Looney Tunes River Ride (formerly known as the Looney Tunes Studio Tour) was a dark boat ride at the amusement park Warner Bros. Movie World at Gold Coast, Australia. The ride was unveiled on 3 June 1991, the same time as the park, and was closed on 1 February 2011 to make way for the Junior Driving School.
History
Looney Tunes River Ride opened with the Warner Bros. Movie World on 3 June 1991 as Looney Tunes Studio - Journey into Fantasy, and was sponsored by the Nine Network. It was one of four attractions in the Looney Tunes Land section of the park. The ride later had its name changed to Looney Tunes Studio Tour. In 1995, Nine Network's sponsorship of the ride ended, and in December 1997, its name was changed to Looney Tunes River Ride alongside the launch of Looney Tunes Village.
On 30 June 1996, Looney Tunes Adventure opened with Warner Bros. Movie World in Germany as Looney Tunes Studio Tour, and was sponsored by Langnese. The ride was very similar to the version that opened in Australia. Langnese's sponsorship of the ride ended in 1997, and in 1998, the ride's name was changed to Looney Tunes Adventure. On 3 April 2004, Warner Bros. Movie World in Germany was acquired by StarParks. This acquisition resulted in various Warner Bros. licensed properties, including DC Comics and Looney Tunes being removed from the park on 31 October 2004. On 19 March 2005, Movie Park Germany opened with Looney Tunes Adventure being rethemed to Ice Age Adventure.
In early January 2011, as Looney Tunes River Ride had many ongoing technical problems and was out of date, Warner Bros. Movie World announced that the ride would close on 14 February 2011 until further notice in early January, 2011. Towards the end of the month, the closing date was preponed to 1 February 2011. On 1 February 2011, the ride was permanently closed, and its queue area was converted into a viewing area for the Road Runner Roller Coaster. It was later confirmed on 12 September 2014, that the Looney Tunes River Ride would be replaced with Junior Driving School. On 10 December 2012, the boats, electric steam boilers, slimline tanks and sawed tree used in the Looney Tunes River Ride were put up for auction at Village Roadshow Studios.
Ride experience
The ride began with guests queuing outside a white show building decorated as a movie studio. They would then be led into a room by a guide where they were welcomed to "Hollywood". The guests were then informed that they would be taken on a tour of the studio where the latest Looney Tunes movie was being shot. However, Bugs Bunny had dug a hole into the center of the Earth down to Australia (Germany in the Warner Bros. Movie World Germany version), resulting in the production to cease. The guests would then walk into another room where the guide would show them a light which indicates the production status. Since production had been stopped, the guests would proceed through a door to the next room, labelled "Sound Stages 2 and 3". This room was filled with animatronic Looney Tunes characters, three of whom (Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Wile E. Coyote) were looking down a hole in the ground. Guests were told that Bugs Bunny had dug a hole through the middle of the earth to Australia/Germany. Riders then were moved into a giant earth drill in Sound Stage 2, where they were transported through the Earth to come out at Australia (the German version had the guests transported to Germany via Marvin the Martian's rocket). Guests would then get on 4 boats, each with 4 rows of 4 seats each, before being taken through an animatronic-filled ride with a surprising drop towards the end. The guests went past another scene identical to the one with the animatronics in the pre-show, this time joined by Bugs Bunny, who acted as their guide and was directing the movie. The boats would stop at the unloading station and the guests disembark while Porky Pig delivers his signature line, "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!".
Voice cast
Greg Burson as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé Le Pew, and Marc Anthony Joe Alaskey as Daffy Duck, Sylvester, and Speedy Gonzales Bob Bergen as Porky Pig and Tweety Mel Blanc as Tasmanian Devil (archive recordings) Paul Julian as Road Runner (archive recordings) Wile E. Coyote and Sylvester Jr. appear, but don't speak