Soarin' image quality

[NormC]

If my math is correct (and it may not be) you would have to properly clean over 3200 feet of film and the projector optics. 70mm film at 48fps for 4 minutes and 51 seconds would be 977760mm which is 3207 feet give or take. You could do a quick 5 minute clean of the rolling loop in place by wiping the film as it projects but that is not thorough and a bit risky. I have not seen a clean showing since 2008. I may just have bad luck. It is something that should be done nightly. I still love the ride though.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

It's fine! Quit complaining! And give Bob Iger mo' money!!!!!!

 

[NelsonRD]

Walt's vision was a spotless and impeccably maintained park.

See, some of us look at it as a vacation destination and are VERY sensitive to criticism of our happy place.

Others are industry professionals whose careers rely of stripping away all that emotional **** and analyzing what is really going on.

Not everyone at WDW is on Vaca and doing everything in their power to avoid critical thinking.

That post shows your ignorance. Walt's vision was NOT to create a spotless theme park. His vision was to provide a place where parents and children can enjoy together. The parks were created as a place where this can happen, and make his characters come to life. What you are referring to is Walt wanting to "keep the place as clean as you can keep it", etc... But the vision was about spending time with your family.

 

[flynnibus]

1 per shift

And that's a reduction from the previous mode of operation, yes?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

That post shows your ignorance. Walt's vision was NOT to create a spotless theme park. His vision was to provide a place where parents and children can enjoy together. The parks were created as a place where this can happen, and make his characters come to life. What you are referring to is Walt wanting to "keep the place as clean as you can keep it", etc... But the vision was about spending time with your family.

Walt had a lot of vision. But in the context of this thread. The convo was about maintenance and additions, not family togetherness. That was, as they say, a non-sequitur. Simply a distraction tactic because your original point wasn't standing up.

 

[raven]

Dust on the screen has been a problem for a while, but now the image has become even more blurry, grainy, and on my last ride, grid lines kept appearing across the screen. Has anyone else seen that? And what would cause that?

The dust on the screen isn't the problem. You can project a sharp image onto dust. It's dust in the lens and on the film that is causing the poor quality.

Patience doesn't come into it.

The Epcot facility was built on the cheap. DCAs air handling isn't perfect but it a far higher spec than in Orlando.

Very true. Soarin' opened in 2004, the same year a lot of stuff was added to WDW for that particular celebration so that money was spread in all sorts of directions.


As for the dust on the film, I could solve that problem for about $5. All I need is Swiffer or dryer sheets and a stratigically placed vacuum hose.

 

[flynnibus]

If my math is correct (and it may not be) you would have to properly clean over 3200 feet of film and the projector optics. 70mm film at 48fps for 4 minutes and 51 seconds would be 977760mm which is 3207 feet give or take. You could do a quick 5 minute clean of the rolling loop in place by wiping the film as it projects but that is not thorough and a bit risky. I have not seen a clean showing since 2008. I may just have bad luck. It is something that should be done nightly. I still love the ride though.

The horizontal platter design of imax exposes a lot more of the film to sitting in the environment ... And the whole tensioner assembly that stages the film heading in/out of the projector has a ton of film exposed.

Basically they are fighting an uphill battle if the projection room is subpar

Edit: and imax 70mm is 24fps not 48. But the shutter is faster for more light output

 

[copcarguyp71]

That post shows your ignorance. Walt's vision was NOT to create a spotless theme park. His vision was to provide a place where parents and children can enjoy together. The parks were created as a place where this can happen, and make his characters come to life. What you are referring to is Walt wanting to "keep the place as clean as you can keep it", etc... But the vision was about spending time with your family.

Ahem...

• "Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, and keep it friendly." ~ Walter Elias Disney

I guess we can argue semantics all day long but if the parks had been held to the standards that Walt set forth then there would certainly not be...(taken from another post of my own)

Defurbed Space Mountain
Defurbed Jungle Cruise
Closed Golden Horseshoe
Closed Odyssey
Closed upstairs of Imagination
Closed WOL pavillion
reheated 80's attraction (Captain EO)
outdated film in Soarin' (yes...they are supposedly addressing)
20 year old stunt show (Indiana Jones)
Closed Sounds Dangerous
Closed American Idol
Closed Backlot Tour (yes, carsland...reheated attraction from west coast rumored)
UOE...outdated for at least 10 years
crane behind the castle 2 months out of the year instead of LED lighting upgrades
Defurbed Kali River Rapids
Inoperative Yeti
Dinosaur! Effects out of service for some time
Fountains/water features shut off

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Ahem...

• "Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, and keep it friendly." ~ Walter Elias Disney

I guess we can argue semantics all day long but if the parks had been held to the standards that Walt set forth then there would certainly not be...(taken from another post of my own)

Defurbed Space Mountain
Defurbed Jungle Cruise
Closed Golden Horseshoe
Closed Odyssey
Closed upstairs of Imagination
Closed WOL pavillion
reheated 80's attraction (Captain EO)
outdated film in Soarin' (yes...they are supposedly addressing)
20 year old stunt show (Indiana Jones)
Closed Sounds Dangerous
Closed American Idol
Closed Backlot Tour (yes, carsland...reheated attraction from west coast rumored)
UOE...outdated for at least 10 years
crane behind the castle 2 months out of the year instead of LED lighting upgrades
Defurbed Kali River Rapids
Inoperative Yeti
Dinosaur! Effects out of service for some time
Fountains/water features shut off

But, but, ....but........Disney is a business.

 

[copcarguyp71]

But, but, ....but........Disney is a business.

I COL'd (chuckle out loud) because I fully expect the "the corporation is profitable" argument any moment attempting to distract from the actual parks discussion...

 

[flynnibus]

I understand peoples frustration with the film quality at Soarin (and even other attractions). I have ridden Soarin and have been frustrated at the poor quality of the film on occasion. When I see that I will stop at the desk at the entrance to the attraction and tell the person there that the film was dirty. There is no conspiracy to keeping EPCOT's main attraction from looking its best.

So let's review.. You say the film can be cleaned and replaced anytime it's need. Yet guests continue to experience poor show quality consistently with the attraction.

Sorry, the fact the problem persists, impacts customers and Hasn't been addressed in years is a failure of leadership or simply not wanting to.

 

[NelsonRD]

I COL'd (chuckle out loud) because I fully expect the "the corporation is profitable" argument any moment attempting to distract from the actual parks discussion...

What is getting comical, is that I agree with this post. I agree that the condition of soarin' is unacceptable.
There have been many changes to the parks I do not personally agree with. The closures at Hollywood studios should hold less weight because the guy that mows my lawn told me it will be rebranded soon, similar to California Adventure.

However, I try to apply some reality to it, and make a few points, which were probably poorly made.
1. It is being addressed now, and I am not going to continue to fault Disney and cry over it.
2. People still enjoy the attraction.
3. It still provides an experience in a park lacking attractions I can enjoy with my girls.
4. The reality of it is, the parks are busier, aging, and from an operational standpoint, everything cannot always be perfect.
5. Disney still cares. With that said, poor decisions are made by committee, and its difficult to place the blame on one person.

 

[NormC]

The horizontal platter design of imax exposes a lot more of the film to sitting in the environment ... And the whole tensioner assembly that stages the film heading in/out of the projector has a ton of film exposed.

Basically they are fighting an uphill battle if the projection room is subpar

Edit: and imax 70mm is 24fps not 48. But the shutter is faster for more light output

Correct. IMAX is available in both 48 and 24fps. I was not sure which one EPCOT used.

 

[flynnibus]

Correct. IMAX is available in both 48 and 24fps. I was not sure which one EPCOT used.

That is imax digital only... Not 70mm imax

 

[NormC]

That is imax digital only... Not 70mm imax

No, IMAX HD was 48fps as well. EPCOT may be 24fps though. As I said I was not sure.

Variations on IMAX included the 48 frames per second IMAX HD process, which sought to produce smoother, more lifelike motion, while also reducing the blurring of moving objects, by doubling the normal film rate. The IMAX HD system was tested in 1992 at the Canada Pavilion of the Seville Expo '92 with the film Momentum. Higher production costs, and the high "wear-and-tear" on the prints and projectors, doomed the IMAX HD system, but, not before many theatres had been retrofitted to project at 48 frames, especially in Canada, in order to play Momentum. In the 1990s theme parks in Thailand, Germany, and Las Vegas used IMAX HD for their Motion Simulator rides. The Disney parks attraction Soarin' Over California features a modification of both IMAX HD and IMAX Dome, projecting in 48 frames per second.

 

[flynnibus]

"The Disney parks attraction Soarin' Over California features a modification of both IMAX HD and IMAX Dome, projecting in 48 frames per second".

It would be interesting to know if that's really true (unsourced wiki article). Obviously the short film duration helps with that, but Soarin was done well after the IMAX HD experiment.

Do some stare off to the side and see if the framerate is noticeable or not

 

[Tom Morrow]

The dust on the screen isn't the problem. You can project a sharp image onto dust. It's dust in the lens and on the film that is causing the poor quality

Oops, yeah, that's what I meant to say.

1. It is being addressed now, and I am not going to continue to fault Disney and cry over it.

No, it isn't. Two or three years from now, maybe, maybe not, is not now.

2. People still enjoy the attraction.

Whether or not they still enjoy it is beside the point - are they getting the premium quality theme park experience that they paid premium prices for? No.

4. The reality of it is, the parks are busier, aging, and from an operational standpoint, everything cannot always be perfect.

If Universal can keep their many, many screens looking great... If they can keep even their oldest rides functioning with all effects... if Disneyland can keep even its oldest, 50 year old attractions in great shape... then surely WDW can replace or at least clean the two projections at one of their most popular attractions.

 

[Little Green Men]

Defurbed Jungle Cruise

When did that happen?

 

[R2D2 1982]

The dust on the screen isn't the problem. You can project a sharp image onto dust. It's dust in the lens and on the film that is causing the poor quality.



Very true. Soarin' opened in 2004, the same year a lot of stuff was added to WDW for that particular celebration so that money was spread in all sorts of directions.


As for the dust on the film, I could solve that problem for about $5. All I need is Swiffer or dryer sheets and a stratigically placed vacuum hose.

Soarin' opened on May 5th 2005' hence the flight 5505 nod to the opening date.

The film gets cleaned twice a day... During the night when maintenance takes over and at 4 pm.

The film is imax hd 70mm running at 48 fpm, after the flight lands the film rewinds itself.

 

[Alektronic]

And that's a reduction from the previous mode of operation, yes?

Actually, just a lot more responsibilities also, they are responsible for every projector in Epcot also, that means they are also taking care of Energy, Col, Land, Capt EO, Canada, France, AA, China, Mexico, and certain related special effects certain portions of ROE.