[HEADDESK HEADDESK HEADDESK] -- Disney Edition

[filkertom]

One of the most unique attractions ever is It's A Small World at the Disney theme parks. The music gets in your head; some of the tableaux are beyond bizarre. But there's something about it. Even though I haven't been on it in years, I wouldn't want it to change.

Well, it has. And I can tell you right now, NOT for the better.

At least at the one in Anaheim, Disney has seen fit to supplement the non-character-based dioramas of children around the world... with, basically, Chibi Disney characters.

Somehow, I don't think this is going to go over well. I might be wrong... but it's a very popular attraction, and a lot of people come back again and again for the nostalgia. And I think that it's another triumph of the marketing and copyright people over those with actual aesthetics, and I kinda hope it flops big-time and they change it back.

What are your favorite Disney rides and attractions? I absolutely love The Haunted Mansion (and the rehab at the Orlando one is fantastic, a great enhancement to a classic), Pirates of the Caribbean (same thing, thank you for not too too much Jack Sparrow), Splash Mountain, Winnie-the-Pooh, the Country Bear Jamboree, the Tower of Terror, Soarin', and either older version of Spaceship Earth (Dame Judi Densch's narration was written by someone with no frickin' clue).

Comments

[madrona.livejournal.com]

I don't get the appeal of Disney theme parks. I am, however, experiencing a moment of nostalgia for the first time I ever read a Cory Doctorow novel. It was "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" and centered around something very similar to this.

[brmj.livejournal.com]

The big difference is that in "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", they were making the rides better (with the major objection being that they were mucking with the classics), while this is undeniably worse.

It’s A Large World

[pasco-the-raj.livejournal.com]

May be sung to the tune of “It’s A Small World,” music and lyrics by Richard B. & Robert M. Sherman.
New lyrics © 2009 Roger Clendening II. Some rights reserved.

This ride made its debut
New York World’s Fair
Disney said, “Me too!”
So, they built one there
Forty-five years ago,
How was Ol’ Walt to know?
It’s a large world after all

It’s a large world after all
It’s a big world after all
It’s a huge world after all
It’s a large, large world

We weigh much more now
Than we did back then
So the boats hold less
Ladies, kids and men.
And they scrape underside
’Cause our butts are too wide
It’s a large large world

It’s a large world after all
It’s a big world after all
It’s a huge world after all
It’s a large, large world

[maiac.livejournal.com]

I don't remember the rides as much as I remember the panoramic films at Epcot. The Canadian film is especially kewl. I love the national pavilions at Epcot, even though they're cheesy and commercial, and I got the worst "Chinese" food I've ever choked down at the Chinese pavilion there. My favorite "country" is Morocco.

Damn, now I want to be at Disney World.

What I like best about it is that it can be so completely isolated from the Real World. I leave off the TV and radio and avoid newspapers, and the world is a sunny, clean, colorful fun place where I don't have to make my own bed.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

I've never been to a Disney park, and my intense dislike of crowds with large numbers of children (and crowds in general) make it unlikely that I'll ever visit one.

I do read the Disney sites- it's a peek into a universe I'll never visit in person. Kind of neat to see that there are Disney Geeks and Purists like every other interest.

[ifics.livejournal.com]

We last went to Disneyland in January 2006 on two weekdays. Never waited more than 5 minutes to get on any rides. You have time to interact with the cast, or sit and watch small things happen.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

The Original Brandbury script for "Spaceship Earth" read by Walter Cronkite.

I do like the updated to "Pirates", it ties the whole thing together. And I like the update to "Haunted Mansion". And I seem to be one of the few who like the update to "the Tiki Room" at WDW.

I like "Soarin'" at lot. I miss "Alien Encounter"... "... anything worth doing is worth doing with XS!". I miss "Journey through Inner Space". I like" Mission Space" and miss "Cranium Command"

The horror of the numerous changes to "Imagination" and the lame update to the submarine ride at Disneyland. and don't get me started on "The Living Seas"

one can go on and on

OH Peeps report the new "Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure" is great fun!

[que-sara-sara.livejournal.com]

Ok, I'm not so happy they felt the need to change the ride, but I think the chibis are rather cute. (yes, you should run away from me now)

Many, many moons ago when my dad's dad and step-mom went to Disney they brought me back two books one each detailing the "It's a Small World" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" rides. I still have them. They're not mint but they are as perfect as can be after not being stored in bags for the past... 30+ years.

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

I agree! Also, I watched one of my friends descend into madness on that ride last year at WDW.

And I just don't think they're that obtrusive. If they'd changed the entire ride to be nothing BUT the characters, I'd have an issue. But they didn't. They added them into the appropriate areas for them and made them in the style of the original ride.

Plus, they DIDN'T update the one at WDW. So the purists still have a place to go for it.

And I also have the It's A Small World book. The one about the orphan kid who wanders away from his group, right? (Mine says it's a reprint, which makes sense since I got it in the late 1980s.)

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

Never been to a Disney park yet.

But we all know it's the Chibi things that kill:

h

[mimiheart.livejournal.com]

Because they couldn't have a ride there without Disney characters? What next, dead Donald Ducks haunting the mansion? Don't answer that.

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

A dead Scrooge McDuck that steals all your money.

[trumanburbank.livejournal.com]

After working at Disneyland for two years (93-95) I quickly learned the company could do nothing to surprise me.

My favorite attraction is The Country Bear Jamboree. I know it front to back (all versions) and I love to see it whenever I go to Disneylan....oh wait....they took it out for the Winnie The Pooh rode because 'attendance was so low". The line for the Winnie the Pooh ride is NEVER more than a 3 minute wait. Smart move.

[boy-pastiche.livejournal.com]

NO WAY! FAIL! I need my darkened Bluegrass Break!

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

Methinks they're taking the whole 'Disney World' thing a bit too literally...

[misterseth.livejournal.com]

Anyone have pictures of these Disney Chibi characters? I just wanna see what they look like.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

There's a slideshow accompanying the article. Best closeup: Alice and the White Rabbit. Apparently, they are redone in the style of the other dolls. Not bad, but not really necessary IMHO.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

My family adopted that ride as a favorite early on, at the New York World's Fair to be precise. It's my mother's favorite ride and the one day when they allowed unlimited rides, she stayed on All Day.

I told her about this and she was nonplussed, but said she would wait and see what it looked like before passing judgement. I expect a Disapproving Rabbit face though.

Obligatory Head Desk icon by Eben.

[the-celestia.livejournal.com]

I think I'd like your Mom.
I'll add you to my list of peeps who went to the NYWF with me!

I don't go to Disneyland anymore...that way it will always remain 'right' in my memories.

[lukeski.livejournal.com]

The Adventurer's Club! KUNGALOOSH! Any word on it being brought back?

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

I've heard from friends who work at WDW that there's talk about moving it into being a standalone place, due to the hue and cry that resulted from its closing.
And ONLY the Adventurers Club got the hue and cry. Nobody really cared about the rest it seems.

However, with the economy the way it is, its likely it won't be for some time.

[mishboi.livejournal.com]

Grrr, argh! I second the if it ain't broke, don't fix it notion.

I always really liked Space Mountain,Splash Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

Space Mountain is closing for a major rehab, cganing over to a whole new high end ride system akin to the looping coaster and killer SFX of the Disneyland Paris version, which is cool beyond belief.

"C of Progress" and the theater are gone or going to make work room for the SM work and fir temp cast parking while they build a new parking structure. Then when that's all done the area will get a new hush hush attraction.

[sillyfox.livejournal.com]

Having just come back from a trip to WDW:

Picks:
1) Pirates of the Caribbean (we went on this so many times, the ride operators recognized us!)

2) Illuminations (Epcot's light & fireworks show)

3) Journey Into Imagination (the original is better, but the new one isn't bad, either)

4) Star Tours (I could ride this all day!)

5) Living With the Land (my inner gardener loves their greenhouses)

Pans:

1) Nemo & Friends Hijack The Living Seas (if they absolutely had to change this, I think it would have worked better with a tie-in with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or anything that would let us see more of the aquarium!)

2) Journey into Narnia (It's little more than an extended trailer for the movie coupled with a handful of props, and we were given only a few minutes to see the latter before we were chased out.)

3) It's Tough to Be a Bug (Don't get me wrong, it's a neat show, but they -really- need to more blatantly state that it will scare preschool children. The theater was full of them, and I think most of them were crying by the end.)

[ifics.livejournal.com]

In yesterdayland I liked the Carosel of Progress and Progress City. The Adventure of Inner Space, the Captain Nemo exhibit, Great Moments with Mr. Licoln, Circle Vision, and Bear Country Jamboree. Current Disneyland I love the Tiki Room, (Now restored with all the Gods on the outside working again), Star Tours, Pirates, Haunted Manson, The Disneyland Trains, Jungle Cruise, and the park in general!! And my favorite place to eat is the Blue Bayou Restaurant.

What is cool is all the little things that happen, like a robotic trashcan named Push that wonders around Tomorrowland. Another is sitting in a back corner of the Hungry Bear Restaurant's out door seating area and watching cast members load a Tom Sawyer raft with band equipment and head off down the Rivers of America.

The California Adventure leaves much to be desired. We only spent four hours in that park. Hopefully the revamp projects fixes a lot of the problems with it.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

They just started a massive redesign of CaliAdven and I like the looks of the rehab. Better flow, replacing or updating dead weight attraction, a whole new entry more along the lines of Main Street at MK

[boy-pastiche.livejournal.com]

Nice how people who had a problem with sanitizing the tale of Pirates---PIRATES!--are nerds. Sorry but I wasn't mollified by the redo. It was LAAAME. This will be too.

*tightens his doc martens*

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

I like that they've undone the PC changes they made a dozen years ago. The latest update adding Jack was worthy

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Haven't been to Disneyland since I was about... 9 or so, almost 3 decades ago, and have never been to Disneyworld.
I remember Space Mountain being my favorite, along with the tea cups :)

[catnip13.livejournal.com]

They've redone Space Mountain. I was skeptical, but OH WOW is it amazing.

[ladysmith.livejournal.com]

I am a major Haunted Mansion geek, and the day after they opened the refurb, Jacob and I rode it twice in succession (he was just about a year old at the time, and LOVED the dancing ghosts in the ballroom).

The geekery is to the point that we're doing a Shadow Unit fanfic round robin based in the Haunted Mansion. And having a grand old time of that!

[catnip13.livejournal.com]

We just got back from a trip to Disneyland for my little one's 4th birthday. She was disappointed that Small World was closed (This was her 3rd trip. My mom lives nearby, and we've been for my birthday twice since she was born). Her favorite moments were the Storybook Land Canal Ride, meeting the Princesses, and Splash Mountain. My favorites are Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Pirates.

[purpleranger.livejournal.com]

Two words: New Coke.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

The last time I was at Disney World was around 30 years ago (Epcot was still being built and none of it had opened yet). I got to ride on Space Mountain just after it opened, before they ever slowed it down. That gave me a love for roller coasters. One of my favorite "rides" there was Eastern Airline's If You Had Wings. Ride is in quotes there since you just stood there but the moving sourround images made it feel like you were flying and moving real fast. I loved it, and I am sorry it is now gone (has been for decades, it was torn down a little after my last trip there to make way for part of Epcot Center).

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

You should see Soarin'. Only ride we had a serious wait for when we went Nov of '07, and it was totally worth it. Plus the line area is excellent fun. It's got a set of walls with constantly changing games to play, but it only works if you get the whole line moving. It's all motion camera detectors, so the line shadow is the game control. At one point, we were all chatting and laughing and having such a good time that we didn't notice there was a gap at the front where the line had moved.

Ended up hitting The Land next with some of the same people, because we'd had such a good time in LINE that we wanted to keep the party rolling. And two days later at the Magic Kingdom, two of our line buddies recognized us and waved us to join them on Splash Mountain.

Man that was a good trip.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

In 1965, when I was a five-year-old viable earworm host, I went to the New York World's Fair with my family. Wikipedia informs me that it was at the Pepsi pavilion where Disney deployed the orginal prototype "It's a Small World" ride. I I know I took the ride, and have some vague recollection of it--it's the closest I've been to going to one of the Disney parks. I have to admit that it would be mildly amusing to see the original ride if only to reconstruct that fuzzy memory.

[bigbumble.livejournal.com]

There is good reason for the fuzzy memory. The little boats moved at a rapid pace giving about 10 seconds to view each scene as you went around the show. (It was round with the boats going around a ring.) Once we made the loop it was the bum's rush to get us out of the boat so the next passengers could get in. There was no time to sit and enjoy the individual displays.

[kshandra]

I'm amazed nobody in all of this has linked to Yesterland yet....

[fredhuggins.livejournal.com]

Eh, I'm not too concerned. "It's A Small World" was always my least favorite attraction - every time I hear that damn song, my brain tries to tunnel its way to freedom.

The BEST thing Disney's ever built, bar none, is "Muppet*Vision 3-D." Jim Henson's final directorial effort, and man, what a way to go. Just stepping into the Muppet Theater induces squeals of geekgasmy delight before the film even begins. And a few months ago, they digitally restored the print for HD! It looks better than ever. But I have this terrible fear that once they revamp California Adventure, they'll replace it with "Mickey's PhilharMagic." Much as I love PhilharMagic, I hope they never do that, or try to "enhance" the show by adding Pepe or some shit.

I also love Expedition Everest (my vote for best roller coaster ever), the Indiana Jones Adventure, Toy Story Mania, The Haunted Mansion, the new Pirates (I call it "Pirates Remix"), Soarin', California Screamin', Mr. Toad, the new Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, PhilharMagic, the Florida Tower of Terror (they shortened the CA one, and not for the better), the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, Test Track, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Maelstrom, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends (maybe I stand alone here, but the old Living Seas, like most of the old EPCOT, was BORING). I dearly miss Alien Encounter, The Timekeeper and Captain EO.

I hate the new Journey Into Imagination (there was a time when the name "Eric Idle" MEANT something, man!), Turtle Talk with Crush (annoying waste of technology), and Innoventions' House of The Future (every technology in that place already must exist, so it's not the house of the future, it's the house of the RICH. And given the excessive plug for the high-end architecture firm sponsoring it, which of course no one can afford, I don't think Disney could have possibly picked a worse time to open it).

And though I normally hate The Hall of Presidents, I can't wait to see it with Obama.