I love DI but have to agree with the criticism of the cell phone/emoji content. That stuff never ages well and never goes well when the older generations try to use it to connect with the youth. Imagine if B/W did a pin with features related to dial up internet and the early days of the internet. It wouldn't hold up well today. My teenage daughter also loves watching cringy videos/movies like the Emoji Movie but that's a thing when something is so bad it's twisted good. That's a fine line. DI isn't quite that bad so don't think the cell phone features appeals to anyone. Still a great pin but JJP missed an opportunity there to capitalize more on Lawlor's return.

I agree, with PotC and DI in my lineup.
If you play 3 games of PotC you are excited and impressed.
Then you step right on the DI and suddenly you'll realize a big smile in your face.

I've Wonka on the wishlist too, cause i like the smooth theme.

So both of you are saying you like DI more than Pirates? I do like them both, but waiting to play wonka to decide which JJP to get.

No way... it's definitely a disaster based cell phone theme!!

Wrong! It's a theme based cell phone disaster!

Or possibly a disastrous theme based on a cell phone!! Would love to get some play time on this game though, whatever the theme!!

LOL downvoted for a joke. Stay classy internet.

But yea, it's a fun game.

I thought it was a Mom jeans theme.

Bob the builder

Still going with Dialed In here. Wonka appears stripped down compared to Dialed In and the theme integration is severely lacking in my opinion. Theres multiple video clips in the game for iconic scenes yet they are silent and played on a loop. Just seems odd.

Dialed In is one of the best pins ever made. Everything in it is from the mind of Pat Lawlor, custom built from the ground up including all animations, music, and sounds. Theres nothing else out there like it.

To those who can't get past the cell phone and the female quantum mechanic toys I say your loss. Nearly everyone has a smart phone today, it's part of our lives, and I seriously doubt anyone is saying "I hate this thing" as they use it dozens of times throughout their day. Also good on JJP for representing a women in a way that a majority of pinball machines have not. A female mechanic? Yes, that's awesome and normal. If that toy was a dude no one would be complaining.

Now that I've finally had a chance to see and play Wonka, I can say that neither game excites me.

Disappointing as I was looking forward to a Gene Wilder Wonka movie themed game too.

What was it about Wonka that disappointed you?

I was late to the party got the DI last december. It is awesome like the other JJP games I own here for the long haul.

Wonka would not replace any JJP game I own but am interested in adding but would need to sell something for room.

I'm normally a JJP LE buyer but really want to see the standard @ $7,500 I like the price point. Also hope to play it more expo is 3 months away.
The LE is not only $9,500 but then you have tax and shipping it's over 10k. Ouch.

The game's overall vibe primarily. The artwork is too generically candyland-like and the gameplay and A/V effects don't draw me in. Feels like a game designed to satisfy a 10-year old playing on location more than an older home collector such as me.

Perhaps this will improve with the final code. No longer on my wishlist in the meantime.

Yeah I was hoping it didn't end up looking the way it did but I always sort of assumed it would. And those damn skittle inserts are the worst.
Reserving judgement until I play it though.

I'm surprised it's like this as Youssi is a great artist....Just look at White Water Playfield and especially the Backglass.

There's something missing but just can't figure out what they missed.

All artists have stuff they don't think is the best; They can't all be home runs. Youssi has made some of the best shit ever, he also made the RBION backglass so you never know.

I own DI. I completely understand if some people can't get past the theme. Sometimes even I step up to my own game and go "the f***ing game with the stupid music"... lol.

But every time I play it, I'm in awe. No two games are the same. You can strategize how you want to play specific parts of the game and in every game my strategy seems to change. I've had it for almost a year now and I'm not bored of it at all. It's more challenging than any other game I play on a regular basis (about 18 games in total).

And when the game ends, I'm hitting the start button again and again. Sometimes I have to pry myself away or else I won't get any sleep. It's my favorite game of all time.

I've had mine for around a year and it never gets old. Still haven't sniffed the final Wizard mode and I like to think I'm a halfway decent player. It's pure magic! It could be a Backstreet Boys pin and it would still be in my basement. Great deals are to be had on HUO ones, code is complete... Wonka looks like a blast as well, but wouldn't hurt to hold off and pick up further down the line. You'll have fun with either so don't sweat it whatever you decide.

Duuuuude it's a tall task my god. 4 letters lit maybe twice.

What about the pinball part of it?

I've owned my DI for about a year as well,two days ago I made it to Armageddon for the first time.
My high score is 6,500,000 and I was pumped up,it really pulls you into game on wizard modes

Sorry - not understanding what you mean by "the pinball part". The gameplay? If so, it's okay. Nothing that overly excited me.

Any update on this topic from those who own both?

I second this,would love to hear from people that own both

I've been playing a Wonka standard fairly often at a location and just got my LE for home yesterday. Too soon to tell for me. DI is pretty polished with code and the modes, really only one super hard shot (sim card) and the only "cheap drain" sometimes comes from the theater. They changed some code for the QED dude to interfere with that, so it's not too often that it happens anymore. If you are a nudger type of player, you can probably get away with hardly any cheap drains. For Wonka they've added more modes and multi-balls in more recent updates, still needs some polish, but is fun to play. There is some drainage action that some might consider great to make the game harder. However, if I hit a clean shot in one direction and it returns with a SDTM or left out lane drain, I'm more frustrated as a mediocre player. I WILL add the left out lane post to keep the fun factor higher for us at home. Coming out of the pops is dangerous for a possible drain. It's all part of the game I guess.

Wonka seems to have more parrallel things accumulating for modes and accomplishments, while DI has phone modes, Bob modes, and mini Theater modes that are random, but one at a time in each with some reward modes as you progress. They both shoot smooth with no real "clunky" shots.

Like I said, it's too early on Wonka (in the honeymoon stage) to give a conclusive opinion from me. I have to tweak some things, play for a while, learn the rules and progressions better, etc. Not an answer for you guys yet, but some initial thoughts since no one else replied for you.

Thanks. Would love to also know what your thoughts on the LE vs Standard is once you receive yours. Seems to me that the differences between LE and Standard on Wonka are like DI...not that much. But with the lower Standard price on Wonka, seems more attractive. At the current state of market it looks like 7500 gets you either a used DI LE or NIB Wonka standard. tough call.

I have a DI and love it,if your deciding between DI and Wonka I can tell you,you can’t lose with DI

I have only played a few games on Wonka, which was awesome, but I owned DI for a year and it was totally amazing. The video game boss mode at the end is INCREDIBLE. In fact, my son just asked me yesterday “when can we get another Dialed In?” Wow.

Also, please stop saying it’s a cell phone theme!

So, you can’t really go wrong.

I only get to play DI on rare occasion that I make it to Modern Pinball, but every time I do it blows me away. It feels like a whole different level than anything else coming out from other manufacturers. If Wonka truly is comparable, then that's pretty sweet!

There are different schools of thought on this topic, so it depends on your perspective on the topic. Personally I would have to have the invisiglass and shaker. That cuts down the difference. The blue sparkle powdercoat looks really nice, I like it, could live without out it, but ... it looks nice ... super sparkly. I'm one of those people that when I buy a pinball machine for home, I want all of the playfield features available that effect game play. I see that your collection has LE's/premiums in them except for a past Aerosmith which was a pro. Did you miss that upper playfield in AS? It changed the elevator multiball qualifications slightly and added the 2x multiplier (easier). I bought a HUO AS premium because I had to have that upper playfield for home and "have it all" vs. the pro. If you didn't miss having that upper playfield, then you likely wont miss the wonkavator on the LE ... just from that train of thought. If you're just going to have the pin for a year or less and move on to the next latest and greatest pin, SE is probably economically better versus the I want it all mentality. So far I have kept all of my pins, but I'm running out of room. I will likely keep all of my JJP pins for a very long time (last to get rotated out ... only the strong survive). That's another small reason why I like the LE better as I will enjoy the extra bling and wonkavator for many years. I occasionally use the headphones when I'm "supposed to" be quiet. That can probably be rigged up, but it's turn key already installed on the LE. I'm glad I bought the LE. This time (this pin) the RGB lighting is on both, so no loss there.

You will find that most SE owners say the SE is better because of cost/value. Most LE owners will say they made the right choice. As always, try them before you buy them.

Both games are amazing but i like the layout of wonka slightly more due to the huge variety of shots bc of all the flippers and diverters. Cant go wrong with owning eaither and recommend them .

I finally had a chance to play Wonka at Pintastic almost 24/7 in the VIP room. My first few games were all about learning the shots and rules. My next batch of games I was trying to get high scores and achieve objectives.

On the last day at Pintastic, I forgot all about the game. There were other games that took my interest and so I played those instead. On my drive home my wife and I were reminiscing about what games we liked the best or worst and we totally forgot about Wonka.

It wasn't a bad game, it just wasn't a great game. I had a similar feeling about Oktoberfest. If these games were in front of me, I'd play them, but I have no desire to seek one out.

There's no way I'll be trading away my DI for a Wonka. The new 1.71 code dropped for DI and it makes my game even better than before. Much more polished, sounds amazing, shots are smooth as butter, and still every game is different because the modes are randomized.

Wonka will sell to a specific market and I'm happy to see JJP doing what they do. I'm more excited for any of their next games (Toy Story, GnR).

Says you have premium!? Let’s see it

I own DI LE and got a good session on Wonka LE today, a lot of similarities including the general feel of the game and the shots and lighting. I mean there is nothing remotely as close to DI as Wonka (IMO). Pops in different places sure and the top third of Wonka has more going on where the upper right flipper is. But they are very similar feeling. I can't say that I cared for the rules/call outs on Wonka as much as DI but it's too soon for me to say, I played today without ever having read the rules or watching a tutorial. I was getting multi balls that I don't even know how like kid MB or Slugworth MB. I honestly have not the slightest clue how to qualify the Wonkavator shot. If anyone can let me know that'd be great.

Getting my JPprem today....Long wait! Did you get yours?

Now that Wonka code has developed more does anyone think Wonka surpasses Dialed In?

I recently played a Wonka and still prefer Dialed In. DI has not only more toys and features in my opinion but also deeper / more interesting code. In Wonka everything seems to be constantly stacking and the factory modes don't come across as these separate moments in the way that Dialed In's disaster modes do. I'm still bummed with the way the license assets in Wonka are used, just doesn't feel right.

Wonka is fun to shoot but suffers from the same issue as POTC did because of the modes, imo. Everything gets convoluted together, which makes for some great action, but can be chaotic at times. I like modes to be a little more meaningful.

Yes.

agreed.

The coding team at JJP has stated that they don't want the pins to be coded in a similar manner. They want each pin to have something different and be a different type of progression in the game. So ... with that in mind ... people will favor the code in one machine over the other based on how they like to play the game. Wonka code and progression is different(?) than DI and stacking modes is easier. However, you need to complete disaster modes in DI and complete collecting the jackpots in the modes in Wonka to make overall progress (Sim cards vs. golden tickets). I haven't completed more that 2 sim cards and 2 golden tickets, so to me they are pretty balanced at my mediocre skill level. Wonka hands down has better light shows and better (and maybe more?) modes outside of the sim card / golden ticket qualifier modes. My opinion gives the edge to Wonka as being more fun to play. (But I like JJPOTC better. ). Just some input ...

I'm hoping some owners have gotten past the honeymoon phase now and can comment on DI vs. Wonka. I'm looking for something to complement my JJP POTC, JP2 Premium, and Getaway.

I now own a DI and have ~30-40 games on a Wonka in the last several months.

Both seem like good, worthy games.

DI has a "simpler" layout that I think is more friendly to newer players, and it has the "moving electric guy" which anybody who plays can notice and interact with. The quantum theater is neat, but I think how cool it operates would go over most newer players heads. Even when I played it on location I was a bit confused by how the virtual drop targets, spinners, captive ball etc. were working, especially since they stack together and with other features like the drone crate drop.

DI seems like the clear winner in terms of Modes, they are easy to start, and reasonably challenging and clear with what needs to be done to finish them. I can't tell you how to finish the modes in Charlie; and i usually start them "accidentally" while trying to do something else. To be honest I need to go back and re-read the rules for Charlie.

In Wonka it is easier to start multiple MB's and ride them for days. That may or may not be a plus depending on your perspective but it is not uncommon to start 3 MB's in Charlie at once. Often when I do this my score will go up by a factor of 10; how important this seems if you are playing for score is hard to understate.

With DI, you at most can bring in 2 MB's I think, and compared to the mode points the MB's seem a lot more tame in terms of blowing up your score. Basically you can do well with modes, and you can do well with MB's. They both work together. I don't feel that way with Wonka so far.

I give Wonka the edge in terms of layouts that interest me as a pinhead; but i know that someone like my wife would find the shots a bit challenging, and my younger daughter could not see the shots from the upper right flipper, and barely see the upper left flipper.

DI wins on sound for me by a long shot; David Theil is "the bomb". Wonka's sounds are okay, but DI's music and sound effects package are top notch. Some don't care for the DI callouts, but they fit the theme and to me are clearly better than Wonka's announcer.

DI also wins the display animations by a mile; i don't think a game comes close to the amount of effort and effect DI's art and animation package has in terms of creating the city; the displays on the phone, the quantum theater and the main display all work really well together and are all ambitious in their own right.

FWIW Wonka seems to be longer playing to me due to the "endless" MB stacking. That being said a lot of my DI in drains are from a really mean left sling into the right outlane. Even owning DI I get a lot of short balls, but some balls I can really get into a groove. DI is much, much shorter playing than the game I sold to fund it (LOTR); you might say "No crap" but FWIW it seems like a mid-length player, Wonka is more of a longer playing game for me.

I enjoy Wonka, I need to dive into some of the rules a bit more myself; they are different enough that either would be a good choice. I have said before that DI is the 90's game that I never knew I wanted to be made. If somehow this game was made in the 90's, with a production run of ~1500, it would be a $20,000 game no question. Wonka is the modern Lawlor game we all hoped he had in him. No wrong choices here.

I have officially written too much; if you read all of this, congrats!

Thanks so much for all your thoughts! I played both on location this weekend and I agree on several points. Wonka was honestly a bit annoying to me in terms of sound. DI was more approachable for my kid (and me) and the layout flowed better for us, and we both liked the gadgets a lot more - especially the theater. Something about Wonka felt a bit cheaper to me, which probably isn't fair but that's the impression I got.

Both seem like they would shine in a home environment. For us the moving target, pinball2000-esque theater, multiple magnets, and impressive animations made DI a winner. I'm ordering one this week.

Get them both. I have both and play wonka more. But you can go wrong with ether.

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