Disneyland Archives - Page 7 of 11

June 26, 2020February 21, 2021

8 “What Were They Thinking?” Disney Parks Mistakes We’re Happy to Forget

There are plenty of fan-favorite attractions that have come and gone from Disney Parks. In fact, our Lost Legends series was compiled just for super-fans to dig into the histories of beloved closed classics… But sometimes, even Imagineering can make a mistake… a big one. No, we’re not talking about regrettable Declassified Disasters like Stitch’s Great Escape, Superstar Limo, or Journey into YOUR Imagination.

We’re talking about giant eyesores, sorry icons, and big bad decisions that we just can’t believe happened to begin with. Check out these eight massive features that we’re glad to have seen removed in our lifetime.

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.

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June 26, 2020March 28, 2022

Mini to Massive: How Disney’s BIGGEST (and Smallest) Parks Measure Up

Discerning Disney Parks fans are known to critique and analyze all aspects of the parks they love: their style, their stories, their smarts… But what about their size? From miniscule to massive, Disney Parks come in all shapes and sizes… but does size matter?

On our cross-continental tour today, we’ll stop by each of the 12 Disney Parks on Earth to take their measurements. Sometimes, Disney’s official numbers don’t quite add up… That’s why we’ve used simple acreage calculator maps when we need to to get closer to the real figures about just how big (or not) these parks are. Our ultimate agreement? We measure the simplest shape of a park – including its showbuildings and behind-the-scenes facilities – but excluding parking lots and empty expansion pads (which you’d think Disney would exclude, too, but they don’t always).

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June 25, 2020June 25, 2020

From Big to GARGANTUAN, These are the Enormous Showbuildings You Never See

What do an off-roading ride through the last minutes of the Cretaceous and “the happiest cruise that ever set sail” have in common? Not a whole lot. But like so many of Disney and Universal’s E-Ticket adventures, one thing they do share is the kind of building in which they take place. Most of the industry’s leading, anchoring, epic attractions take place in enormous soundstage-style warehouses – called “showbuildings” in Disney-speak – that are (to varying degrees of success) completely hidden from the view of Guests.

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June 25, 2020February 21, 2021

13 Abandoned, Broken, and Canceled Special Effects at Disney Parks

Since the earliest days of Disneyland, Walt and his designers set out to wow guests by making the unimaginable real. From singing birds to zooming through the stars; haunted ballrooms to the depths of the jungle, Disney Parks are all about dazzling guests with inexplicable effects. That’s why we took an in-depth look at 10 “How’d They Do That?” Special Effects that STILL Amaze Us to celebrate how Imagineering’s tricks – from simple to astounding – make all the difference.

But for fans of Imagineering, there’s only one thing more interesting than a special effect that works: a special effect that doesn’t. So today, we’ve created a special list to explore a “lucky” 13 special effects that just didn’t work. Broken, malfunctioning, abandoned, or removed, these almost-amazing moments simply didn’t work out the way designers had hoped… And since Disney’s designers tend to have smart solutions, you may not have even noticed when these effects simply disappeared, were replaced, or were left broken in plain sight!

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June 22, 2020January 8, 2021

The Fall of the Future: The Road to the Rocket Rods and Disneyland’s New Tomorrowland ’98

Since the earliest days of Disneyland, the future has been on the move. The park’s Tomorrowland has been the subject of continuous evolution and reimagining for over six decades! But one thing that’s remained constant in this ever-changing land of the future is its dedication to moving people. Preoccupied with ways to improve living, Walt’s fascination with transportation led to numerous prototypes and experiments that guests could experience firsthand.

Eventually, one of them was bound to be a bust, right?

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June 15, 2020February 21, 2021

SPACE MOUNTAIN: Launching Disney’s Space Age Interstellar Modern Marvel

Some Disney Parks attractions feel so classic – so essential – it’s almost difficult to imagine the park without them… That’s exactly how fans feel about Space Mountain, a perennial favorite whose mid-century, Space Age silhouette is literally an icon of Disney. But believe it or not, there was a time when Tomorrowland existed without Space Mountain as its anchor; a time when Disney’s designers were hard at work figuring out what, where, and how an interstellar race through space should exist…

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June 10, 2020February 21, 2021

Indiana Jones Adventure: Legends From Inside the Temple of the Forbidden Eye

The crème-de-la-crème of the international smart set are wearing khaki this season, and the new vacation hotspot is Temple of the Forbidden Eye! Everyone’s simply agog over this new discovery by famed archaeologist Dr. Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones… They say the ancient god who presides over this miraculous temple rewards its visitors with one of three gifts: eternal youth, earthly riches, or the vision of the gods! But could there be more than meets the eye with this double-dealing deity…?”

Modern Marvels are all about diving deep into the complete stories of some of the world’s greatest living attractions. We’ve explored the design of Universal’s Islands of Adventure and its crowning Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, embarked on a Journey to the Center of the Earth, raced through the Grid to Magic Kingdom’s future aboard TRON Light Cycle Power Run, and more. From Everest to Egypt; Tokyo’s Tower of Terror to “a great, big, beautiful tomorrow,” our growing collection is filled with must-read explorations into Imagineering masterpieces.

And yet, when it comes to exploration, there’s one Disney Parks attraction that reigns supreme…

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye remains one of the most celebrated, beloved, sensational, and daring modern dark rides on Earth nearly twenty-five years after its opening. Why? What awaits within the ancient and untouched temple of the lost god Mara? What’s so special about this one-of-a-kind Disneyland exclusive? How did it change Disney Parks forever? Might a version of this E-Ticket adventure be on the way to Walt Disney World? Like Dr. Jones himself, any discovery requires we first set off for the unknown and look back into history…

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June 10, 2020June 10, 2020

When “Plus” Turns “Minus”: 9 Ill-Fated Imagineering Attempts to Improve Rides

Walt Disney was a firm believer that his parks would never be completed; that they would continue to change and grow and evolve for the rest of their lives. But that didn’t just mean building new attractions and closing old ones. Walt spoke of “plussing” rides in his park – making simple (or not-so-simple) changes that would go a long way to improve the overall experience.

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June 10, 2020February 21, 2021

“PLUS IT!” The Top 10 Best Results from Imagineers “Plussing” Modern Rides

Walt Disney believed that his parks would never be complete so long as there was imagination left in the world. That didn’t just apply to new additions. Walt reportedly would walk through Disneyland Park telling Cast Members to “plus it!” What he meant was that there are always changes – big and small – that could drastically improve an attraction for guests.

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June 9, 2020April 23, 2023

Wild Sightings: 10 Places to Spot Disney and Universal Animatronics “In the Wild” and Outside of Rides

In an era of screens, special effects, and projection mapping, there may still be nothing more sensational for theme park fans than an encounter with a good, old-fashioned animatronic. Since the technology’s debut in 1963, Audio-Animatronics have become industry-standard storytelling tools, bringing to life everything from pirates to princesses; dinosaurs to dragons. That’s why our must-read Countdown: 25 Best Animatronics on Earth feature is one of the most-read Extras here at Park Lore, celebrating the most astounding animatronic encounters on E-Ticket attractions the world over.

But for those who prefer to keep their feet on the ground, a number of well-known animatronic figures are scattered across theme park paths, simply there to expand the worlds of “yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy” and present one-of-a-kind encounters outside of the parks’ rides and attractions.

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