More Bad Re-Theming Ideas

 

 

RetlawYensid.Com Statement about the Tower of Terror retheming

I have been posting several ridiculous sounding "re-themed" attractions this weekend because of my unhappiness towards the recent decision to close the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and re-theme it as a Guardians of the Galaxy ride. 

Contrary to what I've read online, many of us who are against this re-theming aren't against any changes; as a matter of fact, I have been quite supportive of most past changes. However in this instance, the Tower of Terror is not being replaced because it is no longer attracting crowds or has become irrelevant to guests; it is solely being changed because somebody at Disney Corporate must have proclaimed that Marvel characters needed to be shoehorned into the parks and this was the cheapest way to do it.

What makes this even more ridiculous is that Guardians of the Galaxy would be an even better fit in DISNEYLAND's Tomorrowland, which features several abandoned buildings and attractions. Sure, it might take more time and expense to utilize, repurpose or expand those facilities, but the fact is, those things are going to need to happen sooner or later. Sadly, the company has focused on just about everywhere else in the parks instead of finally tackling the one section that is desperately in need of a remodel.

"Fixing" an attraction that doesn't need to be fixed and whose popularity has grown since it was first built is ridiculous. If this was the best option they had for introducing Marvel properties into the parks, then maybe there isn't much imagination left in the world. (Or at least at Disney.)

 

Just Announced: Disney Dollars Retired!

Disney Dollars, which debuted in 1987 at DISNEYLAND Park, will be officially retired this week. Created by former DISNEYLAND President Jack Lindquist, all existing Disney Dollars will still be accepted for payment, but no new dollars will be produced. 

Come back tomorrow for some very good reasons why you might not want to spend those remaining Disney Dollars at the parks, plus a historical look back at these unique souvenirs.

 

Best of RetlawYensid.com: The Matterhorn in Florida

Space Mountain in Florida is really just an indoor version of DISNEYLAND's Matterhorn?!? It's true!

http://www.retlawyensid.com/2014/01/disney-world-space-mountain.html

Happy Birthday, Disneyland Paris!

On this day in 1992, The Walt Disney Company opened Disneyland Paris in Marne La Vallee, France. The resort now features two theme parks, seven hotels and a nighttime entertainment district.

A Magical Place...

Rest in Peace, Jack Lindquist

Jack Lindquist, whose long career at The Walt Disney Company began in 1955, has passed away at age 91.

Mr. Lindquist had been an advertising manager for Kelvinator, which made refrigerators. As an early sponsor of DISNEYLAND, they had provided employees with tours of the construction site and tickets to opening day, events that had been attended by Mr. Lindquist. Two months after the opening of the park, Mr. Lindquist received a call from DISNEYLAND asking for recommendations for possible advertising managers. Seizing the moment, Jack recommended himself and soon found himself working at the Magic Kingdom.

Jack's first priority was to come up with ways to get guests into the park. Walt Disney sought to spend most of his operating budget on in-park upgrades and attractions, which left the advertising department with very little money. Mr. Lindquist and his team had to be extremely creative to get attention. One way they did this was to piggyback onto sponsor advertising. The sponsors paid for the ads, took advantage of their sponsorship deal with the park and the park got what were essentially free advertisements.

Mr. Lindquist also created special events that became legendary, such as Grad Nite, Dixieland at Disneyland and the separately ticketed New Years Eve party. He revolutionized theme park promotions with the Disneyland Tencennial celebration- the very first time that DISNEYLAND or anyone would celebrate an anniversary year in such a way. The success of this promotion led to the tradition of celebrating park anniversaries that continues to this day.

Among Mr. Lindquist's other successful promotions were Disney Dollars and bringing in water from around the world to pour into the flume of it's a small world at its opening ceremonies. His contributions to Disney Theme Parks and other amusement businesses are undeniable and continue to be enjoyed by millions of people every year. There are currently two tributes to him in DISNEYLAND. In Mickey's Toontown, whose construction and operation he oversaw, is a funny looking pumpkin by Goofy's House that resembles him:

There is also a more formal tribute above the Candy Palace- a window on Main Street:

Theme Park Thursdays: The Voice of DISNEYLAND

The voice of DISNEYLAND for many years was Jack Wagner. Mr. Wagner announced parade times, inclement weather and reminded guests riding the Matterhorn to "Remain Seated Please - Permanencer Sentados Por Favor." 

At his peak, Mr. Wagner could be heard at both DISNEYLAND and Walt Disney World. He setup a satellite studio in his house with a linkup to both parks. Hurricane warning in Florida? No problem! Mr. Wagner would make the announcement from California, via satellite. The guests in Florida were none the wiser.

Mr. Wagner can still be heard at DISNEYLAND's Matterhorn and announcing the start of the Main Street Electrical Parade at Florida's Magic Kingdom theme park. He passed away in 1995, but his memory (and voice) live on.

Happy 15th Birthday, Disney California Adventure!

"To all who believe in the power of dreams, welcome. Disney's California Adventure opens its golden gates to you. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past: the native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow, from the silver screen to the computer screen, from the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney's California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California... its land, its people, its spirit and, above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire."

February 8, 2001

"In 1923, Walt Disney arrived in California to follow his dreams. Dreams which led to extraordinary achievements and wondrous adventures! Adventures where natural majesties, bustling communities and groundbreaking discoveries would all find a place in his heart. Today we invite you to explore your dreams as you experience your very own California Adventure!"

"To all who come to this place of dreams, welcome. Disney California Adventure celebrates the spirit of optimism and the promise of endless opportunities, ignited by the imagination of daring dreamers such as Walt Disney and those like him who forever changed- and were forever changed by- The Golden State. This unique place embraces the richness and diversity of California... Its land, its people, its stories and, above all, the dreamers it continues to inspire."

Theme Park Thursdays: 15 Years of Disney California Adventure, Part One

In 1959, Walt Disney began to look outside his Magic Kingdom and he wasn't happy with what he saw. The City of Anaheim had let the outside world impinge on the tourist area around DISNEYLAND. Incompatible housing, tawdry neon and outside competition sprang up around the park.

The company owned several parcels of land in and around the park. Mr. Disney pondered what he could do with the vacant land to keep more of the tourism cash brought in by DISNEYLAND in the company's coffers, thus providing him with more money to expand and improve his beloved theme park.

The company actively pursued building another attraction, and Walt's imagineers started putting together ideas. One idea was to build a park that would celebrate California and its varied sights, sounds and tastes. The park would feature restaurants, shopping and attractions that would showcase California and bring the state to DISNEYLAND guests. As shown below, the park would have been built north of the DISNEYLAND Hotel.

Mr. Disney would get too busy with his various projects at DISNEYLAND and beyond, but this idea would get placed in a drawer. Perhaps it would eventually see the light of day...

Star Wars Week: A New Voyage, An Empire Grows

When Star Tours first opened, Walt Disney Imagineering touted its ability to re-program the attraction as a major selling point. For 22 years, however, guests embarked on the same journey to Endor. In 2011, however, the company finally re-launched the attraction with a variable ride engine with over 40 different possibilities.

With the release of the new Star Wars sequel, new locations and adventures have been added to the ride, just four years after its initial release.

The negotiations between The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm for the updated Star Tours sparked further discussions about possibly making a deal that would result in Lucasfilm getting acquired by Disney. In 2012, the formal deal was announced. The world of Star Wars and Indiana Jones would officially become part of The Walt Disney Company.

Thanksgiving Week: Donald Joins Mickey

In 1972, to celebrate Walt Disney World Resort's first year, Donald Duck joined Mickey Mouse in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida had a tumultuous first few months, attracting few guests. The company started to panic and went into promotional overdrive, planning major publicity stunts like this one to boost sagging attendance. Luckily by the time of the parade, the park was on solid ground.

Music Mondays: There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

When Walt Disney planned out the new GE Carousel of Progress attraction, he wanted a song that would show the positivity he felt towards the future.

He turned to the Sherman Brothers to write a song that would express how the problems of today could be solved in the future.

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow

Shining at the end of everyday

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow

And tomorrow's just a dream away

Man has a dream and that's the start

He follows his dream with mind and heart

And when it becomes a reality

It's a dream come true for you and me

So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow

Shining at the end of everyday

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow

Just a dream away

Theme Park Thursdays: Walt Disney's EPCOT

It might be called "Walt Disney World", but the resort as built was nothing like Walt Disney originally planned. He did want to build one theme park, but the place he called 'EPCOT' was supposed to be a real city. Sadly, Roy Disney was never sold on EPCOT's viability as a real city so the first thing he did was cancel his brother's plans and build the project that he wanted. But how would things have looked if Walt Disney's plans had materialized?

Guests to the park Walt called Disneyland East, would have parked their cars in the southern part of the property near Kissimmee. After getting out of their cars, they would have been whisked onto high speed monorails, enroute to the theme park that would have been built exactly like DISNEYLAND except with "more water". But first, they would have passed through the very real city named EPCOT. As they looked out of their windows, a voice would have told them about the marvels of EPCOT, a master planned community of tomorrow that they could tour while they were in Central Florida. (After they visited Disneyland East, of course.)

Sadly, none of these plans came to fruition, though the park that eventually became Magic Kingdom was located in the same place Walt had placed it in. Mr. Disney only visited the site once; here's the only known picture of him onsite. He would pass away before construction began.

Theme Park Thursdays: A World Showcase

When most people think of Epcot, this is what they picture:

But the future represented by the massive Spaceship Earth is only half of the park. The back part of the park is World Showcase, where the sights and sounds of various countries around the world are highlighted.

One of the things that most people don't realize is that many of the castmembers in the various pavilions are actually from the countries they're representing. Epcot recruits representatives from the various countries to serve as ambassadors for park guests.

The castmembers are typically situated at the Kidcot stations where they can interact with children, teaching them about their culture. Guests can purchase special Epcot "passports" that can be taken around World Showcase and stamped by the foreign castmembers. Many guests will often ask the "ambassadors" to write special messages in their own language and they are always happy to oblige. Epcot provides not just a fun day of adventure, but also a day of learning and understanding- like a living it's a small world. 

A Mickey Mouse Revue

When Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom park was being designed, Roy Disney threw out a few of his brother's thoughts about design. For example, Walt Disney wanted DISNEYLAND to feel welcoming and non-threatening to children. That's why Main Street and Sleeping Beauty Castle were built at what Walt felt was the perfect scale. Roy, on the other hand, wanted to show the world how wealthy the company had become since 1955. Therefore, he poured money into a bigger castle and Main Street. This being Roy, however, the extra money spent on Main Street and the castle meant that budgets elsewhere had to be cut. The biggest victim was Fantasyland.

Rather than building the Fantasyland of his brother's dreams, Roy chose to build the cheaper "medieval faire" Fantasyland that Walt had settled for when budgets ran out in 1955. 

Another misbegotten budget cut was felt at the all new Mickey Mouse Revue.

This lively audio-animatronics show featured Mickey and friends giving a fun, musical performance.

This show was the first attempt to answer a common complaint heard from DISNEYLAND guests- that their children had missed seeing Mickey Mouse in the park. By putting Mickey in a show, guests could guarantee their children would see him by attending the show.

However, as budgets got cut across the project, this show was one of the victims. The pre-show area, where guests looking to watch the show would be asked to wait for the next one to begin, was downsized so that it could only hold 300 guests. Not a big deal right? Except for the fact that the theater was designed to hold 500 guests. This meant that the theater could never be full, even when it was "at capacity". This flaw doomed the show since clueless management assumed the show wasn't popular. It was shut down in 1980 and moved to Tokyo Disneyland, where it had a successful run of over twenty years.

Big (Thunder) Difference

With some Disney attractions repeated around the world, it can sometimes be difficult to keep them straight. Disney isn't even very good at it themselves; they often use the "wrong" version of a ride or attraction for promotional purposes. For example, they often use pictures of the superior DISNEYLAND version of Fantasmic! to promote the Florida version. In the case of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, however, the person pulling the clip or picture probably just got confused. Here's how to tell the difference:

At DISNEYLAND, the trains run to the right in front of the dinosaur fossil.

In Walt Disney World, the trains run to the left in front of the fossil, who also faces a different direction.

Epcot's American Adventure

The American Pavilion at Disney World's Epcot features a most unusual history lesson, told by Ben Franklin and Mark Twain.

Using advanced audio animatronics and film, the attraction tells the patriotic story of America. The voice of Mark Twain was provided by Hollywood legend Jack Albertson, who passed away before the attraction was completed.

Disney Legend #24: Claude Coats

Claude Coats was another Disney Legend whose work touched more than one section of Walt Disney's empire. Hired in 1935, Mr. Coats quickly showed promise with his background paintings, so Walt Disney personally chose him to design and paint the backgrounds for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Even inconsequential backgrounds painted by Mr. Coats looked stunning and beautiful.

His impressive work led to him getting assigned to Mr. Disney's greatest dream- DISNEYLAND. Mr. Coats worked on designing various attractions, including the classic Pirates of the Caribbean. Claude Coats, pictured below with Walt Disney and DISNEYLAND Ambassadress Julie Riehm, was often assigned the more difficult projects.

Before his retirement, Mr. Coats worked on Disney World's Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. Mr. Coats passed away in 1992, but his work is still enjoyed by millions around the world. 

Disney Legend #23: Mary Blair

The twenty third recipient of a Disney Legend award was the incomparable Mary Blair.

Ms. Blair was born Mary Robinson in McAlester, Oklahoma. She soon found her way west to California, where she took art classes and met her husband. She found work first at MGM. Her eye for color and artistic talents made her an excellent animator. She eventually ended up at The Walt Disney Studios where most talented artists of the time dreamed of working. Mr. Disney was a huge fan of her art and she was put to work painting backgrounds and designing color palettes and the overall look of many classic Disney films.

Her first big project was Saludos Amigos. She actually appears in the film; she was one of the artists who accompanied Walt on his goodwill tour of South America. Her work greatly contributed to the film. 

She also did most of the preliminary work on Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.  

Ms. Blair decided upon an early retirement, choosing to do freelance work and book illustrations. In 1963, however, she was lured out of retirement by Walt Disney with the project she is best known for- "it's a small world".

With its vibrant colors and optimistic view of the world, it was a project tailor made for Ms. Blair's talents. In addition to overseeing the bright colors, adorable animatronics and overall art direction of this classic ride, she was also responsible for the eye catching facade at DISNEYLAND Park.

The ride was an instant classic, beloved by people of all ages from around the world. Ms. Blair's artistry and hard work is evident in the happiest cruise that ever sailed.

Most DISNEYLAND guests have probably never heard of Mary Blair, but her work lives on, putting smiles on the faces of millions. Ms. Blair passed away in 1978, fully aware of the positive influence her work continues to have on the world.