Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I think the little versions of the leaves on the railing that are similiar to the big leaf versions that were always there look cute.
Originally Posted By phruby >>If the whole thing ends up looking like that one small section you can see on the link from #16, that will actually look much nicer than I was expecting. If this were Magic Mountain, they would have left the traffic cones and string and called it a day.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance And you can pay $69 at the gate to go to Magic Mountain, or $96 at Disneyland. It's your choice.
Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl I've been to (pre-Six-Flags) MM exactly once. It was my elementary school graduation trip. It was hot, arid, and boring.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "What the heck kind of friend is he anyway, Hans? I thought he was a former parade performer at WDW? Shouldn't he know his Disney stuff?!" Exactly my point. Not everyone is crazy obsessed with the place like we are, including former cast members. BTW, he pulled up an old clip on Youtube of his days as a dancer in a Christmas dinner show called "Jolly Holidays" at the Contemporary Resort in the early 90s while were at the Cove Bar. Hilarious.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA < It was hot, arid, and boring.> Those same words were said on my honeymoon! (with apologies to Kar2oonMan)
Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl As I recall, the best parts of my one visit to MM were: 1. An 1970s-era arcade game that involved opening a safe before a timer ran out (if you succeeded, it dispensed a souvenir token of the same sort that the retooled antique slots at Knotts did, all those years ago (are they still there?) 2. The room at the top of the observation tower (it was gloriously air-conditioned) 3. Getting on the bus to go home. But back to the thread, I walked past Alice once or twice, during my two visits a few weeks ago (I just got in under the wire on the local resident 2-day hopper deal), but didn't see a whole lot of what was being done there.
Originally Posted By phruby The MM observation tower hasn't been open in years. It's ashamed because there is suppose to be a museum up there.
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 More pictures on Mintcrocodile, here's one with the railing <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://mintcrocodile.smugmug.com/photos/i-hFdwCWp/0/O/i-hFdwCWp-O.png">http://mintcrocodile.smugmug.c...Wp-O.png</a> Heard that the railing is only going to be installed on the left side of the track because that is the side where the guests exit, and maintenance workers will be required to walk on that side during the walk through, and presumably have to use a broom to push off branches/leaves that are on the other side or something.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I like that it seems like there will only be railing on the one side, but I wonder why they had to widen the track on both sides if there isn't supposed to be access to that side by guests or workers I'm not such a big fan of all the 'stuff' they're adding to the track to try and theme it. The railing itself looks nice, but if it has that many leaves on it for the entire length it may look ridiculous. And I think that the stuff they put on the outer side of the track is pretty awful, and it would look better with a plain exposed edge. Sometimes the best way to keep people from looking at something is to keep it so plain that they don't even notice it (like the giant speaker hidden in plain sight on Space Mountain's exterior)
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 >>I like that it seems like there will only be railing on the one side, but I wonder why they had to widen the track on both sides if there isn't supposed to be access to that side by guests or workers<< Well, the new sides of the track are supported by new pylons and a lot of structural steel, and there are new support beams underneath the old track, supposedly an upgraded earthquake proof version. So, yeah, they had to do it that way from what I hear. >>I'm not such a big fan of all the 'stuff' they're adding to the track to try and theme it. The railing itself looks nice, but if it has that many leaves on it for the entire length it may look ridiculous. And I think that the stuff they put on the outer side of the track is pretty awful, and it would look better with a plain exposed edge.<< In this case they added a lot of structural steel for support during an earthquake, the old version was just cement and rebar, instead of being structurally supported on the sides. So, without the old edge, you now have this steel beam that needed to be hidden. But I agree, I think they *could've* done a better job if they removed the whole thing and built something that looked like it was organic. Of course this would be a much higher budget. Look at what they did with Honey I Shrunk the kids, <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://magicalmouseplanner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Kids.jpg">http://magicalmouseplanner.com...Kids.jpg</a> I wonder if they might have changed some scenes around on the inside . . .
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 The door no longer has the cards on it, looks like they might be putting in a digitally projected Chesire cat on it, heard they might be thinking about something like this . . .
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 The doors always had a crack of light during the day, making the ramming through the cards less effective, it looks like they might have fixed a lot of the crack, and with a digitally projected chesire cat head, that light itself would help disguise its a door until it opens.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I don't doubt that there were seismic upgrades with the widened track (at the very least, accounting for the new track), but that could have been done with only extending the track on one side. Especially since there are new supports directly under the old track, there's no reason that they would have needed to extend beyond it for any sort of support. Perhaps they thought it would look better to have the track 'centered' on the platform, rather than next to the edge on one side. It's interesting that they kept the outer guide rails that I always assumed were a failstop to keep the vehicle's front wheel from going over the edge of the track. Maybe the turns are just so tight that the wheel needs some extra guidance, but that doesn't seem to be an issue with the indoor scenes I'm not sure how I feel about the Cheshire Cat on the doors. I agree that the cards were never especially effective, but they at least made sense with the painting/croquet scenes immediately before; the Cat will be yet another non-sequitur in a really random ride. It will also be interesting to see how effective the projection is, since it would disappear as soon as the doors begin to open to the daylight
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 >>I don't doubt that there were seismic upgrades with the widened track (at the very least, accounting for the new track), but that could have been done with only extending the track on one side.<< From an engineering standpoint, the current configuration is most stable as the sides (which are newly poured concrete in rebar), are fully stabilized, and the old 'ribbon' of track in the middle has beams under it. Remember that they drilled holes into the old track for rebar, leaving a side of the track alone wouldn't have been as stable, regardless of whether or not a "beam" was placed under it. The old track has been "knitted" into the new. >>Especially since there are new supports directly under the old track, there's no reason that they would have needed to extend beyond it for any sort of support. << See above, but what was done makes the track that much more stable, you can't not do it to half the track and expect it to be just as stable, it won't be, not even beams underneath old sections would be as good. The "strong" part of the old track was the center center, the weakest part was cantilevering sections that tapered. >>It's interesting that they kept the outer guide rails that I always assumed were a failstop to keep the vehicle's front wheel from going over the edge of the track. Maybe the turns are just so tight that the wheel needs some extra guidance, but that doesn't seem to be an issue with the indoor scenes<< Layers of safety, only half the track has the full height railing, though there is a smaller bit of vine work that might also help in the case of a derailment. >>I'm not sure how I feel about the Cheshire Cat on the doors. I agree that the cards were never especially effective, but they at least made sense with the painting/croquet scenes immediately before; the Cat will be yet another non-sequitur in a really random ride.<< The might be changing the sequence of show scenes, they've done it before. >>It will also be interesting to see how effective the projection is, since it would disappear as soon as the doors begin to open to the daylight<< Once the doors open the guests' attention is focused on the outside track.
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 >>the Cat will be yet another non-sequitur in a really random ride<< The first couple scenes have always been kinda of sequential in terms of the film, and kinda make sense, Alice exploring Wonderland, then later she runs into the Queen, goes to a mad tea party. So, I wouldn't call them random at all, just a sequence that seamed to flow well at the time. Maybe its disconcerting as its not the same sequence as the movie. I think that the Chesire projection actually makes more sense that the guards, as I always got a kinda 'this is a hokey dark ride' when you exit and the cards are nailed to the doors, it would be cool to have something like the ending of Journey Into Imagination at Epcot, where you have a star field, and then suddenly you're back at the load/unload. If done properly, the effect could be pretty cool.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I'm reading all of this trying to remember the last time I rode Alice. It's been a long time.
Originally Posted By tashajilek ^^ I know Hans, I usually end up always riding Snow White, Toad and Pinocchio because of the low waits. It feels like a century since I have been on Peter Pan.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <And I think that the stuff they put on the outer side of the track is pretty awful, and it would look better with a plain exposed edge. > Maybe they were required to put SOMETHING above the edge - you'll notice what they have there rises above the lip. Maybe they were worried (or Cal-OSHA worried for them) that in the case of evacuation, a kid who ought to stay on the left side and use the handrails would rush over to the other side to look over the edge and if there was nothing over the lip... whoops!
