The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[TalkingHead]

OK, why not?

I have heard across the board rave reviews for Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express, but mixed stuff on Gringotts ... I'm wondering why.

And why we haven't heard from @whylightbulb for a while!

Just my opinion, but I think FJ raised the bar so high (and was so honest-to-goodness groundbreaking) that Gringotts pales a bit in comparison.

On its own merits, I think it's a top-notch ride, and if it opened at a different resort, it would probably be instantly hailed as one of the best rides in the world. As it is, it's "just" a great E-ticket. (Remember when they used to open those on a regular basis at WDW?! Yeah, me neither.)

 

[Mike S]

Hmmm, I was going to pipe in about my thoughts on Gringotts before and didn't but since you asked, I figured I'll comment on my experience:

I was a little let down with Gringotts. Don't get me wrong, a fun ride, but seemingly overhyped to me. I certainly wouldn't wait hours to ride it. Some things I didn't like:

1. A lot of people remarked that Uni was aiming for more family friendly with the ride. If that was their goal, IMHO they missed the mark. My kids (who generally love thrill rides and are fine with dark rides) were pretty scared after riding it and it struck me as very similar to multitudes of other rides at Uni in terms of intensity. It's probably that my standards were off, but I thought the tech was going to be used to make the ride more, I dunno, immersive but not as thrilling/intense.

1b. Also, I know they want to keep in theme, but couldn't they make the baby swap room a little brighter/less scary? I mean, you have people in their with young kids and it's cramped and dreary.

2. I feel that to really enjoy the ride, you have to have pretty good knowledge of the HP books. I read the books, so I was familiar, but never saw the Deathly Hallows movies. I found the ride to be difficult to follow/enjoy without being acutely familiar with the source material. FWIW, I think Forbidden Journey is much more accessible to those uninitiated.

3. Related to #2, but it was another ride at Uni where I feel you don't get a chance to "breath" and absorb as you are watching. The Tech is very impressive, but the pacing is so frantic that it's tough to have your mind really appreciate what you are experiencing. IMHO, there needs to be some built in (brief) lulls in all the action to gather things. It doesn't help that whenever your not watching a scene on an (impressive) screen that your being whisked around quickly.

4. The dialogue was difficult to hear well, which made the plot of the ride more difficult to follow (see #2 again). I guess this is the audio issues that were mentioned. (Admittedly, I tend to have difficultly understanding British accents sometimes even under more ideal conditions.)

Again, I'm not trying to disparage the ride, which I thought was very good. But after all the hype, I thought it would be a more transcendent experience to me. I'm still waiting for Uni to produce a better ride than Spider-Man, which is IMHO their gold standard.

One thing I'd really like to see for any HP addition in the future is to not make it about Harry Potter. One of the aspects that I think is really cool about DA and Hogsmeade is that you are experiencing visiting the Wizarding World. That's why the shop windows, restaurants/food and especially the wands are awesome -- they are about experiencing the cool, different world of wizards without the guest being burdened by having to know the specific tales of Harry Potter. I might be alone in that sentiment, though.

I completely agree with your last paragraph. If there's a ride in the rumored Ministry of Magic I don't want it to be about Harry Potter again. Make it a tour or don't even have a ride and just make an amazingly themed indoor area where people can explore as they please.

 

[Lee]

Come now, @Lee. If you are going to complain about someone not winning at least spell their name rite, Ok?

Gervais is quite talented, and I haven't seen his show. But neither have most people as it gets a tiny audience compared to those network sitcoms ... you know on ABC and CBS both of which won't exist in three years as you buy content a la carte from those folks who own the distribution channels on your iPhone76.3 (that's the one where Suri Jobs talks dirty to you for free!)

I never saw True Detective either. But I doubt it would have changed my mind. Cranston has been amazing on BB for its entire run.

The voters most definitely haven't watched all the shows. That's just not possible. That would like being a fanboi and visiting every theme park. What they do is watch the episodes that are submitted for the nomination. I have DVDs from many years (not this one) of review copies that get returned to the Academy. The decision is, ostensibly, based on the submission and not everyone is going to be the best. It's just a taste of the work. The voter may or may not be familiar with the shows.

I know from watching Breaking Bad that it never had a bad episode ... or a wasted episode in the narrative.

Step away from the network sitcoms and watch Derek and True Detective. (And Game of Thrones, and Deadwood...)
Then we can carry on the debate.

I don't care what the method of distribution is....quality is quality.
Gervais > Parsons
McConaughey in TD > Cranston in BB's final season

But, that's just how I see it.

 

[WDW1974]

I really don't think that's much different than people adding an up charge event or tour to a normal one-day park ticket.

The great thing about these events is that they are completely optional, and hey, if they bomb they will go away.

And so far, they haven't taken any current experiences away and added them to an up charge event.

They won't bomb. There are too many people who want to feel special. You know, I get that. I have done some amazing things and visited some amazing places, but I never had to pay a special fee to do so. Oh, and I'll place my experiences far ahead than a desert in Cindy's Castle with foamheads.

And the problem is that every one of these moves us closer to the tiered system where your experience is vastly less if all you do is pay the already high regular admission fee.

Many of the areas I used to love watching RoE from for DECADES are now roped off for special parties, events etc.

I don't care about fools and their money ... so long as they don't negatively effect me. And in this case, they will down the line.

The only ones so far that appealed to me were EPCOT After Hours and Harambe Nights. Those showed some value. But....... we still didn't go. Just can't fork over the money right now.

As I've said before, as long as they don't inconvenience the regular guest, then why not?

Harambe Nights you could find some value in IF you got there at opening and literally drank non-stop.

P.S. Have you heard about Lou giving paid tours at DHS in October?

No, but I am sure that Dr. Blondie and Crazy Gary and Bland Tommy are all very supportive of their top BRAND advocate's making money off of ... well, fools and their money!

 

[StageFrenzy]

No, I haven't. Is it worth my time?

On the surface the people are horrible to most of the people outside of their group. Kinda Seinfeldesque. It does have some nice heart and is very funny. Very strong cast and Desmin Borges was great in the last episode. Much stronger than the more star studded and awkward Married. As with any entertainment YMMV.

 

[TalkingHead]

1. A lot of people remarked that Uni was aiming for more family friendly with the ride. If that was their goal, IMHO they missed the mark. My kids (who generally love thrill rides and are fine with dark rides) were pretty scared after riding it and it struck me as very similar to multitudes of other rides at Uni in terms of intensity. It's probably that my standards were off, but I thought the tech was going to be used to make the ride more, I dunno, immersive but not as thrilling/intense.

It's funny how perceptions differ from person to person. I didn't find the ride "intense" in the least. The intensity level is on par with Space Mountain. So I guess it could be less intense, but it didn't strike me as severe. But I could see how small children might feel differently about the dark atmosphere, etc.

2. I feel that to really enjoy the ride, you have to have pretty good knowledge of the HP books. I read the books, so I was familiar, but never saw the Deathly Hallows movies. I found the ride to be difficult to follow/enjoy without being acutely familiar with the source material. FWIW, I think Forbidden Journey is much more accessible to those uninitiated.

To be fair, FJ isn't going to make much sense if you aren't familiar with the franchise, either. First time I rode it, I'd never seen any of the movies or read any of the books, and I still loved it. I'm not sure if I would've liked Gringotts as much or less, but it does seem to rely a little more on familiarity with the bank break-in.

3. Related to #2, but it was another ride at Uni where I feel you don't get a chance to "breath" and absorb as you are watching. The Tech is very impressive, but the pacing is so frantic that it's tough to have your mind really appreciate what you are experiencing. IMHO, there needs to be some built in (brief) lulls in all the action to gather things. It doesn't help that whenever your not watching a scene on an (impressive) screen that your being whisked around quickly.

I respectfully disagree with this one. If anything, I thought the ride might have too many lulls! A little like Everest in the sense that short bursts of action lead to moments of stasis where you are waiting for the next burst of action. The pacing of Gringotts felt a little wonky to me, but I can appreciate it's not the frantic pacing of FJ. It's a different ride with a different feel.

One thing I'd really like to see for any HP addition in the future is to not make it about Harry Potter. One of the aspects that I think is really cool about DA and Hogsmeade is that you are experiencing visiting the Wizarding World. That's why the shop windows, restaurants/food and especially the wands are awesome -- they are about experiencing the cool, different world of wizards without the guest being burdened by having to know the specific tales of Harry Potter. I might be alone in that sentiment, though.

Absolutely agree on that one.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Again, that's all opinion. And you are welcome to it.

But both viewers (including this one) and Academy voters ... and, indeed, most critics would disagree with that.

It's all what you like. Whether we are talking meet-greet-and-gropes versus Omnimovers versus killer screens or burgers versus pizza versus salads.

I sat here and watched an hour of Modern Family tonight while screwing around online, both episodes I have seen multiple times already, and they both made me laugh and smile. And that's what it is all about.

You can say all you like, but you don't win best comedy five years in a row in this TV landscape ... or four for a guy like Parsons ... and not be doing far more right than wrong. It is as simple as that!

There are only two things about modern family to grab my attention and make it worth my while…

As for "the Big Bang theory"? It seems like they are more making fun of the culture that they are supposedly promoting… Jim Parsons does a phenomenal job of promoting and advancing A character with serious mental deficiencies. The sad thing is that everyone laughs at those.

And here's another interesting take… Amazing when we had white people dealing drugs, they all win Emmys. But you had black people dealing drugs and out much better television show called "the wire" and the Kanamee couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this predominantly African-American cast from Baltimore…

 

[NearTheEars]

They won't bomb. There are too many people who want to feel special. You know, I get that. I have done some amazing things and visited some amazing places, but I never had to pay a special fee to do so. Oh, and I'll place my experiences far ahead than a desert in Cindy's Castle with foamheads.

And the problem is that every one of these moves us closer to the tiered system where your experience is vastly less if all you do is pay the already high regular admission fee.

Many of the areas I used to love watching RoE from for DECADES are now roped off for special parties, events etc.

I don't care about fools and their money ... so long as they don't negatively effect me. And in this case, they will down the line.




Harambe Nights you could find some value in IF you got there at opening and literally drank non-stop.



No, but I am sure that Dr. Blondie and Crazy Gary and Bland Tommy are all very supportive of their top BRAND advocate's making money off of ... well, fools and their money!

This is one of the first times I've seen an actual ad for tours. It looks like a one-time thing, but he has to be cutting them a check, right?

 

[NearTheEars]

There are only two things about modern family to grab my attention and make it worth my while…

As for "the Big Bang theory"? It seems like they are more making fun of the culture that they are supposedly promoting… Jim Parsons does a phenomenal job of promoting and advancing A character with serious mental deficiencies. The sad thing is that everyone laughs at those.

And here's another interesting take… Amazing when we had white people dealing drugs, they all win Emmys. But you had black people dealing drugs and out much better television show called "the wire" and the Kanamee couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this predominantly African-American cast from Baltimore…

I believe they literally put those two things from MF up on a rotating pedestal during the Emmy broadcast.

 

[doctornick]

It's funny how perceptions differ from person to person. I didn't find the ride "intense" in the least. The intensity level is on par with Space Mountain. So I guess it could be less intense, but it didn't strike me as severe. But I could see how small children might feel differently about the dark atmosphere, etc.

I didn't think the ride was going to be a roller coaster. I thought it was going to be more of a gentle dark ride, but with a vehicle that pivoted and moved different directions. Not that I thought the ride was a slow omnimover, but I didn't expect to race from scene to scene. Again, I think I just got the wrong impression from the way people were talking about it when it was being built.

 

[Mike S]

I didn't think the ride was going to be a roller coaster. I thought it was going to be more of a gentle dark ride, but with a vehicle that pivoted and moved different directions. Not that I thought the ride was a slow omnimover, but I didn't expect to race from scene to scene. Again, I think I just got the wrong impression from the way people were talking about it when it was being built.

How could a ride about Gringotts NOT be a roller coaster? Would off a lot of fans if that was the case. Those scenes from the movies should have shown you a little of what to expect. Also, can I just take this chance to point out how much I LOVE the rides first drop? Nothing else like it and sitting in the back makes it all the better

 

[doctornick]

I completely agree with your last paragraph. If there's a ride in the rumored Ministry of Magic I don't want it to be about Harry Potter again. Make it a tour or don't even have a ride and just make an amazingly themed indoor area where people can explore as they please.

And, FWIW, I actually think the Hogwarts Express was a much worse culprit for this issue. The scenes outside the door were pretty much just "oh look some people outside" unless you knew the references from the books/movies. The scenes outside the train were more interesting (especially IMHO the Knight Bus) to the uninitiated though I think appreciating of how well the tech worked was the real gem more than the physical experience of watching the scenes.

 

[TalkingHead]

I didn't think the ride was going to be a roller coaster. I thought it was going to be more of a gentle dark ride, but with a vehicle that pivoted and moved different directions. Not that I thought the ride was a slow omnimover, but I didn't expect to race from scene to scene. Again, I think I just got the wrong impression from the way people were talking about it when it was being built.

There was a lot of talk about it being "family friendly," so I can see what you mean. It's not the Haunted Mansion. But I wouldn't call it a roller coaster either, since the coaster sections are so brief. Probably more accurate to call it a dark ride/coaster/simulator hybrid, although no one's ever going to be that accurate. We should just have a new category of "Universal" rides (i.e. technically advanced rides that push the envelope and create new experiences).

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

And the problem is that every one of these moves us closer to the tiered system where your experience is vastly less if all you do is pay the already high regular admission fee.

Many of the areas I used to love watching RoE from for DECADES are now roped off for special parties, events etc.

I don't care about fools and their money ... so long as they don't negatively effect me. And in this case, they will down the line.

Not to mention that regular day guests who have paid for a ticket and wasted an admission day at the park are forced out to make room for the partygoers and have more people allowed into the park at earlier than start times. But for a price they can stay..if there's room.

They want to have their parties..fine. Whatever. As time goes on keeping the same stale offerings, less and less per event, and charging more and more..its got to peter out. As it is, they can't fill the resorts. Attendance has been low or lower than it should've been for the summer?

One of mine main complaints aside from all the upcharging is that I don't like the whole 'we can get in at 4' mentality imposing on fully paying day guests. I think the 'special event' participants should have to line up outside the gate until party time. Wait until the day guests they are ousting are out and then allowed admission.

The Illuminations/ROE watching spots...I saw the writing on the wall with this. First with the new Mexico restaurant. Then with the 'preferred viewing' in MK. This was the next natural course of action for $$$.

This all just saddens me. How much longer until the current regime is out? Can we start a countdown clock on that?

 

[FigmentJedi]

There are only two things about modern family to grab my attention and make it worth my while…

As for "the Big Bang theory"? It seems like they are more making fun of the culture that they are supposedly promoting… Jim Parsons does a phenomenal job of promoting and advancing A character with serious mental deficiencies. The sad thing is that everyone laughs at those.

Seems like? They are!

This right here is probably one of the best breakdowns of why the Big Bang Theory sucks I've seen: http://butmyopinionisright.tumblr.com/post/31079561065/the-problem-with-the-big-bang-theory

 

[bhg469]

Step away from the network sitcoms and watch Derek and True Detective. (And Game of Thrones, and Deadwood...)
Then we can carry on the debate.

I don't care what the method of distribution is....quality is quality.
Gervais > Parsons
McConaughey in TD > Cranston in BB's final season

But, that's just how I see it.

Not to mention Louie, and William H Macy have very good characters. The only one I've not seen is LeBlanc's show. It's a popularity contetst, no doubt. I can't think of anything less funny than HBOs "girls" but it was the Emmy sweetheart a few years ago.

 

[flyerjab]

There are only two things about modern family to grab my attention and make it worth my while…

Amen brother.

To add on to the discussion about what everyone watches, I know that the show isn't even one season old yet, but The Leftovers has me totally hooked. Each episode had ended with me immediately craving the next episode.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Amen brother.

To add on to the discussion about what everyone watches, I know that the show isn't even one season old yet, but The Leftovers has me totally hooked. Each episode had ended with me immediately craving the next episode.

I could not make it past the first episode of that show. Has it gotten better?

 

[flyerjab]

I could not make it past the first episode of that show. Has it gotten better?

Much better, IMHO. The episode this week was a flashback episode that was the best episode yet. You need to keep watching. It builds really well.

 

[PhotoDave219]

And, of legal interest, http://bit.ly/VRJQKE