The Disney Frontier Blog

Description: Subscribe for CONSTANT updates! Ride Space Mountain as it would have appeared before the major rehab for the 50th celebration. Ride shot with night vision. Space Mountain opened in 1977, invigorating a decade-old Tomorrowland as Disneyland's second roller coaster. The idea for Anaheim's ride originated in the mid 1960s, during Walt Disney's lifetime, as a way to energize the aging Tomorrowland. The project was shelved until the success of Space Mountain in Florida. After two years of construction, the $20 million complex opened May 27 including the roller coaster, 1,100-seat Space Stage, 670-seat Space Place (fast food restaurant) and Starcade.[2] Six Mercury astronauts attended Space Mountain's opening — Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Sen. John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.[1] Largely due in part to the opening of Space Mountain, the Memorial Day day attendance record was set, with 185,500 guests over the three-day period.[2] Space Mountain at Disneyland was designed by Bill Watkins of Walt Disney Imagineering. It was different from the WDW design because of space limitations. The attraction continued operating without much change: sponsors would come and go, and various minor changes, including the addition of a "Speedramp" (moving sidewalk) in the entrance, happened without fanfare. In 1995, FedEx became the official sponsor for the ride, sparking a number of significant alterations. The queue area was revamped with television monitors looping safety videos, the loading station had a new Audio-Animatronic robot FedEx worker, and other scenic areas were modeled to include FedEx trademarks.[2] In 1996, composer Aarin Richard and show producer Eddie Sotto teamed up to create the first on-board music track for a Disney roller coaster. The creative vision was to fuse two iconic musical forms of the 1960's — sci-fi horror music and surf music — into a sensory ride experience. All of the music written for the show is based on "Le Carnival Des Animaux: Aquarium" ( The Carnival of the Animals ), written by Camille Saint-Saëns. The first section of the ride's music is synthesized and entirely devoted to the sci-fi aspect as the rockets leave the station to begin their slow climb to the top. After the vehicles have crested, a rocking surf rendition of the piece kicks in as gravity pulls the vehicles down through the ride's interweaving turns, hills, and dips. (Guitarist Dick Dale was brought into the Disney Imagineering recording studio to play his famous surf guitar riffs for this section of the music.) As the rockets reenter the loading station, a brief musical finale concludes the experience with a soft, synthesized rendition of "Aquarium." In 1997, the exterior of the mountain was painted green and gold to match the recent facelift to Tomorrowland. In 2003, the mountain was painted white again.[2] The ride closed suddenly on April 10, 2003, with an announcement that it would remain closed until Disneyland's 50th anniversary. The ride had become unstable and would need a complete track replacement.[2] On June 25, 2005 Disneyland surprised its guests by announcing that the reopening of Space Mountain would open early on July 15, instead of the projected November date.[3][4] On July 15, 2005 (with "soft openings" starting 1 July), only two days before Disneyland's official 50th Anniversary, Space Mountain reopened from a major refurbishment that started in April, 2003. A re-opening ceremony was held that day which featured a guest speaker, Neil Armstrong, who received a plaque that day which said "Presented to Mr. Neil Armstrong for his courage and adventurous spirit that continues to inspire all mankind to reach for the stars". The plaque also features the Disney quote "It's kinda fun to do the impossible". The new Space Mountain features new rocket sleds, a new queue, new music (composed by Michael Giacchino), new special effects and a storyline. The completely rebuilt track is the exact same layout as originally designed by Walt Disney Imagineer Bill Watdisneyland disneyland disneyland disney's california adventure disney's california adventure adventureland tomorrowland fantasyland toontown magic kingdom animal epcot frontierland vintage retired yesterland old home movies great moments lincoln main street usa cinema star tours space mountain honey i shrunk the audience captain eo peoplemover mission to mars america sings innoventions skyway autopia carousel of progress matterhorn bobsleds alice in wonderland pinocchio's daring journey peter pan's flight snow white's scary adventure disneyland youtube poop circarama american journeys tokyo disneyseas

Description: At the time it was built, Splash Mountain was one of the most expensive projects created by Walt Disney Imagineering ($75 million). The Splash Mountain project was not originally approved, due to the cost. The Imagineers on the team mounted an internal publicity campaign, taking turns carrying large (4' x 6') artistic drawings of the project around the Imagineering offices and pitching the project (and its technical details) to anyone who would listen. This grass roots campaign succeeded in educating all of Imagineering, and most of the Disney executives, on the project. According to an Imagineer familiar with the project, the original design for the logs included a scooped front nose intended to move the water in front of the log, and to assist in slowing the log down during the final drop. During final testing of the ride, Disney president and CEO Michael Eisner convinced the Imagineers to let him and his son on the ride (over the Imagineers' collective objections). The scoop design had the side effect of throwing large amounts of water up in the air and onto the riders, and Eisner and his son came off the ride soaked. Michael commented to the Imagineers "Great ride, but you have to do something about the water". The log design was changed shortly afterwards. The audio-animatronic characters were adapted from the America Sings attraction in Disneyland Park's Tomorrowland that had run from 1974 through 1988, having replaced the Carousel of Progress after that show was moved to the Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort in 1973. When America Sings closed in April 1988, according to Alice Davis, wife of the late Marc Davis, production of Disneyland's Splash Mountain had gone way over budget and the only way to recover was to close down America Sings and use the characters from that attraction.[1] The characters from America Sings were used in most parts of Splash Mountain, but some audio-animatronic figures in the earlier ride segments were specifically designed for the Splash Mountain ride story. When the ride was first put together, nearly all the animatronics were wired and put in place. Dave Feiten was then brought in to animate and fix story and staging problems. Feiten then moved nearly all of the animatronics to new locations and then took out 10 animatronic figures and removed them from the ride completely to improve the show. Originally the show scene "Sticky Situation," which portrays Br'er Rabbit stuck in honey, was planned to be the infamous Tar Baby scene from Song of the South. The scene was changed to avoid the same notorious racial controversies that have plagued the film.[citation needed] Like a number of Disney attractions, much of Splash Mountain takes place outside of park boundaries. Guests are kept oblivious to the transition between the visible Chickapin Hill and the warehouse-like show building that houses most of the experience, and clever landscaping within the park prevents guests from glimpsing the behind-the-scenes structures. disneyland disneyland disneyland disney's california adventure disney's california adventure adventureland tomorrowland fantasyland toontown magic kingdom animal epcot frontierland vintage retired yesterland old home movies great moments lincoln main street usa cinema star tours space mountain honey i shrunk the audience captain eo peoplemover mission to mars america sings innoventions skyway autopia carousel of progress matterhorn bobsleds alice in wonderland pinocchio's daring journey peter pan's flight snow white's scary adventure disneyland youtube poop circarama american journeys tokyo disneyseas

Description: The attraction takes 87 guests at a time on a s... (more) Added: November 20, 2007 The attraction takes 87 guests at a time on a simulated hang glider tour of the Golden State, flying over San Francisco, Redwood Creek, Napa Valley, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Palm Springs (actually shot in nearby La Quinta over the golf course at PGA West), Camarillo, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego, Malibu and Los Angeles. The ride ends with a flight over Disneyland at Christmas, with a Christmas parade traveling down Main Street, U.S.A., decorations on Sleeping Beauty Castle, and fireworks. Ride design: The vehicle (called a carriage) consists of three rows of seats under a wing-like canopy. After guests have been safely restrained in the vehicle, the canopy descends and a cantilever system lifts the chairs forward and into the air with the guests' feet dangling free. The vehicle is lifted into a huge IMAX dome movie screen onto which scenes of California are projected. Since the vehicle is moved forward into the dome, the effect is such that guests can only see the images projected on the screen and are given the sensation of flight. To enhance the illusion of flight, subtle vertical movements of the seats are synchronized to the film. According to cast members who operate this attraction, the carriages do not move horizontally. Sensations of horizontally are created via a combination of vertical carriage movement and the turning image on the screen. In addition, scents complementing the various scenes are injected into the air streams blowing on riders. In the Ventura orange field scene, for example, guests are treated to the scent of orange blossoms. The mountain scenes are accompanied by the aroma of evergreens. The Monterey and Malibu scenes have the scent of a sea breeze while the Palm Springs and Anza-Borrego scenes feature the fragrance of sagebrush. The ride system is a Walt Disney Imagineering-developed motion-based technology, based on a conceptual erector set model created by Imagineer Mark Sumner. One million pounds of steel provides the ride structure and 37 tons are lifted during each ride cycle. Soarin' uses high-definition, high-speed (48 fps, twice that of the normal motion picture) film and OmniMax projectors. Disney's California Adventure Soarin' over California at Disney's California AdventureSoarin' Over California is one of the most visited attractions at the entire Disneyland Resort (facing tough competition from fan favorites over at Disneyland) and usually has wait times from 30-150 minutes. However, the attraction is tied into the park's FASTPASS system, thus giving the option of bypassing a long wait. The actual show is four minutes and fifty-one seconds long. Queue: While waiting in line, guests have the opportunity to visit the Wings of Fame, an homage to aircraft giving significant contributions to the Aviation Industry of California. Such planes included in the Wings of Fame are the P-51 Mustang, SR-71 Blackbird, and the X-1 Starfighter. Further passing the Wings of Fame is a small section dedicated to inividuals who have also contributed significantly to the Aviation industry of California such as Amelia Earhart, Jack Northrop, and Chuck Yeager. With each acknowledgement of their contribution is a small informative background of each aircraft or individual. Preshow Before being boarded into the hangar, guests will be placed into a preshow area, thematically named "Alpha Gate", "Bravo Gate", or "Charlie Gate." While waiting in this area, guests will have the opportunity to interact with Cast Members. Just before boarding guests will watch a Pre-Boarding video hosted by their Chief Flight Attendant, Patrick Warburton. Trivia There are two confirmed hidden Mickeys in the ride. One is on the golf ball hit by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. The second is in the fireworks finale, composed of three strategically placed blooms, a design currently used in displays at Disney parks worldwide. During the desert scene, just before the appearance of the USAF Thunderbirds, the path the horseback riders take leads to a cliff edge and a long drop. disneyland disneyland disneyland disney's california adventure disney's california adventure adventureland tomorrowland fantasyland toontown magic kingdom animal epcot frontierland vintage retired yesterland old home movies great moments lincoln main street usa cinema star tours space mountain honey i shrunk the audience captain eo peoplemover mission to mars america sings innoventions skyway autopia carousel of progress matterhorn bobsleds alice in wonderland pinocchio's daring journey peter pan's flight snow white's scary adventure disneyland youtube poop circarama american journeys tokyo disneyseas

Description: This is NOT the real attraction at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando or the one at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim. This is something I created out of my own imagination. It is my 3-minute CG fly-through of my creation, Monsters, Inc. Factory Tour. I submitted this video along with the rest of my project to Walt Disney Imagineering back in 2003 for the ImagiNations competition. For more information, head to: http://www.distantcreations.com/imaginationsitm/ Be sure to check out Inside the Magic at: http://www.distantcreations.com/insidethemagic

Description: Walt Disney Imagineering spent six years researching, designing and building Expedition Everest, including many trips to the Himalayas to collect reference material and observations. The resulting attraction is a fictionalized telling of the legend of the yeti, using an imaginary setting created with meticulous re-creations of Himalayan architecture, art and cultural traditions.

Description: Audio Animatronics

Description: Walt Disney Imagineering spent six years researching, designing and building Expedition Everest, including many trips to the Himalayas to collect reference material and observations. The resulting attraction is a fictionalized telling of the legend of the yeti, using an imaginary setting created with meticulous re-creations of Himalayan architecture, art and cultural traditions

Description: Walt Disney Imagineering spent six years researching, designing and building Expedition Everest, including many trips to the Himalayas to collect reference material and observations. The resulting attraction is a fictionalized telling of the legend of the yeti, using an imaginary setting created with meticulous re-creations of Himalayan architecture, art and cultural traditions

Description: Walt Disney Imagineering spent six years researching, designing and building Expedition Everest, including many trips to the Himalayas to collect reference material and observations. The resulting attraction is a fictionalized telling of the legend of the yeti, using an imaginary setting created with meticulous re-creations of Himalayan architecture, art and cultural traditions

Description: Walt Disney Imagineering spent six years researching, designing and building Expedition Everest, including many trips to the Himalayas to collect reference material and observations. The resulting attraction is a fictionalized telling of the legend of the yeti, using an imaginary setting created with meticulous re-creations of Himalayan architecture, art and cultural traditions