For more than sixty years, Disney’s designers have been assembling an industry-leading toolbox of storytelling tricks. From Audio Animatronics to cutting edge ride systems, Disney doesn’t just lead the industry… sometimes, it is the industry. But in the last few decades, fans have seen one particular tool rise to the forefront in Disney Parks: projection mapping.
While we certainly could make a list of the most incredible scene-based effects in Disney Parks, projection mapping is not just “screens!” In fact, it’s quite a lot more. When Imagineers use projection mapping techniques and technologies, they create media to project onto physical sets and built or natural environments. In that way, projection mapping isn’t about merely projecting media, but about using projected media to expand, deepen, enrich, or enhance a world.
To that end, our list will be packed with in-ride moments where projection mapping adds life, energy, and “magic” to Disney Parks rides! Sometimes subtle, sometimes explosive, projection mapping is a major tool in Imagineers’ toolbox today, and with each subsequent use, designers seem to refine its roles. These are just some of our favorites… where else have you seen projection mapping enhance your favorite Disney attractions?
Be warned! Projection-based moments that serve as jaw-dropping finales, showstopping scenes, and epic encounters are on this list, so if you’d rather avoid spoilers for rides (up to and including Disney’s newest), you may have to skip an entry or two!
10. The Wonders of Wonderland
Attraction: Alice in Wonderland (Disneyland)
To celebrate Disneyland’s “Diamond” 60th Anniversary in 2015, Imagineers decided to add a little shine to many of the park’s most classic attractions. Arguably, none got as much shimmer as Alice in Wonderland, the whimsical and wacky Fantasyland dark ride. It’s not just that designers spruced up the ride’s trippy, day-glo journey winding through the forests of Wonderland; they also employed the burgeoning craft of projection.
Technically, Alice’s projection-based upgrade came after very, very early prototyping of the technology’s possibilites in Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and before the anticipated (and significantly more subtle) upgrades in Peter Pan’s Flight. But Alice’s strikes the perfect balance. The additions there are staggeringly beautiful, incredibly vibrant, and literally blend so perfectly with the super-saturated world of Wonderland, you’ll definitely find yourself surprised by what turns out to be static and what moves.
The before and after video above isn’t just a great representation of the incredible work Imagineers accomplished with this integration; it’s a great example to kick off our list. Projections can be used subtly, our in-your-face; they can be solo, or integrated into physical sets; they can add kinetics, or enhance static sets; they can “plus” a favorite moment, or be stars in their own right. Alice in Wonderland demonstrates it all.
9. Fire in the Hole
Attraction: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Disneyland and Disneyland Paris)
Big Thunder Mountain may not have been an original attraction at Disneyland or Magic Kingdom, but over the last forty years, it’s become so beloved that it might as well be! The attraction is deeply integrated into the parks in Anaheim, Orlando, and Paris, including its pivotal role in three legendary projects: Discovery Bay, the Western River Expedition, and Phantom Manor, respectively.
In 2014, Disneyland’s mountain reopened after a massive 14-month refurbishment that saw the track entirely rebuilt. Among its reinventions was transforming the ride’s third and final lift hill (previously filled with ‘earthquake’ rumbling rock pieces) into a new “explosive” finale. As the train enters the final tunnel, a knocked over lantern lights a strung-up fuses, which race up the lifthill alongside riders.
The fuse strikes bundles on dynamite tucked up in either side of the tunnel, bursting out clouds of fog… with projection-mapped explosions atop! If you can believe it, Disney initially had an even grander plan, with a massive motherlode of dynamite atop the lift hill serving as its finale, launching an ‘it’s tough to be a bug’-sized load of fog to instantly fill the tunnel. Eventually, that proved a bit too unreliable given trains enter the tunnel every 20 seconds or so… however, the projection meant for that massive explosion remains, still coating the tunnel in sparks and flame in a grand and heartstopping surprise!
The “explosive” finale has since made its way to Disneyland Paris. Strangely, even though it’s been rumored to make its way to Magic Kingdom just about every year since 2014, Florida’s ride still hasn’t made the upgrade… one of our 16 Disneyland Exclusives That Should Make Disney World Fans Jealous. (Don’t worry, we have the opposite list, too.)
8. The River Temple
Attraction: Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions (Tokyo Disneyland)
When Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, its Jungle Cruise closely resembled Magic Kingdom’s, including a copy of the lost Cambodian temple that originated with the Floridian version. In 2015, Tokyo’s version, however, got a facelift. There, the ride was rechristened Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions, gaining a synchronized on-ride audio score, new special effects, and a nighttime lighting package that makes the ride an absolute must-see after dark.
In a new mythology, the ride was reimagined to include three ancient animal spirits called upon by guests along their journey – the tiger for courage, the elephant for strength, and the monkey for cleverness. When Skippers call upon the ancient amulet of the elephant to guide the boats through the Cambodian ruins, the temple’s carvings spring to life as a mystical power sweeps along the walls, igniting ancient flames, sweeping away gnarled roots, and spreading color and light throughout the chamber.
The “magical” moment may seem at odds with the otherwise humorous ride, but it’s a clever way to add new life (literally) to a classic scene. What’s strangest of all is that – yet again– the upgrade has not yet come to Magic Kingdom’s nearly identical ride.
A similar effect is used in Shanghai Disneyland’s Voyage to the Crystal Grotto (a sort of fusion of the Jungle Cruise, World of Color, and a Fantasyland parade), bringing to life the ride’s eponymous spring-fed grotto from which fairytale stories flow. And speaking of colorful, musical, animated experiences, our next projection-mapped scene brings to life one of the greatest Disney songs of all time by way of the newest E-Ticket Disney dark ride on Earth… and it’s not at Disneyland or Disney World…
7. The Dancing Dining Room
Attraction: Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast (Tokyo Disneyland)
A decade after Magic Kingdom experimented with the concept of a “Wizarding World-esque” New Fantasyland of immersive mini-lands dedicated to Disney Renaissance films, Tokyo Disneyland took the concept a step further. Similarly remaking just a portion of its existing Fantasyland, Tokyo’s version is wholly dedicated to Beauty and the Beast, anchored by an E-Ticket attraction that’s truly one of a kind.
The new Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast is a trackless dark ride that’s quite unusual. Rather than an adventurous dark ride darting through the woods, the attraction is practically a new genre of experience: it’s basically a ride-through show, consisting of only four major scenes, each lasting the length of and playing nearly the full version of one of the film’s songs. Guests’ trackless teacup vehicles focus on dancing and spinning around spectacularly sophisticated Audio-Animatronics rather than retelling the story or emphasizing its action.
If Twitter reception is to be believed, many American and European fans aren’t sure what to make of the ride that’s so unlike the Beauty and the Beast ride-through they pictured. That said, the dance-along musical ride seems like a perfect fit for the entertainment-obsessed Japanese audience. As for the role of projections? The ride’s opening scene – “Be Our Guest” – relies heavily on them. During the full two-minute scene, the room is transformed from a dark dining room into a crescendo of spinning lights, swirling streamers, falling bubbles, dancing plates, and popping champagne.
Projections return toward the end of the attraction, too, complementing the Beast’s return to human form and the breaking of the spell on the castle.
6. The Star Destroyer
Attraction: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Bar none, the world’s most in-demand theme park attraction must be Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The more-than-an-E-Ticket attraction is a true experience, whisking guests through an epic escape from a Star Destroyer. The attraction is truly next generation, using trackless ride technology and a story that’s deeply embedded in the land’s massive mythology and its original “world.”
In many ways, Imagineering fans talk about Rise as a sort of “best of” attraction, taking bits and pieces from Disney’s most astounding E-Tickets in the last quarter century and combining them into one massive, larger-than-life experience. To that end, projection effects are one of many tools Imagineers pulled out of their toolbox. Its use is pervasive, but subtle.
In fact, if you ask any Imagineering fan to discuss their favorite moment once on-board, it’s likely that projection plays into it… even if it’s merely to sell a larger illusion. Projection creates the astounding realism of the ride’s “interrogation” preshow (and we don’t mean the Musion screen bringing Kylo Ren and General Hux to life); it pairs with physical effects to show ‘damage’ from blasters and missile strikes; it’s integral in an iconic effect on an elevator; it’s part of the ride’s captivating encounter with one of the best Audio-Animatronics on Earth. Yep, choose a moment and watch… No wonder fans clamor to ride this anchor over and over… It’s so filled with detail, you can’t take it all in in a single ride.
5. Fantasmic Dreams
Attraction: Fantasmic! (Disneyland)
Speaking of Star Wars, there was no shortage of trepidation when – to squeeze Galaxy’s Edge in – Disneyland dammed up its Rivers of America in 2016. A major rerouting of the waterway (and a reshaping of Tom Sawyer Island) led to an 18-month closure of the river, and the show that takes place on it every night, Fantasmic! In true Disney form, Imagineers took the opportunity to “plus” the nighttime extravaganza. And while in some cases they might have taken their calling a bit too far (we’re looking at you, unnecessary-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-scene-replacing-a-much-better-Peter-Pan-scene), the massive renovation also brought in projection mapping.
For better or worse, all of Tom Sawyer Island is in on the act, transforming the Mississippi waterway into a straight-up abstract representation of Mickey’s imagination. The greatest example of the new capabilities introduced by projection must be the show’s first moments, when Mickey awakens in his dream and slowly, gradually recognizes his power to shape the imaginary realm he finds himself in.
Watch as Mickey notices that the lights obey his command, spinning, fanning, and rising as he gestures… Then, how a point of his finger launches fireworks. As the Mouse gasps and looks at his own hands in awe, the show really comes to life. In any adorable moment (at about 1:40), Mickey looks over his shoulders as randomly-pointed beams of light and with a wave – left and right – pulls the lights onto himself. Meanwhile, projections of glowing energy grow around him, focusing into a singularity and – with a musical crescendo – exploding outward in Technicolor waves, kicking off Mickey’s control of water. (In a poetic reprise, Mickey calls the same lights back in the finale, at about 26:00 above).
The Fantasmic projections are far from subtle, and it’s true that at times, they overwhelm the visuals (or worse, are used to replace expensive pyrotechnics). But if you can manage to watch the show with a specific eye to the newly added texture mapping, it’s clear that it was done lovingly and cleverly, with hidden details and surprisingly meaningful allusions. (For example, Maleficent’s shadow is projected on her dragon form’s stomach, turning into the flames which race up its throat and erupt from its mouth!)
4. The Tropical Trick
Attraction: Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Though the closure of the Lost Legend: The Great Movie Ride may have caught many Disney Parks fans by surprise, few would argue that its demise was in vain. Quite the contrary, its replacement – Minnie and Mickey’s Runaway Railway – is a modern wonder itself. Billed as the first ride themed to the iconic star, the ride whisks guests into the modern Mickey Mouse shorts for a wacky ride through the whimsical cartoon world.
Appropriately, nearly the entire cartoon world is brought to life through projection. Mickey’s world is supersaturated, kinetic, and aglow with such amazing detail, it’s difficult to be sure where the physical world ends and the projected one begins. In fact, projections build out each scene to almost unfathomable levels of detail. And it’s not just the “main action!” Projections add depth and detail to static props, “flowing” water, and more.
Still, one of the ride’s most talked about tricks is also one of its simplest. Utilizing the ride’s “black box” design and texture-based projection mapping, guests’ runaway train cars proceed into a tropical jungle of ferns, rocks, and waterfalls, only to have a rushing river sweep them away (and into individual screen-based pods) and into the ocean. Amazingly, behind guests’ backs (literally), the room is transformed! Once guests have plunged into the ocean in solo projection pods, they return to the physical space that had been the jungle scene… only to now find themselves underwater! It’s an absolutely astounding moment entirely powered by projection (and showing the technology’s capacity to have two scenes in one space…)
3. The Chamber of Destiny
Attraction: Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye (Disneyland)
The Disneyland exclusive Modern Marvel: Indiana Jones Adventure – Temple of the Forbidden Eye is, without a doubt, one of the greatest examples of theme park storytelling on Earth. As the legend goes, the ancient forgotten Temple was built to honor the lost god Mara. Any who made the pilgrimage to Mara’s temple would earn one of three gifts: timeless youth, earthly riches, or visions of the future. But the legend also warns: anyone who looks into the dark and corroded Eyes of Mara will… well… Don’t look.
It’s a chilling tale that sets up one of the greatest effects in Disney Parks. On board old converted troop transports, guests turn the corner from the loading station and face three locked doors – one for each gift. Mara announces which gift he’s selected for riders. The corresponding door glows, unlocks, and swings open into the Hall of Promise with Mara’s glowing eyes tempting them to look. That Hall of Promise is personalized to each of the doors, so every “path” is a different experience.
Of course, the whole effect is achieved pretty simply. There’s really only one path and one working door. The other two doors are just props. The ride used to give the appearance of three different paths by physically rotating the massive set to make it seems as if guests were traveling through the left, center, or right door, with the lights and props in the Hall of Promise quickly adjusting to match the selected door. Unfortunately, that staggering and completely convincing effect ranks among our list of 13 Abandoned, Broken, and Canceled Special Effects at Disney Parks. Luckily, that fresh projection technology allows the Chamber of Destiny and the Hall of Promise leap forward to the 21st century.
2. The Chinese Parlor
Attraction: Mystic Manor (Hong Kong Disneyland)
When the Modern Marvel: Mystic Manor flung open its gates in 2013, Disney fans around the globe suddenly found themselves imagining where the Hong Kong exclusive attraction could reasonably be wedged into the stateside parks. Deeply tied to the S.E.A. mythology that leaves fans salivating, the epic trackless attraction isn’t just a spiritual sequel to the Haunted Mansion; it’s an epic adventure in its own right.
On board, guests tour the eclectic collection of international oddities accumulated by Lord Henry Mystic and his mischievous monkey Albert. However, Albert pulls an “Abu” and accidentally unleashes mystical music from an ancient music box with its tunes bringing the home’s collection to life. (The “music dust” that spreads through the house, by the way, is an ingenious and nearly-inexplicable special effect itself.)
After guests narrowly escape mummies, man-eating plants, Medusa, and Medieval weapons, it all comes to a head in the Chinese Salon.
There, a central monkey statue comes to life, using his mage staff to create swirling gusts of wind that trap riders’ carriages. As the winds grow, the magical music dust carried on the breeze lands on flapping tapestries, growing in force until the home literally tears itself apart. It’s an absolutely stunning, surreal scene that reads as an epic, mind-blowing finale just before order is restored at the last possible moment and it’s hard to imagine the effect existing without projection to bring it to life.
1. The Factory
Attraction: Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
The charmingly wacky Runaway Railway and its haphazard tour towards Runamuck Park makes its second appearance on our list, and at number one! How? Frankly, the ride manages to pull off one of the most spectacular, surprising blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments on any Disney Parks attraction. And given how the ride’s projection-mapping is central to its spirit (and its promise of being “2½-D”), it’s no surprise that the unbelievable moment hinges on one of the smartest projection moments on Earth.
As guests on board wildly race from deserts to carnivals; sewers to cityscapes, it all comes to a head in the Factory – a looming warehouse of pipes, tubes, vats, gears, cogs, and levers. It’s a wild and imposing industrial landscape, and as Mickey is helplessly sucked through tubes, guests likewise find their runaway train stuck on a conveyer belt… inching closer and closer to massive industrial presses ahead that threaten to smash them! All hope seems lost…! Then, at the last moment, Mickey (accidentally) activates a lever that doesn’t just turn the factory off… it makes it disappear entirely.
The Factory literally folds away like origami with hardware stretching, tubes skewing, vats reforming, and panels flipping to transform in seconds into the dreamy picnic park we’ve been seeking all along! In a staggeringly complex fusion of projection and practical, factory walls become fanciful park lanterns; flowers flip out of the ground; the Squishers that promised our doom turn into a bucolic hillside before stretching into a lengthy park tunnel; a steaming metal boiler becomes a carousel; and coolest of all, factory machinery literally folds into trees. The transformation literally takes place in a blink… in fact, the only complaint we have is that it takes place so quickly that most guests probably fail to recognize just how astounding it is, requiring not just multiple re-rides, but slow-motion to fully appreciate!
Runaway Railway is certainly one of the most in-your-face applications of projection mapping, preferring entirely animated scenes over mere subtle enhancements of physical sets… but wow, that finale proves the immense power of the technology when Imagineers really let it go and commit to taking it to its extreme! Whether or not you love the ride itself, Runaway Railway is an unabashed masterclass in what projection mapping can do.
