Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway confirmed

[marni1971]

Actually I was talking about and thought that others were talking about MMRR. So I'm in the right thread just got a little confused about the exact attraction that was being criticized. I haven't been following the SW thing because I have zero interest in it. Sorry for the confusion.

However, just out of curiosity now, when you say plenty, what is the cross section of people that have seen it. Do we know whether their expectations were realistic or idealistic. Possible or impossible!

I’ve heard nothing bad (of Falcon) but nothing of Mickey at all. I wonder why. Aside that the prototype vehicles were tested in the building in early 2017.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I’ve heard nothing bad (of Falcon) but nothing of Mickey at all. I wonder why. Aside that the prototype vehicles were tested in the building in early 2017.

That is why it is so hard to know what to think about stuff around here. One says, they haven't heard anything good and then we hear, "heard nothing bad". I have a question for you. I have read a number of times that they think that MMRR is running late because they are moving labor from there to SW's. It seems to me that both are in the highly technical part of the builds for both and from everything that I have read the two technologies are not compatible with each other. It logically seems like it would be comparable to someone asking me to design the next real space explorer when I am only a master mechanic on Ford products. In other words, yes or no! Is that the problem or are we talking about a technical bug that may be derailing the train. It seems to be pretty complex and something that, like the Yeti, looks a lot more easily workable on paper then operating in real life.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Not that it is on topic, but RotR should* open in 2019.

 

[Magic Feather]

Not that it is on topic, but RotR should* open in 2019.

Assuming it doesn't become the next Rivers of Light, I wouldn't be surprised to see one or both RotRs before Halloween (the holiday, not the season that takes over 1/4 of the year).

 

[solidyne]

[...] One says, they haven't heard anything good and then we hear, "heard nothing bad". [...]

All signs point to "meh" attraction.

Edit: Falcon again.

 

[HauntedPirate]

So Clickbait is saying a February open.

I’m seeing if the man-child blocks me on Twitter, basically calling him out in his clickbait. I responded to another user’s tweet that he was blocked for giving away the info instead of having people click on the link.

 

[marni1971]

Assuming it doesn't become the next Rivers of Light, I wouldn't be surprised to see one or both RotRs before Halloween (the holiday, not the season that takes over 1/4 of the year).

I think two would be pushing it. Just.

 

[Hawg G]

IMO just because an attraction can be classified as an E doesn’t mean the ride experience will be at an E level. You don’t hear people that ride POTC or Indy say “when you consider all things (as in the queue, the Huge Falcon parked out front, the pre show) its an E.” That tells me the ride experience is lacking. With that said I was already worried about the ride experience when they announced the 38 inch height requirement and saw that it looked like a video game.

This is exactly what I've been saying. You could take Indy, and put the queue in a big plain warehouse, and have a sign saying "Indiana Jones Ride", and only have the theming start once you leave the station, and it would still EASILY be an E ticket. I don't think you could say that with even RSR.

Folks want to say the sum of the parts is better than the parts. I don't see it that way. The RIDE is what is an E ticket, not the queue. Forbidden Journey's queue itself is like a C ticket, but again, have zero theming up to the load room, and it is still an E ticket RIDE.

How much would you have to add to Tomorrowland Soeedway to get an E ticket Cars ride? Some would say if it was changed to a highly themed Radiator Springs, add some 1 or 2 points of articulation dark ride figures in inside sections, and of course a really cool queue, and it would be an E ticket. NO, it's still just Tomorrowland Speedway.

I don't care how close my seat is to a big screen, a 4 minute movie with me sitting on a moving seat will always be a questionable E ticket. That's what SR is. It's a short slightly interactive movie with a REALLY cool seating area. But is it really much different of a RIDE than the 25 year old Star Tours?

 

[celluloid]

This is exactly what I've been saying. You could take Indy, and put the queue in a big plain warehouse, and have a sign saying "Indiana Jones Ride", and only have the theming start once you leave the station, and it would still EASILY be an E ticket. I don't think you could say that with even RSR.

Folks want to say the sum of the parts is better than the parts. I don't see it that way. The RIDE is what is an E ticket, not the queue. Forbidden Journey's queue itself is like a C ticket, but again, have zero theming up to the load room, and it is still an E ticket RIDE.

How much would you have to add to Tomorrowland Soeedway to get an E ticket Cars ride? Some would say if it was changed to a highly themed Radiator Springs, add some 1 or 2 points of articulation dark ride figures in inside sections, and of course a really cool queue, and it would be an E ticket. NO, it's still just Tomorrowland Speedway.

I don't care how close my seat is to a big screen, a 4 minute movie with me sitting on a moving seat will always be a questionable E ticket. That's what SR is. It's a short slightly interactive movie with a REALLY cool seating area. But is it really much different of a RIDE than the 25 year old Star Tours?

It is all in execution. Star Tours reinvented the concept of the once great trip to the moon. Back to the Future knocked star tours out of the park..etc...

The issue with the Lettered Ticket rating system is that it is not how exciting the ride is in taste, but how popular it hopes or proves to be. Ticket system is supply and demand. You may not like the steak, but it is a meat on your dish.

 

[Hawg G]

It is all in execution. Star Tours reinvented the concept of the once great trip to the moon. Back to the Future knocked star tours out of the park..etc...

The issue with the Lettered Ticket rating system is that it is not how exciting the ride is in taste, but how popular it hopes or proves to be. Ticket system is supply and demand. You may not like the steak, but it is a meat on your dish.

E tickets don't mean most popular. They mean the most impressive, and at one point did take in to account cost, like the donkeys at DL.

 

[celluloid]

E tickets don't mean most popular. They mean the most impressive, and at one point did take in to account cost, like the donkeys at DL.

You stated the same thing as I did. I said, the the most popular or its hope to be. If they were not popular, they would move from an E to a lower ticket level.

You said you see it a different way than a sum of all parts, and that is cool, but the proof is with attractions like Tiki Room: Tropical Serenade. If it was just one bird outside, you have a Barker, but a bunch of those birds inside a themed hut with a few effects, you have an E ticket.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

E tickets don't mean most popular. They mean the most impressive, and at one point did take in to account cost, like the donkeys at DL.

Hall of Presidents went from a D Ticket to an E Ticket due to it’s unexpected popularity, to compensate the Mickey Mouse Revue was downgraded from an E Ticket to a D Ticket.

 

[Hawg G]

Hall of Presidents went from a D Ticket to an E Ticket due to it’s unexpected popularity, to compensate the Mickey Mouse Revue was downgraded from an E Ticket to a D Ticket.

That just meant there were better options to use that ticket for. Clearly, HoP had much higher end animatronics

 

[TJJohn12]

Folks want to say the sum of the parts is better than the parts. I don't see it that way. The RIDE is what is an E ticket, not the queue.

Yeah... no. Tickets were not taken at load. They were taken at (arguably) the period’s equivalent of the FP touch-points.

If you were to tell Yale Gracey or Marc Davis that the Entrance Hall, Stretch Room, or Changing Portrait Gallery (DL) were not contributing element to the Haunted Mansion attraction they’d scoff at you. Hard.

Those crucial story telling elements are technically counted as queue features. The posted wait time is measured to load, not to entry of the building. But without that mood setting and queue storytelling (instead loading in daylight like a common carnival spook house)? That attraction is a solid C-D. Queue and other parts contribute.

I’d actually argue that some queue elements actually start to degrade an attraction’s experience - Buzz feet-smellin’ queue I’m looking at you. But that’s off topic for the thread.

Returning to the TOPIC OF THE THREAD, in the GMR the lobby with movie memorabilia and the Robert Osborn clip-show theatre were crucial parts of the attraction. Did they do as much to plus it as a Stretch Room or Changing Portraits? No. But they *were* part of the attraction. Wait time was again measured to vehicle load, not to the building’s doors.

In MMRR, the lobby and the Mickey short “premier” theatre along with its magic screen you step into will all be crucial parts of the scene setting and storytelling. I’ll wager that likewise, the wait time will still be measured to the vehicle load area.

All this is to say that these aren’t rides. They *are* attractions for a very good reason. I’d argue that WDW *does* have some rides and they’re the things we largely deride - Aladdin the first that swims to mind. But in general, the attractions at WDW are focused on storytelling, not cheap thrills. And that means the sum of the storytelling elements - including but not limited to the ride system and the attendant show elements - must be taken into account. A story is *precisely* the sum of all the parts.

You want to pack in a ton of easy and cheap thrill rides? Head to Six Flags Over Sheboygan or your local Fireman’s Carnival in the dead mall’s parking lot.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

The ticket system was just a clever way of pricing each attraction based off demand. If the treehouse had a line to Main Street it would have been an E ticket.

 

[Mike S]

The ticket system was just a clever way of pricing each attraction based off demand. If the treehouse had a line to Main Street it would have been an E ticket.

And now that that ticket system is gone they use a different definition. Just focusing on DHS what new rides did we hear described as E Tickets? Mickey, RotR, and MF. Not Slinky or Swirling Saucers despite Slinky’s popularity.

E Tickets are objectively the biggest and best they’ve got to offer despite personal opinions. I don’t know why this argument always pops back up.

 

[truecoat]

All signs point to "meh" attraction.

Edit: Falcon again.

Here you go from @Old Mouseketeer

Spoiler: MFSR review

The Ride
We rode twice and loved it. The queue is great. It was very well themed and second to FoP only because of the undecanted Avatar. The Hondo animatronic looks awesome--love the animation. An alien face really lends itself to an AA figure. The CMs are clearly learning their roles and lack a lot of the smoothness we are used to in places like Mansion and Pirates--but that's what testing and previews are for. The transition from Hondo's port into the Falcon isn't as momentous as I expected. But you still recognize so much of the surroundings, even with some of the cheats that were necessary. Between our two trips we boarded through both the "real" cockpit path and the "extra" path, which was well-executed. It seemed plausible that we were going around the back way of the curving corridor to board the cockpit. The Hondo instructional video just before entering the cockpit that I had heard about didn't seem to be working and the door just before the final turn in the hallway to the cockpit was open and you could hear the CM shutting the previous group in. This is different than I had heard described by friends who rode in the last two weeks.

It was interesting that at the beginning of the ride you feel yourself moving to the right or left (depending on which turntable you are on) and the visual of the spaceport matches the motion. The mission is pretty exciting--Hondo is narrating the whole thing, telling you what to do, keeping up a commentary. The projection is a little darker than I expected, but I really didn't notice the difference in resolution from Star Tours. I think the level of interactivity, while somewhat limited, does add to the experience. Each position gets points on its performance at the end (so, unlike Mission: Space, using the controls and pushing the buttons really does something). I look forward to riding it more and doing the pilots positions. I think there are trade-offs with Star Tours, but I enjoy them both and can ride either repeatedly. You definitely get off in a different position and because we banged up the ship there were sparks flashing in the hallway and comm chatter about how banged up it was. It's a long walk out, but the theming was great.

Is it the same as flying a commercial airplane simulator (or the Space Shuttle)? No. It's a theme park ride. The amount of training you need to pilot a real simulator requires hundreds of hours of training and small plane qualification. But I still found the "hands-on" aspect of it very entertaining. It's hard the first time, trying to take in the visuals and do your job. On our first mission, we were the Engineers and I was fine with that. It's the least challenging and provided a good introduction and a fun experience. The second time we were Gunners and based on what I had heard before, we both chose automatic instead of manual. This meant that we weren't aiming the guns, just hitting the firing button repeatedly. I think they need some pre-show video showing the various ways a control can light up and the different colors. Ideally there would have been three screens--one for each position explaining what we would be asked to do. I'm looking forward to being in the Pilot seat, but based on what I have heard it's not that much more fun than the others--you just get to be in the front.

All in all, I enjoyed it. It's a strong E-ticket. I would say there were some aspects of the FoP preshow I liked better, but this stands on its own. I'm going to be enjoying this ride for years to come, especially if there are more missions.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The ticket system was just a clever way of pricing each attraction based off demand. If the treehouse had a line to Main Street it would have been an E ticket.

Our Insider says that originally the E-Ticket was priced based on the cost of the attraction. It wasn't until later that they were also used to manage crowds discouraging long lines at the low-capacity Astro Orbiter by bumping that up to a D and demoting Alice from a D to B once she no longer had long lines.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The ticket system was just a clever way of pricing each attraction based off demand. If the treehouse had a line to Main Street it would have been an E ticket.

I'm sure they would have changed its status to an E-Ticket, but no one would ever argue it was designed as one. "Word of God" is that it's a B-Ticket.

 

[Hawg G]

Yeah... no. Tickets were not taken at load. They were taken at (arguably) the period’s equivalent of the FP touch-points.

If you were to tell Yale Gracey or Marc Davis that the Entrance Hall, Stretch Room, or Changing Portrait Gallery (DL) were not contributing element to the Haunted Mansion attraction they’d scoff at you. Hard.

Those crucial story telling elements are technically counted as queue features. The posted wait time is measured to load, not to entry of the building. But without that mood setting and queue storytelling (instead loading in daylight like a common carnival spook house)? That attraction is a solid C-D. Queue and other parts contribute.

I’d actually argue that some queue elements actually start to degrade an attraction’s experience - Buzz feet-smellin’ queue I’m looking at you. But that’s off topic for the thread.

Returning to the TOPIC OF THE THREAD, in the GMR the lobby with movie memorabilia and the Robert Osborn clip-show theatre were crucial parts of the attraction. Did they do as much to plus it as a Stretch Room or Changing Portraits? No. But they *were* part of the attraction. Wait time was again measured to vehicle load, not to the building’s doors.

In MMRR, the lobby and the Mickey short “premier” theatre along with its magic screen you step into will all be crucial parts of the scene setting and storytelling. I’ll wager that likewise, the wait time will still be measured to the vehicle load area.

All this is to say that these aren’t rides. They *are* attractions for a very good reason. I’d argue that WDW *does* have some rides and they’re the things we largely deride - Aladdin the first that swims to mind. But in general, the attractions at WDW are focused on storytelling, not cheap thrills. And that means the sum of the storytelling elements - including but not limited to the ride system and the attendant show elements - must be taken into account. A story is *precisely* the sum of all the parts.

You want to pack in a ton of easy and cheap thrill rides? Head to Six Flags Over Sheboygan or your local Fireman’s Carnival in the dead mall’s parking lot.

Of course they are attractions. But the true E tickets are E ticket rides AND queues. Haunted Mansion a C/D ticket ride only (Mr. Toad level)? That's preposterous.

Disney is more and more making massive themed queues, and then having simply serviceable rides. So many FoP reviews mention the AA in the queue. One that FP riders dont even see, and one that essentially does nothing. And Hondo. Disney gets that pass. Yet I read hardly any Kong reviews that rave how awesome the witch AA is. Universal is judged only on the rides.

It seems SR pushes this all to the limit where the queue is the biggest portion of the attraction, and the ride is a short video game with lights distracting you, and the experience heavily hinges on only 1 or two of your group of 6.

In hoping RotR is an E ticket ride and queue.