Lou Mongello's Blog
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An Audio-Animatronics Timeline |
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Written by Louis Mongello
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One of the true "Wonders" of the Disney theme parks worldwide are the Audio-Animatronics figures that set the stage and tell the three-dimensional stories that we becomde immersed in at the parks. Here is a brief timeline of the history of these amazing figures.
To hear our discussion of Audio-Animatronics figures as a true "Wonder of Walt Disney World," listen to Show #6 of my WDW Radio Show Disney podcast.
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Early 1950s
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Walt
Disney purchases a mechanical bird while vacationing in Europe. The
souvenir becomes the inspiration for Audio-Animatronics technology.
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1951
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Work
begins on “Project Little Man.” Roger Broggie and Wathel Rogers,
pioneers in Audio-Animatronicstechnology, create a miniature figure
that is programmed with cams, cables and tubes to mimic tap-dancing
routines performed by the late Buddy Ebsen.
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1963
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Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room opens at Disneyland. It’s the first show to feature Audio-Animatronics technology.
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1964
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The
world’s first fully animated human figure, Abraham Lincoln, debuts at
the New York World’s Fair in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The
figure causes a sensation, not just with the audience, but with Disney
Imagineers, who were able to complete the figure in half the time they
anticipated.
Audio-Animatronics
figures are also in three other World’s Fair shows designed and
produced by Disney: Carousel of Progress (featuring figures animated
using a programming harness, a precursor of today’s motion capture
systems), Magic Skyway and it’s a small world.
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1964
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Two
Audio-Animatronics birds, Robin and Umbrella, appear in “Mary Poppins.”
Walt Disney reinvests profits from the film to create MAPO, an
organization within Walt Disney Imagineering dedicated to creating and
innovating Audio-Animatronics figures.
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1965
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Great
Moments with Mr. Lincoln – featuring the Audio-Animatronics figure of
Abraham Lincoln (actually, a duplicate since the original was still
performing at the World’s Fair) – opens at Disneyland.
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1970
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Audio-Animatronics
technology enters the computer age with the use of DACS (Digital
Animation Control System), a computer-controlled playback system for
Disney shows and attractions. Imagineers also begin using the
Anicon-Animation Console – for animating and programming figures.
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1989
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The
first A-100 Audio-Animatronics figure, the Wicked Witch of the West,
debuts as part of The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
(then known as Disney-MGM Studios) in Walt Disney World Resort. A-100
figures incorporate compliance technology that gives the characters
more fluid and realistic movements.
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1992
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Pirates of the Caribbean opens at Disneyland Paris. Attraction features sword-fighting pirates figures.
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1998
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Hopper,
the grasshopper from the Disney•Pixar film “A Bug’s Life,” is the most
sophisticated Audio-Animatronics figure produced to date. Featuring 74
functions, the character appears in “It’s Tough to be a Bug!”
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2002
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The
first portable, all-electric Audio-Animatronics figure, Meeko, the
raccoon from the Disney animated film “Pocahontas,” appears. He’s in a
basket carried by Pocahontas.
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2003
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The first totally autonomous Audio-Animatronics figure, Lucky the Dinosaur, makes his debut, at Disney’s California Adventure.
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2006
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The
yeti, a major element of Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom,
is the largest and most powerful Audio-Animatronics figure ever created
by Walt Disney Imagineering. Standing more than 18 feet tall, the
thrust of the yeti’s arm has the equivalent amount of force as a 747
jumbo jet.
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2007
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The
Muppet Mobile Lab, featuring Muppets Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his
assistant Beaker, marks the first time that free-roaming
Audio-Animatronics characters can interact and converse with each
other, as well as with guests they encounter along their way.
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2008
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Mr.
Potato Head in Toy Story Mania! at both Disney’s California Adventure
and Disney’s Hollywood Studios marks the first time that
anAudio-Animatronics figure features lips with such a wide range of
lifelike movements, can remove and re-attach a body part (his ear) and
has digitally animated eyes that can look directly at the particular
guest with whom he is conversing. Also, since Mr. Potato Head has more
lines of dialogue than any Audio-Animatronics figure ever created by
Walt Disney Imagineering, it has required more programming hours than
any other figure.
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Tags: Audio-Animatronics history Timeline |
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Happy 4th of July! A Salute to All Muppets, But Mostly... |
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Written by Louis Mongello
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Hope you are having a safe and happy 4th of July! Been busy working on the "BIG Announcement", but I wanted to share a video that I thought you'd really like. Sure it's not specifically Walt Disney World related, but if you are a fan of the parks (and mostly MuppetVision 3D), I think you'll enjoy. So... well... enjoy!!
Tags: MuppetVision |
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The View from the Top of Spaceship Earth |
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Written by Louis Mongello
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Did you know that at the very top of Spaceship Earth is a little secret... secret door, that is.
That's right... while obviously not accessible to Guests, after taking an elevator about 1/4 of the way up the sphere, then taking stairs adjacent to the ride track to about the 2/3 way-point, there sits a cherry-picker style "elevator" that takes you to the top of the inner shell of the building.
Inner shell? Yes, Spaceship Earth is actually comprised of two spheres - the inner which houses the attraction, and the outer, which is the shell of the building and holds the Alucobond panels in place. When you get to the top of the elevator, you have to squirm your way through a short, two-foot-high space to reach - the trap door! From there, you can stand and actually exit the sphere at the very top.
Wearing a safety harness, you then attach yourself to the 3 foot tall pole and get a 360 degree view that looks something like this:
Can you find some other structures on property in the distance? The Tower of Terror for example?
Breathtaking, isn't it?
Tags: Spaceship Earth Epcot |
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Star Wars Weekends 2008 Photo Gallery |
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Written by Louis Mongello
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I'm back from the first of this year's Star Wars Weekends, and have posted around 80 photos from the events.
Photos include some of the characters, celebrities, merchandise, venues, guests, and yes, proof positive that I am, in fact, taller than a Jawa.
You can view the entire gallery in our Photos section
Tags: Star Wars Weekends 2008 Disney's Hollywood Studios |
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Watch Complete Disney and Pixar Movies Online For Free! And Yes - It's Legal! |
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Written by Louis Mongello
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OK, so I don't get to watch movies that often (or sleep for that matter), but while looking on Disney.com for something recently ("research"), I found something very interesting.
Did you know that you can watch movies like Finding Nemo online? For free? AND it's legal?
Yup, it's true! In fact, Disney WANTS you to watch these movies! I don't mean to download them from some obscure web site using convulted technolgies like torrents, either. Instead, you can watch these full-length feature films from Disney and Disney/Pixar as a streaming movie right from Disney.com .
Much like you can do with other ABC shows (cough cough LOST), you can watch these movies for a full week after they air on the Saturday Night Wonderful World of Disney on ABC TV. And I don't mean small, low-qiality, either! I just started watcing ("research") Nemo on one of my servers, and have to say that the quality is at the very least near-DVD.
And Nemo isn't the only choice! The schedule also includes:
- Monsters Inc. (June 16-20)
- Haunted
Mansion (June 30-July 4)
- Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (July
7-11)
- Princess Diaries 2 (July 14-18)
- Freaky Friday (July 21-25)
- Peter Pan (August 4-8).
You can find these videos on Disney's web site at http://www.disney.com/WonderfulWorld
Enjoy!
Tags: Disney movies Pixar Finding Nemo Disney.com |
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