Friday, October 13, 2006

Method and apparatus for forming a fluid projection screen

US Patent #5,368,228 for the above mentioned engineering marvel was in its full glory this week as Sheena gave up and allowed her sorry ass to be dragged to a theme park.

Laughed and screamed on the Rock 'n Roll Rollercoaster (thank you Aerosmith for your surely handsomely rewarded official brand endorsement). Accidentally grabbed the arm of the guy beside me on the Tower of Terror during a particularly thrilling free-fall. (Now, am I cured of that recurring dream of the out-of-control elevator as my companions assured me I would?)

Ended the evening at the special effects show Fantasmic. Now this caught Sheena's attention. The entire spectacle wove together themes and characters from popular movies built into the Fantasia Mickey Sorcerer Theme. The heretoforementioned patent is in fact the smooth wall of water onto which the animation is projected. Very neat. Though somewhat disrespectful of the $40 blow-dry.

But then the creepy stuff started. Flame throwing dragons, images of Satan collecting skeletal souls. Very apocalyptic. At the end I turned and said "Who the Hell would take their kids to see that sort of thing?" Obviously almost every other adult sitting in our section. Walked out feeling very weird. This wasn't funny or entertaining. This was a horrific cartoonized version of Armageddeon. Maybe nobody else reads Revelations anymore. But I hope if it happens in our lifetime, these people won't be expecting Mickey to banish the Anti-Christ.

7 Comments:

At 10:04 AM, Blogger Crazylegs said...

My name is Crazylegs and I'm a Disney Whore. I admit it. I don't know why I'm this way given my generally cynical, world-weary, un-Disney ways - but it's part of Who I Am.

With that out of the way, I agree that Fantasmic is somewhat creepy; at least by Disneyfication standards. But I will say that my kids love this show. From time my youngest was barely school-aged, it has been on their Most Do list every trip we make to Orlando. In a geeky kind of way, the show is amazing - but I do wonder sometimes....

 
At 10:09 AM, Blogger Crazylegs said...

My name is Crazylegs and I'm a Disney Whore. I admit it. I don't know why I'm this way given my generally cynical, world-weary, un-Disney ways - but it's part of Who I Am.

With that out of the way, I agree that Fantasmic is somewhat creepy; at least by Disneyfication standards. But I will say that my kids love this show. From time my youngest was barely school-aged, it has been on their Most Do list every trip we make to Orlando. In a geeky kind of way, the show is amazing - but I do wonder sometimes....

 
At 10:13 AM, Blogger Crazylegs said...

Sorry for the double post. Stupid Innernetblogomaticthingy.

 
At 11:12 AM, Blogger Sheena said...

Well, we appreciate the double honesty, crazylegs.

Surfing around learning more about Fantasmic I confess to being further weirded out by all of the unofficial fan sites and secret Disney tip sites.

Is this a cult?

 
At 12:18 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My son loved Fantasmic. I'm waiting for Sheena's food and wine reviews. It's not the "Happiest Place on Earth" if you can't find a decent wine.

C'mon, spill.

 
At 8:46 AM, Blogger Crazylegs said...

Yes, Sheena, it is a cult and, no, I'm not kidding. There is a certain fanatisicism regarding Disney (and especially DisneyWorld) that cannot easily be described or explained. Me, I'm an unabashed fan of Walt Disney, but I'm lightyears away cult status. There are tribute sites and discussion sites for just about every aspect of Disney movies, theme parks, rides, lapel pins(!)....you name it, it's out there. There's even a significant sub-cult around sharing techniques, advice, and 'secret info' for finding the best deals for staying at Disney hotels. very, very creepy.

 
At 11:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whenever you are in Giza, go to the nightly laser show that plays off the Pyramids and the Sphynx. The German one is the most hilarious, when in the serious tone of the introduction, the Sphynx's first person narration announces:

"Ich Bin Der Sphynx!!"

 

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