DINOSAUR closed for refurbishment July 25 - November 20 2016

[jaxonp]

Sorry to keep off topic, but two quick questions... 1) does the Hollywood version have the "kiss of death"/"soul sucking effect, or was that excluded (I didn't see it in the video) and 2) does the Orlando version still utilize that effect, or is it just finicky? We rode the Orlando version a few weeks after it first opened and that effect was one of my favorite parts of the ride, but it was noticeably missing on my most recent trip (2015). If the effect has been turned off for some time, fixing this effect would go a LONG way in "plussing" this scene...

Can't answer Hollywood. Orlando does still have the effect but I'd say it works 1 out of 5 times. I've ridden the ride countless times and it has to be the most inconsistent part of the attraction.

 

[Mike S]

How is that any different than looking next to you in a doom buggy and not seeing a hitchhiker?

Because the belief that it could only be seen in the mirror is entirely possible for something as mystical as a ghost.

 

[jaxonp]

Because the belief that it could only be seen in the mirror is entirely possible for something as mystical as a ghost.

I guess... I feel like disney could easily map project a dino that could work both ways. Just a thought.. or change the story line to, we've got our dino now lets teleport him back to the cage in our office... boom when you teleport back, turn that corner instead of a mirror you now see the dino in a cage.

 

[Matt_Black]

How is that any different than looking next to you in a doom buggy and not seeing a hitchhiker?

Ah, because it's a long-standing trope that you can see ghosts in mirrors but not something else. You've seen this in horror movies; someone is in the bathroom, washing their face, and then they look up and see some grim specter in the mirror standing behind them. They turn and... there's nothing there. SPOOKY!

 

[Tom Morrow]

That's also why the original effect was far more spooky and convincing. Not only did it look more real since you were seeing a physical animatronic through the mirror, the idea of it just casually sitting there plays with your mind much more than a silly interactive animation which immediately tells you "the purpose of this is to wow you with our tech"

I also doubt any children are even remotely fooled by it, especially now being constantly immersed in phones and tablets that can do the same effect. Meanwhile they absolutely still would have been fooled with the old effect. It's the only aspect of the WDW mansion I don't like.

 

[garagely]

I believe he comes out "at you" quite a bit more now. I'm pretty sure it was just his head previously, now he has somewhat of a full body and shoots out much further at the car. Nice touch. For this being my favorite ride in WDW, I love the improvements made.

Thanks for the info! I didn't remember any forelegs before, good to know I didn't imagine that. And he's closer too? I like it. The finale seemed a lot more effective to me than before.

 

[garagely]

Ok then I did see it recently and it's super obvious. I asked a couple days ago after riding it recently if that was a new addition because I had never seen it before. I was actually creeped out that this dino was looking at me while his more athletic friend was roaring at us. He's a real creeper and super noticeable with the brighter lighting after the refurb.

Unexpected things in familiar places like rides tend to give me a bit of a start. The first time I saw the hidden dementors I got a chill (although I suppose that could have been the Dementor's Kiss) because of how close they are. It's just a weird feeling to know that something was that close and you were not aware of it. So yeah, head on a stick has been there that whole time... watching.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I've only been on the Hollywood FJ and it's funny you say this because all I could think while reading this discussion about the scarier scene was, "...isn't that how it is normally?"

In Hollywood, all the dementors have hands. After you go through the mouth of Salazar Slytherin, you are completely surrounded by a horde of dementors, many of them static (but with fans blowing their cloaks) and one or two moving, but all of them VERY close and completely filling the scene. It's a very cool effect when your enchanted bench starts pulling away, only to reveal more and more dementors surrounding you. It's overwhelming and something only the Kuka RV can afford.

In this video, go to 2:35 for the dementor scene and 3:00 for the horde of dementors.


On a different, on-topic note, can anyone explain where in relation to photo carnataurus the head on the stick is? I can't quite nail it down.

Wow so many more then in Florida.