{"id":31027,"date":"2025-11-03T09:37:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T09:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/31027\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T09:37:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T09:37:05","slug":"in-orlando-theme-parks-animatronics-increase-in-number-and-in-realism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/31027\/","title":{"rendered":"In Orlando theme parks, animatronics increase in number \u2014 and in realism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mechanical birds, bears and princesses have chirped, growled and sung in Orlando\u2019s theme parks for more than 50 years. The animatronic trend shows no signs of fading, as new figures arrive in new places at Walt Disney World<\/a>, and Epic Universe<\/a> introduces batches of lifelike characters.<\/p>\n

The additions range from a planned electronic version of Walt Disney at Magic Kingdom<\/a> to a lumbering Frankenstein\u2019s monster figure that debuted with Epic in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople still enjoy seeing lifelike figures of their heroes, villains and others come alive,\u201d said Dennis Speigel, CEO of International Theme Park Services<\/a>. \u201cI think this is one area that continues to evolve, and I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen anything yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technological advances are enabling the improved illusion of the figures, said Brian Ott, show systems studio executive with Walt Disney Imagineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way that we can now simulate, the way that we now design, the way that we now can generate content for these and in style \u2014 like it is moving like the character that everybody sees and recognizes from the film \u2026 I think that\u2019s really the appeal of like, \u2018Wow, not only did I see Elsa on the ride, but I felt like it was Elsa. It moved, it performed, it looked at me,’\u201d Ott said.<\/p>\n

The next new animatronic at Disney World will be Benjamin Clawhauser, a cheetah character that\u2019s part of the \u201cZootopia: Better Zoogether\u201d<\/a> show launching at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom<\/a> theme park on Nov. 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will see something new and unique from that figure,\u201d Ott said.<\/p>\n

Other planned figures include Buddy, a support-bot, in the ongoing update for Buzz Lightyear\u2019s Space Rangers Spin<\/a> at Magic Kingdom; Scooter and other Muppets in the retheming of Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roller Coaster<\/a> at Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios<\/a>; facelifts for Frozen Ever After figures at Epcot<\/a>; and the addition of Walt Disney himself at the beginning of Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom.<\/p>\n

These come on the heels of the first animatronic to represent Walt Disney, which debuted at Disneyland<\/a> in California this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that has breathed a lot of life back into the animatronics and from the highest level,\u201d Speigel said.<\/p>\n

Figures frightening, formidable<\/p>\n

Universal Orlando<\/a> installed animatronics inside Epic Universe\u2019s Wizarding World of Harry Potter \u2014 Ministry of Magic, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment ride and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has their normal lives that they\u2019re going through, and that comes with people wanting to be transported,\u201d said Gregory Hall, assistant director, creative design for Universal Creative<\/a>. \u201cWe have the opportunity to bring new technology and use it for good and use it to entertain and inspire people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Monsters Unchained ride is peppered with figures in action, including Dracula, Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.<\/p>\n

A crowd-pleasing scene happens in the Unchained preshow with new character Victoria Frankenstein and Frankenstein\u2019s monster, who strides into the room. It\u2019s a moment that prompts applause from Epic visitors, Hall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the first time we made a figure on that scale walk,\u201d Hall said. \u201cAnd then he\u2019s right next to Victoria, and they\u2019re using extremely different technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another big animatronic project was the \u201cerumpent,\u201d a charging beast in the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really all about, how do we get the fastest, smoothest motion moving this giant thing?\u201d said Anisha Vyas, director of projects for Universal Creative. \u201cIt needs to be really visceral. It needs to move really fast. It needs to be moving really fluid,\u201d she said. \u201cGetting it to move and stop is not hard. Getting it to look pretty and gorgeous and realistic? That\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the motion must be repeated for each load of passengers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ensure every guest has the same experience,\u201d Vyas said.<\/p>\n

It all started with a bird?<\/p>\n

The seed for Disney\u2019s animatronics \u2014 the company trademarked the term “Audio-Animatronics” in the 1960s \u2014 goes back to Walt and Lillian Disney\u2019s purchase of a miniature caged-bird decoration that tweeted. That eventually led to Enchanted Tiki Room attractions such as the one at Magic Kingdom, which opened with the park in 1971.<\/p>\n

Animatronics got a major boost from \u201cGreat Moments With Mr. Lincoln,\u201d developed by Disney for the 1964 World\u2019s Fair in New York. Guests watched the faux former president give a speech, and Speigel witnessed this on a high-school trip to the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he put his arms on that chair and he stood up and talked, the whole audience, I remember, just gasped,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 1960s technology propelled the show\u2019s status, said Bob Rogers, chairman of BRC Imagination Arts<\/a>. Otherwise, it might have been forgotten quickly, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that it was just a robot, not a human, was the charm,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

Waiting for Walt<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to 2025 and the installation of the Walt Disney animatronic at Disneyland. \u201cWalt Disney \u2014 A Magical Life\u201d is temporarily taking the place of the Lincoln animatronic presentation there. Some fans have criticized the look of the new figure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks fine to me from a distance,\u201d said Jeremiah Good, the Florida correspondent for LaughingPlace.com.<\/a> \u201cBut people that were there for the opening that were in the front row filming every bit of it were going ‘That doesn\u2019t look a thing like Walt.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics are more forgiving about animatronic looks for animated beings as opposed to actual humans, Good said. He awaits the Walt Disney figure slated to join Carousel of Progress next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is supposed to be a little bit older of a Walt, so that\u2019ll be interesting to see,\u201d Good said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are some opportunities there for the point in Walt\u2019s life,\u201d said Imagineering\u2019s Ott, who noted that Florida\u2019s animatronic would be seen in shorter but more frequent bursts at Magic Kingdom than its counterpart in California. \u201cI also think there are things just logistically about the run time of shows \u2014 if you just look at the run time of the Disneyland, the frequency of that show, versus something like Carousel of Progress that is cycling through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tech talk<\/p>\n

After pneumatic and hydraulic phases, animatronics are now settling into an all-electric era with computerized programming.<\/p>\n

Last year, Walt Disney Imagineering gave a public peek into the process with an episode of \u201cWe Call It Imagineering\u201d<\/a> on YouTube<\/a>. This preceded the debut of figures for Tiana\u2019s Bayou Adventure, the retheming of Splash Mountain at both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.<\/p>\n

A big challenge was the development of Louis, the trumpet-toting alligator, considered one of WDI\u2019s largest and most dynamic figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of moving parts. \u201cSo you have all of these layers, you\u2019ve got fabric and it all has to be in sync,\u201d said Sonny Chapman, principal illusion maker, in the episode. Louis\u2019 big belly, upper torso and arms must work together with the costuming, all while he\u2019s bouncing, looking happy and blinking.<\/p>\n

Imagineering has expanded into \u201cstuntronics,\u201d creating figures that can perform elaborate aerial acrobatic feats, including one dressed as Spider-Man at Disney California Adventure theme park. The company has also developed knee-high DBX droids, which made appearances at Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re wonderful not just because they\u2019re robots, but because they are animated and they are written with stories.\u201d Rogers said. \u201cThey express emotions. They\u2019re doing things. They get frustrated when they can\u2019t do what they\u2019re trying to do. \u2026 That\u2019s just wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Animatronics have proven, multigenerational staying power.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our engineers went to school just to work on animated figures. \u2026 That\u2019s their thing,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThey\u2019re studying their whole lives, and they make their entire lives, and it\u2019s time for their generation to show the next generation how to pass the baton. This is one of those moments that\u2019s even bigger than just (theme) parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vyas points to their entertainment value.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think they bring so much life to the environment,\u201d she said. \u201cI absolutely love that at Epic Universe we\u2019ve doubled down on that. I really think that it just takes it to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mechanical birds, bears and princesses have chirped, growled and sung in Orlando\u2019s theme parks for more than 50…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[22246,22249,22248,6113,22247,17426,139,141,140,2411,22244,22245],"class_list":{"0":"post-31027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-animatronic","9":"tag-brian-ott","10":"tag-dennis-speigel","11":"tag-epic-universe","12":"tag-gregory-hall","13":"tag-magic-kingdom","14":"tag-orlando","15":"tag-orlando-headlines","16":"tag-orlando-news","17":"tag-theme-parks","18":"tag-walt-disney","19":"tag-walt-disney-imagineering"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}