meet and greet' with Disney legends in your exposition booth and not through the official show? Seems to me like MC is being their douchey selves and wanting the expo to be about them as much as they can..."

MC/MA sells books, trips, everything in big numbers. Look at how busy their booth was compared to the others.

Former NFFC booth also had a few legends too.


"After all, NO other website exists except MC. They now even remove references to other websites on their forums."

LP bans mention of Al, as do many other sites.

Anonymous said...

"LP bans mention of Al, as do many other sites."

Wise to ban the mentioning of a psycho who has personally gone to the home of a child to tell his parents what he had said about him online...

Anonymous said...

this sound crap, answer this question for me, do you think an outdoor rapid ride is a interesting ,highly themed, original and distinctly Chinese ride? and fantasyland doesn't sound like there will be enough attractions and what about classic attractions like haunted mansion, is this your way of telling me that shanghai disneyland is going to be crap?

Anonymous said...

by the way, i'm sure you know that china is an economic powerhouse of the world right now, do you think they will allow a budget cut on a ride? don't forget they are investing heavily in this project! sometimes i think you westerners don't understand about china at all.you know after reading this post i'm pretty angry. and i hope some of what you said are rumors,(i think they are since you are not offical) just letting you know.