A Whole New, New, New World of Tomorrow

NEW NEW NEW TOMORROWLAND

1955-Tomorrowland debuted as part of Disneyland on Opening Day with mostly quirky corporate exhibits, a handful of restaurants, shops, the Autopia, and the Rocket to the Moon.

1959-Tomorrowland had its first expansion with the Matterhorn, the Monorail, and the Submarine Voyage.

1967-Tomorrowland got a total makeover with new rides, shows, an improved Flight to the Moon, new shops, and the Tomorrowland Terrace.

1977-Space Mountain opened with its own complex of shops, restaurants, and an arcade.

1998-New Tomorrowland 98 revitalized

????

Let's retain that Steampunk aesthetic to an extent.


In light of new construction ("Project Stardust"), I am supportive of a newer, revitalized Tomorrowland with most of the intact infrastructure being repurposed properly. I will say something that I never thought I would ever say before, but here goes. I believe the People-Mover track should be removed. I will say that I do support keeping small reminders of its former existence. I do support retaining the buildings that were originally erected in 1955, gutted in 1966-1967, and standing ever since, especially their foundations. I understand the notion of progress and Tomorrowland is about change for the better, but those buildings should stay standing. I do think that the Nemo Submarine ride is cute and well-done given the very real possibility that the Lagoon was going to be demolished in the 1990's, but I feel that the Lagoon should remain and the submarines should be given the 20K treatment (nope, not being demolished and disregarded) of being converted into Nautilus subs or at least a 20 K exhibit can return to the Park.

From about July 1955 to August 1966, Disneyland's Tomorrowland had a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit (in the southern building where Star Tours stands) and the 20K theme was sent to Florida's Magic Kingdom where it operated from 1971 until 1994. Meanwhile, the Disney Sea Park at Tokyo Disneyland in Japan has a themed area ("Mysterious Island") dedicated to Jules Verne. Closer to home (Jules' home, that is) is Disneyland Paris' Discovery Land (their take on Tomorrowland) with a 20,000 Leagues walk-thru exhibit similar to the original in California, but way more popular. Ironically, the 1954 film made perfect sense to include in the 1955 Disneyland due to its release just less than seven months before the park opened, but it sank as an attraction (no pun intended).

At any rate, the Lagoon should stay and I would commission a revised Autopia with better tracks, no pungent fumes, and a solid ride system that operates swimmingly. Of course, I would make sure the Autopia track doesn't drop into the Lagoon and sink to the depths of the water. Anyway, I would take the opportunity to keep Space Mountain and revitalize the complex as a preview center and futuristic shopping center of sorts.

But let's talk about Star Wars, namely their history with Disney and the new developments in the northern end of Frontierland.

I always suspected that Disney's decision to replace Adventures Thru Inner Space with Star Tours in 1985 was made to capitalize off of the quasi-futuristic nature of flying through space in such a compact environment afforded by the show building without having to build a bigger building and besides, it's based on Star Wars, which became a strong household name upon its groundbreaking release in May 1977 (the same month and year Disneyland finally opened their own Space Mountain) and how easy it is to capitalize off of that success than to continue operating an 18-year-old corporate advertisement.

Interestingly, it warranted a major blunder (I mean "change" in park operation) with a new land placed stupidly in the midst of the backcountry of Frontierland. I mean such a brand should never have its own specific land in a Magic Kingdom-style "castle" park. I understand this somewhat contradicts my previous sentiments concerning sub-lands and even specific lands within the layout of the Parks, such as Caribbean Plaza at Walt Disney World and Bear Country (now Critter Country), but hear me out on this. Caribbean Plaza was designed in 1972 to anchor the Pirates ride to the Florida Park in the same way that Bear Country, which brought the Bear Band show to California in 1972, was designed. In terms of the layouts, those lands were each planned to be a thematic extension of their "ancestral" land. Star Wars really has no connection to Frontierland or Critter Country in any measure, but the planners just had to take up acres upon acres of land (as well as shortening the Rivers of America drastically) to build two E-Tickets, a handful of shops, and a few restaurants. We are talking about having New Orleans Square tripled in size with just Star Wars stuff, but from what I've seen, it poses a new thematic equal to the New Orleans Square as seen in the 1960's. Their E-tickets can't compare to the Pirates and the Mansion, except in perhaps Animatronic quality.

The main draw is that it's a Star Wars themed enclave that dominates the northwestern end of the Park with no remotely thematic consistency, but that's a rant for a different day.

Despite Operations manager Dick Nunis once suggesting that the Big Thunder Trail area would be temporary and the future site of a glitzy themed entertainment district in 1986, I am not impressed by the fact that a major corporate entity can merely replace that tranquil corner of the Kingdom, but ruin the sense of immersion, which has always been a tricky endeavor as far as Disneyland's size is concerned.

Perhaps, my criticism of SWGE is ignorant given that I've only seen previews and have stood at the threshold of the construction site monitoring the progress between November 2016 and November 2018, but I am steadfast in the belief that one singular IP brand such as Star Wars should never take on the size of the entirety of the northwestern corner of the park and that its mere placement in the Park beyond the Star Tours ride is just overwhelming, if not thematically wrong.

It's far too late to protest such a foolhardy decision and it's likely that for several years, the area will be tied to Star Wars, but we can only wish upon a star that the area will someday be altered to reflect a proper Discovery Bay district like the one that had been plotted out since the 1970's instead of an awkward turn between the American frontier and a galaxy far, far away.

So let's get back to Tomorrowland and what I would do to enhance the area.

I did prove that I'm not an absolute purist because I did advocate for the removal of the People Mover tracks as well a reconstruction of its former station. I think Tomorrowland needs a handsome cocktail lounge, similar to that of the post-show of Walt Disney World's Space Mountain or the penthouse in Horizons. I'm talking about the concepts made for the ending of the Carousel of Progress.

I mean alcohol in Disneyland is something I don't really approve of having in the first place, but I am advocating a Club 33-type club on the top floor of the Carousel Theater with a high-tech restaurant on the bottom floor (hopefully that offsets the damage that Club 33 has caused to the architecture of New Orleans Square and the brilliance of its design). Meanwhile, the former Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars/Pizza Port area will be a corporate exhibit and refreshment stand. The Captain E.O. Theater will be a special preview center with models and concept art of new attractions (the "preview" center with the classic attractions will be on Main Street in the Opera House). The old Starcade area would be a prime merchandise location due to its proximity to the exit of Space Mountain. It would be a continuation of the Star Traders shop next door.

We are talking about shopping as an experience, eating as an experience, and relaxing as an experience. Disney parks are built upon experiences, such as flying over London with Peter Pan, slipping down the rabbit hole with Alice, sailing with the Pirates of the Caribbean, visiting a Haunted Mansion, taking a trip down the rivers of an exotic jungle, driving through an Indian temple with Indiana Jones, flying through the darkness of space, sliding down the slopes of the Matterhorn, or riding the rails of a cursed mine train as it spins through caverns and canyons. Those are experiences that make a Disney park unique. Granted, the key to a great themed attraction or park is immersion and experience, but like the Imagineers of yesteryear, we must design and create experiences and adventures. We want to entertain and we want to educate.

However, we need to focus on doing better. We need to focus on fixing the lighting and sound in the Pirates and the Mansion on both coasts as well as restoring the original design intent to the attractions as they made those shows/rides into classics in the first place. Well, that's a whole new can of worms for a different day. Hopefully, the Star Wars area at Disneyland is immersive. I may criticize the management and creative decisions, but that never diminishes my love for the parks as similarly a patriot is one who criticizes his government and country with the intent of changing it for the better.


Love,
John

Parisian Tragedy

Today I went downstairs after my morning routine of hygienic maintenance, only for my mother to have informed me of a fire at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, France. I didn't have the opportunity to visit the Cathedral, but I knew that any future visit to the City of Lights would definitely include a tour of one of the wonders of the world. Yes, I am talking about the very Cathedral that has been a Parisian landmark since 1345, a result of two centuries of construction as well as new innovations in terms of religious engineering and architecture as a whole.

Curious to know more information, I ventured online after watching the Fox News coverage of the billowing black-and-orange dynamo over the beautiful spires and gabled roofs of Paris. Then a scene straight out of a horror film flashed before us. The main spire engulfed in smoke and flames had collapsed from the base and disappeared into the chaos. Never before have I felt such a loss, such a heart-sinking feeling of dread, and I couldn't take anyone. Yet my desire to know more overtook the best of me and I obsessively refreshed my feed, hoping for an update concerning the state of the fire, and with the notion that refreshing one's feed regarding such news would solicit an end to the destruction. It didn't.

Far as I know of this writing, the church may be destroyed beyond repair. Let's hope not.

As some of you may know, I am an atheist who grew up in a Catholic household. We knew the value of such a historical place, especially one vital to our heritage, and I understood the Cathedral's importance to not only religion, but literature, the arts, culture, and history. To understand how important this institution is to not only the people of Paris, but to the world, we must realize that its history has been one of struggle. Granted, Catholic rule in the country had valued such institutions in a sacred light, but the history of struggle lies within the militant secularism of the French Revolution where religious institutions were stripped of their icons and property, the destruction and devastation caused by the invading Nazi armies who tried to destroy the will of the French and thus their individual culture by shelling the roof of the church, and not to mention the string of anti-Catholic attacks throughout France. I'm not going to attribute that last obstacle to anyone beyond the forces within our society who wish to strip a country of its heritage.

I'm not going to downplay any atrocities committed under Catholic theocracy, but simultaneously it's no excuse to destroy such an institution in the face of such circumstances. To understand the unity it has tragically caused for people on the left and the right politically to grieve in unison is similar to how people felt in the wake of 9/11 with the haunting imagery of America under attack. Those two tragedies have diplomats and dictators in equal measure pay their respects for a loss of cultural heritage and human life, albeit in different respects.

On this day, we must remember that the Cathedral shall be rebuilt or at least remembered for its place in our world.

Such an incomparable incident would be the fire that devastated a major part of the Europa-Park theme park in Germany. The major difference would be the fact that the first is a centuries-old church that stood the test of militant ideologies and the other is a theme park. Such might sound, dare I say, blasphemous, if Europa-Park was replaced by Disneyland or Walt Disney World with their cultural significant histories, but let's not go there.

Anyway, Europa-Park is apparently similar to Epcot Center's World Showcase due to the national representation and in May 2018, the Scandinavian and Dutch areas of the park were immolated by a major fire that took around two days to fully extinguish, but it destroyed their Pirated-themed boat ride "Pirates of Batavia", which reminded me of the fact that the original Pirates ride at Disneyland caught fire twice. The first time was on 4 July 1967 when a hydraulic leak caused part of the Burning City scene to catch fire and the second time was a minor fire caused by a careless flick of a cigarette onto the set of the ride (no smoking, please!).

However, this conversation is not meant to be that of theme parks (although, look at Cinderella's Castle in Florida and the motifs inspired by actual French cathedrals and castles), but of the importance of this fire and how it relates to our culture, our society, and ultimately our history.

Amusing History: The Fun "Facts" of Life and Theme Parks

I used to believe a lot about Disney theme parks as a kid and in a way, I am realizing more and more that the knowledge and information I may have taken as gospel from Imagineers, cast members, or anyone for that matter may not be entirely accurate, if not downright lies.

Memories often serves as bad evidence and in the face of certain proof, memories are unreliable. Pictures can help verify memories like the Case of the Old Man in the Blue Bayou. I mean I found out that the Old Man in the Bayou was nowhere to be seen when the Blue Bayou and the Pirates both opened in March 1967 and yet he was apparently designed in 1970 or 1971 for the Rivers of America in Florida. Such was the astonishment I had upon realizing that there was another Florida-born aspect of the Pirates I took for granted as being designed with the California park in mind. Anyway, I tried to find the oldest photo of the Old Man and the oldest photo of him in his Louisiana residence is a close up from April 1974, just four months after the Pirates opened in Florida sans the Blue Bayou. However, Beacon Joe, as he is called, was apparently added to the Floridian waterfront in early 1973. The "evidence" to suggest that Beacon Joe was rocking on his porch in the Pirates' initial years was a memory of sorts from my maternal grandfather who "remembers" an old man on a porch in the backwoods of some boat ride. The year was 1969 and the Timber Mountain Log Flume debuted two months prior to his trip with my grandmother. On that very same ride, they have an old man on a porch, so perhaps his memories were all mixed together. My wish list includes a possible 1973 photo of the Old Dude in his Bayou element. I can only hope.

Anyway, let's talk about "official Disney history" or the narratives that sell books to suckers like us. We all know a good story about the development of one of our favorite attractions. Perhaps, one has heard of the six spooky years where the Haunted Mansion teased Disneyland visitors until one day in the sweltering heat of 1969 the doors finally creaked open. How about that story about how a Chinese restaurant planned for Main Street got jumbled up and thrown into the entryway of Adventureland? My favorite revolves around the mess of development in the 1960's and 1970's where the collective narratives regarding Riverfront Square, New Orleans Square, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Space Mountain, Walt Disney World, and other major projects from that time are all inconsistent with dates, paperwork, and other confusing factors. Was the Haunted Mansion meant to be a boat ride? Who knows for sure! When did the Haunted Mansion get cemented as a ride instead of a walk-thru? Anyone's guess at this point.

We now know that the story about Card Walker ordering the Imagineering staff to replicate the Pirates at the Magic Kingdom in early 1972 to be factually inaccurate because a December 1971 memo lists a number of new projects destined for the Magic Kingdom by 1973, including a "Pirates ride" scheduled for December 1972. It may be the case that Card Walker around the time of Roy Disney's death was given the authority to oversee the Company's direction and was heeding the complaints of visitors who were expecting the 15 minute boat excursion to be a part of Walt Disney World. However, what is known now by Disney historians differs from the "official" history like the role of the NYWF in the development of the Pirates ride.

The New York World's Fair was certainly instrumental in the direction the Disney Company was taking to their theme park business, but it wasn't the magical (excuse the pun) reason why the Pirates ended up opening as a boat ride with Animatronics in 1967. It certainly helped cement the plans for the attraction into place by giving a definite ride system, despite the fact that the Pirates attraction was actively designed as a boat ride as early as 1962, just around a year before Disney took on the Small World pavilion. Certainly similar to how Disney was working on the Animatronic Lincoln in 1962 and the Tiki aviary around the same time. However, to suggest that the only reason why the Pirates is a boat ride with the animatronics is because of the New York World's Fair is just frustrating.

Marty Sklar claimed one thing about Space Mountain's development and yet a series of models, maps, concept art, and paperwork contradict his claim. But he was the one to trust, after all? Then again, memory is unreliable.

It's a tragedy that the Disney Archives and their research library is closed off to actual researchers who are wholly interested in the answers, even for a small entry fee. However, I have a theory that may have been previously suggested on the dark corners of the Internet. My theory is that since the Disney Company is obsessed with profits and they also have sole access to the Archives, then ultimately they have the exclusive access to write books that are seen as "factual" by the Disney-obsessed public who will purchase said books, often for an exorbitant price.

There is apparently more to gain in having total control of a repository for a handful of "official" researchers to dole out the same "facts" about the same ride or show. Tragically, this translates to a Company-wide disregard for the history of the Vacation Kingdom (nickname for Walt Disney World in Florida) where the show elements of a ride like the Pirates or the Haunted Mansion are repeated from the originals at Disneyland, which erases the unique nature of those rides. Granted, when applying those two classics to their incarnations around the world, there is a change that is somewhat rectified with their original intent. For example, the placement of Phantom Manor (the Parisian Haunted Mansion ride) in Frontierland is not just logical in terms of appeal to a foreign audience, but it harkens back to the placement of the "Ghost House" on the outskirts of Frontierland and its inclusion as a part of that area's landscape in the 1968 Disneyland Dictionary. Similarly, the placement of Pirates in Adventureland across almost all parks in terms of location as well as ticketing (in the case of Disneyland's individual coupon booths) as well as its thematic aesthetic (pirates are an adventurous bunch, not a bunch of frontiersmen) is another difference and brings up the fact that Caribbean Plaza was given its own individual identity within the context of the park's early operation. While still being a part of the Adventureland section of park guides, it was still noted that Caribbean Plaza was meant to not only be an extension of the "adventure", but even a sovereign entity within the Park's landscape. This is similar to how the area of Liberty Square-Frontierland was delineated by a dash instead of a solid line in the early guidebooks. Now they are ironically separated by the very people who took away the individuality of Caribbean Plaza in relation to the multi-ethnic palate of the Adventureland that debuted in 1971. Interestingly, this also means that the unique nature of these rides are erased or changed to the point that they no longer make the sense they did when they opened.

You can't attribute that to mere cultural shifts or history, but you can attribute it to a desire to make the Disney theme park an almost-uniform brand of places instead of diverse, living things. You can attribute something like a change in a ride's narrative (e.g. the element of time in relation to the Pirates in California versus Florida) to a desire to make the Magic Kingdoms of the world into a consistent roster of places with no respect for their original design. It would be no different than gutting the Eastern seaboard resort motif of Main Street in Florida to mirror the quaint Main Street in California. It's a tragedy, thus more of a reason to have the researchers and writers access the kennels of information for their observations.

At any rate, the novelty of the "fun facts" wears off when confronted with statistics, headlines, photos, keen observations, etc. A "fun fact" about the Tiki Room being the first major attraction to use air conditioning is undercut by the realization that Disneyland has been using air conditioners consistently since 1955.

Another "fun fact" peddled by popular Disney blogs and "official" Disney historians is that the Western River Expedition was killed off by the Pirates. That is not true considering how WED started working on the Pirates for Florida in 1971 and yet the Western River Expedition was heavily promoted by a post-show exhibit for the Walt Disney Story, which debuted in 1973. There are too many factors that to suggest the Pirates killed off any hope for Marc's dream attraction is an insult to Marc and Disney as a whole. Then again, the narrative is simplified and concise for Disney-sponsored museum displays on the subject. Instead of telling people that Thunder Mesa was ultimately killed off in part to a shift in the types of attractions the Mouse wanted to pursue, they say that the 1973 opening of Pirates killed off any hopes Marc had for a Western Pirates.

It's surely that the accepted narratives of history have been sought after and glamorized more than the stone-cold facts, which pose a threat to the security of our perceptions and by extension, what we think we know.

As someone who invested years into the pursuit of knowledge, especially of the historical variety, it pains me to think about how much a popular narrative can easily replace the reality of the matter and thus confuse and distort our understanding of the world.

BLOG SITE UPDATE (5 April 2019)

As of now (5 April 2019), this blog-site will serve as a repository of thoughts and ideas.

I will give a warning that future subject matter may be triggering to some people and that it is advised that some articles will now be marked with a bold T to indicate that the following content may be inappropriate to some audiences and that reader discretion is advised.

Sincerely,
John