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I work in the Orlando parks. The amount of YouTubers, influencers, etc. infiltrating the parks is becoming a bit ridiculous. The other day Disney opened JUST the new bathroom area for the new Ratatouille ride, and of course hundreds of vloggers show up to document it. I am a huge theme park nut and I do love WDW, but I refuse to be these people.
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Feb 2, 2021 19:24
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The queue for Mario Kart looks very nice. There's a video on YouTube where they filmed the ride without the AR glasses on and it looks pretty decent for what it is. But... this is yet another instance where Universal missed the mark, badly, on choosing the right ride system and experience to capture the IP. They did it with Fast & Furious: Supercharged, where you ride a slow moving bus and speed is only simulated. They did it with Gringotts, where you're promised a wild ride on the cart system we all saw in the films, and then instead used those carts to just shuffle you from screen to screen, where you park and watch action happen. This ride system and AR setup very clearly should have been used for something like, say, a Luigi's Mansion dark ride, or even just a Mario dark ride where you shoot fireballs at enemies. Even then, the AR wasn't needed, and even though we shouldn't judge how it looks through a camera, I'm leaning toward it probably doesn't look so great in person either. Mario Kart needed to be a physically fast ride. It needed to be similar to Radiator Springs Racers, where we experience the speed and frenzy of Mario Kart fold out, physically, around us. It definitely should not have been a slow moving shooter ride. It's painfully obvious how slow you're moving even though they try to simulate speed here and there with projection mapping. Because of the major disconnect between the IP and the ride system, I predict this ride will be poorly received even if it actually is fun in person for those who know what to expect.
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Feb 4, 2021 06:55
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Empress Brosephine posted:call me a fanboy but nothing disney has done has gotten near the level of detail of anything universal has done when they try In terms of theming and immersion, Universal has exceeded Disney exactly twice: Hogsmeade, followed by Diagon Alley. Disney has since responded with Galaxy's Edge, which, while it has some flaws, the scope and scale of it just dwarfs Diagon Alley. I do prefer Disney, but I'm not a "poo poo on everything Universal does" person. But more often than not, Universal is content with producing something "good enough". They open a new area. It'll provide some nice photo ops, it'll probably have a giant statue here and there, it might have a good ride, but it'll have obvious cut corners, visible backstage and infrastructure, and it'll be visually loud and cluttered. Universal's strength is innovative ride systems and creating bombastic, chaotic ride experiences. Sometimes they're great, like Spider-Man or Hagrid's. Sometimes they're total duds that make you question how they got greenlit, like this appears to be.
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Feb 4, 2021 07:06
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Bottom Liner posted:I don't know, there's a world of difference between Gringotts and F&F. This doesn't look nearly as thrill ride-lite as Gringotts, but also has the AR layer. Not sure what to think of it from videos. True. Unlike F&F, Gringotts is a good ride, but I kind of hated it after my first ride because I was expecting something much more wild and thrilling. I appreciated it more after additional rides.
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Feb 4, 2021 07:08
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:E: especially the intensely white-bread-coded stuff that's there. like drat, if you gave me World of Disney spread throughout DS with a bunch of cool eateries and neat experiences like the boatcars, sure. Whatever. I'd go people-watch. I absolutely don't need a 2 (3?) story building revolving around Coke products or whatever the hell those scent stores are or to pay $900 for a kitschy NBC apron or whatever. the Coca Cola Store is basically there to balance out all the other high end stores they added. Atricks posted:I'm not sure how it could be a fast ride with all that detail that you would just miss without being outdoors and taking up incredible amounts of room. (Doubt the AR Works well in sunlight). The answer is, the Mario Kart ride didn't need AR at all. If they really wanted to push this AR tech, it should have been used for something like the Luigi's Mansion or "use a fire flower to shoot at enemies" dark ride concepts I mentioned above, while making Mario Kart a separate ride. The level of detail can absolutely be done - see Radiator Springs Racers. Granted, yes, RSR does take up a ton of space that Universal probably didn't have. But they'll have it in Orlando. Context posted:As much as I enjoy the theming of Diagon Alley, I've always been bothered by the dragon on top of Gringotts. It looks cool in photos and concept art, but it makes no narrative sense (if there's a dragon on the loose, people should be running terrified through the streets). I feel like that's a pretty good example of something Disney wouldn't do (but feel free to provide examples of similar immersion-breaking stuff at Disney). The dragon bothers me too. Yes, it's a detail that 90% of guests aren't going to think about, but it is one of the many things that demonstrate how Universal often just doesn't quite "get it". Universal says "most guests won't notice or care, so we don't need to address it." Disney says "some guests might notice this, so we must address it." Universal also loves their giant statues and/or cutouts as focal points/photo ops, almost all of which are also at the expensive of immersion. I also disagree on Hogwarts Express though. It's a little forced feeling, how it's just a series of character encounters that conveniently end before the next one can begin, but I do applaud Universal for showing some restraint here and just keeping it a chill ride on the train and not trying to introduce some sort of "something has gone wrong" element.
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Feb 4, 2021 17:40
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I worked at Mission Space a while ago. As you might have guessed, more people throw up on it than any other ride. A semi-frequent issue was that someone would throw up and exit without telling anyone out of embarrassment. There is no gap between riders leaving and the next ones boarding, so the next guests would enter, sit down, and pull down their restraint only to them realize its covered in vomit. We had a box full of t-shirts to give people when this happens. So, always examine your seat on Mission Space before you sit down!
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Feb 5, 2021 00:45
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Zero One posted:You can just leave out the doors. They won't like you doing it but they always open. If you do this, I'm pretty sure they stop the rotation and have to circle the entire building to check. If they're not back before the next rotation, everyone must watch the same scene again.
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Feb 7, 2021 18:22
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There's now a Youtube channel dedicated to mocking / youtube poop-ing these people. It's not particularly funny but I'm glad it exists to maybe stifle some future Tim Tracker wannabes.
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Feb 9, 2021 18:30
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SteelMentor posted:Theme Park Enthusiast Channels > Theme Park Influencer Channels Yeah. Some of those channels are really great. I highly recommend Midway to Main Street, Yesterworld Entertainment, Defunctland, and Expedition Theme Park. Also, if you want a really, really, obsessive in depth look at attractions, Martin’s Videos.
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Feb 9, 2021 21:35
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What the people in the past who accomplished the "ride every ride" challenge didn't tell you is that they were exploiting the disability pass. Up until a few years ago, you could make up some story at Guest Relations and get a pass that was basically an unlimited Fastpass. This became such common knowledge and so widely abused that it reached a point where 1/5th to 1/4th of all riders on any ride entered using one of the disability passes. Disney had enough, rightfully, and changed the pass so that if the line is more than 15 minutes, you are assigned a later time to return based on the current wait time, Since it's no longer a "golden Fastpass", abuse of it dropped significantly.
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Feb 10, 2021 18:34
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Nottherealaborn posted:The challenge that popularized and tracked attempts to complete every ride wasn’t created until 2013, which is the same year that Disney changed their disability policy to be time based instead of instant front of the line access. Oh wow.... I didn't realize it's been that long. I still think of it as only a few years ago, probably because they were such a mess to deal with while working there.
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Feb 10, 2021 21:17
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I'm glad you asked! My top choices for being the most interesting and well-researched are: Midway to Main Street - formerly Rob Plays, he takes seriously in depth looks at long time Disney park questions, rumors, or questions no one ever thought to ask before. Yesterworld Entertainment - Similar to Defunctland, but I prefer it for various reasons and it's much more focused on just theme parks. Expedition Theme Park - My third pick. He's good, but his videos feel more like Wikipedia articles than the in-depth analysis videos the first two do. Martin's Videos - Obsessively in-depth look at theme park attractions, great if you're an ultra theme park nerd, but might be boring to most. He has a massive archive of rare and historic footage, images, and audio that most other channels could never compare to. Honorable mentions: Offhand Disney - Yet another theme park in-depth channel. He's okay, but amateur-ish, and a decent amount of his information is wrong or stems from online rumors. Theme Park Crazy - A dude does in-depth analysis of -just- roller coasters. His nasally voice is a hurdle for some. The Queue Line Lectures - Getting philosophical over theme park design; discussing it as an art medium. Might be pretentious for some. Doesn't update very often. Bad, but I still subscribe anyway: Theme Park History - Straight up Wikipedia entries about theme park topics and a somewhat grating narrating style, but occasionally he'll pull out some cool footage. This might seem excessive, but none of them upload very frequently so it's not like my subscription feed is dominated by this stuff.
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Feb 13, 2021 06:23
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:How d'you feel about TPM? I think they're a tad click-baity. I hate the narrator trying his best to imitate "Disney Channel" style, and they are loaded with false information and unfortunately perpetuate a lot of annoying rumors - a big one that comes to mind is the false rumor that the yeti in Expedition Everest can not be taken out without partially dismantling the mountain. This is 100% false, the yeti has been removed overnight a handful of times since it stopped moving.
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Feb 13, 2021 18:24
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Old Man Pants posted:I thought this was real. Bottom Liner posted:Source?? I worked at Expedition Everest for a spell. The openers have to walk the track and power up each zone as part of the startup process. The closers have to walk the track to look for lost and found items. I've been in that scene with the lights on and no yeti. This was 9 years ago, but it has happened a few more times since. For them to have built a figure that they can't work on without dismantling the structure around it would be unfathomably stupid. The mountain is basically a huge hollow warehouse with rockwork laid on top of it and on the sides. The coaster track weaves in and out of the "warehouse" and has tunnels and rockwork formed around it whenever it's inside the structure. So you can stand in the middle of it, look up, and see the rockwork covering the different scenes of the ride. The yeti is situated on it's own, I want to say, 20 feet wide by 10 feet long by 30 feet high support platform with a very open area behind it. Fun fact - the structures for the mountain/building, coaster track, and yeti share the same foundation but never touch each other otherwise. Rockwork is attached to the top of the yeti's platform to conceal backstage, but still allows for easy access to the figure. There are lift mechanisms on the yeti's support structure to reach the figure, and this area around the support structure can be accessed by maintenance vehicles via a large rollup door on the backside of the mountain. Joe Rohde, the imagineer behind Everest and most of Animal Kingdom, even confirmed that it's not an issue of accessing the figure: https://wdwnt.com/2020/06/joe-rohde-discusses-complex-nature-of-fixing-expedition-everests-yeti-in-recent-tweets/ The yeti figure isn't as big as people think. It can be dismantled into a few pieces and removed individually. The figure you see is more like a puppet compared to most animatronics. There is a large mechanical arm that is attached to the back of the figure that controlled it and made it lunge forward and downward. This element hasn't been removed as far as I know, but it still could be - it is just a machine after all, and can be dismantled into smaller pieces. As to why the yeti isn't ever fixed - a clear answer has still never been given. Disney refuses to provide an official answer, but various imagineers have given vague and conflicting reasons. Another longtime rumor is that the yeti's structure or foundation are damaged. I'm no structural engineer, but I've seen them and there was no visible damage and no work ever done on it. A stronger theory that some imagineers (who aren't directly linked with Everest) have mentioned is that the figure's movement creates too much force on itself, and this, combined with Disney's increased restrictions on moving mechanical parts over rider's heads (due to an incident on Big Thunder Mountain in Paris), makes them hesitant to even attempt to fix it. But mostly, the issue is money. There is no reason to fix it, Everest remains wildly popular whether they fix it or not. They could have easily replaced the figure with something more simple by now, or used projection mapping, or anything other than some strobe lights (there are actually three!), but the bean counters do not want to fit the bill. I'm hoping the ride gets a proper refurbishment and refresh soon. It's been 15 years, and it has never had one. It's pretty rare for a ride to not receive one at least once every 10 years. Currently the rockwork is very faded, as is the snow at the top, and it's covered with grime, for example. I would hope that if they ever properly shut the ride down for an extended period, that would be the time they install a better replacement for the yeti scene.
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Feb 14, 2021 19:28
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I would like all of Dino-Rama bulldozed for a properly themed area and E-ticket attraction. It is a blight on what is otherwise Orlando's most immersive and well-themed theme park.
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Feb 16, 2021 19:19
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Empress Brosephine posted:I would love to see the warehouse inside, drat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdlQH9rffCc
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Feb 16, 2021 20:04
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Nanigans posted:Wasn't the rumor they were adding a Zootopia area/attraction to AK? It's so painfully obvious. The only rumor is that people keep suggesting it. Disney has never said anything one way or another. Typically if it were discussed behind the scenes in any serious matter, there'd be hard evidence leaked online somewhere. Joe Rohde, the park's head Imagineer, is strongly against it. But now that he's out of the picture... who knows? In my opinion, it doesn't fit the park at all. While the film does explore the serious topic of racial prejudice, it also uses humanoid animals as gag vehicles. It wants you to laugh at the animals for their animal traits rather than respecting them, in the similar manner that Bojack Horseman does. The park's mission statement is, paraphrased, "let's explore the ways human life impacts animal life, and also ways it can coexist with it." It's always been emphasized that the animals in the park are to be treated with utmost respect, which is why Jungle Cruise-style jokes on Kilimanjaro Safaris are prohibited. Like, yes, you have talking animals in the theater shows, but they are at least animal-animals, not humanoid animals. And yes, you have Mickey and the gang, who are also anthropomorphic animals walking around, but they act more as ambassadors of Walt Disney World, you aren't meant to associate them with the park's theme or environment. But modern Disney is all about sticking IP wherever they can, so we get Frozen and Ratatouille in World Showcase, where they only fit by association. So, it wouldn't surprise me if they go ahead with this anyway now that Joe isn't there to stop them. And yes, I've thought way too hard about this.
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Feb 16, 2021 20:19
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Empress Brosephine posted:thats rad Oh poo poo - if you pause at 1:51, the red supports are the support structure for the yeti! (I promise).
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Feb 16, 2021 20:22
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Ah, that explains the large uptick in white trash that I've seen.
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Feb 27, 2021 18:57
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You can also walk from Grand Floridian now too. I did the walk once from MK to the TTC a few months ago and it's definitely not a short walk. Only do it if you really want to see the sights, as it won't save you any time at all. Also once the security guard lets you in, that's it, they won't like monitor where you go after that or flag your car or anything. However I can see Disney putting a stop to this eventually by like requiring a minimum order of $10 or something.
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Mar 1, 2021 22:40
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Tim Whatley posted:https://twitter.com/Blog_Mickey/status/1367131933222842371 So far that Innoventions loop hasn't been replaced, just the main entrance loop. Though its days are obviously numbered. Atricks posted:Not really anymore, there's a lot they do better than Disney these days. But it's still #2 in the area, and definitely worth going to. I do enjoy both resorts, and yes I have plenty of criticisms for Disney, and I have worked at both. But for every thing Universal does better than Disney, there's two things they do worse, such as service, cleanliness (Universal is several notches below even SeaWorld in this department), food quality, character encounters (pre-covid), general upkeep - while Universal typically keeps their ride effects working better than Disney, the parks themselves are quite beat up if you look for the details even slightly. Universal also attracts a lot of the trashier locals due to their perception as "the adult theme park" and cheaper annual passes than Disney. Teenagers and early twenty-somethings tend to prefer Universal, but all other age groups skew toward Disney. But that said, if you've never been to Universal, you still owe it to yourself to go, as they have some excellent world-class rides.
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Mar 3, 2021 19:43
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Disney could do a family-friendly walkthrough house type event, but yeah it's definitely more of a case of "they don't need to." For Universal Orlando, HHN is by far and wide their biggest annual moneymaker, which is why they go all out on it. Orlando's HHN houses are even more detailed and intense than Universal Hollywood's where you'd think they'd have an even bigger budget, but their houses are comparatively tame. Another issue is Disney doesn't have a whole bunch of soundstages and structures to build the houses in like Universal does, and such a setup also requires building queues in backstage areas, something Disney tries their best to make sure you don't see while it's more of an afterthought at Universal.
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Mar 3, 2021 20:24
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Spotify playlist for new Epcot entrance music: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4sAQbdOzlS8XBUiARsdb7h?si=0ee38e2102034201 Apple Music version: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/epcot-entrance-music/pl.u-PZ0BtXWeo6 I really like it. Feels like who ever compiled it "gets it". Edit: after listening through all of it. It's good, but perhaps a bit "generic"? SweetMercifulCrap! fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Mar 3, 2021 |
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Mar 3, 2021 21:53
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Yeah but the new music is here, now. The park is three years away, minimum. We also already knew that but the new music was a surprise.
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Mar 4, 2021 03:37
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BlueBayou posted:How do the virtual lines work at Universal? Is it like (Disneyland) Rise where you have to be there at rope drop or no dice? Or is it more like fast pass? You don’t need to be checked into the property, the app just has to detect your location on property. They don’t even use them most of the time but if they do, they don’t fill up immediately like Rise. They fill up at some point and more might be released throughout the day.
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Mar 4, 2021 20:33
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Even though it looks tastefully done here, I'm not a fan of the continual shoving of IP everywhere they can. WDW used to be awesome because it was NOT actually packed to the brim with Disney IP.
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Mar 5, 2021 17:52
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Virtue posted:What's the general consensus on Food and Wine vs Festival of the Holidays at Epcot? Food and Wine sounds better but weather is better during Festival of Holidays. All of the Epcot festivals are now variations of Food & Wine. Definitely go for better weather. But remember, January is pretty much the only month in Florida where cool or cold weather is almost a guarantee. - October: typically still terrible until maybe the last week. - November: Could be cool but also could still be like October. - December - Most likely pleasant, could be legit cold, but still possibly warm and humid. - January - Almost always pretty cool and dry, legit cold is a strong possibility. - February - Typically cooler, but could be warm. This year's February was unseasonably hot and humid. - March - Usually warm in the day and cool at night, low humidity. - April - Starts getting hot, but humidity usually still at tolerable levels. - Late May through Late October - just do not vacation here at all during this time
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Mar 13, 2021 04:47
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I think I prefer the Disney resorts that are a bunch of smaller, sprawling buildings over one or a few giant buildings. Yeah, it takes a little longer to get to your room, but you're paying the extra money to be in the "Disney bubble", and being in a big sprawling resort that's inside of a much larger sprawling resort is something you can really only experience at WDW.
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Mar 16, 2021 18:29
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As someone who works in the Orlando parks, guests are absolutely snippier and more stressed than they have ever been. These COVID procedures are not fun. I’m not talking about wearing a mask, though it does suck on hot humid days. They’re just clearly putting more people in the park than these procedures can accommodate in a reasonable, non-annoying way. So getting on any ride or going in most stores involves jumping through hoops to even find where the end of the line is, and a lot more shuffling around than what people are used to. Universal is way worse. They still pay lip service to the procedures but are very clearly putting way, way more people than their parks can handle in. Universal’s parks are smaller, and have narrower walkways, and in general lack the infrastructure to accommodate all these spaced out queues that Disney’s sprawling parks have. The result is getting on most Universal attractions is total chaos and you will be shoved into shoulder to shoulder crowds that are only there because of everyone criss-crossing to navigate their poorly labeled makeshift queues.
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Mar 16, 2021 20:06
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Zero One posted:I hate to break it to you but Disney has been copying movie sets that will age horribly in 10 years since 1955. The majority of classic, beloved, famous Disney attractions were not based off of existing IP. This has only been a major thing since the mid 00's and it continues to get worse.
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Mar 27, 2021 02:03
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Swiss Family Treehouse There are at least as many that aren't IP or only vaguely IP. Space Mountain Carousel of Progress Mission to Mars Alien Encounter Tomorrowland Speedway Peoplemover Astro Orbiter It's a Small World Haunted Mansion Hall of Presidents Liberty Belle Riverboat Country Bear Jamboree Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Pirates of the Caribbean Jungle Cruise Enchanted Tiki Room Literally every single original and almost every former Epcot attraction Spaceship Earth Mission: Space Test Track The various incarnations of Journey Into Imagination Living with the Land Soarin' Many of the original Disney-MGM Studios "behind the scenes" experiences The Great Movie Ride (has IP in it but not an "IP ride") Tower of Terror (uses "The Twilight Zone" as branding but is an entirely original creation and story. The Twilight Zone references could be removed and the story doesn't really change.) Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (it stars Aerosmith but the band could be swapped out and the experience wouldn't change) Kilimanjaro Safaris Kali River Rapids Dinosaur (they changed the name to promote the movie, but that was basically it) Expedition Everest (the last non-IP E-ticket created in a US Disney park) And this is of course just notable WDW attractions. If you really dig into former attractions and shows at WDW alone, the list would be much bigger. Maybe it isn't "majority" like I claimed earlier, but the point is that there used to be a nice mix. Today, it doesn't seem like a non-IP-based attraction will ever be built again, and they're in the process of shoving it anywhere they can, regardless of whether or not it fits thematically or if it's tacky. WDW of the 90's/early 00's and before was very different from their current strategy. You did not have Disney IP in your face at every possible moment. You could love Walt Disney World without even caring much for the Disney brand.
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Mar 27, 2021 04:01
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Ehh, that's a bit of a stretch, I think. We're not talking about the corporate nature of the attractions, but rather whether or not the attraction presents an original experience or something that has a movie/TV show/whatever tie-in at its creation. But that brings up another interesting topic - so many attractions used to be sponsored and now almost none are. I can only think of Chevrolet for Test Track. I would gladly welcome back corporate sponsors if it meant that every new ride wasn't an extension of an existing experience.
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Mar 27, 2021 06:26
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Craptacular! posted:But that's my point. Universe of Energy was the ride that it originally was because Exxon wanted a place to spout propaganda about fossil fuels. Carousel of Progress was funded because GE wanted a ride where progress is measured by appliances, and the family in the original future remarks about how wonderful their neighboring nuclear power plant is (seriously). Horizons was because GE came back for more, and Disney deliberately tried to make the cast in Horizons appear to be the same family from Carousel of Progress, as if it was the Part 2 of that ride. Most of your examples are from either A) the 1964 World's Fair, or B) Original Epcot, which was intended to be a permanent world's fair. Most of them could and did remove the sponsor without feeling like a big commercial, with an obvious outlier in the original Universe of Energy. I don't think we'll ever see these type of attractions again either. I'm not against IP at all, but I want theme parks that stand on their own, where I can go and see things that I can't see anywhere else in the mix. Michael Eisner loved the parks and understood this very well. Iger and Chapek do not see the parks as able to stand on their own, and treat them as marketing and synergy machines for their properties. Yes, Walt did this too, but honestly, most of the great Disney park experiences came after he died. Also, I missed your point about Indiana Jones. Dinosaur is less loved and less popular, but I would wager that that has more to do with it being a severely budget-cut version of Indiana Jones rather than a lack of IP. Indiana Jones has lushly themed sets and effects through out, while Dinosaur is 75% in pitch black to hide the lack of sets (though it does enhance the thrill a bit and I still love the ride). People will love and connect with a great ride regardless of if it has any IP attached to it, or even if it's an IP no one really cares about, as is the case with Pandora. Nobody cares about Avatar at all and scoffed at the idea of an Avatar land, but the land and main attraction were executed so wonderfully that it is a massively popular success.
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Mar 27, 2021 18:32
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BlueBayou posted:Relevant article on the last time Disney (and Universal) had IP-free rides in the parks (in the states) The article tracks with what I was saying, though. Mid 00's was basically the cutoff of non-IP attractions, for WDW anyway. The non US park have seem new ones pretty recently. Also the argument that "there weren't ever that many non IP e-tickets" - well, there weren't ever that many E tickets in general. A handful per park is what it has always been. Craptacular! posted:Between California Adventure’s opening slate, Dino-Rama, and the 90s Tomorrowland’s, no-IP hasn’t been a string of hits either. Look at how much more people enjoyed Paradise Pier after the replaced the obnoxious self-referential Los Angeles go getter poo poo with 1940s characters. And people enjoy Paradise Pier a lot less now that they lazily slapped Pixar branding all over it. It went from tacky, to classy, and back to tacky. That's really my main issue. If they're going to do it, they should put it where it fits, not shove it anywhere just because they can.
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Mar 29, 2021 17:36
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alg posted:yeah we're the same. we're going for the 50th, we're going to be fully vaccinated within a month, and watching the way Florida is like the third world with COVID, I am worried. I think I might rather die of COVID than listen to my wife say we didn't go to Disney this year though lol Florida's COVID numbers are average for the US when looking at "per 100,000" data. People are quick to jump to California, Texas, and Florida's total number of cases/deaths being the highest, but of course they're going to be the highest - they are the three most populated states. You can argue that, perhaps, they are fudging the numbers, but also our hospitals have not been slammed either. That said, you guys are worried about Disney's COVID procedures, DO NOT, under any circumstances, go to Universal or any other theme park.
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Mar 29, 2021 17:40
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Universal is THE only theme park chain that is comparable to Disney, though. No one else even comes close in level of theming and technically advanced attractions. I still believe that Disney is still the top tier theme park experience, and is pretty much on its own in that category, and Universal is 2nd tier. If you pay attention to service, policies, upkeep, cleanliness, presentation, food quality, details, immersion, etc., Disney still outshines Universal by quite a bit. There are regional parks that do some of these things better, like Holiday World and Dollywood (from what I hear anyway). A quick example that's easy to notice - pay attention to the ground at Disney vs. Universal. At Disney, the ground is almost always pristine, free of major cracks, etc. They power wash it every night. At Universal, the ground is always cracked and patched poorly, scuffed, covered with grime and rust stains, faded, etc. You might say "well it's just the ground", but the ground is 1/3rd of your field of vision most of the time and it adds up. Another one is sightlines. Disney will almost never place anything without considering how it looks from every possible angle. The result is their parks look picturesque from almost anywhere. Universal gives zero fucks about sightlines and exposed infrastructure, so the parks look like a cluttered mess and you can frequently see backstage or exposed infrastructure. Anyway, regarding Disney building slowly, they don't have to build fast, people will come anyway, so they don't, Universal doesn't have the same draw and has to keep adding new experiences.
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Apr 7, 2021 20:42
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I actually think everything other than the first scene looks better, but man is that first scene bafflingly dumb. - If you're paying attention to spacing, the tank would extend beyond the loading area where you just were. You can also clearly see edge and that it's not a huge tank when exiting. I get that no adult will think its a real tank, but details matter in a theme park charging premium prices. - The large gates opening to reveal a large lagoon was a very epic and iconic moment, now ruined. It made the ride feel like it took up a much larger space than it does. - While not completely out of the realm of possibility, its improbable that they would have a water flume go through a massive water tank. It just feels wrong.
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Apr 11, 2021 04:11
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TheBigBudgetSequel posted:I like Sam being this man of mystery who is never seen but always trying to make a buck off tourists, be it at the Jungle Cruise or at the bars he runs. This is an excellent point and it honestly makes more sense for the character to own a tiki bar this way.
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Apr 27, 2021 19:40
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That's Hollywood, and that appears to be an actual cop. Security guards can not do that.
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Apr 29, 2021 18:54
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 15:16 |
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I'm not sure why people don't get this, but Disney builds slow because they have no reason to build fast. It's cheaper and it allows them to space out their openings to continually have something to market. They had a steady flow of new openings every year (2020 threw that off of course) while working on all of them simultaneously vs. Universal building essentially one at a time. At the end of the day, Disney can build nothing for years and will still draw more guests than Universal will by opening a new attraction every year.
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Apr 30, 2021 03:53
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