It's Fun To Be Free,Part 2

In my opinion,Frontierland and Tomorrowland are the two most important lands when it comes to transportation and theming concerns,so I'll cover them last.I'll start my covering Fantasyland:

Fantasyland

Fantasyland has always been of a vague time period.In both incarnations,it has very obvious Old-World European tones.The 1955 Fantasyland was chock-full of Renaissance tournament facades and the 1983 Fantasyland is a charming storybook village with Toad Hall and the Evil Queen's Castle.Both Fantasylands had one major transportation attraction in common:The Skyway to Tomorrowland.This attraction loaded from a beautiful little Swiss chalet that sat among the hills of Storybook Land.When paired with the Matterhorn,especially after the 1976 update of that ride,the two went together amazingly.However,due to the small footprint of Disneyland's Fantasyland there aren't any other transportation attractions.

Frontierland 

Frontierland is a big one when it comes to transportation.This is thanks to the Rivers of America.Now what is the Rivers of America supposed to represent?It represents the many rivers and forests of America.The river succeeds in seeming to be all these different rivers at once,which is why it doesn't seem strange to see a southern steam wheeler next to a wooden sailing ship.The real secret to why the Rivers of America seems so grand is the river traffic.The river just seems so alive.There are steamboats,sailing ships,and canoes plowing her waters.Now don't get me wrong,the river still looks amazing without ships,but the watercraft add real kinetic energy to Frontierland and the other adjacent lands.And anyone who has seen the Columbia or Mar Twain rolling around the bend knows how amazing that looks.

Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland is the last land of Disneyland we will look at and this one is a big one.Tomorrowland thrives off the kinetic energy provided by transportation rides.Peoplemovers moving above you.Rocket Jets spinning in the air.There are submarines and cars going right by each other.Now the interesting thing is that Tomorrowland wasn't designed to look like a lived space.There are none of the little windows or false portals that are used in other lands to look like there are people living in those lands that are just out of sight.Yet,it still benefits from this kinetic energy because it conveys a sense of the future.Looking at videos of Tomorrowland 67 I'm reminded of the Jetsons.After all,Tomorrowland is an abstraction of "the world on the move" motif.

It's Fun To Be Free,Part 1

Disneyland’s theme is fantasy and nostalgia.

If you’ve stumbled upon this blog,you probably know that already.The more I think and visit that park,it always reaffirms that fact.Even historical lands like Main Street USA,Frontierland,and New Orleans Square are fantastical recreations of familiar places in America. New Orleans Square isn’t just a straight reproduction of a city block in New Orleans. It is an idealized slice of New Orleans,one that has a dark and mysterious feeling that pervades it,thanks to the ghostly events occurring in the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean,not to mention the voodoo priestess’s chants coming from her window.But,this article isn’t about New Orleans Square.It’s about one of the major repeating elements that occurs in every land in the park:Vehicles.

 How many of you have stopped to think about how many rides based on a mode of transportation have been at Disneyland?The list is staggering:

• The Disneyland Railroad
• Main Street Omnibuses
• Main Street Horse and Buggies
• Main Street Firetrucks
• Jungle Cruise
• Mine Train Thru Nature’s Wonderland
• Mark Twain Riverboat
• The Columbia Sailing Ship
• Indian War/Davy Crockett Canoes
• Mike Fink Keelboats
• Raft to Tom Sawyer’s Island
• Pack Mules
• Conestoga Wagons’
• Stagecoaches

• Autopia
• Midget Autopia
• Junior Autopia
• Viewliner
• Submarine Voyage
• Phantom Boats
• Motor Boats
• The Skyway
• The Monorail
• Peoplemover
• Rocket Rods

Some of these rides are major visual elements,while some are more minor elements.Nonetheless,they all play an important role in creating a sense of nostalgic fantasy.

Lived Space

There are two kinds of theme park areas.There are the areas that attempt to look like they are lived spaces,spaces that has inhabitants just out of sight.Examples would include New Orleans Square and Main Street USA.The second kind of themed area is the the area that does not attempt to be a lived space,but more of a visualization of ideas and concepts.Examples would include Tomorrowland and EPCOT Center’s Future World.First,I will discuss these transportation rides in relation to the “Lived Space” lands of Disneyland,which is everything except Tomorrowland.Since,this is a more historically oriented blog,I will focus on the lands pre-1984,in the Golden Age of WED.

Main Street USA

The turn-of-the-century town of Main Street USA is bustling with vehicles.Main Street is supposed to exist during the turn of the century and the “town” is designed in such a way to reflect the “changing of the times”.One of the ways this is visualized is through the disjunction of an older way of doing things with the newer way of doing things.For example,on the actual “street” of Main Street,there are gas lamps lighting the way,but,in the Town Square,which is supposed to be the “newer” part of town,has electric lights.This disjunction is used with the vehicles as well.Newer vehicles,such as omnibuses,are scene traversing the same street as old horse and carriages.This helps suggest that the town is changing with the times.

Adventureland

Now Adventureland has one transportation-based ride,but it is,without exaggeration,the most important component to Adventureland.After all,in 1955,Adventureland and the Jungle Cruise were practically the same thing.Before guests climbed the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse or got serenaded in Tiki Room,the only thing to do in Adventureland was the Jungle River Cruise.Why is the Jungle Cruise so important?The answer is that it is the heart of Adventureland.One of the important things to remember about Disneyland is that it was designed for white,middle-class families.Places like Afrrica,Asia,and Polynesia were areas thought to be filled with danger and mystery.The Jungle Cruise takes us Americans on a tropical fantasy to the jungles of the world.The other important role the Jungle Cruise serves is to support Disneyland’s Adventureland is a jungle river outpost.If you look at the architecture for Disneyland’s Adventureland,it is clear that this is supposed to be a jungle river outpost where colonists have started to settle.The coming and going of the Jungle Cruise boats helps support this idea.

New Orleans Square

New Orleans Square is my favorite land at Disneyland.Not just because it hosts the Haunted Mansion,but because it invites you to walk around and it’s alleys,shops,and windows have the ability to really fire up your imagination. One of my earliest Disneyland memories is staring up at the voodoo priestess’s balcony with the masks and the chickens,I would always wonder what their meaning was.Now,I know,but it’s the kind of thing that adds to the mystique of New Orleans Square.Now,New Orleans Square is made up of three areas.There is the actual city block where the shops,restaurants,and Pirates of the Caribbean  all are.There is the little park,with the fountain and the train station,and finally there is the old plantation,The Haunted Mansion,along with Fowler’s Harbor.It’s important to remember that Disneyland has grown in bursts.It’s one of the most charming parts of Disneyland,but it means that Disneyland doesn’t have the thematic transitions that the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World has.This also means that the Disneyland Railroad Station and the Mark Twain Riverboat predate New Orleans Square to even before it’s conception.Therefore,the benefit of the Railroad and Riverboat,in terms of atmosphere,isn’t so much planned design,as it is a happy accident.However,anybody who has dined at the French Cafe knows how amazing it is to see the old train coming into its station and see the grand Mark Twain meandering along the river knows how much atmosphere they add.The two vehicles also provide an important thematic job.Remember that New Orleans Square is supposed to be taking place in around 1869.The sight of those two steam-powered vehicles helps bring us back to old New Orleans.

Bear/Critter Country

Bear Country gets a lot of flack,but it was beautiful little corner of Disneyland,especially considering the entire reason for its existence was the Country Bear Jamboree. It was basically an extension of Frontierland. In fact,it was listed as a Frontierland attraction.However,this subland has many interesting details.In my opinion,one of the most amazing aspects of Bear Country was the trestle that passed over the land.That wooden structure with its fire buckets,not,only adds to the conceit that you are in a ravine,but to really make it feel like a rustic old mining town high in the Sierra Nevadas.The other transportation ride is the Davy Crocket Canoes,but this attaction adds to the atmosphere of the Rivers of America.

In part two,we will cover Frontierland,Fantasyland,and Tomorrowland.

The Haunted Mansion:America’s Haunted House

Celebrating 47 years of the Haunted Mansion

Now the Haunted Mansion and I have had a long history together throughout the years.It makes up some of my earliest and most vivid memories of Disneyland.The only other attractions that I can say I can remember that well are the Matterhorn,the Enchanted Tiki Room,Pirates of the Caribbean,and Mr.Toad’s Wild Ride but none of those are as vivid as the Haunted Mansion.The ironic thing is that the Haunted Mansion really scared me as a child.Even the humorously dark ending of Mr.Toad’s Wild Ride never affected me as vividly as the Haunted Mansion did.In fact,my fear of the Haunted Mansion eventually evolved into my love of Disneyland history and lead me to start studying themed design.This blog wouldn’t even exist without the Haunted Mansion.Now this article today is meant to discuss my belief that the Haunted Mansion is basically the ultimate American Haunted House.

The Old House on the Hill

Disneyland,since it’s conception,has been a tapestry of American culture and history.All of the five original lands are based off American values and interests.This fact has been well documented in books and blogs on Disneyland pretty well.Another fact that is now fairly well known is that the Haunted Mansion was originally conceived to be part of Main Street USA.

The Main Street Haunted Mansion would have been a run-down Victorian mansion complete with a church and graveyard.This mansion would been coupled with a different sort of Main Street,one that was not a 1890s midwestern boom town,but something that was much less prosperous.However,the idea of a Main Street Haunted Mansion is appealing considering that the Haunted Mansion is based off one of the classic cultural memories of the US:The Haunted House.

The American Haunted House

Cultural memories and ideas,like I mentioned above,have provided the basis for many attractions.For example Americans fascination with pirates lead to Pirates of the Caribbean or the idea of exploring an exotic jungle was used in the Jungle Cruise.The Haunted Mansion is based off the Haunted House.Seemingly every neighborhood has one.For instance,there was a house near my elementary school and people would say that it was haunted and that a killer lived there.The Haunted House is the old,run-down house that nobody lives in and just seems creepy.That’s why,in my opinion,there is a certain appeal to having a run-down mansion next to a church and graveyard down an offshoot road of Main Street.If Main Street is the ideal town of Walt Disney’s childhood,then the Haunted Mansion could be the ideal haunted house of that ideal childhood town.

The Ideal Haunted House

Now haunted houses,or at least old scary houses, appear very often in literature and cinema.Movies such as The Haunting or The Bat both take place in a haunted or at least a creepy house.The house in The Bat was not haunted by ghosts,but it was old and had an unsettling feel to it.The key to what makes the Haunted Mansion so wonderful is the fact that the scenes and imagery are unique and interesting but yet they are based on cliches of haunted houses and old Coney Island dark rides.One example is the Bride and the Hatbox Ghost.The original concept of having the two paired together is extremely evocative of the stories that haunted houses usually have involving murder and romance.Another example is the hanged body of the Ghost Host,which recalls stories of people commiting suicide for some reason or another and their unhappy souls still residing in their old home.Even Edgar Allen Poe has had an influence on the Mansion with a raven following around.The raven was originally supposed to speak and was intended to say more than one “nevermore”

Conclusion

In conclusion,I feel that the Haunted Mansion is the ideal haunted house and provides an archetype for haunted houses after it.Whether you grew up with a beautiful Antebellum mansion or an imposing brick New England mansion,the Haunted Mansion will always be the eternal “old haunted house on the hill” and 47 years later it’s inhabitants are still following you home.

Tokyo Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room Part 1

Tokyo Disneyland History

One of the topics I want to focus on in this blog is Tokyo Disneyland history. There are plenty of blogs focused on Disneyland and Walt Disney World. However,I have learned a lot about the park's history and this is the place to share it.

And the topic today is:

The Enchanted Tiki Room

Now Tokyo's Enchanted Tiki Room has had three shows but it's the first one we are going to talk about.

This version of the show has always been shrouded in mystery. I had a lot of questions and theories but now I have some concrete proof. Now on to the first question:

Question #1:Did Tokyo Ever Have a Barker Bird?

This was my first question about the show. I had some evidence to back it up. It was primarily because the tiki room in Tokyo has the same alcove where Florida's barker used to perch.

However,now I have video footage from 1983 showing they have a green parrot:

https://youtu.be/6ehcxPxot7c

Jungle Cruise:Wildlife Expedition

It's kind of a shame really.The best example of a (mostly) unchanged WED theme park and its history is barely commented on.Tokyo Disneyland has a rich history and I wish there was more documentation of it.Well I plan to do my part by writing more about this undocumented park.I plan to start with a change of a classic E ticket attraction:the Jungle Cruise.

Jungle Cruise:River Expedition

2014 brought change to Tokyo Disneyland's Jungle Cruise,which of only one real change was ever made when they switched Salesman Sam's shrunken heads for a bounty of fruit.

Sure shrunken heads are scary,but you know what's scarier?The low price of Trader Sam's All-Natural Bananas,chock full of potassium.


Now this revision was pretty major.New name,new soundtrack,new storyline,new script,new scenes,and a new nighttime experience.Now while I think that a lot of these changes were good,I don't think ALL of them were good.I this article I want to get deeper in the revision.

The Good

I want to start off positive.There's actually quite a lot of good things to say about Wildlife Expedition.The first is the script.It is a new script,in the vein of the comedic spiels of skippers in the American parks, but thinew spiel was written by a Japanese writer in Japanese so the jokes are more familiar to the culture in the same way the Jungle Cruise skipper spiel in the domestic parks is in line with American culture.This reminds of a story Wally Boag told in an interview about his work on TDL's Enchanted Tiki Room.He had a Japanese comedian help make his jokes more Japanese-friendly and he discussed how Jose instead of saying "I think someone left the shower running" he instead yelps "Cover your bellybutton!".If you don't get it just look up Japan Cover Your Bellybutton.Suffice it to say,when you find out why he says it it actually is pretty funny.

Cover your bellybuttons!Also can we talk about the fact that Michael was named Johnny at TDL?

The Bad

Now Tokyo's Jungle Cruise has always been a cut down,mirrored version of Orlando's amazing Jungle Cruise.It did receive three additional scenes from Disneyland's 1976 version of the Jungle Cruise.All these scenes were planned for Florida but never happened.One important aspect that Tokyo retained from Orlando was the sunken temple.That scene was the crown jewel scene of the 1971 Jungle Cruise and the perfect representation of the "nature wins over man" theme of Adventureland.

Unfortunately, the temple scene at Tokyo was gutted for a screen effect.Now I believe this ruins the effect of the temple.The temple is supposed to be mysterious,scary,and at the end a little funny.Now this strange magic effect does not have the same impact.It cannot compare to the effect of the Haruman statue sitting among gold and jewels,being guarded by cobras and large spiders or the effect of being threatened by a Bengal tiger.Now the scariness of the tiger and the mystery of the Monkey god and his guards is balanced by the levity of  monkeys playing in the treasure.

Conclusion

Overall the refresh of the Tokyo Jungle Cruise was successful but the loss of the Sunken Temple thoroughly ruins the balance of the Jungle Cruise.

Disneyland USA:A Review

There are have been many great movies throughout the years.Star Wars,Casablanca,and Pulp Fiction have been celebrated as works of art.However I would like to dominate a new classic:People and Places-Disneyland USA released in 1956.Some may laugh and say Disneyland is just a theme park.However,in my humble opinion,theme parks are like works of art.Disneyland USA captures the essence of the true,original Disneyland through cinematics.It is a Disneyland of nostalgia,adventure,America,the future,and childhood fantasy.It is not the Disneyland destroyed by corporate greed.

When the movie starts and after the introduction,its impossible as a Disneyland historian and themed design junkie not to get a little choked up as panoramic view of the Disneyland park,accompanied by orchestral strains of “When You Wish Upon a Star”it’s hard to not get a little choked up.The score in this movie is amazing all original compositions all done by composer Oliver Wallace.Each piece perfectly fits the land it’s supposed to represent.Winston Hibler does a great job with narration.He speaks well but doesn’t overpower the score or visuals.

The structure of the film is impressive.The idea is that this is a virtual visit to Disneyland.You start at the Disneylnd Hotel and then experience all that Disneyland had in 1956.First you take a look down Main Street USA,accomponied by the song “Meet Me Down on Main Street” inspired by gay 90s waltzes of the time Main Street is supposed to take place.Frontierland’s score is an orchestral version of folk music of the great American Frontier.Adventureland has strange,exotic sounding score that evokes the jungles of Africa,Asia,South America,the Caribbean,and the South Seas all at once.Tomorrowland doesn’t have the techno music that we think of when we here about the future today but a grand score embodies the greatness of the future.We end in Fantasyland which is accompanied by a medley of Disney classics.The film ends with fireworks flashing above a glowing Sleeping Beauty Castle.

One thing I really enjoy about this movies is that it captures the idea of theme parks as works of art.It may seem strange to think about but its the truth.Take Adventureland for example.It captures the idea of leaving our cities and neighboor hoods and exploring the jungles of the world.Yet Adventureland also evokes a sort of relaxing,exotic atmosphere.Adventureland is not only wild beast and mysterious cultures,it is also luaus and banana fans.Disneyland is also possibly one of the best records of American history out there.The Haunted Mansion goes with the American obsession with haunted houses and ghosts.The Country Bear Jamboree is the sole survivor of the great American tradition of the vaudeville theater.The Enchanted Tiki Room is more a reflection of American 60s pop culture than actual South Seas culture.In conclusion I nominate not only Disneyland USA the movie as a work of art but Disneyland USA itself.

The Carousel of Progress Problem

The Show

It was a white hot Florida summer day in August 2015.I was on vacation in the Vacation Kingdom.I had spent a day marveling at the wonderful themed design of a Marc Davis and Dorothea Redmond Adventureland and the Magic Kingdom's impressive River District.Finally, I walked into Tomorrowland.I rode the Peoplemover several times and then walked on to the Carousel of Progress.I had seen videos of the original 1976 version of the attraction,but I had never seen videos of the 1993 version.So with an open mind a took a seat for a carousel ride from the good old days to the possible future.The first thing I noticed was how much they used the "Walt Disney" mandate to sell the attraction.There were several other problems in the show as well.First,the turn of the century chorus was terribly out of tune.Second,the show seemed ridiculously outdated,despite being the most modern.Thirdly,the final scene...it was pretty bad.The figures didn't match the previous ones and it seemed like something out of a bad sitcom.And that bad sitcom flavor was evident in the other scenes too.Finally the AA figures were in bad condition.I walked out,shocked,at how this once great attraction had become the most neglected ride in the park.

Also Cousin Orville became Uncle Orville

The Problem

The core problem with the 1993 show was they tried to make it something it wasn't: a TV sitcom comedy show.The original,1967,and 1976 versions of the show were all,essentially,a showcase of how technology has progressed throughout the years.In the first three shows,the family basically talked about technology and electricity.In the 1993 show,Father has enough one-liner jokes to give Jose a run for his money.

The show ends up seeming so dated,from weird lumbago jokes to a 90's future that the show has to use the Walt Disney name to keep it running.Even the Enchanted Tiki Room would be fine without it.The thing is the idea of the future in modern culture went from optimistic to grim.The idea that we could have a great big beautiful tomorrow has become a laughably dated idea.And other than closing the attraction I'm sure it seems difficult to find a solution.But there is one.

The Solution

I think the solution is simple:restore the first three acts of the 1976 show but keep Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.The 1976 show is the right amount of optimistic without sounding like Pollyanna.Then for the fourth act I would restore it to what it looked like in Disneyland's Carousel of Progress but with a new script that discusses modern technology.In keeping the scene simple you could easily change the script to fit the changing of the times.

Well thanks for listening to my two-cents about the Carousel of Progress.