>Last Thread: >>2874718Dolly-Would Edition >What is this thread? Why are there two generals?/rcg/ was initially created as a way for the roller coaster enthusiasts on here to discuss all things roller coasters and theme parks. While roller coasters are the main focus of these threads (and the title of the general) there is also discussion on other theme parks, their rides, as well as the parks themselves and trip planning too. That's where /tpg/ comes in.>Can I talk about Disney/Universal parks in this thread?Absolutely! Disney/Universal discussion of all sorts including rides/resorts/dining/trip planning is OK.General Rules:1. Talk about Theme Parks and Rollercoasters.2. There is no second rule.Park Crowd Tracker:>https://queue-times.com/en-US/parksCurrent and historical wait times tracker:>https://www.thrill-data.com/Roller Coaster Database:>https://rcdb.com/Amusement Park News Sites:>https://www.themeparkinsider.com/>https://www.screamscape.com/>https://www.coaster101.com/Disney Park News:>https://www.wdwnt.com/>https://www.wdwmagic.com/>https://www.allears.net>https://www.mousesteps.comUniversal Park News:>https://www.insideuniversal.net
Celestial Park’s obvious inferiority to the other Epic lands is proof that IP lands are superior to “original” ones.
I forgot to mention this here when it happened, but the Rest is History, arguably the best history podcast, did an episode on theme/amusement parks with a focus on Disneyland. They also did ann episode with Bob Iger as a guest and another focusing on Walt Disney himself. Highly recommend at least the Disneyland one to everyone here, although they’re all good.
Well the thoosie-fueled rumor of a May 1st sale of Fiesta Texas and Kings Dominion came and went
What caught on fire at Big Thunder Mountain? There's a pic on twitter of an employee using a fire extinguisher on something in the track in the station>mfw all the basedlennials and disneyhams grumble and shuffle out of the queue they spent 2 hours in
>>2879714Earnings call is May 7th either it is announced this week or it is not happening
>>2879708
>>2879563What is this universal family room you speak of?
>>2879708STFU reddit frog fag
>>2879735Not him but most of their rides have rooms with benches near the ride dispatches. No bathrooms or anything but they do have water fountains. The one for Hagrid’s was playing Goblet of Fire on a TV when my group went.
>>2879742That's a nice feature, thanks for the tip. Last time I went to Universal was 2019 without kids so probably didn't even register those spaces.
>>2879715At least post the pic
>>2879754Many of them are out of the normal path. I think Fast and Furious is one of the few where you can actually see the family room from the loading area.
>>2879474Money has fuck all to do with it. Matterhorn cost $1.5 million. Everest cost $200 million. Matterhorn has two working yetis and Everest has one broken one. Florida just gets fucked.
>>2879766*$100 million
>>2879757Something shorting or a crushed phone batteryEither way that seems like the wrong kind of fire extinguisher...
>Crush's Coaster still has longer queues than Frozen>80 and 70 mins respectively an hour after opening >The new Tangled teacups ride has the lowest queues in the park Adventure World is still kinda fucked. They need to add another family coaster.
>>2879774>endorse recent IPs >flops for a 20 yr old coaster with a finding nemo badgeYou can see it happening at AK. Lines for Indiana Jones will far exceed Encanto (remember that flash in the pan movie? Lmao)I’m sure Disney adults will argue Tiana is a success while ignoring it’s the only water ride in a Florida theme park
>>2879774>Coasters are more popular than a clone of a decade old boat ride that exists in about 4 parksYeah no shit coasters are the most popular form of attraction at every park they are in
>>2879779Most Disney adults still prefer Splash Mountain and consider it superior in every single way to Tiana's. Quit making up shit.
>>2879801Going to be interesting to see the reaction to the Lion King is. First new log flume in decades, well liked film, follows the story of the film rather than "Simba is out searching for a new kind of Tofu for his vegan all species commune's celebrate of kwanzaa!".
Disney sure does catch on fire a lot
>>2879819>>2879779I was just in Disney last week and Tiana was down for a few hours for animatronic problems.I get some of the pushback on the iconic non-movie IP rides getting rebranded but holy shit do a lot of the "classic" rides for a Non-Disney Adult need a refresh. I hadn't been in 20 years and those old rides still just feel painfully old. The Norway ride being rebranded to Frozen didn't offend me in any way, and you do a ride like that and go stand in line for Pirates of the Carribean and boy would I not mind Pirates getting an update.In general, if you're an adult taking your family to Disney World, do the fucking lightning lanes. We picked 1-2 rides per park that we absolutely wanted to do with Lightning Lane and we ended up doing 9 rides in Magic Kingdom alone through either LL or just hopping onto things with short queues. We never waited more than 12 minutes for a ride and my Preschooler was a happy camper for it.Also, Animal Kingdom sucks and is a half-day park, don't let anyone tell you differently. I doubt I'll go back. If I had to have waited for that NaVi river journey queue at 70 minutes and THAT as the ride, shots would've been fired. How the fuck was that ride designed?
>>2879833>How the fuck was that ride designed?Disney Imagineers do not possess the soul or creativity of the original Disneyland imaginer's. The new generation of creatives at the company fundamentally have been spiritually poisoned to their core due to America's cancerous terminal rot of a culture since 9/11. Everything they make at best is a simulacrum of a better age. They do not hold within them the spirit necessary to create It's a Small World or Pirates.
Threadly list of Disney/Universal announcements and dates for your convenience:Florida:>WDW Cheaper "After 2 PM" available tickets this summer>Monsters Inc. at Studios opens 2027?>'Tropical Americas' replaces dinos 2027>Rafiki's Planet Watch closed until May 26 for retheme to Bluey and Australian animal petting zoo>Old 'Little Red' baby elephant animatronic visible on upcharge "Caring for Giants" tour at Animal Kingdom>Front Tire Land circa 2028>Liberty Belle Steamship intact as of late Nov 2025>Big Thunder Mountain open now w/ 3 seconds of rainbow caverns, no explosion effect, and a 38" height requirement >Walt Disney robot coming to Carousel of Progress>Rock N' Rollercoaster Muppets retheme by Summer 2026>Volcano Bay closed Oct 26, 2026 thru Mar 24, 2027>Lost Continent demolition underway>Replacement for Poseidon's Fury to be built by Intamin>Jurassic Park River Adventure closed thru Nov 19 2026>Pteranodon Flyers closed thru May 24>F&F coaster replaces RRR early 2027?California:>AI security cameras everywhere!>Fast and Furious coaster "Summer 2026">Mike & Sully closes 2027, becoming Avatar ride?Both:>"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN" has returned in the event announcement voiceovers. Trannies seething.>Soarin' Over 'Murica by Memorial Day>Millenium Falcon: Smuggler's Run rethemed to Mandalorian May 22, 2026Europe:>Lion King Splash Mountain water ride at Paris Studio park, late 2027 at the earliest>New scenes in Rivers of the Far West in 2026>Universal UK set for 2031>Disney-Adjacent Bluey Roller Coaster at Alton Towers OPEN NOWAsia:>Multi-launch Spider-man coaster at Shanghai DL>Spider-Man Drop Tower at Hong Kong DL, Doc Ock>Wreck-It-Ralph omnirover shooter replaces Buzz Lightyear in Tokyo by April 2027>Tokyo Disneyland Space Mountain currently closed until 2027 for ground-up rebuild (façade complete now!)>Tokyo maybe razing Adventureland 2026 or later?>DisneySea Aquatopia closing 5ever Sept 14Did I miss anything?
>>2879840Thank you as always for the work you put into this. Fuck that other guy.
>>2879833You sound like a retarded zoomer faggot. Please kill yourself. Six Flags is more your speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biLEEFounk0Pretty sure DeadOctane is a tomboy who was psyoped into thinking she's a boy, and I could fix her, but (s)he makes entertaining lists.
>>2879779> I’m sure Disney adults will argue Tiana is a success while ignoring it’s the only water ride in a Florida theme parkUmm, sweaty, ackshully: Infinity Falls, Dudley Do Right, Popeye, Congo River Rapids, Journey to Atlantis
I hate and now refuse LL/fastpass/express. It puts anxiety on yourself to get more value from what youve spent. Plus at WDW there are maybe three rides that are worth the upcharge and average over 1hr line. Every other ride is mediocre or has a manageable queue you dont need LL.Magic Kingdom is the biggest culprit for dogshit LL. Peter Pan and Winne the Pooh getting 60 minute lines is a joke. Im convinced its a very successful viral campaign by disney moms to cause demand on those rides as "MUST DO"sanyway dont bother with paying to cut lines. its stupid.
>>2879840>Did I miss anything?Yes, what about parks that aren't Disney or Universal? There are some new coasters opening soon that you completely ignored.
>>2879840>>2879856North American Coasters opening this yearSix Flags>Tormenta Rampaging Run at Six Flags Over Texas>Quantum Accelerator at Six Flags New England>Speedway Stunt Coaster at Six Flags MexicoUnited Parks>Barracuda Strike at SeaWorld San AntonioHerchend>Nightflight Expedition at Dollywood>Flying Fox at Kentucky Kingdom(I'm too lazy to update this list)
Who else is really excited for the first and only Vekoma suspended dark ride coming out this year?
>>2879859It’s going to be HUGE. I’m wondering if they’ll actually finish by the end of the year
>>2879859Literally more interesting and innovative than anything Disney and Universal are doing (except F&F)
>>2879859Suspended dark rides are kino, never been on one I've not enjoyed.>Kongfrontation>the ghost train in Winter Wonderland>Greatest show on earth in BPB in the 90shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j-1aoJEfZY SOUL
>>2879840>be you>”wow guys here’s my totally comprehensive theme park update”>scroll>it’s literally just another The Walt Disney Company / Universal Destinations & Experiences copypaste listoh cool thanks man I was really worried I might go 5 minutes without hearing about what color they’re repainting a fence in Orlando>did I miss anything???Yeah, like half the fucking planet. imagine typing all of this out and still acting like theme parks are just corporate IP farms where every ride is either Marvel, Star Wars, or “remember that movie from 2003?”There are parks out there actually building insane coasters and rides that don’t require a lore primer and a Disney+ subscription to understand. Parks where the main attraction isn’t standing in line next to a $12 pretzel and a family of 6 having a meltdown. But nah, (((you))) are locked in the content loop>new retheme>new retheme>ride closed>ride reopened but now with different hatRiveting stuff. Like, bro at this point you’re not even reporting news, you’re just reading a corporate changelog out loud. Meanwhile entire parks exist where:>rides open on time>don’t get “temporarily” closed for 3 years>don’t come back as the same ride but now sponsored by whatever IP tested well with focus groupsbut those don’t count I guess because Mickey Mouse didn’t personally sign your autograph book. Keep posting your “updates” though. I’m sure next month we’ll get breaking news that a trash can got rethemed to Guardians of the Galaxy and you’ll write 3 paragraphs about the immersive storytelling experience. Faggot
>>2879861Here's hoping they break their duck and actually manage a good dark ride this millenium
>>2879863>forgetting EThow dare you
>>2879840>LADIES AND GENTLEMEN" has returned in the event announcement voiceoversWhat did it use to be? Honored guests or something?
>>2879866Damn, I guess you being 'on bikes' made it slip from my mind.Also one of the few dark ride where post opening "story improvements" genuinely made it better
>>2879864I appreciate your effort expanding the copypasta every thread.But you're still a faggot lmao
>>2879859I’m genuinely excited about this. Vekoma doesn’t half ass things, and doesn’t do cheap. This could really be something world class
>>2879872I just hope they didn’t blow the whole budget on the ride system
>>2879859B&M bros....t-this cant be happening! I thought they only wanted US!!
>>2879864Got his ass
just got back from EPCOT and I swear to God they moved ONE (1) trash can in the Japan pavilion like 3 feet to the leftnobody is talking about thisthis completely breaks the historical sightline when you exit Mitsukoshi and try to line up Spaceship Earth between the torii gate beams (yes this was a thing, yes I tested it in 2019, 2021, and 2023, no I will not elaborate)also the background loop near the koi pond is 0.25 seconds shorter now. not joking. the transition between tracks is slightly tighter and it RUINS the pacing if you’re walking at a normal 3.1 mph gaitand don’t even get me started on the lamp temperature change near the quick service window. it used to be ~2700K warm, now it’s like 3000K and it makes the fake wood look flatter. completely kills the illusionI asked a cast member about it and they just smiled like I’m the crazy oneI have 47 photos from the exact same angle across 5 years. something is DIFFERENTdisney thinks they can get away with this because “no one will notice” but I noticed. I ALWAYS notice.
>>2879882You're just trying to downplay this aren't you?Never forget what they took from you!
>>2879882Your autism is appreciated
>>2879882Based noticer. After the shrubbery bullshit they pulled earlier this year, they probably feel like they can get away with anything.
>>2879882How would a trash can break the sightline when the exit, torii gate, and SSE are all in the same position as before
>>2879779I think way more people would want to have a dark ride or a walking tour of the Encanto house than any other type of Encanto ride. They just want to see the fancy themed rooms.
>>2879833Animatronics are really advancing now that anything built after 2015 or so just looks amazing and makes the wobbling mannequins of older rides look outright primitive. It also kind of sucks to see Tokyo and Shanghai get massively updates nicer versions of the tired old crap rotting in Magic Kingdom. And I know most of that Orlando stuff will never be updated at all since it's "Traditional" ET used to be fucking amazing to see back in 1993. But now it has become one of those Simpsons jokes of a stiff mannequin thing wobbling left and right to poorly recorded sound.
>>2879907As long as it’s made by Sally, you know it’s gonna be good
>>2879833The entire Avatar area seems so half ass that it really looks like it was nothing but an executive mandate to have something movie franchise themed in response to Universal's Wizarding World additions. But they never actually added some actual location from any movie, or had any specific attraction anyone would recognize. Just a single nondescript location of Pandora that just consists of two rides and a restaurant. Nothing immersive there at all. I'm not so sure the imagineers really understood the core concept of an immersive world area of a park.
I was not ready for how bad Incredicoaster was, both in theming and as a coaster.
>>2879912Should have gone to Knotts Berry Farm
>>2879907>But now it has become one of those Simpsons jokes of a stiff mannequin thing wobbling left and right to poorly recorded sound.Lmfao it's a hilarious way to parody a theme park though, I always appreciate seeing that trope pop up somewhere
>>2879897>t. Not a noticer
>>2879859Cautiously optimistic. This is their chance to prove they can still run with Universal and Disney, but knowing some of United’s decisions recently i’m not holding my breath. I will say that the Vekoma ride system looks amazing and no doubt they invested a LOT of money in it. If they use story driven theming it could be a game changer. Could be.
>>2879914But I am. Twice.
>>2879875United is hopefully done with B&M after this last string of slipshod coasters.
>>2879926Well then, good man. Carry on
>>2879930Not a big fan I hate to say. I think I’m just done with western themed areas at this point, even though Knott’s’ is very good. Ghost Rider getting 3 hour waits seems to me a reflection of what the park has to offer for thrills rather than how good it is. But I’m very thankful to them for keeping the hydraulic launch model alive in Xcelerator.
>>2879932What’s the best Western Park in America in your opinion? Knotts? Silver Dollar City? Dollywood? I haven’t been to any but I LOVE the Wild West theme and sadly haven’t been to a WW/ frontier theme park yet
>>2879932Maybe Knott's should take a page from Disney on their next coaster and design it to run with like 5 trains and 12 blocks>Ghost Rider getting 3 hour waitsThat's just not worth it
Six Flags news supposedly coming tomorrow
>>2879882Thank god there are still people out there fighting the good fight, bless you anon
>>2879907Tiana animatronics look pretty shitty.
>>2879933Toss up between SDC and Dollywood. After that comes everyone else
>>2879933Knott’s is the best I’ve been to. It’s almost the entire park. Dollywood doesn’t count to me. It’s a similar aesthetic but it’s clearly more of an east coast wilderness / country thing. Haven’t been to SDC yet but I’m going this year.
>>2879933Chat GPT said Frontier City but I’ve never been there so can’t say. Silver Dollar City is probably the most kino park I’ve ever been to. The entire thing is just pure sovl. Dollywood is beautiful and has a great lineup but, the other anon is right, it’s themed to NC/TN mountain towns, not necessarily Wild West. Never been to Knotts but it is in CA, so it’s got that going for it
>>2879934It’s bizarre. It’s just a pretty good wooden coaster. It’s not Voyage and it’s not El Toro and it’s not Phoenix. But I guess to the people who haven’t made it to Magic Mountain yet it’s the best coaster in LA.
It’s always heartwarming to see 6 year-old girls at Disney who are obviously having the time of their lives. One next to me on Soarin’ named all the landmarks and said it was “the best ride yet” after. Her sister said she wanted to ride it 100 times.
>>2879945>it’s themed to NC/TN mountain towns, not necessarily Wild West.That was the frontier, anonAt one point those Appalachian settlements were "the wild west"
>>2879936Talk going around is they are going to reintroduce winter/holiday events at some parks namely Over Georgia and Great AdventureKings Dominion is supposedly not getting a winter event back which is why they had an event and entertainment announcement today for the rest of the year, take that as you will
>>2879957> winter/holiday eventsHonestly, wtf is that? Do you mean Christmas or something else? Christmas makes the money
>>2879956If that term was ever used to apply to Tennessee it wasn’t in the last 180 years.
>>2879957Georgia sucks so much ass that if they decide to save it, it’ll be interesting to see how they do it. It’s such an abomination of failed or half-hearted theming.
The foid skipper I had on jungle cruise wasn’t funny.
>>2879958The Christmas events. Holiday in the Park or whatever each park calls theirs
>>2879965Also she looked exactly like a castizo version of a girl I dated a few years ago who had the best tits I’ve ever seen in real life, and maybe even period. So that made me sad.
>>2879963This is the thing. Theming is a tiny expense when compared to the price of the ride system. Why would companies skimp on theming when they know how much it means to consumers?
>>2879971Georgia’s original theming was doomed from the start considering one of the park sections was the Confederacy, but they gave up on it long before they needed to. The French and British areas weren’t given any good themed attractions. The also dropped in Superman where it didn’t make sense and ninjas have nothing to do with any of the themed sections.
>>2879972>>2879971la creatura
>>2879971>Cosmic Rewind cost $500 million>Hagrid’s cost $300 million>Gringott’s cost $200 million>Tron cost $120 million>Everest cost $100 million>Fury 325 cost $30 millionRides are cheap. Theming is expensive.
>>2879975I very much so refuse to admit that plaster and stucco and tiny electronic motors are expensive…
>>2879971Theming mattered in the 60s, then theming really did not matter in the late 70s-late 2000s as part of the coaster wars. But now theming, quality of experience is everything in the theme park game, especially how much it shifted to the resorts. How everyone can see a park update the day it happens so they know how lame it is compared to other parks or poor quality it is means they cannot hide behind a locals only knowing their park bubbleThe ones that focused on making a park pretty or having good food are being rewarded handsomely, even those regional parks who do not go for the top level theming in the resort parks. The ones who did not make this a priority (especially Six Flags parks) are paying for it
>>2879976It’s maintenance costs, not initial costs. That’s the reason why Universal leaves broken animatronics for literal years
>>2879855>worth the upchargeThat's a lot of words to say you're poor. It's not a conspiracy, it's just capitalism. With the reservation system giving Disney accurate projections of crowd levels, they can now adjust their manning to reflect the day's attendance. However, that means the staffing and ride operation is always scaled, so there are never any "slow days". For instance, in the 90s, if there were 7000 staff for 35000 guests, a lot of rides and restaurants would be short queues or walk-ons. But now, it doesn't matter if you're going on a 45000-guest day or a holiday-rush 80000-guest day. The ratio of lanes, cars, and cast members will be adjusted to a standard level of busy-ness.
>>2879954>Would you please stop looking at the kids?
>>2879864This is literally him
>>2879840>Rock N' Rollercoaster Muppets retheme by Summer 2026I wonder what would prompt such a th-
>>2879907I know it would cost money Universal doesn't have, but I wish they would refurb and update E.T., and to an extent greater than Disneyland's efforts with Peter Pan and Snow White.
>>2879976Disney is known for getting a brand name success tax, and Universal is starting to but nowhere near the same amount yet. Because they are Disney and are the big titan with hundreds of billions, contractors upcharge them for their work more then they would other clients since they know Disney can afford it and since everyone is doing it Disney does not get much choiceThis is how Legoland can make a Guardians equivalent coaster for 1/12th the price
>>2879977Another thing is that coasters from that era have aged like shit, if not in ride quality then in how much they draw the public. Think of all the record breaking coasters that suck today. Arrow corkscrews and loopers, old Vekomas, wooden coasters that aren’t given a shitload of care. Most of the only coasters from the 70s-90s that still draw are the ones with good theming like Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain.
>>2879984Ignore all that, why would they pay to license a trademark they do not own and will not reap any benefit selling stuff from when they could just have easily plopped in an IP this entire timeThe only surprising thing is Muppets or another IP did not replace it sooner
>>2879984>admitting to it in a published memoir2011 was a different time.
>>2879855It’s no different than it was before. If they hadn’t charged for fast pass they would have increased admission price instead. They’re not going to turn down money people are willing to give them.>Magic Kingdom is the biggest culprit for dogshit LL. Peter Pan and Winne the Pooh getting 60 minute lines is a joke. Im convinced its a very successful viral campaign by disney moms to cause demand on those rides as "MUST DO"sIt’s actually Magic Kingdom’s fault for sucking so badly. Even more guests than Disneyland with half the rides. Of course the lines are long.>anyway dont bother with paying to cut lines. its stupid.Time is money. You’re going to pay with one or the other.
The demand for Star Wars is still there despite Disney's best efforts at completely fucking it all up
>>2880003Some demand is there but not enough to keep Mandalorian from bombing.
>>2879986They won't for the same reason Disney will never tough the It's a Small world. It's an old traditional window back to the original days.
>>2879983So is there a connection to being really fat and a Disney autist? Every insane creepy Disney adult seems to be above the 300lb level.
>>2880007>animatronics barely working>broken "name" system that wastes time and manpower in the queue, and E.T. never even attempts to address all the riders>>traditional window back to the original daysyeah, I suppose, lol
>>2879975I really would like to see how Cosmic Rewind cost $500m. If there is a breakdown out there please post here. I cant understand it, even reuses energy pavillion building.Whereas Hagrids looks like $300m spent; a 5000ft+ track with 7 launches, animatronics, area (quarter size of the park) is landscaped and over 1000 trees replanted. But then the queue looks like they went cheap "just make it an endless cave lol"
>>2879833>In general, if you're an adult taking your family to Disney World, do the fucking lightning lanes. Depends on when you go. Summer? You don't even need to fuck with Lightning Lane these days. If the heat doesn't kill you, then you can just walk from ride to ride. Maybe rope drop Tron and Guardians. Holiday weekend? Min-max that shit to the extreme. It's the only way to get on double digit rides.We went during the height of Spring Break, the kind of day those crowd calendars say to never go. Still did double digit rides in all four parks except Animal Kingdom (lmao at it having like 4 rides).
>>2879702>"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN" has returned in the event announcement voiceovers. Trannies seething.Lying faggot. They said “good evening everyone” before the color show at DCA tonight.
>>2880025those crowd calendar websites should be taken with a pinch of salt. Never accurate from my experience and whats the point looking how busy the most visited theme parks in the world are.
>>2880005years of high inflation making the result even worse comparatively too.
>>2879971>>2879988>Theming is a tiny expense when compared to the price of the ride system.Other way around>>2879977>then theming really did not matter in the late 70s-late 2000s as part of the coaster wars.Zoomer revisionism. Six Flags parks had good theming until the latter 1990s when the parent company was starting to make plans to divest the parks. Six Flags was on par with Disney theming until the early 80s.The theming for Viper at SFOG was said to have cost more than the ride itself. Even in '94/'95 Six Flags was still putting millions of dollars into theming new attractions.
>>2880028They were worth it when Disney had genuine quiet periods. Now it's just "busy" and "incredibly busy" with dubious accuracy because they don't take into account how some dates move around or change what day they're on. They are at least good for reminding people to avoid peak summer and close to xmas.At some point someone will come up with an AI calendar which also recognises "on this week Encanto will be opening so forget animal kingdom" type events and "christmas is on a Wednesday this year so the weekend before will be hellish.
