"The longtime mining magnate comes from a powerful East Coast family and considers gold to be his very birthright by virtue of his oddly appropriate name; in fact, he considers the ultimate gold strike to be his destiny. And that is why he is having so much trouble with Big Thunder Mountain. According to superstitious locals, Big Thunder Mountain is very protective of the gold it holds within, and the unfortunate soul who attempts to mine its riches is destined to fail. And so far that prophecy is coming to pass. The mine has been plagued by mysterious forces and natural disasters ever since."
Devoted theme park fans might notice that ol' Barnabas looks a lot like Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter. The new backstory will provide material for the interactive queue that Disney's installing at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Perhaps the portrait's also a good-bye tribute to Baxter, who's said to be nearing retirement.
All this gets me thinking - I wonder what other theme park attractions (Disney or not) could use a fresh backstory? And I wonder what some clever Theme Park Insider readers could devise?
Hey, it's time for a contest!
Submit in the comments your best narrative for an original backstory to any existing theme park attraction. Be funny, scary, informative, or just really snarky. For whichever one I like best, I'll let its author select a prize from the TPI Prize Vault.
We've got Theme Park Insider T-shirts (in sizes S-XL for women and S-L for men), signed copied of Stories from a Theme Park Insider, and a couple of limited-edition theme park souvenirs: Two copies of the full-color photo book of the new Disney California Adventure that Disneyland sent its annual passholders earlier this year, and one copy of the souvenir "New Fantasyland" edition of the Eyes & Ears cast member magazine from the Walt Disney World Resort. If you write the best backstory, you get to pick which prize you want. Heck, if more than one story really impresses me, I'll pick more than one winner. The contest is open to Theme Park Insider readers in the United States, Canada and the European Union. (I don't know enough about contest laws to open it up to readers in other countries.) If you're not a registered TPI reader, you'll need to include your name and email address in the comment, so I know how to contact you if you win.
Have at it!
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The narrator on Maelstrom is actually the standing Polar Bear himself, Magnifico Berenstein. The reason there is an eye at the beginning of the attraction is necessary to see if those who are on the boat for this adventure are deemed warrior vikings, breezy enough to defeat the trolls. Think you know Maelstrom? Think again. If there is even ONE person on your boat traveling on Maelstrom, and he or she is not worthy to defeat the trolls, then your Twitter account actually disappears on spot and Magnifico will once again reign supreme with the Twitter handle @ChrisBrown.
This mansion has been in foreclosure for a century, and no one has wanted to buy it. We (guests) decide to make a tour of the mansion for a possible purchase. The family who lost their home (the mansion) to foreclosure are dead, but they are back from the grave to prevent us from taking their home. The legend says that the only way the spirits will let us move to this mansion is to bring with us someone from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for sacrifice!
If I win, I want the DCA photo book :^)
I believe Jurassic Park at IOA needs a great backstory. The current backstory is that John Hammond was allowed to build his park at a new location. If that's what IOA is going for it would be neat if they had signs around that said "the new and improved Jurassic park, Jurassic park- now at a new location." This would help people understand why the land is there.
Basically I want the whole land to be like a "new" JP. With rides and attractions at the park.
I think the River adventure could have a neat quene with a backstory in it. it could have a museum or exhibit about genetics and cloning dinosaurs. It's backstory is that it is one of the rides visitors could go on while at JP.
The Pteradon flyers would be that John Hammon an his group created specifically modified dinosaurs that kids could ride. Signs and interactive exhibits could fill the area.
Many, many moons ago in a distant land lived a young prince named Akito. The kingdom was a very small village tucked away & surrounded by a dense jungle.
Akito was a very friendly boy, who had quite the sense of adventure, however he had no one to play with....His parents, the king & queen, informed him that being royalty, a young prince, it wasn't permitted that he play with the other children in the village, as they were common.....therefore being different.
Akito reluctantly agreed, but told himself one day, when he was king, he would allow everyone to play together.
One day, Akito, led by the sound of children laughing, crept outside of the castle & went into the village. And there, in the village square, sat a group of children listening to an old story teller. She told them of a fantastic world beyond the dense foliage of the jungle. While the other children laughed at the tall tale, Akito believed the old story teller, and thought to himself, "Surely I must see the magical world, but I know Mama & Papa would never allow me to go".
Akito looking at the sun setting, knew he should get back to the castle, so he hurried off. That night, as the kingdom & village slept, Akido lay awake in his bed, glancing at the stars above. He would go see this magical world at night & come back in the morning, before anyone noticed.
As he came close to the edge of the jungle, he became frightened & thought about returning home, but then he heard a faint song in the distance, as he moved through the foliage, he saw a small boat & got inside. From that point Akito's journey began & he discovered that there are children all over the world, and even though they may look different, they are all they same....they all play, they all smile, they all sing. And that, in fact, he really wasn't different from the village children & they weren't different from him......that there's so much they they share.....that it's time they're aware, it's a small world after all.
The next morning Akito awoke in his own bed, humming a tune that he just couldn't shake.
Long Long ago on the planet Zipadoonan. A group of aliens had decided to build a theme park they wanted to call Zip Zop Zoo. But they found out that they couldn't build a theme park because of the one thing they didn't have on Zipadoonan, GRAVITY!!! But unfortunately they had already ordered the parts for a roller coaster, what are they to do??? Well, the aliens have decided to send their roller coaster to Earth, Which country will get the coaster??? The aliens pour over all the info they have about earth for hours and they have come to a decision, the aliens have chosen the U.S.!
Why you ask? because the aliens liked the shape of the U.S. the best!, haha silly aliens! They have chosen the sunshine state Florida because they heard Walt Disney World needed a new ride. So they sent it down to WDW so they could install it. WDW named it Space Mountain in honor of the aliens that sent the roller coaster down to earth!
That was the story of Space Mountain hope you enjoyed!
King George of England once had a son named Kristopher West. He was a free soul and often traveled with his father’s navy to explore the exotic places they conquered. On one particularly long excursion, Kristopher wandered off on one of the rivers to see more of the wild jungles. When the admiral realized this, he feared for his head and went off to search for the king’s son. They traveled the long Nile, the wide Amazon, the deep Congo, and the unusual Mekong with no avail. They returned home with their heads hung low, and faced the wrath of the king.
One of the sailors of the British navy was a part of the search party, and was enchanted by the mystery of the jungle. He stayed in the jungle while the others returned home and scraped together enough money to buy a boat. He began offering tours of the rivers of the world, and quickly became wildly successful. He began searching for the best boats and a top-notch crew. Unfortunately he could not find them, so he settled for a fleet of rickety boats with character and began to train a group of out-of-work actors to be his skippers. Along his journeys, he finally found the king’s son. You can still take his tours today, with the Jungle Cruise Adventures, and you can see the king’s son, simply inquire with the tradesman at the end of the tour.
Famous musicians from all over the world have traveled to the United States to visit our theme parks. No parks more so than Six Flags, the industry leader in thrills. Some of those musicians made trips while battling injuries or illnesses that would make them unfit to ride the thrilling roller coasters presented at these world class parks (always remember to read the restrictions before you ride, folks). As a result, at least one world renowned musicians has died walking out to their car at every Six Flags park. Those musicians are now haunting the areas where they perished, and their ghosts put on spontaneous concerts. That's why it costs $35 to park at Six Flags, and it's worth every penny.
What to do? I left my IPhone at the resort room in fear of it getting wet from those water rides and there is no one in sight as the pathways are well lit and a very clean park I might add. Back to the grim dark story at hand though.... I'm all alone but yet I get this erie feeling like there's something or someone with me. Then I feel this slight brush against my thigh and then panic sets in. "I'll go off the path to hide and maybe in that dark old building" I assure myself with a friendly smile and false sense of actually knowing what I am doing. "There must be someone in there" I agree with myself as I tippy toe like some school boy not to be caught. I hear the giggles coming from the bushes not ten feet from me and I did what any grown adult male would do in this situation..running as fast as I can into that building I quickly closed the doors if there were any doors on this building. Why aren't there any doors to these buildings. Is a true essence of a building you have to have a door? Perplexed I venture further into the dimly lit room. In a weak scared little voice I squirm "Is there anyone here?" and acting like a strong willed Bruce Cambell of a man I shout "is there any one here ...okay then I'll just be looking around"
All of a sudden all of the lights come on and I can see a boat in the distance in a nicely qued area. Little pidder patters and giggles are coming closer from behind me so I rush and hop in to a boat. "No seat belts? How can I be safe in a boat without any seat belts" I think to myself. The boat starts to move at a snails pace and then I figured why there's no seatbelts. There's no more giggles or sounds from behind as I breath a sigh of relief. You know what really gets those sighs of relief in a hurry? Scareadoyl, for those ichy cold sweat feeling that you get when you are so scared you are about to pee your pants, take a few Scareadoyl's and you'll feel better until you hear that creak in the floor or rustle in the bushes. Scareadoyl comes in a tablet, pill, or even IV drip for those coma inducing fright fests. Scaradoyl is a proud sponsor of (themed ride) at (theme park).
That relief quickly turned to horror as I started to hear a song in the distance getting louder and louder. It started to repeat itself over and over again like a bad Britney Spears song. Something about the world being small or small people after all.... I couldn't quite tell because what I was looking at was just gut wrenching. The little giggles where right before me with there fake smiles and stereotypes singing that blasted song. I mean come on, all Germans have yadderhosen and all American Indians have headdresses. Then the worst happens.....the boat comes to a dead stop for what seems like an eternity and they keep playing that damn music. Finally it starts back up and I can see the exit just around the bend. As I release my fingers from making an imprint on the handle. The boat comes to a stop and I muster enough of my worn out body to get up and move to the exit. I am greeted by an actual person. He says to have a nice night with a smile as I breath the fresh air once again. "Oh by the way," he smiled and giggled, "It's a small world after all....."
Robert are you going to sell these shirts any time soon?
Plus you could add my “Turkey Leg Beer Soda” trade mark to a T Shirt….
SPACE MOUNTAIN The Movie.
As you enter an ancient relic of a long lost race of space travellers, you encounter a portal to enter a space vehicle. This special space vehicle will take you towards the outer reaches of space to reach their home planet.
You blast off towards the skies, twisting and turning around. It immediately goes to warp and you reach the solar systems beyond.
The space ship's automatic transporter system beams you on the home planet. You meet the alien race. They welcome you with open arms. Before long, you're ceremonially inducted into their tribe. It didn't take long for you to encounter jealousy from the other native tribesmembers. You run away and attempt to return to your vehicle, but you don't know how....
Conclusion.
You're safely beamed back to your vehicle and blast home.
Tram driver Eleck Long lived in New York for all his life. The rails he road where high above the busy streets. His home was on the fifth floor of a nameless apartment building that was close enough to Central Park that when he opened his window and if he leaned out really far he could see some trees.
One day the tram company sacked him because his rails were removed. The first time he went down to floor level he got scared. It has been years his feet touched ground and now his dreams disappeared. That's right, his dreams were always amazing, but now they were gone.
He went up to his apartment and closed his door. But he was so scared the dreams didn't come back. One evening, after many dreamless nights, when he tried to see the trees an elf came flying to him. Her name was Elonka and she was send by the dream cloud king because their kingdom was disappearing. His dreams where the building blocks. He had to start dreaming again!
His wish to drive a train in the sky again was immediately fulfilled. He was transported to an apartment in the Contemporary and got a job as THE monorail driver. The joy of the people who drove his monorail stimulated him a lot. His feet never touched the ground again and his dreams as he slept came back. The dream cloud kingdom grew bigger as ever before and Eleck was knighted by the dream cloud king.
The back story to Epcot’s American Adventure
The people of Earth forgot what Stars and Planets were, or that there had ever been a moon. Space was gone and the sky was a boring, dull grey that no one thought about. Zan and her mom lived in a small house on a mountain that they looked after, and even though Zan was tied to the Earth, she would dream about the sky. She knew the sky wasn't the limit, that there was something out there. She collected old toys like telescopes and sextants and even a pair of orange rocket boots she found at a second-hand shop and fixed up. She studied and observed and wrote everything down.
One day, Zan discovers a little bit of space leaking out of the mountain, and her mom tells her everything. That she's the queen of Space Mountain - where all of space is imprisoned inside like one giant black hole - bigger on the inside, and Zan is it's princess. All the stars and planets and asteroids whirling around. As princess of Space Mountain, she doesn't know it, but it's their job to protect it until the evil space emperor Zurg is defeated. Zurg had tried to destroy space and Zan's mother was forced to secretly put it all away in the mountain to hide it from him. There it had stayed while Zan's mother bided her time, raised Zan to believe in stars, and planned for the moment when space could be released again. Zan's mother teaches her how to use her powers, and they build a rocket to go out and fight Zurg, their mortal enemy. Zan's mother has to stay behind and guard the mountain from the outside, so Zan can launch the rocket inside the mountain. Since all of space is trapped inside it's a little hard to control, but she manages. Zurg puts up a fight, and while he had been a match for Zan's mom back in the day, he never counted on having to fight Zan too. He gives in (I feel like there's a joke here about Zurg's weakness is that he can't turn left...) and with a huge white flash they release space back into the sky where it belongs.
The small Mayan village of Chicchan has been taken over by the villanous, Zipacna, priest of the demon-bird, Vucub-Caquix! From high atop his temple lair, Zipacna rules Chicchan with the help of his three demonic minions, The Three Caballeros! Through their vile magic, the once magical waters of Chicchan have been polluted into the Gran Fiesta Tour! The peoples' only hope is to reverse the flow of time back to a gentler time of peace! Only you and your fellow brave warriors can help save Chicchan! So climb aboard your magical boat and begin your hunt for the legendary El Rio del Tiempo, the River of Time!
The new backstory will be created using one of Disney/Pixar's characters not currently used in the Florida property - WALL-E.
The building for space mountain is now considered a space station. The space station was created by BnL as a plan to house the human race in case any of the starliners (axioms) returned to Earth. This was established by the BnL president to avoid over population on the Earth. We were on board the Axiom 2800 and re-routed by the new model of AUTO (the wheel from the axiom in the film) called INSTANT to the space station some twenty years after the events of the film. The queue lines have been redesigned to be omnimovers similar to the seats showcased on the axioms in the movie. Within the queue line we hear the voice of the INSTANT telling us that there are rogue robots in the station and to not follow any directive from them. A screen hanging above your omnimover shows Eve and Wall-E in a still shot. Before you depart the omnimover and into the section of the queue that seperates you into the rockets, an animatronic Wall-E tells us he has built a rocket to escape the Bnl space station.
You then board your rocket ships (re-designed with fire extinguishers as the rocket boosters) and escape on a thrilling ride through space back to Earth.
I have an account but forget the login. Name is Carlos Quinones and email is carjo1.39@hotmail.com
(Essentially, a re-imagined politically correct version of The Songs of the South)
Br'er Rabbit runs away and finds a nice new hill to make his new home. He didn't want to do it alone so he lures Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear. Along their journey, they sing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah".
As they made their home in the hill, they realized they were not alone. Many other critters have created homes there. How will they get along? Sadness turns to happiness as they sing "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place". Everyone gets along, but there are still some unsettled rivalries.
To visit their new found friends, they created a large raft. They traveled around hill in the streams. It didn't work. They needed it to be smaller to fit the tight corners. A log kayak was the solution. Who knew the log kayak will take them to the river below.
Behold, a giant Splash in the end.
It start out in nepal in a village. In the village you see kids playing in the street, dad's coming home from work and a mom putting taking the laundry in. But then........ You hear the ROAR OF THE YETI !!! The yeti guards the mountain from all unwanted visitors.
When a small company from america hear's about a sighting of the yeti they want to cacth it. So the company flys to nepal to cacth the yeti. When there they talk to the locals trying to get the inside story. Right before they set to go find him. An older village man warns them DON'T GO HE WILL KILL YOU! and in a blink of an eye he vanishes. But the crew continues.
When the crew has been in the himalayan mountains for about a week they haven't heard anything. Until a ROAR in the middle of the night. They all awaken to there feet and grab there gear but they were to late and missed him. So they go on a hike and follow the prints and camped where the footprints end and stopped.
After the 5 crew members finished to set up camp one was missing. And never found the next day another was missing and never found. The following day when they were packing up to leave the mountain there 3rd of the 5 members was lost. The final two members were trying to get off the mountain but didn't make it out.
SO DID THEY FIND THE YETI OR DID THE YETI FIND THEM
The Villege has decided to has decided to give sceneic rides around the Matterhorn with locals as your tour guide, but Hans Lutes (the town drunk) has different ideas. If he could use the guests as "bait", I mean help, he could grab the jewels and become the most famous person in the village. Won't you trust Hans as your trusted guide?
Near the fountain of innovation, time and space paused for the world's greatest minds to meet and plan a special encounter for mankind.
"We must give the world something new!" cried Copernicus.
"We must give them knowledge!" exclaimed Einstein.
"We must give them excitement!" cried Magellan
"Why not show all of this throughout time?" asked H.G. Wells.
"But who shall design and build it?" Henry Ford asked.
The greatest minds looked at one another and smiled.
"Let us ask him," they said and went to find the one who could create this.
"I think something round would do rather nicely..." said Merlin
Walt Disney would be proud.
It came about because the imagineers realized that people were infatuated with waiting in long long long long lines for many hours. Especially exiting about it is that they wanted the park-goers to realize what a waste of time it was to finally "enjoy" the great amusement at the end of the long wait. Hey, but at least they can smell some pine trees and orange blossoms. The only "disney-ness" about it would be Tink and the castle. Worth the wait! But only if you are masochistic or a really nice person being patient with your loved ones.
There once lived a captain named Captain M. Blair who loved sailing around the world. He loved it so much, he created "The It's A Small World Crusing Company" to spread happiness to the whole world. It was such a sucsess, his fleet increased from one boat to 42 boats. Even though Captain M. Blair is no longer with us, his faithful crew still carries the tradition on of spreading happiness to all corner of the world. The crusing company eventually add trips to America and even welcome 30 new crew members that know a couple of things of happiness. The company is so popular, there was a song created for the cruise ships that people can never get out of their heads for over 46 years. The cruise company has been sprading happiness for 46 years and proving that it is a small world after all.
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