Originally Posted By tashajilek Well thats nice to hear that you enjoy them DlandDoug. I guess there are paper bags to use Hans.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Evrytime I see that I think of an upside-down spinning top(vintage toy). Did you get the new experience daytime or nightime or both?
Originally Posted By oc_dean Micechat is reporting that The Jewel is up and running. Not that the ride itself is anything worth mentioning ... but I wonder if anyone has ridden it .. just to comment on the overall show aspect .. in terms of it's queue, music, ambiance, etc.
Originally Posted By xrayvision Night video of SSS test running with lights on, made last week. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPXcbe7Adlw&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...=related</a>
Originally Posted By lesmisfan i got to ride it yesterday and to me is a huge improvement over the orange stinger. The queu is wonderful and no longer goes into the street. The walk around pier it has is beautiful and the rest of it is beautiful as well. the swings are great! love the sight of flying over water and not being afraid of hitting a giant orange peel and the music is great! there are speakers all around the attraction so it sounds like surround sound!
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance ^^^ I bet that lady that made that "jewel" comment is really regretting it by now!
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Based on early reports, she might be feeling vindicated. I chuckled myself, but it seems like this is about as good as such a simple attraction CAN be.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Micechat is reporting that The Jewel is up and running.<< Good to hear. I "reported" it here on Friday. >>... but I wonder if anyone has ridden it ...<< Yep. It's lovely. A real jewel...!
Originally Posted By DlandDug Here's a photo from last Friday morning: <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/MsgBoard-T-113848-P-1.asp" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/Ms...-P-1.asp</a>
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub How else would you describe something that sparkles and shimmers like SSS at night? It just might be a jewel It sure has Bling now!
Originally Posted By pitapan16 Yeah I agree, the Imagineer women was right on the money. =) Beautiful
Originally Posted By disneywatcher While the Silly Symphony Swings is better than the truly cheap and tacky looking Orange Stinger, there are details about the revamped attraction that make me wonder if the real-estate/retail division of the DisCo still is responsible for various aspects of DCA. For instance, this small tower... <a href="http://www.disneygeek.com/progress/pier_work_swings/2010_05_28_IMG_0663.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.disneygeek.com/prog...0663.jpg</a> ...doesn't look correctly Victorian. It instead looks oddly genericized and simplified. It reminds me of part of the design feature one would see at a lifestyle shopping center in Orange County or a gated community's clubhouse in Irvine or Mission Viejo. But I'll take that over the really glaring deficiencies dating back from DCA 2001, such as the beautiful base of the Golden Zephyr, so clearly visible from the new walkway under the Swings: <a href="http://www.disneygeek.com/progress/pier_work_swings/2010_05_28_IMG_0631.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.disneygeek.com/prog...0631.jpg</a> ^ The park originally must have been designed by people who wore Coke-bottle eyeglasses---cracked and dirty ones at that.
Originally Posted By Big Budgie Hi,long time lurker, first time posting... I rode this yesterday. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that the ride was VERY short (about 10-12 revolutions). However, the queue and overall theme is gorgeous. They did a tremendous job of upgrading the area for sure. I did like the fact the ride started up quite quickly versus the Orange Stinger version.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <...doesn't look correctly Victorian. It instead looks oddly genericized and simplified.> I don't think it's meant to be "correctly Victorian;" it looks to me like a whimsical variation on pipe organ pipes, which is appropriate and specific to the attraction, and rather more interesting than yet more Victorian gingerbread.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I think this whole Victorian era thing has been blown out of proportion. To me the new Swings attraction's details look like a band shell, or the sort of architecture that one might see at a beach or park during the 1920s or 30s. There's nothing really Victorian about it.
Originally Posted By cheesybaby We rode the new swings on Saturday. The elevator tower (and other tower) look better in person than in online photos. From the photos (especially those taken from the Fun Wheel) I worried that these towers would overpower the queue and swings canopy. But the towers look fine in person, and the whole area looks much, much better than before. If only they had improved the Fun Wheel queue half this much...
Originally Posted By TP2000 Yeah, I think we are over-analyzing the whole Victorian thing. No one ever said the new Pier would be a strict recreation of a seaside amusement pier during the reign of Queen Victoria. It's just an old-fashioned look overall, where the buildings may have been built in 1898, but then updated and remodeled by the 1920's. The swings looks like a ride built in the late 20's or early 30's in a slight Art Deco design, but still looking like the wood framed structures of the classic boardwalks. It looks great. But I don't think it's something Queen Victoria would have been interested in riding.
