The Dragon was supported by a Large Paraglider wing, Powered by a Rotax 912 Engine there was over a year of testing and 2 wings available. Notice that the wing did NOT show up in the spotlights, special light absorbing material. The Pilot is a notable Paraglider pilot from Ca. with a Commercial Pilot license.
*Spoiler* For those who want to know how Disney did this, read on. Its whats called a PPC or Powered Parachute. There is an engine with a prop on the dragon's back, and a big black parachute above the dragon, and a pilot sitting on top of the dragon itself. The dragon's body is made from Carbon fiber, with landing gear in the knees and his chest (you can spot them if you look for it). Its a fastastic effect, and truly "Disney" quality. Good job!
a very cool product of the imagineer labs, but unfortunately it only really works at night when illuminated in specific ways since it's an ultralight, and the parasail above can ruin the illusion if you see it.
What I love about all the videos posted on this dragon is that all of them have comments saying these videos must be fake (i.e., computer generated). I think this is a huge testament to the Disney folks. This ranks up there with the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean as one of best Disney amusement achievements.
Very impressive for 10 years ago. With the powerful drones available these days, I imagine something very similar could be made today that could fly in broad daylight without a paraglider.
I would pay the park fees just to see it. Being an airline 767 Captain, I will LOVE to fly that lizard.!!! My hat goes off to the pilot of the para foil Dragon. I agree I can't imagine having that kind of impact on the public and only doing it once. That would be crazy. First rule in entertainment, "always leave them wanting more.!!!
the dragon ISN'T attached to wires. they did test runs with the dragon in Bakersfield, California. i was lucky enough to be there and see the testing. it's a 'light aircraft' with a imagineer inside, flying the dragon.
if this generates enough buzz do you think it would give disney and incentive to start working on Beastly Kingdom? do you think we would see this come back if Beastly Kingdom ever sees the light of day? MindO3ric
well judging by the fluttering wings, lack of 5-9 story (not including the castle) buildings, extremely low speeds of the dragon and that .5 sec of a wing at 1:06, i can conclude that it was just a propeller plane attached to 4 moters (powering the head, wings and tail) with 2 tanks which contain smoke and flares. its just a conclusion :D
It was a project planned for Disney's Animal Kingdom, and would have been a land themed around the animals of myth and legend, from dragons to unicorns. Guests would have crossed the bridge from Discovery Island that currently serves Camp Minnie-Mickey, past the rock dragon head that Imagineers built as a teaser for the land they intended to build. Beastly Kingdom was intended for where the camp currently lies, built as a cheaper filler when Beastly Kingdom was axed.
Actually, no. It's a light aircraft. Look it up on google, there are plenty of pictures up. If you look closely you can see one of the wheels in this video.
SleonHikari yup as littlemissmulan2011 said It was an original Land that was going to be put in Animal Kingdom and well last min decisions the scraped it. You can still see some things that were planed for it like the trash cans i believe. and look at the Animal Kingdom Logo. That Dragon is there for a reason :0)
It didn't happen when i went in January this year, but they were still doing Christmas type things then and a dragon isnt very Christmas(ey). Maybe it's seasonal? Or possibly just a one time thing
They should have had the Disney employees running in terror saying this is not apart of the attraction and had actors pretending to be tourist running freaking out... imagine the reaction the guest visiting lol
The dragon is gonna be in avatar land... Apparently there are gonna be dragons in the second movie. I saw the blue prints for it and rumor is that they plan to make it an attraction guests can ride. But there will be more from the dragons in 2015
Seeing this NINE years later, it’s amazing. If they produced more whimsical stuff like this in todays modern era, I could only imagine!
They do but it’s mostly for the Tokyo parks.
The Dragon was supported by a Large Paraglider wing, Powered by a Rotax 912 Engine there was over a year of testing and 2 wings available. Notice that the wing did NOT show up in the spotlights, special light absorbing material. The Pilot is a notable Paraglider pilot from Ca. with a Commercial Pilot license.
Thank u for the exlanacion. 6 years late
There is another video where you can see the canopy for about 2 seconds
*Spoiler* For those who want to know how Disney did this, read on.
Its whats called a PPC or Powered Parachute. There is an engine with a prop on the dragon's back, and a big black parachute above the dragon, and a pilot sitting on top of the dragon itself. The dragon's body is made from Carbon fiber, with landing gear in the knees and his chest (you can spot them if you look for it). Its a fastastic effect, and truly "Disney" quality. Good job!
a very cool product of the imagineer labs, but unfortunately it only really works at night when illuminated in specific ways since it's an ultralight, and the parasail above can ruin the illusion if you see it.
Treasure Planet music is oddly fitting
agreed
Yep
It's so unfair because Disney was so cruel to sink Treasure Planet the way they did
100th like after 9 years :D
What I love about all the videos posted on this dragon is that all of them have comments saying these videos must be fake (i.e., computer generated). I think this is a huge testament to the Disney folks. This ranks up there with the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean as one of best Disney amusement achievements.
Why did they discontinue the dragons? And why are they playing the music from Treasure Planet in the background?
I guess it got too expensive to keep going.
The dragons was only for the grand opening
And idk why they played that song
they should really do this more often that is AWESOME! XD
Theyre using Treasure Planet music!!! such an underrated Disney movie.
This happened on Walt's birthday, Happy Birthday, Walt Disney! Your dreams live on...
Very impressive for 10 years ago. With the powerful drones available these days, I imagine something very similar could be made today that could fly in broad daylight without a paraglider.
I would pay the park fees just to see it. Being an airline 767 Captain, I will LOVE to fly that lizard.!!! My hat goes off to the pilot of the para foil Dragon. I agree I can't imagine having that kind of impact on the public and only doing it once. That would be crazy. First rule in entertainment, "always leave them wanting more.!!!
I wonder where that incredible creature is now...
Looks pretty cool in the sky like that and the pyro effects really enhance It
TREASURE PLANET! well... at least the soundtrack is still remembered -.-
the dragon ISN'T attached to wires. they did test runs with the dragon in Bakersfield, California. i was lucky enough to be there and see the testing. it's a 'light aircraft' with a imagineer inside, flying the dragon.
No it has four legs. Two hang off the back and the front two are held up a little more. It is hard to see but they are there.
(One They Fear--Skryim plays)
Me: (summons the flame astronarch and armored my elven shocked damage bow)
that was so much nerd, i couldn't help but like
TehRealCoralSnek cringe
ThunderPunch23 FRUSRO DAAAH!
If you look at the animal kingdom logo you will see a winged dragon in the middle.
Great effect, I hope they will show this dragon again and maybe incorporate the technology for a show!
ive always wanted a pet dragon like in the dragon books, seeing this, just one step closer! Well done Disney! Thanks Ricky for sharing this!
Love the music from Treasure Planet!
Did anyone else realize the music playing is from Treasure Planet?
Oh wow that's cool wish I was there to see it
I hope they keep this, I wanna see it so bad!!
Could it be a tribute to beastly kingdom?
No made
Devastador1996 Gaming avatarland is like the new beastly kingdom
One word. . . . INCREDIBLE!
This would have freaked me out as a kid because it looks so lifelike, kudos to Disney.
That Dragon looks life like. Hey, I know that Music in the Background. It’s from the Disney Film Treasure Planet.
Ok, now I can die in peace.
How does it.. I mean.. What.. I don't understand but it's awesome!
How does Disney do all this crazy AWESOME stuff? Disney is so AWESOME!!!!
Thats it Disney is freaking epic!
Way to use the Treasure Planet Soundtrack to up the epicness!!!
Oh hay Rodan really did fly over the magic kingdom
I can't be the only one here from fresh baked
Same here my friend.
+MCChazKicks hahaahah same here
I'm just here because of FB
...Me too! Fresh baked n stuff...
Yeah Fresh Baked brought me here too :)
How cool was that? 🐉
LOOKS AWSOME wish I could have seen it plz let them have it again
i read the discription of the video... theres a link to show you it during the day... the discription helps a lot guys, start reading them.
gave me chills that was epic
Now that's what I called a dragon
INCREDIBLE!!!! Only Disney would even DREAM to pull this off!!!! Thanks for sharing! You beat the Disney Bloggers! ;o)
Saw it in person--too freaking cool~
I saw it, It freaked me out truly disney magic
Its a puppet hanging from wires they have above the park, its also how tinker bell fly's around.
:O how?! I actually can't work it out. Orlando theme parks, constantly innovating
Could see the helipcoptor above it when it shot the fireball with the flash of light it gave off.
Have u ever wonder how disney make all that stuff , and why disney is so awesome well its the happiest place on earth
looks so real
This is brilliant!
Its an ultralight. If you look at the link in the description, there are some pictures of it in the daylight.
It has a pilot on top with a parachute to catch the wind
BRING IT BACK
9 years ago imagine what they got now
Wish they could incorporate this idea into the StarWars parks! It'd be awesome to see the ships flying above you
Pretty cool! A taste of what could possibly be at Avatar Land in the Animal Kingdom.
People are saying that this could be at the new Avatar Land. Hopefully this will happen, since this dragon was only a one time thing.
the paraglider that was used for the "flying dragon" is indeed being evaluated for this too, as well as other "one time" aerial attractions.
if this generates enough buzz do you think it would give disney and incentive to start working on Beastly Kingdom? do you think we would see this come back if Beastly Kingdom ever sees the light of day?
MindO3ric
Yep, google flying dragon in California for pics of it in the day time.
I think this is a test for the new Avatar Land
Turns out it wasn't
Great, now flight of passage looks cheap 😂
FRESH BAKEDDD!!!
Treasure Planet music! :D
well judging by the fluttering wings, lack of 5-9 story (not including the castle) buildings, extremely low speeds of the dragon and that .5 sec of a wing at 1:06, i can conclude that it was just a propeller plane attached to 4 moters (powering the head, wings and tail) with 2 tanks which contain smoke and flares. its just a conclusion :D
Which would be kinda weird, since it doesn't have a helicopter above it. Look at the daytime demos of it in the link.
It was a project planned for Disney's Animal Kingdom, and would have been a land themed around the animals of myth and legend, from dragons to unicorns.
Guests would have crossed the bridge from Discovery Island that currently serves Camp Minnie-Mickey, past the rock dragon head that Imagineers built as a teaser for the land they intended to build. Beastly Kingdom was intended for where the camp currently lies, built as a cheaper filler when Beastly Kingdom was axed.
The dragon is cool, but it would be WAY more cool if it was the Maleficent dragon from Sleeping Beauty.
It’s Jonathan Jacobo!
They are making a new Snow White ride: The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It's not going to open until 2014.
Actually, no. It's a light aircraft. Look it up on google, there are plenty of pictures up. If you look closely you can see one of the wheels in this video.
cool. they should have one at WW of Harry Potter
+Nicholas Jung Universal wanted to but couldn't get permission to fly it because Disney owns the patent for the paraglider design.
Nicholas Jung That would be awesome
that is a powered para glider technical flying illegal at night but its Disney. I would love to build them a more robust 4 stroke Green Eagle to fly.
Amazing! I cant believe I lost that!!!
1:05 I SAW LE PARASAIL
True Disney Magic
This is awesome is it an audio anomatronic?
SleonHikari yup as littlemissmulan2011 said It was an original Land that was going to be put in Animal Kingdom and well last min decisions the scraped it. You can still see some things that were planed for it like the trash cans i believe. and look at the Animal Kingdom Logo. That Dragon is there for a reason :0)
It didn't happen when i went in January this year, but they were still doing Christmas type things then and a dragon isnt very Christmas(ey). Maybe it's seasonal? Or possibly just a one time thing
I knew it sounded familiar!
If it were a real dragon they wouldnt be saying "Ooooh, ahhhhh," and clapping XDDD
That's so awesome, but what movie is it supposed to be from? sleeping beauty? Or just for the heck of it?
They should have had the Disney employees running in terror saying this is not apart of the attraction and had actors pretending to be tourist running freaking out... imagine the reaction the guest visiting lol
wait wait wait wait, you're telling me someone is riding a dragon. for a living. What am i doing with my life?
After this I'm sure they are working on it!
I want one!
The dragon is gonna be in avatar land... Apparently there are gonna be dragons in the second movie. I saw the blue prints for it and rumor is that they plan to make it an attraction guests can ride. But there will be more from the dragons in 2015
That was really cool!
Wow I can't believe they used music from Treasure Planet yet won't aw knowledge it
Its a puppet hanging from wires they have above the park, its also how tinker bell fly's around. What do you expect? Derp.
wow!
TREASURE PLANET FTW!
Amazing video. Would have loved to have seen it in person. I wonder what Disney will be doing with this incredible flying dragon.
That was awesome.
THEYRE FINALLY RECONIZING THE DAMN MOVIE FOR ONCE
Genial!!!! Hay que ir a verlo!!!!
Bien hecho Disney!!!!
There should be a group of people dressed as Whiterun guards chasing it the whole time.
@SleonHikari beastly kingdom was suposed to be a part of animal kingdom but was replaced with camp Minnie Mickey
WOW
Looks cool.
wow it looks as impressive as the CG dragon in Merlin
I don't know about you.....but this would have FREAKED ME OUT if I had seen it in person!!!!!
How'd did they make the dragon fly like that anyway?
Just when I thought: Needs to shoot fireballs: *boom*