Tokyo Goes Soaring - Anaheim Gets Outclassed & Still Drops It's G's

oo_nrb

Well-Known Member
And that Tokyo finale begs the question... whatever happened to the new finale that WDI filmed for DCA several years ago? They had HD cameras strapped to helicopters, and it was widely reported online that the flight was happening over the park early one morning. The flight plans were even posted online, which I still found just now via a quick Google search. Here's the flight plan for the HD camera copter over DCA and then Disneyland for the finale' that we never got! I wonder what happened to all that HD footage?

BiaJPt_CUAEp77x.jpg

That footage is the current finale.
 

Stevek

Well-Known Member
I actually don’t have a problem with the look of the DCA version as it fits perfect with the theme of the area. I do hate the outdoor queue though. That being said, the Japan version is stunning.
 

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
I actually really like the current setup in California. The theme fits the area, and the Q has some interesting artifacts and facts.

The pre-show could be better themed, it’s very generic and doesn’t really fit the theme, but it’s such a classic at this point why change it? “Oh yeah... have a nice flight!”

I do wish the interior was at least slightly themed and the screen was hid by a scrim that dropped during a blackout.

Other than that.... can’t really complain.

Now Orlando.... MCO is better themed than Soarin Orlando!
 

No Name

Well-Known Member
Trips in and of themselves usually account for less than 1% of the attraction’s cost. I know we like to joke but that’s not one of the reasons costs have risen dramatically or rides are subpar.

They took a ton of far trips for Everest, possibly more than any project in the past, and it cost $100 million-ish. Tron in Shanghai cost $400 million-ish and it’s definitely not cause of trips, or preshows or animatronics.

On the topic of Soarin’ in Japan, it looks great! On the topic of population decline in Japan, it has a lot to do with women finding sex gross as well, but that’s neither here nor there.
 
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TROR

Well-Known Member
Trips in and of themselves usually account for less than 1% of the attraction’s cost. I know we like to joke but that’s not one of the reasons costs have risen dramatically or rides are subpar.

They took a ton of far trips for Everest, possibly more than any project in the past, and it cost $100 million-ish. Tron in Shanghai cost $400 million-ish and it’s definitely not cause of trips, or preshows or animatronics.
Why is it that attractions, especially incredibly poor and "cheap" one likes Mission Breakout and Pixar Pier, cost such insane amounts?
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
That footage is the current finale.

Not really. They don't have any part of the Cars Land mountain range or anything in DCA. Which when you look at the flight path, was obviously part of the original creative intent to capture when launching from the open parking lot just to the east of Cars Land.
 

Kram Sacul

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
You forgot WDI's current favorite trend, "Put a long-winded, talky gasbag animatronic in the queue so they don't have to put one in the attraction."

Needless to say I hate this trend. I wonder if WDI even has the talent anymore to make an e-ticket without a single line of dialogue.

Mission: Break Dance
Asstro Blasters
Smuggler’s Run
Stitch’s Great Escape
Toy Story Midway Mania
 

TROR

Well-Known Member
Flight to the Moon
Mission To Mars
Alien Encounter
Probably something else where the main show was not in a round theater.
To be fair, two of those are basically the same ride and the third is even an overlay of that. But even that overlay featured an animatronic as the center point of the entire show. Also I'll go ahead and say neither Flight to the Moon or Mission to Mars were great attractions that could stand the test of time. Though charming, I don't commonly see them considered feats of Imagineering.
 

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
I did Alien Encounter many times from the time it first opened and had Troy McClure as the voice of the robot to its last year of operation and while the alien was an actual thing in the show, you only glimpsed it very briefly and it didn't move around much. It wasn't that type of show. It was a sensory thriller where you would hear and feel evidence of the creature and not actually see it. Through the magic of Skywalker Sound.

This post brought to you by X-S Tech. We're siezing the future (and Chairman Clench's child nudie collection)!
 

RollerCoaster

Well-Known Member
Why does everyone have to compare everything? Do you know how out of place the Tokyo version would look in DCA?

I look at both and my conclusion is that the California and Tokyo implementations are both outstanding. California's airplane hangar perfectly fits the location of the park and theme of the surrounding land. The Tokyo one looks great, but it's not appropriate for DCA. Do I feel cheated...absolutely not.

Let me also remind you that 18 years ago Soarin' Over California opened. It was a highly regarded, well loved attraction upon opening. Everyone loved it. It's understable that after the success in California and Florida that budgets for future installations would be larger. It's a proven hit. However just because they built this amazing building in Tokyo doesn't necessitate an upgrade to the California attraction.
 

RobWDW1971

Well-Known Member
I look at both and my conclusion is that the California and Tokyo implementations are both outstanding. California's airplane hangar perfectly fits the location of the park and theme of the surrounding land. The Tokyo one looks great, but it's not appropriate for DCA. Do I feel cheated...absolutely not.

I'm good with all of that, while we're at it can someone in WDI explain to me why a ride about a being on a hang glider has the history of aviation in its queue and a commercial airline steward in the preload video?
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Beautiful building and spaces - just doesn't feel like the attraction itself fits it.

You have all these older styles and placemaking... and then get dumped right into 1990s/2000s california.
 

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