Early reviews for TLM ride?

[TP2000]

I actually rode it in person also. I wish I could share your enthusiasm but I did not leave feeling as you did. The missed opportunities were disheartening, the art direction in most of the scenes were flawed, the lighting design and the store window display figures in Under The Sea were awful and let's not forget the karate turtle figure in the finale. All in all I left feeling a bit empty. As I said before there were a few sequences that were okay like the descent and Ursula but for the most part I long for the old WDI back.

Hmm. I will be honest and say I don't have an artistic bone in my body, and I could barely keep my crayons inside the lines as a kid when it was time to draw something, so I probably just aren't seeing things as you do.

I just don't have an artistic eye. But I love Disney theme parks, especially the Tokyo parks, and I know a fun ride when I see it. I thought Mermaid was gorgeous and fun.

I just caught this explanation below about the raised lighting levels at Mermaid in the last week for the Cast Member previews. It comes from a Disneyland CM on another board I frequent, and this guy has always had funny and solid insight from the trenches of the front-line Cast Member community. Take it for what it's worth, but it now makes sense because when I went on the ride last night I thought the Under The Sea showroom was watery looking and appropriately lit with very moody colors and bubble projections, like the scene from the movie.

During the Cast Member Previews last week they had the lights in the ride turned up much brighter than the usual show setting because there were CM's posted throughout the ride to scan for cameras, iphones or video capture. The Mermaid ride doesn't have a backstage control tower like Haunted Mansion does, so there's no one to just watch cameras of the rides interior and they had to staff CM's to stand inside the ride along the track watching for cameras. The Under The Sea room particularly even had some of the work lights turned on for safety reasons because they had two CM's staffed up in the catwalks hanging above the room scanning the vehicles below for camera use. It's generally against the OG (location operating rules) to have CM's inside the ride during operation, so the Disneyland Safety Department compromised and told WDI they would allow CM's to be inside the ride watching for cameras only if they raised the lighting levels throughout and turned on the work lights along the catwalks in the Under The Sea room for the safety of the lookout CM's. The brighter lighting also helped the CM's see the riders as they passed by to check they weren't photographing anything, or even had their phones out.

The first soft opening only lasted for two hours on Thursday morning because they realized a lot of the lighting was still set to the higher levels, so they ended up shutting down the soft opening quickly and WDI went in and adjusted light levels back to their intended setting for the rest of the day on Thursday into Thursday night. The soft opening they had on Friday had the correct light levels throughout, and the work lights have been turned off in the catwalks above Under The Sea. No CM's are staffing inside the ride as lookouts any longer, and cameras and video is now allowed. That explains why the ride seemed so bright on my first ride during the testing, and then again on my official Cast Member Preview last Sunday.

WDI is also still tweaking and adding some projections and lighting in the ride this weekend, especially in the Under The Sea room. It already looks much different this morning than it did just on Thursday morning, before they shut the soft opening to reset the lights back.

That would seem to explain the brighter lighting many commented on earlier, especially based on that YouTube video from the Thursday morning soft opening, but that I couldn't notice when I rode Friday night.

However, it doesn't explain Kung-Fu Turtle in the finale'.

.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Oh and i have to say also- i think i concur with Lee- i don't see this thing costing 100 million. It's hard to fathom, unless they did indeed include the budget for the one at WDW (doubtful, but i guess anything's possible since i'm not an expert on how Disney finances rides). It also feels like they actually ran OUT of money due to the abrupt ending...:shrug:

 

[Slowjack]

I think that we're on the same page more than you think. My point was that I didn't think that it was absolutely necessary for a ride to tell the entire story. My reference to SWSA and Toad was showing how those two classic dark rides could still be entertaining while straying far from the source material. My comments were mostly referring to all of the negative comments about the Ursula death scene etc. and how I don't let things like that bother me.

Ah, gotcha. Thinking about it more, I think they may have been in a bind because of the music. Although there are lots of great songs from Disney films, the Little Mermaid's music is an important part of its success--I mean the music is what many people think of first when they think of that film. So I'm wondering if they felt compelled to put in all those "numbers" from the movie and that left little room for the rest of the story.

 

[SleepingMonk]

.... my sensitive six year old. This she might actually ride through without hiding her eyes. And who better to please than Ariel's biggest fans...

If all they wanted to do was impress six year olds they certainly didn't need to spend $100 million to do it.

 

[stitchcastle]

eh, it would be more impressive if we didn't already know what the French version would have been like (re-tooled story and all)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Ca8shhJ5U

 

[Enchantâmes]

If all they wanted to do was impress six year olds they certainly didn't need to spend $100 million to do it.

Really? I'm a 19 year old male and I was extremely impressed by this attraction. To say only 6 year olds are impressed with this highly detailed and High Quality dark ride experience is rediculous. They spent 100 million on it? Good thats what they used to spend on attractions like this, to say they shouldn't have is amazing to hear from Fanboys because they are constantly going on about how cheap things are done nowadays. So what if it isn't a thrill ride? They spent the money on something Everyone could enjoy.
Go to Universal and Have a Magical day there.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I think the problem here is that it doesn't look like they spent 100 million on the ride. Most of it is extremely enjoyable and impressive. A bit of it looks seriously like they received some sort of budget cut or something. Like 80% of the ride is really great, but that remaining 20% seriously needs some work. It's still fun regardless though. I'd have a hard time not coming off with a big smile. For that, it deserves respect. I doubt imagineers were responsible for the issues it has. Really looks like a budget issue or something...

I'd find it hard to believe someone could come out of the ride and not enjoy ANY of it, but there are still flaws that should have been addressed (and still might be in the future).

 

[Lee]

Really? I'm a 19 year old male and I was extremely impressed by this attraction. To say only 6 year olds are impressed with this highly detailed and High Quality dark ride experience is rediculous. They spent 100 million on it? Good thats what they used to spend on attractions like this, to say they shouldn't have is amazing to hear from Fanboys because they are constantly going on about how cheap things are done nowadays. So what if it isn't a thrill ride? They spent the money on something Everyone could enjoy.
Go to Universal and Have a Magical day there.

Really? Name the times they have spent $100mil on an omnimover dark ride...

I don't mind them spending that kind of coin, so long as I can SEE where that kind of money went. On Mermaid...I don't see it. :shrug:

 

[TP2000]

I don't mind them spending that kind of coin, so long as I can SEE where that kind of money went. On Mermaid...I don't see it. :shrug:

I can't imagine they spent 100 Million on this thing either. It's a great ride, very classy looking with some obviously advanced animatronics, but it's not worth 100 Million.

I just found this video taken during yesterday's 4 hour soft opening window. Since they adjusted the lighting levels back down after the Cast Member Previews were over last week, the Under The Sea room is much better lit than it was during the first day of soft openings on Thursday. I rode Mermaid twice on Friday evening, and this video represents the type of lighting and effects I saw on that Friday ride.

There's still a lot of the rocky transition tunnels and Ursula's Grotto dark scenes that just show up as black holes on the video, but at least this HD video captures the mood of the ride the best that I've seen on YouTube thus far.

Enjoy the latest and best-shot HD Mermaid video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhrdr3yU7QE

 

[mp2bill]

I only know one person who's ridden it, but here's her consensus:

AAs are VERY fluid.

Ursula's sound wasn't working the first time around, but the AA was so expressive, you could tell exactly what she was saying/doing anyway.

Under the Sea Ariel's hair is still very weird. Apparently it does wiggle a little bit, so it's not completely stiff.

Part of Your World Ariel's hair is AMAZING.

The AAs' eyes move and their faces are capable of expression; this is utilized a lot in the Kiss the Girl scene. They lean in to kiss, Eric turns away sheepishly, Ariel looks down with a sad expression, etc.

King Triton looks very good.

Finale Ariel on the boat is so fluid, she is able to do a perfect princess parade wave.

Overall, she LOVED it.

Very cool. Even though I'm a dude, I'm looking forward to this ride.

 

[The Duck]

I can't imagine they spent 100 Million on this thing either. It's a great ride, very classy looking with some obviously advanced animatronics, but it's not worth 100 Million.

I just found this video taken during yesterday's 4 hour soft opening window. Since they adjusted the lighting levels back down after the Cast Member Previews were over last week, the Under The Sea room is much better lit than it was during the first day of soft openings on Thursday. I rode Mermaid twice on Friday evening, and this video represents the type of lighting and effects I saw on that Friday ride.

There's still a lot of the rocky transition tunnels and Ursula's Grotto dark scenes that just show up as black holes on the video, but at least this HD video captures the mood of the ride the best that I've seen on YouTube thus far.

Enjoy the latest and best-shot HD Mermaid video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhrdr3yU7QE

I can clearly see the difference in the lighting. Of course, different cameras can also make a huge difference as well but it does look better. As far as the $100 million, I don't care how much they spent as long as they didn't spend MY $100 million.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I can clearly see the difference in the lighting. Of course, different cameras can also make a huge difference as well but it does look better. As far as the $100 million, I don't care how much they spent as long as they didn't spend MY $100 million.

Well it technically is your money. Yours, mine, and everyone else who visits the parks contributes to the budgets for these rides. A small part at least.

 

[AEfx]

I think people are getting hung up on the reported budget. Last I knew, Disney didn't come out and line item anything with regards to attraction budgets. The 100M figure we hear may cover the R&D and both parks construction for all we know - I don't believe Disney ever specified "this single attraction construction at DCA is costing 100M".

If they did, I apologize - and linky please.

 

[TP2000]

If they did, I apologize - and linky please.

They didn't, and they probably never would, for any ride. So there won't be a link worth linking. :lol:

I think the 100 Million figure just got thrown around on Disneyland boards so much that it became a figure people used automatically.

 

[Lee]

They didn't, and they probably never would, for any ride. So there won't be a link worth linking. :lol:

I think the 100 Million figure just got thrown around on Disneyland boards so much that it became a figure people used automatically.

Nope. Disney PR has repeatedly used that figure, most notably in the LA Times, and that is also the figure I've heard quoted by inside sources.

We had a thread around here that talked about it. I distinctly remember my surprise that they would release such a figure, and was hoping that included all the R&D, site work and both versions of the ride.

 

[whylightbulb]

I rode Mermaid twice on Friday evening, and this video represents the type of lighting and effects I saw on that Friday ride.

There's still a lot of the rocky transition tunnels and Ursula's Grotto dark scenes that just show up as black holes on the video, but at least this HD video captures the mood of the ride the best that I've seen on YouTube thus far.

Enjoy the latest and best-shot HD Mermaid video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhrdr3yU7QE

Watching the video reminded me of another issue I have with the ride. That Ariel scratching her butt in Under The Sea is so disturbing. With respect to the lighting tweaks unless they can hide all the mechs. and repetitive motion of the cheap figures it only helps that scene a smidge.

 

[whylightbulb]

They didn't, and they probably never would, for any ride. So there won't be a link worth linking. :lol:

I think the 100 Million figure just got thrown around on Disneyland boards so much that it became a figure people used automatically.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/24/news/la-trb-little-mermaid-disney-03201117

 

[The Empress Lilly]

In the movie industry, (exaggarated) big budgets are a marketing instrument, to tell the public that you've got a blockbuster unbderway. Hollywood wants a big budget, or else the movie can't be marketed, the rights can't be sold, merchandise campaigns can't take off, no pre-opening buzz can be created in the media.


Also, astonishingly, of a $200 million movie budget, nowadays nearly half is for marketing, just half for the movie itself.


I think we may see both entertainment industry mechanics in action here, in the theme park industry.

 

[Lee]

I think we may see both entertainment industry mechanics in action here, in the theme park industry.

I wish that was the case...but it isn't.
There has been minimal, if any, marketing of the Mermaid ride outside of the SoCal market. Well under a million dollars worth.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Did Samuel E. Wright forget how to do Sebastian's voice, or is it a different voice altogether? Sounds a bit off to me.