Extinct Attractions Club DVD-If You Had Wings

[epaddon]

The "Extinct Attractions" DVD club that has been putting out video of bygone attractions at Disneyland just served up a major misfire with one devoted to WDW's "If You Had Wings" and its clear they're quite sensitive to criticism about it.

The "If You Had Wings" DVD they put out inexcusably replaces the authentic soundtrack of the ride heard distinctly in the original home video of the ride used for this DVD (this source video used in the DVD I obtained a number of years ago on VHS) has been replaced with the 1971 Demo Tape done by Pete Renoudet dubbed over. Not only does the music and sounds no longer match what is being shown on-screen, this Demo Tape never had anything to do with the final version of "If You Had Wings" that ultimately emerged.

I wrote a negative review of this in the Extinct Attractions Club message board under a section devoted to reviews of their DVDs. A half hour later I found my post removed and the entire subject of DVD reviews removed altogether.

Bottom line is that for those who are considering getting this DVD: Don't. It's a disgrace that a club that purports to be preserving extinct attractions can't get something as simple as preserving the sound right, which in the case of "If You Had Wings" was the key to the entire ride.

 

[Dr. Know]

What a debacle... thanks for the warning!

Jim

 

[gatordoc]

Well, I was so excited about finally getting some video and audio from this favorite attraction from my childhood that I preordered (and paid) for this months ago. This is really bad news. In the past, they have updated some of the DVDs, so I guess a future fix is all there is to hope for... :-[

 

[Eric Paddon]

I agree that the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Their "documentary" approach to the history of a ride is a commendable format, and I have enjoyed getting footage of some DL attractions that are gone like America Sings and Mission To Mars etc., but the negative aspects to them can be infuriating. Their "bonus audio" indeed is always a gyp since there's little doubt it was all compiled from Internet resources and they're also often given erroneous labeling.

"Adventure Thru Innerspace" though was indeed totally unwatchable. Great footage of the loading and unloading areas but I couldn't make out a thing inside. That too was also like "If You Had Wings" in that the audio of the original video was replaced with the archival tracks, but that one I could forgive them for since (1) they had said in their promotions that they had done this and (2) the archival tracks synched are from the ride itself, which can not be said of the "If You Had Wings" demo tape.

To me though, what is really sad about using the wrong audio for "If You Had Wings" is that it offers a reminder of how there are fewer true Disney World history buffs in relation to Disneyland history buffs. It's a reminder of how Disney World rides got the short end of things in the WDW Forever kiosks compared to DL Forever material, and how DL history has had E-Ticket Magazine and the Nickel Tour book for tons of info, but WDW has had so little comparatively speaking.