Triceratops Spin

[DisneyFanGuy]

We were at the Animal Kingdom on Sunday. We had a very nice morning, and spent the afternoon and evening at MGM.

They had the Triceratops Spin going. It's the most hideous thing that I have seen in a long tome. My 12 year old daughter looked at me and said that Disney has ruined that section of the park.

It's huge, bright colors, and the waiting area is right out of a carnival. (Big, green, and has a canopy made out of metal)

It is totally out of place. There is no transition to the "carnival" theme. It just sits there.

What the heck is Disney doing? Who the heck made the decision to do this?

What does everyone else think? Am I losing my mind?

 

[JeffJewell]

What the heck is Disney doing?

...in this case, they are attempting to address the "not enough to do" complaints about Animal Kingdom as quickly and cheaply as they can.

What does everyone else think? Am I losing my mind?

Well, I certainly can't rule it out, but this post, anyway, seems to suggest you are in control of many of your faculties.

Personally, I think Disney made the wrong turn when, instead of asking "how much can we put into this for our customers," they started asking "how little can we put into this and not lose too many customers to competitors." I believe this started happening sometime between E.P.C.O.T. Center's opening and Disney MGM Studios' opening, with the Tower of Terror standing as the final example of Disney really going stones to the wall in the name of pixie dust.

Jeff

 

[Peter Pirate]

Does Test Track not count as a "stones to wall" attraction in your mind? I realize they didn't foot the bill but that would seem inconsequental, but geez it's quite an intricate attraction...

 

[MickeyMoose15]

I agree with something you're getting at. There are too many Dumbo-style attractions at Disney. You now have The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Astro Orbitor, Dumbo, and Triceratops Spin. That is too much of a simple attraction.

The whole Dino-Rama thing was created to stop people from complaining that there isn't enough to do for kids.

 

[Another Voice]

To me, Disney right now is like a really smart kid in class that used to get A’s but then got lazy. Only the easiest solutions are picked and they are using their reputation more than their talent.

As for Test Track – a stretch of road featuring high speeds, sudden stops, life threatening obstacles and panic steering. Out here in L.A. we call that a “freeway onramp” and not a theme park attraction. And since when did automotive testing represent the future anyway?

 

[DC7800]

Originally posted by MickeyMoose15
The whole Dino-Rama thing was created to stop people from complaining that there isn't enough to do for kids.

There's not enough to do for adults either, particularly if you aren't a fan of the "faster, wetter, wilder" school of attraction design (which rules out Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids). Don't get me wrong, I personally think Pangani Forest and the other "trails" are enjoyable and wonderfully executed, but they don't qualify under many people's strict definitions for what's an "attraction". Hence, the perception of "rides" at AK is even worse than reality.

I also don't have a problem with Triceratops Spin itself (though the theming sounds hideous), but rather the fact that it represents the major expansion for an already attraction-short park. If this were better themed and part of multiple (A-E ticket) attractions in a Beastly Kingdom, we'ed probably all look at this a bit differently. That said, there must be better "off-the-shelf" - cheap & quick to build rides - than a spinner, carnival games, and mini-coaster. An Animak Kingdom replacement for the old MK Skyway could work particulalry well overlooking the African savannah, yet it's still a basically "quick & inexpensive" attraction.

 

[space42]

If anyone wants to see, wdwmagic has pictures of this new area. http://www.wdwmagic.com

Well, I will get a chance to see this with my own eyes in two weeks. It looks very out of place from the pictures though. From the looks of things, its just going to get worse once they "install" the next off the shelf attraction right next to it. (the wild mouse coaster)

 

[Peter Pirate]

Out here in L.A. we call that a "freeway onramp"

Understood & driving through Miami is no picnic either (is it Greg?)...But still, TT is an innovative attraction with much new technology, excitement along with a certain razz-matazz...At least I find it exciting and the beauty of the stop's & go's and speed, etc. is that unlike the LA freeways, TT is safe. Whether it fits into FW isn't the point here, it is still a very innovative ride, IMO.

As to Tricertop spin, I certainly appreciate the negativity & really do understand the dissappointment in the redundency (read: I agree)...But still this ride shouldn't be judged from an adult, been there-done that POV. It is for the kiddies who never seem to get tired of these rides. Hopefully this WILL be the last spinner at WDW, but to me it is pretty much a non-issue. The kids will like it, it gives people one more ride & again, hopefully, it's just a precursor to BK.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

Beastly Kingdom is coming...so let's all relax.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

"And since when did automotive testing represent the future anyway?"

You've got to admit it's closer to the future than the attraction it replaced.

 

[Buzz2001]

Jeff - what about RnR?

AV - Mission Space for FW?

As to Tricertop spin, my daughter loves these types of rides.

FROM SCREAMSCAPE.COM
2004 - BEASTLY KINGDOM - (11/21/01) A couple of new rumors came in this week about Beastly Kingdom. One reader reports that the Pocahontas show’s days are numbered and that it will likely be removed once they add the new land. Another rumor gathered from the IAAPA show floor this past week indicated that Disney Imaginnering types were talking with Vekoma about how they could install an audio system in one of their Inverted coaster trains. Sounds like the proposed new coaster to me.

200? - New Land: Australia - Rumor - (11/21/01) We haven’t heard much about major expansions at Animal Kingdom over the past couple of years, but it seems that adding a new land themed to the animals down under is next on the agenda after Beastly Kingdom comes to life. Don’t expect any new rides here at first, it sounds like this new land will be 100% devoted to the animals at first. Our source places this new land somewhere next to Asia.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

This was just a quick solution to a problem...maybe if this doesn't take very well, maybe Disney will be quicker to get Beastly Kingdom up and running to get people into the park.

 

[JeffJewell]

Peter...

Does Test Track not count as a "stones to wall" attraction

...I think Test Track is a fun ride, and I do think the ride mech is a good example of Disney taking an existing technology but putting a bit more Magic into it.

Most other aspects of the ride, however, I see as examples of taking the cheaper route instead of the "putting a bit more Magic into it" route: I feel that Test Track represents another step down the "rides instead of pavilions in FutureWorld" path, which I think is a mistake. I also think it's an example of the "reality as theme" problem: most of the ride's theming could have come straight off actual proving grounds. This same kind of thing is evident in Dino-Rama (cheap carnival rides "themed" to look like cheap carnival rides), and the rumors suggest it might be happening to Mission:SPACE (once themed as a trip to outer space, the current theme is that the ride is a g-force training simulator: precisely what it really is). Finally, I think Disney's policy of making the sponsor pay for the entire pavilion is a cost-based decision that directly affects Magic (instead of going into a project thinking "how much can we put in," you're thinking "we can't put in more than this amount").

For those reasons, no, I do not believe Disney went all out on Test Track.

Buzz2001...

what about RnR

...first off, we love riding RnRC: I could do that launch over and over again. But that coaster, launch and all, can be bought by any one of us with the means. There was no "putting a bit more Magic into" the ride mech. The queue area consists of a threadbare Hard Rock Cafe (and with FastPass, you don't even walk past the lion's share of what they did put in, anymore), a movie screen, and a brick basement. The ride itself is themed with naught but flourescent paint and black lights, with design elements that could have occured to Eisner during his morning commute. I really didn't see them "putting a bit more Magic into" the theming.

I'll be the first to say that Disney bought a fun ride that is a multiple must-do on all of our trips. But I can't say it demonstrates Disney giving it everything they had.

Jeff

 

[All Aboard]

Most other aspects of the ride, however, I see as examples of taking the cheaper route instead of the "putting a bit more Magic into it" route: I feel that Test Track represents another step down the "rides instead of pavilions in FutureWorld" path, which I think is a mistake. I also think it's an example of the "reality as theme" problem: most of the ride's theming could have come straight off actual proving grounds.

First of all, I'm interested to know what parts seem to have taken the cheaper route. I find that they've gone quite a ways to put in great details at every step of the way. From the queue to the loading area, through all of the tests and even into the post-ride area before you get to the car displays. This is a very unique attraction, first of it's kind and it's pulled off very well. I've never once thought it was shortcutted in any way. There are certainly examples of shortcutted attractions, but I don't think Test Track is one of them.

Second, I'm baffled by the "reality as theme" concept and just how it applies (in a negative fashion) in this case. If the theming makes the place seem just like the real thing, doesn't that mean it accomplished it's goal? Isn't Big Thunder supposed to seem like a "real" runaway mine train?

Third (and outside the above quote) how is Test Track a step backwards from the "pavillion concept?" It's predecessor was no more a "pavillion" than the current offering. Horizons was just a ride, so is Universe of Energy. The current mix of ride v. pavillion is the same as it has always been.

 

[JeffJewell]

If the theming makes the place seem just like the real thing, doesn't that mean it accomplished it's goal?

...yes, but that's not what's happening here. With BTMRR, they took an off-the-shelf coaster and added design elements that made it more than what it actually was: turning just another OTS coaster into the most well themed coaster I've ever ridden. With DinoRama, they're taking OTS carnival rides and "themeing" them by calling a spade a spade.

The Mission:SPACE example is the best one to show what I mean: If you design a ride around a g-force training simulator and add theme details, including pre- and post-ride elements, to make the overall experience one of a space flight to somewhere else, that's making "the place seem just like the real thing;" that's adding Disney Magic. If, on the other hand, you short-change the theme details and pre- and post-ride elements in the name of saving money, decide you can't afford to pull off the space flight illusion, and declare the theme to be the same three words you put on the PO: "g-force training simulator," then you have actually taken the real thing and just declared it "the place;" that's adding a Disney copyright mark.

I just get the feeling someone was sitting around the meetings planning what would become DinoRama: "What's our theme?" "I don't know, what are we putting in there, again?" "Carnival rides." [big grins all around] "Themed, it is!"

With Test Track, they could have put an obsolete proving grounds and a couple outdated test labs in boxes, set them up around the ride mech and queue area, respectively, and called it a day.

I just don't think those kinds of design decisions lead to a product that does a good job of showcasing Disney's potential for creating an environment. I seem to see quite a bit of grousing about the queue at TT, often calling it pretty non-futuristic for FutureWorld. I think a better way to describe the problem is that TT's queue area elements are nothing more than precisely what they appear to be, whereas Disney Magic is a more a function of things being so much more (and sometimes so much less) than they appear to be.

And mind you, we're well into the realm of personal preferences, at this point. It's not likely that many of us are going to agree to any great extent when we start drawing lines this fine.

Jeff

 

[MissScarlet]

Going back to the Triceratops spin for a minute, Since when do Triceratops fly? Spaceships, magic carpets and even Dumbo can fly but what about Triceratops? It seems kinda weird to me. If they were going to make another flying spinning ride couldn't they have at least made it make sense?

 

[daannzzz]

Terranadon Spin sounds just as good (if not better) to me!

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

My point was that it's not so much the type of attraction (The park does need more to do), but the execution. I mean wait until you see the thing. It sits just beyond the kids dinosaur themed play area, but the colors and building materials used just scream OUT OF PLACE.

It really looks like it's right out of a carnival, and even that would be ok if there was some sort of transition between the Dinoland USA theme and the carny atmosphere. In all of my prior Disney experiences, there is some sort of transition between different themes. And whether I like or dislike attractions, I have never before just stood looking at something that they built in complete silence, wondering what they could have been thinking about.

And I'm not the only one. It was quite the topic of discussion while we were standing in line at the Dinosaur ride. To really appreciate the visual miss-step, you have to see the ride up close and in person. Oh my goodness.

 

[daannzzz]

I have been watching this be built via WDWMagic.com. It looks the most like it comes from a carnival style of ride that Disney has put out. The light bulbs covering the abnormally short arms of it look right out of a county fair. I understand that the theme of this area is suppose to be tacky roatdside tourist trip moderne but this doesn't look tacky in a fun kind of way. It just is sad in the context of the Disney history. Sure. The kids will have fun. Kids have fun building dams out of leaves in the gutter too. Just because kids are easy to entertain doesn't mean they need to pander to the lowest common denominator.

 

[Mr D]

It almost sounds to me like DAK is going to be the repository of DCA type rides, what a terrible waste of perfectly good land and themeing to have a cheap carnival ride. I will be there next week with family and I will see for myself.