Tokyo's Beauty & the Beast... Better than Ratatouille?

[gerarar]

This is a better angle POV where you can see preshow walking Belle more.


In my opinion, they wanted this to be a huge capacity ride by putting 6 gigantic teacups but this resulted in huge underutilized spaces. If they made it at least 4, better. Also I think if they added one to two scenes to prevent dragging too much in one scene, this would be the perfect trackless ride.

I knew it!

This specific POV doesn't have the weird long pause (holding loop in other words) in between Belle's verse and the other characters in "Something There" segment. The most popular POV "did" have the holding loop as predicted. This is much better, obviously.

Start the video around 6:25 and you'll see where the holding loop was before. The teacups/vehicles don't stop and they continue out of the "room" and to where Beast and Belle are on the balcony with the other characters singing. Better flow, pacing, and transition!

 

[WondersOfLife]

it would have been grossly cut back and cheapened because TDO sucks. No way we'd have gotten the lush, magical Tokyo version. So whatever. WDW is a joke.

Maybe, maybe not. We didn't get a cheapened version of Star Wars Land in comparison to Disneyland's counterpart. But we got a cheapened version of Toy Story Land based on concept art. But also, it doesn't seem like Guardians is going to be a cheap addition. But at the same time we're getting the cheap Play! pavilion.

Seems to be flip floppy on the cheapness side of things.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Maybe, maybe not. We didn't get a cheapened version of Star Wars Land in comparison to Disneyland's counterpart. But we got a cheapened version of Toy Story Land based on concept art. But also, it doesn't seem like Guardians is going to be a cheap addition. But at the same time we're getting the cheap Play! pavilion.

Seems to be flip floppy on the cheapness side of things.

Indeed. Frustrating, isn't it?

 

[Magenta Panther]

This is a better angle POV where you can see preshow walking Belle more.


In my opinion, they wanted this to be a huge capacity ride by putting 6 gigantic teacups but this resulted in huge underutilized spaces. If they made it at least 4, better. Also I think if they added one to two scenes to prevent dragging too much in one scene, this would be the perfect trackless ride.

My only quibble is I wish they'd extended the scene where Gaston and the villagers attack the castle. Maybe even show Gaston shoot the Beast, for added drama. Otherwise I think this ride's pretty much flawless.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

This is really surprising to me. I think BatB has some mistakes and could have been significantly better, but I think Frozen Ever After is basically a disaster from start to finish. The only redeeming quality to that ride is the AAs, but the ones in BatB are obviously better. Frozen Ever After feels like you're in a large empty warehouse with a few scattered animatronics. I never felt like I was physically in another location the way BatB at least seems to pull off. I rode it once and can't imagine ever getting on it again unless it was literally walk-on.

For me, BatB looks more like big empty rooms with a few scattered audioanimatronics. That's not to take away from the amount of effort and money that was obviously poured into the ride, but there's something about the scale that seems off during the big musical numbers. I'd be interested to hear from someone who's been on it, because even Be Our Guest seems a little like a table in the middle of a big empty room.

I know a lot of people detest FEA, but the scenes in that ride feel more enveloping to me based on the BatB video. I think there's even something to be said for the ride system in FEA actually giving it a more immersive quality.

 

[412]

Three problems with BatB:

1. It feels empty. Trackless rides can seem empty because of the large, blank floor space they need to operate. Some rides (RoTR) overcome this better than others (MMRR). BoTB is the worst offender that I've seen; most scenes feel strangely bare.

2. You're not part of the story; you just watch.

• In Rat, you're being chased.
• In Mystic Manor, you're caught up in magical mischief.
• In RoTR, you're being chased.
• In MMRR, you're set loose on a runaway train.

Here, you just watch scenes while gently dancing.

3. It's repetitive. There are three long scenes where you dance to a song. When you've already experienced two long dance numbers, the final ballroom waltz isn't nearly as impactful as it should be.

I want to sneak through the forbidden west wing; I want to be caught in the middle of a snowball fight during Something There; I want to dodge fighting castle subjects and townspeople during the invasion scene; and yes, I want to waltz during the finale. Variety is the spice of life!

 

[techgeek]

This is really surprising to me. I think BatB has some mistakes and could have been significantly better, but I think Frozen Ever After is basically a disaster from start to finish.

No one was more surprised than me. Part of it was expectations. I had avoided spoilers on Frozen, had rock bottom expectations, and was actively grumpy getting in line. Once on the ride I found myself getting swept up in it pretty quickly and found myself enjoying it against all odds. In contrast, I had sky-high expectations for Beast. It looked like it was going to deliver through the pre-show and I was even still with it for BoG, but it lost me rapidly after that and I was bored. If I was on it in person and getting spun around like that, it seems by the ballroom I would have been vaguely nauseous and bored.

I think watching crowds coming out of a ride is fantastic to see what works and what doesn't... Coming out of Frozen, almost everyone has a lot of energy and is all smiles. At the exit of Rise of the Resistance, people are just stunned and still processing what just happened. I'd be interested in seeing what the crowd coming out of Beast looks like... I don't think it would be the "I want those 10 minutes of my life back" that you see at the end of MK's Mermaid, but I suspect that it's going to be a lot more mixed.

 

[FutureCEO]

I've only see videos of the Rat Ride online but it's a probably once and done for me (like the Frozen ride). Beauty of the Beast looks good (far better than most rides in MK's Fantasyland) but it feels like more should have been done. Without the tcups spinning and rocking.

 

[UNCgolf]

For me, BatB looks more like big empty rooms with a few scattered audioanimatronics. That's not to take away from the amount of effort and money that was obviously poured into the ride, but there's something about the scale that seems off during the big musical numbers. I'd be interested to hear from someone who's been on it, because even Be Our Guest seems a little like a table in the middle of a big empty room.

I know a lot of people detest FEA, but the scenes in that ride feel more enveloping to me based on the BatB video. I think there's even something to be said for the ride system in FEA actually giving it a more immersive quality.

The rooms in BatB are big and relatively empty, but they're also themed -- they're at least rooms in the castle (other than the snow scene). FEA has a lot of completely unthemed space (I don't consider projections of a big snowflake on the walls as theme), which is the difference and the issue for me.

I never felt like I was anywhere other than a ride warehouse while riding FEA. I think it's the second worst Disney dark ride I've ever been on behind Little Mermaid.

 

[InnKpr]

I'll never understand the hatred for the Little Mermaid ride.

 

[UNCgolf]

I'll never understand the hatred for the Little Mermaid ride.

Without going off on a tangent or derailing this thread, I'll just say the entire ride looks incredibly cheap. None of the scenes are remotely impressive -- it looks like something a regional park could have thrown together for a few million.

 

[Nutso4Disney]

Very impressive ride to say the least was the BatB ride. Now to compare it to the Ratatouille ride I just can't put myself to doing that. For one I am a huge fan of Remy and Ratatouille. Both of them being my favorites. I also feel the theme of the rides are different. The BatB ride is more of a slower type ride while I believe the Ratatouille ride will have Remy scurrying around being chased making it for more of a more quicker ride. I think in the end it will come down to what the individual guest enjoys. I myself even though I most likely will never get the chance to ride the BatB ride in person will think both rides look spectacular.

 

[Coaster Lover]

Based on videos alone, I would rank the trackless attractions as follows:

1. Rise
2. Mystic Manor
3. Runaway Railway
4. Pooh
5. Rat
6. BatB

Rat is the better fit for Epcot, BatB would have been a better fit than Mermaid, a modified version of the Mystic Manor story/attraction as a replacement for Imagination could still be the second best trackless ride on property...

 

[BayouShack]

I love it. It’s indulgent and saccharine, in the best way possible. I love that they devote all the time needed to each song, so you can appreciate the different solos, verses and key changes.

Sure, I do wish we got a few extra animatronics in the ballroom, but everything that was implemented was implemented superbly.

Here’s some of my favorite things that I didn’t appreciate until after several ride throughs:

•The winter courtyard set: the lighting is beautiful, and hardly visible. The ceiling is themed with the exception of a small area for lighting in the center. It’s a stark contrast to the Little Mermaid.

•The birds on the beast AA

•The floor, both in the snowy courtyard and ballroom. My understanding is flooring is projection mapped where the cars are not. Look at the ballroom floor. It’s flawless; you are unable to see any markings that are typical of this ride system. So, between the floor and the ceiling, you really do have completely immersive environments with nothing to break the illusion.

•The villager’s trying to get through the wall behind the wardrobe. The wardrobe is pretty basic, I’ll admit. She could use some projection mapping on her face. But I do like how you see the pitchforks coming through the door she’s trying to keep closed.

•They didn’t use screens for the transformation sequence. In any other resort, this transformation would not use animatronics. But they didn’t take the lazy route. You can tell the difference between screens vs three dimensional figures.

•You also can see the rose in this room on the opposite wall of the transformation scene.

•The window just before the ballroom is also not a screen. It looks like it’s projection mapping on a few layers of flats. Another case of using more convincing physical effects instead of sticking in a screen.

•The key change in the ballroom. Seriously, the last 30 seconds are Magic. The tea cups back up against the far wall giving a wide view of the ballroom, after a series of close ups on the different characters. Then as the key changes and the music builds, the lights change and your cars seem to move in slow motion.

•The ballroom is another room where the lighting is skillfully hidden. Neither the floor nor the ceiling have the usual tells of modern Disney rides.

This is obviously not what a lot of us were expecting. We probably all thought it would stick to the movie. Instead, it highlights aspirational moments from the movie. It is *not* a book report ride.

Fully realized sets with concealed lighting, tons of animatronics, no screens, amazing music. And 8 minutes long? I couldn’t want much more. I cannot wait to ride.

 

[tirian]

Based on videos alone, I would rank the trackless attractions as follows:

1. Rise
2. Mystic Manor
3. Runaway Railway
4. Pooh
5. Rat
6. BatB

Rat is the better fit for Epcot, BatB would have been a better fit than Mermaid, a modified version of the Mystic Manor story/attraction as a replacement for Imagination could still be the second best trackless ride on property...

You’re close; swap Pooh and Railway.

 

[UNCgolf]

Based on videos alone, I would rank the trackless attractions as follows:

1. Rise
2. Mystic Manor
3. Runaway Railway
4. Pooh
5. Rat
6. BatB

Rat is the better fit for Epcot, BatB would have been a better fit than Mermaid, a modified version of the Mystic Manor story/attraction as a replacement for Imagination could still be the second best trackless ride on property...

I'd rank them (also based on videos):

1. Rise
2. Mystic Manor
3. Pooh
4. BatB
5. Runaway Railway
6. Rat

MMRR and BatB look comparable, but the BatB animatronics push it over the top for me.

 

[Giss Neric]

Ratatouille, top 5 Disney movie for me, Beauty and the Beast, not even in the top 10 so no. Tokyo can have it, I'm glad we are getting the Rat.

That's movie wise. Ride wise, you might be disappointed as Rat is majority screens with props and no animatronics.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

The ride...




The land...

if the ride begins with the castle still enchanted why didn't they make the outside castle and ground look like it does when it is enchanged versus how it looks after the spell is lifted??

 

[WondersOfLife]

the BatB animatronics push it over the top for me.

Impressive animatronics mean nothing if the attraction is.. Well. Boring. Or empty. Or anticlimactic.

Hall of Presidents & Navi River Journey for instance...

 

[techgeek]

This is obviously not what a lot of us were expecting. We probably all thought it would stick to the movie. Instead, it highlights aspirational moments from the movie. It is *not* a book report ride.

I suppose we could have a debate on a what defines a 'book report ride', but 'highlighting aspirational moments from the movie' would be something I would include as an example of one. If they did it outside the scope of the existing story of the film, perhaps.. but here, they've literally plucked the sequences whole-cloth from the film and shoehorned the viewers into the scene. In the same running order and length. With the same exact story. All they've done is edited out secondary characters and sub-plots for length.

The original B&tB animated film is of course a musical, and a very good one at that. It moves the story along almost entirely through the songs. If you remove any one individual number, you remove a huge chunk of the narrative of the story.

That's ok if you're calling it a book report, because you're already assuming the audience knows the story and doesn't have to be told everything. If you drop someone that's somehow never seen B&tB before into this attraction, the story is now a train wreck because all there is are these... 'moments', some of which like "Something There" go into all this messy character development that we simply don't even know where it's coming from in the context of the ride or why it matters (because it doesn't!).

"Be Our Guest" succeeds most easily because it was already structured as a sequence that skillfully broke the 4th wall in the film and brought the audience into the environment. That, and the ballroom, are places where we do want to spend some time... I'll grant you. But there is no attempt at story in the ride to help us along in that medium. There's no attempt at letting these moments thrive as aspirational ones that we can truly live and explore the world we're placed in. We're stuck in the timeline from the film, beat by beat, swaying along with everything we already know.

A ride is not a film is not a ride. Even if they are in the same world, and telling the same basic story, they need to go about it in different ways. I feel like this ride breaks "Theme park design 101" story rules... and that's something WDI should certainly know since they wrote them in the first place!

Yes, the fit and finish and details and lighting and spaces are legendary, as well we would expect from tons of Tokyo money... but all that's worthless without a reason.