The Twister: Ride it Out control room is located at the very top of the viewing area. It is incased in windows, along the side of the back wall. From inside the theater you can see these glass windows, but you can not see what is going on inside.
As you walk through the back hallways of Twister, you take a right turn, find a small stair case, you go up it. You see a big set of windows, and through those windows you see the set of Twister: Ride it Out. If you found this, then that means you have made your way to the control room of Twister. Inside the control room you will find a bulletin board on the right wall, on this board, you will find a map. People who are invited into the control room are asked to use a thumb tack and pin there home town to the map. The control room itself is basically an empty room with a small table and a chair inside of it. On the table is the control board. The control board features a few monitors witch show cameras of the theater to make sure everything is going correctly. In order to start the show, the Team Member working up in the control room must hit his/hers start button. The start button is a blinking green button. Once they hit it they must hold it down, until the Team Member in the theater makes sure that every one is ready. Once the Team Member in the theater thinks that the show can start, he/she will hit her button down. Once the two buttons are being pressed and held, the show will start.
In order for the show to go on, the Team Member in the control room must hold there hand on a heat sensor. If they take there hand off of the heat sensor at ANY time during the show, they attraction will E-Stop (emergency stop). If the attraction E-Stops, the show will stop going and they will be forced to evacuate everyone out of the theater. The guests that were in the theater will then receive a free express pass to use on any attraction.
On the set, next to the guard rails that prevent guests from running on it, there are sensors. These sensors detect any motion. These are here incase a guest trying to walk or run on the set during a showing of Twister. When these sensors are triggered, the show will automatically stop. If the show ever has to E-Stop, it will take at least and hour and a half for the show to come out of E-Stop mode. This is due to Universal having to send mechanics to make sure that EVERYTHING is working properly. The mechanics will start at the beginning of the queue, and then into the gift shop, while they go through it, they make sure that all effects are working.
During the show, many special FX are used. One of the biggest, and coolest special effects is the real tornado. The Tornado is make of Liquid Nitrogen. They make this tornado by making the attraction theater like a wind tunnel. Due to the attraction being a wind tunnel, if the doors to the gift shop are opened during a showing, the cloths on the racks will be nocked down. Therefore, you go out of a side door if you want to leave. Another major special effect is the fire. The fire is first used in a troth, after gas spills out of a gas pump. Then the fire goes from that troth and mixes with the tornado making a large fire tornado. During the refurbishment, the piping for the fire and the liquid nitrogen will be getting upgraded.
There are many cool and hidden things in Twister. Many of the props used in this special effects show are were used in the movie “Twister”. The rocket café that is on the left side of the set in the show is straight from the movie, also the tree that splits in half at first came directly from the movie screen. Originally, the two cars in Twister: Ride it Out came from the movie, but they have since been replaced. The robotic arm that makes the Galaxy Movie theater sign fly backwards is the same arm that used to make the Staypuft Marshmellow Man from the “Ghost Busters” fly forward at the end of there former attraction, “The Ghost Busters Spooktacular”. The chair lift for wheel chairs and other people who need it is also left over from Ghost Busters. One of the most recognizing remains from The Ghost Busters Spooktacular is the lockers that used to be the Ghost Busters. The lockers still remain, but the names have been painted over to match the theme of Twister.
I hope you enjoyed our fist Back Stage Look, we hope to see you next Friday, as we go backstage once again.