Enchanted Forest: Attractions

 

14 - Knight Quest: Search for the Lost Sword

Guests join the Knights of the Round Table on a harrowing quest to find an ancient weapon, which could be their only hope of lifting a witch's curse.

QUEUE:

Guests see a castle atop a hill as they come into the land. This is the castle of King Arthur, which they are going to enter. They go in through underground passageways before entering the abode of Merlin. Here, several letters on the wall hint to what has happened.

PRE-SHOW:

Soon enough, guests enter a room with a large waterfall. They fill up the room before looking at it.

Suddenly, the waterfall comes alive and Merlin appears in it. He welcomes the guests and explains why they are there. King Arthur has invited them to attend a kingdom-wide celebration, but there's a problem. A witch named Morgan Le Fay derailed the festivities by releasing a terrible curse, turning the people into stone. Luckily, Merlin was able to shield himself and the Knights of the Round Table from this curse with a spell of his. Now, he is sending guests to find the ancient sword of Excalibur, the sword that Arthur pulled from the rock to gain his kingdom. With this, Arthur will be revived, as well as the kingdom, and Le Fay's curse will be broken.

As Merlin bids the guests farewell, the waterfall opens up a secret passage. There, they walk through it and enter an armory, where they board enchanted vehicles made by Merlin himself, which fits up to six people. They are normal dark ride vehicles, but they turn certain directions so that guests can see certain scenes, although this is not an omnimover vehicle.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

Guests leave the armory and enter into a village. As they go through, they see the people who have been turned into statues, as well as the Knights of the Round Table. This includes Sirs Lancelot, Gawain, Percival, Bedevere, and Galahad. Lancelot leads the way, announcing their departure into the forest. However, they are oblivious to the presence of Morgan Le Fay, lurking in an alleyway nearby.

Soon, guests exit the village and go through a forest. They see several animals, as well as hear rain and thunder from overhead. In the meantime, Lancelot notes that there is noise in the background. The vehicles enter a den of thieves, who notice the guests and plan to rob them. Luckily, the knights fight them off, although the vehicle spins around a little after being hit by one of the robbers' artillery.

From there, guests enter another part of the forest, where Lancelot apologizes for the trouble. The vehicles come across a troll, but while Bedevere confuses the troll, the guests sneak past and go over the bridge. Then, they come across a lake, where the Lady of the Lake appears. She gives them directions to Excalibur, pointing them in the right direction.

The vehicles enter a cave where Excalibur is resting. Here, Lancelot pulls the sword out of the stone and plans to give it to King Arthur. To make the journey back easier, Merlin creates a portal for them. They then enter the throne room, where Arthur and the people are restored. Furious about this, Morgan Le Fay declares that she will attack.

In the next scene, Le Fay approaches the castle on a giant dragon. Luckily, Arthur fights it off with Excalibur, and Merlin helps with his magic too. In the final scene, the people are celebrating with fireworks, dancing, and more. They pass by Merlin, who is holding a small jar where a tiny Le Fay is, demanding to be let out. Guests pass by Arthur, Guinevere, and the knights, who apologize for the trouble before bidding them farewell. From there, the vehicles enter the unload station.

POST-RIDE:

Guests exit into Merlin's Magic Shop, a gift shop themed to the attraction. Here, potions, magical creatures, and other things are sold.

15 - Dance of the Unicorns

(Height: 32 in.)

Here, guests enter a vibrant forest setting where they board wooden carriages pulled by unicorns. They will move around in circles as vibrant recorder music plays overhead, and the carts may swivel. This is similar to Alien Swirling Saucers at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

16 - Battle for the Nine Realms

Located in the Scandinavian area, this is a boat ride through the Nine Realms of Norse Mythology, as guests journey with the gods Frey and Thor as they attempt to stop Ragnarok.

BACKSTORY:

According to Norse Legend, there once was peace and order among the gods, both the Aesir and Vanir (two races of gods featured in Norse Mythology.) However, the giant-born god, Loki, caused mischief among them. It started with the death of Balder, the god of peace, and his crimes increased from there. To contain him, Loki was chained to a rock in the depths of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, where he'd remain for eternity......or so people thought.

There was a prophecy that Loki would escape. Then, he would rally up his children for war and destroy Asgard, causing great devastation and an age of darkness for the world. This event, known as Ragnarok, was something that only the gods could stop.

Unfortunately, the prophecy has come true. Loki has escaped his confinement and plans to build his army to cause Ragnarok. Now, it's up to the guests, as well as other beings, to stop him.

QUEUE:

Guests enter into a Viking building where the attraction is advertised. From there, they enter some sort of museum on Norse Mythology, telling of the "Big Four" gods featured in the ride: Thor, God of thunder and lighting, Frey, God of summer, Ull, God of the hunt and winter and son of Thor, and Loki, God of mischief and chaos. They then proceed into a room with an old man in a cloak with an eye patch (Odin in disguise), who gives them the backstory of the ride. This is the last room guests go through before entering the load station.

After this, guests go into a tunnel, where Viking ships are parked. These wooden vessels have four rows and fit up to sixteen people.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

The ride starts by exiting into a forest, where things look rather peaceful. An Aurora is overhead and they're going through a wintry forest. However, they eventually come across red-haired, hammer-carrying Thor, as well as his son, Ull. They are dressed in normal Viking clothes to avoid suspicion. As the boats pass by, Thor gives out a warning:

Thor: "We must defeat Loki and prevent Ragnarok from happening. Go through the portal. Frey will guide you in search of warriors."

At that very moment, guests travel through a portal, where red light surrounds them. They exit into a whimsical forest world populated by elves. As they approach, one of the elves stands nearby, greeting them.

Elf: "Welcome to Alfheim. We are in your service."

On both sides, guests see the elves preparing for battle. They are sharpening arrows, making swords, and putting on armor. They then exit into a swampy area, where Frey is standing off against a giant wolf.

Frey: "It's Fenrir! Don't worry, I will take care of him! You proceed on to Nidavellir!"

The boats pass through another portal and end up in a cave-like area. Here, several dwarfs are mining away and singing a song as they do. Ull is there too, looking nervous about something.

Ull: "It feels colder. This must mean that Loki is getting ready to strike. We must be careful."

After going through a third portal, guests are in Vanaheim, land of the Vanir. Here, they are being attacked by giants and dragons. One person mentions that these monsters came from Jotunheim, land of giants, and Muspelheim, land of fire. As the boats narrowly escape the scene, they see Frey, Thor, and Ull again.

Frey: "Quick! We must make it to Asgard! We can't let Loki win!"

Thor: "Take the rainbow bridge. It will lead you right up there!"

At that moment, the boats ascend a lift. This is the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, which has rainbow colors all around to make guests fell like this. As they arrive on the second floor, guests are caught up in a large battle between giants, dragons, and trolls and elves, dwarves, and the men and women warriors of Asgard. Also there are female warriors known as Valkyries, who are dueling with the monsters as well.

The boats then enter the throne room of Asgard's Palace, where they see Thor, Ull, and Frey battling Loki.

Thor: "You can't win, Loki! We won't let you destroy Asgard!"

Loki: "Let's see if your friends can survive, though. HAHAHAHA!"

Loki pushes the boats forward to a dark room where nothing can be seen. Some strobe lights hint at what's coming ahead, but it's too late. The boats drop down into the darkness.

In the aftermath, guests are going through a ruined area, where the old man appears again. Using a pepper's ghost effect, he is revealed to be Odin, who thanks guests for their help. He then invites them to a party on Midgard (Earth) to celebrate their victory.

The boats make one more drop before appearing in a summertime forest. Here, the elves and dwarves are dancing to music and roasting food. Guests also pass by Loki, who has been turned into a tree. Thor and Ull stand there, wondering if the tree can hold him forever, but decide not to ponder too much on it. Guests pass by Frey one more time, who thanks them for helping and bids them farewell. After that, the boats return to the load station.

POST-RIDE:

Guests exit into a gift shop called the Viking Vault, where photos taken of them on the ride are displayed. Also here is a gift shop filled with Viking and Norse Mythology souvenirs.

17 - Journey to Mount Olympus

(Height: 42 in.)

Using the same Omnicoaster ride system as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, this is a family coaster that goes inside and outside as guests journey into Mount Olympus, encountering the Greek Gods as they do.

QUEUE:

Located near the base of Mount Olympus is a Greek Temple, where guests enter. Here, they will see tapestries to learn about the Greek Gods, including the Twelve Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysius, and Hermes) as well as other gods like Hestia, Hades, and Persephone. Guests also pass by signs talking about an expedition to Mount Olympus to discover if the gods do exist there.

After this, guests will cross a bridge and enter the loading area, which is in a shaded pavilion. They board four-person "chariots" and sit down, pulling their lap bars down and storing their belongings in a bag. The loading area actually has two loading stations on both sides to make wait times go faster.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

The chariots begin by moving through a forest towards the base of the mountain. Once nearby, they ascend a lift, going to the top. They pass by a goat chewing on grass nearby, which eyes them curiously as they go inside.

Once inside the cave, the vehicles turn to find Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, standing there. She seems worried about something.

Athena: "What are you doing here? Monsters are revolting and attacking us! This isn't safe for you!"

Suddenly, Medusa comes out from behind a rock, hissing angrily. Athena immediately turns to fight her, warning guests not to look into her eyes.

The vehicles continue into another dark ride portion, where they see Ares fending off a Minotaur. He orders them to get to safety immediately, just as the minotaur roars.

The chariots then turn and go down a hill, where they enter the outdoor portion of the ride. They go through the forest, speeding around as centaurs appear, holding bows and arrows. They then go under a bridge with the Norse area and into a second lift, which they ascend backwards. As they go up, they see the gods Apollo and Artemis, both holding weapons. They command the guests to hold on, because things are about to get even more dangerous.

After that, the vehicles drop downwards, turning around to see battles between gods and monsters. This includes Poseidon fighting off a manticore, Hermes fleeing from a lion, and Hephaestus standing against a chimera. They then come across Zeus, who is fighting a dragon. He orders the guests to escape while there's still an opening, which they do. They go out of the mountain again and through some Greek ruins, eventually returning to the load station. Here, they get off their vehicles and take a stairway out of the pavilion and into a hut in the forest, where they can see ride photos taken of them.