DisneyVision?

[Lego614]

DisneyVision?
In epcot, there are some posters advertising an old protoyype of something called DisneyVision. They are in black and Whit, use the Gene from Aladin as there logo and appear to be a virtual reality device! What is DisneyVision?

 

[Dr.Seeker]

Hmm where are these pictures? I'm sure if you asked nicely some cast member would snap a pic for you. Most likely it was one of these attractions that was imagineered, advertised, but never surfaced. e.g. David Copperfield Underground, Spain, Equitorial Africa e.t.c.

 

[barnum42]

I remember years ago going to a demonstration in Epcot's Communicore (that's how long ago it was) where they were testing a virtual carpet ride attraction. Maybe that's what the poster is for. I think the virtual carpet ride may have ended up in Disney Quest.

 

[Lego614]

Carpet!

Yes! It does have a picture of a carpet in it!

 

[barnum42]

Yes! It does have a picture of a carpet in it!

That could be it then!

 

[matt88mph]

Aahhh! Now it dawns on me! I believe it was an exhibit in Innoventions focusing on virtual reality. It was used in a popular press photo. I believe the child in the Innoventions picture in the WDW website is wearing DisneyVision glasses.

 

[lifeguard1020]

It Did End Up In Disney Quest...

barnum42 Is correct...It was YEARS before Disney Quest ever opened...It was a test of the game that ended up in Disney Quest...In the room there was a set of four carpet simulator mockups set up...The cool part was that all the computers anf controls and everything were all exposed so you could see it...
I was much younger and was picked to test it...it was amazingly cool...my family, and the others, got to watch on monitors set up around each mock up...my family wanted to tape or take pictures, but they were VERY strict about not allowing it...all in all, it was one of the coolest things that I got to experience at WDW...
I was a bit surprised when many years later I found the very attraction that I tested, in use at Disney Quest...


Dan

 

[marni1971]

Here are some framegrabs showing the inside of DisneyVision in Innoventions, around January 1995:

 

[marni1971]

And one more:

 

[General Grizz]

I have vague memories of trying this.

 

[DarkMeasures]

I went to Innoventions in 1995, and don't remember Disneyvision. I do remember all the other virtual reality stuff though, especially the blue-screen games.

Of course, we didn't cover all of innoventions and I don't think we went to that part of the building. (outer perimeter).

You know, with Innoventions and Ice Station being the old attractions on that side, why not make that entire building Innoventions?

 

[steve2wdw]

The Aladdin virtual realty experiment was located in the Disney Imagineering Labs, shown in one of the above pictures. The lab was entered from the interior hall in Communicore West and I believe included the current Ice Station. The labs didn't last all that long. I was really dissappointed when they quietly closed the attraction before I was able to visit it. When opened, it promised to showcase new attractions in developement and was to feature actual Imagineers.

 

[marni1971]

Re: DisneyVision; I am just finishing my Spaceship Earth `94 / Global Neighborhood video - I have put Disneyvision on the end of the vid - the exterior, the holding area / preshow, and also the mainshow (taken from an audience position), screen shots above are from this footage, for anyone who may be interested.

 

[JWS@speeglevill]

Hi,

This has been pretty much covered, but I just wanted to add my $00.02 worth to it…

DisneyVision was joint venture between Disney Imagineering and Silicon Graphics Computer Systems (AKA: SGI). Disney used the lab to develop their VR app for DisneyQuest and SGI used the opportunity to write extensions to their IRIS Performer package and gather data for the next generation of graphics hardware. The SGI graphics hardware used a custom board called “Tri-clops”…as far as I know SGI only produced 5 of them. The Tri-clops board allowed the output of the three graphics pipes in the SGI Onyx systems to be summed into one full rez, stereo (120Hz) display. Due to the rez, pixel depth and refresh rate of the HMD (Head Mounted Display), motion sickness was a problem and barrels were added to show for to accommodate sick guests. Also, the temperature of the lab was kept quite low to help minimumize the effects the motion had on guests…a practice that is still used today in DisneyQuest.

Disney and SGI displayed DisneyVision at the 1994 Siggraph show in Orlando.

The current VR attraction @ DisneyQuest is (as 07/98) is MUCH lower quality than that of the EPCOT lab. Where EPCOT was running one SGI Onyx with three graphics pipes summed into one pod, the DisneyQuest attraction has one Onyx2 with one graphics pipe running 4 pods. The DQ attraction removed the Mickey Mouse hands from the edge of the magic carpet…sad to see that touch did not make it into the attraction.

Kevin Whitaker’s web site has some great pictures from the EPCOT lab. http://kwwhitaker.com/disneyvision/

BTW: It seems odd that Disney is still displaying the photos of an R&D lab that has been dismantled for 10 years.


JWS
Silicon Graphics Engineer 95-03

Involved with:
SGI Pavilion @ EPCOT Innovations – ‘96
The Legend of Mulan Production – ‘96
DisneyQuest Grand Opening – ‘98

 

[Skippy]

Well, this whole thead's pretty old but what the hey..

Does anybody know what's taking up the space that Disney Vision used to take up?

 

[barnum42]

Well, this whole thead's pretty old but what the hey..

Does anybody know what's taking up the space that Disney Vision used to take up?

I suspect Ice Station Cool (or what it is currently being re-habbed as) may be taking up that space.