Tokyo Disneyland Resort Expansion

[mickEblu]

Based on what we know about Tiana at this point, I'll actually be surprised if it's not better than Frozen Journey. Partially because the info about the actual ride experience of Tiana sounds quite solid, and partially because Frozen Journey is such a disappointment.

I never thought where was a chance that FJ would be better than TBA. I would have said that before even seeing the ride through. It’s still a thrill ride with Splash’s bones that we’re talking about.

 

[BrianLo]

What if Tiana’s is a better ride than either Epic Universe one, too. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

 

[UNCgolf]

It is not a disappointment.

Yes it is. It's technologically impressive, but kind of poorly designed.

 

[ThemeParkTraveller]

Peter Pan loading area. The vehicles look massive.

Spoiler

 

[UNCgolf]

Well I mean. Tiana is not a brand new ride. It’s a new retheme of an existing ride.

People are going to ride it regardless what the theme was because the ride itself is great.

I think people need to really hold their opinions on Frozen because we’ve yet to see a clear video of the ride itself. Or at least read reviews of those who have actually been on it.

It may as well be a brand new ride, though.

The ride system itself just isn't that important; the content is what matters. The ride system is admittedly more important in Tiana than in many other rides because of the big drop -- which obviously helps -- but that's not what made Splash such a great attraction overall. It's not like it was a 2 minute long ride where you went up and then back down.

I never thought where was a chance that FJ would be better than TBA. I would have said that before even seeing the ride through. It’s still a thrill ride with Splash’s bones that we’re talking about.

I've never really considered Splash a thrill ride -- the drop is obviously fun, but as I said above, it's only a small part of the overall attraction. If all the ride content leading up to the drop is mediocre to bad, then it would still be a mediocre to bad attraction, because that's the vast majority of the experience. An FJ that lived up to the best Disney E tickets could have easily ended up significantly better.

 

[Bayou]

What if Tiana’s is a better ride than either Epic Universe one, too. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

Universal isn't as good at making dark rides as Disney. They kind of suck at it. I wouldn't be surprised, in fact im expecting it.

 

[Bayou]

Yes it is. It's technologically impressive, but kind of poorly designed.

I think "disappointment" is to strong of word for such a great attraction. While it does have many flaws, I wouldn't go as far to say it's poorly designed.

 

[BrianLo]

Universal isn't as good at making dark rides as Disney. They kind of suck at it. I wouldn't be surprised, in fact im expecting it.

I’d hope and still think one of the two will stand out! As much as I’m playing the contrarian.

I probably shouldn’t force the thread off kilter though more than I have.

 

[mickEblu]

It may as well be a brand new ride, though.

The ride system itself just isn't that important; the content is what matters. The ride system does matters a bit more in Tiana than it does in dark rides because of the big drop -- which obviously helps -- but that's not what made Splash such a great attraction. It's not like it was a 2 minute long ride where you went up and then back down.

True that many things made Splash great but in no world was a better FEA (and I don’t think FJ is better than FEA) ever going be better than TBA. A 10 minute water/thrill ride with 3 drops (not the tiny things they call drops in FEA/FJ) and nice ride layout with indoor/outdoor scenes. Yes we lost an amazing soundtrack and the interior will be a downgrade with fewer AAs but we know there will be a healthy amount of AAs by modern standards and PATF’s soundtrack isn’t too shabby. Hopefully the new tech and special effects are integrated nicely and also help to close the gap.

 

[mickEblu]

I never thought where was a chance that FJ would be better than TBA. I would have said that before even seeing the ride through. It’s still a thrill ride with Splash’s bones that we’re talking about.

I’ll admit thrill ride isn’t exactly the perfect label for Splash Mountain. It was just a lazy way of me saying exciting/ fun. The three drops (especially the last )are exciting. They re what make the ride highly repeatable and the cherry on top of all the other great stuff. Together the thrills with the music/ setting/ story/ AAs made it the perfect Disney attraction.

 

[UNCgolf]

True that many things made Splash great but in no world was a better FEA (and I don’t think FJ is better than FEA) ever going be better than TBA. A 10 minute water/thrill ride with 3 drops (not the tiny things they call drops in FEA/FJ) and nice ride layout with indoor/outdoor scenes. Yes we lost an amazing soundtrack and the interior will be a downgrade with fewer AAs but we know there will be a healthy amount of AAs by modern standards and PATF’s soundtrack isn’t too shabby. Hopefully the new tech and special effects are integrated nicely and also help to close the gap.

The hope (at least my hope) was that FJ was going to be something different than just a better FEA. But I think that's a decent description of it (although I don't think FEA is trying to retell the movie the way FJ does) and that's why I find it so disappointing. I've always thought FEA was a terribly designed attraction -- FJ is obviously better than FEA, but it has some similar flaws (and its own separate set of flaws).

 

[SplashJacket]

The hope (at least my hope) was that FJ was going to be something different than just a better FEA. I think that's a pretty good description of it, though, and that's why I find it so disappointing. I've always thought FEA was a terribly designed attraction -- FJ is obviously better than FEA, but it has some similar flaws (and its own separate set of flaws).

HK’s is a better FEA.

FJ kinda vaguely shares 3 scenes with FEA (Trolls, Olaf, and Let it Go backwards).

The trolls scene is the most similar, but the office scene has 4 animatronics instead of 2, and the Let it ago scene is far larger and more impressive, has a real animatronic, and has two addition on Al build up scenes that makes it far more impressive.

If FEA at Epcot is MK’s Pirates, HK’s is Disneyland, and FJ is Shanghai Pirates. They’re hardly similar.

Shanghai Pirates shares similar introductory scenes (blue bayou, caves, etc.) as others, but they’re very distinctly two different rides. These 3 scenes may be more similar, but the rest of the ride couldn’t be more different.

It’s not an upgraded FEA, it’s a completely different attraction.

It’s also worth noting that the best scenes in FEA were the Olaf scene, Trolls, and Marshmallow scenes, imho. If the whole of FEA was like Olaf it would’ve been substantially better.

Let it go is completely reworked so they’re honestly pretty dissimilar.

I’m all for calling out things when they’re bad, but this doesn’t seem anywhere class to being bad.

 

[UNCgolf]

HK’s is a better FEA.

FJ kinda vaguely shares 3 scenes with FEA (Trolls, Olaf, and Let it Go backwards).

The trolls scene is the most similar, but the office scene has 4 animatronics instead of 2, and the Let it ago scene is far larger and more impressive, has a real animatronic, and has two addition on Al build up scenes that makes it far more impressive.

If FEA at Epcot is MK’s Pirates, HK’s is Disneyland, and FJ is Shanghai Pirates. They’re hardly similar.

Shanghai Pirates shares similar introductory scenes (blue bayou, caves, etc.) as others, but they’re very distinctly two different rides. These 3 scenes may be more similar, but the rest of the ride couldn’t be more different.

It’s not an upgraded FEA, it’s a completely different attraction.

It’s also worth noting that the best scenes in FEA were the Olaf scene, Trolls, and Marshmallow scenes, imho. If the whole of FEA was like Olaf it would’ve been substantially better.

Let it go is completely reworked so they’re honestly pretty dissimilar.

I’m all for calling out things when they’re bad, but this doesn’t seem anywhere class to being bad.

I wasn't suggesting it was literally just an upgraded FEA; it obviously isn't that. It's that it has a very similar design ethos to FEA (which isn't a good thing) and similar flaws. Shanghai Pirates isn't really like classic Pirates in any way beyond being about pirates.

I also didn't say it's bad -- just disappointing. It looks like one of the weakest dark ride E tickets they've ever built. With the ongoing caveat that the video is of mediocre quality and wasn't of the entire ride, what it showed was something I couldn't imagine being willing to wait more than 15-20 minutes to ride.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

What if Tiana’s is a better ride than either Epic Universe one, too. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

Better than Ministry of Magic? Probably. I'm guessing less screens and less potential for motion sickness.

Better than Monsters? I'm giving 50/50 chance, because I want Monsters to deliver more than any other EU ride.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Ministry of Magic will almost certainly be the most impressive ride in the world.

I want to believe Epic Universe will have something to live up to that statement, but I'm at least somewhat skeptical.

 

[J4546]

I want to believe Epic Universe will have something to live up to that statement, but I'm at least somewhat skeptical.

yeah same. after gringotts, MK and other less than great attractions i dont trust universal to deliver a slam dunk

 

[BrianLo]

Ministry of Magic will almost certainly be the most impressive ride in the world.

Universal isn’t obsessed with screens anymore, either.

I absolutely hope so. But Gringotts also sounded like the most impressive ride in the world, on paper.

Sometimes the execution doesn't stick. Disney is not immune to this, as evidenced.

What's interesting about Gringotts for me was that I got to experience it when the reviews were mostly glowing. I'm interested to see how I perceive these Tokyo attractions I'm 'mostly' unspoiled for.

 

[Bayou]

Ministry of Magic will almost certainly be the most impressive ride in the world.

Universal isn’t obsessed with screens anymore, either.

I highly doubt that.

 

[sonoma15]

The rides at Epic Universe are so technologically advanced, that I think the success of those two rides really comes down to how well some of the effects that they are trying to achieve work in reality. I could see it either being kind of cheesy or extremely effective.

 

[mickEblu]

Ministry of Magic will almost certainly be the most impressive ride in the world.

Universal isn’t obsessed with screens anymore, either.

Which attraction would you give that honor to today? I don’t feel like there is a clear cut #1.