Mine Train vs. Transformers

[chartle]

Big Bad is gone??!!! Man, I loved that one. I think I got my first ever coaster concussion on it. Haven't been there since about 2003. Well, as long as the Loch Ness is still around, another great coaster favorite.

Well ........................... no its still around as far as I know. For some reason coasters like Big Bad Wolf didn't catch on. I think the inverted like Alpengeist and the hyper coaster took over.

 

[SpacePlace]

I probably qualify as older, and I really want to see the Mine Train. More than I want to see Transformers.

I might qualify as younger (first Star Wars movie I saw in theaters was the new trilogy-so please make that call for me) and I want to see Mine Train more than Transformers! Part of that is because I don't understand what the Transformers movies are about. Something with a cube, and then revenge, and then everyone just happens to be in the right place and at the right time again.

 

[Planogirl]

I might qualify as younger (first Star Wars movie I saw in theaters was the new trilogy-so please make that call for me) and I want to see Mine Train more than Transformers! Part of that is because I don't understand what the Transformers movies are about. Something with a cube, and then revenge, and then everyone just happens to be in the right place and at the right time again.

I would bet that the only important thing is that these are big robots that can change into cars and other things. I remember playing with the toys and haven't watched any of the Transformers movies in full.

 

[damo]

Big Bad is gone??!!! Man, I loved that one. I think I got my first ever coaster concussion on it. Haven't been there since about 2003. Well, as long as the Loch Ness is still around, another great coaster favorite.

Ya, Big Bad has been gone since 2009. that was a fun coaster! There aren't a lot of suspended coasters around. There's Iron Dragon in Cedar Point and Vortex at Canada's Wonderland.

 

[mesaboy2]

Big Bad is gone??!!! Man, I loved that one. I think I got my first ever coaster concussion on it. Haven't been there since about 2003. Well, as long as the Loch Ness is still around, another great coaster favorite.

Well ........................... no its still around as far as I know. For some reason coasters like Big Bad Wolf didn't catch on. I think the inverted like Alpengeist and the hyper coaster took over.

BBW is gone. Loch Ness is not.

 

[stindall]

Ya, Big Bad has been gone since 2009. that was a fun coaster! There aren't a lot of suspended coasters around. There's Iron Dragon in Cedar Point and Vortex at Canada's Wonderland.

Also Top Flight at Kings Island in Mason, OH. They may not be as fun as the bigger coasters but I still love them!

 

[chartle]

BBW is gone. Loch Ness is not.

Oops need to do more editing before I hit submit. Gee I wonder if this is how rumors get started .

 

[damo]

Also Top Flight at Kings Island in Mason, OH. They may not be as fun as the bigger coasters but I still love them!

All Cedar Fair parks.

I guess you could call Pterandon Flyers at IOA a suspended as well.

 

[ryalluvdiz]

I might qualify as younger (first Star Wars movie I saw in theaters was the new trilogy-so please make that call for me) and I want to see Mine Train more than Transformers! Part of that is because I don't understand what the Transformers movies are about. Something with a cube, and then revenge, and then everyone just happens to be in the right place and at the right time again.

You really dont have to know the movie... The effects are just that amazing... Saw it this summer at Universal Hollywood. Not everyone in our group saw the movie, but when we got off, we all looked at each other and said"lets go again!".... Ran right back on!!!!

 

[DOOM1001]

Big Bad is gone??!!! Man, I loved that one. I think I got my first ever coaster concussion on it. Haven't been there since about 2003. Well, as long as the Loch Ness is still around, another great coaster favorite.

Verbolten replaced it,Big Bad Wolf was a favorite with it's suspended trains swinging through the European village and the drop into the lake.Verbolten also has a drop into the lake and the unique drop track where the track with train on it falls like 30 feet.I've been on a couple other suspended coasters like Iron Dragon at Cedar Point but BBW was just very unique and even though it was older it was one of my favorites at BGW.

 

[stindall]

All Cedar Fair parks.

I guess you could call Pterandon Flyers at IOA a suspended as well.

Yes but top flight has been there long before cedar fair bought the park.

 

[DanBoris]

Last I looked, the Magic Kingdom alone gets more annual visitors than all three Uni parks combined, so I'm not sure they're too terribly worried about pulling visitors over.

I mean, obviously its a business and all, and they want as many people as possible, but seems to me that most people go to Orlanda and hit either Disney alone or Disney and Uni, but rarely just Uni. Unless maybe its a group of older people in which case the Mine Train isn't gonna pull them over anyway.

Its about maintaining the status quo more likely. But just a guess.

Yes, WDW has larger attendance then the Universal Orlando Resort and likely always will, but WDW is also a much bigger operation so can't afford to loose to many of those guests. Between 2009 and 2011 WDW's attendance numbers were flat whereas the two Universal Orlando parks increased attendance by 3.5 million. Yes, I would agree that most people who visit Orlando theme parks are going to WDW for at least part of their vacation, but the problem for Disney is people spending less time at WDW and using those extra days to go to Uni or other parks.

I would not be surprised if after Harry Potter Phase 2 opens that the attendance at either one or both of Uni's parks goes higher then with DHS or AK, or both.

 

[cmwade77]

In all reality the difference is that Transformers is actually a relatively simple attraction to build. It is essentially a cross between Star Tours and Dinosaur or Indiana Jones. Most of the attraction is projections. There is a simple track and a ride vehicle with known technology and a few constructed pieces of the building. The ride is already filmed, as we have it out here in California. And that is the bulk of what took time. The construction is relatively minor.


Based on what we know so far, Mine train is using a new type of ride vehicle, is highly immersive with lots of Animatronics and is a unique experience. In other words, they will still need to iron out the bugs in the basic concepts of the attraction, not just the ones the creep up in a me duplicate of an existing attraction.

 

[cmwade77]

Mr Feeze at Six Flags runs forwards and backwards.

Umm, Expedition Everest? Superman returns. I am sure there are more as well.

The never before built part of Mine Train is the swaying back and forth.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Disney works slow and overhypes their projects,do I still love them,sure but Universal is trouncing them right now.Let's look at the projects Universal will be building or are in rumor mode for the next three years.

1.Transformers for 2013,sure it's a clone of the ride in Hollywood and very similar to Spider Man,but it's still a new ride and will bring in the crowds.

2.London themed area for Harry Potter expansion with an indoor Gringots bank coaster and a Hogwarts express train that will connect both Potter areas in both parks

3.Simpsons land,they already had a Simpsons ride but are now creating an entire land with Simpsons themed restaurants and other attractions

The first three are under construction but there are rumors galore of other projects that could be fast tracked after Transformers and possibly even open before the Potter expansion

4.Poseidon's Fury being replaced with a Grinch or Lorax themed dark ride or coaster

5.And the last one which appears more solid than the Grinch one and just came about a couple of days ago is a major expansion of the Jurrassic Park section at Islands of Adventure to include a mine train family coaster into the mines where they discover the amber with insects with the dinosaur blood to create the dinosaurs.If that's not enough a new dark ride boarding at the JP Discovery center.

It's obvious you have Universal going all out with construction all over even a new resort also in construction and Disney taking 10 years to build an underwhelming new Fantasyland.Like I said I still love Disney and for me it's a win win because they will have to answer what Universal is doing.

True, universal is spending big right now. However, there is a difference between Uni and Disney. Disney has a strongly established brand along with strongly established following. What Universal is doing, I think, is to try and be like Disney where their characters will land a foothold, too. The risk I think universal is taking is that sinking all of this money will translate long-term. It will be years before usf turnsva profit once you deduct the expansion expenditures. They will get huge bang for the buck short term, but if these investments don't translate into long-term increases in attendance and profit, these very moves that everyone chastises Disney for not making could very well bankrupt Universal Florida. High risk, high reward. We will see. Disney is not in universal's position. No reason to go all in like USF. Disney is the big dog in the yard already.

 

[damo]

Yes, WDW has larger attendance then the Universal Orlando Resort and likely always will, but WDW is also a much bigger operation so can't afford to loose to many of those guests. Between 2009 and 2011 WDW's attendance numbers were flat whereas the two Universal Orlando parks increased attendance by 3.5 million. Yes, I would agree that most people who visit Orlando theme parks are going to WDW for at least part of their vacation, but the problem for Disney is people spending less time at WDW and using those extra days to go to Uni or other parks.

I would not be surprised if after Harry Potter Phase 2 opens that the attendance at either one or both of Uni's parks goes higher then with DHS or AK, or both.

Exactly. Right now, many WDW visitors are spending 1 day at Universal. Soon, with the new Harry Potter expansions, it will be 2 days. That is a huge profit loss for WDW.

The addition of the Wizarding World reaped profits like Universal never imagined. Wands and Butterbeer made a fortune. Thanks to the Wizarding World, these new additions are being made and the additions are getting better and better. Apparently, the new Diagon Alley and Gringotts are supposed to be incredible. Where many cost cutting measures were taken with the Wizarding World, they are going all out for Diagon Alley.

Yes but top flight has been there long before cedar fair bought the park.

Same with Canada's Wonderland.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Universal is being smart right now, and to some extent Disney is too. Ever since the bottom fell out of the real estate market in Florida, materials and labor costs for construction haven't been this cheap in years. It makes good sense to expand now, because construction costs will only get more expensive.

Universal has really made the most of the downturn, and Disney expanded Fantasyland- which is something- but I really wish they had done more. The past five years would have been the perfect time for a big DHS makeover (which may actually be in the works) and an expansion of AK (which may happen with Avatar), and a reboot of Pleasure Island. If Disney does get around to starting those projects in the next year or too they may get in on the tail end of the bargain basement construction prices, but they really should have gotten a move on earlier, and I'm not really going to believe Carsland at DHS and Avatarland until they break ground (even then I may be a little skeptical).

 

[Bullseye]

People still go to Universal?

Last I looked, the Magic Kingdom alone gets more annual visitors than all three Uni parks combined, so I'm not sure they're too terribly worried about pulling visitors over.

I just crossed to the dark side last year and I'll tell you it's the park dollars that Disney could be losing to US that they should be worried about. There are a ton of things to do at US for all ages of the family.

Transformers is at least the third or fourth copy of an existing ride technology. The complexity isn't at issue, the effort that goes into non-recurring engineering is.

No rollercoaster has used technology like this before. Whether it looks impressive or not to any one person is beside the point.

I guess I need to go find that old Disney-apologist pin for me to wear again.

mesa, I wasn't aware the mine ride was going to be anything extraordinary, so I'll take your word on it. I happen to know you are a US/IOA fan also, so I don't think you need to wear the Disney apologist hat.

 

[larryz]

I happen to know you are a US/IOA fan also, so I don't think you need to wear the Disney apologist hat.

It is possible to discuss differences in ride technology without necessarily defending or demeaning either company... both are spending money on changes and (some would say) improvements. A new ride is a new ride, whether it's brand new technology, or based on sound, tried-and-true engineering.

 

[Bullseye]

It is possible to discuss differences in ride technology without necessarily defending or demeaning either company... both are spending money on changes and (some would say) improvements. A new ride is a new ride, whether it's brand new technology, or based on sound, tried-and-true engineering.

Absolutely, that's what I was trying to say, that Mesa was coming from a neutral position, not just defending wdw. As a regular Orlando vacationer, I'm with you. Any good new ride is welcome to keep things fresh.