Rumor Muppets to Take Over The Hall of Presidents

[TrainsOfDisney]

Star Tours, Mission to Mars, Horizons…

Star Tours, yes. Although at least each star cruiser has an AA. We don’t even get that anymore!

Horizons though? I don’t count that at all. Universe of Energy had plenty of screens but didn’t feel like a screen based attraction because of how they were used and because there was a large segment without them.

I don’t even think the current version of figment uses too many screens, they just need to update it.

 

[Ponderer]

Star Tours, yes. Although at least each star cruiser has an AA. We don’t even get that anymore!

Horizons though? I don’t count that at all. Universe of Energy had plenty of screens but didn’t feel like a screen based attraction because of how they were used and because there was a large segment without them.

I don’t even think the current version of figment uses too many screens, they just need to update it.

I’m just saying if you’re gonna count Rise with its enormous amount of animatronics, massive set pieces, in-character cast members, mechanicals and sleight-of-hand supplemented by some screens, you gotta count those others, too.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’m just saying if you’re gonna count Rise with its enormous amount of animatronics, massive set pieces, in-character cast members, mechanicals and sleight-of-hand supplemented by some screens, you gotta count those others, too.

Rise has an “enormous amount of animatronics”???

 

[Ponderer]

Rise has an “enormous amount of animatronics”???

It’s got more than Horizons did.

 

[UNCgolf]

It’s got more than Horizons did.

How many AAs are in Rise if you don't count the stormtroopers in the hangar?

I'm actually asking; I have no idea.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

How many AAs are in Rise if you don't count the stormtroopers in the hangar?

I'm actually asking; I have no idea.

I think someone made a chart in the Rise ride thread (not the boarding groups one).

 

[Ponderer]

How many AAs are in Rise if you don't count the stormtroopers in the hangar?

I'm actually asking; I have no idea.

Good question. I know the *official* count is 65, but that of course counts the stormtroopers. There’s Bek, Finn, Hux, multiple Kylos, Rey...do the AT-ATs count?

 

[UNCgolf]

Good question. I know the *official* count is 65, but that of course counts the stormtroopers. There’s Bek, Finn, Hux, multiple Kylos, Rey...do the AT-ATs count?

That's kind of what I was thinking; that there are only a few beyond the stormtroopers. My guess is there were many more on the actual ride for Horizons than there are on Rise, although some of the figures on Horizons may have been mannequins and not AAs.

 

[Ponderer]

The official count for Horizons is 54, IIRC.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Calling the Stormtrooper figures "animatronics" is a stretch. Only a small handful seem capable of movement at all, the rest are apparently static mannequins. And the ones that do move only perform 2 simple movements- a basic head turn and small wrist motion to raise/lower their guns slightly. Even the limited-motion figures in a lot of the classic Fantasyland dark rides have a far greater range of movement by comparison.

Horizons had far more actual animatronics than RotR. There were only about 3 static mannequins in the entire ride, the human characters in the "Easy Living" scene near the start were mostly stationary (though even the guy getting a shave had a small amount of motion on his arm). That said, the three robots (vacuuming, grooming and cooking) had a lot of motion of their own. Despite perhaps not counting as true "animatronics" themselves, they again move far more than the Stormtroopers. Even the cat twitched its tail slightly. Outside of this scene though, there were around 40 legitimate human and animal animatronics that had a large and varied range of motion.

 

[Ponderer]

Calling the Stormtrooper figures "animatronics" is a stretch. Only a small handful seem capable of movement at all, the rest are apparently static mannequins. And the ones that do move only perform 2 simple movements- a basic head turn and small wrist motion to raise/lower their guns slightly. Even the limited-motion figures in a lot of the classic Fantasyland dark rides have a far greater range of movement by comparison.

Horizons had far more actual animatronics than RotR. There were only about 3 static mannequins in the entire ride, the human characters in the "Easy Living" scene near the start were mostly stationary (though even the guy getting a shave had a small amount of motion on his arm). That said, the three robots (vacuuming, grooming and cooking) had a lot of motion of their own. Despite perhaps not counting as true "animatronics" themselves, they again move far more than the Stormtroopers. Even the cat twitched its tail slightly. Outside of this scene though, there were around 40 legitimate human and animal animatronics that had a large and varied range of motion.

Okay, I mean, fine. But circling back to the whole point of my reply, lumping Rise in as a “screen” attraction is kind of ludicrous. I get some of the others, but when one says something like that about Rise, an attraction that feels like a masterclass in decades of Disney theme park storytelling techniques - I feel like that, well, now you’re just trying to be negative.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Okay, I mean, fine. But circling back to the whole point of my reply, lumping Rise in as a “screen” attraction is kind of ludicrous. I get some of the others, but when one says something like that about Rise, an attraction that feels like a masterclass in decades of Disney theme park storytelling techniques - I feel like that, well, now you’re just trying to be negative.

Horizons was a masterclass in Disney theme park storytelling and techniques. Rise is not. Imho of course.

 

[UNCgolf]

Okay, I mean, fine. But circling back to the whole point of my reply, lumping Rise in as a “screen” attraction is kind of ludicrous. I get some of the others, but when one says something like that about Rise, an attraction that feels like a masterclass in decades of Disney theme park storytelling techniques - I feel like that, well, now you’re just trying to be negative.

I haven't been on Rise yet, but it looks very good (although I don't think it looks like the best ride at WDW).

Regardless, I agree that I wouldn't call it a screen attraction. I think Shanghai Pirates is more of a screen attraction than Rise.

 

[ToTBellHop]

RotR is as non-screen as modern Disney will make.

 

[MisterPenguin]

RotR is as non-screen as modern Disney will make.

What about the screens on Slinky and Swirling?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Okay, I mean, fine. But circling back to the whole point of my reply, lumping Rise in as a “screen” attraction is kind of ludicrous. I get some of the others, but when one says something like that about Rise, an attraction that feels like a masterclass in decades of Disney theme park storytelling techniques - I feel like that, well, now you’re just trying to be negative.

Who cares if people are negative? I have always valued detailed physical scenery and large populations of animatronics. The last time Disney went all-in on making a ride like this was Tokyo DisneySea's Sinbad ride, which is about to turn 20 this year. Seeing Disney move away from these types of attractions is depressing. Seeing them actually destroy so many of them over the past 25 years is outright infuriating (most recently Great Movie Ride, Splash Mountain will also likely expel most of its animatronics without replacements).

Video elements can be done well when they're used in a restrained and supplemental way. Horizons and World of Motion used it to add extra motion and detail to otherwise flat backgrounds and also to transition between scenes. But they weren't the main focus, the focus was on the elaborate physical sets and numerous animatronic characters populating them.

Rise and a lot of other modern rides have the issue of there being too much large open space with not enough physical scenery and characters filling them. A lot of the scenery in Rise's rooms is pushed up against the outer walls and with little to no animatronics. If that empty space was better filled in with physical details and characters, its reliance on video wouldn't be so glaring.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I haven't been on Rise yet, but it looks very good (although I don't think it looks like the best ride at WDW).

Regardless, I agree that I wouldn't call it a screen attraction. I think Shanghai Pirates is more of a screen attraction than Rise.

Rise does have lots of screens and lots of projection mapping effects (So video based).

When DHS opened the Great Movie Ride had multiple cryo, Fire, and other physical effects. 30 years later... lots of screens.

 

[UNCgolf]

Rise and a lot of other modern rides have the issue of there being too much large open space with not enough physical scenery and characters filling them. A lot of the scenery in Rise's rooms is pushed up against the outer walls and with little to no animatronics. If that empty space was better filled in with physical details and characters, its reliance on video wouldn't be so glaring.

This is an issue with how they design rides for the trackless system. They always have a ton of empty space to let the vehicles move around because that's one of the benefits of the system -- they seem to go all in on that, though, instead of using it sparingly and to effect. It's why the trackless rides usually have at least some areas that feel like you're just in a warehouse.

Hopefully they'll get better at it as they use the system more (or stop using it?), because they certainly don't have to design the rides that way.

 

[UNCgolf]

Rise does have lots of screens and lots of projection mapping effects (So video based).

When DHS opened the Great Movie Ride had multiple cryo, Fire, and other physical effects. 30 years later... lots of screens.

It does, but they're incorporated with physical sets, AAs, et cetera. I don't mind the use of screens and projection mapping like that (they're used to good effect on Navi River Journey, for one). What I really dislike is just sitting in front of a screen and watching something happen. If I'm just going to watch a movie, I can do that at home. Of course I prefer the use of practical effects, though -- screens/projections should only be used to achieve an effect that can't be easily achieved by something more tangible.

That's not to say Rise is perfect by any means, but it could be much worse. Ratatouille is a bigger offender.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

That's not to say Rise is perfect by any means, but it could be much worse. Ratatouille is a bigger offender.

The Navi River works perfect. You never feel like you’re looking at a screen.

Rise vs. Ratatouille... I’ll have to tell you my thoughts later! (Sad that I haven’t been to Paris to see it yet but oh well.)