Category: Member Vault

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8-Bit Magic: Throwback Video Games That Bring Disney Parks into Your Living Room

Whether we like it or not, there are simply times when going to Walt Disney World or Disneyland is downright impossible. As finances, jobs, and families shift, sometimes things just come up! Sure, we might not have expected a global pandemic to be the cause, but the point remains: when you can’t go to Disney Parks, why not bring Disney Parks to you?

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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To See These 10 Audio-Animatronics in Ride Queues, You’ll Have to Wait… Literally.

At Park Lore, we love Audio Animatronics – no apologies. Audio Animatronics bring Disney and Universal rides to life. No screen can replace the power of seeing Abraham Lincoln stand before you; the terror of a gargantuan monster snapping its jaws in your direction; the awe of seeing dozens of birds begin to sing… And that celebration of this astounding art form is what lead us to create our must-read Countdown: The 25 Best Audio-Animatronics on Earth.

But of course, our love for Audio-Animatronics doesn’t just stop with the “best.” The ways that Disney and Universal use these incredible creations extends far beyond just headlining moments in E-Ticket rides… Which is why our analysis of Animatronics continues with a countdown of figures you’ll find where you need them most: while waiting in line.

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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Right Rides, Wrong Place: 8 Attractions That Don’t Make Sense in the Lands They’re In

“Disneyland will never be complete, so long as there is imagination left in the world.” How many times have you heard that quote as a reason for closing a classic or adding an attraction somewhere that doesn’t quite make sense? The truth is, Disney Parks are organic places! For better or worse, things will always be changing; rides will always be swapping in and out; if you don’t like change, Disney Parks fandom may not be for you!

But sometimes in Disney’s rush to incorporate new attractions, add capacity, or infuse hot properties fast, we might end up with some rides that are simply in the wrong places! Below we’ve collected a list of eight attractions – both classics whose contexts have changed wildly over the years, and contemporary attractions added to existing lands. Most guests probably don’t even notice these rides “in the wrong places;” those that do probably don’t care. Do you? What other attractions can you think of that technically don’t make much sense in the lands they inhabit? Where should they go instead?

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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LIVING LANDS: Immersive Storytelling Worlds That Invite You to Live the Adventure

“Here you leave today and enter the worlds of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.”

Since 1955, those words have been a sort of “thesis” of Disneyland and all major theme parks to come after. They exist to transport us to new worlds; different times; unexpected places. Over the decades since, the methods of transporting have changed from idealized, romanticized environments, to walking onto film sets, to stepping into movies themselves. And that got us thinking – which “lands” at Disney and Universal parks are the most successful at carrying us away?

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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Carnivals, Boardwalks, and Backlots: The Stories of Disney’s Least Immersive Lands

Since 1955, one thing has set Disney Parks apart: immersion. Built by filmmakers, Disneyland did what no other amusement park had done before by daring to transport guests to new worlds, long-lost places, and long-since-passed times. From exotic jungle outposts to frontier towns at the edge of the American West; fantasy fairs and cities of the future; the Jazz era New Orleans and the enchanted forests of the Pacific Northwest…

And that was only the beginning. Last month, we walked through a special Countdown: The Most Immersive Themed Lands on Earth to see Disney and Universal’s most astounding attempts to carry guests away to new and exciting worlds – and to see the projects in the pipeline that just may change the industry once again. But today, we want to take a very different look by analyzing the seven least immersive lands at Disney Parks across the globe – lands that just don’t seem to “fit” with Disney’s normal way of doing things by failing to transport guests in immersive, cinematic ways.

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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Disney’s Most Magnificent Attraction Posters and Their Stories

Anyone who’s ever visited a Disney Park knows exactly the kind of magic, mystery, and wonder that awaits within… sailing with pirates, soaring over London, exploring remote jungle rivers, and launching into space. It was the belief of Walt and his early Imagineers that guests would need primed to understand these adventures – the kind most had never expected could exist.

Bringing together talented artists, filmmakers, designers, and thinkers, they developed attraction posters… Just as a film’s poster tries to convey the action, adventure, intrigue, and romance of a movie in a single still image, so too do Disney Parks’ attraction posters act as living advertisements, drawing in and exciting guests as previews of what they’ll soon experience.

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 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 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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Parks After Dark: The Must-See Nighttime Feature of Each Disney & Universal Park

After the sun sets, Disney and Universal’s Parks truly come alive.

It’s no surprise to any frequent visitor that theme parks transform by nightfall, with most every corner of every park completely revitalized by the warmth of gas lamps, torches, incandescent bulbs, and etheral glows. To walk around Disneyland’s New Orleans Square, Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, or Animal Kingdom’s Asia by nightfall is to see these familiar lands in entirely new ways.

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 10 Disney Imagineers are Forever Immortalized with Disney Parks’ Highest Honor…

Ah, Main Street. An icon of Disney Parks the world over, the origin of this picturesque land is as timeless as the story of Disneyland itself: a dream-like, hazy recreation of “everytown” America right at the turn of the century. Of course, this sleepy downtown is passed through the idealized lens of a child’s vision, creating a romanticized, nostalgic version of the truth; a sort of “ease” into the fantasy and surrealism of the park’s literary lands.

And at once, Imagineering fans will begin to share details of the cinematic details that bring the land to life, like the use of forced perspective to make the streetscape appear taller than it is; the almost-imperceptible incline of the street at Magic Kingdom making the castle appear further away and taller that it truly is; the inevitable nods to Walt hidden throughout the land…

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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Disney Don’ts: 8 Things We BEG You Not to Do at Disney Parks

Think back to when you were in Kindergarten and first grade… In those early, early years, your “grades” for math and reading and science were just “checks” and “check-plusses,” and the real things that mattered on your report card were things like “citizenship,” “character,” and “attitude.” But all that sharing, turn-taking, and emotional growth you were supposed to practice in Kindergarten is put to the test the moment you step into a Disney Park.

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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From Ride to Screen: The Best (and Worst) Movies Based on Disney Rides

Since the earliest days of Disney Parks, Walt and his designers took special care to bring the stories, settings, songs, and characters of Disney’s greatest films to life. Even on its opening day, Disneyland was the place to step through the steaming Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, race through the wicked woods of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, become a Western hero alongside Zorro, sail over the rooftops of London with Peter Pan, and so many more.

During the ’80s and ’90s, new leadership under Michael Eisner supposed that Disney Parks should take it to the next level, and intentionally become thrilling, 21st century parks where guests could “Ride the Movies” that mattered them in modern times – even if they weren’t Disney movies! That’s when Indiana Jones, STAR WARS, The Twilight Zone, and more arrived, each translating the thrills of the screen to three dimensions thanks to the engineering and design wizardry of Disney.

But that’s also when Disney explored a curious new idea: that perhaps some of Disney’s most storied attractions could in turn become movies themselves… 

Continue reading “From Ride to Screen: The Best (and Worst) Movies Based on Disney Rides”
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