More Permanent Closures. RoL, Stitch and Primeval Whirl

[yulilin3]

Good riddance to the Stitch ride. I never got to go on ROL

not to argue, I just don't understand this type of statement. I really disliked PW, only did it twice, never again, I just didn't like it. Stitch was alright, not a favorite at all. But for every attraction and show that closes just means all those people that would've been in those locations will be going to other attractions and show, creating more crowds. Even if I hate a ride (looking at you Astro Orbiter) I good never sat good riddance.
Again not trying to get into an argument, but this is a common statement whenever anything closes at any of the parks, just my point of view

 

[gharter]

I really enjoyed the 1st and even the 2nd version (toned down) of Alien Encounter. Really well done. I saw nothing wrong with having an attraction not meant for younger kids.
The redesign to Stitch just wasn't good.

 

[Eastern]

not to argue, I just don't understand this type of statement. I really disliked PW, only did it twice, never again, I just didn't like it. Stitch was alright, not a favorite at all. But for every attraction and show that closes just means all those people that would've been in those locations will be going to other attractions and show, creating more crowds. Even if I hate a ride (looking at you Astro Orbiter) I good never sat good riddance.
Again not trying to get into an argument, but this is a common statement whenever anything closes at any of the parks, just my point of view

There are lots of rides at Disney I don't love, but Stitch was one that I walked out of thinking that I had wasted precious moments of my life for. I thought it was that bad. Hence my, 'good riddance'. I would feel bad for anyone waiting in line who had yet to experience it. I almost wanted to warn them how bad it was.

It really stunk.

There is a ride at Universal that equals the stink factor of Stitch. It is called 'Poseidon's Fury'. Fair warning given to those who may attempt the experience.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

not to argue, I just don't understand this type of statement. I really disliked PW, only did it twice, never again, I just didn't like it. Stitch was alright, not a favorite at all. But for every attraction and show that closes just means all those people that would've been in those locations will be going to other attractions and show, creating more crowds. Even if I hate a ride (looking at you Astro Orbiter) I good never sat good riddance.
Again not trying to get into an argument, but this is a common statement whenever anything closes at any of the parks, just my point of view

Stitch specifically occupied valuable real estate and I think people are hoping it gets replaced with something that is better (low bar). Plus, Stitch only operated seasonally in it's later years so it'll have no impact on crowds for a lot of us.

PW I could take or leave. I think it's a bit low rent for a Disney park but that could be said about the entire Dinoland USA area it's in.

 

[yulilin3]

Stitch specifically occupied valuable real estate and I think people are hoping it gets replaced with something that is better (low bar). Plus, Stitch only operated seasonally in it's later years so it'll have no impact on crowds for a lot of us.

PW I could take or leave. I think it's a bit low rent for a Disney park but that could be said about the entire Dinoland USA area it's in.

I'm all for replacing things, no issue with that. The problem is closing with nothing coming in short term. For example wonders of life pavilion, empty for more than a decade. As opossed to GMR closing and MMRR coming in fairly quickly

 

[dreynolds1982]

There is a ride at Universal that equals the stink factor of Stitch. It is called 'Poseidon's Fury'. Fair warning given to those who may attempt the experience.

Ahh good ole Poseidon's Fury....I actually really enjoy PF. It's sooooo stupid and cheesy, but to me it was in a good way (I did not care for Stitch). I mean, the final scene is like watching a WWE match on giant screens with explosions of water and fire, plus you get to walk through a giant swirling water vortex at one point. Don't get me wrong, it's bad, so bad, but that's what made it so good to me ha. Like a theme park walkthrough version of the old Hercules show with Kevin Sorbo!

 

[dreynolds1982]

I think that the entire dinosaur carnival thing in AK needs to be scrapped and replaced with something different, so I'm not too sad that Primeval Whirl is disappearing.

There's been a rumor that pops up from time-to-time that Disney ultimately wants to replace/retheme the whole Dinosaur area (all the carnival stuff, Dinosaur ride, and boneyard) to Indiana Jones. Apparently the Dinosaur ride is the same exact track layout as Indy at DL, so a retheme would be fairly easy. The boneyard could more or less stay the same as an Indiana Jones dig site. Then PW would be replaced with a clone of the Indy coaster at Tokyo Disney sea. This would fit the current trend of adding IPs everywhere and would fix the weird Dinoland situation. Plus the Indy ride is 100x better than Dino IMO (and I love Dino).

That being said, that's always just been a vagueish rumor with no real credibility so I wouldn't plan on it.

 

[Eastern]

Ahh good ole Poseidon's Fury....I actually really enjoy PF. It's sooooo stupid and cheesy, but to me it was in a good way (I did not care for Stitch). I mean, the final scene is like watching a WWE match on giant screens with explosions of water and fire, plus you get to walk through a giant swirling water vortex at one point. Don't get me wrong, it's bad, so bad, but that's what made it so good to me ha. Like a theme park walkthrough version of the old Hercules show with Kevin Sorbo!

ok the water features were good. We were standing there listening and we thought we were in a pre-show area type of thing. But we never got to sit down! It was long! And it was bad! And then suddenly it was over. We were all like, 'what just happened'.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I really enjoyed the 1st and even the 2nd version (toned down) of Alien Encounter. Really well done. I saw nothing wrong with having an attraction not meant for younger kids.
The redesign to Stitch just wasn't good.

Ditto...I really liked Alien Encounter...Stitch, not so much. I must be in the minority...did not like PW. It was too jerky and I could not wait for it to end.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Not surprised, but sad to hear about the Whirl. It was always one of my family's favorites. Very easy to ride it 3 or 4 times in one trip to AK.

 

[YawningDodo]

Thematically speaking I think Chester and Hester's makes perfect sense within the land and I've always enjoyed that it's there. The Dino Institute and the dig site are all about dinosaurs as real animals and the subject of scientific study, and Chester and Hester's is about America's pop culture relationship with dinosaurs. I love that dichotomy, and I think it speaks to the park's overall theme of not just animals, but how humans and animals relate to one another. I do think Chester and Hester's could use something to give it more oomph. PW was fun but not of the same caliber as other rides in the park; I think TriceraTop Spin is fine since it's hardly the only Dumbo clone around property. The carnival games are thematically appropriate to the section but not to WDW as a whole. What I would like to see in PW's place would be a small, old school dark ride on the level of Mr. Toad or Snow White's Scary Adventures--something Chester and Hester could have conceivably put together but that falls more closely in line with the Disney style. I don't have any reason to think that'll ever happen, though; with Primeval Whirl gone and current economic conditions I think we can expect to see Chester and Hester's remain exactly as it is for a good five to ten years and then some complete replacement announced whenever Disney hits their next financial rebound.

These closures open up the opportunity for new, more exciting attractions down the road. I hope it isn't too far down the road.

Stitch's Great Escape has been effectively closed for a long time already, and Primeval Whirl has been barely operational. As was pointed out, the Wonders of Life pavilion sat empty for over a decade before they finally started work on filling that space with another attraction. I have zero faith that these closures open up space for something new; when Disney closes something without announcing its replacement at the same time or very soon after, they tend to leave that real estate unused for long periods of time. That's especially going to be true in an era when they've already slashed the budget of existing construction projects. I'm not even all that confident they'll bother to tear Primeval Whirl down any time soon. Even less so Stitch since that attraction is hidden within the architecture of Tomorrowland and new visitors likely don't even realize there's wasted space there.

I don't think this is about opening up space at all. I think this is just economic conditions causing Disney to cut their losses on PW and RoL so they don't have to pay staffing or upkeep for those two, and finally admitting at the same time that Stitch is gone for good.

There's been a rumor that pops up from time-to-time that Disney ultimately wants to replace/retheme the whole Dinosaur area (all the carnival stuff, Dinosaur ride, and boneyard) to Indiana Jones. Apparently the Dinosaur ride is the same exact track layout as Indy at DL, so a retheme would be fairly easy. The boneyard could more or less stay the same as an Indiana Jones dig site. Then PW would be replaced with a clone of the Indy coaster at Tokyo Disney sea. This would fit the current trend of adding IPs everywhere and would fix the weird Dinoland situation. Plus the Indy ride is 100x better than Dino IMO (and I love Dino).

That being said, that's always just been a vagueish rumor with no real credibility so I wouldn't plan on it.

As someone who adores the Indy ride in California...I really, really do not want this to happen. Indiana Jones is all about archaeology and human history, so this would be a big step away from the park's overarching theme. I'm sure they could find a way to shoehorn in an environmental message or some ancient creature awoken in a temple, but Indiana Jones isn't Avatar--the property doesn't come with a clear animal/environment focus, particularly if they did retheme Dinosaur to match the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland.

 

[DisneyMom0604]

I'm sad about RoL. My family and I saw it in 2017 when it first came out and really enjoyed it. I was looking forward to seeing it again this year, but then everything closed. I wonder what they may replace it with.

 

[MomOTwins]

The theme parks are bleeding cash and cuts are inevitable. We've already lost a LOT of world showcase entertainment, and I care about that a whole lot more than these three attractions. So my view is better these three get closed than something else.

My kids actually begged me to let them leave rivers of light because they were so bored after 5 minutes, and so was I, but kept holding on for a hope of an interesting finale that never came. And that was when the effects were working--we tried it again another trip just in case we had an off night the first time and it was even worse because the wind was messing up the projections and all we could see was some blurry splotchy colors on mist.

 

[JM23457]

We loved Primeval Whirl and will miss it. River of Lights was very nice show that we enjoyed. It's a shame that is closing.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

Interesting! Here's the wdwinfo article about it:
https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...l-whirl-rivers-of-light-stitchs-great-escape/
I'm not surprised about Primeval Whirl. On the DIS Unplugged podcasts over the last couple of years, they've mentioned that when Primeval Whirl goes down for extended periods of time, it's sometimes because the manufacturer of that attraction is no longer in business, so broken parts have to be rebuilt from scratch.

I think a worker got killed on that attraction.

 

[yulilin3]

I think a worker got killed on that attraction.

Yes, years ago. Quick Google search it was 2011 and 2007 before that

 

[wilbret]

Never got to see ROL, because the park closes so early, so often. Our schedules never lined up.

 

[DsnyDreaminDad]

Has anyone heard rumors about what might possibly replace Primevil Whirl and Stitch? Dinoland USA doesn't excite me much so this would be a great opportunity for something new to anchor that area. Tomorrowland could use another family attraction. Maybe a Wreck It Ralph themed attraction would fit?

 

[Tallis]

My guess is DAK will not be open again after dark for a long long time.

That would be my guess as well.

I thought RoL was super boring and unimpressive anyway. Only saw it once and never any desire to see it again. What will stink is that all those people who were watching RoL will now be out in the park, if they are ever open late. As it was, we could easily jump on popular rides with no FP during that last hour or so.

 

[dachsie]

not to argue, I just don't understand this type of statement. I really disliked PW, only did it twice, never again, I just didn't like it. Stitch was alright, not a favorite at all. But for every attraction and show that closes just means all those people that would've been in those locations will be going to other attractions and show, creating more crowds. Even if I hate a ride (looking at you Astro Orbiter) I good never sat good riddance.
Again not trying to get into an argument, but this is a common statement whenever anything closes at any of the parks, just my point of view

That's funny that you mention Astro Orbiter. I rode it for the first (and last) time in 2018. I did it at night so really loved seeing MK at night from it. But because of how you practically have to lay down in it, I had a hard time getting out. LOL. I had to get my nephew to help me out.