DaptoFunlandGuy

I'm not trying to shit stir any thunder river talk, but does anyone else see the resemblance? Yeah depends on the fountains though - There's plenty of fountains \ dancing water installs that require the cannon to be submerged, or semi submerge to ensure sufficient water flow to the head. I don't know if that's what's here, but some fountains do need a 'pool'. The drawing is at odds with what we're seeing, for sure, and your theory about changing the concepts in the middle of the build \ tender \ etc is entirely plausible, perhaps even likely... (i'm still waiting for the giant rock wall and waterfalls to be built around Leviathan, for example). The one thing that doesn't make sense is - IF they were planning on having a 5 metre wide, 700mm deep pool open around the entire ride... how did they plan for you to get on?

I don't see any water indicated there? I see a raised platform underneath the ride for loading, but there's nothing in the lower area to imply water - and if that IS implied to be water - how do guests get across to load onto the ride? Either you're reading too much into it, or something is missing...

Yeah I think in the case of a Top Spin, the load platforms are designed to retract regardless of whether water is present though - thought my knowledge on top spin and equivalents is limited. A Wave swinger on the other hand doesn't come with retractable fencing as standard. Theres a lot of additional engineering and complexity involved in doing that, especially something by a third party that needs to integrate with a ride safety system. Could they have? sure. did they need to? we still haven't seen the finished product - but this isn't disney and it isn't an "e-ticket"... i'll wait and judge when it's done.

So maybe it won't be water safety laws that play a part, but since vortex is given as an example - the load platforms (blue railings) have fences - presumably to stop people falling in the damn water. Flyer isn't likely to have this, and with a full circle load\unload - guarantee some idiot would fall in the water if it was accessible.... which is basically what I was trying to get at.

now that I see the layout, i'm not sure 'surrounded by a beautiful pond' would have ever been possible with our water safety laws. It would have needed fencing, and there isn't enough clearance for the ride to put fencing that close to the swings...

Tell that to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. You're absolutely right - the number of Oaken backpacks I see at the afternoon school pickup line is crazy. I appreciate the concession. Honestly, I think much of the 'dressing' is to fit the rest of the land and hide small world from the Frozen sight lines. Small World was built at a time they didn't anticipate constructing beside it and the entire frozen land sits on an area that was formerly back of house. They've had a need to shield the small world show building, and, though they could have built a wall\fence, grown plants over it (or just glued fake plastic ivy all over a wall), painted it go away \ noseum green, they instead chose to integrate the 'C ticket' (your words) into the facade. I understand what you're saying, and I can see how you'd arrive at that conclusion - but other than the folk in this thread, I haven't heard any negative perceptions. I want to go trawling through post history to find the Leviathan reply about enthusiasts never being happy even with a brand new land and multiple new attractions, but I CBF.

Yet again, you're assuming everything I say is about you.

Where's @Andrewh when you need him?

Wouldn't be the first time.

Doesn't 7DMT have rocking cars too? So it's ride time, dark ride section, rocking cars, AND a headlining character theme? but other than that they're the same? listen to yourself. I didn't say everything at Disney was Top Tier. I literally listed off all the things at HK that I consider 'top tier' which is why I don't believe Oaken is. Everything at Disney is 'dressed up' - its just a matter of degree. (Those degrees used to be separated A through to E, but other than usage of E as being 'top' I don't think anyone is dividing attractions into A-D categories anymore). E is your flagship attraction, the Marquee, the showstopper of the land. It's rare to have more than 1 (and almost unheard of to have more than 2) in each land. I do agree that Oaken's has been themed very well, to suit a land that was announced almost 7 years ago. They've poured a fortune of money and time into this and for a virgin land (not a retheme) they've had the freedom to do exactly as they envision without being constrained by existing boundaries or structures - so they made it look pretty cool, sure. In the coupon days, Oaken would probably have warranted an E-ticket simply because it was a 'new' attraction that would be popular, and making it expensive to ride would control capacity. These days if capacity were an issue, the US parks would stick a paid lightning lane on it and call it a day, and that would probably be today's equivalent of E-ticket. I don't know how they're structuring this sort of arrangement in Hong Kong yet, but i'm there in December, so I'll let you know. Other than that, I won't resort to downplaying your opinion as pedantry, so i'll again offer to agree to disagree.

Well there you go. TIL. I always thought it was a missed opportunity that it was static, now I learn it wasn't!

It didn't before. I saw the stories on their socials and it wasn't spinning then either. it'd be cool if they upgraded it to make it spin, but so far I can't see what's lead you to think that it does?

That's a pretty bold claim in a Disney park - especially when it's up against Mystic Manor, Grizzly Mountain, a Space clone, probably the best Jungle Cruise (IMO), and now Frozen Ever After. If that were in Sea World Aus, it'd be top tier. Movie World also. But IMO, everything is relative and in a Disney Park, I don't think it's an E - for all the attractions that reasonably sit above it, and also, the ride time. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Which door? the castle entryway? it's been white for at least 5 years, and yes, it's always been open (the cinema doors were further in - sort of a light lock.

Is it actually an E-ticket though? Or is it just a well themed secondary attraction playing a supporting role to the e-ticket that is Frozen Ever After? With the prior comparison to Flight of the Hippogriff, it's clear FotH is playing second fiddle to Forbidden Journey etc. I guess it depends on where you'd draw the line. Original E-tickets offered only 1, sometimes two attractions in each land as an 'E'. For a land that only has two attractions - can they (should they?) both be considered E-tickets, other than the fact that they are new? E ticket - Wikipedia Is Oaken top tier? cutting edge? or is it just a well themed family coaster to flesh out the land around a top tier and cutting edge flume ride?

What are you even on about? what is your beef with the description?

I mean, other than the Zero car, that looks about as mine-train-y as this does... Wild West Mine Train - Ocean Park (Removed) I think it goes ok. If I compare that to Universal's offering, I see it fitting with Flight of the Hippogriff which isn't much different length wise (it runs about 60 seconds inc. lift hill, but IMO the lift is slower too) - both have a short animatronic intro pre-lift, and then a fairly simple layout. If you compare the two of them, i'd say Oaken's looks better, though the Hippogriff probably seems a little more thrilling. 7DMT is the anchor attraction in Fantasyland at WDW. Oaken's is not - and it's demonstrated clearly by the fact that it's not the headlining character for the land. A 7DMT attraction would have replaced Frozen Ever After as the anchor, and for an IP like frozen, a thrill coaster isn't quite the right fit.

We know the former CEO had a bonus clause that would be activated when the park\property\business was sold, so the boards intention (at least at that time) was to sell. Whether that has changed, we don't know.

Perhaps - and i'm only spitballing here - they feel that the value of the company has finally lifted (or is about to, following Flyer, Dreamland, and soon Rivertown), and the shareprice hasn't yet responded to that value lift, so capitalising on it now is a sound decision?

A buyback is typically an indication that the company thinks the share price is too low for the value of the stock. In a buy-back, they are actually removing stock from the 'pool' - so the shares aren't increasing an ownership stake of the board of directors, they simply cease to exist - making the shareholding pool smaller, which does increase the value of each share and the resulting dividends as a result. Why are they doing it? I have no idea.

It's more nuanced than that. Think about it - why do they never use the second half of the indoor queue and make everyone stand outside in the sun, with crude tape on the ground...? The building obviously has capacity limitations, my guess is fire evac requirements.

We've booked for June 2024 (We're hitting Hong Kong and Singapore again this Christmas) so also keen to hear other suggestions for things to do. Planning a similar itinerary, though won't be hitting the snow, obviously.

You don't need a super big space for bumper cars. take a look at many timezones around the place and you'll see just how small a space you can make it. I can't see them doing any more earthworks to that site so unless they take over some of the footpath i'd say the existing site is probably all she wrote. It should fit but if so it's going to be a fairly small course - which is probably fine for BB considering most times of the year even only a few cars wouldn't generate much of a wait...

My conclusion - The Underground Club has missed the mark. Would have done better putting some escape rooms or another maze in there.

It sounds like they're looking to combine either the tigers or wildlife with some sort of farmstay, ala Paradise Country. It'll be interesting to see any artists impressions or early concepts if\when they decide to come out with them. That said we nearly had a Soarin style ride named after a p*rn star, so registration doesn't necessarily mean anything...