Sound FX Problem from Alien Encounter

[shawnymike88]

Did anybody else ever ride Alien Encounter in the back row and notice most of the screams and commentary is coming from behind you? It was especially noticable if you got the chance to ride it with a room full of people who have ridden at least a few times...because those types of audiences never made much noise at all....which actually freaked me out more than the show itself!

[yensid1071]

I never sat in the back row, but did notice that a portion of the screams were built into the soundtrack. It doesn't really work in the back row, much like sitting in the front of MuppetVision 3-D when Waldo bounces off people's heads.... boingy, boingy, boingy....

[MainStreet, USA]

I had heard such terrifying reviews from some of my friends, that I was shaking visibly going into that for the first time. And this prejudice of the attraction made for VERY scary first time. So much so, in fact, that I intentionally sat in the back row for the next two times I visited that attraction, simply because then I could tell myself "ok, now there's no way he can possibly be behind you!" I felt safer with my back against the wall. . I'm such a chicken about this kind of stuff!

[Jiminy Cricket]

I too was expecting AE to be very scary as was reported to me by my DS years ago. However, I was not scared a bit, but I did have some apprehension when the bars came down on my shoulders the first time. I thought I was going to be crushed.

[shawnymike88]

yeah the bars are scary...but does anyone else find that the seats themselves are the worst part?....I think they are quite possibly the ugliest and most uncomfortable chairs ive ever seen or sat in.

[MainStreet, USA]

I think they are quite possibly the ugliest and most uncomfortable chairs ive ever seen or sat in.

Not even close! We used to have a ride at my park called the "Top Spin" which was essentially two long rows of seats that were rotated vertically and you would pivot around and spin upside-down and right-side up and any which way you could, all the while hanging by your lap. yep... hanging by your lap. The seats were hard plastic with a large lump in them that your legs were suppposed to straddle, but getting into position usually involved somehoe accidentally sitting on that lump first. And then once seated, the shoulder harness dropped down to hold you in, and then a second mechanical arm came up between your legs and pressed the harness into your lap. Mildly painful in itself, but once you were rotated upside-down, you now hung from that same bar across your lap. Although you did have a shoulder harness, the lap bar was always so tight that you hung from that instead of the shoulder harnesses. Although this was a fun ride, it was anything but comfortable. Those seats, my friend, were by far the most uncomfortable seats I've ever seen or have sat in.

[shawnymike88]

WOW...you have me beat.....now those seats sound truly painful.

[emobelle]

Hey, I was a CM at Alien Encounter before it closed. *moment of silence* There were definitely recorded screams and there was one wiseguy whose voice was recorded making various humorous comments:

Dr. Femus: Uh, Spinlock, since when does Clench have wings?
Spinlock: Wings? It's an alien!
Wiseguy: It's my Mother-in-Law!

Maintanance: Hello, hey! Hello! Is everybody alright down there?
Wiseguy: Yeah, we're just screaming for the fun of it.

Spinlock: People of Earth, quiet! Listen to me please! Don't scream! If you remain perfectly quiet, it probably won't eat you.
Wiseguy: No, don't eat me! Eat this one!

The speakers are behind you, so yes, it's kind of dumb for the back row of "time travelers". It's even worse later on in the day when there weren't very many people in the chamber because then it was REALLY obviuos that the screams/comments were recorded. It's the same effect with the new Stitch attraction. *STITCH'S GREAT ESCAPE SPOILER* Highlight to read: Stitch steals a chili dog from a lady in the audience who says, "Hey, that's my chili dog!" and it smells like chili dogs. It's pretty gross.

[Lou Mongello]

Anyone hear the screams and cries of all the people who have to sit through Stitch's Great Escape and can't believe how much it stinks??

[Sam I Am]

Not if they walk out before it's over.

[Tampa]

which would spawn the mentality of, "Hey! Lets strap them to the seats!"

emobelle that highlighting trick is one of the coolest things I have ever seen!!!

[Passarino6]

Not even close! We used to have a ride at my park called the "Top Spin" which was essentially two long rows of seats that were rotated vertically and you would pivot around and spin upside-down and right-side up and any which way you could, all the while hanging by your lap. yep... hanging by your lap. The seats were hard plastic with a large lump in them that your legs were suppposed to straddle, but getting into position usually involved somehoe accidentally sitting on that lump first. And then once seated, the shoulder harness dropped down to hold you in, and then a second mechanical arm came up between your legs and pressed the harness into your lap. Mildly painful in itself, but once you were rotated upside-down, you now hung from that same bar across your lap. Although you did have a shoulder harness, the lap bar was always so tight that you hung from that instead of the shoulder harnesses. Although this was a fun ride, it was anything but comfortable. Those seats, my friend, were by far the most uncomfortable seats I've ever seen or have sat in.

I just wanted to share my experience with thi ride. We have one at Six Flags New England and I went on with a few of my firends. Just before the ride was going to begin, the operators asked us to take off all sunglasses etc. I leaned over a bit to put my sunglasses in my pocket when the operator started the loading sequence. The bars that come down over your chest came down right on top of me. Since I was leaning, I ended up getting held down by my neck in the seat next to me. Then the front pad came up to hold the bars down and I was stuck...with my neck pinned under the bars in the next seat. I started screaming, as did my firneds. The entire ride started trying to get the operator's attention, but the stupid guys thought we were just excited about the ride. Well let me tell you that flipping upside down and hanging vertically upside down is scary enough, but it is much worse when you are afraid your neck is going to get broken. The division between the two seats is a hard plastic ridge that was pressing into my lower back. I was scared to death. After the ride, everyone came over to see if I was ok...which thankfully i was. We complained, but no one di anything. I'm just glad that Disney is much better when it comes to CMs being attentive to security issues.