Hot takes! Get ‘em while they’re hot! Mmm!

[Professortango1]

In the immortal words of Oingo Boingo,

Let's imitate reality
Let's strive for mediocrity
Let's make believe we're all the same
Let's sanitize our little brains

That's Disney in a nutshell.

My favourite song and so underappreciated!

My hottest take from when I finally got to visit DL last year is Pinocchio's Daring Journey is a far, far superior dark ride than Snow White and Roger Rabbit and is slightly better than Alice and the lack of attention it receives is really sad to see. I'd put it ahead of Snow White, Roger Rabbit, and Alice, and just behind Peter Pan and Mr. Toad.

Pinocchio is my favourite FL darkride with Roger Rabbit as my favourite in that style. I recently did a Disney survey and they asked me what attraction was the main focus of my trip, and I had to shout out to Pinocchio. Its perfection.

Pinocchio’s is very good, but you can’t beat Alice for the two levels, and of course Pan taps into primal joys no other ride does.

I do appreciate Alice, but the outdoor leaf section getting nerfed really hurt the 2nd half of that attraction. I understand it, but it lost something. And I have never liked the final sequence. It feels like the we have this long break with the outdoor section and then to return to the darkride for such a lackluster and short sequence has never worked for me, both before the recent refurb and the previous version with the floating Chesire Cat face. I think if they cut that last chunk it would be a stronger attraction for me. Or if they found a way to bring some darkride elements into the leaf section to make it flow into the final scene better.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Pinocchio is my favourite FL darkride with Roger Rabbit as my favourite in that style. I recently did a Disney survey and they asked me what attraction was the main focus of my trip, and I had to shout out to Pinocchio. Its perfection.

I had heard for so long from everyone how much they disliked it so i was braced for a bad time when we were in line but when I got off I was like wow that was such a good time.

I can see what about it people don't like but I think that's why I do like it. It's a very, very bizarre attraction and it has a very odd and unsettling atmosphere to it, but I think that's what makes it so unique and fascinating.

 

[Professortango1]

I had heard for so long from everyone how much they disliked it so i was braced for a bad time when we were in line but when I got off I was like wow that was such a good time.

I can see what about it people don't like but I think that's why I do like it. It's a very, very bizarre attraction and it has a very odd and unsettling atmosphere to it, but I think that's what makes it so unique and fascinating.

Yeah, it perfectly encapsulates the feeling of running away from home. The thrill and the fear and the comfort when you return home.

 

[mickEblu]

I had heard for so long from everyone how much they disliked it so i was braced for a bad time when we were in line but when I got off I was like wow that was such a good time.

I can see what about it people don't like but I think that's why I do like it. It's a very, very bizarre attraction and it has a very odd and unsettling atmosphere to it, but I think that's what makes it so unique and fascinating.

Yeah, it perfectly encapsulates the feeling of running away from home. The thrill and the fear and the comfort when you return home.

Really, it just feels gloomy and somber to me. And slow.

Compared to Pan that feels majestic and kind of taps into your inner child’s imagination or Alice which is quirky/ weird or Toad is quick and zany. Snow White isn’t perfect nor as cohesive as Pinocchio but it has some neat scenes and I prefer the tone to Pinocchio.

 

[mickEblu]

False!

Hear me out. I think Hyperspace Mountain feels more like an organic adventure in space than having a soundtrack perfectly synchronized and playing throughout the entire ride. A soundtrack I might add that doesn't really conjure up any feelings of space travel… for me at least. I miss those trippy echo sounds they used to play in the queue that I don't seem to hear anymore. It had more of an other worldly / ominous tone that went a long way in setting up the experience. I feel that Hyperspace Mountain is more of spiritual successor to the original Space Mountain than the 2005 version. But really the reason I like it more is the energy. It's so high energy you really feel like the coaster is going faster. Or maybe they turn the fans up? haha.

 

[D.Silentu]

I see where you're coming from. My opinions on Space Mountain are pretty well documented on this site. Before the 2005 refurbishment it felt like you were traveling through a version of outer space envisioned by Disney. After the refurbishment it became more void like, devoid of detail. The refurbishment last year helped a bit, but I wouldn't mind a little more visual interest on my trip through the cosmos. For instance, I don't see why the lasers they installed for Hyperspace Mountain couldn't be recolored white to represent comets zipping by.

 

[chadwpalm]

I don’t have a lot of hot takes but one of them is that Hyperspace Mountain is better than regular Space Mountain at Disneyland. I won’t even say classic because that would have been the 1977 version with no music.

I love Hyperspace Mountain. IDK if I love it more than Space Mountain, but I don't have any complaints when it is there.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

(Hot take morsel within a hot take: Of all the castle parks, the one that could possibly still work without their river is the MK. Guests frequently have to take pleasantly recharging modes of transportation across a whole lake and through forests to even get to the park. But, that's outside the park - I'd be very wary of this calculation. Within the park, within their day, people need pleasant recharging rides and MK doesn't have as many. Again, at least the PeopleMover is in Florida.)

True but MK also has lots of shows. CBMJ, COP, Tiki room, Hall of presidents, Sonny eclipse in Cosmic Rays, Laugh floor, Phillarmagic

 

[Professortango1]

Really, it just feels gloomy and somber to me. And slow.

Compared to Pan that feels majestic and kind of taps into your inner child’s imagination or Alice which is quirky/ weird or Toad is quick and zany. Snow White isn’t perfect nor as cohesive as Pinocchio but it has some neat scenes and I prefer the tone to Pinocchio.

See, Peter Pan is my least favourite. Or at least it was until Enchanted Wish. I think the first half of Peter Pan is great, but the last half is such a dud to me.

For me, the cage gag after Stromboli, the huge vastness of Pleasure Island, and the growing desperation of defunct Pleasure Island to being trapped to Monstro is such a slow build up that you really feel that relief seeing Gepetto and Jimminy confirming that we're almost home.

I just want to see it be given the revamp like Alice received, it would be incredible.

 

[britain]

See, Peter Pan is my least favourite. Or at least it was until Enchanted Wish. I think the first half of Peter Pan is great, but the last half is such a dud to me.

For me, the cage gage after Stromboli, the huge vastness of Pleasure Island, and the growing desperation of defunct Pleasure Island to bring trapped to Monstro is such a slow build up that you really feel that relief seeing Gepetto and Jimminy confirming that we're almost home.

I just want to see it be given the revamp like Alice received, it would be incredible.

Pinocchio really is a treasure. I think it’s unfortunate that its name always comes up as the most expendable of the Fantasyland dark rides.

 

[Misted Compass]

A Recharging Ride meets these requirements:

• An attraction that is restful, it lets you sit down and be off your feet.
• It provides some breeze to your face, and meandering motion throughout actual space (spinners don’t count)
• It shows off themed environments to stimulate interest but does not require your undivided attention (no plotlines please)
• Ideally it doesn't have long lines - I mean, sure, ideally NO attraction has long lines. But you seek out a Recharging Ride to find respite from the line waiting. It's a way to feel like "Yes, I'm marking down another ride as 'done' but I'm doing so in the most restful way possible.

This I think is a big part of why rides like Pirates, Mansion, and IASW (as well as a lot of the early Epcot rides) work so well. They don't try to grab your attention with thrills or a convoluted storyline, and this combined with their long ride time makes them well-suited to be "recharging". The only criterion they don't fit is having long queues but even then they're usually low waits during rope drop or after fireworks due to their high capacity.

 

[mickEblu]

Pinocchio really is a treasure. I think it’s unfortunate that its name always comes up as the most expendable of the Fantasyland dark rides.

I don’t think it’s expendable at all, even if my least favorite of all the FL dark rides. I mean something’s gotta be in last place right?

 

[mickEblu]

See, Peter Pan is my least favourite. Or at least it was until Enchanted Wish. I think the first half of Peter Pan is great, but the last half is such a dud to me.

For me, the cage gage after Stromboli, the huge vastness of Pleasure Island, and the growing desperation of defunct Pleasure Island to bring trapped to Monstro is such a slow build up that you really feel that relief seeing Gepetto and Jimminy confirming that we're almost home.

I just want to see it be given the revamp like Alice received, it would be incredible.

For me after Stromboli until Monstro (with the exception of Lampwick) it’s feeling pretty dreary/ boring. But yeah count me in for a revamp. It could use some (tasteful) touches. On another note I don’t even want them to try on Toad. I just think the odds of any modern tech upgrades being a net positive for Toad are slim to none. I’m sure there a couple spots like maybe some projected flames in hell but not sure they want to play up the hell aspect.

 

[Agent H]

For me after Stromboli until Monstro (with the exception of Lampwick) it’s feeling pretty dreary/ boring. But yeah count me in for a revamp. It could use some tasteful touches.

Maybe for the 75th.

 

[Disney Irish]

For me after Stromboli until Monstro (with the exception of Lampwick) it’s feeling pretty dreary/ boring. But yeah count me in for a revamp. It could use some (tasteful) touches. On another note I don’t even want them to try on Toad. I just think the odds of any modern tech upgrades being a net positive for Toad are slim to none. I’m sure there a couple spots like maybe some projected flames in hell but not sure they want to play up the hell aspect.

If anything I think Toad would just get some projection mapping but nothing beyond that. Its not large enough of a space I would think to do any major revamp other than cosmetic.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I'll go on record as to say that I find Pinocchio personally expendable. Not to the point that I would wish its removal on the park, mind, but I will shed no tears nor really feel much of anything if I never ride Pinocchio ever again. To me it holds little value, pretty much all of which is relegated to its ending.

If not for WDW's Pooh, I'd say it is the ride that LEAST deserved to be cloned multiple times.