Will Forbidden Journey ever get the "Spider-man treatment"?
Forbidden Journey isn't that old of a ride, but the screens are pretty terrible, the animatronics have seen better days, and it's motion sickness inducing.
So my question is: Why wouldn't they give it the Spider-man treatment? Close it for a month, update all the screens, and bring it to the top of UO's catalog?
It would be a pretty nice "small ball" addition, even if they might lose ticket sales while it's closed. Maybe do it after Pokemon? . . .
Replies (5)
Nice Post coaster boy = Yes I agree the last time we were on HPFJ - we all noticed it was getting a bit blurry and needs some attention...
Maybe me eyes are just getting Older, naaaaaaaa....
Spiderman is still so damn amazing.... I try to make that one of my last rides at the end of a vacation..
I'm assuming you're referring to the Orlando version of the ride, as the Hollywood version has upgraded projection technology and improved motion programming from the original (the animatronics are the same) that make it not necessary to upgrade. It is entirely possible those upgrades could be implemented in Florida at some point in the future, but the fact that they weren't implemented around the time Hagrid's was added makes me think it's fairly unlikely they'll ever do so. The percentage of guests who would likely notice such an upgrade is in the single digits and the percentage who would care even less, so unless the ride starts generating tons of guest complaints it wouldn't really be cost effective to spend money on that type of upgrade.
V-Coaster: "Forbidden Journey isn't that old of a ride ...:
Me: 16 years.
Aj- Actually, I didn't know that Hollywood already has better projections- that might be why Russell doesn't think that the Orlando version needs any upgrades (because trust me, it does).
While I don't envision it happening anytime soon, I do still find it to be a major issue with the ride. Maybe, eventually (8+ years from now) upgraded projection effects will come in tandem with a new story for the ride, one that is a little more cohesive than "dragons and spiders and dementors attack you during quidditch".
I'm not sure what you want them to do? I don't think the screens are that bad, and the cost to upgrade to brighter projector could be significant (remember that you'd have to replace every parabolic screen projector to ensure a consistent experience - I think there are nearly 3 dozen of these in the attraction). If I recall correctly, Universal did a projector upgrade not too long ago when they converted to 3D and then returned it to 2D. My most recent experience on HPFJ was at USH, and I thought all the projectors at that installation were decently bright and crisp.
The animatronics are another story, because this attraction has always had issues with them even though there are not that many. However, I think because so many of the figures are in such low light levels, most guests probably don't know they aren't working. While I don't think I've ridden either US version of the attraction where every figure and effect has worked, most regular guests have no idea that anything is amiss. When I rode the USH version last month, there was 1 Dementor not working, one arm of the Whomping Willow static, the Dragon fire effect non existent, and the Dementor projection effect inoperable (I think I've seen this working maybe a handful of times despite it being part of the ride photo system used to supplement revenue).
It would be great if Universal could get all of the effects and animatronics working as close to 100% as possible, but I think it's just a function of a ride of this complexity to see something broken. At least these broken effects don't necessarily deter significantly from the overall impact of the ride like TBA or RotR.
When it comes to the motions, I don't think a lot can be done, because the extreme movements are necessary to keep riders facing key elements as the ride vehicle moves down the track. We have to remember that this was the first tracked Kuka arm attraction, so the design and layout of the scenes is not as smooth or deliberate as what you see on Monsters Unchained. The only way to fix these issues would be a complete gutting of the attraction and reprogramming of the arms to smooth out the rough edges. I just don't see a massive improvement that would be gained from that to an attraction that already rates as one of the best dark rides in the world. It would be like Disney going back and putting full motion bases on RotR just to get a few more degrees of action. The juice just isn't worth the squeeze IMHO, and as Universal learned from the attempted 3D conversion, sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
The improvements that were made to Spiderman were a result of a generational leap in projection and 3-D technology that allowed them to upgrade what was already one of the best attractions on the planet (also it was possible because all of the projected images were animated, not live action like on HPFJ). While there have been improvements in technology since 2014, I don't think there's been enough of a leap to warrant a massive investment to upgrade an attraction that is already regarded as one of the best dark rides in the world.