Astro Orbitor Articles
Mickey Mouse, A-L-O-N-E
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I end up in this hotel in Orange County whose name refers to two trees for no apparent reasonthere are no trees around, only parking lots, enormous empty parking lots. I have no idea what to do with nine free hours in front of me and no car. Every attraction is at least four miles away; even if I wished to rent a car I would have to walk five miles in the opposite direction from all the attractions, which ...
Disneyland It All Started With A Mouse
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Who wants sugar in their tea? The Mad Hatter asked. Everyone cheered. It is at this moment when I realised the greatest thing for the 'little traveller' was the parks unique way to bring treasured favourites to life, such as a favoured classic, Alice in wonderland. Many years on from its opening on 17 July 1955, Walt Disney's theme park has sparked the imagination and captured the hearts of thousands ...
7 Tips For Tackling Disneyland In A Day
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I've been to Disneyland hundreds of times over the last two decades and have been writing the Funland theme park blog for about four years now. As a result, people are always asking me how to do everything at Disneyland in a single day. The short answer is you probably can't. It can be a struggle for even hard-core fans with military assault-like strategies. The longer answer is there's lots of ways ...
California vs. Paris: The Lands of The Future - Part One
This month and next, I shall be comparing the Lands of The Future found in the two Disneyland parks closest to my heart (California and Paris). In California, as per Florida, Tokyo and Hong Kong, this land is called Tomorrowland; in Paris this is called Discoveryland. For the benefit of these articles, when I say Tomorrowland, I am only referring to the California one; I am also only writing about the ...
Failed Ugly 90s Ride That Still Looms Over Guests
Disneyland is a kingdom of illusions. Forced perspective makes small buildings appear grander. Special paint colors hide eyesores in plain sight. Disney Imagineers company lingo for theme park creatives are the best in the business at keeping reality from creeping into guests ' consciousness.
But there is a glaring exception: a ride, dead now for nearly 25 years, that still looms large ...
Disneyland Turns 60 Ranking Its Attractions by Land
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Oh, boy! The Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration begins today! Disneyland Park opened in Anaheim, Calif., on July 17, 1955, and ever since, it has entertained millions of guests from all over the world. That's no small feat! "It's amazing to contemplate all that Disneyland has come to mean to so many people around the world," Tom Staggs, COO of the Walt Disney Company, recently told the ...
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 ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 8
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Picture this You're an artistic designer; You're scheduled to attend a design meeting for a project you drew the design that "greenlighted" the project you're currently working on; Deadlines are rapidly approaching; And in walks your boss He looks concerned -- something between worried and extremely serious; He opens the meeting and begins talking about a specific part of ...
Heres What Disneylands Overnight Shift Workers Do After The Parks Close
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When Disneyland closes for the night, members of its overnight shift are just arriving. Starting at 11:30 p.m., the third shift crew at the Disneyland Resort begins its nightly routine. Machinists inspect the rides, gardeners mow lawns and trim trees, and the custodial crew rolls out 150-foot-long fire hoses to wash everything down. "That's one of my favorite jobs here," said Anaheim resident ...
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 ...
9 Extinct Disneyland Attractions You Probably Never Knew Existed
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Over 60 years ago, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California. In the decades since, Walt Disney's original theme park vision has undergone changes both big and small. Rides, attractions, and entire swaths of land have sometimes been overhauled or torn down to make way for modern amusements. But thanks to documentaries and numerous Disney bloggers, we can still look back at some of the most iconic rides ...
Everything We Saw At First-Ever Vintage Theme Night
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When Disneyland throws a party, you know we're gonna be there - and Disneyland After Dark: Throwback Nite was no exception. Disneyland's first event in a forthcoming series of themed nights this year was an ode to the rides, tunes, and thrills of yesteryear, complete with food, music, entertainment, and characters fit for vintage-obsessed Disney fans. There were few details announced before the Jan. ...
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 ...
Dumbo Is Flying Again At Disneyland And Now He Is Really Shady
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Dumbo has been cleared to fly over Disneyland once again and he's got something he's never had before: a brand-new shade structure to provide relief from the burning rays to patient visitors for the first time in the ride's 62-year history. "It looks fantastic," Disneyland super fan Gavin Doyle said Monday afternoon after getting his first glimpse of the revamped attraction. "They took all the vibrant ...
Every Attraction Ranked By Three Disney Superfans
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While pretty much everybody loves Disneyland to one degree or another, for some of us, love borders on obsession. Three of us in particular at CinemaBlend have been to Disneyland so many times that we've lost track. Jessica and Mack are both former Southern California residents who used to frequent the park regularly and still make a yearly pilgrimage back. While I live a few hundred miles away from the ...
Disneyland Is Quietly Removing Seating And Planters For Star Wars Land Access
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Disneyland has been quietly removing fixed seating and planters to make room for massive crowds expected when the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens next summer, leaving some fans missing their favorite spots to rest their weary feet. "It's getting harder and harder to sit down in the shade and relax," said Debbie Sinclair of Trabuco Canyon, an annual passholder who uses the social media handle ...
Castle Is Getting A New Roof
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Disneyland will start work next week on a new roof for Sleeping Beauty Castle. The castle's roof apparently was damaged by some of the decorations that Disney installed for its 60th anniversary Diamond Celebration back in 2015. Disney has made some temporary repairs to keep the icon open, but - as any homeowner knows - there comes a time when patches just won't do anymore, and it is time for a ...
Meet Maynard Smith The 25-Year Disneyland Employee Who Is An Attraction Himself
It's unlikely that anyone who met Maynard Smith at Disneyland would forget him. Whether he's working at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hosting as his "evil twin" at the Haunted Mansion, Smith brings his many comical voices and a unique presence to work on every shift. He's so popular, in fact, that his fans created a Facebook page called "Maynard, the amazing Disneyland Castmember!" with 2,050 members ...
Grand Openings Renovations Around The Park
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What's new at Disneyland Resort in 2019? In the middle of January, a construction wall has erected around Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and in Downtown Disney a new restaurant has opened its doors. Sleeping Beauty's Castle is getting a major refurbishment, as the park plans on spending over $300,000 for a new roof, "replacing fiber-reinforced plastic" on the 70-foot tall turrets. The refurbishment ...
All 9 Lands At Ranked
Fantasyland offers the most rides and is ideally located in Disneyland. Mickey's Toontown has mediocre rides and limited shopping and dining options. New Orleans Square has the best dining options and underrated classic rides. Disneyland in Anaheim is divided into nine distinct ''lands,'' and some of these certainly offer better experiences than others. ...
Disneyland Opens Expanded, Refurbished Tomorrowland
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Disneyland of Southern California's refurbished Tomorrowland opened on May 22, 1998. Many of the area's classic attractions have been updated, and new attractions have been added. The new attractions include a simulated rocket ride, an interactive technology/imagination pavilion, and a 3-D experience. The Rocket Rods ride provide Disneyland's fastest, longest ...
Theme Park Shoot Out
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The sign out front says it's "The Happiest Place on Earth." These days, Disneyland, Walt Disney Co.'s Anaheim (Calif.) flagship, is also one of the most construction-happy places on earth. Workers in bulldozers crisscross the 100 acres that used to be a parking lot. Outside, streets are being widened, snarling traffic in all directions. Signs tell passersby that a new Disneyland Resort is in the making. ...
A New Tomorrow Lands
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In 1955, Tomorrowland was one of Disneyland's most popular attractions. House made of plastic, flying saucers and other items in the park showed Walt Disney's vision of what 1986 would be like. Over the years, that vision became less cutting edge and more, well, cheesy. But thanks to a two-year, $100 million face-lift, Tomorrowland is back in the future business. The Anaheim, CA, park now looks at ...
Looking Back The Year In Tomorrow
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Was a time when Tomorrow was big. Back in the '60s and '70s, despite-or perhaps because of-Vietnam and nuclear missiles, Tomorrow was a good place to be. They even gave it a name: Tomorrowland. Unlike the rest of Disneyland's fluff, Tomorrowland had the feel of an exhibit, a place where we learned that the future would burst with helpful robots, time-saving products, efficient mass transit and commonplace ...
With The Future Set In 1986, Tomorrowland Had To Change
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In announcing a renovation of Disneyland's Tomorrowland, Walt Disney Co. imagineers acknowledged that men on the moon, home computers and time had caught up to the land, one of the five original areas in the 42-year-old-park. When Disneyland opened, "1986 sounded very futuristic," said Tony Baxter, senior vice president-creative development for Disney's imagineering unit. Among the rides and ...
Disneyland In One Day
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The First Hint that my mission will be daunting: I tell the cast member in Guest Relations the title of the article I'm researching, and she starts to giggle. Disneyland in a day? Who am I kidding? "It might be a little hard," she says, handing me my tickets, "to do it all in a day." Disneyland has its own special feel, and nostalgia is only part of it. Yes, it's the only park Walt Disney lived to ...
All Our Yesterdays
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The future isn't what it used to be. Take Tomorrowland. When it opened in 1955 as one of the five original sections of Disneyland, Walt Disney himself appeared on the live opening-day telecast and promised "a step into the future with constructive predictions about things to come." He may have been a dull public speaker, but in envisioning "the world of 1987," as it was at one point conceived, he did ...
If The Job Fits
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Disneyland is famous for its helpful, smiling cast members. But even in that crowd, attractions host Maynard Smith stands out. He's the guy using finger puppets to direct passengers to their doom buggies in The Haunted Mansion and serenading the babies as he helps parents park strollers outside a Fantasyland theater. DM: Instead of just wearing different uniforms at various attractions, you've ...
Disney Magic, West Coast Style
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We were halfway through the six-hour flight from Newark to the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA when I began to question our decision to haul our two kids, ages 8 and 16 months, clear across country to visit Disneyland. True, it's a shorter flight to Orlando, but my son shared our "been there, done that" sentiment about Walt Disney World. We were anxious to check off the Disneyland Resort from our ...
Family Fun At Disneyland
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With the recent launch of a new direct flight between Toronto's Pearson International Airport and the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA, Air Canada teamed up with the folks at Disneyland and the tourism boards of Orange County, Anaheim, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Huntington Beach to send a select group of Toronto-based media to tour the West Coast paradise in order to get a feel of what there is to ...
Six Disney Attractions To Temporarily Close For Rehab
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Six attractions at the two Disneyland Resort parks will be closed for rehabilitation for at least part of this month. Most rides will stay open because of high traffic during the holiday season. Crews usually do longer renovation projects in the spring, starting in January, when attendance is lighter. Most of the closures are for routine maintenance. The schedule is subject to change. ...
