The Legend of Notre Dame

(Drop Tower Dark Ride)

Climb the bell tower, and discover the legend of The Hunchback of Notre Dame aboard this dark, thrilling attraction.

Queue

At the back of Cathedral Square is a tight alleyway that winds between the buildings of medieval Paris, seemingly leading to Notre Dame. At the head of this alleyway is an ornate, wrought iron gate, which has been opened allowing guests to pass through. Inlaid into an arch above the gate is a sign which reads:

"The Legend of Notre Dame"

Curious guests may pass through the gate and make their way through the twisting back alleys of Paris. Though the alleyway is partially covered and pretty dimly lit, the sounds of the French-speaking residents above can be heard. As guests reach the end of the alleyway, they come upon an unassuming wooden door. Above the door hangs a small wooden sign which reads "La Société de Préservation de Notre-Dame de Paris."

Passing through the door, guests find themselves in a workshop full of equipment, all seemingly related to Notre Dame. The plain stucco walls are accented only by broken and prototyped grotesques and statues, carefully secured on wooden shelving units by rope. To the left, guests can see a massive brass bell, which seems recently made - its mold stands opened just beyond it. It seems as though even pews are being worked on, as a few seem to be being built behind the bell at the back of the room. On the wall behind one of the work benches, a small portrait can be seen, labeled "Notre Fondateur" which looks strikingly like Victor Hugo.

Passing through another doorway at the back of the room, guests find themselves surrounded by artifacts from Notre Dame itself. Dirtied schematics covering hundreds of years of the history of the cathedral line the walls. Pieces cut from old bells, aged and rotting pews, and even samples of marble are stationed around the outer rim of the room.

In the center stands an unassuming model, covered in dust. It's craftsmanship is poor, but the care that went into its creation is apparent. The model is a complete recreation of the square in front of Notre Dame. Every nook and cranny is present, even its patrons - a baker, guards, and gypsies. Among these figures is one of a disfigured man dressed in a green tunic. Though he looks very different from the others, the way the model has been arranged he seems accepted by the others.

Passing into the next room, guests now find themselves in a workshop for Stained Glass-making. Multiple stained glass windows are displayed on easels, each portraying a different part of Quasimodo's story. Despite there being no apparent source of light, each window appears to be backlit somehow. Occasionally, the stained glass windows come to life as they begin to animate. These include:

  • Frollo taking an infant Quasimodo from his mother.

  • Quasimodo ringing the bells of Notre Dame.

  • Quasimodo and his only friends, Victor, Hugo, and Laverne.

  • Quasimodo looking out over Paris as Frollo puts his hand on his shoulder.

Guests then pass through another doorway at the back of the room.

Passing through the doorway, guests find themselves outside at the foot of Notre Dame. The richly detailed front of the cathedral towers over guests and the buildings surrounding it. Though the square is dark, shadowed by the massive cathedral, the dawn's sun casts sunlight onto the iconic Rose Window

Guests make their way through a series of switchbacks which span the length of the cathedral's main square, twisting through tents and towers constructed to help celebrate the Festival of Fools. Guests can see the silhouettes of street performers and beggars in a few of the surrounding alleyways. Occasionally, a patrol of guards can be seen making their rounds, no doubt looking for gypsies.

Finally, guests reach the front steps of Notre Dame, and pass through the cathedral's middle front door, which has been cracked open.

Passing through the front doors of the cathedral, guests will immediately find that most of the interior is unaccessible, partitioned by a wall of scaffolding and canvas. Despite the disappointment of not being able to see the interior of Notre Dame, guests will be amazed by the canvas, which has been painted over, depicting Quasimodo as he holds Esmerelda. The mural seems amateurly painted - not by a professional. The dawn’s light through the Rose Window creates fractals of multi-colored light, which scatter across the mural’s massive canvas.

It is here that the queue splits off, left and right, leading to either of Notre Dame's bell towers.

Loading Area

Both loading areas are identical, albeit mirrored. Like the front of the cathedral, the base of the bell tower is covered in scaffolding, reaching all the way up to the top of the tower (an effect acheived through clever use of mirrors.). Both of the far walls feature a dedicated boarding area, a pair of small work wooden work elevators, propelled by a large wooden wheel which sits in the back corner of the room. Each loading elevator services two ride vehicles each. Unlike Tower of Terror, the loading area is entirely open, separated only by a small amount of scaffolding, allowing guests in line to watch guests load before they are whisked away up the bell tower.

Above the elevator's wheel is a perch made of three 2x4s which span the length between both elevators. On these 2x4s sit three gargoyles, one of which has a few pigeons perched upon its back. Occasionally, they spring to life, revealing themselves to be Quasimodo's friends, Victor, Hugo, and Laverne. They occasionally entertain guests in line, announcing their excitement at seeing people visit them, and setting up the story of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Hugo - "Who are these guys? I didn't think we got visitors anymore."

Laverne - "Come on, now. They're guests. There here to hear about Quasi."

Victor - "Quasi? They're in for quite the treat."

Hugo - "And we're just the guys to tell them."

Laverne - "I don't think so."

Victor - "That's right. We're a bit stuck up here anyway. Umm... help. We'd like to come down. Hello?"

Soon, guests will reach the front of the line and

Ride System

A trackless system is utilized for this attraction, used similarly to how it is in Rise of the Resistance. Groups of two vehicles make their way through the attraction, separating at a few points to provide different angles of certain scenes.

The main twist in the ride system comes with the elevators. This is again an extension of Rise of the Resistance, but has been expanded to utilize two elevators. The first allows for a small amount of side-to-side movement mainly to heighten the scene. The second is a pretty standard elevator drop, featuring multiple ride profiles, similarly to Tower of Terror.

The actual ride vehicles look like push carts, carrying stone and canvas arranged to make seats. Each vehicle seats eight guests.

Ride

Once guests are settled in and their seatbelts checked, a gate descends before them separating the elevator shaft from the rest of the loading area. With that, the opening of "The Bells of Notre Dame" begins as guests begin to rise up out of the loading area.

After passing up through a wooden partition, guests enter the tower proper. In the distance, the sound of Notre Dame's bells can be heard ringing. As they rise, the voice of Clopin can be heard:

"Listen. They're beautiful, no. But, you know, they don't ring by themselves. Up, up in the bell tower, lives its mysterious bell-ringer - Quasimodo."

Guests continue to rise, passing small windows illuminated by sunlight. Guests may catch a glimpse of Paris through these windows. Clopin continues, now in song, as "The Bells of Notre Dame" reaches a head, accompanied by the actual church bells, which are getting louder and louder as guests climb higher and higher.

"Now, here is a riddle to guess if you can,

Sing the Bells of Notre Dame.

Who is the monster, and who is the man?

Sing the Bells of Notre Dame."

With that, guests finally reach the top of the bell tower. Bells of varying size ring triumphantly over the Parisian skyline. As the vehicles come to a stop, Quasimodo himself comes swinging out. As he swings, the vehicles begin to gently rock back and forth with the bells, almost as if they too are being moved by Quasimodo's bell ringing. The swinging stops, and the vehicles back out of the bell tower.

Guests now enter a different part of the bell tower. Passing through a small hallway, bathed in blue light. Massive bells flank both sides of the small passageway, towering up into the darkness above. Above them, guests can watch Quasimodo, who is sitting in the rafters, looking longingly out over Paris. As guests pass, he sings "Out There." The vehicles take a turn between the bells and away from Quasimodo.

Turning past the bells, guests pass through a large wooden door, not dissimilar to the one they passed through the enter the cathedral, and find themselves in the middle of the Festival of Fools. The square is decorated from top to bottom with banners, streamers, and the like. However, it seems that most of the celebration is over.

In the center of the room, a small crowd has gathered around Quasimodo, who has been tied up and had fruit thrown at him. The vehicles part to circle around the commotion from either side. Quasimodo kneels, tied up by multiple ropes, his shirt almost ripped off of him. He looks around, worriedly. The only person who expresses any sort of sympathy is Esmerelda, who has begun to untie him.

The vehicles join together once more and continue under an archway and into another part of the festival.

The vehicles enter another room not dissimilar from the last. It's still decorated for the festival, but a bit more ornately. In front of guests, in a viewing box built into another archway, sits an (animated) Judge Frollo, accompanied by Captain Phoebus, who looks on at the festivities below.

Suddenly, Frollo's indignant expression turns to both worry and surprise. The vehicles come to a stop and rotate right to reveal Esmerelda, who is dancing on a stage for the festival-goers.

As Esmerelda continues to dance, the festival around her quickly fades to black, eventually leaving Esmerelda has the only thing visible. The ethnic tones of her accompaniment quickly fades into “Hellfire” as her figure turns to flames (through a Pepper's Ghost effect) before losing her form completely. This ethereal flame begins to fly away.

The vehicles follow it, rotating right to again face where Frollo once was. As they turn, the flame flies far down a newly-revealed hallway before them and into a large ornate fireplace which bursts with a bright orange light, illuminating the rest of the room. As the room is illuminated, massive faceless figures in crimson cloaks quickly rise from the floor, flanking both sides of the hall. "Hellfire" begins to play as guests make their way down the hall.

Frollo stands next to the fireplace as he laments about his morals and desires. As guests continue down the hall, the heat of the fireplace becomes more and more apparent. As the song reaches its climax, guests pass into the fireplace, and through its billowing smoke.

NOTE: The Esmerelda/ Hellfire sequence is achieved primarily through use of scrims. The fireplace/ cloaked figure hallway is hidden behind scrims made to look like the streets of Paris when guests first enter. After the cars turn to watch Esmerelda, scrims surrounding the scene entrance, as well as Frollo's box (which is itself a screen,) rise as the lights dim, eventually revealing the hallway and cloaked figures once the fireplace lights. The reveal of the cloaked figures is achieved through use of projection mapping - the actual static figure shells are hidden by the darkness of the room, only visible once they are projected over.

Through the smoke, the faces of the statues of Notre Dame can be seen, glowering down at guests as they approach. The sounds of "Dies Irae" can be heard as the smoke clears, revealing the rest of Notre Dame’s Last Judgement Portal. Guests continue through the massive doorway, the accusing eyes of the statues following them as they pass. Guests leave the portal behind, passing into total darkness.

Through the darkness a door opens, covering guests in an orange, flickering light. The vehicles move forward, reentering the bell tower at night(about a floor up from where the vehicles will later be exiting from the tower.) The smell of burning wood permeates through the air, and the sounds of fighting can be heard just outside. Suddenly, the vehicles begin to rise, once more ascending the bell tower of Notre Dame.

The vehicles begin to rise, passing some smaller windows through which guests can see Parisian guards as they try to scale the walls. About halfway up, guests can look to the opposite tower to get a full view of just how much destruction this assault has wrought - Quasimodo has poured molten lead down the sides of the cathedral, which burst out of its gargoyles and down onto the square below. Ascending further, guests can see the silhouette of Frollo, dagger in hand, as he climbs a spiral staircase to reach the top of the tower.

The vehicles stop at the "top" of the tower. In front of guests is Esmerelda who lays unconscious on a small bed. Behind her, at the edge of the tower are Frollo and Quasimodo, who look to be ready to fight each other. After a brief pause, the bells begin to ring as the vehicles shoot up, through the bell rafters. Reaching the true top of the tower, the vehicles stop once more. They begin to shake as the tower's shutters open, revealing the skyline of Disneyland Brazil. As guests look over the park, the bells once more begin to ring with more and more intensity. With a shudder, the vehicles begin to fall.

The Legend of Notre Dame features two drop profiles, Heaven's Light, and Hellfire, themed to both Quasimodo and Frollo respectively, which are chosen at random. Frollo's is the more thrilling of the two, but both provide a thrilling and unique experience.

Heaven's Light

After peaking at the park overlook, the vehicles begin a series of shorter descents and ascents. During this sequence, the battle over Notre Dame rages. Fighting can be heard through the walls as molten lead continues to pour over the windows. The profile reaches its climax as the vehicles stop at the top of a rise and the silhouette of Frollo is revealed, holding a knife above his head ready to strike. The vehicles make one final large fall to the bottom of the shaft.

Hellfire

After peaking at the park overlook, the vehicles begin a series of larger descents and ascents. As guests fall, the elevator shaft is engulfed in (projection mapped) flames. The further the vehicles fall, the larger, and darker, the flames become. Eventually, the vehicles shoot up back to the park overlook before falling one final time down the entire height of the tower and to the bottom of the shaft.

The vehicles reverse out of the tower, and pass through a short cornered stone hallway. Passing out of the hallway, guests again find themselves outside of the cathedral and in the square. A crowd has once again gathered around Quasimodo, but this time they're celebrating him. Guests pass around him as he sits on top of a few of the merrymakers, overjoyed that he is now accepted. As guests leave Quasimodo behind for one final time, Clopin again can be heard as he sings "The Bells of Notre Dame."

"So here is a riddle to guess if you can,

Sing the Bells of Notre Dame.

What makes a monster, and what makes a man?

Sing the bells of Notre Dame."

As the song reaches its peak, guests enter the unloading area, which is a small workshop, full of toys and decorations for the next Festival of Fools. As guests leave their vehicles, they may take a look at some of the items being crafted. On a workbench is a newly-crafted wooden toy of Quasimodo. Guests may exit back out into Cathedral Square

The Legend of Notre Dame finally brings the story of Hunchback to the Disney parks on a more permanent basis. Offering thrills and stunning scenery, this attraction is sure to be one of the premiere attractions at Disneyland Brazil.