It's amazing that some 50 years later, they still can't or won't duplicate something on the order of HM or Pirates. (Even though the DLR versions of both are far superior)
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Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
They did, but they closed it last year.
I was referring to large capacity people eater attractions. But I certainly don't disagree with your perspective.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
It’s very strange. Some of their most popular and best people-eating attractions rely on methods they’ve now very largely rejected. How many classic attractions offer(ed) few or no significantly advanced animatronics? How many have managed to entertain and move guests for literal decades while also maintaining intimacy to the vehicle and ride path? Meanwhile the biggest and most expensive new ride systems seem to offer sub-2000gph throughout as the rule more than the exception, with show high show quality they are not always willing to maintain.
I’m highly grateful that Tiana’s has so many complex and ambitious figures forthcoming, especially since having multiples of those within one attraction is VERY rare. But I do wish they’d also remember that figures need not be multimillion dollar A-1000’s to entertain. Even Mermaid (which doesn’t use A-1000’s) falls prey to the disparity issue I mentioned before - the very best figures there are great, but the simpler figures are *too* simple, and there’s very little in the midrange to ease the transition between them, and the guests notice.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
I don't think that's the main complaint, at least it's not one I've seen.
I think the big issues are that it is too short ("over before you know it") and "nothing happens" (it's also just watching scenery without much of any story). I do think adding some smaller AAs could help but fundamentally views of the ride wouldn't change unless they made it 50-100% longer.
imagineer97
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I would have no issue with NRJ if there were more to do in the land and in the park in general. A ride like that can certainly have its place in the park, but when an attraction shortage makes it one of the headliners, then you have a problem.
Dr.GrantSeeker
Well-Known Member
That seems like it would have been a very long walk
doctornick
Well-Known Member
Hence when he said "tram bridge" - they would use a tram to move guests from parking to the entrance, not expecting them to walk.
Seems to me to be more hassle than it is worth though.
FigmentFan82
Well-Known Member
Dear WDW Executives who lurk on these boards. Do not get scared of "Beyond Phase II" and please put villains land in there and do it right. People will love RSR in DHS! All of this will print money for you long term.
Thank you
Thank you
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I know I basically already said this above, but this is why I'm such a big fan of Na'vi River Journey. It's probably the best mid-range attraction they've built this century, at least in the US.
I've wanted them to look to it for inspiration/guidance for how to build well-realized modern mid-range attractions but that doesn't appear to be happening.
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MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
Peter Pan, Mr Toad and Snow White were/are C ticket attractions. If modern imagineers could pull off new rides similar to those (and not overhype them as something they aren't), I think people would be a lot more receptive.
Look at Little Mermaid. Aside from a small handful of decent AA's, it's a C ticket at best, and still manages to rank below a number of the classic Fantasyland C ticket dark rides due to artistic lapses. To make matters worse, Disney internally classifies it as a D ticket, but then they tried to market it more like an E to the public. So you've got this bizarre mess of an experience that mostly C or below, to a few elements from a D and a tiny handful of elements that fit with an E.
I'd consider the Mickey Mouse ride to be a somewhat more "successful" modern variant of a C ticket when judged on its own merits. But the problem is that it's a replacement for a far superior E, and Disney tried to market it as an E experience when it just doesn't deserve that designation by any stretch IMO. Had Mickey been designed as its own separate attraction in a smaller and more intimate building, AND marketed as a C ticket dark ride, I would have considered it a solid addition to their lineup. Its inclusion at Disneyland seems to have gone over much better.
It would have freed up the surface parking for expansion ( an option to decked parking)
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
That's sort of why i'm still nervous about Tiana. There's a distinct possibility that we'll have maybe 20 or so (give or take a couple) high end AA's, but then the remainder will be relegated more to simple Mermaid-caliber props that do one or two repetitive motions. The skins will probably look a bit better than Mermaid at least, but it'll still look fairly off putting up against the more complex figures.
Splash had a variety of motion to its figures as well. But most of the simple ones were tiny (like the hanging possums), and the scenes that packed a large number of characters together generally did a good job of using "proper" animatronics. There were very few instances where a couple of impressive and complex figures were placed next to a large handful of overly simple ones. The finale in particular mostly had figures with a fairly impressive and dynamic range of motion.
That Beaver character in Tiana has me concerned due to how basic it is. Despite their age, Splash's animatronics in the finale scene still moved far more than that Beaver. And if the most of the other critters are of a similar caliber, they'll look very "off" when placed next to the likes of the humans and Louis.
I'm curious what sort of money it would cost to build all electric AA's with roughly the same sort of range as the old America Sings figures. Because even a lot of these now ancient designs still have a really good range of dynamic motion. Especially if they can be outfitted with Compliance tech to make them less jerky.
Luigi
Well-Known Member
I find Remy's to be an absolute delight of a ride.
rise is on that scale imo. But I do agree Disney is not making the 7-8+ minute long, and massively scaled dark rides as much anymore.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
They had several rides similar to HM or Pirates at EPCOT; they're just all gone now except Spaceship Earth.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
Even for those who enjoy Rise (and I think it's very overrated), it definitely isn't equivalent to a Pirates or HM like experience. The show scenes are very flat box-like corridors lined with video projection. And extremely few AA's.
The last ride Disney built that was comparable to the style of those old school E tickets of the late 60s to late 80s is Sinbad at Tokyo Disneysea. Stateside however, Splash Mountain was the last of its kind there. And the jury is still out on whether Tiana can hope to compare (doubt). We've also lost nearly all the EPCOT ones, along with the singular one that DHS had.
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
Yes. But. I believe they’ve cut operational and entertainment costs to the bone to make the revenue and profit numbers look good. Increasing those takes a bite out of the bottom line in a way that’s probably untenable to current management.
If nothing else. It says it all when that is the attraction they have to use for the retheme.