Greg Maletic
Page 3 of 4
Most Influential on the Industry/Outside World
The concept of theming an amusement park to look like something other than an amusement
park is Disney's biggest influence on the outside world, and a significant percentage of
modern commercial architecture (restaurants, malls, and hotels, just to name a few) feels
this. But Disney's attractions themselves have had a significant impact both inside and
outside the amusement industry. Here are some of the attractions that have most influenced
the "real" world.
(c) Disney
1. Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean not only defined a new genre of amusement park attraction, it
defined Disneyland, and defined what everyone saw the future of entertainment to be.
Steven Spielberg claimed that his movie The Goonies was based on Pirates,
but I name it here only because it's the most direct rip-off of the attraction. Virtually
every modern blockbuster movie owes something to Pirates, so pervasive is its
influence on our culture. Every new attraction, even today, wants to be like it.
2. The Matterhorn
Although there are very few coasters like it, as the first steel roller coaster, The
Matterhorn became a prototype for at least 80% of the coasters built since the 1970s.
3. The Haunted Mansion
No one visits a haunted house--or even thinks about the concept of a haunted
house--without first thinking of Disney's implementation.
4. The Monorail
Would anyone even know what a "monorail" is without Disney? Walt Disney made
this one word synonymous with the future of transportation, and even though very few exist
outside of Disney's worlds, it's a testament to the sticking power of the vision that
everyone knows instantly what you're talking about when you say the word.
5. Star Tours
Star Tours spawned a whole new industry after it made its appearance at Disneyland in
1987. But despite the big splash it made, this genre of ride has nearly burnt itself out:
just about everything interesting that can be done with the classic 'movie projected on
the front of the simulator'-type ride has been done. Thankfully, it's morphed into new and
considerably more interesting forms. Most significantly, Indiana Jones and
Universal's Spiderman spring from this attraction's motion simulators.
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