PENNIES FROM KEVIN - From Leg-assy to Legacy

Kevin finally finishes his thoughts on what Michael Eisner could do to untarnish his legacy after he leaves Disney.

Written by Kevin Baxter
Published: September 17, 2004 at 3:12 AM

Last month I talked about Michael Eisner's legacy at Disney. In that column I wrote: "The most important fact is that Eisner will not be remembered for the movies Disney has produced. He will not be remembered for the Oscars Miramax has won. He will not be remembered for the television shows Buena Vista creates or those that air on their networks." He WILL be remembered for the state the parks are in when he leaves.

Think I am overstating things? People absolutely LOVED Eisner in the mid90s. They didn't even own ABC at that point. And, apart from their animated hits, the film division wasn't much to crow about. People loved Michael Eisner because he was behind the massive expansion of Walt Disney World.

Think about it. Disney/MGM was FINALLY coming into its own after completing the original Tower of Terror, a ride many believe to be Disney's greatest. Disneyland opened Indiana Jones, the ride others would argue as the greatest. Another ride vying for that title - Splash Mountain - was still fairly shiny and new when those opened. Also appearing in this timeframe were the it's-about-time budget All-Star Hotels, the magificent Wilderness Lodge (which would be the model for the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disneyland's Grand Californian), the more-than-just-a-hotel Boardwalk and the convention-focused Coronado Springs.

This golden age of expansion seems positively platinum when seen in hindsight of later events. The half-sized Animal Kingdom, the over-saturation of hotel rooms and timeshares, Dino-rama, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, the over-sponsoring of the once-interesting Innoventions, two poor Imagination rehabs, the Test Track delay debacle, the new Tiki Room, the not-up-to-standards Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, what have you. And this is just in WDW. Paul Pressler tore up Disneyland all over the place, with "highlights" being New Tomorrowland and California Adventure. Anaheim's troubles have been so bad since the platinum age that WDW's problems have mostly been ignored.

So, clearly, the only way for people to not curse the Eisner name is to make people forget about the last five years or so at the parks. The parks are getting started - with the upcoming 50th Anniversary additions - but a bunch of clones aren't going to make people say Eisner's name without a lip twitch. And AK and DCA sure aren't going to be wowing guests by 2006, when Eisner promises to leave.

My proposal is for you to spend money on the parks NOW, Eisner. Not a ton. Say about a half-billion. The company is making more money, thanks to those endless cuts, so this wouldn't hurt the company at all. Just think of it as spending the money you haven't been spending the past half-decade.

So what to spend it on? We, the TPI experts, will help you out. We apparently know more about the parks than you do. So try some of these out:

DISNEYLAND - I'll start with the easy one. NOTHING! There simply isn't enough money for ALL the parks, and Buzz Lightyear and the new Space Mountain will keep DL hot for years. The Finding Nemo overlay of the submarine lagoon looks certain at this point, so the park basically won't need anything until at least 2008, and that should be an E-Ticket. (I say resurrect Geyser Mountain, but build it on the site of Big Thunder Mountain Deathtrap, which needs to close. More on that later...)

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE - Now on to the hard one. ToT wasn't the savior everyone expected. Well, everyone at Team Disney Anaheim. Sure, ToT helped out Disney/MGM when it opened, but that park had other attractions of interest. DCA has little to interest the locals. Soarin' is closer to Borin' now, and that was one of the biggies when the park opened. Millionaire is already closed and Aladdin may be close behind. In fact, California Screamin' may be the only attraction that has had any legs whatsoever. So really, ToT is probably now the second ride that will have any staying power.

Matt Ouimet, Disneyland's head - reportedly wants to make the 21st Century Pirates of the Caribbean. It's a good plan, at least regarding wanting a quality family ride that can entertain for decades. But what is that ride?

Rumors abound for DCA but one of the bigger ones was to build a two-story building in Paradise Pier with a dark ride on each floor. Great idea! Except for the ride ideas. One with Woody, one with Ariel. Not exactly skewing for the WHOLE fammily, are they? Furthermore, the rides break up what is one of the decent themed areas in the park. How Pierish are these rides?

DCA Idea Number One - How about dark rides that are actual staples of carnivals? Namely Haunted Houses and Tunnels of Love? The themes fit and can be met easily. Haunted House? Monsters, Inc! The Tunnel of Love is a little harder, but this is where Ouimet's idea can come into play. Say a flume, naturally, but with romantic scenes from famous Disney films. Like the ballroom scene from Beauty & the Beast, the Kiss the Girl scene from Little Mermaid, the Jolly Holiday chalk drawing scene from Mary Poppins, and so on. Kind of like the animatronics of Disney/MGM's Great Movie Ride mixed with the detail and hidden jokes of Pirates of the Caribbean with the memorable soundtrack of It's a Small World (notice how each example I mentioned revolved around a major Disney song?). Make it MINNIE'S Tunnel of Love - to make up for them ignoring her so long - and add in a Mickey/Minnie finale with all the gang and this could be HUGE. Estimated cost: $100M.

That's two rides, but we all know DCA needs more. The Hollywood area is completely empty on the one side now, so something has to go here. We've got two slow family rides across the park, so how about another thrill ride? Something major would cost too much at this point, so let's go with a clone. But NOT a US clone. If ToT didn't bring in the masses, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster CERTAINLY won't. Let's try Tokyo DisneySea, which has two choices: StormRider or Journey to the Center of the Earth. Obviously the themes don't work, and I can't think of a Hollywood theme that would make StormRider work, so let's go with JttCotE.

That ride actually uses the Test Track ride system, which failed so miserably as the Rocket Rods in Disneyland. But it seems to be doing better in Orlando and pretty well in Tokyo. In fact, there is actually already a theme that this ride system would work perfectly for: Superstar Limo! Not the horrid ride that opened when DCA opened. The ORIGINAL idea, which was supposed to be fast and featured lots of scenes which were funny when not viewed for too long. Ten or so scenes, followed by the speedy finale, and this could be a winner. (If there is space, of course. There might be a need to cover parts of Hollywood with an overhead "freeway" for the cars to speed around. This adds cost, but funny freeway signs could add loads to the ride and the freeway would add much-needed shade.) Estimated cost: $100M (for the elaborate version) for a total of $200M spent at DCA.

DCA Idea Number Two - Okay, we've already spent a big chunk of the half-bil in DCA. Let's spend it a different way, while still focusing on the fun-for-the-WHOLE-family idea. While I am quite fond of the previous three ideas, there are other ideas floating around out there. There is a rumor that won't go away - the Western River Expedition - that takes the 21st Century PotC desire way too literally. PLEASE, don't go through with this. Wretched idea!

Instead, how about resurrecting an idea that originated for Disney/MGM? You are desperate to make the Muppets big again, so increase your Muppet presence in DCA by building the Great Muppet Movie Ride next to MuppetVision. This ride, like the name suggests, was a humorous Muppet-filled takeoff on the once-popular Great Movie Ride in that park. This ride would also force the land's side avenue to become more cohesive thematically. Add in a Muppet-themed restaurant (with characters!) and this section of Hollywood would become more than the ghost town it has been for years. Estimated cost: $100M (including intensive theming and money-making restaurant)

Now where to spend that other $100M? Remember me destroying Big Thunder Deathtrap? Remember how they brought over the Electrical Parade? Well, just bring Big Thunder over too! Moving it - and changing the rock formations to the skyscrapers of San Francisco - will not only remove most of the ride's infamous history, but it would be a SURE way of adding that insanely popular family ride Ouimet has his heart set on.

The only problem with this idea - and I don't see moving it as a problem as the ride will still exist - is placing it in DCA. The ride takes up a huge amount of land, but I believe it would fit in the area between Golden Dreams and California Screamin'. Yes, that would mean dumping the flat rides in the area. Yes, everyone hates them, but this would reduce the number of rides. Still, I think most people would prefer two GOOD rides to three crappy ones and a mediocre kiddie area that could be moved. Then we have walkways. Could one be built THROUGH the ride? Would walking around it be as irritating as walking around the Grizzly Mountain in the middle of the park? These problems would push a fairly inexpensive rehab into an Estimated cost: $100M with the overall DCA total at about $200M. But it would be worth it.

So let's head over to Walt Disney World...

MAGIC KINGDOM - Ehhh. This park chugs right along without help, and it hasn't been ignored as badly as DL. They're getting the Stitch makeover of the Alien Encounter, so with that and PhilharMagic, they should be fine for a few years. After that, a Space Mountain redo would probably thrill for a few years after that.

DISNEY/MGM STUDIOS - This park should become a major problem very quickly. Not that it already isn't having problems, but MGM's upcoming sale to Sony should make the MGM disappear from the title forever. Which means, barring a sudden license agreement, the Great Movie ride will cease to exist soon. SOMETHING needs to cover for it, and the Auto Stunt show, no matter how good, will not suffice. The GMR will be reworked, but not by 2006.

Certainly, one solution is to kiss George Lucas's ass and get a new Star Tours film! This would be super cheap and would make lots of guests happy. This is a MUST!

Disney/MGM Idea Number One - There is a rumor involving renovating the Animation building to be like its sister in DCA, but I say forget that noise. That building is already being ignored in Anaheim, so why chance it happening twice? Instead, find something else to go into this building. This park has been doing well as the Disney "thrill" park, so keep that going. How about building a new & improved Alien Encounter??? Say what you want, but that attraction was ADORED by many. It was just in the wrong park. It can now be in the PERFECT park. Not only would this be fairly cheap, but it could allow the Animation Courtyard (which would need a new name) to connect to the courtyard in front of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. An improved layout could only improve the guest experiences here.

Only problem is Alien Encounter isn't exactly Hollywoodish. Here's a thought... how about making this the ACTION Courtyard? Build Alien Encounter in the old Animation building and build TDS's StormRider behind it and RnRC with the queue in another part of the Animation building. Two thrills, pretty cheap. Estimated cost: No clue! The StormRider buildings would be behind two others, so it could be a simple box. I'll just guess $150M, which would include a new Star Tours.

Disney/MGM Idea Number Two - Let's go back to that Muppet Movie Ride idea. If it doesn't go into DCA, it should go here. The Muppets need to be focused on if they are to become popular to future generations. Hell, even if that ride did get built in DCA, I'm sure there are plenty of ideas that could fill a second ride without any crossover. Two rides with the same name but different experiences. Imagine that!

There's still a need though, especially for a thrill ride now. There are just so many options, I could go on for 50 more paragraphs. But let's stick to things that could happen in two years' time. Like the Alien Encounter idea, which could still go into the problematic Animation building, or maybe even into the long-dormant Doug Live theater. Or you could add a couple Catastrophe Canyonlike bits to the Backlot Tour. Just no more shows!!! Estimated cost: I didn't get specific, but let's just say $150M to match the last idea.

ANIMAL KINGDOM - Ay ay ay! Like DCA, this park needs major help. Expedition Everest is finally a good idea for this park, but it isn't enough. Two rumors for a Beastly Kingdomish land are making rounds, one a Narnia theme, the other revolving around... wait for it... Journey to the Center of the Earth! Only this one would actually be more of a clone. I say hold off on both for now. The Narnia films could tank at the box office, and I'm not sure JttCotE has enough of a theme for a whole land.

AK Idea Number One - If anyone remembers, I covered two cheap(ish) ways to improve AK in my The OTHER Disney Failure column. (Read it. It's great. Just like all my columns!) To summarize: one idea had them closing down the ignored Living Seas pavilion in Epcot and moving everybody (and some newbies) to a new Oceania land. Add in two water-themed rides - my choices were the Ariel ride I mentioned earlier and StormRider (if it doesn't go into Disney/MGM) - and you got more than just a 30-minute extension to your day. Estimated cost: $150M, maybe.

AK Idea Number Two - My other idea is for an Australia land, which I like a little more than the Oceania idea, but I would dearly love to see both happen in time. Australia could fit between Asia and Africa and feature a Jungle Cruiselike river ride overlooking the animals of Australia, as well as a drop into a tunnel to view the creatures of the Great Barrier Reef (and maybe some Nemo and Dory action). Naturally a walkthrough would be on the other side to view the animals - and fishies - at a more leisurely pace. I would build right up to the ignored Conservation Station, and redo the facade as the Sidney Opera House, which might get guests inside it. Add in a severely-needed sit-down restaurant (say a Barrier Reef seafood restaurant surrounded by more of that faux reef) and this land could make people forget about Beastly Kingdom. At least for a few years. Estimated cost: $150M just to be intractable.

EPCOT - Okay, we've already spent our $500M. Should we spend more at Epcot? Naw. Soarin' is already going in, and with recent additions of Mission: Space, the second Imagination rehab and Test Track, Future World is okay for the next couple years.

World Showcase is another story. Little has changed here for over a decade. That needs to change. The Brother Bear rapids ride is a strong rumor for Canada (mainly to hide the huge Soarin' building), but that would take us past our $500M mark. Clearly, the answer is to add more country pavilions. Spain had a temporary pavilion a while back, so they are clearly interested. South Korea has been interested for years. Others are rumored to be interested also, including Russia, Brazil and Switzerland. Considering the host countries foot most, if not all, of the bill, then why isn't Disney doing more of this? The Millenium Celebration proved that E-Tickets weren't really necessary to make Epcot popular again. So add TWO new countries (to maintain some crowd control) and think about adding rides to both. Nothing major, but SOMETHING. Especially if you can get them to pony up cash for those also. Do what you gotta do - even if it costs you up to $100M beyond my half-bil - just get it done!

So, then what? Certainly that won't be all you need to polish up the old image. Spend your last two years selling Disney instead of selling yourself! Get your monkey face back on the Wonderful World of Disney every week! Stand in front of the construction area for one of your exciting new rides (that I came up with) and tell us a little bit about it. Hold a koala or a kangaroo for your upcoming Australia land. Let someone throw water on you for the upcoming StormRider. Chat with the friggin' Muppets you proclaim to love so much. Get people excited about the parks again, and maybe - MAYBE - people will remember you for the good you did and forget about all the bad.

Most of all, just do it for me. Because if you don't, you know I will write bad things about you until the day I die. (YOUR death won't stop me!)

My two pennies... Gimme yours!

Readers' Opinions

From luis gonzalez on September 17, 2004 at 1:29 PM
i dont know about all the cloning, especially the rehashing of alien encounter. there is a reason that they took that out of mk. Ak has expedition everest coming so it is looking up for that park. it does need atleast one more e-ticket on the other side of the park though. Im sure the mouse is planning something good for the 20k leagues lagoon so that can help mk. if any park is in a really bad way its mgm. that park need something thats not on sunset bulevard. i know the car show is coming but there has to be a new ride there because the show cant keep cycling guests like a ride would.
From David Franzen on September 17, 2004 at 1:41 PM
Gees Kevin, how many "let's fix the park" days are we going to have?

Seriously, those are all some good high-level points. I made some comments about these parks a while back in another thread, but I think that they got overlooked as they fell into the middle of one of your shouting matches with an irate poster.

MGM
RE: Lucas
My previous idea was to give Lucas the "Sounds Dangerous" building and let him turn it into a THX-based/sponsored experience. In addition, you give him a storefront on Boardwalk or Downtown Disney to sell THX certified equipment. Most of the cost ends up getting absorbed by Lucas.

RE: MGM Partnership
The writing is on the wall here regarding the long term branding of MGM. Figure out another studio to partner with and start working on rides/attractions to leverage the relationship. Better yet, leverage that whole Lucas/THX stuff against Sony, and put a Sony Store (aka: Metreon Center East) in Downtown Disney.

RE: Muppets
Also pointed out previously, Eisner spent loads of money to win the Muppets back. I agree that they need to have something more than an aging 3-D movie to represent them.

Animal Kingdom
I realize that your two new worlds ideas are meant as a variety to U.S. visitors, but I think that Disney would be a little short sighted to not consider a North American exhibit/zoo of some sort. European and Asian visitors come to the U.S. for more than the parks. Give them a little taste of a Prairie Plain complete with Buffalo, Coyotes, Grizzlies, etc. Maybe, maybe, maybe tie it into Home on the Range .

EPCOT
You touch on thought here, but I would like a better understanding: Do the countries represented in the World Pavilion actually finance their exhibits? If so, this definitely needs to be leveraged. The nations represented all need to do a better job selling their homelands. Not only do other nations need setup shop, but folks from France and Canada need to shoot new films. Put some more contemporary and exciting events into them. Stick that 360 camera on top of an F1 car in the middle of the Canadian GP, and I’d never leave the movie (and Robert would be stuck there beside me to boot!). While “Impressions de France” is a gorgeous film, it would be spectacular to include a shot of 120+ cyclists tearing down the Champs-Elysees.

I think that’s about enough for now. I’ll take a couple of breaths before I start going on about the money needed to stay ahead of the technology curve in Innovantions.

From TH Creative on September 18, 2004 at 6:39 AM
Excellent work Mr. Baxter!

So many other theme park operators are pulling back from developing major, marquee attractions. Spending some big bucks to bolster attendance is an ambitious idea.

What's more, he should do so before next year's shareholders meeting -- thus shutting down Stan and Fredo's on-line bitch-fest.

In addition before the next meeting Eisner should:

(1) Encourage the board to name a successor.

(2) Sign a new deal with Pixar -- since Mr. Jobs has yet to nail down a distribution deal with another studio.

(3) Announce plans for a new park for Mainland China.

From TH Creative on September 18, 2004 at 6:48 AM
One other thing: Start production on 'Artemis Fowl!'

You've held the rights for almost five years! Do something already!

From David Franzen on September 18, 2004 at 12:04 PM
I was doing some research to see who owned the Twilight Zone trademark (CBS) when I came across a pretty good article on the Hollywood Reporter website.

Not only does the author give a good history of MGM, but he also writes about Eisner's retirement announcement. At the end of the article, the author makes a couple of suggestions for successors. On his list: Miramax's Weinstein brothers, and Alex Yemenidjian and Chris McGurk from MGM.

It's a good read, check it out.

From Robert Niles on September 18, 2004 at 1:23 PM
I cannot imagine Harvey Weinstein running the Walt Disney Company. He's earned a reputation of not being the easiest person in the world to deal with. And where that's fine for a creative head of an individual studio, such a disposition becomes a huge problem for an individual running a media conglomerate, where diplomacy become your most important skill. Heck, an inability to work with others became the biggest knock against Eisner over the past decade.
From Kevin Baxter on September 18, 2004 at 2:28 PM
I agree... I could see Harvey running the Disney studios, and possibly the television production wing, but that doesn't mean he could run ABC or the theme parks or the multitude of other Disney companies.

Would I like to see him try, though? Certainly! Harvey also has a reputation of spending money on things he believes in. If he believed in the parks, we could see this rennaissance I am begging for.

THC, I was just throwing numbers out there, so am I in the general area? And don't go by what Universal would spend on those projects, as we all know Disney doesn't control construction costs as well as Universal does. Take a Universal estimate and revise upwards!

From Kevin Baxter on September 18, 2004 at 2:34 PM
Furthermore, let's not get into all these things Eisner "could" do. Pixar, Miramax, all that crap isn't going to be remembered a decade from now. Who remembers all the movies Disney released a decade ago? Disney Dorks maybe.

The parks are what is important. I know I have done a lot of "Fixing This or That" threads, but I like hearing all the ideas everyone has. But this thread has a different thrust to it.

I figure it is fun to not only play Imagineer, but to play Imagineer with the obstacles Imagineers have to face. Here, those obstacles are the $500M budget and the two-year development timeframe. We could toss out a million ideas for Beastly Kingdom, but the vast majority would fail both criteria.

That is why most of my ideas involve either moving existing rides (Big Thunder and Alien Encounter - which was taken out of MK not because it was unpopular but because it was in the KIDDIE PARK), using existing technology (JttCotE, flumes, the Fantasyland dark rides, StormRider) and using already developed attraction ideas (Little Mermaid, Muppet Movie Ride). I should have been a little more plain about the limits I placed upon myself, so think of them before suggesting Disney spend a billion on BK!

I also didn't want to go down the path Disney has already gone down too many times. While many of my ideas are fairly inexpensive, I don't think any would be accused of being as cheap as Dino-Rama, Flik's Fun Fair, Dumbo clones, etc.

David... As far as Epcot goes, yes, the host countries pay for the construction of the pavilion, as well as the salaries of the employees (though Disney pays to house them). Which is why the only attraction of any consequence in World Showcase is the American Adventure. Makes you a little sick when you realize when the last country pavilion was built, huh?

If Disney is really interested in improving Epcot, they cannot keep ignoring this half of the park. They need bigger rides here, and if they have to pony up $25M to $50M to make them happen, then they should. They are still getting off cheap! Especially with countries like Japan, who would probably foot most of the bill. Allow them a big Oriental Land Company travel booth and they could probably talk OLC into creating a mini-Tokyo DisneySea behind their pavilion!

As for AK, somewhere on this site we did suggest a North American "jungle cruise" as it was pretty much agreed that North America could only support a ride and a walkthrough. Even though there are places that could create an interesting theme, they certainly wouldn't cover everything. If you do a Canadian outpost, then seeing the animals of the desert South would be kind of strange. And polar bears would basically look out of place in any non-winter "town."

I have decided that the single ride here should be major, though. I have come up with a Lewis and Clark expedition ride, something similar to the Australia flume, which could cover the many vistas of the US, but then we are back to dissing Canada and Mexico. Maybe a North American Explorers' Trip with three separate sections for each country??? I don't know my Canadian or Mexican explorers but if they have their versions of Lewis & Clark, then this could be three different rides in one.

But obviously that would have to be way down the road, since it goes against my quickness and cost criteria. I think it would be very costly to nab all the North American animals needed for a decent exhibit. Australia, on the other hand, has a bunch of animals they can't handle, like kangaroos, wallabies and koalas. I think those would be much cheaper. And they already have the Oceania creatures at Epcot.

As for MGM, I like your ideas. I too thought of Disney teaming up with Sony now, but I just don't see it happening. They practically ignored the MGM license, which they seemed to obtain ONLY for the Wizard of Oz scene in the Great Movie Ride. Disney uses the theme parks as commercials for their products and I don't see that changing even after Eisner leaves.

Good way to kiss Lucas's ass also. But why stop at the Sounds Dangerous building? See if he can do anything with the larger Doug Live building? Not sure if Lucas has enough interest in THX for a store, but it isn't like he is going to have much of a career after the last Star Wars movie stinks up the screen next year, so giving him an alternative to overseeing the CGI studio is a good idea.

Any other ideas???

From Ben Mills on September 18, 2004 at 4:14 PM
Totally random, but I'd like to see Disney have a crack at the Poseidon's Fury/Templo Del Fuego style special effect-filled walkthrough. I don't know how much Poseidon cost, but Templo was apparently in the region of $80 million. I have no idea what license it would be themed to, but I think it would be a nice, relatively cheap companion to MGM's show sets. I guess it could also work in a World Showcase pavillion, tho. Maybe you unearth some evil Mexican Gods or something, so they attack you with the usual fire and water? Anything to get rid of the lame Rio del Tiempo.

It could also work to show up Backdraft if they put it in DCA, tho. I can imagine a more scary version, about famous celebrities whose ghosts supposedly haunt Hollywood. Make it kinda creepy and it would fit in real nice alongside ToT.

Or, for a REALLY cheap but cool addition, Disney could buy in a Mad House ride, and theme it up to a recent cinema release. Of course, this isn't something I've been suggesting for years...

From Kevin Baxter on September 19, 2004 at 12:51 AM
... and we still don't know what it is!

I like your idea of adding something other than the usual travelogues in WS. I don't think you could just toss out a national myth or historical event, though. The main goals of these pavilions are to make money (via food and souvenirs) and to encourage travel to that country.

But your ideas can be easily transformed. Take the part of Poseidon's Fury where the walls "vanish" and turn that into an attraction. Say it starts as a CircleVision type film with narration and suddenly the film goes haywire, the lights go off and back on and one wall is gone, revealing a 3-D scene of that country. Say we are doing the UK. One wall disappears to reveal London. Crap on that, then suddenly lights out, lights back on, now we see something from Scotland behind another wall. And so on. Things could get a real WOW factor if the floor could spin in the dark without guests feeling the motion, so they think the scene is behind the same wall. The same effect could be used just by moving the scenery quickly behind the walls or by moving the floor imperceptibly like a very slow dark ride. And it wouldn't be expensive.

The Backdraft idea could work as well. A walkthrough through different scenes, say Italy, with the final room containing the exciting stuff you spoke of, Ben. With Italy it could be a volcanic eruption.

Plus, I don't think either idea would be that costly. especially not the Backdrafty idea.

I think Epcot could have lots of ideas borrowed from other attractions. Why not the simplistic Fantasyland dark ride systems for a simple dark ride through the countries? Hell, they could be really cheap and do simple things like make a more elaborate labyrinth (themed to Alice in Wonderland??) in the UK. Or finally get Denmark to build a pavilion with their Lego sponsorship and a Lego land to walk through. A Lego version of Epcot would be so friggin' awesome I would probably have to fly over to check it out.

From Andrew Swanson on September 19, 2004 at 4:02 PM
Kevin, Love the idea for the interchangeble sets between London and Scotland. Sounds like you were just giving that as an example, and that thought could be transferred to other concepts. The great thing is this sort of thing already works at the American Adventure stage show, so there's no reason it can't be done elsewhere. It's not exactly as you described, but the hydraulic platforms that raise and lower the sets are similar.
From alex morehouse on October 23, 2004 at 1:59 PM
Wow, good ideas all around. Well, for Disneyland, there really isn't anything that needs to be improved. However, BTMRR needs to go, due to the fact that it is boring. I mean, what about a water coaster or something in that nature? For DCA-NEEDS HELP BADDDDDDDDDLY! The Muppet Vision 3D could be shut down to make room for a Jimmy Neutron-like attraction, using motion simulation and computer graphics themed to thier popular Disney Channel shows. And that is pretty much all I have for now. Sorry.

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