Man are my cheeks sore - NEMO Spoilers ahead

Kevy Baby · 06-02-2007, 01:10 AM

I didn't realize that hose was so long...

I am going to write all about the new Nemo Subs ride. There will be significant spoilers, so if you don't wanna know, stop reading. Go away. Go read the Soooo.... thread from start to finish.

So, I was lucky enough to be accompany Plumenom on the CM preview of Nemo this evening. I was a good boy and followed the no photos rule on the ride - sorry

As opposed to "open" CM previews of the past, this one had tickets to a specific day and time. If you missed your window (15 minutes!) you were SOL. Needless to say, we were there well before our alloted 7:00 appointment. CM previews run through next Wednesday I believe. I suspect that there will be a lot of soft openings in the next 10 days.

As you may already know, the queue is mostly in front of and under the Monorail loading platform. I am not sure where the entrance to the Monorail is; in retrospect, I should have done a little more scouting on that detail. However, I can say that the speed ramp that used to be the entrance to the Monorail is now gone.

Being as this was a CM preview, I cannot accurately gauge how long the lines (time-wise) will actually be. Also, being as the queue is out in the open and is almost all switch-backs, there is no themeing in the queue.

However, there are three animatronic seagulls on a buoy in the lagoon. Not too animated, not too cartoony, and not too realistic. Just enough to give you a taste of what to expect on the ~~ride~~ attraction.

One side note on the major leak that they created during construction. You may recall that there was not time to properly replace the pipe that they tore into. So they built an external bypass pipe (about 12" in diameter) that runs along the bottom of the Monorail loading platform, hanging right over the Sub loading area. I guess it looked real bad when first installed, but once it was painted the same marine grey of the loading area and they painted "sea water supply pipe" on it, it actually fits in.

They have the loading/unloading area set up so that they can load/unload three subs simultaneously. As before, the subs are loaded from both ends. As was noted elsewhere, there are now more seats (40) in each sub due to the change from diesel to electric motors (and I am really impressed that they figured out how to run electric rails under water!). Unfortunately, the individual seats are (still?) VERY narrow. Had there not been a couple of open seats on our end, we would have been quite uncomfortably cramped. FWIW, we loaded through the rear of the sub and sat on the starboard (right) side of the sub.

But the reason we had open seats is that the Nautilus leaks

. Water was coming in through the rear hatch when we went under the waterfalls. When we were getting on the sub, an engineer was applying some foam gaskets and then rode along with us with a flashlight to check things out. I'm sure that they will have these types of bugs worked out by June 11.

The ventilation in the subs is good. I cannot give an honest comparison to the subs of old, but I did not feel stuffy in there as I remember from before.

The new uniforms are well done (yes, I know they are "costumes", but in this case, uniforms is a much better description). It is a typical marine/nautical motif of a white shirt with blue and orange accents with blue slacks. The uniforms are the same for men and women but looked good on both. One female CM we spoke with said it was the first gender common costume that she wore that she still felt like a girl in. I took a picture, but Photoshop isn't working on my computer and I think it best not to post a 36" picture.

So what about the actual ride you ask?

Well, my escort counted seven "WOW"'s from me and one "that was really cool."

The aforementioned three sub load causes a little bit of a delay in getting out of the loading area if there is any delay in the lead sub (which there was with us). So we got to stare at the barnacle covered walls for a while. Hopefully this bug will be sorted out quickly.

Once we left the station, we of course we immediately dove (through the bubbles apparent from the outside), though I didn't hear the depth. The underwater visuals in the lagoon are really well done with several of the colorful fish from Nemo hidden in nooks and crannies - not too many, just a few to catch your attention. There is also a diver exploring the ruins which have recently been exposed due to the recent volcanic activity in the area (as explained by the prerecorded narrator). There were a few other odds and ends around the lagoon - overall: well done.

One thing about the lagoon portion of the excursion: I wonder how much of it will be visible on a night-time run. Since we rode before the sun set, we had a pretty good view. I am not sure if there are lights for the night (though I suspect that there is).

Soon we passed under the first waterfall, which now comes earlier than the old sub ride due to the lengthening of tunnel.

I will start by saying that if there is a story line, I did not follow it, but that would be mainly because I was too wrapped up in the visuals and general audio design. I am sure the story line (if any besides "finding Nemo") will become more apparent as I get a few rides under my belt.

As a sound nut, I was impressed with the audio design. There are several semi-isolated sound zones on the sub. Instead of having voices or localized audio hitting the entire sub at once, they have wisely sequenced the sound so that you hear the character as your window passes by it. You can hear the character talking the whole time, but they have created a simulated Doppler effect where (in our case at the end of the sub), you could hear the voice getting louder as you approach the character (and quieter as we left).

Speaking of characters, if the Marlin character was not done by Albert Brooks, then they have found a voice artist that sounds just like him! However, I do not believe the Dory voice was done by Ellen DeGeneres nor do I believe that Gill was Willem Defoe. As for the other voices, I am not sure.

WARNING - this is where the main spoilers kick in!

One of the main new features of the ride is how the characters are displayed. Most of the fish are shown as animated projections. That's right - projections. Bright, colorful, animated 3D like projections. I am not sure exactly how they did it, but dang it is good!

Dory and Marlin are seen repeatedly throughout the adventure, with other regulars popping up frequently. (I'm really starting to get tired as I write this and my memory is fading, so I am not sure how good the rest of this will be.)

Another one of the cool effects are the bubbles. They come in different colors! I am sure it is just the lighting, but it is really well done IMO.

The Jellyfish. The Jellyfish are freakin' awesome! Dory is bouncing off of a couple of them and the animatronics of this are incredible. The jellyfish light up as well. Not too much, but very well done

Later in the adventure, there is an explosion (yes, the sub shakes a little!)and a lava flow. The lava flow is VERY cool. It is another projection effect, but it is multi-layered (I think) and the 3D effect is superb. One improvement I would have made to this scene was to add bubbles where the hot lava hits the cold water.

(OK, I am really fading fast.)

The last element I can recall is that we end up inside a whale ("Hmm... it smells like whale"). At least I think that is what happens.

So, sorry for the poor TR here. Hopefully, someone can write something better soon. Kevy got nighty now.

Morrigoon · 06-02-2007, 01:25 AM

Nice! Pretty consistent with the predictions that it would be like the Nemo ride in EPCOT, only better

NickO'Time · 06-02-2007, 08:47 AM

Sounds like a great time indeed, thanks for the info Kevy.

Moonliner · 06-02-2007, 08:58 AM

Thanks! That report was very well done! I was able to skim the functional details without reading the spoilers.

I shall come back to this thread after I have the chance to ride it myself.

thecorndogwalker · 06-02-2007, 10:02 AM

thanks for the spoilers.. sounds fun

Gemini Cricket · 06-02-2007, 10:37 AM

I can't wait!

Mega-positive reviews for this one so far. It looks like a winner!

Bornieo: Fully Loaded · 06-02-2007, 11:51 AM

Thanks Kevy! Can't wait!

Not Afraid · 06-02-2007, 01:44 PM

COOL! Now if only I had won an AP preview.

Tref · 06-02-2007, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Kevy got nighty now.

Indeed.

DreadPirateRoberts · 06-02-2007, 10:12 PM

which cheeks?

06-02-2007, 01:10 AM	#1
Kevy Baby Chowder Head Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Yes Posts: 18,500	Man are my cheeks sore - NEMO Spoilers ahead I didn't realize that hose was so long... I am going to write all about the new Nemo Subs ride. There will be significant spoilers, so if you don't wanna know, stop reading. Go away. Go read the Soooo.... thread from start to finish. So, I was lucky enough to be accompany Plumenom on the CM preview of Nemo this evening. I was a good boy and followed the no photos rule on the ride - sorry As opposed to "open" CM previews of the past, this one had tickets to a specific day and time. If you missed your window (15 minutes!) you were SOL. Needless to say, we were there well before our alloted 7:00 appointment. CM previews run through next Wednesday I believe. I suspect that there will be a lot of soft openings in the next 10 days. As you may already know, the queue is mostly in front of and under the Monorail loading platform. I am not sure where the entrance to the Monorail is; in retrospect, I should have done a little more scouting on that detail. However, I can say that the speed ramp that used to be the entrance to the Monorail is now gone. Being as this was a CM preview, I cannot accurately gauge how long the lines (time-wise) will actually be. Also, being as the queue is out in the open and is almost all switch-backs, there is no themeing in the queue. However, there are three animatronic seagulls on a buoy in the lagoon. Not too animated, not too cartoony, and not too realistic. Just enough to give you a taste of what to expect on the ~~ride~~ attraction. One side note on the major leak that they created during construction. You may recall that there was not time to properly replace the pipe that they tore into. So they built an external bypass pipe (about 12" in diameter) that runs along the bottom of the Monorail loading platform, hanging right over the Sub loading area. I guess it looked real bad when first installed, but once it was painted the same marine grey of the loading area and they painted "sea water supply pipe" on it, it actually fits in. They have the loading/unloading area set up so that they can load/unload three subs simultaneously. As before, the subs are loaded from both ends. As was noted elsewhere, there are now more seats (40) in each sub due to the change from diesel to electric motors (and I am really impressed that they figured out how to run electric rails under water!). Unfortunately, the individual seats are (still?) VERY narrow. Had there not been a couple of open seats on our end, we would have been quite uncomfortably cramped. FWIW, we loaded through the rear of the sub and sat on the starboard (right) side of the sub. But the reason we had open seats is that the Nautilus leaks . Water was coming in through the rear hatch when we went under the waterfalls. When we were getting on the sub, an engineer was applying some foam gaskets and then rode along with us with a flashlight to check things out. I'm sure that they will have these types of bugs worked out by June 11. The ventilation in the subs is good. I cannot give an honest comparison to the subs of old, but I did not feel stuffy in there as I remember from before. The new uniforms are well done (yes, I know they are "costumes", but in this case, uniforms is a much better description). It is a typical marine/nautical motif of a white shirt with blue and orange accents with blue slacks. The uniforms are the same for men and women but looked good on both. One female CM we spoke with said it was the first gender common costume that she wore that she still felt like a girl in. I took a picture, but Photoshop isn't working on my computer and I think it best not to post a 36" picture. So what about the actual ride you ask? Well, my escort counted seven "WOW"'s from me and one "that was really cool." The aforementioned three sub load causes a little bit of a delay in getting out of the loading area if there is any delay in the lead sub (which there was with us). So we got to stare at the barnacle covered walls for a while. Hopefully this bug will be sorted out quickly. Once we left the station, we of course we immediately dove (through the bubbles apparent from the outside), though I didn't hear the depth. The underwater visuals in the lagoon are really well done with several of the colorful fish from Nemo hidden in nooks and crannies - not too many, just a few to catch your attention. There is also a diver exploring the ruins which have recently been exposed due to the recent volcanic activity in the area (as explained by the prerecorded narrator). There were a few other odds and ends around the lagoon - overall: well done. One thing about the lagoon portion of the excursion: I wonder how much of it will be visible on a night-time run. Since we rode before the sun set, we had a pretty good view. I am not sure if there are lights for the night (though I suspect that there is). Soon we passed under the first waterfall, which now comes earlier than the old sub ride due to the lengthening of tunnel. I will start by saying that if there is a story line, I did not follow it, but that would be mainly because I was too wrapped up in the visuals and general audio design. I am sure the story line (if any besides "finding Nemo") will become more apparent as I get a few rides under my belt. As a sound nut, I was impressed with the audio design. There are several semi-isolated sound zones on the sub. Instead of having voices or localized audio hitting the entire sub at once, they have wisely sequenced the sound so that you hear the character as your window passes by it. You can hear the character talking the whole time, but they have created a simulated Doppler effect where (in our case at the end of the sub), you could hear the voice getting louder as you approach the character (and quieter as we left). Speaking of characters, if the Marlin character was not done by Albert Brooks, then they have found a voice artist that sounds just like him! However, I do not believe the Dory voice was done by Ellen DeGeneres nor do I believe that Gill was Willem Defoe. As for the other voices, I am not sure. WARNING - this is where the main spoilers kick in! One of the main new features of the ride is how the characters are displayed. Most of the fish are shown as animated projections. That's right - projections. Bright, colorful, animated 3D like projections. I am not sure exactly how they did it, but dang it is good! Dory and Marlin are seen repeatedly throughout the adventure, with other regulars popping up frequently. (I'm really starting to get tired as I write this and my memory is fading, so I am not sure how good the rest of this will be.) Another one of the cool effects are the bubbles. They come in different colors! I am sure it is just the lighting, but it is really well done IMO. The Jellyfish. The Jellyfish are freakin' awesome! Dory is bouncing off of a couple of them and the animatronics of this are incredible. The jellyfish light up as well. Not too much, but very well done Later in the adventure, there is an explosion (yes, the sub shakes a little!)and a lava flow. The lava flow is VERY cool. It is another projection effect, but it is multi-layered (I think) and the 3D effect is superb. One improvement I would have made to this scene was to add bubbles where the hot lava hits the cold water. (OK, I am really fading fast.) The last element I can recall is that we end up inside a whale ("Hmm... it smells like whale"). At least I think that is what happens. So, sorry for the poor TR here. Hopefully, someone can write something better soon. Kevy got nighty now. __________________ The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot verify their validity. - Abraham Lincoln
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06-02-2007, 01:25 AM	#2
Morrigoon I throw stones at houses Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Location: Location Posts: 9,534	Nice! Pretty consistent with the predictions that it would be like the Nemo ride in EPCOT, only better __________________ http://bash.org/?top "It is useless for sheep to pass a resolution in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion." -- William Randolph Inge
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06-02-2007, 08:47 AM	#3
NickO'Time Missed it by that much.. Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 678	Sounds like a great time indeed, thanks for the info Kevy. __________________ Yeah, right.
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06-02-2007, 08:58 AM	#4
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	Thanks! That report was very well done! I was able to skim the functional details without reading the spoilers. I shall come back to this thread after I have the chance to ride it myself.
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06-02-2007, 10:02 AM	#5
thecorndogwalker Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: east west hollywood Posts: 435	thanks for the spoilers.. sounds fun
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06-02-2007, 10:37 AM	#6
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	I can't wait! Mega-positive reviews for this one so far. It looks like a winner! Last edited by Gemini Cricket : 06-02-2007 at 10:47 AM.
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06-02-2007, 11:51 AM	#7
Bornieo: Fully Loaded Lego Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Disneyland, USA Posts: 3,704	Thanks Kevy! Can't wait!
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06-02-2007, 01:44 PM	#8
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	COOL! Now if only I had won an AP preview.
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06-02-2007, 10:12 PM	#10
DreadPirateRoberts Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,483	which cheeks?
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