Outside AA's

CoffeeJedi

CoffeeJedi

Active Member
Original Poster
Are there any actual Audio Animatronic characters who are installed outside? I know the animals and Indians on the river bank, and of course the animals and humans of the Jungle cruise, but i'm not sure if any of these are "true" AA's, or if they're just mechanical figures. What is the defining line anyway, an AA is exclusively hydraulically motivated instead of using a simple rotating cam mechanism?

Also, how do they deal with sun and rain on the skin and clothing of outdoor characters? For example, how are the hides of the animals in the African veldt scene, or Big Thunder Mountain treated? You very rarely see sun-damaged faded costumes, are they changed out often? What about the flexible skin on an AA's face, how do they keep it from cracking or tearing?

Just some thoughts i had after riding the Jungle Cruise recently. One of the arms on one of the war-dancers was starting to come loose from his body, and it got me thinking about how tough the elements must be on those creations.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Good question - what is an Animatronic? The original full name was Audio Animatronic, relating to the magnetic audio tape originally used to record and playback commands. The Tiki Birds are classed as AA - but some are as crude as IASW dolls, which are also classed as AA`s. So is Ben Franklin in World Showcase, so where is the line drawn? Are any Animated figures classed as an AA? I`ve also heard the term Minmatronic - as in Minimal - used for the figures in the current Spaceship Earth finale and also Dreamflight amongst others.
 
Chape19714

Chape19714

Well-Known Member
I think the line is drawn where the Audio comes in. Air pressure powers some AA's, but the majority of them are oil-pressured.

To me, there are no AA's outdoors, rather mechanical figures. Lucky is a lone exception. However, there have been AA's outdoors, such as the parrot outside Pirates, The Bird outside the Tiki Room, and maybe a few others. The elements, espically in Florida, could be devistationg to an AA figure.

Just my $0.02, whatever that's worth :lol:.
 
Moustronaut

Moustronaut

New Member
Would you consider Madame Leotta's tombstone to be an AA? There's no sound envolved but it does have a rubberized skin in places and the eyes and lids do have a good amount of movement. It's certainly outside and not protected from the rain. I'm not sure how much direct sun it gets.
 
Chape19714

Chape19714

Well-Known Member
Moustronaut said:
Would you consider Madame Leotta's tombstone to be an AA? There's no sound envolved but it does have a rubberized skin in places and the eyes and lids do have a good amount of movement. It's certainly outside and not protected from the rain. I'm not sure how much direct sun it gets.
Click to expand...
Leota is always in the shade, but she has no Audio, therefore, she is just an animontonic.

As for the seagulls, I don't know, they kinda look like statues to me.
 
CrashNet

CrashNet

Well-Known Member
Hmm...interesting question. I guess it would infact have to depend on what you considered an AA. If you are thinking any inanimate object being animated through the use of hydrolics, maybe the gas truck at Catastrophe Canyon? As far as I know, there are not any full fledged Audio Animatronic figures that are installed and remain outdoors all day everyday. Well, Little Red from the Safari is "outside" so to speak, but is protected in the vehicle. I would guess the maintenance would be very high, from fading skin, water damage, potential guest vandalism, etc. Come to think of it, the only other ride I can think of in Orlando with outdoor AA's is Jurassic Park.
 
teebin

teebin

Member
Chape19714 said:
Leota is always in the shade, but she has no Audio, therefore, she is just an animontonic.

As for the seagulls, I don't know, they kinda look like statues to me.
Click to expand...

fyi
Having "audio" that you can hear has nothing to do with "Audio Animitronic"! Audio animitronic refers to a computer sending audio signals (tones) to the servos and motors that make the various robots move when and how they should. i.e. high tone=move head right, low tone = move head left... and so on.
 
Chape19714

Chape19714

Well-Known Member
True, but the big breakthrough in Audio-Animontrics was becuase the movements could be syncronized with a soundtrack. At least that's how Walt put it.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
The movements would always be in sync with a soundtrack; through it`s very nature the command track would be just one track on the same piece of tape that had an audio recording on another track - on the same piece of tape.

I think?
 
teebin

teebin

Member
Chape19714 said:
True, but the big breakthrough in Audio-Animontrics was becuase the movements could be syncronized with a soundtrack. At least that's how Walt put it.
Click to expand...

true true true... and that is accomplished by SMTP timecode which was developed for television and/or movies, it is used in both now. It is a method of keeping everything in a video presentation in sync... so the audio that you HEAR is being commanded by the same timecode that is running the "tone" audio... thus open/close mouth tones (audio signals) happen at the exact same time as the audio soundtrack playing.
 

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