Any new thunder mountain info?

[dreamscometrue]

Good refurb. Not great. And again sadly missing what would have been easy to remedy.

I asked about the possums yesterday....there's no way those missing possums can be about money. They are a simple effect that represents nothing out of a 4 month refurb budget, but they're gone. Why?

What do you believe is missing and easy to remedy, and why do you think those things are missing?

 

[RSoxNo1]

That "effect" has been there for a long time. I know I saw it last time I rode the ride before the refurb. I'm pretty sure that's not meant to simulate rocks falling.

It's nothing like MMY. More just a simple, shifting light.

Yeah, that's what I thougt I saw in the Youtube video. Oh well.

 

[MickeyPeace]

I think you have to ride BTM now before you can criticize fairly. I rode it yesterday. It is sooo much better. Looks amazing.

I have lots of pics to post. The queue looks great. Lots of dark wood and props. It was not air conditioned however. At least put some fans in there! I liked the switching up of stand by and fast pass queues. I took the stand by just to see everything.

The ride is smoother. Track looks great. Water was swirling. Geysers working. And the water at the bottom of the geysers was bubbling.

No one ever mentions that one of the gas lamps swings in the falling rock scene. That has now been turned off as well.

My favorite thing was to see the geysers in the exit working. I would always stop and look at them in the past and wonder what it would look like to see them working. I had never seen them work ever.

They make a lot of noise, bubbling up before they go off. It's great. They also provide mist to cool off guests. And the other one near the river is very loud and realistic. The sound element to these adds a lot.

Also the color overall of the mountain looks brighter. Not sure if it was painted but everything looks vibrant.

Only when you ride BTM will you see how much improved it is. Expect for the falling rock Bring it back and this attraction will be perfect!

 

[Clamman73]

Anyone ride at night yet to see if there are additional lighting effects or the like?

 

[Tom Morrow]

I was thinking the same thing. I've watched the videos a few times (wdwmagic vid and jeff lange vid) and I can't see this as being any kind of effect at all re rocks falling up, down, sideways, etc.

http://youtu.be/teKNuXijW-g?t=5m12s click here, look at the top of the lift/fakeout track.

If its not meant to be rocks falling, then what is it? I mean yes, this is a small detail, but its baffling and frustrating that numerous people with authority of deciding if the ride is "good show" either saw this and didn't care enough have it corrected or were too apathetic to even know about it or look at it in the first place.

 

[filmy3]

Quick Question - did they ever fix the earthquake scene?

 

[Tom Morrow]

Yep! They did, it works again! Don't bother reading the rest of this thread to confirm this.

 

[Kuhio]

The sight of rocks "falling" upward makes me think of one of those scenes from a Japanese animation where a "super saiyan" or the like goes nuts with power -- they typically indicate that through the visual of pebbles/rocks lifting off the ground, as though the character's innate power is affecting the laws of gravity or something.

That said, the current effect wouldn't work well even if the rocks were falling downward -- they're moving too slowly. As it is now, it looks like they're just floating up into space. Turned upside down, they'd look like they're drifting at a steady rate down to earth, not actually falling. Since it's just a projection and not rocks on sticks -- which would be subject to physical limitations in terms of speed of movement, etc. -- I'm not sure why the falling effect can't be done better.

 

[Jakester]

Yep! They did, it works again! Don't bother reading the rest of this thread to confirm this.

it wasnt working yesterday (5.31.12)

 

[Kuhio]

As an aside, one of the side effects of lowered expectations is the fact that you're occasionally pleasantly surprised.

When I rode BTMRR last year, I looked over at Cumulus Isobar as the train barreled through Tumbleweed, expecting that the figure would be static or even covered up. Instead, he was animatedly bailing water, and the effect -- as fleetingly as I glimpsed it -- looked great.

I recall being somewhat shocked that this effect was actually working, and pleased about it for some time after the ride ended...

 

[Kuhio]

As another aside... I've always wondered why they don't just change the name to "Big Thunder Mountain." It's what the corresponding versions in Paris and Tokyo are called, and it would also bring the name in line with the other classic Magic Kingdom mountains.

More importantly, though, I'm sure it would alleviate some guest confusion as well. If there are guests wondering how to catch the monorail to Harry Potter land or complaining about the rich people who paid extra for the privilege of getting Fastpasses, surely there are those who spend half an hour in line for BTMRR thinking it's the more sedate WDW railroad, and vice versa.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

http://youtu.be/teKNuXijW-g?t=5m12s click here, look at the top of the lift/fakeout track.

If its not meant to be rocks falling, then what is it? I mean yes, this is a small detail, but its baffling and frustrating that numerous people with authority of deciding if the ride is "good show" either saw this and didn't care enough have it corrected or were too apathetic to even know about it or look at it in the first place.

I believe its supposed to be smoke from the train . . . (the one that is on the broken track up there) they should've added the steam effect from Everest to the load area, IMHO.

 

[Tom Morrow]

its not supposed to be that. remember that this effect was installed some time before this refurb (and was incorrect then too) as sort of a fix for the stationary falling rocks.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

its not supposed to be that. remember that this effect was installed some time before this refurb (and was incorrect then too) as sort of a fix for the stationary falling rocks.

The falling rocks wouldn't work as a projection. It is supposed to be the smoke from some other mine train up ahead on the tracks up there, and all you can see is the steam. Its supposed to be a nice little thematic piece of ambiance. Sort of like smoke's shadow . . . the use similar such "shadows" with implied physical objects on Splash, at least the one in Disneyland. Works for me, makes me think that a train got stuck up on the second story tracks and is stopped, spewing steam. Works to the "somethings gone terribly wrong idea . . .

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Isn't that projection steam from the underground reservoir beneath BTM?

As in, they dug too deep...they forgot that BTM is build on an underground water reservoir...the geysers should've been a warning of the great pressure cooker that is the mountain...but the miner's greed took over...the cursed mountain now angrily thunders...the water spouts out everywhere as the mountain erupts in a quake...the town gets flooded....the geysers erupt everywhere...the mine collapses, instead of existing up from the tunnel, the track collapses underneath you and you come speeding out downwards to the bottom of the mountain range, to the deepest layers, sixty-five million year old rocks with dinosaur remains.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Isn't that projection steam from the underground reservoir beneath BTM?

As in, they dug too deep...they forgot that BTM is build on an underground water reservoir...the geysers should've been a warning of the great pressure cooker that is the mountain...but the miner's greed took over...the cursed mountain now angrily thunders...the water spouts out everywhere as the mountain erupts in a quake...the town gets flooded....the geysers erupt everywhere...the mine collapses, instead of existing up from the tunnel, the track collapses underneath you and you come speeding out downwards to the bottom of the mountain range, to the deepest layers, sixty-five million year old rocks with dinosaur remains.

Nope. Its the 'clumpy' steam that you're supposed to see coming off a train's smoke stack, to add a dynamic element to the ride, as if another train is stopped right around the corner. Hence the train tracks, and new lighting on the train tracks, up there . . .

 

[erasure fan1]

Aside from the crappy projections, how was BTMR's refurb a fail? It looks fantastic and the queue is much nicer and more accommodating. From what we've heard, every special effect on the ride is working (except for this mysterious live flood that may or may not have ever happened).

And I guess I forget why the Space Mountain refurb was a failure. I enjoy that ride more now than I ever did before the refurb. Maybe I'm the minority.

Let me clarify. I use the word failure because they had a chance on both rides to make them better, and in both cases they didnt. They also showed us that all they are going to do is the very minimum. Could they have done some great things with thunder? Heck yea they could have. Could they have smoothed out the track on space and really made the ride kick? Of course they could have. But they decided they could save the money and put profit over quality.

I agree with you completely on both counts. And as for your last statement, you might be in the minority, when comparing yourself to some of the 'hardline' people who post frquently on these boards, but with respect to the other 17 million people who visit MK each year, I would say you are in the overwhelming majority. :wave:

Im sorry but I really hold Disney to a much higher standard when it comes to these type of things. Do I love space mountain? of course, and I still do love it. That doesnt change the fact that the ride still needs a serious update. But Disney knows they can fill the park and just do the minimum.

While I wouldn't have chosen the word fail, to me its simply another example of them cheaping out. Like they did with Space Mountain. I just refuse to give them a free pass when they are obviously lowering their standards or budgets on what is acceptable for their E ticket attractions. They set the initial bar, not us, all I am trying to do is hold them too it.

Exactly! Space mountain was awesome 30yrs ago. Now its great because of nostalgia mostly. They had a chance to bring it back up to the top, and they passed sadly. I expect Disney to be a leader but I guess those days are long gone.

 

[Furiated]

Regarding the falling rocks effect, I'm sure I rode it back when the effect was working but can't remember. Is there video online anywhere showing what the original falling rocks effect looked like back when it was working?

 

[marni1971]

The original physical falling rocks effect:

http://youtu.be/6JraYG7ldIE



The original Tumbleweed flash flood rushing waters:

 

[mcksco]

Great Video!

I'd forgotten how good the original effect was.