When Will Dinosaur Turn Back to Countdown to Extinction?

[CoraJack]

Don't change it

I've ridden it with both names--before and after the changes. Before the changes my 9 year old daredevil REFUSED to get back on the ride when we returned when he was 11. That CTX was HORRIBLE! The seats were different then and our heads hit the head restraints on both sides more times than I could count. Kids were screaming and crying (including my 9 year old I'll-ride-anything-and-love-it son). I got off it with a headache that did not go away all day due to my head hitting the restraints.

Dinosaur I LOVE!!!!! It's just bumpy enough to keep you unsettled through the ride and it's full of surprises. CTX had more screaming kids coming off of it than Alien Encounter at one point and that's saying alot. That old ride was just plain painful.

Long live Dinosaur!

Christina

 

[Rider]

Re: Don't change it

Originally posted by CoraJack
I've ridden it with both names--before and after the changes. Before the changes my 9 year old daredevil REFUSED to get back on the ride when we returned when he was 11. That CTX was HORRIBLE! The seats were different then and our heads hit the head restraints on both sides more times than I could count. Kids were screaming and crying (including my 9 year old I'll-ride-anything-and-love-it son). I got off it with a headache that did not go away all day due to my head hitting the restraints.

Dinosaur I LOVE!!!!! It's just bumpy enough to keep you unsettled through the ride and it's full of surprises. CTX had more screaming kids coming off of it than Alien Encounter at one point and that's saying alot. That old ride was just plain painful.

Long live Dinosaur!

Christina

Seats were different? head restraints?

Thats one of the few things we all agree didn't change.

They NEVER changed the ride vechicals, and they NEVER had " head restraints"

-----------

I only did it once as CTX. I did it a lot as DINO (right at closing time you can run off and on a lot).

I never noticed any difference in the ride. And most cast members who work it (and people who rode it alot as both) say that there is no difference.

I think what is happening is that the first time you ride, it is so different, unexpected things happening, you don't know what is going on, etc. that you think the ride is intense and wild.

Then, when you go again, you know what will happen so the ride dosent seem as crazy to you.

This happens on a lot of rides. Normally, it wouldn't matter, but in this case Disney changed the name. So people thought they must have changed the ride too.

 

[CoraJack]

How wrong you are

The vehicles are the same but the seats have been altered. On the old seats your head would rest between two pieces of hard foam covered in plastic it seemed like. When the vehicle would bump or turn corners quickly your head would hit either side of these pieces of foam plastic or whatever it is. This was DEFINATELY there.

I'm sure a CM somewhere around here can confirm. They have changed the seats and the head rests.

How fortunate you are that your head did not hit these head rests when you rode it. But I can't imagine how it could not have because you were forced to sit back into them and they were on either side. I'm sure to protect you from neck injury due to the extreme bumps and jolts.

And I don't appreciate your condescending attitude here. It's one thing to disagree and it's quite another to insult someone's intelligence. I know the changes were made--period. If you want to disagree just for the sake of disagreement then so be it.

Christina

 

[BAM]

***This is an assumption on your part. You seem to think that the "ride preview" you see in the preshow is an actual depiction of the real ride. The preshow was made with actors and is designed to make you think a certain way. Don't be so gullible as to believe that the preshow clip you saw compares to the real ride. That clip was done in a studio far away from the real ride. Disney is about "magic", not reality. Keep that in mind.***


OK that was a bit harsh but I still don't think you know what I'm talking about. Do you remember the old Movie Surfers and Inside Out. If I remember correctly they did a special preview to CTE on Inside Out demonstrating the new ride system. The girl from the Movie Surfers guest starred for Inside Out and rode the ride. I remember seeing the clip that was used for pre-show on Inside Out. (For those of you who don't know what Iside Out is; it was a show where they told some of the mysteries of Disney like how do they make the eyes in the Haunted Mansion follow you, or what it's like to climb to the top of Epcot's Spaceship Earth. It also starred George Forman.)

Now that leads me to the conclusion...The preshow clip that I'm talking about was shot for the show Inside Out (and they were actually riding it...not some studio mock-up) and then used for the preshow at CTE and Dinosaur. Now I'm making the point that you can tell the difference seeing how much they bounce around and how much you don't. I have ridden both Dinosaur and CTE and don't remember different seats or more asteroids but I do remember it being bouncier and louder.

 

[Rider]

Re: How wrong you are

Originally posted by CoraJack
The vehicles are the same but the seats have been altered. On the old seats your head would rest between two pieces of hard foam covered in plastic it seemed like. When the vehicle would bump or turn corners quickly your head would hit either side of these pieces of foam plastic or whatever it is. This was DEFINATELY there.

I'm sure a CM somewhere around here can confirm. They have changed the seats and the head rests.

How fortunate you are that your head did not hit these head rests when you rode it. But I can't imagine how it could not have because you were forced to sit back into them and they were on either side. I'm sure to protect you from neck injury due to the extreme bumps and jolts.

And I don't appreciate your condescending attitude here. It's one thing to disagree and it's quite another to insult someone's intelligence. I know the changes were made--period. If you want to disagree just for the sake of disagreement then so be it.

Christina

CTX is the same ride as Indy at Disneyland, neither of these rides had anything around your head, ever. Indy opened in 93 (or 94 or 92, I forget exactly), so even if I wasn't completly sure about the head things, I know that if they needed to remove them from CTX, they would have done it for Indy long before CTX existed, and so why would they need them at all?

 

[jaylenofan86]

Indy is not that rough first of all. Also, Indy opened in March '94.

 

[dxwwf3]

CoraJack
I am going to be nice :animwink: I seriously believe that you have been mistaken. I went to AK for the first time in June of 98 (it opened on April 22 1998) and unless something drastic happend inbetween that time the vehicles have not changed. As far as I know there has only been one type of vehicle for Indy and CTX. The only simulation type ride that I have ever been on that has headrests is Back To The Future at Universal Studios. And your head does hit these alot in the back row. Again I am not trying to insult your knowledge or anything but I believe that you might be a little confused on this.

And I also agree that the CTX program NEEDS to be put back into place. The ride was SO much better the way it used to be. The biggest difference (to me) between the two (CTX and Dinosaur) is the first dino scene. It used to be bumpy and wonderful but now it is kinda boring. I really think Disney needs to keep little kids off of this ride no matter if it goes 1 mph and has no bumps or it is 30 mph and bounces you off the track! IMO the effects are too intense for the little ones. This needs to return to the thrill ride that it once was. Also I loved Countdown to Extenction as the name but I could care less if it is called Dinosaur or whatever. It could even be called Carno Chase Bumpy Ride for all I care :lol: All I want is the original ride program.

 

[CoraJack]

Slow down, take a breather, please. It was not a restraint like in Alien Encounter that would not let you move. They were just there on either side of your head. It was not something that strapped your head in!!!! It was more of a cushion on either side of your head so your head would not wildly swing back and forth because it was so bumpy. It was intended to be a cushion but it was so hard when your head went back and forth and hit both of these "cushions" it hurt badly.

I wish a CM would come here and confirm that they were there. I'm standing my ground on this one.

And there is no need to scarcastically say that you are going to be "nice". I can tell you are not being nice so no love lost.

Christina

 

[MrNonacho]

I've been on both CTX and Dinosaur and I honestly cannot remember headrests either. The seats would have had to have been majorly modified, as the current seatbacks aren't nearly high enough for anyone to put their head against them.

Here's a link to a page with concept art and pictures of the final product:

http://www.pariarts.com/port/PT/PTpage4B.html

No headrests here either.

 

[dxwwf3]

CoraJack
Actually I was trying to be nice. The only reason I used the smily face was because you seemed to be a little sensitive on this subject. And I know you didnt mean over the head restraints. It is a little peculiar that the exact same case is over at Back to the Future. Where the headrests are supposed to help but end up hurting alot more. I know you arent talking about that but it is weird that BTTF is like that. I really was not being sarcastic so please dont take everything so harshly. This has sort of turned into a mystery for me. I really want to figure out what the misunderstanding is (either on our part or your part) so please let's try to work this out because I want to get to the bottom of this. Also any CM's please reply with an answer if possible.

 

[Legacy]

Okay, BAM, Im on your side through all of this. I know excactly what you mean about it being toned down... it has... A LOT! I remember going on it the summer it opened and being catious about going on it again. It was loud, it was dark, it was intense, and it was SCARY!!! That clip is from the original, and it looks akward now. I was there a few weeks ago and in the pre-show people looked down-right terrified looking at that clip. I was sitting there thinking, 'They changed everything else, why not that?'

Man, Dinosaur compared to CtE is a joke, an absolute joke. On the original I would never have even considered holding my cell phone in my hand throughout the ride. Now... i do it without a second thought, on the outside, in my outside hand. The thing is is that the ride as is has NOTHING to do with the movie, and thats what people are going in expecting. You see a clip fromt he movie in the pre-show and that is it. Disney, if you are going to have a ride based on a movie, have it have something to do with the MOVIE. If you are going to have a thrill ride, make it THRILLING. Dont p.ussy-foot around with having a scary ride and turning it into something family friendly. Thats like making Space Mountain an Omnimover.

 

[Wasthemagic]

test

 

[STGRhost]

I've worked in WDW since 1998, and I ~have~ ridden both CTX and Dinosaur quite a few times. I honestly don't feel a whole lot of difference between the two. Slightly less bumpy, but still lots of fun. (No matter how many times I ride, I still cringe when we drop under the Carnataur at the end! yeah, I should be ashamed..) The biggest difference I've noticed, which someone else mentioned, is the increase in the number of "blank" spots. I remember being able to see the scenery (what there is of it)better, and more asteroids, and now there are quite a few patches that are just dark...and loud.
I don't have any recollections of the head rests mentioned before. I understood that they only changed the movements of the vehicles, not the actual ride vehicles themselves.

 

[mbro2002]

This is my first post to this board, but I was one of the cast members working at CTX (what everybody calls it, not CTE) during the changeover to the toned-down Dinosaur profile. I spent a couple of nights sitting in Tower monitoring the wayside computer while WDI was out working on the new profile, so I got to see what all was going on. There was always someone from Operations in the Tower during this so that we could restart the ride if any problems arose. (WDI guys are too important to basically sit there and do nothing for 6 hours

I've ridden both the old and new profiles many times, even back to back, during testing. In my opinion, there are some parts of the ride where you can tell a difference, but there are also many parts that were unchanged. Of course, we're just talking about the motion base here; the speed and timing of the vehicle's motion along the track was completely unchanged (always 14mph tops). The first part where I could really tell a difference was between the raptor and the first carno. I used to have to hang on to the bar in front, now I don't. The other part is the S-turns after the sliding carno (left, right, left!). Other than those parts, the profile isn't very different. There were a couple places where the audio was turned down a bit, but that was pretty rare. The effects just weren't changed at that point.

As for blank spaces in the ride, it really depends on when you go and how lucky you get. It isn't uncommon for bits and pieces to be offline for repairs. I've spent plenty of time walking around on the track and I can't stress enough how complex the effects network is. Literally equipment stashed everywhere that isn't visible, most of it painted black so it is difficult to see even in pictures with the lights on. Two years ago, all the dinosaurs were taken offline one by one for rehab, usually leaving a dark space in the ride. It has been about a year and a half since I've worked there, so I can't comment on any recent blackouts, but I know how many show elements are in that building, all of which fail now and then.

As for the headrest debate, the vehicles were never changed. The only thing changed were the flash cards in their computers containing the motion profile. The seat cushions, backs, and arms have been standard since Day 1.

The only thing that has been changed is the style of tire. If you look sometime, you might be able to see a vehicle with knobby, offroad-looking tires. Those are the old style, chosen by WDI. The new tires look much more like regular street tires, with a smaller tread pattern. The offroad tires fit the look, but didn't provide enough traction on the ride track. Traction is a big deal in the ride. You'd be surprised how easily those big vehicles can slip going up one of the hills. I'd say that a majority of the small, short-duration ride stops are caused by traction problems. A vehicle slips somewhere, doesn't make it to the next zone on time and triggers a ride stop. Originally, the Cearadactyl that swoops over your head was supposed to drop water, but that had to go because the track would get wet and cause cars to slip.

 

[RobFL]

Somethign swoops over your head? I was too busy holding on and looking straight ahead and cringing every so often...

-Rob

 

[Sketch105]

I'm so confused. I rode CTX during the first few months of its operation, and that ride was severely rough! That's what was so great about it! I was tossed and turned and I loved it. And it was scary too!!!!

Now, maybe its just because my mind has been telling me "its toned down now. It's a totally different ride", but it does feel a lot less rougher than it was. Then again, it could be that I've convinced myself and it was actually the same ride.

Didn't they switch it back to its old rough pattern a few months after Dinosaur flopped at the box office?? And aren't the cars motion bases made to make it seem at least even slightly different than the ride before, even though they follow the same basic pattern?

 

[mbro2002]

I suppose the biggest difference between the old and the new program is not so much the amount of motion, but how much it jerks you around. In the segments of the ride I mentioned before, the old program had some very abrupt lateral movements that would toss you from side to side. The new program still has a large range of motion, moving you all around, but it generally does it a little more gently, with fewer jerks. I honestly do believe that MOST people wouldn't have noticed the changeover if Disney hadn't announced it.

The bottom line is that PARTS of the ride were rougher before the changeover, but the alterations to the overall ride experience have been small. All rides seem less intense the more you ride them, with Dinosaur being no exception. I rode it nearly everyday for well over a year doing show quality checks, believe me, if things had changed, I'd have known.

And no, the profile was never changed back after the theatrical release and no, the motion bases do not vary their movement. Same exact profile every time.

Matt

 

[mbro2002]

Also, there is a BIG difference between the front row and the back row of seating. If you sit in the front row, you'll get a much smoother ride than in the back.

If you sat in the back row 3 years ago and in the front row now, I can see where it would feel a lot tamer, but that has nothing to do with the programming of the ride, just the way the vehicles are built.

If you want a rough ride, you've got to go for the back row, outside seats. Having an outside seat isn't as important as being in the back row, however. Any seat in the back row is good.

Matt

 

[Pat571]

i kinda liked it called CDTE. but think of it, the dinosaur you rescue is the same type of the one in the movie. and the name fits the ride better, so i can see y they changed it.

o hey mbro2002 can you tell them to PLEASE turn the sound down on that ride??? man its loud, my first time through i had my hands on my ears and i was embarraessed to see the photo when i got off and then i saw they almost everyone else did the same thing, man thats an intense ride.

 

[BAM]

Just to mention something here about the audio, the one part that I could really tell the difference was with the Brontasorous (Long Neck). It used to roar really load at you although I kind of thought that out of place becuase I always thought of them as gentle creatures.

Basically the concluded factoring differences are bumpiness and jerkiness.

Now that we want have that squared away, which one did/do you like better and do you think they should change it back. Even though I think CTX sounds better I don't really care if the name doesn't get changed, but I would like the original ride system back.