The Engineering Behind Disney's Floating Mountains

A look at the design and construction of Disney’s floating mountains located within Pandora - The World of Avatar.
Support Art of Engineering on Patreon:
/ artofengineering
Shop Art of Engineering Merchandise:
teespring.com/stores/ArtofEng...
Twitter: / aoengineering
Facebook: / artofengineeringyt
Video Attributions:
“Dazzling drone flight over Pandora - The World of Avatar at Walt Disney World” by Inside the Magic
( / insidethemagic )
“Zhangjiajie Forest Park after the rain” by hamsterSapience
“Pandora: World Of Avatar Review | Animal Kingdom | Walt Disney World” by DisKingdom Extra
Still Image Attributions:
All construction photos by Blog Mickey
(blogmickey.com/2017/03/photos-...)
“Track of Valravn” by Gregory Varnum
“Cinderella Castle” by Katie Rommel-Esham
“Expedition Everest” by Benjamin D. Esham
“Tower of Terror” by Alexf
“SpaceX Factory” by Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuño
“Steel Frame Building” by Dwight Burdette
“One Liberty Plaza” by Ken Lund
“Catenary” by Stamcose
“Holding the eiffel tower” by Vincent Lock
Music by Bensound and Vibetracks
#Pandora #Disney #ArtofEngineering

[@ArtofEngineering]

The floating mountains are one of my favourite landmark structures at Walt Disney World. What is one of your favourite Disney attractions?

[@spiffdandy77]

Pirates of the Carribean had to be a stretch for engineers in the day, with the integrated hydrology and automated pneumatics, also being one of the first attractions of this type.

[@bernardpettiford5398]

Even though its not an engineering feat, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at The Magic Kingdom is my favorite structure. Last summer we had an in-show exit while riding and getting stuck on the second lift hill. The path we were escorted on went underneath and the mountain (aka rockwork). It was so awesome to see the steel structure that supported the rockwork. I never imagined it'd have looked like that.

[@kloerogers5270]

I still think Everest looks better

[@KingRCT3]

@@bernardpettiford5398Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is quite an engineering feat! What's particulary interesting is that there are two separate structures seamlessly intertwined: the mountain (+ stairs, access, etc) which is static, and the roller coaster track and support which are dynamic. The way it looks so natural and not like an engineering feat is exactly what makes it an engineering feat, ha. The website of Celtic Engineering has a few BIM views of the mountain for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and you can see how it's a mess in here: celticengineering.com/BIM.html#

[@bernardpettiford5398]

@KingRCT3 Nice! Big Thunder is the ride that made me pursue themed entertainment design as a profession. I think what really makes Disney stand out of the crowd is how they integrate science and storytelling so seamlessly. No detail left to chance or to imagination but expertly thought out. Universal did a similar job with Escape From Gringotts in my opinion. I've ridden it several times and looked around while riding to see if I could see the "real world". To my surprise, it was no where to be found. Thanks for sharing the link!

[@overmanna3215]

The reason it was built at ground level was for structural support. There are many access doors throughout the floating mountains which are cleverly hidden within the rockwork exterior. Some even hidden beneathe vines. I helped sculpt many of the hanging vines, seeing the drone shots made my day since I could recognize some of my work. Thank you for posting!!!!!

[@smiley4995]

It looks fantastic and I can't wait to see it in person on my next visit

[@700brett]

you did a great job!

[@overmanna3215]

I would've loved to have made a video but Disney has very strict rules about no photography or video. I only worked on the vines with several other artists. There were thousands of skilled artists that worked on the mountains themselves.

[@overmanna3215]

@Adam Efimoff and you were extremely accurate. The vines are steel frames covered in a screen like mesh that we shaped to create natural elements of cavities and shapes. Then a unique coat of poly gel went over the outside which we then sculpted. I went as far as putting bug holes in the details although no one would ever see them, it was just satisfying to put my heart into the details of every vine I worked on. It would be what Walt would've expected. It was such an amazing experience.

[@badtriceratops1867]

HOLY CARP A REAL DISNEY PERSON

[@tomjones2348]

It's far more impressive when you are there in person. My first emotion was, "how in the world did they build this"?

[@thegreatshitstain]

Even after watching this video, I still don't understand how they built it. It seems like an impossible feat

[@Laur0sie]

TBH I didn't even realize the structures were supposed to be "floating" until after I visited Pandora and was looking up more info online.

[@Drebe73]

Funny, I never view them as floating mountains, but rather as floating boulders.

[@robertkiestov3734]

Go away.

[@ImpaledBerry]

@@robertkiestov3734 You replied to a year old comment expecting the commenter would care

[@robertkiestov3734]

@@ImpaledBerry Shalom

[@harryutb]

😐

[@martinbatalla3650]

Same! I never would’ve thought they were the floating mountains of avatar. At 5:30 though is the only point where I do kind of see the illusion with the small piece at the top being a mountain much higher up

[@TheRoneZone]

The Flight of Passage ride is probably my favorite in all of DisneyWorld.

[@Uim37194]

And the one with the most absurdly long line 90% of the time

[@pariscloud2907]

I wish I could see the forced perspective better, or maybe I can and just don't realize it. I went to college for mechanical engineering. Instead of enjoying Disney like normal people, I end up trying to figure out how they make the magic happen. I couldn't really see the "far away" mountain ranges at the top of the mountains. The whole thing is impressive, but I wish I could see it the way the engineers and artists intended.

[@robotwolf]

Most people have been doing that since childhood. I'm glad your degree allowed you to join the ranks of the "normal" people.

[@marcussheen]

For me, forced perspective is most obvious on buildings where you look at things like balconies and windows and realise they're actually tiny. It can be difficult to tell sometimes because obviously there's often no reference point though.

[@bernardpettiford5398]

I’m with you. Part of the magic for me is actually figuring out the magic lol.

[@jaypaidincash]

It kinda works when u see it in person..kinda..from different angles

[@jokalach]

Feel you dude... As a forest manager, I can't walk in a forest as a tourist anymore :c

[@StorytellerStudios]

Interesting well done video. The floating mountains of Pandora have to be seen to be believed. The entire world is so impressive. In your analysis, I found the "box beam" supports to be the most interesting- how something so irregular and "crooked" can give such support. Great job!

[@GarryDKing]

yea, there's one big flaw that really takes you out of the immersion with the pandora area: from the parking lot as you enter animal kingdom, you can see the back part of pandora and they do not do a good job of hiding the actual structural supports on the back end.... like no effort whatsoever behind it all.

[@kodyballard49]

What do you expect? It wasnt built by imagineers, as engineers would focus more on making it work and having it pull off the look in the look, imagineers I'm sure would be more concerned with the full image and thus would have the backside hidden by faux(fake) and real flora most likely to cover the exposed appearance yet not completely block off access to the exposed structure(which I'm sure is ment for repairs)

[@shannond7437]

Garry Courtney Is this still the case? I don’t recall seeing it this year, but I wasn’t looking for it. I remember showing my child from the lot though.

[@scottc4199]

A lot of stuff in Disney has that issue. For example cars land was designed to be seen only from cars land. The back side is not rock just a load of structural supports. But as long as when your in the park and it doesn't affect immersion it's fine

[@rice2291]

@@shannond7437 I went to Disney World this September. It's still very much the case. It was weird seeing the floating rock from the parking lot

[@alegsb3943]

Also happens with Everest and galaxy’s edge

[@dorkinabubble7772]

Please do more Disney stuff! You break everything down so neatly 😊

[@phillipb9328]

Also they had to build a bathroom on top of the mountain structure for the construction workers, The construction workers had to be taken down there was no path down. I talked to the accountant that did budgeting.

[@AdamTal1]

Wow. I bet the accounting is almost as interesting as the engineering, for people like me at least, who wonder about making things on this scale happen. Any other anecdotes?

[@trevenscott8833]

No we didn't. We built a scaffold dance floor 50' above the ground that housed the port-o-lets, welding machines and break areas. If you look at old construction videos on KZbin you'll see it.

[@mikejrexec]

I wish they had been able to incorporate some movement of the mountains. It is impressive but a slight movement would have been really cool.

[@bernardpettiford5398]

mikejrexec I agree. They look a little stagnant after a while. I really like how the waterfall and water flows down. The view from the queue of Flight of Passage is ridiculously beautiful.

[@DanteYewToob]

Even a few artificial breezes at different speeds with a butt ton of fog and mist... with the mist and fog moving at different speeds it would add an optical illusion that there was a slight movement of the mountain.. kinda like if you're waiting in a car in a parking lot, and the car next to you starts to move and you startle a bit feeling like "oh shit my car is moving!... wait. No.. it's not. Whew ." Haha I think even something that subtle would go a long way, and it would match the movie as well.

[@bernardpettiford5398]

Yeah man! That's a really great idea and would definitely help sell the idea that much more.

[@trevenscott8833]

When the wind blows, the foliage moves.

[@mrmaniac3]

The waterfalls also break the illusion. Think about it, any of the world's largest waterfalls appear to flow fairly slowly, due to the massive scale that they are at. When you shrink the waterfall, it doesn't hold the same animation and appearance as the massive one.

[@trevenscott8833]

Look at them more closely, we carved the rock narrow to specifically give the beginning of the waterfall a small spread, the way they occur naturally.

[@tylertheimagineer6561]

Great video! I love pandora! It’s an amazing land! It’s crazy to think of the size of screen in Flight Of Passage! Once Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge opens you should make a video on the petrified trees!

[@wavelength3856]

Wonderful video!! I love how you described both the illusion and the physics behind this landmark structure - as well as the tricks that were used during its construction. That's 12 minutes VERY well spent.

[@MezzoForte4]

It would've been better if the lines for both Avatar rides didn't have a 220+ minute wait time the ENTIRE DAY.

[@rachelward6800]

Eh it’s worth the wait imo

[@MezzoForte4]

@@rachelward6800 If I had lived in Florida, yeah.. maybe. But we flew out there and we only a day for each park. We had to have waited about half a day to get in those rides. Maybe someday....

[@valerie8524]

MezzoForte4 Oh damn that sucks, now that I think about it it must’ve been troublesome who doesn’t live in Florida :( I really enjoyed the ride, even though the wait line had my feet hurting. Luckily my brother was with me so I wasn’t bored most of the time. The ride was pretty enjoyable for me though, so I tried my best to forget how long the line was 😂

[@MezzoForte4]

@@valerie8524 That's how I felt for the Slinky Dog ride, I swear I think we waited about 2 hours.... My feet were screaming, and I had a 20lbs backpack with our stuff on me. It was torture, but I did it for the kids. All n' all, they had a great time. I probably wouldn't go back though. Too expensive and the wait times aren't worth it. Maybe Epcot, since we got rained out, lol.

[@kevensmhith]

@@rachelward6800 I can't tell if you're joking. It is never worth a nearly 4 hour wait for a ride which is under 5 minutes. Buy the express pass.

[@AndrewS-um8vp]

Fascinating video! The land is truly stunning and ever since I went I've wondered how the mountains were engineered and constructed.

[@slimkt]

These videos are fascinating and make me tip my hat to Imagineers far more now that I know the intricacies of what went into creating these structures and rides. The infographics are also especially helpful for someone not terribly familiar with engineering. Great job! Subscribed.

[@devanzane]

the way he says mountains...?

[@ArtofEngineering]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@Gooman130]

m'yowntans lol

[@jcliff8415]

it's American, not English...

[@frankzaffuto3670]

@@jcliff8415 hey, don't put this on us, we didn't train him as a nation

[@CymatixMusic]

Haha I died when I heard it 😭😂

[@gerbian6575]

Your videos are awesome. Being someone that may pursue engineering in college, these videos make me motivated and interested. They also make me want to visit theme parks!

[@scottrousseau496]

Indeed a work of art. Great video. Thank you!

[@DavidMcCoul]

Love this channel! Also I did a lot of mathematics behind catenary structures in my dissertation, so I’m happy you mentioned this term!

[@chrischenusa6323]

Seen with my own eyes...What a amazing piece of art. Tkx for the video

[@ReneeNme]

1:10 My current desktop background is a picture taken at this National Forest.

[@elizabethk2527]

I was just there last week everything about Pandora is stunning. Both rides and the aesthetics outside. Truly a masterpiece.

[@30framespersecond]

It doesn't exactly pull off the floating and forced perspective effect, but it's still a beautiful and stunning structure in person. I'm not sure how anyone who has seen it in person could go "meh, this isn't that good."

[@1TSS0FLVFFY]

visually the floating mountains are stunning... i thought the floating illusion was gonna be executed so much better tho...

[@nathanielisaacs972]

Yes they will use fans under the mountains to make them float 😔🙄

[@1TSS0FLVFFY]

tay qwad we’re talking about imagineering here this isnt just some theme park this is DISNEY im allowed to have these kind of expectations lol

[@jf8050]

I agree. Looks ridiculous.

[@mrcalidonia7582]

You just can't please some people 🙄

[@valridagan]

The shots from the drone camera look worse than real life; forced perspective only really works on ground-level. When you're actually in the park, it looks amazing and unreal.

[@kayzee3595]

Breathtaking view! I love how they brought Pandora’s incredible landscape to Disney World! 💚💙

[@johnmabe3496]

It is truly an amazing attraction to see, if any of you have not gone, go, you won't be disappointed.

[@chrismarshall4523]

I am so binge watching your channel right now!!!

[@gamedirection_us]

The research you do is amazing keep it up!

[@pacifistcowboy]

this is such a fascinating video, thank you for making it!!!

[@annybebota]

Thanks! This can be a good example of a new era of engineer, hope to used this method in a future! Cheers from mexico city. Architect engineer.

[@aidanrobie]

I'm sorry... *meowntings?*

[@john_t_england]

Did you just say meow?

[@ihyyhyyi4663]

Meeeeewntings

[@l2m773]

haha

[@smiley4995]

He is either secretly meowth or a neeko

[@artchic528]

@@omi_god I'm originally from Minnesota, which is next door to Canada. I can verify that whenever I go back home, my relation all talks funny. It only gets worse the further north you go. The actually start saying "eh" after sentences up there! *shudders*

[@Drpatrickwarren]

Wow. Great videos! Glad I found ya!

[@seeteasea5497]

I spent 2 weeks at WDW in June 2017 and 3 weeks last October and I didn’t even really take too much notice of the mountain sitting on the ground. I obviously noticed that it was sitting on the ground but it really didn’t take anything away from the awe the entire area fills you with!

[@michaeltaylor9977]

This is my 3rd favorite park in Orlando. 1st being the Magic Kingdom & 2nd is Epcot. I love the theming + architecture. It's an amazing experience. I've not personally experienced Pandora, but hope to do so soon. To create an "immersive" experience is why the themed park visit is a MUST! Very difficult to create this "home experience" unless you are a master model builder. Excellent video. BTW the "Arch" in St. Louis has this same curve. Another favorite of mine.

[@HoneyLust18]

i would love to see some specs/design stuff for the waterworld show at universal studios hollywood!

[@wave17vp]

I wish they could add some floating mountain shaped balloons, that could actually sway in the wind. The combined effect, I think, would be really convincing, but I doubt it's possible to design with the same level of detail on an object that needs to be lighter than air.

[@coolguywithahat0127]

Tbh I thought it was going to be much better... the mountains look to close together and the vines look way to thicc to be actual vines coming from the mountains. Also some of the mountains look like they’re tilted to the side which also throws the illusion off. It’s still a very good piece of modern engineering, but I feel that with our technology there’s no way a perfect effect can be achieved and the result looks rather lackluster.

[@taffysaur]

Thanks for this, it’s amazing. New subscriber! 😃

[@AmusementLabs]

Fantastic and underrated video for sure. One thing though: I think for the smaller mountain they had holes inside of it so they could put beams through it, but they were just slid out after the mountain was in place and the holes were patched.

[@acme3drevit]

Coaster Labs they are apart of the structure and the ends were just cut off, it’s just easier to do. they can’t slide out beams that weigh a thousand pounds. It would be too dangerous

[@AmusementLabs]

@@acme3drevit It definitely looks like they have holes through them.

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

That's really interesting, and pretty amazing what engineering can do!

[@ashsanders1546]

it sounds like hes saying "meow-tains"

[@ArtofEngineering]

My cat wrote the script

[@cobydamato700]

@@ArtofEngineering 😂😂😂😂

[@michaelfinlay1412]

@@ArtofEngineering >OwO

[@bl8kmusic]

@@ArtofEngineering *furry*

[@bl8kmusic]

@@ArtofEngineering XD

[@robotwolf]

Great Video! Thank you very much for the interesting detail!! It is all so fascinating. And I love the bits of engineering knowledge. If you've got a yen to make more Disney tech videos, I'd suggest animatronics, specifically "compliant reactivity." Most videos regarding animatronics are history pieces. And while they are fun, I'd like to see a more modern, techinical presentation. Thanks again. And I look forward to browsing your catalog.

[@sparkpass]

Great video! Cool to see what is behind the facade. You'll have to do one on Galaxy's Edge once it is done!

[@kenhogg858]

We have been there and it is amazing.....thank you for the video

[@bradsikkema4865]

Saw them two seeks age!!! Simply amazing!!!

[@hyberhyb]

I was there a few days ago, it's so beautiful in real life.

[@patrickmbarker]

Imagine if we could somehow direct this level of engineering and ingenuity towards public development. The world would be a much better place.

[@lazguevara151]

Great video man love it I was wondering how the hell they did this you did an excellent job explaining it

[@trevenscott8833]

Great video, and great presentation. Cool "engineering" note: We built the steel structure using shoring (look at old KZbin videos of the construction site), then applied the carved plaster, polygem and artificial foliage before we removed them. The lead structural engineer correctly determined the amount of deflection that would happen once the post shoring was removed to within 3/8". Still blows my mind, and she was amazing to work with.

[@tristanband4003]

I was truly blown away. At any angle within the world, the rocks really look like they are floating.

[@AdamTal1]

Awesome video! Would love to see more Disney related videos!

[@Tae-N]

i went on the flight of passage and its bu far the best expirence there 4D is 🔥

[@dangerbill2793]

That's crazy cool! I went to DL in 1992 as a 7yo kid and I was in heaven. Hope to make it back there some day

[@DaP84]

They should have built these mountains hanging by hidden wires that also makes the mountains drift slightly, like in the movie!

[@trevenscott8833]

And attach the wires to what?

[@aashaytambi3268]

Went opening weekend and it was awesome!

[@dwellspompano]

Great video! I loved it!

[@allbutcomedytv4350]

Could you do a breakdown of how Flight of Passage works? Like the one you did for Tower of Terror? I havent been able to find a video explaining how it works or how it was built and ever since I rode it for the first time last week its been driving my engineering brain nuts trying to wrap my head around the mechanics of it!

[@Culturebrand]

Awesome video, it really is impressive how realistic Pandora turned out. Definitely let me know if you want to collab on future videos by adding animation, appreciate your work!

[@eeehhh982]

The mountain on the ground has "old" water stains from where the waterfalls coming from it used to run. Combine this with the splintered and sheared look of the lower part of the sitting mountain, it gives the effect of the mountain originally floating, but having touched down after some sort of event.

[@fletcher3913]

A very interesting tutorial. Good video.

[@michaelurwin2526]

Great video. I really enjoy learning about the methods used to produce such awe-inspiring structures. Subscribing for more content like this!

[@WhirlOmar]

Great information. Thanks

[@SCUBA_5teve]

I've been wondering about this. I remember years ago watching the Travel Channel when they always showed how WDW built Animal Kingdom and interviewed Joe Rohde. I thought, why arent they doing the same for Pandora? It was amazing to see in person once, cant wait to see it again in June!

[@skiboi02]

I got to talk with Joe Rohde one-on-one many years ago for about 10 mins at a recruiting event for the DCP. Little did I know at the time almost all of the Disney attractions I talked about liking a lot as a kid were all ones he worked on (and he likely was in the beginning stages of developing Everest for Animal Kingdom, which I found out later when that Discovery Channel special was on TV). [The HR person working the event with him had to eventually pull him away from talking to me.] I finally got to experience Flight of Passage earlier this year and it completely blew my mind. He's a really cool and very interesting guy to talk to and I will never forget it.

[@itsHeatherKay]

More Disney/Universal theme park content- yay!

[@NOTTHEOLDGUY]

Avatar Land is amazing I've been there the rides are so cool it's so detailed

[@candycemonroe7345]

Do more amazing Disney stuctures. What about the castles or splash mountain?

[@rlt152]

This was cool to see when I visited last year

[@itsKegger]

And when i visited i thought they were floating, of course they gotta be anchored somewhere but they did seem like they were floating, very cool to look at

[@alexmyers3000]

Interesting vid..nicely done

[@oliviarae9219]

can you make a video on avatars flight of passage ride? it’s one of my favorites and i’ve been very curious about how it was made!

[@ChildishBrandino32]

Never heard of an earthquake in Orlando but great video

[@kristincimmerer8310]

Great video!! I find the history of imagineering techniques to be fascinating- it's awesome to see that they're still being used!

[@tyronebunyon7254]

This was the bomb. Please post more. (Theme park related if you can)

[@andysmith1996]

When at 2:02 the video talks about forced perspective of the smaller, higher "mountains", they just looked like smaller, near constructions to me. The shot at 9:20 illustrates the forced perspective much more effectively, even though it was taken during the contruction phase. The smaller "mountain" does look further away there.

[@rb8098]

Can't wait for more videos on how Disney and Universal Studios brings movie magic to life with real Engineering accomplishments!

[@raveallen8672]

I used to watch them build this :) I had a friend who worked at animal kingdom

[@ImpaledBerry]

Construction is like designing a puzzle, creating the puzzle, and finish the puzzle, whilst having the original designs

[@spiddyman0079]

1:07 floating *meow* 🐈 tins

[@brett0]

Enjoyed the video. Good job! "meow tons"

[@ZacharyRiggs619]

Disney does so well with their theming!

[@nsytr06]

Wow, I gotta go back to DWrld to see that

[@m0derncat401]

I got to go behind all of this when I was stuck in the line for the ride a cast member brought us back behind everything I didnt get any picks but behind it is a bunch of green supports connecting to the mountains that are perfectly placed where you cant see also the flights passage ride mountain is just a one sided wall and is just open behind

[@stevebrothers2472]

Thanks Roger Dean!

[@frankortolano5886]

Excellent

[@Thoralmir]

The same engineering team that did the Pandora mountains are also working of Galaxy's Edge at Hollywood Studios.

[@DrewFu319]

4:48 - the mountain is anchored to the ground for better resistance against... earthquakes. Clearly an enormous problem in Florida.

[@Hirotechnics]

*Laughs in Floridian*

[@datguy8805]

Drew uncommon yes but it happens, as such they must follow building code

[@itsKegger]

Im going to be a civil engineer once i graduate, so this video was very interesting to me cus this is what i wanna do... very cool to see how this actually was made

[@adamguymon7096]

Can you describe how the Fire Work Show is done at Disney Land and what goes into it? I as well would love it if you could describe how the Fantasia show works?

[@marcuslyons7233]

Awesome

[@Foose3535]

Nahhhhh just looks like floating rocks with moss on it no mountains with jungles and woods

[@maximusprime3459]

Agreed, even with the alleged forced perspective.

[@oatlord]

I guess this is one you have to see in person to really appreciate.

[@billradloff1919]

I remember going to Disney in 2015 and seeing these under construction...I couldn't figure out what it was they were building, and though it might be related to the rumored Star Wars land at the time, since there was next to no info about Galaxy's Edge at that point.

[@luke_palmer05]

The ride feels so real. When you fly down a water fall u feel like ur almost falling. So cool

[@ShabeRaven]

Nice use of Staccato.

[@orangepeels78]

my favorite ride at disney. ever.

[@TimTVOfficial]

What people might not think about is that Florida building codes require structures to withstand hurricanes, so really they're over-engineered for strength (like weight-bearing, center of gravity, tensile strength, etc.)

[@jeremyadams3501]

I got to sit down and have a drink with Joe Rhode at Jiko at the animal kingdom lodge and talk with him about this it was awesome