That special effect is simple but great. Reminds me of the old special effects from DarKastle's pre-show before that got watered down.
Project 2018: Battle for Eire (VR Attraction)
- Thread starter Eric
- Start date
- Status
Ok, here goes my experience and opinion on our rides today. Im sure I will include spoilers so if you to be surprised skip to the next post.
We arrived around noonish and headed for Ireland. When we got just past O Taters there was a team member out in the main walkway who asked if we wanted to ride even before we walked toward the entrance. It almost seemed like they had to solicit people to ride. He walked us to the entrance, checked that we had no bags, cups or loose articles before letting us in. The queue was basically unchanged, they added a handful of small monitors in the long hallway and one larger one where the first room at the end of the hall is. This is also where the carts with the emerald goggles were located. There was lots of people picking up the two sizes and trying them on and switching them back and fourth. Im assuming on the small monitors in the hall they explained the two sizes but since there was no line we went right past them. In the room there was no explanation on sizes either and honestly with the dimly lit area unless you know there are gold bands on some its almost hard to see them. My goggles fit fine, my sons (18) left a red mark on his right cheek afetr the second ride that stayed for quite a while. My wife used the gold goggles and she had it tightened but when she put on the VR the added weight kept pulling it down so she ended up holding it up. We talked to some friends that rode who said that one of theirs was loose but he tightened it up but then something was poking at his temple area that made it hurt. Again, I had no issues other than how stupid they look. The next room we watched the preshow. The first preshow was great, the video crisp and bright, the fireplace looked spectacular. The first time riding we had on our masks properly and no one bothered us. The second trip I had mine off and my son had his propped up on top of his head. We were repeatedly told be numerous team members that we were wearing it wrong and tried to explain how to put it on. We basically missed the whole preshow because of this. We were only avoiding wearing the mask for extended times since we were doing ride after ride. After that we just wore it so we would be left alone. Then the door opened for the second preshow. We always had the theater to the left so not sure if right was running or not. The second preshow was again really good, if you are far left or right at the very front its hard to see the curved book. But the video was really good, had funny parts and told the important stuff. Now, in this video it tells you to remove glasses, there is no additional info on putting them back on or a warning about scratches. They also tell you that if you feel sick to remove the goggles and hold them tightly for the remainder of the ride or close your eyes. There was no mention that an alternate video would be played on the big screen. This is the room I feel the team members should be checking that you are wearing them properly, not the previous room and interrupting the backstory of the ride. Other than that the basic set up of the room is unchanged, there are new light fixtures, and some nods to previous attractions. Next you move on to the actual ride. You load as before and seatbelts checked. Then you are told to put on your goggles. As you enter the big screen is on with some instructions and the screen is crystal clear. When I first put on the goggles I was suprised at how in image looked. You could see the pixels, it literally looked like you were looking at a jumbo tron at a sports stadium up close. Also the field of vision was far less than I expected, I felt like I was watching through binoculars or a hole in a fence. It was interesting looking down and it appearing you were over a deep well or hole of some type. It was also odd looking to the left or right to talk to someone and not seeing them even though you could hear them. Once the attraction started the image stayed the same as far as clarity. On the first ride I wore the VR. The video was very bright and very colorful, I looked around a lot but honestly there wasn't much to look at to either side and during the fast moving parts the video to either side was blurry as it was going by so fast. I really didnt feel any movement either, it was definitely much smoother if it was moving. The length of the video seemed a little short, I feel like the story could have been better told with a few more seconds of ride time. At the end of the ride as you were getting off there were a couple people who looked like they were surveying people were there but they werent talking to many people and they didnt seem to write anything dome that they said. The exit is basically the same with some new paint. We then went right bac in for a second ride but this time I put the the VR on so they would leave me alone and as soon as it started I took it off. Honestly the non VR version was better, the field of vision was much wider. The video could have been a little crisper and brighter but overall it was great. There was a box hanging from the ceiling with UV emitters that you could see in the screen and the front wall blocked some video as you could still see it projected on the black paint. The movement was felt much more as well as you could actually see when you were moving in relation to the video. I looked around and most people were looking straight forward and not looking around. The whole time I was riding I couldn't help but think why they couldn't add a function that once the ride started the front wall could have folded out of the way to give a better view. I will say all the promotional stuff where they said that they could "unlock the full potential of the ride system" wasn't done. The ride moves very little, in fact in all previous versions of the ride I either held on or tried to hold myself with my feet so I wouldn't slide around too much. This was like sitting on my couch, a nice comfortable ride.
Looking at the VR headset itself the wiring to it look very small and fragile. I expected there to be a decent strain relief but there was none.
Overall its a good ride, the characters to me seemed very kid like, almost like I was on a ride for children. We rode a few times and honestly got bored, we decided to take a ride on the train unlike last year for InvadR where they had to run us out after the park closed. Im sure I will think of more later tonight but that is my thoughts for now.
We arrived around noonish and headed for Ireland. When we got just past O Taters there was a team member out in the main walkway who asked if we wanted to ride even before we walked toward the entrance. It almost seemed like they had to solicit people to ride. He walked us to the entrance, checked that we had no bags, cups or loose articles before letting us in. The queue was basically unchanged, they added a handful of small monitors in the long hallway and one larger one where the first room at the end of the hall is. This is also where the carts with the emerald goggles were located. There was lots of people picking up the two sizes and trying them on and switching them back and fourth. Im assuming on the small monitors in the hall they explained the two sizes but since there was no line we went right past them. In the room there was no explanation on sizes either and honestly with the dimly lit area unless you know there are gold bands on some its almost hard to see them. My goggles fit fine, my sons (18) left a red mark on his right cheek afetr the second ride that stayed for quite a while. My wife used the gold goggles and she had it tightened but when she put on the VR the added weight kept pulling it down so she ended up holding it up. We talked to some friends that rode who said that one of theirs was loose but he tightened it up but then something was poking at his temple area that made it hurt. Again, I had no issues other than how stupid they look. The next room we watched the preshow. The first preshow was great, the video crisp and bright, the fireplace looked spectacular. The first time riding we had on our masks properly and no one bothered us. The second trip I had mine off and my son had his propped up on top of his head. We were repeatedly told be numerous team members that we were wearing it wrong and tried to explain how to put it on. We basically missed the whole preshow because of this. We were only avoiding wearing the mask for extended times since we were doing ride after ride. After that we just wore it so we would be left alone. Then the door opened for the second preshow. We always had the theater to the left so not sure if right was running or not. The second preshow was again really good, if you are far left or right at the very front its hard to see the curved book. But the video was really good, had funny parts and told the important stuff. Now, in this video it tells you to remove glasses, there is no additional info on putting them back on or a warning about scratches. They also tell you that if you feel sick to remove the goggles and hold them tightly for the remainder of the ride or close your eyes. There was no mention that an alternate video would be played on the big screen. This is the room I feel the team members should be checking that you are wearing them properly, not the previous room and interrupting the backstory of the ride. Other than that the basic set up of the room is unchanged, there are new light fixtures, and some nods to previous attractions. Next you move on to the actual ride. You load as before and seatbelts checked. Then you are told to put on your goggles. As you enter the big screen is on with some instructions and the screen is crystal clear. When I first put on the goggles I was suprised at how in image looked. You could see the pixels, it literally looked like you were looking at a jumbo tron at a sports stadium up close. Also the field of vision was far less than I expected, I felt like I was watching through binoculars or a hole in a fence. It was interesting looking down and it appearing you were over a deep well or hole of some type. It was also odd looking to the left or right to talk to someone and not seeing them even though you could hear them. Once the attraction started the image stayed the same as far as clarity. On the first ride I wore the VR. The video was very bright and very colorful, I looked around a lot but honestly there wasn't much to look at to either side and during the fast moving parts the video to either side was blurry as it was going by so fast. I really didnt feel any movement either, it was definitely much smoother if it was moving. The length of the video seemed a little short, I feel like the story could have been better told with a few more seconds of ride time. At the end of the ride as you were getting off there were a couple people who looked like they were surveying people were there but they werent talking to many people and they didnt seem to write anything dome that they said. The exit is basically the same with some new paint. We then went right bac in for a second ride but this time I put the the VR on so they would leave me alone and as soon as it started I took it off. Honestly the non VR version was better, the field of vision was much wider. The video could have been a little crisper and brighter but overall it was great. There was a box hanging from the ceiling with UV emitters that you could see in the screen and the front wall blocked some video as you could still see it projected on the black paint. The movement was felt much more as well as you could actually see when you were moving in relation to the video. I looked around and most people were looking straight forward and not looking around. The whole time I was riding I couldn't help but think why they couldn't add a function that once the ride started the front wall could have folded out of the way to give a better view. I will say all the promotional stuff where they said that they could "unlock the full potential of the ride system" wasn't done. The ride moves very little, in fact in all previous versions of the ride I either held on or tried to hold myself with my feet so I wouldn't slide around too much. This was like sitting on my couch, a nice comfortable ride.
Looking at the VR headset itself the wiring to it look very small and fragile. I expected there to be a decent strain relief but there was none.
Overall its a good ride, the characters to me seemed very kid like, almost like I was on a ride for children. We rode a few times and honestly got bored, we decided to take a ride on the train unlike last year for InvadR where they had to run us out after the park closed. Im sure I will think of more later tonight but that is my thoughts for now.
Kinda like last year at InvadR when one team member was saying its not opening today while the one standing right next to them was inviting people in to ride.Thomas said:
Was fortunate to catch a soft opening after waiting only about 10 minutes this afternoon. Rode it 3 times total. Overall I thought it was a cool addition. It is basically an HD 3D animated movie with an immersive environment. The kids are going to love it!!
Ride 1 - spent time looking all around, to the sides, behind, above & below. Pretty neat what all is available to see in a given scene. I did not find anything extra or a bonus.
Got off the ride with slight motion sickness (happened often to me on EITA).
Ride 2 - took place about 15 minutes after ride 1. Just enjoyed the experience without trying to find any Easter eggs and whatnot. Motion sickness was even worse for me as I had not fully recovered from ride 1.
Ride 3 - took place about 30 minutes after ride 2. I watched the movie onscreen without the goggles. It was cute, but obviously not as engaging or fun without the VR experience.
Motion sickness forced me to sit down, drink cold water and get myself centered for about 20 minutes or so.
Final thoughts - it is a nice addition and I will definitely ride again (My daughter loved it as well). BFE will be a an attraction like EITA for us. Won't really plan on going out of our way for it, but when we pass through Ireland, as long as it has no line more than about 5-10 minutes, we will definitely ride the dragon again.
-If you are susceptible to motion sickness, make sure to be hydrated (it works for me).
-We didn't bother cranking the headgear down until after putting the VR goggles on (saved us any discomfort).
-Something my daughter and I can both enjoy riding together.
-One ride per visit on a given day is all for me.
All in all, a fun experience if properly prepared. It was really nice to be back in the EITA/Corkscrew tunnel and castle again. Always enjoy making the long, cool trip through the cavernous hallways!!
Ride 1 - spent time looking all around, to the sides, behind, above & below. Pretty neat what all is available to see in a given scene. I did not find anything extra or a bonus.
Got off the ride with slight motion sickness (happened often to me on EITA).
Ride 2 - took place about 15 minutes after ride 1. Just enjoyed the experience without trying to find any Easter eggs and whatnot. Motion sickness was even worse for me as I had not fully recovered from ride 1.
Ride 3 - took place about 30 minutes after ride 2. I watched the movie onscreen without the goggles. It was cute, but obviously not as engaging or fun without the VR experience.
Motion sickness forced me to sit down, drink cold water and get myself centered for about 20 minutes or so.
Final thoughts - it is a nice addition and I will definitely ride again (My daughter loved it as well). BFE will be a an attraction like EITA for us. Won't really plan on going out of our way for it, but when we pass through Ireland, as long as it has no line more than about 5-10 minutes, we will definitely ride the dragon again.
-If you are susceptible to motion sickness, make sure to be hydrated (it works for me).
-We didn't bother cranking the headgear down until after putting the VR goggles on (saved us any discomfort).
-Something my daughter and I can both enjoy riding together.
-One ride per visit on a given day is all for me.
All in all, a fun experience if properly prepared. It was really nice to be back in the EITA/Corkscrew tunnel and castle again. Always enjoy making the long, cool trip through the cavernous hallways!!
Ok, here goes my experience and opinion on our rides today. Im sure I will include spoilers so if you want to be surprised skip to the next post.
We arrived around noonish and headed for Ireland. When we got just past O'Taters there was a team member out in the main walkway who asked if we wanted to ride even before we walked toward the entrance. It almost seemed like they had to solicit people to ride. He walked us to the entrance, checked that we had no bags, cups or loose articles before letting us in.
The queue was basically unchanged, they added a handful of small monitors in the long hallway and one larger one where the first room at the end of the hall is. This is also where the carts with the emerald goggles were located. There was lots of people picking up the two sizes and trying them on and switching them back and fourth. Im assuming on the small monitors in the hall they explained the two sizes but since there was no line we went right past them. In the room there was no explanation on sizes either and honestly with the dimly lit area unless you know there are gold bands on some its almost hard to see them. My goggles fit fine, my sons (18) left a red mark on his right cheek after the second ride that stayed for quite a while. My wife used the gold goggles and she had it tightened but when she put on the VR the added weight kept pulling it down so she ended up holding it up. We talked to some friends that rode who said that one of theirs was loose but he tightened it up but then something was poking at his temple area that made it hurt. Again, I had no issues other than how stupid they look.
The next room we watched the preshow. The first preshow was great, the video crisp and bright, the fireplace looked spectacular. The first time through the queue we had on our masks on properly and no one bothered us. The second trip I had mine off and my son had his propped up on top of his head. We were repeatedly told by numerous team members that we were wearing it wrong and tried to explain how to put it on. We basically missed the whole preshow because of this. We were only avoiding wearing the mask for extended times since we were doing ride after ride. After that we just wore it so we would be left alone.
Then the door opened for the second preshow. We always had the theater to the left so not sure if right was running or not. The second preshow was again really good, if you are far left or right at the very front its hard to see the curved book. But the video was really good, had funny parts and told the important stuff. Now, in this video it tells you to remove glasses, there is no additional info on putting them back on or a warning about scratches. They also tell you that if you feel sick to remove the goggles and hold them tightly for the remainder of the ride or close your eyes. There was no mention that an alternate video would be played on the big screen. This is the room I feel the team members should be checking that you are wearing them properly, not the previous room and interrupting the backstory of the ride. Other than that the basic set up of the room is unchanged, there are new light fixtures, and some nods to previous attractions.
Next you move on to the actual ride. You load as before and seatbelts checked. Then you are told to put on your goggles. As you enter the big screen is on with some instructions and the screen is crystal clear. When I first put on the goggles I was surprised at how the image looked. You could see the pixels, it literally looked like you were looking at a jumbo tron at a sports stadium up close. Also the field of vision was far less than I expected, I felt like I was watching through binoculars or a hole in a fence. It was interesting looking down and it appearing you were over a deep well or hole of some type. It was also odd looking to the left or right to talk to someone and not seeing them even though you could hear them. Once the attraction started the image stayed the same as far as clarity. On the first ride I wore the VR. The video was very bright and very colorful, I looked around a lot but honestly there wasn't much to look at to either side and during the fast moving parts the video to either side was blurry as it was going by so fast. I really didnt feel any movement either, it was definitely much smoother if it was moving. The length of the video seemed a little short, I feel like the story could have been better told with a few more seconds of ride time. At the end of the ride as you were getting off there were a couple people who looked like they were surveying guests exiting but they werent talking to many people and they didnt seem to write anything down that they said. The exit is basically the same with some new paint. We then went right back in for a second ride but this time I put the the VR on so they would leave me alone and as soon as it started I took it off. Honestly the non VR version was better, the field of vision was much wider. The video could have been a little crisper and brighter but overall it was great. There was a box hanging from the ceiling with UV emitters that you could see in the screen and the front wall blocked some video as you could still see it projected on the black paint. The movement was felt much more as well as you could actually see when you were moving in relation to the video. I looked around and most people were looking straight forward and not looking around. The whole time I was riding I couldn't help but think why they couldn't add a function that once the seatbelts were fastened and the ride started the front wall could have folded out of the way to give a better view. I will say all the promotional stuff where they said that they could "unlock the full potential of the ride system" wasn't done. The ride moves very little, in fact in all previous versions of the ride I either held on or tried to hold myself with my feet so I wouldn't slide around too much. This was like sitting on my couch, a nice comfortable ride.
Looking at the VR headset itself the wiring to it look very small and fragile. I expected there to be a decent strain relief but there was none.
Overall its a good ride, the characters to me seemed very kid like, almost like I was on a ride for children. We rode a few times and honestly got bored, we decided to take a ride on the train unlike last year for InvadR where they had to run us out after the park closed. Overall, Its a ride that once a month or so if its a walk on I might ride but other than that I will give it a pass. Im sure I will think of more later tonight but those are my thoughts for now.
We arrived around noonish and headed for Ireland. When we got just past O'Taters there was a team member out in the main walkway who asked if we wanted to ride even before we walked toward the entrance. It almost seemed like they had to solicit people to ride. He walked us to the entrance, checked that we had no bags, cups or loose articles before letting us in.
The queue was basically unchanged, they added a handful of small monitors in the long hallway and one larger one where the first room at the end of the hall is. This is also where the carts with the emerald goggles were located. There was lots of people picking up the two sizes and trying them on and switching them back and fourth. Im assuming on the small monitors in the hall they explained the two sizes but since there was no line we went right past them. In the room there was no explanation on sizes either and honestly with the dimly lit area unless you know there are gold bands on some its almost hard to see them. My goggles fit fine, my sons (18) left a red mark on his right cheek after the second ride that stayed for quite a while. My wife used the gold goggles and she had it tightened but when she put on the VR the added weight kept pulling it down so she ended up holding it up. We talked to some friends that rode who said that one of theirs was loose but he tightened it up but then something was poking at his temple area that made it hurt. Again, I had no issues other than how stupid they look.
The next room we watched the preshow. The first preshow was great, the video crisp and bright, the fireplace looked spectacular. The first time through the queue we had on our masks on properly and no one bothered us. The second trip I had mine off and my son had his propped up on top of his head. We were repeatedly told by numerous team members that we were wearing it wrong and tried to explain how to put it on. We basically missed the whole preshow because of this. We were only avoiding wearing the mask for extended times since we were doing ride after ride. After that we just wore it so we would be left alone.
Then the door opened for the second preshow. We always had the theater to the left so not sure if right was running or not. The second preshow was again really good, if you are far left or right at the very front its hard to see the curved book. But the video was really good, had funny parts and told the important stuff. Now, in this video it tells you to remove glasses, there is no additional info on putting them back on or a warning about scratches. They also tell you that if you feel sick to remove the goggles and hold them tightly for the remainder of the ride or close your eyes. There was no mention that an alternate video would be played on the big screen. This is the room I feel the team members should be checking that you are wearing them properly, not the previous room and interrupting the backstory of the ride. Other than that the basic set up of the room is unchanged, there are new light fixtures, and some nods to previous attractions.
Next you move on to the actual ride. You load as before and seatbelts checked. Then you are told to put on your goggles. As you enter the big screen is on with some instructions and the screen is crystal clear. When I first put on the goggles I was surprised at how the image looked. You could see the pixels, it literally looked like you were looking at a jumbo tron at a sports stadium up close. Also the field of vision was far less than I expected, I felt like I was watching through binoculars or a hole in a fence. It was interesting looking down and it appearing you were over a deep well or hole of some type. It was also odd looking to the left or right to talk to someone and not seeing them even though you could hear them. Once the attraction started the image stayed the same as far as clarity. On the first ride I wore the VR. The video was very bright and very colorful, I looked around a lot but honestly there wasn't much to look at to either side and during the fast moving parts the video to either side was blurry as it was going by so fast. I really didnt feel any movement either, it was definitely much smoother if it was moving. The length of the video seemed a little short, I feel like the story could have been better told with a few more seconds of ride time. At the end of the ride as you were getting off there were a couple people who looked like they were surveying guests exiting but they werent talking to many people and they didnt seem to write anything down that they said. The exit is basically the same with some new paint. We then went right back in for a second ride but this time I put the the VR on so they would leave me alone and as soon as it started I took it off. Honestly the non VR version was better, the field of vision was much wider. The video could have been a little crisper and brighter but overall it was great. There was a box hanging from the ceiling with UV emitters that you could see in the screen and the front wall blocked some video as you could still see it projected on the black paint. The movement was felt much more as well as you could actually see when you were moving in relation to the video. I looked around and most people were looking straight forward and not looking around. The whole time I was riding I couldn't help but think why they couldn't add a function that once the seatbelts were fastened and the ride started the front wall could have folded out of the way to give a better view. I will say all the promotional stuff where they said that they could "unlock the full potential of the ride system" wasn't done. The ride moves very little, in fact in all previous versions of the ride I either held on or tried to hold myself with my feet so I wouldn't slide around too much. This was like sitting on my couch, a nice comfortable ride.
Looking at the VR headset itself the wiring to it look very small and fragile. I expected there to be a decent strain relief but there was none.
Overall its a good ride, the characters to me seemed very kid like, almost like I was on a ride for children. We rode a few times and honestly got bored, we decided to take a ride on the train unlike last year for InvadR where they had to run us out after the park closed. Overall, Its a ride that once a month or so if its a walk on I might ride but other than that I will give it a pass. Im sure I will think of more later tonight but those are my thoughts for now.
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I agree Corkscrew Hill was better and if I had the choice today on which one I would ride CH would be it. You are right on the juvenile part, I felt like I was having a nightmare I got locked in Pot O'Gold and all the stuffed animals were swirling around. The VR will quickly be outdated and this is a staffing nightmare IMO. I honestly would not be surprised it the VR disappears in a year or two and just the screen is shown.Zachary said:
I concur with your assessments almost 100%. Plus, frankly, I'm happy to do so publicly because Eire is a ride that will benefit greatly from lower expectations.
I get that this is a big step forward for VR in theme parks, but despite that fact, it is hard to deny that this generation of VR still feels squarely like a beta product.
The constraining field of view and the very obvious screen door effect are both big hurtles that likely can't be overcome without a really notable technical update to the attraction.
Many will love it—especially those without VR experience—but it still needs some major revisions before this technology is legitimately ready for primetime.
I get that this is a big step forward for VR in theme parks, but despite that fact, it is hard to deny that this generation of VR still feels squarely like a beta product.
The constraining field of view and the very obvious screen door effect are both big hurtles that likely can't be overcome without a really notable technical update to the attraction.
Many will love it—especially those without VR experience—but it still needs some major revisions before this technology is legitimately ready for primetime.
From a tech industry perspective VR is still not a mature technology. Having said that, Hololens tech is deep in development as Microsoft just announced. (one of my best friends is on the dev team incidentally, and no he can't say much NDAs are a bitch) I wonder if hololens will leapfrog VR for both augmented reality and virtual reality.
I just noticed something about the second pre-show room: other than the huge book, doors on the walls, and the Questor bottle; there might have been some changes from the concept art to the present design as it stands now. For in the art there was a backdrop behind the book that looked like a desk, more bottles that glowed, and the two ceiling hangings were vastly different than what is there now.
I wonder if they had to change some things in that room because of the effort they put into the first pre-show room to look exactly like the concept art. It's neat to talk about it.
I wonder if they had to change some things in that room because of the effort they put into the first pre-show room to look exactly like the concept art. It's neat to talk about it.
icameinZimmy said:
I to say something similar. Got a friend that works for a company making VR, and he's said they've only scratched the surface. I love video games, so he said if we equated VR to games, we're only at the original Nintendo. I talked with him about the concerns (and he peeked into this thread unregistered) and his response was simply, from what he knows, this might best commercial application of VR yet, and that's a sign of how new this technology is.
He said the biggest hurdle in VR right now is that every eye has a different depth and refractional rate, and that finding a way to make the VR lenses and screen to automatically adjust is something they need to figure out.
Ryan said:
I personally hope all these decisions were independent of each other. I would really hope that if DK closed, it wasn't because BfE was opening, but rather DK needing too much to update, the cost per loop, and ridership didn't add up to being beneficial to the park.
I will set my expectations for this ride accordingly for this. Usually that means it just has to answer the question "is it fun?" and I will love it if it is. I also have never experienced VR before ever so that will be a treat.
Zachary said:
Do you think it is something that can be built on and refined as VR tech improves?
Great pics. Also the one of your face was that a cut or just an impression left on your face as a result of the headset?WDWRLD said:
Very smart wording Nicole! I know you guys are pros at that kind of thing but it was smart to remind people that soft openings are very limited. (If people are forgetful like i am that they need all the help they can get lol )Nicole said:
Giving credit where it is due, Zachary is usually in charge of social media, and he wrote that tweet.
I've been seeing on twitter a reported official opening Friday April 13th
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