5 Underrated Disney Attractions That Desperately Need An Update
1. Living With the Land
When you float into a scene and the scientists on screen are wearing those 80’s fish bowl glasses and the footage looks like it was filmed with somebody’s razor flip phone (we all know you had one of those!), it’s time for a change. Living with the Land is an outstanding attraction and is an incredibly high volume attraction. Even during peak times, waits rarely reach much over 30-40 minutes and most of the morning it tends to be a walk on.
A simple update of the videos, or even an animatronics update could be a huge jump for this attraction. Don’t change the story, or even the sequence, but if Disney would add a few updates this could become even more popular, especially with first time guests.
2. Tom Sawyer Island
I’ve been asking for this dining location to reopen for years on end. Will it happen? Probably not… due to all kinds of logistical nightmares. In my onion, if you could open the restaurant with real counter service food rather that the grab and go style food that popped up in 2015, it could be a huge hit with guests and drive a ton of foot traffic to Tom Sawyer Island.
In an ideal world, I could picture a quaint waterfront table service dining location tucked away on the second island (which currently holds Fort Langhorn). The Fort is the ultimate hidden gem of Magic Kingdom but the last four of five times I’ve been on Tom Sawyer Island, it hasn’t even been open. If Disney could find a way to make it feasible and transform that area into a quaint table service dining location, the reservation wait list would never end! The views would be incredible for waterfront dining on all four sides and if built carefully you could fill the island and create a spectacular nighttime experience. Is this wishful thinking? Absolutely!
3. The Monorail
Lastly, you may have noticed I call the Monorails an attraction. In the most basic sense they aren’t, but to so many guests they have become a must do part of every Disney vacation. You see the smiles on guests faces every time you ride the highway in the sky, and in the most basic sense, it’s the true representation of everything an attraction should be.
If an update does arrive, I personally hope for two things: 1. Keep them relatively classic – 2. make them slightly futuristic. Those two points represent an oxymoron at it’s finest, but the classic Monorail design has always looked like the future that never quite arrived. At first, Monorails were though of as transportation of the future. Today, an updated design could meet and exceed even the most lofty expectations. If Imagineering could implement an LED lighting design, similar to a “Tron-esque” light cycle glow, the new Monorail could be mind blowing while retaining that classic look and feel. New Monorails may never arrive, but their development could make all the difference!
4. Sea Base Alpha
5. Philharmagic
I will be the first to admit, when Philharmagic first opened, it was mind blowing. The effects were spot on, the glasses were brand new, and the 3D technology built into the show was well before its time. Fast forward to 2019 and unfortunately it’s not near as impressive as it once was. The scents, water effects, and lighting effects aren’t always working well and overall it simply needs some help.
I understand that sounds like a nit picky complaint but I don’t intend for it to be that way. Even with 3D becoming far more mainstream that it once was, Philharmagic is still consistently a “must-do” attraction for us. It’s a show I think every guest should see at least one time and with a typical wait time of less that 15 minutes, it’s well worth your time!
Your Thoughts
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