Disney has updated the patriotic finale of the American Adventure attraction at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. This latest update includes moments from the last 14 years of US history. Among the touching and memorable moments added are Muhammad Ali carrying a torch at the 1996 Olympics, scenes from the destroyed World Trade Center, and former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton working together on tsunami relief (although this might stand in for Katrina as well). Other personalities added include Michelle Kwan, Tiger Woods, (both of whom were already in the California Adventure attraction "Golden Dreams") and the firefighters who raised the flag at the World Trade Center’s ground zero.
I saw the new version this past weekend and, softy that I am, was teared up well before the end of the ending montage. The new changes fit right in with the previous slides. The pace has been hurried up a bit to fit with the music. But it’s not so fast that you miss anything. The ratio of triumph to tragedy is just about 85:15, which is fine. You get the ‘America’s a Great Place’ feeling, but it comes with the knowledge that we can continue to do better if we follow our golden dreams.
We sat in the third row, the perfect spot if you ask me. The audio-animatronics all appear to have been given some TLC. Their movements are much more fluid with full motion arcs now. No new figures were added to the show during this update.
Only one complaint really. They need to order a new print of the film. The one currently in use is scratched horribly. Having worked as a film projectionist for a grand total of 6 weeks back in the 80s, I feel "qualified" to say that I saw evidence of projector neglect. If they cleaned the projector more often the little specks of dust and whatnot would not be such a problem.
Come to think of it. Isn’t Siemens’ a new sponsor for Disney. They’ve replaced many of the smaller projectors with Siemens’ product (to sometimes odd effect), while not invest in some digital projectors for all the film attractions? You never have to order a new film from the master again. (Read)
Really, they just need to take ALL of the films (that aren’t IMAX or 360 based) and replace their projectors with digital projectors.
I saw Pirates III on a digital system and was just astounded at the quality improvement over the traditional print, especially as it had been three weeks into the release, where most prints really show the abuse that typical projectors give.
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