BTMRR Next Gen Effects Being Installed

[PeterAlt]

Oh, one last question for the day... The subject of this thread says Next Gen Effects... That implies 2010's tech on the ride. From what I'm seeing, it's anything but that, but rather it has to do with interactive que elements, which really has nothing to do with special effects, ride elements, or attraction modernization. So, this whole Next Gen thing really is misleading!

 

[HMF]

OK, It seems that this might actually not be as objectionable as Mansion and may in fact actually be an improvement. Still withholding final verdict until it's fully functional.

 

[dweezil78]

ANOTHER THING I'm not quite understanding here... So, anyone feel free to answer...

Why are people complaining about Mermaid when it is essentially the same ride from DCA and TDS that has been carbon copied and cloned for FLE. I don't see people complaining about the originals! Or are they? Or did they cut the ride for the FLE version?

Don't worry, people out here in Cali complain about Mermaid plenty -- and we don't even have the cool queue. It's a lame, plastic-y dark ride with way too much light. The ride experience you have at WDW is identical -- although you never had the opportunity of experiencing Ariel's original ice cream cone hair which people were way too outraged about.

 

[rodserling27]

That video looks promising. Like someone else said, the queue for Haunted Mansion was rubbish and didn't add to the intense, intricate theming of HM or anything. The Haunted Mansion queue was fine, and it was cool to look in the graveyard and how spooky the mansion itself looks. This, however, appears to be greatly improving a line where all you had to look at was...well, nothing! Could be good; now if we could just get those falling/shaking rocks back up and running...

 

[J03Y]

this is actually one of the few queues that needs the interactive queue imo. the lines for BTM can be so long, length wise and time wise. and they should also extend the queue as well imo.

 

[dreamscometrue]

ANOTHER THING I'm not quite understanding here... So, anyone feel free to answer...

Why are people complaining about Mermaid when it is essentially the same ride from DCA and TDS that has been carbon copied and cloned for FLE. I don't see people complaining about the originals! Or are they? Or did they cut the ride for the FLE version?

I enjoy the Journey of the Little Mermaid ride. Like every other attraction, there are lots of people who won't like it, but our family liked it a lot when we rode at Christmas. I read posts on these boards about the lighting, layout of the ride, effects, etc., so decided to ask a very knowledgeable person on here who alwways gives a very fair and balanced perspective...@Eddie Sotto. He explained all about the process of creating an attraction, the media used to tell the story, the lighting issues, etc. It's easy for people to simply complain about any attraction that doesn't do what they had hoped, but I found it interesting to learn more about the process that leads to what we get in a park.

Btw, if you're interested at all, I ask my question in post #3624. Eddie's replies to my question and others, makes for a great read.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...he-parks-part-ii.770938/page-182#post-5241869

 

[HMF]

That video looks promising. Like someone else said, the queue for Haunted Mansion was rubbish and didn't add to the intense, intricate theming of HM or anything. ...

As a matter of fact it detracts from it.

 

[Tom]

While I agree that it's depressing that the ride itself has been neglected, even after the massive "refurb" - after watching that video, I can say that I think they did this one right.

Not only are they adding something entertaining to the queue, but it ADDS to the story and is somewhat educational. It's obvious a lot of work went into this queue, including live video production for the mine "periscopes".

Again, everything is relative, and they should be spending money first on making the original effects work, but the "Queue Enhancement Team" did an admirable job on this one, in my opinion.

 

[PeterAlt]

Don't worry, people out here in Cali complain about Mermaid plenty -- and we don't even have the cool queue. It's a lame, plastic-y dark ride with way too much light. The ride experience you have at WDW is identical -- although you never had the opportunity of experiencing Ariel's original ice cream cone hair which people were way too outraged about.

I'm still not over the fact that they cheapened the TZToT experience for you by cutting out the extremely cool $50 million Fourth Dimension scene in the DCA version! Without that scene, it's just a ride that goes up and down inside a creepy looking building and some cool effects. The DHS version goes up, down, and sideways through a hallway with special effects that are better than any Disney park's Haunted Mansion. I mean, if the company spends $100 million on an attraction, they might as well spend an additional $50 million to make sure it has the things that makes it worth spending $100 million plus on; otherwise, they're just throwing money in the air, wasting $100 million, rather than saving $50 million!

What they did was the equivillant of cutting out the the big battle scene from PotC. Imagine if they cut that out in the Florida version, as well as all the other things cut from the Florida version, then the whole project wouldn't even be worth building because they cut out the best part! That's what they did with DCA's TZToT.

They could fix it, if they wanted it. So far, it looks like they won't. What a shame. It would be smart of them if they did, just to protect what's already been invested in it!

Sorry, I drifted off topic, but I had to get that off my chest!

 

[RandomPrincess]

Oh, one last question for the day... The subject of this thread says Next Gen Effects... That implies 2010's tech on the ride. From what I'm seeing, it's anything but that, but rather it has to do with interactive que elements, which really has nothing to do with special effects, ride elements, or attraction modernization. So, this whole Next Gen thing really is misleading!

Did Disney say NextGen or did whoever posted the story assume it had to be NextGen? Every story from Disney had never used the the words next they have been saying "interactive".

 

[PeterAlt]

Don't worry, people out here in Cali complain about Mermaid plenty -- and we don't even have the cool queue. It's a lame, plastic-y dark ride with way too much light. The ride experience you have at WDW is identical -- although you never had the opportunity of experiencing Ariel's original ice cream cone hair which people were way too outraged about.

So, who's the genius who made the decision to clone an unpopular ride? I mean, normally, you clone rides because the original is popular. Cutting from a popular attraction to make it cheaper to clone is one thing and risks making the cheapened clone unpopular, but cloning something that's already unpopular is just a really bad and STUPID business decision!

Who made that decision? I really, really want to know! ...

 

[Clamman73]

So, who's the genius who made the decision to clone an unpopular ride? I mean, normally, you clone rides because the original is popular. Cutting from a popular attraction to make it cheaper to clone is one thing and risks making the cheapened clone unpopular, but cloning something that's already unpopular is just a really bad and STUPID business decision!

Who made that decision? I really, really want to know! ...

Whoever thought of even touching Mansion line/queue.

 

[NoChesterHester]

So, who's the genius who made the decision to clone an unpopular ride? I mean, normally, you clone rides because the original is popular. Cutting from a popular attraction to make it cheaper to clone is one thing and risks making the cheapened clone unpopular, but cloning something that's already unpopular is just a really bad and STUPID business decision!

Who made that decision? I really, really want to know! ...

I believe Disney over estimated the popularity of the attraction. They set into motion a cloning of Mermaid without any guest satisfaction data to back it up.

It isn't that it is bad. Far from it. It just isn't great.

 

[Tom]

Did Disney say NextGen or did whoever posted the story assume it had to be NextGen? Every story from Disney had never used the the words next they have been saying "interactive".

NextGen is a generic term for a massive Parks and Resorts initiative. Anything that uses "new" (or Next Generation) technology will be referred to as a "NextGen" project, until that fad gets old.

Unless these queue items interact on a personal level, using the RFID system (once it goes live), they would fall under what most people call "NextGen". Otherwise, it's just WDI using new technology to do what they've done for years - tell a story through props and scenery.

 

[culturenthrills]

I'm still not over the fact that they cheapened the TZToT experience for you by cutting out the extremely cool $50 million Fourth Dimension scene in the DCA version! Without that scene, it's just a ride that goes up and down inside a creepy looking building and some cool effects. The DHS version goes up, down, and sideways through a hallway with special effects that are better than any Disney park's Haunted Mansion. I mean, if the company spends $100 million on an attraction, they might as well spend an additional $50 million to make sure it has the things that makes it worth spending $100 million plus on; otherwise, they're just throwing money in the air, wasting $100 million, rather than saving $50 million!

What they did was the equivillant of cutting out the the big battle scene from PotC. Imagine if they cut that out in the Florida version, as well as all the other things cut from the Florida version, then the whole project wouldn't even be worth building because they cut out the best part! That's what they did with DCA's TZToT.

They could fix it, if they wanted it. So far, it looks like they won't. What a shame. It would be smart of them if they did, just to protect what's already been invested in it!

Sorry, I drifted off topic, but I had to get that off my chest!

It is not just the lack of the 4th dimension it is the complete lack of set up. DHS you walk down Sunset Blvd, around a corner, thru the gate, up a hill thru the gardens and there is just a sense of time gone by. The ageing done at DHS is so good, whereas DCA just doesn't feel as old. It feels cheap. I don't know what it is but it just isn't the same.

 

[JustInTime]

yet another awesome queue. I actually love the interactive queues. I just wish they could keep up ride effects PLUS added interactive elements.

 

[NoChesterHester]

yet another awesome queue. I actually love the interactive queues. I just wish they could keep up ride effects PLUS added interactive elements.

I agree. This last trip for us was our first chance to see the interactive queues. I listened to both sides of the online fan banter before the trip. I come down on the side of enjoying the interactive queues. That isn't without reservation however, I'm not overly fond of the mansion queue -- too silly for the ominous build-up.

As far as maintenance, at $100 entrance fee plus $12 hamburgers... they should be able to upkeep both.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I'm still not over the fact that they cheapened the TZToT experience for you by cutting out the extremely cool $50 million Fourth Dimension scene in the DCA version! Without that scene, it's just a ride that goes up and down inside a creepy looking building and some cool effects. The DHS version goes up, down, and sideways through a hallway with special effects that are better than any Disney park's Haunted Mansion. I mean, if the company spends $100 million on an attraction, they might as well spend an additional $50 million to make sure it has the things that makes it worth spending $100 million plus on; otherwise, they're just throwing money in the air, wasting $100 million, rather than saving $50 million!

What they did was the equivillant of cutting out the the big battle scene from PotC. Imagine if they cut that out in the Florida version, as well as all the other things cut from the Florida version, then the whole project wouldn't even be worth building because they cut out the best part! That's what they did with DCA's TZToT.

They could fix it, if they wanted it. So far, it looks like they won't. What a shame. It would be smart of them if they did, just to protect what's already been invested in it!

Sorry, I drifted off topic, but I had to get that off my chest!

I'd like to add, that, DCA's ToT's shortcomings aside, they at least make sure the show quality of theirs is the best it can be. WDW's ToT, like so many other WDW attractions, has show quality falling into a state of disrepair (it just isn't as obvious as a non-moving 25 foot Yeti animatronic).

 

[spacemt354]

I agree. This last trip for us was our first chance to see the interactive queues. I listened to both sides of the online fan banter before the trip. I come down on the side of enjoying the interactive queues. That isn't without reservation however, I'm not overly fond of the mansion queue -- too silly for the ominous build-up.

As far as maintenance, at $100 entrance fee plus $12 hamburgers... they should be able to upkeep both.

I agree. Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion are two attractions that evoke serious tones and were enjoyable the way they were before. The video games in Space Mt. interfere with the the ambience, music, and the overall build-up to the ride. And the Haunted Mansion interactivity contrasts the ominous approach to the mansion, so we tend to avoid it.

Other than those two however, I really enjoy the enchanced queues because most seem to add depth to the attractions and immerse you in the story. And the BTMRR queue seems to be following that same path. While I would like the ride itself to be the #1 priority in terms of fixes, I approve of the queue update. Well done.

 

[Figments Friend]

This actually looks like a really solid enhancement that enriches an otherwise fairly ho-hum queue - and more importantly, enriches the story of the attraction itself.

However, I do feel more attention needs to be paid to the (still) broken/turned-off show elements of the ride itself.

I agree Skip. This is one place where i think the added elements might work well for the confined crowd.

I love BTMR....and the missing show elements are indeed missed.