Animatronics: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

[RobotWolf]

An honorable mention to the new "Harolds" at the Matterhorn. Not only do they look great. But they're entirely pneumatic. This is certainly not new to animatronic figures. But he moves like hydraulic.

EDIT: After a little research, it looks like the big change is the valves. Traditionally, air-powered functions are either on or off. Now, it seems that the max pressure can be delivered as a percent of the whole. Bringing it more in line with the way hydraulic functions are programmed and used. I'd give a shout out to the developers but they Garner enough attention as it is.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

The civil war family scene in The American Adventure. The sight-line alignment between the characters and the programming make this extremely memorable. Trivia: There are TWO Imagineers in this scene; both in bot and picture format. (I'll give you a hint: they argue the whole scene.) The scene where the family receives the coffin of the fallen son was filmed at a Disneyland train station. ("apparently", I'd love confirmation on this)

The New Orleans Train Station at DL was Muller's Landing in the sequence...

Ooooooh On A Beautiful Mooooooorrrrrnnnninnnngggg......

 

[RobotWolf]

The New Orleans Train Station at DL was Muller's Landing in the sequence...

Perfect! Thank you, Cmdr_Crimson!

I wonder if the swoop in the roofline was added optically or was part of the scene re-dress.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Best would be a tie between the late Alec Tronic


or the stair climbing Ben Franklin in the American Adventure

That's such a powerful scene. What a great show!

 

[Leahbobeah]

Its from a couple years ago but this thread made me think of this:

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I also like the animatronics at Carousel of Progress.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Perfect! Thank you, Cmdr_Crimson!

I wonder if the swoop in the roofline was added optically or was part of the scene re-dress.

There's this picture I found on google from 1980....So it might have been removed to make it more "Aged" perhaps? Also you can see the small carriage that had the Coffin sitting there as well....

 

[piglet21]

Ugly - I was once riding COP and the grandfather's head was falling (well slipping really) off in the final scene. You could see all the wiring and mechanics in the back of his neck... stuff nightmares are made of! When we exited the ride we told the CMs working and all they said was "Yeah, we know!"

 

[Jwhee]

The execution of the Yeti was far better. Still the greatest attraction experience I've had ever.

Don't know which Yeti you're talking about. It was basically a big arm that swung down as you passed by it at 30mph. I'd say that all of the Kong AA's ever built are more impressive (even the very first one at USH). You could stare at them for long periods of time and watch their facial expressions move, and they'd even interact with the RV.

 

[EagleScout610]

Don't know which Yeti you're talking about. It was basically a big arm that swung down as you passed by it at 30mph. I'd say that all of the Kong AA's ever built are more impressive (even the very first one at USH). You could stare at them for long periods of time and watch their facial expressions move, and they'd even interact with the RV.

Kong was supposed to get you up close, the yeti was supposed to be a "Woah, wait, what was that?" scene with a "he just missed us!" feeling

 

[Chef Mickey]

Don't know which Yeti you're talking about. It was basically a big arm that swung down as you passed by it at 30mph. I'd say that all of the Kong AA's ever built are more impressive (even the very first one at USH). You could stare at them for long periods of time and watch their facial expressions move, and they'd even interact with the RV.

You don't know which Yeti I'm talking about? No need to be snarky...

In my opinion, the Everest yeti was FAR better than Kong and was much more than an "arm that swung down at you." He moved so fast, so far, and so violently that it actually could make you believe it was going to hit you. The encounter of the yeti was an incredible finale after the build up that started way back in the queue. Incredible execution of a storyline.

The engineering behind the Yeti was far more intricate than anything out there, particularly at the time. Unfortunately, that's what did him in. It's not just a basic animatronic with a couple motors and actuators in a stuffed animal.

With a working Yeti, Everest was a top 3 attraction ever built...and not just by Disney.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

You don't know which Yeti I'm talking about? No need to be snarky...

In my opinion, the Everest yeti was FAR better than Kong and was much more than an "arm that swung down at you." He moved so fast, so far, and so violently that it actually could make you believe it was going to hit you. The encounter of the yeti was an incredible finale after the build up that started way back in the queue. Incredible execution of a storyline.

The engineering behind the Yeti was far more intricate than anything out there, particularly at the time. Unfortunately, that's what did him in. It's not just a basic animatronic with a couple motors and actuators in a stuffed animal.

With a working Yeti, Everest was a top 3 attraction ever built...and not just by Disney.

There was at one point during concept art that the Yeti would have had a similarity to Kong being closer and a heck of a lot bigger..

 

[Sans Souci]

Speaking of bad animatronics, I can't be the only one (of a certain age) who thinks Ellen's animatronic looks a bit inspired by Lady Elaine Fairchild from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood?"

I think it's the hair.

 

[Chef Mickey]

There was at one point during concept art that the Yeti would have had a similarity to Kong being closer and a heck of a lot bigger..

I think the complex, never tried before design was worth the effort and would have been the greatest execution of animatronic/ride we've ever seen. Problem is, it only worked well for a few months and looking back was a bad design and bad decision by the imagineers, particularly because management refuses to fix it.

I have no doubt a fix is possible.

 

[Leahbobeah]

Ugly - I was once riding COP and the grandfather's head was falling (well slipping really) off in the final scene. You could see all the wiring and mechanics in the back of his neck... stuff nightmares are made of! When we exited the ride we told the CMs working and all they said was "Yeah, we know!"

I was looking for this video, too.

 

[RobotWolf]

It confuses me when people describe the Yeti as an advanced creation. I understand that it was meant to be. But, at the end of the day, Rhode and Co. failed. They spent so much time bragging about how many "jet engines of thrust" it was capable of. They apparently spent little time thinking about what happens when you weld jet engine forces to a static frame on a concrete platform (in Florida).

And even when it worked perfectly, it was the predictable "boo scare" they've been doing since Mr. Toad and Matterhorn and Mansion.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I think the complex, never tried before design was worth the effort and would have been the greatest execution of animatronic/ride we've ever seen. Problem is, it only worked well for a few months and looking back was a bad design and bad decision by the imagineers, particularly because management refuses to fix it.

I have no doubt a fix is possible.

From what I've read, a fix is indeed possible. It just requires a bunch of money and the ride being closed for likely a year, possibly more, so whether or not it happens is completely up in the air. But knowing TDO's propensity to not spend a ton of money on refurbing attractions and to not have major attractions closed for long periods of time...

 

[HauntedPirate]

An honorable mention to the new "Harolds" at the Matterhorn. Not only do they look great. But they're entirely pneumatic. This is certainly not new to animatronic figures. But he moves like hydraulic.

EDIT: After a little research, it looks like the big change is the valves. Traditionally, air-powered functions are either on or off. Now, it seems that the max pressure can be delivered as a percent of the whole. Bringing it more in line with the way hydraulic functions are programmed and used. I'd give a shout out to the developers but they Garner enough attention as it is.

Personally, I thought the "Harolds" at the Matterhorn were far more effective at being scary than the Yeti at Everest. The new ones look and sound great!

 

[Chef Mickey]

From what I've read, a fix is indeed possible. It just requires a bunch of money and the ride being closed for likely a year, possibly more, so whether or not it happens is completely up in the air. But knowing TDO's propensity to not spend a ton of money on refurbing attractions and to not have major attractions closed for long periods of time...

No way it would need to be closed a year.

 

[danyoung56]

I understand that it was meant to be. But, at the end of the day, Rhode and Co. failed. They spent so much time bragging about how many "jet engines of thrust" it was capable of. They apparently spent little time thinking about what happens when you weld jet engine forces to a static frame on a concrete platform (in Florida).

In their defense, nothing quite like this had ever been done before. You can mock something up all day, but until you put it into daily production you have no idea how it will respond. It's like the big mirror that they made for the Hubble space telescope - there was no way to test it until it was deployed, and by then it was too late. (By the way, it's Rohde, not Rhode.)