Test Track refurb???

[Scuttle]

I still do not and never will understand the hate Mission Space gets. It's the only ride of its kind at Disney World. Would you guys rather it be torn down and replaced with yet another dark ride?

Yes. Mission Space is really not a very good ride. The screens are horrible quality and the story line is horrible. I would much rather have a well thought out dark ride that's in the same class as Horizons or World of motion. Mission Space simply has no magic to it for a ride. As much as I love the part where we take off that's about where my enjoyment for the ride stops.

 

[misterID]

Well, its not really hate, its more meh... The ride is lame, period. Its a training mission. That's the theme. A bunch of buttons that don't do anything. It's not interactive like some people think. One side spins, the other doesn't. Really dumb ride story. And that's about it.

It has nothing to do with Horizons. I was actually really excited about M:S... Until I rode it.

The ride system is awful. And yes, I'd much rather have another dark ride.

I don't have the post count that Lee and Raven have but expect the following:

Test Track will be down for several months in 2012.

GM isn't going anywhere any time soon.

It will still be "Test Track."

Updates will be along the lines of what's become typical lately (namely, interactive queues)

Well, that blows.

 

[thelookingglass]

I can think of many, many attractions I'd rather see leave WDW than Mission: Space.

 

[invader]

I just hope GM will have money after a refurb.
:lookaroun

 

[aladdin2007]

I don't have the post count that Lee and Raven have but expect the following:

Test Track will be down for several months in 2012.

GM isn't going anywhere any time soon.

It will still be "Test Track."

Updates will be along the lines of what's become typical lately (namely, interactive queues)

uggggg

 

[the-reason14]

Mission Space does it's job, it attracts a crowd and it has huge appeal. It's not a great dark ride like horizons and I think it would have been great to have both had they gutted WOL and put Mission space there, but it's an experience that I think a lot of people can connect with. And let's keep it real, horizons was not bringing people to Epcot. An update would have been nice though.

 

[ChrisFL]

Mission Space does it's job, it attracts a crowd and it has huge appeal. It's not a great dark ride like horizons and I think it would have been great to have both had they gutted WOL and put Mission space there, but it's an experience that I think a lot of people can connect with. And let's keep it real, horizons was not bringing people to Epcot. An update would have been nice though.

That's odd, every time I see Mission:Space, there's practically no wait...and that's compared to 60-70 minute waits for Test Track and 90+ minute waits for Soarin'

 

[misterID]

Mission Space does it's job, it attracts a crowd and it has huge appeal. It's not a great dark ride like horizons and I think it would have been great to have both had they gutted WOL and put Mission space there, but it's an experience that I think a lot of people can connect with. And let's keep it real, horizons was not bringing people to Epcot. An update would have been nice though.

Does it really have that huge of an appeal?

It's not a crowd people at all and I've never seen huge crowds waiting for it. Not counting the people who generally don't like it, or the people who can't, or are afraid to ride it, I don't see it having a big fanbase. That's just a limited appeal to a certain group of people.

I'm not going to base my judgment on its popularity on the size of its lines, because the ride system has a lot to do with that... Something the people who continuously criticize Horizons for NEVER seem to understand. But I haven't seen big lines for it. And I seriously don't see it as that popular, only that it's popular for EPCOT, which isn't saying much considering it doesn't have a whole lot of competition in FW. I do remember hearing that it was a disappointment in the numbers it does. I'd put Soarin' and SSE way ahead of it in terms of the # of people who ride it and appeal.

 

[Scuttle]

Does it really have that huge of an appeal?

It's not a crowd people at all and I've never seen huge crowds waiting for it. Not counting the people who generally don't like it, or the people who can't, or are afraid to ride it, I don't see it having a big fanbase. That's just a limited appeal to a certain group of people.

I'm not going to base my judgment on its popularity on the size of its lines, because the ride system has a lot to do with that... Something the people who continuously criticize Horizons for NEVER seem to understand. But I haven't seen big lines for it. And I seriously don't see it as that popular, only that it's popular for EPCOT, which isn't saying much considering it doesn't have a whole lot of competition in FW. I do remember hearing that it was a disappointment in the numbers it does. I'd put Soarin' and SSE way ahead of it in terms of the # of people who ride it and appeal.

No it doesnt have huge appeal at all. Being and annual passholder that visits frequently I can say I have never seen a wait longer than 20 minutes. In fact my girlfriend and I have had multiple conversations about how we wouldn't be surprised if it's gone in a few years. I know that's doubtful since it was a 100 million dollar ride, but seriously there is never a wait for this ride unless it's peak peak season.

 

[janoimagine]

I actually enjoy Mission Space, I wouldn't call the story line lame, it is entertaining ... that being said, you need to realize what we have is only half of the original ride plan, thats why it seems unfinished or pointless. If you take a look at what Soto had in mind for the entire pavilion you see once again the bean counters (or the overages from the centrifuge construction) ultimately won out, a lot was cut. Check out Martins video for the full story.

 

[Scuttle]

I actually enjoy Mission Space, I wouldn't call the story line lame, it is entertaining ... that being said, you need to realize what we have is only half of the original ride plan, thats why it seems unfinished or pointless. If you take a look at what Soto had in mind for the entire pavilion you see once again the bean counters (or the overages from the centrifuge construction) ultimately won out, a lot was cut. Check out Martins video for the full story.

Ya I would love to see some of the concept art from the original proposed plan. I also would love to see the test track blue prints and original concept art. Bottom line is ya the budget got divulged by the centrifuge price and ultimately we lost what was a great master plan. I get so tired of hearing stories about how practically every ride gets a huge budget cut or something to alter the original concept. Imagineering is incredible at original thinking outside the box and creating very detailed attractions that have a sense of Disney magic to them. When we get these price cuts they simply lose a lot of magic. I wish Disney swung for the fences like Universal does. I did read an article about how universal had a 1.3 million attendance increase of the previous attendance record set in 2004. So this is good news and I think this is HUGE wake up call for Disney. Expect a super headliner at WDW in the next 3-4 years.
them.

 

[Yodadudeman]

That's odd, every time I see Mission:Space, there's practically no wait...and that's compared to 60-70 minute waits for Test Track and 90+ minute waits for Soarin'

I see the same. Not the biggest crowd magnet.

 

[Master Yoda]

Ya I would love to see some of the concept art from the original proposed plan. I also would love to see the test track blue prints and original concept art. Bottom line is ya the budget got divulged by the centrifuge price and ultimately we lost what was a great master plan. I get so tired of hearing stories about how practically every ride gets a huge budget cut or something to alter the original concept. Imagineering is incredible at original thinking outside the box and creating very detailed attractions that have a sense of Disney magic to them. When we get these price cuts they simply lose a lot of magic. I wish Disney swung for the fences like Universal does. I did read an article about how universal had a 1.3 million attendance increase of the previous attendance record set in 2004. So this is good news and I think this is HUGE wake up call for Disney. Expect a super headliner at WDW in the next 3-4 years.
them.

Unfortunately, Imagineering is also infamous for making budgets absolutely skyrocket with no discernible return. As Lee has pointed out on numerous occasions, and exact copy of WWoHP built by Disney would have cost twice as much.

 

[Scuttle]

Unfortunately, Imagineering is also infamous for making budgets absolutely skyrocket with no discernible return. As Lee has pointed out on numerous occasions, and exact copy of WWoHP built by Disney would have cost twice as much.

I know it's so crazy. Something needs to change at WDI. I forgot to post I work at the Loews hotels at Universal and we have been at 90% or above occupancy since the beginning of March. I have hopes WDW will respond to this with a headliner attraction in the next few years. Also the latest rumours going around the hotel and universal are that the expansion is set to begin in late 2012. Opening in mid 2014. Sorry for getting sidetracked I just figured people would like to know the latest rumours going around universal.

 

[the-reason14]

That's odd, every time I see Mission:Space, there's practically no wait...and that's compared to 60-70 minute waits for Test Track and 90+ minute waits for Soarin'

It may not attract as many people as Test Track and Soarin, but it has it's appeal and it does draw more people than Horizons did. Though it's an entirely different park but Monsters inc and Stitch are examples of things that should be removed/reimagined as they have pretty much no appeal, don't fit the theme and are just bad.

 

[misterID]

It may not attract as many people as Test Track and Soarin, but it has it's appeal and it does draw more people than Horizons did. Though it's an entirely different park but Monsters inc and Stitch are examples of things that should be removed/reimagined as they have pretty much no appeal, don't fit the theme and are just bad.

See, there you go again. Why is it whenever M:S is criticized you guys have to bring up Horizons and try to bag on it? I didn't bring up Horizons.

And, again, since you want to go there, again, Horizons became a seasonal attraction ONLY because it lost its sponsor and Disney didn't want to pay for its upkeep. So, no, it didn't have a lot of lines after it became seasonal. At a time when EPCOT was getting low marks across the board. And, AGAIN, it was an omnimover attraction that wasn't supposed to have long lines. It was a true people eater.

 

[the-reason14]

See, there you go again. Why is it whenever M:S is criticized you guys have to bring up Horizons and try to bag on it? I didn't bring up Horizons.

And, again, since you want to go there, again, Horizons became a seasonal attraction ONLY because it lost its sponsor and Disney didn't want to pay for its upkeep. So, no, it didn't have a lot of lines after it became seasonal. At a time when EPCOT was getting low marks across the board. And, AGAIN, it was an omnimover attraction that wasn't supposed to have long lines. It was a true people eater.

Well why not? It replaced it for a reason. Why do attractions go seasonal in the first place? Thought so. And there I go again what? Horizons was a great ride that should have been updated, but the fact that it lost it's appeal is partially why it's not there anymore.

 

[misterID]

...again because I never brought Horizons into the discussion when I pointed out M:S is a disappointment as a ride.

And since you missed it, again, Horizons went seasonal, again, because its sponsor left, like as anyone who's been around WDW for any length of time knows happens. And WDW didn't want to pay the upkeep they wanted a new sponsor to do it. The new sponsor wanted a new ride and so did some people in WDI. I can't really blame them for wanting to put "their" ideas into the park, but at least make what they're replacing better.

There were plans to refurb Horizons. The refurb didn't happen for a myriad of reasons. If loss of appeal was part of it, it wasn't at the top of the list. But again, it's a ride that never got a proper refurb. That's why, thought so.

But, even if they built M:S somewhere else and kept Horizons, M:S would still be flawed, still be weak and still be lame. I'm glad it has fans and they enjoy it, though.

 

[the-reason14]

But when you really think about it, if it was a ride worthy of a refurb then it would have gotten one. Space mt. got it's refurb without a sponsor, SSE got it's refurb with a sponsor. Why? Because they attract people and are appealing. Horizons was a great ride, I think everybody who's been on it can agree with that. But the bottom line is it didn't/doesn't have the appeal M:S has, probably why it's not there and M:S is. If anything is lame it's a ride that sends out empty cars because it has no draw. Yay for the ghost town.

 

[misterID]

But when you really think about it, if it was a ride worthy of a refurb then it would have gotten one. Space mt. got it's refurb without a sponsor, SSE got it's refurb with a sponsor. Why? Because they attract people and are appealing. Horizons was a great ride, I think everybody who's been on it can agree with that. But the bottom line is it didn't/doesn't have the appeal M:S has, probably why it's not there and M:S is. If anything is lame it's a ride that sends out empty cars because it has no draw. Yay for the ghost town.

That's not true at all. You're naming park staples. Of course they aren't going anywhere. Some people have talked about how HM and POTC don't have lines. Should we board those up, too?

You keep saying if it was worth while it would have gotten a refurb. That's not true. They needed a sonsor and a sponsor wanted a new ride = They pay money, they got their new ride. Toad was a popular ride. And it was taken out.

And I don't see the appeal of M:S. Sorry, I just don't. I don't see the love for it anywhere. I don't see everyone rushing from the gates to ride it. I know that's not a great way to judge it, but since I'm having the "size of the line" logic thrown at me... And considering the ride systems, it better have bigger lines than Horizons. :lookaroun

I know people think of it as a thrill ride... And I know it has it's fans. And I appreciate that. I even appreciate the potential it had. Fully realized, maybe it would have been different, then again, maybe not. But still, I don't see this great appeal you're talking about.

Fwiw, M:S has operated with empty cars. From what I gather, a lot of the time they're operating just 2 M:S vehicles instead of all four. So I guess that settles it. It needs to be shut down. I saw some empty cars on SSE once, better do it in... Heck I rode Living With The Land once and that boat was only half filled. Better get rid of it, too :animwink: