For the Love Of All Disney Parks! — Page 2

On videos, it's really hard to tell because the cameras are usually shaky and you don't really get the scale, perspective, or the surround sound and environmental effects that go along with it. When you see it live, especially the first time, it's very impressive. Yes, it happens quick, but I noticed it the first time I rode the coaster knowing nothing about what would happen on the ride.

Another of their best in animatronics is the awful Stitch's Great Escape at Magic Kingdom. The show is terrible and I was PISSED that they got rid of Alien Encounter, but the Stitch animatronics during the show are amazing. Smelling Stitch's chili burps is really unnecessarily gross, though. That made me nauseous for hours.

BDrisch - Try searching "Yeti in action". Like Diva said, the videos are more difficult to follow than when you are actually on the ride. I think it had to be quick to get the maximum effect, but I couldn't believe how smooth and realistic the movement was the first time I saw it. I couldn't wait to ride it again.

---

Updated On: 9/2/09 at 11:43 AM

Holly,

Thanks for that clip. I hadn't seen it!

Long, flowing hair also helps the creatures movements look smoother. To bad a dragon can't be furry...

---

And I have no idea why they didn't add some sort of painted 'scale effect'.

When I was building animated inflateables, one of our projects was a giant viper that lunged forward and snapped at you.

A: We has the fabric slikscreen with the design right on it, including all of the details. Murphy looks plastic.

B: Our viper moved only by the use of air blowing into it. No autoanimatronics at all, and I think it looked as cool as Murphy.

---

I think the dragon looks pretty cool. One thing that doesn't remotely come across here is the size of it. The dragon is huge! And with the fire on the Rivers of America, it's a cool effect.

When they first started doing Fantasmic years ago, they used a lot more fire on the lake. You really could only just barely see the (old) dragon through all the smoke and fire. It was very cool. But then they toned the fire WAY down (don't know why), and you could see the workings of this "threadbare" dragon much better. It wasn't much more than a head with some wire hangers for wings, etc.

Now that they've toned the fire down (which happened only about a year or so after it debuted), they needed to beef up the dragon illusion. I'm glad they finally did. And I'm sure it wasn't cheap. Looking forward to seeing it live in all its towering glory!

---

You'll have to let me know when you are out here! We'll do something!

---

1. Is this dragon supposed to be that much bigger or better than the one at WDW's Hollywood Studios? It doesn't look much different.

Yes. The entire Fantasmic show in Disneyland makes the Hollywood Studios version seem like something a bunch of amateurs put together. And I like both shows, but there's no comparison. The Disneyland show is vastly different, and far superior. It's also gotten a lot of technological updates over the years, while the Hollywood Studios is almost identical to the one that opened 10 years ago.

2. There's a Peter Pan sequence at DL? Darn!

Yup. On a moving pirate ship. Peter and Hook fight. Also, there is a large menacing crocodile swimming around the Rivers of America.

I arrive in Disneyland on Wednesday night and simply can't wait. While I regularly visit WDW, it's been YEARS since I've been to Disneyland, and I'm uber-excited. I can't wait to see this dragon in person.

Updated On: 9/6/09 at 11:54 AM

Here's a nice video that encapsulates all the issues Disneyland has had with Murphy this summer, and concludes with footage of the Dragon's debut.

I'm a WDW boy through and through.
Oh, I am too, and there's many, many thing that I think WDW does far superior to Disneyland, but Fantasmic isn't one of them.
Disneyland Nighttastic

Updated On: 9/6/09 at 11:59 AM

"I'm trying to decided when to go down. I have two passes and I want to see the dragon, but I also want to wait until they are decorated for Halloween. "

They're not already?
The Magic Kingdom is.

Magic Kingdom at WDW is decorated for Halloween

---

That's the gorgeous and handsome Jonathan Groff!

---

I love Disney parks, all my relationships have ended because I wanted to go there on vacation and my ex's never understood why.
Story of my life, blaxx. "You wanna go WHERE again? We were JUST there!" Sigh.

It even has a theme song (by the amazing Alan Menken) that is catchy at first, then really annoying, because it plays over and over and over and over and over throughout the ride in Japanese. :)
I was once stuck on It's a Small World for about 15 minutes. The boats stopped moving, but the audio played on. And on. And on. And on. If it went on much longer, my boatmates and I were going to "swim for it."

Updated On: 9/7/09 at 04:15 PM

That's some fun AA right there! Far supierior too IASW...

---

My partner was totally against the idea of WDW after having only spent one day in Paris Disneyland. It took a lot of convincing, but we went for 9 days (he thought I was out of my mind). Once there, he totally got it. It's a completely different experience than any of the other Disney resorts in the world. He loved how you are completely submerged in the parks when you stay at the Disney resorts and it's the only way we would do it from now on. The dining option was FANTASTIC and if you want to eat better than just the fast-food counter meals, you will definitely save some money (and depending on the restaurant, eat some exquisite meals). His only complaint was having to go in the summer. He does not handle the Florida summer humidity well.

We couldn't afford one of the better resorts, so we stayed at All-Star Movies, which was fine, but a bit noisy. We might upgrade to Coronado Springs next time. And we'll definitely upgrade the dining package now that have one that includes breakfast and more table dining. For anyone who may be planning a trip, I highly recommend Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada at EPCOT, Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge, breakfast buffet at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom, and for a snack, we returned daily for a Pineapple Float across from the Swiss Family Treehouse in the Magic Kingdom. YUMMY!

While we plan to visit Disneyland in California as part of a three-city excursion next summer, we're already thinking about Japan and Okinawa for the summer of 2012 for our 10th anniversary (I have an uncle in Okinawa). We definitely plan to visit Disneyland and DisneySea as part of the vacation. DisneySea really looks stunning.

Diva - I'll let you know when we finalize our dates. We don't know yet how long we'll be in the L.A. area.

---

My parents are planning a family reunion of sorts at WDW when my niece and nephew are old enough to behave well and fully enjoy the parks. Luckily, my partner actually loves all things Disney, so he agrees to go to them with me with half-hearted thinly-veiled reluctancy. When we're there, he has a great time and buys loads of souvenirs. And the lure of Typhoon Lagoon in the evening is enough to get him back in WDW alone.

---