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2020: Piraten in Batavia

I think you need the right balance. The first scene after the drop needs to be big and open to set the scale of the ride. But small secluded scenes are important too.

My main critsem of the old ride was that it felt very cluttered. While I love how Europa just keep adding stuff to their attractions there comes a point where less is more. So splitting up scenes sounds like a good idea as long as it's not all small scenes.

Pirates at Disneyland Paris does a great job of making scenes feel massive but also separated. However that ride is massive and multileveled so you can have scenes looking down on other scenes.
 
As above, this is small scale compared TO POTC but given the concept art, there are still 'outside at night scenes.

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There's usually safety reasons in how buildings get partitioned too, one giant room would require a similarly giant roof height for fire precautions (smoke etc). Way too early to judge the ride experience for that sort of thing really
 
Latest making of video is out:



Looking really impressive. The first scene has changed a lot and I'm glad it's leaning more on the Asian influence. Should help the ride feel less like a PotC clone.

Great bit of projection mapping and looks like screens are being included to add depth to the background.
 
The press photos released today are nothing less than stunning! All looks very impressive:

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I’ve just watched a POV (which obviously doesn’t show off a dark ride very well) and have a few thoughts and queries:

  • I love the atmospheric first section - very reminiscent of De Vliegende Hollander.
  • The lighting throughout is a huge improvement, particularly in the Batavian wedding scene, which looks magical.
  • There's very clear transitions between scenes - going abruptly from a battle to a village to a jungle etc. I wonder if this makes the ride feel disjointed and not as cohesive as before, when the feel of all scenes was similar?
  • The actual score seems quite buried under lots of sound effects, is it louder on ride?
  • I'm unsure as to how well the screens and projections blend in with the physical props.
That said, it looks a vastly superior to the original and at last, Europa Park is complete again.
 
I watched a POV. Amazing.

I have to say, it seems like a totally new ride altogether. Nothing similar to it compared to the original. Scene types, styles, placements and layouts are all totally different. Which is a very good thing. If they were gonna re build it, there would be no point remaking the original.

The lighting and video projection specifically is amazing. Great job!
 
It looks good, but the fact there’s a shrine of Roland Mack on the inside I just find embarrassing.

Completely ruins the immersion and experience of the ride and honestly has no place in what otherwise looks a beautiful and detailed experience.

The press photos released today are nothing less than stunning! All looks very impressive:

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Why are none of them wearing masks? Masks are mandatory in indoor spaces in germany, can’t see why these people riding in the press event are exempt from the law.
 
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Why are none of them wearing masks? Masks are mandatory in indoor spaces in germany, can’t see why these people riding in the press event are exempt from the law.


Is that the thing you seriously took away from those photos?!

For all you know the photos of the people in boats, could have been taken months ago and have been photoshopped into ride scenes. Infact, comparing the lighting on the people in the boat to the lighting around them in the scenes. This seems very likely.

They could be members of the same family.

There are alot of things unknown to simply be making assumptions.
 
Why are none of them wearing masks? Masks are mandatory in indoor spaces in germany, can’t see why these people riding in the press event are exempt from the law.
Not sure how the marketing images and new trailer were done with regards to masks but at the press event this morning everyone wore masks while riding.

  • There's very clear transitions between scenes - going abruptly from a battle to a village to a jungle etc. I wonder if this makes the ride feel disjointed and not as cohesive as before, when the feel of all scenes was similar?
  • The actual score seems quite buried under lots of sound effects, is it louder on ride?
  • I'm unsure as to how well the screens and projections blend in with the physical props.
The doors dividing scenes will help I'm sure, but these were not yet functional today.
Yeah there wasn't much music to hear. Too quiet and drowned out by sound effects. But I imagine as a part of the fine tuning in the coming weeks this can and will be easily rectified. Same with the timings of some effects and spacing of boats. Snorri Touren had similar issues last Autumn and was sorted fairly quickly.
I found the use of screens and projections well done. Nothing bothered me really, it enhanced it in my opinion.

My only criticism would be the quality/appearance of the Robbermond figures throughout differs. Although maybe its on purpose? A lot of time has past and he's aged? Or just the different suppliers involved. Not sure. But nevertheless the ride is a masterpiece of theming and atmosphere, and especially impressive when you consider the quick turn around in only 2 years.

Bambo Bai didn't open to the public sadly today, it was just private for the Macks and the development team but it looks nicely themed from the ride. On our last ride of the day passing through we saw Roland and Thomas there, the boat burst into applause which delighted them, Roland with a big smile and laugh stood to wave and gave a bow.
Speaking with one of the project team after turns out the Roland animatronic was a surprise for him that he didn't know about until his first ride last Saturday, thankfully he was very happy with it.

EDIT: The queueline was really great too. In the first room which is the pirate bar; there is an open door to the next room (a screen) showing pirates drinking and partying. All the actors here are actually from the project team so some recognisable faces to spot are Jessica de Jong (Mack Media, former Rollercoaster Girl 2018), Patrick Marx from Mack NeXT and Michael Mack.
 
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Where is the Roland figure in the ride. I've watched a few POVs and havent spotted it.
 
Delighted to see the ride is receiving a largely positive reception! I was there the day the thing burned to the ground and it's wonderful to see the work that has taken place in just 25 months.

I intend to be on park on the 6th, 7th and 8th August and so am hoping that some of these tweaks to audio and the doors are working by then. No doubt they are working right now on some of these things. It is killing me not watching a POV but I must resist.

I would half expect it to open later in the day for now, whilst they continue to work on things.
 
Also need to mention despite advertised as 45 minutes throughout the afternoon and the extension queue around to Food Loop being full - never waited more than 25 mins for rerides with its high throughput. They had zero downtime/technical problems and operations were great.
Security and staff also regularly patrolled the queue to ensure compliance to masks and distancing rules. Was a very successful day for them which considering the circumstances must have been a great relief.
 
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