Walt Disney World Detail (with Aerial Images) *Updated page 20, post #297*

[MinnieTink]

Cool Thread! Can't wait to see the next picture!

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

Concept
Park guests will wear 3-D glasses aboard spinning vehicles that travel through virtual environments based on classic carnival midway games. Ride vehicles will seat up to eight and will record each guest's score as points are acquired with toy cannons firing at virtual targets. Similar technology has been used in Disneyland Park's Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and Tokyo Disneyland's Monsters, Inc.: Ride n' Go Seek interactive dark rides.

Toy Story characters including Woody, Hamm, Bo Peep, and Mr. Potato Head will appear during the attraction, according to Disney.

Not to be a party pooper, but you'd think they could come up with something a little more new and exciting. Sounds like its just Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin with different characters to me.

Ive seen better ideas here on the DIS forum.

Now before you flame me, consider the Nemo show. You (undoubtedly) left the Nemo show scratching your head and saying "WOW! How'd they DO THAT???" It just seems kinda lame using the exact same idea as another ride. I just think they could have came up with something different. With all Disney's resources and money, repetition from one ride to the next shouldn't happen.

Great thread! Keep em coming!

 

[PinkDaisy8844]

I love this thread and am glad I found it! I'm amazed at how well they hide the buildings!

 

[catherines_mama]

I'm amazed at how well they hide the buildings!

Me too, you'd never think there was that large of a backend to Haunted Mansion.

Makes me so excited to go again and VERY excited to schedule a KIDLESS trip and do the Keys to the Kingdom tour.

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

I'm amazed at how well they hide the buildings!

Very true. I did notice the building of the Great Movie Ride last time we were there. Theres a big billboard on the reverse side with a giant movie poster (POTC DMC) and we took our pictures in front of it. Its the only building Ive actually noticed other than the Muppet building. That in itself says they are doing their job quite well!

 

[°O°Joe]

Not to be a party pooper, but you'd think they could come up with something a little more new and exciting. Sounds like its just Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin with different characters to me.

Ive seen better ideas here on the DIS forum.

Now before you flame me, consider the Nemo show. You (undoubtedly) left the Nemo show scratching your head and saying "WOW! How'd they DO THAT???" It just seems kinda lame using the exact same idea as another ride. I just think they could have came up with something different. With all Disney's resources and money, repetition from one ride to the next shouldn't happen.

Great thread! Keep em coming!

I agree with you that this new ride idea sounds a little less than exciting. But that's just my preference, I prefer the "classic" dark-rides (you know, like the Pooh, Pan, and Snow White type rides). Or give me a full blown AA attraction any day. But I'm just not up on the interactive game type rides.

But I'm going to have an optimistic outlook that at least maybe I'll be pleasantly suprised.

I disagree with you however on the idea. If you do some research (more than what I posted) and read about what the ride's all about, you'll find that it is actually a very unique ride concept. The ride was originally titled "Midway Mania" and is supposed to resemble traditional midway carnival type games, but in virtual reality, and somehow incorporated into a ride.

I guess I'm just not sold on the whole game idea. I can play video games at home.

My biggest gripe is that the Imagineers seem to be getting away from the traditional Audio-animatronic rides and seem to be designing rides with more digital or video effects, but that's a whole other argument.

 

[°O°Joe]

[the North arrow points down in the above photos]

DINOSAUR

Dinosaur is a rough thrill ride (dark-ride) at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Guests are taken through primeval scenes populated with audio-animatronic dinosaurs. The ride is loosely related to the Disney movie of the same name.

The ride's director is Jerry Rees, best known for his animated film The Brave Little Toaster. It was written by Steve Spiegel, with Reed Smoot as Director of Photography.

The Attraction
In Dinosaur, guests board "Time Rovers" at The Dino Institute, a once secret research facility staffed by students and scientists. The guests are taken into the Cretaceous period, just before the arrival of the meteor, which is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Their mission is to travel back 65 million years to capture a living Iguanodon (Aladar from the Dinosaur movie to be exact) and to return it to the present. The mission is complicated by encounters with various dangerous dinosaurs (including a Carnotaurus) and the arrival of the meteor.

Dinosaurs Encountered
-Styracosaurus
-Alioramus
-Parasaurolophus (mentioned as "Hadrosaur")
-Velociraptor
-Carnotaurus
-Cearadactylus (mentioned as "Pterodactyl")
-Saltasaurus (mentioned as "Sauropod")
-Iguanodon

Touring Tips
-This is a rough, turbulent ride! Dinosaur is mostly dark with lots of light flashes, loud noises and dinosaurs jumping out at you! It can be scary for youngsters (and perhaps some adults, no I’m not kidding).
-It is Standard Operating Procedure on Dinosaur to have the Cast Member do a seat belt check at a safety stop after the ride has left the boarding area but before it enters the main ride path.
-Dinosaur is virtually a walk on at park opening and closing.
-The Height Requirement is 40 inches.
-This is a FastPass attaction - a free service to all park guests.
-The ride is less than 3 minutes in duration.
-Child Swap - unlike the other Disney Attractions where you walk through the beginning to do your Child Swap, the Cast Members will send you to the exit of the Attraction here for the swap.

Dining
There are no places to eat in the immediate vicinity of Dinosaur. The place to consider in DinoLand U.S.A.is Restaurantosaurus home of Donald's Character Breakfast and McDonald's lunches!

Shopping
There is a photo op inside the attraction and you can purchase your photo upon exiting. If you are a resort guest inquire about sending your photo to your hotel room so you don't end up bending it during the day.

Interesting Facts
-Grand opening: April 22, 1998 (Opened with Disney's Animal Kingdom as Countdown to Extinction).
-The name of the Countdown to Extinction attraction was changed just weeks before the movie "Dinosaur" was released. You can still see the letters CTX (Countdown to eXtinction) on the ride vehicles.
-Ride vehicle capacity: 12
-The queue area contains exhibits and displays and a voice over introduction by Bill Nye the Science Guy.
-In the queue, a live video conference is in progress hosted by Dr. Helen Marsh, who introduces you to the Time Rover - your transportation vehicle to the past. Phylicia Rashad plays Dr. Marsh (yes that’s Clair Hanks Huxtable from The Cosby Show).
-This attraction interacts with Pal Mickey.
-The ride system, which is a computerized ride vehicle synced to show scenes, uses the same technology and shares a similar track layout as Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye.
-These were the largest audio-animatronic figures created prior to the addition of the Yeti on the popular new E-ticket attraction: Expedition: Everest. In fact, in order to support the incredibly large and sophisticated dinosaur Audio-Animatronics, their dino-size bases were built clear through the structure down to their own large foundations in the ground.
-Take a look at the pipes over your head as you approach the Time Rover vehicles in Dinosaur! The Red pipe has the chemical name and formula for Ketchup (lycopersicon lycopericum is also known as the tomato) and the Yellow pipe has the chemical name and formula for Mustard. The White pipe is, of course, the chemical forulas for Mayonnaise!
-Look for this Hidden Mickey: Just inside the building entrance to DINOSAUR, on the right side of the queue, look at the tree at the far left of the painting. There's a classic Mickey on the tree trunk, across from a lower right branch.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Yippee.....another one.

 

[Blondie]

Great thread! Thanks!

 

[Iluvpluto2]

My absolute favorite at AK even though it scares the pooh out of me every time I ride it. Thanks for the info, especially about the dinos. I never would have guessed that they had their own foundations. And I never realized how close the building actually was to the main entrance. Looks like a shortcut!!

 

[BaBeeCee14]

I love this thread!!! Please keep them coming!!

 

[jjk]

This thread is wonderful cant wait for the next instalment

 

[Disneygirl3919]

This thread is incredible! I am continuously blown away by how much bigger the "show" buildings are compared to the parts we see in the parks on the outside! Great work, Joe! Thank you!

 

[Shell0616]

This is a fantastic idea! Thank you for taking the time to do this.

 

[Cory's Gal]

Awesome pics again!!! I still can't get over how huge the show buildings are, they do such a great job "hiding" these!!!! I love this thread!!

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Hey.....do you take requests?

 

[°O°Joe]

Hey.....do you take requests?

What do you have in mind?

 

[tinkerbell87512]

Joe these are fantastic!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to post these!

 

[fitzkerry]

Thanks again, I really look forward to these!

 

[°O°Joe]

[the North arrow points down in the above photos]

Peter Pan’s Flight

Peter Pan's Flight is a dark ride at the Magic Kingdom.

You can fly, You can fly, You can fly! Revisit Disney's animated classic Peter Pan in this brief journey to Never Land! Peter Pan's Flight is located in Fantasyland, across the way from It's a Small World.

The Attraction
As you wind your way through the exterior (but covered) queue, you will watch folks loading onto their pirate galleon, suspended from the ceiling. Once aboard, Tinker Bell will sprinkle pixie dust your way and you swoop high above London in the moonlight -- right into the animated movie Peter Pan! You'll glide through the skies in the dark, cleverly illuminated by the Disney Imagineers with black lights and fiber optics.

You'll revisit scenes like Old London Town, Big Ben, Never Land, Mermaid Lagoon, and Skull Rock. As you listen to music from the movie, you'll watch the story unfold below. Of course, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee are around... as well as the ever-present ticking Crocodile, still hungry for another taste of the pirate captain!

History (Disneyland & Walt Disney World Versions)
The original intent of the attraction was for the guests to fly through the ride as if they were Peter Pan. Audiences did not quite grasp this concept and were left wondering, "Why wasn't Peter Pan in the Peter Pan ride?" In 1983, during Fantasyland’s remodeling, an Audio-Animatronic Peter Pan was added to his namesake ride.

The original ride featured the ride vehicles flying through the nursery, out over London, onward to Never Land, and finally through Skull Rock, where riders saw Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Princess Tiger Lily and the Crocodile before unloading. The exterior had a medieval design with the queue being outside.

The Florida version of the ride, which opened in 1971, expanded on the original Disneyland attraction. While the overall theme and format of the ride was consistent with the original in California, the Florida ride, as with the other dark rides, would feature its characters in Audio-Animatronic style. The load/unload area featured Omnimover-style moving ramps (like the Haunted Mansion) to better allow for smooth traffic flow. The scenes in the ride were done on a larger scale. The Lost Boys camp and Mermaid Lagoon were added to the Never Land scene. Also, Hook's 48-foot pirate ship, complete with deck, masts, sails and rigging was included. Guests saw Hook and Peter engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the mainsail, while the boys were lashed to the mast and Wendy was about to walk from a plank. Guests would then see Peter and the Darlings posed victoriously on the ship, poised to sail into the sky, back to London.

In 1982, Disneyland's Fantasyland was in a phase of drastic overhaul. Some of its rides were being relocated to make room for expanded versions of the dark rides (as well a brand-new one). The posh redo of Fantasyland now resembled a rustic European village in the Alps, rather than a medieval faire. Mr. Toad and Snow White's dark rides moved their respective loading areas (and partial murals) indoors, but the Peter Pan ride still featured a colorful mural, depicting the characters from the film.

Departing from the station, but before entering the actual ride building, guests would fly over the rooftops of London. The new version of the ride included Audio-Animatronic versions of the characters, just like in Florida. As part of the new remodel, scenes from the Florida ride were added to Disneyland, including the pirate ship deck (unlike in Florida, Peter and Hook do not duel on the mainsail in California; but on the very bow of the ship). Few scenes are identical between the two versions, but they are amazingly similar. The new Disneyland ride opened as part of the rest of the New Fantasyland on May 25, 1983.

Touring Tips
-Peter Pan is one of the most popular attractions at the Magic Kingdom. The line moves slowly, and forms quickly early in the day. Use FASTPASS if you can, so you don't have to wait too long! Otherwise try to visit this attraction first thing in the morning or during parade times when the lines may be shorter.
-Peter Pan's Flight is also open early during the Magic Kingdom's Extra Magic Hour days. This early time for resort guests, before the park opens to the general public, is a good time to ride.
-Though not threatening or scary, the ride is in the dark.
-Peter Pan's Flight is wheelchair/ECV accessible, however you will have to transfer from the wheelchair to the ride vehicle.

Dining
The closest spot to grab a bite is either the Columbia Harbor House (walk toward Liberty Square) or the Pinocchio Village House (walk toward Cinderella Carrousel).

Shopping
There are not any shops specifically associated with Peter Pan's Flight, however you will be able to find Peter Pan and Tinker Bell merchandise in Tinker Bell's Treasures, located behind the Castle.

Interesting Facts
-Vehicle capacity: 3 (2 adults and 1 child)
-Ride duration: 2:45 minutes
-Loading Platform: Omni-Mover
-A common misconception is that Peter Pan’s Flight opened with the Magic Kingdom on October 1st, 1971. This is incorrect, as the attraction actually opened two days after the Magic Kingdom, on October 3rd, 1971.
-Both Tokyo Disneyland (1983) and Disneyland Paris (1992) also have Peter Pan's Flight.
-Disney Characters are typically not found in the vicinity of Peter Pan. If you'd like to catch Mr. Smee and Captain Hook, you can usually find them in Adventureland. If you're looking for Peter Pan, you'll spy him in the daily "Share a Dream Come True" parade.
-Something to look for: As your ship enters the nursery you might notice the building blocks stacked on the floor (a group is by Wendy's bed, another by the window as you exit). If you look closely, you'll see that these blocks spell "P Pan" and "DISNEY."
-Look for this “Hidden Mickey”: Close to the entrance turnstile, a group of trees faces the loading area. The fourth tree from the far end has a dark classic Mickey in the bark about halfway up the trunk.