Rumor "Black Box" Coming to DCA?

T.Will

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Keep in mind, it's from Tom's Clickbait.

"We are in an age of abundant projection-heavy, screen-based attractions at the Disney Parks and there’s no sign of turning back anytime soon with Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and the new Spider-Man attraction coming to Disneyland Resort. Well, beyond these announced attractions, Disney has plans to build a ride in what they call a “black box” that would rely heavily on screen and projection technology, allowing the theme of the entire ride to be changed in just weeks, if not days. You may recall that we first told you about this attraction back in May.

Much like some of the attractions listed above, the ride would be trackless, featuring free-roaming vehicles that could easily be reprogrammed. With screens and projectors making up most of the attraction, scenes could be altered (possibly overnight) from one version to the next. The idea here is that a ride could be changed from one intellectual property to a more current “IP” in little-to-no time.

The “black box” term comes from the appearance of the attraction when everything is turned off. It is essentially a giant warehouse with projection and screen surfaces, a blank canvas. The attraction will feature props and figures with limited movement to try and offset the screens with some moving pieces. Said figures will be designed so they can be switched out whenever the attraction changes.

The attraction is also internally called a “Flex Ride”, since it can have multiple uses, much like a “Flex Space”.

The “black box” dark ride is projected to open in 2022 at Disney California Adventure, at the same time as its Walt Disney World counterpart in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The exact location for each attraction within those parks is unknown, but an educated guess would be Hollywood Land at DCA and the Animation Courtyard area at the Studios."
 

Snow Queen

Well-Known Member
I think the best/worst thing about this is I don't think they'll actually switch it out on a regular basis. Look how many changes they've done with TSMM, despite hyping it up as one they would constantly add overlays and new games to.

Also, betting on this being Stage 17. It seems the right size for a decent length dark ride that doesn't require extensive sets and is mostly just black walls, plus lets them save money on constructing a whole building from scratch. I can't really get mad about it, going in Hollywoodland. It's not like there's much of value it could be removing now that Tower is gone. Especially if it goes in an empty building like that.
 
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Model3 McQueen

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
So Space Mountain would be a good example of a black box maybe? It went from Space exploration to X-Wing pilot fighting cheap projections to the tune of Star Wars music.
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
I think this is great news! Do whatever you want with this flex space and just stop overlaying rides with IPs that don’t need it. A dedicated space for revolving new IP can save Splash mountain from a Zootopia overlay or the Matterhorn from a Frozen overlay. It gives the people coming up with these terrible ideas one tiny sandbox to see them come to fruition instead of ruining classics around the park.
 
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Rich T

Well-Known Member
I suggested this idea on this forum a while back, and I'm actually glad to see that I wasn't totally insane, and that some folks at Disney had the same idea, I'm sure long before I posted my thoughts.

I think it's a great idea, I hope it's going to DCA and not DL, and I wouldn't mind it replacing Monster's Inc.

I think it could be a great place for Imagineers to experiment and think, er... "outside the box."

As Snow Queen points out, though, it would be a bummer if Disney gets lazy and stops changing it out. The goal should be a new ride with every major animated release (if the film's theme lends itself to an exciting dark ride).

This is far preferable to overlays and closures of current attractions to promote Disney's latest films.
 

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Still say it makes no sense. If Walt Disney Imagineering could produce a decent dark ride at a cost low enough that a short tenure is financially justified then they should just be cranking out such rides to increase capacity.
And build them in DL's limitless acres of empty real estate? Seriousy, though, I'm sure the idea is to create a permanent infrastructure once that's build from the ground up to allow modular changes. Cheap-but-good is the goal after the initial investment. Can they do it? It'll be interesting.
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
I suggested this idea on this forum a while back, and I'm actually glad to see that I wasn't totally insane, and that some folks at Disney had the same idea, I'm sure long before I posted my thoughts.

I think it's a great idea, I hope it's going to DCA and not DL, and I wouldn't mind it replacing Monster's Inc.

I think it could be a great place for Imagineers to experiment and think, er... "outside the box."

As Snow Queen points out, though, it would be a bummer if Disney gets lazy and stops changing it out. The goal should be a new ride with every major animated release (if the film's theme lends itself to an exciting dark ride).

This is far preferable to overlays and closures of current attractions to promote Disney's latest films.

The synergy will keep guests excited for a few months and then the fact that it’s a cheaply built screen ride will mean they won’t lament the fact that it’s gone when the next big movie comes out. It’s brilliant.
 

britain

Well-Known Member
This seems like something in the overlapping areas of Venn diagram consisting of Runaway Railway, the movie previews that take up the 3-D theater space, and the Void’s Star Wars and Ralph experiences.

I’d expect it to be updated not as often as the movie previews, but about as often as the Void adds new experiences.

And when one proves to be very very popular, it becomes a test run for a more permanent attraction.

PLUS - This makes it easier to keep 'temporary' IP overlays of other real attractions from happening.
 

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Frankly, though, I'd put it in Pixar Pier, use a traditional car-on-rails, and make it look like a classier version of an amusement pier haunted house. The Pier gets a new attraction and Disney gets its film promotions.
 

Rich T

Well-Known Member
The synergy will keep guests excited for a few months and then the fact that it’s a cheaply built screen ride will mean they won’t lament the fact that it’s gone when the next big movie comes out. It’s brilliant.
I'd love it if they put a big sign out front that says "FREE ADMISSION!" See how many guests actually get in line because of that. :D
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
And build them in DL's limitless acres of empty real estate? Seriousy, though, I'm sure the idea is to create a permanent infrastructure once that's build from the ground up to allow modular changes. Cheap-but-good is the goal after the initial investment. Can they do it? It'll be interesting.
The shell and core are not the expensive part of a dark ride. It’s those pieces that are now supposedly modular. They still have to be built like permanent pieces.
 

Rich T

Well-Known Member
It’s like a technologically advanced county fair. I hope it happens and the public begins to realize Disney parks have lost their way, losing favor in their eyes.
I'm not saying I have tremendous confidence in Imagineering right now, but I still think this could be great fun. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is possibly my favorite theme park ride of all time, and part of the reason is that ever since I was a child, it has bowled me over with its cleverness and simple-but-effective tricks. One would think no little ride made of plywood and day-glo paint could be so much fun, but there it is... delighting people young and old over and over again.

But, then again, MTWW was designed by Masters. Who cared. Fingers crossed.
 

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
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Rich T

Well-Known Member
The shell and core are not the expensive part of a dark ride. It’s those pieces that are now supposedly modular. They still have to be built like permanent pieces.
The building, the ride system and all the show doors, mechanical effects, lighting/projection systems would be the be expense. It should be designed so that artists, working mainly digitally, could easily and quickly change anything. It wouldn't take that much time or cost to paint some 2-D flats here and there to add dimension. Nothing added later would have to be designed as permanent; just slide the pieces into the existing permanent frames and stands.

And, heck, I bet Garner Holt could design a couple of AA's with easily-swappable faces and body parts. :D But, frankly, I'm not expecting any AAs on this.
 

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