Hang on to those Hats and Glasses when you board the next innovation to come from the Disney Cruise Line. The new Disney Dream will debut the cruise industry’s first-ever shipboard water coaster, a.k.a. the AquaDuck. The ride will take guests on a high-speed flume ride above the upper decks of the ship and even out over the ocean.

This is not Disney’s first Water Coaster as they have one installed at Typhoon Lagoon at Walt Disney World Resort. It’s a fun experience, for sure, being pushed up a hill by water plus all the usual thrills and spills of a regular water slide as well.

The AquaDuck Experience
Stretching 765 feet in length and spanning four decks in height, AquaDuck combines the thrill of a coaster with the splashing fun of a water slide as powerful water blasters propel guests around the perimeter of the ship’s top deck. From high atop the aft funnel, on Deck 16, guests begin their voyage by boarding a specially designed two-person inflatable raft.

AquaDuck quickly takes an exciting turn. Starting with an initial drop, guests are suspended in a “swing out” loop that extends 13 feet over the side of the ship. Surrounded only by the crystal clear acrylic flume, guests get a breathtaking, unobstructed view of the ocean surface 150 feet below.

The excitement amplifies as riders experience the up-and-down sensations of a coaster and defy gravity in a torrent of gushing water. After an initial plunge, high-powered water jets accelerate guests upwards and forwards at a surging speed of about 20 feet per second, made possible by utilizing some of today’s latest water coaster technology.

The ride continues as guests are whisked into an enclosed tunnel. Specialized lighting surrounding the flume provides a magical effect as riders travel through the forward funnel where kids in the tween club can catch a shadowy glimpse of guests through special windows as they whiz by.

Emerging from the funnel, guests swiftly glide along a stretch of river rapids 335 feet in length, providing a stunning panorama of the ocean and the ship’s upper decks. Then comes a whooshing splashdown on Deck 12.

When the sun sets, AquaDuck immerses guests in a unique nighttime experience combining the thrills of this one-of-a-kind water coaster with customized lighting and amazing views of the nighttime sky.

AquaDuck Fast Facts

• AquaDuck is the first and only water coaster onboard a cruise ship
• The length of the entire attraction is about 765 feet
• The length of the river rapids is about 335 feet
• The overall height of the ride is roughly 46 feet – equivalent to four and a half stories
• Approximately 10,000 gallons of water per minute propel guests through the attraction
• The loop that extends over the edge of the ship is about 150 feet above the ocean’s surface
• High-powered water jets accelerate guests upward and forward at about 20 feet per second
• There are three portholes in the tween club that provide silhouetted views of AquaDuck riders as they pass through the funnel
• As a convenience to guests, a conveyor system lifts rafts up from Deck 12 to the ride launch on Deck 16
• The minimum rider height requirement for AquaDuck is 48 inches

Update: New Video of the Star Tours II 3D footage that was shown at the expo below.

The eventually arrival of Star Tours 2.0 was worst kept secret over the last few years. From artists at Lucasfilm talking about their work to Anthony Daniels reporting he was recording new lines, no one really denied anything. That Star Tours would be updated was pretty much a given. What wasn’t known was would it be 3D? And which parks in the US would it open at? (Budget crunchers at Disney World were rumored to be against paying for the project.)

Today at D23 Jay Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the tremendously-popular “Star Tours” attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2011. The attraction will include immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy. I guess that answers both questions.

The above concept art is from an exciting scene from the new Star Tours. Guests aboard Starspeeders will join in a high-speed pod race through the desert canyons of Tatooine. A portion of the 3D footage was shown at the D23 expo today.

Update: video of President Obama as he records his lines for the show.

“I [name] do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States”

Click to view larger image. Photo courtesy Kevin Yee

When it came time to add one more Audio-Animatronic figure to the famous Hall Of Presidents attraction at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, the Imagineers could have chosen the easy path and just added one more AA figure with a new speech. Instead they spotted a weakness in the attraction with how it duplicated much of the same American history as the much more involved American Adventure attraction at EPCOT Center and then somewhat abruptly switched tracks to a Presidential roll-call.

So they set to work to refocus the attraction on the story of what it means to be an American President. Along the way they’ve changed the attraction’s message, given more time to the Audio-Animatronic Presidential figures, plussed the exterior with a marquee, and spruced up the lobby area as well. As I said in my previous post, the overall change is certainly a good one.

The lobby looks largely the same, but the addition of a new display case that features dresses, and more, from some of America’s First Ladies adds balance to the attraction. They had to ditch a couple Presidential portraits for that. But if they rotate the portraits like they plan to rotate the dresses, all should be good.

Inside the theater very little has changed. The show opens with the familiar ‘We The People’ silhouettes, and the group recitation of the Constitution’s pre-amble, but there is very little visual connection there. It seems like guests are expected to remember the symbology from the previous show?

Once the show gets going and the sonorous voice of Morgan Freeman kicks in as narrator, you know you’re in for a treat. We still get our American history lesson, but now it ties in much closer to the story behind the American Presidency starting with George Washington

Pay attention to the Presidents Disney selected to highlight in the script and you’ll see a trend. All the Presidents were very popular, either as they were elected, or grew in popularity during the course of their term.

The theme of populist politics is the thread that holds the Presidential tapestry together. It’s summed up in the frequently repeated line “One of Us” meaning that the President comes from the people and not at the tip of a sword or via a hereditary line, unlike any other nation on Earth at the time.

This switch to populism is the biggest shift of the attraction. Previously the political message was decidedly neutral. Neither left nor right. Populism is neither left nor right as well, but it can lead to fascism if not kept in check. So I’m personally left feeling just a bit uneasy by it. There is much more to the Presidency than them being potentially ‘one of us’.

The planning for this new attraction began long before the November election results were in. So were Disney’s Imagineers just lucky or are they savvy readers of politics and able to detect the popular groundswell that swept Barack Obama into office? I hope to ask them more about that this Friday.

(Aside: That’s a lot of political talk for The Disney Blog, I know. Please don’t read anything about my personal politics into it. I’m not sure Disney wants you to either, so come see for yourself and make up your own mind.)

There’s a great little bit of staging during the Civil War section. We knew that the Abraham Lincoln figure would give the Gettysburg Address, but I didn’t know that he would appear alone on the stage while doing so. A crafty bit of curtain design hides the other AA figures during this portion of the show and then the audience is returned to the screen portion of the attraction.

It’s a great break from what is basically a slide show, albeit a very well produced slide show, up to that point. The address doesn’t go over the top nor slow the show down. The Lincoln figure’s movements range from grand to intimate, the best AA performance I’ve ever seen, so far. I also want to ask the show producers if this is a little nod to Walt Disney, who was known for his ability to recite the Gettysburg Address in grade school.

From the Civil War we jump from national crisis to national tragedy. Very little time is spent celebrating what makes America strong, but then America’s Presidents are not remembered for the peaceful times, they’re cemented in our memories for how they deal with the difficult times we find ourselves in. It’s nice that Disney did not skip over these patches, but by the time we get to the real stars of the show, the AA figures, we’re definitely ready.

My chief complaint with the attraction is the distance the audience is set from the stage. Short of reconfiguring the raked seating (an expensive proposition) there hasn’t really been a way to resolve that. However, the new show only uses three of the five screens in the auditorium. Could the two end screens be used to show closer view of which ever audio-animatronic is performing? Yes, the flaws of the figures will be more apparent. But so will the technical wizardry of the performance.

Speaking of technical wizardry, I am really impressed with the way the George Washington and Barack Obama figures interact. At that moment it feels like two actors up on the stage. These are two more very impressive Audio-Animatronic figures. President Washington’s words provide a wonderful message that drives home the importance of the role of President. They also ties naturally into the quote I started this article with, the oath of office.

Barack Obama recites the oath and then is announced as President by the narrator. This moment received applause at all three shows I attended. It does feel a little bit like you’re there on the frozen tarmac of the Washington Mall waiting for the inauguration speech. A very nicely captured moment.

I’m a little sad to say that President Obama’s speech is not memorable. But perhaps that’s as it should be. The institution of the Presidency is showcased here, not one individual president. The much anticipated Robobama lives up to all its hype, even with the unfortunately prominent ears. Clearly a new level in audio-animatronic wizardry.

The show then hurries to a patriotic conclusion, and I do mean hurries. With the show running at almost exactly 20 minutes I would have liked to see a bit more care taken with this moment. Another 15-20 seconds to let it all sink in would be appreciated.

While the Hall of Presidents usually gets hardly a glance from the average theme park guest, they really do themselves a dis-service to walk by without experiencing this uniquely American story. Walt Disney’s Imagineers have done a spectacular job updating this attraction and it will continue to be a frequent stop on my families visits. I hope it is for yours as well.

Lots of sad news today including the announcement that the King of Pop Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles at the age of 50 while in training for his big comeback tour. Our hearts to out to the family and friends of Jackson.

There is something everyone reading this blog has in common with Michael Jackson. We are all Disney fans. Michael got to live out many of his Disney fantasies going so far as to have an attraction featuring him appear in the theme parks. He also loved to tour Disney’s many theme parks and share his love with friends and family. No matter what else is talked about, we know exactly how he felt about that.

So here in his honor is the complete video of Captain EO in two parts from youtube.

Part One:

Part two:

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune profiles a team of three Cal State Fullerton Students who were finalists in a Walt Disney Imagineering contest to design and build a prototype of an attraction. Their idea is an interactive adventure featuring a guy named Otto.

Their concept, called Operation SNAP: Destination Dragon, would supplant riders as explorers on a boating adventure with Otto as he pursues a legendary Chinese dragon.

The real culprit is total immersion — in the ride, in the scenery, in Otto — something Berger would want riders to experience, too.

To that end, guests on Operation SNAP (Otto’s Society of Natural and Artificial Phenomena, of which he is the sole member) would be equipped with mounted camera devices to collect photographic evidence of all the mythical creatures residing in and around the professor’s Chinese wildlife preserve. The more photos, the more points earned by riders.

Click through to the article to see some of the concept art and storyboards from the attraction.

Guests looking for that extra special experience will want to check out the new “Characters In Flight” tethered balloon attraction at Walt Disney World. The fun will reach new heights at Downtown Disney West Side in an iconic balloon festooned with Disney characters known for their ability of flight that takes guests on ascents of up to 400 feet above the waterfront.

Characters In Flight, operated by Aerophile, is a 72-foot-diameter balloon with a whimsical design featuring silhouettes of a dozen of Disney’s “flying characters” – such as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and Dumbo. The balloon can lift up to 30 guests at a time on a six-minute trip – thanks to its enclosed volume of 210,000 cubic feet of lighter-than-air gas. Ascents, by day or night will provide guests with an unparalleled, 360-degree view of up to 10 miles.

Guests board a gondola beneath the 105-foot-high balloon from a landing platform on Village Lake at the end of the main promenade at Downtown Disney West Side. Riders can catch flights seven days a week. Strong rumors say that soft openings will begin tomorrow April 10th. But no official opening date has been announced.

Hours: Sunday-Thursday are 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. while ascents Friday-Saturday are 10:30 a.m.-midnight.
Tickets: $16 for ages 10-up and $10 for ages 3-9 – purchase on site. Availability is on first-come, first-serve basis.

The one exhibit at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center that’s closest to the original spirit of the 1955 version Tomorrowland is Innoventions. In 1954 Walt Disney didn’t even start construction on Tomorrowland until 6 months were left until opening. So he had to make do with a lot of exhibits sponsored by corporations with an eye on tomorrow. Today Innoventions is the place where industry leaders can showcase their latest technological advancements that will bring us together into the future.

Disney just announced the next exhibit scheduled to open at Innoventions and it’s “The Great Piggy Bank Adventure” (now if that’s not a perfect Tie-in for the Muppets, I don’t know what is, but alas, no Muppets involved as far as I can tell). The topic at hand will be basic savings and investing concepts for families and the the importance of saving money responsibly.

Being responsible with our money is certainly a theme we can all stand to hear a little more of these days, but does it rise to the level of an Innovention? Perhaps the Bank of Main Street at Disneyland would have been a more appropriate place for this, but alas that’s being converted into a store. What do you think?

The full press release is below the cut:

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Marketing

There’s still more news coming from Disney’s American Idol Experience this week. A commercial for the attraction ran during tonight’s airing of American Idol. The tagline was “You can be part of the next Cinderella Story”, which is the same message they’re using on billboards around town.

I like the theme of the commercial, although I found some of the technical parts of it less than inspiring. I’m expecting dozens of people lining up each morning for expressly to have a chance at their Cinderella story in the attraction.

A Winners List

Tonight marked the fourth night of public performances of the show and the fifth Dream Ticket awarded. I have the names of three of those Dream Ticket holders and have started a list in an attempt to collect all of them going forward. If the winner so chooses, they can then provide me links to their YouTube, MySpace, or other internet pages for a chance at growing a following before they even get to the real auditions for the television show.

I’m counting on you readers to help me build this list as I can’t be there every night (although it may seem that way sometimes). The winners name and their song would be excellent.

The F. A. Q.’s

Finally, click below the link for a great list of Facts and Trivia from The American Idol Experience

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