Disney and Universal: Two very different paths

MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
I'll take show over thrills any day, it's what set Disney apart from any other theme park out there at one point (and why they're beginning to falter in the wake of Universal, Universal is taking up the classic Disney philosophy of show scenes while Disney is going the cheap and crappy route). Especially when the thrill isn't enough to hype the entire ride around like Everest. In that regard. BTM handily trounces Everest. Just because something has been done where it hasn't anywhere else doesn't mean it's the epitome of quality and automatically gets an A+ on the scale of park ride excellence.

Ride system is nothing without the show. That's why Test Track fails miserably where Radiator Springs Racers succeeds (RSR is the same ride system without completely bland show elements to look for), or even World of Motion. An omnimover wouldn't be as good without the show to back it up either. A ride can exist without thrills as long as the show elements more than make up for it (which Test Track fails at). But a naked and non-themed state of the art coaster isn't anything i'm interested in. You can find any old log flume at a Six Flags that can give you a thrill, but it's the show quality in Splash Mountain that sets it above any other log flume ride i've ever been on. Ideally a mix of both impressive tech AND showmanship is where it's at. But if I had to choose only one or the other, showmanship any day. That's where Epcot has failed and EPCOT succeeded.
 
Last edited:
misterID

misterID

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
I'll take show over thrills any day, it's what set Disney apart from any other theme park out there at one point (and why they're beginning to falter in the wake of Universal, Universal is taking up the classic Disney philosophy of show scenes while Disney is going the cheap and crappy route). Especially when the thrill isn't enough to hype the entire ride around like Everest. In that regard. BTM handily trounces Everest. Just because something has been done where it hasn't anywhere else doesn't mean it's the epitome of quality and automatically gets an A+ on the scale of park ride excellence.

Ride system is nothing without the show. That's why Test Track fails miserably where Radiator Springs Racers succeeds (RSR is the same ride system without completely bland show elements to look for), or even World of Motion. An omnimover wouldn't be as good without the show to back it up either. A ride can exist without thrills as long as the show elements more than make up for it (which Test Track fails at). But a naked and non-themed state of the art coaster isn't anything i'm interested in. You can find any old log flume at a Six Flags that can give you a thrill, but it's the show quality in Splash Mountain that sets it above any other log flume ride i've ever been on. Ideally a mix of both impressive tech AND showmanship is where it's at. But if I had to choose only one or the other, showmanship any day. That's where Epcot has failed and EPCOT succeeded.
Click to expand...

Dark rides and thrill rides could have co-existed in EPCOT and FW. I think the SSE refurb and M:S show they do not get EPCOT, period (I think M:S in a real space pavilion, done right, with a real dark ride, could have been mind blowing). If they can make something like Mystic Manor and Pooh's Honey Hunt (Tokyo) it's proof they can make a good dark ride... when they want to. And the powers that be support it. I think TLM is a good dark ride, too. The finale with the cardboard Ursala just sucks. But AK, DHS and EPCOT need original dark rides. Badly. I'd say they need them just as bad, if not worse than the international parks.
 
Disneyhead'71

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
Revenge of the Mummy>Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

I like MS more than I would Horizons at this point in time. Horizons was awesome and ambitious in 1982. Today it would be dated and cliche.
 
D

djlaosc

Well-Known Member
misterID said:
Dark rides and thrill rides could have co-existed in EPCOT and FW. I think the SSE refurb and M:S show they do not get EPCOT, period (I think M:S in a real space pavilion, done right, with a real dark ride, could have been mind blowing). If they can make something like Mystic Manor and Pooh's Honey Hunt (Tokyo) it's proof they can make a good dark ride... when they want to. And the powers that be support it. I think TLM is a good dark ride, too. The finale with the cardboard Ursala just sucks. But AK, DHS and EPCOT need original dark rides. Badly. I'd say they need them just as bad, if not worse than the international parks.
Click to expand...

Can you just imagine if they had added attractions to Future World instead of replacing them?

Spaceship Earth (with a proper descent/script)
Wonders of Life: A new, up to date pavilion ( redo/replace Cranium Command AND Frontiers of Medicine AND Body Wars AND Coach's Corner AND Goofy About Health AND Fitness Fairgrounds AND Sensory Funhouse AND The Making of Me AND Wonder Cycles, etc.) Can you imagine choosing from the 12 Disney Theme Parks, instead of just Disneyland California for the Wonder Cycles, etc.)
Energy Pavilion: Ellen's Energy Adventure (ready to be redone)
Horizons Pavilion: Carousel of Progress AND Horizons
Transportation Pavilion: World of Motion AND Test Track
Space Pavilion (replacing The Seas with Nemo & Friends which would move to DAK): Mission:SPACE, AND other space themed attractions:
The Land: Living with the Land AND The Circle of Life AND Food Rocks AND Soarin'
Imagination Pavilion: Journey into Imagination
Innoventions
 
Last edited:
misterID

misterID

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
Revenge of the Mummy>Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

I like MS more than I would Horizons at this point in time. Horizons was awesome and ambitious in 1982. Today it would be dated and cliche.
Click to expand...

Horizon's could have easily been refurbed to fit a space-living theme, perhaps with the space walk aspect they pitched before. Even use all the space scenes they took out and were planned for SSE.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
Revenge of the Mummy>Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

I like MS more than I would Horizons at this point in time. Horizons was awesome and ambitious in 1982. Today it would be dated and cliche.
Click to expand...
How would it be dated. Would it be because we have communities living in space? Wait..we don't do we! I know it must be because of our under the sea living areas. Wait...that doesn't exist either. Must be the hovering machines harvesting oranges and overseen by people in towers transported by individual flying craft. Oh, oh...I see a flaw in that one as well. OK, we do currently have a way to visually real time communicate, but pretty small scale.

The only thing that would make it dated is the fact that many of us have seen it a gazillion times. The subject matter is still in the future. We sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are not the only ones that go to WDW. Many go every year for the first time. There would be nothing dated about that attraction to them.
 
BryceM

BryceM

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
How would it be dated. Would it be because we have communities living in space? Wait..we don't do we! I know it must be because of our under the sea living areas. Wait...that doesn't exist either. Must be the hovering machines harvesting oranges and overseen by people in towers transported by individual flying craft. Oh, oh...I see a flaw in that one as well. OK, we do currently have a way to visually real time communicate, but pretty small scale.

The only thing that would make it dated is the fact that many of us have seen it a gazillion times. The subject matter is still in the future. We sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are not the only ones that go to WDW. Many go every year for the first time. There would be nothing dated about that attraction to them.
Click to expand...
I think it would be dated because if portrayed something which we now know is a giant stretch, and not in our reach. But in a very 1980's way. Haha.
 
Last edited:
Disneyhead'71

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
Dated as in the the ride system and tech used to present the content is not at all impressive in today's industry. It would have had to be gutted and redone to still be seen as an impressive attraction. Just like Ellen's is laughably dated although the content is still viable.
 
misterID

misterID

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
Dated as in the the ride system and tech used to present the content is not at all impressive in today's industry. It would have had to be gutted and redone to still be seen as an impressive attraction. Just like Ellen's is laughably dated although the content is still viable.
Click to expand...

It could have been refurbed to be as relevant as SSE is. I don't think the "dated" argument is fair, though it's true, because it was designed with the 80's in mind and the extensive refurb it was supposed to get never happened.

To go back to UNI for a second, I sincerely hope the World Of Warcraft rumors aren't true. That's worse than Avatarland, imo.
 
BryceM

BryceM

Well-Known Member
misterID said:
It could have been refurbed to be as relevant as SSE is. I don't think the "dated" argument is fair, though it's true, because it was designed with the 80's in mind and the extensive refurb it was supposed to get never happened.

To go back to UNI for a second, I sincerely hope the World Of Warcraft rumors aren't true. That's worse than Avatarland, imo.
Click to expand...
I doubt the WoW rumors are true. I think that Universal Creative recognizes that Islands of Adventure is, in fact, a park themed around literature. I feel like they would be smart enough to keep that common theme going.
 
rioriz

rioriz

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
Revenge of the Mummy>Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

I like MS more than I would Horizons at this point in time. Horizons was awesome and ambitious in 1982. Today it would be dated and cliche.
Click to expand...


Poll 100 People and you would lose...even with the static Yeti...Theming...ride...experience EE>>>RotM.and I love both
 
Sped2424

Sped2424

Well-Known Member
mummy's cool, but I never get a hey if I step out of this thing I am dead feeling, the lift to the top of the mountain on Everest is just to great.
 
montyz81

montyz81

Well-Known Member
misterID said:
Dark rides and thrill rides could have co-existed in EPCOT and FW. I think the SSE refurb and M:S show they do not get EPCOT, period (I think M:S in a real space pavilion, done right, with a real dark ride, could have been mind blowing). If they can make something like Mystic Manor and Pooh's Honey Hunt (Tokyo) it's proof they can make a good dark ride... when they want to. And the powers that be support it. I think TLM is a good dark ride, too. The finale with the cardboard Ursala just sucks. But AK, DHS and EPCOT need original dark rides. Badly. I'd say they need them just as bad, if not worse than the international parks.
Click to expand...
All M:S needs is a Dinasour like ride system to accompany the spinners to complete the show. What happens if you land in mars and drive around? This could almost work for the Disney purist. It would absolutely work for the new generation of Disney fan and general public.
 
BryceM

BryceM

Well-Known Member
rioriz said:
Poll 100 People and you would lose...even with the static Yeti...Theming...ride...experience EE>>>RotM.and I love both
Click to expand...
I disagree. Both have awesome queues, but Mummy has some awesome show scenes, and many tricks up it's sleeve. The freakin' ceiling lights on fire... I mean come on!

I could ride Mummy over and over again. It has such a strong sense of re-rideability (if that's a word?), and that is definitely important in proving how great an attraction is.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom