BTMRR Next Gen Effects Being Installed

[MarkTwain]

The moving part partners with the ride's theme, at least in DCA. The ride is based on sea-side carnival games you would find at piers. Do you stay at one booth, or do you manouver around and play other games? You walk around and find other games to play. That's the point. Maybe it seems weird to you due to the attraction's location and placement in DHS.

The moving aspect makes the ride a lot more fun, anyway. It would be incredibly boring if we had to just sit in one spot and wait for the next screen to come.

But we're not in DCA, are we...

I suppose the one thing that Disney hasn't mastered is cloning context.

Raven24 brings up a great point about the theme of the ride, which is made much less clear by WDW's very deliberate downplaying of the "Midway" part of Toy Story Midway Mania. TSMM feels like a very organic and appropriate extension of Paradise Pier, but Disney didn't really care about that context when bringing it over to DHS. Which again suggests to me that Disney doesn't really see their rides so much as individual experiences supporting a larger theme, but rather as just components of animated franchises which can be easily duplicated elsewhere as a quick means of boosting park attendance.

So how 'bout that Radiator Springs Racers, huh?

 

[Californian Elitist]

Raven24 brings up a great point about the theme of the ride, which is made much less clear by WDW's very deliberate downplaying of the "Midway" part of Toy Story Midway Mania. TSMM feels like a very organic and appropriate extension of Paradise Pier, but Disney didn't really care about that context when bringing it over to DHS. Which again suggests to me that Disney doesn't really see their rides so much as individual experiences supporting a larger theme, but rather as just components of animated franchises which can be easily duplicated elsewhere as a quick means of boosting park attendance.

So how 'bout that Radiator Springs Racers, huh?

I have to agree. It's unfortunate, really.

 

[PeterAlt]

I have to agree. It's unfortunate, really.

Ironically, this debate is as old as when Walt took his children to an amusement park and got the idea for THEME parks and DL is the birth child of that great epiphany. Then, it became the reason why Walt and his brother Roy wouldn't say a word to each other for years to come... the debate of whether it was important to spent a little extra on theming.

Walt would ultimately - temporarily - win this debate - by the time of his death. The debate within the company has been raging ever since, swaying back and forth, back and forth. Amazing how some just don't get it!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Ironically, this debate is as old as when Walt took his children to an amusement park and got the idea for THEME parks and DL is the birth child of that great epiphany. Then, it became the reason why Walt and his brother Roy wouldn't say a word to each other for years to come... the debate of whether it was important to spent a little extra on theming.

Walt would ultimately - temporarily - win this debate - by the time of his death. The debate within the company has been raging ever since, swaying back and forth, back and forth. Amazing how some just don't get it!

Amazing and tragic at the same time.

 

[Timekeeper]

My park admission tickets have always said Walt Disney World, not Roy Disney World.

And last I checked, this was wdwmagic, not rdwmagic. Sigh.

 

[Californian Elitist]

My park admission tickets have always said Walt Disney World, not Roy Disney World.

And last I checked, this was wdwmagic, not rdwmagic. Sigh.

I've heard people say Walt Disney World should be renamed to Roy Disney World, since he took over after Walt Disney passed.

 

[Timekeeper]

I've heard people say Walt Disney World should be renamed to Roy Disney World, since he took over after Walt Disney passed.

Blasphemy

 

[RandomPrincess]

I've heard people say Walt Disney World should be renamed to Roy Disney World, since he took over after Walt Disney passed.

Roy wouldn't have wanted that. He was the one who changed the name from Disney World to Walt Disney World after his brother died. He saw it as completing his brother Walt's vision.

 

[PeterAlt]

My park admission tickets have always said Walt Disney World, not Roy Disney World.

And last I checked, this was wdwmagic, not rdwmagic. Sigh.

Actually, Walt named it Disney World. After he died, Roy had it changed to Walt Disney World, in memory of his brother.

Some how his brother's death changed him. After a long mourning period, Roy decided that all the details of Walt's original Phase I plan was on - all of it, including the MK, the monorail, the themed resorts, and so on. Nothing was cut back, except for the decision to clone Fantasyland attractions instead of building originals (Peter Pan was going to Mary Poppins, etc.).

Surprisingly, Roy wanted to build Disney's most expensive and elaborate attraction ever - Western River Expedition. Unfortunately, that would die with Roy and get replaced with a cheap clone of PotC.

Roy would live to see the opening of WDW, but it literally sucked the life from him.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Roy wouldn't have wanted that. He was the one who changed the name from Disney World to Walt Disney World after his brother died. He saw it as completing his brother Walt's vision.

Exactly.

 

[Timekeeper]

Walt's vision... Now there's something that I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of in the World.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Raven24 brings up a great point about the theme of the ride, which is made much less clear by WDW's very deliberate downplaying of the "Midway" part of Toy Story Midway Mania. TSMM feels like a very organic and appropriate extension of Paradise Pier, but Disney didn't really care about that context when bringing it over to DHS. Which again suggests to me that Disney doesn't really see their rides so much as individual experiences supporting a larger theme, but rather as just components of animated franchises which can be easily duplicated elsewhere as a quick means of boosting park attendance.

So how 'bout that Radiator Springs Racers, huh?

Well said. But I'd wish to change that into ' Disney doesn't really see their WDW rides so much as individual experiences supporting a larger theme'.

Far too many rides are designed for DL, and then transported to WDW with scant regard for WDW's specific circumstances and themes. FoxxFurr wrote a great article about it not too long ago.

It's been that way ever since Splash, which makes no sense where it is in WDW. Soarin' (over California) does not make sense in Florida in the first place.

Back when WDW was the main focus of WED/WDI (late 60s to mid-80s), WDW was conceived of as an organic whole, with additions designed with WDW's themes in mind. The same held true when DHS and DAK were designed, which forced focus and creative energy on these parks. But in other periods, it is painfully clear that WDI resides in California. DL gets the tailor-made suits, WDW the pret-a-porter clones of that, haphazardly fitted into lands and themes that 'somewhat fit'.

 

[PeterAlt]

Well said. But I'd wish to change that into ' Disney doesn't really see their WDW rides so much as individual experiences supporting a larger theme'.

Far too many rides are designed for DL, and then transported to WDW with scant regard for WDW's specific circumstances and themes. FoxxFurr wrote a great article about it not too long ago.

It's been that way ever since Splash, which makes no sense where it is in WDW. Soarin' (over California) does not make sense in Florida in the first place.

Back when WDW was the main focus of WED/WDI (late 60s to mid-80s), WDW was conceived of as an organic whole, with additions designed with WDW's themes in mind. The same held true when DHS and DAK were designed, which forced focus and creative energy on these parks. But in other periods, it is painfully clear that WDI resides in California. DL gets the tailor-made suits, WDW the pret-a-porter clones of that, haphazardly fitted into lands and themes that 'somewhat fit'.

Yeah, like in Haunted Mansion - the New Orleans ghost band that I didn't get until I rode the DL version - The DL version is set in New Orleans Square - hence, the New Orleans ghost band that makes no sense at the WDW version which takes place at Liberty Square...

 

[Tom Morrow]

Well said. But I'd wish to change that into ' Disney doesn't really see their WDW rides so much as individual experiences supporting a larger theme'.

Far too many rides are designed for DL, and then transported to WDW with scant regard for WDW's specific circumstances and themes. FoxxFurr wrote a great article about it not too long ago.

It's been that way ever since Splash, which makes no sense where it is in WDW. Soarin' (over California) does not make sense in Florida in the first place.

Back when WDW was the main focus of WED/WDI (late 60s to mid-80s), WDW was conceived of as an organic whole, with additions designed with WDW's themes in mind. The same held true when DHS and DAK were designed, which forced focus and creative energy on these parks. But in other periods, it is painfully clear that WDI resides in California. DL gets the tailor-made suits, WDW the pret-a-porter clones of that, haphazardly fitted into lands and themes that 'somewhat fit'.

Agreed, but I will say that Mermaid fits better in New Fantasyland than Paradise Pier.

Yeah, like in Haunted Mansion - the New Orleans ghost band that I didn't get until I rode the DL version - The DL version is set in New Orleans Square - hence, the New Orleans ghost band that makes no sense at the WDW version which takes place at Liberty Square...

Huh, well how about that. I never made that connection until now.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Agreed, but I will say that Mermaid fits better in New Fantasyland than Paradise Pier.

I disagree. It's a ride that takes place under the sea, in a sea/pier themed land.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Agreed, but I will say that Mermaid fits better in New Fantasyland than Paradise Pier.

Yes, Mermaid fits better in Fantasyland than Paradise Pier does. But not that much better in FL than in PP.

Mermaid feels like an afterthought for both. In both places neither a particular misfit, nor a real theme strenghtener.

Although Mermaid in DCA is fittingly located next to a huge lagoon, at a pier. At WDW too, Ariel's grotto was located next to 20k's lagoon, which felt natural. I guess through some subconscious process they ended up putting Mermaid in the exact location of MK's previous underwater ride.

 

[Longhairbear]

Yes, Mermaid fits better in Fantasyland than Paradise Pier does. But not that much better in FL than in PP.

Mermaid feels like an afterthought for both. In both places neither a particular misfit, nor a real theme strenghtener.

Although Mermaid in DCA is fittingly located next to a huge lagoon, at a pier. At WDW too, Ariel's grotto was located next to 20k's lagoon, which felt natural. I guess through some subconscious process they ended up putting Mermaid in the exact location of MK's previous underwater ride.

I may have wrong information, but I was under the impression that the LM building in DCA was a nod to the various aquariums that were near the various Pacific pier playgrounds of years past. It is attached to the rotunda that is a replica of The Palace Of Fine Arts rotunda that still remains in San Francisco. That rotunda is the only structure left untouched after the Panama Pacific Exhibition of 1915 was torn down after the fair ended. The fair included an aquarium building that looked very much like the LM building.

 

[WDW1974]

You don't want to know how they "add color"

If they are getting color that way, then I'd suggest those dudes head over to Sand Lake Hospital ASAPee.

 

[Longhairbear]

I may have wrong information, but I was under the impression that the LM building in DCA was a nod to the various aquariums that were near the various Pacific pier playgrounds of years past. It is attached to the rotunda that is a replica of The Palace Of Fine Arts rotunda that still remains in San Francisco. That rotunda is the only structure left untouched after the Panama Pacific Exhibition of 1915 was torn down after the fair ended. The fair included an aquarium building that looked very much like the LM building.

I forgot to add that, the path from Grizzly Peak to Paradise Pier is meant to represent San Francisco, and ending at the rotunda. The lagoon being the Pacific ocean. The real rotunda is only blocks from the waterfront in SF. So LM fits the theme in DCA perfectly.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I forgot to add that, the path from Grizzly Peak to Paradise Pier is meant to represent San Francisco, and ending at the rotunda. The lagoon being the Pacific ocean. The real rotunda is only blocks from the waterfront in SF. So LM fits the theme in DCA perfectly.

Yes. But doesn't that mean that the exterior, at least in the original incarnation, fits the theme? Whereas a cartoon mermaid does so slightly less?

Mermaid benefits from the lagoon and the nautical theme, but still feels akin to adding a Princess and the Frog ride in New Orleans Square. There would be many similarities - indeed, PatF was modelled on NOS to a great extent - but still, it is a cartoon universe intruding on a hyperreal 'human beings' world, an afterthought. Not a natural thematic addition that reinforces the theme of the land and in turn benefits itself from the larger theme.