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A different experience.
- Thread starter rdour@techminds
- Start date
Epcot Center
Spaceship Earth. This is an interesting experience for me. The ride vehicles are easy to get into, and departure is easy. I just wait until the moving sidewalk shoves me up on the platform. A CM did warn me about the step. I noticed that the floor is metalic, and that the ending of that rotation is a small ramp. My feet weren't happy when I hit it. Haunted Mansion uses rubber and rollers. I was gently shoved off the walkway onto solid ground without tripping.
The ride itself is a feast for the ears. I especially like the naration. It is always nice to hear a familiar voice. Who better than the man who has seen the country through some of the best and worst. I missed hearing the AT&T female voiceover. Remembering posts from these boards, I noticed things about the ride that were diferent. The audio voiceovers were changed for "safety," and I am disappointed, because they overlap the music while ascending into the geosphere. That soundtrack throughout the ride is amazing. I really wish there was a version of that with naration available. I have not heard a good stereo ridethrough yet in a podcast.
Test Track. First off, sitting in the driver's seat was awesome. I never get to do that. The ride does a wonderful job of simulating bumpy ground, and if you'll notice, the ground starts bumpy, then turns into small lumps or hills. I liked the brake tests. One of the interesting things is that they have ABS simulated really well. However, the out of control car needed a bit more swerviness to feel real to me. I did ask my girlfriend though later, and she has better vision. She told me that it seemed realistic. Is there a visual cue that tricks you into that feeling? The turning was excellent, liked the environmental tests. I thought "this is what bread must feel like in a toaster." Even though that ride vehicle only gets up to 65 mph, it feels a hell of a lot faster than that. The banked turns really add to it. Visually, does anything add to that, like any force perspective scaling of objects? I am curious.
OK, here is a big one. This should be very interesting for all M:S fans.
Mission Space. I can tell you things about that ride that I felt. First, yes, I could turn my head without disorientation. In fact, I was very oriented the whole time. I could tell that the ride does rotate counter clockwise. I could also feel the simulator, and the storyline is great. I couldn't see the action, so pressing buttons wasn't really possible. How much does that effect the outcome? Does your actions effect others in your cabin, or is it only effecting your screen? I am going to take a guess. If you are being smart, you're looking straight ahead at all times. This way, you can get a unique experience. If you use your joystick to navigate at the end, I'm guessing only your visual experience is effected. The most intense spinning occurs during landing, and your body reacts to it because your ride vehicle is not tilted up as much as landing. There is a point where no rotation is happening. It is after the moon slingshot. It is safe to look around until right after hypersleep. For myself, I could look around any time, without getting disoriented or sick. Up, down, left, right, didn't matter.
Soaring Over California. I was told by a cast member that there are 130 channels of audio. how do you even find a studio to mix that down? I would love to have the opportunity to work with that many channels of audio. I'm curious how they captured it. Close your eyes the next time you find a dead day there. Visually, I can see the night sky, and the fireworks, but that's about it. It is because they are large things. I also saw the castle, because the dark background made it stick out. One thing that was really exciting was the crowd clapped for the golfers. Seriously, that was well mixed. The audio is just as 3d as the experience. Listen above you, and if you can, lean out a bit, and listen to what is moving below you. Yes, there are actually sounds that move under you as well. The first time I ever visited that ride was in California years ago. It was my favorite ride at the whole Disneyland resort. I seriously couldn't control my emotions entering that ride. I had to take deep breaths, because I was so overly excited, and had to calm down. It is the first ride I have ever ridden that I've had to wipe tears out of my eyes before and after. Seriously, by far the best simulator ever developed. The soundtrack is full of emotion. It is the most beautiful track ever written for a ride.
More to come later.
Spaceship Earth. This is an interesting experience for me. The ride vehicles are easy to get into, and departure is easy. I just wait until the moving sidewalk shoves me up on the platform. A CM did warn me about the step. I noticed that the floor is metalic, and that the ending of that rotation is a small ramp. My feet weren't happy when I hit it. Haunted Mansion uses rubber and rollers. I was gently shoved off the walkway onto solid ground without tripping.
The ride itself is a feast for the ears. I especially like the naration. It is always nice to hear a familiar voice. Who better than the man who has seen the country through some of the best and worst. I missed hearing the AT&T female voiceover. Remembering posts from these boards, I noticed things about the ride that were diferent. The audio voiceovers were changed for "safety," and I am disappointed, because they overlap the music while ascending into the geosphere. That soundtrack throughout the ride is amazing. I really wish there was a version of that with naration available. I have not heard a good stereo ridethrough yet in a podcast.
Test Track. First off, sitting in the driver's seat was awesome. I never get to do that. The ride does a wonderful job of simulating bumpy ground, and if you'll notice, the ground starts bumpy, then turns into small lumps or hills. I liked the brake tests. One of the interesting things is that they have ABS simulated really well. However, the out of control car needed a bit more swerviness to feel real to me. I did ask my girlfriend though later, and she has better vision. She told me that it seemed realistic. Is there a visual cue that tricks you into that feeling? The turning was excellent, liked the environmental tests. I thought "this is what bread must feel like in a toaster." Even though that ride vehicle only gets up to 65 mph, it feels a hell of a lot faster than that. The banked turns really add to it. Visually, does anything add to that, like any force perspective scaling of objects? I am curious.
OK, here is a big one. This should be very interesting for all M:S fans.
Mission Space. I can tell you things about that ride that I felt. First, yes, I could turn my head without disorientation. In fact, I was very oriented the whole time. I could tell that the ride does rotate counter clockwise. I could also feel the simulator, and the storyline is great. I couldn't see the action, so pressing buttons wasn't really possible. How much does that effect the outcome? Does your actions effect others in your cabin, or is it only effecting your screen? I am going to take a guess. If you are being smart, you're looking straight ahead at all times. This way, you can get a unique experience. If you use your joystick to navigate at the end, I'm guessing only your visual experience is effected. The most intense spinning occurs during landing, and your body reacts to it because your ride vehicle is not tilted up as much as landing. There is a point where no rotation is happening. It is after the moon slingshot. It is safe to look around until right after hypersleep. For myself, I could look around any time, without getting disoriented or sick. Up, down, left, right, didn't matter.
Soaring Over California. I was told by a cast member that there are 130 channels of audio. how do you even find a studio to mix that down? I would love to have the opportunity to work with that many channels of audio. I'm curious how they captured it. Close your eyes the next time you find a dead day there. Visually, I can see the night sky, and the fireworks, but that's about it. It is because they are large things. I also saw the castle, because the dark background made it stick out. One thing that was really exciting was the crowd clapped for the golfers. Seriously, that was well mixed. The audio is just as 3d as the experience. Listen above you, and if you can, lean out a bit, and listen to what is moving below you. Yes, there are actually sounds that move under you as well. The first time I ever visited that ride was in California years ago. It was my favorite ride at the whole Disneyland resort. I seriously couldn't control my emotions entering that ride. I had to take deep breaths, because I was so overly excited, and had to calm down. It is the first ride I have ever ridden that I've had to wipe tears out of my eyes before and after. Seriously, by far the best simulator ever developed. The soundtrack is full of emotion. It is the most beautiful track ever written for a ride.
More to come later.
To answer another question, yes, it is a voice that reads these posts. I use a Macintosh with a built in feature of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger called Voiceover. It is fairly new, but I find it to have the potential to change computing for myself in the future, and others. Did you know that on Windows, there is a built in screen reader called narator? It takes the time to warn you that it is not intended as a replacement for a real screen reading program. It has poor navigation, is not very descriptive at all, and is as non user friendly as possible. In order to get anything reasonable you have to shell out around $800 or more for a license of a commercial screen reader, such as JAWS from Freedom Scientific. The Mac also has built in zoom, which I combine with Voiceover for the sweet ability to see a handful of things on my screen. I have 5/400 vision (for those who know what that is). I also have cateracts, albinism. What you see clearly at 400 ft I need to be within 5 feet to see a similar clarity. Nasty huh?
Ryan
Ryan
imagineer boy
Well-Known Member
I like reading your reports!
For Mission Space, pushing the buttons and controlling the joy stick does not affect the ride experience. They're simply there for pretend. If you don't push the buttons activating the certain things, it will automatically be activated for you.
For Mission Space, pushing the buttons and controlling the joy stick does not affect the ride experience. They're simply there for pretend. If you don't push the buttons activating the certain things, it will automatically be activated for you.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
So that whole interactivity thing was bull all along! The marketing people for the ride sit on a throne of lies...
MrNonacho
Premium Member
Your last post pretty much sealed it... I met you Thursday night at Mission: SPACE. I'm a CM there, and you told me pretty much what you just posted about Soarin' and its audio. It sure is a small world, after all!
A couple notes on Space: The ride actually spins clockwise (right to left), and is in motion from the beginning up until right near the end. The speed varies throughout, but the descent to Mars isn't when it's at its fastest. I imagine the tilting of the capsules is what makes the difference, as I also find that part of the ride to be more intense than the launch.
A couple notes on Space: The ride actually spins clockwise (right to left), and is in motion from the beginning up until right near the end. The speed varies throughout, but the descent to Mars isn't when it's at its fastest. I imagine the tilting of the capsules is what makes the difference, as I also find that part of the ride to be more intense than the launch.
brkgnews
Well-Known Member
Like any good space mission, the mission computer will do an automatic override in order to avoid killing the astronauts.Tahu said:
To the original poster: Thanks so much for this unique persepctive into the parks. I've enjoyed it. A very dear friend of mine in college had low vision, and it was always interesting to experience things from his perspective. By the way -- to answer your question about quoting others in the forum, one of the buttons inside each post is a "quote" button. Not sure if your reader software strips images out, so that may be why you haven't noticed it before.
I think the next time I go I want a wdwmagic.com t-shirt. I don't know if they exist.
That is insane that you remembered that detail. You were right, it was left to right, I just wasn't thinking when I said counter clockwise. I am extremely surprised that it is spinning the whole time. It must be really slow at that part I pointed out. One thing I really like is how smooth it is. that must be why it was so expensive to produce. By the way, what are those foam pads on the wall when entering the preshow area? Also, do you or anyone else collect voiceovers and raw tracks? I know that it is a no no, but too bad, I really don't use them for anything other than the fun of listening to them. I would buy a package if they offered it.
That is insane that you remembered that detail. You were right, it was left to right, I just wasn't thinking when I said counter clockwise. I am extremely surprised that it is spinning the whole time. It must be really slow at that part I pointed out. One thing I really like is how smooth it is. that must be why it was so expensive to produce. By the way, what are those foam pads on the wall when entering the preshow area? Also, do you or anyone else collect voiceovers and raw tracks? I know that it is a no no, but too bad, I really don't use them for anything other than the fun of listening to them. I would buy a package if they offered it.
I think the next time I go I want a wdwmagic.com t-shirt. I don't know if they exist.
That is insane that you remembered that detail. You were right, it was left to right, I just wasn't thinking when I said counter clockwise. I am extremely surprised that it is spinning the whole time. It must be really slow at that part I pointed out. One thing I really like is how smooth it is. that must be why it was so expensive to produce. By the way, what are those foam pads on the wall when entering the preshow area? Also, do you or anyone else collect voiceovers and raw tracks? I know that it is a no no, but too bad, I really don't use them for anything other than the fun of listening to them. I would buy a package if they offered it.
That is insane that you remembered that detail. You were right, it was left to right, I just wasn't thinking when I said counter clockwise. I am extremely surprised that it is spinning the whole time. It must be really slow at that part I pointed out. One thing I really like is how smooth it is. that must be why it was so expensive to produce. By the way, what are those foam pads on the wall when entering the preshow area? Also, do you or anyone else collect voiceovers and raw tracks? I know that it is a no no, but too bad, I really don't use them for anything other than the fun of listening to them. I would buy a package if they offered it.
I think the next time I go I want a wdwmagic.com t-shirt. I don't know if they exist.
That is insane that you remembered that detail. You were right, it was left to right, I just wasn't thinking when I said counter clockwise. I am extremely surprised that it is spinning the whole time. It must be really slow at that part I pointed out. One thing I really like is how smooth it is. that must be why it was so expensive to produce. By the way, what are those foam pads on the wall when entering the preshow area? Also, do you or anyone else collect voiceovers and raw tracks? I know that it is a no no, but too bad, I really don't use them for anything other than the fun of listening to them. I would buy a package if they offered it.
That is insane that you remembered that detail. You were right, it was left to right, I just wasn't thinking when I said counter clockwise. I am extremely surprised that it is spinning the whole time. It must be really slow at that part I pointed out. One thing I really like is how smooth it is. that must be why it was so expensive to produce. By the way, what are those foam pads on the wall when entering the preshow area? Also, do you or anyone else collect voiceovers and raw tracks? I know that it is a no no, but too bad, I really don't use them for anything other than the fun of listening to them. I would buy a package if they offered it.
raven
Well-Known Member
rdour@techminds said:
Yes. There are cones set up to mark your vehicle path. As the brakes lock up, you plow through a fake cone giving you the sense of being out of control. Another feature you probably weren't able to notice is when you are about to be dispatched up the ramp at the beginning. If you were to look at the car infront of you as it goes up the ramp, a little flap opens on the ground and a puff of smoke comes out of it. This gives the vehicle behind it a realistic view of a car burning rubber!
MrNonacho
Premium Member
rdour@techminds said:
Yeah, you're not going more than a few miles per hour at that point. Plus, you're just coming off of going full speed so the "weightless" effect is exaggerated.
Just decoration. They are colored the same as the flight bay. They're gold in Gold, blue in Blue, etc.
I would buy one in a second if they did. I'd love to have all the music cues and tracks for various attractions available to listen to. There's really no way for me to obtain the ones from Space myself, short of bringing in a tape recorder and holding it up to the speakers. Getting the raw tracks would involve going places in the building that I really shouldn't be in, and I probably wouldn't have a clue as to what blinky computer thingy to go to to get it.
World Showcase
In general, a boat ride is a boat ride. There are many different sounds to listen to, and the story line isn't lost on me. It took a few rides of Mexico before I caught on to things. I've always liked the ride into the Norway story. Riding up the hill and the approach into the room is done very well, especially when the boat tips into the water right as the story intro finishes. great timing. I like meeting the cast members from each country. It makes me wish I had stuck to learning Spanish or Japanese or any other languages. I wasted that on computer programming languages.
I ate at the Japanese restaurant. I love sushi, and the freshest fish they had was the salmon. Wow, it is incredible. I haven't had a good piece of salmon sushi since I visited Japan in 2003. I especially felt right, because my meso soup was presented without a spoon. In Japan, they eat it out of the bowl direct, and it is common to slurp a little if you enjoy the soup. they were very happy that I didn't have to be told this. It was great to hear others wondering why the hell I was picking up my soup, and they then wondered where their spoons where. I love that dining plan, it saved me a ton of money on my sushi deluxe.
Canada. Who sings that song in there? I love it. It is incredible how they harmonize so well. I know it is an older attraction, but the sound in a 360 circlevision isn't bad. It is better than about 80% of the theatres I visit. It was the only circlevision film I went to at any park.
Eluminations: Reflections of Earth. I viewed the show from a location to the right of the south dock. I viewed it on this past Thursday night. I was at the southeast corner of the lagoon. Bad idea, I got chunks of firework in my capachino. The wind was blowing from the northwest. It was great though. I really like the preshow music. Where can I get it? I love the combination of world, celtic, pop, and techno beats. The preshow music is worth it alone. But, they make this even better with an amazing score, I found that one. The extra holiday finale was awesome. I again loved the timing. I was there for the extra magic hours after the park closed. By the way, the arch entering world showcase has an amazing score. Sit down and enjoy it while eating a chero from Mexico or something like that.
Big disappointment. I have seen many posts here about something called a Dole whip. I never found the stand, tried and tried, but couldn't find it. Did I miss out on something good?
MGM up next post.
In general, a boat ride is a boat ride. There are many different sounds to listen to, and the story line isn't lost on me. It took a few rides of Mexico before I caught on to things. I've always liked the ride into the Norway story. Riding up the hill and the approach into the room is done very well, especially when the boat tips into the water right as the story intro finishes. great timing. I like meeting the cast members from each country. It makes me wish I had stuck to learning Spanish or Japanese or any other languages. I wasted that on computer programming languages.
I ate at the Japanese restaurant. I love sushi, and the freshest fish they had was the salmon. Wow, it is incredible. I haven't had a good piece of salmon sushi since I visited Japan in 2003. I especially felt right, because my meso soup was presented without a spoon. In Japan, they eat it out of the bowl direct, and it is common to slurp a little if you enjoy the soup. they were very happy that I didn't have to be told this. It was great to hear others wondering why the hell I was picking up my soup, and they then wondered where their spoons where. I love that dining plan, it saved me a ton of money on my sushi deluxe.
Canada. Who sings that song in there? I love it. It is incredible how they harmonize so well. I know it is an older attraction, but the sound in a 360 circlevision isn't bad. It is better than about 80% of the theatres I visit. It was the only circlevision film I went to at any park.
Eluminations: Reflections of Earth. I viewed the show from a location to the right of the south dock. I viewed it on this past Thursday night. I was at the southeast corner of the lagoon. Bad idea, I got chunks of firework in my capachino. The wind was blowing from the northwest. It was great though. I really like the preshow music. Where can I get it? I love the combination of world, celtic, pop, and techno beats. The preshow music is worth it alone. But, they make this even better with an amazing score, I found that one. The extra holiday finale was awesome. I again loved the timing. I was there for the extra magic hours after the park closed. By the way, the arch entering world showcase has an amazing score. Sit down and enjoy it while eating a chero from Mexico or something like that.
Big disappointment. I have seen many posts here about something called a Dole whip. I never found the stand, tried and tried, but couldn't find it. Did I miss out on something good?
MGM up next post.
dumboflyer
Well-Known Member
Your posts ROCK! Thanks for the perspective! Keep it up. I would encourage you, like someone else already did, to write Disney to let them know some things that they can do to help people with low vision have more fun at the parks! Maybe include some of what you wrote here to explain your perspective?!
There are many, many CDs you can buy with songs from the park. There is an email for Disney Merchandise (someone out there has it, I'm sure). Anyway, you can email them and they will send you what you want.
I have the music from the parks CD with the soundtracks (or edited soundtracks) from most major attractions (including SOARIN'). I also have the Wishes, IllumiNations and Fantasmic soundtracks...oh, and of course, my favorite: The Festival of the Lion King. Granted all of these CDs are around $15 (I think), but it's worth every penny!
Keep posting!
There are many, many CDs you can buy with songs from the park. There is an email for Disney Merchandise (someone out there has it, I'm sure). Anyway, you can email them and they will send you what you want.
I have the music from the parks CD with the soundtracks (or edited soundtracks) from most major attractions (including SOARIN'). I also have the Wishes, IllumiNations and Fantasmic soundtracks...oh, and of course, my favorite: The Festival of the Lion King. Granted all of these CDs are around $15 (I think), but it's worth every penny!
Keep posting!
mkepcotmgmak
Well-Known Member
Thank you SO much for your post! One of the best posts I have read in a long time!
from m k epcot m g m a k. also known as josh.
Thanks again!
from m k epcot m g m a k. also known as josh.
Thanks again!
wannab@dis
Well-Known Member
Incredible posts! Your perspective brings a whole new level of magic for the parks to me. I have never set and thought about how the loss of visual cues would affect the attractions. I'm also impressed that you and your girlfriend were able to navigate the parks so well. I used to get turned around at times and I could rely on my sight AND the park maps!
If you can figure out how to get in the Disney Central IRC sections, there are several downloads of park music. Click on the following link for information about how to connect and use Disney Central.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=37734
As others have mentioned, it would be good if you could pass your observations to guest services at Disney. You can email them at wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. However, some of the posters here may be able to direct you to someone specific that you could speak / write to.
Keep up the great posts!
Steve, it may be good if you could work with Ryan to set up a specific section on the board or site to include information for visually impaired guests. :wave:
If you can figure out how to get in the Disney Central IRC sections, there are several downloads of park music. Click on the following link for information about how to connect and use Disney Central.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=37734
As others have mentioned, it would be good if you could pass your observations to guest services at Disney. You can email them at wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. However, some of the posters here may be able to direct you to someone specific that you could speak / write to.
Keep up the great posts!
Steve, it may be good if you could work with Ryan to set up a specific section on the board or site to include information for visually impaired guests. :wave:
Captain Hank
Well-Known Member
Walt Disney World merchandise mail order was mentioned before. You can contact them either by phone at 407-363-6200, or by e-mail at wdw.mail.order@disneyworld.com. You'll pay exactly what you would in the park, plus shipping.
Edit: Here's something you might be interested in. The publishing group, Passporter, just released a guide for special-needs guests. I believe it includes a section for the visually-impaired. Here is a link to their site, and a press release for the book. http://www.passporter.com/wdw/specialneeds/SpecialNeedsRelease.htm
Edit: Here's something you might be interested in. The publishing group, Passporter, just released a guide for special-needs guests. I believe it includes a section for the visually-impaired. Here is a link to their site, and a press release for the book. http://www.passporter.com/wdw/specialneeds/SpecialNeedsRelease.htm
One of the things that the guest services at MGM did was incredible.
My girlfriend and I had one hell of a time navigating the Magic Kingdom our first day. We decided after that to try and get large maps if they had them. We visited MGM this past Tuesday. One of the guest services CMs let us know that there are no big printed maps. I had posted the previous night here, and realized that I couldn't print any of the nice maps I was pointed to.
This CM had a great idea though. He took one of the guide booklets, and made a photocopy of it on large paper. He used the 11x17 paper. He made it so big that each section of the map has some overlapping image. This way you could keep track while flipping through the pages. this REALLY helped us. We were still confused by a few things that just didn't seem right on the cartoonish map, but it was great. I like the big hat.
Rockin' Rollercoaster. They were great, and gave us front row seats. This benifited my girlfriend tremendously. If we didn't get that, our vision is limited, and seats in front of us would have blocked anything we could have seen. I really thought it was cool when I noticed while getting in that the front was the hood of the limo. Rockin' out to "Love In An Elevator" while launching into the loop was great. This coaster features that same indoor windless feeling. One thing was strange, my girlfriend didn't notice the second loop. I felt it, so I was surprised she didn't. Talk about a smooth ride, isn't that track from 97'? Most coasters don't stay that smooth, but when indoors, I guess weather isn't really a factor. Additional ride sounds added to it. To me, it is a great thrill ride, and the only looping coaster they have. I hope they consider more in the future, but I'm sure they know that people will need thrills to be entertained going onward.
Backlot Tour. This pretty much would be the same for me if one of you just made a podcast out of it. I wish something could be done about it, but that would require a special tour, and that's just too much to ask.
Tower of Terror. Ever notice how well done the elevator feeling is? If you listen very carefully, in the upward trip before the drop, you can hear the elevator changing gears. Also, I could feel the ride leaving the elevator platform. There is a little bump where the elevator gap is. My girlfriend asks the question, where does the scene end and the ghost begin? The ghosts appears as if it is floating in the room. She also wonders if it is a real hallway. In this case, her limited vision may make it look more real to her, less detail in what she sees. When the ride vehicle moves through the hall to the other side to be thrown around, you can hear many different strange sounds comming out of the sides. At some point, some object splits apart, I think it is a projection, but listen, you can hear it dtoo. When you enter the next chamber for the drop, notice the gap again. It moves into the chamber, moves across the gap, and then pauses. Listen here, you can hear rapid gear changes if you drop close to the bottom. If it does a few smaller movements near the bottom, it is easier to hear. At the top, is that elevator bell a recording, or is it a real bell? If it is a recording, I'm amazed with the quality of the driver producing that sound. The largest gap you go over is at the end. They need to improve that, it is incredibly obvious you're leaving the elevator lift system. It also rattles a bit, and that can be fixed. We took the time after the ride to stop and check out the detail in the hotel. I felt the old fountain in the gift shop, they really do pay attention to detail. I wonder where they get their props, it is weird to know that they aren't just cheap plastic or foam.
Fantasmic. The soundtrack gives me chills. it is wonderful. My girlfriend was holding my arm, and when it started she said I had goosebumps. I had seen it before, and I just told her its different when you know what you're in for. I really enjoy the sound quality, and of course, can't forget about that fire. I see color and blurry objects, and those are some of the best colors and blurry objects I've seen. The CMs were a bit confused there. I told them we needed front row seating in order to see. We have a card with the appropriate stamp on it. But, they sat us in the back row. My girlfriend got up and found a different CM, and she helped us to the second row. Too bad the first was filled, because for me it is hard to see well even with one row of people in front of me. I really wish they didn't sell those toys that make sounds in there. It takes away from the show. I really thought the postshow holiday music with the characters singing was funny. It sounded like a combo of chipmunks, Donald, Mickey, Mini, and others.
Monorail to MK: Notice how stich rides with you the last part of the ride. Listen carefully, when they tell you to watch your head, you hear him collide with the ceeling, and he exclaims "oh, my head." I don't know why they take it this far, but it is so funny. I have a few monorail dialogs raw, but I really want this one.
My girlfriend and I had one hell of a time navigating the Magic Kingdom our first day. We decided after that to try and get large maps if they had them. We visited MGM this past Tuesday. One of the guest services CMs let us know that there are no big printed maps. I had posted the previous night here, and realized that I couldn't print any of the nice maps I was pointed to.
This CM had a great idea though. He took one of the guide booklets, and made a photocopy of it on large paper. He used the 11x17 paper. He made it so big that each section of the map has some overlapping image. This way you could keep track while flipping through the pages. this REALLY helped us. We were still confused by a few things that just didn't seem right on the cartoonish map, but it was great. I like the big hat.
Rockin' Rollercoaster. They were great, and gave us front row seats. This benifited my girlfriend tremendously. If we didn't get that, our vision is limited, and seats in front of us would have blocked anything we could have seen. I really thought it was cool when I noticed while getting in that the front was the hood of the limo. Rockin' out to "Love In An Elevator" while launching into the loop was great. This coaster features that same indoor windless feeling. One thing was strange, my girlfriend didn't notice the second loop. I felt it, so I was surprised she didn't. Talk about a smooth ride, isn't that track from 97'? Most coasters don't stay that smooth, but when indoors, I guess weather isn't really a factor. Additional ride sounds added to it. To me, it is a great thrill ride, and the only looping coaster they have. I hope they consider more in the future, but I'm sure they know that people will need thrills to be entertained going onward.
Backlot Tour. This pretty much would be the same for me if one of you just made a podcast out of it. I wish something could be done about it, but that would require a special tour, and that's just too much to ask.
Tower of Terror. Ever notice how well done the elevator feeling is? If you listen very carefully, in the upward trip before the drop, you can hear the elevator changing gears. Also, I could feel the ride leaving the elevator platform. There is a little bump where the elevator gap is. My girlfriend asks the question, where does the scene end and the ghost begin? The ghosts appears as if it is floating in the room. She also wonders if it is a real hallway. In this case, her limited vision may make it look more real to her, less detail in what she sees. When the ride vehicle moves through the hall to the other side to be thrown around, you can hear many different strange sounds comming out of the sides. At some point, some object splits apart, I think it is a projection, but listen, you can hear it dtoo. When you enter the next chamber for the drop, notice the gap again. It moves into the chamber, moves across the gap, and then pauses. Listen here, you can hear rapid gear changes if you drop close to the bottom. If it does a few smaller movements near the bottom, it is easier to hear. At the top, is that elevator bell a recording, or is it a real bell? If it is a recording, I'm amazed with the quality of the driver producing that sound. The largest gap you go over is at the end. They need to improve that, it is incredibly obvious you're leaving the elevator lift system. It also rattles a bit, and that can be fixed. We took the time after the ride to stop and check out the detail in the hotel. I felt the old fountain in the gift shop, they really do pay attention to detail. I wonder where they get their props, it is weird to know that they aren't just cheap plastic or foam.
Fantasmic. The soundtrack gives me chills. it is wonderful. My girlfriend was holding my arm, and when it started she said I had goosebumps. I had seen it before, and I just told her its different when you know what you're in for. I really enjoy the sound quality, and of course, can't forget about that fire. I see color and blurry objects, and those are some of the best colors and blurry objects I've seen. The CMs were a bit confused there. I told them we needed front row seating in order to see. We have a card with the appropriate stamp on it. But, they sat us in the back row. My girlfriend got up and found a different CM, and she helped us to the second row. Too bad the first was filled, because for me it is hard to see well even with one row of people in front of me. I really wish they didn't sell those toys that make sounds in there. It takes away from the show. I really thought the postshow holiday music with the characters singing was funny. It sounded like a combo of chipmunks, Donald, Mickey, Mini, and others.
Monorail to MK: Notice how stich rides with you the last part of the ride. Listen carefully, when they tell you to watch your head, you hear him collide with the ceeling, and he exclaims "oh, my head." I don't know why they take it this far, but it is so funny. I have a few monorail dialogs raw, but I really want this one.