Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show

Featuring high-flying, gravity-defying automobile, motorcycle and high-speed watercraft stunts, the turbo-powered stage show will immerse park guests in the thrill-a-minute world of big-budget movie stunts.

“Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” is inspired by a similar high-revving show at Disneyland Resort Paris. It’s one of several high-profile attractions being imported to Walt Disney World Resort from Disney theme parks around the world in 2005 as the Florida Vacation Kingdom honors the “Happiest Celebration on Earth,” a global salute to the 50th anniversary of California’s Disneyland Resort.

When it opens, a cast of more than 50 will thrill audiences with pulse-pounding chases featuring automobiles, motorcycles and watercraft. Customized and modified, these vehicles will be piloted by a group of trained drivers throughout the show.

The arena for “Lights, Motors, Action!” -- a 177,000-square-foot facility featuring a Mediterranean village set -- is one of the Florida Vacation Kingdom’s largest “stages,” allowing stunt drivers to pack more edge-of-your-seat action into the show including high-speed spins, two-wheeled driving, jumps, pyrotechnic explosions, high falls and plenty of surprises created just as they are performed for the silver screen. The 5,000-seat stadium allows guests to see every inch of the non-stop action.

The premise of “Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” centers around the filming of a spy thriller, with production crew members, stunt managers and a director and assistant director on the “live” set. Using a Tinseltown trick known as shooting “out-of-sequence,” the director sets up the different stunts for the audience. After each scene is “filmed,” the director then combines the shots to create the completed scene that is played on a giant video wall for the audience.

Other highlights and fast facts of “Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show”:

• Construction on the stunt arena began in February 2003. It features a Mediterranean village façade, stunt ramps, pyrotechnic equipment and a man-made canal.
• Audiences will enter through the garage -- or atelier -- as mechanics and technicians finely tune the show vehicles. Six giant windows offer guests behind-the-scenes views. The show will feature more than 40 vehicles on stage and inside the garage area.
• Each vehicle is highly modified to perform the many extreme stunts.
• Vehicles featured include high-performance automobiles, motorcycles and stunt watercraft. Also, “surprise vehicles,” including one designed to drive backwards and another designed to split in half.
• Vehicles are designated by color so the audience will always know which is the “hero” vehicle and which is the “chase” vehicle.
• Meticulous planning, practice and timing are dedicated to each stunt. Because of the choreography involved, crew members liken it to a “ballet on wheels.”

“Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” is just one part of “Happiest Celebration on Earth,” an 18-month gala that pays tribute to the 1955 opening of Disney’s flagship park, Disneyland.

The celebration, which begins May 5, 2005, will take place in all the Disney theme parks around the world with the premiere of new shows and attractions.

Disney parks in every corner of the world -- Disneyland Resort in California; Walt Disney World Resort in Florida; Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan; Disneyland Resort Paris in France; and Hong Kong Disneyland -- are “sharing” the best of each park with the rest of the world.

The stunt show is being imported from Disneyland Resort Paris where it thrills guests under the name “Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular.”