The Abandoned History of Akbar's Adventure Tours - Busch Gardens Tampa's Forgotten Simulator
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2021
- Join us on a new Expedition Extinct at Busch Gardens Tampa as we look at the history of similator attraction Akbar's Adventure Tours. Join Martin Short and Eugene Levy as you take in the sights of Egypt of his homemade simulator.
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Credits -
Special thank you to Busch Gardens Tampa and Robert Blalack at Praxis Films.
I was lucky to be able to share the actual ride footage for this former attraction and do not have permission for it to be redistributed or further shared. Thank you
www.buschgardens.com
www.bgthistory.com
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I don't know much...but I DO know that Akbar is the great creator of a way cool simulator.
This ride has everything:
1. A man named Stanford Warden
2. Martin Short in brownface
3. The destruction of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Is it wrong that I read this in Stefon’s voice?
Ha
Dan Cortez
"But if that's not enough for you fiiiiiiiiiine midwestern folks, you can just go directly to the racism simulator across the street thank youuuuuu."
YOUR MOTHER AND I ARE SEPARATING
All my friends called me a madman when I said this ride existed at Busch Gardens. Now I have the final laugh
It's true!!
My parents also called me crazy for saying this. Can’t wait to pull this ace card on them
I remember the seats and when you would drill I to the Crystal. For some reason I thought this was at Disney
Take them into the gift shop at Pantopia. They have the Akbar Tours posters as decor.
I was lucky enough to visit while this was in operation. Yes, it was rougher than expected (and I think one of my group members did have some back issues for a little while afterwards), but I remember laughing my butt off and thinking it was an absolute gem. For me, it made a heck of a lot more story sense than Star Tours did. Sure, let's take unarmed tourists on an unarmed and unarmored vehicle into a close up attack with a robot that thinks it's a great idea. I think someone should have thought of a better way to handle that transition.
Akbar was meant to be campy and it pulled off well. Plus, air conditioning in the hot summer was a blessing alongside the laughs.
It’s so weird that the plot of the simulator is that you’re going on a simulator
Not just that. There's also the extremely confusing mummy thing. The concept of the rail car part is that it's a film, right? So how could the mummy interact with what was on screen to pull the lever? And if it was a simulator and there was no real rail car, why would pulling the lever make a difference? I know I'm overthinking a cheesy comedy right, but still...at least Star Tours was consistent.
I rode this once as a kid and thought it was a fever dream because I never saw signage for it again and remember nothing about it. This video unlocked some memories I didn't even know I had
The main reason this closed was due to a foundation crack. In order to repair the foundation the roof needed to be removed, then the simulators, fix the foundation, re install the simulators, and then rebuild the roof. All of this was going to cost more money than the park was willing to spend on the ride. Add to the fact that the manufacturer was no longer in business meant that parts and maintenance was going to be more expensive.
It eventually became a seasonal ride only operating during the Christmas break to help with the larger crowds before finally operating just 2 days a year, new years eve and new years day. It wouldn't re open until the falling new years eve. This went on for a few years until it finally closed and the ride components were sent to Orlando for Wild Artic at Sea World.
And it wasn't pulling crowds to justify those fixes. This was something people looked for when it was raining.
So, what you're saying is, there's no way they could've pulled off a "Disco Yetti" XD
I find it interesting that they say and you say "the manufacturer was no longer in business". The correct phrase would be "the manufacturer left the Entertainment Simulation industry. Reflectone was still in business and went on the become BAE Systems and now CAE USA. They are quite successful in the simulation industry, just chose not to stay in a side of the business that didn't fit their business model.
How do you know this? Thank you btw!
@@ChampaBayBeast spent 20 years working there.
You can tell how much fun Martin Short had playing the role. He seemed like he genuinely enjoyed the subject material and the character, which is what really made the ride something fun to experience.
I want off Mr Akbar's wild ride and I've never even ridden it.
Awww
Unlike you I want off Mr Bones Wild Ride and on Mr Akbar’s Wild Ride
Oh my god I rode this when I was a kid. I swear I thought it was a dream or something I was misremembering. When I saw this video my jaw literally dropped. I have Photos from this vacation in my house - my mom and her friend on Kumba ( I was too little) and my whole family on countdown to extinction. You blew my mind today sir.
Put them online!
My God...I've tried for YEARS to find anything on this ride after it closed, only finding that brief advertisement. It's so good to see this ride in it's entirety again! Thank you so much!
My first 2 years performing Howl O'Scream was in that building, and saw the simulator just sitting there
It was so sad when they closed it and it just sat there, kind of like the alien ride at Disney before they turned it into the stitch ride
smash that thiing to bits
Busch Gardens Tampa definitely needs a simulator, a dark ride, just about any ride to get guests out of the heat!
Yeah its a shame. They could have easily rethemed this so something else if the brown face was an issue haha
There use to be an 'On Ice' themed show in the park. It was a nice, chilly indoor theater ice-skating show that lasted about 45min.
@@trashteamracing8262 A reimagined version of the ice skating show is actually back now which is nice :). Still could use a dark ride though.
Sorry I'm late lol but they desperately do, especially when it rains over summer every day !!
sorry they are allergic to dark rides
Engineers: "We built this amazing, immersive, adaptable ride vehicle."
Management: "This would be a great place to watch shitty comedy!"
also Management "oh sure it would be cool to do another questor in Egypt but who doesn't like martin short?"
@@dapperloser3025 Fair point there.
This was the comment I was looking for! It’s wild how many of these comments are losing their minds over the “comedy” of this ride. I thought it looks pretty stupid and wildly not funny. I’d go into a gift shop before I rode this to escape the heat.
Egypt is such an underrated theme. There’s a water park called pharaohs lost kingdom now called splash kingdom that had all this Egyptian stuff including a pharaohs head that made up the entrance. And they removed all the Egyptian stuff! I’m upset and this ride reminds me of that.
When I Visited Florida years back I bought Tickets for Pharaohs lost Kingdom, We spent nearly two hours looking for it but couldn't find it.
The first simulator attraction was at the CN tower? Now that's something I didn't expect.
It was!
What about the Sensational Sense Machine at Six Flags over Texas? Pretty sure that pre-dated the other simulators.
Not only was I the lead sculptor for this 35mm filmed production, but I was also the production coordinator, and then, when the art director quit to go work on some better-paying television commercials, I was then literally begged by one of the producers to "Please! You HAVE to take over art direction! PLEASE!" (while she was biting her nails ... I'm not kidding!), so, when I insisted that I also get paid what he (the original art director had been getting paid, and at first, she tried to deny me, then I said "OK. Find another art director.", she finally agreed and I was now earning two paychecks. The art director's paycheck was certainly better than the one I was already recieving, but it certainly helped me, even though, I was already working twelve to thirteen-hour days, now my hours went to eighteen to twenty hours a day. I kid you not. I was SO exhausted, but, it was also one of the most rewarding production jobs I had ever worked on, and I have worked on a LOT of feature films, telelvision shows, theme park attractions (Walt Disney Imagineering and Sanrio Corporation's Fairyland Theater and Puroland themed rides in Tokyo, Japan in the 1980s and 1990s as well as having worked on several Universal Studios Tour attractions, King Kong, and a few others) not to mention television commercials and toy design, and collectible figurines (Walt Disney Classics Collection).
Life is a strange journey, indeed.
I noticed that this video also mention Star Tours at Disneyland. I actually worked on Star Tours as well. I have at least one photo of me working late one night after guest hours, repairing fiber optic cables which lit up the control panel that the robot pilot (voiced by Paul Reubens a.k.a. Peewee Herman) sat at. I spent more than a few late nights doing repairs on rides or touching up audio animatronic characters when I worked at SQS Services for Walt Disney Imagineering and working for Kim Irvine who was a wonderful boss. I loved working at Show Quality Services at Disneyland. It was such an awesome experience. I never wanted to leave, but I had only been on "loan" from Imagineering to SQS for a few months. I had to return to Glendale and work on many other Disney themed attractions, which was fine too. I enjoyed my time there as well.
I was also the voice of the parrot that greeted guests that sat on a treasure chest of gold and gems at the beginning/end of the ride. My voice of the parrot lasted 23 years running in a loop, until, one day, they replaced my voice and family and fans said to me "The new parrot voice is horrible! We want you back, Blaise!" Hahaha! Well, all good things must come to an end. Oh well. That's life.
P.S. I also sculpted the Big Mama Sarcophagus.
This ride is giving me motion sickness and I've not even ridden it.
Yes. At first I was wishing I could've ridden it at the beginning of the video. Not anymore when actually seeing the ride.
To this day, my family regularly recalls how sick the camel section made my dad 😂
I've been searching everywhere for footage of this ride!!! Love that you got it
Also, fun fact, one of the shops in Pantopia right outside of Falcon's Fury pays homage to Akbar
I have been trying to get it for 2 year!
I actually remember riding this. The charming part of this ride is that it actually tried to set itself apart from the other simulator rides. The mummy coming down from the ceiling was a nice touch.
It's major drawback was that I walked out after the ride was over wondering just what in the hell did I just ride and then never rode it again.
I remember seeing the chubby pharaoh sarcophagus when I worked at BGT and could never understand what it was there for, outside of funny theming. NOW I understand!
Yep!! Still there I believe
@@ExpeditionThemePark It is!
I remember this ride, and the Questor attraction that preceded it.
I thought the were both "OK", but just "OK". Neither of them was the sort if thing that pulled people in to the park. The Akbar storyline was easier to follow -- but, when you design the storyline of an attraction around the concept of "This is a bad ride!", you are going to actually convince your customers that it is actually a bad ride.
Oh wow, I remember going on this ride in 1998 with my family, it was so good.
Yessss
This was the jerkiest simulator Id ever been on. It almost killed my dad. I still give him a hard time every time we’re there.
I like how the themeing gives a reason for the disconnect between sitting in a ride vehicle and watching a first person video
I've had such morbid curiosity about this attraction.
I've heard of it, but I've never seen footage of it.
That said...
DEAR GOD! DID NO ONE STOP TO THINK THAT MAYBE A BROWNFACE ATTRACTION MIGHT AGE TERRIBLY?!
Martin Short is the unsung hero of so many people’s childhood years.
It's so interesting when a thrill ride theme park does one or maybe two immersive rides but the rest of the park is just not particularly themed. It's fun for those of us who like immersive theming but also it's not enough to make the park really interesting. And it's not really going to excite those who come for the main draw (actual roller coasters)
Right?!
Martin Short sounds like he had a blast filming this.
Gotta love outdated cgi simulator rides. Amusement park industry may always update but they still have charm
Finally, Tour of the Universe is starting to get its due recognition.
Yessss I'ma do a video on it
@@ExpeditionThemePark ooo, please do! It was always such a weird addition to the CN Tower, I wondered what the history behind that was
I remember as a kid being super excited about Questor at Busch Gardens Tampa....until I rode it. It was so corny with horrible dialogue that mostly ruined it for me. Akbar's was a lot more fun and entertaining, but yes, would be super problematic for some people if they tried to open it today.
Yeppp
The only way to get around it would be to make "Akbar" _very obviously_ a Caucasian huckster dressing up as an Egyptian in order to make a quick buck, who from moment to moment can't decide what the hell his accent is supposed to be (and, indeed, seems to be channeling Dijon from _Duck Tales_ )--when surprised, it jerks into Italian-by-way-of-Transylvanian, for example. When the ride gets real and scary, he drops all pretense of being Egyptian in his panic...and his makeup runs and his comedy beard falls off.
@@saaaahduuuuude1228 Actually, I'm hoping to make the thing *funnier.*
@@nicholastosoni707 Fun fact: Egypt is part of the Mediterranean.
I have fond memories of Questor. Then again I was a little nerd at the time. It was the first ride of its kind that I had been on, and I enjoyed the fantasy theme.
Lmaoooo I loved this ride so much. I love Egypt and had a season pass throughout much of the late 90s and early 2000s and rode the ever living crap out of this ride.
Same. I knew all of the lines.
eugene levy! of course....NOW, of course, they could reskin this ride as "schitt's creek - the adventure"!
Martin Short voiced the Cat in the Hat while Eugene Levy did Charlie (Dory's father)
Martin Short as The Cat in The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That was brilliant. I think it honestly made the show.
@@coyoteartist Yeah, It's on PBS
Also Martin short did the oh Canada video at epcot and eugine levy (along with Catherine o'hare) did the film that replaced oh canada
I’ll be honest, I would have liked to seen Martin Short and Eugene Levy team up.
I loved it! 😁😁
SCTV
I remember this and Questor. I love pointing out remnants of the ride outside the old show building when I bring someone new to the park and tell them about both simulator rides. Yep it was total cheesy fun and that's not a bad thing.
Was so happy to see this pop up! Admittedly, I liked Questor more for its wanna-be Labyrinth vibes, but Akbar was goofy fun, and a great way to get out of the Florida heat for a bit. (But, yeah, definitely not something that would fly now, in terms of humor. Methinks the ride wouldn't have lasted much longer, either way.)
ALL HAIL THEME PARK FILM KING, MARTIN SHORT!
Indeeeeeed
Yessss
@@ExpeditionThemePark
Gasp! You noticed me! I feel blessed!
Just wanted to take a moment to add how much I enjoy your work here. Your research, narration, and editing is always top notch. I really appreciate how you take the time to acknowledge weird, obscure attractions like Akbar. Even the most obscure Disney stuff is fairly well documented, but attractions from places like BG or Kennywood, World's of Fun, etc, can be too easily lost to time. Thanks, man.
"Wanna-be Labyrinth vibes" is a perfect way to describe it. I know it's probably just nostalgia talking, but I really miss this attraction.
I always wondered what this building was every time I went to busch! You said, many wonder what the building is-I’m many!
*me getting ready to go to BGT today*
"lets check to see if there is anything new on youtube before I go"
*sees this*
also, in addition to the remaining signs near the former entrance there are a few Ackbar signs in the Desert Traders store near Falcons fury they are on the upper walls on the inside
I rode Tour of the Universe beneath the CN Tower. Never realized it was a first of its kind.
That's awesome!
I remember going to Toronto as a kid for the Tour of the Universe (1:15) and it was so cool from what I remember.
Eugene Levy can kind of get it with that hair/facial hair/suit combo though???
I know what I'm gonna be for Halloween now.
The ride footage is incredibly good! I wish the full version of it could be shared as well. I have very fond memories of riding Akbar as a kid.
Can't say I'm a huge fan of all rides being movie tie-ins now, but I DON'T miss that grating, over the top, obnoxious ride 'host' character that was so popular in the 90s and 00s. Reflected trends in TV commercials at the time, I guess? I feel exhausted just thinking about it.
I went to EPCOT this spring break and rode Journey Into Imagination and it hit me exactly what you’re talking about. When they redid it they went “haha childlike dragon go brrr” and made him annoying and disruptive. My brother and I only had a 10 minute wait in the line but the assault on our ears by Figment’s constant manic cackling and grating voice was enough to make him want to leave, lol.
I remembered it being a lot less annoying but that’s probably a mix of me having been 9 and it being that time when every ride had an annoying host character so he didn’t stand out.
AAHHHH, This is why I love this channel. I rode this, and there's no prove this was a thing. I was beginning to think it wasn't real.
I absolutely ADORE the cookiness and sometimes even cleverness of this ride! Busch Gardens really knew what they were doing in the 80s and 90s
That brings back middle school field trip memories. I was scared of roller coasters until high school so was a big fan of Akbar as an alternative thrill ride that I could ride with no fuss.
Thank you for transporting me 22 years ago! Was so fun!!!!!
I love how whacky and original this attraction looks.
Growing up in Central Florida, I have fond memories of Akbar's and Questor.
Thank you so much for this one! So cool to see this again. Was always one of my must see attractions at the park. I got many chuckles watching this just now. Such a shame this is gone!
Can you do an expedition on Montu? It was my first ever "Real" roller coaster and the one that taught me how amazing they were, I'd love to hear details about it.
I saw the title and I thought about Admiral Akbar from Star Wars
The tour is a trap!
i miss this ride, it was one of the few things we could do as a family when i was younger, back then i was too short for the big coasters, but i was tall enough for this. me and my parents loved riding this and always had fun.
Hey, Expedition Theme Park! Can you please do the History of Adventure Mountain at Dollywood?
I will yes
@@ExpeditionThemePark History of Dollywood and or more of the attractions too.
It's always nice to see a new video of yours in my recommendations
Thank you
Akbar's Tour goes near the Great Pyramids of Giza, which were the inspiration for the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, and right outside the city is the Buffalo Bills Hotel and Casino, home of Desperado...
I'm so glad you did this!!!
I have been looking for footage of this ride for forever. The pop up mummy used to scare me.
Cinemagique was a class "we don't really have a budget for fancy bells and whistles but here's a neat concept" idea as attractions go and while I'm glad DLP Studios still got to have some unique attractions, it's always a little sad to think that other Disney fans didn't get to enjoy it. Akbar has some neat ideas, but oh man I feel like someone should of cut the the dialogue down a bit.
Right on time! I didn't know much about this ride so thanks for breakdown! Happy Sunday!
Thank you!!
I've been waiting to see this ever since the original Questor video over 2 years ago now and now I'm finally going to be able to see it 😊
Wow wow wo Expedition! You are sooo good at keeping your videos fun for everyone. I hope to go on lots of roller coaster adventures following you :)
I was at the new Pass Member lounge and saw a sign for this ride. Always wish I was able to do this, especially when I was younger and afraid of coasters. Hello Sam
I love the inclusion of RCT 3 soundtrack in the background!
I saw this video on my feed and SCREAMED!
Yes been waiting awhile thanks for doing the video
Thank you!
Rode this so many times when I used to go to Busch Gardens to kill time during high school. Such a cool surprise to see this video again and can still feel the pyramid blocks slamming into the ride.
I remember Questor and this ride very well! I was always a huge fan of Levy and Short. One of the nice touches they had was, when you exited the ride and went outside, the line going out had monitors showing a Martin Short/Eugene Levy blooper reel. They must have had so much fun filming this.
ahhh good to see another busch garden tampa video from you. Its been a while since the last one
Great video very interesting and informative really enjoyed watching it
Omg I feel like one of the only ones who remembers this ride. I was so young, the only thing I really remember was the mummy lowering from the ceiling. I don't remember being scared, but rather absolutely mesmerized by everything going on at once lol.
I rode this once. My neck is still feeling it.
Busch gardens needs a dark ride of some form, make like a simulator. Not like Akbar, but more like wild Arctic, flying around and looking at animals
I just learned this ride existed a few months ago. Very cool to learn more about it.
I love love LOVED this ride!!! & the walk through attraction where Cobra curse is now, King Tuts Tomb
Great Documentary! Cinematic Rides we’re so popular and beautiful! 😃😃
Thank you!
That would be cool if you did a video on Wild Arctic/ The Polar Express Experience
Great video! I remember going to this ride and loving how fun and cheesy it was. But it vanished without any fanfare and no one else ever seemed to remember it. Thanks for the proof that I didn't eat too much sweets and hallucinate this after riding Montu.
Another great Sam!!!
I remember absolutely loving this ride, I was laughing my butt off the whole time.
I just ran across a petition to bring back Darkastle at Busch gardens! Funny timing seeing you put this video out 😂
I grew up at Busch gardens during this time. I would always try to ride that simulator. Martin Short definitely was a contributing factor.
What a fun little ride! I would have loved this as a kid!
Now I'm going ti have Space De Grey stuck in my head all day no complaints about that.
Fantastic episode, I grew up with this attraction and I personally felt it was the right time for that attraction, especially since the nearby monorail attraction closed that year and a family attraction was needed. It's just kinda surprising Wild Arctic lasted way longer. At least Cobra's Curse now fills a themed family attraction role in the Egypt section.
Yeah!!
Great video 👍
Thank you!!
My brother and I loved this ride. It was hot and the lines were long so we would run here and ride it a few times. Was really fun!
I still remember the bouncing up and down to simulate the 4 men carrying the ride carriage. I have fond memories of the ride. Even went looking for in when I was last at Busch in 2019.
I live in Tampa & an Annual Passholder at Busch Gardens..the one time I rode this with my uncle visiting from NYC and I got SOOOO nauseous 🤢 I hadn't gotten motion sickness on a ride since my childhood. Never rode it again. Years later I DID see the ride vehicle again after it shut down during Howl-O-Scream when I worked as a scare actor at the 3D house for 2 years..they were being used as changing rooms for us 😅 It looked exactly the same as 22:01 . It was kinda creepy changing in there with that mummy reaching
BGT is my home park, I and most people I knew who went on Akbar's were not upset other than losing an air conditioned building. Questor seemed to be a more locally accepted ride and missed more. Great coverage!
As a kid, I was super disappointed when they changed Questar to this. It felt super cheap at the time, the ride was just lame. Every one of my friends hated the update, Questar was perfect, didn’t need a change IMO
This is so cool. I rode this when I was 12 but I was too young to know who Martin Short and Eugene Levy were. I had no idea I had witnessed greatness! 🤣🤣. I remember it was a lot of goofy fun.
Totally forgot about questor and still dont really remember but i do remember “gerbillium energy/gerbs” when i was a kid and thought it was so funny for some reason. Thanks for bringing back that random memory!
Wow, who would have thought that Eugene Levy would REPLACE Martin Short at the Canada Pavilion just a few hours down the road years later.....what a small world
I'm so glad you finally got around to doing this ride! I remember suggesting this like 2 years ago in a comment. :)
Ahh yes! The RC2 Egypt music 🥰 6:43
Nice to see that dude's corn getting his own ride
Haha
Wow, was THIS a long-forgotten memory of mine! Only got to go on this once, in early January of 2000, as it was gone by our next trip to Florida in 2004...I remember it being unpleasantly bumpy (and REALLY racially insulting!) but kinda a fun, if forgettable experience...It’s not surprising that it was not destined for long term success considering the great number of dark attractions in both Busch Gardens parks that have ultimately failed, despite large sums of money put into them (such as Legend of DarKastle and Europe from the Air, both of which underdelivered at the Williamsburg park)