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  • Welcome to TPMvids Disney Beat where we talk about all things Disney!

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  • {Tiki Bird} A-a-audio animatronics?

  • {Walt Disney} Right, audio animatronics.

  • Since 1963, audio animatronics have been a big part of the rides and attractions at the

  • Disney theme parks.

  • From A1 figures to the first A100 figure, and now the A1000 figures of today, animatronic

  • technology has made leaps and bounds.

  • With more precision and life like movements, were faced with some very impressive robotic

  • figures.

  • At all four Walt Disney World theme parks in Florida you can find hundreds of animatronics

  • but there are a select few that deserve the spotlight.

  • Many of these figures marked milestones for their time, so today were gonna be counting

  • down the Top 10 Most Impressive Animatronics at Walt Disney World.

  • Number 10 As you set sail on Pirates of the Caribbean

  • at Magic Kingdom, the ride uses over 100 different audio animatronics but a few figures stand

  • out.

  • Captain Jack Sparrow was added to the crew of animatronics in 2006.

  • Many people have been fooled thinking it’s an actual actor since the figure perfectly

  • captures Johnny Depp’s mannerisms and movements.

  • He appears three times on the ride and although these A-100 figures have been around almost

  • 15 years, they never fail to impress.

  • The newest audio animatronic is Redd who made her debut in 2018 when Disney introduced the

  • new auction scene.

  • Compared to the old Redhead, this A-100 figure is very fluid with a wider range of motion

  • making her appear quite lifelike.

  • {Redd} Drink up me hearties, yo-ho!

  • She compliments the Auctioneer next door who’s another A-100 figure.

  • He was upgraded in the early 90s and there was a time when he was one of, if not, THE

  • most impressive figure at Walt Disney World.

  • Animating 1 second of movement for an A-100 figure takes 8 hours to program, and that

  • in itself is impressive.

  • Just knowing the amount of hours that were spent bringing these characters right to life.

  • Number 9 In 2014 the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train debuted

  • at Magic Kingdom, which features 7 state of the art animatronics.

  • With the 7 Dwarf figures, Walt Disney Imagineering took audio animatronic technology to a new

  • level calling them 3-D Audio Animatronics.

  • The Dwarfs utilize projected faces, which had been seen before with Buzz Lightyear in

  • the 90s, but since then, technology advanced allowing for much more precision in the animatronic

  • animation.

  • The projected faces allowed the squash and stretch seen in film’s animation to come

  • right to life in the animatronics.

  • Every figure has multiple functions and the fluidity of these animatronics is incredible.

  • All of the the elements tied together really brings these classic Disney characters to

  • life.

  • {Doc} Heigh-ho!

  • Number 8 Racing into Disney’s Hollywood Studios you

  • can find the impressive Lightning McQueen in Lighting McQueen’s Racing Academy.

  • This audio animatronic made his debut in March of 2019 bringing this Pixar character to life

  • in a way thats never been seen before at Walt Disney World.

  • {Lightning McQueen} That’s why I started this racing academy, so I can pay it forward

  • to all of you.

  • The animators did a fantastic job with this audio animatronic.

  • He’s an extremely fluid figure.

  • It’s like he literally jumped off the screen right into the attraction.

  • Now since he is a car his range of motion in terms of functionality is sort of limited

  • but what really makes this figure impressive is his mouth.

  • It looks like the animatronic has a physical mouth that’s opening and closing, but it’s

  • really just a clever rear projection.

  • It allows these subtle nuanced mouth movements that could only be achieved with a screen

  • which in turn creates this lifelike character.

  • {Lightning McQueen} Consider yourself honorary members of my Lightning McQueen racing team.

  • Now go out there and get your tires dirty!

  • Ka-CHOW!

  • Have a great drive everybody!

  • It’s really something else seeing this audio animatronic in person.

  • Number 7 In 2019 Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities in

  • Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge became home to the big, gritty Ithorian Dok-Ondar who’s ready

  • to barter with visitors.

  • When it comes to advanced audio animatronic figures, Disney delivered a highly impressive

  • figure for a gift shop.

  • {Dok-Ondar Mumbling}

  • Although the Dok-Ondar is caged, youre able to get pretty close to see all the details

  • especially on his face.

  • Many electric actuators are at work that allow the subtle movements of his eyes blinking

  • to check and mouth ripples while he mumbles.

  • {Dok-Ondar Mumbling}

  • Youre convinced youre faced with a living breathing Ithorian and he’s actually quite

  • large.

  • {Dok-Ondar Mumbling..again}

  • The figure doesn’t have as many movement functions like other figures, but otherwise

  • he’s still incredibly fluid and very impressive.

  • Number 6 Next were gonna step right up and experience

  • the sensational mr potato head animatronic in the queue of Toy Story Mania.

  • {Mr. Potato Head singing} Step right up and take a ride.

  • My toy friends are all inside!

  • Standing approximately 5 feet tall, Mr. Potato Head made his debut in May of 2008.

  • The spud later disappeared for 2 1/2 years in December of 2015 then made his grand return

  • when Toy Story Land opened in June of 2018.

  • Disney definitely updated the animatronic during his hiatus because his range of motion

  • is more fluid than its ever been.

  • He looks great and this figure actually marks a few audio animatronic milestones.

  • Mr. Potato Head was one of the first audio animatronics that actually moved its lips

  • to form words and vowels, instead of just opening and closing its mouth.

  • He also has the most recorded dialogue of any animatronic ever, with about 20 minutes

  • worth.

  • He’s also the first animatronic to remove a piece of itself.

  • Sometimes he removes his ear; this was groundbreaking for an animatronic.

  • Now just take note that you can only see Mr. Potato Head in the standby queue.

  • You won’t see him if you use Fastpass, but if you ask me its worth it to do standby just

  • so you can watch this incredible animatronic.

  • {Mr. Potato Head} Folks I’ll give you a hintthis is the part where you clap

  • {light claps}

  • {Mr. Potato Head} Thank you, thank you, hey look a standing ovation.

  • You shouldn’t have.

  • Number 5 Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid

  • at Magic Kingdom is filled with many animatronics but the true star is Ursula who stands 7 1/2

  • feet tall and 12 feet wide.

  • {Ursula singing} I admit that in the past I’ve been a nasty, they weren’t kidding

  • when they called me, well, a Witch.

  • She was first developed in 2011 for Ariels Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure,

  • then debuted at Magic Kingdom in 2012.

  • At the time she was one of the largest animatronics Walt Disney Imagineering had developed.

  • Ursula has 33 different functions and when youre up close, you see the fluidly and

  • precision of the movements.

  • This includes her facial expressions, the squash and stretch of her torso and the gestures

  • of her tentacles.

  • By using stretch velvet on her torso and a flexible rubber on the rest of her body, the

  • figure always keeps its shape.

  • This allows the characterization traits from the film to be brought right to life with

  • this impressive animatronic.

  • {Ursula singing} They come flocking to cauldron crying spells Ursula please and I help them?

  • Yes i do.

  • Number 4 Over in world Showcase at Epcot the Norway

  • pavilion is home to Frozen Ever After and these audio animatronics are top notch.

  • At the time in 2016, they were the most advanced animatronics Disney had developed featuring

  • the first all-electric figures, as opposed to pneumatics or hydraulics.

  • The Olaf animatronics as well as Elsa during the the Let it Go sequence are ones to pay

  • special attention to.

  • Now although Olaf is small, he’s actually one of the most complex figures due to his

  • size.

  • All the components that allow him to have such life like movements needed to be crammed

  • into a very small and compact space.

  • {Olaf} For Sven and me and you.

  • Were going up to Elsa’s Ice Palace with you

  • These all electric figures allow for increased fluidity.

  • A great example is the Elsa animatronic, which is so fluid that you could easily mistake

  • her movements for digital animation.

  • Combine this fluid movement from Disney Imagineering with facial animation from Walt Disney studios

  • and youre faced with some very impressive audio Animatronics.

  • Number 3 Some of the newest Disney audio animatronics

  • can be found on Rise of the Resistance in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.

  • The attraction features 65 robotic figures to help tell this Star Wars Story and one

  • of the first impressive figures youll see is Lieutenant Beck.

  • {Lieutenant Beck} Engage reports and hold on recruits.

  • All ships launch!

  • If you grab a spot up front you can get really close to this figure where you can see so

  • many subtle movements from his eyes blinking to his nostrils flaring.

  • {Lieutenant Beck} Were picking up an unusual signal, are you spotting anything?

  • Then once youre on the physical ride, youll get a chance to Kylo Ren and Hux.

  • {Kylo-Ren} You will tell me the location of your secret base.

  • And then I will destroy you and the resistance.

  • He demonstrates a high level of animatronic fluidity and shows off some of the newest

  • technology Disney has developed.

  • To follow up the A100 figures, Imagineering developed the humanoid A1000 figures.

  • This completely replaced hydraulic actuators with electric ones and added some custom elements

  • as well.

  • The rumour of one of the Kylo-Ren figures being the Wicked Witch from the Great Movie

  • ride isn’t true since Disney told media outlets there are three humanoid A1000 figures.

  • The two Kylos and Hux.

  • The Wicked Witch was only an A100 figure, but next were gonna talk about an animatronic

  • that better shows off the nuances of the A1000 technology.

  • Number 2 Over in Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run you

  • can find Hondo Ohnaka in the pre show who is also an A1000 animatronic.

  • {Hondo} This is the group I’ve been waiting for.

  • Come in, come in!

  • Standing 7 feet tall, Hondo was the first humanoid A1000 figure to make its debut in

  • the parks, not to mention that he’s one of the most advanced figures Disney has developed

  • to date.

  • With a total of 51 functions including 10 in his head, Hondo moves in a hyper realistic

  • manner.

  • When you walk into the pre-show, if you didn’t know he was an audio animatronic you’d be

  • convinced it was an actor dressed as Hondo Ohnaka.

  • That is how detailed and fluid this animatronic figure is.

  • {Hondo} Today I am offering the opportunity of a lifetime.

  • I need flight crews to transport this valuable merchandise across the galaxy.

  • Even his knee bends as he turns and moves creating the illusion that he’s walking.

  • There’s always constant subtle movements.

  • This impressive advanced technology really opens up the possibilities of what animatronics

  • will be able to achieve in future Disney attractions.

  • {Hondo} Move along my friends.

  • Listen carefully and remember, the better you work together the more you earn.

  • Number 1 Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom you can

  • find the most impressive Audio animatronic and that’s the Navi Shaman of Songs who

  • can be found on NaVi River Journey in Pandora.

  • The Navi Shaman made her debut in 2017 and although she’s no longer the most advanced

  • figure in terms of robotic technology, she still represents a huge achievement in animatronic

  • functions.

  • According to Walt Disney Imagineering, she has the most functionality out of any animatronic

  • theyve produced.

  • Her body alone has 39 functions and her face has 42 separate functions which allows the

  • character to embody these precise life like expressions.

  • She moves with such fluidity and ease youre just drawn to this character who is alive

  • right in front of you.

  • {Navi Shaman singing} Ma e wa.

  • Ma e wa.

  • Ma e wa.

  • Truly it’s the most impressive animatronic at Walt Disney World.

  • {Navi Shaman} I look forward to seeing you on Pandora.

  • Wa-na-te-ka-me-a

  • So what’s your favorite audio animatronic at Walt Disney World?

  • What are your thoughts on the animatronic technology being introduced into the parks.

  • I’d love to know!

  • Leave a comment down below to start a conversation and don’t forget to hit that like button

  • if you enjoyed the video.

Welcome to TPMvids Disney Beat where we talk about all things Disney!

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