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ROBOCOP THE RIDE
Iwerks Entertainment took passengers on a fast-paced journey with the future of Law Enforcement. Guests join RoboCop on a mission to save the mayor of Detroit from the clutches of the vicious Cyberpunk ROM and his gang of villains.
Article by: David Perkins
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It was basically a huge motion master ride. You sat in the cinema with chairs that leaped about a meter from the ground. The hall must have held roughly a hundred people, all sat in rows of seats which you had to strap yourself in to. The chairs would turn and swerve in relation to what was going on in the ride, and I believe they even blew cold air in your face at one point. The screen itself was a few steps shy from being an IMAX, and the whole cinema had a very futuristic white plastic sheen to it.
The ride started off with RoboCop greeting his rookie's for the day, us and we first see Robo sat on this futuristic looking bike. Robo then turns to the street, (which looks just like the run down Detroit from RoboCop 2) and we all ride off. Suddenly these two "creeps" on bikes shoot past, and RoboCop turns to you and says "hang on". We're then informed that the Mayor has been kidnapped, and a pretty cool chase ensues. This part of the ride concludes with a huge oil tanker explosion, and two of the assailants getting away. It's been a few years and I can't quite remember the plot hook that gets you there, but suddenly the bikes switch to hover mode, and that's where the real fun starts.
The chairs which before went back and forth and shook a bit suddenly become something more akin to a roller-coaster ride. You follow Robo through this futuristic CG landscape, avoiding trains, bullets and factories. The C.G.I was great for the time, but very poorly textured. It's probably most comparable to a sharp Nintendo64 game, with everything given a very clean shine to it.
I remember the chairs being ace at the train scene, as you really felt as if you were going to fall as you swerved between the oncoming carriages.
It was kind of the same sensation as an elevator falling between floors. Of course you would never want to experience that feeling during a real custom elevator ride, but it certainly was fun as part of the RoboCop ride!
At the end of the ride we return back down to ground level, where RoboCop makes a quick arrest and saves the Mayor. A nice technical soundtrack plays throughout, and though I couldn't say for certain, I'm fairly sure the traditional RoboCop theme was recognisable amongst the many spot effects.
The ride ends with RoboCop turning and thanking us, along with the inevitable see you again, the music fades up and everything turns to black very dramatically.
The ride itself was about 4 minutes of fairly intense action, and it was indeed a very cool RoboCop experience. Please also bear in mind that I was only 12 - 13 at the time, so my memory was still very much tinged with the WOW factor.
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