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Air or Galactica?

Air or Galactica?

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James said:
It is Air/Galactica's 20th/21st birthday this year/next year, that would have been a good opporutnity to revert the ride back to 'Air'. It wouldn't draw the masses in, however Sonic Spinball went back to Spinball Whizzer*, so it's not like it hasn't been done before.

*I know it was because the SEGA contract ended, but still...

They can theme the tunnel when they're at it too. :innocent:
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PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY ONE, THE ALMIGHTY TUNNEL!
 
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For me I think it was at its best when it was Galactica and running with VR and non VR seats. I find it really annoying that they back pedalled on the decision to make it VR when they had rethemed the whole ride and area for it and even though some people didn't like it lots of people did. People often bring up dispatchment (is that the right word?) times but I distinctly remember that yes initially it was very slow but the times quickly improved. In terms of themeing I definitely prefer Galactica since air didn't have themeing, but in terms of music I'm torn because I like both, but that might be down to nostalgia with air.

Also random point but does anyone else REALLY miss the air shop?? I don't know why I had such an attachment to it but I used to absolutely love it and I'm very sad that it's gone. I think I remember all the air merch being very cool because it was that 2000s futuristic style (there is a name for it (not y2k) but I don't remember what it is) so that might be why and plus I also distinctly remember there being those big sweet dispensers that had either millions of sherbet in that I liked as a kid.
 
Heidi said:
For me I think it was at its best when it was Galactica and running with VR and non VR seats. I find it really annoying that they back pedalled on the decision to make it VR when they had rethemed the whole ride and area for it and even though some people didn't like it lots of people did. People often bring up dispatchment (is that the right word?) times but I distinctly remember that yes initially it was very slow but the times quickly improved. In terms of themeing I definitely prefer Galactica since air didn't have themeing, but in terms of music I'm torn because I like both, but that might be down to nostalgia with air.

Also random point but does anyone else REALLY miss the air shop?? I don't know why I had such an attachment to it but I used to absolutely love it and I'm very sad that it's gone. I think I remember all the air merch being very cool because it was that 2000s futuristic style (there is a name for it (not y2k) but I don't remember what it is) so that might be why and plus I also distinctly remember there being those big sweet dispensers that had either millions of sherbet in that I liked as a kid.
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I think the main reason the VR was removed was because it was so unreliable. The problem is that if the video goes out of sync by even just a second, the rider will feel nauseous. Plus the quality and focus was an issue as well. SeaWorld Orlando also removed the VR from Kraken Unleashed (which like Galactica was re-themed when the VR was introduced), most likely due to the same reasons.
 
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Skyscraper said:
I think the main reason the VR was removed was because it was so unreliable. The problem is that if the video goes out of sync by even just a second, the rider will feel nauseous. Plus the quality and focus was an issue as well. SeaWorld Orlando also removed the VR from Kraken Unleashed (which like Galactica was re-themed when the VR was introduced) most likely due to the same reasons.
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At least they actually bothered to rebrand it back to Kraken, unlike Merlin and Galactica.
 
The VR was just straight up bad - I'd say it was actually the majority that didn't like it was just some people that did. The amount of times you'd get a ride just staring at a blank screen was ridiculous. Dispatch times were also absolutely horrendous, they should've just kept Air as Air.
 
There’s part of both rides I like and don’t like. I definitely preferred the old station of Air, it was light and airy and clean looking, now it’s dark, damp, and just looks cheap inside. The old Air dispatch was also really good.

The portal and entrance sign and stuff is better now than Air and so is the music compared to the old Air music.

however I do think the air branding was very strong back in the day, and matched the whole theme and colour of the ride, compared to Galactica with its dark branding, but turquoise coloured track.
 
The air loop was only a few mins long though so a bit repetitive.

However you’ll be lucky to hear anymore now, last weekend on the buy out day the whole ride area, queue and plaza were all in silence. And I’m sure it was the same at the end of last season. For most of the season the queue line only had one working speaker.
 




I loved the Air teasers! The Air advert was great too. It’s always been a theme that divided the enthusiast community. Personally I really liked the music, theme and the whole ‘oasis discovered at the end of Forbidden Valley’ concept. It’s a shame budgets were cut on the theming front, I think had the concepts become more of a reality the area would have felt more coherent.

In terms of the ride itself, sure it’s short, however we should remember it was a first of its kind ride. I think some enthusiasts can be a little critical given the ride was groundbreaking technology at the time.

Galactica… meh. I’m a space geek so like the theme, however since the VR removal and usual lack of maintenance by Towers/Merlin it feels very depressing, especially the station.
 
Great ads! And what I liked is the prepare for air effect carried through all the way from the adverts to the real ride. Weirdly still one of my fondest memories of a day at towers was the year Air opened… stood in the queue for 4 hours, at the top of the hill where the building with all the tvs in it was/is, late evening with the sunset, and the air music playing, just chilling out taking in the moment…. And poking each other with the pine needles off the trees and bursting for a pee but that’s another matter lol
 
Yep I think Air was one of the smartest marketing campaigns they’ve done. It was almost all paid for content (ie actual TV adverts) rather than relying on press releases picking up stunts (like painting Smilers on sheep) to give “free” marketing.
I also loved the way the Prepare for Air message carried through from the teasers to the queue line videos of the characters doing their preparations to the very smart lighting and audio despatch package for the ride.

assume the position….. now fly!
 
Was there on Friday, there's vines growing all over in airs station now :/

I think Airs time as Galactica is long gone, the place looks dirty, unkempt. It would be Ideal if they rebranded it back to air when Nemmy reopens in 2024 supposedly with some additional theming. It'll make the area look a lot fresher, and will definitely draw guests after they rode Nemmy 2.0.
 
Would people really care if Air returned, though? It would literally just mean a new name and different music; there wouldn’t really be any material change to the ride itself whatsoever. I dare say that it could be construed as a downgrade, as this would also see the portal removed.

Controversially, I much prefer the Galactica theme and would like it to stay. I love the soundtrack, I love the portal, and I feel like the changes made gave the ride more spectacle and a greater sense of theme than it ever had as Air. Air… didn’t really have a theme. Or not from the spectator’s eye, at least; I’m aware that Wardley originally intended for it to be themed to an oasis of calm within FV, but I’m not sure that was ever overly clear to the spectator. Had the ride not suffered from a lack of time and budget due to the flying coaster technology’s issues, I can imagine it could have been a really good theme, but I’m not sure it was executed in a way that conveyed that theme clearly.

With Galactica, on the other hand; I think the space theme is clearer and more strongly conveyed, and I personally much prefer the vibe the ride has as Galactica.

However, I think Air/Galactica has always had little enough theming that whatever identity it carries is neither here nor there, really.
 
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