bkroz Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 As some of you know, I hold no ride on Earth in higher regard than Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. The ride closed last night as normal and opened today with an incredible new special effect. To review, the story of the ride is that the ancient god Mara promises one of three gifts to riders (with the ride entering a different one of three doors on each ride). No matter the door, each path comes face-to-face with the giant stone carving of Mara, and of course, looking into his "Forbidden Eye" triggers the collapse of the temple, and the start of the thrill ride. Just watch from 2:45 and listen as Mara awakens and curses you to the Gates of Doom (just about 30 seconds). As of today, Mara's face comes alive with texture-mapped projection software so that when you look into his eyes, his stone face cracks and a layer of rust sweeps across him as his eyes open. This effect is really successful and really awesome. The only downside? His voice. Be sure to watch the video above of the original first, because it features Mara's voice - deep, booming, authoritative, and chilling. His new voice... Well... it sounds like they plucked a 20-something from his part-time job and had him re-record the dialogue for no reason whatsoever. With any luck, this change is temporary while the original audio is remastered. But watch the original ride, then the new one, and try not to laugh. Are we really supposed to fear Mara in the second clip? Whether the voice is permanent or not, it's a cool visual effect. Might have a place on Adventure Express, for example! Too bad The Crypt is gone... What a way to bring the goddess to life! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Why does this goddess have a mans voice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 15, 2013 Author Share Posted August 15, 2013 Mara is male. I guess not all languages use "-a" as a feminine and "-o" as masculine. Can you imagine "Maro" as an Indian name? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCrypt Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Those new effects don't even look real! Well done, Disney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Those new effects don't even look real! Well done, Disney. If only they had included a burrowing of the eyebrows and smirking smile too...It would have been a little more frightening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdawg1998 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I don't really get the effects...what's so great about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 15, 2013 Author Share Posted August 15, 2013 It depends what you like. This "texture mapping" has become a big deal in the industry. Canada's Wonderland uses it on their centerpiece mountain as part of their nighttime show - vines grow up the mountain, then lava drips down the waterfalls, etc. Disney has used it on castle shows in Florida and Paris and projected a show onto It's a Small World. The change at Indiana Jones is just neat to see. The face "comes alive" like it never has before and it's something visually interesting. As well. The story of the ride is about looking into Mara's eyes. Now, his eyes are hard to avoid because they glow and move and change color. Each of the rides three paths is also different. In the "visions of the future" room, Mara's eyes spark white when he wakes up, then his face takes on the appearance of reflective metal with electricity shooting across it. I haven't seen the "fountain of youth" path yet, but it'll doubtlessly be watery. Again, it's not meant to change the ride, and the ride didn't close at all to install the change. It's just a neat detail that betters the experience. Walt Disney called it "plussing." And this is a plus. If something half as cool were added to Adventure Express, there would be four topics about it. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Thanks for the share. I myself fell in love with the Indy ride when I rode it. One of my favorite rides in all of Disney and I like their motion rover based rides (Indy, Dinosaur) much better than something like Spiderman. Also the texture mapping is very neat, the new castle show before Wishes is amazing. I saw the original when it was first introduced with guest pictures but the new version is much better and is very unique. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 The texture-mapping technology is really neat to see and Disney has really done a number with it. The nightly shows on Cinderella castle are really cool..add to the fact that they intersperse the effects with random pictures taken by photopass photographers inside the park during the day really makes for a cool show! (and for the record, one of the pics featuring my my daughter did end up as one of the pics on the castle last year when we went..to say she was thrilled was an understatement!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Unfortunately the random pictures effect is no more. Since Disney redesigned the show they have eliminated the random guest photos with more over the top animations and the inclusion of more Disney characters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 And, from what I hear, that decision was driven by guest complaints. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 16, 2013 Author Share Posted August 16, 2013 You can imagine a lot of broken hearts when all day you're promised that the show you're going to might have a photo of you projected on the castle! ... then when it's not, how many people would report to guest relations that they staked out a spot for an hour beforehand, watched intently, and got hopes high only to find that their picture was never used? Probably a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Actually there were more complaints from those who were pictured and their families. Go figure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 The big issue with the images on the castle was that you needed to be so close to the castle to best see the pictures, usually by the Mickey and Walt statue or closer. So you had an even larger mass of people pushing forward to look for their pictures and then once the fireworks started folks were to close to the castle to enjoy the fireworks, it was blocking a good portion of it. While I liked the idea of the guest photos I like the current show much better. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 28, 2013 Author Share Posted August 28, 2013 Just a quick update: The original voice has returned after near unanimous disapproval of the new voice. So now, it's a Hannah Montana situation: the best of both worlds, with James Earl Jone's narration and the new texture mapping effects. Huzzah! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.