Tag: Disneyland Resort

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7 Weird Disney Parks Things Fans Just “Get” But Must Leave First-Timers With Questions…

If you’ve been a Disney Parks fan for long enough, there are certain things that are just facts; there are deeply layered reasons and nuances to explain why things are the way that they are. And because frequent visitors come to understand the methods behind the madness, we become blind to… well… weird things. 

Don’t believe us? Here are 7 things that Disney Parks fans just seem to understand or ignore, but that first-time guests must be totally bamboozled by. Put yourself into the shoes of a first-timer and imagine how strange some of these must be for someone who doesn’t have the history or context behind them!

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The Dark Side of Hollywood: The Twist Ending of Disney California Adventure’s Tower of Terror

Hollywood, 1939… Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie town at the height of its Golden Age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right; a beacon for the showbusiness elite. But something is indeed about to happen that will change all that…

When insiders first reported that the Hollywood Tower Hotel at Disney California Adventure would soon see its last elevators ascend into the Twilight Zone, it felt like a total impossibility; unthinkable! Nonsensical! In a park themed to the Golden Age of California, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was a star in its own right: a new classic, tailor-made for the 21st century park and an integral element of its billion-dollar rebirth!

Image: davelandweb.com

Submitted for your approval: the curious case of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a headlining attraction borrowing from a Walt Disney World original, twice abandoned at Disney California Adventure. Equal parts subtle, thrilling, eerie, and brilliant, it served as an achor to a reborn park and a fan favorite. Only Disney’s greatest minds could’ve concieved it, and barely a decade after its opening, their Tower was toppled… Here’s how it came to be, then flickered out of existence forever.

It’s a tale so unbelievable with such an unimaginable twist ending, it can only be a story told from the outer reaches of… The Twilight Zone.

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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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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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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…

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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16 Walt Disney World Exclusives That Should Make Disneyland Fans Jealous

We know, we know – comparing Disneyland and Walt Disney World is like comparing apples and oranges. But when we can find concrete, objective ways to analyze Disney’s two U.S. resorts in new ways, we jump at the chance! For example, our Ride Count Countdown already ranked Disney’s parks by the number of actual rides they offer (with some surprising results) and we even tackled the impossible task by looking at the number of “E-Ticket” headliners each park offers. 

And then, of course, there’s the big one: our list of 16 Disneyland Exclusives that Should Make Disney World Fans Jealous. In that popular feature, we intentionally avoided sweeping generalizations or emotional appeals (“Walt stepped here!” “It’s cozy!”) and instead offered a concrete look at enviable exclusive lands, attractions, and experiences at the California resort. But the story doesn’t end there!

Today, we’ll analyze the 16 things that even Disneyland loyalists will admit make Disney World worth a visit; the concrete attractions and experiences that Disneyland fans should be jealous of that Disney World offers that their Californian parks don’t… or can’t.

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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16 Disneyland Exclusives That Should Make Disney World Fans REALLY Jealous

We’ve all heard it, been asked it, or seen it on Facebook. “Why would I want to go to Disneyland? Isn’t it, like, a lot smaller than Disney World?” 

And even if the question may make Disney history fans seethe, it’s a fair one for casual theme park goers to ask. How can the 200-acre Disneyland Resort complex that could entirely fit inside Epcot compete with the “Vacation Kingdom of the World?” In some ways, it can’t…! In real, quantifiable ways, Walt Disney World simply can’t be beat. 

Especially if you grew up east of the Mississippi (or outside of the United States altogether), it’s likely that Walt Disney World is your home base for magic. And in that regard, it’s exactly what it was designed to be: an international destination righting the wrongs of the narrow paths and 1950s infrastructure of the tiny, landlocked Disneyland with the power of hindsight and a successful blueprint to work off of.

Image: Disney

Of course, real Imagineering fans know that the “Disneyland vs. Disney World” debate is absurd and unwinnable. So next time a friend questions why Disneyland is worth a visit, here are just a few things Disney World fans should be jealous of Disneyland for getting first (or at all). And don’t worry – we won’t fall into the rabbit hole of “it’s the original,” “Walt stepped here,” “the weather is perfect,” or “Park-Hopping is simple!” Instead, we’ll stick to the rides and attractions that make Disney World fans jealous… 

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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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 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.


Log In or Join Now
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Original Mythologies: Disney Parks’ Richest Imagineer-Made-I.P.s and “Expanded Universes”

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

Since those words were placed above the entrance to Disneyland in 1955, Disney Parks have been about taking guests into incredible stories in unimaginable places. Born from the minds of Walt and his team of Imagineers, Disney’s storytelling has continued to evolve and expand through new eras. Along the way, designers have crafted some spectacular tools for building those stories and places. 

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