Carousel Of Progress Articles
California vs. Paris:Carrousels And Sword In The Stone Ceremony
This month, I shall continue my series comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris) by looking at the carousels. In California, this is called King Arthur Carrousel, whereas the Paris equivalent is called Le Carrousel de Lancelot.
Both are situated directly behind the Castle, although the California equivalent did not line up with Main Street properly until the 1983 ...
Court Tells Disneyland To Study Segway Use
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A California appeals court told Disneyland it must consider allowing use of two-wheel Segways by disabled people.
Disneyland currently allows disabled visitors to use wheelchairs and scooters at the Anaheim theme park, but the justices of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said it's time for "The Happiest Place on Earth" to study the idea of adding Segways.
"We have every ...
Disney Top 10 Innovations Of All Time
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The Walt Disney Company is known for its creativity, innovative thinking and technological advances.
Who, but Walt Disney, could have given us a motion picture like "Snow White," the first full-length animated feature film which was a movie industry first?
Who, but the Walt Disney Company, could have given us Epcot, perhaps the most unique theme park experience in the world?
On a recent ...
These Moments Remind Us Why Disney Is Special
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Disneyland is a big place. Sometimes it's the smallest thing that counts.
It's early Sunday evening last weekend, and even as Space Mountain boasts a 45-minute wait, crowds are thin at one of my favorite places from childhood: Innoventions in Tomorrowland. I remember gaping as a kid at the way the building -- then called the Carousel of Progress -- slowly rotated. Inside was a show put on by ...
Spider Man To Join Fellow Superheroes At Disneyland
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Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is coming Disneyland.
As part of the theme park's Super Hero HQ attraction opening Nov. 16 in Tomorrowland, a Spider-Man character will join other Marvel superheroes, including Thor and Iron Man, to pose for pictures and sign autographs with park visitors, the theme park has announced.
The bad news is that Captain America won't be at Spider-Man's side.
...
Why Star Wars Land Is Being Added To Disneyland
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Star Wars Land won't open at Disneyland for several years, but construction will start bringing changes to the park soon after the New Year. The changes Star Wars Land is bringing to Disneyland reflect much more than the addition of a wildly popular entertainment franchise to a wildly popular theme park; they represent a cultural shift that is affecting theme parks across the country.
When ...
Disneylands 25 Million Dollar Job Started
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Construction of new facilities in the Tomorrowland area of Disneyland has been started by J.B. Allen & Co., Anaheim and Santa Barbara general Contractors following the company's demolition of practically all the old facilities.
J. B. Allen, president of the firm, noted that the total construction cost projected for work in Tomorrowland totals approximately $25 million.
Under way is construction ...
Disneyland Announces New Attractions For Fall
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Disneyland's fall schedule moves into October with three new adventures open, a fourth nearing completion special private nighttime parties for major groups and site preparations for a new Tomorrowland
During the fall, the relaxed time to see Disneyland following the summer rush, the "Magic Kingdom "is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 ...
This Is How Disneyland Looked And Changed In The 1960s
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It was the '60s, a decade of change. And just like society, Disneyland would change too - in dramatic fashion.
1960
Just like previous years, Walt Disney was constantly tinkering with Disneyland as the decade started. The first year of the decade, he added more scenes to the Rainbow Ridge Mine Train, and changed its name to the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. The mules got a new name, ...
This Is How Disneyland Looked In The 1970s
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The seventies at Disneyland started with an invasion, then went into space, and ended with a wild ride in the frontier.
Unfortunately for Disneyland, the riots that had been happening in cities across America during the latter half of the sixties and some of the protesters turned their attention to Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom. On Aug. 6, 1970, the Yippies (an offshoot of the hippies of the sixties) ...
This Is How Disneyland Changed In The 1990s
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It was a "Fantasmic!" start for Disneyland in the 1990s, and the decade ended with a new Tomorrowland and the disappearance of the parking lot.
1990-92
Not much happened for the first two years in terms of changes or additions of new attractions until 1992. Mission to Mars had its last flight and was grounded. In New Orleans Square, something new was coming to the waterfront of the Rivers of ...
Todays Future
During the rush of getting the Park constructed, "Tomorrowland" was the last land finished. Budget cuts didn't allow all of its attractions to be opened that first day. One of those cuts was to use the "Nautilus" sets from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" as a walk-through. When it closed in 1966, the organ belonging to Captain Nemo was moved to the ballroom of the "Haunted Mansion." For the first four ...
George Mcginnis Last Imagineer Hired By Walt Disney Dies
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George McGinnis, the last Imagineer hired by Walt Disney, has died. He was 87.
McGinnis was the show designer on a variety of projects while at Walt Disney Imagineering including Space Mountain at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
McGinnis' senior project while attending the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles was for a high-speed train that caught the eye of Disney.
Upon ...
Disney Getting Good At Recycling Movie Ideas From Disneyland Rides
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If Disney CEO Bob Iger ends up running for California governor - as has been rumored - I'm sure that the environment will stand atop his platform, because nobody in the entertainment business recycles more than Disney.
Animated movies becoming live action films, movies becoming theme park rides, theme park rides becoming movies. It's the Circle of Life, Hollywood style.
Most recently, Disney ...
10 Disneyland Attractions That Do Not Exist Anymore But We Wish Did
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It's not easy being Disneyland. To keep people coming back and visiting year after year, the Anaheim amusement park has to constantly reinvent itself while not changing in ways that'll alienate diehard fans whose nostalgia runs deep. A few months ago, the park permanently closed the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to turn it into Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout!, which opens May 27. While Disney ...
Goodyears Peoplemover Whisked Disney Guests To Tomorrowland
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The future of transportation arrived 50 years ago on a revolving platform where gleaming tram cars whisked passengers away on a fantastic voyage.
The cars didn't have motors, but the roads did.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. of Akron ushered in a new mode of travel June 28, 1967, when it unveiled the PeopleÂMover at Disneyland's newly rebuilt Tomorrowland in Anaheim, Calif.
The transit system ...
How Did Walt Disney Vision Of A Futuristic Metropolis Become A Quaint Symbol Of A Bygone Era
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When Disneyland opened its doors in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, the word astronaut was not yet a household term. But a bright white rocketship towered over Tomorrowland (and, in fact, the entire park), poised to blast off into soon-to-be explored galaxies. Behind it stood a geometric space station, red letters over the entrance labeling it "Rocket To The Moon," with two large spherical theatres ...
9 Ghosts That Reportedly Haunt Disney Parks From Urban Legends To Actual Events In The Parks History
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In 1955, something spectacular happened: Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif., forever changing the face of amusement parks in America. Given its long and storied history, of course, it's to be expected that over the years, rumors that ghosts allegedly haunt Disneyland, as well as Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. And all the other Disney properties that have opened in the intervening decades, would have ...
8 Things From Disneyland’s Past That Need To Come Back
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With Disneyland kicking off its retro-inspired "After Dark" event this week, here are eight things from Disneyland's past that I wish I could see return to the park someday.
Helicopter rides from the airport - Yes, you once could fly in a helicopter from LAX straight to the Disneyland Hotel, soaring above Southern California's notoriously traffic-choked freeways. Sure, a one-way helicopter trip to the ...
24 Surprising Things About Disneyland We Did Not Know But Should
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Disneyland is said to be the "Happiest Place on Earth." For one day (or several depending on your trip schedule) people of all ages from toddlers to seniors can have fun, let loose and become a kid again. It's a place filled with magic, music, your favourite characters and rides to fit whatever you're in the mood for.
It opened its doors on July 17, 1955, and was the masterpiece of Walt Disney's ...
TV Shows Walts Plans For Small World Carousel Of Progress
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A 1964 episode of "Wonderful World of Color," a television show hosted by Walt Disney, gives old-school insights into the making of what would become classic theme park rides. The show, now available via the website of the D23 fan club, goes behind the scenes of Disney's involvement in the 1964/1965 World's Fair in New York.
The footage shows preparation for "it's a small world" and Carousel of ...
Disneyland Scuttling Submarine Fleet
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Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday it will retire one of Disneyland's oldest rides, the venerable fleet of yellow submarines that have taken millions of passengers on underwater journeys, without ever fully submerging the vessels.
The 39-year-old Submarine Voyage will close following the Labor Day weekend, to make way for a new, snazzier attraction that will debut in 2003.
It may be ...
Discovering Disneyland
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You have to look quickly, and you have to know exactly where to look. But if you do, you'll catch a pretty cool inside joke at Disneyland.
On the Star Tours ride, just before your runaway Starspeeder exits the space station, keep your eye on the lower right side of the screen: You flash past what looks like a giant electron microscope. Old-timers will recognize it as the Mighty Microscope from ...
Happy Parks II: Disneyland
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Tivoli, that Bosky enclave of pleasure in the center of Copenhagen whose name has become a generic term for amusement parks, is 124 years old, more than ten times the age of Disneyland, which will mark its 12th anniversary this summer. In these short dozen years. Disneyland has achieved a sudden, enormous and saturating fame. While its purpose to please is exactly akin to Tivoli's role in Danish life, ...
Your Best Or Worst Memory Of Disneyland?
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Donna Cleveland, San Francisco
Disneyland '59 was the scene of a double date gone bad. My boyfriend and my best friend were sneaking around the attractions behind my back. Her "date" was in on the deception. At a serendipitous Disneyland reunion in '94, the same old boyfriend belatedly apologized with an expensive gift..
MaryAnn Wofford, Fremont
My mother took me to Disneyland for my ...
Greetings From Disneyland
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If Imagineers David Mumford and Bruce Gordon have gained fame among Disney fans, it may be because they haven't forgotten their roots. Gordon spent his childhood building Disneyland models in his garage and went on to become a show producer on the park's new Autopia. Mumford, meanwhile, filled his early years with Disney memorabilia and worked his way up to his current stint as art director for the Mermaid ...
New Fun For The Whole Family At Disneyland
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Imagine it's 200 years ago and you're a passenger on a small boat picking its way carefully along a dark and treacherous stretch of coastline on the Spanish Main. Suddenly pandemonium breaks loose. The air resounds with the roar of cannons and the crack of muskets. A band of pirates is attacking a town and you're right in the middle! The rogues are everywhere-taunting the town council, auctioning off the ...
Restoring Disney's Wonderful World
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Congratulations to Robert Iger, who takes the lead to run the great Walt Disney Company-Iger's only the sixth man to do so, following Michael Eisner-and cheers to his restoration of what was once America's most magical motion picture company. Walt Disney was a genius-Mr. Eisner had his day, too, especially early on-and if low-key Iger merely polishes and protects what Mr. Disney created, his stewardship ...
50 Things You Didn't Know About Disneyland
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In honor of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, we present 50 cool, obscure and simply odd things you probably didn't know about the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth. Many were culled from Mouse Tales by David Koenig (Bonaventure, $19.95). Some were provided by Disney archivist Dave Smith, and others came from 101 Things You Never Knew About Disneyland by former park employee Kevin Yee and lifelong fan ...
Blending Visual Computing And Visual Networking
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Two of my favorite attractions at Disneyland when I was growing up and working at the park, and which are no longer there, were the Carousel of Progress and the House of the Future.
Both showcased a future based on the thinking that was going on when I was born. They did this by creating models, miniatures of cities and full-sized representations of the home, rooms, and appliances inside them. The ...
5 Disneyland Secrets That Nobody Knows
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If you're heading to Disneyland this summer, you can increase your knowledge and impress your traveling companions by sharing these 5 little-known secrets from the park. So without further ado:
1. The Disneyland "Test Bricks"
If you are heading down Main Street toward Sleeping Beauty Castle, take a quick right toward the locker rentals. There, just to the right of the entrance to the lockers, ...
