The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera (ride)
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The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was a simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida, and one of the park's original attractions. The story line was that Dick Dastardly (of Wacky Races fame) has kidnapped Elroy Jetson, Yogi Bear gives chase and the audience is in for the ride of their lives. Peter N. Alexander was the creator and executive producer, Mario Kamberg was the director, and Paul Van Camp was in charge of the programming software. The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was the very first ridefilm to be done entirely with computer graphics (except the characters were the traditional cel animation). Unlike most traditional simulator rides (such as Star Tours or Body Wars) the entire ride takes place inside an auditorium, with the audience in chairs that move. Non-moving chairs were also available for those who only wanted to watch the film.
The ride closed on October 20, 2002, and was replaced by Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, featuring the Nickelodeon TV channel's Jimmy Neutron, in spring 2003.
Paramount Parks has acquired the rights to this simulator for use in their parks, such as Canada's Wonderland. It is now a featured attraction for 2006 at Paramount theme parks, including Paramount King's Dominion. The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera will be placed in all five park's Action FX Theaters. The film is also shown at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom and The Park at MOA under the name of Yogi's Big Rescue.
The facility which housed the ride featured several areas in which the guests were moved throughout. The outside queue area, where people waited in line, featured several TV's that showed Hanna-Barbera cartoons on a loop. The guests were then taken into a preshow area where the storyline for the ride was revealed. Inside the preshow, there were 3 projection screens in which the characters appeared. After the preshow storyline ended, the doors to the spaceship opened, and people were escorted into the rocketship and into their seats. The ride consisted of 12 bases, each of which held 8 people for a total of 96 riders. The front row consisted of a bench in which people who did not want a motion seat could enjoy the show. After the show, guests were escorted into an interactive area where they could interact with various technologies geared towards children. Following this area, was a gift shop where Hanna-Barbera merchandise could be purchased.
There was a 40 inch height limit on the ride, therefore small children were required to sit in a non-motion seat. Expectant mothers, people with motion sickness, heart problems, back or neck problems, were all encouraged to sit in a non-motion seat. Occasionally people on the ride would panic because of the intense motion, and the ride would be stopped by one of the operators.
[edit] Trivia
- Rhythm & Hues Studios created the 3D Jetsons sequence for this simulator ride at Universal Studios, Florida. [1]
- Degraf/Wahrman created the 3D Flintstones and Scooby-Doo portion of this ride.
- The animation for the characters was animated by Sullivan Bluth Productions and directed by David Steinberg
- The director, Mario Kamberg, and art director, Allen Battino, were also the principal creative forces behind it's replacement ride "Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast". By the end of the Nicktoons run, both filmmakers will have had their films continuously playing in the same theater for over 20 years.
