Silly Symphony Swings is a "wave swinger" attraction in Paradise Pier, at Disney California Adventure, at the Disneyland Resort in California. Themed to Disney's The Band Concert, conductor Mickey Mouse conducts the attraction from high atop, synchronized with the music. It replaced the Orange Stinger, one of the opening day attractions of the park.
Although "The Band Concert" was not part of the 'Silly Symphonies' film series the name was applied to the attraction due to the short's Symphony storyline.
Summary
Closely following the plot of "The Band Concert" the main column of the ride rises revealing a tornado which spins the riders to the tune of the William Tell Overture and William Tell's "Storm". Characters caught up in the storm appear on the column of the spinning base and a lightning flash effect is incorporated into the attraction's ceiling. Once the tornado safely passes, the music comes to an end and the ride slows and lowers riders to the ground.
Below the attraction is a special viewing deck that overlooks Paradise Bay and provides for an alternate angle for World of Color. In the summer of 2011, a series of posters for various Mickey Mouse shorts were placed onto the walls of the lower deck
Behind the Scenes
The spiel announcer of the attraction is the recently created character Gustav Tinkershmidt, the owner of Paradise Pier, who is voiced by Corey Burton. The character first appeared as a spiel announcer for Mickey's Fun Wheel. Tinkershmidt and the Silly Symphony Swings are part of the multi-year, $1.1 billion expansion plan for Disney's California Adventure Park. The Paradise Pier portion of the expansion and update of the park was focused on bringing in a Victorian theme to the Pier's buildings as well as incorporating classic and modern Disney characters into the attractions. Early pitches for the Silly Symphony Swings included a Pinocchio theme where the swings would become marionette strings held by Geppetto, though also incorporating Stromboli in the attraction's entrance, until the Band Concert theme was selected.
Although the attraction soft opened on May 28, 2010, it had an Official Grand Opening on June 11, 2010, on the 75th Anniversary of the original Band Concert short.
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