They do. But it is still flagging behind.
I'm probably the only one who prefers the Orlando dragon (when lit properly) as opposed to Snap. They just need to fix the flame jet that has been awful now for years.
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New nighttime show 'Rivers of Light' confirmed to be coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
I'm probably the only one who prefers the Orlando dragon (when lit properly) as opposed to Snap. They just need to fix the flame jet that has been awful now for years.
What if, say, one night one of the barges couldn't be used in RoE because it was sat on the bottom of the lagoon?
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
So true! Why go in the morning and afternoon at all when you can go and see Avatar in all its glory at night (really kind of designed with this in mind), see the evening show, and still hit all of the major rides??? I guess you could argue that some of the experiences would be different day vs. night (safari, view from Everest, etc) but smart money says a lot of people will go in the evening- which will still help MK evening crowds so that is a good thing. But, if they want to steal the crowds from the other parks for the majority of the day, they need more rides to balance out the experience. And a few signature dining experiences would not hurt either.
The attempt to turn DAK into a full day/ngiht park should be successful with what they have planned, if the night safari is successful. Once Avatarland opens, there is easily a full day's worth of attractions, even if we are focusing on a person who skips all of the animal trails. To take it into the evening, we'd still need to either convince people to spend time seeing the animals (I'm open for ideas) or convince them that 1) there are good restaurants, 2) there is a good closer for the day, and 3) there are a couple of attractions worth a re-ride. Yak n Yeti, Tusker House, Rainforest, and whatever Pandora restaurant they build probably fulfill the dinner requirement (particularly when you throw in Flame Tree, my personal favorite). The Rivers of Light should be the closer. As far as re-rides, those who like thrills will re-ride Everest and, I suspect, Pandora's headliner. But the rest, things worth a re-ride are scarce, as so much of the park is shows (and how many times can you hit dino-Dumbo?). But if the night safari is well done and sufficiently different from the day safari, now you've got something that everybody will want to re-ride. That'll allow DAK to be open until 8 or 9 every night, I think.
JediMasterMatt
Well-Known Member
Eewww... you probably are the only one that has seen both coasts to say that. Snaps is much more impressive than the head on a stick.
Of course, trying to compare the two Fantasmics is more than just comparing dragons. I just wish WDW would revist theirs to make it better as I actually like the concept of the ampitheater setting. It's just the show quality that needs improving. The Pochontas scene needs swapped out and something with a bit more substance needs to be addedin place of the the long bubble montage sequence. It's really unusual in that I despise WDW's Fantasmic and I adore Anaheim's version. It's hard to say that it's just because of "x" like Snaps or just because of the Columbia or Mark Twain... but it's definately something and likely due to the all of the little differences adding up.
Speaking of the little differences adding up... I got a chuckle a little bit earlier today when my wife asked if she could order these cool themed salt and pepper shakers the online store put up with the various "Lands" on them. She's not as big of nerd as I am when it comes to all things Disney; but, she said "these are like the cool themed trash cans at Disneyland. Why don't I remember seeing them in Orlando?". I laughed and told her that that topic is a long story - TDO and the Raiders of the Lost Themed Trash Cans.
I just want to add a bit of historical information to the discussion of water quality required for this general type of show hardware. About 10 years ago as part of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial, St. Louis had a nighttime spectacular on the river every night that included mist screens and fountains. Yes, this show was in the Mississippi River, using water from Big Muddy itself.
Tell me about it! Snap is too.... Cartoony. Orlandos is more mysterious and menacing. When you can't see the supports. It just needs the damn fire to be fixed after how long?
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
What's amazing to me is that while I like DL's dragon better, it's still very limited. Is there a reason DreamWorks' touring How to Train Your Dragon Live show has way more impressive (and humongous) dragons than Disney can muster for a permanent show? Those things were AMAZING.
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
From a quick look at a video of it, it looks like those are quite similar to the Walking with Dinosaurs puppets. While impressive, they operate in a much more controlled environment than an outdoor theme park where everything will get wet (if not by rain, by the mist screens)
One of the biggest constraints they had to work with was bringing it up from the pit below. It looks like the HTTYD show has the luxury of a same-level backstage, where they have plenty of storage room and can roll their puppets in and out as they wish. DL has a relatively small pit that the dragon must emerge out of and collapse into, all in a very short period of time while being hidden by the mist screens. This really limits the weight of the AA and its range of motion
Plus, it's designed to look like the dragon in Sleeping Beauty. That dragon is very stylized without a lot of detail, so why add detail for the show, especially when it's only onstage for about a minute of the production? Considering it's something that's only seen by guests for a few minutes each week, I think it's plenty impressive (though I do agree that it's lacking a certain sense of mystery that the old version had, due largely to the lighting they use)
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Plus the arena show puppets and animatronics perform only a tiny fraction of the number of shows that the Fantasmic equipment has to and therefore can receive much more individualized maintenance and attention.
Think of the difference between a formula one race car and a Corvette someone drives home from work every night. They're similar in some respects but ultimately are completely different machines.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
Since when did Murphy get renamed Snap?
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Lord these parks need SO much more. MK was slow today in terms of wait times but man it was PACKED. Insanely packed. For example, middle of the day Big Thunder went from 30 to 40 minutes (and Splash was supposedly 90 so I skipped that) but I was on and off within 20 minutes (NON fast pass). So of course wait times are clearly (obviously nothing new here though) embellished. Oh and it was freaking insanely hot. Thought I'd throw that in there too. The parks also need WAY more shade.
But seriously, the walkways are insanely crowded. The other parks desperately need things that disperse the crowds.
But seriously, the walkways are insanely crowded. The other parks desperately need things that disperse the crowds.
Crazydisneyfanluke
Well-Known Member
Based on the concept art, i came up with this quick paint.
In green is the possible viewing area.
In yellow would be the guest flow to help ease congestion before. during and after the show. The guest will exit through the blue arrow.
In the lite pink could be the possible off stage storing area for the floats. if so, it would require the bridge to be upgraded to a draw bridge to allow the floats to pass underneath. If they do upgrade the bridge, they might as well widen the path.
JediMasterMatt
Well-Known Member
Disneyland's dragon's code name is actually Snaps McGee. Murphy was just the nickname the locals gave her after she started going 101 when they rolled her out initially.
Oh and Martin - if you think Snaps is too cartoony, would you like Angelina Jolie to start appearing in the show as well?;-)
tirian
Well-Known Member
I also prefer the dragon in Florida! It's more theatrical and less plastic; Snaps reminds me of a squeaky toy.
That's two of us then
I also prefer the dragon in Florida! It's more theatrical and less plastic; Snaps reminds me of a squeaky toy.
Since he.... snapped!
Rob562
Well-Known Member
That bridge already has the clearance for the Discovery River boats to pass underneath (their dock is back that canal you circled). The floats in the concept art look to be relatively low in physical height with the builk of their show height being from the water jets/screens. I doubt they'd have to make any modifications to the bridge.
-Rob
Crazydisneyfanluke
Well-Known Member
Thanks i was not sure. i do not visit AK that much simple because there isn't anything that interests me.