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Thread: My Disney Top 5 - Walt Disney World Attraction Special Effects

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    My Disney Top 5 - Walt Disney World Attraction Special Effects

    My Disney Top 5 - Walt Disney World Attraction Special Effects by Chris Barry

    Chris takes a look at his favorite special effects in the Walt Disney World attractions.

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    Good choices, but it's so hard to pick just 5! Off the top of my head, I'll suggest the following 2 contenders.

    In the realm of (seemingly simple, yet not obvious) optical trickery, I'd suggest the stars as you descend backwards in Spaceship Earth. I won't pretend I know exactly how far the strings of lights simulating the stars actually go, but I'm sure it's not as high as our eyes give us the impression.

    I realize you probably intentionally skipped high tech 3d movie simulator type stuff, but for me the Star Tours scene where you end in the Naboo Hangar is the best effect of that particular ride, though it's hard to compare it to other attractions.

    -Dave

    -Dave

  4. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave1313 View Post
    Good choices, but it's so hard to pick just 5! Off the top of my head, I'll suggest the following 2 contenders.

    In the realm of (seemingly simple, yet not obvious) optical trickery, I'd suggest the stars as you descend backwards in Spaceship Earth. I won't pretend I know exactly how far the strings of lights simulating the stars actually go, but I'm sure it's not as high as our eyes give us the impression.

    I realize you probably intentionally skipped high tech 3d movie simulator type stuff, but for me the Star Tours scene where you end in the Naboo Hangar is the best effect of that particular ride, though it's hard to compare it to other attractions.

    -Dave

    It seems like I went a bit more with practical effects than high tech for sure, but the 3D and 4D at Disney is second to none. Mickey's Philharmagic is my favorite.

    I do love the stars in Spaceship Earth!

  5. #4

    Wow...this is a tough one. There are so many choices, I think there's actually room for two lists here - great Atmospheres, and great individual Effects. In my mind, the Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh rides don't have top quality individual effects, there are just a lot of individual effects (some very simple and all amazingly creative) that combine to create a great Atmosphere, making you feel totally immersed. The other three are great individual effects, with the fire at Pirates (and apparently the Ballroom at Haunted Mansion - I didn't realize that tech was that old!) demonstrating that something doesn't need to be high tech to be great, and Tower of Terror being an example of a very high-tech effect. With so many choices, it's hard to compare all of the options and come up with a top five, but I do think that some part of Soarin' should be included somewhere - possibly the scent effects, but more likely the general flying effect and sensation of height the ride is built around. If I had to pick a specific moment, I'd say flying over the mountain with the horse riders and having the valley open up below you is my favorite individual effect, but you could pick a bunch of other moments (orange grove, golf ball, Disneyland, etc.) . I'm looking forward to seeing the new version of this ride in digital - it should be amazing and, while I'll miss my old favorite moments, I'm very excited to see the new effects I'm sure Disney will come up with.


  6. #5

    My favorite has got to be Teddi Barra on her swing. That's a big animatronic bear...on a swing...above your heads.


  7. #6

    The yeti (when it was working) would have easily been my number one.


  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by SimbaOne View Post
    The yeti (when it was working) would have easily been my number one.
    That thought immediately made me think of the Fantasmic Dragon in Disneyland, but then I remembered the article was FL based, so I guess the California version of the dragon might not count here.
    -Dave

  9. #8

    For me, the first stop is nice on the Tower of Terror, but the big "OMG" moment was always the second stop, when the elevator all of a sudden starts moving forward. Elevators just don't do that, and on my first ever ride of it I remember being so excited. Then of course every subsequent ride of the one at California Adventure felt half-baked at best just because it didn't include that magical bit (kinda how I prefer the Pirates ride at Disneyland over the Florida one).

    Phillarmonic and Star Tours are probably on my list over Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh, though that's probably more because I was brought up in the era of big special effects and while I do like the practical ones of those rides, the other two are just more fun for me.


  10. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by xezat View Post
    ...............

    Phillarmonic and Star Tours are probably on my list over Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh, though that's probably more because I was brought up in the era of big special effects and while I do like the practical ones of those rides, the other two are just more fun for me.
    I love the end of Philharmagic with the mixture of SFX and real animatronics with Donald's tush and kicking feet hanging out from the broken rear wall of the theater. Short, but sweet!
    -Dave

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