Main Collections Archives - Page 8 of 10

June 2, 2020May 31, 2023

From the Earth to the Moon: Disneyland Paris’ Legendary Lost Steampunk Space Mountain

Since 1975, Disney Parks have been whisking guests into the frigid depths of Space Mountain for close encounters with shooting stars and exploding galaxies. But Disneyland Paris changed everything. There, a one-of-a-kind adventure of discovery was crafted by one of Disney’s most loved Imagineers. And it literally saved Disney’s first European park from declaring bankruptcy.

If you’ve been around Park Lore for a while, you probably know about our library of Lost Legends – in-depth features that tell the behind-the-scenes tales of forgotten favorites that have fallen to the wrecking ball. From Alien Encounter to World of Motion and everything in between, keep your eye out for links to Lost Legends entries across the site..

Today, we journey into the vast unknown to explore an unexpected masterpiece at Disneyland Paris. There, the classic Disney attractions you know and love took on entirely new forms, becoming romantic, story-centered adventures based on the collective European imagination. And no lost ride exemplifies that unique shift in thought more than Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune. It was one of the boldest choices Disney’s designers ever made. And then, it was gone.

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June 2, 2020August 31, 2021

SON OF BEAST: The Fall of the World’s Tallest, Fastest, and Only Looping Wooden Roller Coaster

Have you ever had the crushing, gut-wrenching feeling that you were waist-deep wading, into a mistake? Have you ever had that stinging sensation when you realize the project you’re working on is hopeless? How do you know when it’s too late too turn back? How much time, energy, and (gulp) money can you spend on a decision that’s doomed? And how do your paper over your mistakes in the meantime?

Today, our Lost Legends series sets its sights on one of the most massive roller coasters ever imagined; a record-breaking, unimaginable engineering marvel meant to serve as the “sequel” to a beloved, generations-old favorite. Together, we’ll unravel the almost-unbelievable story of one of the most wild rides the world has ever seen: SON OF BEAST, the tallest, fastest, and only looping wooden roller coaster on Earth.

Towering over the skyline, Son of Beast shattered records and nerves. And just a decade after its debut, the wooden skeleton of this gargantuan icon stood, abandoned, over one of the most visited parks in North America, never to run again. Son of Beast burned bright and fast, and today, we’ll ride through the legacy of this unbelievable engineering marvel and the ultra-extreme ride experience it offered.

So, did the sequel stand up to the original? We’ll leave that to you to decide…

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June 1, 2020February 10, 2022

SOARIN’ – How One Modern Marvel Launched California Adventure & Flew Around the World

In the more-than sixty-year history of Disney Parks, the creative visionaries of Walt Disney Imagineering have developed an attraction catalogue filled with brilliant, masterpiece rides that showcase innovative technologies, stunning visuals, moving musical scores, and thoughtful narratives. Sometimes, even the most wondrous attractions are taken before their time.

And today’s entry into our Lost Legends series is all about one of Disney’s most spectacular modern feats of Imagineering – a staggering blend of innovative technologies, incredible sights, and an indescribable score.

When Disney’s California Adventure opened in 2001, it was an outright failure in the eyes of Disney’s management. The underfunded park tried to be “hip” and “edgy.” Say what you will about the original park; it had at least one thing going for it: a surprising headliner that made many reevaluate what an E-Ticket could look like. Gone but not forgotten, today we remember Soarin’ Over California. How was this soaring simulator developed? What was it like? Why is it gone? Today, we’ll explore it all in our in-depth look back.

And before we head off, remember that you can unlock rare concept art and audio streams in this story, access over 100 Extra Features, and recieve an annual Membership card and postcard art set in the mail by supporting this clickbait-free, in-depth, ad-free theme park storytelling site for as little as $2 / month! Become a Park Lore Member to join the story! Until then, let’s start at the beginning…

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May 31, 2020November 30, 2021

To The Skies! – The History of Disney’s Long-Lost Sky Ride and its 21st Century Return to Flight

Sometimes, the simplest asides leave the biggest impression.

Since Disneyland and Magic Kingdom’s earliest days, it was hard to snap a photograph of the happiest places on Earth without catching at least a glimpse of The Skyway. This spectacular and simple-looking attraction existed for a seemingly straightforward purpose: to shuttle guests from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland or back, gliding effortlessly over these magic kingdoms. For decades, the Skyway felt like a gentle but functional part of a visit to Disney’s “castle” parks.

But in reality, it was so much more. Today, we’ll dig into this spectacular ride system to see how Walt’s fascination with transportation brought the never-before-seen technology to the U.S. for the first time, explore the ride’s famous Floridian installation, and then see how – sixty years after its debut – Disney is about to elevate the reborn airborne skyway as a new signature of Walt Disney World…

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May 30, 2020February 21, 2023

Highway in the Sky: Disney’s Abandoned PeopleMover and the Fall of Walt’s Tomorrowland

Some attractions aren’t meant to last. Some rides simply meet the end of their operational lives thanks to improving technologies that make them obsolete. Sometimes, attractions lose favor as a new generation begins to visit the parks and loses touch with classic rides. Unfortunately, there are times that rides need to be removed to make way for something bigger, better, grander. Some attractions simply aren’t made to withstand the test of time.

Make no mistake: none of that is true of the PeopleMover. Gentle, simple, and outstanding in concept and execution, the progressive PeopleMover in Walt’s Tomorrowland at Disneyland was a prototype for the future – one of Disney’s innovations aimed at making life better for everyone. And today, this spectacular showcase of innovation and ingenuity joins our growing library of Lost Legends – in-depth stories dedicated to the most spectacular closed classics on Earth.

Image: Disney, via @GBBTomorrow (Twitter)

How can such a simple, slow-moving attraction be remembered by Imagineering fans today as a legendary loss? How did this solution straight from the Space Age come to be? How did it work? What was it like to take a tour through Tomorrowland along its elegant elevated highways? And what became of the ride both in its original Anaheim incarnation and in its Orlando sister? To trace the rise and fall of Walt’s Tomorrowland and the optimism, futurism, and innovation that went into it, we have to begin in the past…

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May 30, 2020February 21, 2023

Nickelodeon Studios: Universal’s Lost “Slime” Machine Back to ’90s Nostalgia

Want to know if you’re part of the “Nickelodeon Generation”? Try these quotes on for size: “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?” “Move it, Football Head!” “A baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do!” “Come and let’s play together in the bright sunny weather; let’s all go to Gullah Gullah Island!” “Bring in the dancin’ lobsters!”

“N-n-nick-nick, n-nick-nick-nick, Nick-o-lo-de-oooon.”

If you ever dreamed of winning a new Huffy sports bike on Double Dare; slaved over what your talent might be on Figure It Out; imagined piecing together the Silver Monkey on Legends of the Hidden Temple; or spent your after-school hours tuned into Slime Time Live daydreaming about being gakked, then you’ve come to the right place.

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May 30, 2020February 21, 2023

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: Disney Fans Fought to Save This Fantasyland Favorite… And Lost

When you think of classic Disney dark rides, you might imagine yourself soaring over London in an enchanted pirate ship, racing through the dark forest to find Snow White before it’s too late, climbing through Wonderland aboard a most unusual caterpillar, or facing Monstro’s razor-sharp teeth with Pinocchio. These Fantasyland dark rides are standards – decades old, classic in every sense, rooted in Walt Disney’s style, and beloved by generations of fans.

But when it comes to the most beloved, lost classic Fantasyland dark ride, one sentence comes quickly to mind: Toadi Acceleratio Semper Absurda.

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May 29, 2020February 21, 2023

Mickey’s Toontown Fair: How Magic Kingdom’s Mouse-Made County Fairgrounds Came To Town and Left Again

November 18, 1928.

That’s the day that Mickey Mouse was born. After all, it was on that day that the curious cartoon mouse designed by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney made his debut at the Colony Theater in New York City within the short Steamboat Willie – memorably, the first cartoon to feature a post-produced synchronized soundtrack. Steamboat Willie became the era’s most popular cartoon; it helped to create the art form of “animation” that Disney would become increasingly known for; it was a technological innovation that changed the animation industry forever.

But perhaps most importantly, it introduced the world to the playful, mischievous, trouble-making, string-tailed mouse bursting with rambunctious personality. From a corporate icon to reimagined modern cartoon star, generations of Disney fans have followed Mickey’s journeys… Yet for a generation of Walt Disney World guests, there was no better place to see “the Big Cheese” than Mickey’s Toontown Fair.

Joining Park Lore’s Lost Legends collection, the first land ever added to Magic Kingdom was also the first to disappear. And today, we’ll step into Walt Disney World to explore the origin of this lost land… After all, our story doesn’t begin in Mickey’s Toontown Fair. It starts in another Mickey-themed land that briefly called Magic Kingdom home… And before that, a Mickey Mouse park… almost.

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May 29, 2020February 21, 2023

MAELSTROM: The Stormy Story of Epcot’s Lost Norwegian Adventure

A maelstrom can be defined as either a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool, or a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.

It’s hard to say which is the most appropriate definition in recounting the tale of Epcot’s Maelstrom, the lost high seas adventure ride once at home in the park’s World Showcase. From its opening along with the park’s new Norway pavilion in 1988, Maelstrom was a rare addition to EPCOT Center: a thrill ride. Trolls, oil rigs, waterfalls, villages, polar bears… There’s no denying: Maelstrom was an oddity and a treasured remnant of Epcot’s earliest days.

And of course, it didn’t last.

*Image: Mark & Paul Luukkonen,* Flickr (license)

As time marches on, beloved lost rides like Maelstrom disappear into Valhalla. And so, here we are once more: as new generations of Disney Parks fans appear, there will come a time (and sooner than you think) when Maelstrom is but a hazy memory. Young fans will have barely heard of it, and certainly won’t understand what the “big deal” was. So let’s remind them. That’s why you’ll see links to our fabled, in-depth Lost Legends entries across the site…

But in today’s entry to our Legend Library, we’ll dive headfirst into the swirling waters of EPCOT’s lost Norwegian adventure to recount its history, record the experience, and look ahead to the future. As always, we’re counting on you to add your memories and impressions to preserve Maelstrom for a new generation.

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May 29, 2020February 21, 2023

LANDS OF LEGEND: The Curiously Intertwined Tale of Disney and Universal’s Mythic Theme Park Worlds

Once upon a time… So begins any epic tale of adventure and mystery, and for fans of both Disney and Universal’s parks, today’s tome may be one of the greatest theme park fables ever… The story of a single cancelled concept and the chain reaction it set off across Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative.

For years, we’ve been adding stories to our collection of Lost Legends – the full, definitive write-ups on rides, attractions, and experiences that changed the theme park landscape, and then disappeared. We hit the road to explore the beginnings of the original TEST TRACK, witnessed the interdimensional origin of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, pulsed through the bloodstream aboard Body Wars, and literally dozens more.

But today’s entry is a mythological double-feature: the almost-believable story of how the epic plans for one of Disney World’s most famous never-built projects, Beastly Kingdom, might’ve inspired or even shaped the short-lived land of legends, The Lost Continent, brought to life just a few miles up the road at their biggest competitor. It’s a swirling, time-traveling tale of the potentially-intertwined creation of two of the leading theme parks on Earth, and the could-be classic that turned into a Lost Legend between them.

Could it possibly be that Disney accidentally designed, then indirectly lead to the destruction of Universal’s most incredible themed land? We’ll let you be the judge… But to tell the story of Disney’s never-built land of dragons and unicorns and how the concept may have been temporarily revived at Universal Orlando, we have a lot of ground to cover.

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