DCA, Future Expansion
Topic: I Rode DCA's Midway Mania! SPOILERS

#	Author	Message
101	bean Sun 5/18/2008 4:17p	"It is obvious you have not been on the Florida TOT. Here, the ride vehicle break away from the shaft and travels forward for a minute into the 5th dimension, with cool specil effects and show piece around you before heading into the final shaft. This one minute moment takes the TOT Florida and turns it into the Haunted Mansion ride, clearly making the Fla TOT the leader in the pack for TOT supremacy. (afterwards, Disney declared, MAN, that moving car effect is too dang expensive, then started to remove it. The greatness of TOT Fla vs. all other TOTS is like comparing the greatness of Disneyland's Pirates (Amazing!) to Fla Pirates (meh!) or Tokyo Disney's Pooh Ride (superior) to Disneylands Pooh (meh!) There is no comparison!" i wonder why OLC the company known for spending money with no regret felt that the DCA version was superior. They had the oppurtunity to ride both and felt that the WDW version with the forward movement was unnecessary. The WDW version is superior in architecture but do not speculate the reasons for the forward movements removal. It had little to due with being cheap or saving money, it was more due to the fact that it never worked like first designed. OLC enjoyed the idea but also felt that it was a one time hype and became redundant after more than one ride. They basically decided that the ride version used in DCA and now Paris was superior. Whether OLC was correct or not is subjective because many people enjoy the forward movement, including myself. Its not always about being cheap like some think. TOT was always destined to be an attraction for DCA. It was not a last minute rushed decision. The attraction had two possible locations to be placed. The change was in the timeline in which it was built. Yes it was built sooner than imagined. That is the same thing that happened at TDS becasue of the same reason. Guest felt both parks lacked attractions. why do i even respond to these things. Its the same things we have been talking about for years
102	bean Sun 5/18/2008 4:19p	As for the fastpass arguement... Please do you actually think that some of us that are actually connected to these theme parks do not know the cause and effect of fastpass?
103	lesmisfan Sun 5/18/2008 7:16p	seriously. i agree with bean. and backpaintism i would love to know how and why you think in what ways voyage of the little mermaid is superior to Avenue Q?
104	dshyates Sun 5/18/2008 9:34p	"in what ways voyage of the little mermaid is superior to Avenue Q?" AveQ doesn't have nearly enough Disney characters. Duh!
105	dshyates Sun 5/18/2008 9:34p	"in what ways voyage of the little mermaid is superior to Avenue Q?" AveQ doesn't have nearly enough Disney characters. Duh!
106	ArchtMig Mon 5/19/2008 12:59a	>>>1. <<I never have compared DCA's tower to TDS's because I agree that they are essentially the same ride experience. >> 2. It is obvious you have not been on the Florida TOT.<<< 1st quote above is from me as quoted by you, and 2nd quote above is your response to what I said, and to that I say, go back and read my quote again. I was NOT comparing the DCA TOT to the Florida TOT, I was referring to the Tokyo Disney Sea (TDS) TOT. I rode the Florida version long before there was a DCA or talk of a DCA clone, and I suspect I rode the DCA version before you ever got on it, and I wrote at length my thoughts of the comparisons and contrasts between the original and the DCA copy back in those days. Although I agree with your contentions regarding the Florida original, there was no need for you to criticize me in that my statement was pertaining to the DCA and Tokyo versions, which are indeed the very same ride system. And for what it's worth, my love for the Florida original is what generates my disappointment with the DCA version.
107	socalkdg Mon 5/19/2008 7:38a	<<<I'll tell you why. I don't like the 5D room at WDW. It's clunky, the effects are pretty lame, and worst of all, it ruins the flow. Not so much the room itself, but the fact that you have to slot into a different elevator shaft.>>> Completely agree. If they could have made the room darker or made it impossible to see the track then I might have liked it more. It just reminds me of a visit to a museum, which doesn't go well with the rest of the ride. So I'd say DCA wins with actual ride, DHS gets better outside theming, overall its a draw.
108	Jim in Merced CA Mon 5/19/2008 8:31a	While the idea of leaving the elevator shaft and moving through the 'Twilight Zone' is a good one, the biggest flaws in the 5D room for me, were: a. Too much light. You can see the floor, and the marks from the wheels of the ride vehicles. No surprise where you're going. b. Special Effects are cheesy. Maybe it's the lack of darkness, but they all looked like a bad carnival funhouse. b. It was HOT in that room. Like the show building had zero insulation. If anything, it seems like that room should be freezing cold. c. As someone else mentioned, the move into the new shaft. Adjust, adjust, adjust. Kind of a buzz kill. Overall though, 'Tower of Terror' has never been one of my favorites.
109	ArchtMig Mon 5/19/2008 10:32a	For those that prefer the DCA version of the TOT over the Florida version, more power to you. I don't happen to be in your camp, but I respect your reasons and support your right to have those preferences. For me, the "magic mirror" is bogus and boring, and in no way makes up for the loss of the 5th Dimension hallway, which I think is a marvel from a technological standpoint, if nothing else. And the 5th D special effects can always be plussed and improved, and you can bet that they will be someday. But DCA's will never have that option. The way you feel about the 5th D sequence being clunky and boring after the first time is the same way I feel about that stupid boring mirror. Seen it once - been there, done that. Can't stand looking at it anymore. I don't even wave at it anymore. I barely control my urge just to flip it the bird as I wait for the whole stupid sequence to end and the drops to begin. And by the way - if you like how the ride in Florida ends at a totally, disorientingly different place than where it starts, then you have the 5th Dimension hallway sequence to thank for that. The loss of that feature dooms DCA's version to present us with the same pimply faced dweeb who loaded us on the ride as being the one to unload us a minute later after the ups and downs end. In the same place we got on. Through the same doors. And into the same hallway. And it will always be that way for DCA. And that is sad, and it still to this day makes me angry. And yes, it's the same arguments we have all been debating ever since the inferior DCA version debuted. You know, they could have at least dealt with the common hallway issue a lot better than they did. There are ways that I can think of that it could have been dealt with. But they did it the easiest, laziest way they could. And I think that sucks. For me, I don't care as much about the smoothness of the ride system as I care about the overall presentation, and DCA's is so much the lesser experience that I hardly ever go on it more often than about once out of every 10 times I set foot in that park. Regarding the exterior queues, garden development, and theming, I think 99 out of a hundred people would agree that the Florida version far outclasses the poorly executed DCA version. So no big debate there. Regarding the big two story boiler room at DCA versus the single story version at Florida, I say bigger is not always better. From the beginning, I have always maintained that the DCA boiler room is too brightly lit, and therefore not nearly as spooky. But someone here said the lighting has been toned down in more recent times. I'll be going to Disneyland/DCA this Tuesday. I'll go on TOT and check it out for myself. I promise not to flip that damn mirror the bird. I agree that the far off distant ghostlike voices in DCA's is an improvement. But that doesn't make up for seeing the same people get off the cabs that just got on a few minutes earlier, and the ride operators screw up more often than one would like and blow the effect by allowing that to happen with the doors wide open. And whenever that happens, DCA's TOT experience is reduced to something more akin to the Maliboomer. I will admit that the DCA's TOT is a more impressive achievement than 90 percent of the attractions built in theme parks that aren't Disney parks. But where Disney's attractions far outclass their competition, in the areas of story development, continuity of theme, and superb execution overall, including queue line development - the DCA version of TOT falls far short of the Florida original. But be that as it may, the way I described it in my first post on these boards that night after I first rode the DCA version at the WDI preview event for it was this way: The DCA version exceeds the Florida version in terms of thrill factor. The Florida version outclasses the DCA version in terms of story development, continuity of theme, and spookyness and intrigue. The DCA version is a thrill ride first and foremost with a themed overlay, and the Florida version is a theme ride primarily, with a thrill component thrown in. For me, I prefer the Florida version's way of doing it as a DISNEY attraction over the DCA version's way of doing it. So I gave the DCA version a grade of B, overall, whereas for me, the Florida version is a solid A+ all the way through. Just my opinions, FWIW. Your mileage may vary.
110	Spirit of 74 Mon 5/19/2008 10:50a	I really agree with most of the points rasied in post 109. I certainly feel the Park Formerly Known as The Disney-MGM Studios version of Tower is superior for many of the same reasons. I don't quite get the over-the-top negativity (giving the mirror the bird?!?! saying you like it but riding only once in 10 visits etc ...) but it's not as bad as saying the parking lot was superior to DCA or that DCA is the worst theme park built in 50 years. Just a few Tower points that haven't been brought up (or fully fleshed out) here yet: ToT was ALWAYS coming to DCA. ALWAYS. Phase II of DCA was supposed to be ToT, Armegeddon effects show and a nighttime show. The thing is none of those were expected to be needed for at least five years due to DCA's daily gate-closures;-) When ToT was rushed, it indeed got the version planned and designed for France. ToT wasn't always going to be thrown in where it was. And there were thoughts of making it a San Francisco hotel after the Big One in the early going ... I believe they didn't want to focus on natural disasters (this is Disney) so it then kept its San Francisco theming and locale in the park, but was given the typical Twilight Zone overlay. As for things getting cut, Florida's version suffered as well. What many fans don't know is that the original concept featured travel thru the old hotel a la Mansion with more show scenes before climaxing with the whole fifth dimension room and drop sequence. I believe about 4-5 minutes of ride time were accountaineerd out of the attraction. It's always about making things quicker and cheaper. Anyone who ever experienced PoC at the MK knows that this was something done long before Disney was a multi-billion worldwide media empire.

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