This next attraction utilizes one of Disney’s most technologically advanced ride systems, features some of the largest Audio Animatronic figures, and completely immerses Guests into a prehistoric environment. When the attraction first opened on April 22, 1998 it was originally known as Countdown to Extinction. However, the name was later changed to Dinosaur to promote the Disney film of the same name. The attraction has never contained any explicit references to the film and has a completely original storyline. However, the two dinosaurs most prominently featured in the ride have always been an Iguanadon and Carnotaurus, which were both also featured in the film. The result is an attraction can be appreciated by those who are familiar with the movie as well as by those who are not.
Dinosaur’s vehicles, referred to as Time Rovers, are a ride system known as an EMV (Enhanced Motion Vehicle). The EMV is like a next generation motion simulator, where the ride vehicle travels through a show building instead of enclosing occupants in a moving theater room. The EMV itself is a technological marvel. Each vehicle features three hydraulic actuators attached to the frame of the chassis which allow the body shell (where the Guests are seated) to articulate independently and rapidly. The ride’s physically intense experience is programmed to achieve the illusion of greater speed and even mechanical failure using the EMV’s ability to add several feet of lift then rapidly descend, shudder and tremble, and intensify cornering. All the while, the actual chassis of the vehicle is travelling along the ride path at top speeds of less than fourteen miles per hour. All this help to make the EMV one of Disney’s most unique and thrilling ride systems, and one which provides Guests with a truly unforgettable experience.
Dinosaur, however, is more than just a technologically-advanced thrill ride. In true Disney fashion, this attraction is a completely immersive experience. This begins as soon as Guests enter into the Dino Institute, with exhibits, fossils, and background narration by Bill Nye the Science Guy that all make Guests feel as though they are walking through a museum. Following the preshow, the look and feel of the institute change dramatically as Guests enter an underground research facility where they board their Time Rovers. Once the ride begins, Guests are transported back to the time of the dinosaurs and become completely immersed in a dense prehistoric jungle complete with numerous animatronic dinosaurs. It is unfortunate that much of the ride is so dark because there are many details that go unnoticed by Guests as they pass by. Helping add to the experience is a variety of other special effects, such as smoke, lasers, projections, and numerous other lighting effects. Not only are the animatronic dinosaurs throughout the ride massive in scale, but their movements are also extremely lifelike.
Dinosaur was essentially the only thrill attraction when Animal Kingdom opened in 1998. Combining getting chased by a Carnotaurus with a pending asteroid impact, sharp twists and turns, and parts of the ride that are essentially pitch black, Dinosaur is definitely an attraction that is not for the faint of heart. However, while its thrills are certainly a major draw, Dinosaur is such a successful attraction because it places all of these thrills into the context of a unique and original storyline and completely immersing Guests into that story with detailed and well-themed environments. While it may be overlooked by some Guests because of its out-of-the-way location at Animal Kingdom, there is no denying that Dinosaur is worthy of the #6 spot on the top fifty countdown.
#5: Star Tours, Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The relationship between Disney and George Lucas is one that stretches back well before Disney’s recent acquisition of Lucasfilm. The collaboration between Lucas and Walt Disney Imagineering began in the mid-1980s, working together on Captain EO with Lucas as executive producer. At the same time, Lucas and Disney Imagineers began exploring concepts based around flight simulator technology. The notion of taking the exotic locations featured in Star Wars and projecting them into a theater that could twist and turn in sync with scenes involving characters and action sequences from the films appealed to Lucas and soon the idea for Star Tours was born.
When the attraction opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios it actually was not the first Star Tours, but the show was identical to the one that opened at Disneyland nearly three years earlier. Star Tours at Disneyland took the place of a longstanding attraction known as Adventures Through Inner Space, which had been a part of Tomorrowland since 1967. When Star Tours opened at Disneyland in January 1987 its final cost was $32 million, almost twice the cost of building the entire park in 1955. Meanwhile, Hollywood Studios was originally planned to be a working film studios with just a few theme park attractions. Even though not intended to be a full day theme park, management worried that the park’s capacity would not be high enough for the projected crowds. With the great success of Star Tours at Disneyland, the attraction was an obvious choice for the park. However, the attraction was added so late that it would not be completed in time for the parks May 1, 1989 opening. Thus, Star Tours made its grand opening at the park in December 1989. The attraction remained essentially the same until September 2010, when it closed for a lengthy refurbishment. When it reopened in May 2011, an already good attraction was taken to an entirely new level.
The advantage of Hollywood Studio’s version of Star Tour as opposed to Disneyland is its larger size and it utilizes this extra space to help more completely immerse Guests into the Star Wars universe. The theming outside the attraction is distinctly different from that inside. As Guests make their way through the exterior queue they are meant to feel as though they are on a movie set depicting the Forest Moon of Endor, complete with light-rigging, prop trees, and the façade of an AT-AT. As soon as Guests enter the building, however, they are transported into the middle of the Star Wars universe. Following the refurb, the entire interior queue was updated with the look and feel of a sleek, streamlined spaceport. Guests encounter an arrival and departure board displaying flights in the Aurebesh language, galactic weather, and advertisements for various Star Tours flights, they see C3PO and R2D2 working on a new StarSpeeder 1000, they make their way through the droid customs area, and encounter two security goose droids who interact with them as they wait in line; all of this happens before even getting onto the ride itself. This detail helps give Star Tours one of the most highly-themed queues in all of Disney World.
Once they board their flight, Guests now are able to experience a variety of different planets from across the Star Wars universe. Thanks to multiple, random ride scenarios, Guests never truly know what to expect from their Star Tours flight. In addition, making the ride 3-D only increases the level of immersion into the Star Wars world. Featuring some of the most iconic locations and characters from the movies, the new version of Star Tours just feels more like Star Wars than the original. This is also aided by moving the attraction up in the Star Wars timeline from the original (which took place following Episode VI) to the current version which is now set between Episodes III and IV. All of this helps to make Star Tours one of the most re-rideable attractions in Disney World. Combining thrills with arguably one of the most popular movie franchises of all time, Star Tours is a truly exciting and immersive experience and as such ranks #5 on the top fifty countdown.
#4: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Disney’s Hollywood Studios
This next attraction is arguably one of the most recognizable of all Disney attractions. It is hard to believe, but the original Tower of Terror opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios almost twenty years ago in July 1994. Several years later, Disney began plans to add similar versions of the attraction at their other parks including California Adventure, Tokyo Disney Sea, and the Disney Studios in Paris. The California and Tokyo versions of Tower of Terror opened in 2004 and 2006 respectively, while financial problems caused the Paris version to be delayed until 2008.In addition to its iconic architecture and ominous appearance, the Tower of Terror buildings are among the tallest found at their respective Disney resorts. At 199 feet, the Florida version is the second tallest attraction at Disney World, shorter only than Expedition Everest's 199.5 feet. At the Disneyland Resort, the 183-foot structure is the tallest attraction at the resort as well as one of the tallest buildings in Anaheim.
When it opened in 1994, Tower of Terror was one of the most technologically advanced attractions ever created by Disney and even today remains a truly unique ride system. What also makes the Disney World version of the attraction special is that it is the only one to employ this particular ride system. The Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios employs specialized technology developed specifically for Disney that gives it the ability to move vehicles in and out of the vertical motion shaft. The elevator cabs are self-propelled automated ride vehicles which lock into separate vertical motion cabs. This allows the cabs to move into and out of the elevators horizontally, through the "Fifth Dimension" scene, and then into the drop shaft. Adding to this element, and in order to achieve the weightless effect Imagineers desired, cables are attached to the bottom of the elevator car pull it down at a speed slightly faster than what a free-fall in gravity would provide. Two enormous motors are located at the top of the tower accelerate the cabs fifteen times the speed of normal elevators. In fact, they generate torque equal to that of 275 Corvette engines and reach top speeds in 1.5 seconds.
While technologically impressive, free-fall attractions have been done countless times at theme parks around the world. What makes Tower of Terror so special is that it puts its free-fall into the middle of a highly-themed story with countless intricate details that help to completely immerse Guests in a bygone era. Throughout the queue, 1930s jazz music can be heard hauntingly echoing through a serpentine pathway as Guests wind their way through the overgrown gardens of the hotel, past signs pointing to the stables, bowling green, tennis courts and swimming pools. Once inside the lobby, the Hollywood Tower Hotel appears frozen in time, everything in it draped in decades' worth of dust and decay. Next, Guests are ushered into a library where the Rod Serling provides the backstory about the hotel’s mysterious past. Following this, Guests move through the boiler room, past quietly humming boilers, furnaces and engines, and then await the service elevator's arrival. Everything about the Tower of Terror’s queue helps to set the stage for the actual attraction, making waiting in line just as much a part of the experience as the actual ride itself. The queue completely immerses Guests into the story and features an astounding number of the tiniest details that help give the attraction unmatched authenticity and realism.
Really, it is all this detail and theming that make Tower of Terror what it is. While the free-fall is certainly thrilling, it becomes even more eerie thanks to the attraction’s backstory. Throughout the entire experience, starting with the queue, there is a nagging sense of foreboding. Tower of Terror is truly Disney Imagineering at its very best, taking something that had been done countless times before (a free-fall attraction) and turning it into an experience that is truly unique. It is a testament to the attraction’s design is that it remains to this day (almost twenty years later) one of the most popular attractions in any Disney park. Combining theming with thrills, attention to detail with adrenaline, Tower of Terror is both a technological marvel as well as a truly immersive experience. For this reason, Tower of Terror finds itself at #4 on the top fifty countdown.
No comments:
Post a Comment