Simulator Rides
Theatrecrafts.com > Topics > Themed Entertainment > Simulator Rides

British company Rediffusion led the world in development of motion platform flight simulators, used for training airline pilots. The systems used a wrap-around video projection which was generated in response to the behaviour of the pilot. The simulator platform also moved to add movement into the training process for enhanced reality.

Disney were one of the first theme park to use simulators in this situation, where high-quality film projection was added to pre-programmed motion for the simulator, which was adapted for large audience throughput.

1975

Douglas Trumbull patent for an amusement ride featuring a platform seating guests supported by hydraulic rams with motion synchronised to a film playing in front of the guests.

1984

Showscan process launched, featuring 70mm film at 60 frames per second, designed for specialised venues running short (22 minute) films, with the experience providing the attraction, rather than the stars of the film. 
Trumbull partnered with Plitt Theatre chairman Henry G. Plitt to form Showscan Film Corp.

1985

Showscan Dynamic Motion Simulator (DMS) provides a full-audience motion base for theme parks, in partnership with Intamin (patent)

1987

Star Tours at Disneyland Resort opened in 1987 and is an excellent example of a simulator ride, where guests sit on a hydraulically-moved platform on rows of seats, facing a static projection screen.

A highly-themed queue-line leads to a series of waiting lines, where guests eventually walk through a doorway, across a retractable bridge and onto a military-grade simulator

(Star Tours in 1986 had four of these simulators at a cost of $500,000 each).

After the movie, guests leave across another bridge and then back through a neutrally-themed exit line. 

The simulators were originally built by Redifussion Simulation in England - patented as the Advanced Technology Leisure Application Simulator (ATLAS).
The original ride film was projected from a 70mm film projector underneath the cockpit barrier onto a rear projection screen via a mirror.
The film was held in a sealed loop box which kept the film moving continuously over a series of rollers to reduce the chance of the film being scratched or damaged.