I haven't experienced the HM queue yet. But the other interactive queues, I like. They go along with other queues that aren't interactive, but are immersive nonetheless. Prior to the update, the Pooh queue was basic switchback...nothing to recommend it. Now, it's fun for kids. And for adults, it begins to tell the story (Chapter 1, as the Disney folks put it). Much like the Test Track queue begins to tell the story, and much like the queue for Nemo, if you watch what's happening, begins to tell the story. And much like the Tower of Terror queue, through the courtyard of the hotel, and the lobby, begins to tell the story. I have always liked the immersive queues. The interactive ones just take it to a new level, and give you things to do, not just things to look at and think about. If done within the theming of the attraction, I love it.
On the flip side, the games in the Soarin' and Space Mountain queues, I do not love. They are time killers, which is good, but have little to do with setting up the attraction.
The thing about Soarin' and Space Mountain's queues is that they don't contradict the theme. Haunted Mansion's queue does not make sense in the flow of the ride's plot.
And that alone is enough to kill it for me. Throw in the fact that it's not very entertaining, and any entertainment value it has is killed by the fact that it entertains you for what would be a couple yards of empty queue, satisfied by, I don't know, 2 minutes of waiting. It's a bit noisy, too. I preferred the ambient wolf howl to weird instrumental arrangements of Grim Grinning Ghosts.
It does nothing to help and everything to ruin.
Maybe I'm over-critical because I love the Haunted Mansion so much, but that's the thing. When you have something as great as the Haunted Mansion, people put it on a pedestal, and anything you do to change it will be scrutinized. That's the way it works. Disney was very careful with the 2007 round of changes, and they were very popular. I will say that I like the Hitchhiking Ghost changes, though. It's just that queue that annoys me...
The interactive queue's add to the experience & story. Haven't seen HM in person yet, but from what I'm hearing, it is beyond impressive.
Not at all. The only interactivity I saw was touching instruments and making Dr. Seuss-esque rhymes. Yippee.
The appearance is kinda nice (Well, parts of it. I'm talking about the Captain's tomb, not the "He's buried vertically" Master Gracey and Marc tombstones.
), but the direct plot contradiction is a killer.
I didn't read this whole thread, but seriously, you can't let go of a cheesy effect that's been around for 40 years to give way to some incredible new technology that reimagines and maintains the spirit of the original? Don't get so mesmerized by nostalgia (or by being a simple Luddite) that you can't see an improved experience just because it utilizes new technology or somehow changes something you've always known.
The thing is that, a lot of times, Disney makes changes for the sake of making changes, even when those changes offer little to improve the experience. They like the privilege of saying "LOOK AT THIS GROUNDBREAKING TECHNOLOGY".
As I said before, Haunted Mansion is put on a pedestal. All changes will be scrutinized. There is an argument to be made that the Hitchhiking Ghosts are
too silly for the attraction. Even the Marc Davis half.
Now, I take it as an improvement. But you can't outright say that, because it is new and innovative, that it must be an improvement. A lot of music and movie remasters today are criticized for making changes that deviate too far from the initial vision. That's the exact issue we see here.
