rushtest4echo
Well-Known Member
Man, you must be really mad that 3 of the 5 major attractions Disney is building or planning to build (FoP, Millenium Falcon, Rat) are entirely screen based - and 2 are simulators! Even worse, one of those, the cornerstone of a land promised at AK since opening, is just a modified version of Simpsons! And I'll bet those churlish imagineers are even going to use a bunch of screens in Alcatraz and River Journey (they even have the audacity to keep featuring screens in the promotional material!).
And Epcot alone already has 8 screen-based attractions!
Look, I think Uni needs to let up on screens and emphasize practical effects. I REALLY want them to do so. That said, the screen thing is an industry-wide issue that gets used as a bludgeon by Disney fans to try and attack Uni without seeming overly partisan. It's so noticeable at Uni because of the rate at which they are building rides, which is a very good thing. I'd also point out that none of their screen-based rides have replaced superior attractions - they're all notable improvements over what came before.
The last 15 years (and next few) of Universal v Disney new rides and retreads - heavily screen based is bolded, retreads are italics:
Jimmy Neutron: Refit of screen based simulator
Revenge of the Mummy: Traditional dark ride/coaster
Seuss Trolley: Refit of never-opened ride, light theming
Rip Ride Suckit: Unthemed coaster
Hippogriff: Refit of exiting coaster, light theming
Dragons Challenge: Refit/massacre of amazing queue, exiting unthemed coaster
Forbidden Journey: Half screens/half traditional new ride platform
Disaster: Refit of exisiting traditional effects ride
Simpsons: Refit of screen based simulator
Minion Mayhem: Refit of screen based simulator
Kang and Kodos: Flat ride
Transformers: Clone of screen based dark ride
Hogwarts Express: Screen based transport ride
Gringotts: Screen based/new ride platform
Kong: Screen based ride on simuator motion platform with some traditional elements at beginning
Hulk 2.0: Refit/new decently themed queue, existing unthemed coaster
Fallon: Screen based simulator
Fast and the Furious: Screen based dark ride
Nintendo Land: Lets assume at least one of the two rides will be screen based
vs
Imagination: Refit of traditional dark ride
Philharmagic: Screen based theater show
Mission: Space: Screen based simulator
Turtle Talk: Screen based theater show
Stitches Great Escape: Refit of traditional effects show, some screens
Expedition Everest: Coaster with some theming, broken traditional effects
Soarin: Clone of screen based simulator
Seas w/ Nemo: Refit of traditional dark ride, using some screens
Gran FIesta Tour: Refit of traditional dark ride with some screens
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor: Refit of screen based theater show
Midway Mania: Screen based dark shooter ride
"New" Spaceship Earth: Refit of traditional dark ride, added screens for 2nd half of ride
Tron Track: Refit of dark ride with added projections and traditional effects
Star Tours 2: Refit of screen based simulator
Little Mermaid: Traditional dark ride
Deuling Dumbos: Refit flat ride
Storytime w/ Belle: Meet & Greet attraction w/ traditional effects
SDMT: Coaster with traditional dark ride portion, some screens
Frozen Ever After: Refit of traditional dark ride, some screens
Soarin over the World: Refit of screen based simulator
Flight of Passage: Screen based new ride platform
River Journey: Traditional dark ride
Toy Story Coaster: Poorly themed traditional coaster
Buzz Ride: Themed flat ride
Ratatouille: Clone of screen based dark ride
Star Wars First Order Ride: Traditional dark ride with some screens
Millennium Falcon Ride: Screen based new ride platform
Mickey Dark ride: Lets assume screens will be used
Both have plenty of screens, and both have plenty of traditional effects. Half and half for both properties. Lots of refits too. I'm not going to fault Unviersal over Disney when comparing the recent use of screens. However, it's a fact that currently half of Universal Orlando's rides spend much of their time in front of a screen, and there are only a couple of "traditional" dark rides and then largely unthemed coasters and flat rides. Disney's worst offender is DHS, where currently 2 of 5 rides are screen based, and by 2021 there will be likely 4 of 9 rides that heavily use screens. EPCOT is a weird case since many of the "screen" attractions aren't rides so I don't know if people would count those.
I think Universal's sticking point is that most of the time you're parked in front of a stationary screen and not progressing along a path. Even Kong, Transformers and Gringott's suffer from "we're stopped in front of another screen". Compared with their predecessors, Kong replaced a traditional effects version of itself with a ride that mostly happens in front of stationary screens. Transformers mostly stops in front of screens as opposed to Spiderman which mostly moves toward, away from, and past screens without much "down time" and has lots of traditional effects. Gringotts is an amazing ride, but again spends much of its time parked in front of screens without many traditional effects/scenes compared to Forbidden Journey (even if there are motion bases and track switches scattered around).
I hope the reliance on screens goes away very soon. Unfortunately, Orlando has lots of SCREENZ on the docket everywhere. 3 of 5 of Universals planned future rides are screen based. 4 of 8 of Disney's are too. Even at Sea World, Kraken is being ruined with screens and Antartica uses terrible screens so half of their newer attractions involve screens. Screens are great in moderation, but the recent industry wide binge on this tech is really getting pathetic. VR drop towers and kiddie coasters... ugh.
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