Tag: Walt Disney World

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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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Countdown to Extinction: Inside the Evolution of Animal Kingdom’s Time-Traveling DINOSAUR Dark Ride

“Exploration – Excavation – Exultation!” Take it from the Dino Institute team: there’s an art to digging deep. Uncovering the past isn’t always easy, and making sense of what was only begins at finding evidence of it. Maybe you could say that the same is true of exploring, excavating, and exulting Disney Parks past, too… and that’s where Park Lore comes in.

Our mission is to explore the stories behind the rides, adding context to the legends and lore around the world’s most beloved (and sometimes, denigrated) attractions. Together, we’ve dug deep into the tales of Lost Legends, explored the making of industry-changing Modern Marvels, reflected on the lessons learned from Declassified Disasters, and walked through unbuilt Possibilitylands across the site.

Image: Disney

But through all the stories we’ve told on Park Lore, few hold a candle to one of the boldest, darkest, and downright weirdest rides ever developed by Walt Disney Imagineering. When Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, Countdown to Extinction was its only dark ride, sending guests on a wild, off-roading journey through a steaming primeval jungle, pursued by some of the biggest, loudest, meanest, and hungriest creatures ever to walk the Earth.

Countdown to Extinction was a technological marvel, filled with incredible Audio-Animatronics and brought to life by one of the most talked-about ride systems ever developed by Imagineers. Yet Animal Kingdom’s only dark ride was also… a loveable mess, driven by a comical plot and blacklight jump scares meant to leave riders laughing, screaming, crying, or all-of-the-above.

Today, we’ll explore the development of Disney’s Countdown to Extinction and its subsequent transformation into DINOSAUR, detailing the differences and what makes the ride such an unusual, uneven oddity in Disney’s portfolio today. Unsurprisingly, the story begins in the past… So “let’s get in, grab the Iguanodon, and get out before that asteroid hits!” Hang on!

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The 2021 Year in Review: What Opened (and What Didn’t) at Disney and Universal Parks…

It’s the end of another year – and one unlike any other. A year ago today, we were stepping out of 2020 – a year defined by closures, cancellations, and cost-cutting that included Disney’s vow to axe $900 million in capital projects from its Parks, Experience, and Products division going forward. We made it through a year when construction stalled, projects slowed, tourism slammed to a halt, the rules of operations were rewritten, and it was entirely unclear what the future could hold for Disney and Universal Parks… 

Now, standing at the start of 2022 and looking back on the ups and downs of 2021, there’s no doubt that industry-wide, we’ve just made it through 365 days of playing “catch-up”… Many of the rides that debuted in 2021 were initially planned for 2020, and likewise, many of 2021’s planned attractions will instead open in 2022! So today, let’s look back on 2021 with a time capsule review of the big attractions of the year… and the rides that missed their expected 2021 openings altogether… 

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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Genie+ vs. Universal Express: Which Theme Park Upcharge Is Worth Its Price to “Plus” Your Trip?

If we told you two years ago that FastPass would be a thing of the past, you probably wouldn’t have believed us. But here we stand, at the precipice of the Year of the Genie. Disney’s new paid-for priority boarding system is the talk of the town, both for ways its serves as a return to the tried-and-true rules of the past and how it requires a PhD level dissertation to understand. It’s probably a good time to examine how Disney’s line-skipping system works today… and to compare it to its nearest neighbor, Universal’s Express Pass.

Today, we’re diving deep to dissect both Genie+ and Universal Express to see how these two systems approach priority boarding very, very differently. We’ll dig into the pros and cons of each, examine how each one works, and ask you for your input – do you prefer Genie+’s low-cost system dictated by rules, reservations, technology, and microtransactions, or Universal’s high-cost, all-in, VIP solution for guests willing to spend big to get stuff done?

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 ’71 Club: Opening Year Landmarks of the “Vacation Kingdom of the World,” 50 Years Later

On October 1, 2021, the Walt Disney World Resort officially launched its “Most Magical Celebration on Earth,” commemorating 50 years since its 1971 opening. Plenty has been said about the 18-month celebration – including how the occasion has largely been marked by slashed guest perks & new upcharges, a focus on animation over attractions, and the company seemingly forgetting to celebrate Walt Disney World history during their celebration of Walt Disney World history…

But for just a moment, put all that aside. Behind the glimmer of “Beacons of Magic;” the frustrations of Disney Genie+; the McDonald’s Happy Meal tie-ins, and the “EARidescent” sparkle that gilds it all, 2021 also serves as the 50th Anniversary of something a whole lot simpler: the “Vacation Kingdom of the World.”

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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“A Genie By Any Other Name” – The Nonsense Naming of Disney Genie+… And An Idea to Fix It

Shakespeare’s Juliet once mused, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet!” She was right, of course… But had Juliet been responsible for explaining how to grow one to a family from Brazil, she might wish she had concise, clear, and intuitive language to use.

That’s the reality faced by Cast Members responsible for helping guests at Disney Parks to understand why they’re several steps away from being able to access the sold-out Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Individual Lightning Lane they’re blocking the entrance to.

Stand-by. Virtual Queue. Lightning Lane. Individual Ride Reservations. Boarding Groups… The language of waiting in line at a Disney Park in the 2020s is enough to leave even the most ardent theme park aficionados puzzled. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Let’s take a glance at the Disney Genie Glossary and propose a quick fix that would sure help clear things up…

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What If Disney World’s 50 Golden Statues Honored RIDES Instead of Movies? Here Are Our Picks…

If we’re being honest, it’s pretty understandable that Disney World’s “Golden Anniversary” is lacking some of shine fans had hoped for. Still mired in a tourism downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the timing just couldn’t have been much worse for the resort to launch a global marketing campaign around the 50th Anniversary. Stalled construction and pared-down budgets have left Disney World woefully short on the major projects once envisioned for 2021, leaving specialty food and souvenirs, two nighttime “same”-taculars, rising prices, and a lot of new upcharges to make headlines 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.


Log In or Join Now
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Ticket to Paradise: Disney Parks Prices from 1955 to 2024

Our world moves in cycles; predictable patterns of ebbs and flows, beginnings and endings, life and death… like the phases of the moon, some things can just be counted upon as tried, true, and sure. And so it is with annual price hikes at Disney’s two resorts in the United States. Truly a tale as old as time, you can bet your bottom dollar that come hell, highwater, war, recession, or pandemic, somehow and some way, the cost of a day at Disneyland or Walt Disney World will rise.

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