“Behind the Attraction” released on Disney+
In another life, I was an Imagineer. It just seems so cool! I’ve already mentioned in the podcast how much I love The Imagineering Story. Chris loves it too. I think he would make a great Imagineer too.
When Disney+ was announced and then finally released about a year and a half ago, one of the shows that was mentioned was something that would go behind the scenes and into the histories of various attractions with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I was disappointed to find out that this particular series was not included in the initial launch.
But now, in true Disney fashion, my wish has come true!
Last week, the first 5 episodes were released, and they include Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Space Mountain. This weekend, I made sure to catch up on all five episodes.
Man, I loved every one of these episodes. I’m admittedly not a Star Wars fan, but I love how they had to get creative to make something that had never been done.
If you haven’t seen the series and don’t want to be spoiled, STOP READING NOW!
Taking a flight simulator and pushing it to the limits was such a cool idea. And boy, oh, boy, did it set the trajectory for another Star Wars attraction that would come later - Smuggler’s Run! And they showed some of the behind the scenes for Smuggler’s Run as well. Who would have thought, of all things, that Carousel of Progress would inspire a Star Wars ride?!
The other ride that really amazed me was Tower of Terror not just using gravity on your falls, but they have the elevator rigged to actually pull you down even faster than gravity! I’m sorry, did they say faster than gravity? That’s so cool! Again, they pushed the limits of what a machine could do, something it was designed not to do!
If you like to take things apart and (attempting to) put them back together again, Behind the Attraction is definitely for you! Hear from Imagineers past and present talk about how these attractions pushed boundaries and thrilled us like nothing had previously.
In my opinion, knowing how the magic is created makes things that much more magical.