Are animatronics getting worse?

[CheekBoys]

Compare the old animatronics like the auctioneer in POTC to some of the newer animatronics. Does anyone think Animatronics are getting worse?

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

....Have you watched the youtube video of the brand new Mystic Manor?

I don't think those new animatronics are worse than the old ones.

What makes you think they are? Can you give some examples? Or just trolling...?

 

[luv]

When they are so complicated that they don't work, yes, that is worse. But I love the new and the old.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I think they're getting better:

 

[MarkTwain]

I wouldn't say so, no. If anything I think they're substantially more sophisticated today. There's no way you can look at the Scuttle or Ursula in TLM, or at the cars in Radiator Springs Racers, and think that they were possible in '67. I do think the Disney of old was better at putting out good AAs in very large numbers, like in Pirates and Spaceship Earth, whereas Disney at present likes to concentrate its efforts into a smaller number of "showpiece" AAs. In modern attractions that feature large casts of AAs like TLM, you notice a greater discrepancy in quality.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

^ I'd have to agree with that. I think also that Disney is relying on more "non-moving" effects (e.g. projection, etc.) simply because they're less maintenance, cheaper and easier to update if necessary.

 

[Vader2112]

....Have you watched the youtube video of the brand new Mystic Manor?

I don't think those new animatronics are worse than the old ones.

What makes you think they are? Can you give some examples? Or just trolling...?

I so prefer the air pistons... or hydraulics. Mystic Manor looks amazing and truly is Disney at it's best!

 

[jrogue]

Personally I agree with the OP in terms of the Little Mermaid ride. Ursula was fantastic and a wonderful animatronic ... but the rest of the animatronics in the ride I felt didn't live up to the magnificence that was Ursula. The main ones that I'm speaking of are the ones in the "Under the Sea" room.

 

[CheekBoys]

What i mean is there are at most 3 or 4 really good animatronics in newer rides, and the rest are either turning or spinning statues or very cheaply done animatronics. But in older rides (Splash MT. POTC. HM.) There are a lot of good animatronics in one room instead of 1 good one and several bad ones.

 

[CheekBoys]

I so prefer the air pistons... or hydraulics. Mystic Manor looks amazing and truly is Disney at it's best!

If only they would build something like that in WDW.

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

Do the fish in the Under the Sea room even count as AAs? most of them are totally static.

When WDI is at its best, it's gotten amazing at making AAs. Look at Albert the monkey in MM, or Ursula/Scuttle in TLM, the well-done, if intrusive,Jack Sparrow AAs, or the incredibly fluid AA dolls in DisneySea's Sindbad boat ride:



WDI can still definitely make great AAs. They just took the Yeti a bit too far, and no one seems to think it's worth the effort, time, or money to fix it. Too bad. And I do wish they'd put fewer screens on AAs, like Mr. Potato Head or Buzz Lightyear or the Wardrobe, although it works really well in Radiator Springs Racers. But no, animatronics are not getting "worse"

 

[bethymouse]

I am going to ask a STUPID question- what does Sinbad have to do w/ Disney? Am I missing something? it seems like a nice ride though.
If anything, animatronics are getting more "modern". I think they're better IMHO.

 

[imagineer boy]

I am going to ask a STUPID question- what does Sinbad have to do w/ Disney? Am I missing something? it seems like a nice ride though.
If anything, animatronics are getting more "modern". I think they're better IMHO.

Nothing, it just fits into the theme of the Arabian Coast land at Tokyo Disney Sea where the ride is located.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I am going to ask a STUPID question- what does Sinbad have to do w/ Disney? Am I missing something? it seems like a nice ride though.
If anything, animatronics are getting more "modern". I think they're better IMHO.

Is this a question about Sinbad as the subject of an attraction or are you unaware that Sinbad's Storybook Voyage is an attraction at Tokyo DisneySEA?

 

[Goofyernmost]

I am going to ask a STUPID question- what does Sinbad have to do w/ Disney? Am I missing something? it seems like a nice ride though.
If anything, animatronics are getting more "modern". I think they're better IMHO.

Sinbad is in Disney Seas in Tokyo.

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

I am going to ask a STUPID question- what does Sinbad have to do w/ Disney? Am I missing something? it seems like a nice ride though.

I think it was mostly a way to add more things to do in Arabian Coast that weren't Aladdin-based. Disney hasn't, to my knowledge, done anything else with Sindbad. But hey, it's public domain, and it made a great dark ride!

 

[disneyfan1995]

I think they're getting a lot better than what they used to be. Pirates opened a lot of new doors into the world of animatronics. Then we had the Wicked Witch of the West over at GMR and now we have the incredible Ursula at Ariel's Undersea Adventure!

 

[Southampton11968]

Mostly better. Compare the Johnny Depp pirate to all the older pirates of the ride. Sometimes when the ride backs up near the end of the ride you can really study the Johnny Depp pirate. It's amazing how realistic he looks and smooth the movements are.

 

[bethymouse]

Is this a question about Sinbad as the subject of an attraction or are you unaware that Sinbad's Storybook Voyage is an attraction at Tokyo DisneySEA?

Just in general the subject of an attraction. I knew it was in Tokyo, but I get it now in terms of the theme of that section of the park.

 

[discos]

Mostly better. Compare the Johnny Depp pirate to all the older pirates of the ride. Sometimes when the ride backs up near the end of the ride you can really study the Johnny Depp pirate. It's amazing how realistic he looks and smooth the movements are.

I really noticed that too the last time I rode pirates. Sort of puts some of the other animatronics in the ride to shame. But since he is the star of the attraction now it makes sense for them to spend more money on those AAs.