Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

[flynnibus]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

Good point Darkbeer. They trick you into thinking it be at Disneyland. Then when you get there WHAM! it's in DCA.

I think its because they are still trying to engrain into people's mind the 'RESORT' concept. It's already well established in Florida.. so no need to beat the PR drum about it.. but people still see Anaheim as DL + DCA. Disney has a image they are trying to build.. and obviously still trying to push the concept.

[MasterGracey]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I think its because they are still trying to engrain into people's mind the 'RESORT' concept. It's already well established in Florida.. so no need to beat the PR drum about it.. but people still see Anaheim as DL + DCA. Disney has a image they are trying to build.. and obviously still trying to push the concept.

I don't buy that argument.

If they were pushing for the So Cal audience to buy into the whole "Resort" branding, then we wouldn't see bilboards and advertising like this where "Disneyland" is heavily emphasised and "Resort" is practically not even there. Granted, these are images from an old campaign, but current marketing is still pretty similar.





[photos Darkbeer, from 1/19/06.

[flynnibus]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

But if the parade is a failure, wouldn't it be a waste of money to send the entire thing across the country? Doing that has got to be expensive, and if it isn't going to help improve guest satisfaction or theme park attendance, then what's the point.

We aren't just talking about recycling the infrastructure of the parade floats and just designing a new parade on top of the old, ...from my understanding BPB will be essentially the same at MGM as it is at DCA.

Have you ever seen the pathetic parades in MGM? It really is bad plus I don't really think there is much great viewing areas for the parade. The streets aren't lined with seating/benchs, etc. I've never seen a parade there that I liked and they all seem forced there.

And as for shipping a show.. sending a couple dozen semi's is pretty affordable compared to months of creative work, costuming, construction, scoring, etc. Trucking is the cheapest form of transportation out there. The cost of the disassembly and shipping of the show is easily spread over the life of the show as well.

Remember.. they truck stuff from Cali to FL all the time

[MasterGracey]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

Have you ever seen the pathetic parades in MGM? It really is bad plus I don't really think there is much great viewing areas for the parade. The streets aren't lined with seating/benchs, etc. I've never seen a parade there that I liked and they all seem forced there.

And as for shipping a show.. sending a couple dozen semi's is pretty affordable compared to months of creative work, costuming, construction, scoring, etc. Trucking is the cheapest form of transportation out there. The cost of the disassembly and shipping of the show is easily spread over the life of the show as well.

Remember.. they truck stuff from Cali to FL all the time

Good points.

[flynnibus]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I don't buy that argument.

If they were pushing for the So Cal audience to buy into the whole "Resort" branding, then we wouldn't see bilboards and advertising like this where "Disneyland" is heavily emphasised and "Resort" is practically not even there. Granted, these are images from an old campaign, but current marketing is still pretty similar.

I hear you.. but Press Releases are for industry and press.. not really consumers. It's an image thing I'm sure with the analyst-types. They probably are pressured to build destinations... or the whole thing could be to simply try to avoid DCA questions.

They are just press releases is what I feel deep down. If you've ever worked in a company helping write these pieces of trash, you lose even more respect for them

[Darkbeer]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

There has been a CLEAR decision in how to market Anaheim, and it's the fact that the DCA name is Damaged goods.

It started with new logos, DCA's one totally redone, with an emphasis on "Disney's" in the traditional script writing, and California Adventure being made smaller, and combine that with the change in the Disneyland Resort logo, which used to feature the Grizzly Head in the mountain, now gone and replaced with the traditional "Disneyland" script, and it is MUCH bigger than the word "resort". Disney has since basically stopped marketing DCA and much prefers to rely on the Disneyland name and high stature.

Hopefully in about 10 years, we can see the return of 2 separate marketing plans, and heck, maybe even a new name for the "Heroin Monkey".....

[techskip]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I remember how hard they pushed for the "Resort" concept, so much that they changed the nametages to reflect "Disneyland Resort". In many ways this marketing ploy goes back to the simple managerial argument "Well it works in Florida". I think another reason for the lack of DCA is that it was a press kit, and mentioning DCA would be admitting the problem... black eye for company... I realize they approved an extremely large budget to "freshen up" the park, but I doubt they would want to send explicit proof to all media outlets.

[dsnylndmom]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

Also, the Disneyland Hotel will be getting a "Pirates of the Caribbean" suite. (Could this be a remodel of the Mickey's suite?)

The DLH already has a POTC Suite, I stayed in it in June.

http://www.micechat.com/forums/showt...lle-70488.html

[3rdshiftCM]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

Have you ever seen the pathetic parades in MGM? It really is bad plus I don't really think there is much great viewing areas for the parade. The streets aren't lined with seating/benchs, etc. I've never seen a parade there that I liked and they all seem forced there.

And as for shipping a show.. sending a couple dozen semi's is pretty affordable compared to months of creative work, costuming, construction, scoring, etc. Trucking is the cheapest form of transportation out there. The cost of the disassembly and shipping of the show is easily spread over the life of the show as well.

Remember.. they truck stuff from Cali to FL all the time

WDW crowds are so easy to please,they'll eat up BPB. I mean if people will wait for that Stars and Cars crap, BPB will be a huge hit.

Now to see what kind of talent they can put together, should be very interesting.

[tcsnwhite]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I think the "popularity" of the parade is up to one's interpretation, and nothing more. It's unfair to say the parade route has been uncrowded in recent months, especially when I saw the parade in April of all months and could not find a decent spot 5 mins. before the parade started as some have claimed it's possible to do whenever you please. I only managed to get a somewhat decent spot because I asked a family if I could stand near them (I was by myself, anyways).





True, they don't mention DCA, but they still don't mention Epcot and Animal Kingdom either like you originally claimed they did. In the end, does it really matter whether or not they mention DCA? It's not like this is a DLR-specific press release. Like I said before, when they released details for HalloweenTime they didn't "ignore" DCA at all in the press release. I'm still not understanding the logic here. It proves nothing about the park whatsoever.





Hey now......a few things to clear up.

1.) The Electrical Parade was cut, they just did it before the parade debuted (or redebuted) in DCA. The entire Pinocchio unit was removed, as well as the Dwarf's Mine float. And DEP is considered a "popular" parade, too.

2.) The decision to cut the show stops was made very early on; the 3 show stops didn't last beyond the first summer in '05 if my memory serves me correctly. They only did that because the 2nd, middle stop wasn't really needed because it was so close to the first one. Even with only 2 stops, there's still plenty of viewing space because DCA's parade route is so wide.

3.) The decision to cut down the parade (as much as I disliked the move) was supposedly done because of liability issues with the performers. While they did cut the number of performers, did it hinder the experience? Not in the least.

I think your explanations are pretty spot on.

As for popularity, we're all gonna perceive it differently, especially hardcore fans and followers.
The best people to ask would be Disney themselves, in particular the creative team. They would probably know better than anyone (if they answered the question).

As for crowds, there have been remarks from parade folks and show services folks at these boards and other places that have always emphasized that people really anticipate the Disneyland parade and thus the crowds show up early. It is not that people don't want to see a parade in DCA, but the behavioral patterns over there (for lack of a better term) have always shown people grab a viewing spot right before it starts, and then the crowds build around that.
I believe the exception is DEP, and my reasoning would be that DEP has a built in audience. It is a classic and has the reputation of being the most popular Disney parade ever...that most likely no matter what park you place it in, folks are going to show up.
I wouldn't know exactly why BPB and daytime parades in DCA haven't seen the same thing. Eureka! saw similar issues with parade attendance.
In the end, it could be, and is most likely, a combination of factors. Perhaps the audience and type of folks that visit DCA are a bit less interested in seeing a parade, perhaps the priorities of experiencing things in DCA for guests is different from that of Disneyland, and so on. Just things to think about...though, that doesn't mean DCA does not deserve a daytime parade (it does), and I wouldn't think that is the end all be all of whether such and such production is actually "successful" or not.

I think guest surveys have shown very, very positive feedback for BPB, as well as the buzz within management before it premiered.
If it was truly such a failure, I highly, highly doubt it would be going to another park. Truly.

As for the budget cuts, and the slight scaling down of the show...again, from the folks in the know, they have said that Disneyland's parades and the major offerings over there tend to get precedence when these things happen. Management most likely looked at places where it needed to make cuts and DCA being what it is with its attendance issues, along with parade attendance being different over there than DL, I think it is pretty obvious where the cuts would then occur. Doesn't immediately and exactly mean that the production is a failure.
Look at POD, it has had slight cuts and readjustments as well, just not on the same scale at BPB. Also, the fact that the productions really were meant to shine as major new offerings for the 50th, now that we are past that, parade management probably looked at places where they needed to save a bit here and there during the rest of these production's runs in which they are not necessarily meant to be the center of attention (though I would prefer there be no cuts, as most probably would, but- realities set in when working on tight budgets).

Also, someone mentioned recycling entertainment offerings- at times it can be cost effective...and at times it is not. And if issues arise, it can ending costing just as much if not more.
Also, not every single piece of a production is recycled. A lot of things have to either be replaced, physically it would need some sort of refresh/refurb, costumes have to most likely be made new for the new performers, and so on. Recycled doesn't mean cheap.

And the lady who was responsible for BPB, while I don't know her personally, from the productions she has been a part of with Disney since the 80s, and with her experience...I think the promotion was definitely one deserved. I think Marilyn really knows and has an instinctual feel about what Disney park entertainment is supposed to be all about. Let alone, she has an amazing enthusiasm for what she does, and it spreads greatly to the cast and crew...if you have ever been to one of her auditions, you would definitely know what I'm talking about. Whoever gave her the promotion, and my guess would be Steven Davison, probably could see that as well...and I think Steven knows what he's doing with entertainment, mind you. Again, just my opinion.

[1FoolishMortal]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I think your explanations are pretty spot on.

Thanks! You didn't do too bad yourself, either.

Also, someone mentioned recycling entertainment offerings- at times it can be cost effective...and at times it is not. And if issues arise, it can ending costing just as much if not more.
Also, not every single piece of a production is recycled. A lot of things have to either be replaced, physically it would need some sort of refresh/refurb, costumes have to most likely be made new for the new performers, and so on. Recycled doesn't mean cheap.

A good example of that was when DLRP bough Fantillusion from TDL. After their long trip, the floats were in such bad condition that they had to do major refurb work on all the units. Also, they had to replace every single light on all of the floats. Add that to the money needed to transport it in the first place, and things added up pretty quickly!

[Wally]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

ORDDU: Wouldn't it make more sense to convert the former Gallery into the Pirate's suite, since the Pirate attraction is already underneath?

ORWEN: Yes and then they could just use the hotel for that Disneyland suite.

I kinda like the idea they are going with. Basically recreating what the Disney families suit would have been, other than just continuing to cash out on the pirates fad. It really speaks to the history and heritage of the park by basically returning the location to pretty much the exact function it was originally designed for. They are actually recreating what the original suite would have looked like through original concept art that was drawn up in the 60s. Sounds pretty cool to me. It'll be almost like spending the night in Walt's apartment.

[GhostHostJeff]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I believe that BPB was a great success for DCA. Everytime I saw allot of people waiting and enjoying the parade. I personally didn't enjoy the parade as much as Parade of Dreams at Disneyland, but then again I loved Eureka. It all has to deal with taste. I have heard that Pixar Play is supposed to be a "walk through" parade, meaning no show stops. I have heard what kind of things will be offered in the parade, and what I have heard is sounding great!
I also think that having a Pixar Parade and a "Classic" Disney parade in Disneyland really gives people variety at the resort. I think the new parade will be another great addition to DCA, and I can't wait to see if I can get a part in it.

[tcsnwhite]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I believe that BPB was a great success for DCA. Everytime I saw allot of people waiting and enjoying the parade. I personally didn't enjoy the parade as much as Parade of Dreams at Disneyland, but then again I loved Eureka. It all has to deal with taste. I have heard that Pixar Play is supposed to be a "walk through" parade, meaning no show stops. I have heard what kind of things will be offered in the parade, and what I have heard is sounding great!

oooo, what things have you heard?

I haven't heard much at all really.

I also think that having a Pixar Parade and a "Classic" Disney parade in Disneyland really gives people variety at the resort. I think the new parade will be another great addition to DCA, and I can't wait to see if I can get a part in it.

Hey, all you got to do is audition. Go for it!

And the "classic" at DL and the "high energy contemporary" feel at DCA was the point from the beginning. Nice to see someone picked up on that.

[GhostHostJeff]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

oooo, what things have you heard?

I haven't heard much at all really.

I don't really want to say as I'm in the parade department, but from what I have been hearing we can look foreward to some similar things seen in the parade of dreams, and some other new effects.

[1FoolishMortal]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

I don't really want to say as I'm in the parade department, but from what I have been hearing we can look foreward to some similar things seen in the parade of dreams, and some other new effects.

Interesting.....

[Darkbeer]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

OK, we have some folks trying to spin BIG TIME.

It is clear, Disney had expectations for Block Party Bash, and had an expected crowd size, and decided that they needed THREE stops to accommodate the guests that wanted to watch the show. Those crowds did not appear, and only a few months into the "event" (it really isn't a parade) they dropped one-third of the viewing area. This is a major sign of not meeting expectations.

Then they drop about 25% of the cast, and cut back on the size of the "event", which also cut back on the maximum amount of the viewing area. Once again reducing the maximum amount of guests that could see BPB in one day.

It also was cut back in performances. First it was offered 7 days a week, then it was cut back to 5 days a week in the off season, and now it is just 3 days a week in the off-season.

BPB is not bringing in the guests and is not helping to "sell" DCA.

OK, some minor changes were made to the Electrical Parade prior to it being offered at DCA (instead of Disneyland and WDW), but those decisions were made PRIOR to it opening at DCA in July of 2001 (and was brought to DCA due to the HORRIBLE attendance numbers the park was getting the first few months it was open). But what real changes have been made to the parade since then? Yes, due to budget issues (and poor attendance) it went on Hiatus for awhile and now is a "seasonal" attraction, but it is still much more popular than BPB, even the "BPB" fans admit that.

[1FoolishMortal]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

OK, we have some folks trying to spin BIG TIME.

It is clear, Disney had expectations for Block Party Bash, and had an expected crowd size, and decided that they needed THREE stops to accommodate the guests that wanted to watch the show. Those crowds did not appear, and only a few months into the "event" (it really isn't a parade) they dropped one-third of the viewing area. This is a major sign of not meeting expectations.

Then they drop about 25% of the cast, and cut back on the size of the "event", which also cut back on the maximum amount of the viewing area. Once again reducing the maximum amount of guests that could see BPB in one day.

It also was cut back in performances. First it was offered 7 days a week, then it was cut back to 5 days a week in the off season, and now it is just 3 days a week in the off-season.

BPB is not bringing in the guests and is not helping to "sell" DCA.

OK, some minor changes were made to the Electrical Parade prior to it being offered at DCA (instead of Disneyland and WDW), but those decisions were made PRIOR to it opening at DCA in July of 2001 (and was brought to DCA due to the HORRIBLE attendance numbers the park was getting the first few months it was open). But what real changes have been made to the parade since then? Yes, due to budget issues (and poor attendance) it went on Hiatus for awhile and now is a "seasonal" attraction, but it is still much more popular than BPB, even the "BPB" fans admit that.

1.) We are not the ones trying to spin "big time" here.


2.) Your explanation about cutting the number of show stops is indeed one possible explanation. However, it is not the only possible one and simply because they cut out a show stop doesn't automatically mean "FAILURE."


3.) The "cutting back" that took place last year in no way reduced the amount of viewing area for the parade. It still covers the same distance along the parade route.

4.) How can minor mean one thing for BPB and another for DEP??? They cut 3 entire floats from the EP before it debuted in DCA. BPB lost....what....1/3 of a float, if that?? Yeah, it lost some of its cast, but there are still at least 80 people who perform in it each day. That's not a small number by any means.


5.) What does it matter that the parade was cutback during the offseason? You said yourself that the EP, though it's more popular than BPB, is actually shown less times during the year. The logic doesn't make sense. If we were to go by that logic, then wouldn't Remember be deemed a failure, too, since it only plays 2-3 days a week max during the off-season? Oh, but it can't be budget concerns that shelve BPB during the off-season.......it has to be because it's unpopular. Right....

[MasterGracey]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

3.) The "cutting back" that took place last year in no way reduced the amount of viewing area for the parade. It still covers the same distance along the parade route.

The whole point of this "parade" though is not to see it whiz by you - its to experience it at a show stop. That's the whole point of not calling it a parade, but a "street show." Cutting a show stop from the itinerary reduces the viewing area for the street show.

4.) How can minor mean one thing for BPB and another for DEP??? They cut 3 entire floats from the EP before it debuted in DCA. BPB lost....what....1/3 of a float, if that?? Yeah, it lost some of its cast, but there are still at least 80 people who perform in it each day. That's not a small number by any means.

(bold mine)

Keywords: cut before

Cutting these floats from the DEP BEFORE it even debuted at DCA was most likely for budgetary concerns. Wheras, with Block Party Bash, losing a huge part of its cast after running for a while is probably because not enough people are watching the show in order to justify the size of the cast.

[tcsnwhite]

Re: Pixar Play! Parade coming to DCA in 2008

OK, we have some folks trying to spin BIG TIME

And others are not? What some of us are trying to do is bring in another perspective on what may be the reasons for the issues regarding BPB, based on information that has leaked or has been stated by people working on the productions or in entertainment (that some of us may communicate with).
Everything else is an educated guess, which most here are making including yourself.
In the end, we all present facts or hypotheses that may be true, and it's usually more than one cause or reason to begin with. Whether that actually equals "success" or "failure" I do not think any of us can say for sure.

It is clear, Disney had expectations for Block Party Bash, and had an expected crowd size, and decided that they needed THREE stops to accommodate the guests that wanted to watch the show. Those crowds did not appear, and only a few months into the "event" (it really isn't a parade) they dropped one-third of the viewing area. This is a major sign of not meeting expectations.

Then they drop about 25% of the cast, and cut back on the size of the "event", which also cut back on the maximum amount of the viewing area. Once again reducing the maximum amount of guests that could see BPB in one day.

It also was cut back in performances. First it was offered 7 days a week, then it was cut back to 5 days a week in the off season, and now it is just 3 days a week in the off-season.

BPB is not bringing in the guests and is not helping to "sell" DCA.

All you are stating are possible factors and reasons as to why the cuts and changes have happened. But they are not the only ones.
Only folks on the inside in DLR ent. know the real reason. All any of us can do here is state what we think we know to be the case...all possibilities but no factual evidence has been given.

A possibility has I stated before is that the cuts were due to Disneyland Resort parade dept. having to make budget cuts regardless- nothing was tied to the fact that BPB and BPB alone was so clearly seen as a "failure". Cuts were made elsewhere, along with the elimination of the Snow White Musical. Disneyland was most likely last to be touched (it's the "star"), so DCA came first. It may be so because, again, more people are going to show up for the Disneyland parade compared to the DCA parade, and other factors as well. Yes, not as many show up for DCA's parade, but that does not simply equal a total failure.

other issues regarding cuts have also mentioned issues with performers, the intensity of the show in relation to attendance, and so on. If I remember right three show stops was nearly killing the performers...not that they could not do it, but that it was intense, especially in the summer. Through looking at attendance and guest flow patterns, I believe it was deemed more effective to just do two show stops and no need for the third. That does not necessarily equal failure at all.

As for selling DCA and bringing in the guests, a parade cannot do that alone. Eureka! did not, BPB did not, and most likely the following productions will not. Big spectacles like World of Color may, but parades alone don't (unless you're in Tokyo ) Parades are expected as a standard thing in Disney parks though, but they can't save a park.
It will be interesting to see the attendance patterns regarding the new parade...my gut tells me that things most likely will not change too greatly after the newness wears off (though i would love to be wrong).

And yes, it is a "Parade". Parade has many definitions within Disney now, as seen through their productions in parks all over the world, especially the Tokyo Disney Resort. I encourage to check those out some time to see how many different formats a Disney "parade" can actually be in.
Parades that don't stop and just roll by, parades that roll by and do a short show mode or a long show mode, parades that roll through and do a rotating show mode through and around the hub (as seen in Tokyo Disneyland), and the format is changing as time goes on.
Whether you want to call it an "event", "streetacular", etc. is fine I suppose, but they are all inherently parades.

OK, some minor changes were made to the Electrical Parade prior to it being offered at DCA (instead of Disneyland and WDW), but those decisions were made PRIOR to it opening at DCA in July of 2001 (and was brought to DCA due to the HORRIBLE attendance numbers the park was getting the first few months it was open). But what real changes have been made to the parade since then? Yes, due to budget issues (and poor attendance) it went on Hiatus for awhile and now is a "seasonal" attraction, but it is still much more popular than BPB, even the "BPB" fans admit that.

Most entertainment, other than the standard Disneyland parade, are seasonal ent. and fluctuate in terms of how often and when they are offered as such depending on the season at hand. This is not a new thing.

DEP more popular is already a given, as stated above. It has had decades to build a reputation for being the quintessential Disney parade. We all know that, of course.