Jimmy Fallon Ride

[mvieguy]

Agreed. Twister was a fairly unique attraction, a shame something unique was swapped for something they already had a version of.

and I agree with you, so here is the thing, I am a huge movie buff. my love for the studios is old school, i do appreciate adding attractions like Twister, Men in black. heck i am ok with The Mummy, Minions and Fallon. but not at the expense of rides like King Kong (it might have been dated, but the film is iconic. you wouldnt dare remove a casablanca or Wizard of oz portion of the Great Movie Ride, just because its no longer relevant. what keeps audiences remembering is allowing all decades and generations of movies shine. Earthquake aka Disaster. sure i am ok with them removing it, as it was no longer "Earthquake" it was half the show it used to be. but replace it with Backdraft or something better. They could have built London and Diagon Alley anywhere in the park. but they chose to remove Jaws, because of cost. I understand but it sucks.
the issue is the Millenials and next generation do not have the attention span we once did. I love Lucy and Hitchcock, along with Twister and the old Kong would bore todays Generation. Thats why we have that eyesore known as Rip Ride Rocket weaving in and out of the skyline of New york. which looks awful. My biggest gripe, Uni can make awesome Facades, but Half the Rides.

 

[Musicman20]

I imagine upkeep of these rides is hugely cheaper!

I do think Spider-Man and Transformers are fantastic though....that's the level of screen rides I like.

Nothing beats the Potter rides though, more so Forbidden Journey which is insanely good. I just hope Nintendo land is all about the details and amazing rides.

 

[Jones14]

and I agree with you, so here is the thing, I am a huge movie buff. my love for the studios is old school, i do appreciate adding attractions like Twister, Men in black. heck i am ok with The Mummy, Minions and Fallon. but not at the expense of rides like King Kong (it might have been dated, but the film is iconic. you wouldnt dare remove a casablanca or Wizard of oz portion of the Great Movie Ride, just because its no longer relevant. what keeps audiences remembering is allowing all decades and generations of movies shine. Earthquake aka Disaster. sure i am ok with them removing it, as it was no longer "Earthquake" it was half the show it used to be. but replace it with Backdraft or something better. They could have built London and Diagon Alley anywhere in the park. but they chose to remove Jaws, because of cost. I understand but it sucks.
the issue is the Millenials and next generation do not have the attention span we once did. I love Lucy and Hitchcock, along with Twister and the old Kong would bore todays Generation. Thats why we have that eyesore known as Rip Ride Rocket weaving in and out of the skyline of New york. which looks awful. My biggest gripe, Uni can make awesome Facades, but Half ***** the Rides.

To be fair, London/Diagon needed to go on that side of the park to make the Hogwarts Express work. So they were essentially left with taking out Amity or New York.

 

[Horizons '83]

I imagine upkeep of these rides is hugely cheaper!

I do think Spider-Man and Transformers are fantastic though....that's the level of screen rides I like.

Nothing beats the Potter rides though, more so Forbidden Journey which is insanely good. I just hope Nintendo land is all about the details and amazing rides.

Escape from Gringotts is just superb, best ride I have ever been on ...

 

[DDLand]

That is a core "Universal Studios" Parks tenant. They let the magic blend into the reality around the edges. A peek behind the curtain.

Maybe that used to be the case, but they're moving in the direction of hyper realistic lands with totally complete immersion. If someone leaves DA they're expecting more of that consistency and depth. They've refocused and set a new standard. It's high time to live up to the bar they set for themselves.

Much like another player in Orlando, they've abandoned individual park identity (H. Express sealed the deal). They had better get on board with this new direction and stop with these consistently middle of the road approaches.

This whole attraction seems like it could have benefited from 6 months more development time.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I do think Spider-Man and Transformers are fantastic though....that's the level of screen rides I like.

Nothing beats the Potter rides though, more so Forbidden Journey which is insanely good. I just hope Nintendo land is all about the details and amazing rides.

Agreed. Spider-Man, Transformers, Forbidden Journey, and Gringotts are all great and great use of screens, although I would have preferred Gringotts to be more of a traditional albeit heavily themed coaster. They are all comparable experiences though and for me, even with Gringotts my reaction was "okay, this is approach to thrill rides is cool and all, but it's time for something new." However, they either don't care enough to make a quality product, or think that copying and pasting the same ride elements over and over are good enough to make a great theme park.

The fundamental flaw with Kong is that it assumes that screens can always be a stand-in for a physical set. But it doesn't work unless the screen encompasses your field of vision. Looking at a screen on the side of a truck, through a crowd, feels just like that - watching a screen. No immersion, and it doesn't help that the action in the first two Kong screen rooms doesn't really involve you at all.

The argument that you can't do these type of scenes with live sets always gets thrown in, but it's simple - come up with a ride concept that isn't just a bunch of empty, bombastic chaos so it doesn't require them.

 

[cheezbat]

I'm a huge Universal lover, and think Islands of Adventure is the second best park in Orlando...but Studios is a mess. Way too many screen-based attractions. Fallon just adds to that. I think with this add on, Fast N Furious needs to be completely rethought...Terminator and Shrek need to go bye bye for something NOT screen based, and maybe axe the Simpsons ride for an actual dark ride. That's the only way I can see that park becoming more balanced again. I know Super Nintendo World is supposed to help differentiate the attraction roster, but right now the park is a mess.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I'm a huge Universal lover, and think Islands of Adventure is the second best park in Orlando...but Studios is a mess. Way too many screen-based attractions. Fallon just adds to that. I think with this add on, Fast N Furious needs to be completely rethought...Terminator and Shrek need to go bye bye for something NOT screen based, and maybe axe the Simpsons ride for an actual dark ride. That's the only way I can see that park becoming more balanced again. I know Super Nintendo World is supposed to help differentiate the attraction roster, but right now the park is a mess.

Agreed, and not to mention that much of Studios is looking very run down these days.

 

[danpam1024]

I, too, am disappointed at the amount of screen based attractions in Studios. However- Kong does NOT disappoint me at all- perhaps because I was in a "good seat". It is something the entire family can experience together. Transformers is MEH- a filler, but frankly, I've seen plenty of little dudes that come off that ride grinning from ear to ear. As a mother of a son, I can say there's not a lot geared towards little dudes who are not quite tall enough for the coasters. It has a purpose- and it was constructed at the SAME TIME as DA! There was nothing there before, so it's like a total bonus. Minions is absolutely perfect for little ones (they need stuff too). Shrek- well, I'm old school and wish they left Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I loved that show. Simpsons makes me laugh- every.single.time. And IMO, is one of the better simulator rides. I would LOVE for the screens to be replaced with actual sets and animatronic, but can you even IMAGINE how often they would break down? I think I've ridden Mummy a mere handful of times where EVERYTHING was functioning properly. Gringotts, to me, doesn't qualify as a screen based ride, it enhances the experience and is fantastic. That said, I was never really excited about Fallon- he's annoying and kind of stupid. "Race through NY" concept never really seemed exciting. I wish they would have taken Soarin' and Manta and created a hybrid lovechild- that would have been cool. But, the exterior is stunning and really completes the block. So, if nothing else, it's aesthetically pleasing. Once Nintendo is in place, I believe there will be more of a balance. It is hands down still better than the atrocity of DHS- any day.

 

[JT3000]

and I agree with you, so here is the thing, I am a huge movie buff. my love for the studios is old school, i do appreciate adding attractions like Twister, Men in black. heck i am ok with The Mummy, Minions and Fallon. but not at the expense of rides like King Kong (it might have been dated, but the film is iconic. you wouldnt dare remove a casablanca or Wizard of oz portion of the Great Movie Ride, just because its no longer relevant...

They shouldn't close rides just because they're based on older movies, but that's almost never the only reason Universal closes something. Rides like Jaws and Kongfrontation were both deemed too costly to continue running. Also, Kongfrontation was based on the 1970's version almost no one remembers, not the iconic original.

And aren't they rumored to be closing the Great Movie Ride entirely?

 

[Magic Feather]

Figured I would pitch in my two cents. There is a VIP "workaround" to the VQ, which (if presented again) I would not take. It almost rushes you through, out of fear. Museum could add a few things, but was very solid. Same goes for the amazing upstairs, although they need more games. When the color is called upstairs, it shouldn't have you waiting, it should be straight to preshow. Also, once they had the preshow room filled, we waited about 5 min before it started. I hope they will remove that awful applause prompter, for I am not clapping for a TV screen. The ride itself jumped all over the place, but was a net positive.

 

[Musicman20]

I agree with the above as well re: Gringotts. I've ridden it around -10 times now and I've been super impressed. The last few times, I've been more aware how the ride 'works' so I've been looking for where the screens start etc....and especially on the last scene with the huge HUGE screen, it's impressive when the ride gets pulled by the Dragon. Amazing theming in both Potter areas and with Hogwarts Express.

The latest Kong is pretty good. The vehicles are great and the Kong at the end is superb. The screens are ok....but it doesn't beat Kongfrontation.

 

[**Stacy**]

I was able to ride the Fallon ride yesterday. The queue experience was definitely different and nicely done with some live entertainment. I just bought a preferred pass after taking a break for a few years..last time I went they were doing soft open on Transformers. Last week I rode Hogwart's Express and Kong. I was surprised at the number of screens used. I am a little disappointed about all of the screens...but I am still happier about my UOAP purchase than my WDW Silver pass at this point. I am pretty sure the original Kong was far more impressive that the new one if I remember correctly.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Here you go. Now you can see how stupid this ride is without even riding it:

 

[danpam1024]

Here you go. Now you can see how stupid this ride is without even riding it:

I have no words

 

[brb1006]

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Figured I would pitch in my two cents. There is a VIP "workaround" to the VQ, which (if presented again) I would not take. It almost rushes you through, out of fear. Museum could add a few things, but was very solid. Same goes for the amazing upstairs, although they need more games. When the color is called upstairs, it shouldn't have you waiting, it should be straight to preshow. Also, once they had the preshow room filled, we waited about 5 min before it started. I hope they will remove that awful applause prompter, for I am not clapping for a TV screen. The ride itself jumped all over the place, but was a net positive.

That pre-show is cringe worthy. From the 20 seconds of nothing but canned applause to the annoying bit with Gary and "SARA WITH NO H!", there's a lot I didn't care for. But I'm not a big Fallon fan so maybe I just don't "get" it. And to give Uni the benefit of the doubt, I'm guessing the applause prompter is meant more as a bit of extra theming rather than an actual attempt to get the audience to applaud.

The queue area does seem really nice though; love the replica of the lobby and the history displays about the show.

Here you go. Now you can see how stupid this ride is without even riding it:

No doubt there are some who will love this, but to me it looks quite annoying and juvenile. Again, I'm going to chalk this up to me not liking Jimmy Fallon's schtick. Different strokes and all that...

 

[Tom Morrow]

I don't think so... I don't really watch him but Jimmy's shtick seems to be "I'm just an every day dude hanging out". Nothing about putting him in the role of essentially Mario Kart has anything to do with his persona or his show.

 

[Calm Down Rover]

Dang, that clip was really grating. Disappointing considering that I find Simpsons and Horror Makeup to be legitimately funny, but I guess Fallon had more creative control? And is there any reason why it chose to use the ancient Hanna-Barbers ride system besides space?

 

[Tom Morrow]

Dang, that clip was really grating. Disappointing considering that I find Simpsons and Horror Makeup to be legitimately funny, but I guess Fallon had more creative control? And is there any reason why it chose to use the ancient Hanna-Barbers ride system besides space?

It's not the Hanna-Barbera ride system. Instead of a series of smaller simulator pods, it's six rows of twelve seats as one giant pod. But it feels exactly the same. I also wonder how much creative say Jimmy actually had, I feel like he wouldn't have said "make it exactly like all your other simulator rides and cartoony."

Just think of how many armchair ideas all of us have had over the years that would make a better ride concept than this. Think of how much effort and money was blown on this rather than something new and innovative that people might actually like, just so NBC could be represented in the park for the sake of synergy.