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A 35-minute shuttle ride behind the scenes of a working
motion-picture and TV studio.
You'll get a close look at the "houses" from some
of your favorite shows, and even see the treehouse from "George
of the Jungle."
After beginning the backstage tour with a ride past
pre-production costuming quarters, scene shops and along a residential
backlot, the shuttle moves on toward the rock formation looming
ahead.
The calamitous scene is set in the heart of desert
oil country on the edge of a rocky canyon road, and the action rolls
when an earthquake rocks the canyon walls with a mighty rumble.
As the earth tremors intensify, new thrills snowball
on cue. But every “disaster” is a surprise for guests who venture
into Catastrophe Canyon, an exciting special-effects demonstration
that punctuates the Disney's Hollywood Studios Backlot Tour. Before the
journey ends, Walt Disney World guests are “threatened” by fire
as it sweeps across the oil fields and by flash floods that storm
the unsuspecting shuttle riders, who can smell the oil and feel
the heat and the water.
Set in the American Southwest, Catastrophe Canyon
is built of 65,000 square feet of rockwork reaching 50 feet high
and stretching 200 feet in length. Created to show guests how filmmakers
devise movie and television disasters, the attraction is an experience
never before offered Florida vacationers.
Within minutes, the shuttle is surrounded by the steep
canyon walls, where a tractor-trailer rig has just parked on a roadbed
to fill its tanks with oil. Ground tremors suddenly grip the rock
formation and an earthquake builds, rattling nearby telephone poles
and showering the area with hot sparks. Fires erupt, explosions
echo inside the steep rock walls and flames race toward a large
oil-storage tank at the mouth of the canyon.
Built not only as a guest attraction but also as a
movie set showcasing special-effects disasters, Catastrophe Canyon
is equipped to create the worst of weather, as well. Light rain
signals the first sign of wet weather in the canyon, but the sprinkle
becomes a deluge that pours over the plateau and threatens to knock
the tractor-trailer rig right off the roadbed. The rig tips over
on its side as the “disaster” builds.
Even after the torrents begin to subside, a surprise
flash flood gives guests a quick dose of special-effects realism.
To guarantee a realistic “disaster” experience, Disney
designers chose a geological formation that guests could relate
to. Layers of sandstone and limestone, complete with fault fractures,
create an earthquake environment typically associated with the Southwest.
Guests who’ve learned about Monument Valley, mesa country and the
American West through the magic of movies are suddenly surprised
to find themselves in the middle of such a dramatic landscape.
As their shuttle “escapes” Catastrophe Canyon and heads for the
next movie adventure, visitors have an opportunity to understand
the magic by glimpsing the attraction’s many pipes, water tanks
and hydraulics features -- the off-stage equipment on which special-effects
“disasters” depend.
Type - walk-through tour
When to go - Visit anytime
Duration - 35 mins
Restrictions
Guests must transfer from ECVs to available wheelchairs to experience
the attraction. Guests may leave their wheelchairs (which will be
folded and loaded onto the shuttle) or ride in a wheelchair-accessible
vehicle.
Guests should be in good health and free from motion sickness or
other conditions that could be aggravated by this ride.
Guests may get wet when passing through Catastrophe Canyon.
Hidden Mickeys
In the Stage 1 Company Store, look for a famous pair of shorts hanging
from the clothesline over the counter.
Tips
Guests seated on the left side of the tram may get wet in Catastrophe
Canyon.
Reviews
"A good attraction with lots to see, Catastrophe
Canyon is one of the best effects I have ever seen. Well worth a
go. Be prepared for anything." Steve O'Toole
What do you think about this attraction? Do you
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