Our first match-up of the evening: Two water rides from Universal's Islands of Adventure square off as (28) Jurassic Park River Adventure goes up against (37) Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls.
Next up: (20) California Screamin' vs. (45) The Cat in the Hat. At first this seems like a silly match-up, but if you think about it for a moment, it's actually fascinating: The unthemed roller coaster from Disney versus the story-driven dark ride from Universal. The stereotypes reversed. Which will you pick?
You're on an expedition deep into the exotic wilderness, when (gasp!) something goes terribly wrong! Do you prefer this scenario on (12) Expedition Everest or (53) Jungle Cruise (Disneyland)?
Finally... oh heck, I got nothin' for this one: (4) Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland) vs. (61) Dumbo the Flying Elephant (Disneyland). Maybe some parents of little kids will vote for Dumbo on their children's behalf. But, judging from the number of Cap'n Jack Sparrow backpacks I see at my kids' elementary school, probably not. Let the blow-out begin.
Talk about 'em in the comments....
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I had to go with Dudley Do Right in a tough decision over Jurassic Park. Of course ripsaw falls has been neutered a bit since I've ridden, but it was good, even if the queue is like a sardine case.
Expedition Everest, no contest for that one. I've read some crazy employee stories about Jungle Cruise
Pirates- Quintessential Disney attraction won't be touched by the glorified carnival ride known as Dumbo.
Jurassic Park could really use a tune-up, but Dudley, despite having a beautiful exterior, is like a run-down fun house with water. Funny jokes, great drops, but terrible scenery.
Jurassic Park's exterior dinosaurs just need to be more remote and mysterious, rather than up-close to the point where one can see the mechanics of the ride.
Disney has never been the best at coasters, but California Screamin' is exceptionally bad. The launch is slow, the drops are tiny, and there's really nothing to look at. Add to that a hot, seemingly endless queue, and you've got a problem. And I'm not too picky with coasters.
Cat In The Hat is creative, funny, and wild, with a bonus as being a family ride. It has the upper hand, in my books.
Pirates of the Caribbean should do well in all the rounds. It's just one of those attractions you sit down in, and feel like you're in heaven. Cool, calm, serene, and exciting, without throngs of hot, angry people. It just seems to mellow everyone out and make them appreciate the beauty of it all. The incredibly fast loading scheme and underground queue add points, as well.
Dumbo, despite being many young kids' favorite, is a dime a dozen, and loads as quickly as molasses in the winter with an outdoor, unshaded queue.
Expedition Everest is a huge winner for Disney. Its theme is spectacular, the ride is exciting and chock full of surprises, and the queue is beautifully done. Unlike many Disney coasters, the thrills don't seem to diminish after multiple rides.
Jungle Cruise loses points for its never-ending lineup and its lack of refurbishments.
Expedition Everest is one of my picks for the Final Four, so I expect a strong showing from it in the early rounds...and so far it looks good. Of all the coasters I have ridden these many years ("It's not the years, it's the mileage"), Everest is the ultimate combination of thrills and theme. A perfect example of what happens when a great story meets excellent special effects. Jungle Cruise on the other hand, is a dinosaur in need of a MAJOR overhaul.
As for Jurassic and Dudley, they are both fun attractions, but the nod in theming does go to Jurassic. And that final drop under the T-Rex.....wow!
This IS going to get very interesting in later rounds and I can't wait for those!!! Stick with it folks.
But... as I mentioned yesterday or the day before, the last 15 or so seeds for this thing were pretty weak. At first, I thought about chucking them and elevating some underrated or rarely voted upon rides that I thought were worthy of being in the pool. But I decided against that because, well, if you are a top 16 pick, I figured you deserved an easy path into the next round.
Dumbo and such, are the Coppin States of this tournament. Maybe a few of them (e.g Toad) pull an upset. But, for the most part, they are overmatched, get blown out and quickly go away. Just like in the NCAA tournaments. ;-)
I mean, c'mon, seeing some of these low-budget, marginal hoops talent schools go up against Duke, Carolina, UCLA, etc. is no more a mismatch than Everest vs. Jungle Cruise.
Trust me, the match-ups get really, really interesting as the tournament progresses (assuming no bracket-busting upsets). I'm really excited by those initial 16 rides and the way they matched up.
You shouldn't vote more than a handful of rides in the world as a 10. Most rides are average, and should be rated around a 5, as a result. The more thought that people put into their ratings, the better lists, better award-winners, and better tournaments we get out of them.
It is almost as if people are afraid to rate something honestly, like Disney himself will rise from his cryogenic chamber (he's not really dead, you know, just frozen) and lay the smack down.
On a positive note, I do think most people are reluctant to give perfect 10 ratings, which is good. Perfection is very hard to achieve.
Sorry to get off the subject....now, back to your regularly scheduled tournament!
So I know for one am enjoying this alot!!
Again Robert, this is a really cool thing you're doing and in fact, it's getting me real excited about our upcoming trip in June. Thanks!
That's not to say I don't find faults with Jurassic Park - the biggest problem for me is a failure to provide the story with a climax. The ride itself has a climax (the drop, duh), but the narrative just peters out. If there was something after the drop - and it wouldn't have to be much: a voice-over stating that we've escaped the dangerous area, some sort of signage, anything. Dudley has the awards presentation after the drop, which perfectly ends that ride's story. Splash Mountain has the "Zippedee-Do-Da" scene, which perfectly ends that story. Jurassic Park...just ends after the drop. That's just substandard storytelling.
And Jurassic is getting old. I love my Dudley!! (but do hate the restraints)
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Theme beats thrills, so I voted for Jurassic Park and Cat in the Hat.