DINOSAUR closed for refurbishment July 25 - November 20 2016

[WondersOfLife]

*phew.* that's close. 9 days before my trip. I have my fastpasses for it!

 

[WondersOfLife]

Just rode Jurassic Park at Uni for the first time, followed by Dinosaur a couple of days later.
I was under the impression that JP was the superior ride.
Not even close.
Save for the T-rex at the end of JP, the ride was barren looking and the animatronics were pretty bad.
My whole family actually wound up thinking Dinosaur was better than how we remembered it after riding JP.

The JP ride at Orlando is embarrassingly bad. Especially compared to Hollywood Uni's slightly better version... And it's not that the ride itself is bad.. It's just in need of a multi million dollar refurb because the animatronics haven't been maintained properly. They barely move now and just.. Yea.. There is a lot of gaps and awkward AA broken effects.

Dinosaur has many of these problems too.. But you're not on a really slow moving boat ride to notice. Plus the exaggerated dark room effects brinn it out more

 

[Incomudro]

You act like it's impossible.
View attachment 142782 View attachment 142783

But, that's not a highly stylized artists depiction.
It's an artists approximation of the ride or what the ride.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I've actually never ridden Dinosaur before. But from the previous posts, sounds like I'm not missing out on much if half the effects aren't working

It's shockingly still one of the best rides at WDW. It is true that there are many broken affects.. But it is also still one of the most thrilling rides on property.. Broken affects or not. There is enough working, and it is so fast paced, that you wouldn't even be able to identify 3/4 of the things listed on these forums your first time riding.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

But, that's not a highly stylized artists depiction.
It's an artists approximation of the ride or what the ride.

. . . In this case, both these pieces of art were created as part of the design processes for their respective attractions. Dinosaur could have been that. They ended up going in a different (and seemingly less effective) direction.

PS: This painting of the Time Rover going over the land bridge literally illustrates the similarities between Dinosaur and The Indiana Jones Adventure. Many already know that the rides share a layout - this art depicts the same piece of the attraction that is reflected in Mike S' Indiana Jones pictures. Sadly though, at no point during Dinosaur does it feel like you're in a space so large or an environment so thrilling as the Indy counterpart.

 

[Pirate665]

Just rode Jurassic Park at Uni for the first time, followed by Dinosaur a couple of days later.
I was under the impression that JP was the superior ride.
Not even close.
Save for the T-rex at the end of JP, the ride was barren looking and the animatronics were pretty bad.
My whole family actually wound up thinking Dinosaur was better than how we remembered it after riding JP.

Almost missed this post. Lucy is what makes that ride. And her movement is very realized.

 

[ctxak98]

. . . In this case, both these pieces of art were created as part of the design processes for their respective attractions. Dinosaur could have been that. They ended up going in a different (and seemingly less effective) direction.

PS: This painting of the Time Rover going over the land bridge literally illustrates the similarities between Dinosaur and The Indiana Jones Adventure. Many already know that the rides share a layout - this art depicts the same piece of the attraction that is reflected in Mike S' Indiana Jones pictures. Sadly though, at no point during Dinosaur does it feel like you're in a space so large or an environment so thrilling as the Indy counterpart.

I guess to each there own, but I do feel like I'm in a dark forest most of the time. The beginning sequence is pretty well done with a really nicely lit set and plants. The setting of the ride is at night and when I'm in a forest at night I can't see anything in front of my face without a flashlight. So the darkness actually helps me feel like there's a dense jungle next to me through those dark transitions. I feel if this ride was better lit and had more jungle showing, it would lose its thrilling or "scary" factor to it. Which is the main reason I love this ride. There's really not a whole lot Iike it elsewhere.

I do this in certain areas there could be more foliage added. And of course I could do with more dinosaurs and working ones at that! But if you could see the carnotaurus before you approached it too vividly, it would lose its wow factor. Just my opinion though!

 

[Brian Swan]

I wonder—along with surge pricing mentality—that its intentional to get people to reconsider going in the summer

No, because I'm sure that 90% of the people who are going have no idea what the refurb schedule is...

 

[Brian Swan]

Despite the problems this attraction has had over the years, it has remained one of my all time favorite rides in Orlando. I know a lot of the talk regarding the quality of the ride has been about the effects being turned off or the dinosaurs malfunctioning but my biggest gripe remains the CTX to DINOSAUR re-branding back in early 2000 and the drastic ride profile changes that accompanied it. Let's not forget that the EMVs were toned down to bring the height restriction from 48' to 40' in an attempt to make it more accessible and bring it in-line with the demographics of the film. Most of the "it's too dark and nothing happens" complaints stem from the lack of thrill that accompanies the darkest portions of the ride. The old ride profile had very intense side-to-side movements during the pitch black show scenes. The, "LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT!" sequence where the ride vehicle is supposed to be dodging incoming meteors was truly exhilarating and distracted from the fact that there wasn't much to look at.

Long story short, all the ill-advised changes they made to the ride profile and the audio cues to help bring in more kids didn't do much to actually prevent kids from finding the attraction absolutely terrifying anyway. It also didn't increase the popularity of the ride like they had hoped and for the last 15 years we've been saddled with a gimped attraction with a ridiculously unnecessary tie-in to a film IP that no one even remembers or cares about.

I know it will never happen but I say, make those EMVs do what they were intended to do and BRING BACK COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION!

I had a chance to ride the original a couple of times. Then I went back about 3 years later, after the rebranding. At the time, I thought all they had done was change the name, but the ride didn't seem to be as wild as it originally had been. I just chocked it up to "remembering" it being more intense than it was. After reading all of this, it makes me feel (a) sad that they toned it way down, but (b) glad that my memory wasn't off...

 

[AEfx]

The JP ride at Orlando is embarrassingly bad. Especially compared to Hollywood Uni's slightly better version... And it's not that the ride itself is bad.. It's just in need of a multi million dollar refurb because the animatronics haven't been maintained properly. They barely move now and just.. Yea.. There is a lot of gaps and awkward AA broken effects.

I actually think design-wise FL is better than CA, but you are correct - they had a lovely refurb over there and seem to have maintained the animatronics much better. It's also easier in CA to do so - they don't get nearly as weather-beaten in CA as they do in Orlando. If FL was maintained better, and had a few additions (there is plenty of room for that in the main lagoon), we'd have the best version, IMO.

I'm disappointed that they didn't add a dino or two for Jurassic World - hopefully for the sequel they will. Some Petradons would have been really awesome.

It's shockingly still one of the best rides at WDW. It is true that there are many broken affects.. But it is also still one of the most thrilling rides on property.. Broken affects or not. There is enough working, and it is so fast paced, that you wouldn't even be able to identify 3/4 of the things listed on these forums your first time riding.

Here, here. Dinosaur is one of my very favorite WDW attractions.

To be honest, the biggest missing effects are the smoke and lasers at the beginning of the ride. Yes, the ride profile was toned down - but that's not really an issue, for me at least. I don't need to be jerked around even harder, and I like that it makes the ride more accessible. My mom thinks the ride is a riot - but I don't think she could have ridden the 1.0.

I also think the teradactyl (?) used to move? Now he's just lit? Other than that, I think most animations still have their full functionality - except when out for refurb, of course.

BTW, it's funny - I think the running dinosaur animatronic is one of the best ever created (it's such a great effect and I'm shocked it's lasted the way it has) - but I totally get creeped out when he's not there and it's the head and I don't know ahead of time haha - he's in the wrong place and given the darkness it can startle me.

 

[marni1971]

I also think the teradactyl (?) used to move? Now he's just lit? Other than that, I think most animations still have their full functionality - except when out for refurb, of course.
.

It did.

But don't forget the compsognathus. They're a travesty.

Along with the laser portals. And the laser net. And the re entry vortex.

Don't get me started again...

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

One other thing that would be a great upgrade...Projection technology to see more of the asteroid fragments falling while riding....

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

It actually did fairly decent at the box office, but it's just that nobody remembers it because it came out the same summer as the superior Walking with Dinosaurs miniseries.

Ironically The film version of Walking with Dinosaurs was directed by the director of Dinosaur...

 

[ctxak98]

It did.

But don't forget the compsognathus. They're a travesty.

Along with the laser portals. And the laser net. And the re entry vortex.

Don't get me started again...

It is a shame they don't work anymore. Are they really broken?! Or do they just turn them off?

 

[ctxak98]

One other thing that would be a great upgrade...Projection technology to see more of the asteroid fragments falling while riding....

I was just thinking that. More asteroids falling around you would make the experience much more immersive

 

[marni1971]

It is a shame they don't work anymore. Are they really broken?! Or do they just turn them off?

The Compys had their mechanics removed and were literally stuck on the end of a pole with a spotlight.

 

[JustInTime]

Who wants to place bets on this getting extended past the original timeframe since it needs so much TLC?

 

[seabreezept813]

It's shockingly still one of the best rides at WDW. It is true that there are many broken affects.. But it is also still one of the most thrilling rides on property.. Broken affects or not. There is enough working, and it is so fast paced, that you wouldn't even be able to identify 3/4 of the things listed on these forums your first time riding.

I have to agree. It's one of those attractions I go just to go on, but am always surprised when it's over how much I loved it! It also doesn't hurt that the line is never terrible. I am glad they will be taking care of it. Now if all the parks could start to get the AK treatment.

 

[Daannzzz]

We rode Countdown to Extinction 3 weeks after the AK opened in 1998. It was a better experience. There were actually meteor fragments crashing to earth that you could see in the background through the trees. It was brighter inside and there seemed to be more going on. The end was particularly loud and chaotic with lots of different sounds.

 

[WondersOfLife]

DINOSAUR has so much potential.. It just has never really been maintained properly. Like JP at Universal.