Riding The Rails On The Disneyland Railroad

The Disneyland Railroad isn't my most favorite ride in the park but it is the most indispensable. In fact, if Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I were planning a trip to Disneyland and knew the railroad would be closed, we'd probably be looking for a different set of dates to make the trip. It's that important. For us the Disneyland Railroad serves multiple purposes. When we first arrive in Disneyland, we often jump on the railroad first thing to kind of get the lay of the land and our Disney juices flowing. Toward the end of the day the railroad provides some much needed assistance getting around for people with tired and sore feet. Perhaps during the day and we need a break to plan what to do next, a ride around the park may be just the ticket to relax and work on our plan for the rest of the day. In a full day at Disneyland, we are probably on the thing at least twice and maybe 3 or 4 times.

Walt Disney & Mickey on the E.L. Ripley
A Disney Photo

The Disneyland Railroad is cool, it's historic, a special gift from Walt Disney himself. And I remember as a kid thinking how cool it would be to be a conductor on the Disneyland Railroad (if I couldn't be an engineer). The conductors got to ride around all day hanging off the side of the train on one of those little platforms waving to the guests as the train passed by. Although today I think the conductors spend half their time telling people to sit down, keep your kids away from the exit space, and stop taking flash pictures.

But you know what, another little piece of vintage Disneyland legacy is in the process of being tossed aside in the name of safety once again. You see, those little platforms the conductors stand on while the train is making its Grand Circle Tour just quite aren't up to snuff when it comes to cast member safety or so "they" say. Has a conductor ever fallen off a moving train in almost 60 years of operation? Not that I'm aware of. But the little platforms have got to go and Disney is in the process of building little safety compartments for the conductors to ride in while train is in motion. I haven't seen a picture yet of these compartments but they are being installed, one train at a time, over the next few months. A cool job just got a little lamer.

What's next? Seat belts for the horse drawn carriage on Main St.?

The Simple Life of Casey Jr. and Storybookland

Life can get pretty complicated on occasion. There are ups. There are downs. Sometimes it seems like a thrill a minute as the saying goes. When things seem on the verge of going out of control, sometimes quiet is a gentle place of respite. Such is my story about two Disneyland classic rides that date back to 1955 - the Casey Jr. Circus Train and the Storybookland Canal Boats.

The two rides basically occupy the same area toward the back of Disneyland's Fantasyland. This past week they both closed down for refurbishment until sometime towards the middle of November. Apparently someone thought it was a wise idea to add some pathways around the Casey Jr. train track for maintenance workers and guest evacuation. Safety is big in Disneyland these days or so the state of California keeps telling them. So the two rides quietly close down with barely a whimper in Disney fandom. Oh, but Indiana Jones Adventure closed down at the same time and there's plenty of fist shaking out there even though the huge ride badly needs attention and repair. The IJA thrill is gone while the quiet of two legacy attractions falls by the wayside.

Last year I wrote about how members of my own family thought the Storybookland Canal Boats was the most boring ride in the park. I'll remove the word boring and insert quiet. There are no thrills in the gentle boat ride through the world of storybook miniatures and well manicured topiary. Both these rides came from Walt Disney himself and for that reason alone they are keepers. But there is something to be said for simple rides in a lovely setting that many people just find nice and relaxing. No, everything doesn't have to provide a thrill. Quiet is its own reward.

Nobody is counting down the days until these rides re-open again. Their closure is not causing anyone to second guess their trip plans. Not being able to take a ride on either of these attraction is a "deal breaker".

But with their closure, a little piece of Disneyland's heart is missing. Even if you never went on the rides they certainly were pleasant to look at - a lush oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy Fantasyland. No, these are not major attractions by any stretch of the imagination but Disneyland certainly is a nice place for having them.

Before Casey Jr. closed last week, MiceChat's Andy Castro took a final video look at the train ride from the back end of the caboose. Nice. (fun fact: Walt Disney wanted only horses for his carousel ride. Most older carousels have fixed stationary pieces where people could just sit while going round and round instead of going up and down on some kind of animal. So King Arthur's carousel is made of up from a few different carousels purchased by Walt Disney. Walt used the horses and constructed the Casey Jr. train cars from unneeded odds and ends from the carousel collection)

Here is Andy's video

Poised For The Return Of Jack Skellington

Come Monday, Disneyland's classic Haunted Mansion attraction will be shut down for about 3 weeks for its annual right of passage - the transformation to the Haunted Mansion Holidays which will take over from about mid-September until just after the first of the year. I explained my preference for the overlay version over the traditional HM in a previous post - Haunted Mansion Holidays - The Argument Ensues. Basically, it comes down to this, I prefer the color and clever whimsy of the Tim Burton holiday version over the drab grey traditional version (even though I am no fan whatsoever of The Nightmare Before Christmas movie on which the overlay is based). 

But today its a remembrance of what the 3 week closure of the Haunted Mansion is all about. It brings to a close of Disneyland's summer season and the transition into fall and Halloween immediately followed by Christmas. Gone are the long warm days and nights as we move into the ever so gradual transition to shorter days (and shorter park hours) and welcomed cooler temperatures. Especially in the evenings, the ever present shorts and t-shirts are replaced by pants and sweatshirts or jackets.

Yeah... I look forward to Haunted Mansion Holidays because the air conditioning in my house will no longer need to run 24x7, stepping outside will actually be comfortable, and there is always return of college and NFL football.

I like it when Jack Skellington makes his return because I know I will no longer have to sweat like a pig. I like it right up to the point I will inevitably utter the phrase "man its cold outside, I can't wait till it gets warmer".

The Ups and Downs of Being a Disneyland Insider

The Disneyland Traveler is not a Disneyland insider or prognosticator nor do I claim to be in any way, shape, or form. I live far too away to from the park to have any sort inside knowledge from word on the street. But I do follow those that are considered park insiders and prognosticators with my main source being MiceAge's Al Lutz, an insider that even other media sources go to when they want the Disneyland inside scoop. Al is more often right than wrong with his crystal ball but over the last month or so, he has missed a few.

So Al did say (and I posted about it) that Thunder Mountain Railroad would close next month for a year long refurbishment (give or take). That does not turn out to be the case as reported by David Koenig who frequently contributes to the much smaller Disney website MousePlanet when compared to Al's MiceAge/MiceChat. Koenig appears to have the correct information when he reported that BTMRR will close down just after the first of the year for its lengthy refurbishment with Indiana Jones closing this fall for a major overhaul - something that Al missed completely.

Then there is that rampant Tomorrrowland speculation. Oh yes, something will be done. Al reported that Disney was eyeing the area that included Red Rocket's Pizza Port, the Innoventions building, Autopia, the remnants of the People Movier, and even Finding Nemo's Submarine Voyage as targets of demolition / renovation in a Tomorrowland makeover. Things are coming out now (with comments made by Tony Baxter and others) that this isn't really going to be the case - with the likely targets just being just the Innoventions building and the adjacent Pizza Port and Autopia queue line along with taking down what's left of the deteriorating People Mover.

What happens in Tomorroland is shear speculation at this point but something will definitely be known over the next year or so. They have to have something to talk about at next year's D23 Expo. But Al's prediction of ripping out the subs seems to be really Blue Sky territory, especially with a Pixar Finding Nemo sequel movie now in the pre-pre-production stage.

So Al may have missed a few. He has been very quiet this week in his comments, seemingly keeping a low profile. But Al Lutz is always Disneyland "must" reading because he really does have the pulse of the place. I'm sure his sources are giving him their version of the inside scoop but as always, Disney has a right to change their collective minds.

Indiana Jones: An Opened and Closed Adventure

Disney has not made a huge effort to make this known yet but apparently it is official that the massively popular Indiana Jones Adventure ride in Disneyland will close next month for a much needed refurbishment. The dates of the closure are Sept. 4 through Dec. 7 - down 3 months give or take a few days. Of course, those who have booked trips range from the mildly disappointed to the very upset about this news. For many, IJA is tops on their list of favorite attractions including Mrs. DisneylandTraveler. But it is needed. You wouldn't know it by me but there are several elements within the attraction that either aren't working or aren't working they way they used to. Regular riders know this, occasional riders may not see the difference from one ride to the next. The ride is also subject to frequent temporary breakdowns. Supposedly, during this refurbishment, not only will the ride get fixed up but a new thrill element may be added (a loop? no, just kidding about that).

So no Indiana Jones in Disneyland beginning in early September. But not to worry Indy fans. For one week only George Lucas plans to bring his thrill seeking archaeologist back to the big screen - the really big screen - as for the first time ever, Raiders of the Lost Ark will be shown in 70mm IMAX. This limited release is just ahead of planned re-release of the classic film in a blu-ray edition. It's a great, great movie, though made in 1981, stands up to the test of time. Director Steven Spielberg has said it is one of the few films in his large body of impressive work he can sit down and enjoy without thinking about all the things he might have done differently if he had the chance. My closest IMAX will be showing the film. I'm there.

How popular is Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (now the official title of the film)? I was watching a rerun of the TV show The Big Bang Theory (which is on about 50 times a week) where the gang of geeks is huddled around their TV watching a Raiders tape. At the end of the movie they head down to their local movie theater to get in line for a special Raiders big screen showing that has 21 seconds of added footage (only to find out that the line was longer than the number of theater seats). 

For those refusing to believe in the closing of the Indiana Jones Adventure ride - here it is - right from Disneyland's attraction web page - IJA Link

What Would You Be Doing If You Were In Disneyland Right Now?

"What would you be doing if you were in Disneyland right now?" It's an intriguing and fun question that was posted on the MiceChat forum over the weekend and amazing to see how many of the responders posted the time they were making their response and knew exactly where they would be and what they would be doing if they were in Disneyland even though they were all sitting at home reading a forum.

Responses like this -

11:02 am:  On Jungle Cruise in Adventureland waiting for Indiana Jones fastpass window to open up.

or here was my response from yesterday

12:40 pm. Temperature heading towards 80 degrees. I'm looking for a table in the shade on the upper level of the Hungry Bear Restaurant (just got off Splash Mtn). Time to enjoy a fried green tomato sandwich with sweet potato fries and a large diet coke. Does anyone want to split an order of onion rings?

You see, most fans of Disneyland have a pre-programmed agenda built into their heads. Spontaneity exists only if the internal plans get side-tracked. Wandering around aimlessly is for amateurs, the Disneyland professionals know pretty much exactly what they are going to do. So predictable. 

Unless you get into one of circle discussions me and Mrs. DisneylandTraveler find ourselves in from time to time. 

"What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know, you pick."

"I picked last time, it's your turn to pick.' 

"I'm up for anything."

"Me to, you pick."

"Let's go to the Haunted Mansion."

"Nah, we've already been on it twice, I'm getting hungry."

"OK, let's go find someplace to eat then, where do you want to go?"

"I don't know, you decide."

"You said you were hungry so you must have something in mind?"

"Not really, you pick....."

No Big Thunder In The Mountain For Awhile

MiceAge / MiceChat's Al Lutz is reporting that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is about to go down this fall for a lengthy refurbishment. How lengthy? According to Al, try the end of this year and most of the 2013 calendar year so the track can get replaced, a new loading platform built, and new interactive elements are added to the queue line.

I'm going to miss Thunder Mountain Railroad. Even though I think of it as a favorite of mine, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler, after years of going on, regressed from participating in the thrills of the "wildest ride in the wilderness" that Disney uses as a tagline for the ride. It has become one of the series of "messes with my head" rides for her. On our last visit to Disneyland I tried to sneak on over to ride the beast myself but but twice I got the "closed down right now - not sure when we'll open back up" spiel from a cast member. I should have been more diligent about trying to get on but in the back of your mind there is always the "maybe next time by" thought. What if there is no next time?

Fantasy Faire Village or Intrusion on Main Street

Model of the Fantasy Faire Village - Opens Summer 2013
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

I don't know how I missed it but Disney Parks Blog did post an entry last week that contained the first models of the Fantasy Faire Village, the new home for Disney princesses that is now scheduled to open next summer (link here). I probably missed it because I don't actively go out and look for information about Disney princesses, Fantasy Faire, or anything like that. I'm a guy and I'm preoccupied with the impending start of football season. But enough stereotyping....

I must say, the models do look much nicer than the conceptual artwork Disney has previously released. The place is very detailed and ornate. But here would be my issue (and the issue of many fans of Disneyland Park). The new Fantasy Faire Village sits in front and off to the left side of the Sleeping Beauty's Castle as you walk down Main Street towards the Hub area. Most consider the Hub area still a part of Main Street so now you have a replica of a 500 year old village with an entrance facing Main Street - the Partners statue, Plaza Inn Restaurant, Jolly Holiday Bakery, etc. It doesn't quite fit the theming.

Disney Imagineers and Show Producers Work with FFV Model
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Or did Disneyland just find an excuse to extend the boarders of Fantasyland. Granted, Disneyland boarders inside the park tend to be more guidelines than rules - witneess Nemo in Tomorrowland along with other examples if you think and question hard enough. One would hope the Disney recognizes this as well and finds a way to somewhat conceal the area from Main Street views. Disney can be very creative this way. Pixie Hollow, the area and the entrance, can barely be seen though it too infringes on Tomorrowland. But Fantasy Faire Village is a larger area. I'm sure it will be nice. The question is whether "nice area" or "questionable intrusion" win out with the final product.

Fantasy Faire Village Model - A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Disneyland Sticks a Fiddle Bow Up Its Nose

So there it is, the standout moment of any performance by Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, the moment when Billy gets a fiddle bow stuck up his nose. "I feel bad for the little kids who have to see something like this on their trip to Disneyland" or words to that effect Billy says as he tries to figure out how to get the bow out of his nose.

I've seen Billy Hill and the Hillbillies perform probably two dozen times at Frontierland's Golden Horseshoe over the years and the bow up the nose bit never gets old. Most of the shows are just a variation of each other (the exception being the "Christmas spectacular") with a slight change in song selection and each performance greatly dependent on audience reaction and participation. It's a lot of fun. And inside the small but wonderfully ornate Golden Horseshoe, Billy Hill feels at home, both the band playing and the audience watching, clapping hands and stomping feet.

So this summer Disney had grand plans of massive amounts of people hitting their Disneyland parks with the relaunch of Disney California Adventure, Cars Land, and the like. And it's true, the bustling crowd levels have had Disney people wearing big smiles on their faces. There was only one slight miscalculation apparently. Large crowds have been turning up on a daily basis at DCA and surprisingly, the park has been able to withstand high crowd volumes much easier than expected. The crowd levels over at Disneyland on the other hand, with only the re-opening of the Matterhorn to boast about, have been quite manageable for a change. Some have used the word "flat" to describe Disneyland crowd levels this summer. Disney had visions over overflowing guests at both parks so in preparation they made the decision to take the popular Billy Hill and the Hillbillies show and move it outdoors and into the cavernous, mostly unused, Fesival Arena where more people could be seated compared to the cramped quarters of The Golden Horseshoe. The only problem is, the people and fans of Billy didn't follow.

The foot traffic around the Festival Arena area is off the beaten path as they say. The only reason to go back there is if you plan to eat at the Big Thunder Bar-B-Que (where reservations are almost never necessary) or use that back pathway to get from Thunder Mountain Railroad to Fantasyland as a shortcut. (There is also a spot back there that is one of Disneyland's last remaining designated smoking areas). So here is where they stuck Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. Below, MiceChat took a picture of the common result:

Billy Hill & the Hillbillies perform to a sparse crowd at the Festival Arena
A MiceChat In The Parks Photo

Now that's sad. The spirited packed house of a Billy Hill performance inside The Golden Horseshoe is reduced to a shadow of what it normally is playing to small crowds in a large area. It's been such a disaster that Disney, in an effort to attract a crowd, any crowd, put up a hastily constructed pin trading stand. Hopefully when summer draws to a close, this incredibly bad decision, is forever filed away.

The Haunted Mansion and a Picture of 3 Hitch-Hiking Ghosts

Annie Leibovitz's photograph of 3 ghostly residents of the Haunted Mansion

Annie Leibovitz's photographs have been gracing magazine covers & spreads along with museum walls for close to 50 years now. She is the pop generations most iconic photographer with some of her most memorable work being celebrity layouts in Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines.

In recent years, Annie has worked with Disney in capturing classic memorable scenes with a pretty impressive list of models. Like this one - the 3 hitch-hiking ghosts of the Haunted Mansion featuring the popular actors Jack Black, Will Farrell, and Jason Segel.

Annie Leibovitz at work with Jack Black, Will Farrell, and Jason Segel
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Disney Parks Blog posted two articles related to the photo-shoot this past week.  You can view the posts linked here and here.  For me, it's just fun to watch an extraordinary artist at work with something that must be incredibly fun.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz sets a shot - A Disney Park Blog Photo

Disney also produced this little video during the photo-shoot:

Jungle Cruise Changes - Mr. Safety Strikes Again

Disneyland seems to be all about guest safety these days and that's probably a good thing. The Matterhorn sleds were changed to make the vehicles more secure. We can disregard the fact that it also made them more uncomfortable and difficult to get in and out of. Safety first. Or another way to put it "what can we do to keep sue-happy guests with sue-happy lawyers off our back?"

Which brings us to changes made on the Jungle Cruise boats after a brief refurbishment last week. If you check out the picture above that I found on the internet, you can see the new mesh screens around the seating area designed to keep hands and arms (and small people) inside the boat. Of course, if you are 4 years old and taking your first Jungle Cruise, well, you really don't need to see anything that you won't remember when you are 40 anyway. And then there's mom and dad. Disney probably got sick and tired about hearing of dropped cell phones and cameras into the water.

The other change is that little rubber bumper that runs along the side of the boat. Actually, this is one of Disney's better safety ideas. The bumper is meant to stabilize the boat against the dock as passenger get on and get off the boat. For those advancing on in years and not quite as nimble as they used to be, the stabilizing bumpers along with the guiding arms of cast members should eliminate some of the unsteadiness of the process. Yeah, they are a bit of an eyesore but I can live with it. I'm the one who is advancing in years and not as nimble as I used to be.

Taking The Hammer To Innoventions

Hmm......I went through my Disneyland photo collection this morning looking for an exterior shot of the massive Innoventions building in Tomorrowland. Guess what? Ten years of digital of photos and not one exterior shot of the Innoventions building. That should tell you something. In all of the Disneyland trips that we've made over ten years (which adds up to about 15 trips with each trip being several days long), can you guess how many times Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I have been in Innoventions? Twice - that's it. Our last visit to Innoventions was in December 2008. On that day, there was an all-day driving rainstorm. It doesn't rain in Innoventions. So that's what the place is reduced to - a refuge to get out of the rain.

Disneyland insider/watchdog Al Lutz from MiceAge/MiceChat again writes last week that Innoventions days may be numbered. With Disneyland's 60th anniversary coming up, it would be nice to have a brand spanking new big-time attraction to feature in the celebration. Once again, the massive but poorly attended Innoventions is a prime target for real estate.  Al has further speculated that the adjoining Autopia and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage might close with it creating a substantial piece of real estate for big-time development. 

Now the internet rumors are running wild with this. Level Innoventions to the ground and start from scratch or gut the thing and make use of the cavernous space that is inside. I don't know which is true, if anything (there are other places that can be developed in Disneyland beginning with the Festival Arena area in Frontierland) but I, for one wouldn't mind seeing the waste of space that is Innoventions get brought to the ground.

At one time, several years ago, on a Disney forum that no longer exists, I proposed the idea that the loathsome Innoventions could be assisted in its demise by Disneyland providing a couple of swings of a heavy mallet on one of Innoventions walls by fans who want to see the place leveled. They could charge $10 for 3 swings and after you take your whack, you could walk over and pick up a T-Shirt with a picture of Mickey swinging a mallet with some cleaver saying about giving you credit for participating in the destruction. T-Shirt, about $23.95.  It's the Disney way.

That's all a joke up there but Innoventions itself is a joke, an effort in shameless self-promotion by Yamaha, Microsoft, Honda, and HP who pay Disney handsomely for showing off some of their efforts. The only thing, and I mean the only thing, in Innoventions that adds any real value to Disneyland, is the short program that shows off the considerable talents of ASIMO, Honda's amazing robot with a creepy child-like voice.

I don't know if anyone will shed a tear if Innoventions is removed and promptly.  The tears were shed when the Carousel of Progress and America Sings attractions were taken out of the building years ago.

Disneyland Princesses On The Run

I know very little about the Princess Fantasy Faire Meet and Greet that gathers daily inside the cavernous Fantasyland Theater. I do know that it is hugely popular as I glance over there and see the long lines of little princesses with their parents patiently waiting (usually) to meet their favorite princess. My little MouseWaits phone app says the line is often 60 - 90 minutes long. Ouch! A wait for something that long that isn't a ride? Well, the Princess Fantasy Fair Meet and Greet got itself an eviction notice from its current Fantasyland location several months ago as plans were made to construct a new fully themed meet and greet area in the space in front of the castle formerly occupied by the Carnation Gardens Plaza. The rumored cost of the new Princess Fantasy Faire is somewhere around 12 million bucks. That area is now currently behind construction walls with an opening slated sometime after the start of 2013, assuming we all survive that Mayan end-of-the-world thing. But the time has come for the princesses to move on out as the Fantasyland Theater prepares to go back and do what it was intended to do once upon a time - present live Disney character performances in a theater setting. Personally, the area is big enough to support a new ride which would have been my preference for use of the space, but that's just me.

So the princesses basically get run out across the street and will temporarily set up shop in the small world promenade area across from the namesake attraction until their new permanent home is ready. There the princesses will continue to meet with their adoring fans complete with photographs, autographs, and of course, the selling or princess merchandise. Date for the princesses move is now set at August 12. 

Scenes From Pirates of the Caribbean - Ooops

Yeah, yeah, yeah..... you hear it every time the boat leaves the dock. It goes something like this "keep your arms and legs inside the boat at all times and please no flash photography or video lighting". Well, I for one, tend to heed Disneyland's warnings. After all I'm a guest in their house (albeit at a steep price) and willing to play by their rules. That's just the way I was brought up. Of course, we all know there are people who try bend if not outright break the rules of Disneyland everywhere.

Which brings me to this YouTube video by Asianjma123, shots of inside Pirates of the Caribbean with full video lighting. Yes, this would be a no-no but I'm kind of glad to see a video of Pirates in all its glory when most non-lit videos fail to do it justice. This is not a full ride through but what can be seen looks great. Pirates of the Caribbean is my favorite ride in Disneyland, even after all these years.

The Day Mickey Mouse Burst My Bubble

Mickey Mouse's House - ToonTown - DIsneyland

I may have brought this up before in this blog, can't really recall, but since today is my birthday and I'm getting older, repeating myself sort of comes with the territory. Anyway, this little tidbit is about a trip I made to Disneyland back in 2006. I flew down with my sister and two of my nieces along two of their small children for a weekend get-away. Even though it was a very quick trip, flying down early Saturday morning and returning Sunday evening, it was something we needed to do after a particularly hard month for the extended family. 

And we had a great time during our short visit. You can get a lot done in Disneyland in a short amount of time if you really put your mind to it. And one of the things we did was take the kids to Mickey's House in ToonTown. Even if you are an adult, its something everyone should do simply because the place is whimsical, delightful, and quite charming. Its also much larger than you think. 

Getting Mickey's Autograph

I'm sure I've mentioned this before as well, but I am not really a "Disney character" kind of guy but then again, I'm XX years old and not 6 years old. And I will admit that Disney characters walking or standing around really add to the overall atmosphere of the park, but down deep, I can kind of take or leave them. I remember one year where it seems that every time I turned around, I was looking at the Mad Hatter. He was everywhere. Ever since that day I associate the Mad Hatter with the word "annoying".

Anyway, Mickey Mouse is the king character of the place so you have to give him his due, at least I thought he was king. So there we all were in Mickey's house, meandering through the various rooms, waiting for the kids to meet up with Mickey himself. My great niece had her official Disneyland autograph book along with one of those giant pencils and the tuxedo clad Mickey was only too happy to sign it along with allowing us a chance to take a few photos (or have an official Disney $$$ photo taken).

After all was said and done and we were on our out, I looked at Mickey's autograph and was immediately somewhat stunned at the lovely flowing cursive penmanship of the great mouse. "Wait a minute" I thought. "No guy writes like that - ever" "Mickey Mouse underneath was really a girl". Wow! For an old Disneyland guy like me, that was quite a discovery. Another bubble just got burst. So came the realization that in order to play the role of Micky Mouse (or Donald or Goofy or Chip or xxxx) in Disneyland, you don't necessarily need to be of the same gender. The most important job requirement is apparently - whoever you are - you just need to fit the costume.

Another picture from Mickey's House - Nothing to do with Mickey
I just like it because I often wear the same expression in Disneyland

Ugly Alice Will Get Her Face Lift

Ugly Alice in Wonderland
Hideous upper railing with tarps draped to cover additional additional unsightliness

Once upon a time a classic Disneyland Fantasyland attraction benevolently ran for more than 40 years without incident. Then an ogre (and we are not quite sure who the ogre is) said "that won't do at all". Such is the story of Disneyland's Alice In Wonderland.

About 2 years ago, either Disney voluntarily or through strong prodding by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, came to the conclusion that the raised outdoor "vine" section of the ride was unsafe for maintenance workers who could conceivably fall from the exposed concrete platform to the ground below. The decision came almost overnight. The ride was shutdown and over about a 3 week period, a hastily constructed railing was put in place with ugly plastic tarps draped to cover the fastening points. Following what amounted to a patch job, the ride resumed operation just a bit uglier than originally conceived.

Fans have been waiting both patiently and impatiently for quite some time waiting for when Disney was going to make its move and restore the ride to its charming glory. Well the date has been set if you can believe MiceAge's Al Lutz. Alice in Wonderland will be shutdown right after Labor Day on September 4 to begin its transformation. The rumor is that it will take a few months of refurbishment. Alice will get her face lift after all.

The original Alice in Wonderland
No railing, no tarps

"It's All About the Kids"

As promised - as my friend Bill says about his trips to Disneyland - "it's all about the kids". It got to be a reoccurring joke between us when his kind were younger (ages 4 - 6 let's say). "You mean you didn't ride on California Screamin'" - "nah, the trip was all about the kids". 

"You mean you went all the way to Disneyland and didn't ride Space Mountain?" "Nah, the trip was all about the kids". 

"You mean you didn't go in and see It's Tough To Be A Bug? That's for kids." Nah, a little too scary, it's all about the kids".

You get the picture here.

I remember bits and pieces of Disneyland when I was a kid. I vividly remember being on Pirates of the Caribbean with my parents and making the first drop. I remember sitting in the Tiki Room with mom and dad. I remember standing in line for the Matterhorn with my older brother, my first roller coaster ride. I treasure those memories. Disneyland is for kids. 

Or is it?

Certainly Walt Disney didn't envision a park just for kids. His whole deal was creating a park that parents and their children could enjoy together. He succeeded grandly. But there is that awkward age when children just aren't quite old enough or big enough for the larger rides. Does the parent just skip those like my friend Bill did on a couple of his trips?

Some rides do have something called ride swapping where one waiting parent stays with the child who cannot ride at the loading platform while the other parent rides, then they switch. Parents can also use single rider options. Then you can do what my friend Bill eventually did - bring grandma along.

Disneyland is mostly about kids, but its about the kid in all of us. For families its about compromise, good planning, and a balance of activities (no coloring though). Fun for all can be found. And I think about my friend Bill when he is able to take his kids to Disneyland, now that they are old enough, get in line for Space Mountain as a family. "You kids, you know when you were younger there were times we came down here and we couldn't go on this ride". 

Hopefully they are thinking "yeah, but we can go on together now, all of us". Disneyland is the building of memories from one trip to the next, each one a new adventure, a new experience. What is taken for granted at the time will become a special memory. Kids grow up and become adults who eventually remember what it was like to be a kid again, a kid in Disneyland. It's all about the kids.

Expedition Everest, A Broken Yeti, and Be Careful What You Wish For.

My wife's new boss came back from a trip to Walt Disney World with his family a week or so ago. He had a great time and he singled out Expedition Everest, the massively themed coaster in WDW Animal Kingdom as a ride he went on multiple times because its just simply great.

Fast forward about a week where MiceChat's behind the scenes feature blog The 626 (link here) gives the story of Expedition Everest's fearsome Yeti animatronic which suffered structural failure shortly after the ride opened and hasn't been fixed since. As The 626 points out, WDI probably overshot themselves by creating such a massive animtronic (the ride and mountain had to be built around it) that the stand-alone supporting structure did not have the ability to sustain support for the multi-ton creature that physically moved out over the the track. Instead of motion, imagineers now flash strobe lights at the fixed non-moving creature which gives a bit of an illusion of motion that just isn't there. WDW regulars ask why can't Disney fix the thing now years later from when the problem was first discovered. The scores of people who visit WDW occasionally could care less. The ride is a true thrill just the way it is.

There's a lesson here for us Disneyland people. Park fans in forums are constantly railing about the various parts of both Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain which do not work at all or extremely slow to get fixed. They continue to shake a fist at the tarp covered Alice in Wonderland ride with its tacky railing that Cal-OSHA insisted was necessary for worker safety or safety of passengers in case of evacuation. That little event occurred over a year ago now and Ugly Alice still hasn't been fixed.

Here's the rub. Of course everyone wants a ride to be exactly as brilliant imagineers designed it to be fully functional in every detail. But over time, things tend to break down (even me). Now some things can be fixed up relatively quickly. Other things take a very long time and require budget considerations because fixing these things doesn't come cheap. So what would you prefer? A running ride performing at 80 or 90% of how it was designed or shut the ride down for months of refurbishment. Its easy for those who live within short driving distance to Disneyland to choose the refurbishment. They've been on these attractions so many times that they can easily wait out months of repair. For those who plan Disneyland trips for next year or even two years from now, having an attraction like Indiana Jones or Splash Mountain down for refurbishment can be extremely disappointing, maybe even a trip deal breaker. Disney is in a tough position here but ultimately they like to keep their major attractions running especially, during peak periods, and only take them down for extended periods when its absolutely necessary (Indiana Jones Adventure is rumored to be coming up for an extended refurbishment). 

I'm good with this approach. Why would I really care if a few items stopped working as they should as long as I can get on the ride to begin with?  Half a ride is better than none as they say.

For west coasters who haven't experienced Expedition Everest, here is one of the better videos from MouseSteps. Yes, the coaster does roll backwards for a few heart pounding seconds. The strobe effect Yeti shows up at just before the 3 minute mark. Pretty weak.

Is It The Beginning Of The End For Nemo's Subs?

I remember the original Tomorrowland Submarine Voyage or whatever they called it. As a kid, it was one of the coolest things ever. The TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was one of my favorite shows on television growing up. My brother and I watched it religiously on Sunday nights. A trip to Disneyland and a chance to go on a real sub? Wow! How great is that. We'll ignore the facts that the subs, while looking like the real deal on a miniature scale decked out in official Navy gray, never actually went underwater, ran on a track, and well, there just wasn't a lot very interesting to look at down there through those port holes. The ride was still cool. A kid can pretend.

The old subs grew tiresome and the underwater scenes grew faded and in disrepair. Even the kid in me knew the subs were going down as the ride and me both grew older. By the end of their existence, the slow loading ride was pretty much a walk on and its only real interest was generated from the nostalgia aspect of the subs. Time killed the old submarine ride.

Finding Nemo still is Pixar's second highest grossing movie. I wasn't a particular fan of the movie but many were and Disney saw this as an opportunity to resurrect the old subs into a fancy new attraction based on the Finding Nemo movie. Kind of a win / win for Disney since the basic infrastructure of the ride still existed - subs, track, lagoon, and show building. Never mind that the ride was physically still in Tomorrowland and Finding Nemo has absolutely nothing to do with the world of Tomorrow. An opportunity to cash in is an opportunity to cash in for Disney. Up came Finding Nemo's Submarine Voyage back in 2007 and cool got replaced by cartoon. Gray Navy subs were now painted bright yellow, and digital animation projections told the Nemo story. People came, lines formed, Nemo was a hit and continues to be a very popular attraction with typical wait times into the 30 - 60 minute range. No way I'm waiting that long for it but people do (I much prefer the 7 minute wait I had in a driving rain storm a few years back).

So MiceAge's great Disneyland prophet, fortune teller, and rumor monger Al Lutz reports this week that with the success with the DCA expansion, Disney people are now turning their attention back to Disneyland itself and specifically Tomorrowland with its now patch work quilt of rides and attractions, popular for sure, but far from being anything remotely resembling a cohesively themed area. Everyone knows that Innoventions has got to go. A cavernous building that is sparsely attended tends to be a waste in a park that is real estate challenged. Forum posters have always had a bulls-eye on the adjoining Autopia ride as well since most forum posters know how to drive and have little interest in the ride ignoring the huge line of kids (and their parents) who can't wait to get behind the wheel of their first car. Knock out Innoventions and Autopia and all of a sudden, Disney imagineers now have a huge chunk of land to play with. But why stop there? 

According to Al, and he is right about a lot things, why not throw in the Nemo subs as a potential target of renovation, after all a large portion of Autopia runs over the top of the Nemo show building. It came as news to me that Nemo's Submarine Voyage is Disneyland's costliest ride to operate according to Al and expensive slow loading rides that occupy large chunks of land would seem to be a prime target to me as well. So with Innoventions, Autopia, and Nemo all the target of bulldozing, Disney park developers can get almost 20% of the real estate back into their creative hands and a real chance to set Tomorrowland straight once and for all.

This isn't going to happen anytime soon. Disney needs to see if the remarkable attendance for Disney California Adventure that has been occuring the past two weeks is sustainable before they get into any new billion dollar projects but all pointers seem to lead that something big is going to happen.

I'm good with the removal of Innoventions. It doesn't have a lot of supporters though ASIMO is a first rate minor attraction. I'm good with the submarine removal. I just don't care for the ride and real submarines haven't looked like the miniature Disneyland replicas in decades. And I'm good with removing Autopia because I know how to drive though an updated Autopia attraction in Cars Land would be a sensational idea. 

This is an rumor that has legs as they say and it may take several years to get it done but it seems like it would be time and money well spend, at least to me.

A Closer Look At - Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin

Well, yesterday marked the twenty fourth anniversary of the release of the Robert Zemeckis Touchstone / Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I remember seeing it at the theaters with my nephew and and still remember it as being one of my favorite experiences seeing a movie in a theater. It would have to be if I remember seeing something 24 years ago. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a great movie. It hasn't carried itself well over time with now dated technology but for the period it was made, it was really something to see blending live action characters and story with classic animated characters.

The movie was a huge success, so much of a success that Disney decided to build a whole land based on ToonTown, the alternate universe town where cartoon characters actually live - all of them. And on the surface of it, ToonTown at Disneyland looks amazing and for the most part is a delight for children with its never ending stream of interactive gags and props along with an always present supply of classic walk around Disney characters. We can excuse the fact that Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a movie that small children should probably not see with it being a murder mystery with a gumshoe detective with a drinking problem, a cigar smoking cantankerous baby, and a voluptuous animated female lead with an "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" sultry attitude. But ToonTown, the home of Mickey Mouse in Disneyland, continues to delight its many visitors. Adults without kids may be bored because beyond the colorful building facades, there just isn't much there. Except. The cornerstone of ToonTown is the great dark ride Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin which comes right out of the movie. It may be Disneyland's best traditional dark ride filled with colorful scenes you pass by in your interactive taxi cab ride vehicle which you can actually spin. Over the years, I've dropped the spinning part. Sometimes you spend so much time, effort, and concentration spinning the darn thing that you miss some of the story going on around you. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin also has one of Disneyland's best queue lines filled with jokes and puns. You need the entertainment value as the line for the ride can get pretty long. It also has a fast pass option. The one drawback of a great ride like RRCS being in ToonTown is the place opens later and closes earlier than the rest of Disneyland so the ride's operating hours are shorter. The ride itself is contained in a huge show building that is outside of the Disneyland park limits. This isn't a Fantasyland dark ride which ends in a minute or two. RRCS has a bit more length to it - not mention that on hot days, it is nice and cool in there.

Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin is one of my favorite rides at Disneyland because it drips with creativity, imagination, and color. You could take ToonTown out tomorrow (like they did in WDW) and I wouldn't care but leave the Cartoon Spin behind (and Mickey's House too, that's pretty cool).

For me, it's a great D-Ticket attraction. Here is a Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin ride through from the Disneyland HD videographer Asianjma123. Enjoy your spin....