The little touches are what make Disney’s team of Imagineers world famous. They understand that the key to the Disney theme park empire is constantly emphasizing the differences between rides and attractions. Some places offer Gigacoasters and g-forces to thrill theme park tourists, and that’s great when you’re in the mood for it. When you visit Walt Disney World, however, you want to celebrate iconic characters through attractions that embrace all the accompanying aspects of their stories.
Disney makes movies, and then their parks reimagine those ideas into heart-warming renditions of the same concept. In order to accomplish this, Imagineers constantly work to discover new ideas to keep Disney’s iconic characters fresh and original. Their four Orlando parks in particular exemplify the mastery of theme park design. Here are the seven rides with the best special effects at Walt Disney World.
7. Peter Pan’s Flight
Image: Disney (license)
Again, the noteworthy aspect of this ride, at least with regard to special effects, occurs at the start. In early 2015, Disney added a new interior line queue featuring the Darling house’s nursery. This colorful sequence includes several children’s rooms in one larger room that is the line queue itself. In this area, guests can interact with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell in amazing ways.
For starters, Tinkerbell’s magic is pervasive throughout the room. The wall projections cause several elements to react on a timer, creating the effect of Tinkerbell ensorcelling a boat to rock, a trunk to unlock, and the walls to glow festively. The showstopper involves a wall where your shadows can “touch” bells to make them ring. You can also make motions to chase characters away. You can even swat at butterflies or pet them, depending on your mood during your wait in line. Don’t forget to free Tinkerbell from her cage before you exit the area, though. You can watch this video to see how much Imagineers have added to Peter Pan’s Flight by enhancing the (always long) line queue.
6. Toy Story Midway Mania
Image: Disney (license)
I’ve previously discussed this ride in detail. The Toy Story attraction at Hollywood Studios employs 3D (Disney refers to it as 4D) to create the rootinest, tootinest carnival experience at any major theme park. The ride gets whipped along a path where screens display interactive shooting galleries. There are no physical projectiles employed yet you’ll feel like you’re firing the world’s smallest cannon at hundreds of plates, balloons, and other carnie staples. There’s even a ring toss segment.
People get so swept up in the competitive element of Midway Mania! that they forget the stunning achievement of the ride design. Disney Imagineers transform ordinary walls into thrilling mini-games. Thanks to the 3D goggles, riders completely suspend reality as they slide down the moving path. The entire design scheme of the Toy Story attraction is a special effect, and it’s one of the most immersive ever created for a theme park. Toy Story Midway Mania! marries three things that children (of all ages) love: videogames, Disney characters, and amusement park rides. It does all of this so effectively that you might start to take it for granted after a while. That’s the best special effect of all.
5. Turtle Talk with Crush and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (Tie)
Image: Disney (license)
Generally speaking, these are not titles you would expect on a Best of Walt Disney World list. Sure, they’re charming, but the fact that there is rarely a line for either one speaks to their overall perception. Don’t let be fooled about the underlying technology, though.
A behind-the-scenes moderator creates a responsive conversation with various members of the audience. Popular Pixar characters from Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. are the puppets through which Disney cast members crack up the crowd. While the broad strokes of each show are similar, the improvisational aspect guarantees a unique show each time. And if you ever watch a child’s face as Crush asks them for their name, you’ll understand why Disney was so proud of this technology.
3. Haunted Mansion
Image: Disney (license)
I previously wrote an opus on Haunted Mansion, the Disneyland version that explains why it’s so marvelous. The gist is that Disney Imagineers had a decade to consider all the elements of one of their signature attractions. Over time, they realized that the parlor tricks used for other types of movie-making lend themselves perfectly to a Doombuggy ride. Disney can control the approach velocity of the guest, and that enables them to craft ghastly special effects at a specific time and location. That’s how they’re able to include over a hundred amazing effects in seven and a half minutes.
Deciding which one is the best is like picking your favorite child. Still, most people would agree that the show-stopper happens at the end. Historically, that’s when Disney employed two-way mirrors to send some hitchhiking ghosts off with you. Now, motion-capture technology allows Disney to steal your face and play malicious tricks with it right before you depart. It’s a real crowd-pleaser and a wonderful way to send guests off with a smile.
2. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Image: Disney (license)
The latest ride at Magic Kingdom debuted in the summer of 2014, and it offers Disney touches from beginning until the very end. After the train comes to a virtual stop, there’s a house that features stunningly realistic audio-animatronics of dancing dwarfs. The most impressive part is that they’re recycled from a past version of the ride, yet Disney has somehow made them seem state-of-the-art thanks to some clever tricks of the trade.
The ending is not what differentiates this ride, though. It’s the start. Disney’s Imagineers have always paid special attention to the ride queues for their attractions. They understand that park guests, especially ones with small children, need entertainment while standing in line. A couple of the nominees on this list qualify for this reason. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train stands out due to its obvious game as well as its hidden one.
The obvious game is the Bejeweled knockoff that people can play while waiting outside. It’s a simplistic tile-matching game, and that’s understandable since first-time riders must be able to grasp the rules in a matter of seconds.
There are also a series of seven barrels in the interior portion of the line queue. People can spin these barrels to make a Dwarf appear on the ceiling above. It’s not that hard to do one, but the trick occurs if you can find enough other people to trigger all seven barrels. Then, an Easter egg appears on the ceiling. Snow White displays in the middle of the Seven Dwarfs. It’s a tremendous amount of fun trying to persuade complete strangers to participate, and the holographic projections are terrific.
Of course, the other fabulous special effect on this ride involves its state-of-the-art audio-animatronics. These are the newest ones at Walt Disney World, and their photorealism is breathtaking. Imagineers rewatched the classic film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in order to capture every possible facial expression of the dwarfs. Disney’s stated goal is for these characters to seem like they just jumped off the movie screen directly onto the attraction. The ride also gets bonus points for the spectacular use of shadows to make it feel like the dwarfs are all around you as you ride the Mine Train itself.
1. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Image: Disney (license)
A little goes a long way sometimes. In the case of the Twilight Zone attraction, Disney masterfully crafted an entire abyss in a single building. This purgatory features five people who rode an elevator straight to their deaths. Like the best Disney rides, every element of Twilight Zone has a purpose. The cast members wear bellhop uniforms, the elevator shafts have their own horror stories, and the tormented quintet that permanently resides in the building appears at the scariest possible moment to warn or possibly taunt you.
Tower of Terror emphasizes the danger as often as possible. Once you board the ride and head down the path, the prior victims appear in front of you, welcoming you to the club. A lightning bolt signals that the tower is ready to deliver its terror. And then you plunge to the depths…or possibly get thrust in the air. There’s a joyous randomness to the ride.
When done well, a special effect feels like a part of the story that is necessary but not overt. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror builds an entire world via a few well-considered special effects. At its core, this ride is the same as the standard zero-G drop that every amusement park on the planet offers. It stands apart as one of the greatest Walt Disney World attractions due to its special effects. That’s why I consider it the best of many wonderful special effects at the world’s most popular theme park.
Which Walt Disney World rides feature your favorite special effects?
