While I haven't experienced the attraction yet (DLR here, lol). I think one of the issues simply may be that we, as a society, are now exposed to so much in terms of technical advancements, that as a whole, our view of what can "blow everyone away" has changed. When Star Tours was first revealed, it was a technical marvel that people went crazy for......but they also weren't privy to its journey from inception to completion.
These days, with social media & the internet, there's a level of hype & "behind the scene" insight that many times, might dilute whatever experience we might've had. "We know too much" now. What used to be impressive, isn't anymore....and it's partly our fault.
Imagine if there were experiences that we knew zip about....No previews, no behind the scenes video, or hype (or lack thereof)....simply a poster. Then a guest experiences the attraction for the first time.
I'm not sure if people can be blown away now because the bar & expectations have been set so high....not only from themed attractions, but just in general. This world of smartphones, smartwatches, VR experiences, etc. has changed things.
I don't think this is the case at all and I heavily disagree.
I think that advancements in technology open up opportunities for more creative rides. Every year we see these new advancements at IAAPA. It's the parks choice whether or not they want to take advantage of new technologies or whether they want to stick with whats comfortable (and cheap). Furthermore, Disney has had rides in the past with far less technology AND far more excitement (think Alien Encounter). Even the Great Movie Ride had live actors with action scenes, switching throughout the ride to keep riders engaged.
Another example of this is the walk-through attraction Poseidon's Fury at Universal that was opened in 1999. People either love it or hate it, however no one can deny that the special effects are
really neat. Especially the giant water tunnel.
If a giant water tunnel existed in 1999, Disney has all the resources they need to create a coaster
completely surrounded in water tunnels today. In fact, the same company that created said water tunnel, Technifex, has tons of special effect features in which parks can choose from. There's fountains, water tunnels, flooding effects, water blasts, even an overhead water maze that can change configuration as riders travel underneath it. And these are
just the water effects. There are so many options, but Disney is choosing to ignore all of that and stick with projectors.
And think about the giant King Kong animatronic from Kongfrontation that opened sometime in the 90's. Animatronics have improved dramatically since then. It's
more than possible to create a bigger, better, and super realistic gigantic monkey (or anything for that matter) for a ride today.
On top of this, compare the technology of MMRR to Tokyo Disneysea's Journey to the Center of the Earth Ride, or their 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride. These give me that "wow" factor that I'm expecting from a Disney ride. And they both opened 19 years ago! Sure, these rides aren't as "family friendly", but I'm focusing solely on technology, not themes.
Let me clarify that I do think that trackless dark rides have potential - ROTR has that larger than life feel and experience that I expect and get excited for when I think about Disney rides. It just seems like a lot of others have been so
disappointing and
bare.
I don't think our expectations are too high, I think we expect parks to keep up. Especially with Disney who
owns everything has been known in the past for always holding themselves to extremely high quality assurance standards. I love Disney, I just wish they would put forth
one little spark of effort and creativity with their rides lately because theme parks are my favorite thing and I'm ridiculously excited for their potential. But right now, quite frankly, I'm bored.
