however, to keep you entertained, here are a few trivial and factual tidbits about the places i visited.  you can also click on the headers to go to the official home pages of these parks.  so pull down on your shoulder harnesses, keep arms and hands inside at all times, and hold on to all hats and glasses, because here we go...

disclaimer:   all information is for entertainment purposes only.

    Main Street uses what is known as "forced perspective", creating the illusion that Main Street appears longer and farther than it actually is.  At the same time, this effect makes Sleeping Beauty Castle appear much larger than it really is.  This type of optical illusion is applied just about everywhere in the park.  The upper portions of Sleeping Beauty Castle are smaller than the lower portions, giving the  illusion of height.  The trees at the higher areas on the Matterhorn are smaller than the trees at the base, again creating the illusion of height.

This attraction was originally slated for a sit-down restaurant show.  The birds would perform as the guests dined.  That's why the room is set up the way it is, and is the only attraction in the park to have it's own restrooms.  This was also the first show to be completely automated and to feature what were the first audio-animatronics.  The first "human" audio-animatronic is that of Abe Lincoln on Main Street.

    This ride uses 16 self powered, self-steering, computer controlled 12 passenger vehicles.  These vehicles follow no visible "track", as in conventional rides.  15 of the 16 vehicles can be in the ride at any given time, each communicating with each other electronically, avoiding collision.

    The ride has thousands of program "choices", the vehicles communicating with the ride's show elements to create virtually a "new" ride every time.  An example would be that the transports "breakdown" at different areas, Audio-Animatronic Indy says different lines, and numerous other special effects and lighting cues.

    The Hall of Destiny doors are part of a five door system, with walls that move from side to side exposing only three at a time.  With the additions of different lighting effects, it creates the illusion of the vehicle going through different doors, for those of you that have ridden the ride several times.   (if you notice, the groove on the floor appears to split into three separate choices also.  You can tell the door that your vehicle is going to pick by looking at which is the "real" groove, the other two looking rather fake.)

   Another thing you would want to know, but in one of the rooms in the pre-show, the Imagineers that worked on the attraction have included their initials on the walls.  It is coded in that Mara font, so nobody really knows what it really is.  Also, I have heard that the license plates on the jeeps are actually the birthdays of some Imagineers, and the last two digits being the number of the vehicle.

   The ride vehicles are actually motion-bases, to give the ride that feeling of bumpiness, swaying, and tilting.  The motion bases can move about 2 feet in any direction.  The Imagineers programed this part of the attraction in real time, by having a programmer sit on the vehicle and program elements of the motion base as it negotiated the track over and over.

  Each of the four Star Speeder simulators cost $10 million each.  First opening in 1987, Star Tours started the "simulator thrill ride" revolution by being the first successful motion simulator attraction .  Today, many major theme parks have some type of motion simulation ride.  With the new additions to the Star Wars series coming out soon, there will also be a new film and program that will be based on the new story lines.

   The ride uses 70mm film for the front screen, while the video monitor is run off a laserdisc player, which also probably contains all the ride instructions as well as audio.

    The simulators are capable of moving up, down, tilting left, tilting right, tilting forward, tilting backward, as well as sliding forward and sliding backward.  Newer simulator rides add sliding left and  sliding right.

    This Disney classic was first intended as a walk-through attraction, hence the large house we see from within the park.  The actual ride is housed in a warehouse type building in an area outside the park.  The stretch rooms and long hallway leading to the Doom Buggies was created out of necessity, since they needed a way to get under the railroad tracks surrounding the park.

    This was the first attraction to use a special effect illusion known as "Pepper's Ghost", in which creative lighting and reflection creates the illusion of semi-transparent objects amidst solid objects.  The Dining Room scene is where this effect is used in the Haunted Mansion.  To pull this off, there is a 3 story high pane of glass.  After being shot at with a BB gun by a guest, a crack in the glass appeared.  Imagineers have disguised this with a giant spider web, since replacing the glass would mean removing the entire roof of the building!

    I also read somewhere that to test the concept of the 'Roger Rabbit Car-Toon Spin' attraction, the Imagineers attached a teacup from the spinning teacups ride to the tracks of the Haunted Mansion and ran the ride.

  The Matterhorn Bobsleds was the first "mountain" attraction in Disneyland.  This coaster was also the first in the world to utilize tubular steel tracks, now a industry standard on modern roller coasters.  It also was the first coaster to use the now standard "blocking" system, which allows more than one train to be on the running track simultaneously.

    Some don't know this, but within the top of the mountain, there is an actual basketball half court.  Rumors say that Walt Disney incorporated this in the design to get around problems in getting building approval from the city.

    Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland is the only one in all of the many Disney Theme parks.  It tops out at a height of 147 feet, and was the first of the "mountain" attractions at Disneyland.  In order not to dwarf the Matterhorn, the other three "mountain" attractions (Splash, Space, and Big Thunder) have all either been constructed partially sunken into the earth.

  The new Tomorrowland in Disneyland, which is now open,  draws similar designs from Tomorrowland at Disney World, and Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris.  Meant to be themed as "the future that never was", the theming is based towards the the Jules Verne type of  imagery.  Among the major changes are the additions of Innoventions, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and a new high speed ride named Rocket Rods that uses the former track of the PeopleMover.  The Rocket Jet attraction has been changed to the Astro Orbiter, and is now located at the entrance to Tomorrowland.  An interactive fountain called Cosmic Waves also highlights as one of the New Tomorrowland's features.  Also, a scaled down version of the TWA Moonliner has made a comeback.

Splash Mountain is the fastest ride at the park, hitting about 40 miles per hour at the bottom of it's main plunge.  The attraction sits over huge holding tanks which contain all the water for the ride when shut down.  This means that water must be continually pumped for the attraction to work.

    There are a series of six pumps, 4 being used for duty, while 2 are always on spare.

    This attraction has gained the nickname of "Flash Mountain", for those riders that occasionally tend to bear their breasts as they plunge down the first drop.  This is where they take your picture on the ride also.  Luckily, there are people that screen every image before it is posted at the end of the ride.  If you wanted to purchase your picture at the end of the ride, but the image was thrown out due to "flashing", you are allowed to go back on the attraction without waiting in line.

    Most of the audio-animatronic figures from the America Sings attraction were relocated to Splash Mountain.

  By far the most complicated live production produced by Disney, Fantasmic! has 3 water mist screens, each 30 feet tall and 50 feet wide.  Using 800 gallons of water per minute, the three mist screens can completely hide Tom Sawyer Island for set changes.  This was also the first time that the at-the-time new French mist screens were used at a show in the U.S.

    The show is highly organized and coordinated.  Video, lighting, special effects, live action, and music come together flawlessly, with each Cast Member in the show knowing alternative actions to take in case something misses it's cue, or due to technical problems is unable to go "live".

    Fantasmic! also incorporates a 45 foot tall Animatronic dragon, 20 foot tall inflatable Ursula the Sea Witch, 100 foot long Kaa the snake, and 30 foot tall lighting towers both along the shore of the Rivers of America, and on Tom Sawyer Island.

    The mist screen images are produced with the help of three 70mm projectors, very simular to the types used in most IMAX theaters.
 
 

    This was the last project that Walt Disney personally worked on before he died.  It has been said that this version of Pirates is the best out of all Disney theme parks.  It houses hundreds of Audio-Animatronic figures, and recently went through a much scorned facelift, making some of the scenes more "politically correct."  One example is that the pirates now chase women with food, instead of just the women.  The last lady chases a pirate who stole her food.

    The waterfall drops were once again created out of necessity.  They needed to get under those railroad tracks again!

    The fire effects are so realistic, that there is a E-Stop type switch that will shut down the fire special effects in case of a real fire.  This is so that in case of a real fire, the firefighters will know which is the real fire and not.

  This ride now has added a soundtrack, synchronized with the ride with certain parts of the music happening during specific portions of the ride.  This onboard audio system compensates for factors that affect the speed of the train, such as weight, or "warming up" of parts.  This is to ensure the synchronism of the ride elements and music.

    The ride also allows up to 10 trains on the track simultaneously.  Many people are fooled by the darkness into thinking that the ride runs at a very fast speed, but in reality only travels a little over thirty miles an hour.

Disney's California Adventure - Well, Disneyland's large parking lot is no more, as they have completely closed it for the construction of California Adventure.  The area around Disneyland is going through tremendous changes, and we should look for an opening of the new park in 2001.  Even though only in the infant stages of it's construction, some of the plans for DCA has already begun to change.  With the recent purchase of Knott's and Six Flags by other companies, it looks like DCA will have to feature more thrill attractions in order to compete.  Among some of the features of the new theme park includes a hotel located inside the park, so that the guests can be involved in the entire theme park experience.  This would allow them the witness the behind the scene happenings that go on when a major theme park closes, such as maintainance and attraction repairs.  Also, they will feature a wooden looping coaster, that in reality will be made of steel.

  This motion simulation ride has 24, 8 passenger DeLoreans, with 12 on the left side of the show building and the other 12 on the right.  The ride uses twin Imax/Omnimax screens, each 70 feet tall.

  One little tidbit that most don't notice is that E.T. says good-bye to each and everyone of you...by name! (That's why they ask you for your name and give you that magnetic strip card in the ride pre-show.  As the ride operator loads the passengers, he also feeds the cards into the computer, and the computer remembers which vehicle to repeat the names for as it exits the ride.)

  This wet and wild ride has two record breaking elements.   First, this is the most expensive amusement ride made, topping the scales at $100 million.  Universal wanted to ensure they had top notch animatronics.  The second record breaker is the final drop, the world's tallest for this type of ride, at 84 feet.

    The jeep that teeters over the edge and falls into the water falls faster than gravity, being literally driven into the water.  It immediately resets for the next boat of visitors, a mere 20 seconds behind.

This attraction features 16 full-sized animatronic figures, and is spread over a five acre area.  The high pressure hydraulic system for the animatronics give them thier smooth movements.

    The show utilizes highly coordinated special effects, pyrotechnics, and even a gag stunt in which a untethered full size seaplane crashes through the wall only feet from the audience, weather permitting of course.

  The Mystery Lodge show creates the special effects seen by using a modified "Pepper's Ghost" effect.  The live action is coordinated to go along with a projection being cast onto the panes of glass in front of the stage.  The hostess gives that spiel about the glass being there to prevent smoke from going into the audience is to take our focus off the glass being there in the first place.

  This reverse freefall coaster is the first thrill ride on the planet to reach the sacred speed of 100 mph!  Besides that, it towers 416 feet above the ground, and goes STRAIGHT up!  The ride launches the 6 ton cars out at 2.5 G's and has a 200 foot "zero gravity" zone on the vertical part of the track.

    The propulsion system uses no moving parts, but instead uses Linear Synchronous Motors, a series of powerful electro-magnets along the horizontal portion of the track.  The magnets are timed to turn on and off right after each other, first attracting the car and pulling it forward and then pushing it away.  This system then works in reverse as a braking system for the ride.

    The ride when activated momentarily doubles the electricity consumed by the park.  To supply the ride with the needed power, Superman has it's own dedicated power line from the city grid system.

    The opening of the ride was delayed one year due to unanticipated problems.  First the programers had trouble getting the timing of the magnets right, therefore the ride was unable to get sufficient speed.   Then they found out that the electricity was so intense that it traveled only on the outer surface of the wire, requiring them to use even larger wire to reduce the resistance.  Basically, it was a prototype that worked on the drawing board, but didn't when actually built.

   The Superman statue looking down at you at the very pinnacle of the ride is 7 feet tall, and believe me, you get VERY close to him.
 
 

    The Revolution was the world's first 360 degree vertical steel looping coaster.  It was manufactured by the same company that made Knott's Berry Farm's "Montezuma's Revenge."

    The Flashback was relocated to Magic Mountain in 1992 as part of Six Flag's ride trading program.  It is the world's only hairpin turn coaster, simulating the way a jet rolls and dives.   It also goes through a gravity defying UPWARD 720 degree spiral.

    The Viper was opened in 1989, and is still the West Coast's premier coaster.  It features 7 inversions, with 3 vertical loops, a boomerang curve, and a double corkscrew.  The lift hill is a staggering 188 feet high, and sends riders to a maximum 70 miles per hour!

    The Viper boasts the world's tallest vertical loop, standing a majestic 156 feet in the air.  This, by the way is the first inversion after the first drop!

    Arrow Dynamics was the maker of the ride, the maker of other rides like Ninja, and would you believe it, the Matterhorn at Disneyland!
 
 

    Batman: The Ride was built in 1994 by B&M, a Swiss company that is becoming perhaps the leader in building coasters.  It is one of five clone rides, the other four being at other Six Flags parks under the same name of Batman the Ride.

    Batman features 5 inversions, with 2 vertical loops, 2 corkscrews, and a zero-gravity heartline spin.  Oh, by the way, did I mention that this is an inverted suspended coaster?  You are suspended from the bottom of the track, and travel on the OUTSIDE of the loops.  All you see is nothing but sky!

    The trains seats 8 rows of 4, but for the best view, wait for the front.

    The Colossus is one of the world's longest and tallest dual track roller coasters.  Before, one track was run going forward, while the other track ran the train backwards.  After replacing the trains, the new trains were not equiped with headrests, preventing the ride from ever being run backwards again.

    The first hill is 112 feet high, and is one in the series of 14 hills.

The newest coaster that Magic Mountain has added to it's arsenal of coasters, this is the world's tallest and fastest stand-up coaster.  It tops off at 156 feet and features six inversions after a 146 foot first drop.  After traveling through a 125 foot loop, riders are hurtled thru twin diving loops and a inclined loop.  A barrel roll followed by a 250 foot helix and  a second barrel roll finishes the torturous pleasures.  This is the second world record breaker that Magic Mountain has had in a row.