Disneyland Almost Got Space Mountain Before The Magic Kingdom
Initial plans for Space Mountain by Walt Disney and his Imagineers in the early 1960s conceived of a spaceport in Disneyland 's Tomorrowland with four separate roller coaster tracks weaving inside and outside a towering futuristic peak with a much less majestic name.
“Walt and the team had an idea to do a spaceport within Tomorrowland,” Disney Imagineer Owen Yoshino said on the Disney+ ...
Disneyland Alters Ride After Boy Is Injured
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Disneyland has made state-ordered adjustments to its Storybook Land Canal Boats and reopened the attraction Friday, two days after a 4-year-old severed the tip of his thumb on the ride. The boy, who had gripped the edge of the boat when it docked, was injured when an adult stepped on the edge of the boat while disembarking, causing it to rock and pinching the boy's thumb between the dock and boat, ...
Disneyland And AIDS Charity Sued For Darth Vader Swinging At Angry Bird But Hitting Lady
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A woman is suing Disneyland and the AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County in Superior Court because she claims her back was injured by a Disney employee dressed as Darth Vader and doing battle with a bird during the 2011 AIDS Walk Orange County at the Anaheim resort. If the incident had happened during a lunar eclipse, I would have received a bonus for most random things in one blog post. "A ...
Disneyland And California Adventure Halt Ticket Sales As Holiday Crowds Fill Parks
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Disneyland Resort temporarily shut down access to both its theme parks Tuesday as holiday crowds pushed Disneyland and Disney California Adventure to capacity. Park officials had to stop selling tickets for the second straight day at Disneyland around 10 a.m. - about two hours after the park opened, a park spokeswoman said. Instead, patrons were directed to Disney California Adventure. But by 1 ...
Disneyland And California Adventure Most Festive Place On Earth?
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Many people in Southern California lament that there is no distinct change of seasons and that winter holidays are lacking because there isn't any snow. But area theme parks have everything to get even the "bah, humbug!" types in a festive mood. For starters, there's Disneyland, "The Happiest Place on Earth," from its tall ornament-bedecked tree at the beginning of Main Street U.S.A. to the ...
Disneyland And California Adventure Start Looking To Christmas With Halloween Nearly Over
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As the holiday season approaches, Disney Imagineers get busy modifying some of the attractions at Disneyland for the holidays. First up: It's a Small World. The boat ride with the infamous song is closed until Nov. 9 so lights and holiday music can be installed for its holiday overlay. The Jungle Cruise will be closed Nov. 1-9 to be redressed as the Jingle Cruise, the annual holiday overlay ...
Disneyland And Chevron Enter Multi-Year Agreement To Upgrade Autopia
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The Disneyland Resort announced today a joint 13-year marketing, promotion and sponsorship agreement with Chevron that will update and improve Disneyland's Autopia attraction. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The remodeled Autopia, tentatively scheduled to open in mid 2000, will feature new visual show elements, restyled cars, the introduction of an entertaining pre-show area, and the ...
Disneyland And Disney California Adventure Are In The Midst Of Some Of The Largest And Most Expensive Attraction Expansions In Their History
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The final puzzle piece of Disneyland 's Star Wars Galaxy 's Edge and a brand new land devoted to Marvel movie characters at Disney California Adventure park will highlight Disneyland Resort 's ambitious plans for 2020, the company announced this week. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, an immersive dark ride in the recently opened 14-acre themed Galaxy 's Edge land, is slated to debut on Jan. 17. And ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 1
There's no I in Team, but there are three in Imagineering. Introduction Well, it's not quite as long as the title from that 60's Mixed-Up Zombie movie, but it's close, and in my mind a lot more entertaining, and there's no corn or cheese here. Growing up a railroad kid, spending time with my father when he would go to work in the freight house or, even more exciting, the roundhouse, I can ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 10
"I know it's here somewhere" I'm not sure if that's exactly what was said upon first sight of where the Rivers of America used to be, but I'm sure it was something similar. Maybe with a little more salt. A lot of the excavation for the layout of the park revolved around removing existing trees and vegetation, digging out what would be the basin for the riverbed that would become the Rivers of America. ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 11
The Storm before the Storm It was becoming increasingly clear that the year-long struggle to get the park opened was wearing on everyone involved. No one was more affected than Disney himself. Many around him had noticed a change in his behavior. He seemed uneasy and unsure of himself. His wife Lillian was worried that with previous warnings from his doctor about stress, the pressure would lead to a ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 12
Although Disney had a dislike for the typical carnivals of the time, it wasn't so much the content, but the environment and the lack of attention to detail. Long before the park was built, after one of his frequent visits to Griffith Park with his daughters, he stated, "Things could be done better than this. A park should be designed for total family enjoyment. Besides a merry-go-round, there could be ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 13
Disneyland, the idea, came from the mind of Walt Disney, but Disneyland, the theme park, was a collaborative effort. It took a great many men and women to create it. Since all men are created equal, everyone who contributed should be credited. I've known about C.V. Wood for many years, and although he was not an Imagineer, he was a land developer who made significant contributions in terms of sales and ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 14
There's Got to be a Morning After When we last left off, Walt Disney had made it through Opening Day. It wasn't all that he had hoped it would be, but he made it. "Black Sunday" was supposed to be a relatively tame press preview. Instead it resembled more of an all out free-for-all -- the park being besieged by triple attendance that was more than expected. From a certain point of view, this was ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 2
Did you know Walt Disney declared bankruptcy? It's true. Pre-Disney: The Roadside Attraction As I was putting together the material for this article in the series, I wanted to touch on a part of Americana that has significance. I enjoy reading and finding archival film to see how the amusement industry came into being, which was roughly 75 years prior to the opening of Disneyland. The ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 3
How to build an Amusement Park in 3 Easy Lessons When we last left our Imagineers, a final location had been chosen, funding had been arranged, and crews were assembled that would begin by retaining trees and vegetation that could be utilized in the design, and the vegetation that would have to be removed as a non-stop adventure was about to commence that would continue long after the park opened. (I ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 4
Last time we left off, we were meeting some of the Imagineers who were responsible for the initial creation of Disneyland. We began to see the park take physical shape and learn about the origins of Main Street USA and Sleeping Beauty's Castle. There were roughly 6 months until the opening. The orange and walnut groves that once existed all to themselves were being transformed into a pear-shaped amusement ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 5
Last time we left off, opening day was rapidly approaching. Teams of artists were working in their respective areas and time truly was of the essence. The lifestyle in the mid-50s was a family oriented, hard working culture, with a new-found desire for excitement. World War II had been over for almost ten years and the subsequent opening of the park would be two years and several days after the Korean War ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 6
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Did you know that although Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is largely considered the first color animated feature length film by most, when in fact it isn't ? It's true. Because of Walt Disney's reputation and his ambitious efforts in both film, television and finally amusement parks, it is conceivable to see this recorded improperly. In the early 1900s, records that were kept were in their ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 7
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The Land that Never Was One of the themes that Disney toyed with was the birth of the nation, continuing on through the Colonial Era, following inventors and political figures that shaped our country. Officially, it wouldn't be referred to as a land per se, the same as Main Street USA, New Orleans Square and Toontown. Actually the proposed idea was a combination of two areas, the first being Liberty ...
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 And Imagineering Part 9
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The birth of space exploration in the middle of the 1950s affected both sides of the globe, but before the Space Race there was the Cold War. There was a fair share of unilateral fear from several previous wars. As a result, it pitted the United States against Russia in a "race" for strategic military superiority. Although the Cold War came first, the Space Race wasn't far behind and for a long period ...
Disneyland And Knotts Berry Farm Close Their Gates Until April
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As schools transition to virtual instruction and offices reduce their staff, people are faced with time off from work. The time they might have wished to spend getting lost in the magic of their favorite amusement parks. But even magic isn 't immune to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak as Disneyland and California Adventure parks closed their gates on March 14. The unforeseen closure ...
Disneyland And Las Vegas
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This is written in Mexico, my home in recent years. I've just returned from a visit to the United States, and am now once more enjoying the taste of unfrozen orange juice and fresh fish, conversations lasting four or five hours in which all sorts of cabbages and kings are discussed, meetings with friends where no one asks if I watched TV last night to see Mickey Rooney do Oedipus Rex on the Benign ...
Disneyland And Lyft Become Rideshare Partners As Star Wars Galaxys Edge Reservation Period Comes To An End
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Disneyland is launching a rideshare partnership with Lyft just as the reservation-only period for the popular new Star Wars: Galaxy 's Edge comes to an end and an influx of additional vehicles is expected to stream into the Anaheim theme park resort. Disneyland announced that the Lyft rideshare partnership will begin today, June 18, just a few days before the Galaxy 's Edge reservation-only ...
Disneyland And Son
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Once upon a time (i.e., four years ago) professionally sentimental, consistently profit making Hollywoodsman Walt Disney build the zingiest, zowiest toy his fertile mind could imagine-and then invited others to come play with it. So far, some 16 million have taken up the offer. Last week 24,000, including Vice President Nixon and his family, were on hand to help Walt celebrate the fourth anniversary of the ...
Disneyland And South Coast Plaza Pin Hopes On Tourists
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The Disneyland Resort's experiment selling tickets at South Coast Plaza has gone so well that a $100 purchase now comes with a free collector's pin set. The pins, featuring Disneyland's King Arthur Carousel and South Coast's Carousel Court, are available while supplies last. They are free with a minimum purchase of $100 of single-day or multi-day admission tickets to the theme parks. Disney ...
Disneyland And Twitter: RU Having Gr8 Time On Disney Attractions?
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Twitter can be seen at Disneyland prominently. Just look around the Disneyland Resort once you enter the gates and at any attraction to see how the technology age has brought Disneyland to a different level. Kids and adults are on their hand held gadgets typing on those keypads and smiling at the screen when they get their friends updates. Personal, business and even tracking down their party who is at a ...
Disneyland Anniversary Extravaganza In A Day Whew
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What do you get the park that has everything for its 60th anniversary? Nothing, because giving a theme park a gift would be silly. Instead, Disneyland is celebrating its anniversary this summer with a new firework show and parade, along with a revamped World of Color show at California Adventure. The Diamond Celebration kicked off May 22; I went to the parks last Wednesday to see the festivities ...
Disneyland Announced The Spooky Treats For Its Halfway To Halloween Celebration
Disney takes the cake when it comes to Halloween, but waiting an entire year for the delicious food and fun is just too much for some folks. Fret not, because Disney holds a prelude about six months before the full October extravaganza. It's called Halfway to Halloween, and the 2023 mini-event creeps through California on April 20-23. During this time, spooky treats lurking in select ...
Disneyland Announces 3-Day Summer Ticket Offer $99
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Economy got you down? Disney has announced a new ticket offer available exclusively for Southern California residents. For $99, guests can purchase a three-day Summer Fun pass. The pass works for both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, and must be used within a 45-day period. "I know that the economy can be challenging, but that means there are some great travel deals out there to be ...
