7 Dwarves Mine Train totally underwhelming

[Davey Jones II]

I was actually pleasantly surprised this past weekend with 7DMT - and it's all thanks to disboards! Seriously, I think reading so many bad things about it beforehand lowered my expectations, and my bf's too. With such low expectations, it made the ride seem so much better.

Of course, I only rode it with BOG breakfast benefits and later a Fastpass. We never felt it was worth it to venture into 80min+ lines for the experience.

Very few experiences can live up to sky-high expectations. In recent years, I felt that the Harry Potter lands, Cars Land/RSR, Transformers, WOC and many other attractions failed to live up to the hype. However, that didn't matter at all to me because I always go in with reasonable expectations. I just hope to enjoy the attraction for what it is, not what it's been hyped up to be. And I did greatly enjoy all of the above.

In particular, when both Potter lands opened, I read lots of message board raves about the new lands and rides, people practically frothing at the mouth about how incredible these experiences were. I couldn't help thinking, "nothing could be that awesome", and I was right. But when I went to experience them in person, they were very well done and lots of fun. That's all that matters to me.

 

[Pageantprincess]

Would I FP+ 7DMT? Yes.

Would I walk on with a 15 minute wait? Yes.

Is it worth my time to wait 40 minutes for a ride that is over in a blink of an eye? No...not for my family anyway.

Then again, we don't wait for any ride for more than 20 minutes.

We go to WDW for one week every 2-4 years. There are too many amazing attractions to experience to spend our precious time standing in a line in 90 degree humid temperatures.

IMO.

 

[jodifla]

That wasn't our experience last October. 40 minute wait times on a weekday.

Of course, we can debate this until the moon turns to green cheese. But the proof is in the parks, where 7DMT is the biggest WDW hit since TSMM. That speaks volumes, and says a lot more than any amount of message board chatter.

But it's practically the only ride that's opened since TSMM.

Again, it's really not saying much. I don't get all the attachment to a ride that's basically Thunder Mountain with two iconic scenes in it.

 

[Davey Jones II]

But it's practically the only ride that's opened since TSMM.

Again, it's really not saying much. I don't get all the attachment to a ride that's basically Thunder Mountain with two iconic scenes in it.

It's not all about rides, it's about attractions. Many kinds of attractions can become just as popular as a new ride.

So let's list some attractions that have opened since 2008, the year TSMM made its debut: Festival of Fantasy Parade, Electrical Parade, Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Princess Fairytale Hall (including the insanely popular Anna and Elsa meet and greet), Talking Mickey Meet and Greet, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (practically a new ride as compared to the original), American Idol Experience, Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow. Test Track was also revamped.

Whatever your personal taste about the above list, it's wrong to imply that practically nothing new opened since 2008.

 

[Jennasis]

It's not all about rides, it's about attractions. Many kinds of attractions can become just as popular as a new ride.

So let's list some attractions that have opened since 2008, the year TSMM made its debut: Festival of Fantasy Parade, Electrical Parade, Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Princess Fairytale Hall (including the insanely popular Anna and Elsa meet and greet), Talking Mickey Meet and Greet, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (practically a new ride as compared to the original), American Idol Experience, Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow. Test Track was also revamped.

Whatever your personal taste about the above list, it's wrong to imply that practically nothing new opened since 2008.

To be fair, that poster specifically said RIDES. But...The Electrical Parade isn't new by any definition. Star Tours and TT were retools. AI and Capt Jack are already gone (and the less said about the Captain Jack debacle the better). So that leaves The Little Mermaid, ETWB, PFH, talking Mickey and the FoF parade...in 7 years.

Clearly you are passionate about Disney. I am too. I'm just not so passionate that I'm blind. The company has stumbled IMO a bit lately, but I still have faith that Disney is going to go crazy impressive with the new stuff coming down the pipeline. And if they disappoint me with it, well luckily I still enjoy the fun and nostalgia of the old stuff enough to keep me coming back. I'd rather climb the Swiss Family Treehouse or ride Splash over and over than go on 7DMT or watch ETWB....but that's just me, and there are certainly plenty of people who are enjoying the new stuff, so it's all good.

Something for everyone.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

To be fair, that poster specifically said RIDES. But...The Electrical Parade isn't new by any definition. Star Tours and TT were retools. AI and Capt Jack are already gone (and the less said about the Captain Jack debacle the better). So that leaves The Little Mermaid, ETWB, PFH, talking Mickey and the FoF parade...in 7 years.

I'm going to ditto you but raise you one...I can't count PFH as a new attraction. Princesses have been meeting at Disney since Disney was created. They were all in Town Square before PFH opened, and prior to that they had their own meeting areas around the park. Plus, PFH displaced the old Snow White ride, so there was no net gain there. And while FoF is spectacular, it was a replacement for the old parade. Even with the new attractions, there really hasn't been much net gain when you look at how many attractions were simply replaced and how many were closed with no replacement.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Yeah, New Fantasyland, in its entirety, is pretty underwhelming...That money should have been spent on fixing Future World in Epcot. I think a lot of people's disappointment derives from the lack of upkeep on a lot of their favorite attractions, the fact that attractions are closing, yet nothing is slated to go in those buildings (I mean, Wonders of Life only being used for festival space? Ridiculous) and the fact that the last GOOD attraction was Everest in 2006. (Yeah, I'm still not counting Toy Story Mania, since I can actually play it on my Wii at home). 7 Dwarfs was disappointing... it's more like a glorified Barnstormer with cool animatronics. They could have made a really amazing dark ride at half the cost...

However, I am excited about the future of MGM and am looking forward to seeing what they do with Pandora...but until then, I think the parks have been in a huge lull ever since the Happiest Celebration on Earth ended.

 

[Davey Jones II]

To be fair, that poster specifically said RIDES. But...The Electrical Parade isn't new by any definition. Star Tours and TT were retools. AI and Capt Jack are already gone (and the less said about the Captain Jack debacle the better). So that leaves The Little Mermaid, ETWB, PFH, talking Mickey and the FoF parade...in 7 years.

Clearly you are passionate about Disney. I am too. I'm just not so passionate that I'm blind. The company has stumbled IMO a bit lately, but I still have faith that Disney is going to go crazy impressive with the new stuff coming down the pipeline. And if they disappoint me with it, well luckily I still enjoy the fun and nostalgia of the old stuff enough to keep me coming back. I'd rather climb the Swiss Family Treehouse or ride Splash over and over than go on 7DMT or watch ETWB....but that's just me, and there are certainly plenty of people who are enjoying the new stuff, so it's all good.

Something for everyone.

Yes, the poster specifically said rides, which bolsters his argument because it implies that WDW has offered very little that is new in the past seven years. But Disney is not just about rides, and they have offered more new stuff than just the rides. So, to be fair, it is unfair to suggest otherwise.

The Electrical Parade was new to a lot of WDW visitors because not everyone has a long history of visiting both resorts. To offer a parallel...Paint the Night is a clone from Hong Kong but most North Americans haven't visited there, so it's considered a "new" offering for Disneyland.

Star Tours is radically different from the original and far more advanced, to the point that it might as well be a new ride.

Yes, I'm passionate about Disney. But if you read some of my posts in other threads, I have often criticized Disney on many fronts. I never said that I blindly applauded everything new that they've offered us since TSMM. What I said was that it is not accurate or fair to imply that they have offered hardly anything new since 2008.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I'm going to ditto you but raise you one...I can't count PFH as a new attraction. Princesses have been meeting at Disney since Disney was created. They were all in Town Square before PFH opened, and prior to that they had their own meeting areas around the park. Plus, PFH displaced the old Snow White ride, so there was no net gain there. And while FoF is spectacular, it was a replacement for the old parade. Even with the new attractions, there really hasn't been much net gain when you look at how many attractions were simply replaced and how many were closed with no replacement.

How much "net gain" have we gotten at Universal? Most (all? not sure) of their new attractions have replaced older ones. The Simpsons replaced BTTF (still lamented by many) Minions replaced Jimmy Neutron, and Jaws had to go in order to make room for Diagon Alley. And so on.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, most of their new attractions have been, more or less, a variation on Spider-Man. Lots of 3D/4D, lots of screens. So you can see one reason that they've been able to develop new rides at a quicker pace. Transformers was hyped, but it has the exact same track as Spider-Man. They basically just wrote new software for Spider-Man and presented that as a new ride.

I'm not bashing Universal, but there is a contingent on the message boards that worships at the alter of new tech. Hence, they praise everything Universal does because it puts tech right in your face instead of hiding the innovations within the story or within the experience. Disney is getting a lot of criticism from this contingent, and it's not all warranted. Universal gets a free pass no matter how often they rehash Spider-Man.

 

[Jennasis]

Yes, the poster specifically said rides, which bolsters his argument because it implies that WDW has offered very little that is new in the past seven years. But Disney is not just about rides, and they have offered more new stuff than just the rides. So, to be fair, it is unfair to suggest otherwise.

The Electrical Parade was new to a lot of WDW visitors because not everyone has a long history of visiting both resorts. To offer a parallel...Paint the Night is a clone from Hong Kong but most North Americans haven't visited there, so it's considered a "new" offering for Disneyland.

Star Tours is radically different from the original and far more advanced, to the point that it might as well be a new ride.

By the way, thanks for the outright insult. OK, maybe it was a veiled insult, but I caught the implication, thank you. Yes, I'm passionate about Disney, but it doesn't mean that I'm blind. If you read some of my posts in other threads, I have often criticized Disney on many fronts. I never said that I blindly applauded everything new that they've offered us since TSMM. What I said was that it is not accurate or fair to imply that they have offered hardly anything new since 2008.

It IS a fair assessment IMO (and only my opinion). I simply dont accept any explanation that says MSEP is a new attraction.

I do really love your enthusiasm. Not being facetious. I apologize if you felt insulted. We have differing viewpoints on the subject at hand and thats ok.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Double post, sorry. Trying to edit on my crappy old clunker is a bi***

 

[spinandmarty]

was i expecting a thrill ride? NO... Was I expecting a lot more, than what we got YES... We waited how many years for the little mermaid, which for me was a one and done... SDMT could of been awesome with the story and what they could of done, but to me is just turned out blah, if I can walk on I will ride it again, I would never wait 10 minutes or waste a fast pass on it... but my wife can wait or get a fast pass with my grandkids they might enjoy it... there young and dont have expectations

 

[Davey Jones II]

It IS a fair assessment IMO (and only my opinion). I simply dont accept any explanation that says MSEP is a new attraction.

I do really love your enthusiasm. Not being facetious. I apologize if you felt insulted. We have differing viewpoints on the subject at hand and thats ok.

I changed that part of my post. I misinterpreted what you wrote, and I see that there was no insult intended. Sorry for being overly sensitive.

 

[Planogirl]

How much "net gain" have we gotten at Universal? Most (all? not sure) of their new attractions have replaced older ones. The Simpsons replaced BTTF (still lamented by many) Minions replaced Jimmy Neutron, and Jaws had to go in order to make room for Diagon Alley. And so on.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, most of their new attractions have been, more or less, a variation on Spider-Man. Lots of 3D/4D, lots of screens. So you can see one reason that they've been able to develop new rides at a quicker pace. Transformers was hyped, but it has the exact same track as Spider-Man. They basically just wrote new software for Spider-Man and presented that as a new ride.

I'm not bashing Universal, but there is a contingent on the message boards that worships at the alter of new tech. Hence, they praise everything Universal does because it puts tech right in your face instead of hiding the innovations within the story or within the experience. Disney is getting a lot of criticism from this contingent, and it's not all warranted. Universal gets a free pass no matter how often they rehash Spider-Man.

I like screens. It's a wise choice in a park that's landlocked.

I find that saying the new rides are a variation on Spiderman just as inaccurate as saying that the 7 dwarfs is just like Big Thunder Mountain. Actually Big Thunder Mountain is better but I digress. The point is that there are really only a few types of attractions and everything usually falls into those categories.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I like screens. It's a wise choice in a park that's landlocked.

I find that saying the new rides are a variation on Spiderman just as inaccurate as saying that the 7 dwarfs is just like Big Thunder Mountain. Actually Big Thunder Mountain is better but I digress. The point is that there are really only a few types of attractions and everything usually falls into those categories.

Space may be at a premium at Universal, but they could have built sets and AAs in the same space.

Don't get me wrong, I like 3D rides. But enough is enough. Ever since the success of Spider-Man, Universal seems to have concluded, "okay, that's all they want, that's what we'll give them." Then nearly every subsequent ride has been a variation on different ways that a vehicle can interact with 3D characters.

I think that's why they're building something different in King Kong. They heard the criticisms, so, finally, this one will have physical sets and AAs. It's about time. Variety is the spice of theme parks.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Looks like I killed the thread. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. See you guys in the Mine...or not.