Studio Tram Tour®: Behind the Magic
|
|
|
Studio Tram Tour is a behind-the-scenes tour of the Walt Disney Studios lot and a voyage into the secret world of a movie studio. All along the route, guests learn how the technicians and artists of the movie world create their fantastic illusions. The various movie sets and workshops seen on the visit are described for the guests in their native language by well known cinema celebrities, who appear on monitors in each of the tram cars.
The workshops of illusion
The vehicles for the Studio Tram Tour depart at regular intervals, taking guests on a voyage of discovery past location sets, props, costumes and special effects scenery from famous films. In each of the tramcars, the secrets of cinema are revealed in the guest's native language by a host of silver screen celebrities via on-board TV monitors. The languages featured are French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian.
Famous movie sets and props
The "Prop Storage" area is a large over sized property collection, where guests discover the imposing façade and the Pterodactyl statues from the Dinotopia television mini series. This area also features a range of props from the famous Italian CineCita studios.
The setting of Dinotopia allows the guests to understand the technique of compositing, the visual effect in which different elements are married together into a single film sequence. The imposing "Waterfall City" encountered on the Studio Tram Tour is one of the main features of the series. When it was built at Europe's largest studio facility, Pinewood Studios in London, it was the largest set ever to have been manufactured in Europe. Via the TV monitors, guests learn how the set was combined with computer generated imagery to create a gigantic mythical city populated by humans and dinosaurs.
Two aeroplanes used in the production of the epic film Pearl Harbor are on display in this area. Guests will see a clip from the blockbuster movie to illustrate how large scale effects are used in the movies.
Guests can see craftsmen and women at work in the Costuming building. They can discover the costumes that have been created for famous movies as well as see a movie dedicated to the creations of memorable movie costume designers.
Star Cars is a special garage where a collection of famous vehicles from the history of cinema can be seen, from Cruella DeVil's car in 101 Dalmatians to Herbie, the Lovebug, the star of a series of famous films from the Disney studios.
Large sets from the film Reign of Fire immerse the guest into a City of London under attack from dragons, as depicted in the film of the same name (release date: 2002). One of these mythological creatures surprises the passengers of the tram by breathing fire as they come near! Guests see some of 'London' as it looked before the dragons attacked, while the right hand side view from the tram offers a picture of a city devastated by these legendary beasts.
In the heart of the action
The highlight of the Studio Tram Tour is when guests find out what being in the "hot set" really means at the explosive Catastrophe Canyon. This visit to a highly specialised outdoor set demonstrates how large-scale special effects are staged. Guests are treated to a series of special effect disasters as the tram is struck by an earthquake, flood and fire. The tram then takes them behind the scenes, where guests discover how technology and movie-making magic come together to wreak make-believe havoc!