Lindsey Ellis
limina
CONCEPT
Limina is a fantastical dark ride that transports guests into a world they never knew existed. Guests accidentally find themselves in a World Between Worlds. Instead of going to the Planetarium show Limina, they agree to sail off on a perilous journey to help a young girl Eleanor find her missing father. This attraction immerses guests in its heartwarming epic adventure while simultaneously integrating new ride system modifications to the robotic coaster featured in Universal Studios Forbidden Journey attraction. Limina will keep guests on the edge of their seats as they sail through this surreal dimension.
INSPIRATION
Struck by a wonderful illustration of a fanciful pirate ship sailing on a bed of clouds under the sea, the concept of Limina was born. We wanted to capture a similar essence of adventure, wonder and fantasy in our story. Our intent was to create a dark ride narrative that at its core is about human connection and the lengths we’d go for the ones we love.
GUEST NARRATIVE
People have come from all around the world to the National Science Museum to see the new exhibition and planetarium show, Limina. Dedicated to the remarkable research collected from the Vergere Space Agency, this show dives into the breakthrough findings in intergalactic travel and the possible existence of life outside of earth. Upon entering the planetarium show, real world science is left at the threshold, for they have unknowingly stepped into a void that leads to the World Between Worlds. A place where explorers sail among the stars through illuminated portals that connect the multiverse. Leading the adventure is Eleanor, a plucky youngster who has reached out to these guests from Earth in hopes that they will help her rescue her missing father.
QUEUE:
We have arrived at the Science Center to see the special planetarium exhibition ‘Limina’. The science center has generous amounts of signage promoting the planetarium and expressing what types of thrills await them inside.
When we enter the lobby, we are greeted by friendly staff are checking tickets for reservations and sending them to the left and allowing non-ticketed guests to pass on the right (Guests who have reserved showtimes for Limina are considered fast pass and those who would like to explore the science center before seeing the show are considered standby).
We weave throughout the queue and take part in all of the opportunities to play with interactive screens and small physical science experiments. We are stopped right before we enter the last room, the theater waiting room. Here, an attendant merges a few people from with reserved tickets line with a few of us from the standby queue and we enter the theater.
PRESHOW:
The theater is a domed room. The screen for the planetarium show is a warm incandescent glow, allowing just enough light so that we can see where we are going. Once all of the guests for this showing are in the room, an attendant tells the us to stand away from the walls to have optimum viewing and to enjoy the wonders of space with this special presentation of ‘Limina’. The attendant leaves the room and closes the door. Almost immediately a Hologram of a young plucky looking girl appears.
ELEANOR: Great! They’re gone!
She looks around with a serious expression.
Okay guys, I’m going to need you to stay calm… You are no longer on Earth…You are in a void I have opened that will lead to the World between Worlds… (She stops mid thought) Why are you all just staring at me?? It’s true! The Earth is just one planet in the galaxy and there is so much more beyond that. It’s my family’s job to explore and learn about all of the worlds and ancient civilizations that haven’t been discovered yet.
She shows off her glimmering pendant
We use these Eternal Compasses to open portals and guide us to any portals we have coordinates for.
While Eleanor speaks, the room appears to crumble around us. Beneath is a wondrous looking void, reminiscent of a neuron under a microscope.
My father was out on a mission a few years ago to the lost world of Etros. The powerful electromagnetic barrier around Etros prevents us from opening up a portal directly on the planet, and passing through it is said to be impossible…and uh…my… my father never came back from that mission… (picking up in confidence) That’s why I need your help. I know it’s dangerous and you all didn’t ask to be here, but I’ve read all about the compassion of people on Earth and their willingness to take on extraordinary measures to help those who need it. And I really need your help, everyone else has given my father up for dead and won’t join my crew to sail out and rescue him.
She grabs the pendant around her neck and angles it towards the wall across from us.
I’m going to open up a portal to the base port of the World Between Worlds and if you are willing, all you need to do is walk through and board my ship at the end of the dock. I’ll be aboard waiting for you. You’ll need to be stealthy once you enter the base because we can’t have anyone seeing us and trying to stop us on the way out!
When she is finished talking, Eleanor takes her pendant and uses it to open a glowing portal where the wall once was. We walk through the portal tunnel and come out into the docking bay.
LOAD:
We are on a path flanked by tall stacks of cargo boxes. As we round the corner, the cargo boxes aren’t stacked as high and we see the full hangar. We can now see Eleanor’s ship. There are many strange items piled around the room waiting to be sorted. We go up a staircase at the back of the room and walk across the platform and down another set of steps to the docked ship. When we are on the platform we are able to see out the hangar doors and out into the rest of the base port.
Right before we get on the ship, we are split and assigned to a row on either the left- or right-hand side of the dock. We board the ship, buckle in and start to slowly disembark out of our hangar and out into the main port area. We hear Eleanor tell us that she is stationed behind us at the helm of the ship.
SCENE 1: BASE ESCAPE
(BLOCK ZONE 1) Our ship makes its way cautiously forward out into the open base and then turns right. We see ships docked in various hangars, but the coast is clear.
(BLOCK ZONE 2) After the turn we realize too late that we have been spotted by an officer’s ship! The alarms start going off and Eleanor yells to us to hang on because she’s gonna go full speed towards the exit portal. As we shoot towards the exit, the portal starts to close, but we narrowly make it through.
SCENE 2: JUMP 1
(BLOCK ZONE 3) In the portal it looks like shooting stars are streaming past us.
SCENE 3: THE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS
(BLOCK ZONE 4) The ship pops out of the portal and around us is the World between Worlds. It looks like a galactic highway with portals surrounding the ship and going as far as the eye can see. We sail through at a sustained pace and Eleanor tells us that we have made it past the first obstacle and now that she is sure no one is following, she can calibrate her Eternal compass guide us to Etros. We can see inside some of the portals that are closest to us. One has a school of strange looking fish leaving and swimming into a nearby portal. We get splashed as we sail by. Another portal we pass is emitting sweet smelling fumes, and Eleanor steers the ship under and tells us this is no time to be tempted by the Isle of Sweets!
(BLOCK ZONE 5)We steer around a few more portals when we hear Eleanor exclaim that her Eternal Compass is calibrated and we can now go through one of the Rapid Transit portals that will take us right to the Etros’s barrier. She says that she can see one of the Rapid Transit portals straight ahead. It is rippling and glowing with a soft light. Before we can reach it, the head of a dragon emerges from a nearby portal! Its claws grip the sides of the portal and it angrily shoots flames right at us! Eleanor skillfully dodges the flames and navigates us out of danger and into the Rapid Transit portal. We jump to super speed when crossing the threshold.
SCENE 4: JUMP 2
(BLOCK ZONE 6) In the portal it looks like shooting stars are streaming past us.
SCENE 5: BARRIER
(BLOCK ZONE 7) The ship lands in front of a huge field of asteroids. Eleanor slows the ship briefly, and we are holding our breath in anticipation, knowing the peril that lies in wait. Eleanor calls out to us to be brave and then sends the ship flying into the fray. The asteroids rotate and fling particles at the ship as we swoop, swerve and zip past them, the past becoming increasingly dense with asteroids. Some crash into each other in the distance, unexpectedly sending huge chunks of debris toward our path.
(BLOCK ZONE 8) We can now see the portal to Etros and Eleanor shouts with joy. In her moment of distraction, an asteroid grazes the backside of the ship and sends it out of control. Miraculously the ship manages to careen straight into the portal.
SCENE 6: ETROS - LAGOON
(BLOCK ZONE 9) The ship has so much speed coming into Etros that we skip like a rock, spinning around across a lagoon in the middle of the jungle and right towards the mouth of a giant cave. We can see the remnants of a ship stuck where it crashed in the rocks.
SCENE 7: ETROS - CAVES
(BLOCK ZONE 10) Eleanor tries to regain control of the ship and must avoid crashing into the stalactites above and the shallow water below. She struggles, but gets control moments before a stalactite would’ve plunged itself right into the center of the ship. Slowly we make our way to the end of the cave and into a cavern.
SCENE 8: ETROS - CAVERN
(BLOCK ZONE 10&11) The cavern is well lit from a giant hole in the center of the ceiling. We can see ancient stone sculptures carved into the walls of the cavern. Studying one of the sculptures we see Eleanor’s father. He turns to us in shock. The ship is stalled and we see Eleanor run to her father. He holds her tight, tears in his eyes.
FATHER: Oh Ellee-Bellee! My sweet girl!
He holds her at arm’s length
You could’ve been killed!! And who are these people?! You know people of Earth can’t be here! They could cause a glitch that makes the whole system collapse in on itself.
Eleanor wipes tears from her eyes
ELEANOR: Yeah, I know… but I needed a crew and Earthlings are full of such empathy! They were the only ones I knew would help me and I just couldn’t give up on you.
The two embrace again and Eleanor's father sighs and then laughs
FATHER: You really are my kid, aren’t you? Now let me see that compass of yours and we can see if we can get your friends back home safely. I do believe mine is lost at the bottom of that darn lagoon… probably in the belly of some dreadful creature.
Eleanor hands him her Eternal Compass
FATHER CONT: Let me just gather my research, I’ve made myself busy over the last few years!
He chuckles and starts walk over to his pile of research
ELEANOR: I’ll get back on the ship and get it into position, meet me at the helm!
Eleanor runs back under the ship and out of sight. The ship starts moving again and reorients itself towards the skylight. We hear Eleanor’s father telling us to brace ourselves. The skylight turns into a grand portal and we blast off through it.
SCENE 9: JUMP 3
(BLOCK ZONE 12) In the portal it looks like shooting stars are streaming past us.
SCENE 10: BACK TO BASE
(BLOCK ZONE 13) The portal has brought us back to the base and we slowly make our way into the hangar where our journey began.
UNLOAD:
We disembark and begin to make our way back to the final portal to our world. We hear Eleanor and her Father shouting thank you and their goodbyes.
EXIT:
We walk through a portal tunnel, just as we did at the beginning and are led to the museum gift shop.
