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Spirited Spring Break News, Observations & Thoughts ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
The Visionary Soul
Well-Known Member
Indeed they do, but Universal's soda prices have always been a bit higher.When you checked out Cabana Bay, did you notice that they have their version of RapidFill, too (supposedly also including Coke Freestyle)? How much are the paper cups there?
The Visionary Soul
Well-Known Member
I walked around The Magic Carpets of Aladdin today..
TP2000
Well-Known Member
There's a bunch in WDW that qualify, and another dozen rides in Anaheim too. If they use that odd tagline "the only Disney ride you can walk all the way around" for whatever reason, the people in charge of TDO's marketing will be exposed as idiots. Again.
sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
I want to sleep INSIDE Epcot. And more than just the nap I take on Ellen's Energy Adventure. Since they're all about killing everything that was good, educational, and classic in Future World anyway, let's just clear out SSE and turn it into DVC.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
For sale. Magic Band. Never used.
sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
cheezbat
Well-Known Member
So driving down I-4 today I noticed a billboard for MyMagic+.
"Reserve your ride in advance!"
Seriously. Now they're treating it like its an attraction? Made me sick.
As for the Uni stuff...I too am about done with the screen stuff. While I love the place and what they're doing, after Kong I hope there's a return to something more set and AA based. You can only do so much with 3-D and screens nowdays.
"Reserve your ride in advance!"
Seriously. Now they're treating it like its an attraction? Made me sick.
As for the Uni stuff...I too am about done with the screen stuff. While I love the place and what they're doing, after Kong I hope there's a return to something more set and AA based. You can only do so much with 3-D and screens nowdays.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
It's funny (or actually just typical of people today), but when you criticize what is popular to criticize in the fan community (that would be Disney, at least in Orlando) people egg you on and enjoy it. But when you raise legit issues about a company that some people feel (incorrectly) can now do no wrong (UNI), that they start whining and the claws come out and they take cheap shots in the Twitverse.
It is amusing.
Universal isn't perfect, guys/gals. It hasn't suddenly become the gold standard in theme parks.
What it is is the best run resort in Orlando and it is being managed in a way that adds quality and value to people's visits (largely by building top of the line creative product). It has a vision for the future that doesn't depend on selling timeshares, marketing nostalgia, MAGIC Bands and apps and increasing the amount you spend on every trip to keep its numbers looking good.
But it is not perfect. And it deserves criticism for things.
To not criticize where it deserves criticism would be akin to smoking the Pixie Dust that the Disney BRAND advocates do. I am no BRAND advocate for either company or any company for that matter.
I spoke with a high level UNI Creative last week. Someone who knows both the UNI and Disney products intimately and he told the truth and expressed frustration with some aspects of UNI's current build mindset. Gringotts may be great, but it relies on screens to a great degree. Neither of us think this is the best way of building attractions, especially when your parks are already heavily loaded by screen-based attractions.
Like I said, let's not even talk Kong because why have a JP dark ride (like the one originally planned) when we can shoehorn the monkey back in ... again, largely using screens.
C'mon, a decade ago folks were calling for Tom Fitzgerald's head at WDI for the same thing, but Thierry Coup doesn't even deserve a few little shots?
If some folks (i.e. UNI fanbois) can't take some honest criticism, then they just need to grow up.
What UNI is doing should be lauded, but it also can and should be looked at critically.
Transformers proved to me that you can really do too much of a good thing when it is the same. Yes, I suppose it is better than Disney pumping out Princess meet and greets, but that isn't the point here.
And, to my friends in the Twitverse, thanks for reading and why not drop in here if you have something to say? Steve really needs help keeping the lights on around here, after all!
Brand advocacy is silly, but isn't it fair to say that screens are the way of the future in theme park attractions?
It reminds me of the physical models vs. CGI debate -- neither is inherently positive or negative. It just depends how they're used.
You seem disappointed in Transformers. I thought it was a fantastic spin-off of the Spidey ride system. It's much faster paced, the experience is one-of-a-kind and would be impossible to replicate with physical sets. Would multiple AA Transformers in the ride make it better? I don't know -- maybe if they moved as fluidly as "real" life-size robots would and if they were maintained.
If the Gringotts ride is as good as Transformers, I think it's a success. Not to mention the queue and land surrounding the ride will apparently be very impressive.
The difference between Universal's screens and Disney's screens is ambition. Universal has pioneered new ways to use screens to create unique theme park experiences (Forbidden Journey, Spidey, Transformers, even T2). Disney's use of screens seems somewhat simplistic by contrast.
baymenxpac
Well-Known Member
have to agree about UNI being a little screen heavy. that was really the only negative about our visit there. my wife can get motion sick, so she was about done by the time we left. i am pretty impervious to motion sickness, but even by the time i did the simpsons as the last ride of the day, i had enough screens.
an @WDW1974, think you may have overshot your audience when mentioning CDS. unfortunately, i'm forced to dabble in that space every day. yahama.
an @WDW1974, think you may have overshot your audience when mentioning CDS. unfortunately, i'm forced to dabble in that space every day. yahama.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
The carnival games and abandoned theater between Marvel and Toon Lagoon are all the proof we need that this is true.
baymenxpac
Well-Known Member
i agree with that, except (and i love the transformers IP and had a blast on it) i essentially viewed transformers as a different version of spiderman. differences didn't exactly jump out at me. i think screens have their place, without a doubt. i just would prefer UNI didn't become overly-reliant on them.
truecoat
Well-Known Member
The Matterhorn isn't in the U.S., right?
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Fair point -- to me, the differences were immediately apparent as soon as the ride moves "into the city."
It's probably a little like genre movies -- to some people, every western is the same; to others there's a big difference between Stagecoach and The Searchers. (Not that I'm suggesting either ride is equal to those masterpieces
)I agree a whole park of Spidey-style rides would be a bad idea, but Transformers was different enough for me. Let's hope Gringotts deviates somewhat from the formula.
Scuttle
Well-Known Member
You shoulda contacted me there 74. I could have got you that 50 dollar rate and more. Plus I'm quite the entertainer.
I know many people, my brother is one, who gets motion sickness from anything 3-D. Even some video games make him nautious and give him headaches. I like 3-D attractions, but agree theres only so much you can do and you prohibit a large group of people from enjoying many things if you make an area so "screen/3D heavy".
PeterAlt
Well-Known Member
FigmentFreak
Well-Known Member
You don't like the fanbois but they seem to like you.
Unrequited fanboi love is such a sad thing.