Monday, July 13, 2009

No Longer Stinging...


Today is the last day of running for the Orange Stinger...

It's an "Off the Shelf" attraction in a park that was originally filled with too many of that type of ride. Thankfully, that's changing. When it comes back again next year as the Silly Symphony Swings, it'll be far more detailed and far more Disney. With the wisdom of looking back (the Mouse wasn't paying attention to the warning signs), it's likely that it would have never been built. But it's there now and it'll be a better experience for the guest. Particularly those that never knew it in the former incarnation of a very bad design.

Hopefully, it's a case of past remembered, not past forgotten...

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

The reality is the re-themed version will look even more like the typical swing at fairs and amusement parks around the world. The new Silly Symphony Swings will use the exact same detail found any Zierer Wave Swinger. This is an off the shelf ride from German amusement ride manufacturer Zierer Karussell und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH, easily available through their catalog. The only difference in the DCA version will be the paint job on all the pre-fabricated panels featuring Disney characters. The reality, Silly Symphony Swings will be more "off the shelf" than it was before. But . . . this is not the first time a paint job has been touted as a major re-themeing, take a look at the Sun Wheel. No changes aside from paint and lights and it's now considered "highly themed." These are big disappointments in a park which is suppose to be on the billion dollar road to a “Disney Quality” theme park.

Buzz said...

Anonymous above got their comment in while I was typing mine. I agree. The giant orange with the bees around it, a tribute to the agriculture of CA, and the primary crop of Orange County in the past, will become a basic Zierer Wave Swinger like in a lot of amusement parks, except this one will be decorated with imagery from Mickey's "The Band Concert", and renamed "Silly Symphony Swings" even though The Band Concert was a Mickey short, and not part of the Silly Symphony shorts series.

Oh well, at least the sight lines from within the ride will be better without the peel, and the sight lines to the WOC will be better without the ball in the way.

It really is redecorating a mistake.

Anonymouse said...

It will be like a wave swinger, but it's getting Victorian theming around the tower and the entire surround will be rethemed.

I don't think you should consider this part of the billion dollar investment, so to speak. This and the Sun Wheel were only getting modest additions. The major changes are the Little Mermaid ride which is being built as we speak and the Cars Land ride which is being built as we speak.

Tom said...

I think Silly Symphony Swings will be great. It's an off the shelf carnival ride just like the carousel at disneyland... or the teacups? Supposedly there's lightning special effects and a whole new victorian style covered queue complete with string lights. It will be much classier.

Nicholas Tucker said...

Yeah, I don't see how this re-theme is going to help the bottom line or atmosphere at the park at all (although I do love the new name).

Spokker said...

It's the end of an era...

Anonymous said...

The end of an era? Please, this era never began, the era you speak of ended in the 70's.

This is all embarrassingly pathetic, we have people justifying themeing by saying the queue will be victorian and there will be lights on strings. Isn't that what was suppose to happen to the Fun Wheel too? I don't recall attractions during the "era" describing the queue to justify the detailed themeing of an attractions, the attraction itself contained the themeing and the queue was its supporting cast, not the other way around. It's all backwards. Just as Cars Land is being designed and build around a Car's sequel, that's not the way the era ever would have approached design it would have given the guest the best experience possible even if it meant creating a totally original theme such as The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean, Space Mountain, America Sings, Country Bear Jamboree, The Submarine Voyage, the list goes on and on. I myself am not excited about any of the one billion dollar expansion to DCA and find all of it to be dull and of no interest, even my kids, of which I have two sons 5 and 8 year old who refer to Cars Land as lame, but love Pirates of the Carribean and The Haunted Mansion their two favorite attractions.

Anonymous said...

I personally would have loved to see the Orange Stinger go away completely years ago.
But a least the Silly Symphonies swings will look a lot better, and be themed to classic Disney. The ride will look a lot classier.
I remember reading in an issue of "Disney Twenty-three" (an official publication) that even though the Band Concert isn't actually a "Silly Symphony" the imagineers felt that the name fit since music is at the heart of both the Band Concert and a Silly Symphony cartoon.
They also feel that there will be great kinetics added by removing the orange shell and having the trill of swinging out over the water.
The bottom line is, the new version of the swings ride will fit in what they are trying to make the land become; a Victorian area boardwalk.

Anonymous said...

People really need to do some research, Walt Disney was no stranger to synergy.
In Walt's time there were attractions made that had movie ties.

As much as we all know how unnecessary the Orange Stinger was in the first place, at least when it reopens it will have more of a Disney feel and will fit the Victorain theme.
And the Ferries Wheel is now much more Disney as well, and so are the Games of the Boardwalk...Slowly but surly the Pier is getting nicer to look at, and is getting more of a classic Disney/Victorian area theme.

Anonymous said...

"...it's likely that it would have never been built. But it's there now and it'll be a better experience for the guest."

Yes. Very true. That is a very important part of Honor's post.

The park would probably have been better off without the Orange Stinger. But what's done is done.
They will turn it into something that looks much better, and by choosing a vintage Disney cartoon, they are keeping it in theme with the time period that they are going for.

Tinman said...

Thought it's a little sad to see that the billion dollar refurbishment focuses on commercialized Disney media for its theming, and lacks a perfectly original attraction, the fact that the park is not only getting some much-needed TLC, but some state-of-the-art attractions as well completely makes up for it. Be aware that future expansion lies in the park's further future; what is being shown in the Blue Sky Cellar now and after it reopens is only a "first stage", if you will, for the park's growth. Sure, Mulholland Madness will be rethemed to GSS, but after first stage, it's rumored a grand E-Ticket will take its place. Also involved in the next stage would be the Grizzly Peak area re-theming and an E-Ticket replacement for RCCT.

Anonymous said...

/\ Good point Tinman.

Spokker said...

SAVE ORANGE STINGER.

Anonymous said...

I hate it when people like Tinman slam attractions as being "commercialized" if they're themed to familiar characters and films. That's not true!

They're not going to create completely original characters for attractions all the time! Besides, the Disney studio has far too large a stable of familiar characters today to just allow them to spend all their time sitting idle when they can be given major tie-ins at the parks to keep them alive and active in the public eye.

And to the Anonymous that said his or her kids called "Cars Land" lame, I don't believe you. I just think people like you put words in your kids' mouths just to try to get your way and discredit any and every new attraction that WDI comes up with at all costs. Shame on you!

malaysia said...

This and the Sun Wheel were only getting modest additions. The major changes are the Little Mermaid ride which is being built as we speak and the Cars Land ride which is being built as we speak.