Superstar Limo

[GoofBall06]

What was the ride like exactly? When i was at DCA, it was closed. I never actually knew what it was. Was it a fast ride?

 

[ogryn]

No, it was a dark-ride in the same vein as Snow White/Pooh.

http://www.themeparkreview.com/videos/video.htm has a ride through (8th one down)

 

[GoofBall06]

thank you!

 

[Captain Hank]

Actually, from the ride-through video, the attraction didn't look that bad. A little stupid, yes, but not as bad as I'd heard.

 

[AStarOnMars]

I rode it once, about 1 months after DCA opened ... it was my favorite ride at the time there ... and that's probably b/c I'm a big pop culture fan.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I don't think it was that bad, just not the E-Ticket they tried to bill it as. I think if it had opened with something else big in Hollywood Pictures Backlot (e.g. if Tower of Terror had opened w/ the park in 2001), it would have been better accepted by the public. It was just the fact that it was supposed to be the centerpiece attraction of the area that hurt it.

 

[Merlin]

It's amazing to me that they closed this, but they keep things like Mulholland Madness open.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I'm really surprised that they haven't changed/added anything to Paradise Pier yet...it would be really cheap: a few million bucks, maybe. Pocket change compared to what they are spending over at Disneyland to spruce it up for the 50th. I do hope DCA gets some much needed attention in time for the 50th.

 

[Merlin]

I'm really surprised that they haven't changed/added anything to Paradise Pier yet...it would be really cheap: a few million bucks, maybe. Pocket change compared to what they are spending over at Disneyland to spruce it up for the 50th. I do hope DCA gets some much needed attention in time for the 50th.

What I'd personally love to see would be a more elaborate queue for Soarin'. I don't expect this to ever happen, as there's really no incentive for Disney to do this since the attraction is already popular. But I've always found everything that comes before the actual show itself to be disappointing (and generally pretty nonexistent).

It almost seems as though any serious investment in DCA has pretty much halted. Perhaps it's just because the focus is more prominently on DL right now. But I still wonder if there's more to it. Considering the fact that the park still fails to meet desired attendance levels (even after Bug's Land and ToT), I wonder if Disney is realizing they need to do something more drastic with the park.

 

[ToTBellHop]

What I'd personally love to see would be a more elaborate queue for Soarin'. I don't expect this to ever happen, as there's really no incentive for Disney to do this since the attraction is already popular. But I've always found everything that comes before the actual show itself to be disappointing (and generally pretty nonexistent).

It almost seems as though any serious investment in DCA has pretty much halted. Perhaps it's just because the focus is more prominently on DL right now. But I still wonder if there's more to it. Considering the fact that the park still fails to meet desired attendance levels (even after Bug's Land and ToT), I wonder if Disney is realizing they need to do something more drastic with the park.

Even worse than the Soarin' queue is the Soarin' exit...I was pretty shocked at that...concrete walls and nothing else. They could have at least painted the walls and put a few pictures of planes up or something. I have heard there will be some much needed capital investment over at DCA in the coming months--sadly no new trains for Cali Screamin', but repainting of many of the facades is likely--it will be nice to spruce up the park a bit.

 

[xfkirsten]

I've never felt that the Soarin' queue was a problem - I think it works well as a hangar. I mean, you don't see many plane hangars that look real fancy. The exit, however, leaves something to be desired, as ISTCNavigator57 points out. It's just bare concrete.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I've never felt that the Soarin' queue was a problem - I think it works well as a hangar. I mean, you don't see many plane hangars that look real fancy. The exit, however, leaves something to be desired, as ISTCNavigator57 points out. It's just bare concrete.

It's excessively cheap...I mean how much would it really cost to paint the building and put a few pics up? Couple hundred bucks?

 

[Merlin]

I've never felt that the Soarin' queue was a problem - I think it works well as a hangar. I mean, you don't see many plane hangars that look real fancy. The exit, however, leaves something to be desired, as ISTCNavigator57 points out. It's just bare concrete.

An attraction queue should build excitement and anticipation for that attraction. Additionally, once you enter the theater the first thing that jumps out at you is the enormous movie screen. In my opinion, this completely destroys the illusion that you're actually going to be "Soarin'". I don't know why they couldn't have done something similar to what Universal did with Back to the Future. They do an excellent job of disguising the fact that you're in a theater. Right before the start of the show, there's a fog screen and hangar doors open to reveal the screen. By that point, the film projection has already begun, so it's a smooth transition right into the adventure. I realize it would have been expensive to do something like this for Soarin', but why do something halfway? Especially since Soarin' opened as DCA's premiere attraction and is still one of it's major ones.

 

[Merlin]

It's excessively cheap...I mean how much would it really cost to paint the building and put a few pics up? Couple hundred bucks?

They could probably get some of US to volunteer!

 

[xfkirsten]

An attraction queue should build excitement and anticipation for that attraction. Additionally, once you enter the theater the first thing that jumps out at you is the enormous movie screen. In my opinion, this completely destroys the illusion that you're actually going to be "Soarin'". I don't know why they couldn't have done something similar to what Universal did with Back to the Future. They do an excellent job of disguising the fact that you're in a theater. Right before the start of the show, there's a fog screen and hangar doors open to reveal the screen. By that point, the film projection has already begun, so it's a smooth transition right into the adventure. I realize it would have been expensive to do something like this for Soarin', but why do something halfway? Especially since Soarin' opened as DCA's premiere attraction and is still one of it's major ones.

I agree with you about the show room iteslf. I have several issues with the room itself. The building should have been built to accomodate a larger screen, as well, to allow the rows to be more spaced out (so you don't get the feet dangling in front of you), and for a wider screen so that those seated on the edges don't get a warped view. It's a sad day when people in one section (in this case, B1) have a decidedly better experience than those on the sides.

As far as the queue goes, I think it fits well into the storyline. From the outside, it looks like you're enterting a hangar near a runway. Once you get inside, there's that metal look to it, that makes you fell like you're walking through the hangar to get to the glider. Along the way, there's the photos or aviators and such to look at. I feel like that does a good job of setting you up.

 

[dxwwf3]

Actually, from the ride-through video, the attraction didn't look that bad. A little stupid, yes, but not as bad as I'd heard.

That's exactly the same way I felt when I first watched videos of this attraction. Heck I think I like it better than any of the dark rides in WDW's Fantasyland personally. I think the ride was corny on purpose and I sort of got a kick out of all the C-list celebs making appearances throughout.

I thought it was funny and the ending was pretty cool, if you ask me

 

[Merlin]

I agree with you about the show room iteslf. I have several issues with the room itself. The building should have been built to accomodate a larger screen, as well, to allow the rows to be more spaced out (so you don't get the feet dangling in front of you), and for a wider screen so that those seated on the edges don't get a warped view. It's a sad day when people in one section (in this case, B1) have a decidedly better experience than those on the sides.

As far as the queue goes, I think it fits well into the storyline. From the outside, it looks like you're enterting a hangar near a runway. Once you get inside, there's that metal look to it, that makes you fell like you're walking through the hangar to get to the glider. Along the way, there's the photos or aviators and such to look at. I feel like that does a good job of setting you up.

Definitely no issues with the outside of the building. As a matter of fact (and some may think I'm strange for saying this), I actually think it's one of the coolest looking Disney attraction buildings.

I guess I just would have like to have seen more "visual treats" in the queue. Doesn't seem like it would have cost too much to do it. In fact, I was even thinking it would have been neat if they still had some of the props left over from "Dreamflight" at WDW, they could have used some of those. It was a humorous look at aviation and would have been entertaining to look at some of that stuff while standing in the queue.

 

[Mickeyrulz]

Why are we now discussing Soarin?

Anyway, DCA i think was just a mistake overall. It has no new technology at work, and despite everyone loving ToT, it's really basically a clone. No, don't tell me: "But the WDW version is more dusty!" ,or something. They are roughly the same.