Animatronic functions turned off at Dinosaur?

[marni1971]

And the argument about Dinosaur being dark is such a dumb one in my opinion. It works as a dark ride and is more fun in the dark. Why do we need to see the green shrubs if we don't need too? the whole point of the ride is to alter your senses and make you think something is there when indeed its not.

You do know CTX had a whole load of props and scenery designed but budget cut? Hence far more pure black than was intended. Part of the scenery is actually the metal side of the ride shed with a bit of camouflage net.

 

[ctxak98]

You do know CTX had a whole load of props and scenery designed but budget cut? Hence far more pure black than was intended. Part of the scenery is actually the metal side of the ride shed with a bit of camouflage net.

I do know that, but I am saying it still works. I don't need to see anything over there. If there was would I complain?? absolutely not, I just feel its a lame argument for disliking the RIDE itself. I do hope it gets a full refurb soon though. That would be awesome!

 

[flynnibus]

have you watched it with the lights on!?

Indy has dark transitions.. but at least the entire ride isn't in the dark. Dinosaur doesn't feel like you are riding through a jungle.. it feels like getting thrown around in a storage unit.

 

[ctxak98]

Indy has dark transitions.. but at least the entire ride isn't in the dark. Dinosaur doesn't feel like you are riding through a jungle.. it feels like getting thrown around in a storage unit.

well I don't feel that way but like I said, everyone is different and has there own opinions so I guess that's how you look at it. I feel like I am in a primeval forest. Sure some areas could be a little more detailed but the part where its the least detailed is the Carnotaur chase. That chase to me works dark because if it wasn't you would be able to see that there no Carnotaur behind you. Of course they did tame down the chase part so you can barely notice it but who cares, Its still fun. Fix the more important parts like the Dinosaurs and its still a great ride!

 

[marni1971]

I do know that, but I am saying it still works. I don't need to see anything over there. If there was would I complain?? absolutely not, I just feel its a lame argument for disliking the RIDE itself. I do hope it gets a full refurb soon though. That would be awesome!

I agree. It's good, used to be great, but should be awesome. Reading the full backstory of what the time rover is doing reveals so much more than a guest understands. Slipping down a muddy hillside?

 

[Victor Kelly]

Would be interesting if they could make some outside attractions with dinosours, or just outside attractions that go into buildings as well. The vegetation is so lush in AK, anything could be done.

 

[Bairstow]

You do know CTX had a whole load of props and scenery designed but budget cut? Hence far more pure black than was intended. Part of the scenery is actually the metal side of the ride shed with a bit of camouflage net.

Weren't there also a number of props and scenery pieces that were actually built but had to be warehoused because they ran out of time?

 

[Figments Friend]

DInosaur has potential - but honestly most of it feels like being thrown around in the dark and being blasted with high volume noise. The biggest aspects of the show (those major dino AAs) don't get enough time to actually reflect their scale and complexity (IMO). Major elements like the chase I think can go completely oblivious to riders. Then when you add in all the effects and dumbing down... it really feels like being just thrown around in the dark more than anything.

Yeah...the chase. Most average Guests totally miss this aspect of the ride experience.

I always thought it would have been a nice addition to mention this in the dialog being heard in the ride vehicle.
Have Dr. Seeker actually make a comment about the Carnotaur chasing you.

You see him...he roars...Dr. Seeker yells to *get outta here*....and then when the chase begins, hear him say * i don*t believe it..! He*s chasing us..!!*...or something along those lines.
The Guest would then turn around and be more aware of actually being chased by that bad boy. Bringing that to people*s attention would increase the awareness of what is actually happening, and in a sense create more excitement and tension.

Of course, not having that brought to Guests attention during the ride is a plus when the Carno is not working ...

 

[marni1971]

Would be interesting if they could make some outside attractions with dinosours, or just outside attractions that go into buildings as well. The vegetation is so lush in AK, anything could be done.

Funnily enough, CTX was originally planned to be the latter. Then DAK needed a thrill ride and they just copied the (then) new Indy EMV concept.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think Dinosaur (at least the concept) is a great alternative to Indy. I've done Indy multiple times, and loved it, but I'm glad that Dinosaur exists as well. If the ride was operating as it should, I'd feel that the experience is at least close to the quality of Indy.

DInosaur has potential - but honestly most of it feels like being thrown around in the dark and being blasted with high volume noise. The biggest aspects of the show (those major dino AAs) don't get enough time to actually reflect their scale and complexity (IMO). Major elements like the chase I think can go completely oblivious to riders. Then when you add in all the effects and dumbing down... it really feels like being just thrown around in the dark more than anything.

Personally, I'd love to see Dinosaur get some upgrades, add some more Dinos into the darker sections, maybe add some better projection effects or even fire for some of the smaller asteroid hits. Make it a true E-ticket and that can be done by taking the ride down for 6-8 months. When it's done it will be a lot easier to absorb the necessary downtime to fix the Yeti.

 

[Slowjack]

Would be interesting if they could make some outside attractions with dinosours, or just outside attractions that go into buildings as well. The vegetation is so lush in AK, anything could be done.

A couple of days ago I was at the zoo here in Birmingham and saw a traveling animated dinosaur exhibit they'd set up along a path through the woods. Although the figures weren't the best, they were pretty good and the overall effect of finding these guys along the trail was great. It made me think that this is something Dinoland could really use. Africa and Asia each have well designed walk-through trails for viewing animals -- why not Dinoland? Right now, you only "see dinosaurs" on the Dinosaur attraction, and as this thread makes clear, you don't see much of 'em. At least on Jurassic Park at the Universal parks, you get half of a Jungle-Cruise-like ride with good looks at the dinos before things get dark.

 

[unkadug]

A couple of days ago I was at the zoo here in Birmingham and saw a traveling animated dinosaur exhibit they'd set up along a path through the woods. Although the figures weren't the best, they were pretty good and the overall effect of finding these guys along the trail was great. It made me think that this is something Dinoland could really use. Africa and Asia each have well designed walk-through trails for viewing animals -- why not Dinoland? Right now, you only "see dinosaurs" on the Dinosaur attraction, and as this thread makes clear, you don't see much of 'em. At least on Jurassic Park at the Universal parks, you get half of a Jungle-Cruise-like ride with good looks at the dinos before things get dark.

I'm pretty sure that Universal has an exclusive contract with Dinosaurs being used in an outdoor attraction in a theme park setting east of the Mississippi.

 

[maxairmike]

Here's a different idea: the market determines what a great theme park is with their wallets. Bad theme parks lose money and customers. Good theme parks increase profits and gain customer share. When US starts beating WDW in guest volume and profits, you'll convince me that it is 'better'. Until then, this is all just fanboy chatter.

Here's the issue - and I don't know how many times it has to be brought up before people get it - Universal will never be able to beat WDW in guest volume (even if they add a 3rd park) - that argument is a complete joke that gets busted apart every time someone tries to use it. The proof is simple math (the two parks combined have a max capacity somewhere just south of 100k last I knew). Where Universal can (and likely is) beat Disney is in most every other relevant monetary ratio such as per capita, resort occupancy, etc. When Cabana Bay opens up, it could provide some eye-opening insights. At a price point that is at or lower than Disney's two newest value resorts with pools and other activities/amenities that equal or beat many at Disney's deluxe resorts (lazy river and bowling, for example), and about 1600 rooms...yeah, that's a serious shot across the bow, and will open with The Boy Who Lived in USF. Off topic, I know, but I couldn't let that statement stand.

But enough of that, about the attraction the thread is really about...after experiencing Indy, this attraction seems more like a dino-themed carnival fun house. I don't really know what the full effects are supposed to look like except through the descriptions given here, but it is still painfully obvious to me (even my first ride, when I didn't know what it was supposed to be like) that there are a lot of missing and broken effects.

 

[djlaosc]

A couple of days ago I was at the zoo here in Birmingham and saw a traveling animated dinosaur exhibit they'd set up along a path through the woods. Although the figures weren't the best, they were pretty good and the overall effect of finding these guys along the trail was great. It made me think that this is something Dinoland could really use. Africa and Asia each have well designed walk-through trails for viewing animals -- why not Dinoland? Right now, you only "see dinosaurs" on the Dinosaur attraction, and as this thread makes clear, you don't see much of 'em. At least on Jurassic Park at the Universal parks, you get half of a Jungle-Cruise-like ride with good looks at the dinos before things get dark.

They have the Cretaceous Trail, but Disney have realised how bad it is and removed it from the park map.

It would be nice to see them expand it and make it good enough to be put back on the map.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Having "living" dinosaurs would break the theme of the land.*

*before someone brings up Chester and Hester... yes, it sucks, but it actually does have an elaborate backstory that added to the existing story of Dinoland.

 

[djlaosc]

Having "living" dinosaurs would break the theme of the land.*

*before someone brings up Chester and Hester... yes, it sucks, but it actually does have an elaborate backstory that added to the existing story of Dinoland.

We did bring back a living Iguanodon back on DINOSAUR, so the Dino Institute could see this was possible, and then go back and get some more to allow them to study them in more detail.

 

[Alektronic]

They have the Cretaceous Trail, but Disney have realised how bad it is and removed it from the park map.

It would be nice to see them expand it and make it good enough to be put back on the map.

The Cretaceous Trail was planned to have more dinosaurs, even interactive ones. The one planned for that area was an Acrocanthosaurus. It was designed to be an interactive AA figure where you can could push buttons and have to certain fuctions like feeding on the plants, etc. All the infrastructure is still there, but the equipment has been removed.

Here is a bit of trivia for you, that little garage next to Chester & Hester's, I think there is a ATM machine there now. It was actually the equipment room for the Acrocanthosaurus. It had a HPU, power, and control panels similar to the equipment room for the River Iguanadon behind Restaurantosaurus and the Dig Site. They were re-purposed to be 2 of the 4 HPU's used for Mission Space.

 

[djlaosc]

The Cretaceous Trail was planned to have more dinosaurs, even interactive ones. The one planned for that area was an Acrocanthosaurus. It was designed to be an interactive AA figure where you can could push buttons and have to certain fuctions like feeding on the plants, etc. All the infrastructure is still there, but the equipment has been removed.

Here is a bit of trivia for you, that little garage next to Chester & Hester's, I think there is a ATM machine there now. It was actually the equipment room for the Acrocanthosaurus. It had a HPU, power, and control panels similar to the equipment room for the River Iguanadon behind Restaurantosaurus and the Dig Site. They were re-purposed to be 2 of the 4 HPU's used for Mission Space.

I had heard that it wasn't up to much before we went last time, but I was still shocked when we went and looked for it that that was all it was - we weren't actually sure that we had found it, which is why I guess that it was removed from the map.

It's good to know that it was supposed to be more than it was, and that it wasn't always planned to be as bad as it is, but it would be nice if they could get a bit of funding to be able to improve it.

 

[Bairstow]

Having "living" dinosaurs would break the theme of the land.*

*before someone brings up Chester and Hester... yes, it sucks, but it actually does have an elaborate backstory that added to the existing story of Dinoland.

I'm not sure that's a valid concern considering that they never fully built out the gravel-pit-into-dig-site-into-institute concept. Without Excavator hammering the story home, there isn't much reason to adhere to this. Until I read about what the land was supposed to "mean" on the internet I never understood what was supposed to be going on there.

 

[FigmentJedi]

We did bring back a living Iguanodon back on DINOSAUR, so the Dino Institute could see this was possible, and then go back and get some more to allow them to study them in more detail.

Nice idea, but then for things to make sense, you'd have to do the attractions in a specific order. Perhaps something with one of the "safer" Dino Institute tours utilizing one of their earlier time machine designs before they made it a jeep. Similar minor issue the Discovery River Boats had if you were to ride it first as an orientation thing and go past the Aladar animatronic they had set up there.