Futuroscope

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Futuroscope
Flying Carpet Imax cinema at Futuroscope
Location	, Poitiers, Poitou-Charentes
Website	www.futuroscope.com
Owner	Parc du Futuroscope
Opened	May 31, 1987
Operating season	February to November
Area	131 acres (0.53 km²)
Rides	total

Amusement Parks Portal

Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope is a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic and audio-visual techniques. It has several 3D cinemas along with other attractions and shows, some of which are the only examples in the world.

It is located in the department of Vienne, 10 kilometres north of Poitiers, on the territory of the communes of Chasseneuil-du-Poitou and Jaunay-Clan.

There were 1.45 million visitors to the park in 2005. There have been a total of 31 million visitors since the park opened in 1987.^{[citation needed]}

1 History
2 Architecture
3 Attractions
4 Restaurants and Shops
5 External links

[edit] History

1984 : 11 December, first stone placed by René Monory, president of the general council of Vienne and father of the project.

1987 : 31 May, opens to the public with Kinémax, the Pavillon du Futuroscope and a play zone.

Kinémax

1988 : opening of the first Dynamique Cinéma - Monde des Enfants (the world of children) and the Showscan (the first part of the Pavillon de la Communication).

1989 : the Cinéma en Relief, the Cinéma 360° and the second part of the Pavillon de la Communication open, offering new spectacles to visitors.

1990 : opening of the Omnimax and the Gyrotour. Futuroscope produces its first film in 360° about the Tour de France.

Digital City.

1991 : inauguration of Cinéautomate in spring. The park receives its one-millionth visitor.

1992 : the Tapis Magique (Magic Carpet) and the Paysages d’Europe (Landscapes of Europe) open.

1993 : inauguration of Solido.

1994 : opening of Pavillon de la Vienne, a second Dynamique Cinéma and the Aquascope.

1995 : celebrating the centenary of cinema, inauguration of the Images Studio.

1996 : the IMAX 3D opens and presents Guillaumet, les Ailes du Courage (the Wings of Courage), a fiction in 3D by Jean-Jacques Annaud. The Showscan becomes the Cinéma Haute Résolution (High Resolution Cinema).

1997 : Futuroscope celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new evening spectacle, Le Lac aux Images (the Lake with Images). The Cinéautomate becomes Ciné-Jeu (Cinema Game) and Cyber Avenue opens up the Cyberworld to its visitors,. The Pavillon de la Communication presents a film produced by Futuroscope called Les Autoroutes de l’Information (The Motorways of Information).

The Lake, Kinémax and Digital City.

1998: Cyber Avenue expands with Cybermédia offering 1600 m² (17,000 sq ft) of multimedia, Internet and video games. Imagic opens, mixing image with illusion. The Dynamique Cinéma 2 becomes Astratour with a film discovering satellites, produced by Futuroscope.

1999: opening of Images du Goût (Images of Taste) and The Workshop of Taste in the Pavillon du Futuroscope.

2000: opening of the IMAX 3D simulator: Défi d’Atlantis (the Challenge of Atlantis). In June, the Gare TGV-Futuroscope (Futuroscope's TGV Station) opened with a walkway allowing visitors to reach the heart of the park directly from the station.

2001: the inauguration of the new attractions: CyberWorld', OceanOasis, Superstition et Métropole Défi (Metropolis Challenge). On 18 April, Futuroscope welcomed its 25-millionth visitor.

2002: opening of Destination Cosmos, a new evening spectacle conceived by Yves Pépin : Le Miroir d’Uranie (the Mirror of Uranie) and two new films: Sur les traces du Panda (on the Track of Pandas) and Plongeurs sans Limite (Divers Without Limits).

2003: opening of the attraction La Cité du Numérique (the Digital City); 2 IMAX films: Space Station 3D and Percussions du Monde (Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey); 2 dynamique films: Les mélodies Aquatiques (Aquatic Melodies); and 2 new spectacles: Les Grandes Illusions (The Great Illusions), the Pavillon de la Créativité and an open air photograph exhibition.

2004: the season begins with a festival of the best Imax films. Jacques Perrin produces an exclusive new film for Tapis Magique, Voyageurs du Ciel et de la Mer (Voyagers of Sky and Sea). Le Rêve d’Icare (The Dream of Icare) produces new sensations in the Imax cinema.

2005: the arrival of many new attractions: Star du Futur! (Star of the Future!); La Légende de l'Etalon Noir (The Legend of the Black Stallion) in the Kinémax; the dynamique film Péril sur Akryls (Danger on Akryls) in Dynamique 1 and Les Yeux Grands Fermés (Journey into the Dark). On the 27th April, the park welcomed its 30-millionth visitor, making it the second most visited theme park in France and the fifth in Europe.

2006: a new 3D film opens in Imax 3D, le Seigneur du Ring (Adventures in Animation 3D). This year, the Park is themed as the Year of the Robots, by opening on 5th April with Dance with the Robots in the new House of the Robots. A new evening spectacle entitled the Forest of the Dreams also forms part of the theme.

2008: a new attraction based around the BBC's programme on animals of the future.

Futuroscope currently employs 600 people, including 400 temporary staff.

Stages of the Tour de France cycle race have commenced and finished at the park several times since its opening.

[edit] Architecture

The pavilions of Futuroscope are mainly made up of metal and glass; modern materials which give the buildings form and texture, as works of art that make the observer stand and stare. The design of the pavilions was lead by architect Denis Laming.

1987 : Pavillon du Futuroscope, le Kinémax
1988 : le Cinéma Dynamique 1, le Pavillon de la Créativité
1989 : l'Omnimax
1990 : le 360°, la Gyrotour
1992 : le Tapis Magique, le Cinéma en Relief (the latter removed in 2004)
1993 : le Solido
1994 : le Cinéma Dynamique 2
1995 : Images Studio
1996 : l’Imax 3D
1999 : l’Atlantis
2000 : TGV Station
2003 : Destination Cosmos (formerly Aquascope)
2006 : le Pavillon des Robots
2007: le Cinema Dynamique 3

[edit] Attractions

Most are available to non French speakers via infra red translation headsets, some are French only and are listed below.

Translation headsets are free to loan, but you need ID (Driving licence, Passport or Credit card) that can be left at the desk to borrow them.

Expédition Nil Bleu (Mystery of the Nile) In the Crystal, not sure what it replaced (probably Pulse)
Percussions du Monde (Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey) (No Longer Present as of March 2007)
Péril sur Akryls (Peril on Akryls) French Only
La cité du Numérique (Digital City) Hands on exhibit some English, mainly French
Danse avec les Robots (Dances with Robots) Language independent
Le défi d'Atlantis (Race For Atlantis) French Only
Star du Futur (Star of the Future) - An attraction, where you have to perform a little show, with thereafter a tour, with hanging cars through the world of show, guide by Benoît Guinon. You also see some pictures of you performing. French Only
Space Station 3D (No Longer Present as of March 2007)
Deep Sea 3D Replaced SpaceStation 3D
Les Ailes du Courage (Wings of Courage)
La Légende de l'Étalon Noir (Young Black Stallion)
Le Gyrotour (The Gyrotour) - An attraction where you go in a revolving disc into the air to have a view of the landscape.
Le Zoo des Robots (The Robot Zoo) (No Longer Present as of March 2007) Building still has the hoardings up so but the attraction name covered and whilst the building is on the map it's got nothing listed as being in it. It may return, or they just haven't redecorated yet.
Virtual Worlds Consist of two films in 3D, shown in the same cinema. They are shown alternatively, ie one at 10:30 the other 11:30 then the first again at 12:30 and so on. The films are
- Cyberworld A showcase of cutting edge animation (or what cutting edge in 2000) with a loose story holding the segments together
- Adventure in Animation 3D See how they created 3D computer animation and make it look lifelike.
Le Meilleur du Dynamique (The Best of Dynamic Cinema) Oddly English only for some films (Olympic Bobsleigh was running and that was English only)
Voyageurs du Ciel et de la Mer (Travellers by Air and by Sea) French Only, but not much narration anyway
Destinations Cosmos
La Vienne Dynamique (The Dynamic Vienne) - Where you get into moving seats and see a show about a person going to wedding. Unfortunately, he is running late and so gets the help of a man, in the form of a tree. All of the movie is set in the Vienne region.
Les Jardins d'Europe (The Gardens of Europe) - Some gardens of Europe (Holland, England, etc.)
Le Monde des Enfants (Children's World)
Cyber Avenue - Multimedia, internet and games access
Illusions Magiques (Magical Illusions, July 11 - August 26 only)
L'Odyssée Sibérienne (Siberian Odyssey)
Les Yeux Grands Fermés (Journey into the Dark) French Only
La Forêt des Rêves (The Forest of Dreams) French Only - Not a problem as it's a light / laser show
Fantaisie Aquatique (Aquatic Fantasy)
Les animaux du futur (The future is wild) new for 2008

[edit] Restaurants and Shops

The park has eight restaurants and ten restaurations rapides (take away points serving sandwiches and similar food). There are eight shops, most of which are located at the entrance.

Be warned in low season there are few open, and this can mean problems in getting into a restaurant, and relying on fast food choices.

There is little vegetarian choices in the fast food places, and only a few options in the restaurants.