Does anyone else find Rise of the Resistance and Runaway Railway underwhelming?

[CosmicRays]

I actually love both! I do miss TGMR and can see where one would be dissapointed with it being replaced. Rise definitely benefits from the non covid shows as the cast member interaction is a big part of the experience.

 

[Brad Bishop]

I haven't ridden either and have only watched the videos: I think that the OP has a point. It doesn't mean the rides are bad. They still look really good to me. Still, why not spin the trackless car during a tornado? Why not make it move/shake when it's being attacked and explosions are happening around it?

You could take this further, albeit with more land/warehouse space: You could have separate, but similar adventures based on rider input or randomness or whatever.

There's a lot that they can do there. It doesn't mean that what they've done sucks, however.

My only really underwhelming ride at WDW, and I've ridden it, is: 7DMT. I'd only ride that again if it were a walk-on and I just happened to be passing by. It's disappointingly short.

 

[mergatroid]

Seems a large majority don't think them underwhelming. That's good to see as surely the aim is to please as many as possible. Like anything it's subjective, some will like it and some won't. Whatever I or others think shouldn't affect anyone else and their enjoyment or displeasure about them, or certain aspects of them. Essentially you can write a 20 page paper on why you find attractions underwhelming or why you don't, however these opinions don't make you right or wrong. So I suppose the only way to 'rate' an attraction is to ask a large number of people what they think and see what the majority think. It appears on this thread the majority don't find these attractions underwhelming.

Of course you can decide that the majority answering the question don't know what they're talking about or are biased, however doing so would beg the question "Why bother asking if you're not going to accept the answer as a fair way of judging"?

 

[Musical Mermaid]

I finally got to ride both on Thursday. I’m not a fan of these newer versions of Mickey and his pals. I think it would’ve been better to give Mickey a more classic look and inviting attraction, given his iconic role in the company, but I guess that isn’t what they wanted. I don’t know if this is typical since it was my first time on it, but the audio on the ride is extremely loud, to the point where I wished I had earplugs. I went on Rock n Roller Coaster afterwards and for it playing rock music, it wasn’t even that loud. The story was a little hard for me to understand, almost seemed like it was part of a nightmare or someone’s drug hallucinations. I understood that I was on a train with Goofy in front, but everything after the first scene was very contrived, didn’t make any sense. I didn’t enjoy the harsh movements of the vehicles and all of the effects, but I get motion sickness sometimes, so maybe I should have looked for a warning sign before boarding this instead of thinking it’d be something everyone could ride like the previous attraction. It’s a one and done for me, very disappointing and I wish they had spared Great Movie Ride and placed this elsewhere, because sometimes one needs a nice relaxing indoor ride and now that park has zero.

As for Rise, given all that was happening in the experience and for me not being a Star Wars fan, at least I was able to follow along with the story. I found it more interesting than Smugglers Run and can tolerate the motion a lot better than either of the other 2 Star Wars rides (well, I won’t ride Star Tours ). I hope they take the plastic screens off the vehicles soon. I don’t know if I can call this one underwhelming, but it’s not among my favorites. With the hassle of getting a boarding pass, I think it met my expectations. I’d love to see what my brother thinks of it though, since he’s a big Star Wars fan. I’m sure it’d be more fun to ride with family or friends who enjoy Star Wars.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

Seems a large majority don't think them underwhelming. That's good to see as surely the aim is to please as many as possible. Like anything it's subjective, some will like it and some won't. Whatever I or others think shouldn't affect anyone else and their enjoyment or displeasure about them, or certain aspects of them. Essentially you can write a 20 page paper on why you find attractions underwhelming or why you don't, however these opinions don't make you right or wrong. So I suppose the only way to 'rate' an attraction is to ask a large number of people what they think and see what the majority think. It appears on this thread the majority don't find these attractions underwhelming.

Of course you can decide that the majority answering the question don't know what they're talking about or are biased, however doing so would beg the question "Why bother asking if you're not going to accept the answer as a fair way of judging"?

I'm interested in challenging perceptions of what a lot of people will just seem to accept. I've also found that I've given a voice to a lot of people who feel the same way I do, but weren't quite sure how to articulate it. That's the thing about attractions like these, they're not technically "bad", but they often feel like something is missing and I've found that breaking them down and analyzing them helps to bring forth the issues. There are a lot of unique and creative experiences that have come out of the Walt Disney company, and I think as fans, we should demand the best and not have leadership bow to the shareholders.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I'm interested in challenging perceptions of what a lot of people will just seem to accept. I've also found that I've given a voice to a lot of people who feel the same way I do, but weren't quite sure how to articulate it. That's the thing about attractions like these, they're not technically "bad", but they often feel like something is missing and I've found that breaking them down and analyzing them helps to bring forth the issues. There are a lot of unique and creative experiences that have come out of the Walt Disney company, and I think as fans, we should demand the best and not have leadership bow to the shareholders.

I think this is very important.

The Classic attractions aren’t preferred because they’re old, but rather, mostly because of the level of effort put into them. The attractions were considered an art form. The new ones are technologically showcases that hope to sell relevant product after the ride. Chasing relevancy is not wise for a theme park in the long term.

I also think one of the biggest things they struggle with these days is creating a compelling story for the medium. You can’t just adapt a 90-120 minute film into a 3-4 minute physical ride.

Merely accepting that the new attractions being weaker is fine because they are “fun enough” and it’s “good business” will lead to more weaker attractions. Eventually, the classics you love will be replaced with soulless attractions meant to advertise product. Would you still go? Maybe. But would it be as good?

It’s important for the attractions to have soul. That’s how you make long term fans. If you are just recreating film experiences on a surface level, the first timers will become one timers. They won’t fall in love with the parks the same way they did with the movies.

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

Love both!

 

[mergatroid]

I'm interested in challenging perceptions of what a lot of people will just seem to accept. I've also found that I've given a voice to a lot of people who feel the same way I do, but weren't quite sure how to articulate it. That's the thing about attractions like these, they're not technically "bad", but they often feel like something is missing and I've found that breaking them down and analyzing them helps to bring forth the issues. There are a lot of unique and creative experiences that have come out of the Walt Disney company, and I think as fans, we should demand the best and not have leadership bow to the shareholders.

I don't have a problem with that and as I say it's all subjective. I still think it's interesting how you judge it though. You've written a good, long post and made a video on your views and opinions on the attractions and linked them here. I read and watched them and thought they had merit and were well presented. You presented the reasons that you're underwhelmed with these attractions and who am I to argue with how you personally feel, after all they're your thoughts.

It's interesting how you judge the responses though as even with your thorough explanation of your criticisms and despite making 2 of the 3 voting options being in your favour (that is, not overly impressed), 70% of the votes still rate the ride excellent. It's interesting that even so you say you've given a lot of people the voice to say they feel like you do. That perhaps is true to a degree, however the voting kind of shows that's not necessarily true.

Again I have no argument that you feel this way about the attractions, otherwise you wouldn't have wasted your time making posts and videos on the topic. You also seem to praise Disney for parts of the attractions in question which is good to see in a friendly debate like this. Perhaps there are people who struggle to articulate their feelings but I usually find that if somebody has to kind of coax you into finding or not finding criticism of something, that it kind of skews the result somewhat.

Again though it's all subjective and an interesting debate.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The Classic attractions aren’t preferred because they’re old, but rather, mostly because of the level of effort put into them. The attractions were considered an art form. The new ones are technologically showcases that hope to sell relevant product after the ride. Chasing relevancy is not wise for a theme park in the long term.

A wise man once tweeted...

“This is an art form that is about things, ideas, emotions… If it is only about itself, then it becomes nothing but a product. Design becomes promotion not narrative.” - Joe Rohde

 

[Poseidon Quest]

It's interesting how you judge the responses though as even with your thorough explanation of your criticisms and despite making 2 of the 3 voting options being in your favour (that is, not overly impressed), 70% of the votes still rate the ride excellent. It's interesting that even so you say you've given a lot of people the voice to say they feel like you do. That perhaps is true to a degree, however the voting kind of shows that's not necessarily true.

Again I have no argument that you feel this way about the attractions, otherwise you wouldn't have wasted your time making posts and videos on the topic. You also seem to praise Disney for parts of the attractions in question which is good to see in a friendly debate like this. Perhaps there are people who struggle to articulate their feelings but I usually find that if somebody has to kind of coax you into finding or not finding criticism of something, that it kind of skews the result somewhat.

Again though it's all subjective and an interesting debate.

To clarify, I received a surprising amount of support in my YouTube comments and in the subreddits where I promoted it. It was a series of responses that I didn't expect to receive because I know that my opinions go against the grain. It appears that the majority of people, for example, will praise Rise of the Resistance as groundbreaking and find it to be an incredible experience, but you rarely see the presence of people who are lukewarm to it. I suspect it's because the experience doesn't click with them, but they aren't quite sure why. In retrospect, I see how the poll results are skewed in my favor and I've evolved a lot in my perceptions over the last few months. Were I to post this thread today, it would be quite different.

A wise man once tweeted...

“This is an art form that is about things, ideas, emotions… If it is only about itself, then it becomes nothing but a product. Design becomes promotion not narrative.” - Joe Rohde

Really hit the nail on the head there.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

I think this is very important.

The Classic attractions aren’t preferred because they’re old, but rather, mostly because of the level of effort put into them. The attractions were considered an art form. The new ones are technologically showcases that hope to sell relevant product after the ride. Chasing relevancy is not wise for a theme park in the long term.

I also think one of the biggest things they struggle with these days is creating a compelling story for the medium. You can’t just adapt a 90-120 minute film into a 3-4 minute physical ride.

Merely accepting that the new attractions being weaker is fine because they are “fun enough” and it’s “good business” will lead to more weaker attractions. Eventually, the classics you love will be replaced with soulless attractions meant to advertise product. Would you still go? Maybe. But would it be as good?

It’s important for the attractions to have soul. That’s how you make long term fans. If you are just recreating film experiences on a surface level, the first timers will become one timers. They won’t fall in love with the parks the same way they did with the movies.

I'm not sure that I agree that you can't turn a film into a relevant attraction. Some of my favorite dark rides are from Disneyland's Fantasyland, and while not always exactly following the narrative beats of films, are close enough that I consider them representations of those films. However, these attractions seem to revel in the artistry of the animation and narratives, rather than just shove it in your face like an attraction such as Transformers.

Everything else though, I completely agree with.

 

[mergatroid]

To clarify, I received a surprising amount of support in my YouTube comments and in the subreddits where I promoted it. It was a series of responses that I didn't expect to receive because I know that my opinions go against the grain. It appears that the majority of people, for example, will praise Rise of the Resistance as groundbreaking and find it to be an incredible experience, but you rarely see the presence of people who are lukewarm to it. I suspect it's because the experience doesn't click with them, but they aren't quite sure why. In retrospect, I see how the poll results are skewed in my favor and I've evolved a lot in my perceptions over the last few months. Were I to post this thread today, it would be quite different.



Really hit the nail on the head there.

That's one way of looking at it I suppose? Another way is that the reason there's rarely a presence of people who are lukewarm to it could be because most absolutely love it.

That reminds me of the scene in 'Good morning Vietnam' when the radio host that takes Robin Williams radio show over gets shown all the hate mail about him. His response is something like "What about the silent majority who love me"

 

[UNCgolf]

That's one way of looking at it I suppose? Another way is that the reason there's rarely a presence of people who are lukewarm to it could be because most absolutely love it.

That reminds me of the scene in 'Good morning Vietnam' when the radio host that takes Robin Williams radio show over gets shown all the hate mail about him. His response is something like "What about the silent majority who love me"

The poll is probably skewed because it includes both Rise and MMRR. If you did a similar poll only about MMRR, I'm almost certain the results wouldn't be so overwhelmingly positive.

 

[mergatroid]

The poll is probably skewed because it includes both Rise and MMRR. If you did a similar poll only about MMRR, I'm almost certain the results wouldn't be so overwhelmingly positive.

No, possibly not. I think ROTR is more impressive than MMRR. A good point.

 

[UNCgolf]

No, possibly not. I think ROTR is more impressive than MMRR. A good point.

And I don't think MMRR is bad. I think it looks like a solid addition, especially if you ignore that it should not have replaced what it did.

I'm just not blown away by it and think there are several ways it could have been better.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

That's one way of looking at it I suppose? Another way is that the reason there's rarely a presence of people who are lukewarm to it could be because most absolutely love it.

That reminds me of the scene in 'Good morning Vietnam' when the radio host that takes Robin Williams radio show over gets shown all the hate mail about him. His response is something like "What about the silent majority who love me"

I take your point, but I fundamentally disagree. Anecdotally, when speaking to various people in person, they don't reflect the unanimous praise that you often see online. There's also the factor of those people often being "theme park people" or even working for any of the various parks around Orlando, so obviously the perspective is different and more critical than the average tourist, therefore skewing perceptions and creating a likely element of bias. That being said, I also found a lot of feedback I got surprising, in that I didn't expect so many people to agree with various points I've made.

 

[mergatroid]

I take your point, but I fundamentally disagree. Anecdotally, when speaking to various people in person, they don't reflect the unanimous praise that you often see online. There's also the factor of those people often being "theme park people" or even working for any of the various parks around Orlando, so obviously the perspective is different and more critical than the average tourist, therefore skewing perceptions and creating a likely element of bias. That being said, I also found a lot of feedback I got surprising, in that I didn't expect so many people to agree with various points I've made.

No problem with that, we don't have to agree on everything and neither of us takes that personally which is great. Whilst not agreeing with it all, I enjoyed reading your thoughts and watching your video. I hope you continue on with them and look forward to talking again with you in the future.

 

[EngineerMom]

We loved Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, it was just what it was supposed to be a fun ride for the whole family.

Rise of the Resistance, we were NOT blow away the 1st time which surprised us but then there was SO much hype. We rode it again and liked it more. I was not a fan of the 1st shuttle as we were on the side front corner both times. The back screen was hard to see (small, people and poles in the way) and we completely could not see the front screen. This made it less enjoyable. The castmembers did a good job when they took us off. DH said it is cool looking but so much space used that could have made the ride longer. The ride is a cool idea I just wish it was longer.

Smugglers - you didn't mention that one. I had done it before on a previous trip and it made me sick. DH and son rode it for the 1st time this trip.....lets put it this way we were at HS 3 days and they never wanted to ride it again! I know they are trying to make it seem like you are really in the Falcon but the screen is too small and the ride is less interesting than Star Tours. We did star tours over and over. Only had 1 trip with repeated scenes.

All of us are Star Wars fans. We LOVED the details in the land and enjoyed eating there. They did a good job of the whole place but we really felt they could have done a bit better on the 2 rides.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

We loved Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, it was just what it was supposed to be a fun ride for the whole family.

Rise of the Resistance, we were NOT blow away the 1st time which surprised us but then there was SO much hype. We rode it again and liked it more. I was not a fan of the 1st shuttle as we were on the side front corner both times. The back screen was hard to see (small, people and poles in the way) and we completely could not see the front screen. This made it less enjoyable. The castmembers did a good job when they took us off. DH said it is cool looking but so much space used that could have made the ride longer. The ride is a cool idea I just wish it was longer.

Smugglers - you didn't mention that one. I had done it before on a previous trip and it made me sick. DH and son rode it for the 1st time this trip.....lets put it this way we were at HS 3 days and they never wanted to ride it again! I know they are trying to make it seem like you are really in the Falcon but the screen is too small and the ride is less interesting than Star Tours. We did star tours over and over. Only had 1 trip with repeated scenes.

All of us are Star Wars fans. We LOVED the details in the land and enjoyed eating there. They did a good job of the whole place but we really felt they could have done a bit better on the 2 rides.

The transport is definitely a better experience without COVID measures, as you can at least see something somewhere when not confined to a marker. I don't feel that the attraction portion is short, but I do think it tends to blur together. Its mostly linear path and over-reliance on projection tech makes it feel like a hollow experience without much content. Without the pre-shows, I can't help but wonder if people would really like the experience as much as they do.

I agree that Smuggler's is less interesting than Star Tours, which I've come to like less and less over the years. I remember the first time riding, and thinking that I'd rather be on Star Tours, which was just "okay" to me to begin with. I understand that its simulator technology was innovative for its time, but the market has become over-saturated with these types of experiences and its shelf life has expired. The thematic integrity of the attraction has also been destroyed, as now it's just a random location picked that feels more like an advertisement than a ride experience. This, mixed with the deterioration of the park's overall theme of movie-making being abandoned, also allows it to feel out of place in its current location. Yet... I still prefer it to Smuggler's.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

And I don't think MMRR is bad. I think it looks like a solid addition, especially if you ignore that it should not have replaced what it did.

This reads as if you haven't actually ridden it. Is that the case? The ride is MUCH better in reality than comes across on YouTube.