Dinosaur / Countdown to Extinction

[matt_taylor1985]

Was it every any different? Storyline wise?

I've only ever been on the Dinosaur version, but constantly hear people say 'they need to change Dinosaur back to Countdown to Extinction'. :shrug:

 

[Master Yoda]

No. The story line has been since day one.

 

[kap91]

Count Down to Extinction (besides not having a movie tie in with its name) was largely the same as the ride is today. However during those days when the ride was new almost all, if not all, of the effects were working...many of which have simply disappeared or been altered since. Some that come to mind are the Petrydoctal (or Teradoctyl, not sure what the actual animal is), the Compies, and some cool laser effects in the first time travel sequence.

It is also agreed that when it was CTX, the ride was distinctly more bumpy, fierce, and generally more thrilling...very similar as to how when Mission: Space first opened the G-forces were more intense but were toned down later.

Also when it was CTX, they actually let you see the whole preshow and didn't just keep shoving people into the preshow rooms in the middle of it although that is more of an operations issue than an actual change.

Finally, as far as I can remember the clip of the dinosaur in the preshow was a bit different although for the life of me I can't remember how, it was similar to the current one though.

Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Master Yoda]

Count Down to Extinction (besides not having a movie tie in with its name) was largely the same as the ride is today. However during those days when the ride was new almost all, if not all, of the effects were working...many of which have simply disappeared or been altered since. Some that come to mind are the Petrydoctal (or Teradoctyl, not sure what the actual animal is), the Compies, and some cool laser effects in the first time travel sequence.

It is also agreed that when it was CTX, the ride was distinctly more bumpy, fierce, and generally more thrilling...very similar as to how when Mission: Space first opened the G-forces were more intense but were toned down later.

Also when it was CTX, they actually let you see the whole preshow and didn't just keep shoving people into the preshow rooms in the middle of it although that is more of an operations issue than an actual change.

Finally, as far as I can remember the clip of the dinosaur in the preshow was a bit different although for the life of me I can't remember how, it was similar to the current one though.

Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Many reputable sources on this site (wdwmagic, marni1971, Lee, etc) have repeatedly stated that this is incorrect. The forces experienced on the orange side of M:S are the same today as they were on opening day.

 

[matt_taylor1985]

Good to know. Thanks folks.

 

[wdwmagic]

Was it every any different? Storyline wise?

I've only ever been on the Dinosaur version, but constantly hear people say 'they need to change Dinosaur back to Countdown to Extinction'. :shrug:

Yes it did indeed have a totally different show in the very early weeks of the park opening. The very first version involved a different audio track, with different dialog (it wasn't very good, Seeker came across as a complete idiot). The ending was different, in that instead of the dino being overhead, it was a meteor. The storyline was more based around the meteor collisions than being chased by dinos.

During the soft opening of the park, CTX did not get great guest feedback and it was reworked into what we have today.

The changes I listed above allr efer to CTX and happenbed in the first month or so of AK soft opening.

The changes from CTX to Dinosaur were minimal.

 

[Master Yoda]

Yes it did indeed have a totally different show in the very early weeks of the park opening. The very first version involved a different audio track, with different dialog (it wasn't very good, Seeker came across as a complete idiot). The ending was different, in that instead of the dino being overhead, it was a meteor. The storyline was more based around the meteor collisions than being chased by dinos.

During the soft opening of the park, CTX did not get great guest feedback and it was reworked into what we have today.

The changes I listed above allr efer to CTX and happenbed in the first month or so of AK soft opening.

The changes from CTX to Dinosaur were minimal.

We they cycling different tracks during the soft opening? The first time I rode it was in early April (either the 4th or 5th of the month) of 1998 and I rode it several times and do not remember the on board audio being any different than it is now.

 

[kap91]

Many reputable sources on this site (wdwmagic, marni1971, Lee, etc) have repeatedly stated that this is incorrect. The forces experienced on the orange side of M:S are the same today as they were on opening day.

Oops, I was not aware of that. Maybe I was thinking of the cast previews, that or I've developed an incredible tolerance to them. Anyway, not really a big issue I was just trying to come up with a quick example of how a ride has been tweaked in the past. (Although I guess that actually would be future considering it opened after CTX)

 

[elfshadowreaper]

I rode it around 1999 or 2000 and I remember things being a lot more visible than they currently are. When I last rode it in 2008 it was pitch black.

 

[Yensid40]

I going back in time to get the Dino was always part of the story? I thought that was added when they switched to the Dinosaur name.

I do recall it being more about the shower versus the dinos. I also recall the front planter being a water feature and not a planter.

I feel like CTX generally had more of an excitement around it than Dinosaur.

 

[drossjr]

I am fine with the ride as it sits presently, yes the name is a little lame and most people dont remember the movie but the ride itself is very popular and unique to WDW as far as the ride system goes especially for folks that havent been to DL. It's always busy when I go thats for sure. Would like to see more care and attention on the effects though no reason they should be missing or broke

 

[kcnole]

It does seem to me that the major change has been to darken the attraction. It was so dark when I rode it last Saturday that I could barely see the dinosaurs. Maybe I'm wrong, but I distinctly remember the ride being a lot brighter years ago. I'm wondering if its been darkened to hide some broken effects.

I really wish we had Indy over this. While the physical layout is almost exactly the same, this ride just pales in comparison.

 

[Yensid40]

It does seem to me that the major change has been to darken the attraction. It was so dark when I rode it last Saturday that I could barely see the dinosaurs. Maybe I'm wrong, but I distinctly remember the ride being a lot brighter years ago. I'm wondering if its been darkened to hide some broken effects.

I really wish we had Indy over this. While the physical layout is almost exactly the same, this ride just pales in comparison.

Maybe since it has been reported that a lot of the dinos are missing or malfunctioning they just decided to turn the lights off. :shrug:

 

[wdwmagic]

We they cycling different tracks during the soft opening? The first time I rode it was in early April (either the 4th or 5th of the month) of 1998 and I rode it several times and do not remember the on board audio being any different than it is now.

No it wasn't cycled, as it was quite a major change, it invovled different vehicle motion synced to the different audio. I don't have to hand the dates of the change over (I'll see what I can dig out). The audio change was at the same time as the ending change to the Dinosaur.

I do have an MP3 of the audio somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

 

[wdwmagic]

I just found a YouTube video of the original show with the original audio. You can't really see the different finale effect, but it was basically an asteriod in place of the Carno that is there in the current show.

[youtube]SIwvhaHLYes[/youtube]

 

[Master Yoda]

No it wasn't cycled, as it was quite a major change, it invovled different vehicle motion synced to the different audio. I don't have to hand the dates of the change over (I'll see what I can dig out). The audio change was at the same time as the ending change to the Dinosaur.

I do have an MP3 of the audio somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

Just watched the video. It is amazing how much 12 years can change a memory as I do not remember the onboard audio being that different.

 

[wdwmagic]

Just watched the video. It is amazing how much 12 years can change a memory as I do not remember the onboard audio being that different.

LOL you probably put it out of your head - it was not good! The rework was so much better.

 

[Master Yoda]

LOL you probably put it out of your head - it was not good! The rework was so much better.

There was that and also I chipped my tooth on my second ride so there could have been a bit of head trauma as well. On the first ride the jeep did not move it simply stayed level and followed the track. When I got to unload the CM told me that "We lost your signal. Do you want to go around again?" I said sure not knowing what the hell "lost my signal" meant. Boy was I surprised when my jeep began behaving like a bull riding machine set to 11. I was not holding on in the slightest and my face slammed into what could be considered the dash board.

 

[Horizonstta]

LOL you probably put it out of your head - it was not good! The rework was so much better.

If you think the original version was bad, you should hear some of the unused audio. There's one line, spoken by someone other than Seeker, that refers to "Dino Diarrhea!" :hammer:

 

[Dinoman96]

Also, what were the Compy effects supposed to be? Were they holograms, AAs, how did they work? :shrug: