The Fabulous Disney Babe
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Eerie ice formations float in the darkness below, replaced by more solid masses, as the Hyperion lowers, and chases a herd of reindeer on the icy ground. Passengers get to view some of the beautiful Arctic wildlife: Arctic hares, a polar bear family, seals, walrus, and a snow leopard, and pods of whales that seem to have someplace important to go, as they continuously pass us, swimming toward a wall of ice with a narrow gorge apparently cut into it.
Because of the storm, the Hyperion cannot rise above the ice wall, so a very suspenseful and dangerous passage into this gorge is navigated by our courageous Captain, into a large crystal labyrinth. Shattering ice crystals make tinkling sounds all around the ship, and the Captain orders the engines shut off, as the slightest vibration will send needles of razor-sharp ice hurtling everywhere.
A temple of ice signals the entrance to the ancient city of Astragard: huge, cloth-draped whale bones frame the temple, which paid homage to the whales, which provided food and other material for the lost civilization. The temple is completely covered with ice, and the people who worshipped there long gone. The Captain informs us that according to Captain Brieux, who first charted this journey, it served as the seaward gate to the Island at the Top of the World.
Suddenly, (remember, this is 1976; no one's heard of Greenpeace at WED) we are attacked by whales, and forced to start up the engines and speed forward to the ruins of Astragard. The once volcano-warmed city had frozen over, the inhabitants fleeing Southward. Captain Brieux had brought back amazing stories of fantastic creatures that lived here, but no one had ever been able to verify the wild stories. Stone carvings of some of these mythical creatures were all that remained.
The Captain is interrupted by the First Mate, who reports and unusual temperate zone directly ahead. The ship flies over a lush, warm garden, and another temple: The great Temple of Astrogard, which had been hidden by a wall of ice. The fires of the temple had broken through the ice, enabling us to peek inside the grounds as it grows hotter inside the ship. Wondrous creatures (so wondrous that one would be hard-put to actually get a proper description out of anyone as to what exactly they were thinking of putting there) would be visible in the garden below. The First Mate warns that the temperature is getting too warm; the ship could lose control, but the Captain ignored the advice, bent on capturing one of the creatures below.
Huge stone gods and flaming altars grace the interior of the temple, which is quite hot. Even more exotic creatures bask in the warmth of the flaming altars. The scene is interrupted when (say it together with me, folks!) Something Goes Terribly Wrong. The Hyperion goes into a stomach-turning upward spiral into the raging storm above. The Hyperion battles its way through the storm and, after a great deal of activity and chaos, the Captain regains control of the airship and steers us through a cloudbank, emerging above Discovery Bay, which appears in a beautiful nighttime panorama below as the ship breaks out of the clouds.
The passengers disembark at an airport, similar to what visitors to Wild Arctic experience today. On the way into the gift shop, they pass a news photographer attempting to pose the Captain with his newest acquisition..."a very strange mascot!"
Discuss It
-- Michelle Smith
Michelle Smith can be reached using the Talkback form below or by emailing her at [email protected].
The Fabulous Disney Babe's column is posted every Friday and when ever else she has something to say. For more on Michelle's background, see her first column. She also offers The Fabulous Tour: Disneyland Secrets and Stories. Click here for more information.
The opinions expressed by our Michelle Smith, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted June 1, 2001