Please note: In the following descriptions, time is given in minutes: seconds. As an example, "1:45" is 1 minute, 45 seconds.

GUEST CAPACITY: 2,880 per hour. Each flight has a "squadron" of five (5) planes; four (4) guest planes and the lead plane (with the A-A Mickey Mouse). Each guest plane carries up to six (6) people, for a total of 24 guests per flight, and 2 flights per minute.

RIDE LENGTH: 11 minutes.

RIDE VEHICLES: Guests fly in vintage, open-air biplanes, suspended from an overhead rail like Peter Pan's Flight. Rigged in the suspension is a system of controls which allow each plane to bank from side to side, lean forward and back, or move up and down. During selected parts of the ride, guests can manipulate their plane, making it go slightly up or down. When this might interfere with the ride, the controls do not work, or can only be used to a certain extent. Each guest plane has a front and rear seating compartment, which can hold up to three (3) people each for a total of six (6) per plane. Seats are padded and arranged in a straddle position with each compartment having close to the same dimensions as the Rocket Jets. Each guest plane is named one of the following:

BETTY'S BEAUTY BEV'S BOMBER CAROL'S CONVERTIBLE DONNA'S DYNAMITE MARGE'S MISSLE MARILYN'S MARAUDER

ALAN'S ACE DANTE'S DARLING DENNIS' DART ORLO'S ORBIT PHIL'S PHLYER VINCE'S VULTURE

THEME MUSIC: I would very much like the incidental music for this attraction composed by either Mark Mothersbaugh or Danny Elfman. Danny Elfman has done theme music for Pee Wee Herman and The Simpsons, while Mark (co-founder of the band Devo) has been composing the right style of music for this attraction for over a decade. I believe both of them are presently involved with composing music for television and/or films.

QUEUE: Takes place in the AVIATION MUSEUM. The line snakes around the exhibits, which range from absurd plaques relating war stories such as how Goofy saved D-Day to actual displays showing Walt Disney's experiences in WWI, and the Studio's participation in WWII. Other displays could be monitors showing well-known WWI/WWII stock footage with Disney characters drawn in, doing funny things behind people's backs, ala Not Necessarily the News. On the walls of the museum are screens showing a montage of the different aeronautical scenes from Disney films, including Plane Crazy, accompanied by a wild theme, funny by itself, composed by one of the above composers. While focusing on aviation, I think we can get away with a few other things as well, such as a video showing Donald Duck tripping Hitler. The museum is strictly for queue purposes only, and is not accessible any other way.

MULTIPLE SETS: In order to make the attraction feasible with a high capacity rate and to take full advantage of the scenes, Plane Crazy features some multiple sets, For instance, because the planes stop in the HIDEOUT ROOM for 1:45, and the space between flights is only 30 seconds, there are 4 separate hideout scenes. Many of the large sets are communal, in which flights spend 30 seconds or less.

HANGAR ONE: (5 sets) Serves as the guest boarding area. Guests are led into this hangar directly from the museum. Immediately upon entering the room the show starts. The entire scene with Mickey and Michael Eisner takes place as the guests are being seated in their planes, giving the ride operator almost a full two minutes to seat 24 guests. The interior is cartoonish, yet dark and virtually colorless, giving the later takeoff scene far more impact. Tools and mechanical things are left about, giving the impression that somebody was just in here, fixing these things. During the reset time, the empty planes are lowered into the room from above, where they have been hanging during the scene, unseen by the guests due to the spotlights pointing down at them from up there. The scene lasts 1:58 with a 32 second reset time.

HANGAR TWO: (5 sets) Essentially the same look as HANGAR ONE. This scene lasts 1:55, with a 35 second reset time.

TAKEOFF HALL: (Communal set) Extremely bright and colorful, in deep contrast with the hangar we just flew out of. The illusion of takeoff is helped by the floor sloping downward as the planes fly upward. The models of the miniature buildings in the town below are built progressively smaller the further down the hall we go. In the background is a rinky-dink amusement park with a big, tall rollercoaster. As we gain altitude towards the end of the hall, we inadvertently fly into some clouds which serves as our exit from the hall and our entrance into the coaster room. There is a ten second space between flights using this hall.

COASTER ROOM: (Communal set) A full scale model of a section of that same big, tall rollercoaster we saw in the distance a while ago. Our planes fly in and around the structure with each plane flying a different path. The coaster framework hides most of the planes' overhead support tracks. Near the end of this scene, a coaster train comes through with its fake guests sporting terrified poses while screaming. Painted on the walls is the rest of the coaster, made to seem as tall as the Empire State Building. As our planes regroup, we fly around a hill to the next room. This scene lasts 24 seconds with 6 seconds between flights using this room.

HILLS: (Communal set) A room full of hilltops. We see a hill in the distance with Pete's hideout on top. We fly around some more hills to get to it, but actually we are entering the next room. We spend 10 seconds in this room with 10 seconds between flights.

HIDEOUT HILL: (Communal set) The largest set in the attraction. Pete's full-size hideout sits atop a hill. Hills completely surround us, as in the last room. A set of large wooden doors, which seem to be used as a loading platform, sits open. This is the entrance to the TRANSFER HALLS. The entire hill swivels around during the reset time to align the doorway with the four separate TRANSFER HALLS. Each flight spends 15 seconds in this room with 15 seconds between flights.

TRANSFER HALLS: (4 sets) These halls merely transport the separate flights from the single room above to the four separate rooms below. These hallways are stationary. As mentioned in the above room, HIDEOUT HILL swivels around, giving each flight access to a particular hall. The halls actually take the planes on a descending path down into HIDEOUT HILL. The halls are decorated to resemble a hallway in Pete's Hideout with goofy pictures of Pete's career with the Walt Disney Company. Mickey blasts down the door at the end of the hall which leads us into the next scene. Flights spend 12 seconds in the halls.

HIDEOUT: (4 sets) The illusion that the guests are continuously flying around this room is achieved by having the planes stop and having the room spin around the guests. Willie the Giant would work better as a film effect rather than an A-A figure due to both the tremendous cost and breakdown potential of having a figure that size spin around and the better results in fast action we can achieve with a film (i.e., sticking his finger in his mouth when thinking). The room has wooden floors and is very messy. On the walls are pictures of Pete's family who look very goofy, just like Pete, himself. Planes spend 1:45 watching this scene. Fifteen seconds are left for a reset.

CAR CHASE: (2 sets) As we blast through the wall of the last scene, we find ourselves outside, chasing Pete in his car below. Audio effects give the illusion of Pete's gunshots whistling by our ears. On our neighbors planes we watch as bullet holes appear up and down the fuselage. Pete's car escapes in the train tunnel ahead. We spy an entrance on the same hill, only higher. We are made to believe this is the hole we are about to fly into. However, upon coming closer, we fly around some nearby cliffs and trees and enter a separate hole from around the corner. This way will make it a little more exciting and easier to hide the overhead tracks. This scene lasts 30 seconds with a 30 second reset period.

TRAIN TUNNELS: (Communal set) It is immediately pitch black inside until we turn our headlights on. Rear projection screens and the shaking of the planes give us the illusion of hairpin turns in these narrow tunnels. To give the illusion of flying upside-down with the train passing by underneath, the planes first bank sharply then rock back and forth while the train is the one who's actually upside-down and passing by overhead. Due to the plane supports, the train passes by more to the side than directly overhead. Since we are continuously moving with 30 seconds between flights, this scene can last as long as we want. I have given it 20 seconds.

BOXCAR ROOM: (4 sets) The sides of this room are rear projection screens. When we enter this room, we think we are still in the tunnel. When the planes stop (unbeknownst to the guests) the screens show us exiting the tunnel at great speed while flying directly over a boxcar of a very long train. Part of the train is real with the front and back being cartoons on the screen. The background shows us moving at great speed during this entire scene, helped by some powerful fans. At the conclusion of the scene, we ascend into the clouds which, once again, serves as our exit into the next room. This scene lasts 1:25 with a 35 second reset.

EXIT HALL: (2 sets) Serves as our transition from the BOXCAR ROOM to the TAILSPIN TUNNEL. This room represents a cloud bank which we are flying through. While in this room, the planes slowly form a single-file flight path since we will be entering the next scene that way. If we look carefully, we can see glimpses of the ground below. The planes spend 30 seconds in this room with 30 seconds between flights.

TAILSPIN TUNNEL: (4 sets) A large, cylindrical tunnel which presents the effect of the clouds spinning around us during our tailspin via rear projection. We are flying in single-file. During the tailspin, the planes sway from side to side, each separate from each other. At the front end of the tunnel (blocking our escape) is a round, three-dimensional model of the ground which is spinning in sync with the clouds. At the conclusion of the tailspin, when everything stops spinning (except for the guests' heads) this front-piece slides out of our way, allowing us to enter the unloading station. This scene lasts 45 seconds with a 15 second reset period.

UNLOAD STATION: An ordinary unload station decked out for a hero's welcome celebration, complete with cheering crowds. We disembark onto a red carpet which we follow to exit the attraction. On our way out, we pass under several video monitors showing the final cartoon with Mickey in Captain Doberman's office. The actual unload area is long and can be extended at a moments notice due to the guests having difficulty unloading.

CITY HALL SAVER: A vehicle storage room where planes are kept while waiting for their turn to enter HANGAR ONE. Theoretically, this will ensure that if the planes get backed-up at the unloading station, there will always be some ready to start the ride on time. Since the guests in the rear planes won't have to wait for the slow guests to disembark before them, the planes will all be empty once the guests have finally left and free to be whisked into the CITY HALL SAVER. The name of the room means that since vehicle backup won't be a big problem, the guests won't be flooding City Hall with the complaint, "That employee was very rude! She embarrassed us in front of everybody telling my little Herbie that he was holding up the ride by not getting off!"

REFERENCES: To satisfy repeat visitors and to further personalize this attraction (see the "Why My Idea Is Great" letter for more details), Plane Crazy features numerous double-meaning references. Two of them are personal and are meant solely for my family, friends, and crazy collectors of Disney trivia:

. . . . . -The guest planes are named after some of the close friends I work with at Disneyland and the Anaheim Hilton.

. . . . . -The address of Pete's Hideout is from my childhood home in Hermosa Beach, CA.

. . . . . -Willie the Giant asks for Billy Gilbert. Billy Gilbert is the man who originally did Willie's voice.

. . . . . -Mickey suggests the guests visit Wensleydale's Cheese Emporium to celebrate. This name is taken from a Monty Python sketch.

. . . . . -The title of the exhibit taking place in the Aviation Museum is "Victory Through Mouse Power," a takeoff of the Disney film Victory Through Air Power, and an alternate title for this attraction.

. . . . . -On the telescreens in the Hangar is the brand name logo "Orwell" - a tribute to the writer of the book 1984.

. . . . . -The rural town we fly above in the TAKEOFF HALL has a little sign proclaiming, "Welcome to Retro City," a takeoff of the old Carousel of Progress "Progress City" model.

. . . . . -The coaster we almost collide with has the Six Flags logo on the front. Or, if this is not possible, it carries the name "Colossus" or "Corkscrew" after the attractions at Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm.

. . . . . -The HALLWAY we fly through inside PETE'S HIDEOUT is lined with photographs showcasing Pete's career with the Walt Disney Company.

. . . . . -The train we nearly collide with and later fly above is named the "Toonzoomer No. 2" after the train in Roger Rabbit.

. . . . . -Goofy's airship is named "Hyperian," after the airship in the "Dumbo Circus" future expansion model in the Disney Gallery, which in turn is from the original Disney Bros. Studio.

ADVERTISING: A television as I had in mind for this attraction starts with the title card from the cartoon Plane Crazy in black and white, complete with scratches on the film and tinny 1920s music. Cut to Mickey flying in the cartoon, doing stunts typical of that cartoon. He turns and flies towards the camera. In the brief instance from when he turns up to when he zooms into the camera, the ad changes from black and white to color, while the music goes from tinny to a full stereo, modern beat. After Mickey zooms into the camera and passes by just overhead, we pan over to see him flying around the landmarks of Disneyland and eventually landing behind the Plane Crazy show building. Brief clips of guests enjoying the actual attraction follow with an ending Disneyland logo in computer graphics.