Similar to the "fun facts" thread, I'm wondering who else is a junkie for the technical aspects that go into the Disney World attractions? More to do with the Imagineering side of things.
I recently watched a good documentary on the creation of Expedition Everest. The amount of artistic detail is quite staggering. Most of it is easily missed since the vehicle is moving so fast. But also interesting was the technical aspects of the ride.
For example, the sound you hear while on the train is piped through an array of speakers that line the track allowing the sound to "move" along with the vehicle. And the track piece that "flips" over before the train goes backwards and sends you on a different course, apparently the first of it's kind on any coaster, was a challenge since it had to flip very quickly and is extremely heavy.
The same sound following system can be heard on the People Mover at MK. As the cars move along, the you can hear the narration moving along with it. Same thing in the Doom Buggies at Haunted Mansion. In fact, at the Haunted Mansion, the sound is a combination of the doom buggy speakers and speakers placed throughout the building itself with most of the sound coming from the doom buggies.
Keeping on the sound theme, the parades are also very interesting in how the music in the park changes based on where the parade vehicles are and then follows the parade around as it moves through the park. I just find it so facsinating.
Other small details that intrigue me are the realistic flickering of the lights in the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain. I don't know exactly how they do it, but the effect looks absolutely authentic. Speaking of authentic, what about the hotel lobby at Tower of Terror? I was blown away by the look of that lobby the first time I saw it. The dust and cob webs make it look so convincing.
What are some of the interesting technical details that you've noticed or have learned about in your travels at Disney World and find fascinating?
I love this stuff, Ken!
) and I was actually quite scared of fire and fireworks as a kid, but the timing and sequencing at Disney is so amazing. Just the fact that light and sound travel at different rates. In the park, I've only watched from Main Street in front of Casey's to the castle and on the bridges off to the side, but I wonder if the speakers closer to the train station operate on a delay to compensate for the timing difference. Surely the ones at TOTW and Polynesian Beach do. Oh and I'd so love to know how many charges are set off, how much it costs for Disney to do those displays nightly, etc. I know that they use proprietary color mixes at IllumiNations. That was from the Undiscovered Future World Tour.
