Stories

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Pixie Dust and Priorities: The Strategic Focus We’d Pick for Each of Disney’s Theme Parks Going Forward

Disney Parks really are magical, happy places. But ask any fan and they’ll tell you – they’re far from perfect.

Don’t take it from us – Walt agreed! The idea that “Disneyland will never be complete” or the power of “moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things…” It all comes down to the idea that there are always ways to “plus” the parks we love.

Today, we wanted to highlight the one big way we think Disney could bring each of its six U.S. theme parks to the next level. We’re not saying these “fixes” would be easy, but in terms of the path to improve each park, these feel like must-haves. What do you think? What other big, strategic changes would make your favorite theme park a better place to be?

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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“Upcharge FastPass By Any Other Name” – An International Tour of Disney’s New Paid Priority Access Systems

No one likes to wait. And for the last few decades, Disney Parks have been experimenting with not just how to get guests to do less of it, but who those lucky few should be… Once upon a time, Disney’s patented FastPass system gave all guests the chance to gain priority boarding at popular rides… and at no additional cost! Though it now seems like a folksy throwback to a simpler time, the idea that skipping the line could be available to all – and “free” – was a defining factor of a day at Disney Parks… until it wasn’t. 

Today, we’ll take a whirlwind tour of the six Disney Resorts on Earth to see the unique line-skipping system at each. Balancing guest service, operations, and – of course – revenue, each Disney Resort has developed its own system for skipping the line… From pay-one-price, one-time-anytime-access to ride bundles, virtual queues, and a la carte upcharges, it turns out that if you’ve been to one Disney Park, you really haven’t seen ‘em all… Which line-skipping system do you think is best? We’ll leave you to debate in the comments below…

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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“Whatever Happened To….?” The Incredible Transformations of EPCOT Center’s Most Classic Lost Rides…

Here at Park Lore, we’re all about discovering the stories behind the rides; the “what, where, who, when, why, and how?” of the most incredible attractions across the theme park industry. Our deep dives into the making of the classics we know and love has created a go-to library of Lost Legends, Modern Marvels, Declassified Disasters, and unbuilt Possibilitylands, with features focused on some of the best and worst rides ever to exist.

Recently, our longtime friends at FastpassFacts took a look at some of fans’ favorite, most-missed EPCOT attractions – an awesome glimpse back into some of the ’80s originals that made Disney World’s second park so different from anything before or since…

(INSERT VIDEO HERE)

… But the past is only part of the story! With FastpassFacts’ video as part one, we want to wrap up the tales of these closed classics by exploring what happened to them after their closures. You may already know what became of each of these rides, but do you know how they got there? Let’s take a look at the “after” of each of these legend-status rides…

What happened to EPCOT’s classic rides after their retirements? You may know the end result, but today, we’ll dig deep to figure out how each transformation came to be…

Continue reading ““Whatever Happened To….?” The Incredible Transformations of EPCOT Center’s Most Classic Lost Rides…”
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Secrets of the Resistance: Inside the Imagineering Tricks That Bring Disney’s Greatest Modern Dark Ride to Life

There’s never been an attraction anywhere on Earth quite like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – nothing as massively scaled; nothing as committed to immersion; nothing as filled with inexplicable, impossible, and ingenious Imagineering moments. More than an E-Ticket, this next-generation experience is one-of-a-kind… and yet, it’s made possible entirely by the Imagineering landmarks that have come before. 

Today, we’ll set off into Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance to explore nine of this ride’s most surprising moments and inexplicable surprises. So be warned: if you haven’t experienced this 21st century masterpiece – or if you don’t want its jaw-dropping effects spoiled by learning their inner workings – maybe instead make your way to another in-depth feature. 

For those who are ready to set off from Batuu and take on the might of the First Order, hold on tight. To uncover the Secrets of the Resistance, we’ll walk through the Rise experience from beginning to end, describe how its greatest tricks work, and explore the Imagineering “ingredients” – the prototypes and precedents – that add up to make this once-in-a-lifetime ride possible.

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River Country: The Hoot ‘n Holler History of Walt Disney World’s Original, Ole Time Swimmin’ Hole

Believe it or not, there was a Disney World before Lightning Lane. Before Genie+. Before FastPass, or Advanced Dining Reservations, or Park Hopping, or Animal Kingdom, or the Disney-MGM Studios, or EPCOT. Disney World existed without apps, or Wifi, or Mobile Orders, or Boarding Groups. In an era of increasing connectively and complexity, it’s almost difficult to imagine…

But long, long ago, Walt Disney World was a leisure resort; a destination defined not by pre-planning, waiting & reserving, and connecting with The Walt Disney Company’s stories, characters, and franchises, but by sunbathing! Sailing! Biking! Picnicking! Golfing! Year after year, glimpses of that simpler time are harder and harder to find… Like dreamy visions, original remnants of the Disney World of the 1970s fade out of existence, unremembered.

Continue reading “River Country: The Hoot ‘n Holler History of Walt Disney World’s Original, Ole Time Swimmin’ Hole”
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ONE & ONLY: Illustrating the Ride Layouts of Disney Imagineering’s One-of-a-Kind “Bucket List” Landmarks

In case this is your first visit to Park Lore, let me catch you up! For over a decade, I’ve been writing, assembling, and adding to an all-in-one-place collection of the stories behind the rides we love. From closed, classic Lost Legends to never-built Possibilitylands; the lessons learned from Declassified Disasters to the wonders that await inside Modern Marvels, this interconnected, in-depth collection is all about seeing the parks we love differently – all supported by Members instead of ads and clickbait!

Earlier this year, I launched a new initiative to “paint the picture” of theme park attractions… literally. So far, I’ve hand-illustrated about 100 ride layouts representing attractions across six countries! My first batch – THEN & NOW – explored how attraction designers re-use the same physical spaces to develop entirely unique experiences; then, the HERE & THERE collection saw how the same ride can be “translated” differently to new parks, new spaces, and even new cultures.

Continue reading “ONE & ONLY: Illustrating the Ride Layouts of Disney Imagineering’s One-of-a-Kind “Bucket List” Landmarks”
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The New Coaster Wars: Busch Gardens’ PANTHEON and IRON GWAZI as a Case Study on a Changing Coaster Era

A new era of the “Coaster Wars” is upon us… but it looks a whole lot different than the one you’re used to.

In the evolving industry of thrill rides, something has changed… With records broken and re-broken, ceilings shattered, and park lineups packed with giant coasters, the age of being the “biggest,” “fastest,” and “tallest” has turned out to be pretty unsustainable. Instead, a new model is emerging – one where parks compete not with each other, but with themselves, looking for custom, personality-packed rides that can be beautifully integrated into their parks existing collections, history, and legends…

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.


Log In or Join Now
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HERE & THERE: Illustrating and Comparing Disney Theme Parks’ Ride Layouts From Around the Globe

By now you might’ve noticed that Park Lore is all about seeing theme parks differently. In over a hundred in-depth stories, we’ve covered the tales of Lost Legends, Modern Marvels, Declassified Disasters, and never-built Possibilitylands from across the world and industry. In other words, I love an 8,000 word deep dive into the making of an Imagineering classic… but sometimes the best way to understand an attraction is to see how it all fits together.

Earlier this year, I published THEN & NOW – a collection of 50 hand-illustrated ride layouts to compare the before-and-after of Disney and Universal’s most legendary closed attractions and their modern-day replacements. You made my year by sharing those layouts, asking to use them in your own projects, and even becoming supporting Members at Park Lore for $2 a month or more to help sustain this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity theme park storytelling project.

Because of the support of Park Lore Members, I’m able to introduce my next batch of ride layouts that I hope can “paint the picture” of another subset of Disney Parks attractions – the ones shared between HERE & THERE. The sets of rides below reveal just how much rides can evolve as they travel around the world, adapting to new spaces, new parks, new budgets, and even new cultures.

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THEN & NOW: Illustrating the Before-and-After Ride Layouts of Theme Parks’ Lost Legends and Closed Classics

If you’ve spent much time around here, you know that for a decade, I’ve been trying to “paint the picture” of attractions – how they came to be, what they’re like to experience, and how they evolve. Our interconnected, inclusive collections of ride histories include the stories of closed, classic Lost Legends, cutting-edge Modern Marvels, cringe-worthy Declassified Disasters, and never-built Possibilitylands – each of which (I hope!) helps spark memories and preserve these rides for future generations of fans.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then hopefully my next major project here at Park Lore makes sparking those memories a whole lot easier to do! I couldn’t be more excited to launch a new, growing, comprehensive, and interconnected portfolio of hand-drawn ride layouts representing attractions from around the globe! With over 100 layouts across three collections, I’m hopeful that these floor plans become a useful tool for all of us when it comes to telling the stories of the rides, parks, and industry we love.

(I’ve made the full, HD versions available on Park Lore’s Flickr with a CC BY-ND Creative Commons license so they can be shared and distributed.)

First up, THEN & NOW – a series of hand-drawn ride layouts dedicated to exploring how the same physical space can house vastly different experiences… Be warned that this series highlights closed, fan-favorite rides and their (sometimes inferior) replacements, so have your tissues ready. But if you can bear to use the slider in each pair to explore these spaces, you may be surprised the context it adds to both the before and after…

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By The Numbers: Ranking Disney and Universal’s Parks… By Their Dark Ride Counts

Here at Park Lore, we’re all about seeing the parks we love differently. One of the lenses we’ve used is our “By The Numbers” mini-series, with each entry offering a unique lens for comparing the incomparable Disney and Universal Parks around the globe! From the number of rides to the number of surviving “Opening Day Originals” and the number of certifiable E-Tickets, these just-for-fun comparisons offer new ways to discuss the industry. Today, we’ll add another: the number of dark rides each park offers.

Counting a park’s dark rides isn’t easy, and it isn’t objective. Traditionally, a “dark ride” is a genre of amusement park ride wherein riders travel through indoor, painted or projected, theatrically-lit scenes. But in the 21st century, it’s a lot more complicated than that… So before we can count, we need to establish a definition…

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