Unpopular opinion: preshows kind of suck 90% of the time

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
Can't really fault Disney on preshows. They're an integral part of the experience and provide necessary backstory, ease ride ops and hype the main attraction. Disney does a good job there IMO. Universal Studios on the other hand uses preshows to ill effect. Case in point:

View attachment 486728

An attraction comprised of nothing but preshows and an exit.


Man, that is low hanging fruit. Watch that space for something better in the near future, they are well aware of what it is.
 

waltography

Well-Known Member
I love preshows - I think it's a great way to set the stage for the experience and lay out a bit of exposition. If anything, I wish they maintained the preshows better (DL's Haunted Mansion being a great example).

Except for FoP. Burn that one down.
 

Mickey5150

Well-Known Member
I love preshows - I think it's a great way to set the stage for the experience and lay out a bit of exposition. If anything, I wish they maintained the preshows better (DL's Haunted Mansion being a great example).

Except for FoP. Burn that one down.
DL's Haunted Mansion pre show is an elevator so I think Disney is legally obligated to keep it well maintained, lol.
 

waltography

Well-Known Member
DL's Haunted Mansion pre show is an elevator so I think Disney is legally obligated to keep it well maintained, lol.
I'm talking about the foyer before the stretching room. They used to close the door into it fully as part of the preshow - now, it's simply a holding area where the light leaks into it and no one can hear the narration before the stretching room.
 

FettFan

Well-Known Member
Can't really fault Disney on preshows. They're an integral part of the experience and provide necessary backstory, ease ride ops and hype the main attraction. Disney does a good job there IMO. Universal Studios on the other hand uses preshows to ill effect. Case in point:

View attachment 486728

An attraction comprised of nothing but preshows and an exit.


Well, there's a reason its initials are "FFS".
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
;)
I totally get why they're skipping them now, but on the whole I like pre-shows, both for scene-setting purposes, and because some provide useful information on how to board the attraction.

Think of how long it takes some idiots, er, guests, to figure out where to go and how to secure themselves in the ride vehicles on Soarin' and Mission:Space, even after watching the pre-show instructional videos -- and I'm not talking about non-English-speaking tourists, but regular Americans of average intelligence who inexplicably watch a 5-minute video on how to follow an arrow on the floor or put on a seatbelt, and then forget every bit of it 10 seconds later. Instead, there always seem to be a couple folks who stumble aimlessly around the boarding area until CMs herd them back to their proper seats and offer remedial courses in how to sit/buckle/stow. Now imagine that nobody watched or understood the video beforehand. Chaos! "Human Sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!"
 

Pepper's Ghost

Well-Known Member
A bit of perspective for the "unpopular opinion"...

My first time to Disney was as an adult, 26. After a lifetime (to that point) of only visiting the local Six Flags, when I saw the pre-shows at WDW, and the presentation in general I was in awe. I couldn't believe that the line was part of the attraction, and set a tone. I was so used to metal railings trying to prevent line jumping, or serving as seats. I was enthralled with the queues at Disney, and the pre-shows were just magical.

So I ask, would you rather stand in a line with nothing happening, or is a pre-show "plussing" an otherwise mundane act of waiting? Unpopular opinion or not, this is a misguided thought. A pre-show (when not essential for safety instructions) is a way of entertaining people waiting in line, in addition to giving information. Aerosmith's RnRC... the pre-show gives the ride a story. Otherwise it's just getting on a roller coaster that looks like a car, in an alley looking room, going through a tunnel, and listening to Aerosmith music while you pass street signs for some reason.

I think saying a pre-show sucks 90% of the time is an individual who's probably been to Disney way too many times 🙃, and doesn't remember that so many people are there for the first time and are seeing the experience with new eyes. Unlike you they don't know why they're getting on a car-shaped roller coaster, or whatever ride you're on. Not everything is about you, or me. It's about the masses.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Some of the pre shows are quite well done and others are just putting you in a holding pattern until the loading area can allow numbers inside to move along more to the next waiting area. It does have a function to make you think youve finally made it somewhere and fools you into believing the ride is just around the corner. Like the switchback in the queue lines Disney needs you to think youre almost there. They should however revaluate the shows, the actors in the performances and exactly are the shows being enjoyed. Watching even poor pre shows are worth it than having nothing. Something is needed to take your mind off of how long youve been staring at the back of the person in front of you.
 

NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
My all-time favorite ride to wait in line for is (sorry to say) Escape From Gringotts ride at Uni. I never get tired of looking at all the details they put into that ride queue. The queue I hate most at WDW is Soarin'. They have this super wide queue that people are always trying to cut in front of you, especially if you don't have a large party to spread out and block them. And stand-by is usually quite long. There's nothing to really look at (the trivia gets old quickly). I like the music and that's about it. The rest of the ride preshows are tolerable. Most of the time our family has our own disney trivia we will play on our phones when we are in line until we get up to that final pre-show prior to boarding.
 

Magicart87

No Refunds!
Premium Member
My all-time favorite ride to wait in line for is (sorry to say) Escape From Gringotts ride at Uni. I never get tired of looking at all the details they put into that ride queue. The queue I hate most at WDW is Soarin'. They have this super wide queue that people are always trying to cut in front of you, especially if you don't have a large party to spread out and block them. And stand-by is usually quite long. There's nothing to really look at (the trivia gets old quickly). I like the music and that's about it. The rest of the ride preshows are tolerable. Most of the time our family has our own disney trivia we will play on our phones when we are in line until we get up to that final pre-show prior to boarding.

Soarin is pretty bad. They really need more props and visuals. Even if it's just fake terminal airport windows or trip info/flight delay marquees, baggage check area with conveyor belt. Something to break up the monotony. A bit on the nose, but even running chase lights (alluding to runway lights) along the floorboard as you get closer to the attraction would be a nice touch. (or are those there already?) And if there's room, an on theme restroom or gift shop. As for the preshow itself, I always found it humorous.
 
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waltography

Well-Known Member
My all-time favorite ride to wait in line for is (sorry to say) Escape From Gringotts ride at Uni. I never get tired of looking at all the details they put into that ride queue. The queue I hate most at WDW is Soarin'. They have this super wide queue that people are always trying to cut in front of you, especially if you don't have a large party to spread out and block them. And stand-by is usually quite long. There's nothing to really look at (the trivia gets old quickly). I like the music and that's about it. The rest of the ride preshows are tolerable. Most of the time our family has our own disney trivia we will play on our phones when we are in line until we get up to that final pre-show prior to boarding.
The Potter queues (specifically FJ and Gringotts) are amazing; I remember waiting for FJ for around 3 hours the summer it opened in Hollywood, and the last hour felt like nothing because I couldn't get over the fact that I was walking through the hallways of Hogwarts.
 
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Pepper's Ghost

Well-Known Member
The queue I hate most at WDW is Soarin'. They have this super wide queue that people are always trying to cut in front of you, especially if you don't have a large party to spread out and block them. And stand-by is usually quite long. There's nothing to really look at (the trivia gets old quickly). I like the music and that's about it.
Sorry... confused. o_O😁 Isn't this (below) the pre-show, and what you're describing would just be the queue? The queue isn't great, but it's inside and air conditioned. :cool:


With that said, I've always loved Patrick Warburton in that pre-show video. He's got great comedic delivery!
 

BubbaisSleep

Well-Known Member
The Potter queues (specifically FJ and Gringotts) are amazing; I remember waiting for FJ for around 3 hours the summer it opened in Hollywood, and the last hour felt like nothing because I couldn't get over the fact that I was walking through the hallways of Hogwarts.
Same. FOP at Animal Kingdom gave me this same feeling as well. I entered line with a drink in a hand and was shocked that a little over 2 hours had gone by once we made it too the ride. I was hoping ROTR would be like this but I got pretty bored in the caves.
 

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
So I ask, would you rather stand in a line with nothing happening, or is a pre-show "plussing" an otherwise mundane act of waiting?

It depends a little on the ride. The brilliance of the Haunted Mansion preshow is that is is part of the attraction. During daylight hours, it also gives your eyes time to adjust.

That said, some of the others are annoying. The one for FoP just could be so much better, and it should be so much better. And really, it just needed a little better script and better actor. The Dinosaur pre-show isn't all bad, just cringey-annoying at a few parts. On TT, I appreciated the Single Rider line so much! It is great trade-off: If I'm willing to give up sitting with my group, I get to skip the pre-show!

I'd also say, it depends how we define pre-show. Is the interactive queue of Pooh a pre-show, or an interactive queue? I'm all for interactive queues! A few have been a bit floppy, but most have been great. I wish the Peter Pan line was shorter, but the new interactive queue adds to the ride.
 
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