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The Polar Express Experience at SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando transforms the "Wild Arctic"
into a special Christmas attraction. From November 23 through
January 1, 2008, Wild Arctic turns into the "Polar Express
Experience." Based on the hit movie "The Polar Express," this
attraction promises to bring the film to life and bring you to
the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. But does it deliver? I
decided to visit SeaWorld Orlando to view this new holiday
attraction.
As you enter the queue area of the Polar Express Experience, you
can travel to the North Pole in two ways: by foot (the
non-motion simulator) or by train (the motion simulator). In
both experiences, you see the same film, but one moves and the
other doesn’t. The area has large LCD screens that show key
scenes from the movie and large stills wrap around the queue.
The ride operator’s costume consists of long sleeves and a long
red and white scarf wrapped around that person’s neck.
When you enter the building, you can see fresh paint and large
oak doors that have a fresh smell of lacquer. The Wild Arctic
queue has never looked better! The pre-show area no longer shows
quick video scenes of the arctic area, but now shows a short
video where the child first meets the Polar Express. The video
is a few minutes long. After the video ends, the door in the
back opens. The conductor yells, “All aboard!” and everyone
slowly squeezes through the one oak door to the pre-board area.
You pass by a small house with a snowman out front as you enter
the pre-board area. This section shows the exterior of the
train. This time, the overhead monitors do not show the Wild
Arctic crewmember telling us shorts and t-shirts aren’t proper
arctic gear, but rather a short video on how to board the train
(the simulator room) and what to do when seated (buckle your
seatbelt, stow your gear, etc.). The main simulator cabin is
decorated as the interior of a train. You sit down, stow your
gear, buckle your seatbelt, and prepare to depart in the train.
At this point in the article, you may think that I rather
enjoyed the Polar Express Experience. Before I entered the
simulator, I did. The theming was great, and Wild Arctic looked
a little worn before the Polar Express came to town. The
centerpiece of the Polar Express Experience and Wild Arctic is
the simulator ride. Wild Arctic’s simulator is a wild ride
through the Antarctica, and I was hoping that the Polar Express
Experience simulator was an equally wild ride to the North Pole.
The Polar Express Experience simulator ride was much different
than Wild Arctic’s. Wild Arctic (and most other simulators)
keeps a first person “you are there” perspective. You’re in the
front seat on the craziness that is happening to your ride
vehicle. The Polar Express simulator ride cut from a first
person perspective to a third person perspective (or the
viewpoint is outside of the actors) often. Oddly, the simulator
moved in motion with everything that was on the screen,
regardless of the perspective. For example, during the beginning
of the ride, the film switches to a third person perspective to
a bird flying and grabbing a golden train ticket. As the bird
flew and swooped around the screen, the simulator moved in
motion with the feathery creature. The oddest example of this is
a Christmas ornament dropped from the tree and hit the ground.
The simulator cabin “bounced” in the motion of the ornament.
In simulator rides, there’s a suspension is disbelief as you
ride the simulator cabin at a theme or amusement park. A
simulator is merely a big box that bounces you up and down, and
moves you side to side. In the cabin, though, you’re in a
vehicle zooming through the air, space, time, or the human body.
You believe that you’re in a helicopter, a StarSpeeder 3000, a
body probe vehicle, a rocket ship powered by a rubber band, or a
flying DeLorean. The first person, “you are there” perspective
is essential in keeping this illusion. If a ride's film breaks
away from this perspective and goes into a third person
perspective, the illusion is broken and you no longer think
you’re in a special contraption racing through wild and
fantastic situations. Although I know most simulator rides are
an illusion of reality, I do become engrossed and caught up in
the story and the ride film. When the Polar Express Experience
ride film broke away from the first person view, it took away
from the belief that I was in a train zooming to the North Pole.
The theming in the queue, pre-show, and pre-board areas gave a
great illusion and built us up to the fact that we were going to
travel to the North Pole - the third person perspective somewhat
broke that build-up.
Although I have not seen the movie The Polar Express, it seemed
the most exciting parts of the movie were edited together to
make the ride film. The simulator itself was tamer than Wild
Arctic, and the moves were gentle, unlike the aggressiveness of
Wild Arctic. Thrill seekers may want a wilder ride, but “wimpy”
guests may find the ride just right.
When you exit the simulator ride, Christmas trees and presents
line a pathway to the North Pole. A banner reading “Welcome to
the North Pole” is above you. As you walk down the path, a giant
Christmas tree stands in front of you. Behind the Christmas tree
is Santa Claus in front of a sled with a gigantic bag of toys.
You can pose with Santa Claus and get a picture, but sorry, you
cannot sit on his lap. Santa will stand with your children or
your family and you can buy the photo at a point later in the
attraction. The Wild Arctic exhibit area remains the same, so
you can still see the polar bears, beluga whales, and walruses
(goo-goo goosth). Happy Christmas music plays over the speakers.
The Polar Express Experience is a nice addition to Sea4 World
Orlando’s Christmas events. The theming is great and kids will
enjoy posing with Santa Claus (hey, it beats the mall Santa!).
Wild Arctic needed a much overdue sprucing and cleaning.
However, I wish the simulator ride were better. I wish that the
film were a custom creation rather than pieces edited from the
movie.
Maybe I should have asked Santa for a better
ride film…
Photo Gallery:
Barry can be
contacted at
barry@ioacentral.com
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