Here is a revival/revision (sort of) of a mild water thrill ride themed to "Pinocchio"; in particular, the encounter with Monstro the Whale. The ride location replaces much of the Tomorrowland Speedway:
To try and ease the intrusion, the southern and western ends facing Tomorrowland (the PeopleMover in the south and Cosmic Ray's in the west) will be blocked off by rocks. Another reason for the choice of Monstro is to help ease the confusion of having the Village Haus at the other end of Fantasyland. The rocks would make it look something like the old 20,000 Leagues area from way back when.
This ride concept is an improved/expanded version of an abandoned concept for a water slide dating back to the early days of Disneyland (i.e., designs for the park before it was ever even built). Designed by Bruce Bushman, the basic gist was that you would board a small watercraft and go up through the interior of Monstro's belly and then slide down his mouth into a pool of water outside:
Apparently, this concept of watercraft and Monstro was later reworked as the beginning to Storybook Land, which of course begins with you entering the whale's gaping maw.
The ride technology is used from a new concept from Mack Rides called the Rocking Boat:
I'm not sure, though, even with the small space the prototype occupies how big or small the footprint can be, especially given Tron nearby. I mean, the Speedway is big, but not THAT big:
The ride is similar to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in that it lies somewhere in the middle between two other rides in terms of how much of a nail-biter it is. Where the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train lies somewhere in between Big Thunder Mountain and The Great Goofini's Barnstormer, this Pinocchio ride, being a water ride with flume drops, lies somewhere in between Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
I need some help with the entrance, queue and name of the ride, however, and also possibly how to try and make it fit in the space. The best I can think of for a name is "Pinocchio's Escape From Monstro", which sounds a little too Universal-like for me. As for the entrance and queue, the only things I can think of are a rock-studded shore, similar to the old 20,000 Leagues ride from way back when.
The ride proper begins with you boarding your eight-person boat that looks somewhat like the Storybook Land boats. You see a projection of the Blue Fairy as she informs you of some grave news: Geppetto went off to look for Pinocchio, but he was swallowed by a whale named Monstro. She had informed Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket about it, but also that Geppetto was still alive inside the whale at the bottom of the sea, and the two went off to find him, vowing to save him.
You make your way up a lift hill to the edge of a rocky cliff over the ocean where Monstro resides. Here, you see Pinocchio and Jiminy, who protests against the mission, knowing that Monstro can swallow whole ships, and tries to urge Pinocchio to give up. When Pinocchio refuses to submit, even attempting to bid farewell to Jiminy, Jiminy won't hear of it and decides to accompany the puppet. With that, they plunge into the ocean.
You go with them, over the edge of a waterfall into the ocean (not as high or steep as Splash or even Pirates). As you plunge, you see Monstro rise out of the water, his mouth wide open to eat everyone. To flashes of lightning, you spot the whale's gaping jaws and Pinocchio and Jiminy fall through (in silhouette form). The open mouth of the whale may look familiar to you if you've been to Disneyland, as it clearly resembles Monstro's appearance at the entrance to Storybook Land, as well as the Pinocchio ride, given that it's set in darkness with only flashes of light to illuminate.
Inside the whale's belly, you hear Pinocchio and Jiminy calling out for Geppetto. Meanwhile, you find yourself floating past the wrecked remains of old boats that Monstro had eaten:
You finally see Pinocchio and Geppetto reuniting on a small boat, while Jiminy is standing in the entrance of a bottle. Pinocchio explains the need to escape from Monstro. Geppetto protests that there is no way out. But then Pinocchio gets the bright idea to build a fire inside the whale's mouth so that the smoke will make him sneeze them out. Although Geppetto is hesitant about the idea, he accepts.
Your boat turns away turns away back toward Monstro's mouth, which is now looking upward. As you turn away, you see a flash of light as a fire is illuminated. As you make your way up the lift toward the whale's mouth, you see Pinocchio, Geppetto, Figaro and Cleo on a raft, ready to leave, Geppetto warning that they won't make it past Monstro's teeth. Jiminy in the bottle is there, too, calling out for them to wait up for him. All the while, the whale is heard ominously sniffing, snorting and gasping as he gears up for a sneeze.
You crest the top of the lift and start back down. At that moment, Monstro lets out a sneeze that sends your boat down a drop, accompanied by a wave of water behind you. You blast past the whale's gaping mouth and out into daylight! You have escaped, for the whale is now behind you, a sort of reverse Storybook Land! The drop is, again, far less severe than the big drop on Splash Mountain, possibly about the same as the first drop there, over Slippin' Falls. This is the basis of that old Monstro water slide concept from way back where.
But what of Pinocchio's group? Did they escape? As your boat twists and turns tightly through the lagoon, you go behind some rocks to find that they have indeed escaped. But suddenly, at another bend, you spot Monstro lunging up to attack, outraged at being tricked. The effect of Monstro here is similar to that of the Monstro figure in Disneyland's Pinocchio ride:
A blast of water from the whale's rising knocks you back. You then spot Pinocchio's group, their raft having been smashed to bits, save for a single plank that Geppetto is clinging for dear life to. Pinocchio is seen trying to grab this plank and haul his father to safety.
Suddenly, another Monstro figure rises out of the water and rams everyone: you, Pinocchio and Geppetto, behind another rock. All is quiet, but somehow, everyone has escaped from Monstro! Everyone is happy as you see Geppetto and Pinocchio hugging happily, while Jiminy Cricket jumps for joy and Figaro dives into Cleo's fishbowl to give the goldfish a kiss.
And you return to the load area and exit out.
Anyway, I think the queue, load area and name need work, as does the final scene of the ride. I'm stuck there. What do you think could be done with the queue, load area, final scene and ride name? Like I said, I was thinking of "Pinocchio's Escape From Monstro", but I thought it was too much like something you would find at Universal, not Disney. And I especially think that the final scene needs work, as I didn't want to end with Pinocchio motionless, as that would be too much of a downer ending. And yet, I'm also a little leery about the "real boy" ending of the movie as well. Also, I really want to try and make it fit in the footprint of the Speedway, which really isn't that big.
What do you think?
To try and ease the intrusion, the southern and western ends facing Tomorrowland (the PeopleMover in the south and Cosmic Ray's in the west) will be blocked off by rocks. Another reason for the choice of Monstro is to help ease the confusion of having the Village Haus at the other end of Fantasyland. The rocks would make it look something like the old 20,000 Leagues area from way back when.
This ride concept is an improved/expanded version of an abandoned concept for a water slide dating back to the early days of Disneyland (i.e., designs for the park before it was ever even built). Designed by Bruce Bushman, the basic gist was that you would board a small watercraft and go up through the interior of Monstro's belly and then slide down his mouth into a pool of water outside:
Apparently, this concept of watercraft and Monstro was later reworked as the beginning to Storybook Land, which of course begins with you entering the whale's gaping maw.
The ride technology is used from a new concept from Mack Rides called the Rocking Boat:
I'm not sure, though, even with the small space the prototype occupies how big or small the footprint can be, especially given Tron nearby. I mean, the Speedway is big, but not THAT big:
The ride is similar to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in that it lies somewhere in the middle between two other rides in terms of how much of a nail-biter it is. Where the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train lies somewhere in between Big Thunder Mountain and The Great Goofini's Barnstormer, this Pinocchio ride, being a water ride with flume drops, lies somewhere in between Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
I need some help with the entrance, queue and name of the ride, however, and also possibly how to try and make it fit in the space. The best I can think of for a name is "Pinocchio's Escape From Monstro", which sounds a little too Universal-like for me. As for the entrance and queue, the only things I can think of are a rock-studded shore, similar to the old 20,000 Leagues ride from way back when.
The ride proper begins with you boarding your eight-person boat that looks somewhat like the Storybook Land boats. You see a projection of the Blue Fairy as she informs you of some grave news: Geppetto went off to look for Pinocchio, but he was swallowed by a whale named Monstro. She had informed Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket about it, but also that Geppetto was still alive inside the whale at the bottom of the sea, and the two went off to find him, vowing to save him.
You make your way up a lift hill to the edge of a rocky cliff over the ocean where Monstro resides. Here, you see Pinocchio and Jiminy, who protests against the mission, knowing that Monstro can swallow whole ships, and tries to urge Pinocchio to give up. When Pinocchio refuses to submit, even attempting to bid farewell to Jiminy, Jiminy won't hear of it and decides to accompany the puppet. With that, they plunge into the ocean.
You go with them, over the edge of a waterfall into the ocean (not as high or steep as Splash or even Pirates). As you plunge, you see Monstro rise out of the water, his mouth wide open to eat everyone. To flashes of lightning, you spot the whale's gaping jaws and Pinocchio and Jiminy fall through (in silhouette form). The open mouth of the whale may look familiar to you if you've been to Disneyland, as it clearly resembles Monstro's appearance at the entrance to Storybook Land, as well as the Pinocchio ride, given that it's set in darkness with only flashes of light to illuminate.
Inside the whale's belly, you hear Pinocchio and Jiminy calling out for Geppetto. Meanwhile, you find yourself floating past the wrecked remains of old boats that Monstro had eaten:
You finally see Pinocchio and Geppetto reuniting on a small boat, while Jiminy is standing in the entrance of a bottle. Pinocchio explains the need to escape from Monstro. Geppetto protests that there is no way out. But then Pinocchio gets the bright idea to build a fire inside the whale's mouth so that the smoke will make him sneeze them out. Although Geppetto is hesitant about the idea, he accepts.
Your boat turns away turns away back toward Monstro's mouth, which is now looking upward. As you turn away, you see a flash of light as a fire is illuminated. As you make your way up the lift toward the whale's mouth, you see Pinocchio, Geppetto, Figaro and Cleo on a raft, ready to leave, Geppetto warning that they won't make it past Monstro's teeth. Jiminy in the bottle is there, too, calling out for them to wait up for him. All the while, the whale is heard ominously sniffing, snorting and gasping as he gears up for a sneeze.
You crest the top of the lift and start back down. At that moment, Monstro lets out a sneeze that sends your boat down a drop, accompanied by a wave of water behind you. You blast past the whale's gaping mouth and out into daylight! You have escaped, for the whale is now behind you, a sort of reverse Storybook Land! The drop is, again, far less severe than the big drop on Splash Mountain, possibly about the same as the first drop there, over Slippin' Falls. This is the basis of that old Monstro water slide concept from way back where.
But what of Pinocchio's group? Did they escape? As your boat twists and turns tightly through the lagoon, you go behind some rocks to find that they have indeed escaped. But suddenly, at another bend, you spot Monstro lunging up to attack, outraged at being tricked. The effect of Monstro here is similar to that of the Monstro figure in Disneyland's Pinocchio ride:
A blast of water from the whale's rising knocks you back. You then spot Pinocchio's group, their raft having been smashed to bits, save for a single plank that Geppetto is clinging for dear life to. Pinocchio is seen trying to grab this plank and haul his father to safety.
Suddenly, another Monstro figure rises out of the water and rams everyone: you, Pinocchio and Geppetto, behind another rock. All is quiet, but somehow, everyone has escaped from Monstro! Everyone is happy as you see Geppetto and Pinocchio hugging happily, while Jiminy Cricket jumps for joy and Figaro dives into Cleo's fishbowl to give the goldfish a kiss.
And you return to the load area and exit out.
Anyway, I think the queue, load area and name need work, as does the final scene of the ride. I'm stuck there. What do you think could be done with the queue, load area, final scene and ride name? Like I said, I was thinking of "Pinocchio's Escape From Monstro", but I thought it was too much like something you would find at Universal, not Disney. And I especially think that the final scene needs work, as I didn't want to end with Pinocchio motionless, as that would be too much of a downer ending. And yet, I'm also a little leery about the "real boy" ending of the movie as well. Also, I really want to try and make it fit in the footprint of the Speedway, which really isn't that big.
What do you think?
