I think unfortunately it is going to be a problem because with people its the nature of the beast. There will ALWAYS be something. On the glasses debate I wear glasses so i appreciate the warning about the scratches. I mostly take off my glasses anyway on rides when i'm unsure of the ride. But I understand people who cant/wont do that because it was promised they could be worn with the headset being upset. Its kinda like well no i cant see it so whats the point. And people waited a while for it. Now about the problems it is having, i thought that was the point of soft openings? I may be wrong i may have the lingo wrong. But isn't that what they are for? I mean to find kinks in the system that you may only get when the ride is in operation and may not be noticeable to the ride operators?
Project 2018: Battle for Eire (VR Attraction)
- Thread starter Eric
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I never said delaying Eire wouldnt be a problem. And I didnt say Mach opening late was now not a problem. Anything that dosent meet its goal of opening when planned and functioning is a fail in my opinion. I said I hope they get it all fixed before opening it to the public even if that means later in the summer. Mach was a complete different issue, it was a safety problem. Now I know why I stopped reading this forum years ago.warfelg said:
WDWRLD, I only said what I said because you said this: "This ride could surpass Mach Tower as the biggest park failure ever!"
I will only ask if you can please wait until the ride actually opens before making such statements. It's a big pet peeve of mine that drives me crazy.
I will only ask if you can please wait until the ride actually opens before making such statements. It's a big pet peeve of mine that drives me crazy.
Lord Robert said:Pretzel Kaiser said:
So happy to hear that despite early bugs, that the entire ride itself is splendid.
I have some questions for you:
1. How was the ride's story and characters (Pre-show rooms and ride)?
2. Does the rock wall queue have those leaf shades as shown in the concept pictures?
3. What was the ride's score like?
I really don't know how to answer those questions. Sorry
Done.....I wont say anything else until the ride opens to the public and then we will see if what I have heard is true or not.Lord Robert said:
Thankfully I got a functional seat when I rode, and I absolutely loved the ride! Everything happens very quickly, so you definitely need to ride more than once to get the whole storyline and all of the little nuances in the "Otherworld". The headset was comfortable as long as it wasn't on for too long, and the weight of the VR lens does make it a little less comfortable, but nothing too noticeable for me.Pretzel Kaiser said:Lord Robert said:Pretzel Kaiser said:
So happy to hear that despite early bugs, that the entire ride itself is splendid.
I have some questions for you:
1. How was the ride's story and characters (Pre-show rooms and ride)?
2. Does the rock wall queue have those leaf shades as shown in the concept pictures?
3. What was the ride's score like?
I really don't know how to answer those questions. Sorry
Lord Robert, I can answer your questions (or at least try to!)
1) The story and characters were done and integrated very well! The pre-shows do a great job of conveying the main storyline before you get thrown into it with the actual ride. Nothing too complex to grasp.
2) The rock wall queue does have the leaf shades, and they look great!
3) The score was very well done, powerful and flowed with the ride, without being overbearing. It complimented the events of the ride very well.
Only issues I had as of today were: the safety video was not playing for whatever reason, so attendants explained the safety manually, and there was a slight miscommunication with my ride group; grab the VR lens that is next to/behind you, not the one in front of you. Also, glasses do not seem too friendly with the mask. Your best best is to place the mask on first, then your glasses, or stick them in your pocket.
Thanks Kyle. I hope footage of the first pre-show shows up at least. Also can't wait to hear Colin O'Malley's music score for the ride.
So, now that I am back at work after the media event, I want to give my impression of BfE. To be clear, I am speaking for myself, not as an Admin or as BGWFans.
I will also caveat my thoughts with the observation that the ride was clearly not ready for guests, and the media event was unfortunately, in my opinion, premature. I do hope they fix the issues I observed before opening to the public.
All that said, as it stands, I have no interest in riding BfE again. The theming was lovely, but the rest needs work. In fact, I would prefer that they bring back EitA.
I will not waste everyone's time with every little problem. Instead I want to highlight my two biggest objections: the masks were painful, and the Vives glitchy.
Because they were running very slowly today, and seemed to be rebooting the system a lot, we ended up wearing the "Emerald Masks" for at least half an hour. I do not recommend doing that. In fact, in my opinion it is probably better to wait as long as possible to don the contraption. While I appreciate their having two sizes (I had to wear a children's), I think they should probably look into at least four, if not five. The adult mask was huge on me, falling down to my chin. The children's, however, was very tight against my cheekbones, which turned out to be a real problem.
The "Magical Lenses" were very heavy. When they were snapped into the mask (which is very easy to do, incidentally), the pressure on my cheeks increase exponentially. After I had sat with them attached for several minutes, they began to hurt. By the time the ride actually started, all I could think about was when I could take them off. My face still hurt two hours later. Hopefully, operations will improve, and no one else will have to wear them that long.
The Vives seemed to be having trouble, as well. Mine blacked out 13 times in the course of my ride. I also saw an error message twice. Additionally, my view was slightly off-center. If I had not already tried BfE without the VR, I would literally have had no idea what was happening in the story. Presumably, they will have these technical problems fixed, before actually opening the attraction.
One additional note, the VR and the regular screen offer very different experiences. The VR is actually interactive in one section, and the perspective is much closer in. They are both pretty, however.
The problem with that theory is that Park Ops said they tested them themselves on BGW employees. A lot of BGW employees. Perhaps the problem was with fabrication.
I will also caveat my thoughts with the observation that the ride was clearly not ready for guests, and the media event was unfortunately, in my opinion, premature. I do hope they fix the issues I observed before opening to the public.
All that said, as it stands, I have no interest in riding BfE again. The theming was lovely, but the rest needs work. In fact, I would prefer that they bring back EitA.
I will not waste everyone's time with every little problem. Instead I want to highlight my two biggest objections: the masks were painful, and the Vives glitchy.
Because they were running very slowly today, and seemed to be rebooting the system a lot, we ended up wearing the "Emerald Masks" for at least half an hour. I do not recommend doing that. In fact, in my opinion it is probably better to wait as long as possible to don the contraption. While I appreciate their having two sizes (I had to wear a children's), I think they should probably look into at least four, if not five. The adult mask was huge on me, falling down to my chin. The children's, however, was very tight against my cheekbones, which turned out to be a real problem.
The "Magical Lenses" were very heavy. When they were snapped into the mask (which is very easy to do, incidentally), the pressure on my cheeks increase exponentially. After I had sat with them attached for several minutes, they began to hurt. By the time the ride actually started, all I could think about was when I could take them off. My face still hurt two hours later. Hopefully, operations will improve, and no one else will have to wear them that long.
The Vives seemed to be having trouble, as well. Mine blacked out 13 times in the course of my ride. I also saw an error message twice. Additionally, my view was slightly off-center. If I had not already tried BfE without the VR, I would literally have had no idea what was happening in the story. Presumably, they will have these technical problems fixed, before actually opening the attraction.
One additional note, the VR and the regular screen offer very different experiences. The VR is actually interactive in one section, and the perspective is much closer in. They are both pretty, however.
warfelg said:
The problem with that theory is that Park Ops said they tested them themselves on BGW employees. A lot of BGW employees. Perhaps the problem was with fabrication.
Lord Robert said:
I kinda hope that was a script. If not they could have given her one to make it not seem so awkward. I felt like all she said was I'm the last fairy guardian like six times. not really trying to be nitpicky but it just came off that way to me
They offered the media an opportunity to "interview Addie." I felt really bad for the actress. We skipped that option.
Thanks for the review Nicole!!!
I guess, honestly, those were the two issues I figured would happen. Hard to get masks to fit perfectly. Sounds like you guys got exposed to them longer than needed. I hope they take that feedback of needing different sizes seriously. Too many face shapes and sizes not too. I have a big head, so I’m a little worried now that even the “adult” size will be too small.
As for the Vive going out, not really shocked. This is a place where in theory you can figure out how much memory and processing power something g will need, but won’t know for sure until it’s put into use. Could also have been some overheating because there wasn’t enough airflow.
Given they haven’t put a date on it, just a month, I’m confident those are both “quick fixes” that can be taken care of easily.
I guess, honestly, those were the two issues I figured would happen. Hard to get masks to fit perfectly. Sounds like you guys got exposed to them longer than needed. I hope they take that feedback of needing different sizes seriously. Too many face shapes and sizes not too. I have a big head, so I’m a little worried now that even the “adult” size will be too small.
As for the Vive going out, not really shocked. This is a place where in theory you can figure out how much memory and processing power something g will need, but won’t know for sure until it’s put into use. Could also have been some overheating because there wasn’t enough airflow.
Given they haven’t put a date on it, just a month, I’m confident those are both “quick fixes” that can be taken care of easily.
Media Day should never be a "test run" of an attraction; that is what soft openings are for.
A soft open allows the park to test a ride, while there is still time to identify and fix problems, before it officially opens. Guests are expected to understand that in exchange for getting a sought-after preview, they will likely have to tolerate operating issues.
A media event, however, is a marketing tool, designed to hype a new attraction. The press should be able to experience a ride and tell everyone how fantastic it is, and encourage their readers/viewers to buy tickets. Usually, the best approach is for the live shots to run the same day an attraction opens to maximize the impact.
I think it probably does more harm than good for the park to allow the media to experience a ride, when it still is not working properly. Case in point: my post above. That is why the soft open traditionally happens before the media day.
A soft open allows the park to test a ride, while there is still time to identify and fix problems, before it officially opens. Guests are expected to understand that in exchange for getting a sought-after preview, they will likely have to tolerate operating issues.
A media event, however, is a marketing tool, designed to hype a new attraction. The press should be able to experience a ride and tell everyone how fantastic it is, and encourage their readers/viewers to buy tickets. Usually, the best approach is for the live shots to run the same day an attraction opens to maximize the impact.
I think it probably does more harm than good for the park to allow the media to experience a ride, when it still is not working properly. Case in point: my post above. That is why the soft open traditionally happens before the media day.
Out of curiosity, who do you think would be most understanding of soft opening still being a test?
Pass preview would be perfect.
I think pass holders would be most forgiving and understanding of what is going on with the soft opening. So beyond pass preview day would the next best bee look at passes? Grab a collection of people that use their pass somewhere?
I think the best soft open I’ve been to was IoA at Universal. Spider-Man, and 3 other rides (can’t fully remember) weren’t officially open. Every few people in the gate got a pass with the attraction name and times to show up. About a group of 40-50 would show up every hour or so. And in that time you went up, they explained it was a soft open test, you were going through the line a few times, and at the end you were giving feedback on how the ride operations went.
Pass preview would be perfect.
I think pass holders would be most forgiving and understanding of what is going on with the soft opening. So beyond pass preview day would the next best bee look at passes? Grab a collection of people that use their pass somewhere?
I think the best soft open I’ve been to was IoA at Universal. Spider-Man, and 3 other rides (can’t fully remember) weren’t officially open. Every few people in the gate got a pass with the attraction name and times to show up. About a group of 40-50 would show up every hour or so. And in that time you went up, they explained it was a soft open test, you were going through the line a few times, and at the end you were giving feedback on how the ride operations went.
Wow. These videos just keep coming! 
EDIT: I looked up on the Instagram posts and some say there are some subtle nods to Questor and Corkscrew Hill in some places. I'd argue that the first minute of traveling through the castle with Addie is probably an intentional (or unintentional) nod to King Arthur's Challenge where you'd fly around in a castle.
I think they were doing their homework with how to do fan winking right. At least from what we have seen so far from the videos.
EDIT: I looked up on the Instagram posts and some say there are some subtle nods to Questor and Corkscrew Hill in some places. I'd argue that the first minute of traveling through the castle with Addie is probably an intentional (or unintentional) nod to King Arthur's Challenge where you'd fly around in a castle.
I think they were doing their homework with how to do fan winking right. At least from what we have seen so far from the videos.
Despite my positive experience, I totally agree with Nicole's post. There headset did get uncomfortable after a while. Additionally, if the headset issues continue into ride opening, it will result in the worst operations in the park.
Thinking about it I still have concerns about operations when the systems are working fine. The system is simple and it's a great design, but I'm curious how smooth it will be once real guests get to the ride. It's unfortunately one of those "nature of the beast" things with intergration this level of tech with thousands of people a day, but I still see lots of hold up once the human factor is introduced.
Thinking about it I still have concerns about operations when the systems are working fine. The system is simple and it's a great design, but I'm curious how smooth it will be once real guests get to the ride. It's unfortunately one of those "nature of the beast" things with intergration this level of tech with thousands of people a day, but I still see lots of hold up once the human factor is introduced.
I think the way the handled Invader last year is the best possible option. The staff got some rides in then there was a soft open, they had time to fix a few bugs and get a few VIPs rides then the Media got their turn. It all worked rather well. Except, as I recall, the media day was ice cold and they were held captive, exposed to the elements, without heat, proper hydration, or even kibble and were frog marched to the ride one at a time. (or something like that)
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