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View Full Version : What would you do [with the Motorboat Cruise]



tigga please
03-12-2007, 11:03 AM
after looking at some new photo updates from MouseTimes, i asked myself a question. what would i do with the unused space left by the old motor boat attraction? i really dont remember how big it was, since i only road it once when i was 12 or 13. how would you use the land to the parks advantage?

take a look:
http://www.mousetimes.com/dlrpictorials/03_10_07/index11.html

jcruise86
03-12-2007, 11:14 AM
James Bond's Speed Boat Race Against Death.

Or maybe a nice woodsy play area for toddlers.

tigga please
03-12-2007, 11:17 AM
James Bond's Speed Boat Race Against Death.

Or maybe a nice woodsy play area for toddlers.

id replace James Bond with Condor Man ;)

jeffthechef
03-12-2007, 11:30 AM
Why not simply put the boats back?

Stupid_American
03-12-2007, 11:36 AM
Why not simply put the boats back?

My sentiments exactly!
That area is one of the few spots I still sense the magic.

Bytebear
03-12-2007, 12:27 PM
I think Autopia is occupying some of the original land. I am for a boat cruise type ride, but I still think DCA needs something first.

Andrew
03-12-2007, 12:48 PM
I think it should reopen with plywood cutouts of the Gummi Bears dotting the landscape.

tigga please
03-12-2007, 01:52 PM
I think it should reopen with plywood cutouts of the Gummi Bears dotting the landscape.

Gummie Bears? Bouncing here, and there, and everywhere? ;)

Another Dimension
03-12-2007, 02:11 PM
What would you do [with the Motorboat Cruise]

Aquatopia, with sea shell-shaped ride vehicles and a show building in back... and give Sushi Girl her own ride... :)


No Gummi's thanks! :eek:

Quinten27
03-12-2007, 04:05 PM
I think Autopia is occupying some of the original land. I am for a boat cruise type ride, but I still think DCA needs something first.

I'm all for that! I've thought the Paradise Pier waters have been empty for far too long..........they need to add some type of boat ride on there! Maybe they could have it themed as an ocean fishing trip, guest can cast thier lines and catch some (fake) fish while cruising along the Pier! Or even a glass bottom boat with underwater scenes (similiar to Nemo, but with more realistic looking California ocean life).

As for the old Motorboat area, I'm not sure exactly how big it is, but maybe some type of water play area would be cool. Just re-design the area so that its mostly dry land, with several "streams" and waterfalls, and ten zillion different things that shoot out water at random. It could be pretty popular with the kids on hot summer day, and you wouldn't have to wait an hour in line to get "splashed" with some cool water. It also wouldn't hurt to have another area in DL (other than TSI), where kids can just run and burn off some enrgy.

tod
03-12-2007, 04:59 PM
Why not simply put the boats back?

Bingo.

:D

--t

simnia
03-13-2007, 09:19 PM
I loved the Motor Boat Cruise. I also vote they put it back. With all the modern thrill rides installed in recent years, Disneyland could use a nice, romantic, peaceful ride like that again as an interlude while the adrenelin from the Matterhorn subsides. Also, there's an increasing interest in "Yesterland" and former Tomorrowland, so replacing the Motor Boats would be of interest to a lot of vintage Disneyland fans like myself.

What could they do to make it more interesting, since it was losing visitors? One idea is they could make it like a French canal, which is basically the look and feel it already has. Maybe open up a tiny French cafe on or near the ride, with delicious French pastries, where diners can watch the boats go by, like in the Blue Bayou. More exotic: have cooked snails or frog legs as snacks as a memorable novelty for the brave. Or some wine or croissant sandwiches? I'm not sure what France or even motorboats have to do with Tomorrowland anymore, but it was a cool ride, regardless.

Other ideas: Make it into a gardens ride, like Cypress Gardens used to have. Plant azaleas, roses, etc. for the old folks, turn it into a fragrant and pretty photo ops ride, sort of like Storybook Land's canal boats. What they should *not* do is try to make it more exciting with faster boats (the failed goal of Rocket Rods to replace the beloved Peoplemover), or to add stupid cut-outs of storybook figures. The ride has its own special character and I believe the secret is to enhance what already exists, rather than trying to make it into something it simply isn't.

Another idea: Extend the ride so that it samples It's A Small World, Matterhorn, Autopia, or that Nemo thing, the same way that the Peoplemover allowed guests to peek into several other rides. "Park tour rides" like the Railroad, Monorail, Skyway, and Peoplemover will always be popular, I think, since you get a lot of value (in terms of sights and photo ops) for your money.

cstephens
03-13-2007, 09:30 PM
Leave it as is. It's a nice resting place.

sleepyjeff
03-13-2007, 09:51 PM
The Rescuers Boats could be made to look like giant leafs powered by a giant mosquito named Evanrude:) Scary encounter with Medusas "Babies" would be the high point of the attraction.

oregonzooron
03-14-2007, 06:16 AM
I've always thought this would be a great place for a nice, slow, romantic, Little Mermaid - themed "Kiss The Girl" ride.

jeffthechef
03-14-2007, 09:06 AM
I've always thought this would be a great place for a nice, slow, romantic, Little Mermaid - themed "Kiss The Girl" ride.

That's one of the best ideas for a new/ replacement ride Ive heard yet! Since the infrastructure is already in place, it would be a cheap but effective fix.

Imagineers, are you listening? :)

Klutch
03-14-2007, 09:59 AM
SWIM CALL!

Seriously, any kind of boat cruise ride would be great. The motorboat cruise may seem like a yawner of an attraction, but driving a boat is thrilling for kids. Why do you think so many people stand in line for over an hour just to putt-putt along a track in go cart with a maximum speed of 4MPH (give or take a few MPH)? Driving a car is also thrilling for kids. And seeing kids so thrilled is thrilling for parents.

I recently drove a go cart at an indoor raceway called Pole Position in Oklahoma City. The cars were wicked fast! Get this: they were electric. The cars are so fast, drivers have to be careful or they'll spin out and hit a wall.

I'm sure this technology could be used for a new motorboat cruise, albeit at much slower speeds. (Although, a speed boat option does sound cool and dangerous.) In fact, it's probably close to being implemented for guests at the new Autopia in Hong Kong Disneyland.

A motorboat cruise ride can be easily re-themed with new overlays. It could even have holiday overlays. It all sounds like an inexpensive and practical way to increase ride capacity. I'm sure ideas are already on many drawing boards. The question is where they are on the priority sheet. Very low, I'd expect.

charpaul
03-14-2007, 10:14 AM
I'm all for that! I've thought the Paradise Pier waters have been empty for far too long..........they need to add some type of boat ride on there! Maybe they could have it themed as an ocean fishing trip, guest can cast thier lines and catch some (fake) fish while cruising along the Pier! Or even a glass bottom boat with underwater scenes (similiar to Nemo, but with more realistic looking California ocean life).

I LOVE this IDEA for DCA - BUT... the boats need to have a digital video screen in the "glass bottom" to simulate the ocean/bay life that you would see. It could have several different video loops. That would mean you could see different things each time you took your glass bottom boat trip!!!!

olegc
03-14-2007, 10:20 AM
so - I sent an email to Ouimet about two years ago with an idea - that this area should be either done as a new ride OR create an additional indoor sit down restaurant. That end of the park has no where to get out of the heat of summer or cold of winter and have a nice, sit down meal. ToonTown is all outdoor and fast-food, grab and go orientend. Tomorrowland is outdoor terrace (and kind of loud) and is still hot in the summer. Pizza Port is quit efar away if you have a family of small kids.

You could theme it for some of the characters not available anywhere (don't shoot me, but Pixar comes to mind). Or make it "International Cafe's" and tie it to Small World. You could even create balcony seating for parades, fireworks, and snow...

Of course I got the obligatory "we don't accept ideas submitted by the public" response - but I hope it got them thinking.

Niwel
03-14-2007, 01:46 PM
I love the rescuers idea and the kiss the girls idea.

I agree with cstephens that the resting area is nice -- but it is such a waste of space to have an empty lagoon....

spectromen
03-14-2007, 04:11 PM
I absolutely LOVE the Rescuers idea with Evinrude-powered boats, but I think the Little Mermaid boat ride would be a huge hit. I'd always envisioned starting with narrartion in the boat by Sebastian (backstory), and then entering an enclosed tunnel where the Kiss the Girl scene is recreated with animatronic Ariel and Eric in the boat surrounded by fish spouting water, the walls animated to look like you're underwater, and the original song playing.

ozbeauticn
03-15-2007, 07:39 AM
When I first saw pictures of that area, I figured they were filling it in to be used as space to hold the line for the submarines. It seemed like an easy, cheap, and boring thing that they would likely do. I guess I'm not exactly sure from the pictures what part is filled in, is there any water left in there? I thought they would have the line wrap around the lagoon and up into that area instead of having it somehow fit in tomorrowland...

mickeyxminnie
03-15-2007, 07:48 AM
little mermaid themed ride?

they would have them themed like a row boat and have the creatures singing and animated to kiss the girl like in the movie??

it would be so romantic and magical at night..