The Armchair Imagineering Thread

[Nick]

Share your ideas for what you would do if you were in charge of Imagineering here!

 

[Mad Dog]

It's broken, and has been. It's cost of projects is far over the edge. Probably a ton of overpaid, and probably not needed employees, also. A corporate culture that is out of touch and arrogant. Example: Their concepts, like Batuu and a slavish clinging to ignoring the beloved first film characters, lack common sense. Close down the division and contract out projects to more imaginative and cost effective firms.

 

[Nick]

It's broken, and has been. It's cost of projects is far over the edge. Probably a ton of overpaid, and probably not needed employees, also. A corporate culture that is out of touch and arrogant. Example: Their concepts, like Batuu and a slavish clinging to ignoring the beloved first film characters, lack common sense. Close down the division and contract out projects to more imaginative and cost effective firms.

This is not quite what I meant when I said "share your ideas for what you would do if you were in charge of Imagineering"

While I agree with your sentiment about WDI and it's culture, this is meant to be like the "Let's play being head of Universal Creative" thread.

 

[kingcooger]

It's broken, and has been. It's cost of projects is far over the edge. Probably a ton of overpaid, and probably not needed employees, also. A corporate culture that is out of touch and arrogant. Example: Their concepts, like Batuu and a slavish clinging to ignoring the beloved first film characters, lack common sense. Close down the division and contract out projects to more imaginative and cost effective firms.

This is not quite what I meant when I said "share your ideas for what you would do if you were in charge of Imagineering"

While I agree with your sentiment about WDI and it's culture, this is meant to be like the "Let's play being head of Universal Creative" thread.

From my understanding, Batuu was a Kathleen Kennedy suggestion.

That being said, and I know this is a Disneyland thing, Up ride on Paradise Pier. Carl has opened a balloon stand on the pier and wants to show guests what his balloons can REALLY do!

 

[Nick]

That being said, and I know this is a Disneyland thing, Up ride on Paradise Pier. Carl has opened a balloon stand on the pier and wants to show guests what his balloons can REALLY do!

Sort of sounds like what the Inside Out ride is? Or are you thinking something bigger than a flat? I'd love to see them take out the Skycoaster and do something more substantial, although that's not on the pier.

 

[kingcooger]

Sort of sounds like what the Inside Out ride is? Or are you thinking something bigger than a flat? I'd love to see them take out the Skycoaster and do something more substantial, although that's not on the pier.

I would prefer it be something more along the lines of Shanghai’s Peter Pan, honestly, and remove Goofy’s Sky School. Extend out over towards the Hot Dog Hut if need be.

The show building could be hidden in plain sight with more Boardwalk themed games or false front businesses that are marked as “Closed due to good weather”

 

[belloq87]

Here would be, in broad strokes, my general highest priorities if I were running things and had control over allocating funds, while staying in the realm of the semi-plausible:

• Level Animation Courtyard at Hollywood Studios and add 2 - 3 new rides here (C/D-ticket dark rides themed to animated properties, also perhaps the long-rumored door coaster from MONSTERS INC.).
• Develop the expansion pad near Asia in Animal Kingdom. Add 2 - 3 new rides here.
• Add something new to Pandora (could be a walk-through, an elaborate new restaurant, or a dark ride).

Basically do what the Orient Land Company is allowing Disney to do with Fantasy Springs at DisneySea (build a major expansion land with a handful of significant new attractions adding to park capacity), but at two parks at once.

Those would address what I think are WDW's most urgent needs, overall (DHS and AK are the two parks that most require additional things for guests to do). Then, still keeping it semi-realistic:

• Develop a brand-new Journey into Imagination ride at Epcot. Figment has been shown over and over to be a merch mover, and Disney's embraced him as the unofficial mascot of the park. It's time that his attraction was worthy of his status again. Use Mystic Manor as a general template (i.e. projection mapping intergrated with sets, AAs, and animated props/figures).
• Retrack Spaceship Earth at Epcot.
• Bring the Main Street U.S.A. Theater concept back from the dead and put a major, must-see, people-eating show in there.

There are plenty of individual attractions and things that I'd like to see added to each park, but I'd be here all day if I started going into that!

 

[GAcoaster]

Change the whole bureaucratic system. The company should all be working together rather than for each other and against each other.

Move Carousel of Progress from MK to Epcot.
Move Small World from MK to Epcot
Move Jungle Cruise to AK or just remove it totally.
Bring back Snow White's Scary Adventure

Use the freed up space in MK to build new attractions for Tomorrowland and Adventureland, and clone the DL Fantasyland rides (Alice, Pinocchio, Mr. Toad) to take over the Small World show building (it's more than big enough) to add capacity.

Add an attraction to every World Showcase pavilion-- even some themed flat rides to add the capacity and more for families to do in Epcot.

Build Beastly Kingdom and the Excavator roller coaster for Animal Kingdom. Make the train go SOMEWHERE besides backstage areas and the thing it goes to now-- make it have two stations at opposite sides of the park to it functions as transportation.

Add more capacity to ALL of DHS-- expand into the parking lots and build garages. Think big and add more attractions of all types there. Expand Star Wars and retheme it-- still Star Wars but make it a rainforest planet instead of a desert since it rains every day-- add tons of trees and greenery giving shade and making it fit Florida's weather instead of California's.

Turn the TTC into the "Magical Gateway" with shopping and dining which relieves the pressure from Main Street USA to be one giant Disney store. Turn the Main Street stores back into unique shopping experiences and keep the generic crap at TTC in a better version of the World of Disney. Guests are confused by the TTC, but if you make it its own destination it suddenly makes more sense, Expand it into the parking lots and replace surface parking with garages so trams can be eliminated. Add a restaurant that serves breakfast, and offers cocktails later in the day. Have a bar set on the second floor that looks like a monorail parked there with tables looking out the windows onto the TTC mall area. Call it the Mark IV lounge.

Move Trader Sam's to the Tangaroa Terrace at the Poly-- make it a full service destination restaurant/lounge.

Go full Mary Blair on the Contemporary and restore the original theme elements to match the mural.

I've got tons more, but that's top of my mind...

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Just give me Avatar and Coco rides in California.

 

[ParksandSights]

I've never visited WDW, so I don't know what best would fit there. But I'm a Disneyland local, so here's some of my ideas for my home park:

Bring back Paint the Night. Best nighttime show they ever produced. I doubt it returns to Disneyland, with Magic Happens so prominent and popular, but nothing says it couldn't return to DCA like a few years ago.

Tomorrowland needs the complete overhaul. If that's not in the budget, then at the very least remove the fossil fuels from Autopia, and create sleek, futuristic electric cars. Maybe even some minor interactive elements, like a kiddie obstacle course. Also would love to see Wall-E finally have a presence.

Incorporate elements of the Starcruiser into Galaxy’s Edge. I wanna see aliens and droids wandering around. Have daily Sabacc tournaments (upcharge "entrance fee" is an easy money maker), plus the dinner theater (not sure what to price that, maybe 2 or 3 per night?) Include various challenges throughout the land to assist the Resistance or First Order and access hidden areas (and maybe score some exclusive merch?) Also, finally introduce the promised alternate missions on Millennium Falcon.

Add interactive elements into Avengers Campus. I know there are many possibilities, off the top of my head, we could open "portals" with Dr Strange and America Chavez (with an upcharge sling ring), or build a super suit with Shuri and Riri Williams. Expand Marvel into Hollywood Backlot, with Fantastic four as the anchor. The Baxter building is maybe not stunningly beautiful, but it's still an icon for many comics fans.

Save Avatar for Disneyland forward. I don't want them to just replicate the land from AK, but include locations and characters from all over Pandora. Character meets with the creatures.