Originally Posted By Mr X >>>If they had put in the Japanese version in Fantasyland (if it is as good as they say)<<< It's amazing, Jon. Top 3 best on the planet, seriously (along with Spiderman and maybe Indy). And that's coming from someone who cares little for Winnie the Pooh, and even less for dark rides or kids rides with the possible exception of Peter Pan (still, I won't bother getting in line for Peter Pan either).
Originally Posted By jonvn Oh well. I will likely never see it. What's so great about it? From what I've seen, it looks like you float in honey bee boats in a waterway, and see pretty much about the same stuff as you do in the one in WDW.
Originally Posted By Mr X It's not water, actually. Some kind of trackless system. And the honey pots are really "zippy" and move surprisingly fast (but not in a scary way at all). The special effects are really neat, like Pooh disappearing and "floating" away, much like the tower of terror effects. And the bouncing room is cool cause the whole room bounces (that's a big surprise). I'm not describing this too well, I guess you just have to experience it. TDLFAN described it best, it's just very whimsical, and very "Disney" in a classic sense of a great ride that immerses you and unexpected things happen that you just would never find at an ordinary amusement park. To compare it to Florida and California, I'd say the difference is similar to The Wizard of Oz, when it goes from black and white to color. It's not that "different", as you say, but it's much more vibrant and fun. Put it this way, my 2 year old daughter and her 60-something year old Grandma walked around TDL all day looking bored. Then they rode Pooh and they were both clapping, laughing, and totally enjoying themselves. Talk about Walt Disney's wish for attractions "the whole family can enjoy together"...Pooh delivers, probably better than any other attraction I can think of.
Originally Posted By jonvn I hear it's very good. I've seen videos of it. SO, is it like on the pirates of the caribbean scale of elaborate content?
Originally Posted By Mr X It's on a smaller scale than Pirates, but yes I'd say it's just as immersive. But still, it's Pooh. There ain't so much you can do with that. It's really just the special effects, the way it "rides", and the overall whimsy of it that I think is so great. I can see why you thought it was water, they don't look like anything I've ever seen riding on a track or anything (actually, I believe Aquatopia at DisneySea uses similar tech...but that one IS on water but it's only like 6 inches deep).
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I've long thought that if they really wanted a blow-em-away attraction for DCA, that they could take the trackless technology from Tokyo Pooh (which no attraction in the US has, AFAIK), and apply it to a DCA attraction. I've thought of a Silicon Valley computer-based attraction in which you're injected into a computer and the individual cars are "bits" of information breaking apart and coming together (they could use TRON if they really needed a tie-in, or - better still - not), but certainly other themes could work as well. It would be expensive, but they've already spent the R&D for Pooh on the system. And that would give DCA a "just GOTTA see it" attraction available nowhere else.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Unfortunately, the California amusement park regulations for rides specifically rule out "trackless" attractions in their guidelines. That's the main reason Disney hasn't introduced the TDL version of Pooh in the U.S. The California guidelines don't offer much leeway to introduce rides that aren't based on existing technology and the regulations consider a "track" to be an essential safety feature for any ride-through vehicle.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Maybe Disney could lobby to get that changed based on safety data from Tokyo?
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Disney's lobby has no chance against the trial lawyers' lobby that pretty much wrote the California regulations behind the scenes.
Originally Posted By gadzuux >> California amusement park regulations for rides specifically rule out "trackless" attractions in their guidelines. << Really?! Is that what the problem is? This attraction has been operating safely for - what? - a dozen years in tokyo, but that's not a good enough "track record"? If true, that really ticks me off. I've always thought that I'd like to see the same TDL pooh ride technology applied to a ride with a different theme - something less "cutesy" than pooh. But a perfectly safe (and amazing) ride system being prohibited by the state is a really dumb reason for not getting it in DLR.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj I think prohibited is too strong of a word. DLR could install Pooh, but without a track, California considers it to be missing a significant "safety" feature. Any mishaps on the ride would bring significant liability to Disney for not following the recommended safety guidelines for rides. I've read the California guidelines and they don't leave a whole lot of room for innovation in the world of them park attractions. I doubt Indy would have been built if the regulations had been in place then.
Originally Posted By Westsider >>"Unfortunately, the California amusement park regulations for rides specifically rule out "trackless" attractions in their guidelines"<< Rafts and Main Street Vehicles are all regulated by the State of California, and they aren't on tracks. Were they exempted or something?
Originally Posted By mrichmondj The rafts and Main Street Vehicles pre-date the California regulations and are grandfathered to an extent.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I'm sure the Tokyo version of Pooh is wonderful, however I doubt if Americans would have the same response to it as the Japanese. There are adult Japanese guests who visit the Tokyo parks dressed in FULL Disney character costumes (Snow White, Belle, etc.), for example, which is something I just can't see people here doing.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer ^ I can, and have, did you see any photos of Mickey's Halloween Treat in DCA... Plenty of Adults in full costume. Heck, in 2005 had a "Cinderella" as part of our group, and she did a GREAT job....
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I'm not talking about holidays and special events, Darkbeer. Guests do this at TDL on regular operating days.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer ^And I bet they would every day at Disneyland too, except that they would be stopped at the main gate, since Disneyland will deny adults in costume. I had a friend who showed up, and was asked to remove her shoes, because she looked too much like Minnie Mouse in her outfit, and this was not during October. Nothing on her face, just the dress and shoes.
