Behind the Scenes
The building that Alien Encounter (1995-2003) occupies used to be the home of Mission to Mars, an attraction also with the circular seating arrangement, although, not quite as scary.
One question most asked is whether or not a real person or a robot holds the flashlight and headgear on the catwalk. I've read reports by cast members working on the rides that say there was a person on the roof. And I was recently in the attraction, where I clearly saw a human being moving across the walkway. Anyone who says anything different is full of Alien droppings and just wants to start something.
The teleportation of Skippy made me feel stupid when I found out how it is accomplished. It's a simple mirror trick which makes the tube look smaller then it actually is. A mirror sits below the visible part of the tube and behind small tubes with bubbles rising in water. The mirror makes it look as if there are other bubble tubes in the back, but really that is where Skippy drops when he is teleported. Very neat and effective. (there is now a really rough diagram to further illustrate the illusion in the pics section.)
If you listen during the ride, you'll here some pretty funny lines on the speakers made to sound like the other guests. Some examples are:
- (When the alien first appears) Spinlok says, "It's an Alien," A voice responds, "It's my mother-in-law."
- "Alien, don't eat me! Eat this one!"
- "Whose blood is this?"
- When Spinlok asks if everything is alright a voice pipes up, "No, we're just screaming for the fun of it!'
- After the creature explodes you'll hear, "My mouth was open!" This is a harder one to catch because everyone's laughing and making noise.
- Among the other sounds a lot of screaming is played to add to the pandemonium.
The robot SIR was originally called TOM 2000(technobotic oratorical mechanism series 2000) and was voiced by the late, great Phil Hartman. However, along with other improvements to the attraction, the robots' name was changed to SIR(simulated intelligence robotics)and it was given the voice of still great,Tim Curry.
When going into the main chamber, look to the opposite wall from the door. That is where the other chamber, an exact clone, sits. Each ones takes you to a different exit. Update5/5/03:I believe they have routed both of the exits into the gift shop Merchants of Venus. This is unconfirmed, but that's the way it looked.
When the audience is being scanned inside the chamber, watch the television screens closely, one of the heads will turn into Darth Vader's helmet for a moment. Obviously put in for George Lucas, who was a co-creator of the show.
Outside the attraction, at the begining of the line que, there is a large tube-like object, with Alien writing on it. One of the written characters is a hidden Mickey.
Before the first pre-show's video, Tomorrowland announcements are shown on the screen. Some of these make reference to other and older Disney attractions, such as Mission to Mars, and the animatronic Abraham Lincoln.
The height requirement for the ride is 44 inches and it is advised that younger children not participate. Take it seriously, unless you want to clean up a mess in your kids seat and pay for therapy.
NEW INFO 2011!
The musical score for Alien Encounter was written by Richard R Bellis and consists of ten tracks:
1. ALIEN LIGHTS NO 1
2. ALIEN LIGHTS NO 2
3. ALIEN LIGHTS NO 3
4. FILL AND SPILL MARCH
5. INFOMERCIAL
6. MUSIC STEM
7. SCENE FIVE PART ONE
8. SCENE FIVE PART TWO
9. SONG SEIZING THE FUTURE (PART ONE)
10.SONG SEIZING THE FUTURE (PART TWO)
Some of Richard's other works include music for Countdown to Extinction/Dinosaur, Star Tours, and Tower of Terror, as well as many television works.
A company that specializes in woodwork architecture lists Alien Encounter among its list of projects. It doesn't state the exact work it was responsible for, but my guess would be the railings and/or walls in the second pre-show room with SIR and Skippy. You can learn more about the company at http://www.akirawood.com/.
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