A Grand and Miraculous Future?

Its been a while since I last posted here and a lot has come to pass since my last post. I do have to apologize for my inability to post here more often. As I've shared before my real life just keeps getting in the way. My son is now almost six months old and my job is finally calming down. Hopefully I'll be able to update this thing more often.

Well as you're probably aware, the latest info I had in my last post here never came to pass. Unfortunately the Disney Parks are still a homogenized brand with no end in sight. Jay Rasulo still has a firm grip on his position, and the year of a million dreams has been extended for another year of a million years. But enough of the negative talk. There are some wonderful things happening in Orlando as of late. So lets talk about those instead.

Things are really starting to look up at the Universal resorts. After years of stagnation with very little new in sight, the Universal team has stepped into overdrive. Disaster, A Major Motion Picture Ride Starring You... has opened within the last few days and it is a major upgrade to Earthquake which stood there before. By almost all accounts, it is going to prove very popular as guests are raving about the new effect which makes Christopher Walken magically appear and interact with the set and hosts around him.

Disney should take notice here on how to upgrade and refresh an attraction as Universal has done a wonderful job of refreshing an old and dull attraction. Lets take Disney's latest attempt at an update with SpaceShip Earth. While the refresh and addition to the animatronic scenes in the first 2/3 of the ride is perfect, the ending is a major letdown.

For those of you who haven't seen the videos or read about it yet, instead of the grand ending we are used to with the wonderful city of the future around us, we are instead required to focus on a small video screen in front of us which shows a Jetsons version of the future with our picture pasted on the characters like those so annoying Elf Yourself videos that were going around at Christmas time.

The ride is not ruined, but this is a far cry from the ending that this iconic ride deserved. Rumors have it that management is well aware of the complaints about the ending and are taking those into consideration, and lets hope they are. SpaceShip Earth is going down for a few weeks in February to finalize the ride before its official opening in mid February. Its WDI's last chance, lets hope they get it right. SpaceShip Earth deserves more, EPCOT Center deserves more, the fans deserve more, and I believe that WDI can deliver more. You're behind the eight ball guys, lets see what you can do.

So which resort is currently facing the grand and miraculous future we've always dreamed of? Is it the homogenized Disney Parks with their muddled management structure which requires execs to jetset all across the country meeting with managers on different coasts, with their less than inspired creations such as the descent of SSE, Monsters Inc, etc...? Or is it Universal with their nice refurb of Earthquake, their upcoming Simpsons attraction, and the major addition of Harry Potter? Only time will tell, but its definitely an interesting time to be a theme park fan. For my vote, I hope they both win. I think we're all better off with strong quality competition coming out of both camps.

Maybe the future truly is bright.