Disney draws inspiration from lots of different places when making feature films. A lot of the time it adapts classic fairy tales and children’s stories and puts its own spin on them; other times, it turns to old works to reimagine them as live action movies or to create a follow-up sequel, prequel or spin off. Plenty of its movies are also original concepts, devised in the imaginations of its writers. Another inspiration Disney has drawn on over the years has been from attractions at its theme parks across the globe.
Many of these rides are high concept, genre experiences, often with narratives themselves for the riders to enjoy, which would lend themselves perfectly to the medium of film. It’s been done to varying levels of success in the past with the most notable example being The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, based on the rides of the same name, which have gone onto be a global phenomenon, and more recently Jungle Cruise starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Tomorrowland starring George Clooney and Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy did not fare so well. Disney is, in fact, moving forward with a Haunted Mansion remake, this time starring Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson and Danny DeVito. There are still many, many attractions, though, across Disney’s 12 different parks that are open for adapting. Below are 5 of the best options to base a movie on.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Space Mountain
Disney World
The rollercoaster ride is a thrilling journey which sees riders blasted through space, whizzing past galaxies and milky ways, and transcending a swirling red wormhole. The ride is all about the tension leading up to boarding and then the excitement of the ride itself, and this should be reflected in the movie. In other words, this sci-fi flick should be about the journey and not necessarily the destination. The key ingredients are in place—beautifully designed set pieces which could be recreated for the movie and a fantastic score written by Oscar winning Michael Giacchino, who also wrote the scores to sci-fi blockbusters Dawn of The Planet of the Apes and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which could be expanded for the feature. All that’s needed is some interesting and relatable characters and an engaging storyline to really utilize the wonderful setting and capture the thrilling excitement of the ride.
Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith
Walt Disney World Orlando
This ride is interesting in that it already has basic narrative which was written specifically for the ride. Although It’s nothing amazingly originally, it is actually a really fun concept. Riders are treated to an all-access tour of some big shot record label headquarters and as part of the tour they get to watch in on an Aerosmith recording session. Unfortunately, the band must shoot off as they are performing a big gig that night. Luckily, they provide guests with some backstage passes and a personal driver to get them past the traffic and to the gig across the city on time. While the ride then just takes them on a thrilling rollercoaster ride “across LA,” the movie is open to any number of en-route shenanigans that these guests could endure in order to get to the show on time and could really work well if played as a comedy. Disney could possibly use another band as opposed to Aerosmith, purely for the fact most Gen Zs probably aren’t too familiar with the band. Perhaps Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster starring Maroon 5…or maybe it would be better if they just created a fictional band for the purpose of the movie.
Expedition Everest
The ride is an exhilarating, white-knuckle rollercoaster that promises to take riders to the top of Mt. Everest, only to be forcibly stopped in its tracks by a Yeti who coerces riders to turn round and speed back down the mountain to safety. This fairly basic yet fun action adventure/horror premise is heavily bolstered by a backstory that is detailed to riders during the queuing area which could certainly help a potential scriptwriter really make the movie adaptation stand out. It talks about how the Royal Anandapur Tea Company have been repurposed by businesses that send trekkers on various expeditions throughout the Himalayas, with “Expedition Everest” being the name of aforementioned trek arranged by the Himalayan Escapes tour company in Serka Zong. It goes onto explain how the entrepreneurs behind Himalayan Escapes have refurbished a steam train that previously had been used to bring harvested tea leaves down from the mountains. Now they take trekkers through a shortcut that passes through the “forbidden mountain” thought to be guarded by the Yeti. Among local cultures, the Yeti is believed to be a fierce protector of the region’s most pristine mountains, valleys and forests, and violently opposes man’s encroachment in these areas. All that’s missing is a charismatic lead to play the lovable rogue and a great supporting cast of intrepid explorers.
ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter
Disneyland
ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter is widely regarded as the most frightening ride Disney has ever made. Operating for only a few years, guests were escorted into in a room to witness the teleportation of a cute little alien from another planet down to Earth. Something goes awry and instead, guests were met by a huge, snarling, carnivorous alien, out for blood. It breaks free, the lights are cut, and guests are clamped into their seats. The next few minutes are the stuff that nightmares are made of. You feel the alien brush past you, feel and hear it breathing on you neck and even get splattered with what must be the blood of a nearby victim, all while remaining in complete darkness with only your imagination to fill in the horrific blanks. If this sense of claustrophobia and the manipulation of one’s senses could be harnessed to create such palpable tension in its movie adaptation it would make for one hell of an intense outing, reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s original Alien. Perhaps a little intense for Disney, but it would be great fun, nonetheless.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Big Thunder Mountain is located in Phantom Canyon near the Haunted Mansion and for good reason: it shares a lot of the same lore. At first glance, one would assume this old western themed rollercoaster would be adapted into a straightforward western adventure movie, but the ride suggests that the history of this railway is long and shrouded in mystery. It hints at possible historical mining deaths at the site, ancient traditional rituals held by indigenous tribes and there’s even visible dinosaur fossils in some parts. Rail carts often go off track or missing, thought to be possessed. The movie could play out more like a mystery in the vein of Scooby-Doo in which a young sleuth attempts to unravel these strange happenings at Big Thunder Mountain.
