Islands of Adventure’s Very Unusual Abandoned Dr. Seuss Ride

The Sneetches

Thematically, the Very Unusual Driving Machines would follow The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss.

The Book

The Sneetches is a story of the haves and the have-nots: the Star-Belly Sneetches and the Plain-Belly Sneetches. The Star-Belly Sneetches, who played games and had picnics, never mingled with the Plain-Belly Sneetches, who just wanted to belong.

Luckily—or unluckily—for the lowly Plain-Belly Sneetches, a charming con-artist rolled into town with the answer to all their problems. This sly salesman, Sylvester McMonkey McBean, invented a Star-On machine to stamp stars on the bellies of the Plain-Belly Sneetches, for a low price, of course; they could finally fit in and enjoy all the Star-Bellied festivities.

The Star-Belly Sneetches took notice and did not like this trend one bit. Sylvester McMonkey McBean, being a savvy snake oil salesman, convinced them that star bellies were out of style. Luckily—or unluckily—he had just the invention to help: a Star-Off machine that wiped those unstylish stars right off, for a slightly marked-up price, of course.

This led to chaos. The Star-Belly Sneetches were now Plain-Belly Sneetches, and the Plain-Belly Sneetches were now Star-Belly Sneetches. They emptied their wallets to switch and swap their stars on and off. Stars on, stars off, stars on—you get the point. Once the Sneetches spent all their money, McBean left town in a car overflowing with cash. The Sneetches then realized they weren’t so different after all and got along from then on, regardless of stars.

Between the lines, the book touches on themes of discrimination, inclusion, and acceptance. But at first glance, it’s a story about an eccentric businessperson with a wacky car and bizarre contraptions; it has all the basics any great Dr. Seuss theme park ride would ever need.

The Ride’s Theming

The creative team adapted that story for the monorail car ride system. The attraction would have a dual layout, combining for about 2,800 feet of rideable track, and have two adjacent course options: the Star-On side and the Star-Off side. Each course would have a dedicated indoor show scene as if going through Sylvester McMonkey McBean’s inventions.

The Star-On side’s indoor show scene would have scenic props of stamping machines and mechanisms. This track would also journey into a restaurant next door, Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-Pendous, in the bigtop rafters among trapeze artists and an organist performer.

For the Star-Off side, the indoor show scene would have car-wash-style scenic props to scrub off the stars.

Outside, the two courses would intertwine over Seuss Landing and travel alongside each other for the ride’s finale. The tracks would travel on a rooftop as Sylvester McMonkey McBean leaves town in his getaway car full of cash. In the final scene, Star-Bellies and Plain-Bellies would be together, like the end of the book.

Based on the track length and vehicle speeds, the ride would have lasted somewhere around four minutes.

The team fabricated the scenic work for the Very Unusual Driving Machines off site to be installed once the ride was ready. Designing the props and show scenes was a bit of a challenge because of the tight ride path; the scenic elements had to fit in small spaces while being out of guest reach.

The ride vehicles would be decorated as well, having headlights, taillights, and spinning wheels. Based on the concept art, the vehicles would’ve had license plates of different Dr. Seuss characters, such as Gucky Gown. Riders could have possibly triggered sound effects from the dashboard, which would play though the car’s on-board audio system.