Rockin' Space Mountain

Gemini Cricket · 01-03-2007, 09:32 PM

Despite “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” being the highest grossing movie of last year and despite the fact that Disneyland’s numbers are up, Disney still insists on "cheaping out" on Disneyland and its attractions. And riding Disneyland’s Rockit Space Mountain will prove it to you.

Promoted as a “cool for teens type of experience”, the ride proves itself to be nothing more than an ill-conceived overlay brought to you by a bunch of Disney businessmen who have long forgotten how to be cool much less how to identify what younger generations might find appealing.

After a tedious 70-120 minute wait for the attraction, the queue and the loading area do not hint at all of the horrors that await guests. The sign out front, near another poorly thought out “attraction” Cosmic Waves, touts the ride as “Rockit Space Mountain”. But that is the first and last time you will see any sort of visual billing for the ride. This makes one feel that the concept was tacked on shoddily without much thought involved.

As you start your journey, you will notice that the soundtrack for the attraction has changed. Gone is the hip retro sounding score. What replaces it is a DJ’s voice who welcomes you to Rockit Space Mountain. It’s far too cheesy and out of place for this ride. The DJ seems to be doing a commercial for himself and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as well. The announcement can be compared to the news broadcast that interrupts the awful Starship song, “We Built this City”… and what is to come for the riders is equally as horrid.

The launch tunnel is now laden with special effects that one can easily find on their iTunes set up on their home computer. (Just click on View and then on Visualizer.) After you pass through Visualizer tunnel, all hell breaks loose. While the speakers are blaring an over modulated Flea and friends in your ears, you realize that you are riding Space Mountain with the lights on.

The fun of riding the January 2, 2007 Space Mountain is that there is an illusion that you are floating and flying through space. The track and the warehouse that houses the attraction are hidden from view. This ride was in the dark for 30 years because it should be. The ride with the lights on is hideous. You find yourself in the dusty, gray “Rhythm Nation” warehouse that Janet Jackson danced around in clad in a military uniform. The building is cold, industrial and blah. Unlike that video, one doesn’t get to look at good dancing. What a rider gets are projections of shadow people that look like renegades from an iPod commercial.

Add a few strobe lights, a couple of spotlights and a number of chaser lights that illuminate where the pedestrian handrails are for the ride and you have Rockit Space Mountain. There are long portions of this ride that has nothing for you to look at while you zoom by.

The best part about Rockit Space Mountain is that it eventually ends. The only thing a die hard Disneyland fan will enjoy is riding Space Mountain with the lights on. But gone are the surprise turns and that nice unexpected dip somewhere near the midway point of the ride. And speaking of surprises and dips, gone are the days when Disneyland could truly surprise with attraction offerings but clearly present are the corporate dips that continue to do Disneyland on the cheap who then become stunned to find out that no one likes their tripe.

I guarantee that somewhere in Burbank sits an Imagineer’s concept drawings for Rockit Space Mountain that could have made this overlay fantastic. You know, something pristine and magical… that is, before the suits, accountants and lawyers shredded it apart. Who knows, maybe we’ll see it ten years from now hanging in a frame at the Disney Gallery or at the Disneyland Hotel. We’ll look at that and say, “Wow! That would have been way better. I wonder why they didn’t spend the money and do it that way?”

It’s time for the leadership at Disneyland to start listening to their guests and give them rides and attractions that aren’t shoddy, half-assed and cheap. Many of us have had enough of these lightly magical ideas that make us as disappointed as a Disney’s California Adventure guest.

Rockit Space Mountain will get the curious into the park to improve the numbers during the usually slow months between New Years and summer, but it’s as unappealing and unrepeatable as the miserable and similar sounding Tomorrowland attraction: Rocket Rods. Let’s hope it rockets away just as fast.

http://www.micechat.com/forums/showp...8&postcount=95

01-03-2007, 09:32 PM	#11
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	Despite “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” being the highest grossing movie of last year and despite the fact that Disneyland’s numbers are up, Disney still insists on "cheaping out" on Disneyland and its attractions. And riding Disneyland’s Rockit Space Mountain will prove it to you. Promoted as a “cool for teens type of experience”, the ride proves itself to be nothing more than an ill-conceived overlay brought to you by a bunch of Disney businessmen who have long forgotten how to be cool much less how to identify what younger generations might find appealing. After a tedious 70-120 minute wait for the attraction, the queue and the loading area do not hint at all of the horrors that await guests. The sign out front, near another poorly thought out “attraction” Cosmic Waves, touts the ride as “Rockit Space Mountain”. But that is the first and last time you will see any sort of visual billing for the ride. This makes one feel that the concept was tacked on shoddily without much thought involved. As you start your journey, you will notice that the soundtrack for the attraction has changed. Gone is the hip retro sounding score. What replaces it is a DJ’s voice who welcomes you to Rockit Space Mountain. It’s far too cheesy and out of place for this ride. The DJ seems to be doing a commercial for himself and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as well. The announcement can be compared to the news broadcast that interrupts the awful Starship song, “We Built this City”… and what is to come for the riders is equally as horrid. The launch tunnel is now laden with special effects that one can easily find on their iTunes set up on their home computer. (Just click on View and then on Visualizer.) After you pass through Visualizer tunnel, all hell breaks loose. While the speakers are blaring an over modulated Flea and friends in your ears, you realize that you are riding Space Mountain with the lights on. The fun of riding the January 2, 2007 Space Mountain is that there is an illusion that you are floating and flying through space. The track and the warehouse that houses the attraction are hidden from view. This ride was in the dark for 30 years because it should be. The ride with the lights on is hideous. You find yourself in the dusty, gray “Rhythm Nation” warehouse that Janet Jackson danced around in clad in a military uniform. The building is cold, industrial and blah. Unlike that video, one doesn’t get to look at good dancing. What a rider gets are projections of shadow people that look like renegades from an iPod commercial. Add a few strobe lights, a couple of spotlights and a number of chaser lights that illuminate where the pedestrian handrails are for the ride and you have Rockit Space Mountain. There are long portions of this ride that has nothing for you to look at while you zoom by. The best part about Rockit Space Mountain is that it eventually ends. The only thing a die hard Disneyland fan will enjoy is riding Space Mountain with the lights on. But gone are the surprise turns and that nice unexpected dip somewhere near the midway point of the ride. And speaking of surprises and dips, gone are the days when Disneyland could truly surprise with attraction offerings but clearly present are the corporate dips that continue to do Disneyland on the cheap who then become stunned to find out that no one likes their tripe. I guarantee that somewhere in Burbank sits an Imagineer’s concept drawings for Rockit Space Mountain that could have made this overlay fantastic. You know, something pristine and magical… that is, before the suits, accountants and lawyers shredded it apart. Who knows, maybe we’ll see it ten years from now hanging in a frame at the Disney Gallery or at the Disneyland Hotel. We’ll look at that and say, “Wow! That would have been way better. I wonder why they didn’t spend the money and do it that way?” It’s time for the leadership at Disneyland to start listening to their guests and give them rides and attractions that aren’t shoddy, half-assed and cheap. Many of us have had enough of these lightly magical ideas that make us as disappointed as a Disney’s California Adventure guest. Rockit Space Mountain will get the curious into the park to improve the numbers during the usually slow months between New Years and summer, but it’s as unappealing and unrepeatable as the miserable and similar sounding Tomorrowland attraction: Rocket Rods. Let’s hope it rockets away just as fast. http://www.micechat.com/forums/showp...8&postcount=95
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