AEfx
Well-Known Member
Test Track is pretty much just that, a demonstration and showing off of technology.
Which is why the recurring breakdowns are so funny.
Let's hope they have worked some of those kinks out with Carsland...
Test Track is pretty much just that, a demonstration and showing off of technology.
Let's hope they have worked some of those kinks out with Carsland...
So long as recent trends continue this should not be a problem, but too much of recent Disney park history is filled with times where these complications would just result in one side being shut down "temporarily". Hopefully this will never be the case for Radiator Springs Racers or any future versions, if they opt to keep this potential headache.But I also have a hunch it's going to be the multiple track switches along the ride track and changes from a single-lane dark ride to a dual-lane racing ride outdoors that will cause the most headaches for WDI and Disneyland's maintenance department.
The Tea Cups and Dumbo were both C Tickets at Disneyland from the 1950's through the early 1980's. But both Luigi's and Mater's are a step above that, due to their interactive elements, big animatronic Cars characters that sit inside the ride or boarding area, in addition to their themed queue buildings and indoor pre-shows (NextGen perhaps?).
The Flying Saucers at Disneyland were actually an E Ticket while they existed from 1961 to 1966!
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And the Flying Saucers had a simple switchback queue, no pre-show, no music, no animatronic flying saucer characters talking to you and interacting with you, etc. While I don't think you can apply the modern interpretation of what an E Ticket is to Luigi's Flying Tires, it's definitely not just a C Ticket among the likes of the simple Teacups.
I think D Ticket is a good, solid rating for these two outdoor rides with a lot of extra bells and whistles added in just for fun, at John Lasseter's design request.
That should be an interesting story, especially after the ride is established and running daily in 2013, 2014, 2020, etc.
I've been on Journey To The Center Of The Earth at DisneySea a few times, and it uses a more advanced version of the Test Track technology, and seems to work well there.
I have a hunch they've gotten the major bugs worked out of the Test Track technology by now for the later versions of the ride system. But I also have a hunch it's going to be the multiple track switches along the ride track and changes from a single-lane dark ride to a dual-lane racing ride outdoors that will cause the most headaches for WDI and Disneyland's maintenance department.
Following this ride track layout of Radiator Springs Racers, and it's those track switches from outdoor to indoor and single-track to dual-track that seem to throw a lot of brand new problems the way of the engineers and the maintenance guys.
http://i49.tinypic.com/5tz2ar.jpg
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But, at least SoCal gets only a handful of rainy days per year, so they won't have to worry about the rain and lightning that shut Test Track with regularity year round, and can also wreak havoc in Tokyo's rainy weather for the outdoor portions of Journey To The Center Of The Earth.
For those unfamiliar with that image above (I just realized that may be a new image for many East Coasters here), the blue lines are the ride track and the red lines are the queue and exit paths. The green shaded areas are the entirely indoor dark-ride sections of the ride. The grey shaded area is vehicle storage and maintenance area. The tan shaded areas are rockwork and semi-indoor areas. And the white areas are completely outdoors.
The numbers correspond with the following;
1 = Unload Area, with off-line wheelchair boarding zone
2 = Loading Area
3 = Track goes over bridge over waterfall as vehicles climb rockwork facade
4 = Car Prep Room 1 for race sequence
5 = Car Prep Room 2 for race sequence
6 = Bunny Hills on fast race segment
7 = Super-banked turn on fast race segment
Cars Land would be very succesfull in DHS for this reason. Everyone from my six year-old sister to my mom and dad love the movie and know almost all the words. The cars franchise could be a real money maker in DHS.I have said all along that WDW is the perfect place for RS and they are putting it in DCA. At least in HS they had McQueen and Mater,but they don't do anything. If you have a child or grandchild like me who loves all things CARS and you have seen how their face lights up when they get up close to McQueen and Mater you can understand how CARS LAND will be successful. My grandson is 6 and he is determined to be the first in line to see the new movie and he knows every word of the first one. There are books, shorts and so many cars and accessories (not to mention clothes) taken from the movie theme that this land can't help but be successful. I only hope that WDW will add this as well. They can put it in the same area where the cars now are and do away with that part of the backlot tour and expand RS all back there. I think they will be sorry if they miss out on the opportunity again in WDW.:wave:
Cars Land would be very succesfull in DHS for this reason. Everyone from my six year-old sister to my mom and dad love the movie and know almost all the words. The cars franchise could be a real money maker in DHS.
It's not 1950 anymore. What would qualify as an E-Ticket in 1950 would not necessarily qualify as an E-Ticket today. I don't doubt that Luigi's Flying Tires and Tow Maters Junkyard Jamboree would be better attractions than their 1950s C-ticket counterparts, but relative to today's standards they likely won't be higher than a C.
But some of the original E-Tickets do continue to remain considered as such. Only a few attractions moved around during the life of the Tickets, the biggest traveler probably being the Jungle Cruise which was promoted to D-Ticket and then E-Ticket as each level was subsequently added onto the original A-C ticket system.It's not 1950 anymore. What would qualify as an E-Ticket in 1950 would not necessarily qualify as an E-Ticket today. I don't doubt that Luigi's Flying Tires and Tow Maters Junkyard Jamboree would be better attractions than their 1950s C-ticket counterparts, but relative to today's standards they likely won't be higher than a C.
Except the people who keep repeating that it is considered a D-Ticket the most are the insiders who report this as being the internal consensus.When WDI can spend over 100 Million dollars to build a lavish and technologically advanced animatronic musical spectacular attraction like Little Mermaid, and have most fans dismiss is as a "nice little D Ticket", there's probably no way something as unique and detail-filled as Luigi's or Mater's outdoor attractions can ever rank above a middling C Ticket.
Except the people who keep repeating that it is considered a D-Ticket the most are the insiders who report this as being the internal consensus.
I've had more than one WDI type roll their eyes when hearing Mermaid referred to as an E. Internally, it's a D.I was using the term "E Ticket" that key leaders for the Disney Company used to describe the Little Mermaid; Jay Rasulo in several public presentations in '08 and '09, most recently at the D23 Expo in September, 2009. And John Lasseter used the phrase "E Ticket" to describe the Mermaid ride in the video playing in the Blue Sky Cellar.
Fans didn't christen Mermaid as an E Ticket, it was key DisCo executives used that term and set the bar that high. Insiders on message boards have been skeptical of that description, and are saying its a D Ticket instead.
I've had more than one WDI type roll their eyes when hearing Mermaid referred to as an E. Internally, it's a D.
But, yeah...it's gonna be a big hit. DCA's numbers might approach DL levels this summer.
i believe you but my gosh the aa's look impressive i just posted a link to video of the ursula aa. in another thread
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...her-lair-at-disney-california-adventure-park/
Does anyone happen to know why the Flying Saucers only lasted 5 years at DL?
It just surprises me that they would build a new ride similar to an attraction that was so short lived.
Thanks for that video! Very cool.
So does that mean there were technology problems with the flying saucers (ie breaking down, wear and tear, etc) which led to the attraction's closure?
Apparently when the air compressors got out of sync, the system would cause all the saucers to bounce violently up and down for a few moments and then crash to a stop with a giant thud of air. It was quite dramatic, and often scared people. And to be kind, that was 50 years ago when Americans were far skinnier and lighter than we are today. Who knows what would happen with larger people trying to use them today?
Just think of how this raises the bar for the true E-Ticket, Radiator Springs Racers.Meh, that's just a pleasant, little D Ticket. It's no big deal.![]()
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