britdaw
Well-Known Member
That would be interesting, for sure...
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Dark Rides?
- Thread starter WondersOfLife
- Start date
That would be interesting, for sure...
Crockett
Banned
Wow, of all the Disney dark rides, that's hard. I'd have to pick Journey To The Center Of The Earth at Tokyo DisneySea. I did this twice back in '07 when we had our TDL, TDS trip. Hands down the best dark ride on any Disney property. Period.
As far as WDW, definitely Pirates. Has been, is, and always will be my favorite dark ride on WDW property. That is unless they clone Journey To The Center Of The Earth and bring it to Fla. But since Beastly Kingdom was shelved, I doubt it.
So Pirates reigns supreme in my book here in the states.Exactly! Make it a boat ride in a POTCesque fashion. Include a small waterfall drop into the dark elephant graveyard scene. Have a field day with animal animatronics, geyser effects, etc. AK could surely use some more dark rides.
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Although I'm not the hugest fan of Mummy, you are spot on with the other two.
It's a shame that Disney has let Universal win this decade as well. They won the 00's with Spidey, now they win the 10's with Potter.
Disney just doesn't seem to care to compete in that arena - although I have high hopes for Mermaid and Mine train, they simply aren't on that scale. Disney is all about meet and greets and doing the bare minimum these days, where Universal may not add anything new for years, but when they do - it knocks your socks off.
It's a shame, because dark rides are why I go to theme parks. It's such an underused genre of ride, so many possibilities, but they are too busy spending a billion dollars on interactive junk and not real ride experiences.
forevermickey
Well-Known Member
of course Haunted Mansion is awesome but I LOVE Space Mountain ... love coaster .... oh and Rockin Roller Coaster! But Space Mountain is my fav.
Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Rockin' Roller Coaster are not dark rides! As what I've learned they are slow moving rides/omnimovers inside a building that tell a story. Pirates of the caribeans if 50/dark ride/50/water ride. Space Mountain is a roller coaster. Spider Man, Harry Potter, and Soarin' are considered SIMULATOR RIDES!Tower of Terror is a watchamacolic bungy jump? ride. Remember dark rides are slow moving and indoors... I wiki'd it and google'd it. :wave:
- WondersOfLife
The last original pavilion. :king:
- WondersOfLife
The last original pavilion. :king:
Silver Figment
Active Member
There's so many good ones it's hard to choose. Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth, and the Great Movie Ride are some of my favorites.
While I do like those rides, I think your definition of "dark ride" is a bit wide in this case. Yup technically they are dark (they're inside after all and in the case of Potter it brings you through a "story") but come on, these rides aren't about the stories, they are about the thrills. You know Space Mountain, RnRC, ToT, much of SplashM, Dinosaur technically could also all be considered dark rides.
You mention some great rides, and you can have your own definition if you like but I think you're comapring apples to oranges. Sounds to me like you enjoy the thrills more than the story, which is cool but that isn't what I think about when I think Dark Ride nor is it part of what makes my enjoyment of a Dark Ride better.
My favorite dark ride is Pirates.
Fractal514
Well-Known Member
I disagree. It's featured heavily in Mickey's Philharmagic, it gets a song in Fantasmic, There's that Pumba and Timone film in Epcot, and the Show in Animal Kingdom. That's representation in all four parks. I think other movies that have little or no presence should be given first dibs on a new dark ride.
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
It might have a representation but that doesnt mean that its a deserving representation. Have you seen the film in epcot? Big thumbs down. The festival of the lion king is OK but I still think a ride is plenty justified.
Indeed. I'd like to see a new animatronic food show replace the theater in The Circle of Life at Epcot. And if you want to change The Festival of the Lion King at AK, that theater is big enough to hold a dark ride the size of Winnie the Pooh or Snow White!
- WondersOfLife
The last original pavilion. :king:
redshoesrock
Active Member
No, no, not at all. Harry Potter, Spider-man, and Revenge of the Mummy all tell quite coherent stories from start to finish; I'd be happy to explain them if you didn't catch them. If we're talking about the best dark rides, as much as I love Disney (and I do), Universal has them beat hands down, and it's not because of the thrill factor. Those three rides I mentioned as my favorites have really pushed the envelope of ride innovation (even today over twelve years later, Spider-man still wins awards for Best Dark Ride, and rightfully so, though I suspect Potter will knock it off of its number one perch). Disney has had some flashes of brilliance, like the EMV (Enhanced Motion Vehicle) used on Indiana Jones at DL and Dinosaur at DAK (two great rides). But for the most part, Disney's dark rides have not pushed the envelope since Pirates and Haunted Mansion, and those rides are over forty years old.
Okay you got me and i researched it and they are considered dark rides. But Spider Man was not rated #1, it was ranked as #2 next to The Haunted Mansion!
http://attractionsmagazine.com/blog...ando-magic-kingdom-named-best-dark-ride-park/
Here are the member’s top 10 favorite dark attractions in the Orlando area:
10 – Journey to Atlantis – SeaWorld
9 – Peter Pan’s Flight – Magic Kingdom
8 – Dinosaur – Animal Kingdom
7 – Expedition Everest – Animal Kingdom
6 – Men In Black Alien Attack – Universal Studios
5 – Revenge of the Mummy – Universal Studios
4 – Pirates of the Caribbean – Magic Kingdom
3 – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – Hollywood Studios
2 – The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman – Islands of Adventure
1 – Haunted Mansion – Magic Kingdom
More than half of those are dark rides. Hunted Mansion: 1, Tower of Terror 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: 4, Expedition Everest: 7, Dinosaur: 8, Peter Pan's Flight: 9.
Universal: Spider Man: 2, Revenge of the Mummy: 5, M.I.B. Alien Attack: 6. I don't even see E.T. competing against Peter Pan The Cat in the Hat competing against... NOTHING.
Disney is ranked #1 for dark rides and will have the next #1 dark ride when The Little Mermaid sets at sea!! Or maybe the snow white coaster.
- WondersOfLife
The last original pavilion. :king:
PurpleRose
Active Member
BIG fan of this! Start in the forest though instead of west wing.
Haunted Mansion is my current fav
redshoesrock
Active Member
Okay you got me and i researched it and they are considered dark rides. But Spider Man was not rated #1, it was ranked as #2 next to The Haunted Mansion!
http://attractionsmagazine.com/blog...ando-magic-kingdom-named-best-dark-ride-park/
Here are the member’s top 10 favorite dark attractions in the Orlando area:
10 – Journey to Atlantis – SeaWorld
9 – Peter Pan’s Flight – Magic Kingdom
8 – Dinosaur – Animal Kingdom
7 – Expedition Everest – Animal Kingdom
6 – Men In Black Alien Attack – Universal Studios
5 – Revenge of the Mummy – Universal Studios
4 – Pirates of the Caribbean – Magic Kingdom
3 – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – Hollywood Studios
2 – The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman – Islands of Adventure
1 – Haunted Mansion – Magic Kingdom
More than half of those are dark rides. Hunted Mansion: 1, Tower of Terror 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: 4, Expedition Everest: 7, Dinosaur: 8, Peter Pan's Flight: 9.
Universal: Spider Man: 2, Revenge of the Mummy: 5, M.I.B. Alien Attack: 6. I don't even see E.T. competing against Peter Pan The Cat in the Hat competing against... NOTHING.
Disney is ranked #1 for dark rides and will have the next #1 dark ride when The Little Mermaid sets at sea!! Or maybe the snow white coaster.
Mmmmm...actually if you look at the 2010 Golden Ticket Award winners:
http://www.goldenticketawards.com/2010gtaParkAndRide.html
you'll see that (once again) Spider-Man took home the "Best Dark Ride" award.
I'm going to call it right now, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster will not be one of the ten favorite dark attractions in Orlando. And the Little Mermaid ride, while greatly appreciated, has not shown me anything that I haven't seen before in your typical Fantasyland "book report" attraction before. I'm thinking it's going to be on par with the Finding Nemo ride in Epcot.
I noticed that your top ten list is for Orlando-only. If it was expanded to top ten dark rides in the world, I would list them as follows:
10. Challenge of Tutankhamon (Wahabi Belgium)
9. The Curse of DarKastle (Busch Gardens Williamsburg)
8. Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland Park)
7. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye (Disneyland Park)
6. Haunted Mansion (Knoebels Amusement Park)
5. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
4. Haunted Mansion (Magic Kingdom)
3. Revenge of the Mummy (Universal Studios Orlando)
2. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (Universal's Islands of Adventure)
1. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Universal's Islands of Adventure)
The one I found was a quiz taken by locals who voted for their favorite rides in the orlando area.
I am against ANYONE who ranks Dudley Doo Right over Splash Mountain and they DO. What's wrong with those people? :lookaroun Then they rank Islands of Adventure for the best kids area, and Magic Kingdom's not even in the list? I ask you, how many outdoor shows does epcot have? A couple of chinese acrobats? Some people making music out of trash scrap? I'm sorry but you should try a different sight to consider looking for the top attractions. :shrug:
- WondersOfLife
The last original pavilion. :king:
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
Ha! I noticed that too. Right there the site is completely disqualified as having any legitimacy. :lol:
cheezbat
Well-Known Member
People rank Dudley over Splash because its a far more thrilling attraction. I prefer Splash, but Dudley sure is fun and more intense!
As for best kids area...what does the MK have? they HAD Pooh's playful spot, they HAD ToonTown with Donald's Boat...and I guess you could count Tom Sawyer Island. But now two of those three spots are gone. But look at Jurassic Park's Camp Jurassic at IOA...or the whole of Woody Woodpecker's Kid Zone at Universal. GREAT big play areas.
redshoesrock
Active Member
I can agree with Splash over Dudley Do-Right to a degree. The one thing I have never liked about Splash Mountain is that you don't get very wet; certainly not as much as the other rides listed (and definitely barely wet when Splash doesn't have the water jets on as you go around the big drop). And of course one of the big reasons to ride a water ride is to cool off by actually getting wet, so that might of played into the voting process.
Planet Snoopy at Kings Island (Ohio) won for Best Kids' Area, not IOA; in fact it blew anything else out of the water - Kings Island got 33% of the vote while IOA got just 13%. I have no clue what you're talking about with MK- what major kids' area is there at MK? Heck, what kids' area PERIOD is there at MK? I can only think of two - Donald's Boat (gone) and Pooh's Playful Spot (gone). There is no area currently dedicated *just* for kids and not adults at MK - in fact, that goes completely against the entire Disney philosophy, they build things that the whole family can enjoy (at least they're *supposed* to - but that's another argument for another thread).
I can see why you were confused regarding Epcot - for some reason on the actual list of award winners they list the award as "Best Outdoor Show Production" - they abbreviated it. If you go to page 23, you can read it's actually the "Best Outdoor NIGHTTIME Show Production" - meaning Illuminations won over World of Color at DCA, Fantasmic (at DL and DHS), and Lone Star Spectacular at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I find that interesting - I think World of Color is the superior show, but I can see two reasons why it didn't win over Illuminations - Illuminations does have other effects that WoC doesn't, and DCA has gotten so bad word-of-mouth that not as many people have seen WoC (it was only open about a month and a half before Golden Ticket voting).
I think you get a little TOO wet on Dudley Do Right. Splash Mountain sure is great if you don't want to be very uncomfortable for the rest of your day. In my opinion I think Splash Mountain has more thrills than Dudley Do-Right. Don't ask why, it's MY OPINION! I still think the list is wrong and the one I found is better and more understanding.
- WondersOfLife
The last original pavilion. :king: