The Magic Kingdom Railroad Kinda Sucks
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- After being closed around four years during the construction of Tron, why did the Magic Kingdom Railroad open without any new additions or improvements? It has always been inferior to the Disneyland Railroad, but it's extremely frustrating that it was given absolutely no attention. In this video, I break down the routes between the two attractions, highlighting what makes the Disneyland Railroad better and why the Magic Kingdom version really needs help.
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Dear lord, that reveal of the plain back wall of the Tron building borders on offensive. It's the antithesis of what's made Disney parks so special for 70 years.
Just some blue and green paint could've helped.
@@Happymali10Literally could have done anything, and they did nothing. Absolutely gross
Walt would be rolling in his grave seeing the immersion broken like that.
One could interpret it as being the IRL building housing the Encom mainframe that MCP runs on, or ran on depending on what time period Tron Lightcycle takes place in. But even so, would it have killed them to make it actually look like a corporate datacenter at the very least?
I think one underrated aspect of transport attractions is that they also act as a decoration. Its add movement and can bring life to a static area. The worst thing is to hide a transport attraction as if you have to be ashamed of it. You are in a western themed section of the park? Of course there is a old western train driving around. I think areas like marvel campus and galaxy edge suffer, because their is no visible movement in the area. Take the Yoshi ride at nintendo world. It may be boring for some people, but it adds movement and acts also as a decoration.
Yes!! movement adds life!! You've put into words what I've been debating in my head for so long. I totally think that's also why Velocicoaster has the waiting line wrap around the actual track; it made it a little more enjoyable to hear a new cart of people screaming by.
Attempted to ride the Disneyland Railroad last month. Made it from New Orleans to the Tomorrowland station where our locomotive broke down (was a theme for my visit- ride maintenance seems to me lacking somehow with the number of breakdowns we experience compared to an average day at a WDW park). I was disappointed that I missed the dioramas, but alas, only so much time in a theme park day.
Not sure how I felt about their seating arrangement on the DL trains. While the focused views were nice, it seemed to cut into capacity that the trains could definitely use.
Kintecism was always important for both Frontierland and Tomorrowland from the beginning. It's time for Disneyland to bring back the Peoplemover lol.
I used to work at Star Tours in Disneyland in 2004, just months/weeks away from the 50th Anniversary and in the last few weeks of the failed Rocket Rods ride.
I grew up and currently live in Southern California and rode the Disneyland people mover as a kid and was deeply saddened that they replaced it with Rocket Rods and then abandoned it completely. Rocket Rods was a maintenance nightmare with software problems and constant tire replacement every other day.
When I rotated to the outside, I would always look up periodically at the abandoned PeopleMover Track, remembering it in operation. I do know that foot traffic was tight through that area of Tomorrowland, and people used to ride it just to get a 10-minute break to sit down, relax, and get off their feet while they rode with their kids for a safe aerial overview of Tomorrowland and parts of Fantasyland and Main Street USA. The people Mover with it's extremely high throughout and ride capacity used to get bodies off of the walkways below, giving guests more elbowroom to maneuver through the land. Bob Gurr had proposed at one time to extend the PeopleMover over to Fantasyland with a station there. Since Disney installed Galaxy's edge, they should put a new magnetic/maglev automated PeopleMover from Tomorrowland PeopleMover station and extend it from Tomorrowland , along the outside edge of Fantasy land with a station stop either inside Galaxy's Edge or at the most Eastern outside entrance to both Galaxy's Edge and Fantasyland walkways.
I love the WDW Tomorrowland Transit Authority ride and I didn't realize that 'land didn't have one. (I've never been out there.) I think it'd be cool to have it extend from Tomorrowland to other locations! @@electricar9
I remember way back in the 70's (yea I am old) there was a canoe paddling in rapids experience. Real boats and everyone paddled. But I have seen no recent reference to it. IIRC you could see that from the train.
The canoes are Disneyland are still a highlight of that park. Everyone always seems to avoid it, but I was surprised by how fun it was the first time I tried.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I have never been to Disneyland much less set my foot in California. I am talking about Orlando. I'm thinking the one in Florida has been long gone...
I haven't ridden it in over 20 years, but in the old park the magic kingdom train was kind of meant to be boring, a mom ride where it just replicates riding a train for a bit, and you don't have to look around for fear of missing anything. It's a de stressor, and in a park where your highlight might be Peter Pan (not counting Space Mountain), it fit right in. It sticks out as odd given the current park designs though.
While the dinos are unique to both Disneyland + Tokyo Disneyland, I DID think they'd recycle the AA Dinos from UOE. Tron light tunnel transporting guest back in time to the dinos. Plenty of room to do so in s slightly different way since it excluded the diorama. I also LOVE the whistles in Fla.+ # of grade crossings. The approach to the tunnel has that lovely Loooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnng, short blast! Disneyland has a variety of tunnels. I DO like the wig wag @ DL + the billboard in Tomorrowland. I did the steam train tour and they explained about the trees. I STILL would like to see more done to the layout though. Disneyland seems to have MORE pride in its park since it IS the original. WDW seems content to rest on its laurels.
I don't think the Tron tunnel has room for any expansion, but there is certainly plenty of room past Space Mountain.
Yep! I meant the area past it. the 1st part would be the "light tunnel" part. I also like the coin op machines.
We really agree. We always enjoyed the relaxation of the railroad in Magic Kingdom, but were taken back with how much better it is in Disneyland. We rode the Magic Kingdom raliroad earlier this year right after it opened up again. We enjoyed the relaxed sit back vibes, but when we went through the Tomorrowland section we were SO disappointed. They might have as well just nailed up plywood walls like in EPCOTwall land and called it good. As you said, they had SUCH an opportunity to do something amazing to plus it but failed to do so.
I've been telling my friends this for years and they all thought I was crazy for saying this. After riding the Disneyland railroad last year, this fully furthered my point on the potential the one in Florida could have. It's great to see someone (especially you) get on a topic that I've been waiting for someone to cover for years now. Never thought it would take this long for someone to make a video on this. 😂
Edit: To add to this, they really could have repurposed those UOE animatronics and make it a part of the railroad.
I like how even the landscape pulls off the force perspective.
That's a good point!
It hurts me to see just how much better the MKR could be! I feel like the Frontierland section is fine, but they could add some static figures and low level animatronics of animals to the Adventureland section, and they could add some dioramas or effects to the Tron tunnel too!! Sadly this won’t happen with Disney’s current leadership tho 😞.
The Disneyland Railroad in Anaheim is so much more interesting and fun. The dioramas are really cool, and the redesigned Rivers of America is awesome too.
The fact that they didn't nothing to enhance the train during the long closure for tron is ridiculous. Look at the contrast with when the Disneyland Railroad was closed to accommodate the building of just not one ride, but an entire land with two rides, merch and dining locations. Disneyland railroad, along with all the river attractions closed in Jan of 2016. the train and river attractions reopened in summer of 2017. In that relatively short amount of time, they drained the back half of the river, built a damm so the water would stay in the front half of the river. They cut all the vegetation from the Hungry Bear to basically the Fantasyland theater. They removed all the figures and props from around the river. they tore down Big thunder Ranch and bar be que. they removed a huge chunk of Pirates Lair. They had to remove the back half of the tracks for Twain and Columbia and trains. they had to carve out and build a shorter river. They had to reroute the entire train track from hungry bear all the way to Fantasyland Theater. they had to reinstall new tracks for the boats and train. Then they built the new mountains, waterfalls and bridges. Then they refilled the river, took down the damm, replanted vegetation . Put back existing figures and added tons of new stuff. Trained or retrained engineers, conductors, and all the cast members who work the twain/columbia and canoes. Did test runs on all the attractions for a few weeks. In top of all this necessary construction, they took the time to refresh both the grand canyon and dinosaur scene. Plus they completely restaged Fantasmic. This was all in a year and a half! and both the train and rivercraft have beautiful new scenery that mostly hides Galaxy's edge.
the walt disney world railroad went down in 2018 and reopened in 2023. Even taking into account covid shutting the parks for several months in 2020, in the six years it was closed, other than adding a bland tunnel, they did nothing in this long time to improve or make new experiences for the guests riding the train. In took them 6 years to slightly reroute the track and build a short tunnel, and nothing else. Like you said, they didn't even try and hide the ugly show building. It is truly maddening , and shameful.
Park facing cars only pleaseee! 😩
It’s a completely different experience- long day in DL, grab a snack & ride around the whole park. Relaxing, site seeing, waving to people. Nothing compares to that!
I was kinda puzzled by the service-road at 7:38, so...in case anyone else was: It's road-access to "it's a small world" and some shops.
There's also a weird little parking lot in the middle of the woods right by the tracks, maybe that's for access to the native american scene/its tech.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a large painted mural inside of that bleak grey tunnel?
The steam would probably erode it, but I think they probably have other visual options.
I've never gotten to try the Disneyland version, but I liked the Magic Kingdom one as a kid because it was a ride you could actually get on even if the park was fairly crowded. It would be nice if they did a little more with it.
What I love about disneyland is its designed for walt disney, so it's what walt liked not so much what we liked, but it also gives disneyland a soul that no other park can because well they can't it's more of a guess of what walt would have like opposed to this is what walt likes! And I love that although it's losing that every year that goes by, but it's still there none the less!
I'm a disneyland person born and raised in socal. finally got to visit wdw recently and I was very underwhelmed by magic kingdom itself. My partner and I attempted to take the train all away around the park but it was so disappointing we bailed at the next stop
Other parks definitely have better ones. I haven't done many. But I'd say Busch Gardens Tampa (the animals) and Cedar Point's (all the animatronics) are really good. I liked Six Flags Fiesta Texas's too with the cliffs and waterfall tunnel.
I've always found the railroad underwhelming; hardly any views of existing rides, just a few small dioramas, and that utterly boring tunnel. Just some light effects could have made all the difference in there, and been perfect theming to go along with TRON. I mean, come on, how much would some LEDs cost, Disney? Like so so much lately, it feels lazy. Like only a bare minimum of effort went into the project.
I like the DLP version well enough, but with only 3 stations (often only 2 operational) there is honestly very little point.
it seems weird you missed the audio being changed during the drainage canal section of the WDW railroad. I feel like that was them atempting to plus up that section. is it any good.... not really. but still worth mentioning
What changed? I know that it references Peter Pan, but I didn't realize it was new.
MK railroad should always only be considered as a merge between a slow relaxing ride and means of transport between lands. Disney shot itself in the foot during CV-19 and wasted their time when they should’ve been doubling efforts to complete projects. They wound up just trying to finish and market new ideas instead of integrating them into the the immersive experience that all of the theme parks are supposed to be.
Parades don’t go through Adventureland so that first railroad crossing is likely were service vehicles go to and fro.
The parades exit out of a gate on Mainstreet and go behind the Jungle Cruise, crossing the tracks.
I remember running to the magic kingdom train when a flash downpour started on a hot August afternoon. The train didn't suck then :)
I took a trip to the Magic Kingdom earlier this year for the first time since 2014. I was incredibly disappointed in the train.
As of recently I went to Walt Disney World last year very disappointed that it was closed because I wanted to see how it would compare to the Disneyland Railroad but thx to u breaking down the the ride experience once it reopened in 2023 after a 4 year down period I’m even more disappointed at the Disney Company for not even taking the time or at least putting any 1% type of effort to add or change things or even enhancing/ plusing the attraction. Honestly it’s really sad how the MKR.R. seems to get super neglected by Disney and some guests. I do agree with u me personally I love relaxing rides in Disney Parks but in experience alone the MKR.R. seems to just kind of be a mode of transportation just to get u from point A to point B as where of Disneyland’s Railroad u can do the same for using to getting around the park but at least no matter what station u hop aboard on to travel to there’s always something u r looking at whether it be theming, landscaping, or other attractions. While MKR.R. doesn’t look awful I just really wish Disney would just at least show a little care or even just change something so this ok ride can be come a truly amazing experience. But I’d like to hear ur opinion since u didn’t really touch to much on it which train cars do u prefer to sit in Disneyland’s side ways facing gondola cars or Magic Kingdom’s forward facing trolley set style cars?!
I very much prefer the interior facing side cars at Disneyland. I like that the railroad is purposefully designed to give you a tour through the park through directing your line of sight.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Also love ur channel BTW I’ve been watching ur videos since the beginning 2 years ago and u have some of the best content honestly ur channel’s pretty underrated IMO!
The railroad was always an opportunity for guests to get to the back at the park at opening time. That means you have access to the rides at the back of the park before other guests overcrowd those rides. Take away the railroad and now you're stuck with Genie plus. I'm an insomniac who is awake during the Disney plus reservations times, but I'm asleep in the early morning and early afternoon hours. That means Disney isn't for me anymore. It's a complete waste of my time and money. Disney has made me obsolete and I'm fine with that. It's not a great loss. Disney's now for them and not for me. Better get used to it. I'm an insomniac. A lot of the world is closed to me.
Disney has turned into nothing but a greedier Six Flags with fewer roller coasters…. And soon their market cap is going to reflect it.
in fairness Magic Kingdom is bigger and designed completely differently so you can’t compare the two.
Disney handed over the reins to HR - they treat their guests like employees who must be taught their corporate religion and comply, or else. All the WDW resorts are aggressively inconvenient and wildly overpriced. You better not need anything, not even a room key - you'll be on a never-ending quest, shuffled from clueless, barely-trained cast member to clueless, barely-trained cast member. Rules for guests are abundant while actual services have been stripped to the bone. Cast members are treated so badly by the company that they take their frustrations out on the guests, barking orders and being as unpleasant as possible so that they will be left alone. The hot new attractions are there for the cast members (to offset low wages), who get first dibs on rides months before guests are allowed to ride. When guests are finally allowed to ride, expect to play the bizarre 7:00am lottery to get in a virtual queue, where all spots are literally snapped up in less than one second, or, alternatively, expect to pay out the nose for a $20 or more per-ride, per-person lightning lane ticket, which you'll need anyway if you want to avoid a 2 hour queue experience in the hot sun or in charmless indoor liminal spaces. Once you arrive at WDW, expect the ENTIRE experience to be one long unending TSA line - you will never get the reward promised by the advertisement - it was just a lure to get you in the machine, then you'll be treated like cattle and stripped of your hard-earned cash.
I don't think the Magic Kingdom's RR sucked. I just feel that Disneyland's RR was a lot better.
I would love to know seeing the criticisms of the wdw railroad what he thinks of the Paris version. Better or worse? I have only been on that specific one in my life and although I can see the charm it’s not particularly for me. And especially where the Indiana jones expansion would have been build would the park made some profits is really empty and you just hear screaming of the people on the constantly headbanging rollercoaster.
I've only skimmed through video but it seems more interesting than the Magic Kingdom version. I think it's difficult to beat Disneyland though.
My favourite part was the drainage ditch nothing else says premium entertainment like a good old drainage ditch
I think the animatronics from The Universe of Energy are at least twice as large as the ones in Primeval world. So I don't think that's happening. I would love to see more figures in the foliage,
I was under the impression that they're quite a bit larger as well. Still, there's plenty of space for a large building.
Walt Disney had his own little railroad in his backyard, which was highly detailed and even went through his wife’s garden. When Disneyland opened, the Disneyland railroad was supposed to be the ultimate dream for any steam train fan. Seeing how the magic kingdom version has been so underutilized by modern corporate Disney just fuels my hatred for the corporate side even more, since they aren’t celebrating Walt’s vision.
Exactly ! Why in the hell are theme parks not doing simple transportation rides any more?!? Epic universe needs a transportation monorail or people mover style ride!!!
While not a fan of contemporary Disney, I have to say that older leadership didn't really bother much with it either. What was the last addition made to it before the Tron tunnel? Splash Mountain?
Fair point. It’s just that over the years, very few feasible additions have been added to it
@@thebluetarpTo be fair Universal did build the Hogwarts train allowing for park hopping from within their parks. I agree though that large Epcot sized parks should have some kind of transportation.
The Disney Company sold out, there was NO reason to Re theme SPLASH MOUNTAIN. Adding Tron and Star Wars attractions is like throwing up.
Even back to the beginning of WDW and after Walt’s death, the concept of EPCOT changed. Walt’s dream could’ve been executed, but the bottom dollar won over the dream.
I like Disney when it was in it’s simplicity.
I agree with the video. Disney has moved away from the small details that separates them from the competition. It seems like budget cuts have ruined the Disney image I knew growing up. They don’t do promotional vacation planning dvds, VHSs, or stream them in Disney +. They don’t make fun Disney sing a long videos that promote the parks anymore either. The devil is in the details and Disney outdid any competition back in the day. Now not so much. It’s a money machine. I wish Disney would go back to original ideas, instead of copy and pasting stories, rides, etc.
Oh, you said this perfectly!!! Just exactly what I was thinking! It is a shame that they have lost their magic!!!
It just is so shocking to me that not one imagineer noticed this! I am a successful artist and it just frustrates me to no end about what they have taken away in the parks, and they keep re-doing the same stuff over and over. Since Joe Rhode, Tony Baxter, and the late Marty Skylar are gone, the magic has dramatically disappeared.
Well times are different now we live in a different world. Disney has gotten themselves in a whole lot of debt with Disney+ and after all they need to make money and are obligated to look out for the shareholders. That doesn’t mean I agree with every decision but it is what it is and I don’t see it changing and this is not just a disney problem a lot of companies have make changes and cut backs having said that no theme park comes close to Disney world at this moment
They will again at some point but that’s probably when a millennial is in charge, which may not be for another 20-30 years
I finally rode Tron the day I went to film the MK railroad and I hadn't seen much video of the queue. It's just so remarkably boring inside these black and boxy hallways and I thought it was a good example of how Disney went from ultra-detailed to minimalist for the sake of cost cutting. I've seen the Tron films, I know that they could do a lot better.
I have the complete vhs sing along songs... but my daughter(2½ yrs old) loves Fliks musical adventure at animal kingdom dvd... also what you said about the dvd planner is true i still have like 3 of those it really made you want to go lol
The theory that dinosaurs make everything better is entirely on point.
Yeah, I couldn't agree with that more!
I have never been on the Magic Kingdom train. Growing up in So Cal, Disneyland was my home. I have been on the Disneyland RR more times than I can count. It’s quaint, relaxing and does have quite a bit of visual elements. It’s the only attraction where you don’t have to get off. I totally enjoyed your take on the Magic Kingdom version. My favorite part is going past BTMRR. My least favorite is that dull looking tunnel through TRON. Disney could have done more to it. Thank you for this vid. It was very entertaining!
The issue I feel is that the invisible "wall" between Disneyland and the outside world is not ever really broken: there is nothing to suggest you are anywhere in the world besides Disneyland, whereas at WDW, one can gaze out at the distant cars on roads, drainage ditches, service roads, etc. and consequently one's mind drifts towards the outside world. The spell is broken, thus breaking that magic self-containment that is so perfectly and completely achieved at Disneyland.
Yeah I can only imagine they worried less about this because they owned so much property around MK when it was built. But it's become really frustrating.
Well said. The idea of being transported to another world was such a huge part of Disneyland and it's lacking in Magic Kingdom for sure, especially in the train.
That's part of the genius of Disneyland's berm, it separates the sober reality of entering show buildings from the immersive fantasy of venturing forth into an ancient temple or trepidatiously wandering into a haunted mansion.
The one counter-point for this is that some areas of Disneyland are really close to roads, and you can hear the traffic, and especially hear sirens from emergency vehicles. But otherwise I was always perplexed when I had visited WDW and saw a lot of things that just broke immersion as you said.
Even doing something as simple as theming the tunnels in Adventureland and Tomorrowland (say, a Pirate cave with skeletons and a Tron light tunnel) would go a long way to making the railroad more enjoyable.
It’s just so disappointing as is.
Dude yeah all they need is Space Mountain vibe moving neon light fixtures that move with the train and it would immediately alleviate the straight up disappointment from a plain black wall. At least you can only say a light fixture isn't enough, a black wall is just Nothing
I too anticipated they'd recycle the dinosaurs from UoE into a new diorama for the railroad. Seemed so obvious! A slam dunk, especially since they were closing it for 4 years. Was totally shocked at their excited reveal of... tunnel.
So what DID happen to all those animatronic dinosaurs?
I think most if not all of the dinosaurs were destroyed, except for the pterodactyls, which were sent to Disneyland as backup animatronics for THEIR railroad.
@@MichaelSar12IsBack Horrifying. Thanks for the sad news.
The Adventureland portion of the MKRR could really do with an animatronic jungle animal or two, say, a leopard or a jaguar.
While I agree, I do think parks should be cautious with outdoor animatronics because of how badly they decay in weather. I can't believe how bad the River Adventure is right now. However, I would be fine with static figures along the track if used effectively.
You’ve touched on the wonderment of the DL RR. I’ve certainly noticed a disparity between the two attractions. Absolutely intriguing to see all the details between the two. DL seems generally well themed and put together due to its geographic location and size. It does leans toward a much more intimate setting. I feel as though there is something to look forward to around every bend in the park.
I don't think it's just the railroad. I noticed a few other attractions that seem like cheap half-assed versions of their Disneyland counterparts. Pirates of the Caribbean comes to mind as does "It's a Small World."
Admitedly there were plenty of attractions that WDW does better Star Tours, the Jungle Cruise, maybe the Haunted Mansion. Personally I can't decide which version of Space Mountain I like better. I definitely prefer WDW Space Mountain trains to Disneyland's, they're much more comfortable.
It's a shame too since the MKR can take high occupancy. Magic Kingdom definitely needs something to ease up guests on the walkways.
Tron didn't help. I finally rode it and even with VL, it was still an hour wait.
Regardless of all of this, I feel like other parks (Disney or not) would really benefit from a system similar to the Railroad that takes you to different parts of the park. For example, I feel like Epic Universe will have the same issue as Epcot of it being too big and tiring for people to walk through the whole park. A system to take you through the lands would be great.
Epcot does have transportation (boats), but there needs to be a more effective system to get people around easier because those boats only cover about 30% of the park compared to other methods of transportation Disney uses.
Peoplemover is the answer, not sure why more parks haven't taken advantage of them. Other than the fact guests that use their feet burn more energy and eat more food/drink, thus more profit.
@@davidgaston7334 definitely something to get from the back of the park to the front would be nice. My mom had a hard time doing it after a long day, we had to run ahead and find a random wheel chair and bring it back for her. If they could clean up and theme the road back stage that they use, you could have a tram circle the entire park with stops at the seas Canada/France , US, Mexico , guardians ,
They want you thirsty and hungry while walking by every food and drink stand. EPCOT definitely wears you out.
I've only ever been to Disneyland (born and raised in Cali), so it's really sad to see how barebones the version in Florida is. Such a huge wasted opportunity considering the train in Disneyland is one of my favorite relaxing attractions.
I feel like the Tron Tunnel issue could easily be fixed by using those light fixtures (at least I think they're light fixtures?) along the tunnel's upper corners to display bright green lights in a progressive sequence running alongside the train, to give the illusion of being scanned. I notice that those lights are not currently on, so perhaps that feature is planned but not yet implemented.
It was odd to me that they weren't on either. I don't know if it's just for night, or if they're just currently not working at all.
@@PoseidonEntertainment So they could still have that feature, just not yet implemented. Your criticism may be slightly too early in that regard.
Other than that I agree with what you've stated.
I always look forward to your video essays about these attractions. Many times I learn so much history about these rides or parks. Thank you for putting so much work into these.
When I was at Disney World in March I was so excited to ride the railroad again. I expected to see/ go through Tron on the way through Tomorrowland. I was so disappointed that it was just a tunnel where you couldn’t see the coaster. It was a huge missed opportunity
The “telegraph office” at Disneyland is actually one of the original train stations that has since been decommissioned
I feel like the DLRR has a lot of history I'm probably not aware of.
Enough for an hour long documentary th-cam.com/video/ed0ymeIsFig/w-d-xo.html
I actually don't mind the foliage-only sections of the MK railroad because it feels like a nice escape from the hustle and bustle. Agreed that the stretch from Fantasyland to Main Street is really bad though. The open view of everything going on outside the front gate just snaps you out of the immersion.
Great video! Could you do one on the sad state of entertainment at WDW?
Examples of eliminated or reduced entertainment:
MK: no citizens of main street, no main street trolley show, no muppets show in liberty square, no frontierland band, no nighttime parade, no sword in the stone show, half-assed daytime parade with less performers and floats running post-covid, main street theater plans eliminated
DAK: no daytime parade (jammin jungle), no nighttime show (rivers of light), half-assed nemo show still running post-covid, no pandora drummers or mech suit
DHS: star wars fireworks at studios replaced with a projection show, no citizens of hollywood, no streetmosphere in galaxy's edge, half-assed fantasmic with less performers, no jedi training academy
EC: half-assed fireworks show compared to illuminations, no chinese acrobats, no french acrobat, no norway vikings
Resorts: no luau show at the polynesian, no grand floridian band
I'm sure there's more I missed.
Entertainment at WDW is pretty bad. Even the standards for how characters perform is pretty poor as well. Comparing them to DLR, their character performers are allowed a lot more agency and it shows in the interactions. It continues to surprise me how much better the streetmosphere is at Universal. The parks on both coasts are always full of interactive characters and street shows.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Absolutely! Not only is the quality better at DLR vs WDW, but there is also much more of it. Would be interesting to compare and contrast, and think about why its this way when WDW makes way more money.
Isn't it funny that Magic Kingdom was supposed to be Disneyland but expanded with a bigger budget and more land. But now is just massively inferior to Walt's original creation in almost every way?
Ironic for sure. However, I will say that MK does do certain things better like the Haunted Mansion. While I also prefer Disneyland's Space Mountain, I appreciate that the MK version is very different.
@Poseidon Entertainment Is there significant differences between the Haunted Mansions? I always thought the only difference other than the facade was that Disneyland has the hat box ghost, but I also haven't been to MK as recently as I've been to Disneyland so maybe my memory is hazy.
@@heckinjonah The Magic Kingdom version has three additional scenes which include the portrait hallway, the library and the endless staircases. I also prefer the loading station with the floating candelabra as opposed to the weird void in the Disneyland version. Aesthetically, I prefer the WDW façade as well.
@Poseidon Entertainment wow i just looked up a video of it and you're absolutely right, didn't remember those at all😅. You know I think it would be interesting if you did a video comparing versions of attractions that are at multiple parks. I know it's a little different than your normal content but I would be interested nonetheless. Just a suggestion though of course😁
I recently rode the magic kingdom railroad for the first time since I was a kid. I really love trains and was already riding high because all of the miniature trains were running at Epcot earlier in the day. I was ecstatic when my wife and I walked into magic kingdom and I saw the train actually running. We both were feeling pretty tired as it was well into the afternoon and she was also in her second trimester of her pregnancy. We decided to get on the train and ride it all the way around the park. I really enjoyed the coin machines at the station which luckily didn't seem to need coins to operate. We boarded the train and headed around the park. It was a little underwhelming to not see very much on the first segment. I would have loved to see the back side of something in jungle cruise, but it seems space couldn't allow for that. The second segment felt a bit more opened up and it was interesting to see the swampland behind the park. It really made me think about how much the land must have been developed to make it what it is today. The decoration was fine, but a bit underwhelming. At this point I looked over at my wife who was starting to drift off to sleep. The last section felt like it should have had more. I wish I could've seen Tron running or anything related to the ride, but all you get is audio in a dark tunnel. Overall I enjoyed the train ride because I really love trains and it was a nice experience to show down for a bit and relax as the world went by, but I do wish there was more to it like Disney Land has.
Your right about the Magic Kingdom railroad. My family rode it quite a bit when I was a kid as my dad is a big lover of trains. But it was my least favorite due to the long stretches of woods and all you really get is music that goes with the upcoming land your traveling to/through. Atleast that how I remember it.
That's essentially it, yeah. It's pleasant, but there could be a lot more done with it.
While the lower part of the station is like a museum, you don’t have time to see it, because you’re hauling ass to get to your next lightning lane ride and staring at your phone to book the next thing.
As a train buff, I personally really love the Walt Disney World Railroad, especially the shared history between all 4 steam locomotives, but I do agree that the Walt Disney World Railroad could use some more unique touches. I’d also argue that Disneyland’s rolling stock is more interesting as well, with more varied rolling stock (The Holiday 2 and the Lily Belle Parlor Car in particular.) The Walt Disney World Railroad is definitely my personal favorite of the 2, but I also can’t deny that the Disneyland Railroad is a far more interesting experience overall.
I was slightly nervous at the start -- Once I knew you were comparing it to Disneyland it was an "Oh, okay!" because that's easy to agree to. I've actually never been on the WDW train -- it was down for Tron on my first two visits, and I didn't get to it on my most recent trip. I guess I wasn't missing much, though that Big Thunder section looks great.
I think the ideal mode of transit for the Disneyland Parks is the goth AF underground pirate tunnels Walt initially wanted in the park. Would it be expensive? Yes. Would it get crowded and hot? You bet! Would it ferry people from one place to another? No, most people have feet for that. But would it be cool? Yes. Yes it would.
You gotta do it. It's iconic. That Grand Canyon/dinosaur section is weirdly one of my favorite memories from the parks when I was young.
Great video and I totally agree with all your points concerning why did the Magic Kingdom Railroad open without any new additions or any new improvements; the railroads in both parks was essentially Walt Disney's pride and joy. But seeing the Disney Co. just open without any extra for lack of a better phrase "bells and whistles" is not a big surprised. I feel at this point when it comes to Disney as a whole we should be happy that they got it up and running at all this point. Sadly if this was done during the Walt/Roy Disney and Michael Eisner/ Frank Wells era things would have been different. Because creativity and theming in parks is gone from this new Bob Iger/Bob Chapek/Bob Iger 2.0 era.
To be fair, the MK railroad wasn't ever really that remarkable during those eras either. What's frustrating is that after 4 years of closure, absolutely nothing was added, especially after the DL railroad just received a massive thematic expansion through Frontierland.
Right off the start I agree. I love the calm transport rides. But I could not believe after all that time they didn't even design anything for the Tron tunnel. Disgraceful.
I think showing the Contemporary is cool because it's in theme with the park. And far better themed to Tomorrowland than the Tron tunnel
Lol thisis funny. I go to disneyland and the train is always one of the highlights! Just another reason Disneyland beats magic kingdom
i feel the biggest thing that made disney parks feel unique were those small details. I imagine the disney "difference" would be how they would dress an office:
Disney would make the office feel like you're peaking in when the office owner was on a bathroom break. The desk would have a newspaper, folded open to an important section, maybe even a note or two on it. The paper would likely say something about a natural disaster, missing boat/plane, or be a reference to a book about adventure. there would be a pair of glasses, with one arm folded in a bit to keep the newspaper from drifting off in a breeze. there would be a half-drunk cup of water, with faux-condensation on the outside to imply it was still cold. there would be some old luggage in the corner, implying the office belonged to someone who travels, and this could be reinforced by a map with some pins of various colors and there would be a few newspaper clippings relating to those locations. there would be a birdcage with an exotic bird, or some other strange creature inside. and finally, there could be portrait of the offices owner, looking regal or timid behind some lush jungle or barren desert, and they may have that pet/companion with them. the entire scene would be lit through a shaded window, via some unseen lamp, and the viewer could imagine a bit of dust as the rays cast long shadows onto the desk and floor.
Modern Disney would display a desk, with the characters name tag on it. have a few pieces of paper on it, likely containing a reference to the latest movie, or directly to the character it belongs to. there would also probably be a tv screen on the wall, giving updates as to the locations of other characters on a flashing digital map. finally, the whole scene would be well lit and feel a lot like a cleanroom.
who cares about the crybabies that disapprove of your disney criticisms, they are my favorite videos since you know exactly what needs to be addressed.
I’m glad I finally have a place to vent my Disney World frustrations lol, I kinda hate how they’ve been doing park expansions recently, what they add only vaguely fits the park they’re in, if at all, and they all feel tacked on (for example, Hollywood Studios getting immersive Star Wars and Toy Story areas for some reason, EPCOT getting a Guardians of The Galaxy ride)
That's exactly my problem. Disney does not care at all about theming anymore, except at a superficial level. The parks are becoming billboards for Disney+ with a lot of half-baked rides that are somehow always irresponsibly expensive.
Dude, i cant understate how much I love your videos. Your takes, your editing, amazing.
Thank you for the content!
13:47 This crossing is the parade float crossing from backstage to the Small World step-off gate. It’s also the spur tracks for the railroad and monorail to the roundhouse buildings for both.
I agree with all of your arguments here, but I must say that just having the WDW RR back open again after an inexcusably long closure made the trip quite enjoyable for me personally. But yeah, they really should have taken that downtime to give the RR a bit of new life. Even simple show scenes along the track would make so much of a difference. But hey, at least WDW (my "home" park) still has a Peoplemover! I think I'd take a functioning Peoplemover along with a subpar RR over having a great RR and no Peoplemover like at Disneyland. A totally hypothetical and meaningless tradeoff, but true nonetheless.
More striking as rode the Disneyland one in March and struck by how much better is from dinosaur section to better bits of Frontierland and just amazed Florida never boosted their version over the years.
I admit, I did always wonder why they didn't bring over more of the Ford Magic Skyway (like the cavemen?)
Fun trivia: the section near Big Thunder is the only part of the Disneyland RR that turns to the left (and I think the only part of any Disney RR that does so of those that encircle the park).
I enjoyed the video. Disney deserves criticism for not doing anything with the railroad when it was closed for so long. Sadly if they didn’t make any changes during this closure, I’d imagine they never will. It was the golden opportunity.
In regards to the Disney World version, they should add a viewing area that is themed to Alice in Wonderland (original film).
That's an interesting idea. What specifically did you have in mind?
@@PoseidonEntertainment A garden with characters.
An underrated detail: every one of the passenger cars on the Disneyland Railroad is different in a unique way, two are passenger, another’s freight, and two are side facing gondolas that allow you to actually see the scenery. A small but I think important thing.
I've been to Disney Land Paris many times, considering I'm European, and this perfectly explains why I prefer the Disneyland Paris Railway over the one in Florida. The one in Paris appears to be very similar to the one in Anaheim, the major difference being whether the diorama comes before or after the Main Street USA station.
Omg I've never been so early..I love your vids Poseidon!
I was born in the 90s and all my friends ride or die for Disney. But I grew up pretty poor so I didn't get to visit Disney until well into my 20s (the last 10 years). I much prefer Universal for both theming and experience, but I can't talk to my friends about it because they argue with me (but all their arguments are based off nostalgia I don't have lol)
Your vids really put all my thoughts into well articulated words and I feel like I'm not crazy for not being a Disney person despite being a Floridian lol
Great vid as always ✌️
That black wall. I mean they could at least hire some artist to paint the wall with art. It seems that disney wants to close this attraction.
I always make sure to do a grand circle tour in Disneyland, but can take or leave the Magic Kingdom train. It was still closed when I went last and didn't miss it
If I'm at Disneyland multiple days, I'll do a full tour every single day.
They should have reused the old World of Tron projections from the Disneyland Peoplemover in a larger tunnel. It was surprisingly effective.
I’ve noticed that in general, rides at Disney in California are higher quality than rides at Disney in Florida.
While I loathe Disney parks for many reasons. Videos like this show me I do at keast need to visit Disneyland to experience what Walt true vision was.
Pretty disappointed that after all of this downtime, we didnt see any improvement(but also not surprised) they have so many animatronics and static props just rotting away, we have those dinosaurs from Universe of Energy, just straight up copy Disneyland for a scene. Anything would be an improvement if originality is too much to ask for. Regardless, love the video! Im sure criticizing Disney feels like shouting into a void, but its more than cathartic for me and surely many others who have grown tired of giving them a pass on everything.
They had 5 years to add something worth looking at on the train while passing Tron but just left it as it was. A simple themed fence and lighting fixtures would’ve been better than just looking at a retaining wall, a enormous building from backstage and a flat black-painted tunnel.
I don't even understand what they were trying to do with painting the building the way they did. They're clearly not trying to hide it.
I'm still bemused that it took Disney 4 years to duplicate an already existing coaster (that is barely open yet already is showing signs of wear and damage) while Universal built an entire hyperthemed land in arguably less time. The theming (and I use the term loosely) around Tron is embarrassingly bland and minimal-effort. Honestly there probably was supposed to be some light tunnel thing in the corridor under Tron, but either it didn't work, or got cut for penny pinching reasons. Disney's been able to coast on nostalgia and people's habits for a long time, but they're going to get a really rude shock when Epic Universe opens. Hell, even Sea World's new coaster is better than Tron.
Tron has a few flashy effects in its queue, but I couldn't believe how boring it was otherwise. It's just black square hallways.
Both railroads serve the purpose of being people eaters. With a capacity of 375 per cycle that gives over 1300 guests off of park paths with full loading. Only to mention people waiting in queues. I wonder if the difference is intended audience. MK is focused more on tourists. Grandma and grandpa can take to younger kids on a nice long ride. It doesn't have to be as engaging because you are supposed to have a conversation in your group. DL is focused on locals. These are people that will get to ride over and over. The big scenes provide the initial wow and smaller details provide re-ride-ability.
I don't like the idea that WDW being focused on tourists is an excuse for lower quality among its parks. It wasn't like that until Iger and Chapek were in charge.
Oh man … but I still love the WDWRR lol
Nah I like it too, but why is it just completely untouched?
How dare you the railroad is perfect 😡😡😡😡
I still love the engines, that have awesome history and just seeing them and hearing their horns (which I heard almost daily for over a year) brings love to my heart
Dude, I'm a Florida kid and practically grew up in Disney World. We've been to Disneyland twice and both times I blew off the train because I thought it'd be just like the one in Magic Kingdom. I feel so robbed.
Both railroads are an opportunity to pause and relax.
There is an energy throughout Disneyland that is created by its more confined space, and while the Magic Kingdom has the benefit of being spread over a larger area, it loses that excitement.
I was 11 the first time I rode the DRR and I found the Grand Canyon and especially the Primeval World to be silly and underwhelming. I still do. Maybe building a connection to Fantasia would have helped!
Tbh, I had no idea the train in MK was even still in service. I have not been on in decades. For one, there was a considerable amount of time that it was diverted for Splash Mountain's construction and ran backwards at times, and secondly, I got older and didn't need to rest my little legs, not to mention more accustomed to the Florida heat. Honestly, though, I agree with you. We never went on because it was entertaining. It was just a good rest and time in the shade while getting to a destination (maybe). I think my uncle went on it a few times because he was definitely one of those guys at Disney in the 90s with a camcorder on his shoulder. The Disneyland one looks very cool. I really hope plans to get out to Cali this year goes through. I've been curious about Disneyland for years.
The Tron tunnel is awful. I don't understand, and while I'm not offended by the back of the attraction building for Tron being on open display, I get unreasonably excited about that sort of thing. I love when you're taking those boats to the back entrance of Epcot and see the Paris show buildings from behind and a highlight of one trip was when I accidentally found a stairway to the underground somewhere between Adventureland and Frontierland while searching for a bathroom. I'm definitely surprised that they didn't plant taller foliage to try to cover it up.
Yeah, it's hard to replicate Disneyland's railroad elsewhere. The MK railroad just kinda goes around without any features or character, especially that back section when it's essentially an open meadow.
I kept saying the Tron tunnel should have lights and fog or something.
I'm not sure how feasible is would be, but LED panels seem like they could have resulted in a cool effect.
This video and your commentary completely disregard the time frame during which this renovation took place, which was during a global pandemic. That global pandemic also caused a global supply chain crisis. Nobody had any profits. Disney cancelled dozens of projects as a result of the pandemic. We’re lucky we still have a railroad.
Also, Magic Kingdom isn’t finished. There are thousands of acres of undeveloped land surrounding the parks in Florida. It would be limiting to decorate the railroad because it would create expectations and limit future expansion potential of the railroad through new areas of the park. The Disneyland railroad runs through property that is completely developed from property line to property line.
I feel like building around the railroad would be one of Disney's least complicated issues. And Galaxy's edge shows that they have little issues in their ability to construct a new track path.
Meanwhile, Universal built a massive new rollercoaster and has continued churning out projects like Super Nintendo World since. Why are supply chain issues an issue for one company but not the other?
It is perfectly fine. Sheesh.
It’s so true! I did a video last year theorizing how Disney could plus up the railroad when it reopened. Super disappointed that NOTHING was changed. We actually had a lot of similar ideas to what you mentioned!!
The WDWRR, or as you call it, the Magic Kingdom Railroad, always felt a little unloved. Even as someone who loves the WDWRR I can say that there could be more, especially since they have full scale trains compared to Disneyland's equipment
Agree 100%!!!! - Glad you pointed this out and make a video about it!
Here is how to fix the Magic Kingdom Railroad: I would add a rainforest diorama for Adventureland. I would add the Grand Canyon diorama for Frontierland. I would add a Dragon Dungeon diorama for the Upcoming Villians Kingdom. And Finally, I would add a E.P.C.O.T Diorama for Tomorrowland.
The train is so underwhelming like give us more to look at, give us tunnels with music, characters spread out, etc. This is Disney they have the resources to do so especially how they are charging us we need to be entertained the whole time