As The Dino Institute is threatened with extinction, let us pay tribute to its magnificent murals and production art pieces.

After entering the impressive edifice, we walk past the foyer of dioramas and informative displays and into the rotunda seemingly constructed inside of a striated dig site and dominated by the fossilized remains of a Carnotaurus. 

Encircling this once ferocious carnivore are four breathtakingly beautiful frescos depicting the last day of the dinosaurs and the dawn of the mammalian era. 

Become a Supporter

Complementing its semi-sophisticated yet still futuristic setting, the Atmosphere of Innoventions' Fountain View featured a peculiar fusion of New Age Standards, Adult Contemporary Instrumentals and Smooth Jazz.

Now available for Locals Supporter previews until September 1st! 

Atmospheres Series | Fountain View

Password: 

Become a Supporter

A theme park audiophile's work is never done and even things that were once considered settled often require correction based on new data. 

In 2012, WDI Audio Engineer Greg Meader took to the MagicMusic forums to let everyone know The Body Wars queue atmosphere (BGM) was a mix of Brian Eno's "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" released in 1978. Many of us (myself included) didn't even know a Body Wars BGM even existed as it wasn't found on almost any home videos of the attraction posted on YouTube. Still, this revelation was put to good use a year later for the Wonders of Life edition of the FWSS. 

It made for a wonderful (pun unintended) addition to the collection by expanding the aural repertoire of the pavilion as well as giving some much-needed musical life (again pun unintended, lol) to the otherwise sterile Body Wars queue comprised of little more than faux PA announcements.

Fast-forward 11 years and while assisting the Wonders of Life archive, they shared with me a curious audio file entitled "BW Load Area BGM", as the man who has almost everything (audio-wise) I thought little of it until I inspected it in Audition where it proved its legitimacy by having several characteristics of source audio used on site by first being exactly one hour long (6 repeating loops) and second having two completely separate audio files sharing a single a two-channel track. 

During the time before completely solid state or even compact disc digital playback, dual reel-to-reel auto-rewinding magnetic tape machines were used for continuously playing BGMs. This might seem obvious to some, but until very recently all BGMs are broadcasted in mono as the entire concept of stereo doesn't exist when you're walking around the park. In order to cut costs almost literally in half these traditional stereo tapes were split into two entirely separate tracks for completely different locations. In the case of Body Wars, the Left channel was for the queue music, and the Right for the "Flight Bay" (simulator room) sound effects.

The queue music was nothing at all like the "Music for Airports". (It actually sounds a lot more interesting!) And I was able to find one home video of the attraction confirming it was indeed used in the attraction.

But it doesn't end there ...

After giving the audio the traditional "JLH treatment" by separating the mono tracks, removing the noise and creating a new stereo mix. I was struggling to create the proper metadata. On a lark, I thought this loop was comprised of Needle Drops as well, so my old friend Shazam came in to save the day and that's when things got even more interesting! ...   

Become a Supporter