I have spoken passively over the last few weeks about the possible closing of Innoventions and the potential arrival of MyMagic+. And now, after having read an article by Al Lutz over at MiceChat, I’m beginning to see how these two things, and a few others are actually closely related, especially when it comes to the future of Tomorrowland. First, let me summarize quickly a few points that Al made in his column.
- Cars Land has been wildly successful.
- The new Fantasyland in Disney World has not.
The lesson learned apparently by Disney execs is that you don’t open a new land one attraction at a time over an 18 month period (WDW Fantasyland), but rather launch the entire land all at once.
- Nobody likes Innoventions.
- Everyone loves Marvel.
So why don’t we have a Stark Expo instead of Innoventions? See above!
- MyMagic+ is currently in a sort of beta phase at WDW.
- Customers don’t understand it.
- Cast members don’t understand it.
- Disney won’t explain it.
It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out that if all of those things listed above aren’t fixed or improved somehow, MyMagic+, a billion dollar initiative, will fail.
So what does all of this mean for Disneyland enthusiasts? It means just about everything is on hold until they can figure out what is or is not working. It means they’re not going to close Innoventions for Stark Expo as a one off. They’re going to do an entire remodel of Tomorrowland. It also means that they want to know how MyMagic+ performs before plans and specs are drawn. And because there are vast amounts of money being budgeted for MyMagic, the budget for a Tomorrowland remodel or expansion will be affected.
The Future of Tomorrowland
From my perspective, I’m going to go ahead and say that all of this seems like pretty good news to me. I think I prefer that MyMagic fail. The whole thing just doesn’t seem sincere to me. I don’t believe it benefits the customer in any significant way. And the sooner MyMagic fails, the sooner we can start spending money on a Tomorrowland overhaul.
I definitely prefer an overhaul over a piece meal upgrade. I know it will sting for a while. Okay, it will sting a lot. They’ll be closing down an entire land after all. But the end result will be vastly superior. And this is exactly the kind of thing that needs long term thinking applied to it. No band aids please!
What do you guys think? What would Disneyland life be like at 80% capacity for probably 2 years?
Yikes, the thought of no Tomorrowland for a couple of years is hard to take. It would be great and worth it in the end. Tomorrowland definitely needs help and an upgrade in my opinion. They could really do a lot more there and make Tomorrowland amazing. Is Innoventions closed yet?
Innovnetions is not yet closed, no. There was talk of February, but it would seem they’re showing some prudence for now. I’m on the fence I think about how I’d like them to handle things myself.
Just please let there be a tron attraction.
I would gladly, and with no shame whatsoever, beg like a dog to whoever is in charge to make a light cycle ride. Preferably on the existing People Mover track. I want to ride a light cycle through the whole land.
I knew i liked you.
On second thought, I wonder what that would do the lines and crowds in the rest of Disneyland if a whole land was closed
It would have quite a severe impact, to be sure. So much so that Disney will have to think long and hard about it.
Tomorrowland is definitely in need of a redo. The biggest thing for me is the look of the land. The rides don’t need to have ground breaking technology but they do need something to make it look futuristic. If they use the old people mover rocket rods track that would help immensely but they don’t. The land is too clutter and has too little to do. After that they need to head over to frontier land.
Yeah, I’m not looking for a bunch of thrill rides myself. Space Mountain is plenty. It’s just that Innoventions is so bad, and the astro orbiter is a total eyesore. And gas powered carts? In the land of tomorrow? I’m sure this isn’t lost on Disney mind you. It’s just that they need to get on with it already. Like pulling off a band-aid. Just do it!!
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