Poll: Re-theme or permanently close? Which is worse?

[Timandalicia]

I love Frozen but miss Maelstrom dearly: so that’s a tough one.
But Star Tours is better right?
Test Track was better the old way but I’m glad it’s still there.
Alien Encounter they should have just scrapped instead of changing.
Which ones really frustrate you!

 

[Timandalicia]

Splash Mountain?

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Time will tell with Splash Mtn. Thats the tricky part, you don't truly know until you are done. The current imagination ride is an example of a re-do ruining an attraction. The current ride is terrible, the old version is one common one that old timers talk about being amazing. The new version of Dumbo is great, double the capacity for the kiddos and an identical ride. Another improvement: Frozen. I like Malestrom, but its easy to forget a lot of the dated bits, It also struck me as kinda "druggy." Film upgrades in Epcot are an easy plus. Time will tell in Illuminations vs Harmonius. Epcot forever was fine, but it was no Illuminations.

 

[Timandalicia]

Time will tell with Splash Mtn. Thats the tricky part, you don't truly know until you are done. The current imagination ride is an example of a re-do ruining an attraction. The current ride is terrible, the old version is one common one that old timers talk about being amazing. The new version of Dumbo is great, double the capacity for the kiddos and an identical ride. Another improvement: Frozen. I like Malestrom, but its easy to forget a lot of the dated bits, It also struck me as kinda "druggy." Film upgrades in Epcot are an easy plus. Time will tell in Illuminations vs Harmonius. Epcot forever was fine, but it was no Illuminations.

I agree with some. Illuminations for sure

 

[gatorlisa]

Really depends on the attraction for me.

The Test Track reskin was a huge downgrade in my opinion. The whole ride lost its point with that change. For example, the near collision with the truck made perfect sense with the original theme. Now, from a story perspective, it serves no purpose. I almost wish they would come up with something new rather than what we have now. And this feeling has only grown after riding Radiator Springs Racers which is a far superior implementation of the same ride system. Loved the original version. If they announced TT was closing tomorrow I don't think I would care.

Journey Into Imagination is a lesser attraction than its original version, though the current version is better than the version between the original and current versions. And having been introduced to Figment from the original version, I still love him and so I'm glad he is still featured in a ride (even if he does come across as being kind of obnoxious now).

Splash Mountain, time will tell. The primary appeal of that ride for me is that it is a nice long relaxing flume ride with a fun drop at the end. While I enjoy the current story line, I do understand the desire to move away from it and I think Princess and the Frog will be a good fit. The basic construction of the ride lends itself to a bayou theme in my opinion. I'll miss the original, but will look forward to the new theme and will be happy the basic ride experience will still be there.

Alien Encounter I think should have just been closed from the get-go. I experienced that attraction once. I enjoyed it, but I was a freshman in college at the time. It was terrifying and just didn't fit well in the Magic Kingdom. Would probably have worked better at MGM (at the time) Studios. While I love Stitch, I hated the redo of that attraction. Would have been better off to just close it and come up with something entirely new.

The Maelstrom/Frozen retheme I'm pretty middle of the road. I enjoyed the original as it was and actually liked the little film about Norway at the end. I'm not that put off by the move to Frozen though. While Arendele is fictional, the story is based on a Norwegian fairy tale so I'm good with it and I understand the need for more kid-friendly activities back in the World Showcase.

Updating Soarin' with new scenery is fine in concept. The problem with that was the execution. Too many CGI enhanced (in some cases completely faked) scenes. There is plenty of beauty in the world without having to fake it. And they need to concede that the format of the film/screen means that certain things, like straight lines (I'm looking at you, Eiffel Tower), just don't work. Skip those types of features in favor of things that will work better within the limits of the format.

Star Tours is different. To me that attraction has not been rethemed. Just enhanced with new content from the same universe. They could continue to do that with scenes from Mandalorian and other future Star Wars adventures and I'd be fine with it.

This doesn't totally fit the discussion, but I'm still bitter over Mr. Toad's Wild Ride being replaced by Winnie the Pooh. I like Pooh and his friends just fine. But Toad shouldn't have been evicted for that ride.

 

[Eeyore daily]

Overall it hurts more to permanently close the attraction in my opinion. I loved Mulholland Madness at DCA but they've rethemed it to Goofy's Sky School so at least the track is still there. However Prime evil Whirl was permanently shut down which is more frustrating because that ride is actually fun and helped Dinoland. I think the retheming on test track is lame since I had good memories of almost crashing into the wall.

 

[Lumpy1106]

The question is, is it worse to re-theme or completely remove the ride - not do you like the retheme better than the original. To that end, this is no contest - it is better to re-theme than remove every time. I can't think of a single ride that was removed where I was glad it was removed. Maybe Rocket Rods? Yes, that may be the exception. Remember there are some real winners in the re-theme too;
Rio del Tiempo -> Grand Fiesta
Superstar Limo -> Monster's Inc.
Seas Omnimover -> Nemo

Even as bad as Journey Into Imagination is, it is still better than nothing. The problem EPCOT in particular has always had is there are not enough rides. Taking out one ride to put in another doesn't fix that. I miss Horizons on every trip, but Mission:Space is better than nothing, but having both is what EPCOT needs, and in the case of EPCOT, yes, there is room. Maelstrom -> Frozen is debatable, but having BOTH would have been fantastic.

 

[kanerf]

I think it was Walt's wish that Disneyland and Disney World (which opened after he passed away) would continue to grow and change with the times. For example, what was modern and futuristic in the Tomorrowland of the 1950's was not considered so even in the 1960's, so it had to keep changing to keep up with the times. Other rides just don't have the same fans that were supporters in the 1950's and 60's. Take Mr. Toad's ride for example, how many kids these days have even seen the film or read the books? Now I enjoyed the ride when it was at WDW and don't think that Pooh is better, but Pooh is perhaps more relevant to today's kids from the cartoons and films that were made.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I get why people miss Mr. Toad's, but why is Snow White never mentioned? They took out that ride and put in a meet & greet. Was the ride hated that much or do people just really like the meet & greet?

 

[butterscotchcollins]

I get why people miss Mr. Toad's, but why is Snow White never mentioned? They took out that ride and put in a meet & greet. Was the ride hated that much or do people just really like the meet & greet?

I think because thematically they were similar (i.e. dark AF) but Mr. Toad was more fun and quirky.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

Ahh, Mr Toad. The only kids ride where you get hit by a train, die, and get sent to hell at the end of ride. My east coast family teenagers were amazed in 2019 when we finally went to Disneyland. Too funny.

I am cautiously optimistic about Splash. I love the original, which is hands down my favorite ride at MK. But even so, Princess and the Frog has some of my favorite Disney music ever. I’ll be humming Dig a Little Deeper all day long. But...they have to do it right. If they just pull out old animatronics and stick new ones in the exact same backgrounds, it will be lousy. But if they give it lush details it will be a hit.

And I hate to jump on Test Track but that’s pretty bad. It lost all of the campy fun and silliness. The serious presentation doesn’t work well, IMO.

One more: I’m old enough to remember that Buzz Lightyear at MK is actually a re-theme of several omnimover attractions, most notably “If You Had Wings”. It was a Delta advertisement, but it was Free back when you had ticket books for rides. I’d say that’s a pretty good upgrade.

As for the OPs question, I guess it depends. But I guess re-theming is better than scrapping all together.

 

[sethschroeder]

Man Maelstrom to Frozen is one I personally wish we could reverse.

The move through that ride reminds me of a bad youtube montage very disjointed.

Like Frozen just think the ride is just crammed in there.

 

[RexFromEndor]

Permanently close is bad, see: Body Wars. Even then, I can see why it was closed.
Retheme is another bad decision, like Alien Encounter -> Stitch and Snow White's Adventures -> Snow White's Scary Adventures.

 

[loves to dive]

I voted depends on the ride.

I will never get over GMR being rethemed.
At Epcot, I loved the ride that had the cop hiding behind the billboard and the early man blowing on his feet, I can't remember the name of it but they closed it years ago. I miss it.
Don't even get me started on Frozen, didn't like the movie and don't like the ride. Loved Maelstrom though.
Old Figment beats new Figment hands down but I'll take Figment any way I can get that little purple fella.
Like the old Test Track better than the new one but I do ride the new one.
Sea base getting rethemed to Nemo broke my heart. I like the movie well enough but you don't get to see the real fish that much in the new ride. I skip it most of the time and just walk in through the gift shop and spend my time viewing the fish (I'm a scuba diver so that might have something to do with it, and yes, I have been diving there twice).
I loved Listening to the Land better than Living with it. There was something about real people driving the boats that seemed better. I do ride it still and still love it, especially if you are lucky enough to do it at night.
I liked the old Soarin better than the new but that is mostly because unless you smack dab in the middle, the screen is off scew.
I miss the Backlot Tour at the old MGM Studios, you really got to see a lot. I was o.k. with the new one but hated that the entire thing got closed down. Speaking of that area, I loved the Streets of America, I would get there early in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and sit on a bench and just enjoy looking in the windows. I guess I just miss the old theming of MGM as opposed to the new Hollywood Studios. I like Galazy's Edge well enough and Toy Story Land is good but I loved the working studio aspect.

 

[Timandalicia]

The question is, is it worse to re-theme or completely remove the ride - not do you like the retheme better than the original. To that end, this is no contest - it is better to re-theme than remove every time. I can't think of a single ride that was removed where I was glad it was removed. Maybe Rocket Rods? Yes, that may be the exception. Remember there are some real winners in the re-theme too;
Rio del Tiempo -> Grand Fiesta
Superstar Limo -> Monster's Inc.
Seas Omnimover -> Nemo

Even as bad as Journey Into Imagination is, it is still better than nothing. The problem EPCOT in particular has always had is there are not enough rides. Taking out one ride to put in another doesn't fix that. I miss Horizons on every trip, but Mission:Space is better than nothing, but having both is what EPCOT needs, and in the case of EPCOT, yes, there is room. Maelstrom -> Frozen is debatable, but having BOTH would have been fantastic.

Well that is a question. But it is not “the” question. My question is still “a” question. In fact the difference in the questions are really semantics. “Worse” or “dislike”. Either way it is an opinion so really “is it worse” is subjective. Ergo I asked for people’s opinions (I.e. like or dislike). Many of the comments on the thread reflect opposing opinions.

 

[Timandalicia]

I voted depends on the ride.

I will never get over GMR being rethemed.
At Epcot, I loved the ride that had the cop hiding behind the billboard and the early man blowing on his feet, I can't remember the name of it but they closed it years ago. I miss it.
Don't even get me started on Frozen, didn't like the movie and don't like the ride. Loved Maelstrom though.
Old Figment beats new Figment hands down but I'll take Figment any way I can get that little purple fella.
Like the old Test Track better than the new one but I do ride the new one.
Sea base getting rethemed to Nemo broke my heart. I like the movie well enough but you don't get to see the real fish that much in the new ride. I skip it most of the time and just walk in through the gift shop and spend my time viewing the fish (I'm a scuba diver so that might have something to do with it, and yes, I have been diving there twice).
I loved Listening to the Land better than Living with it. There was something about real people driving the boats that seemed better. I do ride it still and still love it, especially if you are lucky enough to do it at night.
I liked the old Soarin better than the new but that is mostly because unless you smack dab in the middle, the screen is off scew.
I miss the Backlot Tour at the old MGM Studios, you really got to see a lot. I was o.k. with the new one but hated that the entire thing got closed down. Speaking of that area, I loved the Streets of America, I would get there early in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and sit on a bench and just enjoy looking in the windows. I guess I just miss the old theming of MGM as opposed to the new Hollywood Studios. I like Galazy's Edge well enough and Toy Story Land is good but I loved the working studio aspect.

I agree with a lot of this. Miss the old Test Track so much. It was what my son started on so was so nostalgic. Also, the old Soarin’ was real footage, not all the CG. Miss all the MGM too.

 

[RexFromEndor]

I just wish S.I.R. wasn't repurposed as 90210. I wish S.I.R. kept his original appearance and voice, except with a police hat on, and with a less evil personality.

 

[kimmar067]

....still trying to wrap my head around the idea that SM is not going to be SM anymore....

 

[kimmar067]

....why is Snow White never mentioned? They took out that ride and put in a meet & greet. Was the ride hated that much or do people just really like the meet & greet?

....actually, I think that ride was kinda scary for little kids.

 

[RexFromEndor]

....actually, I think that ride was kinda scary for little kids.

Only the 1971 version was. The 1994 version was like any other ride. And any ride that starts with Megabyte from ReBoot (Tony Jay) is a winner in my book.