Originally Posted By FerretAfros I've been thinking about this 'new' feature on the mine train, where the cars will rock back and forth, like ore cars, but I can't help but feel like I've seen this before somewhere. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I remember it at Tivoli Gardens, on a really old historic coaster called Rutschebanen. It is one of the original scenic railways, originally built for some world's fair-type event in 1914, and moved to Tivoli in 1915. It still has an operator on each train to man the breaks, to make sure that the cars don't get moving too fast. I remember the cars sort of rocking as you went around the turns, but I can't find any information online that will confirm this. Given how old it is, and still in operation, it's pretty surprising how little information there is out there about it; there doesn't even really appear to be anything about it in Danish. I'm not sure if it was this one, but I definitely remember being on some really old coaster somewhere (this is by far the oldest I've ever ridden) that had the swinging mine-car-like motion. Funny that this is a supposedly 'new' feature for the Fantasyland expansion. Here's a picture of the coaster, if anybody knows anything more about it: <a href="http://cache.rcdb.com/pictures/picmax/p7632.jpg" target="_blank">http://cache.rcdb.com/pictures...7632.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Doesn't the MK already have a run away Mine Train already? Is it me or is the MK begining to seem a bit redundant? Perhaps Tiffany & Co. can sponser the 7 Dwarf's Mine Train ride and we can all get to see a real million diamonds shine! Why should all the Tiffany & Co. employees get to have all the fun.
Originally Posted By xrayvision FerretAfros, here's a POV video of Rutschebanen at Tivoli Gardens: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Gv3QomoQg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...v3QomoQg</a>
Originally Posted By xrayvision The wooden planks on Rutschebanen's track probably help with the rocking feeling experienced while on the runaway mine train coaster.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I love that coaster. The sad thing is Tivoli Gardens feels more like the old Disneyland/WDW than Disney parks do now.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>If anything, just proof that Peter Pan needs a HUGE overhaul...<< Can't speak for the MK version, but Pan at DL is consistently crowded... I mean popular. And bear in mind that's in a park that has the highest attraction count of any Disney theme park. Peter Pan is just fine.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Can't speak for the MK version, but Pan at DL is consistently crowded... I mean popular. And bear in mind that's in a park that has the highest attraction count of any Disney theme park. Peter Pan is just fine.>> The WDW is crowded all the time. It's also looked like **** for a good 10 years now.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>It's also looked like **** for a good 10 years now.<< Sorry to hear that. The one in DL is a gem-- my favorite small scale dark ride by far. Dare I say... magical?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Sorry to hear that. The one in DL is a gem-- my favorite small scale dark ride by far.>> I've heard. I was hoping MK's would get a redo during the construction, but I guess Phil decided that would ruin too many vacations.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<Sorry to hear that. The one in DL is a gem-- my favorite small scale dark ride by far.>> I know I'm gonna take **** for this, but I actually prefer the Florida version. The "flying over Neverland" part in the Disneyland ride just seems so cheesy to me - and I actually think the flow in the Florida ride is much better. Plus, I prefer the soundtrack in the WDW version - that short, repetitive version of You Can Fly just fits the mood of the ride so much better. (And I like the way it changes subtely has you move between London and Neverland.)
Originally Posted By markymouse I'll go with an optimistic 3, but with an undercurrent of 2. Pulling out a dark ride for a character greeting area. Not so good. I'm not a huge fan of Snow White's Scary Adventures, but to rip it out without putting in another dark ride, that's not good. Little Mermaid is obviously a big plus. But a clone. Midway Mania. Turtle Talk. If it's good, and smaller than a Himalayan mountain, you can guarantee it will show up in both resorts. A restaurant, a character greeting and character story telling are all pretty darn cheap. But as someone who has spoken favorably of the value of nice little A ticket attractions, I guess I can't complain. It sounds like Toon Country Fair is becoming a magical circus, or some such. No harm there. My fear for the mine train is that it will be too fast to function as a dark ride. I like Casey Jr. in Disneyland because it has a little bit of a thrill to it, but not enough to keep you from being able to take it all in. Splash Mountain alternates thrills and story. I hope that the mine train doesn't sacrifice fun storytelling for fast paced kid sized thrills. I also hope they'll take this opportunity to retell Snow White in a less scary way. Now that my boys are older, they like the scare factor of Snow White, but for 9 out of 10 really little ones, its negatives far out weigh its positives. More of a light hearted musical Whistle While You Work feel could be fun. As long as it doesn't last 90 seconds. I feel better about this than when the plans were first announced. "And here you'll be able to share the magic of Disney's Princesses while you and your own little princess hear Belle or Aurora enthrall you with tales of the wonders of the Disney Vacation Club!"
Originally Posted By Manfried I'm thinking it would be nice to hear from some fan girls for a change on these proposals.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I've heard. I was hoping MK's would get a redo during the construction, but I guess Phil decided that would ruin too many vacations.<<< Hopefully after the expansion. There's a lot of odd plans circulating for that side of FL, including the demolition of the Skyway.
Originally Posted By brotherdave I don't believe that the cars on Rutschebanen at Tivoli Gardens "rock" (or ever "rocked") like the proposed Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will. It is classified as a "scenic railway" type of coaster, and dates back to at least 1915. Unlike modern wooden roller coasters, the old "scenic railway" types of rides often utilized an onboard "brakeman" to control the speed of the coaster train. In other words, the brakes were on the coaster cars themselves and not in the track. <a href="http://www.rcdb.com/1054.htm?p=26671" target="_blank">http://www.rcdb.com/1054.htm?p=26671</a> To my knowledge, there is only one other coaster built that offers rocking cars as the proposed SDMT is supposed to offer. It is called the "Orphan Rocker" and is located in a park called Scenic World in New South Wales, Australia. <a href="http://www.rcdb.com/1870.htm" target="_blank">http://www.rcdb.com/1870.htm</a> Unfortunately, although originally built in 1988, I don't think it has ever truly opened to the public. It is still listed as "under construction" and may never open. But the cars are supposed to "rock" like those on the announced WDW coaster. I'm not sure what the problems were on the Orphan Rocker to never allow it to officially open. If it was the rocking motion of the cars, I'm guessing that the more mild nature of the proposed mine train might be more condusive to that feature than what the Orphan Rocker's larger design may have permitted.
Originally Posted By brotherdave Oh, I might add if it truly was the rocking motion of the cars that prohibited Orphan Rocker from ever truly opening, I'm surprised that they just didn't replace the cars with ordinary non-rocking trains. My guess is that the problem with the ride may have been a design flaw in the track itself.
