Okay. How many of you remember that story that I told as part of last Friday’s “Why For” column? Where I detailed how — back in the early 1990s — Universal Studios swooped in & snagged the theme park rights to Jay Ward’s Rocky & Bullwinkle characters right out from under Mickey’s nose?
The reason that I bring up that story again today is … Well … After speaking with several themed entertainment industry insiders over this past weekend, I now believe that the Mouse may have just been Moosed again. Meaning that — even though, as recently as 10 months ago, WDI was hard at work at developing a whole slate of “Harry Potter” -themed rides, shows & attractions — it’s now Universal that appears to have the Snitch.
Wait. The news gets worse. The innovative technology that Universal Creative reportedly plans on using to power this new “Harry Potter” -themed attraction that it wants to build at Islands of Adventure? It’s something that Walt Disney Imagineering has known about for at least five years now.
Truth be told, the Imagineers have been desperate to bring this very same technology into the Disney theme parks. Only to repeatedly be stymied by Mouse House officials who either balked at the cost and/or raised some very serious safety concerns about this particular mechanism.
What technology am I talking about? Kuka Robotics. Some JHM readers may recall that I’ve actually already written about this remarkable technology previously as part of a “Why For” that I posted on this site back in January of 2005. Back then, WDI was reportedly looking to use Kuka’s robotic arms as part of an “Incredibles” -themed attraction that the Imagineers wanted to build for the parks. The supposed storyline of this proposed Pixar-based attraction first had guests boarding a pod for a tour of the high-tech facility where Mr. Incredible & his family go to practice their super powers. And then — right in the middle of their tour (in classic Disney theme park fashion) — something goes horribly wrong !!
Anyway … The real beauty of this robotic arm technology is that it can actually be programmed to suit individual rider’s tastes. If you follow this link to Kuka’s Robocoaster site, you’ll actually find a video that shows Legoland guests punching in their thrill preferences before they then board this attraction.
As to how the Imagineers allegedly wanted to tailor this technology for use in the “Incredibles” universe … Well, if you wanted a really rough ride, you just had to select the “Mr. Incredible” version of this attraction. If you wanted a ride-thru of this “Incredibles” -themed attraction that your toddler was sure to enjoy, you just had to program in the “Jack-Jack” variation of this attraction.
You get the idea, right? That this “Incredibles” -themed attraction was to have featured five separate pre-programmed routines. One for each member of the Parr family: Bob (I.E. Mr. Incredible), Helen (Elastigirl), Violet, Dash & Jack-Jack. Which — in theory — would have really increased the re-ride-bility of this particular proposed attraction.
So why didn’t the Mouse go forward with construction of this very cool sounding Kuka-based project? Well, cost was obviously a factor. But the way I hear it, Disney’s lawyers also played a pretty significant role in putting the brakes on when it came to this “Incredibles” -themed attraction.
You see, these guys have spent the past decade dealing with brain injury lawsuits that have been tied to the extremely rough rides that Disneyland guests used to be able to experience on the “Indiana Jones Adventure.” Which (as you might understand) made Mickey’s attorneys extremely nervous about an attraction where theme park guests would then have the ability to dial up their ride experience to (throwing in a gratuitous reference for all you “Spinal Tap” fans out there) an 11.
So while Disney’s lawyers conferred with the Imagineers about how rough was too rough, Universal Creative also became aware of the Kuka technology. But — unlike the Mouse — they didn’t hesitate to bring these remarkable robotic arms into its theme parks. Just last year, UC used this technology to add the new “The Fast & The Furious: Extreme Close-Up” sequence to Universal Studio Hollywood‘s tram tour.
Copyright 2006 Universal Studios
Now — if you follow this link — you can watch some YouTube footage of Carnage & Carma (I.E. The two Volkswagen Golfs that are featured in the “The Fast & The Furious: Extreme Close-Up” sequence) literally dancing at the end of a Kuka robotic arm. Pulling off all of these amazingly fluid maneuvers.
Now all you J.K. Rowling fans out there. When you see those cars dipping & bending so gracefully through the air, does that perhaps bring to mind a certain sequence from “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets“? More importantly, have you ever dreamed of climbing into the Weasley family’s magical Ford Anglia and then flying off to Hogwarts?
Copyright 2002 Warner Bros.
Well, if the folks at Universal Creative have their way, you’ll soon have the opportunity to experience just that at Islands of Adventure. According to Universal Studios insiders that I’ve spoken with, UC has already run a field test or two for “Project Strong Arm” (I.E. The allegedly secret codename for this “Harry Potter” -themed project). Actually bringing two Kuka arms into that theme park to see how they’d hold up under Central Florida’s intense humidity.
So what happens next? When does this project actually go forward? To be honest, a lot of that depends on Ms. Rowling. Who (the way I hear it) has yet to officially sign off on this Universal theme park project. I mean, let’s remember that — just 10 months ago — it looked like J.K. & Disney were going to do business. Only to have that deal suddenly fall apart. Which is why the folks at Universal Creative really began freaking last Monday morning when word initially began leaking on the Web about this “Harry Potter” -themed project.
Now I know (based on reader response to last Friday’s “Why For”) that a lot of you JHM readers were hoping that this new addition to Islands of Adventure would be tied to the “Wizard of Oz” characters. But — based on what company insiders told me this weekend — those L. Frank Baum characters will eventually appear in the stateside Universal theme parks. But only after the movie version of “Wicked” is produced. And given that the Broadway musical version of this Gregory Maguire book is still going strong … It could be years yet before that movie finally goes into production.
Anyhow … Getting back to this proposed “Harry Potter” attraction for Islands of Adventure … Some of you may be asking why Universal is putting an ambitious attraction like this into development right now? What’s the significance of this timing?
That part of this story is actually pretty obvious. You see, Universal’s gearing up for “Project Strong Arm” because Disney’s in the process of building “Toy Story Mania” for both Disney’s California Adventure & Disney-MGM Studios theme park. Which many people in the themed entertainment industry perceive as the Mouse’s long overdue response to Universal’s state-of-the-art attraction, “The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.”
Given that “Toy Story Mania” will add an interactive element to “Spider-Man” ‘s high-tech selection of tricks, thereby topping Universal’s top attraction … Well, Universal had to do something in order to reclaim bragging rights (I.E. That only its theme parks have the world’s most technically sophisticated attractions). Which is why they then dreamed up this new “Harry Potter” flying car ride.
As to how Universal was actually able to steal the Harry Potter characters away from the Walt Disney Company … Well, I don’t know how much of this is sour grapes. But I’ve had a few people tell me that — given how difficult Ms. Rowling reportedly was to deal with (She supposedly has some very definite ideas about what a “Harry Potter” -themed theme park should be like, what attractions had to be included, etc.) — that the Imagineers eventually opted to just let this project die on the vine. Rather than proceeding with an elaborately themed park that might have then had some real problems when it came to recovering its initial construction costs.
As to what the real story is … I’m afraid that it may be decades before we actually know what went on here. After all, most of the people who worked on all these “Harry Potter” -related projects have signed non-disclosure agreements. Which means that they’re literally barred by the terms of their employment contracts from ever talking about a lot of this stuff.
Maybe 10 or 15 years from now, someone may finally be willing to go on the record about what actually happened. But — for now — I guess we’ll just have to be happy with the whispers of the story that we’ve gotten so far. Which (it should be noted here) originated with Arthur Levine at About.com & Lance Hart of Screamscape. Nice reporting, guys.
Anywho … With any amount of luck (Provided — of course — that J.K. Rowling actually does sign off on Universal Creative’s proposal), come 2009 or 2010, you’ll be able to climb into your very own magical Ford Anglia. Then the Kuka arm underneath your ride vehicle will kick into gear and after that … Well, you’ll believe that a car can fly.
Copyright 2002 Warner Bros.
Which sounds pretty cool, don’t you think?