Race Through NY Starring Jimmy Fallon

[Living_Bread]

while I'm not a fan of this ride, I think the exterior and the idea of a Late Night Show reminds me of early Universal (at least theme wise). It feels like it belongs at a studio. Murder She Wrote was a behind the scenes take on a show, and this feels like an in-depth view on the experience of Late Night. That being said, it is a simulator and not a show, the theme very much fits. As for the mediocrity I've heard about the ride experience, Twister wasn't really a star attraction. The only reason I rode it every time is because it made me laugh due to the cheese of the ride. Also Twister was a bit scary for the occasional toddler approaching. I don't know, I don't mind the addition. I do get sad that there really isn't a natural disaster focused attraction anymore however, but maybe that'll change in the future.

 

[Speed]

Heading there now. If the line isn't bad (90 mins or less) i'll try to get on, would love it review it.

 

[sonoma15]

Rode this this morning, it was fun and the queue was excellent. 3D was great too.

 

[k_peek_2000]

while I'm not a fan of this ride, I think the exterior and the idea of a Late Night Show reminds me of early Universal (at least theme wise). It feels like it belongs at a studio.

While I think Jimmy Fallon is totally fake an unfunny and dislike most of what I've seen of the ride. The NBC Studio aspect would seem like a darn good fit for Hollywood, moreso than Orlando since Hollywood still is a working studio and The Tonight Show was actually shot at USH for decades.

 

[Jones14]

Just posted this over on Magic as well:

Just got off this. It was... fine, I guess? I mentioned this over on OU, but I wondered aloud whether the ride would end up being a Transformers (I.e. an almost reskin of another ride), and there are soooo many moments that were directly lifted from Despicable Me and The Simpsons. The ride makes the other two seem redundant because it rehashed them both over and over.

In the same manner that I generally choose Spider-Man OR Transformers, I would choose Simpsons and Despicable OR Fallon, and other than the newness factor, the former two are better rides on the whole. It's not that Fallon is bad, per se, it's just that it'd be like Hollywood Studios opening Iron Man Experience next to the 50s Primetime Cafe. Sure, they're the newer, shinier rides, but it seems like the older ones were made from an idea instead of a statistical chart, and as such, are used to their full potential (as of their respective openings).

Side notes: the queue is beautiful and amazing and Gringotts needs to start operating like this yesterday. The wait feels much shorter than really is. The theatre, however, is very poorly themed, and does not feel anywhere near the level that we should come to expect from Universal as of this decade. The CGI makes Soarin's issues look like the tiniest of potatoes. The soundtrack for the ride was nice; I felt like it fit well.

If this ride were replacing The Simpsons or Despicable Me, and had better CGI, and a better themed theatre, it would fare better. As it stands, it's more of the same in a park that's overrun with poor CGI/motion based theatre attractions, and it (for me) removes some of the novelty of its counterparts because of it.

This could have and should have been so much more. I refuse to get behind the idea of filler attractions. Universal and Disney are far too successful to allow quality to slip whenever they reduce the scale (and smaller scale attractions are just as important), and this ride would've fit right in pre-Comcast. That's a bad thing, and a dismaying sign for all but Nintendo and Potter.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Not every attraction has a potter/Nintendo budget.

 

[Jones14]

Not every attraction has a potter/Nintendo budget.

Nor should every attraction. But every attraction should have the same level of care as the Potter/Nintendo additions.

 

[Scott W.]

Nor should every attraction. But every attraction should have the same level of care as the Potter/Nintendo additions.

Care and budget are not mutually exclusive.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Budgets limit what Creative can do. If Creative didn't have the budget for Gringotts, it would have been a theater simulator. Creative goes in to every project with the same thought process.

 

[GAcoaster]

Anecdote from today- went to the Hallmark store and the cashier started chatting and asked if we went to Universal, then went on to tell us about how her husband is a park fanatic and dragged her over to the soft open the other night. She went on to tell us how much she liked the ride and explained that it was a lot like the Shrek attraction and it was a lot of fun. She explained that she's not a park person but highly recommended "The Jimmy Fallon thing".

THIS is their target audience. This is who they built this for. The GP. They don't care that it's the same as Shrek (and the other screen based rides), they just know they like the experience.

 

[Jones14]

Budgets limit what Creative can do. If Creative didn't have the budget for Gringotts, it would have been a theater simulator. Creative goes in to every project with the same thought process.

And the problem is not that it's a simulator. The problem is that it's a greatest hits compilation of two other simulators in the same park, and it doesn't pull off the copied effects as well as its predecessors. Budget dictated the ride system. Laziness and a "good enough" attitude dictated the content.

 

[Brian G.]

Thank you guys for getting this discussion on the right track. I'll have some more thoughts later.

 

[rcoasterdude]

Tim Tracker said it was a fun ride. I usually have the same exact opinions as him so I'll probably like it!

 

[Scott W.]

The interesting thing I'm taking from all this is that everything is top notch except from the actual video itself which is the most easily replaced thing.

 

[deathcab4cutie]

you know ive been thinking lately that maybe it seems bad because its meant to be.It references Simpsons and transformers multiple times even down to the whiplash joke.

 

[Speed]

Just got off it, the queue was great but the ride was meh as others have said. Ride's story makes no sense but it's ok because it kind of fits the theme of the show which is supposed to be silly and fun. It could really use some more motion because at some points you just don't feel anything while at others you do. Overall I would rate the whole thing 6.5/10

 

[JoeCamel]

Just got off it, the queue was great but the ride was meh as others have said. Ride's story makes no sense but it's ok because it kind of fits the theme of the show which is supposed to be silly and fun. It could really use some more motion because at some points you just don't feel anything while at others you do. Overall I would rate the whole thing 6.5/10

I am wondering if they killed the motion in response to reports of nausea in the early tests? I don't do Simpsons any longer and maybe this was the same til they calmed it down?

 

[Mad Dog]

I am wondering if they killed the motion in response to reports of nausea in the early tests? I don't do Simpsons any longer and maybe this was the same til they calmed it down?

OI, as I said in an earlier post, said that their Universal sources told them they may amp up the motion in the future. I'd imagine they'll soft it at a few different ratios and see what the surveys say......That system has the potential to get pretty rough if they want it to be. I used to do the two BGW attractions (before it was Europe In the Air) a lot and they were extremely rough with probably too much motion.

 

[darkridelover]

Guys, the ride isn't meant to be taken seriously. Fallon literally stands up in the middle of the ride and says, "what else can we do in 3D?, I know, a t-shirt cannon" and then he shoots a t-shirt cannon at the audience to make fun of the 3d. The reason why it feels like a copy is because that's Fallon's humor. To view the world as ridiculous and silly.

I understand if you don't watch the show, you might not get it. But it is TOP QUALITY FALLON humor. I guarantee they were sitting around a writers room and at some point someone asked "what's next?" and someone else said "it would be cool if we could go to the moon and float in space", and everyone around that table said, great! Because that's what FALLON is. The fans will get that. Other people, not so much.

 

[Alicia]

Guys, the ride isn't meant to be taken seriously. Fallon literally stands up in the middle of the ride and says, "what else can we do in 3D?, I know, a t-shirt cannon" and then he shoots a t-shirt cannon at the audience to make fun of the 3d.

I liked that moment most. Reminded me of Muppetvision where they do 3D gags like water flower, floating pie, even the 3D logo in the beginning, all while talking about how they're trying to do 3D things to mess with the audience.