 Walt Disney World's newest attraction cost 0 million to build and delivers a remarkable simulation of a rocket launch and spacecraft landing, right down to the nausea and brief moment of weightlessness.
Mission: space even has its own national television ad campaign, the first time Disney Corp. has done that for a single attraction. It could easily be the most expensive single attraction ever to open. It is also part of a trend that finds major theme parks spending like never before on new attractions. Expansion has always been part of the business -- you can't bring them back if you don't offer something new -- but the money being spent now is especially noteworthy since park gates have never recovered from the economic and security traumas of 2001. Vivendi's Universal Studios Orlando is dropping 0 million on three new rides based on Universal movie franchises -- The Mummy, Shrek and Jimmy Neutron -- and Disney plans to spend million at its Disneyland park in Anaheim, California, on a Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The days when theme parks were giant cash cows driving profits for the corporations that owned them are over, and so are the days when parks had to compete only with one another. Now, theme parks have to compete against summer movie blockbusters, video game releases or anything with a big opening, said Brad Rix, Disney's vice president for Epcot, one of four parks at Disney World and the one hosting Mission: Space. "We've had to get a lot more sophisticated," Rix said. "When you get on Mission: Space, you get a physical experience that can't be simulated by a video game or summer movie. That's what we have to deliver." Mission: Space really is a giant leap beyond the dark-room rides and merry-go-rounds that were for years the staple of theme parks. The technology is the same used to train NASA astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A centrifuge delivers more than two Gs of force during the simulated liftoff, pinning guests deep into their seats while space views are projected through the windows of the simulated flight deck. "It felt very familiar," said NASA astronaut Dan Barry, who was on hand for the opening. "And just like the sims (simulators) we use to train, it's never a perfectly smooth ride." More than a few tourists had another experience familiar to many astronauts: Their first ride left them more than a little queasy. At one point, Disney workers had to send for more towels to clean the floor. （Agencies） | 沃爾特·迪斯尼樂園新近推出了耗資一億美元的娛樂項目，出色模仿了火箭發(fā)射和宇宙飛船著陸的過程，讓游客切實體會到暈船和短暫失重的感覺。 “太空使命”游戲甚至動用了全國電視廣告作宣傳。迪斯尼公司迄今為止首次如此宣傳單個游戲。它也很可能是有史以來開發(fā)的最昂貴的單個娛樂項目。 它同時反映了一種趨勢：大型主題公園正在以前所未有的投資開發(fā)新型游樂項目。擴張向來是經(jīng)營不可或缺的一部分--如果你不提供一些新的東西，你就無法將游客吸引回來。但是現(xiàn)在投入的資金數(shù)目是令人矚目的，因為公園的門票收入還沒有從2001年的經(jīng)濟和安全打擊中恢復過來。 奧蘭多的維旺迪環(huán)球影城投資1億美元，根據(jù)環(huán)球電影授權的木乃伊、史萊克和天才小子吉米建造了三座全新的乘坐裝置。迪斯尼公司也計劃投資7500萬美元在加利福尼州的阿納海姆建造一座陰陽魔界恐怖之塔。 主題公園像巨大的搖錢樹一樣為公司大把大把攫取利潤的年代已經(jīng)成為歷史，如今公園的競爭對手也不再僅僅是同行。 迪斯尼樂園明日世界的副總裁布拉德·里克斯說：現(xiàn)在的主題公園不得不與暑期大片、電腦游戲和任何隆重登場的事物競爭。明日世界是迪斯尼世界的四大公園之一，“太空使命”游樂項目就在其中。 里克斯說：“我們必須有更加成熟的游樂項目，當你在乘坐‘太空使命’時，你的切身感受是電腦游戲和暑期電影無法模仿的。” 和室內過山車、旋轉木馬等主題公園多年來的主要游戲相比，“太空使命”確實是一個巨大的飛躍。它應用的技術和休斯頓約翰遜航空中心用來訓練美國國家宇航員的技術一模一樣。 在模擬起飛的過程中，離心機制造出的力量相當于兩倍地心引力，將游客牢牢的吸在座位上，此時透過模擬飛行艙的窗戶放映宇宙景象。 即將參加開幕式的美國國家航空航天局的宇航員丹·巴里說：“感覺太熟悉了，就像我們用來訓練的模擬器，沒有比這更平穩(wěn)的設備了。” 許多游客有機會感受和宇航員一樣的經(jīng)歷：他們第一次乘坐的感覺不僅僅是有點惡心。有時候，迪斯尼的工作人員不得不用更多的毛巾來擦地板。 （中國日報網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2003-10-13 01:00
