Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Disneyland 'Star Tours'

This is topic Disneyland 'Star Tours' - DLP or film? in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Matthew Taylor (Member # 2310) on 01-12-2006, 03:43 PM:

I've just been to DL in Paris and went on the Star Tours simulator there. Does this ride use film?

I notice some vertical movement and some dust but it could be projected digitally from a film transfer. I couldn't imagine a projector and lamphouse surviving the movements of the simulator.

Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 01-12-2006, 06:34 PM:

according to a WDW info link: http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/atbw.html

quote:
Facts/History
Forty passengers can ride in each of the four 26-ton moving theaters -- actually simulators resembling those used in pilot training -- which provide the sensation of fast movement. All the excitement of a thrill ride is created by combining this movement with the 70mm motion picture footage projected inside the simulator.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 01-12-2006, 06:48 PM:

Believe it or not, it's run on a higly modified Ballantyne. I took the tour in Florida some years back and they get up to 5000 runs on the 70mm prints. The color eventually fades which is what leads to a print replacement.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 01-12-2006, 07:05 PM:

Sam's correct... having personally done many of those venues, I can say that the projectors, using loop cabinets, are indeed modified Ballantyne projectors that will run more than 15,000 passes of film before the print must be replaced. Not due to physical film wear, but to color fade from the UV of the lamp.

Although lately many attractions like in the "Haunted Mansion" ride have been replaced by video, there still are plenty of film effects still used around the parks.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 01-12-2006, 07:15 PM:

GD Double post! [Smile]

Posted by Adam Fuller (Member # 2070) on 01-12-2006, 07:19 PM:

I remember getting a look at one of the Omnimax setups used for the "Back To The Future" ride at Universal, Florida. The guy mentioned that the film loop had the sequence repeated on it 10 times before it was back at the beginning, to minimise fading etc. Presumably this principle is used on most of these rides??

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 01-12-2006, 07:35 PM:

While I have been "behind" the Florida "Back To The Future" venue I don't specifically remember it.

I do know that the venue here in Hollywood is a 1570 IMAX system with a loop cabinet that holds ONE show running at 24fps.

I would tend to think that the Florida system would be the same. Especially since it would take an enormous loop cabinet to hold 10 1570 shows running at 337.5 feet/min.

Picture a loop cabinet over 300 ft long. That's more than a US football field.

I don't think so... [Wink]

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-12-2006, 10:47 PM:

I've received samples of Kodak ESTAR base color prints that had been run about 60,000 passes at a theme park. Light fading depends on the lamp power level and amount of UV. Filtering out the UV greatly reduces the rate of fading.

The loop cabinets provide a stable and clean controlled environment, with control of temperature and humidity. There may be on-line cleaning (e.g., PTRs) or some solvent cleaning, but with care, prints normally stay very clean and scratch-free.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 01-13-2006, 12:48 AM:

George Lucas has been actively pushing to get DLP into the capsuls before the next version of the ride rolls out next year.

Posted by Matthew Taylor (Member # 2310) on 01-13-2006, 03:54 AM:

Are the projectors mounted in the simulator itself? If they arem surely it's not doing the lamps and lamphouses any good?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-13-2006, 05:16 AM:

Yes, the projectors are mounted to the front of the simulator...the loop cabinets are mounted at the rear. I was on the same tour as SAM and they let us ride the simulator, then we allowed to be on the outside of the simulator and watch it go through a show....very facinating indeed!

As for the xenon and the lamphouse...remember spot lights use xenons every day and can also me used in a jerky fashion and definately pointed all over the place.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-13-2006, 12:05 PM:

The 'jerky' motion of those simulators is not nearly as wild'n'crazy as it seems when you're riding it. A lot of the effect comes from the film itself, with an able assist by your brain.

Posted by John Eickhof (Member # 323) on 01-13-2006, 04:12 PM:

HI MIKE! Hows everything going?? Say hi to the missus too! I'll be out someday to visit! john

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-13-2006, 05:34 PM:

Hi John! Good to see you back on the forums. Yeah, stop by anytime, we're pretty easy to find (usually!)