Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout announced for Disney California Adventure

[mickEblu]

Wait a minute. Are we now all switching our opinion of how this looks? Are we at that point were we start to praise this effort? Isn't that what we do around here? We start off hating the idea and the concept model. We watch it being built while making jokes. When it finally gets displayed we love it but wonder what is like inside. We wait in huge lines and post glowing reviews because its Disney! "Of its so much better than before! They should do this to DHS's version!"

I'm semi new to the Disney internet boards. Going on 5 years now. But this type of behavior seems very normal. Especially with something like an overlay of a fan favorite. After the shock and awe wears off, the speculation during the building process ends and folks have ridden it / given their initial opinion what's left to do? Sure, those of us against the overlay will still probably gripe about it from time to time. But most people move on the same way they do with other things in life. I think this has more to do with human nature and less to do with the fact that (all) of these changes are good. At a certain point I think most people try to see what good they can find in the situation and make the best of it. Within reason of course. If they turned TOT into a GOTG walk through that would probably be hard to do.

Aside from that, where else are we going to get our free falling fix at the park?

 

[Magic Feather]

Yes, and that concept was "Hotel Mel."
The Twilight Zone Theme did not dictate the shape or layout of either the building or ride mechanism. It was a tall structure. It could be just as well be a hotel, a museum, or a giant lowercase "t."

Actually... Hotel Mel was to be very different. A dark ride in fact.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

Just bummed this from the Tower's Wiki page. I think its interesting at least.

In the late 1980s, a second phase of development was being designed for Disneyland Paris (then Euro Disney). Included was a free-fall type ride in Frontierland that was to be named Geyser Mountain. It would have been part roller coaster, part free-fall ride that shot guests up a vertical shaft. The plan was scrapped, but was picked up by Disney's Hollywood Studios (then Disney-MGM Studios) as part of a massive expansion to their U.S. park. Several attractions had already been proposed, including "Dick Tracy's Crimestoppers", which would be later made into Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland. Still needing a major "E-ticket" attraction, the idea of a drop-shaft ride came up and was chosen.

There had been several proposed ideas for haunted attractions, including a ride based on Stephen King's novels, a Vincent Price ghost tour, a Mel Brooks-narrated ride, a real hotel, and a whodunit murder mystery, but none were constructed. They eventually settled on a 1930s Hollywood hotel with a Twilight Zone theme, but a new ride system had to be built, which would allow both more capacity inside the ride and make the drop fast. Otis Elevator Company created the vertical ride system, and Eaton-Kenway a ride vehicle that could drive itself horizontally. Disney licensed the rights to use The Twilight Zone intellectual property from CBS Inc

 

[Phroobar]

I'm semi new to the Disney internet boards. Going on 5 years now. But this type of behavior seems very normal. Especially with something like an overlay of a fan favorite. After the shock and awe wears off, the speculation during the building process ends and folks have ridden it / given their initial opinion what's left to do? Sure, those of us against the overlay will still probably gripe about it from time to time. But most people move on the same way they do with other things in life. I think this has more to do with human nature and less to do with the fact that (all) of these changes are good. At a certain point I think most people try to see what good they can find in the situation and make the best of it. Within reason of course. If they turned TOT into a GOTG walk through that would probably be hard to do.

Aside from that, where else are we going to get our free falling fix at the park?

Hesse the reason Disney really doesn't care what people think around here. No matter how much people scream when the Florida version WILL get changed, tourists will still ride it whether it is Twilight Zone, Guardian of the Galaxy or Doctor Strange themed.

Tourists, what do they know? It's just another ride to them.

 

[mickEblu]

Yes, and that concept was "Hotel Mel."
The Twilight Zone Theme did not dictate the shape or layout of either the building or ride mechanism. It was a tall structure. It could be just as well be a hotel, a museum, or a giant lowercase "t."

I'm not sure what Hotel Mel is but it doesn't change the fact that the structure is meant to be a hotel designed for an elevator drop ride. It's is now being repainted, windows and all, to become a power plant/ warehouse/ museum where they are shoehorning a concept that has nothing to do with the IP they are trying to force.

 

[mickEblu]

Hesse the reason Disney really doesn't care what people think around here. No matter how much people scream when the Florida version WILL get changed, tourists will still ride it whether it is Twilight Zone, Guardian of the Galaxy or Doctor Strange themed.

Tourists, what do they know? It's just another ride to them.

Yeah I agree. I and 99.9 % of others are still going to ride GOTG and spend money at the park so Disney doesn't care. But what happens after years of these decisions that are being made by leaders who don't understand their own brand accumulate?

On another note, I think and hope that Floridas TOT will be spared. I still need to ride it dammit.

 

[October82]

Yeah I agree. I and 99.9 % of others are still going to ride GOTG and spend money at the park so Disney doesn't care. But what happens after years of these decisions that are being made by leaders who don't understand their own brand accumulate?

This is a good point that is often overlooked when people make these comments. Single decisions like GotG have only a small impact on the bottomline, but these changes accumulate over time and will result in longterm gains or losses. I'd bet on the latter. Disney became the industry leader for reasons that aren't on display in Mission Breakout.

 

[mickEblu]

This is a good point that is often overlooked when people make these comments. Single decisions like GotG have only a small impact on the bottomline, but these changes accumulate over time and will result in longterm gains or losses. I'd bet on the latter. Disney became the industry leader for reasons that aren't on display in Mission Breakout.

Quadruple "Like"

 

[nevol]

Yeah, but people don't go on rides because they have pretty exteriors. My bigger problems though are just that when you think Guardians of the Galaxy..

Oh? But isnt that the only reason the Walt Disney World version is better than california's? The facade/force perspective, queue,and suspense built up along that masterful approach down sunset boulevard are a home run, and Disney California Adventure's stucco box was shoved behind two other stucco boxes, the animation building that is unthemed and the hyperion theater outdoor queue? Its nearly impossible to get a successful, impressive sight line of Disneyland's unless you are standing inthe fastpass distribution or cut a hole inthe back of animation. And the line is full of switchbacks, no overgrown beverly hills hotel garden driveway.

What about Twilight Zone screams "drop ride?"

 

[nevol]

TOT ride profile was brilliant. GOTG on the other hand...seems more like a textbook "square peg into round hole" scenario.

Agreed but the justification story that makes sense is an elevator in a haunted/supernatural hotel, NOT the IP, the twilight zone. So what you are actually criticizing is the convincability of the Gantry Lift justification story in Mission Breakout and not guardians IP. If you don't buy that to rescue prisoners from a museum collection that is stacked infinitely vertically in glass freight containers and that we are going to get in a lift tht looks an awful lot like an elevator and go get them, that makes more sense. It's a lot of leaps to make, a lot to digest, a lot more that isn't quite clear and needs further explanation.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

Agreed but the justification story that makes sense is an elevator in a haunted/supernatural hotel, NOT the IP, the twilight zone. So what you are actually criticizing is the convincability of the Gantry Lift justification story in Mission Breakout and not guardians IP. If you don't buy that to rescue prisoners from a museum collection that is stacked infinitely vertically in glass freight containers and that we are going to get in a lift tht looks an awful lot like an elevator and go get them, that makes more sense. It's a lot of leaps to make, a lot to digest, a lot more that isn't quite clear and needs further explanation.

Maybe it's just me, but the base premise of a haunted elevator in an old school hotel says "Twilight Zone" to me.

Again, I do "buy" the GOTG storyline and like I said before, that's not my problem with the attraction.

Oh? But isnt that the only reason the Walt Disney World version is better than california's? The facade/force perspective, queue,and suspense built up along that masterful approach down sunset boulevard are a home run, and Disney California Adventure's stucco box was shoved behind two other stucco boxes, the animation building that is unthemed and the hyperion theater outdoor queue? Its nearly impossible to get a successful, impressive sight line of Disneyland's unless you are standing inthe fastpass distribution or cut a hole inthe back of animation. And the line is full of switchbacks, no overgrown beverly hills hotel garden driveway.

What about Twilight Zone screams "drop ride?"

That's not what makes Floridas better. There are more differences.

And you have it backwards. The drop ride concept was pitched first and then the Twilight Zone IP was brought in to complete it. If Disney had set out to make a TZ attraction first, it would probably look different than TOT.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Wait a minute. Are we now all switching our opinion of how this looks? Are we at that point were we start to praise this effort? Isn't that what we do around here? We start off hating the idea and the concept model. We watch it being built while making jokes. When it finally gets displayed we love it but wonder what is like inside. We wait in huge lines and post glowing reviews because its Disney! "Of its so much better than before! They should do this to DHS's version!"

We?

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Why does an elevator open up to the outside? There's no door to the outside on elevators. And if it's just opening up randomly around the building, why doesn't it open up into a bedroom since they're so plentiful in a hotel?

If you look closely at the building the elevators appear to have opened to a vertical hallway (similar to the scenes you see on the way up) that was destroyed after the lightening strike. It's always bothered me a bit that the exterior architecture didn't align properly with the story when scrutinized closely, but for show purposes it was fine.

 

[sedati]

Actually... Hotel Mel was to be very different. A dark ride in fact.

At first, yes. Originally you would ride in golf carts. The concept did eventually evolve into an elevator drop ride. Mel left when it moved too far from his original concept and he had movies to make.

 

[sedati]

...but it doesn't change the fact that the structure is meant to be a hotel designed for an elevator drop ride. It's is now being repainted, windows and all, to become a power plant/ warehouse/ museum where they are shoehorning a concept that has nothing to do with the IP they are trying to force.

No, I think it's a structure that's meant to house a drop ride. The hotel aspect is simply set dressing. The elevator concept works well for a drop mechanism, but not so well as I've never been in an elevator that starts off by moving backwards.
This is a simple IP swap. It's no more forced than putting a restaurant in the Carthay Circle THEATER.

 

[sedati]

Maybe it's just me, but the base premise of a haunted elevator in an old school hotel says "Twilight Zone" to me.

Not to hammer a point, but Twilight Zone stories were always more nuanced and layered. I wouldn't even put this within the realm of "Outer Limits," or "Amazing Stories." The simple scenario we got was more fitting for "Tales From the Crypt," "Goosebumps," or even "Tales From the Hood."

 

[nevol]

Maybe it's just me, but the base premise of a haunted elevator in an old school hotel says "Twilight Zone" to me.

Again, I do "buy" the GOTG storyline and like I said before, that's not my problem with the attraction.

That's not what makes Floridas better. There are more differences.

And you have it backwards. The drop ride concept was pitched first and then the Twilight Zone IP was brought in to complete it. If Disney had set out to make a TZ attraction first, it would probably look different than TOT.

It says Twilight Zone to you because for the entirety of your life, the Twilight Zone IP has been attached to a built structure, an experience that you have had first-hand, and one that has clearly been very impressionable upon you. If you did market research in 1985, long before the Tower of Terror was constructed, and in a survey listed dozens of random words underneath the name twilight zone and asked survey-goers to identify which words the Title reminds them of, there would be no statistical significance to the frequency with which Haunted +/or Elevator are selected.

 

[October82]

The elevator concept works well for a drop mechanism, but not so well as I've never been in an elevator that starts off by moving backwards.

The "elevator" moving backwards aspect isn't present in the original version of the attraction. In the DCA version it appears for engineering reasons. If we're talking about the development and "fit" of the attraction concept, this isn't the most relevant observation.

 

[sedati]

The "elevator" moving backwards aspect isn't present in the original version of the attraction. In the DCA version it appears for engineering reasons. If we're talking about the development and "fit" of the attraction concept, this isn't the most relevant observation.

But we are talking about the development and fit of the concept in DCA are we not? Moving backwards is unique to the second generation towers and is an oddity that may be thematically rectified in the new iteration.

If you like I'll rephrase what I wrote:
"The Disney MGM Studios elevator concept worked well for a drop mechanism, but not so well in the later versions as I've never been in an elevator that starts off by moving backwards."

 

[sedati]

This is a good point that is often overlooked when people make these comments. Single decisions like GotG have only a small impact on the bottomline, but these changes accumulate over time and will result in longterm gains or losses. I'd bet on the latter. Disney became the industry leader for reasons that aren't on display in Mission Breakout.

Yes, this may not be Disney putting their best foot forward. But if all you do is put your best foot forward, you eventually fall down. Not everything has to be a budget buster and synergy is far from the worst thing they can push for.