Category: Extras

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Four Types of Attractions Plucked from Disney’s “Playbook” That Universal Orlando Really Needs

Look – as tempting as the treatment may be, you won’t find many places on Park Lore where we pit Walt Disney World against Universal Orlando. Despite being Disney’s nearest competitor (in both proximity and quality), the sensationalized war between two themed entertainment titans is pretty unproductive…

… Except when it’s not. There’s no question, after all, that Walt Disney World and Disneyland are better because Universal Orlando exists, and vice versa! In that way, the existence of and competition between two mega-titans in the theme park industry (and within a taxi ride of each other, at that) is spectacularly productive! Thanks to Disney and Universal’s battle over tourist dollars, designers are able to flow between projects; new attractions come to market; the rising tide truly lifts all boats.

That’s why – if you ask us – it doesn’t hurt to see what works. Today, we wanted to “zoom in” on four “genres” of attractions that define Disney Parks, but are curiously lacking from Universal’s. Given that both operators have very different markets, audiences, and ambitions, it’s true that different paths and different histories have yielded different attraction lineups… but in at least a few places, we think borrowing from Disney’s playbook could be a brilliant way to fill some niche corners of Universal Orlando…

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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The REAL History of 6 Legendary Hollywood Buildings Brought to Life in Disney Parks

When the Disney-MGM Studios opened in 1989, CEO Michael Eisner’s opening speech dedicated the park “to Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine.” He memorably welcomed guests to “a Hollywood that never was – but always will be.”

What he meant is that Disney’s version of Hollywood is dreamlike; passed through a lens of nostalgia and optimism. As usual, Imagineers took the reality of Hollywood and made it romantic and timeless. It’s idealized and blurred, with all the skill of storytelling and placemaking Disney can muster. it’s the Hollywood we collectively imagine and dream of, even if it never truly existed to begin with. And yet, it’s not fiction.

Today, we’re going to investigate the real histories of six iconic structures at Disney Parks that sprung not from the minds of Imagineers, but from real landmarks of Tinseltown. It’s all in hopes that, next time we step into Disney’s Hollywood Studios, California Adventure, or Walt Disney Studios Park, we can see things differently… Let’s take a look.

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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The Seven “Ancient” Wonders of the Theme Park World

“Ancient.” You know what that means: curses, booby traps, and angry gods. We’re counting down our lists of the Wonders of the Theme Park World. If you missed our collection of the Seven “Natural” Wonders take a step back and see the incredible mountains, trees, and valleys all built by… well… we’ll call it “nature.” Then step ahead to the Seven Technological Wonders of theme parks today!

Today, we’ve got a countdown of the Seven “Ancient” Wonders of the Theme Park World. Luckily, theme parks have sprung up around these temples, citadels, and tombs, giving us the chance to see what thousands of years of history have led to. In the comments, let us know which of these Wonders you’ve seen first hand, and which ones are the most magnificent up close and personal?

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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The Seven “Natural” Wonders of the Theme Park World

For our Passholders, we’re kicking off a new three-part series where we discover the “Seven Wonders of the Theme Park World.” We’ll take a look at the Seven Ancient Wonders and the Seven Technological Wonders, but we’ve got to start somewhere, so what about the Seven “Natural” Wonders? Below, we’ve counted down the seven most convincing natural features in theme…

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.

This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.

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“In-Universe Eats”: Must-Try Menus to Eat Like You’re Part of the Story

Welcome back to our Imagineering Originals mini-series curated just for Park Lore Passholders… From original worlds to original souvenirs; original mythologies to original characters, this breezy look into the creativity of Imagineering has been a celebration of the ingenuity and IP Disney has designed in-house!

The last decade has seen an almost unimaginable shift in the scale and scope of theme park additions, prioritizing built-out, in-universe lands over mere E-Ticket rides. But along the way, the most unexpected, exciting (and for Disney and Universal, lucrative) development has been each of those land’s ways of fully placing guests into their stories and worlds through foods, drinks, and snacks – how to eat like an alien, dine like an adventurer, drink like a cartoon character, and more… 

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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These 9 Lands Don’t Just Recreate Worlds Seen on Screen, They EXPAND Them…

From Hogsmeade to Radiator Springs, it’s no surprise to fans of Imagineering that the era of “living the movies” is alive and well. Today, it can sometimes feel that no project can get the greenlight at Disney or Universal unless backed by a tried-and-true blockbuster intellectual property; that everything we see in parks today is directly drawn from the screen.

But pulling places from the screen isn’t always as straightforward as you think… Sometimes, attraction designers need to expand on the worlds we’ve seen in movies by taking a physical place and adding to it for logistical or narrative reasons; other times, they need instead to contract, distilling massive and incalculable worlds into smaller, concrete, “real” places guests can inhabit and connect with. Either way, some of the most spectacular theme parks lands on Earth today take the essence of source materials and expand them with “original worlds” born of the minds of designers! Here are some of our favorites…

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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Countdown: The 10 Greatest Original Characters Created Just for Disney Parks

It’s no surprise that Disney has perhaps the most valuable collection of characters in history. Ariel, Elsa, Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, Mr. Toad, Mickey Mouse, Sleeping Beauty… for the last century, Disney has been amassing a catalogue of the definitive versions of beloved characters from across the world. Acquisitions of Pixar, The Muppets, Star Wars, Indiana…

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.

This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.

Log In or Join Now

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“…Then Something Goes Horribly Wrong”: 13 “Unlucky” Ride Plot Twists We Love

Conflict. For most of us, it’s something we go out of our ways to avoid. Maybe that’s part of why classic attractions from Walt’s time tended to be more atmospheric than aggressive. Back then, guests rocketed through the vastness of space, sailed through exotic jungles, toured through haunted mansions, and soared over Neverland without fear for their own survival – just a few of our favorite rides where nothing goes wrong!

Beginning in the late ‘80s, though, something changed. Emerging technologies yielded the Age of the Simulator – technology capable of changing guests from mere observers to actors – turning Disney and Universal parks into places to “Ride the Movies!” Not surprisingly, the experiences then began to match the movies in an important cinematic set-up that most of us have lived a hundred times over: “…then something goes horribly wrong.” 

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


Log In or Join Now
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