Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

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stevehousse

stevehousse

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Ignohippo said:
IMO, it has nothing at all to do with the ride system. It's poor storytelling, plain and simple.

The story is easy to follow until you get to the point where Ariel loses her voice. The battle with Ursela and the kiss room are horribly done. It's almost like they front-loaded their budget in the first half and then had high school kids create the second.

It's poorly done, confused and muddled. It has absolutely nothing to do with the ride system.
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I would agree, the ride system is fine, however if seems like they started building the thing and got to the kiss the girl scene and then were told they had to scrap a few scenes and jut skip ahead to the ending. The end is what terrible, they que and first half of the ride are awesome!
 
Soarin' Over Pgh

Soarin' Over Pgh

Well-Known Member
tissandtully said:
The Ursula AA is also impressive. My main reason for going on it when the line isn't long.
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I went on right after the fireworks ended, there was no line. In fact, when it was time to et off the ride, the cast member asked if we wanted another go because there still wasn't a line. So I'd do, only to get more photos of Ursula.



Afterwards, Mom all but begged "please, no more!" So we got off then. Still no line.

@Atomicmickey I agree. The lighting could use some serious work to make this a bit more convincing. More blue, less sharp white lighting would be great. Couldn't help but notice the ceiling throughout the ride....could ya have at least painted it black? Or dark blue, or something?

I've seen fun houses with better lighting and projection effects. That's sad.

I rather like the omnimover for this ride, as this part of fantasyland needs a good people eater. But it's more layout, plastic fish, and bad lighting that kinda ruin it for me.

Ursula is impressive, no doubt. That's about the most positive thing I can say. And I like how her cave felt like a cave, close and dark. Wish the rest of the ride was more like that.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
I've never seen the movie and I think I was able to figure it out during the duration of the ride. The only part that was missing was the fact that she had lost her voice and got it back when he kissed her. Other than that I didn't have a problem following it at all. Maybe it's just me.
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He doesn't kiss her and that's not how she gets her voice back...
 
JenniferS

JenniferS

When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Ignohippo said:
IMO, it has nothing at all to do with the ride system. It's poor storytelling, plain and simple.

The story is easy to follow until you get to the point where Ariel loses her voice. The battle with Ursela and the kiss room are horribly done. It's almost like they front-loaded their budget in the first half and then had high school kids create the second.

It's poorly done, confused and muddled. It has absolutely nothing to do with the ride system.
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I rode Mermaid 3x during soft opening last year, and 3 (maybe 4) times during our most recent visit, and if I were relying on the ride to tell the story line, I would be completely lost. Thankfully, VotLM at DHS does a way better job of telling the story.
 
dupac

dupac

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I hate the term value engineering. I get a bad taste in my mouth when I see it. VE in and of itself should not be a bad thing - increasing value should always be the goal. What we have come to define value engineering as here is NOT increasing value, at least to the customer.
 
Soarin' Over Pgh

Soarin' Over Pgh

Well-Known Member
dupac said:
I hate the term value engineering. I get a bad taste in my mouth when I see it. VE in and of itself should not be a bad thing - increasing value should always be the goal. What we have come to define value engineering as here is NOT increasing value, at least to the customer.
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Perhaps you're missing the definition, and point of, the word.


Value engineering- a once big budget full of awesome effects and scenery and/or rides that has been cut down to bare minimum with cheap downgrades in place of big effects.

It's not a value for anyone but disney. It's a ripoff to the guests and even the cast members.
 
dupac

dupac

Well-Known Member
Soarin' Over Pgh said:
Perhaps you're missing the definition, and point of, the word.


Value engineering- a once big budget full of awesome effects and scenery and/or rides that has been cut down to bare minimum with cheap downgrades in place of big effects.

It's not a value for anyone but disney. It's a ripoff to the guests and even the cast members.
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No I get it. I'm an industrial engineer. We are taught all about value-added activity, value stream mapping, removing non-value added activity, etc etc in school. The key, though, is that the customer defines value, not the company.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Bairstow said:
The point is that people on this board who use this term are using it incorrectly.
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EVERY practicing engineer in all fields knows what 'Value Engineering' means and its a seriously derogatory term.

In its worst incarnation it gets people killed when systems are designed with no safety factors in its more common usage it means that products last just until the warranty expires. In Disney's case it means that show elements are replaced with cheaper versions like AA's replaced with painted plywood or cardboard. Or the infamous Disco lights.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
dupac said:
No I get it. I'm an industrial engineer. We are taught all about value-added activity, value stream mapping, removing non-value added activity, etc etc in school. The key, though, is that the customer defines value, not the company.
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Yes as in what features are valuable to the customer and those that have marginal value are removed, As opposed to 'Value Engineering' where management makes an intentional decision to cheapen the product which results in it's usable life being reduced and or made unrepairable. Replacing screws with rivets or glue etc.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
stlphil said:
Agreed about Mermaid.

At the risk of going even more off- topic than Patriotic Potties, let me mention my family's experience with Mermaid this summer. Myself, wife, daughter, granddaughters 8 and 6 (right in the supposed sweet spot for this ride), got off the big, new, hyped ride and all had the same reaction "meh ". Too plastic.

Shortly thereafter we rode Peter Pan, only because I insisted we get FP for it. Despite many Disney trips, both WDW and DL, daughter and her kids had never ridden it before (probably due to the lines, and didn't want to "waste" FP on it) and didn't know what to expect and my wife had forgotten what it was like. They couldn't stop raving about it afterwards. I think it is very telling that a relatively simple ride that's nearly 60 years old could have much more impact than a modern expensive effort. The original imagineers were clearly masters at their art, and instinctively knew how to bring charm and heart to their work with far fewer resources.

To be fair to modern imagineers, we all did find Enchanted Tales with Belle charming and enjoyed it, although in my case it might mostly be due to the particular Belle we got (if you know what I mean, wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
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I am truly bewildered. Get off a ride with very complex anamatronics and call it "plastic"? Then get on Peter Pan and think it's great with it's one or two moving parts? I simply do not understand it at all. What is everyone really comparing? It's a puzzle! Was someone expecting a real Mermaid?
 
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Cousin Huet

Cousin Huet

Well-Known Member
When I think of "Value Engineering" I think of taking a pretty decent bare steel coaster already in place, doing your best to make sure nobody can really see it and rename it with a few subtle theme elements added. Then do the same with a true kiddie coaster that is awful, throw in some very cool theme elements on some shops that all sell the exact same stuff over and over (even within a few feet of each other).......and lastly make the one thing EVERYONE wanted to do be a ride system that either scares the dung out of younger kids or induces sickness in many others.

There is also that other land right next door with the ride that makes zero sense when it comes to the movie and nothing else (the coolest thing is the music playing as you go into the "land"......but this is the only company some trust with certain "IPs"......because they have really proven themselves. Hopefully they get it right with Gringotts, DiagonAlley and the Express, but I'm not hopeful.

Of course that is often held up as the right way to do things as long as its done by someone other than Disney. I'll take Carsland as the definition of how to do it right as it is an amazing experience (except the "TIRES" but they get a pass because it pays homage to an original). Once the SDMT opens I think "New Fantasyland " will be right there too with entertainment appealing to all.
 
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