My Review of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

[Snowflake82]

I think the games, pointless quite frankly, impede the flow of the standby line and actually make the wait longer than it should be. And create a traffic jam the way the line snakes around them.

I have to say I really, really dislike the interactive line games. We watched 3 different kids get left behind by their families as the line moved. Not to mention, the line is already long, this just made it worse.

If this slows down the dispatch interval or cast members send out trains with empty seats because no riders got to the head of the line, then the games are slowing down the line. Otherwise, you are waiting the same amount of time! (Just moving slower through the queue at some points and faster at others.)

That being said, it is a different kind of waiting process that guests need to get used to. As a parent, I know that it can be hard to get a young child to move on just after they have gotten interested in something. Attention spans are either 2 seconds, or forever. I'm not really a big fan of queue games, myself, but I do think they serve a purpose.

 

[deanaandrich]

Just rode it about an hour ago. We had fastpass so we didn't get to see any games. On the plus side, we waited 5 minutes while standby was 80 minutes. Not sure if this happens in regular line, but in the fastpass line they split up even and odd parties.
We thought the ride was cute. Nice animatronics. They did a great job in the mine. Great family fun!

 

[Tom]

If this slows down the dispatch interval or cast members send out trains with empty seats because no riders got to the head of the line, then the games are slowing down the line. Otherwise, you are waiting the same amount of time! (Just moving slower through the queue at some points and faster at others.)

That being said, it is a different kind of waiting process that guests need to get used to. As a parent, I know that it can be hard to get a young child to move on just after they have gotten interested in something. Attention spans are either 2 seconds, or forever. I'm not really a big fan of queue games, myself, but I do think they serve a purpose.

The queues do get bogged down because of the games, but it's because the people in line don't go around those who have stopped to play. That's perfectly acceptable behavior, and will maintain a constant flow of guests to the merge point.

 

[DizFiz]

I got to ride it on sunday and thought the ride was awesome... thrill of the ride itself is best in the back of the train where the speed and more rocking takes place. I loved the curveness of the track in the beginning portion of the ride. The mine scene was breathtaking with the colorfullness that the gems left off.... the animatronics were impressive to see up close especially the range of motion that they have and the facial movement projected. I don't mind waiting as I enjoy strolling through the queline enjoying the scenery. The area is impressive at night with all the glowing from the lanterns. The interactive features I really enjoyed but they do bottleneck the line up but in the end works out for the better of the line. Everything was in working order when I rode it on sunday as far as I noticed except for snow white dancing with dopey in the cottage.... hopefully it doesn't turn into a disco club strobe light infested cottage. I feel the witch animatronics is to impressive to have hiding on the side the cottage where most people won't even notice her.

 

[awilliams4]

It's just sad a ride .........Nonetheless, it's still a great ride.

?

 

[awilliams4]

They asked me if I wanted to ride by myself and I laughed, as seeing as how they are bucket style seats, I would then have been sitting squarely on the ridge between the seats.....sounds comfy doesn't it.

Interesting, another thread had a post where someone asked if they could do that and they were told no. I suspect Disney is reacting to this and changing what is allowed as they run into this more often.

 

[PAW PAW 70]

Question? I'm 6'4" and have a prosthetic knee which doesn't bend to well. Will I be able to ride by myself and place my leg to the side?

 

[righttrack]

It's the right ride in the right place. The thrill factor is the same as BTMRR to me, but it's smooth, that's the key difference. The smoothness removes some of the "thrill" you get. It's perfect, for the audience and location. It will absorb quite a few people and balance the park better. Given the hours they are willing to keep MK open these days, everybody ends up in this park often. Our last one-week vacations had us there at least 5 nights and our most recent long weekend had us there most every night.

 

[rreading]

Rode it in the soft opening. Liked the queue, thought the animatronics were amazing (they were working), and while not thrilling, it was really great for me to take in the views on the ride and simply enjoy it.

As a general rule, I don't like waiting an hour though, and prob won't do so again. My 9yo daughter who loves the big coasters was a little meh - it's okay.

For me, I wonder if the fact of the rocking of the buckets (I definitely noticed it) buffers out some of the thrill of the curves in the ride. Instead of a tight bank, instead you get a smooth sway. Would be good for the littles that way.

 

[JLipnick]

Rode it in the soft opening. Liked the queue, thought the animatronics were amazing (they were working), and while not thrilling, it was really great for me to take in the views on the ride and simply enjoy it.

As a general rule, I don't like waiting an hour though, and prob won't do so again. My 9yo daughter who loves the big coasters was a little meh - it's okay.

For me, I wonder if the fact of the rocking of the buckets (I definitely noticed it) buffers out some of the thrill of the curves in the ride. Instead of a tight bank, instead you get a smooth sway. Would be good for the littles that way.

Having ridden it 4 times over the last 5 days, it is a much better ride at night and in the back. It feels like a different ride in the back row as opposed to the front. Much faster in the back. I assume they will fix the fact that you cannot see the cottage show scene during the day. With the sun glare, you can't see anything in the cottage.

 

[cw1982]

Having ridden it 4 times over the last 5 days, it is a much better ride at night and in the back. It feels like a different ride in the back row as opposed to the front. Much faster in the back.

I remembered reading this very idea elsewhere in these forums, so when we rode I requested the very back. The CM's were happy to accommodate the request. They just had us stand off to the side while they filled the rest of the boarding zone and then let us on last. Totally worth it! I definitely felt the swinging that way

 

[NearTheEars]

No one finds that drop at least a little thrilling? I mean I grew up on Cedar Point, so no, it's not going to compare to that. But it exceeded my expectations for just being a kiddie coaster.

 

[Fox&Hound]

Just curious, but for those who say the ride should be longer with additional show scenes, what do you think should be added? I feel like the scene in the mine summarizes them working and the cottage scene was a nice touch. Yes, you could add more Snow White or the Witch, but the ride is supposed to focus on the dwarfs. I don't know, I just feel like they told the story they needed to....Other ideas for what could be added? I agree it was a bit short but I can't really place what scenes should be added. Curious to see other thoughts. Anyone know what was supposed to be there? I always thought some animal AA's on the mountain would be a cool idea.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Just curious, but for those who say the ride should be longer with additional show scenes, what do you think should be added? I feel like the scene in the mine summarizes them working and the cottage scene was a nice touch. Yes, you could add more Snow White or the Witch, but the ride is supposed to focus on the dwarfs. I don't know, I just feel like they told the story they needed to....Other ideas for what could be added? I agree it was a bit short but I can't really place what scenes should be added. Curious to see other thoughts. Anyone know what was supposed to be there? I always thought some animal AA's on the mountain would be a cool idea.

There was some artwork that showed the dwarfs walking across a log overhead. They could have had an initial scene where they sing Whistle While You Work. Failing that, adding 30-45 seconds more of coaster run off time would have really helped.

What's unfortunate is the one show scene is excellent, the rockwork and coaster portion are well done. There's just not enough there.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Question? I'm 6'4" and have a prosthetic knee which doesn't bend to well. Will I be able to ride by myself and place my leg to the side?

You should be able to. There is a center divider between the two seats, but removing your leg should make it work.

 

[epcot2004]

Was a 'must do' on our recent trip since it was new and we had not ridden yet. Would not wait more than 10 minutes to ride again. Was relatively well done for what it is. Biggest issue for us was that it was very short.

 

[Brad Bishop]

There was some artwork that showed the dwarfs walking across a log overhead. They could have had an initial scene where they sing Whistle While You Work. Failing that, adding 30-45 seconds more of coaster run off time would have really helped.

What's unfortunate is the one show scene is excellent, the rockwork and coaster portion are well done. There's just not enough there.

I think that the problem with the swinging cars is that the turns are all banked like a normal roller coaster. If they made the track flat then you'd get the swing but, at that point, it'd just be really weird. I think that if they just rebuild the cars and dump the swinging bit then there'd be more room for people to sit in the cars and I don't think that the effect would be missed. The swinging, while sounding good on paper, really doesn't pan out in practice.

I think that another problem they had was that this is a roller coaster island. If you look at other rides, they're usually on the edge of the park and thus most of the ride is outside the train tracks and off in a warehouse. Pirates and Splash Mountain show this. Splash mountain is multi-teired which ends up giving you a lot more ride for the space.

Where 7DMT is, there just wasn't a lot that they could do. Even if the track snuck underground to another building to give you more of a show, that'd be a weird, flat, straight portion of track to deal with (yellow being the track and the blue box being some building to house more of the show):

7DMT is a great little centerpiece to Fantasyland, it's just too short of a ride.

Splash Mountain, conversely, keeps giving you more Song of the South scenes and details. It's quite thorough. Same with BTMRR.

One odd one: The Goofy's Glider, or whatever it's called now, in the back of Fantasyland. No one ever talks about it. It's been there for years (just looked it up - opened in 1996). I can't imagine anyone seeking it out. It's in a really odd location. I'm sure someone will chime in with, "My kid loves that coaster!" but, really, it's an odd duck.

 

[Mike S]

I think that the problem with the swinging cars is that the turns are all banked like a normal roller coaster. If they made the track flat then you'd get the swing but, at that point, it'd just be really weird. I think that if they just rebuild the cars and dump the swinging bit then there'd be more room for people to sit in the cars and I don't think that the effect would be missed. The swinging, while sounding good on paper, really doesn't pan out in practice.

I think that another problem they had was that this is a roller coaster island. If you look at other rides, they're usually on the edge of the park and thus most of the ride is outside the train tracks and off in a warehouse. Pirates and Splash Mountain show this. Splash mountain is multi-teired which ends up giving you a lot more ride for the space.

Where 7DMT is, there just wasn't a lot that they could do. Even if the track snuck underground to another building to give you more of a show, that'd be a weird, flat, straight portion of track to deal with (yellow being the track and the blue box being some building to house more of the show):
View attachment 76933

7DMT is a great little centerpiece to Fantasyland, it's just too short of a ride.

Splash Mountain, conversely, keeps giving you more Song of the South scenes and details. It's quite thorough. Same with BTMRR.

One odd one: The Goofy's Glider, or whatever it's called now, in the back of Fantasyland. No one ever talks about it. It's been there for years (just looked it up - opened in 1996). I can't imagine anyone seeking it out. It's in a really odd location. I'm sure someone will chime in with, "My kid loves that coaster!" but, really, it's an odd duck.

The size of the land it sits on isn't the problem. It was planned to be longer in the exact same confines it currently sits in. The problem, of course, was money and how they didn't want to spend too much of it. This picture has gone around the forum many times. It shows how long the ride was supposed to be compared to how it turned out.

 

[Goofnut1980]

While the attraction was nice, it really isn't worth a long wait. We rode it last week, but isn't anything I would have to do every trip. I actually gave up FP+ on two of the days to ride, Space and BTM.

 

[Brad Bishop]

The size of the land it sits on isn't the problem. It was planned to be longer in the exact same confines it currently sits in. The problem, of course, was money and how they didn't want to spend too much of it. This picture has gone around the forum many times. It shows how long the ride was supposed to be compared to how it turned out.

I didn't realize that. For something that is going to be a permanent attraction for decades to come, it seems shortsighted that they shortened it so. They could have had something really great but due to this decision, it's fairly "meh".

It's a pretty ride, you just come off thinking, "That was it?" You don't get that on Big Thunder, Space Mountain, or Splash Mountain. You don't get that feeling on Everest or Rock n Rollercoaster. Even Little Mermaid, which isn't great, doesn't leave you with the "that was it?"-feeling.