Even MORE PIXAR at DCA
Andy already talked about the positive news that Bob Iger spread at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference as far as the success of the recent investments into the Disney parks and resorts is concerned - and basically there isn’t much too add to that, besides that the incredible year that Disneyland Resort Paris is having right now (which could become DLRP’s most successful year ever) is another proof that investments into entertainment and new rides pays off. So with these facts (with excerption of the DLRP point) being discussed throughout the internet and in the classic media, it seems a safe bet, that it was the most exciting thing Bob Iger said about the parks and resorts during his presentations … right? NO!
The Disney Blog took the time to actually work through the whole presentation (available from the official website of The Walt Disney Company for replay till October 2nd) and covers it all in detail … and hidden in there is some really exciting news which further helps flesh out the plans for the extreme makeover that Disney’s California Adventure will receive. According to The Disney Blog Bob Iger stated:
“Everything we have done with Pixar in the parks has worked extremely well [...] We are going to build a Carsland at California Adventure. Which will be a real anchor for that park in the near future.”
A “Carsland” based on the Disney Pixar movie “Cars” featuring various attractions in a themed environment had already been rumored prior and artwork was featured in the recent Annual Report of The Walt Disney Company. In fact MiceAge had offered a detailed overview of what to expect in “Carsland” and talked about it being a future expansion of DCA on the parking lot which already housed the temporary X-Games show arena. The new area was rumored to include amongst others an attraction based on the TestTrack technology from EPCOT at Walt Disney World. But until Bob Iger’s presentation no offcial confirmation was given. Still there is the question which attractions and how many are going to go into the area…
Anyway, with the now confirmed addition of “Carsland” DCA will be the first Disney park to feature TWO separate themed areas (”lands”?) based both on a single feature move - and Disney Pixar ones for that. There is: The Bug’s Life area targeting audiences with younger children as well as “Carsland”, I guess, supposed to target older children (teenagers) as well as “mild-thrill”-seekers (if the Test Track ride is actually included in the final version).
I am expecting that the “is there too much Pixar in the Disney parks”-discussion will pop up shortly again - but I think there is a more fundamental discussion worth having: is it wise to theme whole lands based on a single movie? If you are looking at the Disney parks around the globe, lands / areas used to be themed to more general concepts (”Adventure”, “Arabia”, “Jungle”, “Fantasy”, “Toon Town”, ….). These just lend themselves to be readjusted easily throughout the years. But what to do if the general public forgets about the movie “Cars” and its characters are no longer known to young guests? Do you keep a whole area themed to a “forgotten” movie or do you spend big bucks to re-theme it? Why would you actually want to take such a risk? Wouldn’t it be wiser to theme the area to say “Route 66″ and just place one or two “Cars”-based attractions in there?? It is not as if this would be a much more difficult theme, in fact it would allow you more freedom. It would also help avoid narrowing the perception of the area by guests down to just one movie (which might turn guests away from the area who didn’t like the movies or a plain not interested in cars) and also means you “only” have to retheme one or two rides in the worst case. In fact you might get away with a ride based on a less popular movie for longer than with a whole land based on such movie.
In this connection might be worth pointing out that Walt Disney himself originally envisioned a “True Life Adventure”-land instead of what is today known as “Adventureland” at Disneyland, Anaheim, but then decided to move away from this concept to a broader approach allowing him to integrate more adventures into the theme and veer a bit further away from the “real world”. Maybe, just maybe, today’s decision makers should look at this past decision and how well it has served them. Afterall many young guests don’t even know the “True Life Adventure”-movie series anymore. Not mentioning that Indiana Jones and Tarzan wouldn’r eally fit into those but are today well respected tennants of Adventureland in Anaheim.