r/disneyparks

After the reveal at this year’s D23 regarding the return of "Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune" next year at Disneyland Paris, this got me thinking that Disney does have the ability to bring classic fan-favorite attractions from the past back. Does anyone agree with my statement?

Apologies if posts about the parks panel were already posted and discussed, but I needed to get my thoughts down.

This year’s presentation on what’s coming to the parks was a complete and utter disappointment, and I find myself in a catch 22. I felt extremely annoyed that I sat through 2 hours of essentially nothing and wish I could get that time back. I would have been furious had I actually paid money to be inside Honda Center to watch this mess of a show. I won’t get into anything outside of Disneyland since Disneyland is my home resort and the only one I have frequented throughout my life.

Historically, Disneyland appears to be an afterthought when it comes to updates even though it’s THE ORIGINAL park. The main focus appears to be WDW, DCL, and other parks for obvious reasons. This year’s presentation, however, really seemed to place Disneyland on the back burner. The showcase begins by telling us 3 old bits of entertainment (“Remember, Dreams Come True” fireworks from 2005, the OG World of Color from 2010, Magic Happens parade from 2020) are returning. While these may be fan favorites, why should I get excited about OLD things returning that Disney took away from us? Where are the new shows? Why the regression?

Moving on to DCA, it’s been 2 years since our last update regarding the Coco attraction and Avengers Campus. 2 years later, our big update for Coco was a statue of Hector and ONE additional piece of concept art. 2 years later, our big update for Avengers Campus is that some actors will reprise their roles in the attractions and that it opens in 2028. Is that seriously it? WHEN in 2028 will AC open? In stages or altogether? When does Coco open? What other details could you share?

Finally, we end the show with one sentence that Tomorrowland will be reimagined. “Thank you for coming to our show!” I honestly thought it was a joke. No opening dates or tentative construction schedule? No discussion on new or reimagined rides? No glimpse into the thought process of new Tomorrowland in terms of influences or inspirations or directions they’d like to take the land? Not even one piece of concept art? If I tell you that I’m going to open a restaurant but don’t say where, when, what’s being served, what the theme or aesthetics are, prices, in other words BASIC information, then what’s the point of sharing it?

I’m in a catch 22 because I’m not sure what is worse, being told nothing or sharing all these details that ultimately don’t happen or get severely watered down because they got cheap (I’m looking at you Galaxy’s Edge). I am fully aware that there have been numerous changes in leadership recently. Different execs have different ideas and priorities. I would have more respect for Disney if they came out and said “look fans, we’ve undergone a lot of leadership changes lately and due to world events, costs keep fluctuating and things keep changing. Rather than present extremely little, this year we will sit out the parks presentation so we can regroup and present you with something truly extraordinary at the next D23 Expo. We sincerely apologize but would still like to showcase some updates we have on current projects that are already in the works.” This would show they actually cared and listened to their fans. Instead, in true corporate fashion, they upcharged everyone who wanted to be at the Honda Center and presented 2 hours worth of fluff: a cacophony of overblown musical numbers, rehearsed and inauthentic “interviews” filled with flat jokes in the same vein as a hybrid of an Oscars ceremony and late night talk shows.

What’s worse were the influencers, which this entire expo and presentation seemed to be geared towards. Prior to this weekend, I was completely ambivalent to influencers. I get it, it’s a job that comes with perks the common person can only dream of. After this weekend, however, I am left with an extremely sour feeling towards them. Again, I understand this is their job, and if they want to remain in all of these companies’ good graces, they need to “oversell” how amazing their products and experiences are (no matter how much they claim to say their views are not influenced by what they were given). At best, influencers posted their over-exaggerated joy over what was announced that could be construed as brown-nosing and utterly annoying, something I can ignore and move on from. At worst, a few have come out (along with other “megafans” and apologists) to criticize those like myself who were disappointed in what was presented. “How dare you that you’re not filled with joy over their announcements! You’re not a true fan! You’re so ungrateful and demanding!” I can share all my credentials on how I label myself as a megafan, but the point is moot. I don’t appreciate being told how to think and what to feel. This is my opinion just as you shared yours. I’m happy that you can be easily impressed with very little. However, as consumers, we SHOULD demand more from corporations who charge us an arm and a leg for their products and experiences. The day we stop challenging them is the day they become complacent and take advantage of us, which is what Disney has been doing of late. It takes decades to build good will and trust and only seconds to lose it. The company is beginning to lose mine slowly but surely. Before anyone says “well if you don’t like it, don’t go. I’ll gladly take your place”, remember that everyone has their breaking points. If enough people “break”, then the company will fall.

I criticize Disney not because I’m a hater or a troll or a contrarian. I do it because I want them to succeed. They have proven for decades what they can accomplish, and in my opinion, they are not meeting the standard they set themselves. They need to do better, and this presentation was not a step in a good direction. In past expos, we got big and exciting news that could be considered game changers. This would’ve been the perfect time and forum to discuss the DisneylandForward project. We could’ve learned in greater detail about a DTD expansion and continued remodel, new hotels, new parking, laid the groundwork for the 3rd park. We got none of that. But again, who knows? They could’ve shared that and done the old fake-out of not doing anything they announced or end up with extremely watered down versions. If the norm for future parks panels will continue to be filled with vague, amorphous statements and blue sky moments disguised as mass focus group studies, then I will no longer waste my time with them. And I sincerely hope people wake up and not attend future parks panels as a way of telling Disney to do better.

tl;dr the presentation was a colossal waste of time and I didn’t enjoy it

My boyfriend and I found out that Disney tickets in Japan are only like $60 and since we're planning on spending a full week in Tokyo we figured it would be a fun thing to do for a day since he likes Disney a lot and has been to the one in Florida multiple times.

When he was booking the tickets, he thought that DisneySea was a waterpark, so he booked the Disneyland ones instead. I researched it a bit after and I found out that people are saying that Sea is a lot better than land.

The last time I was in a Disney park was when I was around 7 years old and I hardly remember it.

Did we mess up? Will we still have fun in Disneyland and are there exclusive things to do there or is it just an exact copy paste of the kind of stuff they have in Disney World?

We are not big Disney people, but of course want to take our kids at some point.

Family just told us they want to go in December. I will be 7 months pregnant, with a 23 month old, while trying to buy a new house. Financially we don’t really think we can make it work. But they are making us feel bad. I think I would just be miserable. And we would be spending 3-4k on a three night trip.

Would you go? Or just let my family go while we sit at home at Christmas?