During the development of a theme park attraction, it is normal for a large number of different designs to be put forward. Naturally, not all of these will ultimately see the light of day. However, sometimes concepts can come very close to actually being constructed, before a rapid change of direction completely alters the ride or show.
There are few examples of literal last-minute decisions that have dramatically changed a theme park ride – not surprising, given that they often take three years or more to develop and construct. But, in the case of some attractions that went on to become classics, decisions were made relatively late on that saw them take on a radically different form.
Let’s take a look at 5 examples of hugely popular theme park rides that could have been very different.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland)
What it could have been: Pirates of the Caribbean was originally envisioned as New Orleans-themed Blue Bayou Mart. A Madame Tussauds-style Pirate Wax Museum would have have been housed in a 70-foot deep basement, construction of which had already started.
The decision The success of It’s a Small World at the New York World’s Fair led Walt Disney to decide to transform Pirates of the Caribbean into a boat ride, to allow for a broader array of scenes and a high capacity. At the same fair, Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln proved that Disney could create realistic human figures using audio-animatronic technology, so Walt decide to include some of those, too.
The result: The basement would now serve as the grotto section of the attraction. The wax figures were no longer necessary, with audio-animatronics being used in their place. There are dozens of rides that are inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, including clones at other Disney parks and inferior copycats such as Pirate Adventure at Drayton Manor in the UK.
4. Nemesis (Alton Towers)
What it could have been: Having acquired the UK’s most popular theme park, Tussauds was determined to build a new unique roller coaster at Alton Towers. Fresh from the successful project to add the heavily-themed suspended coaster Vampire to the Tussauds-owned Chessington World of Adventures, Arrow was keen to engage with Alton Towers’ owner once again. This time, it had a new trick up its sleeve: the pipeline coaster.
The chief innovation of the pipeline coaster (and the one from which it derived its name) was the positioning of the ride’s trains. Rather than sitting on top of the track (as with a traditional coaster) or beneath it (as with a suspended or inverted coaster), the vehicles would instead sit in-between the rails. The u-shaped track, with the trains running down the middle of it, had the appearance of a pipeline. Due to height restrictions at Alton Towers, it would be built into a huge pit, and themed around a secret weapon.
The decision: According to Arrow, the early test runs of the pipeline coaster were a huge success. “Awesome”, “smooth” and “totally different” were among the superlatives apparently thrown at the new creation by those lucky enough to try it out.
Problems, though, began to emerge when Tussauds’ John Wardley was invited to Utah to ride the prototype. He found it to be a huge disappointment, later describing it as “very slow and rather boring”. The primary issue was the level of friction generated by the ride’s trains as they traversed the track, which made it very energy inefficient. Wardley discovered that Bolliger & Mabillard was building a new type of inverted roller coaster for Six Flags Great America, and opted to use that ride system instead.
The result: Nemesis reused the original idea of burying the pipeline coaster in a pit, but the inverted coaster proved to be a much better fit. The ride has now been open for two decades but remains one of the most highly-regarded and popular coasters in the UK.
3. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (Islands of Adventure)
What it could have been: Universal originally intended for Spider-Man to be a much simpler attraction. According to Ben Lovelace, who worked on the ride, it was initially conceived as a basic dark ride, with a chain of cars passing by a film of some sort. This has been confirmed by Gary Goddard, whose design firm worked on an early version of the ride that would have used a similar ride system to Disney’s Omnimover attractions (such as the Haunted Mansion).
The decision: When in 1995 Disneyland opened Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, combining an innovative motion vehicle system with stunning special effects, Universal felt it needed to up the ante. “We always try to make things a little higher, a little faster, a little bit more dynamic, so we have something to market technologically,” said Lovelace. “Universal pushes the envelope.” Universal instead decided to incorporate elements from two previous rides – Back to the Future: The Ride (which featured advanced motion simulators) and Terminator 2: 3-D (which combined 3-D projection screens with physical) effects.
The result: A ground-breaking dark ride that combines moving, motion-simulating vehicles, 3-D projection screens and physical effects to take riders on an adventure with Spider-Man himself.
2. Haunted Mansion (Disneyland)
Image via DoomBuggies.com
What it could have been: The facade of the Haunted Mansion began construction in 1962, and was completed in 1963 – but the ride itself did not open until 1969. Initially, the building was expected to contain a walkthrough attraction, along with a pre-show/queuing area and a themed restaurant. The pre-show area and restaurant were both to be themed around a “Museum of the Weird”, packed with curiosities “discovered” all over the world.
The decision: After Walt Disney died in 1966, Disney’s Imagineers decide to radically alter the Haunted Mansion concept. Instead of a walkthrough, it became an Omnimover-based dark ride. The Museum of the Weird concept was dropped, although it has since been revived in comic book form by Disney-owned Marvel.
The result: A stunningly detailed dark ride through a haunted abode that has entertained generations of visitors to Disneyland. The fingerprints of the Haunted Mansion can be seen on attractions all over the world, from Disney’s newer creations such as Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland to likes of Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back! at Alton Towers in the UK.
1. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Islands of Adventure)
What it could have been:As early as 2004, Canadian firm Dynamic Structures – which had supplied the track for Spider-Man – was showing off a unique new ride concept at the IAAPA trade show in Orlando. This employed a RoboCoaster, a new type of simulator based on the same technology as robotic arms used in manufacturing and designed by German company KUKA, mounted on a track. Universal planned to use this to create an attraction based on 2004’s action horror movie Van Helsing. The ride would have incorporated a variety of special effects as well as projection screens.
The decision: After the huge success of the first few Harry Potter books and movies, it was inevitable that rumors would begin to circulate that theme park operators would seek to license the characters for use in rides and shows. Realistically, only Disney and Universal had the money to do J.K. Rowling’s creations justice. Disney came close to snagging the rights for Potter, getting as far as signing a letter of intent with Rowling. But it walked away when Rowling demanded too much creative control over the project. Universal was only too happy to pick up the pieces – and it dropped the Van Helsing concept in favor of using the ride system to create a “flying” ride set in the Potter universe.
The result: A unique dark ride that employs robotic arm technology to take guests on a simulated “flying” adventure with Harry Potter and his friends. The Wizarding World as a whole, anchored by Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, has transformed the fortunes of the Universal Orlando Resort and clones are on the way to Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan.
