Amid the hoopla over the grand re-opening of Disney California Adventure, it’s easy to forget that the competition across town recently opened a fantastic new attraction of its own. Here is a preview of our review of Universal Studios Hollywood’s stunning new Transformers simulator, which will appear in the upcoming 2013 edition of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland.

Transformers—The Ride 3-D

Our Rating: 5 stars

• What it is: Multi-sensory 3-D dark ride
• Scope and scale: Super-headliner
• When to go: The first 30 minutes the park is open or after 4 p.m.
• Special Comments: Must be 40″ to ride; single rider line is available
• Duration of ride: 4 1/2 minutes.
• Average wait time per 100 people ahead of you: About 3 1/2 minutes
• Loading speed: Moderate-Fast

Description and Comments

Hasbro’s Transformers—those toy robots from the 1980s that you turned and twisted into trucks and planes—have been around long enough to go from commercial to kitsch to cool and back again. Thanks to director Michael Bay’s recent movie trilogy, “Robots in Disguise” are again a blockbuster global franchise, and in 2012, Transformers fans finally received a theme park attraction befitting their pop-culture idols.

Recruits to this cybertronic war enlist by entering the N.E.S.T. Base (headquarters of the heroic Autobots and their human allies) beneath a massive dimensional mural depicting gallant Optimus Prime and his nemesis Megatron locked in mortal metal combat. Inside an extensive, elaborately detailed queue, video monitors catch you up on the backstory. Basically, the Decepticon baddies are after the AllSpark, source of cybernetic sentience. We’re supposed to safeguard the shard by hitching a ride aboard our friendly Autobot ride vehicle EVAC, presumably without getting smooshed like a Lincoln in a souvenir penny press when he shifts into android form. Needless to say, Megatron and his pals Starscream and Devestator won’t make things easy, but you’ll have Sideswipe and Bumblebee (sadly, the modern Camaro version instead of an old-school VW Beetle) backing you up.

For the ride’s 4 1/2 minutes, you play human ping-pong ball in an epic battle between these made-in-Japan behemoths. To do justice to this Bay-splosion packed war of good versus evil, Universal has harnessed the same ride system behind Island of Adventure’s Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride. That’s good news since Spidey, which broke ground by blending motion simulation and live effects with 3-D, was already acclaimed as one of the best attractions anywhere. Transformers ups the ante with photo-realistic high-definition imagery, boosted by dichroic 3-D glasses (the same kind used in the upgraded Star Tours) that produce startlingly sharp, vivid visuals.

The plot amounts to little more than a giant game of keep-away, and the uninitiated will likely be unable to tell one meteoric mass of metal from another, but you’ll be too dazzled by the debris whizzing by to notice. Fanboys will squeal with delight at hearing original cartoon actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker voicing the pugilistic protagonists, and then spill into the post-ride gift shop to purchase armloads of exclusive merchandise, while the rest of us might need a bench on which to take a breather afterward. We’ll admit slight disappointment at not getting to see an actual four-story-tall animatronic transform, but the ride’s mix of detailed (though largely static) set pieces and video projections was likely a much more maintenance-friendly solution for bringing these colossi to life. Either way, this is one of the most intense, immersive thrill rides found in any theme park, and makes a credible claim on the title “best attraction in California.” If you visit Universal and only ride this and the Tram Tour, you’ll have gotten your money’s worth.

Touring Tip

This is the most ambitious attraction that Universal Studios Hollywood has built in more than a decade and could prove a game changer for the park’s attendance. Transformers draws heavy crowds to the lower lot from the moment the park opens, so ride immediately upon park opening. The single rider entrance will often let you walk on the attraction, even when the standby wait is an hour, but its queue lacks any theming, so be sure to take at least one trip through the regular line. It can be difficult for your eyes to focus on the fast-moving imagery from the front row; center seats in the 2nd and 3rd rows provide the best perspective. And be sure to say hello to the towering robots posing for photos outside the entrance.

Review: Transformers The Ride 3-D at Universal Studios Hollywood is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Disneyland Park is widely praised for having the highest density of highly-themed attractions of any American amusement enterprise. But one area in which the original Magic Kingdom falls behind some of its younger siblings is in the theming of its queue lines.

Back in Walt’s day, the “switchback” queue was an innovation, encouraging face-to-face interaction between strangers waiting in line. Today, with many guests engrossed in their digital devices, people need something more enticing that other humans to hold their interest. Hence, the highly-detailed holding area, filled with scenic elements and effects engineered to import the backstory information riders need to fully enjoy their imminent adventure.

Currently, the world’s top themed queue environments can generally found in Disney parks outside of Anaheim, such as Expedition Everest at WDW’s Animal Kingdom, or Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo’s DisneySea. And while this article only touches on the original Disneyland Resort gate, Radiator Springs Races may make that list once cars Land at Disney California Adventure opens in June. But the Happiest Place on Earth can still lay claim to a few top-flight queues.

Here is my personal top 5 favorite pre-attraction areas inside Disneyland Park. Please add your own nominees to the comments below!

5. The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion was the last attraction Walt had direct input on, and is justly regarded as an essential example of the Disneyland experience. The Omnimover ride vehicles and elaborate ghostly effects inside the ride certainly are a big element of that, but the attraction’s brilliance begins long before you board your Doombuggy. After entering the Southern Gothic mansion’s front gate, you’ll pass a pet cemetary filled with witty monuments to departed furry friends. Upon crossing the threshold, you’ll enter the infamous “Stretching Room,” and encounter your “Ghost Host” (voiced by the immortal Paul Frees). And there’s still the corridor of transforming paintings and seemingly-shifting statues to traverse before your voyage into the netherworld really begins. As a bonus, during the Halloween and Christmas holidays the exterior and interior are adorned with decor inspired by Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas.

4. The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

Since this theater presentation is rarely full, most guests see it without having to wait more than a few minutes in its Main Street lobby. But it would be a mistake to miss the mini-museum that makes up this attraction’s pre-show, and not only because it it blissfully air-conditioned. Start by examining the exhibits dedicated to the development of Disneyland, especially the lovingly-detailed model of the park as it looked on opening day. The retrospective video starring Steve Martin and Donald Duck shown here was originally created for the park’s 50th anniversary in 2005, but is still well worth watching in full, with a wealth of historical footage. Next, move on to the inner pre-show room, home to a stunning scale model of the White House (made by hand, based on the original blueprints) and maquette miniatures of the Spirit statues found in Epcot’s American Adventure. Finally, a second video fills you in on the origins of the Mr. Lincoln show, and Walt’s personal interest in Honest Abe. By the time they enter the main theater, patrons who have seen all the pre-show has to offer will have a much fuller understanding of the historical importance of this still-impressive patriotic performance.

3. Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin

Based on a film franchise that the Disney corporation seems to have largely forgotten, Cartoon Spin is a hybrid between Mr. Toad and the Mad Tea Party that doesn’t have a lot of fans among Unofficial Guide reviewers. There are some nifty effects, and it’s certainly more detailed than some of the classic Disneyland dark rides. But some of us feel that it falls short because the spinning makes for a chaotic, incoherent experience. Still, one strong suit everyone can agree on is the elaborately detailed queue line. A tour of the seamy side streets of Toontown, visitors get to see a landmarks like the Ink & Paint club (knock on the door for an interactive surprise) and a Dip-making facility. Roger Rabbit’s queue is often overloaded, and its Fastpasses are disconnected from the rest of the park, so I often skip the line when I ride, which is a shame.

2. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

The original Star Tours queue was among the first with first-class theming, featuring an authentic-feeling Star Wars spaceport complete with animatronics of C-3PO and R2-D2. When Imagineering refreshed the ride in 2011, they upgraded the already-amazing queue as well. A razor-sharp hi-def screen in the initial room now broadcasts a steady stream of saga references, and a pair of wisecracking security robots in the second room spout side-splitting inside jokes about Lucas and Disney characters. Even the pre-boarding safety video was beefed up (some dodgy CGI aside) with some droid-based humor. (Classic Star Tours fans, fear not for the original pre-show’s distinctively coiffed narrator; she and her hair can still be glimpsed in the new film.) Best of all, when you use Fastpass at this attraction (a must on busy days) you still get to experience all the same sights as the standby line.

1. The Indiana Jones Adventure

This one wasn’t even close. More than a decade an a half after its debut, Disneyland’s Indiana Jones attraction still has no real competition for the “best queue” crown on the West Coast (though Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Transformers ride is making a run for it). Only Unversal Orlando’s Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has truly surpassed Indy effort in completely immersing guests in a complete world before they board. The journey from Adventureland into the Temple of the Forbidden Eye feels like an epic (and lengthy) adventure in of itself. Born of the necessity to get guests beyond the park’s berm and into the former parking lot where Indy’s show building was constructed, the extensive line effectively builds anticipation for the groundbreaking ride at the end. Treacherous tunnels, decorated with dangers such as spiked celings and realistic-looking bat guano, sport interactive elements that (when working) will prompt surprised smiles; just be sure ignore any “don’t touch” signage. There are even ancient codes on the walls that you can learn to decipher. Frequent guests will often use the single rider option to board quicker, skipping the queue, but this is one line that every theme park fan needs to wait in at least once.

All photos copyright Disney.

Top 5 Attraction Queues at Disneyland Park is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

We’ve gotten word that Star Tours is facing a major refurbishment either late this year or early next year. Actors from the Star Wars films have confirmed filming segments for the attraction. The exact extent, length, and scope of this refurbishment is currently unknown.

New Star Tours experience coming soon is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.