Disney World updates

[CoastersRZ]

It was announced yesterday via the Disney Parks Blog (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/01/experience-lights-motors-action-extreme-stunt-show-one-more-time-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/), that the Lights, Motor, Action stunt show at Disney`s Hollywood Studios will be closing on April 2nd to make room for the Toy Story and Star Wars expansions.

[TTD-120-420]

It's embarrassing they even have that park open. I'd be ****ed if I was a guest and spent $100 to go to a park with basically 4 rides open.

If I was Disney, I'd price Hollywood Studios with the water parks until Star Wars and Toystory opened. This is embarrassing.

[CoastersRZ]

They still have Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, The Great Movie Ride, Muppets 3D, and Fantasmic.  The park could use a lot more as they have taken a lot away from the park recently.  

 

And we do not even have a time frame on when the new Toy Story and Star Wars areas will open.  I would look towards end of next year at the earliest for the Toy Story area.

[jcgoble3]

I was confused when I read it. Because the way it reads states you can skip the videos and go right to the meet and greet. That means not having to burn 2 right?

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Sorry for the late response. The way I read the article (and I could be wrong here) is that whether you watch the videos or not, you still have to wait in line to get into the Launch Bay itself. It's just a choice of which line. The author reported short wait times, but that was in late November or early December, judging by the datestamp on the article, so that's definitely off-peak time. When prime vacation season hits in June or July, I'd hazard a guess that there will be hour-plus standby waits in both lines to enter the Launch Bay, then once inside, additional long standby waits for the characters.

[bkroz]

They still have Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, The Great Movie Ride, Muppets 3D, and Fantasmic.  The park could use a lot more as they have taken a lot away from the park recently.  

 

And we do not even have a time frame on when the new Toy Story and Star Wars areas will open.  I would look towards end of next year at the earliest for the Toy Story area.

 

For comparison, visitors to Disneyland would cite Disney California Adventure as the park with not much to do.

 

Toy Story Midway Mania

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

California Screamin'

Radiator Springs Racers

Grizzly River Run

Soarin' Over California

Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue

Goofy's Sky School

 

Then don't forget the mid-level attractions:

Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

4 flat rides in "a bug's land"

Muppet Vision 3D

It's Tough to be a Bug

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure

 

Plus:

Animation Building

Turtle Talk with Crush

Sorcerer's Workshop

Red Car Trolley and Buena Vista Street

Boudin Bakery Tour

World of Color

Pixar Play Parade

 

In Paradise Pier alone there's:

Silly Symphony Swings

Mickey's Fun Wheel

Jumpin' Jellyfish

Golden Zephyr

Carousel of the Sea

 

(This is me continuing my eternal quest to get more people to give Disneyland a try. Sincerely, even for an Ohioan, a trip to Disneyland costs less than a trip to Disney World at the end of the day. Period.) 

 

 

 

I was confused when I read it. Because the way it reads states you can skip the videos and go right to the meet and greet. That means not having to burn 2 right?

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Sorry for the late response. The way I read the article (and I could be wrong here) is that whether you watch the videos or not, you still have to wait in line to get into the Launch Bay itself. It's just a choice of which line. The author reported short wait times, but that was in late November or early December, judging by the datestamp on the article, so that's definitely off-peak time. When prime vacation season hits in June or July, I'd hazard a guess that there will be hour-plus standby waits in both lines to enter the Launch Bay, then once inside, additional long standby waits for the characters.

 

 

Hollywood Studios' Launch Bay is about equivalent to Disneyland's. I'll say that I wouldn't wait 10 minutes for what's inside. Meeting the characters would, of course, have a wait and depending on your interest that could be worth it. But to see Launch Bay itself... absolutely not. But at Disney's Hollywood Studios, what else are you gonna do when 2:00 rolls around? 

[The Interpreter]

What else?

Go to Universal!

Silly boy!

[TTD-120-420]

You should have started your day there.

[Italian Job 2005]

You should have started your day there.

 

This is going to be people's thoughts if Disney simply cannot get their act together with construction timelines.  Why did it take nearly 5 years to complete even New Fantasyland?

[RailRider]

The size and scope of the construction projects at Disney World is frequently overlooked by folks.  That being said the rearrangement of key personnel within Imagineering is a largely due the extended timelines some projects have taken. ie New Fantasyland.  Yet, Pandora is on pace to open early 2017, Frozen Ever After and Soarin Around the World are slated to open Spring/Early Summer 2016 as is Animal Kingdoms New Rivers of Light and other minor attractions within that park.  Lastly Downtown Disney has been undergoing the massive makeover becoming Disney Springs with the new Town Center coming online in early 2016 along with other key restaurants like STK.  This doesn't even account for the rumor that the new Toy Story land is opening late 2016 and Star Wars land starts construction by the end of the month.

 

These projects are all happening after the completion of New Fantasyland and the resort wide implementation of Magic Bands and the new Fast Pass+ system (which is often overlooked, but was a massive undertaking).

 

The World is under a massive transformation all while roughly 50 million people visit each year. 

[shark6495]

Why are we surprised it takes that much time to open?  It takes time to raze, rebuild, pave, build rides, trouble shoot, etc.  If it takes almost 6 months to build just one ride...

[purdude86]

Yea and you can look at Universal as having faster construction times but the footprints are smaller generally and many of the rides are using lots of screens for scenes whereas Disney is using animatronics and fully realized and built scenes which takes more time to build than putting up a screen. (This is not to diminish what Universal has done but just to denote that there are differences in what each resort is doing).

[RailRider]

And Universal has 3 more screen based rides opening soon.  Kong, Fast and Furious and New York thing.  Just my opinion but they have driven the whole screen based ride concept in to the ground.

[shark6495]

Spider-Man was a unique and cool ride. Harry Potter added a new flair to the screens with real props built along The way. But I have not experienced the Transformers ride but is it going to be that different? I mean besides the content? Don't forget Men In Black is also a screen/shooting ride as well.

I will say that the Snow White Mine Ride was just an "okay" coaster but the swinging cars and the little things like the gems or the depth of real characters added more to the ride. Heck Jungle Cruise is old and tired but the animatronic animals give it a sense of real. Something that just doesn't happen with screen based rides.

I am not a huge Avatar movie fan but as the opening gets close, I'm very interested to see what will be done with the land.

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[Spectrum91]

Don't forget Men In Black is also a screen/shooting ride as well.

 

Men in Black doesn't have screens, pardon a large one at the end that depicts Will Smith clearing your memory. The ride is really unique in the Studios park for all its physical props and effects.

[shark6495]

I would have sworn it was screen heavy... It's also been almost 5 years since I rode it. I remember the will smith screen and the alien on the other car screen... My apologies!

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[thegajone]

Spider-Man was a unique and cool ride. Harry Potter added a new flair to the screens with real props built along The way. But I have not experienced the Transformers ride but is it going to be that different? I mean besides the content? Don't forget Men In Black is also a screen/shooting ride as well.

I will say that the Snow White Mine Ride was just an "okay" coaster but the swinging cars and the little things like the gems or the depth of real characters added more to the ride. Heck Jungle Cruise is old and tired but the animatronic animals give it a sense of real. Something that just doesn't happen with screen based rides.

I am not a huge Avatar movie fan but as the opening gets close, I'm very interested to see what will be done with the land.

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Transformers even uses the same exact vehicles as Spiderman. They didn't even try to change it. It's basically the same ride.

I was there on Monday and am hoping to get a full TR written tomorrow. Let's just say that yeah, a lot of rides have screens. MIB isn't one of them though.

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[Spectrum91]

I would have sworn it was screen heavy... It's also been almost 5 years since I rode it. I remember the will smith screen and the alien on the other car screen... My apologies!

 

Ah, I suppose the "aliens in the other car" scene is a screen - didn't think of that. But pardon that and the Will Smith ending, the ride is animatronic after animatronic.

[shark6495]

So you are saying there were animatronics on that ride ..... Haha thanks everyone for the tefresher

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[RailRider]

Not trying to be picky, but here is a listing of rides that rely heavily on screens for the majority of the attraction at Universal Studios:

 

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem

Harry Potter Escape from Gringotts

Shrek 4-D

T2 3-D

The Simpsons Ride

Transformer The Ride

I would even listen to the argument that Hogwarts Express is screen based.

 

Rides Opening Soon at Universal Studios with Screens:

Fast and the Furious

Race Through New York

 

 

Rides at Universal Studios that are not Screen based:

ET

Rip Ride Rockit

Kang & Kodos Twirl

Men in Black

Revenge of the Mummy

 

Add in to that the Screen Based rides IoA has:

Amazing Adventures of Spider Man

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

and soon to open Kong attraction.

 

By the end of a few days at Universal I feel like I have done nothing more than waited in line for a bunch of movies.  That is why for me rides like MiB, ET and Mummy are some of my favorites and I am one of the few who was very sad to see Jaws leveled for another HP Screen Ride.  Now Earthquake has been removed for another Screen Ride in FaF.  This is one of the major reasons that I would spend time at IoA over Universal Studios because they have a much better mix of rides and don't rely on Screens so much.  For me rides like The Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, Dinosaur at AK, even the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train are better than any of the screen based rides Universal has done.  I like physical effects and the screen based stuff never coveys the same realism that rides with physical effects do.

[Delirium13]

Not to just pile on, but that was one of the more disappointing things for me at Universal when I went in October - too many screens. I can do simulators - in moderation. I found myself pretty dizzy at points when I was at Universal. Not that I didn't enjoy my time there, just wish the newer attractions had more variety - my favorites were some of their older rides - Men in Black, Jurassic Park, etc.

 

I've been meaning to write a trip report of my October Orlando trip, including Disney and Universal. When I finally get around to it, I'll explain my thoughts in full.

[bkroz]

 

Transformers even uses the same exact vehicles as Spiderman. They didn't even try to change it. It's basically the same ride.

 

 

Sure, in the same way that Pirates of the Caribbean and "it's a small world" are basically the same ride due to their identical ride systems. Or Jungle Cruise and Jaws; Peter Pan's Flight and ET Adventure; Cat and the Hat and Men In Black (yes, same ride system). The point is that even if guests look at Transformers' vehicles and say, "Hey, this ride must work just like the Spider-Man one!" it's hardly a problem.

 

I do agree that Universal has reached a sort of saturation point with 3D screens. The running joke is that they ought to just give you a pair of 3D glasses when you enter the park and you can use them all day long. It's a shame. The physical environments that the designers of Universal Creative have crafted (even pre-Potter) are evidence enough that their cinematic heritage can build outstanding and habitable worlds. But, to be fair, the kinds of worlds Universal takes guests into are – frankly – easier to create digitally.

 

Each of Universal's rides is clever and unique and surprising and modern, but in the next year alone, the practical-effect-laden Twister will be replaced with yet another screen-based simulator (Jimmy Fallon's Race Through New York) and the practical-effects-based Disaster will be replaced with screens (Fast & Furious). We've been promised that King Kong will have physical sets and animatronics, but we can know pretty surely that the King Kong 360 3D projection tunnel from Hollywood will be its signature moment...

 

And now, to me, we're at the tipping point. I actually think the parks can't take any more. Spider-Man was clever and unique and groundbreaking. Forbidden Journey did it again. Gringotts exceeded them both. But frankly, that's enough. 

 

I adore Universal Orlando and would (and do) choose it over Walt Disney World. But the folks at Universal Creative need to lead a sincere and purposeful campaign to bring old-fashioned dark rides to the parks. Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem is a fine simulator. But in retrospect, a fun, comic, frenzied, physical dark ride with Minion animatronics would probably have been even better. Examples of that abound. In comparison, only ONE of Disneyland Resort's rides requires 3D glasses. Two very different approaches. Perhaps they could both benefit from finding a happy medium. 

[VekomaRulz]

Not to just pile on, but that was one of the more disappointing things for me at Universal when I went in October - too many screens. I can do simulators - in moderation. I found myself pretty dizzy at points when I was at Universal. Not that I didn't enjoy my time there, just wish the newer attractions had more variety - my favorites were some of their older rides - Men in Black, Jurassic Park, etc.

 

I've been meaning to write a trip report of my October Orlando trip, including Disney and Universal. When I finally get around to it, I'll explain my thoughts in full.

I feel the same way. I am not a fan of screens on all the rides and then to make things worse some of the rides without screens such as Men in Black and Cat in the Hat had spinning making them dizzying as well. I was only able to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey once because of the combination of the ride movement and all the screens.

[bkroz]

And imagine - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey in Japan and the one soon to open in Hollywood are in 3D! Seriously! *barf*

[RollerColt]

Yep. I can attest to this as well. My wife and I went to the Universal Parks for our honeymoon a few years ago and we ended up leaving well before closing time. Too many screens gave her a terrible headache. It's true that a lot of the rides seem to have a flair of redundancy... At least the Harry Potter World scenery was pleasant! 

[marth555]

Kong is rumored to have a massive AA of the big guy himself and also a immersive and scary queue. Also DLR has 2 rides with 3d screens (Star Tours and Toy Story)

[purdude86]

Yea I'm hoping it's got a decent mix of actual scenes and screens, but probably be 85-90% screens. Really hope some of the new stuff they put in over the years uses more actual scenes and AA than just continuing to use screens. The one caveat I would allow is a new Simpsons ride using screens since it would be very hard to really pull them into the real world with AA and have it be the same.

[TTD-120-420]

Screens or not, Kong is going to be amazing. I plan on making a few separate trips down to Orlando this year after it opens.

[marth555]

Kong is gonna be great

[thegajone]

Not to just pile on, but that was one of the more disappointing things for me at Universal when I went in October - too many screens. I can do simulators - in moderation. I found myself pretty dizzy at points when I was at Universal. Not that I didn't enjoy my time there, just wish the newer attractions had more variety - my favorites were some of their older rides - Men in Black, Jurassic Park, etc.

I've been meaning to write a trip report of my October Orlando trip, including Disney and Universal. When I finally get around to it, I'll explain my thoughts in full.

I've been slacking big time on my TR from last Monday as well. Maybe I'll get around to it this week but we'll see.

Edit: decided just to do it today while I was thinking of it!

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[thegajone]

Transformers even uses the same exact vehicles as Spiderman. They didn't even try to change it. It's basically the same ride.

Sure, in the same way that Pirates of the Caribbean and "it's a small world" are basically the same ride due to their identical ride systems. Or Jungle Cruise and Jaws; Peter Pan's Flight and ET Adventure; Cat and the Hat and Men In Black (yes, same ride system). The point is that even if guests look at Transformers' vehicles and say, "Hey, this ride must work just like the Spider-Man one!" it's hardly a problem.

Eh those are kind of stretches. Pirates is a different ride experience that IASW; Jungle Cruise and Jaws, and Peter Pan and ET might be pretty similar experiences but they are (were) in different parks; Cat & the Hat and MIB definitely have the same vehicles and ride systems, but offer pretty different experiences.

Spider-Man and Transformers, though, are the same exact ride with slightly different skins, each of which are a super hero-type action movie. The ride experience on those 2 rides is more similar than the other ones you mentioned.