Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[Jew]

^Or designed a show that could be seen from anywhere around the lagoon...

[MagicMountainMan]

Didn't know the whole park got a magenta filter during the revamp.

 

I thought the same thing.

 

I really can't wait until the show opens so all of the speculation will be done with. In the end I'd bet money on that it will all work itself out, perhaps not without a bit of tweaking by the Disney staff. Just content with the fact that the Imagineers get it right 9 times out of 10 and when they don't get it right the first time, Disney has the funds and resources to fix the problem. It's Disney after all...

 

-Brandon "I have faith in Disney" Tisor

[AnEscapeArtist]

Didn't know the whole park got a magenta filter during the revamp.

 

HAHA! Oh Wes you're so funny.

 

From what it sounds like, they're having to do to a lot of "accommodating" to this show, which may end up outweighing the actual value of the show itself? Maybe this park is just destined to forever be a major thorn in Disney's side, as it really seems like Disney usually has this stuff worked out beforehand.

[stuartnz]

I never give shows like this more than a two-minute look as I'm navigating around them, but this does look pretty. Buuuuut I'll still only half-watch it as I'm trying to force my way through the crowds of people staring at it.

[testtrack321]

Disney is now listing DCA's closing time as 11pm from June 11th onward online...

[robbalvey]

-Now there will be THREE shows a night, 9, 10:15, 11:30. (initial soft openings will start with one and be worked up to three)

-PP will close at 8pm, rest of park will be open till 10pm

-New "Festival of Color" holding area in Hollywood backlot to hold the two prior shows.

Well, this is a show that, unless for some freak reason I'm at the park really late AND don't have to wait to see it, I will be giving it a miss.

 

--Robb "I don't wait for shows..." Alvey

[Sir Clinksalot]

Didn't know the whole park got a magenta filter during the revamp.

 

Yeah, I'm not quite sure what happened there.

 

The new camera we got works GREAT for underwater stuff (wife used in Hawaii for Snorkling) but I'm not really impressed with it otherwise.

[A113]

They just released pictures of one of the Radiator Springs Racers Vehicles, for Carsland!

 

Disney Parks Blog - First Look: Cars Land Welcomes the First Test Vehicle for Radiator Springs Racers

 

Vroom, Vroom…Vroooooom! If you’re in Disney’s California Adventure park this week, you just may hear the sound of engines revving. It’s very exciting because you’re actually hearing the first early ride system tests for Radiator Springs Racers, the new E-ticket attraction coming to the all-new Cars Land, which opens in 2012.

 

 

This Radiator Springs Racers test vehicle arrived this morning, and while you’re not likely to get a good view of the car on a visit to the Park, we’re sharing some fun behind-the-scenes photos we took earlier today.

 

 

[robbalvey]

Now this excites me. I'm VERY happy to see a version of this ride come to California. Test Track and Journey to the Center of the Earth are two of my all-time favorite Disney attractions. And even if I'm not a fan of the Cars brand, and even if this ride ends up only being 1/2 as good as the other two, this should still be a pretty great attraction.

 

At least I'm going to assume that based on what I've seen, heard, and my experiences with the other two similar rides.

 

--Robb

[A113]

^ While you believe the layout will not be up to par to Test Track and Journey to the Center to the Earth, I can almost guarantee you the interaction of the ride will be amazing.

[testtrack321]

Oooo purdy. Can't wait till WoC is in the bag running well and the swings are done so we can focus on this!

[ahecht]

Now this excites me. I'm VERY happy to see a version of this ride come to California. Test Track and Journey to the Center of the Earth are two of my all-time favorite Disney attractions. And even if I'm not a fan of the Cars brand, and even if this ride ends up only being 1/2 as good as the other two, this should still be a pretty great attraction.

 

At least I'm going to assume that based on what I've seen, heard, and my experiences with the other two similar rides.

 

--Robb

 

Don't forget that California had the FIRST version of this ride to open -- Rocket Rods opened 6 months before Test Track.

[Tbcoasterfan]

And all 4 of the wheel bearings for these ride vehicles were made at a plant right here in Sandusky!

[cfc]

^^ I would put "opened" in quotation marks.

Edited May 11, 2010 by cfc

[fatdaddy]

Rocket rods didn't have a real track, thats why it didn't work properly. From what i understand it needed to be banked, so it didn't have to brake so often, or something. I'm sure someone on here knows better than i do. Point being that Rocket Rods was terrible, imho I wouldn't even count it. In fact i bet even disney would like to forget it. Now these look awesome, can't wait to ride.

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ You are correct. Rocket Rods had no banked Turns and would constantly have to break. Other than the launch and the section after the Tron Tunnel, the entire ride was like the brake tests in Test Track.

 

I know the "technology" was essentially the same as Test Track/JTTCOTE but IMO Test Track was the first "Successful" implementation of this type of ride.

[testtrack321]

^ You are correct. Rocket Rods had no banked Turns and would constantly have to break. Other than the launch and the section after the Tron Tunnel, the entire ride was like the brake tests in Test Track.

 

I know the "technology" was essentially the same as Test Track/JTTCOTE but IMO Test Track was the first "Successful" implementation of this type of ride.

 

And if you want to really get into the minutia of it Indiana Jones is the first success full implementation. IJ/TT/Dino/RR/Journey/Cars all use the same EMV vehicle base and system, just TT/Cars/Journey get rid of the motion base on them and amped up the speed.

 

GM was to sponsor RR and supply the funding to change the track to more of a TT like surface and banking. After the near 2 year delay at Epcot GM said "Hell no!" to a ride with the same ride system and the Pressler era deemed it ok for lots of breaking and that weird bus bar instead. What we got was a ride that ripped itself, the track, and the support structure appart.

 

I'm personally really disappointed Disney hasn't used this amazing ride system WAY more. Sure TT had delays due to the speed, processing power of central control, and problems with missing sensors at high speeds, but those are long gone problems.

[AnEscapeArtist]

I am really looking forward to Cars Land more than anything else, as Test Track was one of my favorite attractions at WDW. I love the look of that car too! I hope it doesn't have problems like other models (RR, TT) have in the past!

[robbalvey]

I know the "technology" was essentially the same as Test Track/JTTCOTE but IMO Test Track was the first "Successful" implementation of this type of ride.

If you have a look under those panels on Test Track and take a close look at the ride vehicles they are not as similar as you would think. I wouldn't consider Rocket Rods the first implementation of that system.

 

--Robb

[ahecht]

And if you want to really get into the minutia of it Indiana Jones is the first success full implementation. IJ/TT/Dino/RR/Journey/Cars all use the same EMV vehicle base and system, just TT/Cars/Journey get rid of the motion base on them and amped up the speed.

 

Not really. The IJ/Dino cars were much more complex from a driveline perspective. They were guided by rails under the "slot", similar to a coaster track, but unlike a coaster track all four wheels of the cars are not directly steered by the track. Instead, for the rear wheels, it fuctions more like the center bar on Autopia. The ride computer can independently steer the rear wheels somewhat to the left or right of the track, cause the cars to fishtail, or even have the car crab sideways. See http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=ow0pAAAAEBAJ):

Indiana Jones/Dinosaur Ride System

 

Rocket Rods trains were guided by a rail too, but that rail directly steered the front and back of the car :

Rocket Rods Ride System

 

Given that Test Track and JTCotE don't independantly steer, I would imagine they share a lot more heritage with the Rocket Rods, even if the track under the panels works differently.

 

DISCLAIMER: All information presented here as fact has been taken from publicly available information sources such as patents and public interviews. The author claims no insider knowledge of the systems discussed, and readily admits that the design of such systems may have been implemented differently than stated in the patents or interviews. Any statements which are an opinion (including, but not limited to, those which include the words "imagine", "believe", "may", or other similar language), are based on the experience of the author working as a mechanical engineer on motorized systems, and are not based on any insider knownledge or the wish to contradict those with such knowledge to look "cool".

Edited May 11, 2010 by ahecht

[A113]

^ Curious, but what is the system for TT/Journey/RSR?

 

Just bumping the picture.. it looks similar.

 

[mcjaco]

Just bumping the picture.. it looks similar.

 

That's because it is.

[the ghost]

Am I the only one who REALLY enjoyed Rocket Rods? That being said, I was like 6 at the time, but I remember the ride itself being really fun, of course, also with that being said it was my first launched coaster, so that probably added to it.

[SharkTums]

^Wow, you counted Rocket Rods as a coaster?!!? I don't even think Jeff Johnson counted that!!!

 

Oh, who am I kidding, I'm sure he did too!

[ahecht]

I'm not trying to say that under the panels Cars/Test Track/Journey has a Rocket-Rods-style large rail (it may or may not, I honestly don't know). I was simply saying that the drive system is mechanically simpler than just the EMV driveline with the motion base removed. I was basing this on an imagineer interview I remember seeing from the late 90s (probably on one of the WDW documentaries) who described Test Track as the next generation of the Indy ride system that traded high speeds for the ability to vary the path from ride to ride. Given that Rocket Rods used a similar track-driven direct steering system, it seemed like a good example (since I couldn't find any pictures of the Test Track drive system).