Seven Dwarves So Close...

[rastuso]

Man, I will be disappointed if the Mine Train does not have a couple of audio-animatronic scenes, or something like that, inside the mines. I was expecting to see the Seven Dwarfs swinging their pick-axes and singing songs...that kind of thing...maybe a beautiful forest scene with Snow White (I know it would be a little odd to see a forest scene inside a mine but it is Fantasyland)...maybe an interesting scene with the Queen/witch. The second lift hill (green arrow) in your photo looks like it may provide an area for a beautiful, interesting scene. Come on Disney...be Disney. I can still hope!

I don't believe any reports have said there are any true AAs in it. Some simple moving statues, but no Ursala or Sebastian level ones.

Jason

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

So since the Media event is April 30th-May 2nd, does that mean there is a chance for it being open May 17-24th? (which is when I arrive!) My fingers are crossed that I'll be able to ride it when I am there then.

 

[ucfknight]

So since the Media event is April 30th-May 2nd, does that mean there is a chance for it being open May 17-24th? (which is when I arrive!) My fingers are crossed that I'll be able to ride it when I am there then.

I would be shocked if it wasn't in almost continuously running soft open phase at that point, if not officially opened.

 

[rastuso]

Double post

 

[Jetsetter42]

Well that's amazing timing since we'll be at the park May 18 and 19 before a DCL cruise. So do we think it will be available on FP+ during soft launch?

 

[tcherjen]

I hope there are soft openings in March.

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

Everest was in '06. I thought DisneySea's Raging Spirits might have been after that, but it looks like that opened in '05. Studios in Paris opened Crush in '07 and RC Racers in '10. HKDL opened Grizzly Mountain in '12, but that's essentially BTMR.

Thank you, Professor!!!!! Walt Disney World's last rollercoaster was Expedition Everest at AK in 2006.........so that's eight long years. This coaster isn't on the same level as Everest......but it is very appropriate for Fantasyland.

People are going to be disappointed in the new coaster because their expectations are going to be too high. Just like with the new Little Mermaid ride people complained about that because it wasn't exciting enough. Well, it's in Fantasyland, where kids reign and the attractions are designed with them in mind. It's built for everyone in the family, not just the 22 year old X-Games participant.

Disagree.......The Little Mermaid debuted at Disneyland first....it's a duplicate.....and looks similar to The Sea With Nemo & Friends ride at Epcot. The mountain looks huge and there is a real cave......the cars swing back and forth.......I can't help but get excited. It looks like this coaster will have drops....if so-that will be a huge plus. Big Thunder Mountain doesn't have any drops and it's a great coaster.

I sure hope it opens sooner than June 20th (or at least a soft opening) ... we'll be there the first week of May.

I see we just got good news that the media previews will be in April!!!!!! If this hold true-----you will be among the first guests to try the ride.

Are they adding Johnny Depp to the 7 Dwarfs ride too?

Snow White...featuring The Pirate and The Seven Dwarfs has a nice ring to it.

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

2012
1. Magic Kingdom: 17,536,000 (+2.3% change)
2. Disneyland Park: 15,963,000 (-1.1% )
3. Tokyo Disneyland: 14,847,000 (+8.5%)
4. Tokyo Disney Sea: 12,656,000 (+8.5%)
5. Disneyland Park, Disneyland Paris: 11,200,000 (+1.9%)
6. Epcot: 11,063,000 (+2.2%)
7. Disneys Animal Kingdom: 9,998,000 (+2.2%)
8. Disneys Hollywood Studios: 9,912,000 (+2.2%)
9. Universal Studios Japan: 9,700,000 (+14.1%)
10. Islands of Adventure: 7,981,000 (+4%)

11. Disney California Adventure: 7,775,000 (+22.6%)
12. Ocean Park (Hong Kong): 7, 436,000 (+6.9%)
13. Everland (South Korea): 6,853,000 (+4.3%)
14. Hong Kong Disneyland: 6,700,000 (+13.6%)
15. Lotte World (South Korea): 6,383,000 (10.4%)
16. Universal Studios Orlando: 6,195,000 (+2.5%)
17. Universal Studios Hollywood: 5,912,000 (+15%)

Nice to see the numbers, Yellow, thanks!



You do realize Universal is a thrill ride park, right? My local Six Flags changes up a thrill ride every year. If they don't, they won't sell tickets to the local teens they're trying to get to visit. If Universal did not keep adding rides, they will quickly become stale rides... and stale rides -- are boring.

WDW is a totally different entity. Attractions at the MK, like say POTC or Haunted Mansion - have been there for 30 years - they were never thrilling, yet, ppl are willing to travel the world over to come spend a week and experience them. To meet Cinderella. To see the castle. To be there in Disney World.

HP land is great! I am not dissing Universal at all. Just a different style of park. Universal is going to thrive on the teen crowd. Go to Disney with teens? Yes take a few days and go see HP land. Then come back to Disney and finish your vacation. That's the difference... VACATION vs THEME PARK. Tho WDW includes 4 theme parks of its own, it is a vacation destination. It is the biggest tourist destination in the world. Universal is just a park you go to cuz you live there or cuz you're taking 2 days off from Disney.

AKA. You would plan a 2-week trip to Disney to see DW and a few other local attractions which may or may not include Universal. But you wouldn't plan a 2-week vacation to come see Universal or Busch Gardens.

It's okay to love Universal and accept that it's different from Disney. Universal is about the rides. Disney World is about the vacation.

Universal is trying to be like Disney... i.e. they're adding resorts... they're trying to get you to stay on property, cuz that's how you make the money (which Disney pioneered first). But Universal's deal is buy 2 get 3rd free. Disney's is Buy 4 get 5th free, with many guests staying a week or more!

Huge difference. You have to grasp the difference between a Vacation Destination... and Universal... which benefits from being near the vacation destination that is Disney World.

Yes-thanks for the stats! Wow.....the statistics are staggering. Why is Universal's numbers so low....only 6 million total and that's considered an increase? I thought Universal Studios was right under Disney....they have a long way to go before they catch up to Magic Kingdom attendance.

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

It's pretty factual, even satisfactual.

Hopefully it's OK to link to that site, can't see a way to attach a photo.

Here's an overhead pic with the track drawn on it. The scene in that video is pretty much it. It does look like one short scene was removed before the lift (the right turn before the lift).

Most of the mountain covers the maintenance shop and load/unload. This is a VERY short ride with VERY little dark ride section. Rumor has it you'll see Ms. Whites cottage from a distance, and that's it.

If you ever want to ride this ride with little wait on a normal day, in the next few years, you will be spending one of 3 FP+ On this short, 2 minute ride. It really is just a highly themed, slightly longer, Barnstormer.

Oh, but the trains rock Side To SIDE1!!!1!1

-Jason

Looks good to me.

Man, I will be disappointed if the Mine Train does not have a couple of audio-animatronic scenes, or something like that, inside the mines. I was expecting to see the Seven Dwarfs swinging their pick-axes and singing songs...that kind of thing...maybe a beautiful forest scene with Snow White (I know it would be a little odd to see a forest scene inside a mine but it is Fantasyland)...maybe an interesting scene with the Queen/witch.

The second lift hill (green arrow) in your photo looks like it may provide an area for a beautiful, interesting scene.

Come on Disney...be Disney. I can still hope!

Here-I found this.......

Seven Cool Features of The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it's off to New Fantasyland We Go

May 2013

Perhaps the seven coolest features of the highly anticipated The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coming to the New Fantasyland expansion at Disney World's Magic Kingdom are actually Bashful, Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, and Dopey (especially Dopey) -- eight if you include Snow White. But it's likely that you are already familiar with the famous characters. You may not be familiar, however, with the unique new attraction based on the popular animated film that will be opening in 2014 at the park. In honor of The Seven Dwarfs, let's take a look at seven of the more intriguing elements and features of the new ride, which promises to be another Walt Disney Imagineering E-Ticket attraction.

1. First-of-its-Kind Swinging Coaster


Surely the most unique aspect of the new ride will be the design of the coaster train and its cars. Instead of fixed cars, they will be mounted in cradle-like pivots that will give them the ability to swing side to side during the ride.

There are spinning coasters (like Disney World's own Primeval Whirl at Disney's Animal Kingdom) in which individual Wild Mouse-style cars spin around. And there are fourth dimension coasters such as X at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which have cars that rotate to the sides of the track. But the innovative design of The Seven Dwarfs coaster will mark the first time that coaster cars will pivot, somewhat like a Ferris wheel but with side-to-side motion instead of back-and-forth movement.

At the time this was written, Disney hadn't elaborated much on the pivoting motion (or much else about the attraction for that matter), so I don't know the precise nature of the ride experience. But I am guessing that the cars will gently sway to and fro, possibly in time to the ride's musical score. Can't you just see passengers bopping along to "Heigh Ho! (The Dwarfs' Marching Song)?"


2. It's a Coaster. It's a Dark Ride. It's Two Rides in One!

Disney World has other themed coasters, such as Space Mountain, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Expedition Everest. But the stories largely take a back seat to the coaster thrills (although of the three, the Animal Kingdomn's Yeti ride has the most compelling story). The Seven Dwarfs won't have the same thrill level as Expedition Everest, but it appears that it will have a more immersive story.

It will be more of a full-fledged dark ride, like Pirates of the Caribbean, with animatronic characters, show scenes, props, music from the film, and other elements that will tell a linear story and immerse riders in the dwarfs' mythical workplace. Unlike Disney World's other mine train coaster, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the New Fantasyland ride will more than just hint at mine activity by taking riders into a "working" mine. In that sense, it will give equal weight to its status as both a coaster and a dark ride, not unlike (the wonderful) Revenge of the Mummy at the Universal Studios parks.

Disney. Used with permission.

3. It will Have Variable Speed Vehicles

Most traditional roller coasters use a chain lift to carry a train to the top of a lift hill and allow gravity to handle the rest of the ride. That system would make it difficult to incorporate dark ride features. Instead, the Seven Dwarfs ride will have variable speed vehicles that will allow them to slow down and rev up to accommodate both the show scenes and the coaster elements. Revenge of the Mummy has similar ride vehicle capabilities.

4. New Animatronic Technology

During a brief backstage tour of the attraction's construction site in April 2013, Imagineer Dave Minichiello said that the animated characters, which will include the dwarfs, Snow White, and forest animals, will introduce some new technology. He wouldn't elaborate, but he did promise that the ride would deliver some "wow factor." I'm ready to be wowed. And you?

5. It will Be Mildly Thrilling, but Widely Accessible

Disney and other broad-appeal theme parks must perform a delicate balancing act of delivering thrills while allowing as many of its visitors as possible to experience its attractions. Rides that are too intense exclude younger guests who don't meet the height requirements as well as older wimps who don't have much of a tolerance for thrills. How many guests can't or won't ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror because of its extreme drops but would otherwise love its incredible effects and engaging story?

The new coaster/dark ride should hit the sweet spot. It will have some mild thrills (I'm guessing it will be milder than the relatively mild Big Thunder Mountain), but will not be intimidating enough to scare away wimps or have too much of a height restriction. It will be a true family coaster that most young children will be able to enjoy with their grandparents.

6. It will Include an Interactive Queue

The bane of theme parks has long been the interminable lines guests must endure to experience more popular rides. For the last few years, Disney has been adding entertaining diversions in its queues to make the waits more palatable. This has included features such as a tricked-out pipe organ in the line for Haunted Mansion and an air-conditioned "circus tent," complete with benches, games, and climbing equipment, for guests waiting to board Dumbo. Disney has not revealed the details, but it did confirm that the new attraction would keep riders engaged with some interactive features while waiting in line.

7. Other Possible Features

Minichiello, the Disney Imagineer with whom I spoke, was a bit coy but did seem to indicate that other surprises may be included in the attraction. I emphasize: may be included. While he would neither confirm nor deny anything when asked, he did sport a broad smile and a twinkle in his eye when he said that the ride might include backwards as well as forward motion as well as spritzes of water. Because the ride will include a trestle bridge and waterfall, the wet feature seems more likely, while, from what can be seen of the track, the backward motion seems less less likely.

© Arthur Levine, 2013. Licensed to About.com http://themeparks.about.com/od/walt...tures-Of-The-Seven-Dwarfs-Mine-Train-Ride.htm

It's okay to get excited.....

 

[maryj11]

I cant wait to ride it even it is a kiddie ride ! We will be there last week in May.

 

[CanadianPaco]

SO exciting!!!!!

 

[prudence64]

Glad to hear that it slows down and let's you take in the scenery.

 

[marvfool1]

So excited can't wait til we go back in 2015

 

[Yellowstonetim]

This is going to be great! New technology, swinging cars, varying speed, backward motion, waterfall! Sounds like it will be a top notch A-1 ride and I'll bet it will cause a healthy up-tick in attendance. I appreciate that it will be fun and exciting while also being for the whole family. A tall order!

Except of course for a small group of people (who shall remain nameless) that upon opening will claim it is the worst ride ever created and Universal is better.

 

[ucfknight]

I just hope they built hefty foundations for the audio-animatronics this time. I'd hate to have to settle for Disco Dopey.

 

[Amanda25]

Can't wait, looks super fun!

 

[MomtothreeEs]

Are there height requirements for this ride? Does anyone know how many riders can sit together? I wasn't expecting a new ride for our trip in May, but I guess I need to figure it out now. With the dark, it might be a bit scary for my little ones anyway.

 

[Mad Hattered]

This is going to be great! New technology, swinging cars, varying speed, backward motion, waterfall! Sounds like it will be a top notch A-1 ride and I'll bet it will cause a healthy up-tick in attendance. I appreciate that it will be fun and exciting while also being for the whole family. A tall order!

Except of course for a small group of people (who shall remain nameless) that upon opening will claim it is the worst ride ever created and Universal is better.

New technology....you mean like:

Swinging cars...yes, unless you count overhead tracks

Varying speed....uhhhhh...you can read the post and know that isn't new.

Backward motion...not only is that not new...it's already been in Everest since 2006.

Waterfall.....really?

If you can't tell how short the dark ride portion of this ride is by the aerial views then there is no hope. If the entire ride last 90 to 120 seconds total then how much dark ride portion of it do you think really exists?

This isn't a Universal guy talking....it's a coaster junkie who has ridden a lot more than the average Joe, and then some.

 

[KaLyn]

Are there height requirements for this ride? Does anyone know how many riders can sit together? I wasn't expecting a new ride for our trip in May, but I guess I need to figure it out now. With the dark, it might be a bit scary for my little ones anyway.

Somewhere I saw 38" listed, but I don't think that's been confirmed. From pics it looks maybe like 4 per car (2 front, 2 back)?

 

[ucfknight]

Are there height requirements for this ride? Does anyone know how many riders can sit together? I wasn't expecting a new ride for our trip in May, but I guess I need to figure it out now. With the dark, it might be a bit scary for my little ones anyway.

Height requirement is 38 inches.
Each row seats 2 people.