Future Expo: Attractions

 

28 - Protectors of the Planet

(Height: 48 in.)

This is Markerland's fastest coaster, in which guests join the fight against alien invaders.

QUEUE:

Located past several gardens is an exhibition on alien life. Here, guests come inside and look at the exhibits, which ponder if aliens actually do exist. They also pass through some Space rooms, featuring high-tech spacecraft that is advanced for its time. As they wait in line, guests can watch videos from the leader of this operation, Director Ling, a Chinese-American scientist working for NASA.

However, as guests go further down in line, things get panicky. Red lights flash and a voice overhead tells them not to panic. After this, guests enter one of two pre=show rooms.

PRE-SHOW:

Looking up on a screen nearby, guests watch as it comes on. There is Director Ling, who talks to the guests, apologizing for the alarm. He says how he has gotten a call from an outside source. Suddenly, the screen changes to show a lobster-like alien named Lord Zarnod. He is a galactic conqueror who sees Earthlings as a threat to his empire. He wants to invade Earth to stop the humans from getting "too advanced in their space technology." After this, Ling comes up with a plan to have guests take down the alien ships. He explains the plan to them before bidding them farewell.

After that, guests walk up a ramp to the load area. This is where they board their vehicle, a three-cart rocket-shaped train with six seats in each Cart. Guests climb aboard and store their belongings in a pouch before pulling their lap bars down.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

As the vehicles leave the station, they head up a ramp. Then, they stop halfway as Ling appears on the screens, telling them to hold on, because they'll be launched into orbit. Then, following a countdown from five, the rockets launch out of the building, going through an outdoor section. This goes over all of the buildings in Future Expo before heading back to the station. 

Then, they go through a tunnel, creating the illusion that they've blasted off into space. On a screen is an alien warship, which they go under. The ride does a loop before seeing attacking ships, sent by Zarnod to take them out. Luckily, they destroy each of them as they go around, even doing a barrel roll. Then, as they approach the main ship, Zarnod himself comes after them in a battleship of his own. He fires a torpedo at them, but they dodge it and send it into his ship instead. After shooting down Zarnod's ship, they enter a wormhole, which slows down the vehicle as they return to Earth. The cast members even applaud the guests as they return, thanking them for saving the world.

POST-RIDE:

Guests follow a passage into the Astro Emporium, which sells space-themed merchandise. This is also where guests can see photos taken of them during the launch.

29 - Globespin

This is another spinner ride where guests ride UFOs around an Earth-like planet, listening to Sci-Fi music as they do.

30 - Cyber Wars

This is a trackless shooter ride where guests travel through the streets of Chicago amidst an Artificial Intelligence uprising.

QUEUE:

Guests walk through the Institute of robotics, where new technology is being designed. This includes futuristic vehicles, machines, and most importantly, robots. They then enter a room where a large TV screen plays the news. A bunch of robots are attacking Chicago, tearing the place apart. When going further through the line, guests see videos that explain why this is. These robots were designed for the military, but they've been taken control of by a virus that needs to be taken care of.

Then, guests enter the loading station. They board one of two high-tech vehicles with guns on them. They fit up to six people each. Guests pull down their lap bar and grab their guns.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

As guests go through the ride, they will shoot many different robots. When they've shot one, they will gain points, which is hinted with a pinging noise. Holding down the trigger will also score more points, as well as hitting the robots that are harder to see.

As they enter a supply room, a generator powers the guns up. Then, they enter a storage, where the robots are attacking. Guests shoot at them as they go into a garage and then out into the streets of Chicago. Here, the robots have created some sort of warzone. Guests fight off the robots in the streets, inside a shopping mall, in the park, in the art museum, and in a parking lot. Then, as they go out into the streets again, they approach the biggest robot of all, the one that contains the virus. Whoever hits the red eye in the center of the robot gets an extra 1,000 points.

Like Men in Black: Alien Attack, guests will receive a different ending. Guests will return to the Institute after taking out the big robot and come across a screen, where they receive one of three ratings. If they get the highest rank, "Bot Basher," then they are saluted by a military official, who says that they saved the world. If they get the medium rank, "Mechanically Mediocre," then they see a soldier who tells them to have better luck next time. If they get the lowest rank, "Cyber Skunk," then they see a normal man, who admits that they could do better and tells them not to give up. After that, the vehicles will go to the unload station.

POST-RIDE:

Guests go into a gift shop called Mechanic Marvels, where technology-themed gifts are sold.

31 - Digital Racers

(Height: 40 in.)

This indoor ride sends guests through a digital environment as they race in cars. This uses the same technology as Test Track and Radiator Springs Racers.

QUEUE:

It begins when guests enter the digital player zone. Here, guests will see several futuristic-looking cars as they make their way through the building. They will also see pictures advertising the race. Soon, guests watch videos that give a safety spiel, and then they go over a bridge and into a high-tech landscape. They proceed to one of two cars, which sit up to eight people. There, they put on an augmented reality headset.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

Both cars go through a tunnel of light and appear at the starting line in a futuristic city. There are more cars here (or so AR makes it appear) that are waiting to race. Then, when the time to start comes, the cars launch out, going through a turn. They go over a bridge and then turn around to go under it. Then, they jump over a gap, during which, one of the cars falls in. They continue through a tunnel, where some cars crash into each other. Luckily, they move their way around it. They then proceed into the city sewers, where another car crashes, but they make it around it as well. Finally, they end up in a construction site. A wrecking ball knocks a car aside here. By the end, there are only three cars left, the vehicles the riders are in included. The car tries to outrun them, but it is hit by a train. The cars take a shortcut over the train by jumping off a building. On the other side, one of these cars passes the finish line, although it is different every time which one wins. After that, the vehicles enter the unload station.

POST-RIDE:

Guests enter into the Retro Racers Club, a gift shop selling merchandise themed to the attraction. This is also where guests can see photos taken of them during their launch.