Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! Reviews, Photos, Info

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
Vs. Tower of Terror, which has zero animatronics?

The only physical characters in TOT was the hotel itself, us, and the ghosts. The hotel was represented physically. We were represented physically via reflection. And the ghosts were projected onto a pane of glass for the purpose of appearing as apparitions and vanishing instantly.

Guardians has physical characters like Rocket (love his AA in the line, wish he was in the ride), Groot, Gamora, Starlord, Drax, and the creatures they fight. All of these are represented via screen in the ride because its easier. They could have had a Rocket or Groot AA pop up behind the crates or out of a wall panel, but they didn't because digitally was easier. They could also have worked practical effects into the frame. A blast causes a puff of smoke or damage to appear right next to lift. Wow, that almost hit us, I guess we ARE involved in this action.

The ride works. Its not amazing, but it works. Its like if Universal designed Star Tours The Adventure Continues. I did wish it had more "wow" factor in the ride with Disney magic happening right before us, drawing us into the action instead of breezing past it. The queue is really well done though outside of the repetitive videos. I imagine the queue took up most of their time as the reconstruct on the ride seems minimal.
 

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
True...but, IMO, guests were never able to suspend disbelief to the extent you're implying here with DCA's ToT where there's any real impact of what you're calling psychological horror. It's easy to claim that was the intended effect and reasoning behind budget-cutting decisions, but if you asked anyone riding if they ever actually experienced that way, I think you'd be hard pressed to find people who said yes. Just as there are a lot of movies that are intended to scare, laugh, thrill, but never actually do for several reasons. Not to say DCA's ToT was a bad ride by any stretch, but I don't think the scares went a whole lot deeper than the screams coming from people while dropping and maybe those who are creeped out by ghostly little children.

To each their own. My parents don't like drop rides. They loved TOT because of the storytelling. My friend would get anxiety before riding every time even though she visits Six Flags regularly just fine. The psychology got to her. I myself am not thrill junkie. I rode TOT because of the psychological horror they built into it. I'm sure many others ride for the physical thrill alone. Some ride Space Mountain because its a coaster, others ride Space Mountain because its an adventure through space.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The OC Register newspaper now has their official review up, by their famed reporter Mark Eades who worked for Walt Disney Imagineering for several decades back in the 20th century. Like the rest of the media, it's a rave review of the new ride. Here's his summary...

"This new attraction, replacing the Tower of Terror, is a great adventure.

Disney Imagineers and the Marvel Comic team did a great job of putting this together.

Before, it was a nice suspenseful set-up for the out-of-control elevator ride in “The Twilight Zone.” But it was just that, a thematic set up for “a ride” which had little in the way of show once seated in the elevator.

Now the entire building, including the ride, is what I call an attraction. The set-up is fun, and there are lots of “Easter Eggs” to find and look for in the queue line, lobby and office.

The ride portion packs a lot of story and visual moments throughout, pacing the thrills with fun visual bits throughout.

To the naysayers who complained about the Tower of Terror’s removal I say: Go to Florida and visit that one, it’s the attraction the one in California never quite was.

My letter grade for this attraction: A."

Rest of the review and article, including photos, is here... http://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/2...iew-guardians-of-the-galaxy-mission-breakout/
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Videos of reporters riding the ride are coming out and some are downright hilarious. They go from interested and excited to screaming real fast. This is probably the best I've found so far




That is hilarious!



Anchor: What can you tell us of how the newly themed ride works?

Reporter: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Anchor: When will this be open to the public?

Reporter: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Anchor: How will this ride be incorporated into the future development of the park?

Reporter: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Anchor: Thank-you Corey. And now, the weather...​
 

TrojanUSC

Well-Known Member
I'm not discrediting, I'm referring to what the people who buit it said.

As for the ending, I loved having it bookended as DCA's was. Having the same CM close the doors and open the doors really led to some amazing performances. No longer was the bellhop a theme park employee loading you in and another helping you unload, now it was personal. This bellhop was sealing in your fate and smiling knowingly upon re-entry. It really helped the horror concept because it became a "did that really just happen?" effect while the people outside the experience insist that you were only in their for a moment, it must have been your imagination. Classic psychological horror. Loved it so much!

Meanwhile, to just about everyone else who has been on both, the fact you cross through an unthemed hallway detracts from the feeling you're stepping onto an actual elevator. My fondest memories of visiting WDW as a kid were of the bellhops at Tower's load - giving you a very creepy welcome spiel with the doors to the lift opening just behind them. At the unloading area, it was truly baffling to me how you wound up at a different location and added to the feeling of you "went somewhere else" rather than just sat on an amusement park ride.

Yes, the fifth dimension scene suffered from last minute-budget cuts but the ending of that scene, crossing through an opening starfield, still stands out.

None of this speaks to the campy (correct usage), cheap nature of the DCA boiler room vs. the very real feeling boiler room in Florida. Add to this the unbeatable queue and vastly superior architecture, you truly get the sense that you were in a real abandoned hotel. New guests often ask in Florida if it was a real hotel, which simply did not happen in CA.
 
D

Deleted member 107043

However as long as a ride is screen based, they could swap themes relatively easily and inexpensive while ensuring they are always Showcasing the hottest IP.

Having the ability to regularly update attractions is a good thing IMO. I also think you may be overstating the reliance on screens in MB and other new attractions. What I see trending, at least at Disney Parks, is the use of mutiple mediums to tell a story, and that includes screens, sound effects, AA figures, practical effects, scents, projections, synchronized vehicle motion, and thematic props all in the same ride. Mission Breakout, Flight of Passage, Mystic Manor, and SDL's Pirates are recent examples of how Disney is combing a range of techniques on different scales.
 
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MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
None of this speaks to the campy (correct usage), cheap nature of the DCA boiler room

If it was **purposefully** cheap, and not just cheap because they wanted to or had to be cheap. And the purposefully cheap look was to convey a higher artistic purpose... then **that** would be campy.

Otherwise, it's just cheap.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Meanwhile, to just about everyone else who has been on both, the fact you cross through an unthemed hallway detracts from the feeling you're stepping onto an actual elevator.
All the more reason to change it to the new theme that works better for the building. To be fair, it wasn't unthemed, and when you boarded, the lights were out to hide the hallway as much as possible. When you returned, they were on.
My fondest memories of visiting WDW as a kid were of the bellhops at Tower's load - giving you a very creepy welcome spiel with the doors to the lift opening just behind them.
Unfortunately, it seems like most of them don't do this anymore.
None of this speaks to the campy (correct usage), cheap nature of the DCA boiler room vs. the very real feeling boiler room in Florida.
It's unfortunate, though, that the Florida boiler room's atmosphere has been neutered by disappearing/disabled effects, and (probably) middle management increasing the light level to completely bright and not creepy at all.
 

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
Meanwhile, to just about everyone else who has been on both, the fact you cross through an unthemed hallway detracts from the feeling you're stepping onto an actual elevator. My fondest memories of visiting WDW as a kid were of the bellhops at Tower's load - giving you a very creepy welcome spiel with the doors to the lift opening just behind them. At the unloading area, it was truly baffling to me how you wound up at a different location and added to the feeling of you "went somewhere else" rather than just sat on an amusement park ride.

Yes, the fifth dimension scene suffered from last minute-budget cuts but the ending of that scene, crossing through an opening starfield, still stands out.

None of this speaks to the campy (correct usage), cheap nature of the DCA boiler room vs. the very real feeling boiler room in Florida. Add to this the unbeatable queue and vastly superior architecture, you truly get the sense that you were in a real abandoned hotel. New guests often ask in Florida if it was a real hotel, which simply did not happen in CA.

Yeah, the Hallway between load and vehicle never bothered me because I didn't notice it until my 5th time or so. Most don't notice it as the doors open to reveal the elevator and you can't see the hallways. You then walk to the elevator and sit down without really looking around because we're excited and focused at that point. The hallway was a flaw, but one that didn't jump out unless you were looking for it.

The unload in Florida felt like the end of a theme park ride. The car swivels around, the wall closes, and the ride vehicle pulls up to the unload area. Its not like the ride ended as it began. At the end, its very clear you are in a theme park ride vehicle moving between scenes.

But you're right, DHS definitely has the better facade and queue. Its fantastic. If someone could build DHS' facade and queue and have it become DCA's once the elevator doors close, it would be perfect.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Yeah, the elevator swiveling to the side to line up with the unload door is a necessary evil of that ride system. There really wasn't any other way to do it. Your vehicle has to get out of the drop shaft for the next vehicle to start its drop sequence. With correct timing, once the drop shaft doors in front of you shut, the next vehicle will be entering the drop shaft in only a few seconds.
 

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
Yeah, the elevator swiveling to the side to line up with the unload door is a necessary evil of that ride system. There really wasn't any other way to do it. Your vehicle has to get out of the drop shaft for the next vehicle to start its drop sequence. With correct timing, once the drop shaft doors in front of you shut, the next vehicle will be entering the drop shaft in only a few seconds.

I accept it, just wish they would have had the car move forward out of the drop shaft right up to the elevator doors and had the unload area look eerily similar to the Boiler Room. Or even blackness with stars until the elevator doors light up and we move directly toward them. Seeing the screen with the silent projection swirling and then having the car move about in bright lighting reminds me of the end of Midway Mania.
 

2351metalcloud

Active Member
How feasible would it be for them to put this same system in the Paris or Tokyo towers? Could they put the same system in one of those, but change it to be based on the elevator scenes in the Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer and/or Captain America: The Winter Soldier?
 

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