yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
Did you see that Castle they built?
Did you see the massive, intricately themed Queue?
Did you see the scale of that Preshow?
Did you see those Animatronics?
Did you see the size of those Showscenes?
Did you see the Beast's Transformation?
Did you see those next-gen LPS Vehicles?
Like I said, the ride isn't without issues - some of them stem directly from use of the ambitious elements above - I've left my review on this site and I had a lot of criticism. But even still, this ride has much, much more in common with something like Rise of the Resistance than something like Under The Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. Or even the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which many here love to argue is absolutely an E when it is clearly a D at best. There's nothing in Tokyo Disneyland Park that compares with this attraction for scale, by practically every measurement.
This ride cost 300 Million Dollars. You don't spend anything close to that on a D-Ticket. They were clearly swinging for the fences here, doing things that have never been done before on a scale reserved for only the most high-profile projects. The only things on a similar scale we've ever seen built here in the states are Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers. The experience doesn't congeal as well as Rise and Racers do, but that's basically immaterial - this is one of the most ambitious attractions Disney has EVER built. We're allowed to be disappointed, we're allowed to think they missed the mark, and for the record I kinda feel that way, but that doesn't magically negate everything that went into making this a massive, massive attraction.
If this isn't an E-Ticket Version of a Beauty and the Beast Dark Ride, what is? One that has better pacing? One that has one more scene? One that spends less time in the interminable "Something There" room? I don't agree with all the choices they made here, but I won't pretend they didn't give us a kitchen sink - and the money backs that up.
I don't think that Budget automatically determines whether or not something is a great ride, or even a Top-of-the-Line ride, but it does give a sense of whether or not they cut corners to shortchange the guest experience. For what they spent and what we got, money was clearly not the object here. Creative decision-making was the object. We can disagree with that decision-making, and the creative direction of the project overall - and, again, I kinda do - but I don't think that knocks down one of their most ambitious efforts ever by a full letter grade. This is a rare species of ride - just because we don't like all of its feathers doesn't mean they aren't biologically impressive.
Let's not forget that The Haunted Mansion was generally regarded as a let-down when it opened - all those years of pent-up anticipation, after opening on the tails of Pirates of the Caribbean it was seen as sort of a Sophomore Slump. Time corrected for this perception, of course, and the ride was allowed to stand on its own spectacular merits. I think if we look past what *we* expected from a Beauty and the Beast Dark Ride after waiting nearly 30 years for one it becomes very clear that every effort was made to make this ride one of the most physically ambitious rides ever.
If it's a little narratively ineffectual, and it is, it's not because they weren't aiming to clear the highest bar. They just prioritized different things than we'd hoped. Emotional engagement for the guest is important, but if that were the standard by which we gauged Ticket Levels then the Teacups would be an E. This thing is so physically next-level, let's not pretend it doesn't give us any gifts at all. It ain't perfect, but it gives many.
