Walt Disney World was always a place one could visit to see some pretty amazing technology, from walking robots, to garbage cans that follow people around and yell at them, to exhibits dedicated to showcasing the latest in practical technology. Nowadays, publicly available, consumer-attainable technology has made some fairly giant strides, bridging the gap between Disney’s tech and what people can do in the comfort of their own living room, but that doesn’t mean the anthropomorphic character supporting entertainment giant can’t move with the times. The above video, brought to us by Inside the Magic, shows that in a world of being able to access anything anywhere one can obtain a signal, Disney can still stay ahead of the curve.
In Walt Disney World (the Florida one), the Haunted Mansion ride ended with a fun gag where the passenger cars–known as Doom Buggies–passed by mirrors, which showed ghosts “hitchhiking” in the cars with the passengers, purporting that the ghosts would be going home with said passengers, kindly haunting them for all eternity. Though primitive by today’s standards, the ride used half-silvered mirrors to achieve the effect of the ghosts sitting with the passengers. Well, Disney brought the ghosts into the modern era by using a combination of “digital” mirrors and sensors that allow the ghosts not only to appear in the buggies, but interact with the passengers within as well. The above video shows the ghosts playing a few tricks on the passengers, such as swapping heads with them, giving them their ghostly beards and ripping their heads off and blowing them up like a balloon before letting them sputter away. The quality of the video becomes better as it goes on, so make sure to stick with it until the end to get a clearer view of the ghostly pranks.
(via Boing Boing)
Published: Apr 6, 2011 12:49 pm