I couldn't believe my eyes when I read Chad's post. I came onto the board to pitch my new Living Seas attraction and figured I'd give this board a read, and low and behold someone's cooked up almost the same thing. I have been mulling over nearly the EXACT same concept for about two years now. I hate to set anyone off their train of thought, but I'd love to see what y'all'd think of this.
The attraction is called KrakENcounter. It would be a high-capacity show type ride derived (obviously) from Alien Encounter. The entrance would be located somewhere near the exit of the Living Seas pavilion, perhaps as an alternative to the rear hydrolator exit.
The attraction entrance is themed like a normal exhibit, like a continuation of the aquarium areas of the pavilion. The premise is that a recent oceanographic expedition has for the first time captured a live specimen of a new type of deep-sea octopus, and the Seabase Alpha Marine-Biological Institute will be unveiling the creature today in a specially-built amphitheater. The music that plays throughout the queue would be the typical new-age EPCOT Muzak we all know and love. There would be VERY obvious thrill-attraction warnings at the gate to make sure guests knew this wasn't a normal part of the Living Seas. Also, everyone's favorite sign, "You WILL get wet."
The first bits of the queue line would wind through interesting educational exhibits about marine invertebrates. Think lots of diagrams, some monitors showing documentary loops, models of octopi, squid, cuttlefish, etc. As the line winds deeper into the attraction there would be some small tanks in the walls with live specimens of squid and octopi, etc. After all, the guests are supposed to be in part of a real aquarium. Further on, there would be a display of the various pieces of "equipment" used in the capture. It would be lots of high-tech semi-fictional dive gear and so forth, along with lots of photographs and "notes from the crew" detailing how grueling the capture. Ominously, a lot of the equipment appears oddly damaged, i.e. bent diving knives, twisted bits of metal, bite marks in cables, and perhaps most frighteningly, cracks and dents in a dive helmet.
The last bit of the queue would be a classic preshow, a stand-up theatre similar to that in Countdown to Extinction in which a scientist character relates how privileged you are to get to be part of this special unveiling, and are part of Living Seas history. She tells about the legend of the mythical Kraken and shows us some ancient drawings and statues of the beast dragging ships and their sailors to doom, then dispels the stories of its ferocity to be rubbish. She then tells the guests about the expedition, and about how amazing this deep-sea creature is. As she continues to talk, footage is shown of the inside of the "specially built viewing area" for the high-pressure, high-volume" tank used to house the creature. She apologizes for the condition of the exhibit area, as it is still under construction. This would also be the reminder of no flash photography, please, etc. During her speech, another scientist with a sinister FRENCH accent, who the guests might recognize from the photographs in the queue interrupts her, and seems less than thrilled that the first to people see his darling are common park guests, "I bet half of them don't even have PhDs!" He then condescendingly explains the restraint system he has had installed in the viewing gallery, as sudden movements might startle his specimen, and expresses his general contempt for the guests in general. Once the film ends, the guests are led into the main area of the attraction.
The actual attraction room would be designed like a normal auditorium with stadium seating. The seats would be on metal scaffolding that appears to have been hastily constructed for the unveiling of the creature. In fact, the floor of the theatre would be made of steel mesh and be a good 10 feet or so off actual floor of the room. All the seats are constructed in a similar skeletal fashion and bolted, like the floor, to mesh like surfaces so that any guest could look down and partially see the well-lit gray concrete floor below them. There would be 10 rows of seats, all outfitted with an Alien Encounter style restraint system to prevent anyone from "tapping on the glass" as it were. All of the seats are facing an ornate red and gold curtain that covers the entire wall and extends all the way from ceiling to floor. The ceiling is a dark maze of black pipes and tubes. (Sound familiar?) The guests are seated and a CM at the front of the attraction announces that the unveiling will soon commence, and the restraints lower into place. The show begins, and the lights are all turned off save for a VERY faint red glow, as the creature is not acclimated to bright lights.
The curtain rises, and he only thing on the "stage" is a single podium behind which stands, you guessed it, conceited biologist guy, or at least an animiatronic of him. It would be a Tom-Morrow grade robot, and in the dim light would probably appear VERY lifelike. The biologist prattles on for a bit about how long and hard he ".....and some other inconsequential people" have been looking for the mythical Kraken for years. And now the Inner curtain rises, revealing that the wall the guests are facing is actually a giant aquarium. The glass itself is recessed into the wall about two feet, and measures a good 20 by 30 feet. The glass face is mostly unobscured, save for a few metal beams for support. The water inside is almost black with lack of light, and nothing can be seen inside. The biologist animitronic gets a bit frustrated, and decides to try and coax the thing towards the glass with some whale sounds, the creature's natural prey. The eerie noises are played on speakers at the rear of the auditorium and echo through the room. The faint red lights dim to nothing.
Suddenly, something is seen in the murky distance. There is a faint glowing in the water, and it seems to draw nearer. Slowly, you are given a full view of what's on the other side of the glass: a huge mass of multi-colored lights waving in the water. "Amazing!" says the not-evil biologist lady over the loudspeaker, "The octopus is bioluminescent! It's beautiful!" And indeed it is. The lights are soft, fiber optic glowing patches on what you eventually see is a creature of biblical proportions. As it nears the glass, the guests get for the first time a good view of the gigantic 20-foot octopus, a mass of writhing arms, huge eyes, and mottled skin. Evil scientist animatronic is also duly impressed, and asks that the lights be turned up just a bit to get a better view. The lights come on just enough to get a better view of just how big and well-articulated the octopus animatronic is. The lights also appear to agitate the critter, and its arms move in more threatening ways. The Animiatronic on stage is simply captivated, and can't resist approaching the glass, crazily talking to the creature. He gets closer, and can't resist. He taps on the glass. The creature freezes. He then bangs on it, trying to get it to move in a threatening posture, despite the loudspeaker protests of the other biologists. The kraken is enraged, and three of its arms rear up and extend to their full length, then slam down towards the glass. With each of these impacts, the whole auditorium shutters under the force of the blows. Metal fatigue and bolt noises are heard on different speakers throughout the auditorium, and lights flicker, as it continues to attack the glass, the animatronic backs off, afraid. Kraken continues to try and break out, and the glass, and some special light effects make cracks seem to appear on the glass. Hidden water tubes make tiny bits of water spray out off the glass wall, and it is clear that something is about to give. Inside the aquarium, you can see the kraken reach up with one of its arms past the area you can see, and it comes back into view, clutching a sparking power line. The lights go out altogether, and there are sparks and strobe lights seen.
During this period of darkness all the sound and tremor effects continue while the biologists scream, the aquarium in front of the guests is rotated, carousel of progress style, and a new front is facing them. A deafening explosion sound is heard, and the lights strobe on again, revealing that there is a huge hole in the aquarium wall, and water is through the breach erupting into the auditorium with horrible force, powered by water cannons. The cannons channel the water through the hole via transparent acrylic tubes stemming from the bottom of the tank, making them invisible to the guests and simulating the water pouring out of the crack. The floor floods, and lights continue to spark as all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, everything goes dead again.
"What happened?" rhetorically asks a biologist with quaking voice. Lights come on facing the aquarium wall, and we see that the water has drained down to the level of the hole, and some continues to waterfall down into the lake of a floor. "Wh-where is it now?" asks another biologist. The main lights of the theatre come on, and the guests are shocked and terrified to find that the massive invertebrate is now underneath them. This is where the real fun starts, as the water below the guests is churned into a frothy sea, and tentacles begin to rise up out of the darkness and into over the sides and over the audience's heads as the theatre is filled with frightening shifts of light and slurply sounds. Eventually one of the tentacles grabs a mannequin of evil biologist person and waves him around, shrieking above the guests’ heads before disappearing into the glowing, turbulent water below. Good biologist lady is heard again over the loudspeakers, and announces her plan to try and zap the creature and force it into the main drain in the back of the theatre. Lots of sparks, monster's groaning, and strobes ensue. The guests’ seats have a neat effect where they vibrate very intensely to give the effect that they too are being electrocuted. Eventually, smoke, relative silence, and the alluring odor of calamari let audience know that the crisis is over. The lights shinning on the floor go out, the restraints lift, and the exit doors open as the surviving biologists apologize profusely. Between shows, the floor is drained, the turntable reset, and the water cannons recharged for the next set of witnesses.
So, what do you think? It obviously borrows much from Alien Encounter and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, not to mention Jaws at Universal, but there's only so many ways interesting ways to kill a giant monster. I figured you could also have the octopus destroyed by having the stadium seating "dropped" onto it, as the scientists frantically disengaged the wires holding it up, which would also give the ride a drop quality to it. The attraction could be built with mostly existing technology, although the turntable would have to be MASSIVELY powerful to revolve that tank. Also, the octopus animatronics themselves, especially the submerged one would be extremely complex, and if they broke down, the whole attraction goes 101. I'm suddenly reminded of the film Ed Wood where they forget to bring the Octopus Motor. Honest to goodness, I cooked all this stuff up BEFORE reading any posts here, so great minds think alike. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about it for years, and I figure it would be a perfect way to spruce up the Living Seas and would also fit right in at Tokyo DisneySea. Heck, with a little modification it could even work at MGM. Deep Rising: The Ride, anyone?
The attraction is called KrakENcounter. It would be a high-capacity show type ride derived (obviously) from Alien Encounter. The entrance would be located somewhere near the exit of the Living Seas pavilion, perhaps as an alternative to the rear hydrolator exit.
The attraction entrance is themed like a normal exhibit, like a continuation of the aquarium areas of the pavilion. The premise is that a recent oceanographic expedition has for the first time captured a live specimen of a new type of deep-sea octopus, and the Seabase Alpha Marine-Biological Institute will be unveiling the creature today in a specially-built amphitheater. The music that plays throughout the queue would be the typical new-age EPCOT Muzak we all know and love. There would be VERY obvious thrill-attraction warnings at the gate to make sure guests knew this wasn't a normal part of the Living Seas. Also, everyone's favorite sign, "You WILL get wet."
The first bits of the queue line would wind through interesting educational exhibits about marine invertebrates. Think lots of diagrams, some monitors showing documentary loops, models of octopi, squid, cuttlefish, etc. As the line winds deeper into the attraction there would be some small tanks in the walls with live specimens of squid and octopi, etc. After all, the guests are supposed to be in part of a real aquarium. Further on, there would be a display of the various pieces of "equipment" used in the capture. It would be lots of high-tech semi-fictional dive gear and so forth, along with lots of photographs and "notes from the crew" detailing how grueling the capture. Ominously, a lot of the equipment appears oddly damaged, i.e. bent diving knives, twisted bits of metal, bite marks in cables, and perhaps most frighteningly, cracks and dents in a dive helmet.
The last bit of the queue would be a classic preshow, a stand-up theatre similar to that in Countdown to Extinction in which a scientist character relates how privileged you are to get to be part of this special unveiling, and are part of Living Seas history. She tells about the legend of the mythical Kraken and shows us some ancient drawings and statues of the beast dragging ships and their sailors to doom, then dispels the stories of its ferocity to be rubbish. She then tells the guests about the expedition, and about how amazing this deep-sea creature is. As she continues to talk, footage is shown of the inside of the "specially built viewing area" for the high-pressure, high-volume" tank used to house the creature. She apologizes for the condition of the exhibit area, as it is still under construction. This would also be the reminder of no flash photography, please, etc. During her speech, another scientist with a sinister FRENCH accent, who the guests might recognize from the photographs in the queue interrupts her, and seems less than thrilled that the first to people see his darling are common park guests, "I bet half of them don't even have PhDs!" He then condescendingly explains the restraint system he has had installed in the viewing gallery, as sudden movements might startle his specimen, and expresses his general contempt for the guests in general. Once the film ends, the guests are led into the main area of the attraction.
The actual attraction room would be designed like a normal auditorium with stadium seating. The seats would be on metal scaffolding that appears to have been hastily constructed for the unveiling of the creature. In fact, the floor of the theatre would be made of steel mesh and be a good 10 feet or so off actual floor of the room. All the seats are constructed in a similar skeletal fashion and bolted, like the floor, to mesh like surfaces so that any guest could look down and partially see the well-lit gray concrete floor below them. There would be 10 rows of seats, all outfitted with an Alien Encounter style restraint system to prevent anyone from "tapping on the glass" as it were. All of the seats are facing an ornate red and gold curtain that covers the entire wall and extends all the way from ceiling to floor. The ceiling is a dark maze of black pipes and tubes. (Sound familiar?) The guests are seated and a CM at the front of the attraction announces that the unveiling will soon commence, and the restraints lower into place. The show begins, and the lights are all turned off save for a VERY faint red glow, as the creature is not acclimated to bright lights.
The curtain rises, and he only thing on the "stage" is a single podium behind which stands, you guessed it, conceited biologist guy, or at least an animiatronic of him. It would be a Tom-Morrow grade robot, and in the dim light would probably appear VERY lifelike. The biologist prattles on for a bit about how long and hard he ".....and some other inconsequential people" have been looking for the mythical Kraken for years. And now the Inner curtain rises, revealing that the wall the guests are facing is actually a giant aquarium. The glass itself is recessed into the wall about two feet, and measures a good 20 by 30 feet. The glass face is mostly unobscured, save for a few metal beams for support. The water inside is almost black with lack of light, and nothing can be seen inside. The biologist animitronic gets a bit frustrated, and decides to try and coax the thing towards the glass with some whale sounds, the creature's natural prey. The eerie noises are played on speakers at the rear of the auditorium and echo through the room. The faint red lights dim to nothing.
Suddenly, something is seen in the murky distance. There is a faint glowing in the water, and it seems to draw nearer. Slowly, you are given a full view of what's on the other side of the glass: a huge mass of multi-colored lights waving in the water. "Amazing!" says the not-evil biologist lady over the loudspeaker, "The octopus is bioluminescent! It's beautiful!" And indeed it is. The lights are soft, fiber optic glowing patches on what you eventually see is a creature of biblical proportions. As it nears the glass, the guests get for the first time a good view of the gigantic 20-foot octopus, a mass of writhing arms, huge eyes, and mottled skin. Evil scientist animatronic is also duly impressed, and asks that the lights be turned up just a bit to get a better view. The lights come on just enough to get a better view of just how big and well-articulated the octopus animatronic is. The lights also appear to agitate the critter, and its arms move in more threatening ways. The Animiatronic on stage is simply captivated, and can't resist approaching the glass, crazily talking to the creature. He gets closer, and can't resist. He taps on the glass. The creature freezes. He then bangs on it, trying to get it to move in a threatening posture, despite the loudspeaker protests of the other biologists. The kraken is enraged, and three of its arms rear up and extend to their full length, then slam down towards the glass. With each of these impacts, the whole auditorium shutters under the force of the blows. Metal fatigue and bolt noises are heard on different speakers throughout the auditorium, and lights flicker, as it continues to attack the glass, the animatronic backs off, afraid. Kraken continues to try and break out, and the glass, and some special light effects make cracks seem to appear on the glass. Hidden water tubes make tiny bits of water spray out off the glass wall, and it is clear that something is about to give. Inside the aquarium, you can see the kraken reach up with one of its arms past the area you can see, and it comes back into view, clutching a sparking power line. The lights go out altogether, and there are sparks and strobe lights seen.
During this period of darkness all the sound and tremor effects continue while the biologists scream, the aquarium in front of the guests is rotated, carousel of progress style, and a new front is facing them. A deafening explosion sound is heard, and the lights strobe on again, revealing that there is a huge hole in the aquarium wall, and water is through the breach erupting into the auditorium with horrible force, powered by water cannons. The cannons channel the water through the hole via transparent acrylic tubes stemming from the bottom of the tank, making them invisible to the guests and simulating the water pouring out of the crack. The floor floods, and lights continue to spark as all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, everything goes dead again.
"What happened?" rhetorically asks a biologist with quaking voice. Lights come on facing the aquarium wall, and we see that the water has drained down to the level of the hole, and some continues to waterfall down into the lake of a floor. "Wh-where is it now?" asks another biologist. The main lights of the theatre come on, and the guests are shocked and terrified to find that the massive invertebrate is now underneath them. This is where the real fun starts, as the water below the guests is churned into a frothy sea, and tentacles begin to rise up out of the darkness and into over the sides and over the audience's heads as the theatre is filled with frightening shifts of light and slurply sounds. Eventually one of the tentacles grabs a mannequin of evil biologist person and waves him around, shrieking above the guests’ heads before disappearing into the glowing, turbulent water below. Good biologist lady is heard again over the loudspeakers, and announces her plan to try and zap the creature and force it into the main drain in the back of the theatre. Lots of sparks, monster's groaning, and strobes ensue. The guests’ seats have a neat effect where they vibrate very intensely to give the effect that they too are being electrocuted. Eventually, smoke, relative silence, and the alluring odor of calamari let audience know that the crisis is over. The lights shinning on the floor go out, the restraints lift, and the exit doors open as the surviving biologists apologize profusely. Between shows, the floor is drained, the turntable reset, and the water cannons recharged for the next set of witnesses.
So, what do you think? It obviously borrows much from Alien Encounter and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, not to mention Jaws at Universal, but there's only so many ways interesting ways to kill a giant monster. I figured you could also have the octopus destroyed by having the stadium seating "dropped" onto it, as the scientists frantically disengaged the wires holding it up, which would also give the ride a drop quality to it. The attraction could be built with mostly existing technology, although the turntable would have to be MASSIVELY powerful to revolve that tank. Also, the octopus animatronics themselves, especially the submerged one would be extremely complex, and if they broke down, the whole attraction goes 101. I'm suddenly reminded of the film Ed Wood where they forget to bring the Octopus Motor. Honest to goodness, I cooked all this stuff up BEFORE reading any posts here, so great minds think alike. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about it for years, and I figure it would be a perfect way to spruce up the Living Seas and would also fit right in at Tokyo DisneySea. Heck, with a little modification it could even work at MGM. Deep Rising: The Ride, anyone?
