Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[thestripedtaco]

^ Yah I have only known it as Dinosaur. What it was previously sounds awesome to me though. Is there a pov anywhere? (I know it's a dark ride but just for a general idea)

[ahecht]

The ride itself was pretty much the same visually as it is now. The real differences were the motion base programming, the timing of the lighting effects (not revealing dinos until they were right on top of you), and the sound effects. The height limit also went down from 46 inches to 40 inches. I don't think it's anything that would come across well on a video.

 

I also remember reading somewhere (don't quote me on this, I may have manufactured this memory entirely) that the original plans for the ride called for the pterodactyl to "poop" water droplets on cars as it flew overhead, but that effect never made it off the drawing board.

 

EDIT: There is a very dark video of the original ride here:

Edited September 4, 2012 by ahecht

[Meteornotes]

Dinosaur is awesome. No one will ever convince me otherwise.

 

dt

[Nrthwnd]

IMhO, I think CTX was supposed to be like another

Alien Encounter for WDW - and once again, it

was deemed too scary for "all the family." So

they did the toneing down (unfortunately)

to what it's like, today.

 

(I think Disney has to really try their hands at a truly

teen-adult Villains Park, hmm? Yes? They've already proven

they can do it... twice! )

 

EDIT to add: Sorry for adding to this focus.

[triggernel]

Woah, buddy you raise those expectations of Dinosaur right back up. It's by far the scariest ride in WDW, and is one of my top five favorite rides in Florida. There is a very basic story, and the animatronics might not look as good as they used to, but dang nabbit the fact that half the ride is pitch black stands out. Yes it might not be as good as it once was, and the intensity may have been toned down, but if you like a good scare, definitely give it a shot!

[ahecht]

Okay, one last post on Dinosaur. I've been refreshing my memory of the ride circa 1998 with some family members. Some other effects that have since been removed were: smoke and laser "portal" effects after the first time-tunnel and before the second time-tunnel, pyrotechnic sparks in the time tunnel, the pterodactyl that "flies" over the car actually moved, and a smoke ring effect during the meteor shower scene.

[Jew]

Storyline for Dinosaur: "dark...dark...dark...dark...DINOSAUR!...repeat"

[triggernel]

While I respectfully disagree with you, your description is what makes the ride great.

 

There was an effect where some Comsignathus would "jump" over your car.

 

That said, yes Indy is the better ride, and I'm looking forward to the improvements they make! Hopefully we see some sort of interactivity added to the already awesome queue.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Storyline for Dinosaur: "dark...dark...dark...dark...DINOSAUR!...repeat"

 

To some people, that's all it takes. Dinosaur is the scariest ride at WDW for me. I have three major fears or phobias:

 

1 - Yes, I am afraid of the dark, lol.

2 - I love Dinosaurs, they the idea of meeting a nasty one scares me.

3 - I have a retarded fear of something large falling on me (Read: METEOR!)

 

So to me, the ride is really scary and stressful, but I still love it!

[Wes]

"Stressful" is actually a decent word to describe the whole thing.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Its a constant feeling like you're going to die, haha. That's the main reason the ride scares me, lol.

[coasterfreak101]

"Stressful" is actually a decent word to describe the whole thing.

 

It's like being thrown in an NYC taxi at 2am while your driver is drunk and never actually got his license so he can't drive in a straight line. Plus some dinosaurs to give purpose.

[Moose]

^you forgot the blindfold.

 

I always thought that the darkness was to hide he fact that most of the effects no longer worked. Kind of like disco yeti.

[PAL]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the sheer stupefying blaring volume of Dinosaur's audio track. The audience is deaf. My family otherwise enjoys the attraction. It's most egregious crime is simply that it isn't Indy or something better that resides in Japan.

[gisco]

Storyline for Dinosaur: "dark...dark...dark...dark...DINOSAUR!...repeat"

 

To some people, that's all it takes. Dinosaur is the scariest ride at WDW for me. I have three major fears or phobias:

 

1 - Yes, I am afraid of the dark, lol.

2 - I love Dinosaurs, they the idea of meeting a nasty one scares me.

3 - I have a retarded fear of something large falling on me (Read: METEOR!)

 

So to me, the ride is really scary and stressful, but I still love it!

 

Only 3 fears or phopias, glad to see you got over your fear of heights, When are we going o ride LL:DOD?

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^Let me re-phrase that...I'm a pussy. I was scared by the Roomba yesterday evening! Hahaha

 

These are the three fears that are involved with the ride, lol.

 

(I'm also afraid of speed sucking helixs)

[Double0Kevin]

I'm afraid of being dunked in gravy and eaten by an ACEr... But that's another story.

 

I have not been on Dinosaur, but some friends I have that are more like GP than myself loved it. So I guess it falls into that category of why fix what many already like?

 

Back to Disneyland, Indy needs some TLC but I understand their desire to constantly have that thing running. I'm glad they have a big ride like RSR and just DCA in general drawing a lot of attention giving them some time to spruce up Disneyland stuff.

[ILoveRides]

Yay, it sounds like Indiana Jones won't look like he's standing on a Footsie Wootsie machine anymore. Those animatronics were in serious need of a rehab. I'm glad Indy is finally getting some TLC!

[azza29]

^ Indy is one of the best rides in the park, it's great to see it getting some love to fix all the little 'problems' that have cropped up over the years.

 

Who knows? After this, Disney might even get around to fixing the broken Vulture on Splash Mountain.

[ILoveRides]

^ Indy is one of the best rides in the world

 

Fixed.

Edited September 6, 2012 by ILoveRides

[SLUSHIE]

Kinda lame it's going to be down since I'm going in a few weeks. Indy isn't the reason I'm going though and I still haven't decided if I'm getting a park hopper or not. They don't have Fantasmic weekdays either now.

 

While I'm here... what do you guys think crowds will be like on the 17th? Apparently it's a day where hotel guests get into DCA an hour early or something... Does that mean fast passes will be taken already and the line for RSR already 2 hours?

[coasterfreak101]

We stayed at the Paradise Pier Hotel on Sunday the 19th last month, and used it to get in an hour early on Monday. As soon as 8am rolled around, the line for RSR was an hour (it was a steady half hour during the early opening), but the Fastpasses sold out right around 9:45am both days we went. We knocked out Luigi's and Mater's as the park opened and everyone headed to RSR, and by the time we were off both lines were filling quickly, so I have to imagine that if you aren't lined up outside the gate a half hour early, you're pretty screwed.

[jray21]

Amy and I rode Indy the night it closed and it definitely was in bad shape. One odd thing was that for our final ride the fire "tornado" in the eye was working. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw it working. I visit LA about 3 times a year, so I'm definitely not an expert, but I actually forgot that the effect was even there.

[triggernel]

While I'm here... what do you guys think crowds will be like on the 17th? Apparently it's a day where hotel guests get into DCA an hour early or something... Does that mean fast passes will be taken already and the line for RSR already 2 hours?

 

My "inside sources" tell me Disneyland will be dead and DCA will be about a 4/10 that day. Expect RSR to be about 100 minutes the whole day, 30 for the single rider line.

 

(source: Touring Plans Crowd Calendar)

[jray21]

Info about RSR and the FastPass line. They do not start distributing the FastPasses until the park opens to the public. However, they will allow people to start lining up right away. Also, where the line is currently, being a hotel guest and getting in an hour early really doesn't help to much for the FastPass line. The reason is that the line starts at the entrance to It's Tough to be a Bug, and goes straight back into the main plaza area. They will usually let the public in about 30 minutes early, and by that time the line is already into the "public" area so anyone can get into it. In other words. If you have early entry to DCA, you have to get in the Fast Pass line earlier than 30 minutes before the park opens to the public, otherwise the public will start filling it all up. On the other side, if you're the general public, if you can get in the park 30 minutes early you should have no problem getting a relatively early time, even if it's early entry. One last thing. Disney loves opening additional entry gates to the park without warning. I will always line up at one of the lines on the sides. That way, right when they open a new entry gate I can run right up to the front.

 

Granted, this has been my experience in mid-August, and this past week. Hope this helps.