SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
I think the whole bayou scene/drop in Pirates does a better job transporting you to a different time/place than the pre shows/simulator launch in Rise.
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Disneyland's Rise Of The Resistance - Reviews, Criticism, Deep Thoughts
- Thread starter TP2000
- Start date
Kram Sacul
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
I would hope so. Time travel isn’t involved in Rise.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
Now you're just trying to be contrarian. Star Wars takes place "A long time ago, in a galaxy far... far away"
Rise is trying to immerse you in a different galaxy, a long time ago. So yes, it is trying to transport you to a different time.
Kram Sacul
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
I think the land does that before you enter the ride.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
Canonically, Kylo Ren doesn't have his mask at the point of time Batuu takes place. Which means in order to work within the context of Star Wars- and for the ride to work from a storytelling standpoint, it must take place at a different point of time than the rest of the land. Which means it once again transports you to a different point in time.
Yeesh. You knew what I meant with my initial Pirates Bayou comparison vs Rise's preshows. I believe it's more effective- semantics about my use of the word 'time' and stuff aside.
Kram Sacul
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Canonically, Kylo Ren doesn't have his mask at the point of time Batuu takes place. Which means in order to work within the context of Star Wars- and for the ride to work from a storytelling standpoint, it must take place at a different point of time than the rest of the land. Which means it once again transports you to a different point in time.
Yeesh. You knew what I meant with my initial Pirates Bayou comparison vs Rise's preshows. I believe it's more effective- semantics about my use of the word 'time' and stuff aside.
What?
flynnibus
Premium Member
only if you forgot you were in batuu before you even went into RoTR
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
Sure... just like how Pirates only transports you to a different time if you forget you entered through New Orleans Square.
All my comment meant was the Bayou section of Pirates does a better job of transporting the rider (i.e immersing) into a different location that takes place at a different time than the real world- the most basic function of an attraction. Not that the ride somehow depicts literal time travel as Kram so graciously pointed out.
I'd hope with 12 years and 20,000 messages you'd have heard the term 'transport the guest' used by Disney marketing/fans as a descriptor of how 'immersive' the attraction is... and would know better than to take it in the most literal and disingenuous way possible.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
@SuddenStorm You're wasting your time, I’m afraid.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
I'm just now catching up on the last few pages of forum discussion. Definitely a fun read- but you're right, probably not a worthwhile discussion to pursue.
flynnibus
Premium Member
you're bending over backwards over a helmet...while ignoring the attraction story directly ties to the land.
potc is a leave one time and place... and move through a no mans land to another time and place. It uses the classic "Move through the void" transition.
The two ride designs are doing very different things. One tries to disconnect you from where you came... while the other serves as act 1 to make you active participants.
I mean.. it's even the idea of passive viewers verse bringing you into the cast...
DDLand
Well-Known Member
To the contrary on the Hollywood Tower Hotel. I would describe the Tower of Terror as hauntingly beautiful. The experience is absolutely nothing like that of a Star Destroyer. Why does someone go on Haunted Mansion or Pirates for the 50th time? It’s because it makes them feel something. Rise’s uninteresting spaces and poorly executed narrative are offset by flashy special effects and subverting expectations. Shock value and the latest special effects do not age well, particularly for 100s of thousands of Annual Passholders who will know the show by heart. Today’s subverted expectation is tomorrow’s expectation.Then I think you must have REALLY hated Tower of Terror...
Disney has all kinds of environments... from pure sugar fantasy, to warm fuzzy homey, to futuristic, to realism, etc. The consistent thing is Disney is generally a whitewashed version.. they focus trying to build ASSURANCE for the guest. This leads to things being idealizied.. so the pros, and not really the cons, of things are showcased. Negative elements are removed. Color is a big part of that when placemaking. Hench talked about that extensively.
So I can understand where your comments may come from when looking at the empire drab.. but I think the comments are too narrowly focused. If you were talking about the exterior of the GE land itself.. I'd actually be more receptive. But talking about the Star Destroyer interior... I don't agree with the adjectives and context being used.
While the Empire (and First Order) are cold and utility... their characters are also shown as being 'the bad guys' and this mantra is projected as 'the stuff to be defeated'. Sure you can role play as the dark side, etc... but the 'good guys always win'. Your assurance comes from that the death star decor is not where the world is going, but it something that was defeated.
You are put in an interrogation room as a plot element... not that jails are something to checkout and hangout in like the porches in Frontierland. These are places you 'visit' ... just like the graveyard in HM.. they aren't the placemaking bits for the land.
Your discussion I think is far more interesting when we are looking at the StarWars Hotel... because that IS a space people are expected to want to stay in, spend time in, be drawn into, etc. Is the Star Wars idea of a spaceship actually going to be 'warm' enough that guests feel comfortable vs punished, etc.
The experience is interesting and excellent at times. It’s even superb at times! But the more I think about the story decisions the more indefensible it seems. It was a triumph of technology over story. I had good things to say about Rise, and I still do. I’ve reposted my original review without quote brackets.
I also remain entirely unconvinced that this attraction fits into Disneyland. This attraction didn’t start with “let’s make a great Disneyland attraction” it started with “let’s find space for our big Star Wars ride.” Strange place to put this attraction...
Begin Review:
What a fascinating attraction. It was at times spectacular and amazing. It’s easily one of the most impressive attractions Walt Disney Imagineering has ever created. Bob Chapek described it as the most “ambitious” attraction ever crafted for a Disney Park. I would be inclined to agree. What this ride intended to do was nothing short of mind-blowing. Yet the ride was not without its shortcomings.
The ride shines in its technological prowess. It was a marvel to see what these Imagineers crafted. The opening show was very neat. Very very clever. The unusual boarding system and scope was exciting. I feel that the use of the trackless ride system was well justified in Rise of the Resistance. There was always some cool new trick that was in the wings waiting to wow the audience.
Another strength of Rise of the Resistance is its scale. While the rooms were not the cavernous spaces of Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, the ride’s length was remarkable. It kept going and going and deploying more and more surprises. The ride felt like it began when we went outdoors to load onto the spacecraft. The experience never stopped until I was “back.”
The attraction also successfully surprised me several times. It was willing to do things that I was not expecting to happen. It felt exciting and unpredictable. If this attraction was supposed to be “ambitious,” it lived up to its creator’s intent. This was in part because of the trackless ride system. It felt like anything was possible.
I also think the visual storytelling deserves some mention. The queue in particular was very cleverly done. There are several tricks that they use to convey some themes. Notice the Resistance is closely connected to natural surroundings. Its base is an extension of nature and life. It also is built on ruins of some old structure, representing the connection the Resistance has to the past. Our journey to the Resistance base takes us literally underground. Contrast this with the First Order, which is lifeless and cold. It’s new and technology obsessed. The Star Destroyer is distant and disconnected from the planet and its inhabitants.
Some people have brought up compelling criticisms or suggestions for the ride. Namely, my few pages of scanning manifested calls for more practical effects. I also saw multiple mentions of the Star Destroyer’s “plastic” feel. That was a definite issue that I noticed myself. Other issues with screens and figures can be hashed out. Ultimately, they got much more right than they did wrong in terms of execution.
My biggest issues with this attraction were somewhat surprising to me. First, the environments of this ride are some of the most visually unappealing and uninteresting ever created for an E-Ticket. From the cartoon whimsy of Splash Mountain, the majestic beauty of the Forbidden Mountain, to the spooky elegance of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, most every E-Ticket has visual appeal. The same cannot be said for this attraction. Its utilitarian spaces provide little color or variety. Never has Walt Disney Imagineering spent so much on something so ugly. Flight of Passage, Radiator Springs Racers, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure feature some of the most beautiful images I’ve ever seen. This is a weird one-off.
The tone also felt unnecessarily heavy. There was none of the Star Wars humor or upbeatness. Instead, we were being hunted by a masked mass-murderer. This may be a preference thing, but it was surprisingly without heart. They wanted you to know this was SERIOUS and life or death. If this is an attraction where we are supposed to “play,” where was the joy?
Additionally, certain story beats were just off. Kylo Ren’s reveal in the interrogation room was premature. He is this attraction’s yeti. He walks in and uses the force briefly before “being needed on the bridge.” A more elegant and ominous way of handling that same scene would be to say something to the effect of “Kylo Ren will be down shortly.” Then being left in the dark right before being rescued. Our first sighting of Kylo should have been more impactful.
This attraction blurred the boundaries between theme park and reality. The effects and ride system proved astonishing. Certain moments were incredible and exciting. I specifically avoided spoilers, and I’m glad I did. While I had heard a trickle of rumors since 2015, I still found myself surprised. The “shock value” was great.
With incredible special effects and ride system, this ride will be successful for years to come. What I’m less certain about is whether this ride was the right approach. With a dull setting and little character, there is neither depth to the story or beauty. Much like the blockbusters of today, it’s a visual spectacle rather than emotional journey or art piece. It felt like a successful engineering feat rather than a successful artistic or storytelling one. Walt Disney Imagineering proved that it can transport its guests to another world, but that’s different from telling a great story. I’m not sure if I ascribe to the Trowbridge school of Imagineering. As Joe Rohde opined “Total illusion is deception... Audiences take joy in the fact that artists have created something seemingly real, like a puppet. Immersion is a form of play. Play only exists if we know that we can step out of the game... Both the imagination and the engineering are meant to be appreciated simultaneously.” I’m not sure the right balance was struck on Rise of the Resistance.
But say what you will about it, it’s unforgettable. Unlike its DOA sibling Smuggler’s Run, it’s exciting. It’s also very “ambitious...”
Yeah, which is really funny because of all the locals at Disneyland. You’d think “hmm, shock value probably shouldn’t be the selling point.” They had tv/movie people to do this ride’s story, and I think that’s illuminating. A TV show will be forgotten in a few months. A ride has to last for decades.
Haha alright, Smuggler’s Run has some good elements. It’s just when I think about how much they spent on it (100 million? 200 million?) I compare the money spent to Big Thunder, Splash, or Pirates and I’m like “where did the money go?!”
Kram Sacul
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Rise is ugly, shock value, etc. Yeah, I’ve heard it all. Frickin nerds.
ProjectXBlog
Well-Known Member
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Triggered.
DarkMetroid567
Well-Known Member
Kram Sacul
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
shambolicdefending
Well-Known Member
This is one of the most under-discussed issues with Disney parks in the year 2020.
The cost inflation of building, maintaining, refurbing, etc. attractions over the last 20 or so years is dramatic and frankly crippling in a lot of ways. It's also almost totally inexplicable to most of us.
TROR
Well-Known Member
It's not just inflation.
Speaking of time travel, I have a comment about the time this ride opens each morning.
Disneyland's off-season is quickly coming to an end. For the past four days the park has opened at 8am and closed at 11pm or Midnight, in a ramp up to the much busier Presidents Day vacation week that starts this Friday. Disneyland will open at 8am for 10 days in a row from Friday the 14th thru Monday the 24th.
But this past weekend they had four consecutive days when the ride just can't open on time, and usually opens an hour late around 9am. It's best day was Saturday when it managed an 8:40am opening, it's worst was yesterday when it didn't open until 9:10am. This morning it opened at 8:55am, and has currently been closed for the past three hours.
They are already closing the ride down several hours before Disneyland officially closes for the night, and yet they still can't get the ride turned around and ready to open at 8am. Presidents Day week will be busy as I mentioned, and then two weeks later they start Spring Break when Disneyland will be open 8am to Midnight basically for a month straight.
Knowing this now, the whole Boarding Group concept now makes much more sense, as TDA obviously knew they were about to open a failing turkey of a ride system and they had to manage the mess in an entirely new way.
But how much longer do we think it will be like this? Does it get better in a few months, or a few years?
I would think this level of functionality and availability in a very expensive new E Ticket, designed for a theme park routinely open 16 hours per day, would be unacceptable and people would lose their jobs over this. But maybe all the high paid execs in Glendale are just patting each other on the back and chuckling at the idiot tourists and idiot theme park operators they suckered yet again?
Disneyland's off-season is quickly coming to an end. For the past four days the park has opened at 8am and closed at 11pm or Midnight, in a ramp up to the much busier Presidents Day vacation week that starts this Friday. Disneyland will open at 8am for 10 days in a row from Friday the 14th thru Monday the 24th.
But this past weekend they had four consecutive days when the ride just can't open on time, and usually opens an hour late around 9am. It's best day was Saturday when it managed an 8:40am opening, it's worst was yesterday when it didn't open until 9:10am. This morning it opened at 8:55am, and has currently been closed for the past three hours.
They are already closing the ride down several hours before Disneyland officially closes for the night, and yet they still can't get the ride turned around and ready to open at 8am. Presidents Day week will be busy as I mentioned, and then two weeks later they start Spring Break when Disneyland will be open 8am to Midnight basically for a month straight.
Knowing this now, the whole Boarding Group concept now makes much more sense, as TDA obviously knew they were about to open a failing turkey of a ride system and they had to manage the mess in an entirely new way.
But how much longer do we think it will be like this? Does it get better in a few months, or a few years?
I would think this level of functionality and availability in a very expensive new E Ticket, designed for a theme park routinely open 16 hours per day, would be unacceptable and people would lose their jobs over this. But maybe all the high paid execs in Glendale are just patting each other on the back and chuckling at the idiot tourists and idiot theme park operators they suckered yet again?
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