Category Archives: Articles
Feature: The Cost of a Year at Disney
In 2005, you could purchase either a Disneyland or a Walt Disney World annual pass for around $350. That included entrance to the park every day of the year as well as free parking. Fast forward 10 years and Disney’s annual pass price has doubled at Walt Disney World to over $750 and Disneyland’s top tier annual pass is now over $1,000. What happened in that 10 years? The truth is we all embraced the Disney.
Disney parks have seen a serious increase in park attendance over the last 10 years. An extra $2-5 million visitors a year and that increase doesn’t look to be stopping. With park attendance going up, so is the need for more amenities like hotel rooms, bathrooms, restaurants, etc… The times “Disney experts” considered off season have changed to increasingly less days. What used to be months of dead time at the parks is now just a week or two between holidays.
Disney is countering the increase in attendance by adding new spaces for guests to walk through, but these areas take time to develop. In the meantime, they have given us fastpasses to get onto attractions faster and adding in festive kiosks that coincide with whatever holiday is just around the corner….and these are some of the things annual passholders are looking forward to every year, but annual passholders aren’t who Disney appeals to. Numbers can easily tell you that. A guest purchasing an annual pass can visit most of the year. Even with the prices being over $1,000 for a Disneyland pass, if you went once a week all year long you would have paid $20 a day to be at that park and that includes parking. That’s extremely cheap considering a single day pass to a Disney park is around $100 and that doesn’t include parking. Clearly Disney would rather have a park full of single day ticket guests than one full of annual passholders. They do know that there is still a long list of people who would love to be annual passholders so they need to be able to balance guests on vacation with local guests who have their annual pass.
In order to get the money they need to operate at the level they’d like to and make the additions they want, the prices have continued to increase. This year, however, Disney added more tiers to their pass system which includes more additions like getting all of pictures taken by photopass photographers. Annual passholders are paying the higher price but Disney is giving them more options and more ways to enjoy their pass. They are hoping that will keep passholders coming back while still earning the cash they need to build new area of the park, renovate older areas of the park, and create the one-of-a-kind experiences they are known for.
With all that being said, I’m not against Disney raising their prices, especially with the fact that they are giving discounts on so much food and merchandise as well as photos from anywhere inside the parks. I’m not against it because I know that purchasing a Disney annual pass means you will be using it and at the parks more often than not. I’m not against this price increase because I know that Disney will give you more joy and entertainment for your money than almost any other place on the planet. Like Erika said in her post (Click here to read it!) going out to see a play for one night can cost a few hundred dollars and that’s just for one night for a few hours. An annual pass to a Disney park brings you 365 days worth of enjoyment.
Josh Taylor
| | |
Disney Now and Then: Annual Passes
I have a lot of California friends who are currently pissed. And understandably so. As many of you know, an increase in Disneyland annual passes was recently announced. While this may seem like typical news that we get every single year, this time around, the increase poses a significant change for Disneyland Resort Premium Pass holders….because their pass type will no longer exist once their current pass expires. That’s right. If you had a Premium Pass, which got you no blackout dates, your pass no longer exists when it comes time to renewal, which means if you would like the Premium experience, you no longer have the option of paying $779, but now instead you would have to purchase the new equivalent which is called Signature Plus, and costs $1,049. Almost $300 more for the same product. The one good thing, is that the monthly payment plan option still exists for SoCal residents.
I’m not a finance person. But here’s what I do know: I used to be a Disney cast member, meaning that I got into all Disney parks for FREE. The normal stress of “Did we reach the maximum amount of fun for what we paid for this trip” did not exist for me. I could walk into Disneyland, have a cup of coffee and walk by “Peter Pan,” decide I don’t want to wait in a line and go right back home and it wouldn’t have mattered. I had coffee at Disneyland. Day well spent.
I don’t work at Disneyland anymore. I don’t even live near Disneyland anymore. I live in New York. Getting to Disneyland requires a plane ride, time off work, planning, hotel stays, etc. I’ve been extremely lucky to have friends who still work at the parks who sign me in when they can. It’s extremely generous and nice and I always appreciate when friends are able to help me or my family out. As wonderful as the sign-in process is, it’s not something I can always rely on. I’ve been in the market for a Disneyland Pass, and while the price raise isn’t making me act like a 5-year-old by declaring “Well, fine! I’ll never go to Disneyland ever again! (which is what a lot of people are claiming), I still feel like it’s time to decide what kind of Disney experience I need now in comparison to then.
I need to go to Disneyland every single day. That is what would make me happy. It’s not a reality though, seeing as it takes a 3-hour plane ride for me to hug Mickey Mouse. When I do go to Disneyland, I need to focus more on the quality of the trip. If I were to purchase a Signature Plus Pass, I would have to go to Disneyland 10 times in 1 year to make the pass worth it. This is something that is simply not feasible living so far away. The plan then turns into one in which I would purchase a ticket every time I visit. So, you figure I’d be spending approximately $100 or more for 1 day in the park. It all comes down to the price of the daily rate. Are you getting enough worth in 1 day at Disneyland for what you paid? Some families think Disneyland is too expensive and absolutely not worth the price of admission even if you spent the entire day in the park. What I’m about to say might make a lot of people cranky: I think the cost of admission is worth every penny even after the price raise. Sure, the Signature Plus Pass is really expensive, but it’s not for everyone. It wouldn’t have enough value for everyone. It’s not a good use of money to everyone unless you’re the person who goes to Disneyland all the time and needs every single calendar day of the year available to them. If you need the Signature Plus pass, then chances are you live close to Disneyland, therefore qualifying you for a monthly payment option. If you’re a huge Disney-holic, those payment plans aren’t too bad.
Here’s where I’m coming from: I work in a Broadway theatre full-time. My side gig is working for a Broadway sound company that sends me to different theaters a couple times a week where I get to see Broadway shows for free. The average price of a Broadway ticket is $75-$150. Broadway shows are also trying to shorten their running times, so many shows are picking up the new trend of a smooth 90 minutes with no intermission. Think about this. $150 for 90 minutes. If you buy a drink, the drink will be $15-$20. Candy is $5. Water is $5. You will probably go out to dinner. Dinner is another $30-$40 because you’re in the theatre district. And to be honest, the show could be terrible. Yes, terrible shows happen on Broadway. I’ve seen a LOT of Broadway shows. They’re a spectacle and they’re amazing and if you’re in New York, you have to see the show. But high cost of the ticket doesn’t guarantee you that you will have the best time of your life….even though this is the standard that Disneyland is held to. If you go to Coney Island and decide to check out Luna Park, you will spend approximately $5 per ride. Yes, it’s a fun experience if you want that quirky Instagram update that you actually went on the ‘scary’ ride, but other than that, it’s not a life changing experience.
Let’s put it all into perspective. People are upset over the price increase of an annual pass because Disneyland is truly important to them. It’s something they budget for. It’s something that they need in their life. Now that I don’t work at Disneyland, I see the one-day park hopper pass as the best value for me. In one day, if I manage to see one show (and we all know that Disney shows are held to Broadway level quality, in fact, many argue that the Hyperion version of “Aladdin” is better than the Broadway version) and go on a couple rides and see the fireworks, then I have reached the value of the price of the ticket. The cost it takes for the fireworks display to be produced alone is worth it. The tons of performers that go into 1 parade performance is worth it. The care and time that goes into every single scenic element, flower, detail. It’s all worth it. The price of one ticket is the price to enter a different world for an entire day. In New York, you will spend $150 to see a Broadway show. $40 on dinner. $30 on a cab with a driver who will get lost. $20 to see a museum, etc etc etc. $100 for a day at Disneyland doesn’t seem too bad. And yes, the Signature Plus pass sounds high because of course you hear the number $1,000 and go, “say what now??” You have to break it down into the number of visits you can feasibly accomplish and what you accomplish while you’re there. The park is too crowded to not raise the prices. And they’re not lowering the quality of the park, sounds like they’re improving on it. Anyway, it’s a nice problem to have isn’t it? Having a Disneyland pass implies that you plan on going multiple times in 1 year. Sounds like a good year to me.
Erika Jenko
| | |
The Whole Picture: The Shaggy Dog
When I wrote about Tonka, I said it was the end of an era at the Disney studio. Westerns had dominated the live action films of the 1950s for Disney, but as we were about to head into a new decade, a new type of live action film would become the norm at Disney. I’ll call it “gimmick comedy”. The first of these gimmick comedies was The Shaggy Dog.
Walt Disney had become a house hold thanks to television. Thanks to the Disneyland tv show and the Mickey Mouse Club, his success in television was profitable. As he looked to expand into more television, he came across the story “Der Hund von Florenz” by Felix Salten. Salten had already been a name at the studio as they had used one of his other stories, Bambi. “Der Hund von Florenz” or “The Hound of Florence” is about a young boy who wishes to be a dog. Walt found that the adventures the boy could go on as he transformed into a dog would make for a good television series.
A pilot for the new Shaggy Dog series was put into production. Charles Barton, who had directed Spin and Marty episodes of Disneyland, was made the director and many of the children from Mickey Mouse Club, Spin and Marty, and the Hardy Boys were cast into roles. Tommy Kirk, who had also been in Old Yeller, was cast as the transforming boy, Wilby, and Kevin “Moochie” Corcoran of Mickey Mouse Club fame was cast as the little brother. Television regulars Fred McMurray and Jean Hagen filled out the rest of the cast as the boys’ parents.
This was the first Disney film to be shot completely in black and white. Walt had prided himself on new technologies and breaking barriers in the film industry. Since Snow White, he had made his films in color, but the Shaggy Dog was met with a few faults. In color, the transformation of Wilby from a boy to a dog looked fake. Shooting in black and white hid some of the visual effects. The film, since it was never meant for theaters, was also shot simply instead of using something like Cinemascope or Technirama 70. The tv pilot, which was shot at the low budget of $1 million (Sleeping Beauty cost $6 million.) was then decided that it might fit the big screen.
The mini-series was pushed together into one larger film and was advertised as a new type of film from Disney. The movie was released in March of 1959 and unlike Sleeping Beauty which made it’s theatrical debut two months earlier, became a rousing success. Critics and audiences alike loved the films comedy and style as it resembled a television sitcom but with better production values. The film grossed $9 million in it’s initial run and ushered in the new era of gimmick comedies. Walt was happy with his new film and pushed the studio more toward this style which dominates the 1960s and downplayed animation, which we will see much less of in the coming decade.
The Shaggy Dog, despite it’s somewhat cheesy premise, went on to become a classic for the Disney company. The film from 1959 still holds up and still holds credibility for younger audiences who aren’t familiar with the vast amount of Disney live action films. The Shaggy Dog would also inspire a sequel, a made for television remake, and a theatrical remake. It would also be an inspiration for other “talking dog” films in the future like Homeward Bound or even the Air Bud series of films. If Davy Crockett defined the 1950s at the Disney studio, you can bet that the Shaggy Dog would build towards defining the 1960s. There will be greater comedy films to talk about in the coming decade but The Shaggy Dog broke open the door for all of those films to be made.
What are your thoughts on The Shaggy Dog? Have you seen it? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Leave a comment and keep the conversation going!
Josh Taylor
| | |
Feature: Controversy and Muppets
After last week’s debut of The Muppets on ABC, it seems like moms everywhere took to social media to pronounce The Muppets as “distasteful and unsafe for children”. The outcry against the Muppets seems somewhat justified as The Muppet show of yester and the Muppet films have been generally kid friendly. I totally get where these critics are coming from but as I watched the Muppets play out on my television, I saw jokes aimed for family audiences and a few adult jokes that would clearly fly over children’s heads.
We also live in an age where animation is used for both children and adults. Looking at a show title for Family Guy vs. Gravity Falls, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and you may let your children watch both. We also live in an age where hardly anything is G rated. Most television shows fall into that PG to PG-14 rating. It’s what sells and television is still in the business of making money.
The Muppets had to change and that’s just a fact. Putting the same Kermit and friends on television that we’ve seen for almost 50 years now wouldn’t do the Henson creatures any favors. I like that Kermit and Piggy have broken up. I like that we are seeing another side to these characters. All of us aren’t pure, do-gooders of the world. We all make mistakes, cave in to vices, have jealousy, or make poor decisions, but we all want to be the best people we can be. To me, that’s what the show is trying to showcase. A group of people (or frogs, pigs, and whatevers) trying to live life the best they can. This isn’t the stage show variety hour we all grew up watching. This was meant to be that behind the scenes showcase where we don’t necessarily get characters that put on smiles and fake it for the camera.
The Muppets continue to do what they do best and that’s make people happy. I can’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy seeing these pieces of felt and fur on tv again and you can tell that the guest celebrities they’ve brought to the show are delighted to be a part of it. Sure we went from G to PG and some of our characters aren’t in the roles we’ve come to know over the decades, but this fresh take is still purely Jim Henson and still feels like The Muppets. I believe that Jim would enjoy this show and would want to push his characters in bold new directions making sure everyone could come along for the ride and laugh the whole way there.
What do you think of the new Muppet show? Do you love it or hate it? What would you change if you could? Keep the conversation rolling in the comments below!
Josh Taylor
| | |
The Whole Picture: Sleeping Beauty
Arguably one of Walt Disney’s greatest animated films, Sleeping Beauty is rich with a history all it’s own and when trying to sit down and write this, became a bit of a problem as I wanted to do the film justice while keeping the history from bouncing around too much. Sleeping Beauty’s debut in 1959 marked the largest gap between Disney animated features as the last film, Lady and the Tramp, was released in 1955. It had been 4 years so what took so long? The truth of what took so long actually reaches farther back than Lady and the Tramp’s release. Sleeping Beauty actually was in production before other features as well.
The story of “La Belle au Bois Dormant” or “The Sleeping Beauty”, written by French author Charles Perrault, was discussed and as early as January 1950 and the story started to take shape in 1951. After the success of Cinderella, Walt wanted to move forward with the princess film but the Perrault version of the story, he felt, resembled the other princess films that he did (Snow White and Cinderella). The story was reworked with more elements from the Brothers Grimm telling of the story, better known as “Briar Rose”. The story was finalized in 1952 and animation began on the film in 1953.
With so much going on by this point at the Disney studio, including television, live action films, and the upcoming Disneyland, Walt handed off the film production to Ken Anderson and Eyvind Earle. Anderson was in charge of the overall production and look of the film, but Eyvind Earle, who had only be at the studio since 1951, was put in charge of the style, color palette, backgrounds, and character designs.
With Walt gone and Ken Anderson also working on the development of Disneyland, Earle was given more freedom than any artist on any other production up until that point. Due to Earle being a perfectionist and his lack of work at the Disney studio, he rubbed many of his peers the wrong way. Regardless, he carried out great influence on the film, which Walt wanted to be a moving piece of art. Earle turned to the stories roots and decided to focus on an art style that would evoke a Medieval Europe. The color scheme was not as bright and bold, and the characters were given more sharp edges. Earle, being the perfectionist he was, painted every single background himself, taking up to a week to complete a single painting, as compared to other productions where it took a single day.
We can’t blame Eyvind Earle for anything here, as Walt was looking for the perfect film, and since Cinderella was such a success, Walt could afford to dump money into Sleeping Beauty. Walt opted to make the film inthe more expensive Super Technirama 70, a film type that used a 70 mm frame instead of the standard 35 mm most film reels took. Walt decided on the film style so he could have more details in the animations and backgrounds. Walt also decided to use Xerox for the first time in a film, allowing animations of the dragon to be bigger or smaller depending on the need in the frame.
Earle’s insistance on different character designs went against many of his peers and as a result, the animators at the studio had to rework their style to adapt to what Earle saw fit. Lead animator Marc Davis was put in charge of Aurora’s design, based on Audrey Hepburn, as well as the villain, Maleficent, whom Davis wanted to look less like a witch and more like a vampire. We can credit Davis for Maleficent’s signature look, with her horns and “flaming” robe. Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas were put in charge of the fairies. The Perrault story originally has 7 fairies, but it was decided in writing the story that there would only be 3. Walt wanted all of the fairies to look the same, but Johnston and Thomas found that boring and not fitting of the story. Since there would be so much time spent with the fairies versus our princess, the veteran animators wanted to give them personalities, each with a different look and color scheme. Despite, Earle’s direction and need for others to adapt, for myself personally, the characters by Davis, Johnston, and Thomas are what make Sleeping Beauty a Disney classic.
Like many of the animated films of the time, live action references were used for animators, and at Walt’s recommendation, Johnston and Thomas observed old women at the market to get the right movements for their 3 fairies. The reliance on this classic Disney way of animation as well as the introduction of Medieval artwork and new technologies allowed the film to feel fresh but familiar. By the end of production, it took over 1 million drawings and a $6 million budget to complete Sleeping Beauty.
Walt also wanted the film to have a catchy soundtrack to be able to sell on vinyl, but after hearing Pytor Tchaikovsky’s ballet of “The Sleeping Beauty” Walt opted to adapt the orchestration of the ballet to the film. This was unique as only 1 true song, “Once Upon a Dream” was added to the film. Most Disney features (excluding the package films) had been packed with songs.
Rewriting of the story, changing in animation style, introduction of new technologies, and Walt’s changing heart toward the musical style of the film all pushed Sleeping Beauty back and that’s why the film took 8 years to make. Even though the length of production went longer than any other production in the history of the Disney studio, Walt had a positive feeling about the film. He decided to give it focus on his Disneyland television show, give it a decent budget for advertising, and before Disneyland opened in 1955, changed the name of Snow White Castle to Sleeping Beauty Castle, making it the key figure of the park 4 years before the film even made it’s debut. The castle was filled with dioramas, showcasing the new style of his animation department and building a buzz around the film with it’s own attraction in his park.
Sleeping Beauty was finally released in January 1959 and regardless of Walt’s advertising campaign for his $6 million movie, the largest budget for a Disney film to that date, the film didn’t make back it’s budget in it’s initial release. The film received mixed reviews during the time, noting that the film didn’t focus on our heroine, Aurora, or that the design wasn’t what movie goers had come to expect of a Disney film. The film lost $700,000 in that first run and because of it, left Walt sour on his animation department. With success in live action films, television, and his theme park, it seemed logical to drop the one failing department at his studio. Luckily for us he didn’t drop animation from the studio, but animated features would get less attention and lower budgets for the next few decades after Sleeping Beauty.
After the film’s initial release, there were 4 re-releases of Sleeping Beauty with the last in 1995. All 5 releases bring the film’s total box office to just over $51 million. The legacy of Sleeping Beauty actually make this film much bigger than in Walt’s lifetime. We now regard Maleficent as one of Disney’s best villains and the character got her own live action retelling of the story in 2014. The 3 fairies are regular characters in Disney Channel show “Sofia the First”. The Hong Kong and French versions of Disneyland also have a castle named after the film. I would go out on a limb to say that Sleeping Beauty, along with Davy Crockett and Cinderella, are Walt’s most credible creations of the 1950s. Sleeping Beauty will continue to be reimagined by Disney and be enjoyed by audiences around the world.
What do you think of Sleeping Beauty? Do you love it or hate it? Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going!
Josh Taylor
| | |
Disney Now and Then: Guest Questions
Fact 1: Disneyland instills some of the best customer service skills in their cast members than any company imaginable.
Fact 2: Disney also hires people who lean toward being on the friendly, helpful and happy side who soak in customer service skills like sponges.
Fact 3: Neither Fact 1 nor fact 2 kept me from fantasizing about the things that I wished I could say to guests but would never ever say because well…I’m not a terrible person.
When you work at Disneyland, you genuinely want to help people have the best day possible. You genuinely want them to be happy and to come back. You genuinely want them to find the magic that you found there as a kid and continue to find as a grownup. With all that said, wanna play an awesome game of make believe with me? Below are the main questions/comments I would get from guests while working attractions or entertainment. You’ll see the ‘THEN’ response, which is how I would’ve answered the question/comment as a cast member and the ‘NOW’ response, which is the way the question should never ever ever be answered but hopefully the answers will entertain you so here we go!
Location: Town Square. 1 hour before the parade. Most of the characters are wrapping it up for the day.
Guest: “Why won’t you let me see Mickey Mouse? I have to leave to catch my cab to New Zealand in 5 minutes, and this is all your fault.”
Then: “I’m so sorry to hear that. Mickey really has to get back home to feed Pluto, but I want to make sure you see a character before you go. Goofy is just across the way and he’d love to say goodbye to you.
Now: “You waited til the end of the trip? Seriously? And we all know you’re not on your way home. You’re on your way to Downtown Disney to grab a cocktail and come back in.
Location: Snow White’s Scary Adventure
Guest: “My child cried on this ride. Can she get a free churro?”
Then: “Oh, I hope the little princess is feeling better. You know, Snow White gets nervous around the Evil Queen too.
Now: “I would cry on this ride too, because it’s called ‘Snow White’s Scary Adventure’ NOT ‘Snow White took a delightful romp through the forest and happened upon 7 nice friends where absolutely nothing bad happened to her.’ And I don’t think she should get a churro for free. They’re all mine. It’s a ruling created by the queen.”
Location: Rivers of America 30 minutes prior to FANTASMIC!
Guest: “Why are all these people standing around here?”
Then: “They’re all waiting to see Fantasmic! The show starts in 15 minutes and its been my favorite since I was a kid. I would definitely stick around to see it.”
Now: “You mean why half the park is standing at the same location at the same time? Gee, I dunno, maybe they’re all waiting for their fast pass to Haunted Mansion to come into fruition. You should beat them to it and head straight to the ride. Nothing at all exhilarating or life changing is about to happen right here
Location: The castle.
Guest: “Are you a princess?”
Then: “That’s so sweet of you to say. I’m a royal Paige right here at the castle and I get to assist all of the princesses on the royal court. Who is your favorite princess?”
Now: “Who me? I can guarantee you princesses don’t wear name tags or wear black flats from Payless. You seriously made my day though. Why weren’t you behind the casting table the last 10 times I auditioned? Ah, well. We can only hope they make an animated film about a German/Ukrainian girl who owns two cats. Wish me luck!”
Location: Critter Country Winnie the Pooh meet n’ greet
Guest: (looking at Pooh) “Is it hot in there?”
Then: Thanks so much for worrying about Pooh! We actually chill his honey snacks so that he can have frozen honey pops, so Pooh actually loves this time of year.
Now: Can we just savor the magic for one split second? Why are you here if not to have the time of your life? Do you also tell your children that Santa doesn’t exist and that not making the bed leads to bed bugs or something terrible? Let’s have some fun shall we?
Erika Jenko
| | |
Disney Now and Then: The Rides
Sep 18
I used to be a very spoiled Disney girl. After work in the character department, I would high-tail it back to the breakroom to change clothes and run back into the park. You would think that I would be sick and tired of Disneyland after spending 40 hours a week there, but as a college-kid, an affordable date night or hangout with friends meant heading right back into the park. When you go to Disneyland all the time, you start to develop your favorite rides that you don’t mind riding a million times. I’ve noticed that my ride palette has changed a little bit since I worked at the parks, and when I have the chance to go once in awhile, I choose wisely, and sometimes differently. Here’s my DISNEYLAND RIDE: Now and Then based on lands!
FANTASYLAND
Then: If I had a small amount of time to kill, I would hit Fantasyland first, because I knew I could see a lot in a short amount of time. Pinnochio and Snow White were the rides I always hit because the lines would be short, and I’d make it a point to not leave without going on Mr. Toad. Unless I was hanging out in the park til closing, I usually gave up hope on going on Peter Pan even though it’s actually my favorite ride in the park. What I always replaced it with, was my 2nd favorite Fantasyland ride, Alice in Wonderland. The ride I would usually end the night with, was the carousel. There is nothing in the world like riding that beauty late at night seeing the park lit up.
Now: My Fantasyland habits are pretty similar, except I do everything in my power to make sure that I go on Peter Pan. I will plan an entire day around waiting in that line if I have to, because I don’t know when my next visit will be. While Alice is still a huge favorite of mine, the Carousel is the one that I can’t miss, so in a sense, Carousel is the experience that stays exactly the same for me.
ADVENTURELAND
Then: This was the land that I spent the most amount of time in after work. Between the Dole Whips, close proximity to Fantasmic! and Bengal BBQ, it was an ideal choice when it came to the perfect hangout spot. My favorite thing was riding Jungle Cruise at night. My friends and I would usually wait until one of our favorite skippers was on, so that we could get a special trip. Indiana Jones was the other must-see for me. Something about that ride never gets old.
Now: Adventureland is so crowded! I used to be able to navigate it like a pro, but now when I head into this land, I get a little overwhelmed. While I used to make it a point to never miss Jungle Cruise, I feel like it’s not a ride I need to hit every single time anymore. To be honest, I’ve heard those jokes a lot. When I do go on the ride, I love taking a Jungle Cruise Virgin with me so that I can experience the ride from a newbie perspective, or, I have to go on the ride at night. It’s hauntingly wonderful. Indiana Jones is still a must-see. The boulder, the fire, the snakes. It’s all gold.
CRITTER COUNTRY/NEW ORLEANS SQUARE:
Then: Splash Mountain hands down. That ride never gets old. It didn’t matter if I pulled a full shift at work and was exhausted and it was a freezing 70 degrees out, I would always risk pneumonia for this ride.
Now: Splash Mountain didn’t happen on my first trip to WDW this year and it also didn’t happen on this recent visit over the summer. It all had to do with the fact that my party didn’t like drops. As much as I thought that I would lose sleep over this one, I have re-discovered my true favorites. Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean are the rides I HAVE to go on every single time. It’s Disney Imagineering at its best. Give me a ride full of animatronics and I’m on-board. Also, I have fallen back in love with the Walt Disney Rail Road. I took a full loop and a half trip last time I went to the park. It’s the best way to see the park on a busy day without sitting in a crowd.
FRONTIERLAND:
Then: Thunder Mountain was my jam. At night. What is with me and going on rides at night? I think it’s my preference because that was the time of day I went on most of these rides due to work.
Now: Thunder Mountain keeps getting skipped. I’m not doing it intentionally. I actually really like this ride. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like I don’t want to be 100% happy when I visit the Disney Parks. I’m so sorry, Thunder Mountain!
TOMORROWLAND:
Then: I would always make it a point to visit Innoventions. Not only did I work there, but they have a spectacular view of the fireworks on their exit ramp.
Now: I will usually visit the Jedi Training Academy for a nostalgic throw-back, but ride-wise Star Tours is always top of the list. I love the upgrades to the ride and it’s a different experience every single time. Plus…Star Wars. It never gets old.
BOTTOM LINE: I would be happy walking around Disneyland with a cup of coffee looking at flowers all day. Seriously. Disneyland is my happy place. Any ride there brings a smile to my face. If I could only go on 1 ride when visiting the park, I’d pick Peter Pan. As a kid, my mom would pull me out of school to go on this ride, and it’s impossible for me to experience this ride without hearing her voice in my head as the jolly roger flies over Neverland, “Erika, look we’re flying!”
Erika Jenko
| | |
The Whole Picture: Tonka
Sep 16
As the 1950’s come to a close (Only a few more left until the 1960s!) it’s fun to look back and see what the decade was really alabout. The 1940s had given us were purely centered around animation at the Disney studio, but when Walt Disney found that he could make films faster and make money quicker, he opted to only give us 4 animated films in the 1950s as opposed to 24 live action and documentary films. As closely attached as animation is to Disney, we can’t forget his live action films either. The 1950’s also brought us plenty of Western films from the Disney studio. Westerns have often been romanticized as cowboys being heroes. Cowboys have often been “the good guys”, but through the prism of history we can settle on the idea that cowboys of the “wild west” often claimed land that wasn’t theirs, similar to those who landed at Plymouth, and they killed those Native Americans that stood in their way.
Walt Disney was one of the few Hollywood business men to portray a more realistic look at what times were really like during the 1800s. We discussed The Light in the Forest already and how a boy raised by Native Americans was taken back by the European Americans and eventually decides to no longer be part of the battle. This week we discuss a film that came out in the same year, Tonka.
Tonka is based on a book by David Appel titled “Comanche: Story of America’s Most Heroic Horse”. The film takes a look at how a young Native American boy named White Bull takes in and trains a horse. He names the horse Tonka. When the horse is mistreated by others, White Bull sets him free to run wild but the horse ends up being owned by a U.S. army captain named Miles Keogh and renamed Comanche. As the story unfolds, we find ourselves on the brink of war between the U.S. army and the Native Americans. Despite the rivalry, White Bull seeks out his horse in camp and befriends Miles as they share their common animal friend. Regardless of this friendship, the Battle of Bull Horn erupts and White Bull and his horse remain as the only ones left standing.
The film showcases fictional history and depicts the unnecessary rivalry between the European Americans and Native Americans. It’s an interesting film and one that has unfortunately been forgotten over the years. It was a success with critics and at the box office when it was released in December 1958. Maybe we would rather remember films from John Wayne or Clint Eastwood where cowboys are heroes, but I think I prefer this depiction. I like to remember history as having no true good guy or bad guy, but rather a story where everyone made mistakes and unfortunately we paid for it regardless of what side you were on.
Josh Taylor
| | |
Disney Now and Then: Civilian vs. Cast Members
For the entirety of my 20’s, whenever I visited the Disneyland Resort, I was visiting as a cast member. I was a part of the Disney community, and I’ll tell you something…there is nothing like visiting Disneyland when you ARE a cast member. Prior to working at Disney, I was a civilian. And I loved every second of it. I was an annual passholder from the minute I was conceived, and I have more family photos of me with characters than I do of me with family. On my visit to Disneyland last month, it was my first visit to Disneyland in 4 years and it was also my first Disneyland visit as a civilian since I was 18. Let me tell you, there are a ton of differences between being a civilian and a cast member. Here’s how it all went down!
Getting into the Park!
When you’re a cast member, you just walk into the park. Whenever you like. Well, as long as you’re not on the clock. Disneyland is yours to play in. On my last trip, I was lucky enough to score sign-ins from my extremely generous and lovely friends who still work for Disneyland. While just walking into Disneyland isn’t as simple as it used to be for me, there was something kind of special about getting signed in. It added more meaning to the trip and it made me truly realize and understand the fact that not everyone (including myself) gets to visit all the time, and each visit should count.
Meeting characters!
I worked in the character department for a couple years. I knew all of the hosts and I knew all of the characters AND I knew a lot of the performers in the parades. It always added that special touch whenever I visited with family, and a character would recognize me and create a special moment for my family. Since it’s been a few years since I’ve worked at Disneyland, there are so many new faces. There were moments on the trip where I felt like a stranger to a world that I used to know so well. The really cool part, was that Disney characters always have a special way of making you feel at home whether you’re new to town or an old friend. It turns out that a bunch of familiar faces still hang out at Disneyland. A storm trooper had spotted me over at Jedi Training Academy, and I quickly realized that him and I used to be on opposing sides of the force back before I retired from being a Jedi.
Shows!
When you know everyone who works at the parks, you can usually find a show hook-up for specialty seating, or at the very least, you know the ins and outs of the park so well that you know where the secret spots are. I’ve had an opportunity to sit right next to the stage management booth in the VIP seating area at Fantasmic! back when I was dating someone involved with the show. I also knew the park well enough to know that the docking location for the Tom Sawyer rafts was THE BEST VIEWING AREA for Fantasmic!, since it was quiet and out of the way of the crowds (this was before the fastpass system and before the AP’s caught on to what the cast members were doing). On my most recent trip, there were moments when I thought to myself, ‘Oh goodness. I have to figure out the secret rules of this crowd control game and I don’t know what to do because EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT.’ I ended up talking to an old friend who is now a supervisor of Main Street crowd control. She was awesome because she gave my group some tips on where we should stand for the best view of the parade/fireworks. What was so great about this moment, was that she wasn’t just giving me insider info because I knew her and we went way back. I knew that because she was GREAT at her job, that she gave this info to others and made them feel special, and made their trip better. I’ll tell you though, I went to visit friends over at Disney Jr, and my mom and I got our names on the same VIP list that guest relations utilizes with their groups. Which meant we didn’t have to wait in line, we got let into the show first, and we were able to snag the bench seating right next to the stage, AND I got to meetup with the cast afterwards
Enjoy your day!
When I visited the park as a CM, I was never in a rush to do anything. Even when I brought my family into the park with me, we never hurried. We would sometimes visit in the evening just to grab a coffee, watch Fantasmic! and go back home. We were lucky enough to get to go to the park all the time. I figured since I don’t get to go all the time now, that I would be rushing through the park at break-neck speed like I was trying to race through a Disney bucket list or something. I was surprised that my mellow Disney attitude is still there. On my first visit back, my friends and I enjoyed sangria on the wharf at DCA and we spent most of the evening eating ice cream and hanging out on Main Street. When I went with my mom, we raced to get a Haunted Mansion fast pass, then we ended up sitting on a bench in New Orleans Square waiting for our window and just talked and caught up on life. It was amazing! I love that Disney is still that place that clears my head.
The biggest thing that I learned, is that Disneyland is the old friend in my life. Disneyland will be maid of honor at my wedding, Disneyland will go through the birth of my future kids and see them grow up and Disneyland will see me through heartbreak and happiness. It doesn’t matter that I no longer work at Disneyland, because it will ALWAYS be the place that makes me feel like myself, and for that reason alone, it no longer matters that I’m a civilian. Being a civilian means you get treated special BECAUSE IT’S DISNEY and they WANT to treat you like you are special because you are. While there were little things that were different along the way, the big thing is that my group and I always got treated with care and magic was made wherever we went. I can’t wait to go back home.
Erika Jenko
| | |
Feature: The Future of Epcot’s Future World
We are a few week past the 2015 D23 Expo. The wuestions we had for Disney theme parks were answered. The excitement of huge announcements has mellowed. We now know that Walt Disney World will be gaining momentum in the next few years with additions to Animal Kingdom (New nighttime entertainment, Pandora – The World of Avatar) and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Toy Story Land, Star Wars Land). I already believe Disney had a little momentum after the additions at the Magic Kingdom with New Fantasyland and the expanding hub area. In a single decade, almost all of the Disney parks in Florida have had serious upgrades, all except for one: Epcot.
The 1990s saw amazing growth at the Walt Disney World (and even Disneyland) Resort! Multiple new hotels, a brand new theme park in Animal Kingdom, and the expansion of Downtown Disney. That’s not including the newer attractions that came to the parks during that time period. During the 2000s we saw a lull with expansions taking longer and new attractions scattered here and there. The 2010s have seen a move back to what we saw in the 1990s with upgraded and expanded hotels, new lands added to theme parks, and innovative technology upgrading attractions making it very easy to spot the new stuff from the old. While the 2010s have been great for nearly every square inch of space on WDW property, it hasn’t helped or upgraded Epcot.
Sure Epcot got the refurbished Test Track, or “Tron Track”, but it was a horizontal move for the attraction. It was neither an amazing upgrade or a disappointment. The only true upgrade despite controversy will be the addition of the Frozen Ever After attraction to Norway, which in my opinion, is not the area of the park that needs attention. World Showcase can continue to be a place where food, drinks, shopping, and culture all meet. It doesn’t need an E-ticket attraction or any serious upgrades. Sure we would all like a new country to add to the World Showcase lagoon but the real upgrades that need to happen to Epcot are in Future World.
Epcot’s Future World is littered with aging attractions and lukewarm upgrades. Almost every pavilion in Future World either needs major upgrades or completely new pavilions. Disney did have plans in place to upgrade Future World in the early 2000s with a project called Gemini which would see the area change into Discoveryland. The project would see the demolition of The Land pavilion in favor of a “rainforest rollercoaster” and the attraction inside Spaceship Earth go away and be replaced with an additional roller coaster called “Time Racers”.
I’m not a big fan of this complete throwaway of Future World. I think the edu-tainment of Future World can work as long as we get these attractions out of the 1980s and 90s and move them into the “future”. I understand that means, like Tomorrowland, we would see constant upgrades because the future is always changing. The integration of Disney characters doesn’t bother me either and can actually be useful depending on where they are put.
I’d love to see Wonders of Life reopen with a new health and fitness center along with the return of a Cranium Command type of attraction featuring the emotions of Inside Out. Universe of Energy can still be an attraction or pavilion but I see big changes if it stayed. Energy and fuel proficiency is a big political agenda these days and into the future and would continue to make for a great discussion to entertain and educate. And how exciting would it be for the return of the Dream Finder to the Imagination pavilion? Old school fans would rejoice and new fans of the attraction would fall in love with the characters for the first time.
I don’t see changes coming to Epcot anytime soon considering the work that will need to be finished at the other 3 theme parks, but my hope is that by the end of this decade, the 2010s, we can see changes coming or starting at Epcot to take us into the park’s future. Maybe this is just a dream of mine, but I do hope that WDW’s 2nd theme park continues to be one of it’s best. I have no doubts that Disney has or will have plans for the park, the questions really is, when will we find out about them and when will they be put into action?
What would you like to see happen at Epcot’s Future World? What would you keep? What would you ditch? Leave your thoughts in the comments below to keep the conversation going!
Josh Taylor
| | |