60
Disneyland Diamonds for the Diamond Anniversary
continues! If you need a refresher course, the previous entries are
here,
here,
and here.
And now, on with the show!
Even
some of the signature snacks available at Disneyland are famous.
Churros. Mickey Mouse ice cream bars. Turkey legs with an oddly
ham-like component to the flavor. Popcorn in a souvenir plastic
bucket. But the most celebrated by far must be the Dole Whip.
American Airlines was a worthy sponsor for the Enchanted Tiki Room in
its day, but it couldn't allow guests to sample its product right
there in the park. When Dole Pineapple took over, they brought in the
adjacent Tiki Juice Bar and its amazingly delicious frosty
(vegan-compliant) pineapple desserts. The only downside is that
they're available only in that location, and so
popular that you might have to wait quite a while to get one!
1977: Space Mountain
In the Seventies, America developed a taste for fast roller coasters,
and Disneyland was happy to oblige. Up until this point, the park had
had only one coaster—the Matterhorn Bobsleds (two if you count the
gravity-powered bits of the Casey Junior Circus Train). That all
changed with Space Mountain, placed entirely inside a darkened
building so that the track was rendered nigh-invisible as it spiraled
tightly around the enclosed space. It was an instant hit, and to this
day is usually considered the biggest thrill in the park.
For
the first half of its existence, the ride's only soundtrack was the
rattle of the machinery, the delighted squeals of riders, and a few
whizzing noises to enhance the outer space setting, but in 1996, the
Imagineers added musical accompaniment, timed to correspond to the
track's dips and turns. It started with a version of Camille
Saint-Saens's “Aquarium” as reinterpreted by legendary surf rock
guitarist Dick Dale...and if that combination doesn't tilt your head,
read it again until it does. A famously ethereal piece of
ocean-themed classical music transformed into surf rock and used as
the soundtrack for an outer space-themed roller coaster. Only at
Disneyland, my friends. Only Disneyland could make it work
as well as it did.
But they weren't done yet! In 2005, Space Mountain was revamped on a
large scale. The track layout remained the same, but the inside queue
was entirely remodeled and many of the ride's effects were updated.
And an entirely new piece of music was composed to give auditory
enhancement to the coaster's motion, a piece by film composer Michael
Giacchino which is still in use today. A slower reprise of it plays
throughout the exit corridor, marking it as a true theme for the
attraction.
1978: Harold
Disneyland's
roller coaster mania continued in 1978 with...not a new coaster, but
a massive overhaul of an existing one. The magnificent Matterhorn,
already an innovator in its day for its steel-tube track, had its
interior completely redesigned. The formerly hollow mountain was
renovated with scenes of icy caverns, clusters of glowing
crystals...and a monster. Outsiders refer to it as either the Yeti or
the Abominable Snowman, but Disneyland aficionados know him as
Harold, the name jokingly assigned by Cast Members (and reportedly
enshrined in a slogan displayed by the ride's control computer upon
booting up: “Harold isn't going to like this”). Despite his
jolly-sounding moniker, Harold is portrayed as a cranky beast,
furious about the sleds' intrusion into his lair. His glowing red
eyes, snarling bluish face, and ear-splitting roar have been
terrifying Disneyland guests for going on two generations now...and
as of a couple weeks ago, he's meaner and scarier than ever.
Recognizing that any story is only as good as its villain,
Imagineering has brought Harold and his vendetta against innocent
mountaineers into the 21st
Century. Make sure to give him some time on your next visit!
1979: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Disneyland
closed out the Seventies with a roller coaster hat trick, and in some
ways Big Thunder Mountain is the best of the lot. It's definitely the
longest
of the coasters, clocking in at around three and a half minutes of
ride time. It's also the biggest in terms of attraction
footprint...but quantity doesn't equal quality, right? How does it
measure up in terms of the things that really count? Quite well, in
my opinion. Its landscape, mimicking the sandstone buttes of the
Southwestern United States, is not only quite realistic on its own
merits, but almost seamlessly integrated with the surrounding area.
The Matterhorn is just kind of awkwardly stuck in the middle of the
park and Space Mountain is slightly less awkwardly jammed in a
corner, but Big Thunder Mountain looks natural enough to attract
actual wildlife in the form of blue-belly lizards. Lizards.
At Disneyland.
The ride itself fits neatly into the setting—an out-of-control mine
train is as good a concept for an Old West-themed roller coaster as
anything I can think of,* and in my opinion it works even better now
that they've ditched the murky backstory about sacred Indian land and
an earthquake and re-framed the climax of the ride as a simple
dynamite accident. (It's also more in line with contemporary
sensibilities, which would dictate that sacred Indian land ought to
be given back to the Indians and not mined at all.)
To
me, though, one of the great things about Big Thunder Mountain
Railroad is the way it literally builds on what used to be in its
location. Usually when a ride's popularity slips enough to justify
replacing it, the replacement is something entirely different. But
Big Thunder Mountain basically is
the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, made over for thrills.
The mountain landscape itself is the Painted Desert on steroids, the
first lift takes you through the Rainbow Caverns, and the Western
town you pass by just as the ride ends is
Rainbow
Ridge from the Mine Train's load area, the very same structures
transplanted. Even the ride vehicles look
almost identical, though obviously the Big Thunder trains have to be
a lot more robust in order to handle the demands of roller coaster
motion. Attractions very often include hidden tributes to whatever
they replaced, but Big Thunder Mountain is, in its entirety, a
tribute to its predecessor. There's something about that that I find
really appealing.
1980: Pieces of Eight
When
people feel like criticizing Disney's current business practices from
a consumer-advocacy point of view, they often accuse the park of
having every ride exit directly into a themed souvenir shop. This is
an exaggeration on the face of it—only some rides have a shop
situated at the exit and most of them allow you to bypass it—but it
happens often enough to be noticeable. However, it's nothing all that
new.
It goes back at least to 1980 or thereabouts, when the Pirates Arcade
and Museum that formerly greeted guests exiting Pirates of the
Caribbean was converted into just such a themed shop.
But
as these things go, Pieces of Eight isn't a bad one. Not only can
you bypass it, but that's arguably easier than going in as you leave
the ride, especially in the last few years since the door that
actually faces onto the exit corridor was boarded up. The actual
theming is really solid, with interior décor that resembles aged
wood and rough-worked iron, a wonderful chandelier featuring the
carved figure of a monkey in a vest and tricorne hat, and maybe best
of all, an inventory that sticks to the pirate motif. Many of the
park's larger stores don't actually carry enough items relating to
their stated theme to fill the shelves, and so make up the difference
with wholly generic stuff—basic plush characters and keychains and
the like. Pieces of Eight is modest enough not to have to do this, so
it can focus entirely on piratical swag, from movie DVDs to plastic
cutlasses. Best of all, some of the Pirates Arcade remains: a
“Fortune Red” fortunetelling machine and another machine that
stamps a custom message into a souvenir coin. It's a real treasure
trove...even if the gems are toys and the weathered old skulls made
of resin.
1981: Imagineering Books
Disney's
Imagineers are modern-day wizards—bringing inanimate objects to
life, transporting us to other worlds, summoning fairies and demons
to our
world, and basically performing all the tricks attributed to the
sorcerers of old. Surely, like those sorcerers, they must jealously
guard their secrets from the masses. Right? Actually...no! As it
turns out, the Imagineers are happy to share the principles of their
success with the public...or that segment of the public that buys
books, at any rate. Dozens of individual volumes that could fall
under the heading of “Imagineering books” are on the market
today, varying widely in size, subject matter, and reading
level...but the first (or at least the first of any significance), as
far as I can tell, was Disney
Animation: The Illusion of Life
by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. This is such a comprehensive and
authoritative guide to the principles of animation that students of
the art use it as a textbook to this day. And while animation might
seem at best tangential to Imagineering, many employees of Disney
were pioneers in both
fields and the art design of Disneyland was greatly informed by what
had worked in the animated features. Furthermore, the success of The
Illusion of Life
proved that people were interested in going behind the scenes to see
how the Disney maestros and maestrettes worked their magic. In that
sense, this important book paved the way for later tomes like John
Hench's Designing
Disney,
Jeff Kurtti's Walt Disney's Imagineering
Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park,
and even
the bite-sized, hands-on collaborative work The
Imagineering Workout.
And in case you're wondering...yes, these books and others are for
sale at Disneyland itself!
1982: All-Day Unlimited-Use Passports
This is potentially one of the more controversial Diamonds on my
list; many fans of the park prefer (or would like to try out for
comparison) the old system wherein park admission was relatively
cheap, but you had to buy a separate coupon for admission to each
attraction you wanted to experience. I can see the pros and cons of
both, from the perspectives of both guests and park
management—possibly a topic for a future post—but ultimately, I
like the convenience of being entitled to board any ride or
watch any show in the park by virtue of having legitimately gotten
through the Main Gate. No need to carefully husband ride coupons, no
need to grope through your pockets or wallet for the right one at the
ride entrance, no need to stand in yet another line to buy more if
you run out. And if I ever have a day where I just want to soak in
the ambiance...well, that's part of why I got an Annual Pass. So on
balance, I'm going to go ahead and call this a good move.
1983: New Fantasyland
We're into the period of my own early childhood here, and this is the
first Diamond whose debut I actually remember first-hand. I barely
have any recollection of the old Fantasyland—just one sparse memory
of going inside a pirate ship that was actually a restaurant and
eating tuna fish sandwiches. I don't remember Fantasyland with
carnival-tent facades. I don't remember the original versions of the
dark rides. I don't remember the Fantasyland Theater (the original,
not the one west of “it's a small world”). But I vividly
remember riding the Skyway during the renovation, looking down on
those torn-up buildings and ground surfaces, and getting a feeling of
anticipation for how much better it would be when it was done. And I
remember going back the next year, seeing the completed New
Fantasyland, and being bowled over by how much cooler it was than it
had been before.
That's right—I have memories of remembering something, but not the
actual memories of the thing I was remembering back then. Brains are
weird.
A great deal has been said about the improvements brought to
Fantasyland via this remodel, about the highly atmospheric Bavarian
architectural motifs and the improved traffic flow now that the
Carrousel isn't right smack behind the Castle. Less often mentioned
is the way the remodel tightened up the arrangement of sub-themes in
the area. The Mad Tea Party and Mad Hatter shop were moved closer to
the Alice in Wonderland dark ride. Dumbo the Flying Elephant was
moved over to line up with the Casey Junior loading area. And the
former site of the Fantasyland Theatre saw the construction of three
new fixtures based on Pinocchio, which was at that time
scheduled for a theatrical re-release.** (I have more to say about
the Fantasyland sub-themes in this
post.) Fantasyland has always been a joy to experience, but since
1983, it's also a joy to simply behold.
1984: Annual Passports
Only two years after discontinuing ride coupons in favor of the
Unlimited-Use Passport, Disneyland upped the ante with the
introduction of the first Annual Passport. My identifying this move
as a Diamond will be even more controversial than the other—I've
certainly participated in my share of online arguments over whether the
Annual Passport program helps or hurts the park, overall. As is often
the case, I can see both sides of it...but I won't be canceling my
Annual Pass any time soon! If nothing else, the frequent visits
afforded to me by my AP give me ample material for this blog. That
should be reason enough for you to be in favor of the program, yes?
No?
What's interesting to note is that the Annual Passport program is
simultaneously an extension of the Unlimited-Use Passport concept,
and a means for some to counteract its one big downside. Think about
it. Under the old system, you paid a small amount to get into
Disneyland, and then extra for the ability to go on rides. Under the
new system, you pay one large amount up front, and you're covered for
the day. With an Annual Passport, you pay even more up front,
and you're covered for a whole year. That's the extension aspect. The
counteraction aspect lies in the fact that when you have an Annual
Passport, you don't feel the pressure to “make the most” of your
day by scrambling to go on as many rides as possible. If, on a given
trip, you just want to wander around and take in the atmosphere, you can
do that without feeling like you're wasting this rare and expensive
chance to ride Space Mountain. It's okay. You're paid up. You'll
catch Space Mountain next time around.
1985: Year-Round Daily Operation
Disneyland is open today. It was open yesterday. It will be open
tomorrow, barring some unforeseen catastrophe. The above is true no
matter what day of the week it is that you're reading this. But it
wasn't always this way. Disneyland used to operate only from
Wednesday to Sunday, with Mondays and Tuesdays reserved for
maintenance that might interrupt “the guest experience” if it
went on during operating hours. It surprised me when I first learned
this; I had assumed that Disneyland had been a seven-days-a-week
institution from the start. And it surprised me again when I was
researching this post and learned that the switch to daily operations
had occurred during my lifetime. When I was a kid, of course, my
parents were hardly about to pull me out of school (and skip work
themselves) to go to Disneyland, so it was of no consequence to me
that the park was closed on two weekdays.
So what spurred the change? Disneyland attendance at the time was
pretty flat, so it couldn't have been the need to alleviate
overcrowding. Rather, I think the idea must have been to drive
greater attendance—greater loyalty—by being available every day.
Simply knowing that a place is open seven days a week inflates its
perceived importance. Hospitals and police stations and grocery
stores—the necessities of civilization—are open every day. And
for half of its existence, Disneyland has been too. Whenever you have
a day free to go and see it, it's there for you.
This was a tough set to complete. Not a whole lot went on at
Disneyland in the first half of the Eighties and I really had to
stretch my criteria for what makes a Diamond. Things really picked up
in the latter half of the Eighties and the Nineties, so be sure to
drop by next week!
* Not that I've specifically given this one much
thought.
** That's right, boys and girls, before home video
became a major thing, Disney used to put their classic animated films
back in theaters from time to time. How else would we have
known about them?
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