I know I'm getting off topic here but I promise this is the last one.
Feel free to take the topic anywhere you like ... I'm tired of talking about Disney execs dressing like slobs!
Did you see Olivander's? I think that show is done extremely well.
Nope. That was the only thing there was a significant line for ... and I'm not the type that feels a need to see and do it all anyway. ... Hell, I left things in Tokyo and took me decades to get there. I can head to WWoHP tomorrow if I wanted.
What did you think of Sinbad and Monsters at Tokyo Disney? I'll be honest, I cried during the finale of Sinbad. The combination of fantastic music with amazing AA figures, a simple yet touching storyline and wonderful sets and lighting did me in. I was not expecting it! I ask about Monsters because I haven't had a chance to ride it yet.
Loved them both. Two of my favorites actually.
Sinbad is an amazingly high-quality immersive family friendly ride. I knew from friends and reading that it has struggled to get folks in, even on the busiest of days. Hell, I think I rode three times each day I was there just because it was pretty much a walk on. I've heard people didn't like the original version because it was dark. I didn't watch video of that until I got back and it definitely was ... Sinbad has a beard, the music is dark and ominous and there's no cute kittie sidekick.
But never experiencing it, hard to say whether I'd have liked it. Sets are basically the same, although those chimp warriors were originally attacking you (with the banana smell pumped in) are now playing instruments.
Thing is, that attraction was just perfect. A mix of PoC and Small World if you will with the song 'Compass of Your Heart' sticking in your head to the point I can hear it now as I type this. It still doesn't seem to be a crowd favorite, although it eats people ... and is in a dead corner of the park, which is why they are adding the Jasmine spinner just outside.
Just loved it, though. It goes on and on ... there were a few parts where a friend with me turned and said 'if this were at WDW it would be over now' .
Monsters was another favorite for me, even if it doesn't exactly say Tomorrowland. Interesting to WDW visitors is the fact the lobby at Monsters Inc is the same as the entry lobby to Dinosaur at DAK (just themed very differently). Total E-Ticket here, which again speaks to quality of attraction being what matters more overall than source material.
It also was the hardest 'ticket' in terms of waits when I was there (saw it hit 120 minutes, which isn't that long by their standards) although we did FP a few times and hit a 30-minute standby near closing one night that wasn't even that long.
I love the detailing and massive amount of AAs in Monsters. The flashlight to activate effects and expose monsters hidden certainly is derivative of things like Buzz and TSS ... but a whole lot more fun. You could ride without even 'playing' and still have a great time. The one thing I couldn't help but notice was the Monstropolis city street scene seemed very much like MiB at UNI ... now, to be fair, both films have scenes like this in their source material (at least I think they do as it's been a few years since I've seen either), still couldn't help but think they did a bit of 'borrowing' from what UNI did with MiB.
Much like Sinbad, the length of the attraction impressed me. It didn't seem over as soon as you started to have fun like many WDW attractions do. And this has so much more repeatability than say Buzz (which as an aside I didn't ride at TDL and is one of the most popular attractions ... I saw waits as long as 110 minutes and my days there weren't busy at all by Tokyo standards). About eight years ago I figured out how to max Buzz out in the very first room at MK, and all fun went out the window. That's an issue with interactivity (see the thread on Staggs' comments today on NEXTGEN). With Monsters, there's so much happening and so much eye candy, because you have real sets, AAs and effects instead of plywood painted and black light, that you can ride over and over again and notice new things. Repeatability is a huge factor with any great attraction and this has it.
At first, I thought I liked Hunny Hunt more, but I think I liked Monsters more now in hindsight.
It just would be nice if Disney built these type of attractions in O-Town.
