Now I love the movie this attraction is based on to death, I honestly do, but this attraction somehow manages to stray away from the winning formula that made up the movie. While the movie had comedy, action, and great acting, this one was pathetic, dull, and quite simply put, the actors simply seemed like they didn’t want to be there (and I don’t blame them since the plot and script stinks).
Sharing the Imagination pavilion with Figment’s attraction, Professor Wayne Szalinski’s attraction unfortunately isn’t nearly as mind-blowing and enjoyable as its neighbor. One thing I can’t knock the attraction for is it’s neat little entrance with the shrink ray proudly displayed directly above it. While the attraction offers Fastpasses, they aren’t necessary at all since the theater is gigantic.
My horrible experience began with a pre-show. However, this pre-show had nothing at all to do with the attraction. Instead, it was a ten minute advertisement real for the ride’s sponsor, Kodak, featuring far too many Kodak moments to count. Not only that, but the conditions in the pre-show area were poor, as everyone was packed in like sardines, standing on a slanted platform. Definitely not the most comfortable environment for a poor show. This horrid pre-show really established the tone for the poor attraction that followed.
Quick story first. Ten years ago just a few seconds before the show was to begin, I chickened out, afraid that I would literally get shrunken down to the size of a fly during the film (yes I know, I was pathetic). Well, building off that pre-show came the main feature. Oh but it was bad, really bad. Well the whole attraction is built around Wayne Szalinski winning the Inventor of the Year award, and immediately after he demonstrates his inventions and guess what happens? Whoops! He shrinks us.
First off, the film is incredibly outdated and that really diminished most of my enjoyment of the attraction. The film just was very blurry throughout making for a poor picture. Not only that, but the audio just seemed muffled as well. Even past how the ride is clearly outdated, the plot was abysmal. For the entire time that proceeds the shrinking, there is no enjoyment whatsoever as there isn’t any real action or conflict.
Heck, even after being shrunken (which in all honesty is the only really cool part about the attraction since the seats shake and the illusion of being shrunken down is very well executed), the scenes that followed just seemed random and worst of all, the special effects really are poor, especially compared to what I’ve come to expect from Disney. All of the 3-D effects just seemed poor and unexciting, and the 4-D elements such as the rats running by my feet and the dog licking the audience were just average in my opinion and really nothing special. Lastly, just the finale for this attraction is unfulfilling, going along with the whole theme of the attraction.
Wow! What a rant! Well, sadly that is really what I think about this attraction, and yes, I really think it is indeed that bad. This is by far the worst 3-D show I have ever viewed, and one of the biggest disappointments of my entire trip this past summer. From being outdated to a poor plot, this attraction just has numerous flaws that make this painstakingly difficult to watch, especially since I’m a huge fan of the film. This is definitely not worth your time while at Epcot unless you’re a diehard Honey, I… fan and are very forgiving.
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