The biggest theme park rides are often more than mere rides. Often, they are narrated by familiar voices. At Spaceship Earth in Epcot, an unseen Judi Dench informs us, "Rome built the first World Wide Web, and it's leading us into the future." Dench herself replaced Jeremy Irons, who replaced Walter Cronkite. But most of the time, the stars appear in short filmed pieces, particularly in the instructions that precede the ride itself. In the biz, that's called the "pre-show" or the "spiel," and those warm-ups often feature well-known celebrities who play roles that help establish the backstory of the ride.
Disney and
Universal don't usually promote these cameos beyond the rides' opening months, and IMDB.com doesn't list theme park attraction appearances, so there are rarely public reminders that these shadow credits exist on their résumés. And since taking photos is usually forbidden, the only images we have of these under-the-radar gigs are the ones that were surreptitiously shot by fans as they avoided being spotted by ride attendants.
So who's has starred in Orlando's biggest attractions? We'll show the outside of each one, followed by the star who has been seen surprising guests within—the photos were taken by fans eager to put these under-the-radar appearances on the record.
Jason Cochran is the author of Frommer's EasyGuide to Walt Disney World & Orlando.
