Minor AK update 5/16/07. sorry, no pics.

[teebin]

Leaving for DC tomorrow for a few days so I decided to squeeze in my AK/WDW fix before I leave.

Yak & Yeti Restaurant
There is no way on the planet that this restaurant will open anytime in July. If it does I will eat my annual pass. They are just now putting the steel roof beams in place and it now has a magnificent silhouette as you pass over the bridge. It now appears there will be two dinning levels that look out over the bridge and parade route.

Dinoland
The comic dinosaur behind the gift shop in Dinoland (what is this gift shop called?) (near the pathway going towards the Dinosaur building) is now walled off an is presumably undergoing some kind of refurb. For those in the know, it is also a smoking area, so maybe the poor Dino is getting a lung transplant.

Also, the planting boxes around the reflecting pools in front of Dinosaur look terrible. They were planted in with boston ferns back in 2004 and now the are overgrown with dead branches sticking out everywhere. When first planted it was beautiful, but now it just looks skanky.

Dinosaur
Some day, before I die, I will see the laser effects on this ride... but not today, my kajillionth time on the thing.

I finally looked at the sign on the American Crocodile exhibit. I had no idea that we have Crocs in South Florida. Alligators yes... but I never thought crocs too.

Parade
A woman stilt walker in the parade appeared to have injured her leg today (maybe twisted it or fell down) as she was escourted out behind Dawa Bar way ahead of the parade arriving back into Africa. She was still walking on the stilts... but had a painful limp. Three disney parade manager types were there to escourt her backstage. What are their titles? These parade overseer types?

What kind of rules go into the types of people that perform in these parades? The guys on stilts, of which there are 4 or 5 sets throughout the parade all looked like carbon copies of each other... almost like the same guy everytime... all lean and handsome with shiney smiles. How does disney casting handle these positions? If you aren't lean and handsome an shiney smiled, does Disney just tell such hopefuls that it aint going to happen because you don't fit the 'look'?

Everest
My car was rattling side to side on the lift! Almost as if some of the wheels had worn flat on a side. This has only happened twice in my bajillion rides.

oh oh... one of my edits. The backwards part of the ride was COMPLETELY BLACK TODAY... no view of the internal structure. I was on EE just 3 weeks ago and could see the structure... but not today!

Discovery Island
The first time I have ever seen the paint almost COMPLETELY peeled off from a sign icon. At the top of a big sign on the way towards Asia just after you arrive on Discovery, has a bird figure at the top. The bird is almost 80% bare aluminum, the paint just gone gone gone. This is not a nasty comment on my part as I marvel that they keep everything so neat and fresh. Just wild to see such utter decay in a Disney park as it is sooooo rare. hmmm... perhaps I should take a picture and sell it on ebay. Nevermind, I am sure it will be totally restored in the next few months.

Rain Forest Cafe
The big waterfall at the top of Rain Forest Cafe has been turned off for months. I wonder if this is because you can hardly see it now that the trees and plant growth are nearly hiding it. It used to be a much more open area from early pics I have seen.

Well, that is it... I could go on and on with my minutia/minutiae but I will restrain myself. Hopefully some of you find something in this of temporary interest.

 

[wdwmagic]

Some day, before I die, I will see the laser effects on this ride... but not today, my kajillionth time on the thing.

LOL you might be waiting a while for this one. I'm not 100% on this, but I have a feeling that the actual lasers were completely removed from the attraction.

 

[Slipknot]

Refresh my memory... Where are/were the laser effects on Dinosaur? The only effects I can remember that need work are the jumping little guys who have been stuck on the right side after the teradactyl(SP?).

 

[wdwmagic]

Refresh my memory... Where are/were the laser effects on Dinosaur? The only effects I can remember that need work are the jumping little guys who have been stuck on the right side after the teradactyl(SP?).

Right at the beginning in the time corridor.

 

[teebin]

Refresh my memory... Where are/were the laser effects on Dinosaur? The only effects I can remember that need work are the jumping little guys who have been stuck on the right side after the teradactyl(SP?).

I have heard that there is a great laser effect on the 'window' of the transport room... lasers that obscure your view of the foliage ahead. This would indeed be sweet.

 

[ThinkTink721]

Leaving for DC tomorrow for a few days so I decided to squeeze in my AK/WDW fix before I leave.

Yak & Yeti Restaurant
There is no way on the planet that this restaurant will open anytime in July. If it does I will eat my annual pass. They are just now putting the steel roof beams in place and it now has a magnificent silhouette as you pass over the bridge. It now appears there will be two dinning levels that look out over the bridge and parade route.

I wonder if it will be ready by Sept. 2007:veryconfu

 

[Rob562]

I have heard that there is a great laser effect on the 'window' of the transport room... lasers that obscure your view of the foliage ahead. This would indeed be sweet.

There's at least two laser effects in the attraction, possibly three.

The first one is as you describe, it's at the very end of the first time tunnel. It essentially creates a "box" hovering in mid-air that you drive through the middle of. As you reach it, there's the sound kind of like crashing glass, the laser turns off, there's a star effect on either side that fades into the foliage. I don't recall if the laser is on the entire time you're within the time tunnel or not. This entire opening sequence is quite impressive when all effects are operating.

The second laser occurs after the on-ride photo location, when you finally find the Iguanodon you've been looking for. The laser box returns, partially encompassing the Iguanodon. You drive through it and turn the corner to face the incoming meteor and the dino head before dropping down into the time tunnel.

Again, this ending sequence is awesome when everything works. You odn't see the Carno head until you're right under him, there's the whoosh of air, the VERY bright light, and because of the bright light with the Carno head popping out at you, in the ensuing darkness the Carno head is all you can see as an after-image as the view of the stars and the time tunnel rush up to you, almost like you're falling through space and then "crash" down into the tunnel.

I'm not sure if there's a third laser as you actually enter the time tunnel, but I don't think there is.

There was a lot more work put into CTX than people give WDI credit for.
Did you ever notice that your on-board lights (which you can see projecting outward in the first few scenes) are taken out by one of the early meteor strikes? (which is why the lights aren't on in the later all-dark scenes)
Did you notice that your vehicle really shimmies and sounds like it's stuck in the mud in the "loss of traction" by the charging Carno? (more noticable to those on the right, I believe)
Have you noticed that after you drive away from the charging Carno, you can still hear it following you, crashing through the forest, crossing over from left to right? (Which explains why he's all of a sudden off to your right in the on-ride photo section)


-Rob

 

[IROC it]

Is the Rain Forest Cafe's waterfall "off" due to the drought?:shrug:

 

[Yen_Sid1]

LOL you might be waiting a while for this one. I'm not 100% on this, but I have a feeling that the actual lasers were completely removed from the attraction.

The lasers are still there and they still work. But you won't like the real reason. Actually, in the begiining, they had 3 laser effects. 2 Time portals and one at the Final Horizon. The 2 Time portals are Argon Laser and the Horizon effect was a Krypton Laser. When they changed the finale to the Finale Carno, they moved the Krypton Laser to Iggy.

The last time portal is right when the Finale Carno is ready to eat you, as he is leaping at you, you break the re-entry time portal and barely escape.

But right now, the Argon Laser is not working, so they have The Krypton Laser configured to do all 3 effects. But they just choose not to turn it on.

It seems show quality is not that important anymore, just the ride. Maximum throughput, get the guests on and get them off. As long as the ride is working everything is fine. The guests won't notice a bad show, because they don't know what it is really supposed to look like.

In fact, in the latest show review, Dinosaur had one of the lowest scores on property because so many things are turned off and so many functions are in manual on the dinosaurs. It barely got a "C", so they know they show is in bad shape. But will they do anything about it? It's up to management!!

 

[Rob562]

But right now, the Argon Laser is not working, so they have The Krypton Laser configured to do all 3 effects. But they just choose not to turn it on.

You know, I've heard that bit of info about one laser configured to do the work of all three before... But I'm having a hard time trying to figure out just how the heck they do it. The laser effects are on virtually opposite ends of the building. If one laser did all the effects, it would need an enclosed route to be able to get the laser beam from one end of the building to another. If that was available, I could see them running the effects off of one physical laser as long as none were required at the same time (unless you got into spsplitting the beam).

Is there something with this that I'm missing?

-Rob

 

[polarboi]

It seems show quality is not that important anymore, just the ride. Maximum throughput, get the guests on and get them off. As long as the ride is working everything is fine. The guests won't notice a bad show, because they don't know what it is really supposed to look like.

In fact, in the latest show review, Dinosaur had one of the lowest scores on property because so many things are turned off and so many functions are in manual on the dinosaurs. It barely got a "C", so they know they show is in bad shape. But will they do anything about it? It's up to management!!

You know, when someone noticed dirt on SSE and people wrote letters about it, they got it cleaned pretty quickly.

If the fans cared enough to write letters about the Dinosaur effects, I imagine it would get some attention too.

In situations like this, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sounds like management is assuming that no one will care enough to take action. We could prove them wrong....

This is assuming there isn't any more to the story.

-p.b.

 

[marni1971]

What was the Final Horizon effect? I`m aware of the time portal fx. Regarding the Iggy Krypton laser, was this the `laser net` effect? I`ve still never seen video of it!

Here`s a short clip with of both portal lasers working - I`d assume it`s the Argon one and the Krypton one isn`t working for Iggy (BTW, you can see Iggy lifting the tree trunk off the ride path if you look closely. One of the rides many often-missed effects)

http://download.yousendit.com/E2ABB4360C23365F

It`s a disgrace that so many effects in Dinosaur are deactivated; that one attraction has the most effects this side of the original UoE diorama. And people wonder why we complain about slipping standards.

Perhaps Siemens should sponsor it....

 

[Yen_Sid1]

You know, I've heard that bit of info about one laser configured to do the work of all three before... But I'm having a hard time trying to figure out just how the heck they do it. The laser effects are on virtually opposite ends of the building. If one laser did all the effects, it would need an enclosed route to be able to get the laser beam from one end of the building to another. If that was available, I could see them running the effects off of one physical laser as long as none were required at the same time (unless you got into spsplitting the beam).

Is there something with this that I'm missing?

-Rob

Basically, on the Laser Table, there are 2 parts to it, where the Laser Tubes are and the effects section. The Laser output is always on, there is just a dowser that blocks the beam. So basically there is just an optics splitter that used for both time portals, so when it got the show trigger it would just redirect the beam to th desired effect therough fiber optic cables. The Laser room is not near any of the effects. So they just had to move to the splitter to the Krypton so they could use that one instead.

 

[Yen_Sid1]

What was the Final Horizon effect? I`m aware of the time portal fx. Regarding the Iggy Krypton laser, was this the `laser net` effect? I`ve still never seen video of it!

Here`s a short clip with of both portal lasers working - I`d assume it`s the Argon one and the Krypton one isn`t working for Iggy (BTW, you can see Iggy lifting the tree trunk off the ride path if you look closely. One of the rides many often-missed effects)

http://download.yousendit.com/E2ABB4360C23365F

It`s a disgrace that so many effects in Dinosaur are deactivated; that one attraction has the most effects this side of the original UoE diorama. And people wonder why we complain about slipping standards.

Perhaps Siemens should sponsor it....

It's easy to tell because the Argon is green and the Krypton is red. Orginally, in the finale when the meteor crashed to Earth. The laser would represent the Horizon and would do like a big horizon on fire effect around the edge of the globe. That is why there is all those air cannons at the end of the ride. And it is all supposed to be heated air. But they have that turned off also. They just couldn't get the explosion and all the smoke at once to the desired effect.

I can think at least 15 Special Effects they haven't turned off in Dinosaur. From little things like the Heated Carno Spit and the Bird ________ effect to major things like the Mother Ceradactylus and the Compys(All 7 of them now). Like the Sparkers in the Time Tunnels and the Cyberlights above the track switches. A lot of smokers and foggers turned off. Fireflies, Fiber Sparkles, Cosmic Swirls, Wind effects from wings, etc.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

I vaguely remember the first laser effect but that last one, I don't remember at all! It's a shame they don't use the lasers to enhance the ride.

 

[the-reason14]

There was a lot more work put into CTX than people give WDI credit for.
Did you ever notice that your on-board lights (which you can see projecting outward in the first few scenes) are taken out by one of the early meteor strikes? (which is why the lights aren't on in the later all-dark scenes)
Did you notice that your vehicle really shimmies and sounds like it's stuck in the mud in the "loss of traction" by the charging Carno? (more noticable to those on the right, I believe)
Have you noticed that after you drive away from the charging Carno, you can still hear it following you, crashing through the forest, crossing over from left to right? (Which explains why he's all of a sudden off to your right in the on-ride photo section)


-Rob

OMG, I never noticed some of those things. Something I will definately have to keep my eyes open for next trip, wow thanks.

 

[Austin1]

Wow!

I had no idea I was missing out on so much story! If all of these effects were working, especially the lasers, I think this would fall under my top 3 favorite attractions at WDW.

 

[MythBuster]

There was a lot more work put into CTX than people give WDI credit for.
Did you ever notice that your on-board lights (which you can see projecting outward in the first few scenes) are taken out by one of the early meteor strikes? (which is why the lights aren't on in the later all-dark scenes)

-Rob

Also, the strobes under each seat have been removed. And the meteor crash and the air cannon that put out those lights are missing also. It was right across from the Raptor.

 

[polarboi]

But why remove so many effects? Did they not work as desired? Were they too expensive to maintain? It sounds like some of these have the capacity to be turned back on, while others have been removed altogether... is it just the typical level of tweaking that happens with a new attraction, or is there more going on here?

I'm intrigued, because Dinosaur is one of my favorite attractions, but I've always felt it could be more than it is.

-p.b.

 

[MythBuster]

But why remove so many effects? Did they not work as desired? Were they too expensive to maintain? It sounds like some of these have the capacity to be turned back on, while others have been removed altogether... is it just the typical level of tweaking that happens with a new attraction, or is there more going on here?

I'm intrigued, because Dinosaur is one of my favorite attractions, but I've always felt it could be more than it is.

-p.b.

The easiest answer is money. The other reason is people. You have to assign people to work on them and maintain them. My friend works in that maintenance dept. which is basically AK East, they take care of Dinosaur, Dino-Rama(Primeval Whirl, T-Spin, carny games) , Everest, and Kali.

Do you know which ride gets the most attention maintenance-wise?
Primeval Whirl, because basically it is a carnival ride that is getting ready to fall apart. Parts keep falling off vehicles, and the track is cracking all the time. So it takes a lot of manpower and money just keep it safe. Dinosaur really suffered when they built Everest, because all the attention and money was on that as well as Primeval.

There is also many things at Kali that are turned off, In fact, the only animation it has is turned off. And at Everest, a new ride, they have thing turned off already. They could be turned back on easily. So when WDI designs something and builds it, then turns it over to maintenance to maintain it. It is easy just to turn it off, then to actually maintain it or fix it. They figure the guests will never know. Look at all the things that were turned off associated with the Discovery River. AK is the newest park and it has the most things turned off. I guess they think people just care about the animals and not the rides or attractions.

That is part of the problem also, the vice-president for the park is a animal keeper, what do they know about keeping rides and shows running? and all the people below her are animal keepers. It's Natahzu, but it sure operates like one.