Avengers Campus - Reactions / Reviews

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
For me, the entire “wow” of the original was when we broke the vertical plane and moved forward out of the shaft signaling we’ve entered the Twilight Zone and are no longer in a normal elevator. The magic is in the set up and breaking of expectations.

In the DCA version, the doors of the elevator open to a HALLWAY because that’s what elevator doors do. What? Then the elevator for some reason instantly moves backwards. What? No set up, no magic, not even a sense for a moment that we are in a real elevator.

Where the original was genius, the knock off makes no sense and I can’t understand how the Imagineers didn’t see the difference. As they said in Spinal Tap “It’s such a fine line between clever and stupid”.

That’s why I like the Guradians overlay - the ride makes no sense anyway, let’s at least play some fun tunes while we go up and down.

The pullback and push forward are one of the things I love. You enter an elevator and instead of it going up, it pulls backwards. It's a total mind trip. We feel as we're being literally pulled into another dimension. The surrounding shaft slowly fades and the doors are hovering in nothingness.

At the end, we're pushed forward back into reality. The doors open and we're right where we started with the same bellhop. Did we imagine the whole experience? Are we going crazy.

It is my favourite thing that Disney has done. I loved Indy, but this new version of TOT always left me so amazed at the psychological aspect and the amazing update to the original. When we went back and rode the original, it just was kind of slow and quiet with campy moments where we see images from the opening credits. It didn't hold up having ridden the updated version.
 

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
I rode the original Tower of Terror when it first opened and only had one drop and a bar across the row rather than a seat belt. It was fun but the part where you moved forward didn't blow me away like apparently everyone else. It was just a dark room with an eyeball and star lights.

I liked how DCA's reversed out and got almost immediately into the up/down stuff. I know everyone also considered DCA's a cheap clone, but I kinda liked it more, including the design of the building and the ambiance as a Roger Rabbit trolley car would glide by in the evening. But these nattering nabobs of Disney negativism are all lost to history.
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
For me, the entire “wow” of the original was when we broke the vertical plane and moved forward out of the shaft signaling we’ve entered the Twilight Zone and are no longer in a normal elevator. The magic is in the set up and breaking of expectations.

In the DCA version, the doors of the elevator open to a HALLWAY because that’s what elevator doors do. What? Then the elevator for some reason instantly moves backwards. What? No set up, no magic, not even a sense for a moment that we are in a real elevator.

Where the original was genius, the knock off makes no sense and I can’t understand how the Imagineers didn’t see the difference. As they said in Spinal Tap “It’s such a fine line between clever and stupid”.

That’s why I like the Guradians overlay - the ride makes no sense anyway, let’s at least play some fun tunes while we go up and down.


I haven’t rode the original but why is the ride vehicle moving forward more of a “wow” then it when it’s moved backward? Now that I think about it, the ride vehicle at DCA never really felt like an elevator for the simple fast that it’s full of seats. But the “maintenance” part of the maintenance elevator did come across and I suppose I suspended disbelief enough to play along. Knowing my taste, I suspect I will probably like DCA’s ride experience more than DHS. However the grounds, Facade and lead up to the tower are far more impressive at DHS. Looking forward to riding it one day...hopefully it sticks around.
 

RobWDW1971

Well-Known Member
I haven’t rode the original but why is the ride vehicle moving forward more of a “wow” then it when it’s moved backward? Now that I think about it, the ride vehicle at DCA never really felt like an elevator for the simple fast that it’s full of seats. But the “maintenance” part of the maintenance elevator did come across and I suppose I suspended disbelief enough to play along. Knowing my taste, I suspect I will probably like DCA’s ride experience more than DHS. However the grounds, Facade and lead up to the tower are far more impressive at DHS. Looking forward to riding it one day...hopefully it sticks around.
Because the entire concept of the ride is you enter a hotel elevator. The elevator door opens and the elevator is there (not a hallway you walk over to get to the elevator) and then you go straight up like an elevator multiple times through scenes and then when magically, in the context of the ride, the vehicle unexpectedly breaks the vertical plane and moves forward.

In the DCA cheap knockoff version you are never in a perceived elevator so the entire concept, suspense, and magic is defeated. But it was cheaper to build so.....

Oh, and now you’re in a regular, not enchanted gantry in the Collector’s museum. The gantry moves backwards because.....um....anybody?
 
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mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Because the entire concept of the ride is you enter an elevator. The elevator door opens and the elevator is there (not a hallway you walk over to get to the elevator) and then you go straight up like an elevator multiple times through scenes and then when magically in the context of the ride the vehicle breaks the vertical plane and moves forward. In the DCA cheap knockoff version you are never in an elevator so the entire concept, suspense, and magic is defeated. But it was cheaper to build so.....

Oh, and now you’re in a regular, not enchanted gantry in the Collector’s museum. The gantry moves backwards because.....um....anybody?

Yeah they dropped the ball with the hallway. But tbh it never impacted my ride experience in the same way seeing the roller coaster tracks when boarding our Space Mountain “rockets” doesn’t affect me. Between the anticipation and the time that elapsed between walking through the hallway and attraction starting the hallway thing kind of gets forgotten. I feel that subconsciously we cut the imagineers slack until the ride officially starts and we get the loading and queue stuff out of the way. And that goes for any ride not just TOT. Otherwise why are people loading us into one jeep after another on Indy? The list can go on and on.

Well it moves backwards because it’s a dumb overlay. Duh. And KABOOM!
 
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fctiger

Well-Known Member
So little recap from my sources. Through the campus but more particularly in the external queue we should find the S.P.D.R or spiderbots that are gradually invading the entire 2 Avengers campuses. By entering the building we discover what is the W.E.B and the project of its founders (who are the successor to Moon Knight (Lunella Lafayette) sided with the cute Devil Dinosaur shrunk with Pym particles, the successor of Iron Man Harley Keener the niece of King T'challa (A'di), and Peter Parker obviously), the Slinger. Everyone has made a contribution to the transport system, so they are each responsible for one of its functionalities. We then enter the preshow with a bit of a catastrophe, spidey explains the instructions. Robots multiply too fast, he needs our help. We pick up the glasses and board. Once embarked, c where the versions differ because after neutralizing the S.P.D.R in the premises of the W.E.B, it is necessary to save the rest of the campus so we re going to have the feeling of being outside. The robots are going through the pavilions ( Mission breakout underground in DCA) and since we won’t have the same ones in DCA and WDS, we won’t really have the same scenes. At the end of the ride, we manage to save the HQ of the Avengers. The order of opening of the rides defines the chronology of the events of the land. Robots will be kind of mechanical Gremlins. They multiply and ransack the campus.
At the W.E.B suppliers shop you can buy and manufacture your own interactive glove or your own robot which this time we hope will not multiply.

This sounds like a lot of fun. Between this and ROTR this year, DLR will be SLAMMED!
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
That and IMO its the weakest version when it comes to the actual thrill of the ride. Yes, great theming but pretty tame in the ride department, especially to GOTG which is insane.
Paris’ latest update is also pretty intense, apparently.

Back on topic, as long as there’s a CG Stan Lee cameo, everyone will be happy. Then hopefully they can build a giant green rollercoaster for the Avengers to complement the Spider-Man ride and the drop tower ride, ensuring that the campus in no way feels like an uglier derivative of the 21-year old Marvel Super Hero Island.
 

Rodj

Well-Known Member
The pullback and push forward are one of the things I love. You enter an elevator and instead of it going up, it pulls backwards. It's a total mind trip. We feel as we're being literally pulled into another dimension. The surrounding shaft slowly fades and the doors are hovering in nothingness.

At the end, we're pushed forward back into reality. The doors open and we're right where we started with the same bellhop. Did we imagine the whole experience? Are we going crazy.

It is my favourite thing that Disney has done. I loved Indy, but this new version of TOT always left me so amazed at the psychological aspect and the amazing update to the original. When we went back and rode the original, it just was kind of slow and quiet with campy moments where we see images from the opening credits. It didn't hold up having ridden the updated version.
It still does not make sense how when you are boarding on the DCA/WDSP version, you are boarding a carriage in a large open space, not a elevator. In the Tokyo version, they overcame this by having "fake" elevator walls, roof, wall lights, and ceiling lights at boarding so you think you are boarding an elevator, but then when the doors close, the lights go out, and then it pulls backwards, keeping the immersion more that you are in an elevator. Why didn't they do that with the DCA/WDSP version? At least in the new WDSP update, they tried to make more sense in it by having Sally say "I wouldn't go in there if I were you..."

One other statement I want to make is that when boarding the DCA/WDSP version, you have to wait a few minutes for the VVC to be ready for your carriage, unlike the DHS version where it only takes less than a minute and your sent already. In the DCA/WDSP version, they have to inspect the carriage while you are seated making it awkward sometimes while in the DHS version they do it after you unloaded before dispatching it back to load. I will sometime soon make a topic about my opinion of the other ToT's. To me it seems that the WDSP version had some more budget and is more polished than the DCA version is.
 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
It still does not make sense how when you are boarding on the DCA/WDSP version, you are boarding a carriage in a large open space, not a elevator. In the Tokyo version, they overcame this by having "fake" elevator walls, roof, wall lights, and ceiling lights at boarding so you think you are boarding an elevator, but then when the doors close, the lights go out, and then it pulls backwards, keeping the immersion more that you are in an elevator. Why didn't they do that with the DCA/WDSP version? At least in the new WDSP update, they tried to make more sense in it by having Sally say "I wouldn't go in there if I were you..."
I didn't know Tokyo had fake elevator walls. I thought they just walk through the small hallway like we do. I wonder if there is any video of that.
 

Rodj

Well-Known Member
I didn't know Tokyo had fake elevator walls. I thought they just walk through the small hallway like we do. I wonder if there is any video of that.
I think you might of misheard me a little, I was talking about when you board, around the carriage they have the same elevator lights and stuff as the actual VVC. I just looked at this video:
What it looks like is that they have you walk through a hallway(very dim), but it isn't evident that you are boarding an elevator until you walk past the painting that slides open, where the looks of an elevator exterior are there. They should have done that with the DCA/WDSP version, instead of having the looks of an elevator on the first set of doors.
 

BubbaisSleep

Well-Known Member
It still does not make sense how when you are boarding on the DCA/WDSP version, you are boarding a carriage in a large open space, not a elevator. In the Tokyo version, they overcame this by having "fake" elevator walls, roof, wall lights, and ceiling lights at boarding so you think you are boarding an elevator, but then when the doors close, the lights go out, and then it pulls backwards, keeping the immersion more that you are in an elevator. Why didn't they do that with the DCA/WDSP version? At least in the new WDSP update, they tried to make more sense in it by having Sally say "I wouldn't go in there if I were you..."
DCA/WDSP stopped making sense from the moment you stepped into the lobby to discover that the damaged elevator doors are facing the wrong direction in the building.
 

__r.jr

Well-Known Member
Eight years ago California Adventure was on its way on receiving thematic coherency and storyline continuity a la Disneyland Paris.
Hollywood Land was hinted at, Paradise Pier shown promise and Buena Vista Street was a return to true form.

Avengers Campus.

A college campus, an industrial museum and a sleek command center.

In what manner do these establishments make coherent sense together other than their inhabitants simply existing in the same universe?
 

Mickeyboof

Well-Known Member
Eight years ago California Adventure was on its way on receiving thematic coherency and storyline continuity a la Disneyland Paris.
Hollywood Land was hinted at, Paradise Pier shown promise and Buena Vista Street was a return to true form.

Avengers Campus.

A college campus, an industrial museum and a sleek command center.

In what manner do these establishments make coherent sense together other than their inhabitants simply existing in the same universe?

Could have fit. Paris could keep the original New York City-esque Avengers Land as seen in the vetoed concept art, while DCA could have had Avenger’s San Franscio Outpost with an elevated trolly connected to Paradise Pier... could have been a textured, layered decent land with a epic (and equally ignorable) IP.
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
Could have fit. Paris could keep the original New York City-esque Avengers Land as seen in the vetoed concept art, while DCA could have had Avenger’s San Franscio Outpost with an elevated trolly connected to Paradise Pier... could have been a textured, layered decent land with a epic (and equally ignorable) IP.
Sure, but now they can include a for-profit college with classes on nights and weekends! There’s simply no need to pay UCLA tuition. In just 15 months, you, too could be working as an ultrasound technician like former Spider-Man Andrew Garfield.
 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
I think you might of misheard me a little, I was talking about when you board, around the carriage they have the same elevator lights and stuff as the actual VVC. I just looked at this video:
What it looks like is that they have you walk through a hallway(very dim), but it isn't evident that you are boarding an elevator until you walk past the painting that slides open, where the looks of an elevator exterior are there. They should have done that with the DCA/WDSP version, instead of having the looks of an elevator on the first set of doors.

I see it! That's cool.
Looks like they even have a picture of Vigo from Ghostbusters II in there!
 

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
It still does not make sense how when you are boarding on the DCA/WDSP version, you are boarding a carriage in a large open space, not a elevator. In the Tokyo version, they overcame this by having "fake" elevator walls, roof, wall lights, and ceiling lights at boarding so you think you are boarding an elevator, but then when the doors close, the lights go out, and then it pulls backwards, keeping the immersion more that you are in an elevator. Why didn't they do that with the DCA/WDSP version? At least in the new WDSP update, they tried to make more sense in it by having Sally say "I wouldn't go in there if I were you..."

One other statement I want to make is that when boarding the DCA/WDSP version, you have to wait a few minutes for the VVC to be ready for your carriage, unlike the DHS version where it only takes less than a minute and your sent already. In the DCA/WDSP version, they have to inspect the carriage while you are seated making it awkward sometimes while in the DHS version they do it after you unloaded before dispatching it back to load. I will sometime soon make a topic about my opinion of the other ToT's. To me it seems that the WDSP version had some more budget and is more polished than the DCA version is.

I never even saw the hallway the first few times I rode because the elevator doors are lined up and you're focused on getting into the lift. The whole hallway argument is grasping at straws IMO.

I can get people knocking DCA's facade and queue, but the ride portion was always stronger and a great improvement.
 

truecoat

Well-Known Member
I never even saw the hallway the first few times I rode because the elevator doors are lined up and you're focused on getting into the lift. The whole hallway argument is grasping at straws IMO.

I can get people knocking DCA's facade and queue, but the ride portion was always stronger and a great improvement.

I was very disappointed in the DCA version the first time I rode it. Having ridden the one in Disney-MGM first, DCA's was a letdown and the money saving was evident.
 

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