Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

Nothing to groundbreaking

Seems to be a common theme for DCA attractions...

[triggernel]

When I was 7, I might of liked it, oh wait I did.

[jedimaster1227]

http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/061410_NF_BN_DisneylandHorizons.html

 

Disney or Disney's?

 

A big topic on people's minds was the park name change from Disney's California Adventure to Disney California Adventure, which Disneyland President George Kalogridis eloquently explained to D23. "I don't know that it's a lot of science. In the transformation process, we believe it's better to talk about California as more of a state of mind. So California Adventure is an ongoing adventure, and it's presented by Disney. That's why it's not possessive in terms of 'this is our interpretation of California.' It's more [than that]. We are presenting a story about the adventure of life in California, which is ever-evolving, as is Disneyland. Which is why Disneyland is called Disneyland, not Disney's Land."

 

World of Color

 

After nearly five years of planning, World of Color premiered last week. We thought we knew everything there was to know about the amazing experience, which combines water, lights, lasers, fire, music and movies to create a sensational symphony of sights and sounds. But we were wrong! Here are a few things we were excited to learn.

 

• Technical Producer Chuck Davis says the most challenging aspect of the show was the water. "Keeping dry stuff dry and wet stuff wet is our primary challenge of the show."
  
• The show boasts an astounding 1,200 active fountain cues, 280 lighting cues, and 1,600 video cues.
  
• Wonder which characters are easier to project on water: traditional two-dimensional or computer-generated? "The Pixar characters that are rendered in computer animation, the layers are easier to manipulate," explains Chuck.
  
• A significant amount of the animation in World of Color was created specifically for the show. With The Little Mermaid, the team created all new animation of Sebastian singing "Under the Sea." And the scene from Toy Story — where Woody and Buzz butt heads for the first time — may seem familiar, "but in the movie there are more than a dozen cuts as you go from a closeup to a wide shot," explains Roger Gould, Creative Director, Theme Parks, Pixar Animation Studios. "We wanted you to feel like you were in that moment, so we pulled the camera back and reanimated that entire moment into one shot so that Buzz and Woody are there together."
  
• Rotoscoping — the process in which characters are removed from their backdrops, a technique heavily utilized in Fantasmic! — played a large part in the world of World of Color. "We did do some new animation on the classic and we also did some digital enhancements," says Dave Bossert, Creative Director and head of Special Projects, Walt Disney Animation Studios. "A good example of that is the Chernobog animation from the original Fantasia. We roto-ed Chernobog off his background and the top of his wings were clipped off in the movie. We extended those and finished those out."
  
• While they may both be nighttime extravaganzas on the water, don't compare World of Color to Fantasmic! "They are just two different worlds," says World of Color creator Steve Davison. "World of Color is triple the size of Fantasmic! It's a massive show compared to Fantasmic! We both project on water, but we wanted to do different things with it — multi-plane effects. To go digital in ways that are ever-flexible. And we didn't want any performers [in World of Color] because the minute you put any performer in that water, you have this massive surface and this tiny, little person. People have asked if Mickey was going to bring in the show and conduct and I have said, 'You will never see Mickey.'"
  
• The score is enchanting — this is Steven's second show (Magical was the first) to utilize a song from Enchanted (here it's "So Close"). "I always love the collaboration between [composer and lyricist] Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. I think when those two get together, like they did with Pocahontas and Hunchback of Notre Dame, you get some of the best music. When I saw Enchanted, it's some of the most delightful music they have written in a long time. I love "So Close," and it fit perfectly into that beat of the show. When we got to the end. It was so emotional. It was a twist on the song. It's really fun to use songs in the Disney canon that people may not have heard before.

 

Cars Land

 

Some exciting news about Cars Land — opening in 2012 — was unveiled including:

 

• Kathy Mangum, Executive Producer and Vice President, Walt Disney Imagineering, let us know that Cars Land architecture closely resembles that in the film on which it is based. In fact Imagineers have "laid out the street exactly the same" as in the movie, Kathy said.
  
• The Cozy Cones, Sally's motel in the film, will be full-sized structures, and each will feature a unique snack shop offering tantalizing treats like "Chile Con Cone" and "Cone on the Cob."
  
• Radiator Springs Racers — the land's E-ticket attraction — will have 22 six-passenger cars on the ride system, which is reminiscent of Epcot's Test Track. The attraction will utilize 3 million pounds of steel. Over the next 14 months the "mountain" landscape will be completed. The attraction will also offer different experiences for guests; in preparation for the day's big race, in which all riders participate, some will receive new tires from Luigi, while others will get a fresh paint job from Ramone.
  
• Guests visiting Luigi's Roamin' Tires in Cars Land will get to walk through his office and garage in the attraction's queue.

 

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure

 

A couple sen-sea-tional reveals were made about this mega-attraction sprouting up now along the side of Paradise Bay.

• As guests descend into the water, a cool blast of air will give them the sensation of headed under the sea.
  
• Scuttle the seagull will be the first character guests will meet once they have loaded into their "clam-mobiles." And there will be several places you will see him along you way as he helps weave Ariel's story together.

[jedimaster1227]

http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/061410_NF_BN_DisneylandHorizons.html

 

Disneyland Hotel

 

A few weeks ago, some big changes were announced for the Disneyland Hotel, including a dramatic re-envisioning of the central pool and restaurant areas.

 

• Two new suites have just opened in the Dreams Tower (soon to be renamed the Adventure Tower) at the Disneyland Hotel, the Fairy Tale Suite and the Big Thunder Suite. The Fairy Tale Suite is a very "upscale, elegant version of maybe where one of our prince and princesses might stay on their honeymoon," says Walt Disney Imagineering Development manager John Mauro. "It overlooks the park so it gets fireworks at night." Inside the Big Thunder Suite, all the wood flooring is made from recycled materials from a barn in the Midwest.
  
• The transition of the Never Land pool area into a monorail-themed pool has received a lot of attention. "Walt always said Disneyland will always be changing and evolving, and certainly it's hard for people to let go of some of their favorite elements," John acknowledges. "But we think these new offerings will really help put us over the edge. For me, the Disneyland Hotel is made up of so many different elements that over the years were added, this will really bring the storyline together for guests."

[Jew]

I didn't know life in California involved The Little Mermaid, Cars (a movie not set in California...), and Toy Story.

[ahecht]

I didn't know life in California involved The Little Mermaid, Cars (a movie not set in California...), and Toy Story.

 

In defense of the weak California Theme, the entire Cars movie was the story of Lightning McQueen trying to get to Los Angeles. Of course, that said, Radiator Springs was supposed to be either Peach Springs or Seligman, Arizona, depending on which interview you listen to. Also, there are many references to California in Toy Story, including Al's Toy Barn having the same address as Pixar's California Headquarters and the Airport looking like the one in Oakland, CA, but. that's a stretch. Oh, and California has oceans, right? Right? Bueller?

 

The whole thing is a stretch, you're right.

 

I think Disney must have long ago internally realized that it would be better to define California Adventure as meaning that it is a Disney Adventure IN California, not Themed to California. Similar to how Busch Gardens tried calling their parks by their themed location (Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens Africa), but quickly reverted to calling them by their physical locations (Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay). There is no attempt to claim that the parks are Virginia or Florida themed.

Edited June 15, 2010 by ahecht

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ They may have tried in recent years to distance the park from a "California themed park in California" but that was not the original intent, and nobody from Disney has come out and said "It's now just an "Adventure" park that happens to be in California".

 

The California theme is plainly laid out in the Dedication of the park:

 

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

—Michael Eisner, February 8, 2001

 

Until Disney flat out comes out and says that it just happens to be a "Theme Park in California" the theme will make no sense.

[robbalvey]

Or until they just come and and call the park "Disney's Hollywood Studios" because it's becoming more and more like it's Florida counterparts than any other "label" they could give the park now.

 

--Robb

[Mechanic]

Or would that be Disney Hollywood Studios?

[fatdaddy]

I still say "California Studios" if it's gonna go that way. Hollywood Studios just conficts with Universal Hollywood too much, which i know you would think that people would know they had nothing to do with eachother, but i actually had friends come out here who thought that California Adventure had something to do with Islands of Adventure. Wasn't Disney in Burbank anyway?

[ahecht]

^ They may have tried in recent years to distance the park from a "California themed park in California" but that was not the original intent, and nobody from Disney has come out and said "It's now just an "Adventure" park that happens to be in California".

 

The California theme is plainly laid out in the Dedication of the park:

 

Until Disney flat out comes out and says that it just happens to be a "Theme Park in California" the theme will make no sense.

 

I know the original intent of the park, and I know that they still spell out that it's themed to California on their website and in promotional material, but I really wouldn't be surprised if this gets downplayed more and more as the overhaul nears completion. It may not even be their intent now, but at some point they will have to realize how limiting the California theme is to what they are trying to achieve.

[testtrack321]

Some updates from Al Lutz today on WoC events and such...

 

The only real drama came during the show itself, when one of the water-whip rotating fountains near the stage misread its computer cue and aimed directly at the audience instead of the Fun Wheel, soaking a section of C Listers who, even drenched, were probably happy not to be judging yet another Disney extreme cake challenge on the Food Channel.

 

That runaway fountain scenario has been known to happen during testing, and WDI (Imagineering) recently had to fess up and let the DCA operations team know that it could happen on occasion during the show, potentially dousing a large swath of the audience before the fountain can be manually disabled from the control booth. It is for that exact reason that the stores in Paradise Pier are now stocking adult underwear behind the counter to help the “Guest Service Recovery” tactics if a gaggle of tourists unexpectedly meet the business end of a World of Color water-whip fountain and need to be comped with dry clothes, including undergarments.

 

Be careful out there guys.

 

More updates and other Disney geekery at http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al061510a.htm

[deguy123]

^ That's actually pretty funny about stocking underwear.....hopefully not just adult tighty whitey's in stock

[Sir Clinksalot]

According to somebody I know, one of the B-List celebs that got drenched was Teri Hatcher. LOL!!!

 

Back to Robb's point about "Disney's Hollywood Studios" ... totally agreed. I think I've mentioned it in this thread (or maybe one at MiceChat) before.

 

The only attractions right now that have no movie or character tie-in are Soarin' Over California, Grizzly River Run and Screamin'.

 

As far as Grizzly and Screamin', putting some kind of movie tie-in on those is simple. Put some animatronics on Grizzly, have it be less about "Extreme Sports" and more about the "True Life Adventure" series. Done. As for Screamin', make it "Rockin' Screamin", update the Soundtrack to something better than RHCP and done. Jumpin Jellyfish goes with Mermaid. Golden Zephyr get's a Rocketeer themed queue and music.

 

Soarin' would be the only one that would be difficult, but if Nemo can be Tomorrowland, Soarin' can be in a movie themed park.

[tkkyj]

Good thing it wasn't one of the fire whips?

[larrygator]

Disney Red Headed Stepchild

 

or

 

Disney's Red Headed Stepchild

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ and ^^ ... LMAO!!!

[6flagsbrad]

Hadn't they just renamed all of the separate buildings? And I also heard they are taking out all of those cool waterfalls near one of the towers.

But it's good they are giving the hotels so much attention.

[Jay20016]

Golden Zephyr get's a Rocketeer themed queue and music.

 

There are three movies in the Disney vault that they never wish to see the light of day... Song of the South, Dick Tracy, and the Rocketeer.

 

Why not some sort of Jules Verne esque theme?

[the ghost]

^ Never seen Dick Tracy, but song of the south and the Rocketeer were both great from what I remember.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Why not some sort of Jules Verne esque theme?

 

Because the '98 Tomorrowland is more of an example of how NOT to theme a land.

[cfc]

http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/061410_NF_BN_DisneylandHorizons.html

 

Disney or Disney's?

 

A big topic on people's minds was the park name change from Disney's California Adventure to Disney California Adventure, which Disneyland President George Kalogridis eloquently explained to D23. "I don't know that it's a lot of science. In the transformation process, we believe it's better to talk about California as more of a state of mind. So California Adventure is an ongoing adventure, and it's presented by Disney. That's why it's not possessive in terms of 'this is our interpretation of California.' It's more [than that]. We are presenting a story about the adventure of life in California, which is ever-evolving, as is Disneyland. Which is why Disneyland is called Disneyland, not Disney's Land."

 

Speaking as a copyeditor, my response is "nice try."

[J man]

As far as Grizzly and Screamin', putting some kind of movie tie-in on those is simple. Put some animatronics on Grizzly, have it be less about "Extreme Sports" and more about the "True Life Adventure" series. Done. As for Screamin', make it "Rockin' Screamin", update the Soundtrack to something better than RHCP and done. Jumpin Jellyfish goes with Mermaid. Golden Zephyr get's a Rocketeer themed queue and music.

 

I'd actually be on board if those changes happened. I was actually really disappointed that Grizzly River Run didn't have animatronic animals the first time I rode it.

 

I honestly think that they should have something Rocketeer over by Soarin'. Maybe a meet and greet or something cause there's not too much space over in that area. But anything Rocketeer in California Adventure would be awesome.

[robbalvey]

But anything Rocketeer in California Adventure would be awesome.

 

I'd be cool with anything Rocketeer as well.

[BeemerBoy]

There are three movies in the Disney vault that they never wish to see the light of day... Song of the South, Dick Tracy, and the Rocketeer.

And it's a crying shame.