This week on Ears to the World we are going to travel 65 million years into the past. Located in the DinoLand USA section of Animal Kingdom, Dinosaur offers up some intense thrills that you won't soon forget.
It wasn't always this way. Previous to Summer 2000, Dinosaur was called Countdown to Extinction and was even more thrilling than the current attraction. The general consensus is that the ride was toned down due to guest complaints that their children could not ride. When the attraction first opened the height restriction was 46'', after a rather quick rehab and reprogramming the restriction was lowered to 40'' and some of the evasive maneuvers were not as intense as before the rehab.
Let's start our journey into the past...
We are being welcomed as guests to the Dino Institute to go into the past and observe how dinosaurs lived. On approach to the Institute we see skeletons of many types of dinosaurs. It is here that we see a sculpture of an Iguanodon that we later find out will be an integral part of the story that will unfold.
Stepping from the courtyard, we enter the exhibition hall of the Institute. Here in the rotunda we hear the story of how the dinosaurs became extinct. The narration is voiced by one of the most famous scientists the Institute could find; Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Finally we are brought into our briefing room to learn what type of adventure we have all signed up for. Dr. Helen Marsh joins us on screen via a live video conference. Dr. Marsh has the distinct pleasure to introduce to us their most amazing achievement to date; The Time Rover. The Institute has designed this vehicle to take museum guests from simply viewing representations of history, to living history. This is also when we meet paleontologist Grant Seeker. Eh hm... Grant... Seeker. See his name is a... well whatever you get the point. Dr. Seeker has recruited our particular group of Jurassic Journeyers for a different mission...
We are brought to the basement of the facility which in the original story line was a top secret area that trials for the vehicles were being conducted. Unfortunately when the name change happened, we lost some of the rich storyline as well. Now, the basement serves as dispatch for the Time Rovers. Travelers take a seat, stow their loose items, and buckle left to right.
A brisk turn to the time tunnel and 5 million years back... 20 million... 35 million... 65 million... a sudden crash of light and an explosion...
(this section intentionally left blank)
Hopefully the Time Rover is able to return to dispatch so we can continue to tour the Institute.
---
Dinosaur's ride vehicles are some of the most advanced on Disney property. Similar vehicles operate on the west coast but take adventurers on a trip through the Temple of the Forbidden Eye to search for Indiana Jones. These vehicles use a combination of movements to create an adventure that is truly believable. This vehicle paired with the animatronic figures, lighting, and sound effects offer an experience that is not only believable, but fully immersible. This makes the attraction extremely frightening because it is so believable.
Dinosaur offers child swap passes for families that have children that may not want to ride. One parent rides while another waits with the child, then they switch. Most thrill rides on property offer this, but it needs to be requested and a small wait should be expected.
With all it's thrills, chills, and technical prowess, Dinosaur is on the list of must-see attractions.
THIS WEEK IN DISNEY HISTORY
1899 - Lillian Bounds (future Wife of Walt Disney) is born in Spalding, Ohio.
1941 - Fantasia opens in Chicago, Illinois.
1950 - Disney's animated feature film Cinderella is released.
1971 - Disney's animated feature film The AristoCats is released in Brazil.
1986 - I was born.
1991 - The live stage show "Dick Tracy Starring in Diamond Double-Cross gives it's final performance. The show ran since May 1990.
1998 - Construction begins on Rock N' Roller Coaster at Disney-MGM Studios.
1999 - The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World celebrated it's 10,000th day of operation.
2002 - Return to Neverland an animated sequel to Peter Pan is released to theaters.
2002 - A new tombstone is added to the Haunted Mansion graveyard dedicated to Leota.
2006 - Mount Everest arrives in New York as part of a massive publicity stunt to promote the opening Expedition Everest.
No comments:
Post a Comment