New Year, New Theme Park Land

I am not going to address the Twitter storm with Bob Iger and what he said about "nondescript" experiences because I don't have enough context on it beyond what was available online, but I will say that the Twitter "arguments" (for lack of a better word) had me in stitches and it revealed something. Nuance is a lost tool in the great world of discourse. Instead of having some die-hard Disney enthusiasts argue with "anti-Museum" Disney corporate-nerds argue over whether the Great Movie Ride, Horizons, and Maelstrom attractions are worthy of even archiving, let's establish something. I love Disney and I can see the merits to both preserving some aspects of the Parks and yet improving upon those experiences. I've heard the "Disneyland is not a museum" line more times than I would like, but I feel that this topic is really misunderstood. I understand that my witty review of the IP takeover of Epcot seemed either too serious or not serious enough, but I am just going to say that Disney is going through a new year with new things to offer.

I will admit that the notion of a Star Wars-themed land in the northwest corner of the Disneyland Park really disturbed my perception of the Park and it made me more active in the Disney-sphere. I welcome the new addition, set for opening in June 2019 (only sixty years after a certain major improvement to the Park's landscape).

Let's remember that new additions often bring casualties to the preservation of once was. While I agree with the premise that Walt wanted his Park (and by extension, Parks) to improve and grow, I will say that the preservation of certain aspects of the Park are ideal and remnants of the past should at least be archived and saved for future use or display. That's the sensible thing Disney can do to cater to a large number of people who enjoy the history as well as not destroy its own past. 

So let's talk about the casualties of the Star Wars' Galaxy's Edge (Disneyland):

1. The 1956 Sky-Way Station in Fantasyland---In 1994, the Sky-Way closed at Disneyland and the Fantasyland Station, which had a memorable alpine motif, sat abandoned. Before anyone thinks I support leaving abandoned buildings in a theme park to rot, bear with me on this. Instead of demolishing it, it should have been preserved and removed to a different location or maybe Disney revisiting its past of turning ambient places into crowded merchandise stands (Caribbean Plaza).

2. The Rivers of America---I am not opposed to improvements to the Rivers of America, but I was definitely concerned with how short a cruise aboard the Mark Twain would feel. In a park with limited space, the expanse of trees bordering the northern edge of the Rivers of America made Frontierland feel more open than it is and it provided a rural feel to the urbanity of New Orleans Square and the Riverfront area of Frontierland. While the 1977 closure of Nature's Wonderland changed the pace and the panorama of Frontierland, it was still preserved the natural aspect of the land.

3. The Railroad---Now I understand that Disneyland's Railroad has been rerouted and changed a few times (1958, 1962, 1965, 1971, and 2016), but bear with me on this as well. Rerouting the train tracks to curve inward towards Frontierland made the land smaller and feel more crowded.

 

So, what do you all think? Comment below and be sure to stick around.