Why Does Mermaid Use Screens?

[Animaniac93-98]

What I want to know is why didn't Disney actually build the ride underwater and have guests rent SCUBA gear for the experience? They're so cheap.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

They should have used an animatronic diver here as well.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I've never been on the DCA version of this attraction so I can't comment from first-hand experience.

There are definitely benefits to using screens vs. animatronics and I'm not just talking about money.
1. Space...look at how little space off of the wall your TV sits. With screens, you can make the space look a lot more spacious and utilize it much better.
2. Movement. While Disney has come leaps and bounds with fluid movement from the original animatronics, they are definitely not 100% perfect. Doing a quick movement still looks somewhat robotic.

The transformation you mentioned may have worked better with animatronics due to the cool effects (Pepper Ghost) that could've been implemented (which is one of the reasons I love the HM...so many cool affects and none of them cheated with CGI/Video screens (although that seems to also have changed with the new ending)). Space/Money was probably the reason for this one though.

The swimming scene is fine...more fluid motion with animation and, as someobody pointed out, you don't see it for long.

The scene where she gets her voice back...it looks as if it's just a sillouette anyways, (again, haven't seen the actual scene), so why waste the money on an animatronic that you don't really see anyways?

That's a good point so far as movement goes, I think that the best "screen" is Ariel on the ceiling, though in the concept art the "screen" is much bigger than just a little hole. But great point.

As far as the kissing scene, I never thought about it, but maybe having two "animatronics" kissing might be un-feasible as it would be hard to coordinate, to say the least, though they could program a "near kiss", or "implied kiss" I would think, but maybe there is where technical limitations come into play.

Just because the have silhouettes, doesn't mean they couldn't go back and perhaps add some animatronics. They also have a little Ursula cut-out wobbling around in this scene, I think a lot of people miss it. Maybe they could take that out and put in animatronics, and/or make it a different scene, it is kinda a filler now.

 

[raven]

Can't believe once again that people are picking apart something that hasn't even opened. No wonder WDI seems to build the better attractions in the other Disney parks besides WDW. People visiting there seem to be more appreciative.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Can't believe once again that people are picking apart something that hasn't even opened. No wonder WDI seems to build the better attractions in the other Disney parks besides WDW. People visiting there seem to be more appreciative.

DLR fans weren't too appreciative of the original DCA, in fact, it received more negative press than anything Disney has done. WDI is funded to build attractions for parks that need them, and for building new parks. If anything, less than appreciative guests are squeeky wheels that get the oil. I believe that Al Lutz said that WDW fans deserve whatever they get from TDO because these fans don't complain/critique their parks as much.

This thread wasn't necessarily started to talk about why Mermaid is "cheap", it certainly costed a lot to build, but rather why certain stylistic decisions were made.

 

[raven]

DLR fans weren't too appreciative of the original DCA, in fact, it received more negative press than anything Disney has done. WDI is funded to build attractions for parks that need them, and for building new parks. If anything, less than appreciative guests are squeeky wheels that get the oil. I believe that Al Lutz said that WDW fans deserve whatever they get from TDO because these fans don't complain/critique their parks as much.

This thread wasn't necessarily started to talk about why Mermaid is "cheap", it certainly costed a lot to build, but rather why certain stylistic decisions were made.

Yes I understand that. But again, let the attraction open first and experience the ride before questioning it's elements.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Yes I understand that. But again, let the attraction open first and experience the ride before questioning it's elements.

I'm obviously curious as to what they are putting in the east coast Mermaid, and the differences—we know the queue will be different, just thought if screens were due entirely to space, then maybe if the show building is slightly bigger in MK's version, then it might lend more flexibility in terms of choices. Not talking about a lot of space, maybe ten extra feet.

 

[Bolt]

Give pixie a few more days to read something else on another board and start a new thread. I'm guessing it'll be about Scuttles or the queue. Raven is right - let it open first before you start threads like this.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Yes I understand that. But again, let the attraction open first and experience the ride before questioning it's elements.

No, why? Then we might as well close this entire subforum. After all, let's wait for FLE to be build before discussing every aspect of it in great detail.

I never hear 'let's wait for the real thing' when people heap praise on the work so far.

I'd rather there was some understanding in both the writer and the reader that all opinions on the matter are subject to change upon viewing the real thing.


As for the subject: The mythical, Greatest Attraction Ever Build, most epic AA-driven ride Horizons massively relied on video.

 

[raven]

No, why? Then we might as well to close this entire subforum: let's wait for FLE to be build before discussing every aspect of it in great detail.

I never hear 'let's wait for the real thing' when people heap praise on the work so far.

I'd rather there was some understanding in both the writer and the reader that all opinions on the matter are subject to change upon viewing the real thing.


As for the subject: The mythical, Greatest Attraction Ever Build, most epic AA-driven ride Horizons massively relied on video.

Your glass is definately more than half empty.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

No, why? Then we might as well to close this entire subforum: let's wait for FLE to be build before discussing every aspect of it in great detail.

I never hear 'let's wait for the real thing' when people heap praise on the work so far.

I'd rather there was some understanding in both the writer and the reader that all opinions on the matter are subject to change upon viewing the real thing.


As for the subject: The mythical, Greatest Attraction Ever Build, most epic AA-driven ride Horizons massively relied on video.

I agree.

There is already a Mermaid ride in existence at DCA, plus Disney sort of encourages fan discussing rides as they put their concept art, even very early concept art, online for folks to see, plus they've gotten in the habit of talking up attractions. Especially in Mermaid's case as it was hoped that the ride would help DCA attract more guests.

Plus, they actually put models of Mermaid on display at the Blue Sky Cellar.

I rode Mermaid (DCA) shortly after it opened, though I did see a YouTube of the ride before hand, so I knew what was going to happen. So it is not like this speculation is purely baseless conjecture, supposedly the rides are clones, though with the small differences, whatever that means, not yet known to the general public.

Given all this, it is sort of a little "controlling" to ask folks on a public message board not to talk about something that we already know what it will look like.

I've got a lot of questions about Mermaid, and it is interesting to see if other people noticed the same things.

If Disney was putting in a McDonald's Fry cart somewhere, we could talk about it as we all know what McDonald's fries taste like . . .

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Your glass is definately more than half empty.

Folks on this board, including me, are gushing over how good BoG and Belle's village looks, can't wait to see it myself. But also, there are a range of emotions on Mermaid. Its not being overly pessimistic, or overly optimistic, just fan reactions to all of the photos and information we have, which is a lot when you look at all the stuff online.

It is fun getting everybody's take on Mermaid as after this ride opens we'll see how accurate our predictions were, nothing wrong with that, IMHO.

The vast general public doesn't read these boards, mostly the hardcore fans who love looking at all the details and nitpicking everything.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Your glass is definately more than half empty.

Did you get to the part where my post is a fierce defense of the use of video in Mermaid?

 

[alissafalco]

Well I do hope that WDW does make a few changes to LM. I really don't want to see an Ursula cut out.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Ah . . . I don't think anybody ever said that the finale needs to have special effects. Mermaid's "finale" scene is kind of creepy (characters waving at you) and pointless, and it recycles ocean critters from elsewhere in the ride, doesn't add to the story, IMHO. I know it is post-wedding for Ariel, but she got married on a ship, and the scene looks very cramped. Plus the characters break the fourth wall, we aren't flies on the wall getting to see the wedding, but getting an official send off from the characters, a thanks for riding their ride. Here are some better "finales", though I think that ending scene or final scene is more appropriate:

Tony Baxter when he re-did Fantasyland in Disneyland added an "edgy" ending scene to Mr. Toad where Toad winds up in hell and the ride ends, which I think kind of works as it is part of the story, and is a neat scene visually.

Alice ends with a birthday cake exploding/birthday party thing. Neat way to end the ride, I like it.

Pinocchio has the Blue Fairy and Pinocchio turning into a boy, not everybody waving to the guests, but much more "magical" in my mind.

Peter Pan has the pirate ship flying to London, a nice little scene with a fiber optic (I guess) pirate boat at the end, much more whimsical than Peter Pan, Wendy, and the lost boys lining up to wave good-bye.

Snow White in Disneyland ends with the witch and the Dwarfs, and a storybook. Maybe not the "let's hold hands and say good-bye to the guest" type of finale that people want, but I like Snow White more than Mermaid, though some little kids might not. So, I can't list Snow White as having a finale as the ride doesn't have one, and doesn't need it, IMHO, as it is supposed to be "scary", not a book report ride.

I don't think any one of those is definitively better than Little Mermaid, it's a matter of preference. As for breaking the 4th wall, the ride is Scuttle telling you the story, so the 4th wall is broken from the beginning.

Yes I understand that. But again, let the attraction open first and experience the ride before questioning it's elements.

Are you implying that Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid in the Magic Kingdom will be enhanced from it's DCA predecessor Ariel's Undersea Adventure?

 

[CaptainWinter]

No one seems to have mentioned that mixed media sets including screens is a longstanding Disney dark-ride tradition. A few examples: If You Had Wings, Mexico, original Journey into Imagination, many others. Who knows, maybe they wanted to continue along that line.

 

[RSoxNo1]

No one seems to have mentioned that mixed media sets including screens is a longstanding Disney dark-ride tradition. A few examples: If You Had Wings, Mexico, original Journey into Imagination, many others. Who knows, maybe they wanted to continue along that line.

Stop sighting precedence, you're being too logical.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

No one seems to have mentioned that mixed media sets including screens is a longstanding Disney dark-ride tradition. A few examples: If You Had Wings, Mexico, original Journey into Imagination, many others. Who knows, maybe they wanted to continue along that line.

I really like the Mexico boat ride, maybe its the volcano and the ambience, but its a pleasant way to spend some time. And I actually like how the screens are used in the ride.

The original Journey into Imagination was a neat ride, but I also like the new one. Maybe I just don't remember the old one well enough . . .

 

[mickeysbrother]

Remember, Mermaid will be where it is for a long time, probably four decades or more, I think it is better to do it right the first time and let the quality bring people back into the parks.

People will still be lining up to come into the parks no matter what. Its Disney

 

[spacemt354]

No, why? Then we might as well close this entire subforum. After all, let's wait for FLE to be build before discussing every aspect of it in great detail.

I never hear 'let's wait for the real thing' when people heap praise on the work so far.

I'd rather there was some understanding in both the writer and the reader that all opinions on the matter are subject to change upon viewing the real thing.

Praise for a picture of the construction for the fantasyland expansion, or saying how wonderful the area looks is different than having a negative opinion on a ride before anyone has been on it. The pictures are real and they are complete, or close to it. The praise comes from how great the pictures look which makes people more excited for the area.

Saying an attraction will be sub-par before it is built does not have as much validity. It's mostly based off of personal bias, and some details of the attraction written down on paper.

Take the castle wall for example. I just saw it yesterday in person. It looks fantastic. And people who have seen it in the pictures posted on this website and how wonderful it looks will give it praise with hardly any backlash of let's wait till the finished product. This happens because it is a completely different situation. Sure there is bias in that too, but the bias is based off something real, and not a something hypothetical and variable to change because it is not complete. If someone said the castle wall looks good back in 2009, I would say let's wait till the final product. Now that the castle wall is here, the opinions, good or bad, have a lot more validity to them. And we also have something real to base our opinions off of.