TDS: Ride SPOILERS needed

[Scott in LA]

OK, so I admit it. I'm a wuss. Big ol' wimp. I'm scared to death of "thrill rides". There are some that I'll just never ride (Space Mtn. in Paris--no loops/corkscrews/etc.), and some that I may work up the guts to do once, but never again (Tower of Terror).

So, I need y'all's help. I really need some honest info about what happens in some of the rides, so I can know if I can ride them or not. I'm not worried about anything in TDL--everything there I've either ridden in another park, or I know it's "safe" (like Pooh). TDS, however--there's a few there I'm worried about.

(And people, there's SPOILERS in the title, so don't read on if you don't want to know stuff...)

Indy - it's just a copy of DL's, with different theming, right? I can handle that.

Stormrider - I know it's a simulator. Is that all it is? How does it compare to Star Tours/Body Wars? (And please, I hope nobody gets offended that I'm calling it "just a simulator"...I'm solely referring to the ride mechanisms, not the theming or the story or anything like that.)

20000 Leagues - This is basically just like the old sub rides at DL/MK, right? Suspended from the track, but still...just get in, ride around, no big drops or anything.

Journey to the Center of the Earth - This is the one I'm worried about. I know it gets wild at the end...what exactly happens? Is it a big climb, then a big drop? How big? Just the one? How does it compare to, say, Splash?

Any details/help at all you guys can provide, I'd really appreciate...thanks...

Scott

[mbowling]

I also have problems with some roller coaster rides. I got very dizzy on the Rock'n Roller Coaster at WDW and vowed never to go on it again - but was glad that I experienced it at least once.

I found that JTTCOTE at TDS isn't really any worse than Indy or Dinosaur at WDW except that it is much shorter timewise. I was glad that I got a FastPass for this because if I had to wait in the long standby line I would've been more disappointed with the ride.

I really liked the submarine ride and thought that it was worth seeing.

Stormrider is a lot of fun and is no worse than Star Wars or Body Wars in terms of movement.

[TDS Swimfan]

Hiya Scott!

Now listen here, ya big chicken( ), you will be able to do EVERYTHING at TDS.

Indy is, as you have already noted VERY similar to DL's version. No great surprises there......except that on about eight rides over three days when I was there, the rolling ball/jeep drop effect only worked properly about twice. Granted that was fairly early on in TDS's life so HOPEFULLY that has all been fixed and synced up properly now.

If you can do DL's Indy you will have NO problems there.


Stormrider-no problems mate in calling it "just another simulator".....because truthfully, that's ALL it is. You will be spritzed with water, get rocked about on a motion base and the big surprise in THIS ride is that a charging up laser gun will smash through the "roof" of your "vehicle"(the ride theatre is MUCH larger than Star Tours but nowhere near as big as HISTA)and there will be some sparks from the ceiling.

Overall, a very unsatisfying conclusion to a pretty poor ride. Worst part was, when I was there the line was almost two hours long. We got comped in with front of line passes because JttCotE went down when we were about fifty people away from riding.

I would have been PRETTY majorly pissed if I had waited TWO HOURS for Stormrider.

Thus-my final assessment is......the scariest thing about SR would be ACTUALLY WAITING two hours for it.


20k-no probs. Nice enough ride-just TRY PLEASE TRY to get a front facing seat. If you are above average height in ANY way you will be basically sitting with your head cramped down and your neck craned so you can see out of the portholes. The viewing for this ride is poorly done. Add to that the fact that the rather "animated" ride spiel is COMPLETELY in Japanese and you will no doubt feel the same as many non-Japanese speakers.

While quite a bit of nice eye candy, the ride is a bit of an oddity. You will exit, look at your fellow park goer with a quizzical "what the hell was THAT all about" look on your face and ask him/her "What the hell was THAT all about?"

I never rode the DL subs or WDW's 20k in ANY of their incarnations so I cannot pass a judgement there. I have seen ride video of those and what I WILL say is that TDS's 20K gives you a MUCH more "immersive" feeling. ESPECIALLY if you can get that front facing seat. It seems with DL's subs that you were simply staring out of a window on ONE plane, looking at crabs floating on strings. By the VERY NATURE of TDS's ride(that is, the area outside your ride vehicle is NOT underwater), the props and accoutrements are MUCH more detailled and designed.

I would not compare this ride(as a ride mechanism)to any of the subs at ALL. It has been most often(and most correctly)compared to "Peter Pan", in that your ride vehicle is ACTUALLY suspended from a single rail and you are "flying" through show scenes and sets.

Enjoy it for what it is but DO NOT expect to understand the story.


JttCotE. A Disney MASTERPIECE.

Provisionally so.

Now stay with me.

It seems to me that you are somebody that appreciates Disney for what they do BEST. Detailled attractions that transport you to a different time or place and IMMERSE you in a settting you could not otherwise visit. It is for THESE VERY REASONS that places like DCA do not seem to satisfy the more discerning Disney afficianado.

Well.......you have come to the right place.

TDS's "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" is Disney immersion at its BEST.

I am sure you have heard or read MUCH about this attraction.

Here's the REAL deal.

Yes-the RIDE is short.

But WAIT!!!!!!!

Remember above when I said what TRUE Disney afficiandos enjoy?

That's right-IMMERSION.

From the VERY moment you step into the AWESOME and MAMMOTH cavern that serves as JttCotE's "foyer" you WILL NOT be in Japan anymore.....hell, you WILL NOT even be in a theme park!

You are in an ancient place.

A place where you will see puddles of water pooled on the ground, water dripping from a high ceiling. Strung throughout the cave are old lamps-their feeble attempt to illuminate the massive space a testiment to the tenacity of determined explorers from an age long gone. Occassionally the low rumbling of the volcano around you will be heard(felt?). Those aren't industrial-aged contraptions ahead-they are the JttCotE Fast Pass machines-fully decked out with boiler plates and giant stud rivets. Look above and you will see one of Captain Nemo's worker's subterannean drilling vehicles wedged in an opening, stuck in the side of the mountain.

And all of this detail is JUST in the area OUTSIDE the attraction entrance.

You have NOT EVEN entered the queue yet!

Stop and take it in, however.

This is PURE "show"-as legitimate and effective as the temple gardens for Indy in Adventureland. As brooding and atmospheric as the graveyard and imposing facade of the Mansion at twilight. Stop and experience what it FEELS LIKE to be in such a HUGE area-a place that has been CREATED by artists and craftsmen for a SPECIFIC emotional response.


THEN enter the attraction.


After the queue is a pre-show "ride"(the terravators)and then a second staging area where the FULL application of Nemo's genious can be seen in action.......and THEN we board the vehicles!


What people seem to forget though with this attraction is that EVERYTHING before the ride is as EQUALLY important as the ACTUAL ride itself. This is Disney storytelling and "show" at its BEST.

JttCotE is one of the FEW attractions I did NOT mind queuing in. That was because of the tremendous amount of detail and "feeling" applied.

The awe inspiring music you will hear in the queue area REALLY sets the scene and puts you in the right spirit, as well.


All that having been said, I will finish by saying-if you can ride Splash, you can ride JttCotE.

You said you wanted spoilers? Here goes.

After your encounter with the lava monster your vehicle accelarates on its upward path into the volcano. Probably like Space Mountain however, being in the semi dark means that you are NOT actually travelling as fast as it would appear.

The drop comes VERY quickly and is quite abrupt-mostly because, unlike Splash, whose drop you approach at a VERY languid pace, JttCotE's drop is reached VERY quickly. You will have a GREAT view of the park for about half a second and then you will plummet downwards after which you will coast around the caldera and then to the unload area. Bear in mind however that the drop is ULTRA smooth, due to the nature of the vehicle's adherence to the track.

The scariest part of THAT experience would be if, like me, you happen to ride with a carload of Japanese school girls.


Your ears will be ringing for HOURS aftewards!


So-yes the drop is mildly intense.....but like ALL of these things, being aware that it is SUPER safe and has about fifteen computer redundancies and fail safes makes you feel TOTALLY relaxed so you can just enjoy your ride.


Summing up Scott, TDS is a MASTERPIECE. The people I know who have enjoyed it are people that appreciate detail, theming, immersion and architecture. They have responded PASSIONATELY to the MANY layered touches at TDS.

Bearing that in mind, the park's attraction roster COULD be bigger-that, as you may know has ALREADY been addressed and TDS will have two MAJOR new E tickets within three years time.

For NOW though, TDS is a STUNNING park that is a PLEASURE to visit.


My final advice?

Visit the park, have fun on the attractions, ride them several times(ESPECIALLY Sinbad)and take in the MYRIAD details. Find special spots in the park and linger. Sit on a bench and soak up what is around you. Listen to the area music(especially walk from Cape Cod to Port Discovery and notice how the music will change between a couple of footsteps-the transition is almost seemless). WALK the park FULLY.....and then walk it AGAIN. TDS is a BEAUTIFUL place to walk in. Explore the Fortress FULLY. Take HUNDREDS of photos from the turrets of the harbour.....and MARVEL that it ACTUALLY seems big enough to BE a harbour! Be a kid again and shoot passing ships with the cannons on the deck of the Renaissance. Ride TDS's transit steamer(from the American Waterfront dock-this will give you a FULL circumnavigation of the park-if you board at one of the other loading docks you must disembark halfway)......ride the steamer at park opening, at lunch time and then in the evening. It is a SUBLIME ride that will put you in a WONDERFULLY relaxed and happy mood. Ride the Aquatopia(because I did not). Then come back here and tell us how fun it was! Explore the Columbia, eat a fine meal there and then stand at the bow, arms spread wide and shout, "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!!!!" Your assembled fellow guests will laugh appropriately and some may even applaud. Either way, you will have done what you KNOW you wanted to do. Then look over the side of the ship and wonder at Tokyo Bay, right next to the park. Think how WONDERFUL it is that the park was designed so that this natural setting ADDS to the "show". Mutter under your breath how GREAT it is to NOT see unwelcome power lines, convention centres or McDonald's arches! See ALL the shows at TDS. This is the FIRST Disney park where ALL of the live shows are "MUST SEE" attractions.

There are MANY more things I did at TDS that made the park SO special for me.

I will leave it to you to find yours.


Have fun!

[DisWiz]

If you don't mind spoilers click here for movies of some of the rides. And click on the right logo for the Disney Tokyo parks.

[WinnieTP]

Hey, I'm a big wimp too when it comes to thrill rides. I just hate the drops. I love simulation rides, though, because I can just close my eyes when it gets too intense.

Thanks to barrybedford.com, I now know when to expect the drops in JTTCOTE and Indy. At least, the "coach" in JTTCOTE has roof so I hope, the drop wouldn't feel too scary.

By the way, is there only one drop in Indy? Sorry, I've never ridden an Indy ride before. How would Indy compare to JTTCOTE when it comes to which is scarier?

[Scott in LA]

Thanks for the info, everyone. The only one I was *really* worried about was Journey, and if, as you say, the drop is no further than Splash's drop, that should be OK. We'll just have to see how far I can get my hands embedded into the ride vehicle as I grip on for dear life.

And even if I find I'm not a big fan of the drop, it sounds like I've got to ride it at least once just to experience the rest of the attraction. Swimfan, you're exactly right when you talk about the "immersive experience"...that's the only reason I ever got on Tower of Terror at the Studios. The drop petrified me, but I had heard such great things about the show and the effects that I had to do it once.

Thanks again...

Scott

[mbowling]

The drop didn't seem as long or steep to me as the Splash Mountain drop, so I think that you'll be fine in the ride.

[TDS Swimfan]

Yep-not as long or steep-but it comes up REAL fast.

You will get that rising in your stomach feeling like when you were a kid and your mom went really fast through a dip in the road.

Just multiply it by about ten.

But remember-it's over REALLY quickly.

[TheManator]

I wanna goto TDL and TDS so bad
I wish someone could INVITE ( ) me to go if they go. I am a huge fan of the parks, and going there would just be the greatest. (and back to DLP wouldn't be bad either!)