News Round Up 2016

[umichigan10]

I think the issue is: One should not watch a Disney nighttime show and say, 'Oh, that was pretty good.' I'm looking for mouths agape, oohs, ahhs, and wows, and a burst into uncontrollable cheering at the end. That's the Disney standard.

I agree with what rteez and others have echoed. Its a placeholder, and honestly I think if that was your standard for a show that was thrown together in short notice to cover for RoL delays, then I think it was a tad unrealistic imo

 

[Eoghann]

There was really no winning for Disney on this one with the RoL delay stretching out into June and longer.

• if they don't have a show then there's really not enough things to keep people busy for the extended hours.
• If they put on an abbreviated version of RoL, well... how does that even work, it's likely to look like a mess and it will be too short.
• If they put on a filler show people complain that it's a filler show.

 

[Irish_Mike]

There was really no winning for Disney on this one with the RoL delay stretching out into June and longer.

Which is why they were fools to announce a hard opening date, especially if they had a hunch that there were technical problems with the floats.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Review

Here is a review of the jungle book show which I think is pretty fair and I agree with after watching it twice on video.

http://www.mousesteps.com/extra-fea...-animal-kingdom-photos-video-initial-thoughts

I know Disney is going to overhype stuff but really feels like a case of promotion not matching reality. Even in that review it notes Disney promoting this as the story of Mowgli - but then the show itself doesn't seem to have much of a story and is just lots of nice music and dancing. Maybe would have been better to promote it as a Bollywood style production inspired by the Jungle Book rather than a Jungle Book show

 

[Travis B]

This wasn't meant to be a permanent spectacular though. It's not meant to be wishes, illuminations, Star Wars fireworks, or fantasmic. It's a filler show until RoL is ready.

a.) I don't think it's up to Disney standards - even for a 'filler show'. There's not even the tiniest hint of anything spectacular.

b.) We know it's a placeholder, but how many average guests do? This is being marketed and and upsold just like all the other nighttime shows. This will be the AK nighttime show for them, and that's sad. It's bad show.

Part of it is context. A basic little song and dance show in an appropriate venue is cute. In a giant, spectacular amphitheater it's underwhelming.

I would be -pissed- if I got the dining package for this.

 

[rteetz]

a.) I don't think it's up to Disney standards - even for a 'filler show'. There's not even the tiniest hint of anything spectacular.

b.) We know it's a placeholder, but how many average guests do? This is being marketed and and upsold just like all the other nighttime shows. This will be the AK nighttime show for them, and that's sad. It's bad show.

Part of it is context. A basic little song and dance show in an appropriate venue is cute. In a giant, spectacular amphitheater it's underwhelming.

I would be -pissed- if I got the dining package for this.

While it's not great I don't think it's awful so we are just going to have to agree to disagree. I'm thinking expectations were too high for this.

 

[Travis B]

That's the standard? Wow. They are in trouble even with their existing shows.

I thought the standard was to make AK a compelling nighttime park and bring more value to its customers so they commit to more hours/days in Disney parks.

Paint the Night, Disneyland Forever, World of Color, Wishes, Fantasmic.. To me all of these shows meet my definition of the standard. Even the aging shows are still pretty amazing, especially to first time viewers.

The goal for AK is everything you said. Standards are about level of quality. I just didn't think the quality was there. Hopefully with ROL it will be.

 

[Travis B]

I agree with what rteez and others have echoed. Its a placeholder, and honestly I think if that was your standard for a show that was thrown together in short notice to cover for RoL delays, then I think it was a tad unrealistic imo

I would have been happy with a -hint- of what's to come. Just a little taste of spectacular. Instead it was Bollywood variety hour with fire twirling. I don't think it's unreasonable to hold Disney to a high standard when they are the premier entertainment entity on the planet.

 

[luisov]

I don't have a problem with the show being a filler. Let's be honest here, we all knew they had very little time to come up with something, so in my opinion we should've never had high expectations to begin with.

My only problem is with Disney for selling the show as something it really isn't.

 

[Travis B]

While it's not great I don't think it's awful so we are just going to have to agree to disagree. I'm thinking expectations were too high for this.

I'll watch again later and see if my opinion changes at all. I know I'm a broken record, but our expectations for Disney should be high. And if they couldn't deliver something up to par, it should have stayed dark until they could deliver. As @Eoghann said they didn't have any good options, but personally I think nothing is better than mediocre.

 

[Budshark]

It might have almost been better if they showed the parts of ROL that worked and billed it as a sneak preview of the full show coming later this year. Jungle Book is a mess and maybe a waste of money... yikes.

That's a little extreme. Did you see the show?

 

[umichigan10]

I would have been happy with a -hint- of what's to come. Just a little taste of spectacular. Instead it was Bollywood variety hour with fire twirling. I don't think it's unreasonable to hold Disney to a high standard when they are the premier entertainment entity on the planet.

To each their own. I certainly haven't seen it in person and perhaps my opinion will change there, but I think while yes, Disney is the premier entertainment entity on me planet, the fact is this wasn't in the planning stages for years but was fast tracked over the course of a month.

I can agree with others however that the marketing may be selling it a bit strong

 

[umichigan10]

I know Disney is going to overhype stuff but really feels like a case of promotion not matching reality. Even in that review it notes Disney promoting this as the story of Mowgli - but then the show itself doesn't seem to have much of a story and is just lots of nice music and dancing. Maybe would have been better to promote it as a Bollywood style production inspired by the Jungle Book rather than a Jungle Book show

Yeah totally agree here. I looked at probably between 5-10 minutes of the show on periscope last night, and thought it was cool, but certainly didn't have much of a 'story' from what I saw or a lot of relation to the jungle book. Again, didn't see a lot, but they probably dropped the ball on how they're selling this to the masses

 

[Candlelady]

While it's not great I don't think it's awful so we are just going to have to agree to disagree. I'm thinking expectations were too high for this.

But Disney always met those expectations and then some. That's what made Disney what it is today.

 

[Budshark]

But Disney always met those expectations and then some. That's what made Disney what it is today.

Not true at all. Disney is rife with let downs from the beginning until today. They have always under achieved the promise, but over achieved their competitors.

Careful of the revisionist history - especially with rose colored glasses.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Not true at all. Disney is rife with let downs from the beginning until today. They have always under achieved the promise, but over achieved their competitors.

Careful of the revisionist history - especially with rose colored glasses.

I think "always under achieved" is a bit strong but I do get what you are saying. I think when Disney "gets it right" it is still something special - whether all the way back to the original Snow White movie up to more recent times with things like Cars Land Disney can still exceed expectations. And i think that is why people get upset when they don't - because they know they can

But I agree this isn't the first time they have under achieved to promises - and this is really a case of promoting something above what it is

 

[Eoghann]

Which is why they were fools to announce a hard opening date, especially if they had a hunch that there were technical problems with the floats.

Yes that was a mistake. But it's a bell that can't be un-rung and so they have to move forward. Accepting that fact they had a few options all of them less than ideal. This is not the worst of those options.

 

[Eoghann]

I can agree with others however that the marketing may be selling it a bit strong

Disney consistently oversells everything. They've been marketing DHS as "the place where Star Wars happens" for months now despite at the time having little more than some exhibits and a couple of extra meet and greets. They call Stich's Great escape an "experience that’s a treat for your eyes, ears and nose." Voyage of the Little Mermaid apparently allows you to "Immerse yourself in unforgettable moments of the hit animated musical film The Little Mermaid at this live-show puppetry extravaganza!"

I'm pretty sure if you asked them to describe their restrooms they would tell you that only in Disney World can you experience the magic of taking a dump in a trultrulyly unforgettable way. They have no volume control on this stuff, it's 0 or 11.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Most people are just watching the videos and proclaiming it awful...I don't think it was meant to be watched over video.

I'm sure it's not the best show ever, but I can't even sit through fantasmic on video yet it's my favorite night time show.

I'm not sure how do many can pass judgment without getting the full experience.

Some reviews from people who have seen it live quite liked it. I'm sure it won't be the best thing I've ever seen, but I'm withholding judgement until I've experienced it in the proper environment and setting (in person).

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Most people are just watching the videos and proclaiming it awful...I don't think it was meant to be watched over video.

I'm sure it's not the best show ever, but I can't even sit through fantasmic on video yet it's my favorite night time show.

I'm not sure how do many can pass judgment without getting the full experience.

Some reviews from people who have seen it live quite liked it. I'm sure it won't be the best thing I've ever seen, but I'm withholding judgement until I've experienced it in the proper environment and setting (in person).

Also, if true that the main water projection wasn't working properly it is really hard to fully judge the show ... not to mention this was still "soft opening"