Seven Dwarf Mine Train is WAY over-hyped in my opinion

[Disneylover99]

We love SDMT!
But Goofy's Barnstormer we could do without.

 

[North of Mouse]

reading through some previous posts I came upon several mentions about how awful the seats are and I agree. What is up with those seats? They are not comfortable at all.

Have been surprised at all the mentions of how awful the seats are - guess dh & I didn't notice that at all - hard plastic seats on 'anything' aren't the most comfortable, at best. I hate the Safari ride seats and the way you get jerked around with no support.

 

[edolee]

Hello Everyone,

My attitude toward the attraction changed dramatically during a trip a couple years ago...

Day 1: First time my family and I rode it was using a fast pass mid-morning. I will admit at that point I kind of agreed with the OP, maybe over-hyped was not it exactly, but I certainly felt a little underwhelmed. Too short, and not worth a long wait, which seemed to nearly always be the case.

Day 2: The next day we went to Universal and rode "Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts" (These attractions opened within a few weeks of each other in 2014). I was WOWED by this attraction. I realize it is probably targeted at a different audience, but given how closely they opened to each other, I left Universal that day with the feeling that the good people at Disney were losing their touch.

Day 6: Near the end of the trip, we went back to the Magic Kingdom. At the end of the day we decided to try 7DMT again, and it happened to be near the time for Wishes (luckily). Riding during Wishes was AWESOME. 1st, I think the attraction is better in the evening when it is dark, and with the fireworks going at the same time I think it is one of my favorite rides of all time. I expect it is tricky to gauge this, but if you can manage it, ride it during Wishes...

Ed

 

[agavegirl1]

The ride is "classic" and "current" Disney both. Classic, in that it is well themed and family friendly. Current, in that it was shortened from the original plan for budgetary reasons. I would not wait more than 20 minutes but I did use a FP+ for it in October 2014, twice. I also spent 4 days at Universal and saw Diagon Alley for the first time. The comparison between "New Fantasyland" was a no-brainer. I was wowed by what US had created and mildly impressed by WDW's efforts.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Thankfully we only waited 40 minutes for this ride. But in my opinion, it wasn't worth it. The ride is probably the shortest ride on property. I was disappointed. I feel like they just threw the ride in to alleviate some of the crowds/lines on other rides.

Anyone else disappointed?

Not sure I was "disappointed" but Disney could have done a whole, whole lot more with this ride. Despite all the hype there are at least 2 rides at MK (Splash Mtn, Big Thunder) and a number of others throughout Disney World (Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, Safari, Toy Story Mania, Test Track) that are better. Feels like Disney sort of mailed this one in.

 

[North of Mouse]

Not sure I was "disappointed" but Disney could have done a whole, whole lot more with this ride. Despite all the hype there are at least 2 rides at MK (Splash Mtn, Big Thunder) and a number of others throughout Disney World (Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, Safari, Toy Story Mania, Test Track) that are better. Feels like Disney sort of mailed this one in.

Some of the ones you mentioned are definitely comparing apples and oranges - this was 'never' billed as a thrill ride, but more toward families with younger children, and 'in Fantasyland'!!

 

[Grumpy Tigger]

I like the ride, but will not wait over 40 min. to ride it again. Having a FP+ is probably the only time I will be able to ride it again until the newness wears off.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

We used FP and had a ppo BOG so we never waited a long time. It is very short but my boys really loved it. I was glad that we had FP for it twice, and we got to ride it twice on our BOG morning. We ended up using a no strings FP on it as our last ride before we left because they liked it that much. Despite it being so short, I really enjoyed it. Of course I wish it was longer. We find ourselves driving in the car and someone will start to sing "Heigh-Hoooooooo....."

 

[jamesez]

7DMT feels shorter than it really is because of the slow straight section through the mine - it's almost a float ride at that point.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

Thankfully we only waited 40 minutes for this ride. But in my opinion, it wasn't worth it. The ride is probably the shortest ride on property. I was disappointed. I feel like they just threw the ride in to alleviate some of the crowds/lines on other rides.

Anyone else disappointed?

I would probably have been disappointed if we waited more than 30mins BUT we FP+ it and thought it was FUN!! The 2nd and 3rd time we rode it was at night during Wishes and we enjoyed it even more with almost NO wait and got to ride under the fireworks - pretty amazing!! My son would have enjoyed a few minute wait to play with some of the interactive stuff in the que.

 

[Minnesota!]

Yep. We walked right on after a BOG reservation prior to park opening. It was disappointing with a no-minute wait. I would be M A D with a 40 minute wait. It was pretty lame for the hype that preceded it.

 

[Goofey Drool]

We just got back and had a good time but we did not get FP's for the mine train. Every time we went by it the wait time was 40+ min. Even at night during the fireworks that whole area was mobbed and the wait time was extremely high. I agree, too much hype...

 

[johde]

I actually think it is a very innovative ride being a mixture of roller coaster and dark ride.

It's not like Universal didn't do it with Revenge of the Mummy 10 years earlier.

I liked 7DMT. I waited about 30 minutes late one evening. I'm not sure I'd wait much longer that than though. I would have liked to see something more though. What I think it's missing is a "dark ride" section in the beginning to set the mood. Comparing 7DMT to ROTM which I think got the dark ride/coaster hybrid equation done well.

ROTM starts with 3 1/2 dark ride scenes (and highly themed queue) to set the mood before the first coaster section. Another short dark ride scene, short coaster scene, and concluding video closing.

7DMT jumps right into the right coaster section with the only scene setting (after the highly themed queue) being looking at rocks. You then have 2 dark ride scenes, one animatronic one video/projection. A second coaster section then the short closing "dark ride" section.

 

[dreiwhit]

We had a fast pass for it. There's no way I would have waited for a long time to go on it.

I like it, but if I never rode it again, it would not break my heart.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

For some reason, I have a feeling we will be having this same conversation when the new Slinky Dog roller coaster opens in DHS. It is also being promoted as a "family roller coaster." I don't expect it to be as thrilling as EE, ToT, or RnRC. The height requirement tells it all for me. 7DMT has a height requirement of 38 inches. This is a great ride for the under 40" crowd to get to ride a "big" roller coaster. Since the Barnstormer is similar to any other kiddie coaster at your local amusement park, 7DMT gives the under 40" crowd something to be really excited about. That being said, our whole family enjoyed it. It was actually faster then I expected (since my expectation was a family coaster) and the swinging effect made it really fun. I liked the dark ride portion as well. Overall, it is a slam dunk for us and will be on our must-do list going forward.

 

[Anal Annie]

I think almost ALL rides are too short. I've personally not noticed any issues with the seats on 7D that I can't tolerate for 2 mintues but I'm pretty sure their design was done with the LITTLE KIDS in mind that they really designed the ride for. They have to keep them snug & safe. Let's face it - it was not designed with the Big & Tall section on the top of their plans. Splash Mountain is one of the longest rides ever and it's "footprint" is actually inside a pretty large multi-story building that's hidden behind the mountain facade. I still think they did a great job at designing a "real coaster" for LITTLE kids.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Some of the ones you mentioned are definitely comparing apples and oranges - this was 'never' billed as a thrill ride, but more toward families with younger children, and 'in Fantasyland'!!

Yeah, I'm not claiming it is. But comparing apples to apples, 7 Dwarfs is VASTLY inferior to other "family" rides like Splash Mtn or Toy Story Mania.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I think almost ALL rides are too short. I've personally not noticed any issues with the seats on 7D that I can't tolerate for 2 mintues but I'm pretty sure their design was done with the LITTLE KIDS in mind that they really designed the ride for. They have to keep them snug & safe. Let's face it - it was not designed with the Big & Tall section on the top of their plans. Splash Mountain is one of the longest rides ever and it's "footprint" is actually inside a pretty large multi-story building that's hidden behind the mountain facade. I still think they did a great job at designing a "real coaster" for LITTLE kids.

But all rides aren't too short. Splash Mtn certainly isn't, nor is Safari, Test Track, Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror or even Expedition Everest. The rides that stand out as being too short are Rock n Roller Coaster, 7 Dwarfs and Peter Pan.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Love it but could leave it. If I had a choice between SDMT and Splash then Splash wins.

 

[PetePanMan]

I think it is all about expectations. We rode for first time in Dec after reading that ride was over hyped. We were very pleasantly surprised however. I think it is an excellent (but short) ride.