THE MYTH OF ZORRO

Let us travel back in time to Old California, to an era of Spanish rule.  It is a time of romance and danger.  The Spanish nobility rules Alta California, subjugating its indigenous peoples.  But one man stands up for the powerless!  That man is Zorro, a mysterious vigilante in a mask and cape, who steals from the rich, who rights wrongs, who battles the corrupt Governor Monastario.  Now let us battle alongside Zorro on an atmospheric boat ride through distant Californian history.

SETTING THE STAGE – ALTA PUEBLO

The revitalization of Disney California Adventure which concluded with the opening of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street in 2012 was a tremendous success.  In its aftermath, it became clear that what guests most loved about the new DCA was a chance to explore the state’s romanticized past.  To see things found no place else.  In response, Imagineering quickly decided to fasttrack an all-new land for 2015…Alta Pueblo.

Imagine the Pueblo de los Angeles circa 1820.  New Spain is about to give way to Mexican Independence.  The dusty, sun-baked village is a mixture of Spanish and native influences, full of adobe bricks, red tile roofs and finely-carved woodwork.  The town spreads from a Mariachi Plaza stage where musicians play Spanish guitar, senoritas dance the flamenco, and charros display their roping tricks.  

Alta Pueblo is found in DCA’s southeastern corner between Cars Land and the irreplaceable Tower of Terror.  Walking down Route 66, asphalt gives way to cobblestone.  The desert landscape is overcome with agave and sagebrush.  Guests enter through an aging mission arch.

Beyond, they discover the inviting central plaza and a colonial pueblo surrounding it.  Willows and pepper trees provide shade and hide the nearby Tower of Terror (whose backside is redressed as crumbling adobe). An asistencia sub-mission stands amidst native clay huts.  Fountains of pink sandstone divide the paseos.  Everywhere there are details like tile murals or colorful papel picado banners.

Alta Pueblo boasts many shops, restaurants and attractions to engage guests:

• Teatro de Charros hosts live displays of horsemanship and music based on the storied Mexican cowboy tradition.

• Tienda Avila is an open-air marketplace offering Mexican handcrafts like masks, blankets and pottery.

• Hacienda de la Vega is a table service restaurant specializing in Spanish and Mexican cuisine (see more below).

• Sabor del Toro is a rancho cart which grills quick service meals to be enjoyed overlooking Mariachi Plaza.

• And in 2018 Imagineering announces Coco’s Fiesta de los Muertos, an interactive dark ride (once rumored for DisneySea) based on Pixar’s Coco and dedicated to California’s Mexican cultural legacy.

However, Alta Pueblo’s centerpiece is The Myth of Zorro.  It is a lengthy, high-capacity dark ride for the entire family – a necessary counterpoint to DCA’s energetic offerings, and a great compliment to the classics at Disneyland.

This 14-minute boat ride sends guests on an adventure with Zorro against Governor Monastario.  While the immediate story concerns a battle over water rights, our theme is an entire era of history.  Zorro provides the perfect framework.  While he is a surprisingly recent creation (first appearing in a 1919 pulp novel), he epitomizes the romance of Old California.  The Walt Era “Zorro” TV show – which is the creative spine for our new ride – makes this an unexpected yet perfect choice for a park dedicated to Walt’s California.

QUEUE – DE LA VEGA’S HACIENDA

Alta Pueblo is dominated by a grandiose hacienda estate perched atop a cliff.  This is the home of Don Diego de la Vega, landed gentry, and entrance to The Myth of Zorro.

Guests reach the hacienda grounds via a stone bridge crossing Arroyo Murrieta.  From here, the mansion’s baroque entry leads to the Hacienda de la Vega table service restaurant.  Ride entry is through a natural rock arch in the shape of a “Z.”  This leads to a shaded veranda overflow queue through the hacienda gardens, full of fountains, flowers and decorative rancho equipment.  (While the queue is designed with parallel paths to allow for FastPass implementation, the ride’s gigantic capacity makes FastPass largely unneeded.)

Classical Spanish guitar music sets the stage for our journey to come.

A mansion side entrance leads guests into de la Vega’s private library.  It is a comforting space, full of rafters, Toledo steel and priceless antiques.  A massive oil painting of de la Vega rests over the fireplace, depicting him as a foppish dandy.  His book collection is full of swashbuckling heroes like Robin Hood and the Scarlet Pimpernel, a hint to de la Vega’s true identity.  For who would ever guess that this effete gentleman is actually the dashing Zorro!

Further details reveal more.  A vast mural depicts a map of California as it was once misinterpreted – as an island off the coast of America.  Manuscripts lay out the history of Governor Monastario, of his struggles against rebellious Mexican nationalists, his dedication to the Spanish crown.

One bookcase sits ajar.  Guests round it and discover a secret passageway leading under the house.  They roam candle-lined tunnels, further and further into the earth (1 floor down).  Yellowed pamphlets on the wall detail the region’s history.  They tell of Zorro’s “reign of terror” robbing from corrupt tax collectors.  Governor Monastario has set a bounty on the outlaw.  On each pamphlet, Monastario’s face has been cut away in a “Z,” the mark of Zorro.

At last guests reach Zorro’s secret hideout.  A natural granite cavern, home to an underground river, packed to the brim with Zorro’s tools-of-the-trade.  Rows of rapiers.  Medieval suits of armor.  Confiscated riches.  A big map of the region detailing land grants and waterways.  Amidst the rocks, Zorro has created a cozy apartment with bunk beds and a dinner table.  Seeing all these details, guests are primed for adventure!

RIDE STATS

Ride type: Boat dark ride

Duration: 12:20

Riders per boat: 24

Hourly capacity: 3,400

Budget: $125 million

RIDE EXPERIENCE

Wooden loading docks lead to bateaux boats.  Guests climb aboard aided by cast members dressed as villagers.  Other guests unload on the opposite side.

The Myth of Zorro uses the same basic ride system as Pirates of the Caribbean, with a few modern upgrades for improved blocking (preventing backups at waterfalls).  This allows boats to trigger unique events.  The real innovation on display is the artistry.  A cast of over 120 animatronics are among the most sophisticated yet created.  A timeless experience, one which could be made in any era!

SCENE 1 – A Prelude to Adventure

We drift through the flooded caverns.  A wanted poster of Zorro hangs against the rock wall.  Distant streams and waterfalls echo…and so does a song…

Zorro’s Theme – as it famously appeared in Walt Disney’s “Zorro” – echoes through the caverns, sung by mythic unseen spirits.  Lightning flashes outside in tune with the music, revealing Zorro’s silhouette against the granite rockwork.

The boat ascends a brief lift hill to the mouth of the cave, one floor up.  Zorro’s mute manservant Bernardo sees us off while donning a serape disguise.

SCENE 2 – The Tranquil Arroyo

We exit the cave, out on the wide-open expanse of the San Fernando Valley farmlands at night.  The boat drifts languorously along a lush arroyo under glittering stars.  Hardened clay divots redirect the waters down an acequia channel, towards the farmland – the poor farmers rely on this water for their livelihoods.

Rounding a bend, the back patio of Zorro’s hacienda swarms with life and lights.  This is Hacienda de la Vega, a signature table service restaurant with terraced seating offering views of the tranquil river.  Picture a patio barbeque, complete with elaborate iron roasting pit.  Slowly, a soundtrack builds which will accompany guests for the entire ride…

(Michael Giacchino shall be composing an original soundtrack for The Myth of Zorro, with variations on Zorro’s Theme.  For now, please enjoy the presentation with this temp track of Giacchino’s work on Coco.)

On the opposite bank, a few heads of cattle sip from the stream.  There’s also an animatronic fox – the symbol of Zorro – who will be seen throughout the ride.

Slowly we drift from the patio celebration.  Sounds of the river take over.  Zorro appears on an outcropping riding his dark horse Tornado.  He addresses us:

“The waterways de los Angeles.  Beautiful, no?  But dastardly schemes are afoot.  Come, let us investigate.”

SCENE 3 – The Native World

Large chaparral line the shore.  Hidden in a clearing, we find a band of Chumash natives around a campfire.  One fishes in the river.  Another grinds acorns.  Straw huts dot a hillside.  Thatch canoes float hidden under branches.  Native life, unspoiled.

But further down, there are horses – non-native animals – tied to a trunk.  Spanish armor and weaponry piled up amidst boulders.  A bell rings across the valley.  The boat passes under a mission arch.  Dozens of swallows roost in its alcoves.  The coming of California’s mission system…

SCENE 4 – The Mission System

The missions were the first Spanish inroads into California.  They served as massive farms worked by the natives.  That is the scene we now find, the first major animatronic showpiece.  Dozens of exhausted natives work rows of grapes and wheat, all overseen by cruel Spanish soldiers with lances.  Monks silently linger.  The rotund Sergeant Garcia – a familiar foe from the TV show – awkwardly commandeers on horseback, his saddle tilting and threatening to throw him off.

Bernardo works disguised among the natives, a spy for Zorro.  Zorro himself inspects the scene from atop the oppressive Mission Santa Maria, backlit by the full moon.  A small pueblo appears in the distance beyond the mission.

Of special note is the mission’s acequia irrigation system: drainage ditches to draw water from the river.  In California, water is life.  So it’s a bad sign that the waters ahead splash violently, redirected by makeshift adobe canals.  The currents draw our boats away from the main watercourse and instead down a freshly-dug ditch.

SCENE 5 – Stealing the Water and the Land

The redirected waters rush through a tangled oak grove.  A stone bridge sits dead ahead, a stagecoach atop it.  A holdup is underway, with Spanish soldiers disguised as bandits.  And what are these soldiers stealing?  A land grant deed from a nobleman on the stagecoach.

Suddenly our boat drops down an unexpected waterfall under the bridge, just a single storey!  We rush under a mess of tree roots.  The stolen river winds past crumbling cliffs.  Into a clearing of jagged sandstone rocks.

SCENE 6 – Monastario’s Man Made Drought

Drifting from the bramble, we discover a parched landscape full of cracked dry riverbeds and rolling tumbleweeds.  Thirsty and dying farmlands.  Cattle skeletons.  Tornadoes of dust.  Buzzards in the dead trees.  Whoever is stealing the water is creating a drought.

On distant hills, silhouetted coyotes howl.  Nearby coyotes along the riverbanks snarl menacingly as we pass by.

The milquetoast Governor Monastario surveys from within a spotless carriage.  He addresses Sergeant Garcia outside, who drips with mud.  Montesario points to a dam in the faraway mountains, clutching a map of the region.

“Excellent, Sergeant Garcia.  Now we control the water rights.  Our stranglehold on this region shall be unbreakable.  JA JA JA!”

Zorro spies on Monastario from behind the carriage.  He also takes note of the lovely senorita Anita Cabrillo within the carriage.

SCENE 7 – The Old Mill Lift Hill

We come across a series of waterwheels and troughs.  The boat is caught up in a decaying mill’s wooden conveyor – a lift hill which carries us and the water towards the dam.  Soldiers and bandits patrol the creaking rafters.  There is a noise.

“What was that?!”  “It’s Zorro!”  “You idiot!  He’s simply a myth.”

The men aim their muskets.  A noise from the other direction.  They spin.

Further up, a lantern illuminates a Zorro wanted poster.  A shadow rushes in, briefly killing the light.  When the lantern returns, the poster has a large “Z” carved into it.

On the other side, the shadow leaps down onto a soldier.  Light fades, then returns.  The soldier is now tied up in rope.  The shadow rushes on.

SCENE 8 – Mountaintop Viaduct

Reaching the top, we arrive in the high mountains.  We pass desecrated native cliff dwellings.

The waters travel a viaduct across a bridge spanning a mighty ravine.  Below is the mission – a future scene.  Ahead is a presidio – a Spanish fortress – the soldiers’ base of operations.  A sentry sleeps drunkenly, surrounded by empty wine bottles.

SCENE 9 – The Presidio

Through underlit halls of hardened, mossy limestone, we prowl the presidio.  Footsteps echo down gated chambers.  Soldiers snore in their barrack bunk beds, some clutching ill-gotten goods or wine caskets or dollies.

Zorro creeps about in the darkness, still mostly unseen.  Briefly Zorro’s silhouette swordfights a soldier’s shadow.

Zorro physically swings across the waterway!  This is a genuine animatronic moment, an evolution of the swinging pirate from Paris.  Zorro smashes through a stained-glass window and is gone.  A great commotion erupts!

SCENE 10 – The Armory

Under a drop gate, we reach the armory.  The garrison is awake!  Soldiers battle surrounded by cannons and muskets and barrels of explosives, firing at Zorro’s shadow swashbuckling about.  Sergeant Gargia tumbles clumsily against a table, a big “Z” sliced into his vest.  Other soldiers lie under a toppled munitions shelf.

“That’s the outlaw!  Stop him, you fools!”

Soldiers fire cannons, demolishing far walls (again, all practical effects which reset for each boat).  One of these blasted holes redirects the waters outside.  We drift through.

SCENE 11 – Destroying the Dam

Ahead is the dam overlooking the valley below.  Around it are great carts of explosives stolen from the armory…and their wicks are burning.  Zorro casually sits in a Spanish throne, wielding a candle.

“Evildoers beware!  Your cruel misdeeds shall blow up in your face.”

The dam explodes!  We plummet down a drop (no more extreme than on Pirates of the Caribbean), and rush through the dam’s spillway under the viaduct.

SCENE 12 – Flooding the Mission

Onto the agricultural floodplain, now buried under a torrent of dam water.  Farming equipment floats, a few soldiers scrambling atop barrels and carts to avoid the flood.  The great Mission Santa Maria crumbles.  Cracks form.  The mighty bell tower has collapsed, now lying against an oak tree spanning our path.  We pass under the tower, as the mission bell dangles precariously on a rope, slipping down just above our heads and ringing out!

SCENE 13 – Battle of the Pueblo

Sandbags redirect the raging waters, set in place by Bernardo and the villagers to protect their pueblo.  This canal drives the waters safely through the Pueblo de los Angeles.  We float down the main street, while the peasants’ homes stay high and dry.

A great show-stopping animatronic finale is underway!  The peasants, led by Zorro, are in a heated battle for freedom against the soldiers.  Peasants fight with pitchforks and torches, triumphing with comical slapstick setpieces which would make Marc Davis proud.

Soldiers are clobbered with sandbags.  One tumbles into the flood waters, his legs thrashing about.  An aging abuela wallops a soldier with her skillet.  Even Tornado does battle, sitting on one soldier and dueling another with a rapier in his mouth.

A gate labeled “PLAZA DE TOROS” lies smashed.  Animatronic bulls join the fray, pursuing frightened soldiers on a turntable.  One massive bull, steam billowing from his nose, corners Sergeant Garcia trapped inside a wine barrel.

Meanwhile, Zorro engages four soldiers at once in an epic sword duel, a triumphant example of animatronic synchronization.  Zorro stands atop an ox cart, seesawing up and down as he trades parries.

Peasant women place acequia gates in the currents.  Our boat reroutes through ornate gates which read “PALACIO DEL GOBERNADOR.”  Ahead is the gubernatorial palace of Monastario, bedecked in outrageous fineries like San Bernardino’s Mission Inn.  We enter via elaborate oak doors.

SCENE 14 – The Governor’s Palace

The regal interior is flooded from wall to wall.  Waters pour in relentlessly, from windows, from the fireplace, from Baroque statues’ weeping eyes.  Treasure chests and suits of armor float about.  Ironically, a wall tapestry depicts Noah’s Ark.  The defeated Governor Monastario cowers atop a waterlogged harpsichord, his quivering feet playing an odd tune.

Zorro holds senorita Anita in his arms and cuts a chandelier’s rope.  Both escape, sailing straight up towards a balcony – another major animatronic set piece!

We near a dead end corner.  Waterlogged wood rafters rot away.  The chandelier crashes ahead.  The floor gives way, and we tumble down a climactic 2-floor drop!

SCENE 15 – The Dastards’ Just Desserts

The boat rushes through Monastario’s wine cellar, then emerges from seaside cliffs onto the moonlit Californian coast.  Breakwaters crash against rocks.  The various villains – Governor Monastario, Sergeant Garcia, the many wicked soldiers – all float on debris tied up and humiliated.  They await a Spanish galleon on the horizon, which comes to serve justice.

SCENE 16 – A Coastal Celebration

We drift towards shore.  A beach celebration is underway by torchlight, the sands jam-packed full of animatronic characters.  The newly-freed peasants dance.  Bernardo juggles bowling pins (held on black lines we cannot see).  Anita performs a tango with many senors and senoritas.  Even the toros are here, mooing in song!  The Chumash natives play a grand musical finale on horns, guitars and accordions.  All together sing Zorro’s Theme:

“Out of the night

When the full moon is bright

Comes a horseman known as Zorro.

This bold renegade

Carves a “Z” with his blade,

A “Z that stands for “Zorro.”

Zorro!  Zorro!  The fox so cunning and free.

Zorro!  Zorro!  Who makes the sign of the “Z.”

Zorrooo!  Zorrooo!  Zorrooo!  Zorrooo!”

We drift from this scene, past bronze plates bearing the Mexican coat of arms.  This anticipates the coming Mexican Empire.  In the background, a grizzly bear on a hill anticipates the Californian flag, and the region’s eventual U.S. statehood.

Lastly we return to the coastal cliffs where sits de la Vega’s hacienda (a forced perspective model).  Zorro appears on the shore riding Tornado.  The horse rears back, a stupendous animatronic feat, giving Zorro his iconic pose.

“Gracias, mis amigos!  The land is freed from tyranny.  But someday we must ride again…”

Tornado neighs.  Lightning crashes!  All goes dark.

UNLOAD & POST-RIDE

As our boat enters a cliffside cave, lights returning, we find ourselves back in Zorro’s hideout.  After returning to the underground dock and unloading, guests proceed up a candlelit tunnel.  Faint Spanish guitar strings pluck out Zorro’s Theme in a minor key.

Guests emerge from the cliffs below the hacienda.  Carved into the granite walls is a small post-ride shop, The Governor’s Goods, where Zorro resells Governor Monastario’s ill-gotten gains back to the people of Alta Pueblo.  Here too is a primitive camera obscura which projects on-ride photos of the final drop, an ideal souvenir to memorialize the journey.

With The Myth of Zorro, Disney California Adventure at last has a transportive dark ride focused on ambience and atmosphere.  The myths of California are at this ride’s heart, brought to life by timeless characters.  Here, DCA’s Californian theme is no mere set dressing, but a fundamental element full of richness and texture.  All the romance and soul of Old California come together in a rousing adventure for the entire family!