Advanced Technology Leisure Application Simulator
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The Advanced Technology Leisure Application Simulator, or ATLAS, is a large hydraulic motion simulator. It was designed, as the name implies, for the theme park industry. The ATLAS is a product of Rediffusion Simulation in Sussex, England.
The ATLAS was derived from military flight simulation technology. It uses six hydraulic actuators to provide a broad range of movement.
In the later half of the 1980s, Disney used this technology for two amusement rides, Star Tours at Disneyland (and later Disney-MGM Studios, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris), and Body Wars at EPCOT Center. The Disney attractions feature large, 40-person cabins hidden from outside view, arranged lengthwise with four or six simulators per installation. There are four simulators at Disneyland's Star Tours and EPCOT's Body Wars, while the remaining Star Tours installations have six. Body Wars is now defunct and planned for removal with the closure of the Wonders of Life pavilion.