Triceratops Spin

[TDC Nala]

It's really cute, almost disgustingly cute. Little dinosaurs pop out of doors around the sides while it's in motion. Little kids will love it and probably want to ride it six times.

Where's my Tarzan vine coaster?

 

[Testtrack321]

Here is my opinion...

First, the time when ToT was built was the time the last great Disney attractions were inplace. Test Track was in planning, M:S was on the board, and The Millennium Clebration was just getting started.

As for Terridon Spin, well, IoA has the Paternondons, wait, no, Plyadons, no, let me look this one up...

*one minuite latter*

Ahhh, here it is....

Pteranodon Flyers. Plus, how more tackier can you get than a flying triceratops?

Oh, wait, how about flying E$iners?!?!

Hey, it could be the next big thing. Then ther could be Pressler-evil Whirl?

Then there could be Countdown to Stock Holders Meeting!?!?!

Then there could be....

 

[airlarry!]

I'm with JJ on this one. Love the boneyard, love CTX/Dino, but really, the rest of dinoland USA or whatever they are calling it now just seems like they budgeted for OTS attractions, and spun out a theme that would cost as little as possible.

I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND. I don't want them to bring Disney Seas to Orlando.

Why not?

Because I remember what Animal Kingdom was supposed to be, and what it has turned out to be. I don't want to give Ei$ner the same chance to screw up what looks like the second best Amusement Park idea in the world.

Say it with me, "When Ei$ner goes, then finish up AK and bring in OrlandoDisneySeas."

 

[Another Voice]

My problem with Dino-Rama is that Animal Kingdom was supposed to be a “serious” park that could appeal to one’s intelligence and sense of wonder with the world. With a dinosaur theme there’s 120 millions years worth of amazing and astounding animals to play with. Giant monsters that actually roamed the earth, terrifying creatures that equally haunt children and adults, worlds unseen by humans….

And the best Disney can come up with is a parking-lot carnival?


“TT is safe…” Boy, did you miss some really fun test runs. There’s a reason this ride was a year late. (And yes, it’s safe now).

And then, “In other words, stopgaps cannot become the trend rather than the exception. So far, I don't see that trend”. Because you have yet to see California Adventure.

 

[JeffJewell]

In other words, stopgaps cannot become the trend rather than the exception. So far, I don't see that trend (but, hey, talking trends also generally causes threads to go south).

...yeah, the only alternative to agreeing to disagree here is to start making lists and picking nits, and as you say, down that road the bad place lays.

I do not believe DinoRama is more than a stopgap--a quick attempt to broaden the appeal of DinoRama to the little ones--but I'm not sure that alone makes it a problem

The part of it that makes this a problem for me is that I wonder why the fix for AK was designed to be a stopgap, in the first place. DinoRama was well underway while Disney had a pre-Fox Family $5 billion bulge in the pocketbook... there was plenty of money to fix the thing right, they simply chose to spend the money elsewhere.

Ask yourself "why was it a stopgap, in the first place?" Why, instead of wowing the guests with new lands and E-rides that were already in advanced stages of design, would they prefer to buy off-the-shelf to make their next play in the "is _this_ enough to make you come to AK?" game. Beyond that, ask yourself how much has changed between then and now, such that the _next_ fix isn't likely to be a stopgap, as well?

Jeff

 

[JeffJewell]

DinoRama was a quick attempt to shore up a families fourth park hopper day...in other words, an attempted quick fix to a perceived problem whereas DCA was not an attempted quick fix because there was not a perceived problem

...okay, but would you agree that WWTBAM-PI! is an attempted quick fix for DCA, now that there _is_ a perceived problem?

Jeff

PS: And I do think you're picking nits, to a certain extent, by differentiating DCA on the basis of it not being a response to a perceived problem. The problem (or "opportunity," as I'm they're referred to in the business world) was "how do we get people to extend their Disneyland hotel vacation one day per visit," and DCA represents the kind of answer you get to that question when you approach it by wondering how little you can spend on a solution, and have it be "enough." It's really that mindset (one that I think can be seen in evidence a lot of places around Disney these days) that is the root of both problems.

 

[seashoreCM]

(copied from another post)

When riding Triceratops Spin or Aladdins's Carpet it is best not to leave the front seat empty. If the back seat is empty you can reach the back seat controls from the front, but not vice versa. For Triceratops Spin (@11/24/01) use the rear control to raise or lower the Triceratops, use the front control to tilt its body slightly up or down. For Aladdin's Carpet the front control raises or lowers, the rear (pushbutton) tilts the vehicle.

Other Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

9/65 Disneyland
3/75 (World Inn* off I4 near DD)
4/85 (Kon-Tiki* on 192)
'80s Disneyland once or twice
7/94 PORiv
9/97 ASMu
11/98 ASMu
12/98 (Knights Inn on 192)
9/99 ASMo
12/00 ASSp
9/01 ASSp
11/01 ASSp
*no longer exists

When Animal Kingdom first opened, guests were asked what they would like to see more of and a frequent reply was "more Disney Characters". So the area for Disney characters near the Lion King theater was added quickly.

 

[YoHo]

Just a few comments.

Dinosaurland USA did nothing for me from the first time I stepped in it. CTX was good, but the land in general bored me. I'm inundated with Dinosaurs. They are still very popular with the kiddies and I am not a kiddie nor do I have any. Beastly Kingdom has so much more potential to me.

to AV's point, I think even given the amount of info out there to work with, Dinoland was going to be the hardest. its SO overdone.

The problem is that Universe of Energy offers a more realistic Dino expireance.
I love to play imagineer, but I have no idea what to do with Dinoland.

As to Test Track and the Pavilion Idea, I feel that my musings with Landbaron have skewed the Discussion. The fact is that from Day one, Epcot Had single ride buildings. My Idea is that the best way to expand Epcot is to Build Pavilions Like The Land.


think about it. In a Pavilion, you could get different sponsers for different aspects of the pavilion, you could update parts of the pavilion without updating the whole pavilion to avoid the costs. You can keep people in their longer. Its got so many possiblities.

 

[seashoreCM]

They may have added extra things (games) to do in Dinoland but the problem is that these activities cost extra to play.

 

[space42]

Everyone should read this thread!

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&selm=fXMM7.39303$xS6.64235@www.newsranger.com

I think that about sums it up, doesn't it?

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

Wow! This last post by Shane sums up my feelings quite nicely. I have read all the posts about the philosophy of TS and why it is or isn't ok to put it in. All of that is interesting, but not why I posted. It is a big, ugly piece of metal just sitting there, and looks like it has no place in Dinoland USA. Even the cheapest stuff is usually themed to it's surroundings, or given a transition area.

My advice is to go and look at it when you are at AK. My family just stood there for a moment staring at it in horror, and then moved on. It just screams I DON'T BELONG HERE! I cannot say that I've seen that anywhere else on WDW property.

Last year, IOA "dropped in" a little coaster into their Lost Continent area. They gave it some marginal theming, simple music, and a bit of a story. It's not the most expensive rice ever added, but the "Flying Unicorn" fits in just fine and provides a smaller roller coaster alternative to the Dueling Dragons for the tots. Parents can ride along. It's a fine addition.

The Magic Carpets over in the Magic Kingdom it the exact same ride as TS. It doesn't seem out of place though. They created a themed area around it (Granted the shopping area received many more details than the attraction, but that's another discussion) and it fits in just fine.

But I will repeat, with this Dinorama addition and that ugly ugly ugly TS ride, Disney has completely lost their mind. There must have been a way to have the idea of a small spinner and a family coaster fit in better than this.

 

[space42]

I know what you mean DisneyFanGuy! I will see this for myself on Thursday. I will post here when I get back. If anyone wants to see more pictures of this atrocity go here http://www.screamscape.com/html/dinorama.html

Wait until they add the mouse coaster! From the looks of things it will look just like the concept art ( you can find this at http://www.wdwmagic.com ). Ugly support structure showing and all!!!!! All this right next to some of Disney's best theming IMHO!

This is a quote from Shane's post where he talked to someone from WDI who was there.

--- begin quote
But seriously, he got an earful, to which he replied "This is not a knock on you
but this ride is intended for the four and under crowd. There's a new ride
going in over there that I think you'll find more to your liking." At this I
had to laugh. "Is it themed?" I asked. "Oh yeah, it's themed." "Oh," I
replied confidently, "you mean like Big Thunder Mountain?"

At this point, he literally walked away from me to help the ride operator.

--- end quote

We, as Disney fans come to expect detail to a level like Big Thunder Mountain on their attractions. This is one of the reasons we go to Disney parks and post on Disney websites! There is no excuse or back story that can expain away this mess. This area should have never been built!

 

[Mooobooks]

Just returned from WDW and spent some time at the new "Chester and Hester's Dinorama" area.
It's amazing how much the development of this area opens up the "Dino" land. I was shocked upon crossing over the bridge to see "Dinorama" RIGHT there on the left It really brings the whole area together into a cohesive unit.
Contrary to the general tone of this thread, I found the design of the area, including Triceritop Spin, to be excellent. Beautiful colors and great design. The ride seemed popular with all the people riding it while I was there. The carnival games are also nicely done, and fun as well. There is always one game that Disney has set up so you can always be a winner--in this case it's the one where you bop the little dinosaurs on the head with a big mallet. There is a winner every game, and they only require two people to play, so for $4 you and a friend play and one of you definitely wins a stuffed dinosaur.
There is a HUGE cartoon-like brontosauraus at one of the two entrances to Dinorama that is cool as all get-out, and the themeing for the Wild Mouse coaster (just now visible above the wooden fence) also looks great.
All in all this is a FUN area for kids--definitely NOT a letdown.

 

[d-r]

I was curious about the wild mouse coaster, but I rode the one in california adventure and it is just bad, in my opinion.

I had hopes for it and I was receptive of it. Somehow I had thought that the cars would spin - for example, when you approached one of the many corners, the car would spin at the corner. That sounded sort of fun.

But the cars didn't spin. Instead it was a herky, jerky, rough ride, and I found myself dreading each coming turn and I was happy when it was over. And I like coasters. My wife Melissa was pretty ticked off about the whole thing. She thought it was just plain awful.

The theming was minimal, to be kind. It really felt like a children's coaster that could be dismantled and carried on a truck and set up at state fairs. It felt very cheap.

At one time, the rumors were that there would be a wild mouse coaster as a "children's coaster" and a real roller coaster for adults, "the excavator" but I'm afraid that must have been long forgotten.

I'm really not at all excited about a wild mouse coaster being added to dinorama. I'm happy if some kids will enjoy it, and won't begrudge it just for being present, but I really truely think it is a shame.

The same thing goes for the spinner. We rode Alladins spinner on our last wdw visit, and it was OK. I mean it was another spinning ride. It seemed very slow, more like Dumbo than starjets. Also, astrojets is up high, which is sort of fun. With such a slow spinner really the only fun thing is looking around, and if the view is as bad as has been described, I can't see a lot of fun it. I guess someone's kid will like it, and so I won't begrudge it.

I guess my thinking is that if they would add an E-ticket, then these b-tickets wouldn't bother me - they would be fodder to spread guests out. But when they only add off-the-shelf rides you could find at a road-side carnival it really is a shame.

DR
DR

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Besides all the "ugliness" of these things itself, Wasn't Walt Disney's idea to have a park different from the "carnival-like" parks?

This is just a slap in the face of Disney's 100th birthday!!

 

[Douglas Dubh]

"I was curious about the wild mouse coaster, but I rode the one in california adventure and it is just bad, in my opinion."

While I agree that the theming is quite minimal, I thought the ride itself was fine, and my kids loved it. My 5 year old daughter wanted to go again and again. The DCA coaster was never rumored to be a spinning mouse, but the rumor is the AK one is. Although I would rather have an immersive, mythological themed land in AK or even the Excavator, I'll probably enjoy Dinorama next time I'm there.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

"Wasn't Walt Disney's idea to have a park different from the "carnival-like" parks?"

Not really. The most common quote went something like: Walt tells his wife he wants to build an amusement park, with carnival rides and stuff. She replies, why do you want to do that? Carnivals are so dirty. Walt says, mine won't be. I don't believe he ever said he didn't like carnival rides.

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Originally posted by Douglas Dubh
"Wasn't Walt Disney's idea to have a park different from the "carnival-like" parks?"

Not really. The most common quote went something like: Walt tells his wife he wants to build an amusement park, with carnival rides and stuff. She replies, why do you want to do that? Carnivals are so dirty. Walt says, mine won't be. I don't believe he ever said he didn't like carnival rides.

Douglas,

Thanks for the explanation. Nevertheless (and to end "close" the issue), I believe that a (big) part of Disney Parks' appeal is that you can (most of the time) share the rides with your kids. Does Dinorama conforms to that idea?

Thanks again,

Luis.

P.S. Nice quote!!

 

[Mooobooks]

Luis,
The rides in Dinorama ABSOLUTELY allow the adults to ride WITH their children. The midway games are also designed for mixed child/adult participation--this is EXACTLY the kind of ride Walt had in mind. He put Dumbo in place in Disneyland, I see no reason why he would complain if there were clones of that type of ride in the other parks. Kids love those kinds of rides.

 

[d-r]

FWIW, I do not know if Walt Disney would like dinorama or not. I do think his intention in bluidng dinseyland was for a clean park (I think that the part about the carnival rides was that those parks were so dirty and unkept at the time, not the rides themselves per se) that families could enjoy together, which dinorama fits on the surface. I don't believe he would be proud of the half-waying, cheap approach though. But who knows? He certainly had to cut corners in his day, too. I can't guess what he'd think (I think he would love the AK in general, as much as he loved animals and I think it is sort of what he wanted for Adventureland and the jungle cruise in the first place. But then, he might wonder why it is right where his experimental prototype community of tomorrow was supposed to be; btw, did you ever notice the carnival rides on the epcot model?).

Personally, I'm glad that there are more for kids to do, I just wish that they wouldn't go so cheap and uninspired.

Here are some quotes from Disney, you draw your own conclusions:

"Your dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway."

"Adults are interested if you don't play down to the little 2 or 3 year olds or talk down. I don't believe in talking down to children. I don't believe in talking down to any certain segment. I like to kind of just talk in a general way to the audience. Children are always reaching."

"When we consider a project, we really study it--not just the surface idea, but everything about it. And when we go into that new project, we believe in it all the way. We have confidence in our ability to do it right. And we work hard to do the best possible job."

"To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

(on Disneyland) "It's no secret that we were sticking just about every nickel we had on the chance that people would really be interested in something totally new and unique in the field of entertainment."

"When we opened Disneyland, a lot of people got the impressions that it was a get-rich-quick thing, but they didn't realize that behind Disneyland was this great organization that I built here at the Studio, and they all got into it and we were doing it because we loved to do it."

"We did it (Disneyland), in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a financial disaster - closed and forgotten within the first year."

"It's something that will never be finished. Something that I can keep developing...and adding to."

"We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have fun- together."

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."

"I don't want the public to see the world they live in while they're in the Park (Disneyland). I want to feel they're in another world."

"I've always said that there will never be another Disneyland, and I think it's going to work out that way. But it will be the equivalent of Disneyland. We know the basic things that have family appeal. There are many ways that you can use those certain basic things and give them a new decor, a new treatment. This concept here will have to be something that is unique, so there is a distinction between Disneyland in California and whatever Disney does in Florida. I'm doing this because I want to do it better."

The Disney family museum has an account of the development of Disneyland here:

http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/waltdisney/maincollection/waltsstoryepisode12.html


DR