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Magic is often a word used to describe the Disney theme park experience.
The Disney magic comes alive in many different ways on the dozens of attractions at Walt
Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California.
The most magical attractions are usually the dark rides since dark environments make it
easier to manipulate various illusions that will trick the mind.
On Instagram we asked you what your favourite illusions and tricks are from Disney rides
at Disneyland and Walt Disney World and this list today was comprised by your responses.
So while we look at many illusions and explain how some of these tricks are achieved today
we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Disney Ride Illusions and Tricks!
Number 10 The first ride we’re gonna take a look at
is Na’vi River Journey at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
This ride is a great example of how physical sets and screens create the illusion that
what you’re seeing is a seamless canvas.
About halfway through the ride you’ll find this little waterfall.
It appears as though actual water is flowing down the rocks but the flowing water is actually
just a projection.
With some bubbling of the physical water at the bottom, it creates the illusion that this
is a real waterfall.
Last year a viewer named Mattie sent us a picture of Na’vi River Journey breaking
down and this gives you a great perspective on how the projection and physical sets blend
together on the ride.
Number 9 Heading over to Mickey’s Toon Town in Disneyland,
Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin brings you into the wacky world of Roger Rabbit.
At the end of the ride there’s this little scene of Roger Rabbit opening the portable
escape hole
{Roger Rabbit} I’ve got a portable hole!
I’ll save ya!
and this illusion is achieved by a very simple trick.
Right here on the left hand side is a mirror that reflects the bricks from the other side
and the hole just gets pushed into the wall.
As that motion is happening it tricks our mind into thinking that its moving horizontally
towards us when realistically its being pushed vertically away from us.
This night vision footage helps to give a little more clarity into how the mirror is
used in the trick.
{Roger Rabbit} I’ll save ya!
Number 8 As you saw in the previous example a mirror
is a very simple way to trick the mind.
After all, magic is just smoke and mirrors and there’s another great example of a fun
mirror trick that you all suggested.
As you make your way through dead man’s cove on Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland,
you’ll come across this mini scene with the octopus that was added in 2018.
To mark your transition from Dead man’s cove into the physical world of real pirates,
a mirror is used to turn this skeleton into a pirate.
Each side only has half a figure and the mirror placed in the centre hidden by this rope.
The mirror reflects the half a figure which tricks you into thinking that its a full figure
that magically morphs into a human.
Now this example of reflection is easy to make out since it’s at eye level and the
mirror is sort of visible, but there is another example that we’ll talk about later in the
video that’s much more effective.
{Ride} Dead men tell no tales
Number 7 The Haunted Mansion is home to 999 happy haunts.
Many illusions, tricks and lighting effects are used to create the ghoulish delights on
the ride at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
One optical illusion used on the ride is what’s known at the hollow face illusion.
The spinning marble busts can be found in the queue at Disneyland and in the Library
scene on the ride at Magic Kingdom.
Now these busts appear to spin with their eyes following you as you move past them.
Although they look like convex figures like these busts in the outdoor queue at Magic
Kingdom, they’re actually concave and hallow.
It’s just a reverse negative impression of someones face, sort of like a mask, so
it curves inwards instead of outwards.
This mold of Albert Einstein really demonstrates the effectiveness of the illusion.
From the time we’re babies, our brain is wired to recognize faces as being convex shapes
so when we’re presented with a concave face our brain is tricked into thinking we’re
seeing something we aren’t.
Lighting also plays a big part in this illusion.
Lighting the faces from below reverses the detail’s shading allowing them to appear
more like a convex face that lit from above.
Number 6 One of the most commonly used illusions found
on Disney rides is the Pepper’s Ghost effect.
The ballroom scene of the Haunted Mansion is the most commonly talked about example
and it’s actually one of the largest Pepper’s ghost set ups there is.
The simple yet effective illusion has been around since 1862.
It was commonly used in stage set ups and it’s all about using a piece of glass and
reflection.
The easiest way to understand how the illusion works is to look at any window.
In these display windows you see the reflection of the guests walking around the park and
this pretty much the same concept as Pepper’s Ghost.
As your doom buggy travels along the ride track, there’s a large pane of glass that
extends 30 by 90 feet in front of this scene.
Hidden above and below you there are the physical ghost animatronic figures painted with exaggerated
colours and they’re all placed against black backdrops.
When they are illuminated their image is reflected onto the glass and creates a composite of
ghostly spirits in the physical room in front of you.
The same effect is used to make the Blue Ferry disappear on Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
at Disneyland.
In this breakdown footage its much easier to see where the sheet of glass is and if
we backup, behind this wall is where the physical Blue Ferry figure is placed.
Number 5 Other examples of the Pepper’s Ghost can
be found all over Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
There’s a couple different set ups used to achieve the effect and it all starts with
a piece of glass on a 45 degree angle.
Here’s an example of the effect at play in a demo we set up.
You can see how the image on the iPhone placed upside-down projects right side up on the
glass creating this composite.
This same idea, flipped on its side, is what allows the 5 missing elevator passengers on
Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios to magically appear in the hallway.
So right here theres a piece of glass placed on a 45 degree angle.
On the other side of this wall, there’s an area where the hologram of the passengers
is projected onto a mirror which reflects onto the glass.
The pepper’s ghost effect is also used to allow the window to float forward then shatter
in the same scene.
At Walt Disney World you can also find the Pepper’s Ghost effect used in the Seas Pavilion
at Epcot.
This is how the finding Nemo characters are placed into the actual aquarium of The Seas
with Nemo and Friends.
{Music} In the big blue world, like I’ve never seen before.
These two examples have the audience looking directly through the glass into the scene
but there’s another set up used which involves a little more reflection.
Number 4 Another way peppers ghost is set up is by
having the audience look a mirror which is reflecting the effect from the opposite side.
This is how Winnie the Pooh floats away in his sleep on the Many Adventures of Winnie
the Pooh at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
So what you’re looking at in front of you is actually a mirror visible on the bottom,
right here.
After you’ve passed this scene take a look behind you and you’ll see the physical room
that’s being illuminated and reflecting onto the mirror.
In this image you can also see the reflection of these honey pots in the mirror.
Then right here at a 45 degree angle is the piece of glass used to carry out papers ghost
allowing pooh to float away.
Another example of the same set up is Randal in the bathroom scene of Monster’s Inc Mikey
and Sulley to the rescue at Disney California Adventure.
{Randal} Race you to the scare floor
Number 3 The last Haunted Mansion trick can only be
found at Disneyland and that’s the Hatbox Ghost.
This animatronic figure found his home on the attraction in May of 2015 and it uses
a couple different illusions to create this Disney magic.
So first lets take a look at how his head disappears.
Now his face is projected but the figure has an actual wig so this will help us to identify
what’s happening.
Pay attention to the hair on right side of his head as we bump up the brightness and
play the clip in slow motion.
When the face projection is switched off and his face is no longer illuminated you can
see the hair move and it’s quickly lowered into his body.
Now how does his face makes its way into this hallow and empty hatbox?
By using what appears to be the Pepper’s ghost effect, think along the lines of the
demo we showed you earlier with the iPhone, his face is projected into the middle of the
hatbox giving it a 3 dimensional shape.
As for his hair well it appears to be illuminated by backlight from an LCD screen.
All of these elements together create a pretty impressive illusions bringing this iconic
animatronic character right to life.
Number 2 The best mirror reflection illusion can be
found on Journey into Imagination with Figment at Epcot.
Once you make your way into the sight lab you see this butterfly in a cage and as your
ride vehicle passes, it magically disappears.
Well hidden in the middle of the cage is a double sided mirror.
As you first approach the cage, half of a butterfly and a perch is reflected onto the
mirror to make it appear as if it’s a full butterfly.
As your ride vehicle moves around the cage, an empty half perch on the other side is reflecting
against another mirror and thats how the butterfly seamlessly disappears.
The lighting in this scene as well as the fact that the cage is elevated above eye level
plays a big part into the effectiveness of this illusion.
Number 1 One of the most impressive illusions can be
found on the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland.
In the big final scene on the ride there’s the iconic boulder chase.
The boulder rolls towards you as your the ride vehicle moves backwards to avoid getting
hit.
Well what if we told you the boulder and the truck don’t move at all and its the walls
that actually move.
The boulder is stationary but swivels in place as the walls move forwards giving the optical
illusion that the boulder is moving forward.
In this Disney after dark news segment it shows you exactly how the walls operate.
Then in this night vision footage its easier to see what’s happening while you’re on
the actual ride.
Once you combine all these tricks with the dim lighting and you have one of the most
convincing illusions in a Disney ride!
So what is your favorite illusion or trick from a Disney ride.
Either from this list or maybe one we didn’t mention.
I’d love to know!
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