Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway - Disneyland

Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
I agree with your assessment on the Indy ride at Disneyland.

I think one of the things that proves its brilliance is the Dinosaur ride at WDW. It's the exact same track, same vehicles, same basic physical experience. But compared to Indy at Disneyland it's a horrible, stupid waste of time.

Dinosaur at WDW proves that the magic of Disneyland, or any Disney park, is in the details and the aesthetics and the story. Without those things, it's just a bumpy jeep ride in a dark warehouse. Even if you add Mrs. Huxtable into the pre-show, it still stinks.

@Figments Friend, what can you tell us about Mr. Baxter's involvement in the Dinosaur ride at WDW? Was he involved at all in that (I can't believe that he was, based on how it turned out)? Has he ever spoken publicly about how things could go so wrong out there?
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I'm not aware of him having any involvement at all in the development of WDW's 'Countdown to Extinction' / 'Dinosaur'.
He didn't have any influence on that Attraction that I know of besides the obvious 'inheritance' of the ride vehicle originaly designed for 'Indiana Jones Adventure' which he was indeed a part of.

'IJA' is a project very near and dear to him, so I'm sure he was interested in seeing the alternative take of the same ride system in another Attraction.
But I've never heard or seen of anything even remotely implying he was involved in it's execution.
At the time of DAK's development Tony was working on other projects, most notably dealing with the frustrations involved in the then re-do of Disneyland's Tomorrowland.

-
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Brer Oswald said:
I have to be the only one that actually prefers Dinosaur to Indy. Maybe it’s the animatronics, or the theme itself.

Although I will say, the ride vehicle programming is much better with Indy. Tony’s a genius for that.
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The vehicle programming for 'Indiana Jones Adventure' used to be a LOT more 'active'.
Back when the Attraction first opened in 1995, the experience was a bit more exciting as the Troop Transport used to jostle you around much more then they do today.
Some would say it was too rough of a ride, and eventually it was decided that adjustments needed to be made to tone down the experience.

-
 
1HAPPYGHOSTHOST

1HAPPYGHOSTHOST

Well-Known Member
Figments Friend said:
The vehicle programming for 'Indiana Jones Adventure' used to be a LOT more 'active'.
Back when the Attraction first opened in 1995, the experience was a bit more exciting as the Troop Transport used to jostle you around much more then they do today.
Some would say it was too rough of a ride, and eventually it was decided that adjustments needed to be made to tone down the experience.

-
Click to expand...
Omg yes it was. I rode indy in 95 and maaaaan that thing jerked you around sooo much it was awesome and made the ride soo much better. The ride is still great and the hight of imagineering if you ask me, but I wish the vehicles still threw you around like they used to.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Figments Friend said:
The vehicle programming for 'Indiana Jones Adventure' used to be a LOT more 'active'.
Back when the Attraction first opened in 1995, the experience was a bit more exciting as the Troop Transport used to jostle you around much more then they do today.
Some would say it was too rough of a ride, and eventually it was decided that adjustments needed to be made to tone down the experience.

-
Click to expand...


I think it was better before. I just remember it feeing a little more thrilling. But maybe that also has to do with how young I was when it opened, all the effects working properly and just the awe I was in because it was new and we had never seen anything like it. These days it sometimes feels like a tease. I want it to throw me around a little more and go like 10mph faster in certain areas.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Figments Friend said:
I'm not aware of him having any involvement at all in the development of WDW's 'Countdown to Extinction' / 'Dinosaur'.
He didn't have any influence on that Attraction that I know of besides the obvious 'inheritance' of the ride vehicle originaly designed for 'Indiana Jones Adventure' which he was indeed a part of.

'IJA' is a project very near and dear to him, so I'm sure he was interested in seeing the alternative take of the same ride system in another Attraction.
But I've never heard or seen of anything even remotely implying he was involved in it's execution.
At the time of DAK's development Tony was working on other projects, most notably dealing with the frustrations involved in the then re-do of Disneyland's Tomorrowland.

-
Click to expand...

Thank you. That was my hunch, but I just wasn't sure. It's obvious to anyone who has ridden Dinosaur that it didn't have brilliant Imagineering behind it, so I couldn't imagine that Mr. Baxter was involved.

Indiana Jones opened in 1995 at Disneyland, and then Dinosaur opened just three years later in 1998. It must have been painful for Tony to see his new ride system be wasted like that for WDW. The good news is that three years later, in 2001, the second and slightly updated version of Indiana Jones Adventure opened at Tokyo DisneySea and is fantastic!
 
SuddenStorm

SuddenStorm

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Thank you. That was my hunch, but I just wasn't sure. It's obvious to anyone who has ridden Dinosaur that it didn't have brilliant Imagineering behind it, so I couldn't imagine that Mr. Baxter was involved.

Indiana Jones opened in 1995 at Disneyland, and then Dinosaur opened just three years later in 1998. It must have been painful for Tony to see his new ride system be wasted like that for WDW. The good news is that three years later, in 2001, the second and slightly updated version of Indiana Jones Adventure opened at Tokyo DisneySea and is fantastic!
Click to expand...

Not to mention, the Tokyo version is actually maintained. Though I do wish they had kept the Mara theme, instead of the Crystal Skull which later became the worst of Indy's films.

It's tragic to think about how dang good the trajectory for Disneyland Park was at the start of the year. Avenger's Campus promising to be a bona fide improvement over the budget "bugs land".

Since 1983 every person who's ridden Snow White has wondered what the heck that ending was- and WDI was finally trying to address it.

Haunted Mansion, an aging yet beloved attraction suffering from 20 years of additional wear and tear from the annual overlay was finally getting a thorough refurbishment.

Tomorrowland was finally getting some much needed aesthetic improvements, with those awful mars rocks going away and a new paint scheme and entrance that hearkens back to the '60s and '70s- the golden age of Tomorrowland.

And Indiana Jones Adventure- Tony Baxter and the second generation of Imagineering's crown jewel attraction that has more broken effects than working ones was getting an extended refurbishment as well that would hopefully have addressed many of the lighting and effect issues present in the attraction. And maybe even address the ride system's shoddy reliability- that likely could be greatly improved with some updating to bring the aging attraction into the 21 century.

For the first time since the dark ride updates in 2014/15 I was actually excited about stuff happening at Disneyland- the year was promising to be a nice change of pace from shoddy overlays and disappointing lands and lousy updates to an iconic night time spectacular.

Of course, this all seems negligible and meaningless now that 2020 took a dramatically different turn- with extended closures postponing every new addition for years to come. Disneyland laying off thousands of employees at all levels (though I hold out hope that with the right pruning in the management structure Disneyland could be primed to come back better than ever). Disney announcing changes to Splash Mountain, which is in just about everyone's top 5 list of favorite attractions, based on a creative concept that wasn't even fleshed out at a time where budgets are being slashed left and right.

Man this year blows.
 
Disneylover152

Disneylover152

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Thank you. That was my hunch, but I just wasn't sure. It's obvious to anyone who has ridden Dinosaur that it didn't have brilliant Imagineering behind it, so I couldn't imagine that Mr. Baxter was involved.

Indiana Jones opened in 1995 at Disneyland, and then Dinosaur opened just three years later in 1998. It must have been painful for Tony to see his new ride system be wasted like that for WDW. The good news is that three years later, in 2001, the second and slightly updated version of Indiana Jones Adventure opened at Tokyo DisneySea and is fantastic!
Click to expand...

I haven't ridden Tokyo's Indy yet but I have seen videos. Their queue is fantastic, and they did a great job of noticing what effects don't really work or are too expensive to maintain in the Anaheim version and fixed it for their version. The issue is still the number of dark hallways with no effects. There's still just too much cheapness or nothing in the ride between when you exit the main room until the boulder. I also agree with @SuddenStorm though, I wish they kept the Mara theme because the main room feels underwhelming compared to the Anaheim version (again I haven't ridden it this is just going by videos).
 
B

bestcoastracer

Member
Disneylover152 said:
I haven't ridden Tokyo's Indy yet but I have seen videos. Their queue is fantastic, and they did a great job of noticing what effects don't really work or are too expensive to maintain in the Anaheim version and fixed it for their version. The issue is still the number of dark hallways with no effects. There's still just too much cheapness or nothing in the ride between when you exit the main room until the boulder. I also agree with @SuddenStorm though, I wish they kept the Mara theme because the main room feels underwhelming compared to the Anaheim version (again I haven't ridden it this is just going by videos).
Click to expand...

I actually think Tokyo's last half of the ride after the main room is highly superior to Anaheims. I wish they would bring this effect over and replace the fog screen/rat in trees.

 
S

SplashGhost

Well-Known Member
SuddenStorm said:
Not to mention, the Tokyo version is actually maintained. Though I do wish they had kept the Mara theme, instead of the Crystal Skull which later became the worst of Indy's films.

It's tragic to think about how dang good the trajectory for Disneyland Park was at the start of the year. Avenger's Campus promising to be a bona fide improvement over the budget "bugs land".

Since 1983 every person who's ridden Snow White has wondered what the heck that ending was- and WDI was finally trying to address it.

Haunted Mansion, an aging yet beloved attraction suffering from 20 years of additional wear and tear from the annual overlay was finally getting a thorough refurbishment.

Tomorrowland was finally getting some much needed aesthetic improvements, with those awful mars rocks going away and a new paint scheme and entrance that hearkens back to the '60s and '70s- the golden age of Tomorrowland.

And Indiana Jones Adventure- Tony Baxter and the second generation of Imagineering's crown jewel attraction that has more broken effects than working ones was getting an extended refurbishment as well that would hopefully have addressed many of the lighting and effect issues present in the attraction. And maybe even address the ride system's shoddy reliability- that likely could be greatly improved with some updating to bring the aging attraction into the 21 century.

For the first time since the dark ride updates in 2014/15 I was actually excited about stuff happening at Disneyland- the year was promising to be a nice change of pace from shoddy overlays and disappointing lands and lousy updates to an iconic night time spectacular.

Of course, this all seems negligible and meaningless now that 2020 took a dramatically different turn- with extended closures postponing every new addition for years to come. Disneyland laying off thousands of employees at all levels (though I hold out hope that with the right pruning in the management structure Disneyland could be primed to come back better than ever). Disney announcing changes to Splash Mountain, which is in just about everyone's top 5 list of favorite attractions, based on a creative concept that wasn't even fleshed out at a time where budgets are being slashed left and right.

Man this year blows.
Click to expand...

I am so nostalgic for January and February as if they were some mythical long ago golden age, and little did I know back then about the crap fest that was ahead. I remembering eagerly awaiting for The Haunted Mansion to reopen, and at this point, it feels like the park might never reopen.

bestcoastracer said:
I actually think Tokyo's last half of the ride after the main room is highly superior to Anaheims. I wish they would bring this effect over and replace the fog screen/rat in trees.

Click to expand...


That part in the dark area after the main room is vastly superior to the rat room at DLR. The rat room is far and away the worst part of the attraction and it doesn't fit in with how excellent the rest of the attraction is.
 
SuddenStorm

SuddenStorm

Well-Known Member
SplashGhost said:
I am so nostalgic for January and February as if they were some mythical long ago golden age, and little did I know back then about the crap fest that was ahead. I remembering eagerly awaiting for The Haunted Mansion to reopen, and at this point, it feels like the park might never reopen.
Click to expand...
The nostalgia for January and February is real, very real. Not even for Disneyland- but for my own personal life and work and opportunities that are no longer available for me due to covid. It almost feels as if the world is on pause.

Not to mention- if they don't delay the Splash changes and insist on closing the attraction on whatever internal date they have set than I worry the longer Disneyland is closed the less time we'll all have to get in as many last rides as possible.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
If Indy is really capable of being a little more wild it would be cool if they did it once in a while as either a seasonal change or a seasonal change at night only like they do with Monsters After Dark
Click to expand...

What a great idea! Turn up the wildness volume, increase the height requirement a few inches, and really let it go.

They could call it Indiana Jones Adventure - The Hoosier Headache! or something fun like that.
 

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