Originally Posted By Dlmusic I was just wondering today whether or not there was a way to compare attractions to each other in a scoring system. What would the categories on which they are judged be? How can you put attractions which have such different goals on equal footing? Well, I worked on a system that I like pretty well. I judged the attractions in 11 categories on a scale of 1 - 10. The categories were: Storyline/Concept Exterior Theming Interior Theming Vehicle Theming Queue Theming Show Effects Script Sound/Music Pacing Art Direction Consistency of Illusion And with that, this was my top 10 list for WDW in order: #1 - Twilight Zone Tower of Terror #2 - Splash Mountain #3 - Kilimanjaro Safaris #4 - Haunted Mansion #5 - Kali River Rapids #6 - Expedition Everest #7 - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad #8 - Pirates of the Caribbean #9 - Star Tours #10 - Spaceship Earth The only real shock on this list is Kali River Rapids, however I do believe that the ride is one of the most immersive attractions ever built, albiet a little disappointingly tame for some.
Originally Posted By Dlmusic BTW, for those who are curious here was the bottom 10: #10 - Mad Tea Party #9 - Astro Orbitor #8 - Maelstrom #7 - Living with the Land #6 - Goofy's Barnstormer #5 - Primeval Whirl #4 - Triceratops Spin #3 - Tomorrowland Transit Authority #2 - Backlot Tram Tour #1 - Tomorrowland Indy Speedway A few surprising attractions on this list including my favorite, the TTA. However this attraction is basically just a cute little ride. Also suprising to see Living with the Land so low, but that's because it's theming really is bland.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That's really neat. I appreciate that there really isn't any sort of "thrill" category, as that seems to end up covering up a lot of holes in quality elsewhere (RNRC for example would be a terrible FL-style dark ride). It sounds like you did this for all WDW attractions, since you have the top and bottom scores. I would be interested to see how every thing played out. If you could, would you mind listing where everything ended up, perhaps with the scores as well? I wonder which park would end up with the highest average, as that would be a really interesting way to compare the different parks.
Originally Posted By Dlmusic I forgot to specify but currently I'm only scoring "rides" because it's very difficult including walkthroughs (how do you judge pacing and vehicle theming) and shows (just different medium altogether) in the same group. But here are my scores for rides: Scores are out of a possible 110. #1 - Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - 99 #2 - Splash Mountain - 98 #3 - Kilimanjaro Safaris - 87 #4 - Haunted Mansion - 85 #5 - Kali River Rapids - 81 #6 - Expedition Everest & Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 79 #8 - Pirates of the Caribbean - 78 #9 - Star Tours - 78 #10 - Liberty Belle Riverboat & Spaceship Earth - 64 #12 - The Seas with Nemo and Friends (Ride) & Jungle Cruise - 59 #14 - It's a Small World & Space Mountain - 57 #16 - Dinosaur - 56 #17 - Peter Pan's Flight - 54 #18 - Great Movie Ride & Universe of Energy - 52 #20 - Mission: Space & Rock 'n Roller Coaster - 51 #22 - Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh & Soarin' - 48 #24 - Snow White's Scary Adventures & Test Track & Journey Into Your Imagination - 43 #27 - Cinderella's Golden Carrousel - 42 #28 - Dumbo the Flying Elephant & El Rio Del Tiempo & Magic Carpets of Aladdin - 38 #31 - Mad Tea Party - 37 #32 - Astro Orbitor - 33 #33 - Maelstrom - - 31 #34 - Living with the Land - 30 #35 - Goofy's Barnstormer - 27 #36 - Primeval Whirl & Triceratops Spn - 26 #38 - Tomorrowland Transit Authority - 23 #39 - Backlot Tram Tour - 19 #40 - Tomorrowland Indy Speedway - 11 Rides not included (transportation): Rafts to Tom Sawyer's Island, Friendship Boats, Magic Kingdom Railroad I would post all the scores but it was be quite comprehensive. If you have any questions on how some of these rides ranked where they did, just ask.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That's quite an interesting list. I'm surprised to see Star Tours so high on it, while some like El Rio Del Tiempo and Maelstrom are so low. I guess when I think about it though, they do seem to pretty much fit with your guidelines though. I just have some trouble seeing Dumbo and the Aladdin spinner as being better than Living with the Land or Maelstrom. Was there any consideration for how these related to the area surrounding them, since I think that would be an interesting curve ball to throw in. It would make a lot more of an impact in the compact DL than in WDW, but there are still some things on the east coast that don't really fit in with their areas (Star Tours and to an extent Soarin'). And just an interesting side note, I counted 27 rides at Disneyland and 15 at DCA, making 52 at DLR's 2 parks against WDW's 59 at 4 parks.
Originally Posted By barboy I have been using my own list for years when talking with other Disney Fans about attractions. 1) facade--- the overall structure which draws a prospective guest to the attraction. ToT, Splash Mnt. and Everest have outstanding facades while ET over at Universal is devoid of a facade. The ET building from the outside is one unsightly wearhouse. 2) queue 3) show scenes/ AA's/ sets/ details/ special affects. Pirates, American Adventure and Splash Mnt. would score high while DCA's Maliboomer would score a zero. 4) duration--- some attractions are just too short(RnRoller Coaster) whereas others give a very comprehensive experience(Pirates, American Adventure, Spaceship Earth and the defunct Horizons and World of Motion). 5) originality/ingenuity/identity--- many Disney attractions would score high in this category except Maliboomer and Mulh. Madness at DCA. 6) repeatability--- there are some attractions which one can enjoy over and over again(Soarin) while others generally can only be experienced once per trip (Small World, most of the shows and Mission Space) irrespective of how good the attraction is. 7) story or overall theme--- rides like Everest and HM have interesting stories and themes whereas the overall point of Universe of energy I find boring. Universe of Energy is a quality attraction but it is very weak in the story/theme dept.. 8) ride vehicles/ride system--- interesting that we both have that one as a category. Style and comfort are what count. Body Wars(and Star Tours), the canoes, Space Mnt(Magic Kingdom only) score low due to a lack of comfort. Soarin, Test Track and RnRoller have very nice ride vehicles. Dinosour has a very cool looking vehicle but the comfort level of the ride needs to be improved because of its abrupt and violent movements.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss The problem is, whatever supposed objectiveness you attempt to put in, it's still subjective. Don't let me spoil your fun though.
Originally Posted By Dlmusic <<4) duration--- some attractions are just too short(RnRoller Coaster) whereas others give a very comprehensive experience(Pirates, American Adventure, Spaceship Earth and the defunct Horizons and World of Motion).>> This is just too hard for me to judge. I think it would favor longer attractions a little too much. My judgement is on pacing, and by that I mean how well the attraction does with the length of time it has. For example there are longer attractions such as the Liberty Belle Riverboat which do not do all that much to engage the rider throughout the experience. It doesn't build up to anything, it's very static. Same thing for Rock 'n Roller Coaster. However, you have other attractions like Test Track which I do think build to a nice climax and the Haunted Mansion which also gets more and more exciting throughout the ride. <<5) originality/ingenuity/identity--- >> The closest thing I have to this is consistency. Do you feel transported somewhere else? Is that illusion maintained? <<6) repeatability--- there are some attractions which one can enjoy over and over again(Soarin) while others generally can only be experienced once per trip (Small World, most of the shows and Mission Space)>> First of all I totally disagree. I can ride It's a Small World a million times more than I can ride Soarin'. But I also don't think repeatibility is really that big of a factor for me. There are movies that I have really enjoyed that I would never have a desire to watch again, but yet I do think were very well made movies. <<7) story or overall theme>> That's on my criteria as well. <<8) ride vehicles/ride system--- interesting that we both have that one as a category. Style and comfort are what count.>> Comfort doesn't factor in for me. I've never felt uncomfortable in almost any Disney attraction so it would put the small minority at a distinct disadvantage. For me it's all about whether or not the vehicle communicates something. Some attractions like Spaceship Earth have very generic vehicles while others use them to enhance the storyline. <The problem is, whatever supposed objectiveness you attempt to put in, it's still subjective. Don't let me spoil your fun though. >> Of course it isn't objective. It's just a fair measuring system. Everyone's scores would vary of course.
Originally Posted By Dlmusic << I just have some trouble seeing Dumbo and the Aladdin spinner as being better than Living with the Land or Maelstrom.>> Not sure why. I think that Dumbo has a brilliant design and is a very attractive attraction. Living with the Land could have been built in any museum across America. The first few scenes are cute, but the ride mostly involves going through greenhouses where they grow plants. There really is no theming to speak of. There's a reason why you see Dumbo in advertising a lot more than you see Living with the Land. And as for Maelstrom, that is to me by far the worst dark ride Disney has ever built. It's poorly themed, features very few interesting effects, has terrible pacing, lackluster score/dialogue and a disjointed storyline. Just not up to Disney quality. <<Was there any consideration for how these related to the area surrounding them, since I think that would be an interesting curve ball to throw in.>> That to me is a park consideration, not really a ride consideration. For example, The Seas with Nemo and Friends is not really the best fit for Epcot, but that won't affect how good the attraction is.
