Behind the Attraction Season 2
From Executive Producers Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Brian Volk-Weiss, Behind The Attraction takes you on a ride behind Disney Parks’ most iconic and beloved attractions. Explore how the Haunted Mansion was filled with 999 happy haunts. When did the Pirates of the Caribbean set sail for Anaheim? How was The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ transformed into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!? What’s an EPCOT? Meet the Imagineers behind these attractions, as well as the Cast Members who operate them. From Jungle Cruise to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and beyond, Disney parks have amazed millions – and this is the story of how they did it.
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Director
Brian Volk-Weiss -
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Narrated By
Paget Brewster
Season 2 Episodes:
Pirates of the Caribbean
It’s a pirate’s life for everybody aboard Pirates of the Caribbean! Walt Disney loved adventure stories, especially ones that featured swashbuckling pirates. That inspiration led to one of the most beloved attractions in Disney history. Initially conceived as a wax museum, technological advances convinced Walt that a more sophisticated attraction could be created using state-of-the-art Audio-Animatronics figures. The classic version in Anaheim proved so successful it spawned a hit movie franchise and iterations in Disney parks around the world, including the cutting edge reimagining at Shanghai Disneyland.
BEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBig Thunder Mountain Railroad
Step aboard the wildest ride in the wilderness! Based on a concept by Disney Legend Marc Davis, Imagineer Tony Baxter reimagined this mountainous thrill ride that is sure to float your goat! Inspired by the American West, this attraction has spread around the world. The version at Disneyland Paris is on an island and is connected to Phantom Manor, while the ones at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Park are inverted versions of each other on opposite coasts. Hong Kong Disneyland Park even boasts a sister attraction - Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has it all - runaway trains, mining town Rainbow Ridge, disturbed spirits, and spinning possums! Rumor has it there's even a secret goat trick...
BEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofIndiana Jones Adventure
Crack the whip and join Indiana Jones on the adventure of a lifetime – just beware of the snakes! Following the success of Star Tours, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells thought it was time to have George Lucas bring another cinematic hero to the Disney parks. With action sequences in every Indiana Jones movie that seemed like blueprints for exciting attractions, the choice was obvious. Indy is everywhere in the parks, from a live action stunt show, to Disney's first inversion roller coaster at Disneyland Paris, to the thrilling Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland Park that proved so popular another one was built at Tokyo DisneySea. These attractions are so good, they belong in a museum!
BEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofEPCOT
Where can you both glimpse the future and travel the world without leaving Florida? At the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow, where the impossible becomes possible! When it opened in 1982 at Walt Disney World Resort, EPCOT was the biggest Disney park yet. At its heart stands the astounding architectural achievement that is Spaceship Earth. Arrayed around the lagoon, World Showcase features pavilions that celebrate nations from around the world. Some even host attractions, like Norway’s Frozen Ever After and France’s Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in the World Discovery neighborhood. As long as there is imagination left in the world, EPCOT will never be complete.
BEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofThe Food
Churros, DOLE Whip, turkey legs, and more... Discover the stories behind these tasty treats! Walt knew food was crucial to the park going experience. From ‘walk-around’ snacks to themed dining experiences like the piratical Blue Bayou Restaurant, there's something for everyone. Learn how the churro debuted at a Disneyland teen nightclub, how the Central Bakery makes all of Disneyland's sweets, and what goes on at the secretive Flavor Lab at Walt Disney World. What’s the Flavor Lab? That would be telling! Globally, explore how Disneyland Paris puts their twist on Walt's favorites, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort creates character-shaped dim sum, and Tokyo Disneyland reimagines popcorn, to name a few. Food keeps the story going beyond the attractions!
BEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofNighttime Spectaculars
The magic continues after dark with Disney Parks' nighttime spectaculars. What began as a fireworks show in the skies above Disneyland Park has evolved, over the years, into a wide array of shows at Disney parks around the globe. Thanks to technological innovations like projection mapping, mist screens, and even drones, they have become more spectacular with every passing year. Longstanding Disney favorites like the Main Street Electrical Parade, Fantasmic!, and World of Color have been joined by newer dazzlers like Momentous at Hong Kong Disneyland Park and ILLUMINATE! at Shanghai Disneyland. Come for the attractions, stay for the shows!
BEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Disneyland Resort. (Disney/Matt Beard)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofBEHIND THE ATTRACTION - Walt Disney World. (Disney/Gregg Newton)
ofPeek beyond the magic of Disney Parks to discover what's Behind the Attraction! From Executive Producers Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and Brian Volk-Weiss, explore how Imagineers filled the Haunted Mansion with 999 happy haunts, how the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ transformed into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! (while defying gravity in the process) and why Space Mountain took so long to launch. From the 1950s to today, from Jungle Cruise to "it's a small world" to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Disney Parks attractions have amazed millions. And this is the story of how they did it.
Directed By:
Brian Volk-Weiss
Narrated By:
Paget Brewster
Season 1 Episodes:
Jungle Cruise
Join a skipper for the story behind Jungle Cruise, and try to spot the backside of water! When Walt decided to create the original immersive attraction, he tasked Imagineers with building a river in the Southern California desert AND the mechanical animals to populate it. Lead designer Harper Goff and horticulturist Bill Evans scrambled to get it all built in time for Disneyland® Park's grand opening in 1955. Guests have been cruising its waters ever since. Dwayne Johnson also appears in this episode where he discusses his childhood memories of the attraction and his favorite joke from the skippers.
Star Tours
Lightspeed to Endor! A long time ago…Disney created Star Tours, a thrilling simulator attraction that takes guests to a galaxy far, far away. It inspired Imagineers to build a whole new land — Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. There, guests can use the Force to explore the remote outpost of Batuu and the cutting-edge attractions Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Haunted Mansion
Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion — enter if you dare! When Walt Disney developed the attraction, he didn't specify if it should be funny or scary. Ultimately, it became a perfect blend of both. Haunted Mansion proved so popular that it inspired several later iterations, including the chilling Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris and the weird and wonderful Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Trains, Trams, and Monorails
All aboard! Everything moves at Disney Parks, especially the guests — by land, water, and air! Walt loved locomotion of all kinds — trains, trams, monorails, and boats. They're all fun, but Walt also believed the monorail could help cities end traffic. The vast transportation network at Walt Disney World Resort is a testament to that. Every Disney Park built since has continued this tradition, creating transportation systems to whisk guests efficiently to their destinations.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Discover the ups (and downs!) of creating this gravity-defying attraction set in the eerie world of Rod Serling's renowned "Twilight Zone" television series. Then hold on tight as Imagineers reimagine the Disney California Adventure version as Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! Learn what it took to build the attraction — and what it takes to ride it!
Hall of Presidents
This unprecedented presidential attraction in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom brings our commanders in chief to life. Walt created the world’s first human Audio-Animatronics® figure based on his childhood hero, Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe helped launch this revolutionary technology that populates Disney Parks today. Who knows what the future holds for this mesmerizing Disney technology?
Space Mountain
You're about to hear the story of Space Mountain in T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…launch! Walt's vision of an attraction that simulates space travel was a design challenge Imagineer John Hench tackled head on, creating a signature structure now in Disney Parks around the world. Imagineers continued the tradition by creating another thrilling indoor attraction, the landmark TRON Lightcycle Power Run at Shanghai Disney Resort.
"it's a small world"
It all began at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair! If a chance encounter between an Academy Award®-winning actress and Walt Disney hadn't taken place, this beloved attraction might never have been created. With its signature, unforgettable song, its flume boat ride design, and AudioAnimatronics® figures, it was a huge success. Versions were designed and built in Disney Parks around the planet, proving that it really is a small world, after all!
Disneyland Hotel
Disneyland® Resort with no hotel — what?! It almost happened. Check in to see how Walt got it built. Envisioned as an extension of the Park, funding for the hotel proved hard to come by, so Walt struck a deal with producer Jack Wrather. Jack would own the hotel, but Walt's name would be on it. Together, they made it into an immersive experience, setting the stage for all Disney hotels to come. After Jack's death, The Walt Disney Company bought the Disneyland® Hotel. Today, Disney operates dozens of hotels worldwide.
The Castles
Castles are at the heart of Disney Parks around the world. The original at Disneyland® Resort in California quickly became a symbol of The Walt Disney Company on par with Mickey Mouse. Hear the unique story behind each one and learn how Imagineers designed and built them.