Pinocchio water ride with new Mack technology

[mharrington]

One thing I've tried to do off and on throughout my time here is a ride of some kind themed to "Pinocchio" for WDW's Magic Kingdom. I've done everything from an updated version of the Pinocchio ride from Disneyland to a swing ride (which was proposed once for DCA but got replaced by the Silly Symphony Swings instead) to one of those whip rides (like Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, which I passed on when the same kind of ride was created for the Studios (Alien Swirling Saucers)). The two main difficulties for my idea was space and cannibalism (which was why I passed on the whip ride).

Finally, one more thing I've thought of that has struck a chord with me was a water ride of some kind. I once thought of a spinning water ride like they're doing at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, but then I discovered this video from MACK Rides:


I thought this could be ideal for a Pinocchio ride. Considering it's a water ride, I was of thinking of having it be based around Pinocchio and Geppetto's escape from Monstro the whale. I was thinking of having it go over where the Tomorrowland Speedway is now (with rocks set up to block the view from Tomorrowland). There is just one problem: the special effects. How do you think the special effects can be done? Also, what should the ride's name be?

 

[kap91]

I think that'd be pretty cool...I love Mack's concept.
What special effects would you like to see? There's a millions ways to skin a cat.

some FX for a Pinocchio ride I think that are probably required are nose growing, the blue fairy, the transformation into a donkey, and monstro the whale.

were you planning on telling the entire story of Pinocchio or just focusing on one bit?

The nice thing about water rides is there's a lot of FX that can be hidden or created by the water.

 

[mharrington]

I think that'd be pretty cool...I love Mack's concept.
What special effects would you like to see? There's a millions ways to skin a cat.

some FX for a Pinocchio ride I think that are probably required are nose growing, the blue fairy, the transformation into a donkey, and monstro the whale.

were you planning on telling the entire story of Pinocchio or just focusing on one bit?

The nice thing about water rides is there's a lot of FX that can be hidden or created by the water.

I was planning on a single scene, like how the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is based on a single scene from "Snow White". The fancy dark ride was proposed for telling the whole story. Plus, space should be considered, and there's not a lot there.

 

[Miru]

I was planning on a single scene, like how the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is based on a single scene from "Snow White". The fancy dark ride was proposed for telling the whole story. Plus, space should be considered, and there's not a lot there.

Given this is a water ride, probably Monstro. Maybe even base it on the Kingdom Hearts Monstro scene, as that series has no representation yet.

 

[mharrington]

Given this is a water ride, probably Monstro. Maybe even base it on the Kingdom Hearts Monstro scene, as that series has no representation yet.

You're half right, it is Monstro, as I have previously stated.

The only name I can think of for the ride is "Pinocchio's Escape From Monstro". But I think that's a little too on the nose.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Oh wow, that tech has me really excited. Great find! I love this idea because it harkens back to one of the OG Imagineering concepts. Also absolutely on board with the Speedway footprint. I still can't get over how awkward a transition into Fantasyland that side of the park is. You've got Speedway on one side and then BOOM Mad Tea Party hits you like a ton of bricks. Maybe I'm just spoiled being a Disneyland native and having the sub lagoon and Matterhorn as a Tomorrowland/Fantasyland transition.

What if you just went the extra mile and just had a HUGE Monstro mouth you enter into. Something akin to the dragon at Gringott's. Not an AA persay, but definitely a visually striking way to hide a showbuilding and obviously pays homage to Storybook Land in a big way.

Really not sure what can be done with the dark ride section...that's definitely a tricky one. Having a full blown realistic Monstro AA (smaller scale than the exterior but way more movement) is definitely a must I think. But the problem with that is you enter Monstro only to find Monstro haha. If you can work with it in the same way Radiator Springs Racers has a smaller scale Radiator Springs right after you've just walked through the full size version, I think that's the nut you have to crack with this.

Maybe Pinocchio and Geppetto building the fire? You could use basically an evolution of the Pirates fire effect on a bigger scale, plus you could do a really cool effect where the whole room rumbles and shakes as Monstro grows closer to sneezing.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

It sounds great, but I think I'd rather see a "Pinocchio" like the "Pirates" in Shanghai.

 

[mharrington]

What if you just went the extra mile and just had a HUGE Monstro mouth you enter into. Something akin to the dragon at Gringott's. Not an AA persay, but definitely a visually striking way to hide a showbuilding and obviously pays homage to Storybook Land in a big way.

Really not sure what can be done with the dark ride section...that's definitely a tricky one. Having a full blown realistic Monstro AA (smaller scale than the exterior but way more movement) is definitely a must I think. But the problem with that is you enter Monstro only to find Monstro haha. If you can work with it in the same way Radiator Springs Racers has a smaller scale Radiator Springs right after you've just walked through the full size version, I think that's the nut you have to crack with this.

Maybe Pinocchio and Geppetto building the fire? You could use basically an evolution of the Pirates fire effect on a bigger scale, plus you could do a really cool effect where the whole room rumbles and shakes as Monstro grows closer to sneezing.

I have given some consideration to a huge Monstro mouth somewhere, except one idea I had briefly was to do something like this one old abandoned concept from the early developmental days of Disneyland, which involved a thrilling water slide down down the whale's tongue and out of his mouth (but more improved, obviously), so it would be kind of like Storybook Land, but in reverse:

I'm also a little leery about a dark ride per se, although it could be done if kept to a minimum (such as the escape). One idea I thought of was to have you go out of the whale's mouth and you spot Pinocchio and Geppetto on the raft. The biggest challenge is that I was also considering a second Monstro figure here rising out of the water (like the whale's appearance in the Pinocchio ride at Disneyland) and knocking you backward. The main difficulty there is having Monstro show up twice in what would presumably be scenes outdoors.

The only way your Radiator Springs method might work is if you don't go into the whale's mouth for the ride entrance, but maybe a rocky canyon and board the boats there (again, kind of like the abandoned Monstro concept), then you see the whale's mouth in darkness (which is only lit by a flash of light (like the whale's appearance in the Pinocchio ride at Disneyland)). But I'm trying not to get too elaborate here, not because I don't think they're good ideas, which they are, but mainly because of spatial constraints. Yes, the Speedway space could theoretically provide some room, but even that only does so much.

It sounds great, but I think I'd rather see a "Pinocchio" like the "Pirates" in Shanghai.

As great as that would be, there's really not much room back there. It would be better, honestly, to just redo Florida's Pirates in the same vein.

I'm still struggling with the name. Once again, the only one I could think of is "Pinocchio's Escape From Monstro", but I'm hesitant with that because it sounds too on-the-nose.

 

[ThemeParkPriest]

Wow, the old Disneyland concept would work well for a similar concept I was thinking of! There’s certainly a “whale” of a similarity between Pinocchio (w/ Monstro) and Jonah. I’m going to re-make Splash Mountain into Jonah Splash, and I was thinking the splash drop would be when he gets sent out of the whale (or large fish).

The Mack ride concept looks interesting. It seems like it would best work on something like a Jungle Cruise or some ride with an amphibious vehicle.

 

[mharrington]

Wow, the old Disneyland concept would work well for a similar concept I was thinking of! There’s certainly a “whale” of a similarity between Pinocchio (w/ Monstro) and Jonah. I’m going to re-make Splash Mountain into Jonah Splash, and I was thinking the splash drop would be when he gets sent out of the whale (or large fish).

The Mack ride concept looks interesting. It seems like it would best work on something like a Jungle Cruise or some ride with an amphibious vehicle.

I don't remember Disney ever having anything to do with Jonah and the Whale.

Anyway, to return to an earlier question: how can we do a second Monstro figure outside alongside the main one? The second one will pop up out of the water to try and knock your boat backward, as if trying to attack you as the whale tried to do with Pinocchio and Geppetto.

Also, I still haven't determined a proper name. Any ideas?

 

[Miru]

I don't remember Disney ever having anything to do with Jonah and the Whale.

Anyway, to return to an earlier question: how can we do a second Monstro figure outside alongside the main one? The second one will pop up out of the water to try and knock your boat backward, as if trying to attack you as the whale tried to do with Pinocchio and Geppetto.

Also, I still haven't determined a proper name. Any ideas?

Escape From Monstro has a good ring to it.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Really boss ride idea, @mharrington!

To get into Monstro, maybe you could have a lift hill section in a cave where soon after a drop "sinks" you into the bottom of the ocean for a brief underwater section where you make it into Monstro's mouth through a gap between his teeth. You would only get a glimpse of Monstro's teeth while entering to build up seeing Monstro's face 'til the end.

 

[mharrington]

Escape From Monstro has a good ring to it.

I just think, though, that "Pinocchio's Escape From Monstro" sounds too on-the-nose, something like you'd see at Universal. I'm trying to do something more... creative. I had tried to come up with a word that is a synonym for "chase" or "escape" that starts with W (paired with "whale", so it can be alliterative), but I can't find anything.

Really boss ride idea, @mharrington!

To get into Monstro, maybe you could have a lift hill section in a cave where soon after a drop "sinks" you into the bottom of the ocean for a brief underwater section where you make it into Monstro's mouth through a gap between his teeth. You would only get a glimpse of Monstro's teeth while entering to build up seeing Monstro's face 'til the end.

Well, actually, I was thinking of something like a dark scene where Monstro rises out of the water and eats you. The going-in part is not the difficult part. The difficult part is the escape from Monstro after you get expelled out of his mouth. I was thinking of having a brief escape scene afterward where the whale appears, and it would be outside. The main Monstro is viewable from the outside (kind of like in Storybook Land), but I'm trying to have a second appearance by Monstro as he tries to stop you, just like in the movie, a bit smaller than the first, but I don't want the second figure to be too close to the first, obviously, or people will become confused (at least the onlookers), just as Disney has been careful about not having Mickey show up twice in one area. The only thing I can think of is to have the boats disappear around a corner, probably behind a rock or something, before the whale appears a second time.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Maybe just a suggestion the final lift hill could have the sounds of Monstro about to sneeze with a silhouette animated projection of Pinocchio, Gepetto, Cleo, and Figaro on the raft ready to escape, and the sneeze is the riders going down to the splash area.

 

[ThemeParkPriest]

I don't remember Disney ever having anything to do with Jonah and the Whale.

I don’t think they have either. As a project, I’m re-designing WDW as Bible World, so I was just remarking that their earlier concept (and your concept) have some relevance for me.

 

[Miru]

Cetacean Cut ‘n Run?
Is that a good name? It’s alliterative and scientific too.

 

[mharrington]

Maybe just a suggestion the final lift hill could have the sounds of Monstro about to sneeze with a silhouette animated projection of Pinocchio, Gepetto, Cleo, and Figaro on the raft ready to escape, and the sneeze is the riders going down to the splash area.

Actually, I was thinking of having the lift hill be at the start, but yes, the sneeze could be the splash area. What do you think, though, would be a good way to keep onlookers from seeing the second figure of Monstro during the ride so there is no confusion? The only thing I can think of is to have it take place around a corner, hidden by some rocks. The effect of Monstro would be for the whale to pop up like he does in the Pinocchio ride. What do you think?

Cetacean Cut ‘n Run?
Is that a good name? It’s alliterative and scientific too.

Sounds interesting, but I'm not sure "Cut 'n' Run" really fits. It might give the wrong idea. I think I might just go back to "Escape From Monstro" after all.

 

[Miru]

Cetacean Chaseaway? Cetacean Chasedown? Cetacean Cellbreak?

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

That works too.

 

[mharrington]

Anyway, as I said before, the boats will be expelled from Monstro's mouth (although the drop will be very slight, nothing like Splash Mountain or even Pirates), and the boats will be seen from onlookers, kind of like Storybook Land, but in reverse. What do you think, though, would be a good way to keep onlookers from seeing the second figure of Monstro during the ride so there is no confusion? The only thing I can think of is to have it take place around a corner, hidden by some rocks. The effect of Monstro would be for the whale to pop up like he does at Disneyland's Pinocchio ride. What do you think?