Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
I don’t think they need to retire the system. They just need to utilize it better.
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Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway confirmed
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
I know. It’s just been so many fails in a row I’m starting to wonder if Hunny Hunt (and to a lesser extent Mystic Manor) was an exception to the rule. If you see something fail 3-4 times in a row do you want them to try for # 5 with the next IP or try something else?
I'll start demolishing the Haunted Mansion pronto.
Giss Neric
Well-Known Member
I love how "meh" is generally being used to describe everything nowadays. It's like you don't hate it but don't love it either but more leaning towards hate it. I think it's a lazy way to describe things.
What cars were you seated at the first and second time? It plays a big factor too. I think 3 is the best then 1, then 2 and 4 is the worst.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
I haven’t been on any of these trackless attractions, but from the POVs, Hunny Hunt is the only one that feels like a “lived in” world, in the same way that PotC, HM, and Splash feel. The suspension of disbelief is in full effect.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Exactly. I kind of wish “lived in world” would be the starting point for every dark ride in development and then work from there. I think that plus charm/ intimacy (or at least charm/ intimacy in combination with larger show scenes) are the main ingredients to a great dark ride.
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
I could not agree more , you stated everything I have been thinking. I walked out thinking what was that!!! Someone was really high on something when they came up with this thing. It was just, I had no idea what I had just experienced. Tech wise it was impressive, it was super colorful and almost felt la la land like towards the end, but there was absolutely no cohesive story or point to it at all. no point!! Its just there as a trip through insanity and that's it. I was glad I waited in the line once, but I wont again, even though I wouldnt mind riding it again to try make sense of something in there. Imagineering doesn't seem to want to follow any story formula anymore, they have lost all knack for that. Now its about just throwing whatever wherever together and poor justification for placement and point. which for here was no point to this attraction lol, thats all I keep thinking. I do think its perfect for Toontown where its going in Disneyland, its just too bad we could not have had a new permanent Toontown land in this park with this in it. I want to see them do a classic dark ride again, in the vein of snow white or roger rabbit, toad, or even monsters inc etc....but I guess the chance of that ever happening again is done and out the window.
Surferboy567
Well-Known Member
That is the point though, it’s an unpredictable Mickey short.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
There isn’t a single IP I’m more invested in than Mickey Mouse. I have watched every single theatrical cartoon several times. I have read all of the comics from 1930-1960. I have watched all of the new shorts. My room is filled to the brim with Mickey memorabilia. You can’t go one room in my house without seeing reference to the Mouse. He’s been a natural part of the family my entire life.
I have only watched the POVs, but I can safely say that, as a Mickey Mouse fan, the ride is a major disappointment from both a story and an environmental perspective (and quite frankly, a musical perspective as well). This is not the love letter to the Mouse that I had hoped for.
The bare minimum characters are present. The generic, bare environments look like they could have come straight out of a bland 2D Mario Bros game. The music is only at Center stage during the very beginning of the ride. The backgrounds are flat, with none of the detail or artistry of the best cartoons. Peg Leg Pete, a crucial villain in shorts of past and present, barely makes a cameo.
Even the queue, which should be filled with artifacts and memorabilia of “Mickey Mania” (the era in which Mickey was more popular than any movie star), seems to have nothing emphasizing the importance of the Mouse. It’s the Chinese Theatre for crying out loud! Make this seem like an important event, and not something I can turn on Disney + one Saturday morning in bed.
And yet, I’m sure it’s a fun experience. It looks fun. But the character that put them on the map deserves more than a fun ride. Especially if you’re putting it in the Chinese Theatre.
I’m always going to compare this to “Mickey’s Gala Premiere”. A similar story premise, but it actually put emphasis on Mickey as a huge star. Although, the fake cartoon “Gallopin Romance” was just as boring as “Perfect Picnic”. But at least Pete was the villain.
Jones14
Well-Known Member
I can say, having ridden a few times, it is a much better experience in person than any video I’ve seen would suggest.
It’s the E-ticket version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride with some Cartoon Spin thrown in for good measure. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ll love it.
Also, the music felt totally front and center in almost every scene. It’s the most ‘musical’ attraction they’ve built in WDW since Splash, in my opinion.
It’s the E-ticket version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride with some Cartoon Spin thrown in for good measure. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ll love it.
Also, the music felt totally front and center in almost every scene. It’s the most ‘musical’ attraction they’ve built in WDW since Splash, in my opinion.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
I have no doubt it’s a better experience in person. I’m simply judging the content (if that makes any sense). Technical effects are great, but they’re only a supplement to the experience. To me at least.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
When I use the word 'meh' to describe a Attraction experience, it sums up being neither wowed by it but not outright hating it.
It's....'meh'...and a 'middle of the road' kind of feeling.
Neither wowed, yet not hated.
Just....well...'meh!'
Similar words, perhaps more descriptive -
Mediocre.
Blah.
Passable.
Slightly disappointing.
Mildly entertaining.
Mildly mediocre.
Mild, in general.
Regarding which cars I was seated in, first ride through I was located in 1.
Second ride through it was 3.
I preferred the visual view from 1 more then 3.
They really should rename it 'Goofy's Runaway Railway'.
He's the star here...I would say the most entertaining aspect was watching his animated self in the train engine react to his surroundings during the beginning and at the conclusion.
It IS a wacky , fun experience ....I can get that this was the intention.
There were several moments that make you smile and perhaps even chuckle a little bit ( visual animation ) but it goes by in a flash.
The Attraction however just didn't live up to the hype for me, but everyone's milage varies.
This one just didn't 'wow' me....but for a few minutes of random fun, it's worth experiencing for the curious.
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Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
I would say to try another ride through, as their IS a simplistic story to it.
As with many cartoon shorts, it's a basic story usually involving a simple plot point and 'righting the wrong'.
This particular Attraction shouldn't be looked at for 'deep, involved storytelling'.
'Runaway Railway' is meant to be a fun romp into a cartoon world, where craziness takes places and funny things happen.
It's meant to be totally random and off the wall.
I totally could see that...and it WAS indeed conveying 'wacky unexpected fun'.
But for me, there was something 'missing' and the floor to ceiling screens and projection effect faces of the characters just left me kinda cold, among other things.
But there were fun moments.
I can fully understand why others are really loving this experience though.
Not something that struck my fancy, but I can see how it can appeal to others.
And yes, I fully agree this Attraction will be a good fit for Toontown at Disneyland Park in sunny California.
It will likely be a big hit and a welcome addition.
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Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
And yet, you rode it twice.
It is amazing to me just how little we appreciate the technology behind what we see. We have been putting our faith in that technology for years. Even though Test Track was run in a channel to steer it, the computer was actually driving us. Stop and go, slow and fast. The show itself sucked unless you realized that you were riding around in a moving vehicle at least once at 60 miles per hour and there was no one there individually controlling the "ride vehicle". We rode the Tower of Terror and trusted that it would correctly wind it's way around the sets and pull into the shaft and lock itself before we plummeted downward. All controlled by internal wiring. Now It's MMRR that is doing the showmanship. The ride vehicle, in my opinion is as important to the attraction then the need for it to have a point. It is the fun of the ride, it is the blind faith that we put in the electronics and The Disney Company to have done it right and safely. It's the entire experience and how we perceive it. It could very well be that the ride vehicle is the "star" of the show because without it, what would the attraction be? A movie or a bunch of robots acting out the actions of humans (i.e. Hall of the Presidents or American adventure). The sheer engineering of that American Adventure is far more mind boggling than the animatronics. Sometimes I think we focus on the wrong things and wonder why we are not impressed.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
That’s just the thing. The Disney Parks are more than just ride vehicles and technology. It’s the detail and the show that takes centre stage. If I wanted the bare technology and ride vehicles, I would go to a cheaper amusement park. There’s a Sea World Ride that’s trackless.
“But”, you May say, “some of the older Disneyland attractions were mainly pieces of technology and little show”. And you’d be right there. Dumbo, the Tea Cups, Autopia, the Skyway, The Viewliner etc. But some of these are supporting attractions to the more significant ones (Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, etc), and some are due to low funds.
Even our own People Mover, one of the most “technology” oriented attractions, has major show components. And I’m sure many of us go on that attraction for those elements.
It is reasonable to expect that the replacement for a unique “show/detail oriented” E Ticket, like the Movie Ride, would also be equal in show quality and detail.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
They didn't mean "rides that happen to take place in a big warehouse", they meant "rides that FEEL like they take place in a big warehouse".
The Haunted Mansion is a carefully curated attraction, with scenes that vary from intimate and intricately outfitted to impressively scaled but still immersively designed. It is in a Giant Warehouse without ever feeling like it. The closest you come to noticing is in the Graveyard, bit theres so much happening at ground level with animatronics and effects that your eye really doesn't ever linger near the ceiling, which is dark like the night sky anyway.
Runaway Railway is an attraction where more than half of its showscenes feel like you're in a big, boxy room full of vast expanses that's just been projection mapped to hell. Which, in a lot of cases, is exactly what they are. Those rooms feel like they take place in the warehouse you're meant to forget exists. The expanses in these rooms is an unfortunate side effect of needing space for the Trackless Vehicles to roam around, whereas a tracked attraction can afford to bring the ride envelope in closer given the in-line nature of the ride vehicle's travel.
Rise of the Resistance does a better job negotiating this - the rooms are still wide, but are so fully themed that they never feel like empty space, and the Tandem Trackless Vehicles travel both together in an in-line fashion and all alone by themselves through more than one scene, allowing things to come in closer to the guests. Beauty and the Beast in Tokyo seems to be an example that goes the opposite direction - the vehicles are even bigger than usual, and some of the rooms feel overly large for their contents given how much open space the vehicles need.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I thought I had made it clear that everything in an attraction is part of that attraction and how it works and what it is intending to communicate. Disney, in its years, have gone from walk through, to omni movers, to independently run sectional trains on a track to trackless navigation. I'm not sure what is expected at this point. Hover vehicles? There are vehicles that are the attraction. You mentioned one being the People Mover. The train around MK. The double deck buses at one point. All had no other purpose then to entertain. And if one has a problem with "warehouse" type buildings I think if you think about it even TGMR had a number of big empty rooms filled up with screens as well. I'm just at a loss to understand what everyone is looking for or expecting, and more importantly why they expect it. EPCOT Ctr., when it opened, had nothing but omni-movers with the exception of the World of Energy and talk about your big semi-empty warehouse. That was a huge number of basically empty large open areas where the oldest of the trackless vehicles could stack up side by side. Even Haunted Mansion is a huge warehouse. To me all of the vehicles are intricate parts of the attractions. They work hand in hand. They are no less of importance because of what they use for navigation and propulsion. TGMR was traveled on a large trackless vehicle almost identical to the World of Motion. Why was that spectacular and using even more versatile units on MMRR is not acceptable?
So I guess I am not understanding what is wrong with what they are using? Is it because they haven't invented yet another way of transporting tourist butts through a very expensive and mostly creative attraction? What type would you recommend? Just because I was impressed with the variety and forward thinking of a whole lot of Disney transporters doesn't mean I think they can just run with nothing to see and be entertaining, but man, how many of those types of vehicles do any of us see in everyday life.
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Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
I’m not quite sure what isn’t being understood. The problem is not that the dark ride is in a warehouse building. It’s that they didn’t do a good job of disguising that fact. There’s too much open space. You can see the four corners in every room.
When I’m on Pirates, I don’t feel like I’m in a warehouse...even if I am in one. Looking at Rise, it doesn’t look very much like a warehouse either. It looks like the spaceship they are trying to portray.
When I’m on Pirates, I don’t feel like I’m in a warehouse...even if I am in one. Looking at Rise, it doesn’t look very much like a warehouse either. It looks like the spaceship they are trying to portray.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
I think you are responding to the wrong post - you say I mentioned the Peoplemover and I didn't.
The ride vehicles themselves are fine, but they come with a catch - they need a lot of wide open floorspace to make the most of their trackless-ness. That openness often comes at a cost, and one that is antithetical to creating an engaging and immersive themed environment.
None of the scenes in Haunted Mansion LOOK like they're in a warehouse, so it doesn't matter that they actually are. Great Movie Ride similarly did a good job disguising the warehouse. Runaway Railway doesn't do this very well - lots of the scenes FEEL like you're in a warehouse, which you are, and the Ride System is part of why. Like I said, Rise of the Resistance does a better job hiding the "warehouse-ness" with the same ride system, so it's not like it can't be done.
denyuntilcaught
Well-Known Member
So, legit question, what did you expect them to do to overcome the open space needed for the vehicles?