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Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts vs Radiator Springs Racers
- Thread starter DisneyAndUniversalFan
- Start date
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
RSR is the obvious choice. Gringotts should be oh so much more....
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
Gringott's is a spectacular achievement. IMO it does not deserve the hate it's getting in this thread. From start to finish, it's one of the most immersive theme park experiences ever at a Disney or Universal park. It's all-encompassing; by the time you arrive at the "vaults," it feels like you've left Orlando and have entered a Potter film.
Better than Radiator Springs Racers? Apples and oranges. RSR is phenomenal. The transition from Pacific Wharf to Ornament Valley is jaw-dropping every single time. That said, it's always bothered me that the ride itself has no villian/obstacles. DCA needed a crowd-pleasing E-ticket, and the Imagineers delivered, but on some level RSR just plays it so safe.
Better than Radiator Springs Racers? Apples and oranges. RSR is phenomenal. The transition from Pacific Wharf to Ornament Valley is jaw-dropping every single time. That said, it's always bothered me that the ride itself has no villian/obstacles. DCA needed a crowd-pleasing E-ticket, and the Imagineers delivered, but on some level RSR just plays it so safe.
I dont think anyone is hating on the que and ambience of the ride, just the ride itself is so boring. A small drop, then you stop in front of a screen and watch a movie, then you go 50 ft and stop in front of another screen and watch a movie, then you go 50 ft and stop at another screen and watch a movie......its boring
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
I’ve never “noticed” that RSR ha no villains/ obstacles. I guess it’s a testament to how well done and unique it is. It’s interesting that the thought has never crossed my mind. I’m the same person that’s been complaining for a year + that Facilier most likely isn’t going to be in TBA
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
I much prefer Gringott's to Forbidden Journey.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
If it’ll really pulls off the feeling that you’re in those underground caves/ vaults and it’s more thrilling than FJ I expect I’ll feel the same. The vast majority of people seem to prefer FJ though
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I think it’s a victim of itself, the outside is incredible and the queue is incredible so the expectation is very high, then the ride is just meh, I’d been told before riding it was a combination rollercoaster / dark ride and I got off the ride thinking “that’s it?”
Maybe it was expecting a Mummy style roller coaster experience that ruined it for me, every time we started moving I got excited expecting a coaster section but within a couple seconds we were stopped again sitting in front of a screen.
Cool concept, horrible execution (imho).
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
I was glad it was more than just a coaster. That's too easy a copout for a story like Gringotts. The ending could have been stronger I'll admit. Just my opinion of course.
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
IMO the quality of the queue and preshows (and of Diagon Alley, really) is so high that Gringotts can really only be assessed as an overall experience rather than as simply a 4-minute ride (much like Rise of the Resistance). But even then, I'd argue you're underselling the 4-minute ride a bit. The set pieces are huge, the screens are massive (and become indistinguishable from the sets), the story is engaging (superior to FJ, IMO), and the coaster trains speed quickly from scene to scene. There are minor thrills at the beginning and end, both of which seem to delight riders.
After the collage approach of FJ ("hey look, it's a dragon! Whoa, a spider! Hey, it's the Whomping Willow! Okay, we're playing Quidditch now!"), I admire that Universal Creative was able to build an attraction that tells an extraordinarily specific story. Such rides are often a chore (Flight of Passage's preshow) or cheesy ("Recruits!"); here, it's really successful.
Do I wish the coaster section at the end lasted 10 more seconds? Yeah. Do I wish there was an AA dragon? Hell yeah. Do I wish Gringotts could be situated in a park that doesn't already have a dozen other screen-based rides? Yep. It's not without flaws, but IMO it's become wildly underrated. A couple tweaks and it'd be one of the high-water marks of themed entertainment.
FJ is more thrilling, for sure. Gringotts was Universal Creative's family-friendly course-correction after the nausea-inducing FJ. The wisdom of this might be debatable (kind of seems like Hogwarts should've been the family-friendly ride and Gringotts the thrill ride), but it's understandable why it ended up this way.
RSR is definitely well-done and unique, and I'm not sure it necessarily even needs a villian/drama. It's a perfect ride. But if we're comparing it to the other greatest attractions of all time, it's an interesting angle to consider. RSR is almost too polished; it's like an attraction designed by AI. Could use a little edge.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
Gringotts uses a coaster ride system for no discernable reason, really. Other than the drop track, they could have used the Toy Story Mania ride system and basically produced the same ride. The excellent queue is far too good for the ride it leads to.
RSR uses a logical ride system and is an improvement on its queue. Easy win.
RSR uses a logical ride system and is an improvement on its queue. Easy win.
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BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Gringott's is a tech demo that totally misses how to properly pace a ride. It does NOT deliver the experience it is meant to recreate, which is why it is so disappointing. The movies and books provide the expectancy. You can see how the design philosophies of a park and bark attraction gave way to Fast and the Furious Supercharged. The worst example of a mismatch between the ride design and the expected experience.
The queue is great. The ride system has a ton of promise. You can tell oodles of money was spent on it. But you can also tell the people who built out the ride don't understand ride design basics.
Maybe this thread highlights your point that the pendulum has swung to being overly critical. It's not like there isn't tons of money and a great build up (though by RotR standards no longer the high watermark). But for years it was heralded as the best of the best by the Uni crowd and it really missed the assignment. It doesn't help that the Mummy is ironically the template for the ride it should have been.
Though I might be more disappointed in the Mario Kart ride (TBD need to experience), so maybe Gringott's is finally off my hook.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
All I needed from Gringotts was an epic mine cart coaster through big sets. The books and the movies all made us want to go on a ride down into the vaults.
Instead we got…. what we got…
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
This is likely why I have such a contrarian view on Gringotts. I am only faintly familiar with the last few Potter books/films, so I really had no expectations other than those set by the queue/preshow.
I will forever be incredulous at the ride system chosen for Mario Kart.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Honestly I think you are very right and that's the takeaway I see. Those who aren't terribly familiar with Potter seem to have more affinity for Gringott's.
Hogwarts Express from my angle though is perfection. Even without all the pomp it over delivers on its expected experience.
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
Gringotts is a fantastic experience from queue to disembark. RSR has some great moments, but the queue is dull and I'm not the biggest fan of the pacing of the attraction with short rush to quiet moment, short rush to quiet moment, dull bland moment to the final thrill.
I'm not a huge Potter fan, but Gringotts certainly won me over immediately.
I visit USO for Gringotts and Mummy, I don't visit DCA anymore. I think that tells me my mind enough.
I'm not a huge Potter fan, but Gringotts certainly won me over immediately.
I visit USO for Gringotts and Mummy, I don't visit DCA anymore. I think that tells me my mind enough.
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
What's funny is that all of the people trashing Gringotts for this are the same folks who openly love Soarin', the epitome of a tech demo attraction. An IMAX film with cuts, exposed ride system, unthemed theatre, bare bones queue.
Is Gringott's perfect? Nope. But at least we got an amazing queue with multiple pre-shows, fully immersive sets, plenty of great thrills, and a fantastic blend of screens and physical movement.
I mean, I'd take Gringotts over Mission BO any day of the week.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
We’ll agree to disagree on this one. But you value the technicality over the core pacing structure of how they narratively construct the actual experience.
Soarin over California is completely apples to oranges here - but exposed infrastructure does not mean it’s a tech demo. You are completely missing what I meant.
Since you brought it up- Soarin (over California at least) is a complete well paced crescendoing experience. Gringotts just does stuff because the ride vehicle can, but it makes poor structural sense and results in the flow constantly starting and stopping. It’s all a gimmick or ‘tech demonstration’ that doesn’t fit the core experience. For all the money they spent it actually would have been better off as a classic coaster.
At least mission breakout has the wherewithal to start frenetic and keep up its act.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
It’s funny that this is a pretty consistent finding. Does not remotely invalidate your opinion, but for whatever reason it plays way better to non fans. My expectancy clearly ruins my experience. That sucks, for me.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
I wonder if that’s a byproduct of non Potter fans having lower expectations due to riding it after Potter fans with poor-ish reviews? Otherwise I cant see how familiarity of IP would have that big of an impact on the ride experience. That really shouldn’t matter so much on a well designed attraction.