I don’t expect Disney standard. Well actually why shouldn’t we? We proven we can produce good hydraulic Animatronics in this country. Just look at some of the films produced here & Harry Potter studios has plenty inside that kept looked after.
Animatronics for film and for theme parks are two vastly different things. A film animatronic can have as many crew as you like controlling it off-camera and only needs to work for the few takes that it's in shot.
A theme park animatronic has to work automatically every second of the day, all day, all year, for years at a time. Make an animatronic even slightly complex and it will be guaranteed not to work.
Merlin do criminally under-invest in animations but you can't say "why shouldnt we expect Disney standards?", that's just unrealistic. Disney do their animatronics to an almost show-off standard these days. They're incredible works of engineering, but theyre gadets at the end of the day. What matters more is a good overall experience and entertainment.
Animations big or small are brilliant at adding life to a ride but they don't need to be the most advanced in the world to be entertaining. When I was young I remember family rides having way more animation than they do today. They were still simple animations but a lot of them. It worked!
Let’s be fair, there animatronics are actually laughable to guests. I’ve heard guests say this before. Alton keep that ride as almost a Micky take. As in to say they know it’s silly but don’t take it too seriously. Well I’m sure that was the original intention of that ride. Judging though research of Duel & the haunted house.
Well, yeah.. Haunted House was always meant to be entertaining if that's what you mean, not to be taken too seriously. No ride should be taken too seriously (unless youre the one designing it!) You want to be surprised and thrilled, come out laughing. The Haunted House was great fun, the effects were always simple but it was the way the whole ride came together that made it fantastic.
Problem is, so much has been removed now or doesnt work as intended, or is badly timed now. Merlin usually do laughable animations (Saw The Ride's Billy at the start) due to sheer stinginess with budget, but to go the other extreme and say nobody will find something entertaining unless it's Disney quality is a bit much.
___Just skipped through the video and the animations look 'ok'.
