Originally Posted By Skellington88 >>Sorry, but no way on God's green Earth is the Little Mermaid attraction at DCA going to even come close to the visual feast and immersive masterpiece that is Mermaid Lagoon at TDS.<< Huh??? you know this how? Mermaid lagoon is like 6 years old already...im sure they can do better. Disney even said this will be the "first MAJOR Little Mermaid attraction" which implies that it will be a cut above anything done before including the Voyage of LM show at MGM studios and c-ticket ML at tokyo disneysea.
Originally Posted By TDR_Fan I'm certain it will be better than the attractions at Mermaid Lagoon, no doubt about that. But better than the collective experiences of the whole land? No way. Mermaid Lagoon is a breathtaking experience that it is, in itself, a major E-ticket attraction for me.
Originally Posted By dshyates I do enjoy finally reading an arguement about how fantastic a DCA attraction will be. DCA WON"T i repaet WON"T be perfect. , but after the redo could be hotly in the running for the 2nd best Disney park in the US.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris What?!? I cannot imagine it being better than DL, DAK or Epcot. Even the latter park, with its now muddled message is still a beautiful place to just be in. Sorry but DCA would only ever be fourth, at best, if THAT!
Originally Posted By dshyates If the entrance works right it will have more heart than EPCOT ever had. Don't get me wrong, I'm WDW fan at heart, but when they get done it should be thickly themed and have more attractions than DAK and EPCOT combined. I can easily see DLR being an acceptable alternitive to a WDW vacation. I never intended to imply that it may surpass DL, but the stagnant MK better take notice.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo dshyates - you hit the nail on the head. If everything is ace quality, and the attraction count surpasses WDW, then it is very likely that I would only visit friends or the Florida swamps every 10 - 20 years and DL every 3 or so (with the annual trip to DLP, and the planned Asian invasion).
Originally Posted By Mr X **as you literally are walking underground to discover this undersea world** Actually, to be picky here, you are "literally" descending to near ground level. It's just impossible to tell, cause DisneySea is built multi-level so you never really know where the "ground" is unless you are at the main gate.
Originally Posted By Mr X *Disney even said this will be the "first MAJOR Little Mermaid attraction" which implies that it will be bla bla bla bla bla bla bla... Yes, you are so correct. You could NEVER consider an actually ENTIRE LAND in a theme park anything "major". bla bla bla bla
Originally Posted By WorldDisney **as you literally are walking underground to discover this undersea world** <<Actually, to be picky here, you are "literally" descending to near ground level. It's just impossible to tell, cause DisneySea is built multi-level so you never really know where the "ground" is unless you are at the main gate.>> LOL, good point! BUT you are walking down right?
Originally Posted By Mr X No, not at all. It's the same effect as the Haunted Mansion, but it's amazing how they manage it with no elevator or anything, just kinda FEELS like you're walking downwards but the whole thing is a holodeck effect like on Star Trek.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney <<No, not at all. It's the same effect as the Haunted Mansion, but it's amazing how they manage it with no elevator or anything, just kinda FEELS like you're walking downwards but the whole thing is a holodeck effect like on Star Trek.>> Wow that's amazing!! Makes me appreciate this park even more now . I wish I can go tomorrow and figure it out .
Originally Posted By Mr X I think that's part of what dummy, er, I mean Skellington is missing when he makes his silly comments about the new mermaid ride on the amusement pier next to the coaster...as compared to the utter immersion of Mermaid Lagoon (I was laughing my butt off reading TDR_Fan's reply...classic!). Duh.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Yeah, its the total immersion thing that gets me ALL the time at TDS!!! Even with TOT, which I wasn't very impressed with the ride (if anyone read my review on it ), but I swear TOT hotel in American Waterfront looks like it was ALWAYS there! It snycs perfertly in with everything around the theme, a big hotel in New York next to a cruise ship on one end and a New York broadway show on the other side. It's PERFECT!!! Meanwhile....back at DCA...you got TOT hotel that is oddly placed in a Hollywood BACKLOT and doesn't change one iota to represent the intended surrounding or at least try to pretend the hotel is just a working set that one night went 'horribly wrong'. Naaah, that's too much work . Then, to make matters worse, they throw TOT in the back of the lot basically hidden from view with no real buildup, just sort of 'back there' with none of the beautiful surroundings it has at MGM while meanwhile TOT in TDS sits in front of a PARK, Central Park I think the name is, with its own fountain that kids can play in and people can sit in and just relax with the towering looming over them. THAT's the differences we are talking about here and why DCA has a loooong way to go to get it right! The difference is now I believe they (mostly) can.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Yeah, its the total immersion thing that gets me ALL the time at TDS!!! Even with TOT, which I wasn't very impressed with the ride (if anyone read my review on it ), but I swear TOT hotel in American Waterfront looks like it was ALWAYS there!*** It was always on the drawing board, at least as far back as the first time I heard about it in 1998 (OFFICIALLY heard about it from Disney, I mean, when I was in a Disney meeting about plans and schematics for the upcoming DisneySea park...just in case someone wants to chime in stupidly and claim I saw it "as a rumor"). It was right there in black and white. In fact, at the time it appeared to be part of "phase one", but I guess they pushed it back (three BILLION is an awful lot to spend on a park...I guess SOMETHING had to wait). **Meanwhile....back at DCA...you got TOT hotel that is oddly placed in a Hollywood BACKLOT and doesn't change one iota to represent the intended surrounding or at least try to pretend** And that's what happens when you shoehorn in a desperate project in an attempt to boost revenues. I've heard claims that ToT was "planned all along" for DCA too...but I find that hard to believe. VERY hard to believe. I would have to get confirmation from a reliable source...can someone please contact Al Lutz??
Originally Posted By Mr X **Central Park I think the name is** Waterfront Park. And you call yourself a DisneySea fan!!
Originally Posted By jonvn I saw slides from a project post mortem (that darkbeer posted...let's say selected quotes from) that had as a future plan TOT. So it was going to go in there all along, I am pretty sure.
Originally Posted By Mr X Well, in that case, it seems weird to me that they didn't shoehorn it in so badly. Honestly, out of the three I've seen the DCA version is the only one that seems totally out of place...just sort of "stuck in" to a zone that really didn't fit. Of course, that may just be my opinion...at MGM it doesn't seem to "stick out" because a zone was created just for it...and at DisneySea, with a new york motif and all, a giant tower just seems to jive very nicely (ESPECIALLY with a near full scale ship nearby). DCA just seems to be "there". No rhyme or reason. I guess I'm saying no "set-up" surrounding area, more than anything. Obviously there isn't really a rhyme or reason at MGM either.
Originally Posted By Mr X That they DID shoehorn it in so badly. Seem to have misplaced my edit key...
Originally Posted By jonvn Seems like it's ok where it is to me. I think what you're seeing is a matter of space. Florida they stuck it way out at the end of Sunset. In DCA, they stuck it where it would best go. I really don't understand the entertainment value of this ride.
Originally Posted By Mr X Have you ridden it? The entertainment is in the drop (or at least, the "payoff"). Honestly, I prefer "true" drop your stomach into your throat thrills...Tower is pretty darned tame frankly. BUT...the spooky setup and all that is pretty cool. Florida is still my favorite though. Just the fact that your elevator "goes crazy" and starts moving forward and all that is a lot of the excitement for me...I don't really care that the special effects in that section aren't all that great.
