Favorite New Attraction of Fantasyland Expansion

[pax_65]

But I'm not talking about the intellectual rights to the Harry Potter property as being the reason Universal's expansion is more impressive. I was strictly speaking about the quality and scope of the attraction.

THANK YOU. Exactly what I was thinking. I'm more excited about Harry Potter than I am about the Fantasyland expansion, and I haven't been to Universal in probably 6 years (I go to Disney at least once a year).

The first time I rode "Spiderman", I thought I was witnessing the start of an evolution of theme park attractions, and I was expecting Disney to answer with something even cooler (something to top Tower of Terror and Test Track). But Disney never really did. We got Soarin' and Toy Story Mania, both innovative and cool but not exactly groundbreaking.

So the next step forward in high-tech attractions appears to be from Universal again with Harry Potter. I can't wait to ride it on my next trip to Orlando.

 

[Horizons1]

I don't get this big hoopla about the Forbidden Journey ride? I went there yesterday for the first time with my family, had a 2 hour wait. The queue is beautiful, and really feels like an attraction of it's own.

I had enormous expectations for this attraction, and to be honest I was really letdown.

The whole attraction consisted of various motion effects, and was basically like a more advanced Soarin', only more advance-er. My wife felt extremely nauseous, and had to lay down on a bench for half an hour.

I would much rather prefer a state of the art dark ride, with 100's of detailed, and advanced AA, than a bunch of screens.

If you ask me the Indian Jones ride in Disney Land is easily the best attraction in America, if you ask me.

I guess you were in the wrong park on the wrong FJ then because the real FJ does have numerous AA, not just Soarin' type screens.

 

[RadioHead]

I guess you were in the wrong park on the wrong FJ then because the real FJ does have numerous AA, not just Soarin' type screens.

Yes it does have numerous AA, but not as many as the haunted mansion, or Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

[Lee]

Yes it does have numerous AA, but not as many as the haunted mansion, or Pirates of the Caribbean.

AA heavy rides like that are now pretty much extinct.

 

[dxwwf3]

AA heavy rides like that are now pretty much extinct.

That makes sense too because nobody likes or remembers those style attractions :lookaroun

 

[JROK]

AA-heavy rides like PotC and HM are fun, but they're not engaging. I still love those rides, but I've been there, done that 1000s of times and yes, have the shirt. Rides like Dinosaur, Indiana Jones, Spider-Man and now Forbidden Journey are more engaging, interactive rides. You're no longer just a passive passenger floating by, spying in on another world. Instead you're right there, in the thick of the battle, your heart races, you flinch and duck as things fly at you. It's like taking a bunch of attractions and mixing them together to make these new hybrids of the future. You take the 3D theater attractions with the "4D" effects such as water and wind, mix it with the motion simulator 6-dof, put it through a scenic environment that is right there in your face, mix in some actors, music and lighting from old darkrides and you have yourself awesome technological experiences!

This is the future, and Disney was right there in the mid-late 90s paving the way, but then they got lazy and now all we have are refurbs and transplants.

Disney World hasn't had a new experience since Mission: Space, and before that, Dinosaur.

 

[wizards8507]

Disney World hasn't had a new experience since Mission: Space, and before that, Dinosaur.

Expedition: Everest?

 

[dxwwf3]

AA-heavy rides like PotC and HM are fun, but they're not engaging.

If they stand the test of time and are the most popular rides in theme park history, those style rides have done something right. People who know nothing about theme parks know about POTC, HM, IASW. You can throw Space Mountain in the mix too, but AA heavy rides have kept people coming back again and again.

I absolutely love the more thrilling attractions and I also love when new technologies are introduced with them. But completely stopping AA heavy rides similar in style to HM and POTC is a flat out mistake.

 

[stargrl33]

I am looking forward to the Fantasyland expansion for several reasons.

The largest reason is The Little Mermaid ride. TLM was my favorite movie when I was little - my "first" Disney movie, basically.

I am not a Dumbo ride fan but I think what they are doing is going to be fantastic, especially for people with kids.

I love Fantasyland the way it is now, but I have always thought they could do more with the architecture and theming. Some of it is really sort of "plastic" looking. I really hope they pull out all the stops with this expansion and hopefully extend the overall look to the rest of Fantasyland.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I heard positive reviews of many of the Animatronics for The Little Mermaid ride. While the main animatronic for Ariel will be done by Disney (including the hair we've heard about), many of the others will be done by the company Garner Holt.

 

[dxwwf3]

Hopefully Ariel's hair will look better than it does in Philharmagic :lol:

 

[The Empress Lilly]

If they stand the test of time and are the most popular rides in theme park history, those style rides have done something right. People who know nothing about theme parks know about POTC, HM, IASW. You can throw Space Mountain in the mix too, but AA heavy rides have kept people coming back again and again.

I absolutely love the more thrilling attractions and I also love when new technologies are introduced with them. But completely stopping AA heavy rides similar in style to HM and POTC is a flat out mistake.

Yeah, one would think so, not?

Everybody loves Pirates and the Mansion, us old farts won't shut up about Horizons. AA-driven rides simply work, the medium is perhaps old, but not quite dead.

I would love to see WDW go full out with an AA-driven ride again. It could be awesome. Why, they could even place you in a slow moving floating log and end the ride with a fun 45 foot splash. That would work.


Not being conservative here - I loves me a thrill ride and coasters can never be quite fast and high enough for me. I just have a thing for old skool AA rides.

 

[dxwwf3]

Yeah, one would think so, not?

Everybody loves Pirates and the Mansion, us old farts won't shut up about Horizons. AA-driven rides simply work, the medium is perhaps old, but not quite dead.

I would love to see WDW go full out with an AA-driven ride again. It could be awesome. Why, they could even place you in a slow moving floating log and end the ride with a fun 45 foot splash. That would work.


Not being conservative here - I loves me a thrill ride and coasters can never be quite fast and high enough for me. I just have a thing for old skool AA rides.

Absolutely. You take away the drops at Splash Mountain and you're right, you've got the 90's version of those classics from the 60's and 70's.

I love rides like Dinosaur, Spider Man, Forbidden Journey, and Mission Space, but there should be room for both.

 

[misterID]

I think TLM and the recent advancements in AA tech by Disney (Jack Sparrow, Obama, Lincoln) pretty much shows they're not quite dead yet. AA rides may never be on the scope of HM, which is sad, but AA's have always been a Disney trademark. I can't see that changing, no matter how many Imagineers love their screens

 

[AndyMagic]

I don't get this big hoopla about the Forbidden Journey ride? I went there yesterday for the first time with my family, had a 2 hour wait. The queue is beautiful, and really feels like an attraction of it's own.

I had enormous expectations for this attraction, and to be honest I was really letdown.

The whole attraction consisted of various motion effects, and was basically like a more advanced Soarin', only more advance-er. My wife felt extremely nauseous, and had to lay down on a bench for half an hour.

I would much rather prefer a state of the art dark ride, with 100's of detailed, and advanced AA, than a bunch of screens.

If you ask me the Indian Jones ride in Disney Land is easily the best attraction in America, if you ask me.

Not for nothing but calling the ride a "more advanced Soarin" is completely ridiculous. If anything it is a more advanced Spiderman. Soarin is a big theatre with seats that wiggle and vehicles that don't progress through a building. The "screens" you see in Forbidden Journey are on a carousel and move with your ride vehicle to provide every single ride vehicle in the building with a personal experience as they transition from set to set. Also, 50% of the ride is NOT screens and consists of full elaborate physical sets. What ride has Disney built in the last 10 years that has 100s of detailed AAs? Everest? Soarin? Midway Mania, a ride which Disney fanatics think is the second coming, is literally a video game with 100% screens and nothing else. What am I missing here? Forbidden Journey is clearly and without a doubt the most advanced ride of the past decade. It isn't really up for debate. And the fact that your wife got sick to her stomach afterward isn't a flaw with the ride. People get sick on lots of rides that are thrilling including some of the best attractions in the world like Tower of Terror.

 

[DisneyDellsDude]

The best thing about the FL Expansion is that our Fantasyland will finally get back into the game.

 

[pax_65]

The best thing about the FL Expansion is that our Fantasyland will finally get back into the game.

It is nice to see DisneyWorld get some love, and Fantasyland especially - as aside from rehabs and meet & greets we haven't seen anything since Pooh. Hopefully it's just the start of what we'll see in the parks over the next decade. I hope so!

 

[RadioHead]

Not for nothing but calling the ride a "more advanced Soarin" is completely ridiculous. If anything it is a more advanced Spiderman. Soarin is a big theatre with seats that wiggle and vehicles that don't progress through a building. The "screens" you see in Forbidden Journey are on a carousel and move with your ride vehicle to provide every single ride vehicle in the building with a personal experience as they transition from set to set. Also, 50% of the ride is NOT screens and consists of full elaborate physical sets. What ride has Disney built in the last 10 years that has 100s of detailed AAs? Everest? Soarin? Midway Mania, a ride which Disney fanatics think is the second coming, is literally a video game with 100% screens and nothing else. What am I missing here? Forbidden Journey is clearly and without a doubt the most advanced ride of the past decade. It isn't really up for debate. And the fact that your wife got sick to her stomach afterward isn't a flaw with the ride. People get sick on lots of rides that are thrilling including some of the best attractions in the world like Tower of Terror.

Still I came there with 0 expectations, and left away unimpressed. My wife has never gotten sick on any of the rides in Disney world, but regardless. Sure it's nice technology, but not everyone has to be OMFG!!! about it. I still think that Horizons or the original JIYI was WAY better than this, but hey it's only my opinion.

 

[_Scar]

What is so different besides her clothes changing, or making B-day cards for Sleeping Beauty? If you want to call it an experience go a head but a M&G is nothing more than a M&G no matter how you dress it up.

Isn't an experience an attraction?

This is much more than a

step 1: wait
step 2: stand next to cinderella
step 3: picture
step 4: exit

No matter how you dress it up.

 

[tirian]

I still think that Horizons or the original JIYI was WAY better than this, but hey it's only my opinion.

Horizons and Imagination rides remain the golden standards of total immersion. Ride technology has improved since then, but those two attractions combined everything—AAs, screens, lavish detail, special effects, and the most cutting-edge tech available—to create unprecedented ride experiences.

We can only dream about how incredible Imagination would have been with Pooh's Hunny Hunt ride vehicles, or how convincing Horizons would have been with the latest AAs and HD projections.