5. Indominus rex
Debut: Jurassic World: The Ride (2021)
Location: Universal Studios Hollywood (exclusive)
Video: Not born, but made
When the Lost Legend: Jurassic Park – The Ride opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1996, there was no question as to which dinosaur was the star… After a tranquil journey through herbivore habitats was accidentally set off-course by a playful hadrosaur, riders found themselves drifting through the industrial environmental systems building. To the tune of screaming radio chatter and an eerily pleasant countdown to the termination of life support systems, a looming waterfall would part to produce the T. rex itself, swinging forward, throwing its head back, and snapping its jaws within inches of the boat just as it hit an 85-foot drop. By the end of the ride’s life, though, it’s fair to say that most of the other dinosaurs along the ride course bordered on hokey. (An issue Islands of Adventure’s version of the ride is still contending with.)
In 2019, the ride was officially swapped to the trendier Jurassic World brand, introducing the modern trilogy’s “big bad:” the genetically-engineered Indominus rex. The ride’s showbuilding was reimagined as an immersive “T. rex Kingdom” habitat, with the escaped I. rex appearing… but only as an animatronic head near the long-running T. rex finale.
When Universal Studios Hollywood re-opened in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jurassic World: The Ride looked a whole lot different. The park had made good on plans to put finishing touches on the ride, in this case by way of one of the most staggeringly cool animatronics ever. The massive, full-body Indominus rex walks out of the shadows, turns toward guests’ helplessly-drifting rafts, snaps and screeches, then – just as the T. rex arrives – turns its whole body to challenge the creature. The I. rex is doubtlessly the most lifelike animatronic Universal’s ever dealt with, and the details of its movement (for example, shifting its weight or head as it turns) are like poetry for themed entertainment engineers.
4. Rocket Raccoon
Attraction: Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! (2017)
Location: Disney California Adventure (exclusive)
Video: “One of the Guardians of the Galaxy… the SMART one.”
Fans of Disney California Adventure’s billion-dollar, five year rebirth looked on in absolute shock as Imagineers stripped the Lost Legend: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror of its art deco Hollywood stylings and its Californian mythology (seemingly perfect for a park dedicated to, y’know, California) and – in a six month quick-change – turned the lightning-scarred Hollywood Tower Hotel into buzzing space prison power-plant looming over the resort. If it seemed like an irreverent, odd, and outrageous treatment for the newly-minted park, that was purposeful and befitting Marvel’s irreverent, odd, and outrageous Guardians of the Galaxy – the misfit super hero group introduced in Marvel’s sleeper hit film of 2014.
Fans will eternally debate the merits of replacing a timeless, Californian legend with a flavor-of-the-week superhero screen ride that’s seemingly antithetical to the park’s recently-adopted sincerity and direction, but one thing no one can deny: Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! has a very cool Audio-Animatronic. Shepherded into the hotel’s library – er… the Collector’s office – a pre-show recording from Tanaleer Tivan is interrupted by the mischievous Rocket, who appears to fall from a vent, crawl along the room’s collection cases, and even thwack his head against a well-placed pipe.
Whether you hold a grudge against Mission: BREAKOUT! or not, the impressive interaction between Rocket and your small group of visitors is probably the only chance we’ll ever have to get this close to the rough-around-the-edge, not-raccoon character (voiced by Bradley Cooper). Cooler still is that the figure is also present (and reprogrammed) in the Halloween-exclusive Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark, which is set just hours after the usual Mission: BREAKOUT storyline.
3. The Amazing Spider-Man
Debut: Avengers Campus (2021)
Location: Disney California Adventure
Video: “Here goes something!“
In 2018, Disney released an out-of-the-blue video offering a glimpse into an in-progress new technology it called Stuntronics. Showcasing a year of continuous development, the video showed a Z-shaped figure nicknamed “Stickman” slowly evolving into a humanoid figure capable of being catapulted, striking a heroic pose, then contracting and somersaulting through the air to land safely in an awaiting net.
Given the meteoric rise of the Disney-owned Marvel, it didn’t take much imagination to figure out what Disney was likely to use the Stuntronics technology for… but frankly, it was surprising that it actually came to be. (Even brilliant ideas Imagineering prototypes don’t always end up seeing the light of day in the parks.) When Avengers Campus opened in 2021, its skyline was punctuated at regular intervals by the astounding flight of the one and only Spider-Man, soaring elegantly over the land.
Frankly, it would probably be cooler to just launch the Spider-Man figure at random times throughout the day – a “blink and you’ll miss it,” “did I just see what I think I saw?” moment. Instead, the flight is a listed, timed “show” where a live actor does some silly rooftop tumbling and bumbling before disappearing around a corner as the Stuntronic launches. The actor then re-emerges from the landing point and rappels down for meet-and-greets, successfully conveying the illusion that it was the real Spider-Man all along.
Sure, the Stuntronic has had its share of literal misses… Famously, Spider-Man forgot to release his launch cable and went rigor mortis during a 2022 flight, crashing through a breakaway wall. The rare misfire aside, the astounding moment is so genuinely amazing, it’s hard to see Spider-Man’s flight as anything but one of the best animatronics-powered moments in the parks.
2. Shaman of Songs
Debut: Na’vi River Journey (2017)
Location: Disney’s Animal Kingdom (exclusive)
Video: “Oel Ngati Kameie“
Just as Universal put the finishing touches on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Disney announced – completely coincidentally, of course – that they, too, had picked up the international worldwide rights to build highly-immersive, cinematic lands based on a pop culture phenomenon… in fact, their licensing of James Cameron’s AVATAR gave them exclusive access to the highest grossing film ever! … Never mind that AVATAR quickly disappeared from the pop culture lexicon without leaving so much as a character or quote in its wake. Fans rallied hard against the knee-jerk decision to build a permanent, full land based on the PG-13 20th Century Fox action movie at Disney’s Animal Kingdom…
And they (that is, we) were wrong. Pandora – The World of AVATAR is one of Disney’s crowning Imagineering achievements, transporting guests to the bioluminescent jungles of the alien moon Pandora. Brilliantly, the land and its rides were severed from the films, taking place generations later with no need to remember the unremarkable characters or the largely-forgotten plot details.
While the breathtaking Flight of Passage simulator is by far the land’s anchoring E-Ticket (and perhaps one of the best products of the simulator age in the entire world), it was the Na’vi River Journey that most intrigued fans… after all, when’s the last time Disney built a meandering, peaceful, boat-based dark ride? While Na’vi River Journey could stand to double its length, its opening debuted the world’s most impressive Audio-Animatronic… The Shaman of Songs resides in a grotto at the ride’s end, conducting the interconnected flora and fauna of the harmonious jungles of Mo’ara in a spiritual song that’s as inspiring as it is entrancing. The Shaman herself is absolute art, and Imagineering fans could literally watch the figure for hours in speechless wonder.
1. Kylo Ren
Debut: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Location: Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Video: “You will tell me the location…”
There are practically no words to describe Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the ultra-E-Ticket (U-Ticket?) anchor of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. Blurring the line between where the queue ends and the “ride” begins, the attraction utilizes three separate ride systems in an epic journey that sees guests ferried away from Black Spire Outpost before being abducted by the villainous First Order just as the Resistance arrives. Enlisted in a plan to escape from the First Order ship and return to Batuu, guests encounter a ride that’s more ambitious than nearly any Imagineering has ever attempted.
But the attraction’s star must be Kylo Ren – the “sequel” trilogy’s conflicted counterpart to Darth Vader – who’s present in at least two astounding Audio Animatronics during the ride. The second (and the number one figure on our list) is encountered when guests find themselves sealed off from the escape pods that may be their only hope off the ship. Using his Force powers, Ren grabs hold of the ride’s prisoner transport vehicles to pull guests in close with a final threat if they refuse to betray the location of the Resistance base on Batuu.
Just then, a Resistance missile strikes the ship, blowing open a hole into space. In unbelievable motion, Kylo is flung forward by the force of the explosion with the wall shattering behind him. He flails forward in an attempt to grab something, but is ultimately sucked backwards, reaching helplessly as the ship begins to disintegrate around him. With Kylo’s Force grip cut off, the path to the escape pods is clear, ending one of the most epic encounters with a brain-shatteringly lifelike figure – the perfect climax of a modern Imagineering marvel.
The Best of the Best
The 21st century has shown that animatronics are not make-or-break when it comes to an attraction’s success. Transformers: The Ride is an incredible, action-filled thrill ride without a single animatronic, and Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem doesn’t need a robotic Gru to be captivating, heartwarming, and fun.
Even still, there’s something powerful about seeing a character come to life in the old-fashioned, glasses-free kind of 3D. Sure, Spider-Man leaping onto the hood of your SCOOP virtually is stunning and awe-inspiring, but folks are still just as captivated by the hairy leg of that pirate of the Caribbean, aren’t they? That sort of visceral, “real” experience is important, and even if new genres leave animatronics out, we don’t ever expect them to disappear completely. Have you seen all of the figures on our list? Which took your breath away?
Figures retired or bumped from this list:
- Stitch (Stitch’s Great Escape) (attraction closed)
- The Wicked Witch (The Great Movie Ride) (attraction closed)
- The Carnotaurus (Dinosaur) (bumped)
- Q’araq (Roaring Rapids) (didn’t live up to its potential)
- T. rex (Jurassic Park: The Ride) (overshadowed)
- Maleficent (Fantasmic!) (destroyed)
- Hopper (It’s Tough to be a Bug) (attraction closing)
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