Sept. 30, 2002
Get Off the Ride

By Steve Friess

On New York Skyride, a virtual aerial tour of the city that tourists can take at the Empire State Building, riders feel like they’re peering out of the front of a spaceship as they fly above and around Big Apple landmarks.

But more than a year after the WTC attacks, the ride includes one scene that’s more than virtually tasteless. The spaceship sails directly toward one of the towers. As impact seems imminent, the screen blanks out with a STORM WARNING sign. The picture returns when the craft lands on Wall Street as terrified New Yorkers scramble to get out of the way.

Viewers—about 700,000 who pay $13.50 for the ride each year—are warned of the imagery by a notice in the foyer before the ride. “We feel it necessary to bring to your attention,” it reads, “that included in our film are aerial views of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers as they stood at the time of filming (1994). We will be replacing several scenes in the current movie, including ... the bumpy landing on Wall Street.”

The footage will remain until December, when a new film will debut, says Terry Torok, president of Live From Earth Entertainment, which produces the ride for Skyline Multimedia Entertainment, Inc. Skyline is spending more than $1 million on the upgrade—including digitizing the film so changes can be made faster in the future. “We couldn’t possibly know any similarities would occur when we filmed this,” says Torok. He says the new version will include aerial Twin Towers footage because exit polling shows that people want to see the landmarks—just not slam into them.

Viewers have been asked on comment cards to “assist us in finding the most effective and entertaining way to portray New York after this tragedy.” Empire State Building authorities are disassociating themselves from the ride. “The New York Skyride is a tenant of the Empire State Building, and we have no idea what the content of the movie is,” says a spokeswoman.

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