Disney Cheap with Animatronics

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Pixiedustmaker

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Other criticisms/deficients aside, I couldn't help but notice when I rode Mermaid in DCA that while there are two good Ariel animatronics, and one great Ursula animatronic, and the ride seems to lack quality animatronics in the other scenes. Of course, rides such as Peter Pan have figures with limited motion, but it seems that while Disney once made attractions with oodles of quality animatronics, like Pirates, Country Bears, Splash Mountain, there seems to be a trend for three or less quality figures, and that's it. For example:

1. Expedition Everest. One big expensive animatronic, now broken.
2. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, maybe a couple good animatronics, mostly limited motion figures I'm guessing. (It would be great to see a next gen Snow White animatronic for the "silly dancing" scene).
3. Grizzly Mountain Railroad. Three scenes, about five animatronics total of good quality, but nothing else.
4. Mermaid, 2 good Ariels, one great Ursula (though too close to look realistic, IMHO). Rest of the figures are pretty limited motion, IMHO.
5. Toy Story Midway Mania a Mr. Potato Head animatronic, just one.
6. Radiator Spring Racers, has maybe ten good quality animatronics, really makes the ride and perhaps is an exception? Still, not on the level of Pirates in terms of number of animatronics.

Obviously, this makes these rides easier to maintain, but does anybody also wish that they really used animatronic technology to its fullest? What about replacing figures in classic dark rides with higher quality next gen animatronics? New musical show with 20+ next gen characters?

I know that this stuff costs money, but I think that guests still love animatronics and increased use would only help the parks be more entertaining and draw in more guests.
 
the.dreamfinder

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Attractions, like other forms of entertainment, cannot be quantified in terms of experience. Therefore, details like the AA parrot at the entrance of pirates cannot be justified because what they add to the experience doesn't appear directly on a balance sheet. It's sad but true. :(
 
Skooterkid

Skooterkid

Well-Known Member
I totally agree with you. The Audio-animatronics are considered by many to be Walt's great legacy, yet new attractions do not seem to utilize them to their fullest. Another Pirates of the Caribbean/Haunted Mansion-style ride which uses a simple, no-thrills ride mechanism yet is full of funny, realistic and quirky audio-animatronic scenes is just what Walt Disney World needs. I really enjoyed The Little Mermaid and view it as a step in the right direction, but would like to see some new 'classic' rides which are not based on existing movies.
 
Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
Pixiedustmaker said:
Other criticisms/deficients aside, I couldn't help but notice when I rode Mermaid in DCA that while there are two good Ariel animatronics, and one great Ursula animatronic, and the ride seems to lack quality animatronics in the other scenes. Of course, rides such as Peter Pan have figures with limited motion, but it seems that while Disney once made attractions with oodles of quality animatronics, like Pirates, Country Bears, Splash Mountain, there seems to be a trend for three or less quality figures, and that's it. For example:

1. Expedition Everest. One big expensive animatronic, now broken.
2. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, maybe a couple good animatronics, mostly limited motion figures I'm guessing. (It would be great to see a next gen Snow White animatronic for the "silly dancing" scene).
3. Grizzly Mountain Railroad. Three scenes, about five animatronics total of good quality, but nothing else.
4. Mermaid, 2 good Ariels, one great Ursula (though too close to look realistic, IMHO). Rest of the figures are pretty limited motion, IMHO.
5. Toy Story Midway Mania a Mr. Potato Head animatronic, just one.
6. Radiator Spring Racers, has maybe ten good quality animatronics, really makes the ride and perhaps is an exception? Still, not on the level of Pirates in terms of number of animatronics.

Obviously, this makes these rides easier to maintain, but does anybody also wish that they really used animatronic technology to its fullest? What about replacing figures in classic dark rides with higher quality next gen animatronics? New musical show with 20+ next gen characters?

I know that this stuff costs money, but I think that guests still love animatronics and increased use would only help the parks be more entertaining and draw in more guests.
Click to expand...
I think Disney does a good job of providing attractions with a good mix of AAs. I noticed your list did not include Spaceship Earth, The American Adventure or Hall of the Presidents. All attractions AA heavy.
 
Biff215

Biff215

Well-Known Member
Pixiedustmaker said:
2. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, maybe a couple good animatronics, mostly limited motion figures I'm guessing. (It would be great to see a next gen Snow White animatronic for the "silly dancing" scene).

6. Radiator Spring Racers, has maybe ten good quality animatronics, really makes the ride and perhaps is an exception? Still, not on the level of Pirates in terms of number of animatronics.
Click to expand...

We're already critiquing the Mine Train, and yet not a single figure has yet been installed? I'm not sure that it will be animatronic-heavy since it's a coaster, but let's at least give it a chance to open before we include it here.

I've only seen RSR on Youtube, but from what I've seen I am very impressed with the animatronics there. Those figures look very realistic and can't come cheap or be easy to maintain. I'd say that attraction is a step in the right direction for thrill-type rides that utilize animatronics.
 
midwest_mice

midwest_mice

Well-Known Member
While they still do a good job with the AAs, didn't they recently contract out all new AA's? I hope they quality isn't sacrificed if it is true.
 
olinecoach61

olinecoach61

Well-Known Member
Well I think the Yeti was ambitious, it just hasn't worked. Im not sure toy story needs another AA, I think it's great as is. I've never been on grizzly mount or Ariel so I can't really comment on those.
 
montyz81

montyz81

Well-Known Member
I have been saying this for years. If you think back to Epcot Center... Think about Future World. You had SSE, Animatronics all the way up and all the way down. Universe of Energy, Dinotronics, which is probably the only ride that has additional animatronics today from the day it opened. Horizons.. Scads throughout. World of Motion, it too had many. Imagination, It had repeat animatronics for the turntable, does it even have any today? The Land had Kitchen Cabaret, And I am not sure if The Living Seas did. I have never seen it before Nemo. Today, many of those rides have reduced or limited animatronics. Test track even had a cardboard cutout for a big rig driver. Sad really. I got to believe that all of these animatronics are sitting in a warehouse somewhere collecting dust. There has to be a way to reuse them in other rides which should cut down on the cost of building from scratch. I honestly think that animatronics are way more immersive then the video screens in Toy Story Mania. That has to be the lamest attempt yet for Disney to replace Auto-animatronics with video screens... sorry rant over. Anyway.. I agree, bring back the mechanical people!
 
yeti

yeti

Well-Known Member
hakunamatata said:
I think Disney does a good job of providing attractions with a good mix of AAs. I noticed your list did not include Spaceship Earth, The American Adventure or Hall of the Presidents. All attractions AA heavy.
Click to expand...

All of which were made almost thirty to over forty years ago.
 
P

Poirot4

New Member
Does it make sense to put very detailed animatronics in 7DMT or GMR? Wouldn't you be flying by them so quick that you wouldn't really get much of a chance to enjoy them? Also, I don't think animatronics necessarily make sense for every attraction. For example, TSMM. Aren't you wearing 3D glasses during the entire ride? Maybe it makes sense mostly for the queue but for the ride itself, I don't think it makes much sense.

Now, I do agree with you on TLM. That's a perfect attraction for animatronics and I too would like to see a lot of them in the FLE version although I know that won't happen.
 
sshindel

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
td1129 said:
Quintessential wdwmagic thread. Are you really surprised anymore?
Click to expand...
Oh, don't even get me started on that one idea that that one imagineer had in a dream but has not even shared with anyone at Disney to even begin the process of greenlighting it. That thing doesn't even HAVE animatronics! Declining by Degrees!
 
Alektronic

Alektronic

Well-Known Member
montyz81 said:
I have been saying this for years. If you think back to Epcot Center... Think about Future World. You had SSE, Animatronics all the way up and all the way down. Universe of Energy, Dinotronics, which is probably the only ride that has additional animatronics today from the day it opened. Horizons.. Scads throughout. World of Motion, it too had many. Imagination, It had repeat animatronics for the turntable, does it even have any today? The Land had Kitchen Cabaret, And I am not sure if The Living Seas did. I have never seen it before Nemo. Today, many of those rides have reduced or limited animatronics. Test track even had a cardboard cutout for a big rig driver. Sad really. I got to believe that all of these animatronics are sitting in a warehouse somewhere collecting dust. There has to be a way to reuse them in other rides which should cut down on the cost of building from scratch. I honestly think that animatronics are way more immersive then the video screens in Toy Story Mania. That has to be the lamest attempt yet for Disney to replace Auto-animatronics with video screens... sorry rant over. Anyway.. I agree, bring back the mechanical people!
Click to expand...

What about POC? They have 3 new Jack Sparrow AA figures.

AA figures also figure into the maintenance budget. They cost to maintain and keep operating.
 
montyz81

montyz81

Well-Known Member
yeti said:
All of which were made almost thirty to over forty years ago.
Click to expand...
Yes, what is your point here? I don't hear many comments about this or that AA not functioning in any of these attractions. The only comment I have heard is about The Paper boy. You see what happened to him, he stopped working so they turned him around put him in the corner. (sorry trying to be funny).
 

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