Theme parks provide fun and excitement for thousands of families traveling every day. Kids and adults alike flock to these popular attractions to kick back and relax, and for the most part, that’s what they get – but even a near-perfect vacation can have its share of scary moments outside of October time! For most people, any day in the park will be filled with excitement, but for others, certain attractions have a scare factor year-round.
Animatronics! Whether you love them or hate them, they are a staple of modern theme parks where the use of real people is limited or impossible. Animatronics are used as placeholders for beloved mascots and characters, help bring unlikely creatures to life, and fuel the continued advancement of robotics technology—some are even waterproof. However, no matter how cute and furry these impressive animatronics are, they are still machines at heart, and can be disturbing and creepy to some. Especially waterproof ones. that’s right. Today we’re talking about mechanophobia in theme parks.
If you’ve spent any time on TikTok or YouTube, you’ve probably heard this term once or twice by now. For those who don’t know, mechanophobia is the fear of large man-made structures that are partially or completely submerged in water. For many people, the idea of a huge machine sitting idle in dark, murky water, with all its intricate gears and mechanisms still in place, is an unsettling thought – let alone the idea of being in the water next to it! The phobia has grown in popularity in recent years, especially with the help of social media, and theme parks have proven to be one of the most common offenders of mechanophobia.
Following the huge success of games like Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise, water rides featuring animatronics have become a staple in theme parks around the world, making them the site of some serious mechaphobia scenes. Let’s look at some of the most prominent examples.
Jurassic Park River Adventure
One of the most famous examples of mechanophobia in a theme park is the hadrosaur in Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. This animatronic was introduced with the ride in 1999 and, like other rides of its type, has started to show its age over the years. The hadrosaur’s head emerges from the water next to the boat and sprays water at passing tourists, allowing you to get up close and personal with the submerged dinosaur. As creepy as the aging and decaying animatronics are, many mechaphobes are troubled by what mechanisms lurk beneath the calm waters that allow the hadrosaur to still function after all these years.
20,000 miles under the sea
This entry on the list may be stranger than the others, as the ride operated from 1971 to 1994 and received little to no attention since then. During its operation, the ride will take guests deep into the ocean, following the characters and plot of Disney’s 1954 adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel 20,000 miles under the sea. There, in the dark depths, riders come face to face with a cartoon sea snake with rolling eyes and a goofy expression. As cute and Disney-esque as this creature is, there’s still something unsettling about it. To make matters worse, when the ride closed in 1994, the Sea Serpent slowly rotted and decayed over the course of a decade before being eventually (tragically) destroyed. However, there is some good news to this story – at least one version of the sea serpent still exists somewhere, purchased by a collector at auction in 2018.
jungle cruise
Believe it or not, even the jungle cruise itself can be an unsettling experience for some – the many animals partially or completely submerged in the water will make you uncomfortably float down the river while You’ll think about what would happen if you fell into the water! This beloved attraction takes visitors through a variety of animals and explorers, punctuated by the captain’s sense of humor, but as you enjoy the relaxing atmosphere on the river, don’t think too much about what’s floating below.
Featuring a riverboat trip through Asia, Africa, and finally South America, this seemed like a fun and leisurely experience for the whole family. However, some of the animals used in the set were partially submerged underwater, including a group of hippos that careened toward guests from the water. Their wide open mouths splash water around them before sinking back below the surface, making you wonder what would happen if you fell next to them!
great white shark
As if sharks aren’t scary enough for some, “Jaws” is a ride that currently exists at Universal Studios Japan (with a stripped-down version on the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood) and once was in Orlando Universal Studios has a spot on it, which features the eponymous shark in animatronic form swooping down on guests’ boats, resulting in some thrilling “near misses” as the big fish swims by. In order for the shark to swim, it would require massive tracks and mechanisms to propel the animatronic along passing ships. When exhausted, the attraction looks like this:
So why do we find underwater animatronics so disturbing? Maybe it’s because our brains aren’t used to seeing large mechanical parts where they don’t usually belong. Or maybe it’s the fear of the unknown, and as we enjoy a peaceful day in the park, our brains supplement it with scary thoughts of what dangerous plot there might be beneath the surface, just inches from us.
Whether it’s a fear of danger, a fear of the dark and unknown, or a fear of animatronics, the idea of mechanophobia has become even more prominent on social media today. These are just a few of the disturbing underwater animatronics at the popular theme park, and most are well maintained. But for theme parks without that kind of budget, the animatronics glitch and malfunction, making them even more creepy as they rise out of the water. If you’d like to see more, let us know in the comments!
