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hbquikcomjamesl
11-03-2001, 01:31 PM
This morning, I had an idea for something WDI could make, that would work very well in one of the empty storefronts in DCA Bay Area, and could also be a big hit in the real San Francisco.

A Cable Car Simulator Video Game

It would have a large screen, with digital video of the actual scenery. The grip lever and the front wheel brake pedal would be mounted so they would rumble and move realistically, including swiveling slightly when going around a corner, and pitching a bit when entering or leaving a take-rope. The idea would be to get through a run from one end of a route to the other, picking up as many passengers as possible, without hitting anything, or damaging the cable, grip, or car.

It would be great in one of those empty storefronts in DCA, and it would also do well in SF, on the museum level of the Cable Car Barn, and in the big video arcade on Pier 39.

Not Afraid
11-03-2001, 03:43 PM
My first impression of the SF area of DCA was "If this is San Francisco, where are the hills?" Then I noticed the empty store fronts. Is this post recession San Francisco? That city is bustling with energy!

Adding some version of a cable car would surly spice things up a bit and give the area the flavor of the real SF. Not to mention giving the "crowds" something to do in that bleak but archecturally beautiful area.

wonderful
11-03-2001, 09:04 PM
great idea... using those store fronts to put an arcade in sounds great... although I'm pushing for a candy joint and a cafe at the corner (across from Golden Dreams) where you could sit at a table and enjoy a coffee in one of the prettier parts of the park... but I'd go for an arcade anyday!

Nigel2
11-03-2001, 10:52 PM
I always thought that SF was used as office space, but yeah it seems to be missing something. A cable car simulator seems a little extreem for DCA, but the museum could use it.

innerSpaceman
11-04-2001, 06:14 AM
How 'bout we think outside the tiny budget box here and wonder why a theme park based on California does not have an honest-to-goodness, turbulent and thrilling cable car ride! Forget the simulator - - San Francisco cable cars call out for an actual RIDE.

Even within the extremely limiting theme of California, there are so many options that DCA has not explored. San Francisco cable cars are among the most obvious omissions.

The tiny, boxed-in theme of DCA is only part of the problem. It's the tiny, boxed-in budget and the tiny, boxed-in level of imagineering that may or MAY NOT result from that tiny budget that will do the place in.

coronamouseman
11-04-2001, 07:50 AM
How about cable-car ride through an earthquake and a massive fire - kind of a combination of the best of Universal's Earthquake and Backdraft attractions in one ride .......... if Disney is going to compete with UH why not obsolete or out-do a couple of their major attractions?

DisneylandKid
11-04-2001, 11:36 AM
Originally posted by wonderful
great idea... using those store fronts to put an arcade in sounds great... although I'm pushing for a candy joint and a cafe at the corner (across from Golden Dreams) where you could sit at a table and enjoy a coffee in one of the prettier parts of the park... but I'd go for an arcade anyday!
I like your idea.

How about taking out Golden Dreams and putting in a cable car RIDE, not arcade/simulator.

hbquikcomjamesl
11-04-2001, 05:57 PM
How about taking out Golden Dreams

Uh, I like Golden Dreams. True, it doesn't quite live up to what had been envisioned for it, but I consider it to be at least a C- or D-ticket.

But back to the point:
A cable car ride would take up space DCA doesn't have in abundance. And it would not be very practical to make it interactive: multiply the amount of bumping on Autopia by a factor of ten, and you'd get what would happen if you had a whole bunch of cable cars following each other closely, with people trying to figure out how to coordinate grip, wheel brakes, and track brakes, and if somebody had to drop the slot blade, it'd shut the whole ride down for several hours, and probably throw some guests off the cars, most likely injuring them in the process.

On the other hand, a bank of simulators would take up less space for the same capacity (and the office and storage space, and much of the simulator bank itself, could move into space freed up by downsizing Golden Vine!), be more economical to run and maintain, and allow guests to learn how to operate the car, and choose between training and revenue runs, at varying levels of difficulty, on any of the three routes through SF. (As well as a run through ToonTown, or anywhere else for that matter.)

MonorailMan
11-05-2001, 03:22 AM
Here's a plot for the story:

You find yourself going on a cable car up a big hill, suddenly the cable breaks(Like ToT), next thing you know your zipping around SF by all the major SF attractions, and seeing all the sights at 50+ miles an hour!

wonderful
11-05-2001, 07:18 AM
I would stick to an arcade in the San Fran area only because of space, but the high speed cable car might fit in next to ToT in Pacific Wharf (if, indeed, that is where ToT is going). That would be two MAJOR attractions in a pretty well themed, but otherwise unexciting place.... I honestly think Pacific Wharf could be the New Orleans Square of DCA.
By the way, another idea is a character dinig experience at Avalon Cove. The new, Disney-run operation opens soon (for Luminaria) and a meet and greet with Ariel (of course), Kita, Milo, Sebastian, and Capt.Hook would fit in nicely (and, of course, bring more "Disney" in the park!).
I also wouldn't mind Paradise Pier picking up an official character ownership (like TDSs Mermaid Lagoon) but not the Little Mermaid, since she has her own grotto across the way. Lilo and Stitch would be nice (but I'm hoping they get a place in the Tiki Room!). I'd say Hercules would be kinda neat... the colors would be mostly the same and we could even get the whole "muscle beach" theme going with a Herc show. Well, that's my idea.

Nigel2
11-05-2001, 10:06 PM
Why not, well since so many people seem to hate Super Start...(I want the Jackie Chan Anamatronic if they toss that ride) why not make it a "Red Car" style simulator, or fast paced ride through old LA, possibly using Hollywood and dine and part of the show building.

hbquikcomjamesl
11-06-2001, 10:40 AM
Converting SuperStar Lemon to a Pacific Electric attraction? Nice idea! And since the Red Cars (and the demise of the PE) were important to the plot of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Roger, Eddie, and friends could make cameo appearances.

Back to the original concept that started the thread, what I had in mind for Bay Area wasn't an actual video arcade, but rather one or more rooms full of nothing but cable car simulators. Perhaps with some half-size units for kids, and some wheelchair-accessible mini units, and a waiting area of some sort, with large screens alternating San Francisco scenic footage with perhaps a one-minute training video (so first-timers will know their way around the controls).

Of course, it would be necessary to reinvent queueing.

Nigel2
11-06-2001, 10:56 AM
Or you could have the building similar to a roundhouse, and have the simulators, or whatever move from the roundhouse to another room (possibly just past a door in front of each car) where each simulator would do its thing, then slide back into the round house for the next ride group.

Nigel2
11-06-2001, 02:04 PM
I was thinking about the red car and if they wanted to make transportation inside the park they could have red cars going from Paradise Pier (it would have to be a sub for Balboa Island) to Hollywood Pictures Backlot, sure it would mess with history, and it would be almost impossible to build but whatever.