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Saturday, June 25, 2016

At Shanghai Disneyland, a High-Tech Pirates of the Caribbean

(WSJ) The Pirates of the Caribbean rides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World have long been known for their kitschy voyages through animated pirate robots swept up in carousing and yo-ho-ho-ing.

But there's nothing kitschy about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Shanghai Disneyland, which officially opened June 16. Visual effects projected onto massive screens make riders feel as if their boat is plunging fathoms beneath the sea, amid shipwrecks and giant squids, or surging back to the surface in the throes of a naval battle. Animated characters are more haunting than amusing, particularly a skeleton that morphs into Jack Sparrow, the pirate captain played in the movies by Johnny Depp.

One of the flagship attractions at the new Shanghai Disneyland, Pirates shows how Disney has applied to its theme parks the digital effects that revolutionized movies. Other parks have been upgraded through the integration of Disney franchises such as "Cars" at California Adventure and "Frozen" at Epcot. But after sampling the rides around the new park's launch, it's the technology that stands out.

Another high-tech thrill at Shanghai Disneyland? The Tron Lightcycle Power Run, which harks back to the sci-fi films featuring souped-up motorcycles. The roller coaster isn't looking to capitalize on a brand, given that the 2010 "Tron" sequel ranks only No. 50 among Disney films at the box office. As Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger explained before we climbed aboard together, the ride's technology—a motorcycle-like perch that secures from the back and sends riders careening headfirst down a track—was invented by Disney theme-park designers and later paired with "Tron" because it matched the films' hot-rod bikes so well.

Essentially a roller coaster almost entirely inside a giant dark room, the Tron Lightcycle Power Run is a cousin of Space Mountain at Disney parks in the U.S. But in Shanghai, the headfirst experience is more visceral and projections on the wall conjure up a race against another team of lightcycle riders. 

(Spoiler: We win). However, the Tron ride isn't automatically superior to Space Mountain because it's a minute shorter, which is a big deal on a ride lasting two minutes rather than three.

Elsewhere at Shanghai Disneyland is Soaring Over the Horizon, a global take on the Soarin' Over California ride at California Adventure. The latter is a breezy, memorable tour through natural and urban landmarks in the Golden State on seats lifted into the air to the center of an IMAX-like screen, so it's impossible to see anything else. Soaring Over the Horizon replaces that film with one about wonders such as the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall and Victoria Falls. If the whooping Chinese tourist beside me was any indication, it was dazzling, particularly for people who may never have seen Egypt's pyramids, let alone felt as if they were flying above them.

Even attractions that aren't thrilling have a high-tech gloss. Inside the Enchanted Storybook Castle, the massive royal structure at the center of the park, is the Once Upon a Time Adventure, a walk-through display based on the story of Snow White. The tale is told not through herky-jerky moving figurines but 3-D animated ones, some of which respond to viewers' actions. There also are realistic physical props like a simmering caldron. (OK, the steam-like mist was real but not the boiling water.)

The Alice in Wonderland Maze is an engrossing and at-times disorienting (as it should be) walk through the world of director Tim Burton's film based on the Lewis Carroll story. It also features creepy digital footprints from the Cheshire cat and a door that, when jostled, shakes and howls.

Not everything is state-of the-art impressive. Dumbo the Flying Elephant is still a bunch of elephants flying around in a circle; the props as you tour the world of Peter Pan in a flying vehicle seem as primitive as ever; and the Spinning Jet Packs ride isn't better than its Spinning Rockets counterpart in the U.S.

Fans hoping for rides based on recent Disney acquisitions Marvel and Star Wars may be disappointed, as there's nothing interactive—only character meet-and-greets, short films and memorabilia. However, Marvel is likely to play a role in expansions planned for Shanghai 
Disneyland, given how popular its superhero films have been in China. (Star Wars isn't yet a box-office juggernaut with the Chinese.)

Then again, not everything has to be digital, massive or based on blockbuster films to be fun. For me, a highlight of the park was Camp Discovery, in which you strap yourself into a safety harness and walk across rickety bridges or shimmy along the side of a cliff like an Indiana Jones-style adventurer. 

(Yes, Disney owns the character but didn't put his name on the attraction.) As in the real world, there's something to be said for ignoring digital technology and experiencing a genuine physical thrill.

Source: Wall Street Journal by Ben Fritz


from China Travel & Tourism News http://ift.tt/1iB6EFm

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