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Moteurs...Action! Stunt Show Spectacular

Walt Disney Studios at Disneyland Paris

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Moteurs...Action! Stunt Show picture

A leap of faith at the Moteurs...Action! Stunt Show Spectacular.

Jeremy Levine, 2004. Licensed to About.com
Do you ever wonder how movie directors and stunt drivers stage and pull off chase scenes? Disney's high-energy, high-decibel Moteurs reveals some trade secrets, but no trickery can replace the astonishing split-second accuracy and wild acrobatics demonstrated by the show's motorcycle and car drivers. Evoking the same morbid fascination as matadors and high-wire aerialists, you'll simultaneously wince and cheer as the drivers perform seemingly impossible--and impossibly dangerous--stunts.

Up-front Info

  • Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 1.5
    Loud noises, explosions, lots of (very) near misses.
  • Attraction type: Stadium show
  • Height restriction: None
The Moteurs attraction has an enormous bank of stadium seats facing a tricked-out stage with a generic city street movie set. During the pre-show, motorcycle drivers rev their engines and perform some simple maneuvers, while the bilingual (French and English) hosts work the audience and choose twelve extras to participate in the performance. (Recruiting extras is one of many similarities Moteurs shares with Disney-MGM Studio's Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.)

A "director" explains stunt and filmmaking processes and begins the action with what he calls a ballet sequence. A bunch of shiny, nimble Opels sprint onto the stage and engage in a series of brake-screeching, synchronized maneuvers. It's like a motorized version of the Radio City Rockettes; a mistimed pirouette is a heckuva lot more dangerous however when the participants are sports cars rather than leggy showgirls.

The moves are so crisp and precise, I'd swear that the whole show must be computer-programmed and on auto-drive. (But that's a testament to the drivers, not a conspiracy theory.) Cameras catch the action and the Moteurs crew instantly replays the stunts on a giant screen.

In the second scene, the motorcycles join the fun. The extras also do their best "I've been shot!" emoting as they limp across the stage after a staged shootout. When oil barrels grace the stage of a stunt show spectacular, that can only mean one thing: Those suckers are gonna blow up and deliver some serious plumes of fire. When the smoke dies down, Herbie the VW Beetle Love Bug provides some "intermission" fun.

Then it's back to serious action as cars teeter on two wheels, jump over one another, and otherwise pull out every chase scene cliché for a grand finale of epic proportions. Moteurs' choreography is mind-boggling. It's even more mind boggling to think that the crew repeats the razor-thin-margin-of-error show a number of times daily.

See the Moteurs in Action

Moteurs...Action Photo Gallery

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