Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>And on the resort/space debate: Might it not be possible that some people actually prefer the more compact layout of Universal? If the parks are your main focus, it would be much nicer to be able to have both parks within easy reach of your hotel, not spread out over a large property. That's one reason why the Epcot area and monorail resorts are so popular, people like being close to the parks. <<< Agreed, I do not like how spread out WDW is. One of the many reasons why I prefer Disneyland or Disneyland Paris, and why I was so taken with the Europa Park resort.
Originally Posted By Bolna <<Agreed, I do not like how spread out WDW is. One of the many reasons why I prefer Disneyland or Disneyland Paris, and why I was so taken with the Europa Park resort.>> DLP has a really great layout, everything is within walking distance (ok not Davy Crockett Ranch and the golf course), but still in seperate areas. If they would just do something about the ugly Disney Village. And that was where my thought came from, but I wasn't sure wether it isn't more of a European layout since we are used to pedestrian city centres here. But as I said, people seem to love the Epcot area resorts at WDW as well, just for the fact of the easy access to the two parks there and all the other hotels in that area.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I know you get tired of my "familiarity breads contempt" remark, but it is true. You no longer notice how the incredible attention to detail of the Animal Kingdom truly transports you to the areas represented. You take it for granted and then moan about something as trivial as Disco Yeti. << Having the main character in a major attraction in a Disney Park broken for several years is far from trivial.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> As I duck to dodge the rocks that will possibly be thrown my direction, what ever happened to just going somewhere because it is fun? << Now that's a strange concept.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <maybe I can drive some traffic LP's way since things have been dying here.> Just wanted to let Spirit know that I read this particular comment -- and respectfully disagree.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I liked Horizons but if one is honest with themselves, it was a crashing bore*** Not to me it wasn't. For me, it was an amazing, quintessential Disney experience. I rode it countless times and loved each and every ride, and more often than not I saw something new. And, as a non-sequitor sidenote, I got to store my drums inside the "guts" of the attraction along with other musicians when Hurricane Floyd was looming and the parks were shutting down, and that was neat, too. I got to see the backside of the projectors for the shuttle and stuff like that, which made me love the attraction all the more as I was able to get a real "behind the scenes" tour that day. Regardless, I can be very honest with myself in saying that I totally ADORED that attraction and I'm VERY sad that it is gone. Mission:Space is okay, but I rode it once and once was enough (yeah, impressive, wow...danger! okay...done). The old attraction, I could ride time after time and enjoy the wonder of it every time. I wish I could ride it again. *sniff*
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Agreed, I do not like how spread out WDW is*** I actually DO like it, particularly with all the greenery along the way (feels very "resorty", and spread out in a nice way), although I'd like it scads better if they had monorail connections to all points along the way as it should be...the "magical" bus system totally sucks.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>DLP has a really great layout, everything is within walking distance (ok not Davy Crockett Ranch and the golf course), but still in seperate areas. If they would just do something about the ugly Disney Village. And that was where my thought came from, but I wasn't sure wether it isn't more of a European layout since we are used to pedestrian city centres here. But as I said, people seem to love the Epcot area resorts at WDW as well, just for the fact of the easy access to the two parks there and all the other hotels in that area.<<< DLP has a really great layout, everything is within walking distance (ok not Davy Crockett Ranch and the golf course), but still in seperate areas. If they would just do something about the ugly Disney Village. And that was where my thought came from, but I wasn't sure wether it isn't more of a European layout since we are used to pedestrian city centres here. But as I said, people seem to love the Epcot area resorts at WDW as well, just for the fact of the easy access to the two parks there and all the other hotels in that area.<<< I'm not sure it is that Bolna. I think they learned some valuable lessons across all the resorts by the time they designed DLP (and having the railway station like Tokyo and Hong Kong I think was a huge contributing factor too. But even in the early days of WDW it was not too bad. You had everything clustered around Bay Lake and then a spur of the monorail going to Epcot Center. It was fine then. It has been the lack of infrastructure planning to accompany the growth that has been really frustrating. The fact that there are not that many more attractions across WDW's 4 parks, compared to DL's 2, I think speaks volumes. And park hopping is much easier in smaller resorts. DL, DLP, TDL, Europa Park, USO are all more appealing in terms of resort design than WDW (and some of these also have golf and boating too).
Originally Posted By Bolna <<But even in the early days of WDW it was not too bad. You had everything clustered around Bay Lake and then a spur of the monorail going to Epcot Center. It was fine then. It has been the lack of infrastructure planning to accompany the growth that has been really frustrating.>> I am no expert on WDW infrastructure, sometimes I wonder why the bus seems to go the longest way possible to get from point A to point B, but in general I think the distances are still substantial and will never make an easy commute from AK to MK. I see your point that in the early 80s everything was much more central... I am not sure a monorail would change that, at least not the monorail like it is at WDW now. This always appears to me as one of the most inefficient modes of public transportation system, the stop take ages, there is no way to distribute passengers evenly because of the compartment style interior and it seems to stop regularly for no apparent reason. A modern tram - or even articulated busses - might be a simpler, but better solution.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***It has been the lack of infrastructure planning to accompany the growth that has been really frustrating*** That sums it up in a nutshell Dave. See you soon!
Originally Posted By Mr X ***This always appears to me as one of the most inefficient modes of public transportation system, the stop take ages, there is no way to distribute passengers evenly because of the compartment style interior and it seems to stop regularly for no apparent reason*** NONE of that is necessary, they just need to do it right. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gg5ULn0k5Q&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...=related</a>
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>I'm confused. Are you describing Horizons or Imagination or both?<<< I can totally understand your confusion. I don't know what happened. I started saying that I thought that Horizons was boring to me and suddenly in the middle of my thoughts I started mixing the imagination and horizons into one thought. That's what happens when one gets old, I guess. Anyway, what I said about Imagination was true as well. It started out great and then rapidly went to nothing. Horizons, in my mind didn't even start out that great and the "choose your own ending" was always a mystery to me. It all seemed the same and was grainy and totally unsatisfying. Those are my opinions. Now with those comes the idea that Mission Space is better than Horizons in my mind. The "two" new Imagination re-births were worse then the original because the original at least had a few redeeming qualities. As for World of Motion...I always loved that one and even though Test Track is pretty good, it is a totally different experience and I would gladly trade back for WoM. Sorry for the confusion.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Horizons, in my mind didn't even start out that great and the "choose your own ending" was always a mystery to me*** I thought it was great. As far as choosing your own ending, sure it was "primitive" by todays' standards, but still a neat sort of twist for what it was. But that was far from the most important highlights of the attraction, those were the chances to see the worlds of yesteryear and tomorrow all in the same experience presented in quintessential Disney fashion.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***As for World of Motion...I always loved that one and even though Test Track is pretty good, it is a totally different experience and I would gladly trade back for WoM*** That's the interesting thing about opinions. For me, WoM was a bore and I actually prefer test track. Go figure.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I actually DO like it, particularly with all the greenery along the way (feels very "resorty", and spread out in a nice way), although I'd like it scads better if they had monorail connections to all points along the way as it should be...the "magical" bus system totally sucks. << My feelings also. If everything were monorail, and boat it would be great.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> Anyway, what I said about Imagination was true as well. It started out great and then rapidly went to nothing. Horizons, in my mind didn't even start out that great and the "choose your own ending" was always a mystery to me. << I think Horizons was the most ambitious dark ride Disney ever attempted. It didn't simply focus on the past (as SSE primarily did). It didn't simply focus on the future. It was an interesting mix of futures that had been imagined in the past and a future that might be. I think Horizons, more than any other ride, captured the spirit (not you, Spirit) of what I associate with EPCOT Center. The sets with AA were incredibly detailed (check the "Mesa Verde Times" website for evidence of this). The Disney of today would never build a dark ride like Horizons. Of course, they'd probably never attempt SSE, WoM, Energy, or the Land boat ride, either. Mission: Space has a great launch experience, but after that the ride devolves into predictable mode of "danger, Will Robinson" that is so cliched, and so for me, it's a skippable ride.
Originally Posted By hopemax Horizons was by far my favorite attraction at Epcot. And I didn't even see it in its heyday. Only after it was re-opened during Test Track's construction. To me it was the perfect Epcot attraction because it took all the other themes of the other pavilions and melded them into one. Communication, Motion, the Sea, the Land, Imagination.
