The exterior entrance of the ride suggests, in a very Universal fashion, an attention to detail displaying the ruins of a castle overgrown in ivy. The queuing time was the longest in the park for the day - 50 minutes. Compare that to the two biggest rides of the park: Transformers - which had a queuing time of 30 minutes and Revenge of the Mummy ride - which was nearly walk on.
Moments after entering the queue, you're met by a large screen in a big golden frame in which Puss in Boots & his feline girlfriend (Kitty Softpaws) introduce you to the story of the ride — a local orphanage has hit financial hardship and will soon be shut down if it does not find some more money soon. Puss comes up with the idea that they can gather money by climbing up the giant magical beanstalk and stealing the golden eggs at the top to save the orphanage. The journey will be dangerous as there is a monster at the top. (It is inferred that this is a giant – from "Jack & the Beanstalk.) Puss is looking for brave volunteers and pleads for help using his signature pouty look. He suggests that the volunteers can reach the top using flying machines.
Passing beyond the screen the line moves on into what appears to be the giant's kitchen, filled with giant cooking utensils, giant books, recipes (that often include human beings as ingredients) and the odd golden egg. The theming in this room is top notch and comical, it's obvious that a lot of thought has been put into this room. Alongside the adventure/Spanish-themed music in the background this room certainly helps to build anticipation for the ride. The only let down for this area being the bare metallic roof which takes away from the theming – but at least it lets the breeze in. (Singapore is very hot & humid. Think an Orlando summer, year 'round.)
The day we visited, they were running 10 carriages (which each hold nine participants), so the line was moving relatively quickly. Once on, the lift system (which resembles that of a mixer) pushes your flying machine up the track lift in a spiral formation inside the castle turret, this is very cool & also helps to build anticipation. Unfortunately in my opinion, once the ride hits the top it is both physically and metaphorically all down hill from here…
The ride itself is very short and in this time they've tried to fit too much plot than the few static scenes will allow. The big twist (spoiler alert!) is that it's not really a giant you have to fear but mother goose who believes you are trying to steal her baby chicks. This plot twist sounds great on paper but in such a limited capacity it is hard to pull this off well and leaves the question — whose kitchen were we in? And why call it the Giant Journey anyway? Presented in the static scenes there is the initial goose revelation, then about three scenes of running and conflict, an unexplained resolution between parties followed by a bizarre concluding party scene. Being open air the ride also lacks the ability of hiding the next few scenes from view, which takes away from some of the mystery. I think it would have been far more effective to keep the storyline simple, sticking with the giant and keeping the story coherent.
Given, this is meant to be a family ride, so I'm not the demographic they're aiming at, your kids probably won't pick up on all this and probably still will love it. It's just hard to look past as an avid theme park fan. So overall I would suggest holding off a little bit, your kids may love it but I'm not sure they will love it enough to justify a 50-minute wait.
Editor's Note: Here is an on-ride video from Dejiki.
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Disney accomplished this by spliting their Dwarves Mine coaster into a dark ride section and a "coaster" section which also feels lacking in some aspects as the story actually doesn't progress on the "coaster" sections.
I feel the creative team were pressured to build the story around a coaster, as opposed to building a coaster to drive a story. This was probably done so the park could advertise as having a new coaster even if it might have been the wrong ride system for a ride such as this.
A Peter Pan/ET type ride system with indoor, outdoor, and "speedy coaster like" sections controlled by computer as opposed gravity might have made for a more fulfilling environment in such a limited space.
Regardless, thanks for sharing, Dave. Appreciate the overseas report!
I don't understand why they didn't enclose the second half of the ride. The lift looks great and with the top exposed, it looks like you get a great view. But after passing by the goose at the top, I don't understand why this didn't turn into a standard dark ride. It doesn't seem "coaster" enough that you need to expose all the coaster elements.
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