Themed Attraction.com

[steamboatwillie]

I spent this past Monday at Disneyland, checking out the holiday festivities and of course the re-opening of IASW. Has anyone else on this board visited Disneyland since the renovation?

I recall the controversy over the purported changes involving placing Disney characters in the various regions, yet I don't recall seeing any. Not that I'm upset about this, yet, I was wondering what ever came of this debacle.

Now, to be fair, I wasn't wearing my glasses Granted, my vision's not terrible, but I probably wasn't the most apt study of change without 20/20 vision. Anyhow, if anyone can shed any light on this, it would be much appreciated.

As for the ride itself, I actually really enjoyed it. Prior to the media storm, I was never truly an adamant fan of the ride. I can appreciate the design and Mary Blair's artistic style, but it rarely topped my list of attractions to see while in Anaheim. While that's merely one person's subjective opinion, I can easily appreciate the ride systems innovation at the time of its inception, its eternal message and Walt's love of this Disney classic.

All in all, it was nice to see people lining up for this attraction again. After several years of it seeming like a forgotten piece of history lodged somewhere in between Fantasyland and Toontown, it's good to see it's shimmering lights cast an electrifying display of wonder and joy for thousands of tiny gawking eyes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[wokcreative]

We were there this weekend but didn't make it onto IASW. I had seen pics and articles about lines that seemed to be hours long, but it was only at 35 minutes when we checked the board. It was a busy day and we just didn't make it over there. From what I've heard, not much was changed at all, except for the completely new flume and boats. I'm sure much was done as far as improvements that no one will realize - like new lighting... We'll definitely make it over there on our next trip.
We'll also be sure to ride the new monorail - red and blue were both running!
Also, the Sleeping Beauty walk-through was open, but lines were Very long. We'll make that the first thing we do, to be sure to get in to see it.

[MartinJ]

It's my understanding that there are more changes coming to the IASW attraction. The major ones were intentionally not introduced right away. Instead, the characters are supposed to be brought in after the holiday overlay is removed. There's supposed to be the "American" finale currently hidden behind a curtain. At least, that's the rumor sites and boards.
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-Martin

[wokcreative]

That makes sense, for a few reasons. I've been hearing/reading lately about doing that sort of thing on other attractions, too. Like plussing the Haunted Mansion after the Christmas overlay each year... Also, to not introduce too much new stuff at the same time. It gives it a sort of cushion.
I know it will be an improvement. The hype toward the negative is always bigger in the rumors and most are pleased with the end results. The naysayers usually seem to forget that the people working on the attractions do it because they love it - maybe (probably) more than the "fans" do.

[WDIR&D]

"New and Improved" never brings in as many people as "New", but because it's in Disneyland, and all the locals there are absolutely insane about how well the attraction will hold up with the new characters (Which I've seen, and I think they are a good addition, for what it's worth) in the ride, it's going to be very crowded when it reopens. And I guess we'll find out next week it it worked well or not with the locals, as they'll all be posting over at MiceChat I'm sure.

[wokcreative]

We got to go on it the other day and were very happy with it. The new characters blended into their areas very well (of course) and the new lighting and music were incredible. The only criticism would be about the new America room - that more could have been done, even; and that Woody and Jessie looked kinda funny. I know they are supposed to look like toys in a toy world, but they were sort of to the point of strange. With the variety that was shown of this country, there is even more - in landscape and in types of people (sort of a mix of the rest of the world that is represented in the rest of the attraction). Maybe there will be more done in the future for that room, or they were just easing everyone into the idea of it?
Anyway, we were very pleased. It will take going through a few times to hear all of the subtleties in the music, which is a good thing, too. Bravo, as always, on the plussing.

[stephenxanders]

Improvement doesn't really mean that it will look different. What matters most is your experience do vary and that you had a lot more fun than your previous visit, right?
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