Actually Jim, Alot of us out here in southern california genuinely like the attraction our problem with it isnt the quality  its where its placed  How do you place Monsters Inc  in Hollywood pictures backlot without creating a decent backstory that ties it in  to the studio . Seems to be the case of alot of new attractions lately.  Overall though I like it , they took something that was universally hated by everyone and made it a family friendly attraction that all seem to enjoy.

Also Jim you can find that list of ways to be fired at the Monster's Inc. character spot near the backlot tour of Hollywood Studios along with a few other nice touches.  I guess Harry should be twice as proud.

Jim, are you looking to incite the masses or what? My goodness gracious! You have just perfectly described the downfall of what has happened to some of the D and C attractions throughout that past decade or two.  Yes Jim. Yes, this is exactly why all of the “uber dweeb’s (me)” have been forcefully banging on their keyboards asking… Why? I would swear that this article is only here to see the record number of responses it will receive. Kudos to your spoon stirring the pot of  disapproval.  

I have not ridden the new Mike and Sully ride, but it looks nice.

I am wondering about cost of changing the ride or creating a new one vs. other parks. Lots of parks seem to be getting C or D ticket type dark rides lately, (Lego Land has a neat looking one opening soon) and how do the costs stack up vs. each other? Does Disney spend more for the same quality?

Does anyone know if Disney outsources the ride's scenic, AAs ect?

Actually Lighttragic, a lot of us So Cal residents dislike the attraction as well.  The average good response I hear is: "That was...cute."  While not every attraction needs to be an E-ticket thrill-a-second monster, I couldn't help but notice how slow paced and outdated this new attraction is.  The same level of AAs seen in 25 year old attractions?  The story-line lends itself to the madcap style of Roger Rabbit or Mr Toad, not large empty showscenes found here.

Yes, the theming is weak for the location.  But people are easy to forgive when the ride works.  This ride doesn't work and the theming issue is just adding insult to injury.

When doing a rehab on a ride, is it Disney policy to preserve as much of the old attraction as possible?  They seem to fool me every time.  Whenever I get excited about a new attraction, I'm always disappointed when I see all of the components from the old attraction in use.  It's so cheap!

The Mexican Boat Ride does needs more than Donald Duck to save it...  Sometimes I wish they'd just gut some of these ride buildings and start over.

I must digress with some of the previous posts. I love this attraction. AA figures are very expensive so I'm not offended if WDI re-uses them. I think it's kind of fun to go through an attraction and see if I recognize an older re-used figure. As for placement, maybe it would work better over in Tomorrowland. It would surely get better ridership over there.

I don't think it needed any changes anyway. It fits the movie perfectly.

As for re-using older AA figures, wouldn't it be hilarious if they took Abe Lincoln, keeping it's head and hands but exposing the body and put it in the Haunted Mansion? It could be called "Mr. Zombie."

I never went on Superstar Limo and only have seen it through youtube; it looked horrible...I can understand why guests didn't like it. As for the reuse of figures...I guess that's recycling at it's best! It would be even more interesting to see if Cher, Vanna, and the rest are still intact underneath the CDA uniform or if they were totally dismantled and only used for their mechanics. And on the Monsters Inc attraction itself...I enjoyed it when I first rode it, but I certainly wasn't overwhelmed when I got off the taxi. The ginger smell in Harryhausen's restaurant is a nice touch, and the door scene is fairly impressive, but overall, as stated by others, it's about the same level as the "Snow White" & "Pinocchio" attractions in Fantasyland: nice to cruise through, but nothing to really make you say "wow." "Peter Pan" definitely (for me at least) is a wow...flying over London has always been way cool. Even non-"E" attractions can have a "wow" factor.

This "recycling" reminds me of the time that Disney closed down "America Sings" and gutted the AAs for Splash Mountain.  I always wondered if that cost-cutting move caused the early demise of a great (and classic) attraction.  It lends credence to the theory that Imagineering, while brilliant, can run up the price tag of new projects and "force" these efforts.  Might an outside Contractor produce a better attraction without having to resort to cannabalism?

Doctor> IIRC... The pitch for Splash Mountain included reusing many of the America Sings figures, due to their similiarity to SOTS characters. And that's what got a ride based on a vaulted film actually built-because it offered a large AA show at the fraction of what it would normally cost. Now, I've heard AS was going to close anyway but that the Tokyo park requested it. Also heard that one of the hosts of AS was built from the parts of the Hatbox Ghost.

And maybe that's the real concern. I get the Splash Mountain recycle job. It's a visual match. But the whole Superstar Limo thing... It speaks to a lack of resources that so much is visible of the salvage job/Filmation-style reuse. Ok, my little sister is a Muggle when it comes to this. (Perez is her daily blog of choice)  And she noticed the new ride wasn't all that different. I just think there's got to be more innovation in what's otherwise a fiscally responsible policy of reusing figures. Otherwise, we'll start seeing poses from World of Motion in the Hall of Presidents.

Wow! Are people really bothered by this? I would guarantee that 99% of DCA guests would never even notice this. I for one didn't, and I (having never experienced AS) never knew those figures moved to Splash Mountain. People need to realize that Disney is not making everything just for them, but all the visitors to the park. Should Monsters Inc. still be around in 10 years, and children go on the ride to visit Mike and Sully, do you really think they'll be wondering where those AA figures came from?

Proffesor Tango:  I guess than so cal fans disagree and thats the beauty of going to a theme park you have choices of what attraction to visit. I feel, Its the age old debate AP's  vs Non Aps  Fanboys vs Non Fanboys  While I am an Ap'er  I enjoy the attraction I think it is alot of fun from the smells of the sushi to Roz at the end making reference to people on the attraction .  I Also have noticed when travelling with Non Ap'ers the likeabiltiy is very good.  Everyone in the party seems to get a great kick out of it now . Everyone I know who is a non Ap. and I visited with around 100 of them last year, relatives friends in town etc. They all enjoyed the attraction. However you get in a line with an Ap'er  you get a grumbler and a griper .  Its a fun attraction , to each is own. Not everyone loves  certain attractions like .   As an Ap'er my concern is the the placement of the attraction not the attraction itself.  And with every E like tower of terror  in DCA , it needs to have a c or d like Monsters inc as well.

Profesor Tango while i understand your point we agree to disagree.  I think it brings up the age old debate of AP vs Non AP  fanboy vs non fanboy , While I am an Ap'er I enjoy the attraction from the smells of the sushi  in Harry Hausens, to Roz making fun of people on the attraction at the end of the show.   I have noticed that when im with Non ap'ers they truly enjoy the attraction  and it has great likeability.  one I remember saying it has a fresh and updated take on the classic fantasyland dark rides . this was coming from a non Aper who only comes to disney once a year. now last year I did that with about 100 people  friends, family, clients etc.   and all who have ridden it liked it.    On the flipside   get confronted by an Ap'er in line  and  they will tell you what they think of the attraction you have a complainer and a griper. Not every Ap'er is like this im not picking on every ap'er but  it is truly the hardcore ones who make it  an Ap'ers business  to state opinions and scare individual paying customers of steering away  of certain attractions because they think its not good  etc. Let these guys judge for themselves.  If they ask for advice fine. I cant tell you the number of times I have observed Ap'ers jumping in on conversations because they hear  certain keywords. It frustrates me as an Ap'er to watch this. I have been an Ap'er since the 80's literally since the introduction of an annual pass when it was a much smaller amount of people now it towers of a half million because people pay just over $100 for a so cal select now. I dont try to pass my judgements off to other people I simply  enjoy the attractions I like and try new ones and if I like it , I will continue to enjoy it on a future trip if I dont like it ,  I wont  go on it .however if I have an out of towner or friend who wants to go on a certain attraction i dont like say Small world... Ill tough it up and go on it, its the guests hard earned money and they can chose to go on it if the please just keep your opinion out of it.    In closing I do enjoy the attraction its placement i consider a stretch of theming. But overall a good attraction.

Wow.

Some people really need to spend a little time outside the parks and get a slightly better perspective on things.

Do you really want Disney to trash perfectly good AA's and then spend money on brand new ones... that do basically the same things that the old ones did?

Does anyone really expect every ride to be an E ticket? If so, I hope you enjoy losing every ride in Fantasyland, ToonTown, Main Street.

Does anyone honestly expect every ride to fit their exact personal tastes as to what a ride should be? I'd like PotC to be longer and faster... so I'm going to complain that it's bad and that Disney was cheap during the last refurb.

Monster's is a good ride. It is on par with most, if not all, of the dark rides you find in a Disney park. I have ridden it numerous times and I have NEVER seen anyone (and I'm mostly concerned with the kids reactions... but I'm including adults too) who did not really enjoy themselves. I've gone on it with young and old people alike, all in my own group, and everyone enjoyed it. Was it their favorite ride of the day? No. But they were all glad they rode it. They all wanted to ride it again before they left to go home.

And it's waaayyyy better then Pooh!

I do agree that the theming is odd at best. But then again, DCA is the stupidest idea (theme) for a park I've ever seen... so in that sense it's a perfect fit. I'll take a quality ride that doesn't fit with the theme over a bad ride (Superstar Limo)that perfectly fit's the theme. Of course that logic only applies to DCA... which defies logic anyway.  ;o)

Good call Captain hook91 and I appoligize to everyone for my multiple postings it didnt appear on screen at first so i kept hitting submit  :)

What about the rule below the Ain't it Cruel News gag?  Who is Glenn Kim?

Great.  Just what Harry's ego needs.  Another bump up.

Mercifully, I've never had the dubious pleasure of visiting DCA, let alone seeing that "Superstar Limo" attraction. Seeing these "Superstar" figures for the first time as Jim has posted here only makes me shake my head in awe at how BAD they were! They are for the most part, very poor likenesses of the celebs - a sad reflection on how far the artistic sensibilities at Imagineering have plummeted since the retirement of old stalwarts like Marc Davis and Blaine Gibson, etc, who gave us such wonderfully caricatured pirates and country music singing bruins. There is really no good reason why these stars could not have been successfully caricatured in a more Disneylike, T. Hee manner of "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood for example, rather than these bland, unappealing non-likenesses that we see here. Just one more example of the ugly, Eisner-dictated approach to art - stifle real cartoonists and give the job to hacks. Ecch!

BTW, I am not an APer and nor were those I rode the attraction with.  

I'm not saying it's a bad attraction, just not good either.  Just okay.  

And I could care less about the reusing of AAs.  They are expensive and if we can't recognize them, who cares?  I love Splash Mountain, used AAs or not.  My issue is the lack of creativity in the attraction.  We see a clip from the movie, then move past a live action version of the same exact scene.  We're in the second scene and already we have ran out of ideas?  Then the ride moves so slowly and feels quaint.  

Maybe I was wrong by thinking that Disney would continue to step-up darkrides.  Alice in Wonderland added levels among other things to darkrides, Rogger Rabbit added spinning as well as a lot of originality and great design.  Then with Monsters Inc, we got really pretty sets, and that's about it.

BTW, I am not an APer and nor were those I rode the attraction with.  

I'm not saying it's a bad attraction, just not good either.  Just okay.  

And I could care less about the reusing of AAs.  They are expensive and if we can't recognize them, who cares?  I love Splash Mountain, used AAs or not.  My issue is the lack of creativity in the attraction.  We see a clip from the movie, then move past a live action version of the same exact scene.  We're in the second scene and already we have ran out of ideas?  Then the ride moves so slowly and feels quaint.  

Maybe I was wrong by thinking that Disney would continue to step-up darkrides.  Alice in Wonderland added levels among other things to darkrides, Rogger Rabbit added spinning as well as a lot of originality and great design.  Then with Monsters Inc, we got really pretty sets, and that's about it.

I think it's more a case of lack of resources. Ok, it's a redressed ride. Same track layout, cars repainted, all the celeb AAs placed back in with the same exact poses and gimmicks... Kinda reminds me of my local hardware store, which still has touches here and there of the movie theater once on the site.

You know what, I'm kinda fascinated by this type of overlay, but it does still suggest poor resource management when photo comparisons like this can be made. It's almost the theme park equivalent of stock footage. Is it that expensive to tweak the poses a bit on the armatures? Or is it really the celeb figures still inside for the most part?

What the...?  Who cares about "poor resource management" or "a case of lack of resources" Tomoyo?  I cannot see how that matters at all.  If folks enjoy the attraction, who gives fig if hard core Disnoids can match the poses between old, abandoned figures and some current incarnation?

AB

When in Cyberspace visit: http://www.plausible-impossible.com

I think WDI did a great job with the retooling/retheming of the attraction. And to those who dont enjoy Monsters Inc. May you be stuck in disney hell forever riding Superstar Limo.