TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
Voyage Beyond the Looking Glass: A Brand New Journey Into Imagination
In 1999, construction walls came up all around the iconic glass pyramids that marked the Imagination Pavilion at Epcot. Disney had announced an entirely new take on the pavilion with the renovation but was very vague on the details leading up to opening day. This encouraged rampant speculation among the fan community as the bold vision for the pavilion became crystallized as mirrors started lining the structure. By the time the construction walls had come down the double pyramid design of the pavilion had taken on a new identity as the Mirrored Pyramids, a gateway into a brand new Journey Into Imagination. Even before the pavilion opened, the hundreds of mirrors lining the structure that housed the mysterious new ride's show building gave this part of Future World a brand new distinct identity, reflecting everything in the surrounding area. The mirror motif would be the most important element and would lead the charge for this brand new version of the attraction.
The Looking Glass Pavilion features three attractions. There's the CircleVision/Spinner flat ride combo "The Magic Journey", the world's biggest hall of mirrors in the form of "MirrorWorks", and the centerpiece attraction "Voyage Beyond the Looking Glass" which features two distinct sides of the ride taking up two chunks of the original Journey Into Imagination's massive showbuilding.
The two sides of the attraction are "Nightmares" and "Dreamscapes". Nightmares is a moderate thrill level roller coaster with some intense dark ride elements, while Dreamscapes is a brand new ride system which works as a cross between Dumbo and the Mad Tea Party in a more laid back and serene ride. The two sides cross paths in the first and last scenes of their respective attractions, but each offer three show scenes sandwiched in the middle which gives more than enough billing to credit it as two unique experiences.
The queues for the two sides are minimalist and take on the familiar mirror motif, with Nightmares using distorted Hall of Mirrors trickery and Dreamscapes taking on a less distorted mirror maze quality with black lights in the style of the following photo.
The first scene which connects the two sides of the attraction is an Imagineering take on a literal Brainstorm. Giant math equations fill the sky, a powerful fan blows through the middle of the room, the sheep that you would usually be counting to go to sleep are flying around uncontrollably. We see a farm house set piece hoisted up in an homage to The Wizard of Oz. This large room offers different vantage points depending on the side of the ride you're on. For those traveling on the Nightmare side the room acts as the lifthill into the coaster section offering a birds eye view of the show room. For the Dreamscape side we travel through the heart of the room. The ride vehicles for the Dreamscape side will be very unique and will have the ability to both spin and raise/lower.
After climbing the lifthill in the Brainstorm room, guests on the Nightmare track find themselves outside of Maniac Manor, a mansion twisted and distorted by gravity itself. Heading beyond the foyer and into a long hall that doubles as a portrait gallery, the walls, paintings, furniture, and suits of armor all take on a surrealistic dreamlike quality. Heading out the backside of the mansion, we find ourselves on a literal "Boot Hill", a hill in the shape of a boot with graves on either side and a spooky full moon in the background.
After passing a series of bunny hills in a dark transitioning spot, we come upon a giant cartoon head with a wide open mouth just big enough for our car to go through. It's here where we hit the block brakes and enter a mind-bending scene of a seemingly-never ending row of teeth on both the floor and the ceiling on either side of the coaster track. As we go forward more and more gaps in the rows of giant teeth appear as teeth hanging above threaten to fall on us. This comes to a head as we hit a big drop into darkness.
The last setpiece before reuniting with the Dreamscape section is perhaps Disney's most frightening AA to date...a 30 foot tall fire breathing purple dragon. Yes, this is a nod to Figment, but the more dangerous side of the idea of a figment of your imagination...your imagination gone wild if you will. Instead of the cartoony ascetic, this dragon will have a realistic look to it with a massive wingspan and scaly skin. The animation on the dragon isn't complex, but strobe lighting makes it appear more lively than it actually is. Narrowly avoiding the fire breath, rides plunge down a second drop and into an outdoor portion of track outside the entrance to the pavilion before heading into the last show scene...literally in an effect that looks like were going through one of the countless mirrors built into the side of the pyramids.
The final room finds guests surrounded by mirrors on all sides in a way that would be emulated nearly two decades later for the TRON coaster. After a near collision with the Dreamscape track, we enter a final helix before arriving back in the station.
After climbing aboard the unique suspended saucer design of the Dreamscape ride vehicle...an omimover style system which hangs from the ceiling and allows you to go up and down as well as spin all with the motion of the wheel (right spin to ascend, left spin to descend, each spin obviously takes spins the saucer itself) we pass through the eye of the Brainstorm through powerful fans simulating guests of wind until we come out the other side on to Millionare Manor. This inverse on Maniac Manor is basically a Richie Rich scenario which features columns made out of legos, a giant toy room, a roller coaster running through the bedroom, and more.
After passing outside the mansion, we find ourselves in a land of rolling hills and giant chocolate bunnies as our wildest dreams come true with a trip to CandyLand. Visually, this sequence takes inspiration from the Land of Chocolate from The Simpsons including the Hershey's Kisses mountains and lollipop trees as well as several AA chocolate bunnies.
Before heading outside, we pass by a more comedic take on a giant Figment. We see a 30 foot tall AA of the familiar cartoon Figment who has accidently crashed Dreamfinder's flying machine. An off screen Dreamfinder jokes that this is what happens when your imagination gets so big that it runs away with you. The AA of Figment has limited motion but a series of 20 rotating lines to keep things fresh. Following this we briefly head outdoors, suspended along the edges of the pyramid, before rounding a corner with a similar "through the looking glass" effect and finding ourselves in the Beyond the Looking Glass room interacting with the coaster once again. Beyond the Looking Glass will be a multi-dimensional experience that plays out what happens when you push the limits of your imagination, for both good and bad. It's at times thrilling, humorous, scary, and light-hearted, and with the two ride systems in play ensures that both families and thrill seekers alike get in on the action of what used to be the park's most kid-focused attraction.
After passing "MirrorWorks"...the post-show replacement for ImageWorks which features the world's largest hall of mirrors and mirror maze, guests can then enjoy the other attraction in the new Imagination pavilion...The Magic Journey. This will be the world's first and only combination spinning flat-ride and CircleVision Show. It reuses various sequences of the classic "Magic Journeys" 3D film which used to play in this theater and cuts them up in a way which flows from screen to screen. Think of it as a more ambitious version of the screen-hopping antics of MuppetVision's pre-show. The Magic Journeys homage will be used simply because the film has a surrealistic quality to it that fits in with the rest of the pavilion, with the recut zeroing in on only the most memorable moments.
Inside the CircleVision theater will be two identical Huss Breakdance models of flat ride which spin guests in both in their individual ride vehicles and around on arms the vehicles are attached to. Along with fog and laser effects combined with the CircleVision element, The Magic Journey proves to be much more than just another flat ride.
In 1999, construction walls came up all around the iconic glass pyramids that marked the Imagination Pavilion at Epcot. Disney had announced an entirely new take on the pavilion with the renovation but was very vague on the details leading up to opening day. This encouraged rampant speculation among the fan community as the bold vision for the pavilion became crystallized as mirrors started lining the structure. By the time the construction walls had come down the double pyramid design of the pavilion had taken on a new identity as the Mirrored Pyramids, a gateway into a brand new Journey Into Imagination. Even before the pavilion opened, the hundreds of mirrors lining the structure that housed the mysterious new ride's show building gave this part of Future World a brand new distinct identity, reflecting everything in the surrounding area. The mirror motif would be the most important element and would lead the charge for this brand new version of the attraction.
The Looking Glass Pavilion features three attractions. There's the CircleVision/Spinner flat ride combo "The Magic Journey", the world's biggest hall of mirrors in the form of "MirrorWorks", and the centerpiece attraction "Voyage Beyond the Looking Glass" which features two distinct sides of the ride taking up two chunks of the original Journey Into Imagination's massive showbuilding.
The two sides of the attraction are "Nightmares" and "Dreamscapes". Nightmares is a moderate thrill level roller coaster with some intense dark ride elements, while Dreamscapes is a brand new ride system which works as a cross between Dumbo and the Mad Tea Party in a more laid back and serene ride. The two sides cross paths in the first and last scenes of their respective attractions, but each offer three show scenes sandwiched in the middle which gives more than enough billing to credit it as two unique experiences.
The queues for the two sides are minimalist and take on the familiar mirror motif, with Nightmares using distorted Hall of Mirrors trickery and Dreamscapes taking on a less distorted mirror maze quality with black lights in the style of the following photo.
The first scene which connects the two sides of the attraction is an Imagineering take on a literal Brainstorm. Giant math equations fill the sky, a powerful fan blows through the middle of the room, the sheep that you would usually be counting to go to sleep are flying around uncontrollably. We see a farm house set piece hoisted up in an homage to The Wizard of Oz. This large room offers different vantage points depending on the side of the ride you're on. For those traveling on the Nightmare side the room acts as the lifthill into the coaster section offering a birds eye view of the show room. For the Dreamscape side we travel through the heart of the room. The ride vehicles for the Dreamscape side will be very unique and will have the ability to both spin and raise/lower.
After climbing the lifthill in the Brainstorm room, guests on the Nightmare track find themselves outside of Maniac Manor, a mansion twisted and distorted by gravity itself. Heading beyond the foyer and into a long hall that doubles as a portrait gallery, the walls, paintings, furniture, and suits of armor all take on a surrealistic dreamlike quality. Heading out the backside of the mansion, we find ourselves on a literal "Boot Hill", a hill in the shape of a boot with graves on either side and a spooky full moon in the background.
After passing a series of bunny hills in a dark transitioning spot, we come upon a giant cartoon head with a wide open mouth just big enough for our car to go through. It's here where we hit the block brakes and enter a mind-bending scene of a seemingly-never ending row of teeth on both the floor and the ceiling on either side of the coaster track. As we go forward more and more gaps in the rows of giant teeth appear as teeth hanging above threaten to fall on us. This comes to a head as we hit a big drop into darkness.
The last setpiece before reuniting with the Dreamscape section is perhaps Disney's most frightening AA to date...a 30 foot tall fire breathing purple dragon. Yes, this is a nod to Figment, but the more dangerous side of the idea of a figment of your imagination...your imagination gone wild if you will. Instead of the cartoony ascetic, this dragon will have a realistic look to it with a massive wingspan and scaly skin. The animation on the dragon isn't complex, but strobe lighting makes it appear more lively than it actually is. Narrowly avoiding the fire breath, rides plunge down a second drop and into an outdoor portion of track outside the entrance to the pavilion before heading into the last show scene...literally in an effect that looks like were going through one of the countless mirrors built into the side of the pyramids.
The final room finds guests surrounded by mirrors on all sides in a way that would be emulated nearly two decades later for the TRON coaster. After a near collision with the Dreamscape track, we enter a final helix before arriving back in the station.
After climbing aboard the unique suspended saucer design of the Dreamscape ride vehicle...an omimover style system which hangs from the ceiling and allows you to go up and down as well as spin all with the motion of the wheel (right spin to ascend, left spin to descend, each spin obviously takes spins the saucer itself) we pass through the eye of the Brainstorm through powerful fans simulating guests of wind until we come out the other side on to Millionare Manor. This inverse on Maniac Manor is basically a Richie Rich scenario which features columns made out of legos, a giant toy room, a roller coaster running through the bedroom, and more.
After passing outside the mansion, we find ourselves in a land of rolling hills and giant chocolate bunnies as our wildest dreams come true with a trip to CandyLand. Visually, this sequence takes inspiration from the Land of Chocolate from The Simpsons including the Hershey's Kisses mountains and lollipop trees as well as several AA chocolate bunnies.
Before heading outside, we pass by a more comedic take on a giant Figment. We see a 30 foot tall AA of the familiar cartoon Figment who has accidently crashed Dreamfinder's flying machine. An off screen Dreamfinder jokes that this is what happens when your imagination gets so big that it runs away with you. The AA of Figment has limited motion but a series of 20 rotating lines to keep things fresh. Following this we briefly head outdoors, suspended along the edges of the pyramid, before rounding a corner with a similar "through the looking glass" effect and finding ourselves in the Beyond the Looking Glass room interacting with the coaster once again. Beyond the Looking Glass will be a multi-dimensional experience that plays out what happens when you push the limits of your imagination, for both good and bad. It's at times thrilling, humorous, scary, and light-hearted, and with the two ride systems in play ensures that both families and thrill seekers alike get in on the action of what used to be the park's most kid-focused attraction.
After passing "MirrorWorks"...the post-show replacement for ImageWorks which features the world's largest hall of mirrors and mirror maze, guests can then enjoy the other attraction in the new Imagination pavilion...The Magic Journey. This will be the world's first and only combination spinning flat-ride and CircleVision Show. It reuses various sequences of the classic "Magic Journeys" 3D film which used to play in this theater and cuts them up in a way which flows from screen to screen. Think of it as a more ambitious version of the screen-hopping antics of MuppetVision's pre-show. The Magic Journeys homage will be used simply because the film has a surrealistic quality to it that fits in with the rest of the pavilion, with the recut zeroing in on only the most memorable moments.
Inside the CircleVision theater will be two identical Huss Breakdance models of flat ride which spin guests in both in their individual ride vehicles and around on arms the vehicles are attached to. Along with fog and laser effects combined with the CircleVision element, The Magic Journey proves to be much more than just another flat ride.
