May 2, 201411 yr comment_182429 Vampire is Much better IMO I have to say though the Hi Ho bit that was neat Edited May 2, 201411 yr by J.S217
May 2, 201411 yr Author comment_182433 Ride designed for kids in being a kid ride shocker! Not sure what people were expecting? It looks gorgeous and is a brand new standard for Disney theming, we in the UK could only dream of a ride that looks this good... And the dark section? Fantastically done, looks a lot better than Cars (though that might be my bias)... The ride portion looks short, and I did think it would begin with the dark ride section, however it does look rather fun, and isnt that the point in the end? For the ride to appeal to all age ranges and be fun? The finale? Well considering the ride focuses solely on the Dwarves' side of things (I.e. no scary forest or castle stuff), do they need to tell the whole story? As mentioned, the Disney dark rides themselves rarely tell the whole story, or rush the entire story... Eh, doesn't excessively bother me that much, and it didn't bother the guys who designed it either, otherwise why would it be there? And they know a lot more than any of us do about story and ride design...
May 2, 201411 yr comment_182434 Ride designed for kids in being a kid ride shocker! Not sure what people were expecting? It looks gorgeous and is a brand new standard for Disney theming, we in the UK could only dream of a ride that looks this good... And the dark section? Fantastically done, looks a lot better than Cars (though that might be my bias)... As I say, I never really followed construction or anything with this, and I have no idea what I would expect from something like this. But when I look at parks like Phantasialand, Europa Park, Hansa Park, etc., I just can't help but think they could also build rides to that quality. Not to say that the quality of theming of the Mine Train isn't brilliant, but when I look at other parks out there, it doesn't exactly seem like it's a league above. No doubt everyone will love it; it does look like a fun ride. But I just don't think it's really got a special edge over many other rides at other parks. Of course, having not visited any of the parks I mentioned above, nor having gone to WDW, I can't say anything for certain. Maybe this just shows how high my expectations are for some of the European parks out there...
May 2, 201411 yr comment_182435 Vampire is Much better IMO YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN ON DISNEY'S NEW RIDE, HOW CAN YOU EVEN SAY THAT. As I say, I never really followed construction or anything with this, and I have no idea what I would expect from something like this. But when I look at parks like Phantasialand, Europa Park, Hansa Park, etc., I just can't help but think they could also build rides to that quality. Not to say that the quality of theming of the Mine Train isn't brilliant, but when I look at other parks out there, it doesn't exactly seem like it's a league above. No doubt everyone will love it; it does look like a fun ride. But I just don't think it's really got a special edge over many other rides at other parks. Suffering from 'Merlin'itis are we Josh? Sometimes all we want is a fun ride, one that it is just enjoyable without being the best ever. If it looks fun then its done its job for its target audience of families and children. Job done in my opinion.
May 2, 201411 yr comment_182437 Didn't Disney say that it would sit between Big Thunder Mountain and Barnstormer on thrill level because it fits perfectly between the two. I agree the rocking carts seem a bit pointless due to the banking of the turns but I'm sure the imagineers will have some way of making them swing more. It's also a huge step for Disney's animatromics with the projection onto the Dwarves making them seem even more realistic. Setting looks great, dark ride fab and roller coaster fun. Will fit perfectly into the new Fantasyland.
May 2, 201411 yr comment_182438 Sometimes all we want is a fun ride, one that it is just enjoyable without being the best ever. If it looks fun then its done its job for its target audience of families and children. Job done in my opinion. Totally agree. In general, I try to avoid Disney hype as I'm not the biggest Disney fanboy ever and there's always the expectation that because it's Disney, it's going to be spectacularly perfect. Even with avoiding it, I seem to have fallen into the hole of 'Well, this is Disney, why isn't it the best thing ever!?!'. Tad ironic I guess? Just shows how high the expectations for the place are really. Suffering from 'Merlin'itis are we Josh? If by 'Merlin'itis you mean a want to go out there and try other theme parks away from the Merlin Stronghold, then yes, yes I am! Edited May 2, 201411 yr by JoshC.
May 2, 201411 yr comment_182440 The animatronics look stunning. The ride portion looks fun, serviceable I guess. Taken by itself, the ride is fine. The problem is that Magic Kingdom hasn't seen a new E ticket since Splash Mountain in 1992. This attraction took 2 and half years to build and whether people think it is 'fair' or not, it's going against the Potter expansion.
May 2, 201411 yr comment_182442 Either way, park visitors win. Whilst I am not Universals biggest fan, the amount of things they've added since my 2012 visit is quite something. If Potter expansion makes a huge dent in Disney's attendance then they will have to do something that isn't a Frozen meet and greet area. If Disney attendance remains stable then Universal will throw more and more in. Must be great being a park enthusiast in Florida right now, aside from the not quite that good B&M's
May 2, 201411 yr comment_182454 I dunno, it just frustrates me. You have.. rocks. Lots of rocks, and not a really decent ride where the swinging seems to work against the actual track layout to make it bland. I don't understand why they can spend so so much money to create something as bland as that, when it probably cost the same amount to make everest.
May 2, 201411 yr Author comment_182455 But Everest doesn't have projection mapped animatronics but has an animatronic so complicated it's broken to a ridiculous level... Disney won't build something like Everest again, it was a nightmare to design (3 sets of supports intertwining and not allowed to touch), and it's since been surpassed technical wise by Grizzly Mountain... For an E-Ticket Fantasyland coaster aimed at kids, this looks perfect... Grizzly Mountain would have been nice, but hopefully Disney won't keep cloning rides everywhere anymore (or at least have sufficient differences between rode systems that are the same)...
July 13, 201411 yr comment_186994 Hollywood Studios getting all Frozen... Smokelogging aside, the Fireworks look pretty good. The show around it seems pretty poor though, lacks any point or narrative and just looks armature for Disney .
September 15, 201410 yr comment_191930 World Showcase rumours confirmed. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/09/frozen-attraction-coming-to-epcot/
September 15, 201410 yr comment_191939 I knew a Frozen ride/attraction would be on its way for Disneyworld soon, although I have mixed opinions on this. It's really good they're finally bringing in a Frozen ride to Disney parks, considering how successful and popular the films been. However I'm not too keen on the location of Epcot though, ok Maelstrom wasn't the best of dark rides in its original form but this retheme does sort of ruin the point and character of Epcot in that it's supposed to be a sort of educational patrk and be based around places within the world and though Frozen is strongly based on Norway, adding a ride based on a Disney film and fictional events does ruin that slightly. I am in favour of this ride opening, just not in Epcot as I believe it's the wrong park for this type of attraction (Disney fantasy) and think it should have been out somewhere like new Fantasy Land in the magic kingdom instead.
September 15, 201410 yr Author comment_191945 Eh, never rode Maelstrom, but never heard amazing things about it either... Unpopular ride being ditched for something insanely popular that Disney cannot meet the demand for, from the business perspective, there's no reason Disney shouldn't be doing this... No reason Frozen can have some educational stuff towards Norway, it's not like the country has developed popularity as a result of the film...
September 15, 201410 yr comment_192026 I don't understand why so many fans are going 'omgz not Epcot!' As Benin has said, it makes perfect sense, and I'm actually all for the various countries around World Show Case having Disney character touches (no more PIXAR please). There's a load of Disney animation that actually doesn't have a home else where, so I'd love to see more of this, and more of those rare movie character touches.
September 16, 201410 yr comment_192034 I don't understand why so many fans are going 'omgz not Epcot!' As Benin has said, it makes perfect sense, and I'm actually all for the various countries around World Show Case having Disney character touches (no more PIXAR please). There's a load of Disney animation that actually doesn't have a home else where, so I'd love to see more of this, and more of those rare movie character touches. This might be why: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/07/24/frozen-norway-disney-epcot/ I'm neither a massive fan or World Showcase nor Frozen but Maelstrom was sorta fun. Truth is neither Frozen nor Maelstrom are accurate representations of Norway and everyone skips the educational bit at the end of the ride. At least there is that weird Mexican it's a small world.
September 16, 201410 yr Author comment_192036 This might be why: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/07/24/frozen-norway-disney-epcot/ I'm neither a massive fan or World Showcase nor Frozen but Maelstrom was sorta fun. Truth is neither Frozen nor Maelstrom are accurate representations of Norway and everyone skips the educational bit at the end of the ride. At least there is that weird Mexican it's a small world. But that has Disney characters in it as well! #OUTRAGE Here's an article from the other side of things - http://themeparkuniversity.com/critical-studies/top-4-misconceptions-frozen-replacing-maelstrom-epcot/
September 21, 201410 yr comment_192558 Tram Tour to permanently close on the 27th. Who knows why this was announced so late. It hasn't aged well but it is one of the few attractions that makes sense to be in Studios. http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/studio-backlot-tour/news/20sep2014-studios-backlot-tour-to-permanently-close-later-this-month.htm
September 21, 201410 yr Author comment_192563 Hopefully Paris' will follow... Never dif Florida's, I assume it was just as bad as Paris?
September 21, 201410 yr comment_192565 They are different but it's not much better really. Depends when you went on the Paris version. That one has been almost completely stripped. Florida does have a hilarious pre show involving volunteers and stupid amounts of water.
September 21, 201410 yr comment_192626 Studio Tour in Florida just feels very dead. When I visited a year ago it closed way before the rest of the park closed. I think it even opened later too. Alongside the also very dead Muppets, and a huge closed off play area.. and then just 'set scenes', the entire area was a constant ghost town. Good they're getting rid, it was crappy.
September 21, 201410 yr comment_192646 So I guess this makes 3 closed attractions at WDW for 2014, Maelstrom, American Idol Experience (not a big loss IMO) and now this. Hollywood studios by he sound of things will have a lot of empty spots at the park for a while by the sounds, considering the Frozen boat ride and Avatar Land are the next big attractions to but the resort in the next few years. Still, doesn't sounds like a massive loss, despite being an open day attraction.
September 21, 201410 yr Author comment_192654 Cars Land will replace this I reckon... Lots of rumours of it coming to the Studios anyway...
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