I have core childhood memories of a summer I spent out there. My dad was the GC that built the Branson Mall back when I was just 8 years old and my brother had just gotten his drivers license while we were there.
An entire summer of mini golf, Riding the Ducks, Silver Dollar City and College of the Ozarks where I learned to work a loom! 4th of July was spent on an inner tube being dragged across the state line on Table Rock lake!
I probably already mentioned all that already, but it was certainly my most memorable summer pre teenage years. Awe, thanks for the great memory rush!
The Orlando Business Journal was able to get official comment on Epic Universe leaked ticket details, confirming they’re real, for third-party ticket sellers anyway. Some quotes shown in screenshot.
I’ve been thinking about the idea of them limiting attendance at Epic through ticketing. At first my thought was “Ack! You mean I can’t buy an AP and then live at Epic for a week?” Then I realized that I’d enjoy my visit more if other people weren’t buying an AP and then living at Epic. One day with reasonable crowds would be better than three days packed like sardines. Of course I won’t be going until things calm down.
Yeah. The ROTR experience today is not the same as the ROTR experience it was originally. I will ride it is there is minimal wait…but it definitely doesn’t have the same experience now.
Hagrid’s on the other hand? I get excited to ride it every single time! Best ride in Orlando, in my opinion. I like it better than GOTG and VC (although those are great rides as well)!
I should clarify and say it’s the best “dark ride” .
I haven’t been on GotG, so I can’t compare. I’d classify it along with Hagrid’s and VC as “coasters”. Hagrid’s is my #1 there.
Also, I’ve only been on RotR once. Whereas, I have done Hagrid’s and VC more than 50 times. So, I am still overwhelmed by everything I experienced at RotR.
I went into the ride pretty spoiler free, even after it had been operating for two years. So, I didn’t know what to expect. I watched a full ride thru from opening week afterwards. Everything on my ride worked except the Ion cannons. Which would’ve been cool, but didn’t lose anything for me.
I’m planning my DLR trip and I have this ride on my plans almost every day. I can’t wait for my wife to experience it!
I’ve said several times on this forum that I think RotR is the best “attraction” and Hagrid’s is the best “ride.” I hesitate to bring this up again because I always get mobbed for attempting to make this distinction. So maybe best “dark ride” is a more straightforward way to get to the same result.
Hagrid’s is more thrilling – there’s no question. Rise is more tame by design – the intention was for it to be a family ride. But Rise has better theming, animatronics, scope, and scale. Hagrid’s has great theming – especially in the queue – but it essentially has a couple of animatronics and some devil’s snare.
Mush these two axes together (thrill + theming) and I think they get close to being comparable – they might get similar ratings from first-time riders. But really I don’t think it’s fair to put them in the same category because a thrill ride has a different objective than a dark ride.
The only major change that appears to be permanent is that the laser canons no longer move forward and back when the ride vehicle tries to pass by them. It’s not unusual for Disney to drop a ride element when they realize it is not practical (e.g., causes more problems with ride reliability or cost than it is worth). It was admittedly a really cool moment, but if it had launched without this element, I don’t think anyone would have been the wiser.
That said there are some B modes that diminish the ride substantially – sometimes the canons shoot lasers and sometimes not; sometimes Kylo is an animatronic and sometimes he is in a fighter on a screen; etc.
I have mentioned it before…the one thing my DS24 was flummoxed by when he rode it the first time with me was why we randomly stopped, backed up, and then moved forward again in that room with the ion canons. The motion makes zero sense without the moving ion canons. Enough that it was the thing that stood out to him.
I think they would need to change that part of the room to just have you move through more slowly without backing up. Unfortunately it turns what was, in my mind, the most awesome part of the entire experience other than the drop into a section that is quite boring. I don’t expect Disney will ever fix it…but it is such a shame.
Anyhow, the last three time so have ridden it, aside from the ion canons, there have been several parts running B mode.
I kind of hope that with Disney getting a lot of flack on their lack of maintenance in recent years that they can fix these kind of issues in the coming years. They seem to be starting to invest again in maintenance.
(Maybe I should start a picket line outside ROTR carrying signs that say, “Bring back the Ion Canons!” )