Every time I go we ride the mummy like 10 times while we are there. It's my favorite ride in either park.
Revenge of the Mummy Upgrades
- Thread starter ralphoutloud
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Every time I go we ride the mummy like 10 times while we are there. It's my favorite ride in either park.
So... I love the slow parts of Mummy, the big show parts... it feels magnificent. The coaster parts are ok but if I could glide along on LIMS (linear induction motors (powered magnets)) with a few steep glides here and there, I would love it too. Sounds as if this is where they are going with Gringotts.
- Jul 18, 2008
- 6,750
- 5,484
Haha.. I'll be the judge of that.. in a few weeks, hopefully.
But usually, anything with AAs > screens for me.
This particular issue/room seems to be very hit or miss, and I'm puzzled as to what could be the cause. I've had rides where it has been almost perfectly pitch black, and others where its almost to the point the work lights might as well be on. I know the projector lighting can't vary that much...assuming that it is in good condition (which if the projection is there every ride at a consistent level, based on my observations, it is).
The part where the first drop is I ALWAYS literally fly out of my seat and I weigh almost 190. That part alone never gets old!
I have a feeling that Transformers will end up on the short list with Mummy and MiB as the rides I hit almost every time I go to the park.
I remember it was Marti Gras in 2012 and we had no interest in the parade and it was Myself, My friend and my brother. Nobody was in line and we rode 8 times in a row with the best airtime I have had on the ride ever. (Completely empty besides the three of us.)
New years eve of 2011, this was the last thing my family did for 2011 and first thing for 2012. We talked some workers to let us on at 11:58 so we would bring in the new year on revenge of the mummy. It was awesome!
- Aug 13, 2009
- 539
- 462
I have reasons for calling this attraction a poor excuse for a dark ride. Yes, as an indoor coaster this attraction delivers. I'd rather the lights be turned off and enjoy this attraction in the dark. The reason I'm so critical is the theming is at about 50%. Now I'm not saying this isn't currently the best attraction in the studios, because it is. There are just some things that could have been done so much better than what they gave us. I remember watching the teaser video from universal about this attraction hyping it to be the most advanced and blah blah blah and it just doesn't deliver. I mean black light ghosts? Really? And the projections throughout, its not about bulbs being dim or inconsitancy, it's about the poor design. How bad ass would it have been if Imohtep's face was actually a animatronic face that came out of the wall in the treasure scene with sand (or sand like substance) actually flowing over it. Yeah, projection is much easier, but there are better ways of making it more realistic, a simple change of lighting for instance. I guess I'm just a picky guy when it comes to attractions with such potential.
- Jul 18, 2008
- 6,750
- 5,484
That can be said of probably every single attraction ever made, including what we consider some of the world's best like FJ, Indy, etc.
- Mar 16, 2010
- 11,087
- 2,883
I understand where your coming from with the theming but given what it is and how it was done is pretty darn impressive. They built two of these for 25% less than the Little Mermaid. Both the Orlando and Hollywood version came in at 80 million. It was also built during the beginning of dark times of the resort when IOA was failing to meet projections, the Studios attendance was cannibalized by Islands, hotels were not hitting occupancy rates, and constant changes in management and ownership were the norm.
So while I don't agree with the static mummy's in the treasure room or the card board cut out finale I do still love this ride and will always be a fan of Project Coin. : thumbs:
So while I don't agree with the static mummy's in the treasure room or the card board cut out finale I do still love this ride and will always be a fan of Project Coin. : thumbs:
- Aug 13, 2009
- 539
- 462
Gottcha, thanks for the info HTF. As always, well said.
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This is bad, I know, but my whole life I've been a bigger Disney Fan, actually it wasn't until IOA opened that I even liked Universal Orlando. So I guess when I see potential for a great attraction like The Mummy I think of it in terms of, well what if Disney built the same ride, what would it be like... and I know the smart ass comments are coming...
- Jun 30, 2012
- 516
- 19
Spider man, Hulk, Harry Potter, Dragon Challenge.
MIB, Mummy, (sometimes) Rockit, Simpsons.
Transformers will most definitely be going on that list.
I've been going to UOR since the 90's, and being a huge fan of BTTF, Jaws, King Kong etc helped make it a must do every Orlando vacation.
Also Disney did build a very similar ride to the Mummy, look at Rockin Roller Coaster. It also uses cut-outs with flashing lights in the Orlando version, and the Paris version is just scaffolding.
So "What if Disney made this ride" typically ends either the same or slightly worse.
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- Jun 30, 2012
- 516
- 19
Considering we've been seeing incremental upgrades with no downtime for the past year, I doubt it.
- May 26, 2010
- 5,841
- 16,352
I'm actually going to agree with TheLastAshen and take on the unpopular opinion that Revenge of the Mummy is overall a pretty underwhelming attraction.
Is the coaster portion fun? Yes, I love that pop of air time and the silk smooth turns. It's quite short, but it's still a ton of fun.
But the dark ride portion fails to live up to expectations and is frankly in shambles these days, and that's with the "upgrades." (I understand the projectors were upgraded, but I honestly think they may have hurt the ride more than they helped.)
Hear me out:
The storyline frankly makes little sense and is poorly communicated to the guest. The concept is there - you're visiting a movie set that is using cursed, genuine props that proceed to cause mayhem. This ride would have benefitted extremely from a mandatory preshow (ala Rock'n'Roller Coaster) to establish what the Med-Jai symbol is, what it does, who Imhotep is, and who Reggie is (and the coffee mission Brendan Fraiser sends him on so the current ending makes an inkling of sense to the average joe). It'd also help tremendously in establishing what YOUR (the guest's) role is - movie extras. We take all the plot details for granted, but I guarantee you most of the general public has no idea what's going on - and that's a shame, since this has so much more potential than a 30 second roller coaster ride in the dark.
The queue line, thankfully, is perfectly executed. Creepy, atmospheric, wonderfully lit, plenty of interactive entertainment, the works. No complaints at all.
The beginning of the ride is solid, but could be plussed tremendously to be more similar to Hollywood's ride - a handful of the Mummies could easily "come to life" with very minimal motions (i.e. a head turn, glowing eyes and whatnot). Imagine how atmospherically chilling it would be to see the mummy currently lying down on that slab silently turn its head towards you, eyes glowing! The "shadow" projection really makes little sense (it isn't Imhotep since he's still in his sarcophagus, and Reggie is already mummified, so...?). If anyone has any canon details on why that's there and who it's supposed to represent, I'd love to know - the effect is cool, at least.
I also never understood the lighting in these opening turns. The only well lit area is the slab to your right - all of the stuff on your left is left in relative darkness, making it hard to discern that the mummified bodies are supposed to be the tourists on the mine train before you. Why not brighten this up just a smidge? There's lots of great details lost.
The opening show scene with Reggie and Imhotep I used to be great, and then had a slow, painful decline over the years. Reggie used to be far more animated (though I understand he's had a refurbishment & cleaning recently?) Imhotep I was mostly hydraulics originally to be my understanding, and he moved quite smoothly and convincingly - but the figure was unreliable and slowly replaced with pneumatic (air) parts. This led to the figure losing any sense of realism, with the current jerky, frankly lame motions. Then, to add insult to injury, at some point they switched out the scene's lighting package (check older on ride POVs and compare with newer ones, you'll see the difference); the scene is now much too bright, and Imhotep's robotic arm is laughably apparent. The original scene worked fine, but a more reliable, hydraulic Imhotep needs to be installed (I also understand the original Imhotep was built on a very, very low bid by a movie special effects manufacturer, not a more reliable animatronics house), with the original lighting restored.
The transition to the treasure room is fine but slightly awkward... the lighting effect is nifty but so much more could be done besides the otherwise bare walls. The ceiling limbs effect from Hollywood would do great here and greatly enhance the story (i.e. the Mummies are coming to life and are after you!)
The Treasure Room I have almost no problems with... I don't mind the projection, it's the most convincing one in the attraction, and a sand-filled animatronic head would've been incredibly problematic (sand + advanced robotics? no thank you). What I do mind, however, as does most everyone, is the stupidly static warriors. They just come off as cheap and lame, and these days you can see them in their neutral position before they spring up and do nothing. If actual moving animatronics here aren't feasible, then why not take a cue from Hollywood's treasure room (which doesn't have warrior mummies) and use corpses instead? Have stakes spring up with mummified corpses spring up in the warriors' place, foreshadowing your eventual fate (Hollywood has such corpses, though they're pinned to a wall and illuminated by light, instead). They won't look fake if they don't move since, you know, they're dead. My only other nitpick with this scene is the bare wall underneath the falling doorway - couldn't they apply a basic Egyptian stone look to match the rest of the room? It's very apparent it's just a black wall.
The scarab room has lost most of its impact over the years (I can't remember the last time I was actually squirted with water upon the lights going out). The projectors are now stupidly bright, making it VERY apparent that we are looking at projected images. I wish they'd use the projection sequence from Singapore, in which we actually "crash" into the wall and break the sculpture, releasing the beetles. I still think the conveyor walls with the plastic beetles attached is a little silly and still visible when the lights go out, but whatever. Could at least get some of the leg ticklers from Hollywood to enhance the scene?
The turntable is where the storytelling/showmanship goes to hell. The projection's CGI is both terrible in quality and brightness; this is gotten worse recently, with the catwalks and black curtains embarrassingly obvious. A scene once almost pitch black is now merely dim, making it quite clear you're in a thrown together soundstage. Ideally this scene would be actually rethemed with Egyptian walls and hieroglyphics, with a new and improved Imhotep CGI head appearing alongside the glyphs as he does in the Treasure room.
The launch tunnel has also deteriorated over the years, with the audio seemingly cracked and hazy; the projection has seen better days, in part due to lack of sufficient fog and clarity. It'd be great to get Singapore's newer setup, which actually has a black "face" at the top of the tunnel that the projection is mapped too - it looks absolutely fantastic even in grainy on-ride POVs. It'd also be a wishful thinking to actually again get an Egyptian tunnel here with more glyphs... instead we get more black curtains and the bizarre "crystal" things (seriously, what are these supposed to be?)
The coaster portion is fun, but storytelling/show-wise, lame, lame, lame. Space Mountain is more impressive than this. You can barely see the flashing blacklit mummies, and the flashes illuminate the bare showbuilding you're flying around in. Why not use projections seen at Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, where a CGI ghost actually has motion and follows along the vehicle? Imagine how terrifying and impressive that would be! In a perfect world we'd actually have a huge Egyptian sacrificial chamber of some sort with lots of fire effects and physical mummy figures... but I'd settle for the darkness coupled with projections.
The fake unload is a remnant of the largely failed/forgotten "psychological thrill ride" branding/hype Universal pushed down our throats leading up to the ride opening... problem is, the scene is neither terrifying, surprising, or convincing. It's highly apparent that this isn't the actual station for a plethora of reasons (no gates, no visible ride op, no apparent exit), and any chance of surprise is lost after the first ride. Singapore's updated take on the scene is much better, with Imhotep already being present upon rider's entering and simply harassing them with the fire.... no attempt at "faking" them out, just more Imhotep attacks.
And of course, we have the "we totally ran out of money - crap!" ending. The floating painted Imhotep head isn't the worst thing ever (even though it looks nothing like Imhotep), nor is the Med-Jai symbol that comes out of nowhere (!?)... but to the average guest no one has any idea what just happened. The Brendan Fraiser coffee ending would make slightly more sense if the mandatory preshow was instituted, allowing an actual punchline to a plot that EVERY guest had witnessed. To most, this is just a WTF ending. If we REALLY wanted to get generous, we could steal Singapore's ending, which has Imhotep being resealed into the sarcophagus seen at the ride's beginning... and then him shaking inside attempting to escape, declaring he would get out and get us yet. What a much more interesting and easy to understand ending, that realistically would not cost much to implement since the schematics already exist!
(If you haven't noticed... Singapore's ride is Florida's on steroids with the nonsensical plot elements removed or refined..)
Now I know what you're thinking... hey, the ride was only built for 40 million, at the time of the "dark ages" of the parks. I get that, and it's commendable that they were able to do so much with so little. But that does not matter (nor should it) to 99.9% of the theme park-going population... they just expect a great ride that makes sense. I'm not going to adjust my expectations of quality on how a dark ride should be handled due to budget constraints... it's either a good ride or it isn't. Right now, Revenge of the Mummy is mediocre but fun (shallow, really), which is a shame because it has the potential to be a superior attraction.
For what it's worth, my favorite attractions at the Studios are Men in Black, ET, JAWS (RIP), and likely-soon-to-be Transformers... I'm a sucker for show-based ride experiences with great storytelling. Mummy has the ride portion down, but it needs major help in the showmanship department.
Is the coaster portion fun? Yes, I love that pop of air time and the silk smooth turns. It's quite short, but it's still a ton of fun.
But the dark ride portion fails to live up to expectations and is frankly in shambles these days, and that's with the "upgrades." (I understand the projectors were upgraded, but I honestly think they may have hurt the ride more than they helped.)
Hear me out:
The storyline frankly makes little sense and is poorly communicated to the guest. The concept is there - you're visiting a movie set that is using cursed, genuine props that proceed to cause mayhem. This ride would have benefitted extremely from a mandatory preshow (ala Rock'n'Roller Coaster) to establish what the Med-Jai symbol is, what it does, who Imhotep is, and who Reggie is (and the coffee mission Brendan Fraiser sends him on so the current ending makes an inkling of sense to the average joe). It'd also help tremendously in establishing what YOUR (the guest's) role is - movie extras. We take all the plot details for granted, but I guarantee you most of the general public has no idea what's going on - and that's a shame, since this has so much more potential than a 30 second roller coaster ride in the dark.
The queue line, thankfully, is perfectly executed. Creepy, atmospheric, wonderfully lit, plenty of interactive entertainment, the works. No complaints at all.
The beginning of the ride is solid, but could be plussed tremendously to be more similar to Hollywood's ride - a handful of the Mummies could easily "come to life" with very minimal motions (i.e. a head turn, glowing eyes and whatnot). Imagine how atmospherically chilling it would be to see the mummy currently lying down on that slab silently turn its head towards you, eyes glowing! The "shadow" projection really makes little sense (it isn't Imhotep since he's still in his sarcophagus, and Reggie is already mummified, so...?). If anyone has any canon details on why that's there and who it's supposed to represent, I'd love to know - the effect is cool, at least.
I also never understood the lighting in these opening turns. The only well lit area is the slab to your right - all of the stuff on your left is left in relative darkness, making it hard to discern that the mummified bodies are supposed to be the tourists on the mine train before you. Why not brighten this up just a smidge? There's lots of great details lost.
The opening show scene with Reggie and Imhotep I used to be great, and then had a slow, painful decline over the years. Reggie used to be far more animated (though I understand he's had a refurbishment & cleaning recently?) Imhotep I was mostly hydraulics originally to be my understanding, and he moved quite smoothly and convincingly - but the figure was unreliable and slowly replaced with pneumatic (air) parts. This led to the figure losing any sense of realism, with the current jerky, frankly lame motions. Then, to add insult to injury, at some point they switched out the scene's lighting package (check older on ride POVs and compare with newer ones, you'll see the difference); the scene is now much too bright, and Imhotep's robotic arm is laughably apparent. The original scene worked fine, but a more reliable, hydraulic Imhotep needs to be installed (I also understand the original Imhotep was built on a very, very low bid by a movie special effects manufacturer, not a more reliable animatronics house), with the original lighting restored.
The transition to the treasure room is fine but slightly awkward... the lighting effect is nifty but so much more could be done besides the otherwise bare walls. The ceiling limbs effect from Hollywood would do great here and greatly enhance the story (i.e. the Mummies are coming to life and are after you!)
The Treasure Room I have almost no problems with... I don't mind the projection, it's the most convincing one in the attraction, and a sand-filled animatronic head would've been incredibly problematic (sand + advanced robotics? no thank you). What I do mind, however, as does most everyone, is the stupidly static warriors. They just come off as cheap and lame, and these days you can see them in their neutral position before they spring up and do nothing. If actual moving animatronics here aren't feasible, then why not take a cue from Hollywood's treasure room (which doesn't have warrior mummies) and use corpses instead? Have stakes spring up with mummified corpses spring up in the warriors' place, foreshadowing your eventual fate (Hollywood has such corpses, though they're pinned to a wall and illuminated by light, instead). They won't look fake if they don't move since, you know, they're dead. My only other nitpick with this scene is the bare wall underneath the falling doorway - couldn't they apply a basic Egyptian stone look to match the rest of the room? It's very apparent it's just a black wall.
The scarab room has lost most of its impact over the years (I can't remember the last time I was actually squirted with water upon the lights going out). The projectors are now stupidly bright, making it VERY apparent that we are looking at projected images. I wish they'd use the projection sequence from Singapore, in which we actually "crash" into the wall and break the sculpture, releasing the beetles. I still think the conveyor walls with the plastic beetles attached is a little silly and still visible when the lights go out, but whatever. Could at least get some of the leg ticklers from Hollywood to enhance the scene?
The turntable is where the storytelling/showmanship goes to hell. The projection's CGI is both terrible in quality and brightness; this is gotten worse recently, with the catwalks and black curtains embarrassingly obvious. A scene once almost pitch black is now merely dim, making it quite clear you're in a thrown together soundstage. Ideally this scene would be actually rethemed with Egyptian walls and hieroglyphics, with a new and improved Imhotep CGI head appearing alongside the glyphs as he does in the Treasure room.
The launch tunnel has also deteriorated over the years, with the audio seemingly cracked and hazy; the projection has seen better days, in part due to lack of sufficient fog and clarity. It'd be great to get Singapore's newer setup, which actually has a black "face" at the top of the tunnel that the projection is mapped too - it looks absolutely fantastic even in grainy on-ride POVs. It'd also be a wishful thinking to actually again get an Egyptian tunnel here with more glyphs... instead we get more black curtains and the bizarre "crystal" things (seriously, what are these supposed to be?)
The coaster portion is fun, but storytelling/show-wise, lame, lame, lame. Space Mountain is more impressive than this. You can barely see the flashing blacklit mummies, and the flashes illuminate the bare showbuilding you're flying around in. Why not use projections seen at Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, where a CGI ghost actually has motion and follows along the vehicle? Imagine how terrifying and impressive that would be! In a perfect world we'd actually have a huge Egyptian sacrificial chamber of some sort with lots of fire effects and physical mummy figures... but I'd settle for the darkness coupled with projections.
The fake unload is a remnant of the largely failed/forgotten "psychological thrill ride" branding/hype Universal pushed down our throats leading up to the ride opening... problem is, the scene is neither terrifying, surprising, or convincing. It's highly apparent that this isn't the actual station for a plethora of reasons (no gates, no visible ride op, no apparent exit), and any chance of surprise is lost after the first ride. Singapore's updated take on the scene is much better, with Imhotep already being present upon rider's entering and simply harassing them with the fire.... no attempt at "faking" them out, just more Imhotep attacks.
And of course, we have the "we totally ran out of money - crap!" ending. The floating painted Imhotep head isn't the worst thing ever (even though it looks nothing like Imhotep), nor is the Med-Jai symbol that comes out of nowhere (!?)... but to the average guest no one has any idea what just happened. The Brendan Fraiser coffee ending would make slightly more sense if the mandatory preshow was instituted, allowing an actual punchline to a plot that EVERY guest had witnessed. To most, this is just a WTF ending. If we REALLY wanted to get generous, we could steal Singapore's ending, which has Imhotep being resealed into the sarcophagus seen at the ride's beginning... and then him shaking inside attempting to escape, declaring he would get out and get us yet. What a much more interesting and easy to understand ending, that realistically would not cost much to implement since the schematics already exist!
(If you haven't noticed... Singapore's ride is Florida's on steroids with the nonsensical plot elements removed or refined..)
Now I know what you're thinking... hey, the ride was only built for 40 million, at the time of the "dark ages" of the parks. I get that, and it's commendable that they were able to do so much with so little. But that does not matter (nor should it) to 99.9% of the theme park-going population... they just expect a great ride that makes sense. I'm not going to adjust my expectations of quality on how a dark ride should be handled due to budget constraints... it's either a good ride or it isn't. Right now, Revenge of the Mummy is mediocre but fun (shallow, really), which is a shame because it has the potential to be a superior attraction.
For what it's worth, my favorite attractions at the Studios are Men in Black, ET, JAWS (RIP), and likely-soon-to-be Transformers... I'm a sucker for show-based ride experiences with great storytelling. Mummy has the ride portion down, but it needs major help in the showmanship department.
