Hyperion
Avenue
A POV
Experience
By WED99
Key
Normal
Text
Notes
Intro
I’m
tired. I’m hungry. I’d give my left arm for a bite out of that kid’s churro.
How exactly does that small rope manages to hold back thousands of people?
Whatever, I don’t care, nothing can ruin my day! Not even the 40 degree florida
humidity! I’m at Hollywood Studios, Disney world's newly refurbished park! What
to do first? The beautiful Melrose Avenue maybe? Or get myself a malt at the
soda fountain? Or maybe follow the crowds to the new Star Wars land? No. None
of them. I know exactly where I’m going. Hyperion Avenue! The beautiful new
area that replaced the underwhelming Animation Courtyard. I wonder what it’s
like? I have never really searched into it before. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be--
WOOOOOW!
I
thought we had 10 minutes until rope drop!
Jeeez, I can’t even breathe in these crowds. Glad I’m avoiding Star Wars for a
while. Ah good, everyone’s turning left. Luckily, I’m heading ri-- Wow. I never
noticed how amazing the chinese theatre is without the hat. Thank goodness it’s
at the front of the park now, really does suit. Ok, now to Hyperion Avenue!
Entrance
I
guess the chinese theatre isn’t the only beautiful piece of architecture in
this part of the park. Look at that new entrance! It makes the old archway look
silly! It is so much more elegant and real, but it looks kinda old? I wonder if
maybe this area is themed to a different time period? Well either way I much
prefer this entrance to the old, reminds me of the old paramount pictures
entrance I researched at school! Enough admiring, I want to see inside.
Environment
Oh
Dear Lord. If there was ever a land to represent all of the Disney Parks, this
is it. I don’t think I have ever seen something so beautifully themed in my
life! The Imagineers managed to take the old boring Animation Courtyard and
turned it into an amazing 1930’s themed animation studio with ease. I don’t
think I’m even in a theme park anymore! I mean look at that huge building on
the left, in Voyage of the Little Mermaid’s and One Man’s Dream’s spot! With
it’s beautiful garden and mickey mouse billboard. Wait a second... I know that
building! It’s
Walt’s old animation studio, or at least a replica of it! A lot of people seem
to be going in there, maybe it houses an attraction? I’ll check later, I want
to explore for a bit.
I
wonder what that is ahead? Looks a bit like Toontown in Disneyland but in black
and white. Is that a steamboat? Ah! I get it! An area based on classic Walt
Disney Cartoons! What a great idea, about time that man got celebrated in the
way he deserves. Good to see their not wasting the space of the old animation
studio too!
Maybe
I’ll check that out firs-- Wait, what’s that music? It’s coming from the right,
where Disney Junior used to be. It’s a theater. The Colony Theater according to
the sign. I better check the map, maybe that has an attraction as well!
Apparently that houses “Silly Symphonies Live!” I should check it out later.
Right
now, this movie studio seems to be sucking people in like crazy so maybe that’s
worth a look. The map says it’s home to “Disney Animation: An Art of it’s Own”.
Sounds interesting, I’ll give that a shot.
Disney
Animation: An Art of it’s Own
Now
that, is a Disney attraction! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. I
definitely did not expect it to take over an hour, but I honestly didn’t mind.
Every inch was filled with interesting facts, my brain hurts from learning that much!
That is the type of experience I like to see when I come to a studio park, fun
but full of info. I have to text Jordan about this, show him what he missed out
on today.
Hey bro, how’s it going at the mall? You’re
missing out big time, you were so wrong about the DHS expansion being a waste
of money. Dude, this place is amazing! I’m loving Hyperion Avenue. It’s the
replacement for Animation Courtyard, and it blows my freakin mind! They made it
look like 1930’s hollywood, like we studied at school. I just got out of this
new attraction based around animation and how it was made in the 1930’s, kind
of like this video we watched in Art class (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ORkIrHUbg).
I can’t let you miss out so I’m going to describe it to you in great detail,
find a seat cause this is going to be a loooooonnng text!
So you start off by walking into this huge
replica of Walt Disney’s first studio on Hyperion Avenue, and this thing is
epic! SOOO much detail. Once you walk through the doors, the tour begins.
The first room is based on the first process
of animation, Storyboarding, but not in usual Museum style. This Walt Disney
projection appears on the wall, but he doesn’t look human. He is drawn in
classic Disney animation style! He walks you around the walls, explaining the
stories behind the original storyboards on the walls. At the end of the room is
the final product out of these storyboards, the final Snow White script (and I
asked, it’s real). After I had seen everything, I moved onto the next room.
The next room is based on the drawing
process. The room is filled with original cels that Walt explains in detail.
They also have real animators that draw behind glass. You can request different
characters from a control panel, I chose Dopey. My favorite part was an entire
wall that was like a giant iPad. You got to touch it anywhere and draw whatever
you want. It saved your picture and everyone for the rest of the day can see
it! This one guy was a really good drawer, everyone was clapping for him. Oh! I
almost forgot! Every 15 minutes they run drawing classes where you enter this
room and draw different Disney characters. I was kind of shocked how it was
filled with so much technology but they managed to hide it all and keep that
1930’s look. Really amazing theming. After 20 minutes of drawing on the wall
and taking classes, I decided I had to move on.
The next room was only a small passage but
played a huge role. I think it was supposed to represent taking pictures of the
drawings. You stop in this dark room and an old fashioned camera flashes really
bright, then on a screen outside the room is a picture of you and one of the
seven dwarves! I got to pose with Grumpy :)
So after a my camera shot, I had to wait for
a while before I could enter this theatre show they were running every 10
minutes. Thankfully I wasn’t bored due to there being classic Disney cartoons
running all around the room on heaps of different screens. But they weren’t
like we see them, they were early versions. No colour or sound. It was weird
but cool! I didn’t have to wait long but before I got to enter the next room.
This room was called the Sweatbox. It was a
very small old fashioned theatre. Walt appeared on the screen and told us that
this is where they get to watch the movie before it’s made, kind of like test
footage. So they know if it is good or bad. Then they played about 10 minutes
of classic disney shorts and some Snow White but in their early stages. Walt
popped up occasionally pointing out faults and problems he wanted fixed. It was
very interesting to see how picky he had to be. Once the video was over, Walt
led us into the next room, the Ink and Paint Department!
The Ink and Paint Department is where all
the women used to trace over the original drawings, creating the final cels.
They had some really cool exhibits here. My favorite was this one where they
built a black and white version of that short “Flowers and Trees”. You grabbed
this mounted gun and has to spray the paint onto the set. There were also a
bunch of desks with touch screen screens on them. You had to try and trace
around a character perfectly, I struggled a lot :P Another really cool feature,
you could take your drawing from earlier and give it to a professional who colored
it for you. I got my Mickey done, looks really cool! The biggest time consumer
here is this game where you were shown a colour and you had to touch with your
hands two different jars of paint on a shelf that made that color. It was not
easy, but it was so fun! After 15 minutes of playing around in here, I moved to
the next room.
The next room was another theatre type
experience but no wait, the show just ran continuously. There was a huge wall
mural that looked like the dwarves house from Snow White. Walt appeared on the
background and would walk around as if it were really there. He talked about
forced perspective and how it tricked our mind. Then the dwarves and Snow White
appeared on the background and starting re-enacting the movie. It mad me appreciate
having the detailed backgrounds so much more! I ended up watching the full show
twice, taking in all the details. So after 20 minutes I moved on to the next
room.
This room was based around photographing of
the animation cels. Walt explained the process and also talked about his
invention the multi plane camera. Basically the animators draw 5 different cels
for each frame, each basing it’s content on the distance from the screen. It
was a little hard to understand, so they had a huge example set up in the
middle of the room! It was 5 large pieces of glass all perfectly aligned in
front of a background mural. Each had things like birds, trees, characters etc
drawn on them. People stood in a space in between each piece of glass while
they took the picture. We could then see it on a screen and it put us right
inside the classic mickey mouse cartoons! That was all in this room, just a
nice small feature.
This next room is my personal favorite, the
sound effects. Basically there were 3 sections. Each had a huge screen playing
an animated short with no sound effects. There were a bunch of props on tables
that we could use to make the sound effects. It would all be recorded and we
got to re-watch at the end! Not gonna lie, my timing sucked. They also had a live
demonstration show running every 15 minutes with real sound effect artists
showing guests how it’s done, it was really interesting. This room took up 15
minutes and I still couldn’t get my timing right, so I just moved on.
Now for the final room. Everyone gathered in
a large theatre and Walt was projected on stage. He thanked us for joining him
on his journey through the animation process, and he spoke of how his favorite
part of film making was getting to see the final product. Then the curtains
opened and a live orchestra played the musical score while a short was
projected above. It was hard to tell, but I’m pretty sure the orchestra were
Audio Animatronics (Robots). So after that ending I headed out and started
texting you.
So you might be thinking why exactly is he
telling me all this? Well Jordan, I just want you to know that while you’re at
the mall eating junk food and spending all your money I’m having the time of my
life. I still have much more to experience so keep your phone nearby ;)
Ok
well now that’s done with, what to do next. Ah, in all this excitement I forgot
I haven’t even had breakfast yet. I wonder if there’s anywhere to eat around
here?
United Artists
Cafe
So
according to the map the United Artists Cafe is the closest place to eat. I
wonder what it’s like? United Artists, what’s that got to do with Walt Disney
animation? Ah, I’m too hungry to care. This place should be next to the Colony
Theatre, ummmm, there it is! The yellow makes it pretty easy to find. It sure
blends in well with the Colony Theatre, just a bit higher. Maybe it’s double
story? Only one way to find out.
The United
Artists Cafe facade is not identical to the above image. The wording on the
sign would be different and the building would be double story.
Um,
where are the tables? I’ll ask this guy behind the desk.
Me: Hey, whereabouts do I order my
food? This is the United Artists Cafe right?
Cast member: Yes sir you’re at the
right place and I may I say, Welcome! The United Artists adore you’re work and
we are honored to have you here!
Me: Um, sorry what work are you talking
about?
Cast Member: Well you are that new
director everyone’s talking about aren’t you? I don’t want to mislead you but I
heard from an inside source you’re a shoe in for best picture this year!
What
the heck is this guy on about? Oh! It’s some kind of theming thing I think. Ok,
I’ll try go along with it.
Me: I’m glad you enjoyed my film,
wasn’t my best work but the studio liked it for some reason.
Cast Member: Oh don’t be so modest! So
will you be joining us for lunch today sir?
Me: Yes please, table for one. Oh and
just one question!
Cast member: Anything sir!
Me: What exactly is the United Artists?
Cast Member: Oh, is this your first
time?! Why I’m sorry sir, let me fill you in. The United Artists Corporation
was founded in 1919 by D.W Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and
Charlie Chaplin. It’s basically a group for the talented who all come together
at this meeting place to discuss current projects and other topics. You know,
that Walt Disney fella is a member. He left 10 minutes ago, he was rambling on
about his animated feature. We keep telling him it’s not going to work but he
won’t listen, poor guy.
Me: Yeh, ha, how silly of him.
Cast Member: Ok sir now that I’ve
filled you in, follow me to your table.
Finally.
I’m starving! I don’t think I’ve never seen stairs and a lobby in a Disney
restaurant. Maybe it’s got to do with space, if I remember right this area was
only small.
Cast Member: Welcome to the United
Artists Cafe sir!
What
a view! I can see all of Hyperion Avenue and Sunset Boulevard from up here! I
like the actor portraits on the walls, shame I don’t know half of them. I
should familiarize myself with 1930’s actors when I get home.
Cast Member: Here’s you’re table sir
and here’s you’re menu. Just ring the bell when you’re ready to order. And good
luck with your next picture!
Me: Thanks!
He
was nice, a little creepy but nice. Ok enough admiring the room, what do I want
to eat today? Jeeez, a bit pricey here. I guess you’re paying for the food and
the experience. I think I know what I want, time to ring the bell.
Cast Member: Hello sir, what can I get
for you today?
Me: I’ll get the Grilled Chicken salad
and a root beer please.
Cast Member: One Grilled Chicken salad
and a sarsaparilla, great choice. That will be out in a moment. And can I just
say, I love your work!
Me: Thanks, I guess.
15 Minutes Later
Mmmmm,
what a meal. Worth every penny! I still have a lot to explore so I better keep
moving. So I guess the logical thing to do is to head next door and ride that
silly symphonies thing. I got a feeling it’s going to be for kids but heck why
not, everything has been a pleasant surprise so far today!
Silly
Symphonies Live!
I
was way off when I said that was a kiddie ride. Heck, I was way off just by
thinking it was a ride! That might be the best 3D show at any Disney park and
that’s coming up against Philharmagic! I better tell Jordan.
Hey bro, It’s me again. I know I already
texted you once today and you’re most likely still trying to read it all :P but
I just watched the best show here that I have to tell you about. Don’t worry,
I’m not going to text after every attraction. You just need to hear this one!
It was called Silly Symphonies Live, kind of
like the next generation 3D show. You start off by entering this classic
theatre called the “Colony Theatre”. I think Steamboat Willie premiered there
or something. Once you’re inside you wait in the lobby for a bit. On the walls
are 1930’s movie posters from films “coming soon”. They are funny to look at
but luckily you don’t have to wait long anyway. Every 10 minutes they have a
different show playing so it’s your choice of which one you want to watch. You
can choose from The Skeleton Dance, Music Land or The Three Little Pigs. These
are all Silly Symphonies by the way, these cartoon shorts Walt Disney made
based on music. I chose The Skeleton Dance because I remember watching it as a
kid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h03QBNVwX8Q).
After a short wait they let us into the theatre.
This thing made current cinemas look bad.
There was so much detail on the walls and the roof, things you can’t even see
during the show! Some people even got to sit on the balcony views! So once
everyone sat down and put on there glasses it was time for the show to start. I
didn’t really know what to expect to be honest, how did they make an 80 year
old cartoon 3D? Well when the film started rolling I was pleasantly surprised.
They had re-done the animation but they didn’t ruin it with some Pixar type
effects! It was like the new short before Wreck It Ralph, Paperman! A mix of
CGI and hand drawn. I was a bit concerned at first they might ruin the short
with this but I soon realized it was a nice change.
The second thing I noticed was the sound.
Sure 7.1 surround sound is nice, but this must have been 107.1 surround sound!
I felt like I was in the short! The owl’s whistle was loud and piercing from
all angles, the clatter of bones danced around me and the wind blew into my
left ear. And I mean that literally, the wind blew into my left ear! They added
4D effects to the entire short to really immerse you. That constant gust of
wind really was a great effect, as was the vibrating floor that moved in
symphony with the skeleton’s dance.
So that’s all there is to say about this
once. It was short and simple but unforgettable. Disney has taken Walt's
beloved classics and altered them to make todays audience fall in love once
again! Is there any better way of honoring his legacy? I wish I had time to
watch all 3 but I need to keep moving if I’m going to reach Melrose Avenue
anytime soon. I’m sure the others do just as good of a job at putting you inside
the film.
Ok,
no more annoying Jordan. I’m sure he feels bad enough now. So I guess there’s
only one more thing to do, that classic cartoon area. Lets see, the map says
it’s called Mickey Mouse Park. Kind of like that original idea for a Disneyland
in Burbank. Why do I know all this stuff? Wow! Is that the time!? I better get
a move on!
Mickey Mouse
Park
Later that day...
Me: Hey mum! I’m home!
Mum: Hey honey, how was Epcot Studios?
Me: Hollywood Studios mum, Hollywood.
You’ve lived in florida for how many years now?
Mum: Oh *chuckle* sorry honey. You know
I forget things. Anyway, how was Hollywood
Studios?
Me: It was amazing! They have changed
so much, it’s a whole new park!
Mum: That’s great, what was your
favorite part?
Me: Hyperion Avenue. Hands down. In
fact I liked it so much, I spent almost the entire day there!
Mum: Wow, must of been pretty good
then.
Me: Good is an understatement. Even
excellent is an understatement.
Mum: What made it so good?
Me: They turned a tired old area into this
1930’s Animation Studios themed area. They had a replica of Walt’s original
studio with a really great walkthrough attraction inside. There were some
classic 30’s buildings that had the best restaurant in DHS where they treat you
like a real celebrity, and the best 3D show on property that really put you
inside the cartoon. Then, my favorite part, an entire area dedicated to the
black and white characters from Walt Disney’s original shorts.
Mum: That sounds interesting, explain
that part more!
Me: Well it’s called Mickey Mouse Park.
You enter through a gate the the right of the animation studio and as soon as
your in, everything is so different! The only colorful things are people and
food! Everything else is in shades of black and grey. It looks so great, they
captured the feel of the classic shorts perfectly. Everything is constantly
moving in the area, just like the old cartoons. Nothing stays still! There are
hundreds of gags to find all around. That’s actually the main attraction here,
just exploring and discovering the different details. But don’t think they
forgot the rides!
The
first you thing you notice when you enter is the giant steamboat from Steamboat
Willie sitting in the water to the left. Mickey Mouse steers the boat on top as
steam puffs out in perfect sequence. This isn’t just your average steamboat. It
keeps in sync with the rest of the area by constantly moving. You can really
see how synchronized the parts on the boat are with the music. And that is what
the boat’s all about, music! You enter mickey’s shoes as you explore the boat
and use everyday items to create beautiful music. You can pull a duck’s tail to
make it quack, or bang on some pots hanging from the wall, they even included a
cow that’s teeth work as a xylophone! Although it’s just a minor attraction, it
was great fun. I just love the catchy tune.
Right
across from there is Oswald’s Trolley Station. Now I know I said it’s called
Mickey Mouse park, but this is based on all of Walt’s classic characters! This
ride was based on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his short “Trolley Troubles”. You
board this old fashioned trolley and it takes you all around the area, but not
how you would imagine. It keeps that classic cartoon humor by swaying in all
different directions, kind of like the old Jolly Trolley in Disneyland’s
Toontown.
I
rode this one twice, just because it was great seeing the entire area again.
You discover something new each time because it has so much going on
everywhere! Plus I loved that they based something on Oswald.
In
the middle of Mickey Mouse Park is an area based on the short “The Karnival
Kid”. As you walk through you see all different gags and characters from the
short as well as some other classic cartoon carnival gags. This whole area is
just build up for one thing, a hot dog stand. This short was the first Mickey
ever spoke in, and he was selling hot dogs. Even though we didn’t get any
carnival rides, the hot dogs were great!
On
the other side of the carnival area to the left is a space themed to Mickey’s hometown.
Or at least his town pre color cartoons. I guess the imagineers noticed the
same thing as me, Mickey lives in a southern country town, so they really
captured this feeling. You can explore his house, Minnie’s house, Clarabelle’s
house and of course Horace’s house. All of them are farm type homes that suit
the rest of the area. Inside the homes are meet and greets with the characters,
or the characters in their old forms. This farm town area is topped off with my
personal favorite attraction in Mickey Mouse Park, Barnyard Hoedown! Every 30
minutes people gather into a large barn and a robotic (Audio Animatronic) band
of Mickey and his pals start to play catchy tunes. Cast members in costumes get
the dancing started on the dance floor and it really does get to be enjoyable
once you stop being embarrassed and give it a shot!
The
last attraction in Mickey Mouse Park is a mad mouse type coaster, you know
those ones that make you feel like you’re going to tip. It’s themed to Plane
Crazy, the first Mickey Mouse short. Even though it’s only a short ride with
minor thrills, it is filled with even more gags that make the whole thing
really enjoyable. They even play the music throughout speakers for a better
experience.
So
that’s basically all I can say about Mickey Mouse Park. It can’t be described
properly, you have to be there. It is like you are inside a classic animated
short. The constant movement, the catchy music, the colorful world that has no
color at all. I actually ended up spending over 2 hours here. And remember,
this is just 1 third of Hyperion Avenue! So yeh, you could say it’s pretty
good.
Mum: Are you busy tomorrow?
Me: No, why?
Mum: I want to check this place out! Is
it really as good as you say?
Me: Mum I’m going to give you my honest
opinion right now. It was spectacular. Every attraction in the area is of the
highest quality, no shortcuts taken. It did what every theme park should do, it
took me to an entire new world. Something I had never seen before. I would love
to go back tomorrow! I learnt so much not only about animation, but about the
life and mind of Walt Disney.
Mum: Well it’s settled then, we’ll be
there early morning!
Me: Epcot Studios, here we come!
Mum: *chuckles*
No comments:
Post a Comment