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Inside WDW new space mountain 11/10/09
- Thread starter mitchjs
- Start date
djkidkaz
Well-Known Member
Why change the track? That is part of the rides nostalgia and charm! Alot of people like SM because it reminds them of coasters from their childhood. If you replace the whole track, you take away that "old coaster feel" element that so many love. Theres not many places left in the world where you can even ride one of those old coasters. Most of them had to come down due to parts not being available anymore and the high maintenance costs.
If the complaint is that it should be more current/ futuristic like todays space travel, then what about a ride like Jungle Cruise? If I leave tomorrow for a REAL Jungle Cruise in South America, there not going to be playing Big Band music on the way to the jungle, it would be something current. So I guess that the Jungle Cruise queue music should change as well to match current music. :shrug: If Jungle Cruise can keep its nostalgia of the past, then why not Space Mountain?
Space Mountain is a ride COMPLETELY in the dark and now with the enclosed queue its going to be pitch black in there. We've already had numerous reports that the projections are now HD quality and I can confirm this myself as I've seen it from the TTA. So I guess as long as they've done something to the launch and re-entry tunnels then every part of Space Mountain that guests can actually SEE has had some upgrades, yet its kept its nostalgic charm by keeping the track that most people love.
Looks like another win in my book.
If the complaint is that it should be more current/ futuristic like todays space travel, then what about a ride like Jungle Cruise? If I leave tomorrow for a REAL Jungle Cruise in South America, there not going to be playing Big Band music on the way to the jungle, it would be something current. So I guess that the Jungle Cruise queue music should change as well to match current music. :shrug: If Jungle Cruise can keep its nostalgia of the past, then why not Space Mountain?
Space Mountain is a ride COMPLETELY in the dark and now with the enclosed queue its going to be pitch black in there. We've already had numerous reports that the projections are now HD quality and I can confirm this myself as I've seen it from the TTA. So I guess as long as they've done something to the launch and re-entry tunnels then every part of Space Mountain that guests can actually SEE has had some upgrades, yet its kept its nostalgic charm by keeping the track that most people love.
Looks like another win in my book.
Innoventions
Member
Have to agree with you. When I went this spring I was very disappointed. The only thing better in Disneyland I felt was Indy and Pirates. Space Mountain was alright, but I couldnt help but think even though theming was nice it was just lacking?
Pete C
Active Member
Totally disagree. This is what wooden coasters are for...not steel coasters. Space Mountain's track and trains, originally created for the Matterhorn, were invented to provide a smooth ride that was to be the future of rollercoasters. This design was literally THE first steel coaster design in history. Never was it intended to feel rough or "old school". I am usually not a "what Walt would have wanted" guy, because none of us can speak for him, but that is what he originally wanted with these rides to begin with. So, it would only hold true that he would want the same today for these rides...a smooth ride experience. We are not even talking about plussing here...just bringing the ride to a state in which it was originally intended with modern technology.
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
Are you out of your mind?
Pete C
Active Member
I guess that's why we all have opinions. I think Disneyland's SM makes ours look and feel completely and totally outdated. I would take theirs in a heartbeat over ours. Now, a totally replaced track with our layout plus audio? I'd take that over any of them.
Main Street USA
Well-Known Member
No, he just has a different opinion than you. Clearly, that must be hard for you to comprehend.
DisneyParksFan1
Active Member
Very well said.:lol::sohappy:
Innoventions
Member
Outdated now? I was speaking with the idea of this refurb in mind. The two cant be compared they are two different experiences. And I would agree with you with the state it was in just before this refurb.
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:
YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!!! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DEAD ON ACCURATE.
:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:
MadHatterJr
New Member
a few years ago when i went to DL for the first time, i thought that their space mountain was simply amazing (not better than the one in Paris, but still great). The excitement of being in that park for the first time, the great queue and load area and the on-board audio! it was divine. Me and my friends i went on the trip with went on it several times. a few months later i went back to DL with my boyfriend so he could experience the park for the first time too. At that point they had the "Rockin' Space Mountian" layover with the new lighting and red hot chili peppers audio. Let me say, it totally changed my oppinion of the ride. What i first thought was an amazing experience turned out quite lame the second trip around. Their track lay out is very very dull, with barely a dip, and mostly sharp turns. As great as having onboard audio was for that ride, it didn't make up for the lack of intrest in the track.... especially when the music is less that stellar. I am interested in seeing what is to come when i make my way back on the mountain, and i'm sure i will love it as i had before.
Jason the first time poster:wave:
Jason the first time poster:wave:
Count me as another person who thinks WDW's SM was far superior to the "DL" versions even prior to the refurb, and who is happy not to have gotten onboard audio. (And I've been on every version of SM, including the ones at WDW, DL, HKDL, and TDL within the last two years.)
Not all attractions can or should be judged by the same criteria. SM is, first and foremost, a roller coaster. Although it takes place in the dark, it is not a dark ride. The degree to which it succeeds as an attraction must therefore rest more heavily on the effectiveness of the roller-coaster aspect of its execution. Although theming and effects are important and, of course, desired, SM isn't the equivalent of IASW or HM. If either of the latter had no theming or effects whatsoever -- and was just a boat or Omnimover ride through empty rooms -- they would be complete failures, and would have no place at a Disney park. On the other hand, if SM was nothing more than a roller coaster in the dark with no effects whatsoever, it would still be effective and fun, albeit below its true potential.
If WDW's SM were just a regular, unenclosed and unthemed roller coaster at Six Flags, I'd still love it. If any of the DL-configuration SMs were a regular, unenclosed and unthemed roller coaster at Six Flags, I'd never ride it. Even pre-refurb, WDW's SM was one of my favorite, must-do attractions on the property; even with onboard audio and "up-to-date" special effects, I'm happy skipping the DL mountains entirely if that means I can get an additional ride on the Matterhorn, or Pooh's Hunny Hunt, or whatever. The DL track layout is boring and unimaginative; the onboard audio was necessary, in a sense, because the roller-coaster aspect of the attraction was itself seriously lacking.
I honestly don't get people who label our SM a failure solely or largely because it lacks onboard audio. Complaining that WDW's SM is inferior to DL's because it lacks onboard audio is like complaining that Millennium Force or The Voyage are inferior to California Screamin' because they lack onboard audio. The vast majority of roller coasters in the world -- including the very best ones -- do not have onboard audio. In some instances, like RnRC, the audio is part and parcel of the theming and a natural aspect of the attraction -- i.e., a plus. In other cases, like the DL-style SMs and California Screamin', the audio is not an organic part of the theme, but enhances the overall attraction because the coaster itself is inherently weak and needs all the help it can get. When a coaster is intrinsically fun and exciting, the lack of audio is not in any sense an indictment of its quality. (And let's not get started on the "add a loop" arguments -- having inversions is neither necessary nor sufficient to make a roller coaster good. Some of the best roller coasters do not have inversions, and many, many coasters with inversions are horrible.)
On a more general note, it's frankly baffling how much WDW's SM seems to get singled out for criticism -- it's like a veritable lightning rod. I'm not disputing that it needs to be clean, safe, and have special effects that are functional -- and these are things that the refurb largely seems to have provided it, as far as we can tell for now. But I don't really get people who point out every single thing that DL has that we don't (such as the fact that we didn't -- and won't -- have a spaceship hanging over our queue). Why don't DL locals complain that they don't have a spaceship hanging over their lifthill? Or two mission control booths in their lifthill? Or a unique, themed post-show?
And even if some aspects of WDW's SM could be better when compared to their counterparts elsewhere, it's odd that so many people seem to advocate a wholesale re-working of the attraction, rather than just tweaks to make it more effective. You don't hear, after all, DL loyalists arguing that their HM should be completely torn down and rebuilt to add the unique scenes that exist in WDW's version, or anyone complaining that DL's or WDW's BTMRR should be rebuilt on an island simply because DLP's is on one. (For that matter, you also don't hear people complaining that BTMRR or the Matterhorn don't have onboard audio.)
Anyway, I'm excited with what I've seen so far. If they've added enhanced effects inside the mountain (e.g., re-entry tunnel), I'll be even happier. It would be great to have outside lighting, but I'm hopeful that'll come in time. I'm just looking forward to getting back to WDW soon and getting the chance to ride through space as it was meant to be -- silent, but for the ambient sounds of rockets racing around and the screams of excited riders.
EPCOT Explorer
New Member
I have to agree with the both of you....
However: The queue enhancements are nice and a vast improvement in aesthetics over the old ones. That is worthy of praise, yes. But the whole refurb?! No. Never. :lol: Unless it's turning out VASTLY different from what we were told...or not told, than this is not a good thing.
Small things, however, are good things, but not the GREAT things.
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
So wait... You're throwing rocks from your glass house then?
You're attacking people for saying the refurb isn't great, because they haven't been on it.... When you're saying it IS great, and you haven't been on it either.
DisneyParksFan1
Active Member
Agreed, nothing bad about praising the small improvements that were made, but the whole refurb is definitley not worthy of praise. The new queue, the new powerwash, the color scheme, post show, the pavement, it's all worthy of praise. Now, the whole refurb not at all, they said they would replace the track, never happened(unless we get it by surprise...), on-board audio, never happened(unless some surprise occurs), exterior lighting, could happen, most likely not. So let's focus on the small things, the things that should be praised. We at least got something. I'd rather they do this then keep this attraction as stale as it was for years. Let's be happy about this, and let's hope Disney is on their way on not only fixing up Space Mountain, but also all of Tomorrowland.
EPCOT Explorer
New Member
Exactly. Acknowledge the good parts...but hold them to a high standard and demand better.
Innoventions
Member
Look for this in the next couple of years when funds get figured out!!!!
Im no insider, but im calling it
Biff215
Well-Known Member
I have to agree that on-board audio is not always a good thing. On RnRC, it makes the ride what it is. But just adding audio does not always improve the experience.
If any of you have been to SF Great Adventure this past season, you know exactly what I'm talking about. They took a pretty decent B&M floorless coaster (Medusa), added audio, fire, and some lame flat scenery to make it Bizarro. I had high hopes for it, but it failed miserably. A great coaster that I had ridden for years actually became worse without even touching the track! The on-board audio had to be the worst part as it didn't seem to tie in at all.
Now I understand that I'm talking about SF, and this is Disney. They should be able to do it right. But I'll take the screams and the otherwise quiet of space any day.
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!??!???!?!?!?
You DO realize that the section I bolded is an exact description of WDW's SM, right???
I actually thought you were talking about WDW's, and didn't understand you even meant DL's!DL's track layout, I will agree, isn't that much fun. But... EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT IT IS. The effects, on board audio, tunnels... All more than make up for it.
You're a perfect example of why WDW gets away with what they get away with. In Paris, Tokyo, or Anaheim it wouldn't fly.
Main Street USA
Well-Known Member
Or, not accurate at all, depending on your opinion.