- Oct 5, 2017
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Antarctica - Empire of the Penguin
- Thread starter Brian G.
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- Aug 18, 2017
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It once was said the smoke would be fixed, but that sadly never happened. Also, there was suppose to be real snow falling in the land itself every day.
There was snow when I was there shortly after opening. Has tyhast gone the way of the dodo?
I was there on opening day, and that was probably the only time I saw it. The smoke effect on the ride did not last long either. Also, when the land was fresh and new it looked nice, now, it looks very tacky and kitschy.
I did opening too. When I saw it I wondered how long til the mold covered the white. Cant imagine it now
Went through Antarctica last summer, was still looking fantastic.
That's what happens when you announce you're putting in a trackless darkride (which was hotly anticipated considering what was pulled off internationally and the sheer potential of the tech.), and the concept art/promos teased a adventure combining that with penguins...only for the final product to be a colossal waste of the trackless technology and featuring abysmal "storytelling" which makes the ride an' absolute mess. Seriously, this is one of the few rides out there where they would've been better off not telling a story at all, rather then attempting to tell one.
The penguin exhibit itself is the only worthwhile thing, everything else is such a stunning misfire that you can write quite the column on how bad it is.
Antarctica is not a bad ride, it's just not a ride that should have been marketed to adults. It's a perfect ride for small children, and it's the favourite ride of the 6 year old in our group in the whole of Orlando.
- Oct 5, 2017
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OK, your over reacting here. The ride is not terrible, most people are expecting Disney level themeing but are disappointed when you can see the "Ice Caves" natural vent shaft and black walls! It's SEAWORD dude! You are over seeing the environmental meaning of the ride. Brian morrow had a low budget and he did the best he could. The main problem is people talk during the pre-show and then they don't understand the ride.
SEAWORLD Had way more money for JTA but Antartica is a cute attempt at a Disney level dark ride. And what about PUCK? He cute and make $$$ I have a puck plush....
- Oct 5, 2017
- 341
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The last refurbishment they added the non rider line but what else?
That’s pretty much it. Everything additional and taken away was because of the new nonrider line.
- Oct 5, 2017
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What was taken a way? Also when we're the screens with the reflection of puck added?
The area right after the firs tore-show used to look a lot better and was better themed. To support the new nonrider line it was basically gutted. The fences in the first preshow also aren’t the nicest looking thing.
Those screens were always thereZ
The area is amazing looking but way too small. The ride is a disappointment from how it was originally presented but I still go on at almost every time I go to Sea World.
Considering this was marketed to families, you're not helping it's case by saying it shouldn't have been marketed to adults when that is half of any family.
"You are over seeing the environmental meaning of the ride."
I do have a question about overseeing the "environmental meaning" of the ride, what environmental meaning? SW is usually pretty good about putting in and talking about one in a attraction, but there is none of that in Antarctica. Antarctica is "Here's a baby penguin named Puck, Antarctica is apparently beautiful and dangerous, and you're going to see things from Puck's unique POV". There's not a peep of protecting the environment, global warming or anything of the sort. It's really hard to oversee a environmental meaning when it's not there.
"The main problem is people talk during the pre-show and then they don't understand the ride."
Even if people were silent and heard the entire pre-show, that wouldn't help one bit. This is where the abysmal storytelling comes in right off the bat. The first pre-show is summed up thusly.
- Here's a Gentoo colony in Antarctica, a blizzard is coming and they're moving to shelter. But one egg has yet to hatch.
- Here's puck, time is running out for him. Soon he'll lose his fuzzy dow and get waterproof feathers, where'll he'll eventually dive into the sea for the first time "to begin the greatest adventure of his life". (So until he dives into the sea, the greatest adventure of his life doesn't start, got it.)
- Everybody take shelter, there's many dangers in beautiful Antarctica and "Alone we will not survive, but together we'll thrive."
An' as for the second preshow.
- We're safe from the storm, and now Puck is old enough to explore on his own! (They just threw the whole "Alone we will not survive, but together we'll thrive." ending line/idea from the 1st preshow right out the window, just like that.)
- Puck has a cleaver new way to see the world, and you will see the world through the eyes of Puck.
Ok, so we're seeing Antarctica all through the eyes of Puck, essentially his POV. That's all we're given, and the POV angle is damaged right off the bat with seeing Puck in the first part of the ride. Normally if you're seeing a POV of a character, you're not seeing that character themselves. (Think of the original Snow White Adventures ride where we were seeing the whole thing through Snow White's POV)
So the rainbow brite room is Puck's special and unique POV on how he views the world. This is literally the only room which really follows what was established to us in the preshow. That's because right afterwards...
...we then we go into the video screens where the whimsical/unique POV is thrown out the window since those scenes are played straight with no unique view from Puck and once again, we're seeing Puck himself so the POV angle is thrown out as well. (An' once again, the whole "Alone we will not survive, but together we'll thrive." line is shot dead by stating that Puck is now ready to hunt on his own. Apparently being alone -is- the way to survive here.) This is no fault of the audience, yes the ones who talk over the preshows will not understand it. But's that's also the case for those who do listen to it. Even if you listen to both preshows, it's still not going to make sense with the ride not following through with what it establishes. That is just bad storytelling on SW's part.
----
Ultimately, you also have to look at this. A:EotP was the largest single attraction expansion in the park's history, they were hoping for this attraction to do gangbusters for attendance, merch etc. But after it opened, it didn't bring in the attendance, it didn't bring in the reception they wanted, it didn't bring in the $$$. It laid a big fat egg, and for a big addition like this to do that, it hurts the park, plain and simple.
I know it’s semantics but...
You see Puck the first time because it is “your, as in “Puck’s,” reflection from the ice.
The rest. Yeah. It’s a mess.
Talk about the economics or financial ability to build good attractions....When Blackstone purchased controlling interest in the Sea World parks from In Bev, Sea World was considered a stronger theme park property & brand than Universal, which Blackstone was in the process of divesting their interest in. But Blackstone, as investment groups often do, pulled the profits out of the SW chain, and began immediate cost cutting. They had the means at the time to spend for quality attractions, but chose not too. Comcast, on the other hand, inherited a weak Universal theme park chain that was about to experience some success with the Potter expansion. But instead of staying pat and sitting on those initial Potter profits, they chose to continue spending to enhance the product. ...The rest is history. Now the park chains are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Universal is a strong dominant force. Sea World is on the verge of breakup or collapse. The common denominator was Blackstone. They are now out of the equation, but the damage has been done.
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