One of the biggest secrets kept from theme park visitors is the emergency ‘B-Mode’ that certain attractions use when a special effect or animatronic fails. Instead of shutting down the entire attraction due to one feature’s failure, the ‘B-Mode’ temporarily replaces the original effect to continue offering visitors a seamlessly enjoyable experience.

These emergency features usually take the form of a projected screen that replaces an animatronic version of the same or similar part of the experience. Usually the visitors will not even be aware that one original effect was replaced by something less impressive.

While obviously not an ideal situation, these ‘B-Modes’ allow visitors to continue enjoying the whole attraction rather than shutting it down completely. With so many other awesome effects to enjoy, there is little reason to cause them to miss out entirely when it is only one animatronic that has gone down.

One of the most frequently used ‘B-Modes’ appears during the Na’vi River Journey part of the Pandora World of Avatar ride at Disney World. It features an incredibly complex animatronic called the Shaman of Songs which struggles to remain fully operational for the sixteen-hour days the ride is often open for.

During the moments when the animatronic isn’t working, a special projection screen shows the exact same image the visitors would have seen if the Shaman of Songs was working.