The Maelstrom- was it ever more intense?

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

A few of my neighbors were talking to me about how they loved the Norweigan boat ride before it got so tame. They said there used to be a tsunami effect and then there was a [bigger] drop. Did the Maelstrom ever have a bigger drop, or are they thinking of a different ride?

Just say something to the effect of. Bigger drops? that's nothing. You must not have been on it when it had an inversion.

 

[SueM in MN]

I was going to comment, but Sue above me summed it up perfectly. Yep.

I'm just glad someone else confirmed it.

 

[Matt'sMom]

I can also confirm the change regarding the part just before the drop, where the boats seemed like they were about to fall out of the 'window'. We used to really enjoy standing outside of the attraction and just watching the people in the boats. For those riders who did not know that part was coming up, the looks on their faces and their reactions were priceless.

We were somewhat disappointed when we returned to WDW years later, for my DS's first visit, only to find that the boats no longer did this. Sort of took the excitement out of that ride. Although my son still likes to go on it, just to see the trolls.

 

[La2kw]

We were on Maelstrom for the first time when it was in preview and we went on it a number of times around then.

There is one other change that was made to the ride after it was open a while. The ride path and what is in the attraction are the same as they were from the beginning, but it used to be a bit different at the spot where the trolls say "Over the falls......."
Now you go kind of slowly towards the 'window', and then go backwards down the hill. The going towards the falls, the turn and going backwards are fairly slow.

When the ride was in preview and for a while after that, it went quickly toward that little 'window' that overlooks Norway. If went so far that people on the ground could see the people in the closest part of the boat and the front people on the boat. Then the boat turned quickly (and kind of with a jerk) before continuing backwards like it does now. I think the reason they changed it was that people inside the ride screamed when they felt like they were going to be dumped out of the little 'window'. Also, their screaming kind of made some people (especially people with kids) not want to go on it. I also recall some people on the ground thinking something was wrong with the ride when they caught sight of the boat sticking out (nothing like scaring the people outside and letting their screams panic the people in the ride).
I'm not sure when it changed, but they did make a few subtle things to slow it and make it a little more tame.

I'm confused. Are you saying that you used to go down the final drop backwards? I only remember going backwards from the troll room all the way to the window (past the polar bears), then going forwards down that last drop. In other words, traveling forward to the three headed troll where the turntable sends you backwards down the falls past the polar bear. Then when you get to the outside window another turntable sends you down to the oil derrick room forwards. Was this different before, or am I misunderstanding you?

 

[DeeCeeSW]

We were on Maelstrom for the first time when it was in preview and we went on it a number of times around then.

There is one other change that was made to the ride after it was open a while. The ride path and what is in the attraction are the same as they were from the beginning, but it used to be a bit different at the spot where the trolls say "Over the falls......."
Now you go kind of slowly towards the 'window', and then go backwards down the hill. The going towards the falls, the turn and going backwards are fairly slow.

When the ride was in preview and for a while after that, it went quickly toward that little 'window' that overlooks Norway. If went so far that people on the ground could see the people in the closest part of the boat and the front people on the boat. Then the boat turned quickly (and kind of with a jerk) before continuing backwards like it does now. I think the reason they changed it was that people inside the ride screamed when they felt like they were going to be dumped out of the little 'window'. Also, their screaming kind of made some people (especially people with kids) not want to go on it. I also recall some people on the ground thinking something was wrong with the ride when they caught sight of the boat sticking out (nothing like scaring the people outside and letting their screams panic the people in the ride).
I'm not sure when it changed, but they did make a few subtle things to slow it and make it a little more tame.

I guess I must have been on a preview ride as well bc I recall having this experience the first time I rode it years ago.

 

[Rustysmom]

It's been a long time since I've been on the ride, but I don't remember any of this at all except I remember being very surprised when the trolls sent us backwards and I thought we went backwards fast. I don't even remember turning or oil rigs or anything. I remember I liked it though. LOL Mabye I don't remember much because I went at night or I'm just getting old.

What do the trolls say when they send you backwards? "Keep away" or something like that? I remember laughing because I didn't expect to shoot backwards. Is there any video online where I can see this ride because I want to refresh my memory.

 

[SueM in MN]

What do the trolls say when they send you backwards? "Keep away" or something like that? I remember laughing because I didn't expect to shoot backwards. Is there any video online where I can see this ride because I want to refresh my memory.

There are 3 heads, so they can say quite a bit.
One head says things like "I'll cast a spell." Another says "Over the falls, over the falls". Another says "Disappear. Disappear." They kind of talk over each other, but that's the gist of it.

I'm confused. Are you saying that you used to go down the final drop backwards? I only remember going backwards from the troll room all the way to the window (past the polar bears), then going forwards down that last drop. In other words, traveling forward to the three headed troll where the turntable sends you backwards down the falls past the polar bear. Then when you get to the outside window another turntable sends you down to the oil derrick room forwards. Was this different before, or am I misunderstanding you?

The ride path is exactly the same now as is was in the beginning, it's just the speed that the turn is made at and how far into the 'window' you go that has changed.
When the ride starts, you are going up a dark incline with a kind of pulsating light in front of you. The boat goes forward past a Viking village and Vikings getting ready to go on a sea voyage.
The next portion (while you are still going forward) is the forest where the 3 headed trolls are. The 'window' is near the trolls; the way the ride was to begin with, it was really obvious that the falls they were talking about throwing you over was the falls that goes from that window to the outside of the attraction (where you can see the fall from the front outside of the building). The boat turns around during the episode with the trolls, so the boat ends up going backward at some point during the 'falls' episode and continues backwards past the polar bears, etc. Now, you don't go very far into the 'window', so most people probably don't even realize that is the falls the trolls are talking about and just assume they are talking about the 'fall' backwards past the polar bear.
After the polar bear, there is a sort of 'springtime' scene; during that the boats change back to going forward. You kind of go around a corner, so it's not a real obvious turntable. That puts the boat into position to go forward thru the oil derrick scene and to the end of the ride.

The last time I looked, there were a couple of videos of Maelstrom on youtube, but since it's a dark ride, the videos were pretty dark, so I'm not sure if they would help much.

 

[peel]

I remember that too, Sue, and I was also there right when it opened. Do you also remember that it was billed as a Semi Thrill Ride? I remember that very specifically because I was about 10 or 11 at the time and I was very worried about a lot of the "scary" rides. My mom and I discussed the term "semi thrill" at length before I finally agreed to go on it. I was a wimpy child.
Anyway, these days it seems there is no way the word thrill would be included anywhere in the description.

 

[Ariel Mae]

The drop's always been that 'small'.

I noticed, with age, it gets easier and easier. When I was little, the drop seemed pretty bad. Now, it's like, "Oh, come on! More!".

I'm upset it's going to be shut down while I'm there!!! You know how long it took me to finally ride this without covering my eyes and screaming?

 

[SueM in MN]

I remember that too, Sue, and I was also there right when it opened. Do you also remember that it was billed as a Semi Thrill Ride? I remember that very specifically because I was about 10 or 11 at the time and I was very worried about a lot of the "scary" rides. My mom and I discussed the term "semi thrill" at length before I finally agreed to go on it. I was a wimpy child.
Anyway, these days it seems there is no way the word thrill would be included anywhere in the description.

when you actually thought you might go over the real falls to the outside of the building, it was a semi thrill ride. After going on it the first time, it took quite a bit to convince my oldest DD to go on it again!