RC Racer!

The Jewel of the Playland?

Parc Disneyland, whilst a big area, does not feature too many rides, with Fantasyland featuring the biggest array of rides, ranging from the classic rides based on the Disney films to the like it or loathe it It's a Small World. Tommorowland, Adventureland and Frontierland feature 3 or 4 rides in each of the areas. When it was announced that 2002 would be the opening of a second Theme Park, in the guise of Walt Disney Studios Park, the decision seemed a little odd. Infact when it did open, much like its next door neighbour there was very few rides, the park consisted of the Tram Tour, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster avec Aerosmith, the Genie's Magic Carpet and Cinemagique. The rest of the park was full of experiences, which whilst fun and a little different (especially if you've never been to America) it was much to do it once in a day or possibly once in your stay at the resort. Over the years the park did expand, with the additional rides, one of the biggest expansions was the introduction of Toy Story Playland.

RC Racer! is headland attraction in the area, and along with the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror it is one of the more imposing rides of the whole Walt Disney Studios Park. Based on the orange track from the Toy Story films, it is in essences like the coaster version of a Pirate Ship.

One problem you do not get at a Disneyland Resort Paris is themeing/decoration and in the Toy Story Playland you are seemingly shrunk to the size of a small toy. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, themeing to RC Racer! is styled as a giant piece of Mattel Track (in the Toy Story films it has a loop though) and Disney have done a good job of themeing this visually unimpressive coaster, with a fake orange track immediately behind the coaster track and some purple style cladding to hide the metallic supports, it's simple but it works, especially in the context that these are meant to be toys.

Like with the racing themed coasters at Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, the entrance to the queueline is by a giant tyre, unlike those rides, you do not actually pass under it, just merely to the side. The entrance to the queueline could be a little bit more dramatic but the rest of the queue is themed a lot better, which is a good thing. Unless you happen to visit during the quieter winter months, you will be in this queue for a very long time. The floor is themed as a giant Scalextric track, a simple but effective bit of themeing and various little nods to Toy Story are on the sides of the buildings. The queue line itself is like a twisted cattlegrid, full of lots of bends, backing onto yourself, before finally reaching the behemoth itself.

With it being a simple coaster layout, this is one that you know exactly what is coming to you, there are no hidden tricks, so the make or break of the ride is all down to the experience itself and this is where things start to fall down.

You get the impression Disney knew that this could attract lots of queues and at least "RC" (the car) does hold 25 people in one go, it still doesn't hold that many, but it could be worse. Staff are as efficient as they can be to batch you up into the appropriate row and as soon as the previous go comes to a close, you take a seat.

The seats are virtually identical to those found on similar rides, if you've ridden Rita at Alton Towers or Stealth at Thorpe Park you know what to expect. If not, it is in essence a flat lap bar with two thin, over the shoulder restraints. After the seat belts have been checked and tightened up and the staff have double checked everything is ok (it does take a while!), we're good to go.

Due to a different type of launch when compared to Rita and Stealth, the motors whirr into action, its not quiet but then again its not deafening either, but you can tell it's there. Then all of a sudden you launch at the station, nothing too powerful mind. As soon as the momentum runs out, the car goes backwards, hits the propulsion system and you go higher backwards. This time, when the momentum runs out, you get a slight pop of airtime in your seat, before the train this time goes forwards into the propulsion system and again going higher and get a slight pop of airtime. Within no time at all, you are within the tallest sections of track, experiencing slightly more airtime at the ends. It is fun but nothing spectacular.

As fun as it is, and the screams of delight from the other riders, joy suddenly turns to sheer disappointment. After what can only seem like 6 "swings" the loud noise of the motors gets even louder and the ride starts to slow you down. Instantly killing any pops of airtime you where getting on the higher sections of the rides, and after a fair bit of faffing to slow down the car, you are finally back into the station, barely a minute after you set off.

It is a fun ride, whilst nothing mind blowing, but it has sacrificed the ride only having one track, especially in such a busy European Theme Park like Disneyland Resort Paris. If it could have had at least two tracks (preferably more) then it could have had a longer ride cycle and it would be worth a longer queue.

Rightly or wrongly, this doesn't alter during the quieter winter months, it is still as short then. The only aspect that does alter is the queue is likely to be under 20 minutes, instead of the 75+ minutes during the summer months.

To answer the question at the start of the review, annoyingly, it is actually the best ride of the Toy Story Playland area, it is just a shame that the whole experience is cut short by an extremely short ride programme, it is a ride I'd miss out if I had a choice between this Rock 'n Roller Coaster avec Aerosmith or Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, unless it happened to be very quiet at the start of the morning, as ultimately, it comes down to just how long would you queue for a glorified Pirate Ship?

The Good:
- Good themeing
- Pops of Airtime
- Fun ride

The Bad: 
- Ride programme is far too short
- It is just a glorified pirate ship
- Not as much airtime as you'd expect
- Not as much positive G force as you'd expect
- Only 25 people per go
- Long queues during the summer months


The Verdict:
  
2.5/5