The American Adventure
Opened in October 1982 at EPCOT, Walt Disney World in Florida, USA
This huge technological achievement features 35 animatronic figures and features Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain in a number of scenes presented on ten different computer-controlled stages, backed by a 70mm projected movie. One in particular features features Benjamin Franklin appearing to walk up stairs and across the stage. The show consists of ten elevated platforms, each of which rises into view in turn, containing animatronics, scenery and furniture.
The attraction was refurbished in 1993 and again in mid-2007, with a few updates to content and technologies. New animatronic figures were introduced in 1993.
Credits:
Show Director: Rick Rothschild
Behind the Scenes
As is often the way, while everything the audience sees on stage is hugely impressive and moving, the real magic is happening right under their feet. A series of carriages roll from underneath the auditorium, in a carefully planned and engineered sequence, into position in line with the front edge of the stage, before being lifted into view at exactly the right moment to synchonise with the movie projection and the soundtrack.
The Story of the Attraction