Seven Dwarfs mine train trains on track UPDATED! First drop test

[lockedoutlogic]

Well tell them to go to Six Flags if they just want thrill rides. If they want a good experience that the whole family can enjoy, with a little thrill her and there that even some small kids can ride like ToT, (got my 4 yr old nephew on it) then they are in the right place.

No offense...but isn't this statement becoming a little bit of a tired company sales pitch.

I don't mean "thrill rides"...because we knew Disney is never gonna make that a high priority.

But when they stand on the "fun for the whole family" line...they do two things I don't like:
1. Indicate that their competitors - notably the former Busch parks and universal - haven't closed the gap - which they have...
2. Gloss over the fact that - specifically in wdw - they are simply not building or maintaining enough. They waste years pumping the tires for marketing on the rather limited slate of projects that they begrudgingly move forward with.

 

[IamDisney1967]

I agree with all you said and stil think instead of NEW FANTASYLAND they should have built a VILLIANS area(being how popular they are).Disney says they are for the whole family to enjoy,well you know working there I saw as many family,s with teenage children as I did with little ones.I hate to inform everyone that teens see nothing of excitement in riding kiddie rides,so all I am saying is Disney needs to evolve with the times.Universal is on a tear right now and if all there rumored plans come to be(which right now is being done) they will catch Epcot,Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom easily.They will never catch Magic Kingdom or Disney in whole.but they don't have to all they have to do is dig into the ever constent fan base and Disney World Orlando will suffer a lot.

 

[MissMaryQC]

I don't know that I agree with this talk of Universal Orlando taking Disney. I'm a HUGE coaster fan; I could ride the Hulk all day! But even with Harry Potter Land, and the addition of Diagon Alley, Universal still pales in comparison to Disney. The rides may be more thrilling but the branding, service, food, merchandise, resorts, etc can't hold a candle to the Disney counterparts. My family is more interested in the full experience than just the fast, thrill rides, always has been, even when we were teenagers.

 

[IamDisney1967]

I gotta say I have stayed on both properties and enjoyed both.I would even go as far as to say I think THE ROYAL PACIFICA and HARD ROCK are 2 very good quality resorts.Transportation from resorts to parks I would definatley take Universal.Guest service from all park members I would say YES Disney is still king there.Theming I would say Disney was always ahead,but that Universal is definatley catching up quickly.Rides I will give to Universal and not because of Roller Coaster,s(there still building many more of all kinds).Shows and parades definatley goto Disney.Anyways I don't think there is as a big a gap as you think.You also have to remember Universal has a lot of rumors on 3 to 4 more resorts,any where from 6 to 10 more rides,another park(with LOL and some Potter in it),so if they were to actually do this which all evidence shows they will then Universal will be the next big thing taking from DISNEY,S pot of gold.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I gotta say I have stayed on both properties and enjoyed both.I would even go as far as to say I think THE ROYAL PACIFICA and HARD ROCK are 2 very good quality resorts.Transportation from resorts to parks I would definatley take Universal.Guest service from all park members I would say YES Disney is still king there.Theming I would say Disney was always ahead,but that Universal is definatley catching up quickly.Rides I will give to Universal and not because of Roller Coaster,s(there still building many more of all kinds).Shows and parades definatley goto Disney.Anyways I don't think there is as a big a gap as you think.You also have to remember Universal has a lot of rumors on 3 to 4 more resorts,any where from 6 to 10 more rides,another park(with LOL and some Potter in it),so if they were to actually do this which all evidence shows they will then Universal will be the next big thing taking from DISNEY,S pot of gold.

Absolutely! Disney needs to get on the stick. Comcast is blowing to smithereens Disney's future plans.

 

[phinmom]

It looks like this new ride offers a little thrill for the younger kids. I can't wait to try it!

 

[MrsBusDriver]

Thanks for the pictures.

 

[AJ1983]

Hope it will be open when we visit next October! My Disney trips have been 1991, 2006,2013..generally pretty spaced out, so expansion/new attractions expected. I feel pretty lucky that I am returning just a year and a half later and there will be a fun new ride open. (Plus Transformers which we JUST missed last time,and Diagon Alley, at the Darkside!)

 

[disneyworld1977]

No offense...but isn't this statement becoming a little bit of a tired company sales pitch.

I don't mean "thrill rides"...because we knew Disney is never gonna make that a high priority.

But when they stand on the "fun for the whole family" line...they do two things I don't like:
1. Indicate that their competitors - notably the former Busch parks and universal - haven't closed the gap - which they have...
2. Gloss over the fact that - specifically in wdw - they are simply not building or maintaining enough. They waste years pumping the tires for marketing on the rather limited slate of projects that they begrudgingly move forward with.

No offense, I probably need to clarify some. I may be off when I say this but from my experience. People's versions of "thrill" are different. I had one person complain that he doesn't like Disney because he only rides one or two things at a park and has to jump to another park to find the "thrill ride" His defining of thrill was a high speed roller coaster. So yeah, that person needs to go to a Six Flags, Cedar Point, etc. I jumped the gun maybe on saying that. But some people view a thrill ride maybe a coaster, but like ToT maybe. I think the argument should be the WOW factor or the experience, not if something is a simulator, a dark ride, a coaster, etc. And sometimes we can't judge that until one enjoys the attraction.

I know I went off kilter (lol) and this is probably what we are talking about. Is Universal ahead on technology of a ride? Maybe. Does Disney have use of this technology, whatever it may be? Maybe. Disney has done things on its terms, whether good or bad. I just think people expected too much of the fantasyland expansion, like it was suppose to be an ultimate answer to Universal. It may be an answer in expansion and something new but not necessarily to show them up. I think it was a good expansion and redo for Dumbo. I enjoy the new area. Its something NEW and I think that is what it's about sometimes. Not everything NEW has to be a WOW attraction. It has to be NEW or a freshening up of an area/land.

Having said that, I hope there is a WOW factor in terms of what is happening at AK and possibly all the rumors at HS. And I believe there will be but we just have to be more patient then we want to.

Ok...I am done babbling...I am not making any sense to myself now....

 

[the who #3]

does anyone know if it is anything like the crush coaster at disneyland paris?
that is a terrific ride, it is a low coaster with a swing as well as the hills and curves. just right for the whole family. exciting for adults but ok for most kids. it was so much fun!

 

[mumzie2three]

I don't know that I agree with this talk of Universal Orlando taking Disney. I'm a HUGE coaster fan; I could ride the Hulk all day! But even with Harry Potter Land, and the addition of Diagon Alley, Universal still pales in comparison to Disney. The rides may be more thrilling but the branding, service, food, merchandise, resorts, etc can't hold a candle to the Disney counterparts. My family is more interested in the full experience than just the fast, thrill rides, always has been, even when we were teenagers.

I have always been mad about Disney but after staying in a Universal resort last year we were ready to visit them again this year with a great bounce back rate. But the fact that we haven't been to Disney since '06 and never stayed on Disney property, made me switch plans for this year.
We stayed club level at Universal which saved us money on breakfast AND dinner, plus we could walk to the parks in 15 mins and we got to skip the lines because we were resort guests.
I'm pleased that we get to try the new system at WDW (magic bands and fastpass +) but I'm not sure I understand why they are offering it to guests who stay off property as well. There are no real perks to staying in a Disney resort other than having to get up early or stay up late to beat the lines. Well, I guess I will find out firsthand in late Nov which park suits us better. And I am hoping they are testing the mine train by then.

 

[Rumors Rocks]

It looks like this new ride offers a little thrill for the younger kids. I can't wait to try it!

 

[samacita]

When is it projected to open?

 

[WDWChloe]

When is it projected to open?

Nothing else besides 2014 has been announced.

 

[PuppyJonathan]

And spring

 

[SpectroMagic*o*]

Well, true. You're absouletly that Disney has repeated the ride experience with different theming, but Universal is kind of a victim of this too: Transformers is like Spider Man, Kang and Kodos is like One Fish, Two Fish. I do think that yeah both will have the mine train setting, but this will (hopefully) rely on the dark ride section and that might make it alot more different

True, although Universal has technology we haven't seen at Disney yet and I'd like to...but you're right about that.

I partially agree I guess you can say. Like Dumbo and Aladdin to me probably the most similar because of the type of ride, themed just different. Small World and Three Cabaleros, yeah, I see that. Little Mermaid, Seas with Nemo, yeah I see that. Toy Story and Buzz, a interactive ride, yea shooting at stuff, but I get different experience at that. I think I will with this new ride too because its going to have a dark ride feel to it, a good mix.

Like someone else said like Universal has, Spiderman and Transformers. So sometimes this is going to happen, a same type of ride, but yes the experience needs to be different. Which with a coaster ride it can be done. We will see how it is. Maybe go into with average to low expectations of it and then be pleasantly surprised. If you go into it with super high expectations then yeah, you might be disappointed.

Agree...I had incredibly high expectations for the New Fantasyland and was so let down when I visited this year, very anti-climactic for me. I've learned now to not expect too much. If it turns out better than I had hoped, then yay awesome. If not, then its just what I expected.

 

[PuppyJonathan]

Universal's always prided themselves with how technologically innovative their rides were, but I was never able to find an example of how it really is.
Outside of the Marvel contract, why can't we get some quick E ticket like Iron Man in Hong Kong? The only reason why it's going to take a while is to make the film!

 

[the who #3]

i love disney, but universal has the best ride i have ever experienced. i love the harry potter "forbidden chambers" ride. it is fantastic and worth the 2/plus hours we stood in line.

i also think jurrasic park playground with the pathways and rope climbs is great fun for parents and children. the jurrasic ride and the research lab are also terrific.

 

[wdwfan757]

Im really surprise at how much "thrill rides" comes up in the US vs WDW debate. Personally, the lack of thrill rides (in terms of coasters) at WDW doesn't bother me because it's pretty easy to find one near me. I grew up 20 minutes from BGW and 2 hours from Kings Dominion. I know my friends from NC always rave about Carowinds, so I kind of assumed that with all the Six flags in the US and other amusement parks, that thrill rides weren't something you went out of your way to go to. They're everywhere.

When you compare the "thrill rides" at universal to the "thrill rides" at BG or any true roller coaster park, there's really nothing that thrilling about them.

Universal's virtue's come in those epic hybrid simulator type rides... HPFJ, Transformers, Spidey.. There's nothing "non family" about the ride experience, IMO. I dont see why Disney couldn't do the same kind of thing just with their own intellectual properties. Hopefully that's what the new "soarin avatar" ride evolves into.

 

[HelloAriel]

does anyone know if it is anything like the crush coaster at disneyland paris?
that is a terrific ride, it is a low coaster with a swing as well as the hills and curves. just right for the whole family. exciting for adults but ok for most kids. it was so much fun!

I haven't been on the crush coaster, but there are lots of thrill rides at Disneyland Paris.