Here is a great bit of military and aviation trivia for Walt Disney theme park fans.
Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios’s, Star Wars Galaxies Edge, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction has a piece of military aviation history used as a set dressing.
When Disney Imagineers are building a new attraction they will go to the ends of the earth to find interesting creative items to place around the attraction and its queue in order to make it look authentic. Interesting items are used as is or sometimes modified for use.
When walking through the queue for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run you will be able to see an external portion of a C-141 Starlifter’s engine.
Dating myself
I’m dating myself here, but the C-141 was the primary aircraft that I flew on during my military career. The 141 was retired in 2006 and I kept on flying the C-5 after that.
An Interesting Find
So here’s what we found in Smugglers Run.
Be on the lookout when walking through the ride queue you will enter the engine room/mechanic shop of Ohnaka Transport Solutions, the location where the Millennium Falcon is parked at Black Spire Outpost, the fictional town in Disney’s Hollywood Studios Star Wars: Galaxies Edge.
As you walk through the queue in the engine room on the scaffolding, sitting on the floor is the thrust reverser section of a C-141 engine. It is sitting on the floor with the rear facing up. For those in the know the TR section is intact including the stang doors (those are the pointy tips is sticking up).
There’s no telling where Disney found this piece of history but it’s amazing to see it every time I go through the ride now!
Above is the TR Section as it sits in Smuggler’s Run. It has some wires and conduits shoved in the tail section and a screen sitting on top but it’s totally intact.
Below, is a great image of the C-141 flying over the National Museum of the United States Air Force. If you look at the rear of the engines you’ll see the pointy tips of the stang doors sticking out the rear.
Here are some close-up photos of the 141 engine where you can get a much better look at the Thrust Reverser Section.
The Thrust Reverser Section starts at that first vertical line (on the left) on the engine cowling. When you compare it to the photos in the attraction you can see that is intact.
Here’s a rearview of the TR section.
Below are a few more photos from the attraction for you to check out.
Over to you
Pretty cool, right?
Please leave your comments below in the comments section. Anything is fair game, tell us about your time on or memories of the C-141, or about other cool things you’ve discovered in Disney’s theme parks!
This MDT Post By: Steve Bell Steve is the the Military Disney Tips Founder. He a retired U.S. Military Member who's been touring the Disney Parks since 1971! Steve's mission is to help military families with their Disney vacations in every way. Check out Steve's Bio. Subscribe to Steve's email newsletter to get website updates and news by clicking this link. |
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