Favorite dark ride at Hollywood Studios?

What is your favorite dark ride/simulator at Hollywood Studios?

  • Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

  • Star Tours

  • Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run

  • Rise of the Resistance

Results are only viewable after voting.
yensidtlaw1969

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
Rides.

By its very name, dark ride historically used dark (UV) light to illuminate the show scenes. Peter Pans Flight. Mansions graveyard.
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Well, yes, historically that's how it started with like the Pretzel stuff. OG Pan, Snow, and Toad were Dark Rides in the most traditional sense (although executed at an uncharacteristically high artistic level), but I've always been under the impression that it's since evolved to be a little more inclusive. Pirates uses very little actual UV, but surely is considered a Dark Ride. Small World would be a White Light Ride, neither relying on UV or darkness to accomplish its showscenes. You could get away with just calling it a "ride". Though I like the White Light Ride classification for it since it clearly has more going on than, say, the Carousel, which is more squarely a "ride". Though I guess you'd call that a Flat Ride.

I suppose Rise of the Resistance could similarly be considered a White Light Ride, though the lighting seems unconventional enough that my instinct was to call it a Dark Ride. You're definitely right that there's more to a Dark Ride than "it's kinda dark in there".

But Runaway Railway's use of Blacklight (while mixed heavily with projection and LED lighting) seems enough to consider it a Dark Ride. The figures are painted with it, set pieces in almost every scene use it, with some scenes being almost exclusively UV lit. It's a Hybrid-Dark Ride for sure, but I'd argue it's still of the Dark Ride genus.
 
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marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
yensidtlaw1969 said:
Well, yes, historically that's how it started with like the Pretzel stuff. OG Pan, Snow, and Toad were Dark Rides in the most traditional sense (although executed at an uncharacteristically high artistic level), but I've always been under the impression that it's since evolved to be a little more inclusive. Pirates uses very little actual UV, but surely is considered a Dark Ride. Small World would be a White Light Ride, neither relying on UV or darkness to accomplish its showscenes. You could get away with just calling it a "ride". Though I like the White Light Ride classification for it since it clearly has more going on than, say, the Carousel, which is more squarely a "ride". Though I guess you'd call that a Flat Ride.

I suppose Rise of the Resistance could similarly be considered a White Light Ride, though the lighting seems unvonventional enough that my instinct was to call it a Dark Ride. You're definitely right that there's more to a Dark Ride than "it's kinda dark in there".

But Runaway Railway's use of Blacklight (while mixed heavily with projection and LED lighting) seems enough to consider it a Dark Ride. The figures are painted with it, set pieces in almost every scene use it, with some scenes being almost exclusively UV lit. It's a Hybrid-Dark Ride for sure, but I'd argue it's still of the Dark Ride genus.
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I’d disagree with most, but hey.

Indoor ride would be a better description. Technically DHS has no dark rides. But today the argument can be as diluted as what’s an E ticket
 
yensidtlaw1969

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
I’d disagree with most, but hey.

Indoor ride would be a better description. Technically DHS has no dark rides. But today the argument can be as diluted as what’s an E ticket
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Well now I'm curious what you'd consider a Dark Ride from the original EPCOT Center lineup.

I think I've still got a tension headache from the last E-Ticket argument on these boards . . . #TeamNotMineTrain
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
Since there isn't any attractions that are appealing to me voting-wise and they need more to count with in attractions..
tenor.gif
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Logan L said:
Favorite dark ride at Hollywood Studio?
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We all need some fun diversion during these times, so I'll just play along and omit the definition talk. My favourite 'indoor ride like experiences' at DHS:

1 Star Tours. I always have a blast. Perfect since 2011.
2 GMR. :'( Added more to the park than just its ride experience. There is a DHS before and after GMR.
3 TSMM. I get severe Toy Story fatigue after twenty minutes at WDW, but this ride is fun. A good home video game.
4 Smugglers. A fantastic experience until the actual ride starts. A bad home video game.

Haven't done Rise or Mickey yet.
 
WondersOfLife

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
marni1971 said:
Rides.

By its very name, dark ride historically used dark (UV) light to illuminate the show scenes. Peter Pans Flight. Mansions graveyard.
Click to expand...
Would Spider-Man over at Universal be considered a dark ride?

-EDIT never mind. I gathered that the topic from anyone is basically opinionated at this point.
 
WondersOfLife

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Personally, I'd consider any ride that is indoor and not a roller coaster, and not too heavily reliant on screens, to be a "dark ride." Lighting style or not, that's just what I always called them.

Mickey & Minnie I would call a hybrid. Simulator/Dark Ride.
Star Tours is literally the opposite of a dark ride. That is purely a simulator.
Toy Story Mania is a wii game. I'd consider Buzz to be a dark ride tho.
I have no experienced the Star Wars attractions so I don't know.

Therefore, in conclusion, I say that HS doesn't have any true dark rides.
 
PSM

PSM

Well-Known Member
While Rise of the Resistance was a great ride, it felt almost too broken up to call it one single experience. And it doesn't help that 30 seconds after I got into the queue, the ride broke down and took a full 90 minutes for them to reset (I couldn't leave or I'd lose my boarding pass at that point).

Get into the queue. Ride breaks down. Wait 90 more minutes in the queue. Line starts moving and you eventually reach the preshow. Wait a few more for that to start. Short preshow. Move to another spot. Wait a bit longer. Get on a ship and second preshow or is this part of the ride? Exit and have another decent wait in a good length queue (mine was NOT a short wait at this point). Eventually get lined up and...wait some more. Finally go into a room and wait a few more minutes. Then another preshow thing? Board ride vehicle and the ride has definitely started. Great ride to the end.

I give a lot of props to Disney for this one, as they reached high. Did they achieve that? Opinions will vary from person to person but the general consensus seems like yes. The 90-minute ride breakdown literally right after I got into the queue didn't help my opinion - along with the fairly extended waits from section to section - but I'm still looking forward to riding it again, so I'd say they hit the mark. I'm hoping it will be a quicker/smoother experience the next time.

All that said, I've wanted a great Mickey ride in the parks since I was a kid and I'm in love with the new style of Mickey cartoons, so my vote goes there.
 

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