RotR: Disney is still not at Universal's level

[Stripes]

Maybe they do "know how" to do it, but they're choosing not to. Because they haven't. At least yet.

Exactly. If Disney wanted to, believe me, they could.

To some extent they already have. Though the ride vehicles for Ratatouille don’t have the ability to tilt on the roll axis, they do sync, interact, and react to the movements on the screen. The media also uses a moving eye point algorithm.

 

[Victor Kelly]

I need to say this. Someone mentioned Disney does not have a reactive ride in their lineup. However, Dinosaur is a reactive ride vehicle. Had Disney wanted a reactive vehicle it would be present in RotR, simple as that. Perhaps the vehicle had minor reaction but they could not get it to work hence the delayed opening.

I am not a fan of the new star wars except for Rogue One. I am not a huge fan of Disney with all the money grabbing. I have also not seen Galaxies Edge or Toy Story Land. BUT I will say that they did do good on detailing even though neither are my cup of tea.

I do not feel that their decisions to wall off vast percentages of the park is wise, but let them flub it, who cares? Yeah they are doing some pretty drastic changes that will take years to finish. But we may say that Epcot especially Future World may look better if they stay close to the concept art. I just have no need for more boozing it up, and people being drunk before they hit WS.

I cannot afford Disney trips anymore. I think Universal is giving Disney very good competition which is good. They keep each other on their toes.

 

[OG Runner]

I haven't ridden RotR either, since it just opened. I have however ridden the Spiderman ride, the Transformers ride, the Simpsons ride, the Fallon ride & the Despicable Me ride. Except for the ride vehicles these are all the same ride. They have the same story line and all end with
a big fall and you are some how caught. All heavily using screens, go to a scene, something attacks or blows up, go to the next scene. Honestly, ride these rides all in the same day and you can get bored with the storyline. Not really that thrilling.

 

[retroeric]

I haven't ridden RotR either, since it just opened. I have however ridden the Spiderman ride, the Transformers ride, the Simpsons ride, the Fallon ride & the Despicable Me ride. Except for the ride vehicles these are all the same ride. They have the same story line and all end with
a big fall and you are some how caught. All heavily using screens, go to a scene, something attacks or blows up, go to the next scene. Honestly, ride these rides all in the same day and you can get bored with the storyline. Not really that thrilling.

The Simpsons, Jimmy Fallon, and Despicable Me are not E-ride types. They are stationary. And I agree they get tired quickly. Spiderman and Transformers are in a different league.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Universal's "juice" is a jiggling car with screens placed in front of you at 80% of their attractions.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Spiderman and Transformers are in a different league.

They're the same ride, with Spider-Man being the better of the two.

 

[WondersOfLife]

What I'm saying is, I believe they made the ride that way BECAUSE they don't know how to get the vehicles more involved.

I believe the attraction you're looking for is Star Tours. It's right next door.

 

[retroeric]

They're the same ride, with Spider-Man being the better of the two.

Well, Spiderman is the most decorated and award winning dark ride in the world, so I can understand why they wanted to use the same format when they made Transformers.

 

[Snake]

Disney has the most thrilling rides, you want to complain about tame, how bout escape from gringots? They had opportunity to make something great, that is weak ride overall.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Well, Spiderman is the most decorated and award winning dark ride in the world, so I can understand why they wanted to use the same format when they made Transformers.

It's literally a carbon copy of Spider-Man. Lazy on them.

The same with Kong vs. Fast & Furious.

 

[retroeric]

I believe the attraction you're looking for is Star Tours. It's right next door.

Stationary doesn't count.

But I do love me some Star Tours, as well as the similar ride that was featured in your username.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Stationary doesn't count.

But I do love me some Star Tours, as well as the similar ride that was featured in your username.

Why wouldn't stationary count? The knocks out so much "juice" out of Universal.

But also, like everyone else has said. Disney and Universal are apples & oranges. To compare the two as whole theme parks is completely idiotic, as they are purely based on attraction thrill preference. (That is, if you consider getting tossed around in front of a 3D screen repetitively over and over again a thrill)

 

[retroeric]

Why wouldn't stationary count?

Because stationery simulators looking at a screen are a dime a dozen. There are literally thousands around the world, even in malls. I'm talking about a true dark ride where the vehicles actually wander around multiple rooms and are in sync and interact with what's going on. That kind of attraction is really hard to create, and Universal has mastered it. Disney is still trying to figure it out. Or maybe they aren't. Who knows.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I've ridden RotR twice now, and while I truly loved the overall experience and level of immersion, I feel like it's missing something very important- THRILLS. I'm sorry but this ride is lacking "juice" in the movement of the ride vehicles. It's just too tame and overall not very thrilling. If the ride vehicles had some of the quicker acceleration and urgency of, say, Indy at DL or Spiderman at IOA, or the multi-direction movement of FJ, it would have locked itself up as the greatest ride ever created. Instead, Disney simply made a relatively slow-moving trackless dark ride ala Mystic Manor or Hunny Hunt with Star Wars theming and special effects. I still think the overall experience is outstanding, but it's just not all that thrilling.

I realize Disney's goal was to make it kid friendly and be inclusive of guests of all ages, but then why put the drop near the end of the ride? That one drop required them to put warning signs all over the ride about sudden drops and everything. If they're going to make one tiny thrilling spot, why not just make the whole ride thrilling?

I think it's remarkable that Universal has had their Spider-Man ride for 20 years now, and Disney's still can't create anything to top it. And they're not even close to FJ.

Note: I still think RotR ranks as one of the very best, but that's entirely due to the overall magnitude of the attraction and storyline as well as the obviously great theming and special effects.

I was thinking that too. RotR kinda reminded me of Spiderman at IOA, just not as good as Spiderman at IOA
For the longest time my vote for the best ride in central florida was Spiderman
Today, my vote for the best ride in central florida at the moment is Flight of Passage at AK
I have not yet rode Hagrid's coaster yet, so we will see if my vote changes

I have to agree, for thrills Universal/IOA wins over Disney big time

My Dream for Disney is to create a new gate. A Villians park. Fill it with off the shelf super coasters and Disney just themes the heck out of them!

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I'm probably the biggest Universal fan here and I think as a complete experience RotR tops Universal. I do think IRT the actual ride portion, Universal has the edge. I personally think the choice of ride system for RotR is not the greatest choice. It simply doesn't match the urgency of the situation. "Quick, hurry, your lives depend on it!" Then we get on a vehicle that moves at a walking pace. What the heck?

That said, Hagrid's is still my favorite attraction that opened this year.

 

[Randyland]

Disney is in danger of losing it's identity, because they see a need to compeat with Universal and the experiences found at universal...

The intelligent thing to do would be building another park with the Universal "thrill rides", to compete with that market...

But they should NOT be changing the offerings which ARE the REASON Disney folks come to Disney.

As they try to feed these thrill rides into the mix, Disney is destroying what made them special...

It is loss of identity.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Disney is in danger of losing it's identity, because they see a need to compeat with Universal and the experiences found at universal...

The intelligent thing to do would be building another park with the Universal "thrill rides", to compete with that market...

But they should NOT be changing the offerings which ARE the REASON Disney folks come to Disney.

As they try to feed these thrill rides into the mix, Disney is destroying what made them special...

It is loss of identity.

I don't really think that is the case. Disney used to push the envelope in the thrill category back in the day. Matterhorn was the first tubular steel coaster. And in 1975 when Space Mountain opened, it was one of the more thrilling coasters out there even though it isn't all that fast. Disney can also do modern thrill rides really well as ToT shows.

I am very much looking forward to Tron and GotG even though I feel that GotG is going in the wrong spot.

 

[KaliSplash]

I've ridden RotR twice now, and while I truly loved the overall experience and level of immersion, I feel like it's missing something very important- THRILLS. I'm sorry but this ride is lacking "juice" in the movement of the ride vehicles. It's just too tame and overall not very thrilling. If the ride vehicles had some of the quicker acceleration and urgency of, say, Indy at DL or Spiderman at IOA, or the multi-direction movement of FJ, it would have locked itself up as the greatest ride ever created. Instead, Disney simply made a relatively slow-moving trackless dark ride ala Mystic Manor or Hunny Hunt with Star Wars theming and special effects. I still think the overall experience is outstanding, but it's just not all that thrilling.

I realize Disney's goal was to make it kid friendly and be inclusive of guests of all ages, but then why put the drop near the end of the ride? That one drop required them to put warning signs all over the ride about sudden drops and everything. If they're going to make one tiny thrilling spot, why not just make the whole ride thrilling?

I think it's remarkable that Universal has had their Spider-Man ride for 20 years now, and Disney's still can't create anything to top it. And they're not even close to FJ.

Note: I still think RotR ranks as one of the very best, but that's entirely due to the overall magnitude of the attraction and storyline as well as the obviously great theming and special effects.

Mickey has NEVER attempted to match THRILL for THRILL. That's not the goal here. Never has been. Hopefully, never will be. If you are looking for THRILL, go to Cedar Point.

 

[pax_65]

It astonishes me that so many threads turn into "Disney vs Universal". I really enjoy both but they are really different so I don't really see the point in comparing them.

That being said, I've been waiting for Disney to answer "Spiderman" for nearly 20 years. So even if it's not quite as thrilling, I'm really happy that they've finally created an attraction that is at least as technologically advanced.

I'm looking forward to trying ROTR!

 

[retroeric]

I personally think the choice of ride system for RotR is not the greatest choice. It simply doesn't match the urgency of the situation. "Quick, hurry, your lives depend on it!" Then we get on a vehicle that moves at a walking pace. What the heck?

Lol, my thoughts exactly.