Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride ... Starring You!

On Thursday, January 17, 2008, Universal Studios Florida premiered their latest attraction, "Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride ... Starring You!" The Resort had advertised the opening in their Studio Guide's for guests who happened to be in the park from January 13th through the opening event, which started at 10am. In an unorganized attempt to open the attraction, Universal had some of their top brass on hand to open the attraction at a podium in front of the former Earthquake attraction. It almost felt as if Universal wasn't proud of their accomplishment, because even though it was opening ... permanently ... they didn't make a big fuss to the usual media outlets. Television cameras had a spot to film the festivities, but chaos was the order of the day.

The official press release and a Themeparks.com review follow. It's a decent makeover, so I'm not sure why they seemed scared to open it with people watching.

The Press Release

DISASTER! A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE RIDE…STARRING YOU! OPENS TODAY AT UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT

New High-Tech Virtual Imagery Technology and Hollywood Star Dwayne Johnson Combine to Give Guests Starring Roles in Disaster Epic

Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride…Starring You! opens today (January 17, 2008) at Universal Studios Florida. The new attraction features the first-ever use by a theme park of a high-tech virtual imagery technology called "Musion" and a special appearance by Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson.

Disaster! replaces Earthquake and combines the best, most dramatic elements of Earthquake with an all-new storyline, top name celebrities, new "Musion" technology and all-new interactive elements. Park guests enter "Disaster Studios" and become part of the production action surrounding a "major motion picture."

Johnson was at Universal Studios Thursday for the opening of the new attraction. In the attraction, Johnson plays a film hero who helps "save the day."

Musion technology is a unique high-definition video projection system that transforms two-dimensional images into what seem to be live three-dimensional images. The Musion set in place at Disaster! is the first-ever use of the technology by a theme park and the largest permanent installation of that technology ever. Universal uses Musion technology to bring Disaster Studio Director "Frank Kincaid" to life as he explains the passion behind his work and recruits guests to take part in his next picture.

"The use of Musion technology in this attraction allows us to blend illusion with reality to surprise and entertain our guests," said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative for Universal Parks and Resorts. "They are amazed by the effects we have created."

Throughout the 15-minute attraction experience, guests are filmed as extras for different elements of Disaster Studios' newest blockbuster film, "Mutha Nature," taking direction from Frank Kincaid and his production assistants. In the end, they are able to see the results of their work in a tongue-in-cheek trailer for the film, starring Johnson. Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride…Starring You! is located in the San Fransisco area of Universal Studios Florida.

Dwayne Johnson is best known for his roles in Universal Pictures' The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King and, most recently, The Game Plan. Now a firmly established presence in Hollywood, he can be seen in the upcoming Warner Brother's comedy GET SMART opening in theaters June 20, 2008. Johnson is currently filming the family comedy Witch Mountain scheduled to be released in the summer of 2009.

The Review

Take Earthquake, add some new technology, script four new scenes sprinkled with some one-liners and you make Disaster!

Jeff Kern for Themeparks.com, January 17, 2008

In keeping with the name of the attraction, the grand opening was a "Disaster!" It was organized chaos at best and it really didn't seem that the Universalites were ready to show off their new stuff, let alone have anyone report on it.

Bill Davis, President and Chief Executive Officer for Universal Orlando, made a few brief comments about the attraction starting just after 10:30am. A few minutes into his introductions of NBC Universal brass, he announces that it wouldn't be an opening "without blowing something up." A family from Honolulu, Hawaii was chosen to assist with the disaster that was the opening ceremony. A countdown, the squeeze of an ACME thing-a-ma-jig from a cartoon of your choice and fireworks, flames and building pieces were capping the few minute opening of the new attraction.

A poorly mic'd Dwayne Johnson, you know "The Rock," was introduced and made some comments about the attraction that no one could really hear. Based on his presence, he must be in it, one might think. He did, however, announce, that he was going on it, "see you on the ride."

We weren't going to be able to get onto the attraction for a couple hours, so hung out and chatted with others that were there for the opening and a few employees of the park. One of the most interesting conversations was with Frank (?) who turns out to be a scribe for the park, including my favorite annual event, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, during Halloween Horror Nights. He said that the attraction has been in production for about two years. It wasn't until later that I would realize his involvement with the show, the scripted characters.

After some lunch and trying not to get wet during the overcast January morning, I met up with the rest of my little media pack to experience the first official journey into Disaster!

Here's the stuff that you want to know ...

About Musion Systems

The Musion® Eyeliner™ is a high definition holographic video projection system allowing spectacular 3-dimensional moving images to appear within a live stage setting using Pepper’s Ghost technology. Eyeliner™ brings dramatic, previously unseen 21st century video film effects to live events, including audiovisual artistic performances, conference or trade show presentations, retail displays and large-scale digital signage.

Musion® Eyeliner™ has already been used in a variety of applications including life-size holograms of Madonna (Grammy Awards), Gorillaz (MTV Awards), and Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Digital Launch). Other uses include technical demonstrations such as the GEnx Aircraft Engine (Farnborough Air Show) and car showcasing as seen at the Ford Mondeo launch (Geneva Motor Show). Additionally the BBC, Celador TV, Land Rover, Honda, Turner/CNN have all recently discovered the thrilling visual impact of Eyeliner™ for major product launches, consumer entertainment, TV Spectaculars and VIP celebrity keynote addresses.

More importantly, because the whole event is digitally produced, clients are offered a foolproof system.

Guests are moved into a pre-show area of Disaster Studios where they are introduced to Lonny, the Assistant Director to legendary Hollywood director, Frank Kincaid. He is responsible for filling some last minute openings to the director's newest movie, already in production. During this casting call, he chooses a kid around 10 years old, a grandmother, a group of three, a hunky guy and then one additional part that requires pants (or shorts) and close-toed shoes.

Moving on ...

The second scene of the attraction involves the new technology that's been brought in for the attraction. Using "Musion" technology (see sidebar), this scene is where the now-familiar Lonny is going to introduce the cast to the famous Frank Kincaid. Kincaid is a hologram that interacts with Lonny and there are even a few exchanges of items during the scene. Mr. Kincaid, played by Christopher Walken, is explaining the film that he is creating and how the group standing before him will assist in the making of the film, including some of the tricks that he uses in his film from his "little black book." Note that these quips are available on shirts sold in the newly named Disaster! Studios Gifts merchandise location.

Moving on ...

The third scene of the attraction, is about 6 minutes long and guests get to be seated for this part of the filming. The guests that were cast during the pre-show casting call are now going to have their Hollywood debut as they film scenes for the upcoming blockbuster "Mutha Nature." The scenes being filmed are done in front of chroma-key screens, a chroma-key bathtub, in front of a crumbling part of a city as well as a nature backdrop. Watch out, ladies, you could be picked to be a screamer during this interactive filming as well. Make note of the rock in the little kid scene.

Moving on ...

The last scene of the attraction is the old "Earthquake: The Big One" subway attraction. Guests board the train and then head into the city. During the trip, Mikey, the production assistant, explains to everyone their "parts" in the movie and gives queues during the stunt sequence. For anyone that rode the building's former attraction, the fire, collapsing city streets and flood are all basically the same. After that's ended, the trip back to the boarding station is the time where the trailer for "Mutha Nature" is shown on the screens located throughout each car, similar to the ending of the former "Kongfrontation" attraction. Scenes videotaped during the third and forth scenes are woven together, where the new guest actors are put alongside of Dwayne Johnson to complete the attraction with a round of applause.

The 15-minute attraction can accommodate a couple hundred guests and a new show starts about every 10 minutes. Until a good springtime crowd hits the park on a Saturday afternoon, hard to say what wait times will be, but look for hour-long waits during the peak season. All guests should enjoy the attraction, although young children could be fidgety during the some of the production. The subway ride is not intense at all, although warning signs are posted about back problems, etc. because of a little jerky motion during the finale.

I would rate this as a probably see based on the interests of the group. It may not be something to see on every visit, but Universal Orlando did a very nice makeover of an attraction in under two months that should spark attendance on its predecessor. One Universal employee said that she was "glad to see something like this come back to the Studios, something that's related to the industry and shows things from behind-the-scenes."

Photos of Disaster
from our Universal
Studios Florida
Photo Album

Exterior of Disaster!