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Gran Fiesta Tour Updated

Brian G.

Editor-in-Chief
Jan 21, 2008
24,673
53,839
Orlando, FL
Panchito, José Carioca, and Donald Duck figures were added to the finale of the Gran Fiesta Tour at Epcot last night.

The figures were reused AA's from Mickey Mouse Revue.
 
Hmmm... Missed this by a couple days. We were there on Tuesday and we were on this ride. Will have to check it out next time we are there. It is one of my husband's favorite rides. He is a little strange :)
 
Panchito, José Carioca, and Donald Duck figures were added to the finale of the Gran Fiesta Tour at Epcot last night.

The figures were reused AA's from Mickey Mouse Revue.[/QUOTE
I'm probably one of the few that actually enjoys this attraction. Never many in line so it's usually a walk on. Plus it's a nice air conditioned relaxing ride with decent background music, a cool ride by past San Angel, and a nice Mexico vibe. I prefer it to some of the bigger budget Epcot attractions (Energy, Imagination) that really need replaced.
 
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I'm probably one of the few that actually enjoys this attraction. Never many in line so it's usually a walk on. Plus it's a nice air conditioned relaxing ride with decent background music, a cool ride by past San Angel, and a nice Mexico vibe. I prefer it to some of the bigger budget Epcot attractions (Energy, Imagination) that really need replaced.

Oh yeah, even with kids we never go to Imagination or Energy. I think we have been on Energy twice in 5 years and Imagination 3 times. Mexico we go to 90% of the time we go to Epcot. I honestly didn't even mind when they added Donald. It is a nice cool break and I like the beginning of the ride a lot. I also love how Mexico is all inside and shows night time. It was a pretty neat concept and very different from the other countries.
 
It looks cool and they've had them for EIGHT YEARS, so good they finally installed them. Just don't think it's the second coming of Disney like some say ;)
 
Rode it tonight, and man, they are so fluid and perfect! They almost certainly did some updates to these figures, because they're even more fluid in their motions than the Stitch animatronics (and I watched those almost every day for months). Hopefully they keep up with the maintenance, because they make the ending scene much better.
 
Here's a quick little 12 second clip from my ride tonight. What really surprised me is something I didn't take video of, but Jose's hands during his quick strumming segments were surprisingly smooth compared to what I expected. That part of the audio and action conveniently hit when my boat was passing right by him, and that's what stuck out the most to me.

 
Gosh... that really is good! The wrist action is better than any animated robotic on disney property! How tall are those things... 12-18"? How are they doing that detail so small?

I'd guess they're about 2' tall. I would guess that their smaller size means less force required, tighter tolerances, quicker movements seem more natural and less twitchy, etc. The mouth movements are also excellent.
 
Gosh... that really is good! The wrist action is better than any animated robotic on disney property! How tall are those things... 12-18"? How are they doing that detail so small?

Most of the animatronics on the Sinbad attraction at DisneySea are A100's and have lots of movement, and they're around the same size.
 
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