Theme Parking: Disneyland Part II

• Looking at this blog, you wouldn't know that COVID had happened. You wouldn't know that anything happened, honestly. But I passed the time in a number of ways, watching for the markers that life was returning to normal again. If there was ground for optimism, this set of annoucements is a company with hope for the future.


• Disneyland is reopening April 30, 2021 - It may not be the biggest news, but I think it's the most iconic: Disneyland announced that they are opening April 30. Although California Guideline allowed for reopening as of April 1 (and Magic Mountain was right there waiting), Disneyland set a date that gives them time to: 1) wind down the Taste of Disney event, 2) recall Cast Members and retrain them, and 3) give the county time to reach a better tier. That last part worked out because Orange County has already reached the Orange tier and is swiftly moving toward Yellow at the end of the month. I was never one of the doomsayers who thought that Disney would pull up stakes because of onerous state guildlines (hah!). But it is nice to the the light at the end of the tunnel may be Tinkerbell.


• DisneylandForward - For as important as reopening is, this was the news that got every Disneyland fan in a tizzy. On March 25, Disney announced... something. The most extreme fans immediately declared that Disneyland had annouced the mythical third gate and started trying to parse what rides and lands that the concept art was portraying. Thankfully it did not take long for more rational heads prevailed and the real story came out: DisneylandForward is Disney's public relations campaign to lobby the City of Anaheim to change the zoning of the Disneyland resort. Exciting, huh?

  As it is, the Disneyland Resort Specific Plan was drawn up when Disney was planning California Adventure and pretty clearly lays out how each part of the resort can be developed. Although it ushered in a massive upgrade to the resort, Disney now find themselves too constrained by that same agreement. There are only so many backstage areas they can demolish while pushing out the margins before they finally run out of all available run. (Though Tomorrowland continues to be wildly underutilized.) So now Disney is asking for more freedom to develop what they have left however they see fit. It is an exciting development in that it shows that Disney wants to continue investing in their original park. But don't get hung up on a bunch of artwork in a zoning proposal.



• Alcohol in the Blue Bayou - Not nearly as big of news, but I'm still fascinated to see this headline. Disneyland announced that they will start selling alcohol at the Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square. When Oga's Cantina opened with Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019, the alcohol ban was already done, but it stayed limited to a highly-thematic location. The Blue Bayou is the best place to expand the practice. And if following the example of WDW's Magic Kingdom, alcohol will stay limited to table service restaurants. Though considering how few of those there are in the park, maybe Disneyland will expand their dining options in order to expand their alcohol sales.


• Annual Passholder Tears - I was an annual passholder once upon a time, and I loved having that kind of freedom to go to the parks at a whim. But when Disney announced that they were cancelling the program, there was a part of me that was fascinated by the implications for the park. Not everyone was so thrilled and many have been very vocal online about their displeasure. I know I shouldn't be mean about this, but I was struck with the thought of buying a mug with the phrase "Annual Passholder Tears" if such a thing existed. Failing to find one on Etsy, I may have to source one myself...


• April 30 is just around the corner and I'm excited to see what's coming in Part II of this grand Disneyland story.

Theme Parking: D23 2019 Parks & Resorts Presentation Wrap-Up

• I woke up Sunday morning, made breakfast for the family, and tuned into whoever could get a stream up of the D23 Parks & Resorts Presentation. The biggest Disneyland rumors leading up to today revolved around a refresh of Tomorrowland. That did not happen, but there was still several things to announce.


• Chairman Bob Chepak officially announced the new daytime parade, Magic Happens, a name that has been posted all over the message boards because of an amazingly dishy leak over on MiceChat.

All images gleefully stolen from Disney Parks Blog and Twitter

• He also showed the new entrance to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad in Mickey's Toontown. Called The El Capitoon Theater, the queue will feature an historical (hysterical) exhibit of costumes and props from film history. This seems to be located where Toontown City Hall sits now. Since that part of the land is just a large outdoor seating area for a set of food vendors that I never remember exist. (Heck, the most recent park map just lists the three windows as Toontown Dining.)

• We also got so see a little more of Rise of the Resistance, the ride the Galaxy's Edge really needs to open right now to keep the nerds happy. All of the new footage looks a little too much like CGI trickery, but we'll know for certain in about four months. Maybe.

• Over in Disney California Adventure, all talk was about the coming Avengers Campus. The primary new attraction in the land (not the first though because Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout will be moved to Avengers Campus when the land opens, Matterhorn-style), will be the currently unnamed Spider-Man ride. Rumors of it being yet another shooter ride seem to be founded.

• Chapek also officially announced the long-rumored Avengers ride. It's described as a QuinJet ride to Wakanda that (say it with me) goes terribly wrong. The rumors have been that TDA (Team Disney Anaheim) sent the Imagineers back to the drawing board for this ride due to capacity issues, thus causing it to fall into Phase II of the expansion. Considering WDI's track record, this is the easier rumor to believe.

• And that was it for Disneyland. Considering that we just came off the Galaxy's Edge launch and with Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad and Marvel Land already to announced, it really was too much to expect a new-new-new Tomorrowland. And since all of the most exciting expansions are taking place elsewhere, Disneyland still has plenty to finish before needing something new.


• The rest of presentation focused on the other parks. We heard about Hong Kong's two Frozen rides, as well as the name of their redesigned castle. We got more info about Shanghai's new Zootopia land. They also announced what should be a pretty cool new Cirque du Soleil show opening at WDW's Disney Springs. And we heard more about the Star Wars hotel.


• While they were at it, Chapek announced the name of the new Disney Cruise ship, Disney Wish. And it what was the most excruciating announcement of the day, they announced a new collaboration with Target.


• But the best announcements were saved for Epcot, a park that has lost its way in recent years. The all-but-forgotten Future World will now be divided into three lands, World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature, seemingly to compliment the already strong World Showcase. They announced the names of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Space 220 Restaurant. They announced a refresh of Spaceship Earth as well as the release of new shows, Awesome Planet, Canada Far and Wide, a Beauty and the Beast sing-along, and Wondrous China. They discussed the upcoming opening of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and announced a new Mary Poppins ride. We also got a very nice new logo treatment for the park.

• D23 might not have been everything that us Disneyland fans might have wanted, but there is a lot for others to be excited about. Now we wait for 2021.

Theme Parking: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum War

• About a year ago, I started casting around for a place to discuss all things Disneyland. Somewhere, I hoped, that I could find like-minded individuals who enjoyed the parks and would debate, theorize, and share gossip. I landed on the WDWMagic forums, specifically the Disneyland Resort sub-forum. It has its fair share of kooks, supposed insiders, and all around nice people. It felt like an internet home I had been searching for since the implosion of NeoGAF.


• Fast forward to Sunday morning when someone has detonated a dirty bomb in the community in the form of a Medium post. The gist of author Gary Snyder's claims is that Al Lutz, one of the earliest online critic of Disney and one of the founders of MiceAge, was posting articles provided by a Disney corporate writer starting in the early 2000's. The goal of all of this seems to be poisoning the community against Michael Eisner to help affect his ouster. (I see that I've never posted a review of James B. Stewart's Disney War. I should get on that.) The author further fingers WDWMagic forum member TP2000 as the Disney writer. This all seems to have been provoked by the recent MiceChat article by Lutz which this time portray Disney Chairman of Parks, Experiences and Products, Bob Chapek, as the current architect of Disneyland's woes.


• MiceChat eventually punched back with a number of frequently re-edited statements, eventually landing on:

Folks, as we digest what was alleged in this nearly unreadable hit piece by Dusty's ex-husband and his friend (and banned MiceChat user), we can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the entire gist of the article is wrong. In fact, it's slander. Anyone that has ever read the Al Articles knows the truth.

At this point, we ask that you please support us by not further spreading the falsehoods in this ridiculous article. Our thoughts and prayers are with Al Lutz, who has been so brutally and untruthfully maligned.

Al may now come to the Expo just to tell you in his own words. Please stop by the MiceChat booth to say hello.



• It comes out that Gary Snyder has made a career writing hit pieces about Disney, casting doubt on the veracity of this claims. MiceAge co-founder Kevin Yee eventually reveals that Snyder is forum poster Spirit of 76, a long time antagonist of Lutz's. Along with the MiceChat post, it seems that Snyder and the ex of MiceChat's founder (the successor to MiceAge) concocted a revenge plot to bring down MiceChat.


• (An alternate summary of everything up to here can be found in this Twitter thread from Matthew Panzarino, Editor-In-Chief of Techcrunch.)


• On the WDWMagic forums, TP2000 finally arrived to throw water on all of Snyder's claims. This everyone took in stride as the post had mostly been discredited. At least until MiceChat admin PhotoMatt showed up to accuse TP2000 of lying about all of this (in a now deleted forum post).

This statement is not accurate. I have access to one of the emails you would have used and I have not received any emails. I also contacted Dustysage, and he has not received any emails from you. The claim you are conversing with him is not based on any facts.

Wrong. You registered on the forum I am an admin on with an email that belongs to Troy Porter. You did this in 2005, and you had no idea it would come back to haunt you. Your address matches what was posted previously by another member. Public records indicate your real age, so it's odd that you would enter a birthday on Micechat using the year 1974.

1974.

74.

Does that number ring a bell? WDW1974? Spirit of '74?

Troy, you and your buddies hurt my friends. Why? What did you have to gain from this? You are clearly lying. Stop lying. Tell the truth. Why are you doing this?



• PhotoMatt quickly apologized after all of this, that post was deleted, and TP2000 accepted the apology.


• This, of course, leaves us with a lot of drama, but no actual substance. There is no way to trust any of Snyder's claims. And whether or not we do, we must come away with the same conclusion: we must always interrogate the agenda of any information with which we are presented. The reason why information is shared can be as illuminating as the information itself.

Theme Parking: The More Things Change - Disney Further Tinkers With Pirates

• When I opened Twitter after work Thursday, my first reaction was a deep sigh. Disney announced changes coming to its Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland Paris, some of which would be making their way to the rides in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. At first, I only noted the title referring to the Paris park. It wasn't until I reread the article that I fully comprehended their intentions for the American parks.

• It's hard not to feel jaded about more changes to Pirates. I have a draft post about my feelings on the ride that I'll get around to finishing some day. But to summarize, Disney has found it necessary to tinker with the ride with some regularity ever since 1996, starting with the chase scene. Then after the release of the Pirates movie, they could not move fast enough to jam Captain Jack Sparrow into a ride that didn't need him. At every turn, Disney damages Pirates in the attempt to improve it.


• The auction scene is one of the most iconic in the ride. The Auctioneer is probably the best animatronic in the the park. And let's not forget mystique of the Redhead. (Another draft post I really need to get to.) Like the change with the chase scene that follows, Disney wants to purge the scene of its regressive themes. But based on their track record, it's hard to trust them to get it right, no matter how many times they trot out the hoary old "Disneyland will never be completed" quote.

• In reality, it is the movie related changes that committed the most violence to the ride. The story of the ride is all but incoherent now. Not that the original ride was perfect with the discordance between the villainy of the pirates against their happy-go-lucky "A Pirate's Life For Me". But whatever themes existed before have been entirely contracted by focusing on the treasure seeking adventure of Captain Jack Sparrow instead of the doomed pirates singing their way to the grave. To be fair, it was around this time that the music was added to the grotto, dramatically improving the atmosphere. So not all is lost.


• Although I was initially hesitant, I will always second-guess my opinions when I find myself on the same side as the reactionaries. But my nostalgia for the auction was mostly challenged when my wife admitted that she never cared for the scene. Maybe some good can come of this change. Disney may not have my trust, but they have my best wishes for their success.

Theme Parking: Disneyland Resort Trip Report - 28 February 2016

• Back in February, with only a couple weeks before we were planning to celebrate our daughter's birthday in the park, we decided it had been too long since we had been to Disneyland. Unwilling to wait any longer, we packed into the headed off. I thought I would share a few thoughts and highlights from the trip.


• I have often wondered at the number of birthday buttons I see in Disneyland. On one hand, there have to be a bunch of people in the parks celebrating their birthday, on or near it. Why wouldn't you go to Disneyland for your birthday if you could? On the other hand, I've seen any number of buttons that are worn and faded, leaving me to wonder if people re-wear their buttons to the park for the attention. By the time of this visit, Disneyland had introduced their new button design, making the old buttons stand out. The charitable part of me wonders if the parks could be using up their old stocks. The not-so-charitable side wonders why people would do that.


• At lunch time, I made a horrible blunder. In the ongoing fried treat wars going on between SoCal theme parks, Disney introduced the churro funnel cake. We had decided to eat at the Hungry Bear, partly to check out work on the Rivers of America, and partly because my picky daughter would actually eat something there. Along with my lunch, I thought I would try the new dessert. This was a mistake. Those things are massive. It was good, but it was also way too much. If you consider taking one down, I have a couple words of advice: either take a partner or don't eat anything else the rest of the day.


• We finally had out first sighting of one of the famous Disneyland cats in the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This cat was a cool customer. He was midway down the hillside below the train platform, alternately eyeing the line of people and completely ignoring everyone. My cats would have flipped out if a train went by but this chill feline did not care. It was adorable and I'm glad everyone knew enough to leave it alone.


• One thing I observed while riding Its A Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean were the number of women who would trail their fingers in the water, and then immediately shake their hands like something was crawling on them. I know Disney does its best to keep that water clean, but make better decisions, people!


• As we exited Its A Small World, our daughter spied the couple sitting behind us. They asked her if she enjoyed the ride and which ride was her favorite. (Today, it was Big Thunder Mountain and A Pirates Life For Me.) They were so friendly that I had to ask about them. It turned out that they were from Singapore, studying at UCLA. I asked if they had been to any of the other parks and they said that Disneyland was actually the last Disney park they had to visit, having been to all the others. They admitted to enjoying Walt Disney World most of all and added that the Hong Kong park is tiny. We soon reached the docks and disembarked, quickly going out separate ways. I was reminded that the magic of Disneyland isn't the attractions and shows, but the people that it brings together to share and enjoy the experience.

Theme Parking: Disneyland Resort Trip Report - 26 November 2015

• It's time for another trip report, but I just want to hit highlights and impressions. Sure, I could run down the itinerary (actually I can't since I lost it), but this get boring pretty fast. Instead, here is what stood out about our Thanksgiving visit to Disneyland.


• We ended up parking in the Simba lot that morning and had to walk to the park through Downtown Disney. Instead of making the full walk, we decided to ride the monorail into Tomorrowland. Since we arrived just after the last train left, I decided to show off to the family and asked if we could ride in the front. It was quite fun to share a very different view of the ride.


• Once inside the park, I got the idea to get Fastpasses for Hyperspace Mountain, which had recently opened. By the time I was able to get tickets, the window conflicted with our dining reservations over in California Adventure. We would have to postpone our first ride on Space Mountain in years until our next visit. I still have those Fastpasses in my memorabilia folder for that visit.


• Those plans involved an early Thanksgiving dinner at Ariel's Grotto. It was a crazy idea, made even crazier in that I just lost my job, but we intended to make the best of it. Our little four year old gave us all the usual food problems we had come to expect, but she was delighted to be visited by the princesses who came to visit our table. Ours was the second table on the princess rotation, the first with a child, so she did not have to wait long after each announcement. Our grown-up dishes were much better than I expected given my low opinion of theme park food. The whole experience will stand out as one of my favorite holiday meals.


• Disneyland after dark is a magic of a different kind and DCA captures that feeling in similar ways. After the sun set, we found our way to Paradise Pier and the Jumpin' Jellyfish. Our daughter likes this simple ride and, even though I have a small fear of heights, it is mild enough for me to chaperon her. As we stood in line, we heard the music for an oncoming parade. DCA's parades aren't nearly as popular as Disneyland's Paint The Night, so there were no crowds to warn us it was coming. The parade reached us just as we ascended the tower. It was a fun perch to watch from even if I wouldn't want to spend the entire parade up there.


• Our night ended with a trip to Olaf's Snow Fest. It is a poor substitute for snow play, but it is as close as our Southern Californian little girl has ever come to the real thing. She had a ball. And that is what Disneyland is all about for me.

Theme Parking: Will Dynamic Pricing Come To Disneyland? [Updated: 2/29/2016]

• A pair of stories appeared on Theme Park Insider recently about pricing for Universal Studios Hollywood and Shanghai Disneyland. Though they are unrelated, they signal a shifting tide in theme park admission pricing. I would be very surprised if dynamic pricing does not arrive at the Disneyland Resort within a year.


• The price offers differ slightly between the mentioned parks. Universal Studios is maintaining a constant gate admission price while offering a discount for online orders. Shanghai Disneyland is instead splitting ticket prices across the board for peak and non-peak days. The effect is basically the same, though you have to make a greater effort to take advantage of the Universal prices.


• Two data points are not a trend. However with circumstances as they are at Disneyland, this seems like the exact solution Disney Parks will be looking toward in the future. On one hand, ratcheting up Annual Passport prices hasn't really lessened crowds at the park. That may slacken over time as some passholders allow their passes to expire. But attendance pressures are only going to increase when Star Wars Land finally opens. Adjusting annual passport prices can't be sufficient to prevent overcrowding.


• On the other hand, the one day ticket for Disneyland is now $99.00. Crossing that threshold and making the price to visit the Happiest Place on Earth at least a hundred dollars will have huge psychological repercussions for visitors. Even now, as a middle aged man, I balk any time a price climbs into the triple digits. I suspect that I am not alone.


• The obvious solution for Disneyland to meet these disparate needs is to institute dynamic pricing. The park can raise prices on peak days and leave off peak days at the current price. That would allow the park to say that they still have a sub-hundred dollar ticket while also encouraging attendance on lower traffic days. Blockout days for lower tier annual passports already serve that function. It's time that daily tickets offer the park the same tools.


• From my point of view, this is an inevitability. When they decide to do so is anyone's guess. But if Michael Colglazier happens to be reading this, drop me a line. I'd be happy to put a proposal together for you.


• UPDATE 02/27/2016: I would say "Called it" if it hadn't been so blatantly obvious. Laughing Place and various Disneyland bloggers are reporting that seasonal pricing is starting at Disneyland this weekend. Pricing signs on the ticket booths have already been replaced with monitors, a necessary step to adjust prices from day to day. Good thing we have annual passes. Oh, those expire in April? Damn.


• UPDATE 2 02/27/2016: It's official.


• UPDATE 3 02/29/2016: As long as I'm making updates to this thing, I might as well mention that it is not really dynamic pricing. It's not even seasonal pricing as Disney would have it unless we're talking the weekend and holiday season versus the early week season. It's really just tiered pricing. Any other name actually implies too much. So I was only mostly right.

Theme Parking: Construction Begins on Star Wars Land

• As has been long expected, construction have gone up all over Disneyland. Between removal of holiday overlays, refurbishments, and the start of Star Wars Land, it feels as though it would be easier to count the attractions that are still open rather than name all those that are closed. From the photographs MintCrocodile posted recently, it would be hard to find a sight line that doesn't include a construction wall or barrier.

Completely stolen from Magic Eye

• As the work goes on beyond the walls, Disney Parks have given us some indication of what the new Rivers of America will look like. Based on the posted concept art, it looks amazing. As much as I enjoy riding the train around Disneyland, there is far too much staring at foliage or the backside of buildings. Riding over a trestle along the northern end of the rivers will likely become the highlight of the loop.

Completely stolen from Disney Parks Blog

• Theme park bon vivant Matthew Gottula pointed out one particular poster which recently went up on the construction walls across the Big Thunder Trail. Along with other Frontierland posters, the Disney Parks crew also hung a Nature's Wonderland poster. It took me a bit to realize that this was not just a reproduction but an update, replacing "Via The Mine Train Thru Rainbow Caverns" with "Via The Disneyland Railroad" and removing the location labels. Could this be a hint that Imagineering has more in store for the railroad than they have let on. We can only hope.

This attraction poster may hold a clue for the future of the Disneyland Railroad https://t.co/u13SdoBkDh pic.twitter.com/OTu6U2LH17

— Matthew Gottula (@DLthings) January 31, 2016

Can't really steal a tweet

• Finally, along with its usual histrionics, MiceAge recently reported on the proposed layout for Star Wars Land. On the face of it, it looks exactly like what I would expect. Whether this map is the real thing or an educated guess, it remains to be seen. But, I would not be surprised if Star Wars Land looks a lot like this.

Gleefully stolen from MiceChat

• It will be interesting to watch construction unfold over the coming years. It is an exciting time to be a fan of Disneyland.

Theme Parking: Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler

• In the days leading up to PBS's American Experience, I found that I did not want to wait to learn more about Walt Disney. I did a quick Google search and eventually decided upon Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler. All of the reviews pointed to a thorough, modern examination of the man. With a handful of Audible credits available, I decided on the audiobook edition, read by Arthur Morey.


• Gabler's biography is a mostly linear affair, from laying the groundwork for Disney's birth until his death. Some of the threads overlap, especially later in his life when Walt had multiple projects going at once. However, Gabler does a good job of reminding the reader of various milestones from other threads, so I never felt lost by the narrative. Gabler's prose is descriptive without being overly flowery. The book is more concerned with details than mood setting.


• As one would expect, Disney's animation work takes up the majority of the narrative. From his initial shorts, through the creation of Mickey Mouse, to the feature films, Gabler devotes a lot of time describing the process of creation for each work. And, as expected, the triumph and setbacks of his business are a major component to the story.


• Since I'm a huge Disneyland fan, I was very interested to see how the biography would describe its conception and construction. A couple times I fought the urge to skip ahead, especially during the Fantasia section. I came away slightly disappointed by how the subject was handled. That is likely my fault as that may be a better topic for a more Disneyland focused book than a biography could hope to provide.


• My major issues with the biography are the facile conclusions Gabler draws to explain Walt Disney's personality. Each of Disney's actions either stem from a yearning for a childhood lost at the hands of his father or a personal drive to assert control over his life and environment. The way certain moments, right up until his death, were plucked to prove one of these assertions felt very Psych 101. By the end of the book, I found myself rolling my eyes whenever Gabler strayed from the narrative into analysis. The Walt Disney Family Museum has stated time and again that it supports fact-based examinations of Walt Disney's life. While there is run for interpretation in biography, I think Gabler would have found himself in better standing had he followed that advice.


• That aside, I found Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination to be a fascinating, well written examination of the man's life and work. I have no reservations recommending it to anyone interested in the subject, as long as they are forewarned about its one shortcoming.

Theme Parking: Disneyland Resort Trip Report - 9-11 September 2015

• As opposed to the spontaneity of our August trip to Disneyland, this trip has been planned for a long time. We wanted to spend a couple days in the park in celebration of my wife's birthday. Instead of making hard decisions about what to ride and what to skip between the two parks, visiting multiple days in a row would finally allow us to relax and see everything we would want to see. There was just one small, but growing, monkey wrench that changed our plans.

Even the turnstiles are festive.

• Wednesday was devoted to Disneyland. The park was already decorated for Halloween when we arrived. It was fun seeing the blue anniversary bunting replaced with orange. And of course, there were jack o' lanterns up and down Main Street. After a quick stop at City Hall for a birthday button for my bride, we made our way to Carnation Café for a birthday breakfast. (Aside: I am now addicted to making dining reservations online. That's how we ended up with Thanksgiving reservations in the park.) During breakfast, I noticed on the Disneyland app that the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters had a ten minute wait. The wait times for the ride are usually so long that I mentally wrote it off months ago. But with miniscule line and because Midway Mania was such a hit last visit, I convinced my family to give it a try. It ended up being a big hit.

I haven't seen this in a long time.

• After the ride, we found ourselves in Tomorrowland, trying to figure out where to go next. Across the way, we saw Star Tours and decided to give it a try. We walked over to the entrance and asked the cast members there if we could measure our daughter. It was a near thing, but she could finally clear forty inches. In that instant, all of our usual plans went out the window and a whole new world of possibilities had opened. That first day we could finally returned to a couple of our favorite rides, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Star Tours. I can't even remember that last time I rode them. While we were trying new rides, we even hopped on Gadget's Go Coaster for the first time. It may be small, but it was a lot of fun.

The lights. So pretty.

• With our first day winding down, I volunteered to camp a spot on the parade route while my wife and daughter visited the princesses in Fantasy Faire. They has so much time that they also rode on the Mad Tea Party and Alice In Wonderland. When they returned, it was time for Paint The Night and the Disneyland Forever fireworks. We ended the night with a stop at Wetzel's Pretzels and opening birthday presents in our hotel room.

I'm not sure what I was going for with this shot, but I like it. DCA is a weird place.

• Thursday was our California Adventure day, for the most part. I wore my new We Wants The Redhead shirt and we walked to the park for our second day. Now that our daughter was the appropriate height, we could finally ride Radiator Springs Racers. Our first stop for the day was the Fastpass station. Even picking up passes soon after opening, we still received an afternoon return window. We also picked up passes for World Of Color, a show we have never stayed late enough to see. After finishing our scheduling, we could finally make our way to the rides. Our daughter's first choice was Ariel's Undersea Adventure. Afterward, it was time to visit the princesses again. You read that right. So that our daughter could see some of the other princesses, we crossed the esplanade long enough to visit Fantasy Faire.

I'm so happy that Condor Flats was merged into Grizzly Peak. It looks so good now.

• Upon returning to DCA, we had two goals. First, we wanted to try new rides that we hadn't tried before. We ended up on Monster's Inc., Radiator Springs Racers (finally!), Soarin' Over California, and Jumping Jellyfish. Second, we wanted to see several shows. I think it was the announcement the prior night that the Aladdin musical would be replaced by Frozen that prodded us in this direction. We saw Aladdin, the Frozen Sing-a-long, and World of Color. Again, I was stunned by how much we could do in the park that we had not before.

What did they do to my Haunted Mansion?

• Our original plans for this trip called for one day at Disneyland, one day at California Adventure, and then off to home. As we woke up Friday morning, we did a quick calculation and decided to head back to Disneyland for the opening of Haunted Mansion Holiday. It was our first time seeing the overlay. While it was well done, I have no affection for The Nightmare Before Christmas and it felt disorienting to see the ride that way. On the way out of the park, I picked up The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering A Disney Classic by Jason Surrell and we all chose treats from Candy Palace. All in all, it was a great mini-vacation that left us all exhausted and happy.

Theme Parking: Paying More For Less - Disneyland Annual Passport Prices Increase

• Sometime Saturday evening, rumors started spreading that annual passports would be increasing in price. Within a few hours, those rumors became a reality for both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. The biggest change for Disneyland was the abolition of the Premium passport and its 365 day access. In its place are two new passes, the Signature and Signature Plus passes. The Signature is $50 more expensive than the old Premium pass, but now includes fifteen blockout days over the holiday season. The new 365 day pass, the Signature Plus, is now $1,049, a full $270 higher than the prior version.


• The one announcement that was not made was any change to standard ticket prices. The one-day one-park ticket is still $99 and I don't see Disney wanting to break the hundred dollar barrier lightly. Instead, this increase is primarily targeted at annual passholders, especially those who fill the park on their busiest days.


• It is for that reason why I find myself so confused about the comments I see about the increases. The common troupe is that Walt built the parks as a family vacation destination. While increasing ticket prices does have an effect on vacation planning, annual passports are not targeted at vacationers. While Walt was alive, the parks were still selling ride tickets. Annual passes did not show up until the mid 1980's when attendance was falling. There is no way to tell what he would have thought of people who return to the park repeatedly.


• It will cost my family an extra $150 next year if we choose to renew our Deluxe passports for roughly the same amount of access. Thankfully, it's a decision we don't have to make until next April. We have already spent nine days at the resort during the first half of our passes and foresee spending several more days there. At this point, the passes have more than paid for themselves even at the new prices. When we decide whether or not to renew, our decision will come down to how much more we will want to visit Disneyland over the coming year.


• In the meantime, something must be done about the massive crowds who seem to show up no matter what the prices are. Until the parks become too expensive for the value they provide, people are continue to flock to the park in droves. And even this price increase will not be enough to keep people away.


• For more thoughts on why prices keep going up, here are articles from Robert Niles from the OC Register and Brian Krosnick from Theme Park Tourist (from earlier this year, but still relevant).


• UPDATE 10/07/2015: Here is one more link, this from LA Times report Brady McDonald, titled "7 reasons why Disneyland raised its annual pass prices". There has been a lot written about Disney's greed (by the LA Times, OC Register, Motley Fool, and Frommer's). And although that is a factor in this change, it is not the only one. I would have written my own blog post, but Brady McDonald covered everything I wanted to say in much better fashion.

Theme Parking: Stirring The Pot - Will The Rivers of America Be Shortened?

• The talk of Internet Disneyland today is MiceAge's rumor that the upcoming Star Wars Land addition will be accompanied with a massive redesign of the Rivers of America and the route of the Disneyland Railroad. According to those rumors, about one quarter of the length of the waterway will be excised to make room for the expansion. The north end of Tom Sawyer's Island will have to be removed to make room for the new waterway, taking Fort Wilderness with it. And along with change will be a rerouting of the railroad along the new waterway, cutting much closer to Big Thunder Mountain before cutting back toward Fantasyland Station.


• It is difficult to take anything MiceAge reports as face value. Such rumors have the tendency to evaporate as reality encroaches. As writer Matthew Gottula stated on Twitter, "Then again, this is the same source that kept telling us a few years ago that an Ewok Village would uproot the submarine Voyage and Autopia." Here are a few of the highlights from MiceAge from the recent past:
• As recently as August 11, still forecasting that Mickey's Toontown would be demolished to make way for Star Wars Land


• Here's a rumor that Sleeping Beauty Castle would be moved deeper into Fantasyland and replacing Pixie Hollow with Disney Power Princesses


• Are the Hollywoodland Backstage to become Monsteropolis and Shanghai's Tron Lightcycle ride is coming to Tomorrowland?


• How about Cars Land coming to Tokyo Disneyland's Rivers of America?
• Again, rumors are just that. Something to talk and laugh about while there is no real news to discuss. Maybe this is all true. But I'm not going to bet my Disney Dollars on it.


• UPDATE 09/30/2015: I should have bet my Disney Dollars.

  Disneyland Today @DisneylandToday
  @ZachTWB Hi, Zach. The Rivers of America will have a new route when it reopens.

  Congratulations of MiceAge for getting this one right.

Theme Parking: The Timetable Is Set For Star Wars' Disneyland Invasion

• A pair of announcements were released yesterday signaling the start of the Star Wars era of Disneyland.


• First, Disney announced the official launch of Seasons of the Force, beginning in Disneyland on November 16, 2015. The inaugural event coincides with the opening of Star Wars Launch Bay in the Innoventions building, additions to Star Tours - The Adventure Continues for Star Wars Episode VII, and an update to the Jedi Training based on Star Wars Rebels. The seasonal offering include the Hyperspace Mountain overlay, a Star Wars film supercut (I guess) in the Tomorrowland Theater, and limited time food, drink, and merchandise. Writer Matthew Golluta had reported on rumors that JJ Abrams was not allowing an Episode VII teaser to be included with the theater show, which seems to have been honored. This should all be interesting if anyone needs a Star Wars fix before the land is ready.


• The other announcement portends the start of Star Wars Land and its effect on the rest of the park. At the end of the day, January 10, 2016, Big Thunder Ranch will permanently close to make way for the new land. In addition, several attractions on or around the Rivers of America will be closed for at least a year. Those include the Rivers of America itself, the Mark Twain, the Columbia, the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes, Tom Sawyer's Island, as well as the Disneyland Railroad. The Rivers will be partially drained during construction. This seems to indicate a much larger impact on the park than some tucked away land behind the berm.


• There are a lot of questions still about how the railroad will be impacted. Considering how deeply themed Star Wars Land will be, they can't have the train running through it. But will they divert the tracks forward or behind the new area? So many questions.


• Things are moving fast and it's an exciting time for a Disneyland fan!

Theme Parking: Giving In To The Fantasy

• Coincident with my rejuvenated affinity for all things Disneyland has been the launch of Dismaland. The temporary art installation coordinated by British street artist Banksy has been discussed quite a lot over the last month. What it's really about is open to some debate. But a recent link crossed my Twitter feed that tried to do so in some detail.


• Heather Havrilesky's article, "Burning Down the Mouse", describes her family's visit to Disneyland at the behest of her children and, through that that lens, the larger corruption of culture through capitalism. Her argument seems to be that corporate-driven consumerism has made the world a bad place. In her personal anecdote, she was almost tricked into enjoying herself at Disneyland. It was only upon examining the consumerist sheep around her that snapped her out of the capitalist illusion.


• I don't bring this up specifically to attack Havrilesky's (or Banksy's) critique of the pitfalls of capitalism. In many ways, I agree with them. The drive for money over all other considerations is dehumanizing. Conversely, there are people who occasionally can turn the vast corporate power at their disposal toward doing a real good. I think that, despite whatever other the company's intentions, Disneyland is one of those good works.


• In the article, Havrilesky can't help but belittle the type of people she imagines would enjoy the theme park. She describes watching a parade and wondering why everyone she saw took in the entertainment so passively or with such disinterest. Instead of clapping and dancing along to the music, the crowd sat and watched the parade go by. Some were even so distracted that they were checking their cell phones instead.


• I had a similar experience recently that this article made me rethink. While celebrating my wife's birthday at the Disneyland Resort, we took our daughter to the Frozen sing-along show. She loves to belt out the songs, which my wife and I find to be adorable. And I admit that I am a fan of the songs as well. As we sat in the theater, singing along with "Love Is An Open Door" (my wife and I singing a duet), I looked around the theater. Almost every face was blank, each person staring blankly at the screen. I turned to my wife and asked, "Do you think everyone else knows that this is a sing-along?" Even the wildly popular "Let It Go" was greeted with silence from the crowd. As we walked out of the theater, I wondered why all of those people went to watch a not-so-great stage show if they weren't there for the singing.


• But thinking back, I wonder why I felt so judgmental about how those people watched the show. Maybe they really did want to watch the show. Maybe they were shy about singing in public, but still wanted to experience it. Maybe they were hot (and it was really hot that day) and they were just looking for respite. Why did I need to say that they were doing it wrong?


• When I see people in the park who may not be enjoying themselves in the moment, there could be any number of reasons why. There are crowds, weather, closures, queues, money, and family pressures to deal with. Those things don't magically go away just because you've entered The Happiest Place On Earth. People find themselves under pressure to have fun and sometimes they just can't. We should not judge them for not living up to our expectations.


• Finally, we should not be judging people for finding enjoyment where they can. People are not sheep just because they want to watch a parade go by. People are not sheep because they want to experience a thrilling but perfectly safe ride. People are not sheep because they want to ride through an elaborately told story. We understand that there is a capitalistic side to everything in the park. But there is also the thought and hard work that goes into everything we might see and do.


• Fantasy is not a bad thing. Authenticity is not automatically some universal virtue to judge everything else against. We seek out fantasy because we want to experience something more than mundanity. It is not weakness to share in the imaginative. Fantasy can be used as an escape, certainly. But people deserve to be reminded that not everything is terrible in the world. We deserve to enjoy life, no matter how we might choose to do so.

Theme Parking: Out With The Old

• A couple of very interesting news items dropped during our vacation last week to the Disneyland Resort (trip report coming soon). Of course I was nowhere near a computer, so I'm writing about them today.


• First up, the Orange County Register reported that a very optimistic Tom Scaggs, COO of Walt Disney Company, announced a groundbreaking timeframe for the new Star Wars Land. According to Scaggs, both he and CEO Bob Iger are pushing to start development in 2016. A lot of the scuttlebutt online assumed a 2017 start date. Those estimates were based on the assumption either that at least two years of planning would be necessary post-announcement or that Disney would delay until 2017 to meet the letter of their agreement with the City of Anaheim. Considering the competition that Disneyland is expecting from Universal's Harry Potter land, Star Wars Land can't open soon enough. Of course, I initially estimated an open date of June 15, 2018, so a 2016 groundbreaking is way too late for my taste, but I suppose Disney knows what they are doing.


• The other big news of the week was more bittersweet (or just bitter) for some. The long running musical, Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular, will finally draw to a close January 10, 2016. Taking its place will be a new musical based on the massive hit movie, Frozen. Several people online were losing their minds over the announcement. Some will genuinely miss the show, or, more likely, the Genie. Others seem to loathe Frozen so thoroughly that they decry any further incursion of the property into the parks. I agree in the sense that running three separate shows plus a meet-and-greet at the same time would be insane. So insane in fact that there is no way Disney is actually going to do that. My hope is that Disneyland will sunset the other, smaller shows to focus more on their new musical, while freeing up the other theaters for new productions. That would be the smart thing to do, right?


• Right, Disneyland?

Theme Parking: Disneyland Resort Trip Report - 9 August 2015

• Sometime on the Friday prior to our visit, I decided that it had been too long since we had been to Disneyland. I sprung the idea on my wife and she agreed. Sunday morning, we packed the car and headed off to the Magic Kingdom.


• Leaving the decision to our four year old daughter, we started the day in California Adventure, heading to Ariel's Undersea Adventure. She knows that Ariel's ride is Daddy's favorite in the park. After the ride and several snapshots, I noticed that the line for Toy Story Midway Mania was under an hour. I had previously been hesitant to wait so long for a ride that I knew little about, but forty minutes seemed manageable. I'm happy that we waited because, 3D glasses notwithstanding, we had a great time. I was worried that our daughter would have trouble with the cannons, but she had a blast.

• When the ride was over, I acquiesced to a request for Mickey Mouse suckers (a perennial favorite), but I did not want to ride Mickey's Fun Wheel again. I have a terrible fear of heights and the extended trip around that wheel freaks me out. Luckily, my wife suggested that I finally indulge in a Disney corn dog (probably so that I would stop talking about it so often) while she chaperoned our daughter on the ride. The corn dog was a much better experience, though I will forgo the potato chips next time. When we joined up again, it was time for lunch.

• We rounded out our adventures in DCA with a round on King Triton's Carousel, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, and Flik's Flyers. I finally assented to our daughter's request to ride the bumper cars. However after making it all the way through the queue, we were informed that the ride was down due to a PA system malfunction. We would have to save the bumper cars for another day.


• After having our fill of California Adventure, we crossed the esplanade to finish our day in Disneyland. It was then that I developed a splitting headache.

• While I'm usually tolerable when I'm feeling well, I understand that I am unbearable when I have a headache. Unfortunately, the heat that day was not helping to make me feel any better. I took some medicine and hoped it would pass soon. As such, our next four rides, It's a Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Mark Twain, and Winnie the Pooh, were less than pleasant experiences. It wasn't until we reached the queue for the Haunted Mansion that I started to feel like myself. Just in time for that ride to break down too.


• We knew from experience that if we waited long enough, the happy haunts would stop their meddling and get things moving again. We were again rewarded for our patience and enjoyed our jaunt through the darkness. I rewarded my wife and daughter for putting up with me with ice cream from Gibson Girl, as well as their choice of candy from the Candy Arcade. Our daughter chose candy-covered crispy treat. My wife selected a peanut butter sandwich (that I almost chose as well). I picked the English toffee. We dutifully packed up our treats and took them home with us, ending the day.

• The lesson I took from the day was to remember my limits. Disneyland can be a great time, but only when you are feeling well. Our next trip to the parks is scheduled for early September. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative, as well as my head.

Theme Parking: The Attraction Poster Calendar Returns for 2016

• The Disney Parks blog announced that a new version of the Attraction Poster Calendar for 2016. This year's calendar includes posters from around the world instead of focusing on Disneyland alone.

• Several of these posters I'm only aware of from the Poster Art Of The Disney Parks book (which I'll getting around to reviewing some day). It is quite a wild and varied collection this year, covering a number of styles and eras.


• As happy as I am to see a new calendar, they need to use some of those beautiful California Adventure posters in the future if Disney really wants to hook me.

Theme Parking: From Dreams to Anticipation - Star Wars in Disneyland

• For fans of Disneyland, there was exciting news at the D23 Expo this weekend. Bob Iger, Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO, announced a fourteen acre expansion to add a Star Wars land to the park. Bob Chapek, head of Disney Parks and Resorts, and Imagineer Scott Trowbridge went on to describe what exactly the new land would entail.

• Set on a new world in the Star Wars universe, Disney is crafting a place better suited to Disneyland than the extreme environments normally present in the movies. The land will be entirely inhabited by characters from the universe, costuming all of the cast members as appropriate. There are two rides planned: one involving the Millennium Falcon and one involving a battle between the light and dark sides. There will even be dining similar to the Mos Eisley Cantina, which seems like a Star Wars fan's dream come true.

• Rumors had Disney demolishing Mickey's Toontown to replace it with a Star Wars land. But the current thought, as corroborated by the Disneyland Today twitter account, is that Big Thunder Ranch will become the new entrance to the land.

@PaulYankees It's going to be in the Big Thunder Ranch area, inclusive of some backstage locations.

— Disneyland Today (@DisneylandToday) August 16, 2015

• While the new land is under construction, additions will be made to Tomorrowland to suffice those of us waiting for the real thing. Star Wars Launch Bay will exhibit the films and merchandise around the series, most likely in the under-refurbishment Innoventions building alongside the Marvel superheroes. Star Tours will be receiving another update to align the program with episode seven. Also, a new seasonal event called Season Of The Force will increase visibility of Star Wars in the park. The most concrete plan for the event is the new themed overlay for Space Mountain called Hyperspace Mountain.

• The Orange County Recorder reports that the city of Anaheim is likely to approve the park's plans with all speed. As well, the newspaper reminds us that it is likely to be some time before those plans come to fruition. Comparing this announcement to the most recent addition, Cars Land, we are likely two years from the company even breaking ground. Add in three years for construction and we are unlikely to see an opening until 2020.

• In other news, it looks like I'm back to the drawing board on my plan to fix Tomorrowland. If anyone one from WDI is reading, give me a call. I can get this all figured out.

Theme Parking: How I Would Save Tomorrowland

• Things are moving fast for the Disneyland Resort. Between the announcement of a billion dollar investment into the resort and the recent purchase of nearby properties, speculation about expansion options is at an all time high. With the D23 Expo coming up, I need to get in on the action before Disney make some sort of announcement.


• Tomorrowland has always been the strangest part of Disneyland. Over the last sixty years, there have been four separate versions of the land. Each revision has attempted to rejuvenate the area. But before long, the present always catches up with the future and Tomorrowland becomes relic of dreams gone by. Science fiction and futurism will always have a limited shelf life. Before long, what once seemed like exciting possibilities eventually become quaint, even misguided. That is what the Imagineers have been facing for decades with Tomorrowland. How do you design a land of the future that will stay futuristic for more than a few years. And as people perceptions of the future change, having grown more pessimistic over time, is it still possible to maintain Walt Disney's boundless optimism?


• In some ways, the 1998 New Tomorrowland was an idea that was too early. The concept of retro-futurism is sound as evinced by the rise of steampunk culture. If Disney had gone that direction a few years ago, slapping some extraneous gears on everything in sight, I think it would not have raised as many eyebrows. But even today steampunk's currency will wane as new aesthetics come into fashion. Nonetheless, I believe that the concept of New Tomorrowland was sound, if maybe too specific.


• If I was given control of the New (to the nth power) Tomorrowland, I would reimagine the land as a celebration of many visions of the future that mankind has expression over the years. I've already decided on a name for the concept: All Our Tomorrows. The land would be rethemed so that each attraction more closely resembles a specific era. Space Mountain should lean even more into the seventies' white-plastic-and-jumpsuits vision. The Tomorrowland Theater and Redd Rockett's Pizza Port would be dialed back to 1955, reverting to the future Walt Disney would have envisioned when he opened the park. I envision making the exterior of Buzz Lightyear more like the fictional Star Command while leaving the interior as is. Star Tours, alas, has to go. (Don't worry; I'm just relocating it.) In its place will be some sort of grunge future thrill ride, something like Alien or similar movies.


• The biggest change would revolve around Innoventions and all points north. Ever since I noticed that Innoventions resembles Jabba's Palace, I knew it was a perfect starting point for a Star Wars themed land. From there through Autopia would be converted to Mos Eisley. Can you imagine Star Wars character dining in the Mos Eisley Cantina? I sure can. On the north end of Mos Eisley would be a hanger building that doubles as the causeway through the shield generator building into the Endor portion. The idea would be to save as many trees as possible so that the land can run right up to Fantasyland without clashing too hard. I'm not sure what rides I want in those areas, but I feel confident that there are ideas to be had.


• My new Tomorrowland would be connected by concept of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority offering access to several points around the universe, with air - err - spaceport signage throughout to direct travelers to their destinations. And to top it all off, I would install a new Peoplemover to tie the land together and tell the story from a higher level. Maybe even install a second station near the train depot to make it a real transportation system.


• Now that I've got that out of my system, I'd like to hear from you. What would you do to revitalize Tomorrowland?

Theme Parking: Was Someone At Disney A Tolkien Fan?

• If you read my article from Thursday, you know that I have a thing for Yesterland. Of course, I found myself once again perusing the archives when I ran across an article about a brochure published by Disneyland in 1966 announcing new attractions for the park. I love printed artifacts from Disneyland, so I was fascinated by the article. Especially by the last page.

Straight up stolen from Yesterland. It has a watermark, so it's okay.

• Werner Weiss's only statement about it is:

  The back cover has a fun logo for “The Happiest Place on Earth.”



• Fun logo, sure, but look at the type face. Does it seem familiar to you?

Image courtesy of Adazing.

• By 1966, The Lord of the Rings was a certifiable phenomenon, pervading the culture and counterculture. I cannot imagine that an artist working for Disney was not aware of the books. The calligraphy style isn't unique to the trilogy, but the coincidence is too much for me to handle.


• I know this is a stretch, but come on. Come on.


• Yes, I'm posting this in the middle of the night because I know just how dumb it is. I would have posted my thoughts directly at Yesterland, but that article is eight years old and the comment section is long closed. So blame Werner.