Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

[Missyrose]

Anyone here interested in what Universal has been doing with Gringotts Bank in the last year while Disney has been working on the small coaster for the last 2.5 years?

Go check out Orlando Informers Countdown to Diagon Alley that was written today. It gives a detailed description of the theming and the attraction itself.

Wowie, now THAT'S how you blow people away. Though I am nervous about chickening out of that ride. I hate drops (don't do ToT or Splash) and Gringotts appear to be chock full of 'em. But the details they're planning for sound absolutely incredible!

 

[Coach81]

Back on topic please.... LOL

 

[Jennasis]

Back on topic please.... LOL

The Seven Dwarves Mine Train is taking too long to build.

 

[Mad Hattered]

The Seven Dwarves Mine Train is taking too long to build.

And the ride doesn't last very long...

 

[mom2rtk]

The Seven Dwarves Mine Train is taking too long to build.

And the ride doesn't last very long...

That about covers it.

Now what?

 

[jcemom]

But let's be honest here. If you truly are wanting to rediscover your childhood I would say most anyone in their 30s and 40s were MUCH more likely to have had Spider-man and Dr. Seuss in their childhoods than Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.

Jason

Yes, true. I also watched a lot of Sid and Marty Krofft shows. That could make for a very interesting theme park LOL -- Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost, H R Pufnstuf, The Banana Splits, and The Bugaloos are the ones I remember watching.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Yes, true. I also watched a lot of Sid and Marty Krofft shows. That could make for a very interesting theme park LOL -- Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost, H R Pufnstuf, The Banana Splits, and The Bugaloos are the ones I remember watching.

I have to be honest.....why would anyone in their right mind ever RUN to avoid a Sleestak?

 

[surferdave]

Yes, true. I also watched a lot of Sid and Marty Krofft shows. That could make for a very interesting theme park LOL -- Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost, H R Pufnstuf, The Banana Splits, and The Bugaloos are the ones I remember watching.

Not enough people thought so....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_of_Sid_and_Marty_Krofft

 

[want2bamommy]

I don't think Disney feels it needs to compete at all, or even improve things there. They can crowd people in there all day without changing a thing.

This is definitely true for our family. I am currently planning our next trip for December 2014 and we briefly thought about trying Universal for a few days. Hubby and I both checked their website and decided not to go there. We absolutely love Disney. We have gone just the two of us before we had our kids and we have gone once with our then 20 month old daughter. The next trip will be with our then 4 year old and 1 year old. Disney is the perfect vacation for us. Just as is...although I really want to check out the Mine train I REALLY hope it is ready by December

 

[rastuso]

Not enough people thought so.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_of_Sid_and_Marty_Krofft

Yeah, I'd give anything for a ride through video of the living Island ride.

Jason

 

[Mad Hattered]

Not enough people thought so....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_of_Sid_and_Marty_Krofft

I remember our local Six Flags having characters in the parks for a couple of years as a kid. I vividly remember HR Pufnstuf and Cling and Clang. They also had more characters that would perform during the Kaleidocope show.

 

[PuppyJonathan]

Under the Sea.

FJ is the most technologically advanced theme park ride in the world. But you are certainly welcome to your opinion of it.

I believe you, the domes, the preshow, and the dragon are pretty impressive

If it wasn't for the ride mechanism in Soarin' it would be a movie theatre.

I never really thought about it anymore

And the ride doesn't last very long...

Well there goes my hopes of having a solid dark ride section and a good coaster section too, kind of like how Splash Mountain is a happy medium between the two

 

[ChrisFL]

does Universal has a large resort area that is like its own world?

Yes, but sadly unlike Disney, it doesn't have you wait 45 minutes for a magical overcrowded bus ride with diesel fumes.

Instead they have a 20 minute or less wait for a relaxing, un-magical boat ride, passing by beautiful foliage and scenery. Of course, all of the parks are within walking distance, so you can always walk to your destination instead.

But it's too bad that Universal doesn't offer the magical bus ride experience, the one that keeps you away from the "real world"

 

[rastuso]

I believe you, the domes, the preshow, and the dragon are pretty impressive

I never really thought about it anymore

Well there goes my hopes of having a solid dark ride section and a good coaster section too, kind of like how Splash Mountain is a happy medium between the two

Wow, if you are mentioning the Dwarf coaster in the same sentence as Splash Mountain, and the sentence doesn't contain "isn't anywhere even close to the same scale as", you are going to be REALLY disappointed.

Jason

 

[jcemom]

Not enough people thought so....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_of_Sid_and_Marty_Krofft

Never heard of that, not surprising considering the short amount of time it lasted, LOL (and how young I would have been at the time). Thanks for the info!

 

[surferdave]

Never heard of that, not surprising considering the short amount of time it lasted, LOL (and how young I would have been at the time). Thanks for the info!

I only saw the ruins myself; in 1982, my freshman year of college, I was in the Omni International where the park had been. That wiki article is on the money that urban decay was a killer for the indoor park, everything in downtown Atlanta was drying up (they've done a decent job of revitalizing it now but it was awful then). I was on an escalator and saw the remains when I looked down, it was in a big abandoned part of the mall.

I don't think they incorporated their TV characters & shows into the park, though; maybe they didn't own the rights.

 

[rastuso]

I only saw the ruins myself; in 1982, my freshman year of college, I was in the Omni International where the park had been. That wiki article is on the money that urban decay was a killer for the indoor park, everything in downtown Atlanta was drying up (they've done a decent job of revitalizing it now but it was awful then). I was on an escalator and saw the remains when I looked down, it was in a big abandoned part of the mall. I don't think they incorporated their TV characters & shows into the park, though; maybe they didn't own the rights.

The characters were definitely there. The park is most definitely a legendary enigma because ther is so little video evidence of it. It had the crystal carousel, A Living Island dark ride, a lidsville section, and the infamous pinball ride. GOd I wish there was video of that somewhere.

Jason

 

[ilovemk76]

Under the Sea.

FJ is the most technologically advanced theme park ride in the world. But you are certainly welcome to your opinion of it.

What good is that if you cannot ride the ride. We have been to Universal a few times. We only go once very 5 or more years. Why? I do not like coasters/thrill rides and Universal is predominantly a coaster/thrill ride park.

I have been to the WWoHP. What I got was a counter service (the food was good), a candy store (that is far too small), a wand store that is packed with wall to wall people, two re-themed coaster (I can ride the small one) and a small retail store. Not really worth going back over and over and over again.

The expansion will have basically the same things for me.

We love SW. It is rare for us not to visit each trip. I have so much to do without doing the thrill rides or coaster.

I am looking forward to the mine train ride. It will be at my speed.

We have stayed onsite. The resort boat ride was nice but nothing to write home about. It really only cut out a short walk. I was surprised how far we had to walk after getting off the boat. The resorts are nice and the FOTL is also nice, when I could actually use it.

The most technically advanced anything does not make it the best for all people.

 

[Mad Hattered]

What good is that if you cannot ride the ride. We have been to Universal a few times. We only go once very 5 or more years. Why? I do not like coasters/thrill rides and Universal is predominantly a coaster/thrill ride park.

I have been to the WWoHP. What I got was a counter service (the food was good), a candy store (that is far too small), a wand store that is packed with wall to wall people, two re-themed coaster (I can ride the small one) and a small retail store. Not really worth going back over and over and over again.

The expansion will have basically the same things for me.

We love SW. It is rare for us not to visit each trip. I have so much to do without doing the thrill rides or coaster.

I am looking forward to the mine train ride. It will be at my speed.

We have stayed onsite. The resort boat ride was nice but nothing to write home about. It really only cut out a short walk. I was surprised how far we had to walk after getting off the boat. The resorts are nice and the FOTL is also nice, when I could actually use it.

The most technically advanced anything does not make it the best for all people.

Why can't you ride the ride? Is it the motion sickness that gets to you? They recently tamed the ride down from it's original format if that is the case. But I know it affects people in different ways. I've read plenty of stories. Personally, I always take Dramamine before visiting any park these days. I'm sure it has nothing to do with me getting older.

Dragon's Challenge (ala Dueling Dragons) was originally supposed to be in Animal Kingdom. I think Universal could have done a better job of theming that coaster but that is not a deal breaker for me.

What WWOH has, that most people enjoy, is an extremely impressive overall reproduction of what readers envisioned when they read the books. I've made it clear that I never read the books or was even a big fan. But DW was moved by the books and it captivated her.

What Cinderella's Castle means to a lot of people when they walk up Main Street USA....yeah, there are a lot of people who get those same butterflies when they walk up to Hogsmeade. Just because I personally don't fully understand it, doesn't make it any less impressive. I was converted after I fully understood that.

Disney had the first crack at landing the HP franchise but were too stubborn/arrogant to let JK Rowling call the shots. The size of the shops and street were the direct result of Rowling. She made it "real", whether you agree with it or not. It was built to her scale, how she envisioned it and there was no way around that. What drink did you order when you had counter service? I know it wasn't a Coke or the likes. Rowling wouldn't allow that. That area is basically the epitome of all theming. But the best is yet to come...around the same time the Mine Train coaster opens.

I will just say this about the staying onsite part. When you say the boat ride only cut out a short walk back to your resort, was it about the same distance you'd walk to a Disney bus stop at any given resort or park?

 

[surferdave]

The characters were definitely there. The park is most definitely a legendary enigma because ther is so little video evidence of it. It had the crystal carousel, A Living Island dark ride, a lidsville section, and the infamous pinball ride. GOd I wish there was video of that somewhere.

Jason

Thanks for the info; I've always wondered because I never heard them mentioned in the scant advertising and publicity I remember from it.