''Armageddon'' – Les Effets Speciaux () was an attraction located in

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 ...

at Disneyland Paris. The attraction opened on March 16, 2002 with the park. It was based on the 1998

Touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...

film '' Armageddon'', which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of ...

. The principle was to demonstrate set effects, as in the film, within a full room using special effects. The ride closed on March 31, 2019, and the showbuilding will later be demolished for the

Avengers Campus Avengers Campus is a Marvel Cinematic Universe–themed area located at Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris, and being developed for Hong Kong Disneyland. The Marvel-themed areas or "lands" are being dev ...

expansion to the 'Walt Disney Studios Park', as announced by

Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and Ch ...

in February 2018.

History

On September 29, 1999, Disney announced that a new theme park would be built right next to Disneyland Paris. It would be named Walt Disney Studios Park and be themed to movies. The park would feature various attractions, including

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and Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux. Themed to the 1998 film, Armageddon, it would be a special effects attraction similar to Twister...Ride it Out at Universal Studios Florida. Construction of the attraction began in 2000 with the rest of the park. Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux opened on time with Walt Disney Studios Park on March 16, 2002. On December 10, 2018, Walt Disney Studios Paris announced that the last day for Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux would occur on March 31, 2019. That same day, the park announced that the Backlot area would be transformed into

. On the final day of operation, a closing ceremony was held exclusively for Infinity Annual passholders.

Attraction summary

Queue and pre-show

Guests entered studio 7-A or studio 7-B, where the attraction took place. In the queue, guests walked through a switchback section with actor posters. The Armadillo vehicle could be spotted in the area. At the end of the queue, guests waited outside for the doors to open. Guests then walked into the building, where a Cast Member explained the part they are about to play in the shooting. A pre-show presentation included a short history of special effects with several clips from various blockbuster films, such as '' Return of the Jedi'', ''

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...

'', ''

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'', ''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

'', '' The Abyss'', '' Honey, I Blew Up the Kid'', '' Inspector Gadget'' and

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. Méliès was well known for the use of ...

' films. After this,

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("Bear" in the movie) would give guests a speech. They learned they will enter the recreation of the modified '' Mir'' from the film. Two main characters will join them: the central computer of the Station and Colonel Andropov. The films and spiel of both studios were identical, although they have different art work on display.

Main show

After the pre-show, guests walked through a hallway that led to a round chamber, where the main show took place. It resembled the set of the Station's main deck. As the show started with the director's call of ''"Action"'', several scenes ensued. Windows opening either on Space or on Earth let guests witness the arrival of a

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...

rain. As it hit the station, several dysfunctions occurred, including lights flickering, gas bursting into the cabin, the ceiling threatening to collapse and incandescent rocks crossing the room. At one point, the build-up of pressure in the pipes caused a part of the wall to be pulled out, letting air escape until a tight door closed. Finally, as guests could see the main meteor arriving on them, a powerful explosion occurs and lights go out. A voice calling ''"Cut!"'' closes the show. On the way out, guests can spot some props. The whole attraction lasted about 22 minutes with a capacity of about 170 people.

References

External links