Is Toy Story Land underperforming?

[wdw4rfam]

I was underwhelmed by Pandora. I just was...like...meh.

Same

 

[rteetz]

Same

Just curious as to why?

 

[AnOtHeRdIsNeYfReAk]

Pandora is going to become less and less popular. It was hyped and is not living to expectations. The same will happen with the Star Wars attraction. Star Wars has lost the mojo of the original and will never be the same

Never underestimate the power of nerds. We're a dedicated bunch. I predict Star Wars land will be a popular attraction for a very long time.

 

[midaroco]

Just curious as to why?

Ryan -

I think it may have been a combination of the over hyping of the area over the lengthy time it took to build compared to competitors building entire lands, combined with the stripping out and scaling back on the original announced features of the land (removing the tactile sensitive bioluminescent feature in the walkway, etc). Was it nice? Sure. It didn’t blow me away the way that walking into the wizarding world of Harry Potter did - and I wasn’t even a potter fan! I was awe struck walking into that area, feeling as though I was walking into the movie. With Pandora, I dunno - to me it feels very small and contained. Perhaps that was part of my feeling of being underwhelmed. I’m not saying they didn’t do a good job, I just kinda feel like they are phoning it in with their parks here in the U.S. because they are such cash cows they don’t really need to give that much to continue to reap the revenues they have been.

 

[rteetz]

Ryan -

I think it may have been a combination of the over hyping of the area over the lengthy time it took to build compared to competitors building entire lands, combined with the stripping out and scaling back on the original announced features of the land (removing the tactile sensitive bioluminescent feature in the walkway, etc). Was it nice? Sure. It didn’t blow me away the way that walking into the wizarding world of Harry Potter did - and I wasn’t even a potter fan! I was awe struck walking into that area, feeling as though I was walking into the movie. With Pandora, I dunno - to me it feels very small and contained. Perhaps that was part of my feeling of being underwhelmed. I’m not saying they didn’t do a good job, I just kinda feel like they are phoning it in with their parks here in the U.S. because they are such cash cows they don’t really need to give that much to continue to reap the revenues they have been.

Interesting, I didn't feel it was overhyped. I can understand the length aspect although it really didn't take a lot longer than many other major Disney projects. I have yet to see Harry Potter areas. I wasn't really a fan of Avatar either, I enjoyed the movie but thought it was just okay nothing great. When I first walked into Pandora I loved it. It has become by far my favorite land in WDW and adds a lot to my favorite Disney theme park. I definitely can understand not liking it as everyone is different but not really sure about the phoning it in aspect of your reply. Yes there was a large stagnant period from roughly 1999-2011ish. Since then Disney, specifically WDW has picked it up in terms of additions with NFL, Pandora, Toy Story, and many more coming additions.

 

[midaroco]

Interesting, I didn't feel it was overhyped. I can understand the length aspect although it really didn't take a lot longer than many other major Disney projects. I have yet to see Harry Potter areas. I wasn't really a fan of Avatar either, I enjoyed the movie but thought it was just okay nothing great. When I first walked into Pandora I loved it. It has become by far my favorite land in WDW and adds a lot to my favorite Disney theme park. I definitely can understand not liking it as everyone is different but not really sure about the phoning it in aspect of your reply. Yes there was a large stagnant period from roughly 1999-2011ish. Since then Disney, specifically WDW has picked it up in terms of additions with NFL, Pandora, Toy Story, and many more coming additions.

Regarding my phoning it in comment, the stagnant period you mentioned is indeed huge. And it appeared that large sections of the parks seemed to go neglected, while they were uninterested in investing in expanding and enhancing the park experiences and more interested in investing in technology that would herd customers like cattle into gift shops and spread them out, forcing them to go on outdated rides they otherwise most likely interested in riding. It felt like the additions that were made (new fantasy land, pandora, toy story land, Star Wars:Galaxys Edge) were all made in response to Universal and the additions and rapid updates the we’re making to their parks, building and opening entirely new lands in, I believe it was, 14 months. From what I can tell about TSL, with the cuts they made from the originally announced land, and from friends who recently went - it’s a bit of a let down. I guess if I had to summarize how I feel, I’d say that the way I feel is a direct result of Disney’s own design and marketing. They promote that they are the best, so naturally one would have certain expectations. They’ve failed to meet the expectations they have set, certain aspects feel rushed and cheap to me (which is ironic since we all know how long they take!).

 

[alilang]

Definitely shorter lines after the hoopla. I think people just heard “new land” and didn’t stop to realize it wasn’t providing a TON of new stuff. Still excited to check it out ASAP!

 

[rteetz]

Regarding my phoning it in comment, the stagnant period you mentioned is indeed huge. And it appeared that large sections of the parks seemed to go neglected, while they were uninterested in investing in expanding and enhancing the park experiences and more interested in investing in technology that would herd customers like cattle into gift shops and spread them out, forcing them to go on outdated rides they otherwise most likely interested in riding. It felt like the additions that were made (new fantasy land, pandora, toy story land, Star Wars:Galaxys Edge) were all made in response to Universal and the additions and rapid updates the we’re making to their parks, building and opening entirely new lands in, I believe it was, 14 months. From what I can tell about TSL, with the cuts they made from the originally announced land, and from friends who recently went - it’s a bit of a let down. I guess if I had to summarize how I feel, I’d say that the way I feel is a direct result of Disney’s own design and marketing. They promote that they are the best, so naturally one would have certain expectations. They’ve failed to meet the expectations they have set, certain aspects feel rushed and cheap to me (which is ironic since we all know how long they take!).

I can agree with this. Disney is regarded as the best and should be held to those standards and Disney fans as of late give Disney a pass on many things. Something like Pandora is Disney at its best IMO. Toy Story Land though while I haven’t seen it in person yet I know about the cuts and costs and it could have been much better and really should have been.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Ryan -

I think it may have been a combination of the over hyping of the area over the lengthy time it took to build compared to competitors building entire lands, combined with the stripping out and scaling back on the original announced features of the land (removing the tactile sensitive bioluminescent feature in the walkway, etc). Was it nice? Sure. It didn’t blow me away the way that walking into the wizarding world of Harry Potter did - and I wasn’t even a potter fan! I was awe struck walking into that area, feeling as though I was walking into the movie. With Pandora, I dunno - to me it feels very small and contained. Perhaps that was part of my feeling of being underwhelmed. I’m not saying they didn’t do a good job, I just kinda feel like they are phoning it in with their parks here in the U.S. because they are such cash cows they don’t really need to give that much to continue to reap the revenues they have been.

I definitely agree with you about some of the features of the land - that were promoted/promised and then not delivered on were a bit of a let down - I found this to mostlynimpact the night time experience. It’s still really cool but not quite as amazing as I had built it up in my head/thought t could be

I do think in the day time it might be even more impressive than I was expecting and FOP truly is amazing and Sautu’li is a great addition. But the night time experience did underwhelm me just a bit

 

[Orange Team]

I wouldn't say 1999 to 2011 was stagnant at WDW. A lot of things opened then.

Test Track, Kali River Rapids (and most of Asia), Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Tarzan Rocks, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and All-Star Movies opened in 1999 alone. Other things that opened in that time frame were Mission: Space, Soarin', new China movie, Living Seas/Nemo redo, 2 versions of Imagination, Philharmagic, Toy Story Mania, Lights Motors show, Star Tours: Adventures Continue, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Pop Century, Crush Gusher (at Typhoon), Nemo the Musical, TriceraTop Spin, Primeval Whirl, and Expedition Everest.

 

[DLgal]

Pandora is still slammed with people. The "I hate the movie no need to see the land" people are won over as soon as they see the land or ride FoP. Which is still easily one of the best attractions not only in WDW but in most any theme/amusement park anywhere.

.

Nope. Didn't win me over. I was unimpressed with Pandora. It honestly looked like the rest of Animal Kingdom to me. In fact, I had a hard time knowing when, exactly, we had entered the land. It's just more of the same....trees, plants, rocks, water. Nothing about it blew me away. I didn't really enjoy FoP. If be fine if I never rode it again.

I was FAR more impressed by Hogsmeade at Universal, and still consider Forbidden Journey to be a superior ride.

 

[rteetz]

Nope. Didn't win me over. I was unimpressed with Pandora. It honestly looked like the rest of Animal Kingdom to me. In fact, I had a hard time knowing when, exactly, we had entered the land. It's just more of the same....trees, plants, rocks, water. Nothing about it blew me away. I didn't really enjoy FoP. If be fine if I never rode it again.

I was FAR more impressed by Hogsmeade at Universal, and still consider Forbidden Journey to be a superior ride.

So not an Animal Kingdom fan then?

I’m a huge Animal Kingdom fan and in no way does this just look like the rest of AK.

 

[midaroco]

So not an Animal Kingdom fan then?

I’m a huge Animal Kingdom fan and in no way does this just look like the rest of AK.

I do agree - it doesn’t resemble the rest of AK at all. If It did, Africa would be the #1 tourist destination in the world, I’m sure.

 

[disneygirlsng]

Nope. Didn't win me over. I was unimpressed with Pandora. It honestly looked like the rest of Animal Kingdom to me. In fact, I had a hard time knowing when, exactly, we had entered the land. It's just more of the same....trees, plants, rocks, water. Nothing about it blew me away. I didn't really enjoy FoP. If be fine if I never rode it again.

I was FAR more impressed by Hogsmeade at Universal, and still consider Forbidden Journey to be a superior ride.

I guess I've just missed all the floating mountains, bioluminescence, incredibly unique Pandora-native plants, etc throughout the rest of AK. I know not everyone loves AK as much as I do, but that's a bit of a reach.

 

[DLgal]

I guess I've just missed all the floating mountains, bioluminescence, incredibly unique Pandora-native plants, etc throughout the rest of AK. I know not everyone loves AK as much as I do, but that's a bit of a reach.

All those plants looked so fake and plastic to me. Sorry, just didn't wow me. We didn't go at night, so no bioluminescence was seen.

Don't even get me started on the "floating mountains." They are NOT floating...there is an obvious support system. Looks like a haphazard pile of rocks.

Again, this is just my opinion, as well as my family's. None of us was impressed. Sorry to burst your bubble. I was responding to the sentiment that "everyone who sees it is blown away." Not so.

 

[Capang]

Nope. Didn't win me over. I was unimpressed with Pandora. It honestly looked like the rest of Animal Kingdom to me. In fact, I had a hard time knowing when, exactly, we had entered the land. It's just more of the same....trees, plants, rocks, water. Nothing about it blew me away. I didn't really enjoy FoP. If be fine if I never rode it again.

I was FAR more impressed by Hogsmeade at Universal, and still consider Forbidden Journey to be a superior ride.

I respectfully disagree that it looks like the rest of AK. Took a first time there today and she noted the differences as soon as we crossed into Pandora from Africa. I'm cool with you not liking the ride, one less person ahead of me in line. It is insanely popular as a land. I was there today and the land was packed. FoP was 95 minutes but those coming out said it was more like 130. Lots of kids drumming, huge crowds around the guy in the suit (the name escapes me). AK isn't my favorite park but I find it to be the best themed and most immersive of all the parks. To each their own.
ETA I just realized this was a TSL discussion thread, otherwise I would not have commented here. Sorry!

 

[paradesintherain]

They are NOT floating...there is an obvious support system. Looks like a haphazard pile of rocks.

WHAT? I thought Disney had invented a way to make solid hunks of concrete float?!

 

[DLgal]

WHAT? I thought Disney had invented a way to make solid hunks of concrete float?!

THAT would have blown me away.

 

[detgadget]

Can't wait to go.

 

[tlmadden73]

Regarding the "Pandora underwhelming" comments.

I haven't been to either Pandora or Toy Story land.
Pandora, nor TSL really have the "history" that say the Wizarding World does, but it appears (from pictures) that those lands are missing the "little" things that make it immersive. Wizarding World (just the Hogsmeade side) had a wand shop (that was a show in itself), a candy store (filled with candy that was prominent in the books/movies), a restaurant, several rides, etc. Just lots of little extra touches that makes this world that is in books and movies come alive.

Pandora and TSL, both seem to LOOK good (again, I won't see them in person until November), but I'm not sure what "extra little touches" those lands can have. They just don't have the depth of source material. (though an actual TOY Store inside Toy Story Land would have seemed like a no-brainer)?

Pandora and Toy Story Land, even though they are Disney's first big steps into "immersive lands" aren't supposed to be the "Harry Potter killer", like Star Wars Land is. They are just part of the "big picture"

But . .if Star Wars land doesn't have the magical immersiveness that even just ONE SIDE of the Wizarding World does, you could could say THAT Disney's whole foray into "immersive lands" is underperforming.
Star Wars ha