Walt Disney World Archives - Page 6 of 10

June 15, 2020August 4, 2021

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Beyond the Fifth Dimension in the Hollywood Tower Hotel

You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound; a dimension of sight; a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas; you’ve just crossed over into… The Twilight Zone.

Looming over the movie palaces and marketplaces of Sunset Blvd. stands a lost icon; the lightning-scarred shell of the once-glamorous Hollywood Tower Hotel. Its neon sign sparking, this decripid, imposing tower may not look like a beacon for the showbusiness elite, but something is indeed about to happen that will change all that.

Though guests may have quickly abandoned this supernaturally haunted hotel on Halloween Night, 1939, a new generation of visitors flock to its misty grounds today, eager to take on one of the most spectacular Modern Marvels in all of Disney Parks history.

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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 9, 2020March 16, 2021

25 Years Ago, All of These Disney Parks Projects Were Cancelled. Here’s What Could’ve Been.

“We had a very big investment in Europe, and it’s difficult to deal with. I don’t know whether a private company can ever spend this kind of money.”

These words, spoken by Disney’s then-CEO Michael Eisner to the LA Times in January 1994, signaled the beginning of the end. Euro Disneyland (now Disneyland Paris) had opened to a resounding financial thud in 1992; overbuilt and undervalued by locals, hemmoraging money and embroiled in cultural controversy. After a period of growth, innovation, and sincere progress at Disney Parks across the globe, the outright financial failure of the Parisian park shook Eisner to his core. From that moment on, he systematically downsized or outright dropped any large-scale expansions happening at Disney Parks.

Across the world, budgets were slashed, maintenance was cut, and Eisner surrounded himself with penny-pinching executives who shaped Disney Parks, presiding over what many argue is the worst period in the parks’ history.

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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June 8, 2020August 16, 2021

Expedition: Everest – Imagineering’s Trek to the Summit of the Legendary Forbidden Mountain

There’s something unusual about the jagged, snow-capped peak that lords over Anandapur… As train after train of travelers ascend into the heights of the Himalayas, a distant roar echoes among the windchimes. It must be the wind… and yet, signs throughout the village warn of something spectacular said to be hidden away in the snow… an ancient guardian fiercely protecting the sacred summit… Are you brave enough to tackle one of Disney’s most thrilling rides ever?

Our Modern Marvels series is growing, with each entry dedicated to telling the complete behind-the-scenes story of some of the industry’s most spectacular attractions. We’ve watched a monkey, music, and magic come to life on the unbelievable Mystic Manor, faced the fury of an ancient curse on Revenge of the Mummy, gotten the “scoop” on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, toured the halls of Disneyland Paris’ one-of-a-kind Phantom Manor, trekked through one of Disney’s best rides ever, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and so many more.

Brought to life through astounding storytelling, unbelievable sets, innovative technologies, and one (record-)breaking Audio-Animatronics figure, Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain joins our Modern Marvels library, and today we’ll ascend into the mysteries of Everest, look back on the making of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and its promise of “imagined” creatures, go for a wild ride through the legend of the Forbidden Mountain, and take a peek behind the legendary mists… And today, our story begins with a little evidence…

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June 8, 2020March 25, 2021

The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room: The Full Feathered Fabled Behind Walt Disney’s Tropical Serenade

“Aawwahhhh! My siestas are getting ‘chorter and ‘chorter!”

…But if we at Park Lore are going to keep up with our ongoing dream to tell the in-depth and complete histories behind the best (and worst) attractions on the planet, there’s no time to waste. And today, our Modern Marvels series gains a new tropical tale: the story of a genuine Walt Disney original and fan-favorite for more than five decades, the venerated and beloved Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.

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June 8, 2020July 26, 2023

A Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow: Inside Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress and its Revolutionary Half Century

Some days, it seems that the only thing to stay the same is change. Luckily, that’s just the way Walt Disney liked it. It’s the reason that, among all the wonders at Disneyland during his lifetime, his friends and family say he singled out one attraction as his favorite, proclaiming that it should never cease operation. And fifty years later, it hasn’t… not for long, at least.

That’s what our Modern Marvels series is for: chronicling the complete, in-depth histories of today’s masterpiece attractions; living legends that are renowned the world over. Already, we’ve told fan-favorite stories of Disney’s most spectacular dark ride ever, Mystic Manor; taken the streets of New York to join The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man; faced Imhotep’s curse on Revenge of the Mummy; scaled to the frigid heights of Expedition Everest, and so many more. And now, our most magnificent Modern Marvel yet joins the collection…

More than five decades after its opening, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is still ever-turning toward a “Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow.” But for all its longevity, this “revolutionary” attraction has never stayed put for too long… From unexpected origins in New York, a cross-country rebuild at Disneyland, and a final flight to its current Floridian home, today we’ll trace the in-depth story of this Modern Marvel and watch as Tomorrowland (and the Walt Disney Company) changed around it.

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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June 7, 2020February 21, 2021

Disney Parks Quiz: Which Resort is MISSING Each of These 8 Classic Rides?

For most Disney Parks and Imagineering fans, explaining the differences between Disney’s resorts is like an art. Disneyland is quaint and charming and reassuring; Walt Disney World is grand and sprawling and organized; Disneyland Paris is elegant and rich and romantic…

Yet despite the nuances that fans lucky enough to travel the world can identify, the truth is that Disney Resorts do have a lot in common – not only because all have “castle parks” that are (to varying degrees) recreations of the original Disneyland, but also because many ‘classic’ attractions are today viewed as must-haves. What Disney resort could exist without Peter Pan’s Flight? A haunted house? Rocket jets? Would you believe some do? Today we’re quizzing you on which resorts are MISSING some “classic must-have” attractions…! Think you can get all 8?

June 6, 2020February 6, 2025

Coffeeland: 9 Ways Disney and Universal’s Theme Parks Disguise Starbucks in Plain Sight

If you were to ask his friends and family what Walt Disney was, you might get any number of answers: an animator; an artist; a dreamer; an optimist; a futurist… But that’s not all…

According to the fantastic Eat Like Walt by Marcy Carriker Smothers, Walt was also a restauranteur – a man experimenting right at the height of mid-century middle class American dining, introducing the idea that food and fun could go together; that food was full of color and fantasy; that food could be an integral part of the story of each of Disneyland’s themed areas.

However, there was one area where even Walt wasn’t willing to mess around: coffee. As the story goes, Walt decreed back in 1955 that Disneyland would always offer a cup of coffee for ten-cents and not a penny more. And in fact, coffee in the park did cost only a dime until Walt’s death in 1966. Those days, of course, are long gone…

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June 6, 2020January 15, 2022

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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June 6, 2020February 21, 2023

History in Motion Part I: How EPCOT’s Legendary World of Motion Taught a Generation That “It’s Fun to be Free”

When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, it was a sincere display of futurism, innovation, corporate power, and industry. Because in hindsight it also has an inordinate amount of closed classics, you’ve heard us examine the park’s ambitious and brave concept in Lost Legends features telling the in-depth stories of Journey into Imagination, Horizons, Maelstrom, Soarin’, and Body Wars – just a small sampling of the stunning features preserved in our Lost Legends collection.

But there is perhaps no Lost Legend more aligned to the park’s grand, educational, World’s Fair roots; more a memorial to Walt Disney’s own fascinations; more in tune with EPCOT Center’s celebration of human innovation than World of Motion.

Often overlooked in Epcot’s history of bulldozed classics, this incredible, epically sized dark ride through the history of transportation was no less impressive or important than Universe of Energy or Spaceship Earth. In fact, its story is of a one-of-a-kind, whimsical, and wondrous Disney dark ride created by famed animators packed with as many creative gags and effects as the Haunted Mansion.

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