Ashley Eckstein And James Arnold Taylor Return To Headline Star Wars Weekends In 2012!
Good news Star Wars fans, it would seem that clone wars voice actors Ashley Eckstein and James Arnold Taylor (Ashoka Tano and Obi-Wan Kenobi) have both agreed to headline Star Wars weekends again in 2012! Although I will be in Disney again in May this year I will not be attending any of the Star Wars weekends but I will say that with these two big names headlining the events once again, it is well worth attending!
Also…. who wouldn’t want to go an see the lovely Ashley Eckstein?
Attractions In Detail- The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror is known to Disney fans all over the world as many different things. Some call it the above, others call it the Tower of Terror and many others simply call it the TOT. But where did this awesome attraction come from and what about it has made it arguably the most successful attraction at Hollywood Studios?
The Plot
The ride itself is based around the storylines seen in the Twilight Zone television series and according to Disney sources the imagineers for the ride watched every single episode of the television series at least twice before the attraction was complete. (This is partly why fans will see references to the series jotted throughout the attraction).
The hotel has been closed since 1939 when a freak lightening accident transported an elevator full of people straight into the Twilight Zone which in turn caused an entire wing of the building to disappear! You will notice by looking at the front of the building exactly where the “lightening” hit as there are big, black burn marks on the front.
The History Of TOT
The attraction first opened in July of 94 and is the second tallest attraction in Walt Disney World standing at 199 feet. (Expedition Everest is 199.5!). In order to mix the fear in this attraction up a bit Disney added a random drop factor into the programming a few years ago. This means that instead of guests just dropping the 13 stories they would usually do they might drop 3 then 5 then go up that 8 and drop all 13! This addition to the attraction gave the slogan “never the same fear twice”!
The ride system itself is also a very interesting one as it was specifically made for Disney. The ability for an elevator to move in and out of a vertical shaft is the technology that Disney are particularly proud of and it sounds like something that has come straight from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Tower of Terror Cast Members
Another interesting fact about the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is the fact that the bellhop costume that cast members wears costs over $1,000 per costume! This actually makes it the most expensive costume on any attraction in WDW!
An End To The TOT?
With the Tower of Terror still putting the fear and laughter into many WDW guests over 17 years since the launch of the attraction and with Disney constantly making sure the right updates are made to keep the ride fresh it doesn’t look like the scariest ride in Hollywood Studios is going to be closing down any time soon and, well, that’s fantastic!
Are there any other great facts you want me to include about the Tower of Terror in Walt Disney World Florida, let me know in the comments and I will add them in!
Attractions In Detail- Expedition Everest
This is my second choice in the ongoing series of attraction in detail posts and was really chosen by my girlfriend as it is her favourite ride at the parks. I don’t think that anyone will deny that this ride has become a major success at the Animal Kingdom and for coaster fans it really put the park on the map. (I will go into the “Disco Yeti” later in the post).
Expedition Everest Plot
Riders are taken through a small Asian town into a museum that is dedicated to the local legend of the Yeti that is said to live on the mountain. The advertisements state that riders will be taken aboard a train that will take them on an interesting journey to Mount Everest whilst first going through the forbidden mountain where the Yeti supposedly lives. First riders are taken past a ransacked temple before slowly being taken up the mountain only to find the tracks have been torn apart. Prepare to meet the Yeti…
Expedition Everest Attraction History
The attraction was first announced way back in 2003 during an event that celebrated the 5th anniversary of the Animal Kingdom theme park. From start to opening the ride took a good couple of years to build before the grand opening on April 7th 2006 making the ride 5 years old this month! People have often compared this ride with Matterhorn in the Californian Park as it features a snowy mountain and an abominable snowman but let me assure you, the rides are completely different.
Expedition Everest is the tallest artificial mountain in the Walt Disney World Resort beating the other famous Mountains; Splash, Thunder, Space, Mount Gushmore and Mount Mayday. The ride is also unique in that its trains travel both backwards and forwards due to the Yeti coming in and messing with the tracks.
It is important to note that this ride is very much a family friendly one as it doesn’t have any upside down moments.
Guests should also be aware that you don’t actually ever end up travelling to Mount Everest itself as the Yeti keeps you at his Forbidden Mountain.
The Broken Yeti/ Disco Yeti
A lot of people passing through this ride will not actually realise that the Yeti on the ride is broken. Strobe lighting and wind gives the illusion that the Yeti is moving when in fact it has been stationery and broken since a few months after the rides original opening.
The Yeti, now entitled “Disco Yeti” due to the strobe effects will not be fixed until a routine refurbishment of the ride as it is going to be a tougher job than people might think. The design of the coaster itself was all done using 4D technology and it would seem that something went seriously wrong when the Yeti part was put together as the stress of the animatronic moving all of the time meant that the concrete supports started to crack. With this in mind Disney had no choice but to switch the animatronic into B mode.
You will see by this video just how strongly fans feel about getting it fixed.
The ride cost Disney well over $200 million to create so as soon as the ride is due to close for refurbishment you can bet money on them fixing this problem to keep the fans happy.
An End To An End To Expedition Everest?
Well this ride is still relatively new in Disney World and one of the best, biggest and modern rides that Disney has. It always has a long waiting line and the gift shop does very well.
There is no way that this is going to be closing for good anytime soon.
Attractions In Detail- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
This begins a brand new feature I am starting on TFG that takes a in depth look at the fantastic rides that not only appear in Disney World but across the other theme parks in the Orlando area too.
During these pieces not only will I provide information on the ride but will go into a detailed history and offer my own opinion on how long the rides will realistically carry on for before being replaced by something else.
I will also try put these posts live on Wednesday’s to help with consistency although they may not appear every week!
Why Mickey’s PhilharMagic First?
The only reason I have chosen this ride first is simply because I was just listening music on shuffle and Be Our Guest came on and the song instantly reminds me of this fantastic attraction, I can almost smell the delicious foods too!
Plot
Mickey Mouse is performing with his PhilharMagic orchestra within the Fantasyland concert hall but it all goes wrong when Donald starts to unpack the instruments and puts on Mickey’s Sorcerer’s hat (he was told not too by Mickey). He then tries to control the instruments and after ending up fighting a flute the instruments all gang up on him. This creates a magical mess that ends with Donald flying through films trying to get the hat back including Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
Of course Mickey puts a stop to it in the end!
Attraction History
Mickey’s PhilharMagic opened on October 8th 2003 and consists of a 12 minute 4-D film that contains 3D effects, scents including cakes and water spurting out at guests. It also contains one of the largest collections of Disney characters on screen ever and is shown on the largest purpose build 3D screen ever made.
The attraction itself if rather unique in that it is one of the only ones that Disney Imagineering collaborated with another Disney department in order to create the attraction. They partnered up with feature animation in order to make sure that everything was as perfect as it could be (they also did this for the Fantasmic show). One of the key animators for Disney, Glen Keane, completely re-rendered Ariel for the 3D effect and Nik Ranieri did the same for Lumiere in the Beauty and the Beast segment of the show. Disney also used all original actors for the voice casting of the show using archival recordings of Clarence Nash to provide much of Donald’s voice work whilst only using the current actor for a couple of lines.
Will The End Of The Ride Be Anytime Soon?
So with rides coming and going all of the time how long is the lifeline to this ride going to be?
Well in all honesty I can see this attraction going on for a long while yet, Disney rarely see complaints of this ride aging and the technology still seems new considering the ride will hit its 10th year in 2013!
What are your thoughts on this great attraction?
