Why Disney Should Build an Interchangeable Dark Ride

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King Louie Character Mickey and the Magical Map Disneyland

Disney Parks around the world are going to be facing a future with much less money to be dedicated to new attractions. But with Disney films more popular than they ever were, this could leave many great films without ever getting an attraction. The same thing happened during the Disney Reinassance, and it is a large part of why there are not more rides based on classic films from Beauty and the Beast to Aladdin.

It is, for this reason, I think Disney should develop one interchangeable dark ride that could allow modern hit attractions to be quickly put in the parks for a relatively cheap price tag on a consistent basis.

Disney has recently been developing many different technologies to create elaborate immersive experiences with little physical sets. With a little fewer physical sets, the technology behind Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway for instance could be used to create practically any environment.

Crush The Turtle EAC Scene The Seas With Nemo and Friends Epcot Walt Disney World

An attraction like this, if designed with this purpose could be changed out for every new Disney release, to promote the new film. This could also become a more long-term attraction if Disney had a particularly big hit.

Disney is going to be dealing with the impacts of the pandemic for years, and this could mean largely no investment for years. Judging based on past economic crises faced by Disney, the failure of Euro Disneyland, and the drop in tourism that followed 9/11, this could last the better part of a decade.

Nick Wilde Character Disney California Adventure Disneyland

With a flexible attraction like this, one new build could provide a series of smaller additions over the course of years, and potentially eventually a long-term attraction when one becomes too popular to remove.

There were rumors about Disney developing a "black box" attraction prior to the pandemic that would essentially be this concept. It would be a screen-based dark ride that could easily become a new attraction with little downtime. This concept could be the perfect addition right now to Disney Parks around the world.

Ariel as a Mermaid In Voyage of The Little Mermaid Show Disney's Hollywood Studios Walt Disney World

With so much new content coming out in the next few years, it would be a shame to see all of it denied a place in the Disney Parks, and adding some kind of more elaborate interchangeable experience to the Disney Parks could allow for magical new Disney experiences on a budget.


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