It would be nice to have a bypass option, like just pushing through the design station doors in Test Track. I’ve had cast encourage me to just do that before, though I hear it is looked down upon to do in Preshow 2 of CR.
i really hate the preshows for CR, and also wish there was a bypass option
The only thing that kills the idea of a bypass (other than it breaking the narrative in the first place) is how there's no easy way to implement it without the potential for messing up first time riders. Bypass hallway? Could easily confuse those "not in the know", unless there were specific audible announcements on where to go which could end up being awkward. Bonus points for the queue being themed as a museum exhibit though, the bypass hall could simply be a "gateway to further exhibits".
The original Test Track pre-show is a good example of one that sets up the ride well. You see them pick the 6th test, the crash test, and then you pull up to it during the actual ride, which amplifies that part of the attraction really effectively.
I personally enjoy the preshows in their current form, but I was a little disappointed my first time going through them. It almost feels like there's missing elements. I think what really kills the immersion for me is the whole Eson story element because the way it's set up makes it feel completely detached from the rest of the experience. Almost like the ride and the queue were designed separately from eachother and they needed to come up with something last minute to tie it altogether. It leaves me wondering what this experience was supposed to be if we really were visiting a Xandarian pavilion in EPCOT and Eson never showed up. Were we supposed to just be teleported to this ship, told to stare at a generator and then get teleported back? I mean the ride vehicles themselves feel extremely reminiscent of the parks original omnimovers so I was surprised to learn that they were merely "escape pods" and not intended to be part of the tour. In retrospect, a classic omnimover ride gone wrong parody would have been a huge cliche but it's still odd to me that being able to go back to witness the Big Bang in person wouldn't be a major selling point of a pavilion advertising alien technology. It's like the only reason we're boarding a starjumper is because of a last minute change of plans and not because we're visiting a pavilion (inspired by original EPCOT Center pavilions) where it's strongly implied we'd be boarding some kind of attraction. I think it would've made more sense to introduce Eson once you were on the actual ride but I can understand why they didn't do that.
This is what bugs me so much. So much of what we knew leading up to the opening of this attraction was spent hyping up this idea of time travel and the formation of the galaxy only for them to just.. not use it. If we were to immerse ourselves into this story, we're visiting this fictional pavilion with all this advanced alien technology, but the main attraction that we're lined up to see (pre-Eson) is a generator? If we're learning about Xandarian culture, why is this technology not being used to teleport us to Xandar? If we're learning about space, why are we just staring at it from a window instead of being shuffled onto starjumpers to explore the galaxy? It feels very anti-climactic up until the point Eson shows up and then the story just derails. Ok so we're boarding an omnimover and going back to the big bang... but we weren't originally supposed to. That's where things get confusing. The pieces are all there, but the way they're laid out feels wrong.
I love the idea of the Guardians highjacking a classic Omnimover ride. The first ride scene is a homage/ gentle parody of classic EPCOT attractions, and then Rocket takes control and launches you through a portal to the REAL Big Bang. The spinning gets a witty narrative purpose!
Huh? You mean you expected it to be dropped or you’ve heard something?
Rise's virtual queue lasted from when it opened in December 2019 thru the Covid closure (March 2020), and then lasted from the reopening (July 2020) to September 2021.
I did forget it was still around after the reopening, thanks for the reminder.
Yeah, we won the lottery twice in March 2021. Even got lower-numbered groups, which annoyed several of the kids.
I am wondering if this has to do with the fact EVERYONE is willing to ride Rise, where we have many folks unwilling to even try Guardians.
