Astro Orbitor Articles
20 Loudest Rides And 20 Noisiest Shows With Decibel Readings
Disneyland 's monorail horn is as loud as a piledriver, its railroad trains as ear-splitting as a jackhammer and the nightly fireworks more deafening than a bulldozer, according to a noise analysis conducted on behalf of the Anaheim theme park. The decibel readings for attractions, shows and parades at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are buried deep in the 17,000-page Environmental ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Disney Announces Splash Mountain Will Soon Reopen After Refurbishment Closure
Pirates of the Caribbean, “it 's a small world,” Matterhorn Bobsleds, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones Adventure, Peter Pan 's Flight, Buzz Lightyear 's Astro Blasters, Roger Rabbit 's Toon Spin, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Astro Orbiter, Disneyland Railroad, Space Mountain, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Mr. Toad 's Wild ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Everyone Says Tomorrowland Is Outdated But Let Me Tell You Why That Is A Good Thing
Clamoring for an updated version of Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park? As a longtime guest, I 'm not so sure the “outdated” land actually needs a modern refresh.
Ask frequent Disneyland guests and Southern California locals what big changes they 're hoping come to Disneyland Resort, and odds are the majority will say the same thing: a refreshed, reimagined Tomorrowland, brought back to life with ...
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. ...
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 and ...
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 ...
Future Flock
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With rocket ships zooming overhead, Marsha Berlo shaded her eyes from the midday sun and wondered how long she would have to wait to step into the future. “It won 't be the 21st century when we get to the front,” Berlo said from the rear of a three-hour line. “It 'll just feel like it.” The Las Vegas resident, with husband Bill, was one of thousands on hand Friday for the opening ...
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 ...
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 ...
How 50 Attractions Could Change When The Parks Reopen
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Virtually every Disneyland ride and attraction will change in some way to accommodate the new normal of COVID-19 health and safety protocols when the Anaheim theme parks reopen following an extended coronavirus closure. Visitors returning to Disneyland will find social distancing measures stretching from attraction queues to the rides themselves with extensive sanitization measures throughout ...
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 ...
Lightning Lane Multi Pass Guide How The Service Works Pros And Cons
In an effort to uncomplicate a system that was starting to get a little too complicated, Disneyland has re-named its premium time-saving option from Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. The concept is still, by and large, the same guests can purchase Lightning Lane Multi-Pass to pre-book rides at Disneyland Resort or California Adventure Park and avoid longer wait times - and there are also Individual ...
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 ...
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 ...
