It always amazes me how many people don't realize that the story for PW is exactly the SAME as Dinosaur, even down to the carnisoraus following you through the ride. Also, I've never been a big fan of bashing rides because they are off the shelf type rides. RnR is an off the shelf coaster and a lot of other attractions (including some iconic Disney attractions) are all off the shelf carnival standards. Its the theming and story telling that make Disney Disney.
*Sigh*
Bear in mind when you read all this - if you like the Chester & Hester stuff, that's fine with me. It's your vacation and you're absolutely free to like and enjoy whatever is there.
I've known the story for Dinoland for a very long time (local people find dino bones, archaeologists show up and set up the Dino Institute who then buy up all the surrounding land except for Chester & Hester who won't sell their gas station; the Dino Institute builds a brand new building and discovers time travel, so they sell time travel tours - the ride Dinosaur - to pay for their research; the Dino Institute interns goof around by putting up crazy signs for example - like the "osaurus" on Restaurantosaurus - among other things; with tourists coming, Chester & Hester change their gas station into a tacky carnival/tourist trap.)
And in that last phrase there in lies the problem; when you go out of your way to theme yourself as a cheap, tacky carnival - you become one. Need I have to remind anyone on these boards why Disneyland was built in the first place? Or why Walt was so upset with what sprung up around Disneyland he decided to buy over 27,000 acres of land in Florida so his guests wouldn't have to experience all that? And then you wonder why I cringe when Disney decides to go out of its way to bring into their parks the emulation of the very thing Walt utterly rejected and caused him to build Disneyland and Walt Disney World in the first place?! It's like hanging "Dogs Playing Poker" in the Louvre, it just doesn't belong.
I have no problem with an off-the-shelf ride if it's themed well, and Rock 'n Roller Coaster is a great example of great theming enhancing a ride. You can go to the Netherlands and ride the exact same off-the-shelf ride (called Xpress), but Disney shows what you can do with a ride like that when you surround it with a great theme and great effects. Trying to pluss an off-the-shelf carnival ride with a tacky, carnival-like theme is like the Redundancy Department of Redundancy - you're just spinning your wheels.
>>ISTC Navigator said:
I feel as though the folks who think Primeval Whirl should leave b/c it's not highly themed should also want the "classic" Mad Tea Party to leave for the same reason. Local fairs have teacup rides, too. Not everything can be an e-ticket.<<
If I'm wrong on this, please correct me and cite the source and I'll admit I'm wrong, but I'm fairly confident Disneyland's Mad Tea Party was the first ever "teacups ride", hence why all other similar style rides in other amusement parks are referred to as a "teacups ride". So for its time, it actually was a new experience. The reason why it's been cloned in all other subsequent Disneyland-style parks is (apart from, yes of course it's fun to ride) part nostalgia/part "it's at this Disney park why isn't it in my Disney park?", which is another discussion for another thread (cloning Disneyland all over the world - not a fan). I don't expect every ride to be an E-ticket, nor should all rides be so; there needs to be a healthy mix of different rides and attractions. That's not the point - my issue is not with the
ride Primeval Whirl, my issue is its
theming and the surrounding Chester & Hester theme.
>>Brian Noble said:
But, if you really want to rip out the "carny" experiences, you should probably place the wrecking ball squarely in front of Dumbo, rather than build a second one.<<
Right idea, but wrong ride. Dumbo is popular because it's a Disney rite-of-passage. Parents take their kids on Dumbo because
their parents took their kids on Dumbo because their parents, etc. And from what I've seen with what the theming will eventually be surrounding "Double Dumbo", I think it has the potential to be even better. My issue is not that Dumbo is a carny ride...it's that the Magic Kingdom has three of the
exact same ride in Fantasyland, Tomorrowland (Astro Orbitor), and Adventureland (Magic Carpets of Aladdin), which is shameful. Astro Orbitor has nostalgic factors with the old Star Jets, and is the "weenie" of Tomorrowland; no problems there. Magic Carpets of Aladdin should be removed. It's completely redundant for the Magic Kingdom, and even worse gives the impression that they simply lifted the idea from its chief competitor (Universal and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish at Islands of Adventure).
