Reflections on my time away from WDW

[Trackmaster]

I think DAK is more of a full day park because of the animal exhibits. I could easily spend several hours just doing the animal trails and watching them. EPCOT has the Seas, which helps it as well, but it's not as expansive as the animal exhibits at DAK. DHS doesn't have anything like that.

Eh... I enjoy the trails, but I'm not sure if they really do a great job of stealing crowds away and serving their purpose. If they built DAK up to where it needs to be ridewise, everybody wouldn't be desperately pounding Flight of Passage.

For the record, I do love DAK, its my favorite for the four. It just needs more rides. Flight of Passage is a great ride, but it needs some help. Clearly people want more of that stuff and it needs some competition. Same thing with RotR. I'm sorry, its a great ride, but not the best ride that's every been made. Maybe if DHS was a full park with a ton of options people wouldn't need to hit "join" with 0.001 seconds just to get on it, or people would feel a little more comfortable going and making a day out of it if they can't get a BG.

Look at Magic Kingdom. Tons of popular rides, but getting Fast Passes weren't too hard. If you couldn't get one for 7DMT, you could get one for Splash, Big Thunder, Space, Pirates, Peter Pan, etc.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

You're not understanding what I'm saying. I'm not referring to having an illusion of control or agency in rides. At no point on Disney's screen rides are you sitting there watching characters fight. The action is always "happening" to you, even if you're not actually doing the thing.

No, once again, I did understand you.

I'm not sure which part of what I said you don't understand, but it isn't important.

 

[UNCgolf]

No, once again, I did understand you.

I'm not sure which part of what I said you don't understand, but it isn't important.

I don't know... I think he's right. There may be something I'm not coming up with off the top of my head, but I can't recall any rides at Disney that are similar to something like Transformers or Kong at Universal, where you are occasionally just sitting and essentially watching a movie as though you're on a couch. With rides like Soarin' and Flight of Passage you're actually the person who is flying rather than watching someone else fly.

Not every Universal ride is like that, of course -- you're actually flying on the broom in Forbidden Journey, for example.

 

[bryanfze55]

I don't know... I think he's right. There may be something I'm not coming up with off the top of my head, but I can't recall any rides at Disney that are similar to something like Transformers or Kong at Universal, where you are occasionally just sitting and essentially watching a movie as though you're on a couch. With rides like Soarin' and Flight of Passage you're actually the person who is flying rather than watching someone else fly.

Not every Universal ride is like that, of course -- you're actually flying on the broom in Forbidden Journey, for example.

Kong is like Kilimanjaro Safaris - just substitute real animals for screens and an animatronic gorilla.

 

[Tom Morrow]

No, once again, I did understand you.

I'm not sure which part of what I said you don't understand, but it isn't important.

Unless I'm mistaken, you are referring to interactivity (Toy Story Mania), or the illusion of interactivity/agency (Mission: Space), or the fictional act of "helping" (Star Tours). I'm not referring to that. I am referring to literally stopping and watching action. As @UNCgolf said, your vehicle parks and you watch action for a few moments not unlike watching a film in a theater or on your couch.

In Gringotts, you are riding the bank carts, but they are simply a device to shuffle you from video to video as you mostly watch action play out.

 

[HongKongFooy]

In Gringotts, you are riding the bank carts, but they are simply a device to shuffle you from video to video as you mostly watch action play out.

But that pale bald dude wearing a gown with the chick from 'Fight Club' next to him casts some fireball spell on us(the visitors at the bank):

""Perhaps a little dose of pain will help you remember""

He thinks we know something important so he goes all violent on us. What a punk!

 

[Touchdown]

But that pale bald dude wearing a gown with the chick from 'Fight Club' next to him casts some fireball spell on us(the visitors at the bank):

""Perhaps a little dose of pain will help you remember""

He thinks we know something important so he goes all violent on us. What a punk!

Im sorry you haven’t taken the time to at least acquaint yourself enough with one of the most popular film and book series of all time not to know who the main villain is, the park is clearly not for you. I generally take the time to at least know the basics of a franchise before I step on a ride based on it even if I don’t particularly enjoy said franchise (F&F, Avatar, etc.)

 

[HongKongFooy]

Im sorry you haven’t taken the time to at least acquaint yourself enough with one of the most popular film and book series of all time not to know who the main villain is, the park is clearly not for you.

Do you work for Warner Brothers or is your name JK Simmons? You sound as if you are personally insulted that I didn't watch your movie or read your book.

 

[Touchdown]

Do you work for Warner Brothers or is your name JK Simmons? You sound as if you are personally insulted that I didn't watch your movie or read your book.

No I don’t. I’m just a little tired of my fellow human beings being proud they are ignorant of things. Yes pop culture is a frivolous topic in the long run, but this has spilt over into far more important topics and I think is a big cause of why we are in the state we are in today. We should be curious about all things. To wear ignorance as a badge of honor is just wrong. That’s all.

 

[HongKongFooy]

I walked in to that Stitch Escape contraption at Magic Kingdom without seeing his movie and only knowing that he has some relationship to a short Polynesian looking girl with a big nose. Sue me.

 

[Touchdown]

I walked in to that Stitch Escape contraption at Magic Kingdom without seeing his movie and only knowing that he has some relationship to a short Polynesian looking girl with a big nose. Sue me.

Knowledge that shallow about Harry Potter would have you knowing who “the pale bald dude wearing a dress” was.

 

[Trackmaster]

I don't know... I think he's right. There may be something I'm not coming up with off the top of my head, but I can't recall any rides at Disney that are similar to something like Transformers or Kong at Universal, where you are occasionally just sitting and essentially watching a movie as though you're on a couch. With rides like Soarin' and Flight of Passage you're actually the person who is flying rather than watching someone else fly.

Not every Universal ride is like that, of course -- you're actually flying on the broom in Forbidden Journey, for example.

I understand your argument, but I think that Transformers and Kong might be bad examples. I'm pretty sure that with Transformers its supposed to be like Spiderman where Optimus Prime is taking you on a ridealong with him for some reason and you're helping him save the day or something. He thanks you for helping him for some reason. I think its a bad script but I believe that the intention is supposed to be you physically existing within the universe of the ride experience. With Kong I think its pretty clear that you were supposed to be in an innocent tour group through the jungle before you took a wrong turn and all of the creatures start attacking you (so kind of a similar plot to Jurassic Park: the Ride).

I think in general, theme park attractions are supposed to be told in 1st person. The idea is that you pay $12 to see a movie in 3rd person at the theatre without having to break a sweat or do much work, but you pay $100 to experience a simulated version of it in first person.

Knowledge that shallow about Harry Potter would have you knowing who “the pale bald dude wearing a dress” was.

I think that this was meant as a joke. I rode Gringotts before I saw any of the movies, and I could tell from the context of the ride scenes that he was the Big Bad of the franchise.

 

[jaklgreen]

Do you work for Warner Brothers or is your name JK Simmons? You sound as if you are personally insulted that I didn't watch your movie or read your book.

JK Simmons! ROFL That was funny.

 

[UNCgolf]

I understand your argument, but I think that Transformers and Kong might be bad examples. I'm pretty sure that with Transformers its supposed to be like Spiderman where Optimus Prime is taking you on a ridealong with him for some reason and you're helping him save the day or something. He thanks you for helping him for some reason. I think its a bad script but I believe that the intention is supposed to be you physically existing within the universe of the ride experience. With Kong I think its pretty clear that you were supposed to be in an innocent tour group through the jungle before you took a wrong turn and all of the creatures start attacking you (so kind of a similar plot to Jurassic Park: the Ride).

I think in general, theme park attractions are supposed to be told in 1st person. The idea is that you pay $12 to see a movie in 3rd person at the theatre without having to break a sweat or do much work, but you pay $100 to experience a simulated version of it in first person.


I think that this was meant as a joke. I rode Gringotts before I saw any of the movies, and I could tell from the context of the ride scenes that he was the Big Bad of the franchise.

But in Kong (I don't really remember Transformers very well -- I thought both rides were awful, though) there are definitely parts where you are just watching creatures fight each other.

 

[Trackmaster]

But in Kong (I don't really remember Transformers very well -- I thought both rides were awful, though) there are definitely parts where you are just watching creatures fight each other.

I'm not the biggest fan of Transformers... Kong is OK, not great, not terrible. I kind of get what you're saying, but its still designed so that you're there watching the action. It might be a bit of a stretch, but the characters clearly talk to you like you're there in there. If you pay attention to the ride and the story, there's really no question or debate.

 

[HongKongFooy]

I'm not the biggest fan of Transformers...

One indicator of a sorry ride is when you just happen to be very near it or walking by with no time constraints on commitments on your park touring and it posts a 5 min wait(which close to always means "walk on") and you just walk on by or better yet stop and chat with family or friends near the entrance as if it's not there...................that has been my relationship with Transformers.

 

[UNCgolf]

I'm not the biggest fan of Transformers... Kong is OK, not great, not terrible. I kind of get what you're saying, but its still designed so that you're there watching the action. It might be a bit of a stretch, but the characters clearly talk to you like you're there in there. If you pay attention to the ride and the story, there's really no question or debate.

Right -- it's not that the ride doesn't suggest you're actually there, it's just that you're not really doing anything. You're just sitting and watching.

It's a fine line, but I think Disney has generally been on the right side of the line whereas Universal has teetered back and forth.

 

[rangerbob]

Thanks for your kind words. You really should get to Disneyland when you can... may still be awhile until it opens at full capacity, but when that happens it’s a worthwhile trip. I really think you’d rediscover some of the Disney magic. There's a real energy (both kinetic and imaginative) to Disneyland Park that I no longer felt at Magic Kingdom. California Adventure is not quite that, but it's a worthwhile diversion. There are more rides between the two Disneyland parks than there are between the four WDW parks. The parks can be a short walk away, depending on how close you stay.

A couple downsides: if you want a really close walk, you'll likely have to stay in somewhat overpriced motel-style lodging (or pay a huge premium for the Courtyard - which is very nice, but usually $300+ per night). This can be a turnoff for some. But it's a competitive market, so most of the motels try to do a good job. Also, you'll likely pass homeless people on your walk to and from the parks if you choose to walk. You will likely be asked for money. This can take you out of the "bubble." But if you isolate the park experience itself, WDW really pales in comparison to DL.

Universal Hollywood probably isn't particularly worth your time if you've been to the one in Orlando. Ditto for SeaWorld. If you like Animal Kingdom, I recommend the San Diego Zoo Safari Park as an add-on to your trip. The safari experience is better than the one at Animal Kingdom (though it is extra). If you like national parks, Joshua Tree is about 2 hours from LA and Kings Canyon/Sequoia is about 4 hours away. A fall/winter trip favors the former, a summer trip favors the latter.

With two weeks, you can have an extremely awesome SoCal vacation with a level of variety that Florida just doesn't offer.

When we went to Disneyland I thought the trip to Universal Hollywood was well worth it. Yes there are some of the same rides but the backlot tour and other shows make up for it. We had a blast there even though we were frequent visitors to UO.

 

[NelleBelle]

When we went to Disneyland I thought the trip to Universal Hollywood was well worth it. Yes there are some of the same rides but the backlot tour and other shows make up for it. We had a blast there even though we were frequent visitors to UO.

We frequently go to DLR but have never done Universal Hollywood (but have done UO a bunch)—do you recommend it and if so, how many days?

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I don't know... I think he's right. There may be something I'm not coming up with off the top of my head, but I can't recall any rides at Disney that are similar to something like Transformers or Kong at Universal, where you are occasionally just sitting and essentially watching a movie as though you're on a couch. With rides like Soarin' and Flight of Passage you're actually the person who is flying rather than watching someone else fly.

Not every Universal ride is like that, of course -- you're actually flying on the broom in Forbidden Journey, for example.

It is a meaningless distinction, IMO. that's all. Telling me I'm flying, isn't flying when I don't control anything about where I go or what I see. Soarin' also lacks a storyline. It is just a meaningless series of scenes that are far too boring to watch from any couch! I'd fall asleep.

IMO, Disney has plenty of attractions where we just sit and watch scenes happen that don't involve us: PhilharMagic, The Great Movie Ride. The old Energy attraction. (We got to sit and watch both a television show and multiple documentaries!) The France movie. Canada. China. Oh, and there was also the snoozefest with Timon in The Land.

The above were so boring, people visited them just to nap!