It's time to let loose your inner Sanjaya.
Disney's Hollywood Studios, located at the Walt Disney World resort in Florida, has announced plans to construct an American Idol attraction at the park, which will not only put willing wannabes through the rigors of an Idol audition and center stage performance, but which will allow the more worthy performers the chance to audition for the judges, for real, on an upcoming season of the show.
Scheduled to open in late 2008, the attraction will adhere to the familiar steps in the TV reality competition, allowing theme-park guests to experience what the road to Idol really entails.
Willing participants will first be allowed enter an audition room, where they will do their best to ward off any errant pitchiness or poor song choice and perform in front of a live Disney's Hollywood Studios producer in a mock-up of the Idol set. (The Idol attraction will take over theater space previously occupied by the Doug Live! and Superstar Television.)
Those who secure a coveted golden ticket will automatically get cast in one the theme park's many daily shows, prior to which they will receive pointers from a vocal coach and undergo as Hollywood a transformation as possible, courtesy of a hair and makeup team.
Once glamorized, the lucky wannabe will perform in the show, in the audience of which will be a three-person panel of judges, likely comprised of audience members in lieu of the Simon-Randy-Paula triumvirate, who will mark the performance. At the end of the day, the performers with the most votes will compete for top glory in an end-of-day grand finale show.
Which leads to the attraction's pièce de résistance.
Each day, one lucky, and more importantly, eligible participant—both in terms of falling within the 16-28 age range and previous lack of any recording contracts—who makes it through the daily theme-park finals will get a special pass good for a guaranteed priority shot at superstardom in a regional audition slot when the new search for the next superstar resumes nationwide auditions.
"One of the most remarkable elements about American Idol is that for a brief moment each week, we can provide TV viewers the opportunity to imagine life as America's next superstar," Idol creator Simon Fuller said. "Disney's new attraction perfectly captures what we at American Idol feel is the heart and soul of this brand, real people getting a shot to make their dream a reality."
As audition season for the show typically takes place in late summer through the early fall, just before when the attraction is expected to open, it's likely the first batch of winners won't be able to make their dreams become reality until the show's 2009 auditions.