The ''Lights, Motors, Action!: Extreme Stunt Show'' (or sometimes referred to as ''Moteurs... Action!: Stunt Show Spectacular''), was a
stunt show performed at
Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Studios Park (French: ''Parc Walt Disney Studios'') is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, which opened on 16 March 2002. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through i ...
in
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disney ...
and at
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...
theme park in
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located ...
. The show was designed to be and look like a movie set, and the show is dedicated to show the process of how action movies are created.
Revolving around a series of energetic stunts featuring
automobiles, the show runs for just under 40 minutes, and includes scenes of car-based action, pyrotechnics, jet ski chases, and physical stuntwork. The cars are followed by cameras, and film, both shot during the show and pre-recorded, is shown to the audience on a billboard television screen.
History
The ''Moteurs... Action!'' version of the show originally opened on time with the premiere of Walt Disney Studios Park on March 16, 2002. The ''Lights, Motors, Action!'' version of the show debuted three years later at Disney's Hollywood Studios during the
Happiest Celebration on Earth festival, in which each of the four
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...
theme parks opened a new attraction that have been copied from another Disney resort. The entire show has now been demolished.
Herbie
Herbie, the Love Bug is a fictional sentient 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, who has been featured in several Walt Disney motion pictures starting with the 1968 feature film ''The Love Bug''. He has a mind of his own and is capable of driving himself, ...
, the
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...
from ''
The Love Bug
''The Love Bug'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and the first in a franchise by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 19 ...
'', previously made an appearance in an intermission in the middle of the show, but was replaced by
Lightning McQueen
Montgomery "Lightning" McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car who is the protagonist of the animated Pixar franchise '' Cars'', primarily voiced by actor Owen Wilson. His appearances include the feature films '' Cars'', ''Cars 2'', and ...
from ''
Cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...
'' in 2011. The show arena has scenery inspired by
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer (, ; oc, Vilafranca de Mar ; it, Villafranca Marittima ) is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region on the French Riviera and is l ...
; a
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
village in the south of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The arena's construction at Disney's Hollywood Studios forced the
Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic at the theme park to be almost halved in length, as the arena was built inside locations used by the backlot tour.
The show was previously sponsored at Walt Disney Studios Park by
General Motors through its
Opel division and at Disney's Hollywood Studios by
Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in the ...
through its
Brawny division. On January 15, 2016, Disney announced that the Hollywood Studios location would close on April 3 for the construction of
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and
Toy Story Land
''Toy Story'' Land (known as ''Toy Story'' Playland at Walt Disney Studios Park) is a themed land at Walt Disney Studios Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The area is based on the Disney·Pixar f ...
.
The Paris version of the show closed on March 13, 2020; nearly 18 years after it initially opened; the closure was expected as part of the Walt Disney Studios park expansion but the closure date was moved up owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic in France.
Summary
Queue
When the show is not running and when the audience is exiting or entering the stadium, queue music is played, while the billboard television screen shows trivia questions about films and movies with car chases and destruction in them.
Pre-show
The pre-show features clips of action scenes involving car chases from various action thriller films including ''
The Rock'' (1996), ''
Con Air
''Con Air'' is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a prison break aboard a ...
'' (1997), ''
Enemy of the State
An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state such as treason, among other things. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, a government may purport to m ...
'' (1998), ''
Gone in 60 Seconds'' (2000), ''
Speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (ma ...
'' (1994), and ''
Ronin'' (1998). The Disney's Hollywood Studios location does not include the clips from the latter two films.
Show
The main show starts off with the "Ballet Chase," (Sequence 7A) featuring a red "hero car" (Hero 1) being chased by five black "pursuit cars." This scene ends with the hero car jumping backwards off of a ramp, and the fifth (a specially designed pursuit) car being blown in half.
While the next scene is being set up, they observe the film and how they film with a low camera angle. They also explain how "Video Assist" works, and they introduce the hero car driver explain how a second hero car, (Hero 2) designed so that the driver faces out the back, was used for the backwards jump.
The next scene, the "Blockade Chase," (Sequence 8) is set in a marketplace, with the car chase taking place around obstacles such as trucks and farm stands. The scene ends with the hero car driving up the back of a truck bed, over a second truck, and landing on an airbag.
As the third scene is being set up, a driverless hero car (Hero 3) is shown, and an audience volunteer is brought down to drive it via "remote control." After the volunteer appears to lose control of the vehicle, it is revealed that the car actually does have a driver, who is hidden on the far side of the vehicle out of sight of the audience.
The fourth sequence, the "Motorcycle Chase," (Sequence 3) begins with the "hero" going into a motorcycle shop and commandeering a blue one, (Hero 4) being chased by two black pursuit motorcycles and three cars. The "hero" later switches to a red jet ski (which was then turned black due to the first version breaking down), and eventually faces his pursuers on foot. This scene features a stuntman falling thirty feet from a building into an airbag, as well as the rider of one of the pursuit motorcycles catching on fire.
As the final scene is set up, they explain the specially treated clothing that allowed the final rider to be safely set on fire.
The final scene (Sequence 10) begins with footage being shown on the large video screen of the previous stunt sequences edited into a finished film. As the film on the screen reaches its climax, fire erupts in the canal area at the front of the stage. The hero car appears on stage, being chased by a black pursuit car, and heads behind one of the buildings. A few seconds later, the hero car reenters from the second story of the building, down the bed of a truck parked in front of the building, and jumps a ramp across the canal directly towards the audience. Fireworks and explosions are set off as the car exits through a tunnel under the grandstands.
Afterward, a curtain call of all of the vehicles used in the movie shoot is shown, with the black pursuit cars and motorcycles, and all of the faces of the hero in the film (the three red hero cars and the blue motorcycle). The stunt coordinator then explains that all of the vehicles that were shown during the show were specifically designed for all the stunts in the movie shoot and that all of the drivers and stunt people were highly trained and skilled at what they do, and that to not try any of the stunts at home. The crew then tells the audience to enjoy the rest of the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios (or some other variation in France) and to drive safely.
The vehicles then exit the visible part of the stage to the audience, but the red hero car (Hero 1) is the last car to leave. The red hero car does three drifting turns, waves at the audience at the same time, and exits the stage. The ending music then plays, and the television screen returns to its original picture.
Vehicles
The show has more than 40 vehicles in the show and backstage in the maintenance garage. The primary "hero" car, which the action revolves around, is a custom-built design for the show, while the pursuit cars are
Opel Corsa
The Opel Corsa is a supermini car engineered and produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel since 1982. Throughout its existence, it has been sold under a variety of other brands owned by General Motors (most notably Vauxhall, Chev ...
s. The hero cars are all painted red while the pursuit cars are painted black, to easily allow guests to tell the difference between them.
The show also includes specially-designed cars that look identical to the others used in the show, two of which are red "hero" cars. One substitute hero car has the bodyshell oriented backwards, to allow the driver to appear to be driving in reverse; the other has a seat and steering wheel bolted onto the side of the car away from the audience, so that the car appears to be driving without anyone inside the vehicle. One of the substitute black "pursuit" cars is cut in half behind the front doors, so that it can appear to explode during a scene in the show.
All the cars, while they appear simple, are reinforced with rally car
roll cage
A roll cage is a specially engineered and constructed frame built in (or sometimes around, in which case it is known as an exo cage) the passenger compartment of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured or killed in an accident, pa ...
s for driver safety and are powered by Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 cc motorcycle engines mounted directly behind the driver's seat. The cars transmissions have four sequential forward and four sequential reverse gears, allowing them to be driven backwards at high speed.
The cars have a bump shift for easier gear shifting: the driver bumps the shifter forward to go up a gear, and back to go back a gear. In order to reverse, the driver twists the top of the shifter and bumps it forwards or backwards. The emergency brake automatically releases when the driver lets go. The show cars are lightweight, at , and are
rear-wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-wheel ...
to allow the cars to
drift
Drift or Drifts may refer to:
Geography
* Drift or ford (crossing) of a river
* Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States
* In Cornwall, England:
** Drift, Cornwall, village
** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village
...
. The drivers wear heavy protective suits. To keep them cool, a cooling system in the front of the car pumps cold water through the suits. The show also features
jet ski
Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...
s on the small canal at the front of the theater, and
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s which maneuver around the cars.
References
External links
Walt Disney World Resort - Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show*
{{Walt Disney Studios Park
Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions
Backlot (Walt Disney Studios Park)
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Streets of America
Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts entertainment
Buildings and structures demolished in 2016
2002 establishments in France
2020 disestablishments in France
2005 establishments in Florida
2016 disestablishments in Florida