Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (DHS)

[Nick]

People need to calm down. If this ride has 100 AAs, it could still suck. It could also be great. In most modern rides, AAs don’t make or break an attraction, which is what I think @Disneyhead was getting at.

Let’s try not to focus on the AA aspect of this ride as much... I just read enough back and forth on the subject to last me quite awhile.

Sure thing. You don't have to ride rides to know the tech involved. I've glimpsed at videos, but don't want to be spoiled.

Sounds like you think you are the only opinion that counts since you claim to have ridden all the rides.

Pompous much?

Cut the crap.

 

[Mad Dog]

Myself, I prefer the really good AA's (like the witch in Kong & the goblins in Gringotts) in the queue, so I have time to enjoy them. Even the Kong AA is almost like that since the ride essentially stops so you can appreciate the AA. AA's in a fast moving ride, especially thrill rides, loose a lot of their allure and value since you're past them so quickly.

 

[Orlandofan12]

Ehhhh... I wouldn't count the Hat since it's not in the ride.

The Dragon is really the only true AA.

The Willow just has the 1 limb moving, while everything else is static, as with Aragog which is mostly static. The dementors are also static, just moving on a Kuka arm. Physical props, sure. AA's? Nope. Either way, if we said there was 2 AA's on FJ - I think Dave's point still stands. AA's don't equal a great ride.

Yep. FJ is a shockingly good ride for how cheap it was. Much of its praise is owed to the ride system. (Universal was hurting when it was built so they had to make a lot of sacrifices.)

The flip side to that is: imagine what one could do with that ride system with a bigger budget. Apparently a new ride out of Warner Bros in UAE, Batman: Knight Flight uses the ride system and some early reviews claim it's better than FJ.

 

[SOCAL110]

Myself, I prefer the really good AA's (like the witch in Kong & the goblins in Gringotts) in the queue, so I have time to enjoy them. Even the Kong AA is almost like that since the ride essentially stops so you can appreciate the AA. AA's in a fast moving ride, especially thrill rides, loose a lot of their allure and value since you're past them so quickly.

Very much in agreement.

I was mearly commenting on the fact that whenever a new ride is mentioned a lot of people jump to "how many AA" like it's all that matters

Honestly, I think people get excited for AA's because the latest trend in rides is to go the SCREENZ route. As someone mentioned earlier, we are completely immersed in screens in our personal lives through cell phones, tablets, HD TV'S, computers, movie screens, etc. so it doesn't feel as impressive as it once was. Look at how cheap 4k TV's are nowadays. I just got my 50 inch 4K UHD IPS HDR Quad-Core Processor Android TV with sound bar included for $299!

Also, I think when people mention AA's, they are also implying practical sets instead of purely digital sets. Theme parks have started to move away from building practical sets and AA's in favor of screens and projection mapping. It's a major reason why people are so excited for SNW & MK. You're not just racing in front of a screen, but you're actually on a track with real sets. I applaud Universal for going this route!

Ehhhh... I wouldn't count the Hat since it's not in the ride.

The Dragon is really the only true AA.

The Willow just has the 1 limb moving, while everything else is static, as with Aragog which is mostly static. The dementors are also static, just moving on a Kuka arm. Physical props, sure. AA's? Nope. Either way, if we said there was 2 AA's on FJ - I think Dave's point still stands. AA's don't equal a great ride.

Personally, the genius of Forbidden Journey is that the castle queue is an attraction in and of itself. There are people that I know, such as my wife, who are too scared to go on the ride portion, but absolutely LOVE the castle queue. Just like Haunted Mansion at DL, I would consider the queue portion part of the overall attraction (Well when you enter the mansion, not the outside portion).

The attention to detail of Hogwarts Castle is absolutely breathtaking. It's the reason why I included Sorting Hat, because IMO it is part of the FJ attraction.

I respectfully disagree about Whomping Willow. The majority of AA's do not have full motion, only partial motion. WW is absolutely an AA, even if it is only partially animated.

To be fair, I'll grant your point that the Dementors are not technically AA's, which is why I didn't include it on the list. But their function is basically the same. People CRAVE real, physical forms and real sets and you get a lot of that in FJ.

If that was Dave's point, that AA's don't equal great rides then I agree with him. But, I don't think that was his point. His point was that he didn't understand why people value AA's, that they are basically wax figures.

I will never understand people's valuation of AAs.

Anyways, back to ROTR. Can't wait to see those A1000 AA's in person! :tease:

 

[UNIrd]

Sure thing. You don't have to ride rides to know the tech involved. I've glimpsed at videos, but don't want to be spoiled.

Sounds like you think you are the only opinion that counts since you claim to have ridden all the rides.

Pompous much?

If you haven't at the very least even seen full on-ride videos, then you obviously don't even know what Disney's currently capable of when it comes to fusion of sets and screens. If you're only comparing Orlando park to park, then sure. I see why you might think that.

 

[SOCAL110]

Yep. FJ is a shockingly good ride for how cheap it was. Much of its praise is owed to the ride system. (Universal was hurting when it was built so they had to make a lot of sacrifices.)

The flip side to that is: imagine what one could do with that ride system with a bigger budget. Apparently a new ride out of Warner Bros in UAE, Batman: Knight Flight uses the ride system and some early reviews claim it's better than FJ.

Are you referring to the review by SO CAL Attractions 360? As much as I love them, I became skeptical of their gushing praise after they said the Scooby-Doo trackless dark ride was on par with Mystic Manor. No way man. Those AA's truly look like wax figures. An unfortunate trend with all the Middle Eastern theme parks. It's like they blew all their budget on acquiring the IP's and theming detail, but ran out of funds on the attractions themselves.

I'm still waiting for a ride through video of Knight Flight.

 

[rhino4evr]

I feel pretty good that I can immensely enjoy a ride like FOP, unlike a large group of posters on here. My only complaint is it’s immense popularity, that makes getting a fast pass almost impossible.

Disney needs to deliver on this ride, I think they realize what’s at stake here.

 

[Orlandofan12]

Are you referring to the review by SO CAL Attractions 360? As much as I love them, I became skeptical of their gushing praise after they said the Scooby-Doo trackless dark ride was on par with Mystic Manor. No way man. Those AA's truly look like wax figures. An unfortunate trend with all the Middle Eastern theme parks. It's like they blew all their budget on acquiring the IP's and theming detail, but ran out of funds on the attractions themselves.

I'm still waiting for a ride through video of Knight Flight.

Yes, that's the review I saw. I too am waiting for a good POV before making any kind of judgement. It's too bad SoCal didn't make one because theirs are always amazing. Of course, in order to make a final judgement I'll need to ride it, but a POV will give me an idea of whether it has potential.

 

[Evan]

Sure thing. You don't have to ride rides to know the tech involved. I've glimpsed at videos, but don't want to be spoiled.

Sounds like you think you are the only opinion that counts since you claim to have ridden all the rides.

Pompous much?

As someone who is just reading and passive on this... you have seriously failed your argument.

Many points have been brought up showing Disney has been better at screen integration as of late... and that’s just a fact. Not an opinion. Nothing wrong with that, as all competition is good for the industry.

Anyway back to the topic at hand.

I do think this ride is going to be the most immersive stateside since Indiana Jones. And that’s what I go to Disney for.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Yep. FJ is a shockingly good ride for how cheap it was. Much of its praise is owed to the ride system. (Universal was hurting when it was built so they had to make a lot of sacrifices.)

The flip side to that is: imagine what one could do with that ride system with a bigger budget. Apparently a new ride out of Warner Bros in UAE, Batman: Knight Flight uses the ride system and some early reviews claim it's better than FJ.

Forbidden Journey cost $100 million dollars.

 

[bob albert]

Forbidden Journey cost $100 million dollars.

Compared to what Disney is doing with budgets isn't that cheap?

 

[Moose84]

Actually Forbidden Journey was budgeted at $150 million at IoA.

If I’m not mistaken the only rides operating currently that are more expensive in the US are Radiator Springs Racers at $200 million and of course Test Track at $300 million.

These numbers are not official mind you(impossible to get) but most experts and sources agree to these figures.

Just some food for thought.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Actually Forbidden Journey was budgeted at $150 million at IoA.

If I’m not mistaken the only rides operating currently that are more expensive in the US are Radiator Springs Racers at $200 million and of course Test Track at $300 million.

These numbers are not official mind you(impossible to get) but most experts and sources agree to these figures.

Just some food for thought.

I thought that also included a good chunk of re-do of the land.

 

[Moose84]

I thought that also included a good chunk of re-do of the land.

Hogsmeade at IoA was budgeted at $250 million total.

 

[rastuso]

If you haven't at the very least even seen full on-ride videos, then you obviously don't even know what Disney's currently capable of when it comes to fusion of sets and screens. If you're only comparing Orlando park to park, then sure. I see why you might think that.

I've ridden Ratatouille, essentially Disney's most recent E ticket outside of Shanghai. The screens were not even remotely hidden with sets. Navi River Journey's were basically framed by trees. And didn't blend well at all, brightness was off, and the action made no sense to be only in the very small screens in a vast jungle.

Shanghai Pirates is Disney's best, but it's not like the screens aren't framed by a black ceiling and water. The water lends itself to a natural blending with water based projections. Not Disney genius, just, you know, water.

As someone who is just reading and passive on this... you have seriously failed your argument.

Many points have been brought up showing Disney has been better at screen integration as of late... and that’s just a fact. Not an opinion. Nothing wrong with that, as all competition is good for the industry.

Anyway back to the topic at hand.

I do think this ride is going to be the most immersive stateside since Indiana Jones. And that’s what I go to Disney for.

And, I give you Ratatouille to show it is definitely NOT fact.

 

[rastuso]

Actually Forbidden Journey was budgeted at $150 million at IoA.

If I’m not mistaken the only rides operating currently that are more expensive in the US are Radiator Springs Racers at $200 million and of course Test Track at $300 million.

These numbers are not official mind you(impossible to get) but most experts and sources agree to these figures.

Just some food for thought.

Wasn't the original Spider-Man $200 MM+, 20 years ago?

I've never heard $300MM for TT. Wow, that was a waste of money that long ago. That had to include ride system invention.

On the other end, Dwarf Hill was $100MM I believe. It's always been clear Disney gets a lot less bang for their buck, and build at a snails pace. Clearly Dopplemeyer is doing the gondola system.

FJ really is all about the ride system. It couldn't have AAs much, as folks have said, you are moving way too much to appreciate them. The spider may move, or it may not, Its very hard to tell during the ride, meaning it does the job quite well, even if it's static.

 

[Orlandofan12]

Forbidden Journey cost $100 million dollars.

I have the hard numbers. It was significantly cheaper than that. Greater than 75 though.

@rastuso Ratatouille is really no different than Transformers when it comes to set-screen integration. Maybe even a hair better. More recently Disney has used their stellar projection mapping and absolutely massive screens to better implement media into attractions. Also, the quality of the imagery in their latest is leagues better than anything Universal has to offer.

It appears to me that you have a strong bias towards Universal. Nothing wrong with that. But please, don't be naive.

 

[Scott W.]

I've ridden Ratatouille, essentially Disney's most recent E ticket outside of Shanghai. The screens were not even remotely hidden with sets. Navi River Journey's were basically framed by trees. And didn't blend well at all, brightness was off, and the action made no sense to be only in the very small screens in a vast jungle.

Shanghai Pirates is Disney's best, but it's not like the screens aren't framed by a black ceiling and water. The water lends itself to a natural blending with water based projections. Not Disney genius, just, you know, water.



And, I give you Ratatouille to show it is definitely NOT fact.

Don't get me wrong, I think Spider-Man is the GOAT but all your criticisms of screen blending at Disney are valid for Spider-Man as well.

 

[Disneyhead]

I have the hard numbers. It was significantly cheaper than that. Greater than 75 though.

@rastuso Ratatouille is really no different than Transformers when it comes to set-screen integration. Maybe even a hair better. More recently Disney has used their stellar projection mapping and absolutely massive screens to better implement media into attractions. Also, the quality of the imagery in their latest is leagues better than anything Universal has to offer.

It appears to me that you have a strong bias towards Universal. Nothing wrong with that. But please, don't be naive.

The numbers I heard were that FJ's original budget was $65M and came in at just over $80M. And the entire Hogsmeade project was budgeted at $165M and came in at $200M. Diagon was budgeted at $400M and came in at $450M.

Transformers was a $45M project that they threw $65M at to make it happen in 13 months.

 

[Moose84]

Numbers are hard to come by with true accuracy. But research and multiple sources is what I go by.

And everything I’ve found has FJ at $150 million give or take.

Transformers almost unanimously was at $100 million for each park.

One source tried to say that Test track is $60 million. 60 to start maybe but Disney blew 300 on it. Test track got redone and redone and redone.... during construction hence the price tag. 300 is what almost everybody gives as the final number.

Actually out of all major rides the one that you can’t get a real number on is Indiana Jones at Disneyland as I’ve only seen a couple of places give numbers but they truly vary between 80-250million with no one truly standing by their figure.

Oh and you want something crazy Ratatouille in Paris is reported to have cost upwards of 280 million.

After all this let’s just call it like it is: Universal gets a lot more bang for its buck than Disney.
I love both though regardless.