Ride design pet peeves

[Tony the Tigger]

The barrier is need to stop a group from rushing down one side and then grabbing a chunk of the center seats. This would lead to both sides racing each other and a lot of disappointed and peeved guests.

Maybe what's needed is a narrow middle aisle for a psychological barrier and to keep the fire marshal off one's back.

But if they enter from the back, and then enter each row from both sides, wouldn’t they naturally want to stop at the center? Those would be the best seats.

 

[MisterPenguin]

But if they enter from the back, and then enter each row from both sides, wouldn’t they naturally want to stop at the center? Those would be the best seats.

My group of ten on the right will grab the middle ten. Your group from your side will be offset from the middle by five seats.

 

[JohnD]

That ridiculous pre-show in FOP.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Does anyone else have a ridiculously hard time getting into the ride vehicles on Space Mountain? I feel like they need to be two feet higher so you can climb into them rather than sitting down at floor level.

 

[JohnD]

Does anyone else have a ridiculously hard time getting into the ride vehicles on Space Mountain? I feel like they need to be two feet higher so you can climb into them rather than sitting down at floor level.

Those are nothing compared to the flume logs at Dudley Do Right in USF.

 

[JohnD]

The Pirates boat traffic at the end of the attraction makes the 405 in LA look like a breezy, country path to Grandma's.

Had the same thing happen at Splash Mountain over the weekend.

 

[ChrisFL]

Fun fact. Splash Mountain can run 46 boats at one time. I took a small tour when I was a contractor there once.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Had the same thing happen at Splash Mountain over the weekend.

Looks like Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are causing some comotion downstream.

 

[JohnD]

Looks like Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are causing some comotion downstream.

I heard that at least 5 times when I rode.

 

[rob0519]

Does anyone else have a ridiculously hard time getting into the ride vehicles on Space Mountain? I feel like they need to be two feet higher so you can climb into them rather than sitting down at floor level.

That is exactly why I've not ridden Space Mountain in years and have no intention of riding it in the future. They used to be fine, but age, weight and arthritis have a way of changing one's perspective.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

That is exactly why I've not ridden Space Mountain in years and have no intention of riding it in the future. They used to be fine, but age, weight and arthritis have a way of changing one's perspective.

Thankfully, I still have my youth and my knees, but I always end up climbing in and out of that thing like a drunk orangutan. On more than one occasion, I ended up climbing over the seat in front of me and exiting out of the wrong gate.

 

[HoustonHorn]

I'll second OP's comment re: a single lapbar for 2+ occupants. When my then-1 year old and I rode Barnstormer (her first roller coaster ever!), I propped a leg over her lap and held on to her for dear life.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'll second OP's comment re: a single lapbar for 2+ occupants. When my then-1 year old and I rode Barnstormer (her first roller coaster ever!), I propped a leg over her lap and held on to her for dear life.

Actual line from my four year old: "My sister is small. I'm small-medium. Mommy is big-medium. Daddy is large." She won't ride Big Thunder with me.

 

[Demarke]

Yeah to me, if you are going single rider line, you (should be) forfeiting the right for the best seating in exchange for a much shorter wait. Seeing how a lot of people who go in the SR line are groups, this is a fair trade off.

I have no problem with low preference seating in return for single rider line, but having done mostly solo trips lately, it is a little aggravating to know with certainty that no matter whether you are fastpass or regular line, the chances you will have anything other than the end seat with the least preferable viewing angle on Soarin' and FoP are virtually non existent (although, admittedly not as big of a deal if you are lucky enough to be slotted into the middle section). Just a minor gripe to me, nothing I would hassle a cast member with or anything.

Aside from the above, as to the topic of the thread, my biggest ride design pet peeve is the trend toward screen tech in place of animatronics or other more practical effects in rides. For the purposes of this personal pet peeve, I don't include screen based attractions that are either interactive (i.e. Buzz or Toy Story Mania), grand in scale (i.e. Soarin' or FoP or even the World Showcase movies), or 3D (i.e. Star Tours, Philharmagic, Muppets). So many of us are in front of a screen all day at work, then spend hours in front of screens at home whether it's tv, phones, and/or video games, we see screens virtually everywhere we go. I love the parks for the escapism it allows (and still does a super job of)and part of that is the spectacle of seeing and experiencing things you can't see in everyday life. Screens and projections in rides like Journey into Imagination, Nemo, the Haunted Mansion's hitchhiking ghosts, and a few others just seem to be taking a lazy way out. Animatronics may be an older technology, but when do you get to see them in day to day life and when do you get to see the detailed sets the dark rides have generally had?

As for projections, it may just be my personal preference, but, while I can appreciate the tech and that it's cool to be able to project faces on animatronics (i.e. SDMT, Frozen, Haunted Mansion), I'd much prefer good old mechanical features. I know you can't do as much with classic animatronic tech, but they can do a lot more with it these days than they used to and I'd love to see more of it. For me it comes down to this, when I see a good intricate animatronic, I think "wow, that's amazing, how do they get all the moving parts to work together?" but when I see a CGI projection face, I think "oh, that's fun, but it's just a projection."

 

[JohnD]

I have no problem with low preference seating in return for single rider line, but having done mostly solo trips lately, it is a little aggravating to know with certainty that no matter whether you are fastpass or regular line, the chances you will have anything other than the end seat with the least preferable viewing angle on Soarin' and FoP are virtually non existent (although, admittedly not as big of a deal if you are lucky enough to be slotted into the middle section). Just a minor gripe to me, nothing I would hassle a cast member with or anything.

Aside from the above, as to the topic of the thread, my biggest ride design pet peeve is the trend toward screen tech in place of animatronics or other more practical effects in rides. For the purposes of this personal pet peeve, I don't include screen based attractions that are either interactive (i.e. Buzz or Toy Story Mania), grand in scale (i.e. Soarin' or FoP or even the World Showcase movies), or 3D (i.e. Star Tours, Philharmagic, Muppets). So many of us are in front of a screen all day at work, then spend hours in front of screens at home whether it's tv, phones, and/or video games, we see screens virtually everywhere we go. I love the parks for the escapism it allows (and still does a super job of)and part of that is the spectacle of seeing and experiencing things you can't see in everyday life. Screens and projections in rides like Journey into Imagination, Nemo, the Haunted Mansion's hitchhiking ghosts, and a few others just seem to be taking a lazy way out. Animatronics may be an older technology, but when do you get to see them in day to day life and when do you get to see the detailed sets the dark rides have generally had?

As for projections, it may just be my personal preference, but, while I can appreciate the tech and that it's cool to be able to project faces on animatronics (i.e. SDMT, Frozen, Haunted Mansion), I'd much prefer good old mechanical features. I know you can't do as much with classic animatronic tech, but they can do a lot more with it these days than they used to and I'd love to see more of it. For me it comes down to this, when I see a good intricate animatronic, I think "wow, that's amazing, how do they get all the moving parts to work together?" but when I see a CGI projection face, I think "oh, that's fun, but it's just a projection."

I went to Universal twice in 2018 and I've had enough. Many of the attractions are motion simulators so are variations of the same theme. I'm still working out kinks in my neck too because of wild spinning around several do (Spiderman, Transformers). While we can find pet peeves of WDW attractions, at least there is more variation in ride types.

 

[TwilightZone]

I went to Universal twice in 2018 and I've had enough. Many of the attractions are motion simulators so are variations of the same theme. I'm still working out kinks in my neck too because of wild spinning around several do (Spiderman, Transformers). While we can find pet peeves of WDW attractions, at least there is more variation in ride types.

I've always called universal the park with too much change. It always updates, but a lot of those updates are worse than what was there. Luckily Universal is getting some non screen rides and I'm hoping they learned their lesson with fast and furious and keep these ride systems faithful. Screens can only work so much.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I've always called universal the park with too much change. It always updates, but a lot of those updates are worse than what was there. Luckily Universal is getting some non screen rides and I'm hoping they learned their lesson with fast and furious and keep these ride systems faithful. Screens can only work so much.

Universal raised the bar for theme park attractions with Forbidden Journey, which I thought was a great mix of physical elements and sections with screens.

After that, they seemed to really go all in on screen focused attractions.

Hoping they can bring back some balance to their ride design.

 

[JohnD]

Universal raised the bar for theme park attractions with Forbidden Journey, which I thought was a great mix of physical elements and sections with screens.

After that, they seemed to really go all in on screen focused attractions.

Hoping they can bring back some balance to their ride design.

Lots of duplication there. Essentially as for ride type (understanding that story lines vary):
Spiderman = Transformers [moving vehicle through the attraction that spins around everywhere]
King Kong = Fast and Furious [action happens around what is essentially a bus vehicle]
Despicable Me = Jimmy Fallon = Simpsons [motion simulators that don't go anywhere but move you in different directions]

Yes, I know that King Kong has a better story than Fast and Furious but the ride vehicles are basically the same.

They need more variety.

 

[Minnie1976]

Does anyone else have a ridiculously hard time getting into the ride vehicles on Space Mountain? I feel like they need to be two feet higher so you can climb into them rather than sitting down at floor level.

Not getting in but I have a hard time getting out! It is embarrassing! LOL!!!

 

[networkpro]

My pet peeve in ride design are the whiners.