Bend Over and Take It, Disneyland

CujoSR · Post by **CujoSR** » Thu May 06, 2004 12:51 am

Today Disneyland officially announced their plans for the 50th Anniversary, and it looks like Disneyland is getting the short end of the stick. It's great that the 50th will be celebrated at all the parks but it seems that the place where the magic began has been somewhat forgotten about.

For those who don't know, the event was held in front of the castle, that doesn't leave a lot of room for spectators. The Press was given some prime viewing spots to see the event, while paying guests were told to stay back behind the rope more than halfway past the hub. This left no room for anyone to see that well. While guests were forced back behind the ropes there was plenty of space behind the press seating that would have allowed for a better view of the show, but then TDA showed up. Just about every member of management was there to view the event right where guests could have had a better chance to see things. Let's not forget all the massive ODV carts, that blocked views, giving out free water to press and management while guests and myself were left to swelter in the sun.

The ceremony itself was very well done with speakers such as Art Linkletter, Julie Andrews, and *gasp* Jay Rasulo! Suprisingly Mike Ouimet was a no show for the event. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.

The show started about 10 minutes late allowing for aforementioned management to arrive. Disney in all it's over the top glory placed a musical number right at the beginning, "Family Time" from Brother Bear, dancing and singing included. Bob Iger came out to introduce some clips of the park's beginnings. Then Art Linkletter told some stories of when Walt told him of his idea for Disneyland and of hosting the opening day TV show. Next up is Jay Rasulo who outlined a general plan for the resort parks and then introduced the Disneyland ambassador, Becky Murphy. She introduced a video which gave details of the events and attractions for next year:

Walt Disney World
Cinderellabration:
Does this sound like the worst name for a new show ever? At the Magic Kingdom an "All New" show from Tokyo Disneyland will celebrate Cinderella's special moment (You people have dirty minds) with their favorite Disney friends.

Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show:
Let's blow stuff up and jump cars in the air! Inspired by the popular show at Walt Disney Studios Paris, The high octane show features specifically designed cars, motorcycles, and jet skis, plus some special effects thrown in just because -- with audience members pulled into the fun. Oh, can I drive?!

Sorin':
Where's the rest of the name? This will be an exact copy of the popular attraction at DCA at Epcot. Go ahead take away any chance of getting east coast tourists to the DLR, makes my wait shorter.

Lucky the Dinosaur:
Ahh the dino who touched so many hearts at DCA last year will be moving to the Animal Kingdom. Lucky will walk the streets of Dinoland, U.S.A. Signing autographs and trampling children. Too bad I never got to see him.

Expedition EVEREST:
Towering almost 200 feet in the air, Expedition EVEREST at the Animal Kingdom, is a new high speed train adventure that will combine coaster-like thrills and a close encounter with a big hairy Yeti. Think Matterhorn on steroids.

Hong Kong Disneyland Preview Center:
This is just what it sounds like folks. Located at Epcot. there will be a scale model of the park and concept renderings that have not yet been shown to the public. Whoopi!

Disneyland Paris
Wishes:
A dramatic combination of glittering fireworks and a newly designed musical score will light up the skies above Sleeping Beauty Castle. inspired by a similar show at the Walt Disney World Resort. Oooo Ahhh.

Tokyo Disneyland Resort
Tribute:
There will be a special tribute at Disneyland Tokyo which will pay homage to it's namesake across the Pacific. Can we say "merchandise event" anyone?

Lost River Delta Thrill Attraction:
This E-Ticket coming to Tokyo Disney Sea will take guests through a temple in a high speed rollercoaster involving a loop and fire effects. *imitates Beavis* He he, FIRE!!!!

Hong Kong Disneyland
They are getting a park in the first place. Can't you be happy with that? Sure it will be around for the end of the celebration but no really thought to have it open 50 years to the day Disneyland opened. That would have been thinking ahead. Disney doesn't do that.

Disneyland Resort
Sleeping Beauty Castle - The Crown Jewel of Disneyland:
The castle has been the mainstay of every Disney Resort for the last 50 years and now the original will get a major facelift. It will be covered in gold, precious jewels, and bright banners to give it a new look that it really doesn't need, but that's not all folks! Each tower will get large crown to sit atop the peaks. it might look so gaudy that even Elton John would yell "Oh, Dear Christ!" Nighttime might be it's one saving grace though. At night the castle will be lit with a kaleidoscopic wonderland of color. Early tests of this effect have gone very well and looks great. But will the walkthough be open? Probably not. Damn terrorists ruin all the fun.

Main Street Opera House - Disneyland -- The First 50 Years:
Replacing the current Walt Disney Story, this attraction will give you a history of where the magic began. It will feature a film narrated by Walt Disney himself. Disney seems to have a knack for resurrecting the dead for it's attractions, first Rod Serling for Tower of Terror, now Walt for a history of Disneyland. Wow.

Parade of Dreams:
The parade that "Parade of the Stars" should have been will arrive. It will feature the largest cast of characters a performers ever assembled for a Disney Parade. Let's hope it's actually good.

Remember... Dreams Come True:
This fireworks spectacular will feature A new soundtrack, new firework effects, and a new flight pattern for Tinkerbell as it lights up the night sky next year.

Buzz Lightyear - Astro Blasters:
You've already seen the construction walls up around Club Buzz and the old Circle Vision Theatre and work is already underway. Guests will be able to help Buzz and Star Command to defeat Zurg's evil forces, competing for points on the omnimover track. When it opens Guests will be able to access the ride from the internet at home and compete with the Guests on the attraction.

Space Mountain:
Ahhh, Space, how I miss thee. Disney promises some new surprises from the newly rebuilt ride when it reopens in 2005. Included is a new soundtrack (like the old one ever worked), and new effects that are sure to astonish and amaze guests. Let's hope they fixed that little problem of the ride cascading when loading takes too long.

Block Party Bash:
At DCA guests will be subjected to a festive party atmosphere were they will be surrounded by Disney characters. This sounds like a pixie free version of "Light Magic" to me. Might be amusing but probably not.

Becky gave way to Rasulo who then told us of plans to bring the Disney Cruise Line ship, The "Magic," to California. Rasulo then introduced Michael Eisner, who suprisingly didn't get any boos or hisses. Eisner said nothing of any consequence and then introduced Julie Andrews as the Disneyland's Honorary Ambassador for the 50th Anniversary. Walking out of the castle she and stated how much she liked being associated with the Disney company and reminisced about when Walt gave her a tour of the park. Then she started talking about why people come to Disneyland while music slowly builds. Oh she's going to sing! Not. Right when she would start singing in comes one of the singers from the former Groove 66 to take over. One last big musical number. Fireworks. Confetti. It's over.

So what did really learn from this ceremony? Nothing new, Disneyland get a refurbished E-Ticket, a C-Ticket, fireworks, and a parade. Disney World and the other parks get all the really good stuff. This event seemed more like Disney patting itself on the back while showing off for the media, while regular guests were left to fend for themselves to get some kind of view of the stage. Many were left to watch on the giant jumbotrons. Speaking of Jumbotrons somebody forgot to realize that the screens were 16:9 (widescreen) and the format they were taping on was 4:3 (fullscreen). Basically everyone was fatter than they actually are, TV really does add 10 pounds sometimes.

Media Center:
Video:
(Quicktime Required)
Opening Speeches
Unveiling Plans
Closing Finale
Pictures:
The Castle (Daytime)
The Castle (Nighttime)
Expedition EVEREST
Lost River Delta Thrill Attraction
Block Party Bash
Remember...
Parade of Dreams

BirdMom · Post by **BirdMom** » Thu May 06, 2004 2:28 pm

In case you forgot, Julie Andrews can't sing the way she used to anymore - an operation for nodules on her vocal cords went wrong and she's spent the last several years trying to get her singing voice back...she successfully sued the doctors in NY who did that to her. Such a shame - such a nice lady. I met her at the Mansion - she actually thanked me for helping her and her daughter out of the omni mover...hardly anyone thanks you there...

CujoSR · Post by **CujoSR** » Thu May 06, 2004 2:37 pm

I didn't forget that... I never knew. Hmm...

lady ulrike · Post by **lady ulrike** » Sat May 08, 2004 12:26 pm

Actually Matt Ouimet was there, he just wasn't in the ceremony for whatever reason. He left the area right out onto Main Street and actually talked to a few people who recognized him and stopped him (myself included) Can't you just picture Eisner doing that? And speaking of Eisner, he did get at least one boo, from me.

Did you also notice that the vast majority of new attractions and celebrations that every park is getting are recycled from other parks? Tokyo is the only one that isn't getting any recycled material.

That's all I really have to add, you pretty much read my mind on a lot of the things (like the castle, what are they thinking? I gasped openly when I saw the picture and not in delight)

Zazu · Post by **Zazu** » Sun May 09, 2004 9:39 pm

lady ulrike wrote:Did you also notice that the vast majority of new attractions and celebrations that every park is getting are recycled from other parks? Tokyo is the only one that isn't getting any recycled material.

That's because the Oriental Land Company is run by people who can see and plan more than 90 days into the future.

That's all I really have to add, you pretty much read my mind on a lot of the things (like the castle, what are they thinking? I gasped openly when I saw the picture and not in delight)

Could be worse. They could have painted it Pepto-Bismol pink!

BirdMom · Post by **BirdMom** » Mon May 10, 2004 3:33 pm

Zazu wrote:That's because the Oriental Land Company is run by people who can see and plan more than 90 days into the future.

no kidding - my husband has been working on some things for Tokyo Disney Seas and they are willing to do things right from the get-go and spend the money needed to make it look fantastic. I've heard amazing things about the Pooh ride at TDL - no stinkin' guide rails for them - it uses GPS navigation!

Grumpy · Post by **Grumpy** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:46 pm

I do agree that DLR is getting the short end of the stick with the 50th anniversary. I mean, the other parks have not been open as long as this one, and this is the one that is celebrating it's 50th.

I also did notice that Tokyo isn't getting any recycles that the other parks are.

What the hell is up with Sleeping Beauty castle turning into a kaleidoscope w/ crowns all over it? I think we already understand that Sleeping Beauty IS a PRINCESS. Can't they just fix and reopen the walkthrough. It doesn't really need any external changes.

A Buzz Lightyear attraction. . .why don't we just change the name of "Tomorrowland" into "Buzz Lightyear-land?" The toy (space man) is marketed quite a bit, he has his OWN SHOW and for Pete's Sake, his OWN CLUB!!!

What we should do, is have the Rocket Jets where they used to be. . .

Hey, why not bring attractions from the Older Tomorrowland back, but enhanced?

In case some of you are unfamiliar with Yesterland. . here's the link:

http://www.yesterland.com/yester.html

I don't remember much of these attractions, because I was either too young when they were closed/gone, or I wasn't around yet when they were removed.

Make Tomorrowland look like "Tomorrow" would look back in the 60s and 70s. . not like how Tomorrow was imagined, now that we look back on it.

CujoSR · Post by **CujoSR** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:28 pm

I would like to see the paris walkthrough installed at DL. For those who don't know it's the dragons lair, with a big fucking dragon inside!!!

lovethefuzzies · Post by **lovethefuzzies** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:47 pm

Grumpy wrote:A Buzz Lightyear attraction ... why don't we just change the name of "Tomorrowland" into "Buzz Lightyear-land?" The toy (space man) is marketed quite a bit, he has his OWN SHOW and for Pete's Sake, his OWN CLUB!!!

I believe that the Club Buzz Show will be going away when the ride opens.

techie-13 · Post by **techie-13** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:59 pm

Cujo,
I second the idea of the dragon! I love that dragon! It was a major reason for dragging my husband to DLP on our honeymoon. 8)