Greg Maletic: Walt Disney World Trip Report, Part 1 - Nov 29, 2007

Greg Maletic: Walt Disney World Trip Report, Part 1
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Fantasyland
Lots of online Disney fans complain about the relative dreariness of Disney World's Fantasyland; I half-way agree. The eastern, Winnie-the-Pooh-themed half of the the land is depressing: Pooh's ugly queue and the uninspired Playful Spot are, well...uninspired, especially when you consider that the 20,000 Leagues submarines used to make this area one of the park's most spectacular. The west side of Fantasyland, however, stands up favorably to other Fantasylands; in fact, the building housing Pinocchio's Village Haus restaurant may be the most beautiful in any Fantasyland in the world. (I'm ready to be proven wrong here with a photo; but off the top of my head it seems remarkable.)

The Pirates movie overlay

Pirates of the Caribbean has seen the same movie-based overlay as Disneyland, and for me it's become a diminished experience, just like the Disneyland version. In fact, I'd say Disney World fared worse; since there was a little less ride to begin with, it feels like even more has been lost. My favorite moments in the rides are the establishing grotto scenes; Davy Jones' unwelcome appearance takes away from the mystery that was there previously. (Not to mention that the faux waterfall just isn't a very convincing effect.) And is there anything accomplished by having three Jack Sparrow figures in the ride that wouldn't have been better accomplished by having only one? The ride becomes a "Where's Waldo?"-ish exercise that overlays the weakest of plots on a ride that really didn't need it. On the plus side, however, I always enjoy walking through the WDW Pirates queue, and it was just as much fun this time as it has been in the past.
 
(An interesting side-note, for those really into attraction design: I met up with Doobie and Rebekah while at the park, and Rebekah made the insightful observation that by adding Jack Sparrow in so many locations, it implies that the scenes are unfolding sequentially rather than contemporaneously, which she'd always assumed before. (Me, too.) Does that really change the ride? No...but it's a great observation.)

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor...

seemed good-natured enough; I occasionally smiled, and the crowd seemed to have a mildly good time...but how does this attraction help tell the story of Tomorrowland? Is this really the best idea that Imagineering had?

The Haunted Mansion update...
overall, was nice. The best enhancement was the simplest: the addition of the creaking timber sound effects in the stretching room clears up that longtime mystery: just what exactly is supposed to be happening while the room is "stretching?" It's inspired. The three-dimensional Ghost Host audio is a pleasant enough enhancement, though I wouldn't call it impressive. The technology behind it might be sophisticated, but it doesn't sound like anything more involved han twisting the left/right dial on your stereo system. Likewise, the new changing portraits seem a step down effects-wise from the following-eye-portraits that preceded them. I don't know what technology is employed here; for all I know it may have cost a million dollars, but it doesn't -seem- very mysterious.


The new stairwell room is pretty cool--certainly an improvement from the spiders--though not executed completely enough: the walls in the room are completely unadorned by anything except black paint, making it very set-like. Also, visually, it's a little too confusing/overwhelming. It's hard to take in exactly what you're seeing. The eyes-to-wallpaper gimmick that follows it is very cool, however; it's an extremely nice addition. The leering eye wallpaper has always seemed a little over-the-top-jokey to me, but if you have to have it, this is the way to do it.

The new Madame Leota is convincing: for the first time, it really does look like a head inside of a crystal ball. Little Leota and the singing busts in the graveyard haven't fared as well; the facial images are so bright as to completely destroy the illusion. (Can anyone floating by these ride elements fail to think that they're watching anything more complicated than a projection on a surface?) A little subtlety would work better here: either 1) dim the projectors so that it doesn't jump out at you to say, "hey! Look at this! It's a singing bust!", or 2) project contextual "moonlight" (or something) around the whole area, so the faces don't seem overbright in comparison. Softer lighting would make it look more like what it's supposed to look like: a statue come to life, not a statue with a light projected onto it.

The audio in the final graveyard scene received a very nice upgrade; distinct audio from each of the ghosts is audible, for the first time in my recollection. And the new attic bride is a slight improvement over the one in Anaheim, though it still looks a little "video-y." Unfortunately, the portraits of the bride's husbands weren't working, and as a result, I suspect the scene made very little sense to most visitors.

Finally, there was one huge negative, and that had to do with the Haunted Mansion cast members. One of the joys during my previous visit to Disney World was that the cast members consistently made sure that the doors were closed and everyone was settled into the entry foyer before the show began its "When hinges creak..." spiel, and the portrait above the fireplace began its transformation. To do it this way is to allow guests to see the complete show. If, instead--as is the typical fashion in Anaheim and Paris--you usher the crowds in directly to the stretching rooms, you've cost them not only 30 seconds of the ride, but some important, establishing atmosphere as well.

I felt certain that the new audio and entry portrait would force a consistent ride experience for all; sadly, the opposite has happened. I never even got to see the new transforming portrait because its transformation was always complete by the time I got into the room. Note to Haunted Mansion cast members: if you are not letting every single guest see the portrait change and hear the entire entry spiel, you are not doing your job.