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The site for the
Right Stuff was a small stand of trees at the back edge of the former
Garden of Marvels area at the top end of the Boardwalk games area.
A portion of the land was sitting vacant after the removal of the
Shockwave roller coaster, and another portion of the land was part of
the "balloon field" where the park's hot air balloons were inflated and
moored.
The trees were cleared from the site in the fall of 1993 in preparation
for the construction. A small Orange Julius stand was
removed along with a basketball game which was relocated.
The clearing went right up to the Employee Dining building and the
training rooms in the adjacent buildings. These buildings
would be incorporated into the theme elements of The Right Stuff area
and queue. |
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Promoting of The Right Stuff
Mach 1 Adventure
began in fall of 1993 with the addition of a display at the Front Gate.
The display featured a replica of the Bell
X-1 test aircraft, Glamorous Glennis which was the first aircraft to break the sound
barrier (mach 1) along with a sign promoting the new attraction.
The first reference in the park to the Warner Brothers film The Right Stuff
was display was featured in front of the G-Force Scrambler
which was located on the site where Chiller would later stand.
This was part of an effort to bring theme to the random collection of
rides with the Looping Starship and Scrambler at the edge of Movietown.
Theme elements in Movietown included a replica of an Apollo space
capsule as well as a real rocket engine. This space
theme would remain in place until the end of 1996 when the Looping
Starship and Scrambler were moved to the top of the Boardwalk, along
with some (but not all) of the theme elements. |
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| Press releases and renderings |
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In the spring of
1994, guests entering the park were greeted with the huge new structure
rising just beyond the Outer Mall fences. The giant gray
building was designed to look like an aircraft hanger, and was still
under construction as the season began.
The area which had been surrounded by a high fence and trees had
been cleared and the existing buildings were shrouded in industrial
looking metal skins. The outside wall of the Employee Dining
building was exposed and themed, with the air-conditioning units painted
and themed with fences.
The basketball game which had been in what became the front of the
building was relocated further up the Boardwalk and given the name "Hot
Shots" with a jet plane sign. |
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The entire upper end
of the Boardwalk was given a re-theme to go with the addition of The
Right Stuff. The buildings and rides were made to look like they
were part of an Air Force Base, with a military paint scheme and names.
The existing "bubble building" which now serves as the entrance of
Superman Ultimate Flight was being used as a storage building, and was
painted with U.S. Air Force colors and logos. The attached
restrooms were painted with gray camouflage was eventually given a "Latrine" sign.
The newly cleared area which was an expansion of the existing path was
paved with blacktop. The blacktop would eventually receive
painted runway markings. |
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Over the
weeks construction progressed with the front of the building
being enclosed and the hangar doors were added. Logos and
signs were added to the structure. |
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As the end of April approached, the interior of
the building was being outfitted. The truckloads of the
seating units were brought into the building through the large front
hangar doors. Some of the wooden shipping crates were kept
in the queue area as props.
A queue building was constructed beside the main structure. This queue
was removed in 1999 to make way for the Great American Road Race
go-karts.
From the exterior, the ride appeared to be nearly complete though much
work was still happening inside. |
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The Joust-A-Bout
ride, which was renamed Sky Pilot in 1997 as an additional part of the thematic makeover of the
area, offered guests a view over the fence into the construction site.
The queue building themed as a test bunker and outdoor queues took shape along with the new
fences between the park and the backstage areas.
By the beginning of May, a small building was added to the construction
area, and it featured a large screen TV showing previews of the film. |
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As May went on more signs and
theme elements were added to The Right Stuff area and the overall
section of the park, further enhancing the Air Force Base look.
The construction fences were moved further back towards the building and
a real F-104 fighter plane was added on the "runway". |
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TECHNICAL INFORMATION |
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Ride Name: |
The Right
Stuff Mach 1 Adventure |
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Manufacturer: |
iwerks
Entertainment - Burbank, CA |
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Ride Model: |
Two Seat
TurboRide Motion Base |
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Opening Day: |
May 21, 1994 |
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Motion Base
Specifications: |
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Type: |
Seat |
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Degrees of Freedom: |
3 |
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Style: |
Self
contained hydraulic unit |
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Displacement: |
Heave:
+/- 5.5 degrees |
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Sway:
+/- 37-33 degrees |
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Roll:
+/- 30 degrees |
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Velocity (per
second): |
Heave:
+/- 15 degrees |
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Sway:
+/- 200 degrees |
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Roll:
+/- 200 degrees |
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Acceleration: |
Heave:
1G |
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Sway:
77.4 degrees/s˛ |
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Roll:
77.4 degrees/s˛ |
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Static Load: |
750 lbs per
base unit |
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Dynamic Load: |
1920 lbs |
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Theater Installation: |
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Number of Base Units: |
50
(100 guests) |
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Row 1
(closest to screen) |
8 base
units (16 guests) |
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Row 2 |
9 base
units (18 guests) |
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Row 3 |
11 base
units (22 guests) |
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Row 4 |
11 base
units (22 guests) |
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Row 5 (back
or highest row) |
11 base
units (22 guests) |
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Theater Dimensions: |
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Length: |
84 feet
(25.6 m) |
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Width: |
83 feet
(25.3 m) |
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Height: |
57 feet
(17.6 m) |
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Projection System: |
iwerks 870 |
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Screen size: |
66 feet x
50 feet |
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Lamphouse: |
7kW |
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Source: |
70mm 8
perforation film |
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Aspect Ratio: |
1:35 |
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Film
Transport: |
Continuous
Loop Cabinet |
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Ride site: |
3 acres
with surrounding themed area |
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Building size: |
16,000
square feet |
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The Right Stuff
made its debut to the media on May 20th, 1994.
When the ride
opened on May 21st, 1994, it was a well themed experience, from the entry
of the
queue, to the pre-flight Briefing Room to the theatre itself, where the
seats which lent themselves well to the jet theme were decorated with
military insignia.
The well trained staff wore flight suits specifically made for the
attraction, and kept lines moving, but even at peak efficiency there was
a 2 hour plus wait on opening day due to the popularity of the new
attraction.
The entire attraction was top notch, with state of the art projection
systems, theatrical lighting and genuine military surplus props.
Guests in the queue were fully immersed in the Air Force Base
atmosphere, which even included periodic flyovers of the queue, which
were created with a sophisticated multi channel sound system.
The loud and realistic sound of low flying jets would often cause guests
to duck as they seemed to pass overhead.
The queue of the ride was a jet engine testing area, which featured two
real jet engines which featured light, sounds and smoke. Every 15
minutes a siren would sound and lights would flash and the jet engine
would begin "testing". The "bunker" queue house featured
props like hearing protection and clipboards like would be found in a
test facility.
Once through the queue guests entered the preshow theater
– a six level staging area for
soon to be boarding guests.
It featured five tiered bull pens, one for each row of theater seats as
well as a waiting area in the front of the room for guests who preferred
to just see the film without partaking in the motion base simulation.
Dramatic lighting filled the preshow area highlighting avionic props on
the walls including helmets, flight gear, and a world map and clocks
which displayed the time around the globe.
The preshow film entertained guests with the historic events around the
breaking of the sound barrier and introduced pilots to their flight
vehicle including the required safety briefing for the upcoming mission.
Once completed, automatic doors provided entry to the massive
five story main theater.
The film provided a journey from take off to touchdown, and in between
included beautiful landscapes as pilots pushed their T-38 jet faster and
faster to exceed the speed of sound.
Climbing, diving, and performing some wild aerobatics, the 50
cockpits simultaneously moved in harmony with massive projected image on
the screen. Having
successfully completed the mission, the jet safely landed and slowed to
a stop. The dramatic
soundtrack crashed to a close, the room went black, and The Right Stuff
logo blasted onto the screen, and the control tower operator who
narrated the mission proudly proclaimed, “Congratulations, you’ve got
The Right Stuff!”
The replica Bell X-1 aircraft became part of the scenery, along with a fuel
truck and a tug truck.
The Right Stuff guests exited through the Flight
Deck gift shop, which featured military and aviation themed souvenirs
and gifts including things like $300 bomber jackets. The gift
shop also had an arcade area with video games.
Another ride which was renamed and re-themed as part of the makeover of
the area was the Parachuter's Perch, which became known as the Edwards
AFB Jump Tower.
For the second
season of the Right Stuff's existence, the arcade area was reconfigured
with two flight simulators available as upcharge attractions.
The simulators were standard simulators found at malls and arcades
around the country, with jet style nose cones on them and camouflage
coverings on the supports.
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The theater building was constructed with the
idea of being able to change the attraction just by changing the film.
For the 1996 through 1998 seasons as part of the
park's Fright Fest celebration, a special film was brought in for the
month of October. The Dino Island film was also created by
Iwerks Entertainment for use on their simulators.
The Bell X-7 plane was removed from it's position at the entrance to the
queue, and a large inflatable Tyrannosaurus was put in its place along
with several palm trees.
The interior of the queue was outfitted with netting and the lighting
was set to set the mood for the Jurassic Park style adventure movie.
For the run of the movie a Dino Island banner was hung over The Right
Stuff logo on the front of the building.
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For the 1999 season,
The Right Stuff film was replaced with Escape From Dino Island for the
regular season. The buildings logos and signs were painted
over, and an elaborate dinosaur logo sign was added to the front.
For the first season, the jet plane was left in place and surrounded
with palm trees and covered with jute netting.
The 1999 through 2002 seasons featured the Escape From Dino Island film
during the regular season, with each year seeing more and more of the
theme elements being removed from the building.
For Fright Fest in 1999, Superstition featuring Elvira made its debut
and it returned each year until 2003. |
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With the plane gone, the area in
front of the building became home to a couple of up-charge attractions.
First was a portable Slingshot ride in 2002, and in 2003 the ErUPtion
ride was added as a more permanent attraction. |
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For the 2003 season, The Right Stuff film was
brought back to the theatre and played through the regular season, with
Superstition returning for Fright Fest.
In 2004, Spongebob Squarepants the Ride was brought in. The
film which had originally been created for use in the Paramount Parks
chain became available in markets that did not compete with Paramount
Parks, and Six Flags installed this popular film at several locations
around the country.
The theme elements and signage added to the theater for the Spongebob
film were minimal and had a very temporary look to them. |
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For the 2004 season, Spongebob
ran right through Fright Fest as the new attraction, but in the
following years, Superstition returned as part of the Fright Fest
lineup. |
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The former Flight Deck gift shop
has served as the park's Season Pass Processing center for several years
now, and the walls inside are adorned with signs which used to adorn
buildings and rides throughout the park. |
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Over the years, the theater building and surrounding area have lost many
theme elements as old attractions have been removed and new attractions
were added.
The elaborate lighting and sound systems of the queue area are unused,
and is very generic now so it doesn't require modification as the film
is changed for the season.
Display pieces from the old Flight Deck shop still pop up at random
throughout the park's shops and even over in the shops of Hurricane
Harbor.
For several seasons of Fright Fest, the former Flight Deck shop, which
normally houses Season Pass Processing is transformed into a theater for
Zambora of the Amazon. The tropical foliage added to
the entrance is reminiscent of the theme elements added for the seasons
of Dino Island.
The ride once exited through the gift shop and out the front, but
guests now exit out the back of the building through what was once part
of the backstage areas.
The F-104 jet which once sat outside the hangar doors served as a Fright
Fest prop for the hayride for several seasons, and now resides in the
park's boneyard, and is visible from Route 537. The
tanker truck which had been part of the theme elements also found a new
home as part of the hayride and still sits in the woods behind Looney
Tunes Seaport.
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