The Tower Effect
I have been mulling this over in my mind for a few days now if i would address the guardians of the galaxy takeover of DCA tower of terror since it was announced. I wanted to approach it in the best way to respect the opinions of both sides and now i feel i can do so. Whether you agree or disagree, this is what the deal is.
I will start with the side that views the move by Disney negatively. I truly feel for the cast members who work the tower of terror attraction at DCA. I am sure they take immense pride in their location and their role. They work at a version of an attraction that is indeed popular and to get news like this must sting a little. I have no idea if they found out when the world did or they were told months in advance before the official announcement but nonetheless i am sure it hurts to have an attraction you work for close.
As for the fans, some regard the attraction as classic and a must do for a visit to DCA so i can sympathize with that as well. Some feel it was a waste of time to undergo refurbs to fit the theme of hollywoodland on BVS and trolley cars and such just to retheme the entire area.
Some just feel that the decision was random and not in the best interest of the guests. They feel that Disney is more focused on IPs in the park and making money than what the guest actually wants in a visit to DCA. A petition is in the works with over 17k signatures to keep the tower at DCA. It is quite clear that many people cherish this version of tower and do not want to see it leave January 2017.
Some just aren't a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy and feel it doesn't fit the theme of the entire theme park.
As much as i understand and sympathize with this side of the fans, allow me to speak on the other side.
Not one Disney Park has been the absolute same since its grand opening. Changes are absolutely necessary, especially when it comes to theme parks. So it does get a bit annoying at times when some die hard fans instantly have a negative reaction to every change Disney makes in the theme parks whether it be big or small. It would never make sense to not have changes in the parks because let's face it. Many of us would be complaining about Disney never adding anything new if they kept everything the same constantly.
Allow me to quote Uncle Walt if you will :
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. "
And another :
"Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world. "
And probably the most important one relevant to this situation:
"Whenever I go on a ride, I'm always thinking of what's wrong with the thing and how it can be improved. "
Now as a Disney Fan myself, i can completely understand that the Disney parks are places where memories are made. We all have favorite attractions and places with memories attached. But when an attraction is closed, you have something so important. Those memories. The attraction may go but the memories live with you always. And that should be cherished. There have been many times when an attraction left and i mourned it and even questioned what replaced it. But what many disney fans seem to lack is a LITTLE bit of faith in disney to bring a quality attraction to guests. I am not saying we cannot criticize because that is a good thing to criticize disney occasionally. But many fans judge the idea before giving it a chance.
For example, when it was announced maelstrom was closing for a frozen attraction i was livid at first. But i took a step back and thought it over. I allowed myself to stay open minded and give the attraction a chance before making a decision as to whether or not i like the ride. This means i actually plan on riding the attraction, with absolutely no bias, and drawing a conclusion for myself. This logic is what some seem to lack. They are so quick to turn down any idea that they fail to give it a chance.
This brings me to another point that i really just fail to understand. Can we all take a second to define what exactly qualifies as a "Classic Disney Attraction?" And if you think about it, this is where it gets complicated because we all have different ideas as to what one qualifies as a classic disney attraction. For me persoanlly, i cannot consider the DCA version of tower of terror a classic attraction for 2 reasons. the first is because it is not the original. the original tower is located at hollywood studios. the second is because quite frankly i cannot consider any attraction a classic if i am older than it. DCA Tower opened in 2004. DHS Tower opened in 1994. I was born in 1992. But these are just my personal reasons and some may not agree that they are good reasons and that's fine. Compared to the original, it personally just is not the best for me and i can respect some enjoy this version more.
But the epitome of a disney classic attraction that could be used as a jumping off point would be "Carousel of Progress." If you examine the history behind the attraction and its importance in disney park history, then we an dissect it and use this to better define what qualifies as a classic disney attraction. But i believe we can agree on one thing. That if it spawned from an idea walt had or if walt even had a hand in it then it could indeed qualify as a classic disney attraction.
Now back to the tower.
Some fans on the other side may say that guardians does not fit the theme of the land or the park itself. While i agree it may not fit with the park itself, they have said that the attraction is the beginning of essentially a marvel land. So while it may not fit now, eventually for the land that it will become it will.
Also, some will say guardians does not fit disney. Marvel is part of the Disney Company and therefore it is.
Now let's look at this situation at a business standpoint aka the facts.
when DCA opened in 2001, it was just a failure. According to WDWNT and records of the park history, Attendance projections were missed by 5 digit numbers, restaurants were closed, attractions made “seasonally operational” and the Electrical Parade rushed back to try to save the first summer of the park’s existence. Leading up to the massive 50th anniversary celebration of the Disneyland Resort, Disney made a budget-conscious decision to save the park with just one attraction – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The idea behind this was that this attraction save MGM-Studios so the same would happen with DCA. the effect did not happen.
On a list of 1-10 of amusement parks all over the world, Disney California didn't even make the top 10. it came in at number 11 based on attendance.
The list in order with attendance numbers for 2015 are as follows
When looking at just parks in north america, Disney California Adventure makes the top ten but nowhere near the top 5 in the list. which includes Magic kingdom at Disney world, disneyland, EPCOT, animal kingdom and hollywood studios. DCA came in at number 7.
This is a problem.
Now when MGM was first built in was set in mind to be a half day park to begin with. The original Tower in DHS was one of the first of its kind and a BIG draw for guests to come to the park. Surely bringing another version of it to DCA would bring in guests as it did there right? Wrong.
Attendance did rise when the DCA tower opened but it did not even hit close to the projections made by the company. The following years a major overhaul was made on the park which did help but based on numbers historically, the success cannot be given to Tower. Tower did not save DCA. Disney Fans didn't race to ride tower but it brought in enough to keep thrill seekers satisfied. And the execution of this tower shows that it was not given the care that the original was when concepted.
Personally when i visited DCA first, i did not seek to ride DCA tower first. we wanted to go to carsland and paradise pier and even see aladdin and Mad T party. DCA Tower was one of the last attractions we rode that day and the wait was not longer than 15 mins. we didn't even need a fastpass.
Also, DCA tower is not as menacing as the original but disney claimed they did not have the space to build an exact replica of the original which leaves it shorter and no build up to the inside queue although guests can appreciate the little details inside. It seems the ride tries to take guests to guts of the attraction as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible. it misses elements that make tower so great as it lacks randomized drop sequences. The exit hallway isn't even themed as much compared to the original. Quite frankly, it's a cheap clone.
The attraction has been open since 2004 and just has not done well in this park. Elements can't be added to make it better and thus the Guardians attraction was born. Marvel is an excellent draw right now as the Marvel superhero movies bring in big bucks and the concept is quite interesting for the ride.
Joe Rohde is in charge or not just this Marvel project but ALL of the ones to come and it is quite upsetting that even with this fact in place, people lack faith. This is the man that helped create EPCOT. He was the model designer and painter for Mexico pavilion, designer of the fantasyland refurb at Disneyland, worked on the Captain EO 3-D ride, Norway Pavilion and the Adventurer's club! He was the lead designer on Animal Kingdom and currently leads on Pandora: World of Avatar and the creative mind behind Expedition Everest one of the big draws of the park. He even was lead designer on Aulani! And if you want to get really detailed he was the model behind the ficitional owner of Hightower Hotel at Tokyo DisneySea which is their version of Tower of Terror.
This man is a genuis within disney parks regarding parks and attractions so with this in mind disney fans can have a bit of faith. I feel he would not put his name on any project that would be crappy.
Now with all this being said, it is good to note, Disney has events planned for guests to celebrate and pay homage to this version of the ride so it will not go away in vain.
I cannot stress enough how important change is to the Disney theme parks but we have to be open and learn to give these changes a chance.
Threatening to never return will not help the parks at all but hurt them. Do you think by not visiting Disney California Adventure anymore will help the park? You saw the attendance numbers. it will only continue to hurt it more and more. Now it is your personal choice of course whether or not you continue to visit the parks but as a disney fan i can't let one thing stop me from enjoying the parks. if you ride the attraction and do not enjoy it, then simply do not ride it. There is still many things in the park you can enjoy.
I do agree with some fans who are on the other side. It does feel like disney is more about IPs and money but based on the attendance numbers, DCA need sit. Also Disney is a business. They have to focus on money just a bit to stay afloat as well as compete with other theme parks.
I also understand fans wanting to stand by walt's vision but no one can say what walt would or would not have done as it is a different world since he was alive. Honestly i believe only the imagineers who worked with walt himself can really say what he would have wanted and even then we have to take that with a grain of salt. It's a new world and a different time and we have to adapt slightly to the times of now.
The one thing that concerns me is the time frame the project will be completed in. 6-8 months seems a short period of time to complete what is being announced for guests. Even Frozen Ever after took about a year or two to complete.
Alas, we can only wait and see.
But the original tower will not be touched i am very positive of that so i don't know why people feel the need to think this. It's still one of DHS's main draws and brings in the crowds so that's a dumb assumption in my opinion. I have no idea if the attraction will be taking over ellen's at EPCOT as rumored but i wouldn't mind it.
With all this in mind, i hope that as disney fans, we can all come together and learn to be more open to the changes that disney is bringing to the parks and allow ourselves to be more positive because walt's dreams and vision still lives within all of us who visit his parks.
I will start with the side that views the move by Disney negatively. I truly feel for the cast members who work the tower of terror attraction at DCA. I am sure they take immense pride in their location and their role. They work at a version of an attraction that is indeed popular and to get news like this must sting a little. I have no idea if they found out when the world did or they were told months in advance before the official announcement but nonetheless i am sure it hurts to have an attraction you work for close.
As for the fans, some regard the attraction as classic and a must do for a visit to DCA so i can sympathize with that as well. Some feel it was a waste of time to undergo refurbs to fit the theme of hollywoodland on BVS and trolley cars and such just to retheme the entire area.
Some just feel that the decision was random and not in the best interest of the guests. They feel that Disney is more focused on IPs in the park and making money than what the guest actually wants in a visit to DCA. A petition is in the works with over 17k signatures to keep the tower at DCA. It is quite clear that many people cherish this version of tower and do not want to see it leave January 2017.
Some just aren't a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy and feel it doesn't fit the theme of the entire theme park.
As much as i understand and sympathize with this side of the fans, allow me to speak on the other side.
Not one Disney Park has been the absolute same since its grand opening. Changes are absolutely necessary, especially when it comes to theme parks. So it does get a bit annoying at times when some die hard fans instantly have a negative reaction to every change Disney makes in the theme parks whether it be big or small. It would never make sense to not have changes in the parks because let's face it. Many of us would be complaining about Disney never adding anything new if they kept everything the same constantly.
Allow me to quote Uncle Walt if you will :
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. "
And another :
"Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world. "
And probably the most important one relevant to this situation:
"Whenever I go on a ride, I'm always thinking of what's wrong with the thing and how it can be improved. "
Now as a Disney Fan myself, i can completely understand that the Disney parks are places where memories are made. We all have favorite attractions and places with memories attached. But when an attraction is closed, you have something so important. Those memories. The attraction may go but the memories live with you always. And that should be cherished. There have been many times when an attraction left and i mourned it and even questioned what replaced it. But what many disney fans seem to lack is a LITTLE bit of faith in disney to bring a quality attraction to guests. I am not saying we cannot criticize because that is a good thing to criticize disney occasionally. But many fans judge the idea before giving it a chance.
For example, when it was announced maelstrom was closing for a frozen attraction i was livid at first. But i took a step back and thought it over. I allowed myself to stay open minded and give the attraction a chance before making a decision as to whether or not i like the ride. This means i actually plan on riding the attraction, with absolutely no bias, and drawing a conclusion for myself. This logic is what some seem to lack. They are so quick to turn down any idea that they fail to give it a chance.
This brings me to another point that i really just fail to understand. Can we all take a second to define what exactly qualifies as a "Classic Disney Attraction?" And if you think about it, this is where it gets complicated because we all have different ideas as to what one qualifies as a classic disney attraction. For me persoanlly, i cannot consider the DCA version of tower of terror a classic attraction for 2 reasons. the first is because it is not the original. the original tower is located at hollywood studios. the second is because quite frankly i cannot consider any attraction a classic if i am older than it. DCA Tower opened in 2004. DHS Tower opened in 1994. I was born in 1992. But these are just my personal reasons and some may not agree that they are good reasons and that's fine. Compared to the original, it personally just is not the best for me and i can respect some enjoy this version more.
But the epitome of a disney classic attraction that could be used as a jumping off point would be "Carousel of Progress." If you examine the history behind the attraction and its importance in disney park history, then we an dissect it and use this to better define what qualifies as a classic disney attraction. But i believe we can agree on one thing. That if it spawned from an idea walt had or if walt even had a hand in it then it could indeed qualify as a classic disney attraction.
Now back to the tower.
Some fans on the other side may say that guardians does not fit the theme of the land or the park itself. While i agree it may not fit with the park itself, they have said that the attraction is the beginning of essentially a marvel land. So while it may not fit now, eventually for the land that it will become it will.
Also, some will say guardians does not fit disney. Marvel is part of the Disney Company and therefore it is.
Now let's look at this situation at a business standpoint aka the facts.
when DCA opened in 2001, it was just a failure. According to WDWNT and records of the park history, Attendance projections were missed by 5 digit numbers, restaurants were closed, attractions made “seasonally operational” and the Electrical Parade rushed back to try to save the first summer of the park’s existence. Leading up to the massive 50th anniversary celebration of the Disneyland Resort, Disney made a budget-conscious decision to save the park with just one attraction – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The idea behind this was that this attraction save MGM-Studios so the same would happen with DCA. the effect did not happen.
On a list of 1-10 of amusement parks all over the world, Disney California didn't even make the top 10. it came in at number 11 based on attendance.
The list in order with attendance numbers for 2015 are as follows
- Magic Kingdom-20,492,000
- Disneyland- 18,278,000
- Tokyo Disneyland- 16,600,000
- Universal Studios Japan- 13,900,000
- Tokyo DisneySea- 13,600,000
- EPCOT- 11,798,000
- Disney's Animal Kingdom- 10,922,000
- Disney's Hollywood Studios- 10.828,000
- Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris- 10,360,000
- Universal Studios Florida- 9,585,000
When looking at just parks in north america, Disney California Adventure makes the top ten but nowhere near the top 5 in the list. which includes Magic kingdom at Disney world, disneyland, EPCOT, animal kingdom and hollywood studios. DCA came in at number 7.
This is a problem.
Now when MGM was first built in was set in mind to be a half day park to begin with. The original Tower in DHS was one of the first of its kind and a BIG draw for guests to come to the park. Surely bringing another version of it to DCA would bring in guests as it did there right? Wrong.
Attendance did rise when the DCA tower opened but it did not even hit close to the projections made by the company. The following years a major overhaul was made on the park which did help but based on numbers historically, the success cannot be given to Tower. Tower did not save DCA. Disney Fans didn't race to ride tower but it brought in enough to keep thrill seekers satisfied. And the execution of this tower shows that it was not given the care that the original was when concepted.
Personally when i visited DCA first, i did not seek to ride DCA tower first. we wanted to go to carsland and paradise pier and even see aladdin and Mad T party. DCA Tower was one of the last attractions we rode that day and the wait was not longer than 15 mins. we didn't even need a fastpass.
Also, DCA tower is not as menacing as the original but disney claimed they did not have the space to build an exact replica of the original which leaves it shorter and no build up to the inside queue although guests can appreciate the little details inside. It seems the ride tries to take guests to guts of the attraction as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible. it misses elements that make tower so great as it lacks randomized drop sequences. The exit hallway isn't even themed as much compared to the original. Quite frankly, it's a cheap clone.
The attraction has been open since 2004 and just has not done well in this park. Elements can't be added to make it better and thus the Guardians attraction was born. Marvel is an excellent draw right now as the Marvel superhero movies bring in big bucks and the concept is quite interesting for the ride.
Joe Rohde is in charge or not just this Marvel project but ALL of the ones to come and it is quite upsetting that even with this fact in place, people lack faith. This is the man that helped create EPCOT. He was the model designer and painter for Mexico pavilion, designer of the fantasyland refurb at Disneyland, worked on the Captain EO 3-D ride, Norway Pavilion and the Adventurer's club! He was the lead designer on Animal Kingdom and currently leads on Pandora: World of Avatar and the creative mind behind Expedition Everest one of the big draws of the park. He even was lead designer on Aulani! And if you want to get really detailed he was the model behind the ficitional owner of Hightower Hotel at Tokyo DisneySea which is their version of Tower of Terror.
This man is a genuis within disney parks regarding parks and attractions so with this in mind disney fans can have a bit of faith. I feel he would not put his name on any project that would be crappy.
Now with all this being said, it is good to note, Disney has events planned for guests to celebrate and pay homage to this version of the ride so it will not go away in vain.
I cannot stress enough how important change is to the Disney theme parks but we have to be open and learn to give these changes a chance.
Threatening to never return will not help the parks at all but hurt them. Do you think by not visiting Disney California Adventure anymore will help the park? You saw the attendance numbers. it will only continue to hurt it more and more. Now it is your personal choice of course whether or not you continue to visit the parks but as a disney fan i can't let one thing stop me from enjoying the parks. if you ride the attraction and do not enjoy it, then simply do not ride it. There is still many things in the park you can enjoy.
I do agree with some fans who are on the other side. It does feel like disney is more about IPs and money but based on the attendance numbers, DCA need sit. Also Disney is a business. They have to focus on money just a bit to stay afloat as well as compete with other theme parks.
I also understand fans wanting to stand by walt's vision but no one can say what walt would or would not have done as it is a different world since he was alive. Honestly i believe only the imagineers who worked with walt himself can really say what he would have wanted and even then we have to take that with a grain of salt. It's a new world and a different time and we have to adapt slightly to the times of now.
The one thing that concerns me is the time frame the project will be completed in. 6-8 months seems a short period of time to complete what is being announced for guests. Even Frozen Ever after took about a year or two to complete.
Alas, we can only wait and see.
But the original tower will not be touched i am very positive of that so i don't know why people feel the need to think this. It's still one of DHS's main draws and brings in the crowds so that's a dumb assumption in my opinion. I have no idea if the attraction will be taking over ellen's at EPCOT as rumored but i wouldn't mind it.
With all this in mind, i hope that as disney fans, we can all come together and learn to be more open to the changes that disney is bringing to the parks and allow ourselves to be more positive because walt's dreams and vision still lives within all of us who visit his parks.
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