I should say I found the dashboard LED night blinding to mask the screen reveal and the way it psychologically blended with the onscreen flashes was very well done.
Lest anyone think I didn't have something good to say. Again, I didn't not enjoy the ride.
FoP in my book is the current pinnacle of simulators in my book. It takes the lessons learned over the course of time and simply refines them; but, the end result is that it is still a simulator. That is the hurdle that it can never overcome and is one that is prone to the downfall of all simulator based attractions - diminishing returns on repeat visits.
What it does, it does better than any other simulator and its evolutionary refinement can be appreciated for what it has accomplished:
- Most all simulators struggle with the "screen reveal". Soarin' tries to hid it with dimmed lighting. Simpsons tries to hid it by lifting you up into the dome. Star Tours is probably the best previously at it in that the screen is the window into the simulated world and it is hidden until the shield comes down. FoP's transition is virtually perfect and very, very well thought out and most won't even notice how it happens. As Martin mentions the LED flashers on the link chair's console are the driving force to blind the Guests as real flashes give way to simulated projected ones on the dome as the wall of the chamber is lifted quickly out of the way. The real secret key to how effective this is are the special 3D glasses FoP uses. Ever wonder why there is so much extra clear plastic around the actual lens on the glasses frame? It's there to allow a bigger surface to catch the light coming from the flashers. Ingenious use of plastic.
- The motion platform is another area where simulators can succeed or struggle based on their implementation. Usually, the bigger the platform is, the harder it is to get the simulated visual experience to feel correct to all the locations on the platform as the pivot point for the center of gravity is based on the platform position to the hydraulics and not the individual riders on the platform. FoP gets around this issue by having each seat serve as its own motion base. The movements, in my opinion, feel more directly connected to each rider and other than the visual differences of your position in the theater to the projected image, the ride feels the same in every seat.
- The feeling of vertical motion and falling has always been a difficult challenge for simulated attractions. Even the very best at reproducing it don't get the feeling perfect. To show you how hard this simulated feeling is, the best in the business in my opinion is Spider-Man and the 2.0 makeover of the attraction still doesn't have this feeling as good as it did in the original incarnation of the animation and ride profile. It's a very slight change in the speed or sync of the initial tipping over the skyscraper moment that is just slightly off now. FoP's solution to placing the entire theater rows on a giant "frog hopper" to bounce up and down finally solves this major hurdle. I'm sure if they wanted to, this platform could even produce negative g-force if they wanted to be more aggressive. For FoP's purposes, a simple pitch forward and a bounce of a few feet is enough to produce a tangible feeling of dropping.
- The individual air blowers when combined with the misters (that actual create mist instead of splashes of water) along with the scent engines also further refine what is already been attempted in other simulators.
- It certainly has the best sensation of a giant beast breathing between my legs... even more so than the Simpsons.
So, FoP gets a bunch right and that is why it earns a free pass to the top of the simulator pile.
I've been on it 7 times now and while it is still enjoyable, it certainly has lost the "WOW" factor that it had on the first couple of spins. It's already at the stage of - I'm more curious when riding about how it works instead of why it works as a good ride. I'm sure it will remain in the rotation on my future WDW visits because what it does, it does well. I like the wind blowing in my face along with the scents. Soarin' is always good for that as well and I still enjoy the original Jerry Goldsmith flourishes of the theme in the new version.
The future of simulators at Disney looks promising. The Falcon will use some of the lessons learned (although FoP will still have the motion advantage due to the vertical motion it can offer) and it will add in some additional interactivity that may help with the repeat customer issues that plague these types of rides. I think Star Fox Millennium Falcon will be a hit and will be a great second fiddle to its big brother... just like FoP should have been. A simulator is just a poor long term anchor attraction in this day in age unfortunately... and a short boat ride is a poor second fiddle when it should've been a 3rd chair at best.
