One of my favorite movies growing up was The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), it was one of the movies shown on rainy school days, and it was broadcast on the weekends. It had a cyclops, a dragon, a princess, and fight with a skeleton. Ray Harryhausen continued the films with The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and finished with Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). Earlier, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. starred as Sinbad along with Maureen O’Hara in Sinbad the Sailor (1947) recounting his eighth voyage. Sindbad of course has his origin in The Thousand and One Nights where he encounters the giant bird, the Roc, and other dangers on seven voyages. This all leads us to the live action show, The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad, which is closing at Universal’s Islands of Adventure on September 15th.
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| Sindbad in The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad show, photo by the author. |
This show was at the park on opening day, May 28, 1999, with a 1,700 seat theater. There were six islands, The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad is part of The Lost Continent, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the seventh, and the eighth is Skull Island. There is a marketplace called Sinbad’s Bazaar which also has The Mystic Fountain that converses with guests and sprays them with water. Also in the land is the Lost City, an Atlantis-themed section which contains the Poseidon’s Fury special effects show, and the other section Merlinwood was changed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The stage is a multi-leveled cave with greenish formations and pieces of a ship.
A narrator describes the Sultan’s Heart, a magical ruby, and out comes the clumsy, yet acrobatic Kabob with curved, jester hat. Sindbad joins him. It clear from the outset that there is some goofy humor, also again it is the Sindbad character, but this is a fantasy not a retelling of an Arabian tale. Kabob is hurtled backwards into the air after taunting the witch Miseria. He is found on the top level and sees Sindbad from a ship’s mast. They are in the Grotto of Lost Souls. Sinbad silences his sidekick with a joke, “Shh, Kabob", very funny. Next, they hear the voice of Princess Amoura. She is surrounded by fire around the throne. They need to find the Sultan’s Heart to free her.
Sinbad goes after the Sultan’s Heart; swinging on a rope, and dodging stalactites, climbing the cave and escaping blasts of steam. He gets the Sultan’s Heart and an explosion pops off, the Sultan’s Heart is gone, and the princess disappears in the fire. The evil Miseria appears in a purple and black outfit with cape and staff that has the Sultan’s Heart at the tip. Sinbad and Kabob race up to the stadium seats and in the middle of the theater is a tree where Princess Amoura is bound. She is in her pink princess outfit. There is no bad seats since the performers run around every part of the stage and seats. Sinbad cuts her free and she falls into his arms. Miseria sends her acrobatic ghoul to fight them. Princess Amoura also shows her fighting skill.
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| Princess Amoura in The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad, photo by the author. |
The princess defeats another ghoul using a sword. Another uses a giant mallet to attack Sindbad while Princess Amoura takes on another ghoul. Nice stage fighting. Kabob finds himself again at the top level with a ghoul behind him once the audience shouts a warning. Princess Amoura defeats a ghoul right by the tree in front of the audience. The audience shouts out another warning for a ghoul summoned by Miseria. The show’s audience participation is fun. Sinbad takes on a sword-wielding minion and literally throws a kitchen sink at him!
Princess Amoura escapes Miseria and her henchmen. Two waterfalls sprout from the top level. Sinbad fires a cannon at Miseria, Kabob takes her staff, and throws it to Sinbad. He uses the staff to set the waterfall on fire, nice effect, and Miseria catches fire! She plunges into the water and there are explosions. Princess Amoura kisses Sinbad. Kabob swings across the stage and falls into the pit that is the running gag of the show. It is all fun, more so than the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios which was all on stage and not around the audience. If you have a chance, don't miss the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad at Universal's Islands of Adventure!
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