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News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Rteetz
Well-Known Member
My favorite word
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Definitely maybe this year. Possibly.
Coaster Lover
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Thank goodness! I may or may not be happy or angry when it does or does not open later this year!
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
Gringott’s isn’t a great ride, agreed. But the theming and storytelling is MILES better then Rewind (or Tron for that matter) - it’s not even close. Honestly, Gringotts and RotR are an interesting comparison - spectacular theming and clear narratives that obscure some fundamental problems with the basic ride experience. My personal opinion is that SOME (not all) of the Gringotts backlash comes from WDW fans unhappy with how clearly Universal was beating Disney at the things Disney is supposed to do better then anyone else, story and theming, when Diagonal opened. SWL has done a lot to catch WDW up on that front (although I still find the Potter lands superior despite preferring Star Wars as an IP).
Essentially, the question becomes - what do people want most out of a Disney and Universal ride? Deep and nuanced theming and story or fun physical sensations? Since my love of WDW is founded almost entirely on my experiences with classic EPCOT, it’s not much of a question for me.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
There was that brief period in the 90s when Disney and Universal hit the sweet spot between truly immersive [before they used that word to describe anything and everything] experiences and genuine physical thrills. Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, Spider-Man etc
Those rides have earned their status as classics now, but it should be remembered that many of WDW's guests cannot do thrill rides for one reason or another and Disney's reputation and longevity is in no small part due to the rides that offer the kind of thing 3 generations will all want to see together (Pirates, Mansion etc).
Only because AB bought a longer twin for its Williamsburg park…
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
The beginning of Gringotts is probably the single biggest wow moment I’ve had on an actual ride in Florida.
I’m not sure what “less” you are talking about since both rely so much on screens.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I was referring to the physicality of the coaster portions. Gringotts barely qualifies as a coaster for me. Meanwhile, Mummy is a pretty small coaster that nonetheless packs thrills and airtime. Cosmic Rewind is enormous and I find the coaster itself to be really fun, mostly due to the novel ride system.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
So if we take the theming away Cosmic Rewind is better..., that’s the argument for an Epcot e-ticket?
PizzaPlanet
Well-Known Member
Isn’t Journey into Imagination with Figment technically a coaster?
TwilightZone
Well-Known Member
It sure is an emotional one
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I was just comparing the coaster portions…not sure why that’s a big deal.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
I guess that wasn’t clear to me. I don’t quite get separating theme from coasters for “theme parks.” To me, Gringotts and the Mummy are excellent themed attractions that also have coaster elements.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
It was perhaps lost in the chain, but we were discussing the length of the coaster, since Cosmic Rewind is the longest indoor coaster. That’s why I was focusing just on the coaster.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
I think, ultimately, it comes down to people wanting to have a great experience. Part of the blessing of IP is that you can get a very clear sense of what experiences people want to have. The curse, then, is that if you don’t deliver that experience you’re sunk.
The main flaw with Gringotts, to me, is that the movies set the expectation that the ride will be a rip-roaring coaster ride through the deepest, darkest corners of the bank, where you can witness amazing and magical sights. The ride NEARLY does this, it has ALL the pieces it needs to hit a home run . . . aside from the rip-roaring part. It nails the setup, it nails the scenery, it nails the dark corners of the bank . . . but every time we think we’re about to take off it stops us literally in our tracks. There’s an expectation about the pace and they don’t meet it. The non-canon story elements we encounter do not make up for this. That it’s clear they *could* have nailed this amplifies the disappointment factor.
The same can be said of the Mario Kart ride. In attempting to over-deliver they end up missing the mark on the main thing people wanted - to cut loose on the racetrack of their dreams, just like they do in the game. The main expectation is speed and they never give it to you. No amount of well-produced show sets and AR interactivity make up for failing to deliver what guests wanted more than anything else.
This is also where Rise succeeds - people want the experience of being caught mid-battle in a Star Wars spacecraft, and really feel like they’re in one of those moments. While it leans into the films that most people probably would not have favored, it does this ambitiously, realistically, and thrillingly enough to allow guests to have the sort of feelings they hoped to have. This is part of where Smugglers Run gets caught - they nailed the premise of an experience guests want to have, but the execution doesn’t deliver on the guest’s expectations. What should have been a dream-come-true experience instead feels like a letdown. The ride misses the forest for the trees. All the buttons are in the right place, but the ride fails to deliver the emotional experience guests associate with flying the Falcon. It tasks you with a lot of “realistic” in-world business, but that was never what we were there for.
This is part of why it’s so important to get really clear on the aspirational moment guests want before you start filling it out with “stuff” - the stuff is important, but only to the extent that it supports the thing guests actually want to do. Get that wrong and “stuff” won’t save you.
TRON has the right idea - who wouldn’t want to take a Light Cycle for a spin? But, similar to Gringotts, the action’s over before it really gets going. Womp womp. So close, and yet . . .
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
I don’t think Rise actually delivers that. The scenes with Kylo are well done and feel real (yes I would prefer Vader... who wouldn’t?) but everything else feels very controlled and tame.... like Gringotts.
I definitely agree though with all your points.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
Your mileage may vary, of course - but generally Rise seems to have struck the right chord for people, and in ways the other referenced attractions don’t seem to.