Ride Through Sample #2

Babes in Toyland

As the screen before guests spins in a whirlish blur, the simulator’s slight motion slowly funnels the theater into the shrinking vortex ahead while random toys fly by, and a faint orchestral tune is heard. An overly vibrant fairytale village comes into view displaying the full power of technicolor from Disney’s first live action musical, Babes in Toyland released in 1961. The full title sequence of the film becomes audibly louder as the view swoops down into the village where Toyland’s residents can be seen in celebration.

The camera pans across toy soldiers, various fairytale characters, storefronts and castle walls with the music continuing to play, as Roger exclaims that he has spotted something interesting. The view pans upward as the theater floats towards an ominous, yet cartoonish mountain retreat, the home of Evil Mr. Barnaby. An odd-looking contraption is pointed out of the structure right towards the guests as the theater climbs higher. Realizing too late, the contraption captures the room in a reddish glow as Roger has unwittingly taken guests right into the path of Evil Mr. Barnaby’s shrink ray. Everything on screen quickly grows larger as the theater guests are shrunk down with the screen quickly fading to black.

The Love Bug

The orchestral musical of Toyland is suddenly replaced by the roar of engines as windshield wipers swipe black oil off the screen. Now in the middle of a raceway, the action on screen pops from all sides as racecars go whizzing by. From behind, the familiar honk of a loveable VW, and Herbie the Love Bug flashes onto screen so quickly the theater seems as if it is spinning on the track.

Now in the middle of 1968’s The Love Bug, Roger lets out a stuttering whoo-hoo and the theater races off to catch the pack. Weaving in and out of competitors, guests catch up to the dueling Herbie and his arch nemesis Peter Thorndyke just in time to see Herbie split in half. Thinking you are his last bit of competition, Thorndyke drops an oil slick and theater slides off the track launching into the air over bales of hay.

Temple of Doom

As the view shifts downward, the sprawling Pankot Palace from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom lies below. The theater swoops down into the palace, flying through various ornate rooms as Roger knocks over about every priceless thing along the way before bumping into a hidden secret entrance beneath the palace.

After a quick blast through a torch lit cave, the theater pops into a huge underground cave system filled with catwalks, machinery and one Indiana Jones fighting off numerous guards. As Indy flies overhead landing in a mine cart, the theater follows with the iconic Indiana Jones tune playing in the background. The screen and theater flow up and down with the tracks and around tight bends during the iconic chase sequence, even hopping tracks multiple times sideways and forwards as Roger babbles about enjoying himself too much. The loud woosh from behind can only mean one thing as water explodes down the tunnel engulfing the theater and washing out the screen.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Bubbles fill the screen and the lighting in the theater as the scene explodes out of the water and the theater soaring out into the calm, open sea. The familiar outline of the Black Pearl appears in the distance and the refrain from a Pirates life for me echoes from all sides of the simulator. The screen circles the pearl, getting a closeup glimpse of the characters and crew before facing back out to sea. Within the theater, Roger can be hard working on his best pirate impersonations, shouting “Ahoy matey” at every pirate he sees.

In an instant, the skies change, and the sea fills with a multitude of other ships, including The Flying Dutchman with Davy Jones clearly visible on deck. A giant maelstrom appears below, with the winds following the same motion and sucking not only the lead ships, but the theater into its spin. As the Dutchman and Pearl battle it out, cannon fire and booms raining around the theater, the screen view is swallowed into the depths of the maelstrom. As the wind and water subside, guests find themselves squarely back in the backlot, seaweed framing the screen and water trickling down, lasting reminders of their adventure.