Does it get tiring being such a ray of sunshine in so many threads at all hours of the day? I'd think that would wear most people out, but you endeavor to persevere like a champ.
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7DMT Animatronics
- Thread starter Magic Feather
- Start date
Does it get tiring being such a ray of sunshine in so many threads at all hours of the day? I'd think that would wear most people out, but you endeavor to persevere like a champ.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
No what gets tiring is reading how a 4' AA which moves over a range of 2" vertically from their OWN DRAWINGS, is the greatest achievement ever in AA's, Meanwhile 15 years ago they planned and built the Yeti which really WAS a groundbreaking achievement (in more ways than one
). Expedition Everest took less time and money to construct than the kiddie coaster known as SDMT.I praise Disney when deserved recently they have been deserving of little praise.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
^^ Should also wait until the ride is open to start passing judgement. A poster in this very thread stated that the original plans for the dwarfs were scrapped and they have created something far more elaborate... So I guess we shall wait and see.
No what gets tiring is reading how a 4' AA which moves over a range of 2" vertically from their OWN DRAWINGS, is the greatest achievement ever in AA's, Meanwhile 15 years ago they planned and built the Yeti which really WAS a groundbreaking achievement (in more ways than one
I praise Disney when deserved recently they have been deserving of little praise.
Got it. I still think it would have to be wearying to chase so many threads to make the same point over and over about your take on the state of TWDC, but keep on speaking truth to power and maybe one day the good guys will prevail. Don't let them take your horse and make him surrender!
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
If there was anything impressive about these figures then we would have seen them in action already. It's a constant fact that Disney NEVER misses a chance to boast about anything they consider impressive well before they're finished. We saw months before it's original opening what the Little Mermaid animatronics looked like because they posted a video blog about it (the California version). Similar early looks were given to Lumiere if I recall as well as some of the Radiator Springs Racers figures. We would not have gotten this close to the Mine Train's opening without seeing the figures if they were actually worthy of talking about. It's as simple as that.
Lee has already stated on multiple occasions that he has seen the figures himself back during their construction and they were nothing special at all. Until proven otherwise, anyone who tries to hype these things as any big deal (in other words, anything more than what Lee or the official figure layouts have told us) are just trolling to get attention. The DisneyConstruction23 debacle sent out a clear message that the more gullible people on this site are ready and willing to give the trolls exactly what they crave. You're only setting yourself up for disappointment if you listen to them.
Lee has already stated on multiple occasions that he has seen the figures himself back during their construction and they were nothing special at all. Until proven otherwise, anyone who tries to hype these things as any big deal (in other words, anything more than what Lee or the official figure layouts have told us) are just trolling to get attention. The DisneyConstruction23 debacle sent out a clear message that the more gullible people on this site are ready and willing to give the trolls exactly what they crave. You're only setting yourself up for disappointment if you listen to them.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Yes, because their OWN DRAWINGS is always exactly what gets builtNo what gets tiring is reading how a 4' AA which moves over a range of 2" vertically from their OWN DRAWINGS, is the greatest achievement ever in AA's, Meanwhile 15 years ago they planned and built the Yeti which really WAS a groundbreaking achievement (in more ways than one
I praise Disney when deserved recently they have been deserving of little praise.
Your talking about some sketches released for D23. That was a long time ago. People from WDI working on the project mentioned that they scrapped their original AA plans and went back to the drawing board. Isn't it possible that the D23 released sketches have since been enhanced or even scrapped completely for new ones?I think you are probably setting this up for a failure. If you try to make it out like the masses are expecting "the greatest achievement ever in AAs" then no matter what the finished product is you can still point to it and call it a failure. I think most positive people I've read here are saying they are optimistic about the AAs for this ride being special and/or well done. That's a lot different than greatest achievement ever.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
I have no inside information myself. If you or @Lee have seen the finished products and are saying they are nothing special then that's really disappointing, but I have no reason to doubt you. Why do you think they would publish an article like the one I posted earlier in the thread (see below) from Disney Files if there wasn't going to be something different about the AAs? They could have just said something like "see all of your favorite characters from the movie". Why all the hype over new technology? Seems kinda strange.
"At Walt Disney Imagineering, it's not just about living up to the Disney standards; it's about setting a new standard", said Walt Disney Imagineer Ethan Reed, the project's Animation Creative Director. "At one point early on, we had some basic Audio-Animatronics figures that we had sketched up, but during a review with Bruce Vaughn, our Chief Executive at Imagineering, he challenged us to see what we could come up with to make these figures unique. We knew we wanted them to have the charm and appeal of the classic characters from the 1937 film, but we needed them brought to life with 21st century technology and imagination."
Emboldened by that challenge, the team dreamed up a groundbreaking new design that would blend hand-drawn, computer and Audio-Animatronic animation, and then partnered with Walt Disney Animation Studios to help materialize their vision.
"This is a complete integration of animation media into a dimensional figure, and it's like nothing you've seen," said Walt Disney Animation Studios Special Projects Producer/Creative Director Dave Bossert. "I'm fortunate to be part of a really cool team of people from a variety of disciplines here at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and working on projects like these with equally talented Imagineers whose disciplines are just as diverse creates a perfect storm of creativity. All of these disciplines, from animation to lighting to sculpting and engineering, come together in these new figures in a way that appears stunningly seamless. When you look at the Dwarfs in the attraction, you won't know what you are looking at. They're just alive, and it's jaw dropping."
I get your skepticism. You are perfectly justified by having an "I'll wait and see" attitude. After all, this ride is a highly themed kiddie coaster, so from a thrill standpoint, it's already a disappointment. But if we wanted the fastest or the tallest ONLY, we'd hate Walt Disney World. We like immersive, innovative, highly themed, multi-sensory EXPERIENCES.
However, I think you and lee may be right about the AA's not being incredibly impressive as standalone AA's, but the scenes that use them MIGHT be quite innovative. I said it earlier--what if they were to combine some simple AA technology with the projection technology of BTMRR at Disneyland or Phantom Manor at Hong Kong? Granted,we know nothing for sure, but all of the recent "hints" they've been dropping lately combined with all the new stuff they've been using this new technology on lately makes it a strong possibility, IMO. Would THAT impress you if it were utilized as well as it is on those attractions?
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I haven't seen the finished product. I'm no insider by any stretch, just a regular guy who is trying to provide some logic on how the company seems to work and spin things. Lee on the other hand IS privy to such inside knowledge however (I trust him to know his stuff more often than not) and said that unless things have changed quite recently, the Dwarf figures aren't anything special. I read his comment that he actually saw the physical figures themselves while they were nearly or fully constructed and that he's somewhat familiar with the kind of motion they will be capable of.
The comment you posted from Disney makes it sound like the early designs didn't get any farther than sketches and they didn't even create actual figures. Lee I believe said he saw the actual physical figures. I will again bring attention back to the fact that there were three sketches shown off at D23 (I believe last year's?) of the Dwarf "animatronics". The sketches show the figures capable of very simplistic motion, only with marginally more articulation than the original Snow White ride's most advanced figures. They're far below par even the EARLIEST true animatronic figures Disney himself oversaw for Worlds Fair attractions such as Lincoln and Carousel of Progress.
Now regardless of whether those sketches were of the old or new figures, it's more important to note the word Disney is using to describe even the original figures in the comment you posted above- they're still calling the old figures "animatronics", figures which are arguably not advanced enough to even be legitimately classified as such a term given the animatronic figures created when Walt himself was still alive. Even if we assume the diagrams from D23 were from the original version of the ride "pre-upgrade", they still called those figures AA's and that's borderline lying as far as I'm concerned. I still would not get any hopes up about even the new ones given how loosely Disney's employees are using the word animatronic to describe such simple figures. Their classification for what warrants the usage of the word "animatronic" in the context they're using can be argued as lying. The way they hype up these "new figures" is also too vague to make anything out about what to expect.
The comment you posted from Disney makes it sound like the early designs didn't get any farther than sketches and they didn't even create actual figures. Lee I believe said he saw the actual physical figures. I will again bring attention back to the fact that there were three sketches shown off at D23 (I believe last year's?) of the Dwarf "animatronics". The sketches show the figures capable of very simplistic motion, only with marginally more articulation than the original Snow White ride's most advanced figures. They're far below par even the EARLIEST true animatronic figures Disney himself oversaw for Worlds Fair attractions such as Lincoln and Carousel of Progress.
Now regardless of whether those sketches were of the old or new figures, it's more important to note the word Disney is using to describe even the original figures in the comment you posted above- they're still calling the old figures "animatronics", figures which are arguably not advanced enough to even be legitimately classified as such a term given the animatronic figures created when Walt himself was still alive. Even if we assume the diagrams from D23 were from the original version of the ride "pre-upgrade", they still called those figures AA's and that's borderline lying as far as I'm concerned. I still would not get any hopes up about even the new ones given how loosely Disney's employees are using the word animatronic to describe such simple figures. Their classification for what warrants the usage of the word "animatronic" in the context they're using can be argued as lying. The way they hype up these "new figures" is also too vague to make anything out about what to expect.
Um. . . Maybe my Disney history is not accurate, but They've been calling the tiki birds and hippos from the jungle cruise "animatronic" from the beginning. The dolls from small world--animatronic. They didn't stop calling them that after Lincoln, Pirates, Wicked Witch, Hopper, or Yeti (when he worked). They just touted those as more sophisticated. If they are figures that are 3 dimensional and move in one way, or 1000 ways, they've always been considered "animatronic." Disney's not lying. They have a trademark on that name and they have been using it from the beginning.
The question here is how sophisticated will the animatronics be? Ursula-Yeti-Hopper sophisticated or small world-tiki bird sophisticated?
doctornick
Well-Known Member
I could be wrong, but the impression I got from @Lee was that he saw the plans for the figures, not the built figures themselves.
Regardless, it seems evident that at least some figures will have projection technology used to create facial features. The D23 plans for Dopey actually mention it, in fact, in addition to the Disney Files article and the ride description mentioning similar things. Whether or not this would make them "impressive" or "advanced" is largely a subjective matter, so we'll wait and see.
Also, no one seems to know anything about the cottage scene figures.
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ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
For FLE I did not expect a THRILL coaster because well you will be taking kids on their first coaster ride, But so much was pulled from the ride, The lanterns on the mine cars, the side to side rocking, much of the interior detail it's the details that make Disney SPECIAL and they have skipped so much of that,
I'm afraid of another Mermaid where you can SEE the ceiling and the lights and all the other stuff which in every disney attraction PRIOR to mermaid has been cleverly hidden from the guest.
I WOULD be impressed IF they use the new synchronized projection and would praise Disney to the skies IF they do that. With the 'value engineering' so prevalent at FLE I am not holding my breath.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
But will the attraction be as good as the Presser - It's an awesome presser now lets see if the attraction is as good as the presser.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The Jungle a cruise has animated figures, The Enchanted Tiki Room has animatronics. The differentiator is the ability to be programmed.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
I don't chase threads in fact I don't follow ANY threads even my own, I just look around to see what is interesting at the moment.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
I hope they use the projection technology just to hear you praise Disney. I'm holding you to it
NearTheEars
Well-Known Member
Did the side-to-side rocking get cut? I thought there were some test videos showing it in action.
NearTheEars
Well-Known Member
Just a follow up from the attraction page:
"Showcasing a first-of-its kind coaster system, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train cruises along through a fabulous mine—glittering with diamonds, emeralds and other precious gems—swinging and swaying Guests up large lifts, across sharp banks and around exhilarating turns."
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/seven-dwarfs-mine-train/
"Showcasing a first-of-its kind coaster system, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train cruises along through a fabulous mine—glittering with diamonds, emeralds and other precious gems—swinging and swaying Guests up large lifts, across sharp banks and around exhilarating turns."
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/seven-dwarfs-mine-train/
raymusiccity
Well-Known Member
'Spell check' messed you up. '....you endeavor to persevere like a chimp.'
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
I hope they use the projection technology just to hear you praise Disney. I'm holding you to it
If they do I will indeed praise Disney it would make ME happy if Disney revives the old quality with this attraction, I get no joy out of being the 'Nattering Nabob of Negativism' it's simply my frustration with Disney's current trajectory speaking.