NateD1226
Well-Known Member
TheOriginalTikiPresents...A Final Proposal for the "One Little Spark" Competition...
To replace Voyage to the Crystal Grotto on the timeline, I went with an idea that I’ve had in the back of my mind for a long time, a good part of it’s life in my head existing as a potential Beastly Kingdom expansion. Alas, the time has finally come now that I’ve reached the end of this game to fully explore this germ of an idea ten plus years in the making.
The attraction is called “Dragons”. A nice, simple title in the style of the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion. If you go on the Jungle Cruise, you're going to see animals. If you're going to the Haunted Mansion, you'll see some ghosts, and god knows if you're going on a ride that's called "Dragons" you are expecting some serious Dragon action.
before we go any further, I'd like to lay out the "types" of creatures that will be going into this ride. I don't want to just have the classic Medieval Malificent/Smaug style dragon. In total there will be three different types of dragons featured.
Medieval Dragons
There are dragons all over the bible, from the serpent who gives Eve the apple in the garden of Eden to the Leviathan, but perhaps our classic view of dragons comes from the medieval version. These dragons typically have very long, snake like necks, Big bodies. They stand on four legs typically. They have a sheep like mouth with thousands of teeth. The classic trait is their ability to breath fire.
Chinese Dragons
If you've ever been to a Chinese New Year Parade, you know what Chinese dragons are like. They are actually quite a bit like serpents, except with great, highly detailed heads. The Chinese take dragons really seriously which is a big part of why I chose this concept for Shanghai Disneyland. In fact, on the Chinese New Year calendar the dragon is the first animal represents, and it repeats every 12 years. So 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036 etc.
Far East Dragons
The dragons of the far east can be essentially summed up as a mix of medieval and Chinese dragons. Unlike the Chinese, the Far Eastern dragons do in fact have trademark long necks of the medieval dragons, however, it has more of the face of a Chinese variety, with a beard, giant spiked head, etc. The neck is also quite fat unlike the Medieval dragons.
A Note on the Storytelling
Piles of armor just before the entrance to the lair, Chinese dragons guarding hatching eggs, two medieval dragons dueling, a very hungry Far Eastern dragon starring you down. Bones of a beast so ancient they have become part of the landscape. It’s all part of the great experience of non-linear storytelling. We don’t know that’s the captain of the ship that’s firing at the fort in Pirates. For all we know the original captain is tied up in the galley. Who's to say the figure hanging in the attic is male? Is that raven who keeps showing up everywhere the puppet master in this whole mess?
Of course we know without a shadow of a doubt that the ghosts in the Hollywood Tower are victims of a tragic Halloween night accident. It’s obvious that the golden face staring at us as we start our Indiana Jones Adventure is that of ancient temple deity Mara. These examples trace back to a form of storytelling that’s becoming more and more prominent in Disney parks with established pre-shows and queues that almost tell more of the story than the attraction itself.
While this type of mythology is relatively cool, I’ll be the first to admit that I prefer when you are not completely aware of the overall mythology of the adventure. Every time I go to the Mansion, I imagine a new storyline. That right there is the point I want to make with Dragons. Every time you go on this ride, I want you to get something more out of it. It’s this kind of storytelling that will make Dragons an endearing classic.
First things first, Dragons will be a sight to behold in Fantasyland. That being said, I want to make this perfectly clear that the exterior of the ride is NOT a giant, Everest style Gothic mountain. Instead, I’m designing the exterior to fit almost perfectly into the landscape already established. I think of the exterior as a really, REALLY beefed up version of the rolling hills set-up next to the castle in Disneyland Paris. I want it to look like the scenery has been there forever.
The rides exterior is essentially an old, decrypted temple on a small hill. The temple is 15 feet high and crumbling. Forced perspective makes it seem relatively higher. What we are really interested in, however, is the hill that rises above the temple. Several things catch our eye, and draw us to make this adventure. We see some ruins up on the plains, but as our eyes adjust we actually see ruins of the temple built into the hill.
If we really listen hard we can actually hear growling, and if we look closely, we can actually see bones in these caves. Every so often, a blast of hot air is sprayed into the rides entrance courtyard. Sharp eyed guests will notice a few flames coming from the hill as well as some smoke emitting from it. The Dragons exterior is designed to be a “weenie” meaning the entrance is designed to draw you to it from afar, and you can’t help but want to experience this adventure. And without further ado, let’s do it!
Attraction Specifics
First off, it’s worth noting that beings as though Dragons is a boat ride, it will have a relatively high capacity. For this reason, Fastpass will not be needed. The sign will be relatively modest, because what your eyes are being drawn to is the hill itself. I don’t want the sign to be overwhelming and take away from the impact of seeing this immersive and detailed exterior. The sign will just be arched over the entrance.
Now, for the queue itself, which admittedly won’t be very elaborate. This is going back to my linear experience lecture. On attractions like Indy, the queue is so excessively detailed that you feel almost exhausted by the theme before you even get in your vehicle. The queue basically takes place on two levels. Both levels will be virtually the same size. The general layout will be just a lot of switchbacks. I know this might sound repetitive, but there will be some stuff to look at, and as I’ve said before, the line will be moving at virtually walking speed, thus making the feeling of repetitiveness somewhat unnoticeable.
As I’ve mentioned before, there will be tiny details hidden throughout the two levels of the queue. You can get more hints of the storytelling by looking at the markings carved onto the pillars. At this point a note should be made that the entire queue is open air. On the pillars holding up the temple, as I’ve said, you can get hints of the attractions mythology. Not only are there markings of some of the dragons, you can also notice an obvious level of decay on the pillars. Vines are also draped all down the sides of the temple, adding to the theme that this ancient temple is slowly becoming part of the landscape.
The two levels of the queue will be identical to the naked eye, but every single pillar in the entire queue will be different in some way or another. Now, once you climb down the stairs to the bottom portion of the queue, you’re basically in the boarding area. The boarding process acts in much the same way as Pirates. The entire right edge of the temple is used to board. Two boats are loaded and dispatched at once, essentially doubling the capacity at every operations cycle.
As we pull away from the dock, we leave the human world behind. As we round our first corner we see the extent of the temple's damage. There are piles of rocks and ruins. One rock in particular catches our eye more than the others. It has a drawing of the North Eastern dragon you will encounter later on.
Soon our eyes wander away from the ruins and onto the sight ahead. The first real sign of ancient beasts we see is on the lift hill. More importantly, we see rib bones, giant rib bones, sticking out from the hill. As you climb the 30 ft. lift hill, with these giant bones hovering over you, you have to wonder, how long has this hill and these bones been here?
Perhaps this beast died slouched on a slope possibly thousands of years ago. Over time, the skeleton just grew into the earth, becoming part of it. It’s just one of many stories your mind can create as you take this voyage time and time again. As we crest the hill, we see the dragon's skull, our speculation has been confirmed. These are indeed the bones of a dragon
As we near the entrance to the lair, the first thing we see is a good sized pile of armor. The bodies are nowhere to be found, but obviously something’s up. We turn our eyes away from the armor on the left side of the bank to a cave on the right. This set is designed to pay homage to the original Beastly Kingdom concept. You see a skeleton at the edge of the cave.
Smoke is emitting from the opening, when all of a sudden, you hear a growl and see a pair of red eyes staring back at you. That mess is quickly avoided, however, we see we are not out of harm's way yet; in fact our adventure is only just beginning as we head towards a modest opening in the hill. We are about to enter the Belly of the Beast, both physically and metaphorically.
Before we even enter the lair of the beast, however, we must encounter the guardians. This is a relatively small room. As we plummet into the darkness and our eyes adjust we see the water shimmering below us, and our eyes fix up a gate. The gate is open, and we get a glimpse of the next scene, but not before the two trolls guarding this gate notice us and roar. Clearly we are unwelcome. But we continue along anyways, hoping we don’t come in contact with anymore trolls.
The egg room is of the utmost importance, at least in terms of the non-existent storyline. Trolls are guarding the entrance to it, as we have just witnessed. As we enter this room, we are almost blinded by the amount of light there is compared to the gates. We see two Chinese dragons flying around (On wires) guarding the place, they are roughly half the size of what a dragon in a Chinese New Year parade would be.
But we are not fixed on these dragons; our eyes are actually fixed on all the eggs in this room. Some of the eggs have already started to hatch and you see the shell pushing outward. Other eggs are pretty much hatched, and you see the head of a little baby dragon peeping out from the top of it.
Some are cracking, some are wiggling around, but one thing's for sure, this room is filled with life. As we sail through this room we come to a hole and stop. All of a sudden a Chinese dragon pops out from that hole. At first we are startled by his sudden appearance, but at a second glance the dragon is actually lively and friendly. We leave the room feeling good at the humorous scene that has just taken place.
Continuing on, the bright lights of the previous scene keep glowing as we enter the treasure chamber. Here we see two dragons of the medival variety having a duel. In this room pyro effects fly above guests heads (a safe distance away of course) and fire hits small pools of water on fire Fantasmic style. The two AA dragons are far more intimidating than the Chinese ones we encountered in the last scene, but luckily for us they’re far too distracted by the fight to notice the guests floating by.
As you exit out of the treasure room, you are plunged into darkness, much like the darkness from which you began your voyage. This time, however, you can literally feel the heat. You travel down a pitch black corridor. Suddenly, the walls turn bright red, and alas, the Far Eastern dragon appears before your eyes. Now, in order to pull off the fire effect, some pretty advanced tricks will have to be placed. First off, There will be a scrim between you and the dragon, so even though you see the dragon, he is actually not in the same room, you are seeing him through a see through wall.
Similar effects are used for the Carousel of Progress (When you see the family members in the different rooms) and the Haunted Mansion (When you see through the ceiling in the elevator) as well as countless other Disney attractions. The scrim will keep the fires heat from becoming dangerous. There will also be a layer of fireproof glass between the dragon and the scrim to keep the scrim from burning as he unleashes his fiery breath.
Don’t worry, you won’t be the victim for long.
Now, for the climatic escape, I am employing another new bit of tech. A launched boat ride. Well, the way I see it, if you get enough water jets streaming in this part of the flume, you can actually cause a successful “launch”...not a Rock N’ Roller Coaster style launch mind you, but enough to get you to exit your boat with your fists pumping. This would successfully employ the “water coaster” concept seen in water parks into a trial run on a more advanced theme park flume ride.Following the launch, your boat blasts to about 20 MPH and drops down a 30 foot drop in pitch black.
You emerge from the darkness to the peaceful sights of the castle moat. You circle around the temple for a few moments until you get to one final cave, where you see another medieval dragon taking a nap, right on top of a pile of treasure. You also see three skeletons with their hands on a sword sticking out from the treasure.
This is one final mystery of Dragons, one final thing to form your own opinion around. One final piece of the storytelling puzzle the ride in its very structure is asking you to put together in your own mind...how you see fit.
The idea of Dragons in Fantasyland sounds great but I don't know if it ties together.
BUT
The doesn't mean it is a bad ride. The ride was still amazing and had a great story and lots of action. The drawing were very good and help expand your ideas. The log flume idea is very nice I think would be a nice addition to Shanghai. The visuals for RTC 2 were amazing and helped give the feel of the ride.
Even though the whole ride is about dragons, I think showing dragons to kids would maybe scare them.
The sotry was amazingly written and flowed perfectly! The placement of dragons is a little loose, but your amazing story and well done art is very helps balance it out. Great job and good luck!
BUT
The doesn't mean it is a bad ride. The ride was still amazing and had a great story and lots of action. The drawing were very good and help expand your ideas. The log flume idea is very nice I think would be a nice addition to Shanghai. The visuals for RTC 2 were amazing and helped give the feel of the ride.
Even though the whole ride is about dragons, I think showing dragons to kids would maybe scare them.
The sotry was amazingly written and flowed perfectly! The placement of dragons is a little loose, but your amazing story and well done art is very helps balance it out. Great job and good luck!
