What if Disney built a Thrill Ride?
I wonder what it would be like. Oh yes, I know all the pundits will say, Disney has Rock N Roller coaster, Everest and Tower of Terror… I say, nice try. All of those are nice themed rides but I am talking about a Thrill Ride, Just One… Like a nice coaster like Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa or Hulk at Universal IOA. Heck I ‘ll even throw in Manta or Kraken at SeaWorld. Something that gets the heart pumping a bit.
Yes I know, Disney is a Family place bla bla bla…. But just One Thrill ride.. What would it be like? Would some folks get so turned off they would never return to Disney? Would they lose their families values? Would Disney go under? No No and No…
What would prevent Disney from building just One Big ride?
If Disney built a thrill ride, it would probably be something like Space Mountain: Mission 2. That ride is a serious roller coaster and I honestly don't think Disney would ever build something more intense than that. I also think that a vast majority of visitors would consider attractions like California Screamin', Expedition Everest, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror thrill rides. These may be on the lower end of the thrill ride spectrum, but they are most certainly not family rides.
What prevents Disney from building a big thrill coaster such as a massive B&M? Probably a good number of things, but the biggest is likely that it doesn't fit their target demographic. The majority of visitors to Disney parks are families, often with children aged 2-12 and possibly with three generations. They want attractions that will appeal to as many of those visitors as possible. A big B&M, for example, would likely have a height requirement making it difficult for anyone under 10 to ride it, and most non-enthusiasts over about 50 tend to dislike high intensity attractions. Look at Six Flags...their parks are almost exclusively thrill rides and their target demographic is visitors aged 13-28 (or teenagers through young adults). There isn't much overlap with Disney's target demographic there.
If Disney wanted, they could certainly build a big roller coaster. They could also do a ton of excellent theming, though for the most part the importance of theming drops as the thrill level rises. Perhaps one day Disney will build a park more targeted at teenagers that has a couple extreme rides, but for now they seem to be doing perfectly good business without catering to the thrill seeker crowd, so there is no reason to invest in a high intensity roller coaster that would probably appeal to (at best) 20% of their visitors.
WDW thrill rides:
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Rock N' Rollercoaster
Primeval Whirl
Expedition Everest
Tower of Terror
Star Tours
Kali River Rapids
Test Track
Soarin'
MISSION: Space
Dinosaur
Well Disney did technically pass on Dueling Dragons so...
Umm.. Brian, there are plenty of thrill rides at Disney World, most of which you mentioned.
Those rides, even though they aren't hardcore intensity wise, still can get your heart really pumping.
By thrill ride, do you mean like hardcore B&M roller coasters or huge drop towers?
A Mickey Mouse horror roller coaster. Lots of indoor track with his squeaky demented voice. *shudders*
Maliboomer. They built it, it's cheap and didn't fit the area at all and was dismantled.
California Screamin' would be the next best example, and that too has a lot of issues as it just barely passes as a wooden coaster, yet doesn't capture the nature or feel of say the Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz.
You could make an argument for Space Mountain as well since there is hardly any themeing. Other than some light projections against the wall.
The problem is on a lot of coasters, particularly b&m and intamin, show a lot of track and it's hard to blend. I would live to see a b&m wing coaster in the world of pandora but disney wouldn't do that because if the track exposure. The best thrill rides that disney does at the moment, all hide the supports and most of the track in the theming (for example a mountain or complete darkness).
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I very much like California Screamin' in DCA, but it fits with the theme of that area of the park and I don't know that it meets your definition of a real thrill ride. I don't see Disney building a large rollercoaster with a lot of exposed track like Hulk or Manta because it wouldn't fit as well with theming of areas. Maybe in a Marvel-type land that could be built. I don't really see it happening though. An indoor coaster like Rock N Rollercoaster is probably the best they'll get.