Questions regarding new rides

[Mrs. Bradbury]

My family of 4 (me, hubs, 2 adult children aged 31 and 25) are going to WDW in May. We are WDW vets but haven't been since a few of the new rides opened. We are currently on the fence about buying Genie+ or ILLs, so I'd like opinions, please. I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into words, but basically, if we haven't seen the Guardians of the Galaxy movie(s?) (Cosmic Rewind) and have only seen the first couple of Star Wars movies (Rise - are there other rides besides Star Tours?), and are lukewarm about Avatar (FOP), are the actual ride experiences worth jumping through hoops to get on rides related to the movies? If it's a walk-on, sure, but what's your noping-out limit? This doesn't include Tron, because hubs and I were 19 and 20 in 1982 and totally geek out about Tron. We'll try our best to ride Tron. The others, I'm not sure how much effort to put into trying. And for our family, I'm the "try-er". I do most of the planning and they just follow along. I'll be dealing the the MDE app for the group, I'm pretty sure. Thanks for your help.

ETA we do enjoy thrill rides (except Mission Space - blech!)

 

[Muskrat191]

We went this past October, and FOP, Rise and GotG were all new to us. I have never seen a Guardians movie, but GotG was still a really good roller coaster. Some of the preshow was lost on me. Rise was also amazing and I am not a Star Wars fan. FOP was meh. We paid ILL for all three, and only regretted paying the money for FOP.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I have never seen any of the Guardians movies, Star Wars and Avatar movies and thought that Cosmic Rewind, Rise and Flight of Passage to be awesome rides worth riding at least once. I don't think I could pay $25 per person for Rise, especially since many of the major effects break down constantly but you can ride it by rope dropping or at park close without too bad of a wait. Getting the 1 pm virtual queue for Guardians is also very easy, way easier than the 7 am drop which can fill up in 5 seconds or less.

 

[dizneegirl]

If you enjoy thrill rides, don't miss Cosmic Rewind. Movie or no movie, it's a fantastic coaster.

If you've seen any Star Wars movies, I'd highly recommend Rise of the Resistance at least once. You'll recognize most of the characters. Even if you don't know them all, it's truly an experience you've never had before.

Millineum Falcon: Smuggler's Run was a once and pretty much done for DH and I. We love Star Wars, but the wait for basically a ride-on motion simulator game was a turn-off. We'd rather ride Star Tours.

Avatar Flight of Passage is fun, but it's not a must-do for us, even though we love the movie. I *might* wait 30 minutes for it. If Navi River Journey is a low wait, though (15 minutes), hop on... it's gorgeous.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Thank you all for your replies, I am so glad to get an experienced perspective! I really appreciate it.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I don't think there's any need to see a movie to enjoy a ride.
I'd venture to guess that very few have seen Song of the South, for instance. Yet I bet almost everyone that rides it likes Splash Mountain (while it's still that theme mind you).
For many many years there was no Pirates of the Caribbean movie yet that was a great ride that people really enjoyed. Other rides have no movie tie in at all.
There are entire theme parks out there that have no movie ties whatsoever and folks ride those rides over and over.
The question is do you like the ride type (coaster, etc) not do you like the movie

 

[coasternut22]

I don't think there's any need to see a movie to enjoy a ride.
I'd venture to guess that very few have seen Song of the South, for instance. Yet I bet almost everyone that rides it likes Splash Mountain (while it's still that theme mind you).
For many many years there was no Pirates of the Caribbean movie yet that was a great ride that people really enjoyed. Other rides have no movie tie in at all.
There are entire theme parks out there that have no movie ties whatsoever and folks ride those rides over and over.
The question is do you like the ride type (coaster, etc) not do you like the movie

I really like this response.

 

[jlnten17]

While I have seen the movies I would not say I have ever seen them more than once nor were any a favorite as far as movies go. These rides however, are a different story. I would say each is a must do at least once. Of the three which is worth it would be a matter of personal preference/opinion.

 

[ComeToSocialize]

You don’t need to know anything about the movies for all the rides to be fun.

I’d do rope drop or park closing for FoP, VQ for cosmic. Rise is the only one I might buy ILL for because it breaks down so much it can screw up your plans if you try to do standby

 

[loves to dive]

I've only seen the 3 original Star Wars movies (you know Luke, Han and Leia) didn't see Avatar until after I rode the ride and have seen the first Guardians but don't remember much except Groot.

I have ridden all three of the rides mentioned. I wouldn't pay extra for any of them but that's because:
FOP makes me slightly sick, not throw up but dizzy enough when I get off I have to stand still a minute or two.

GoTG was a one and done for me, it too made me woozy, I did the last 3/4 of the ride with my eyes shut praying it would end soon. I can't even tell you what song was playing. I had to sit in the shade for half hour sipping water after that one. It was easy for me to get a virtual que at 7 am though, might have been the week I was there, last week in August and almost every ride in every park was a walk on.

Rise is very immersive and is a good ride but breaks down a lot. It's a toss of the dice whether you would actually get to ride it. You don't have to know the characters but if the CMs are really being into character that day (some days they are some days they aren't) it can be a little confusing because they will rush you from one place to another.

I would try for the virtual que for Guardians and if you don't get it, it wasn't meant to be. I would maybe rope drop Rise, the earlier in the day usually the better. Depending on your level of tolerance for 3D rides, I would wait until end of day to try for FoP.

 

[clconnell]

I've never seen Guardians or Avatar. I've seen some Star Wars a long time ago.
Guardians of the Galaxy is the BEST ride I've ever been on! All 9 of us were in awe. So much so that we rode it 3 times (2 VQ & 1 ILL). We paid for ILL after riding it via VQ because we loved it so much.
Avatar was our 2nd favorite. So well done! I would absolutely pay ILL to do it again.
Rise was our least favorite (and was the most expensive). Glad we did it once so I don't always wonder about the hype, but definitely won't pay to ride it again.

 

[Skywalker3]

I am not a big fan of Avatar have only seen it once at the movies, when it came out, and a few bits here and there. but FoP is one of my favorite rides.
For Guardians, . I think it'll still be a fun coaster experience, but some of the preshow and characters will be lost on you, but it's still a very fun, innovative coaster
Star Wars, well, I'm a Sw fanatic, so I'd say, watch the movies, ha. But if you have a chance to at least watch Force Awakens, it'll help to be familiar w the land, and Rise. Rise is a remarkable ride. I wouldn't say thrilling like a coaster, but just a fun experience. As far as worth the effort....we have not bought genie+ our visits, but do make the rope drop effort, especially for FoP. and we did pay for ILL for Guardians, once everyone rode it, they were willing to pay for another ride. ( I would pay for FoP if I wasn't rope dropping AK, or had a very short time, ditto for Rise, if time was an issue.)
Maybe rope drop rise, or try and ride close to closing.
Happy planning.