After-Action Report: Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

Since bringing it up in the bunny-themed post of a couple weeks ago, I've been thinking I should devote a post to Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. This is one of the most overlooked rides in Disneyland—not just by the general public, who tend to miss it due to its back corner location and lack of timelessly beloved central characters,* but by Disney theme park bloggers, who ought to know better. This is surprising, because it's one of the best dark rides in the park, weaving together flexible source material, an innovative ride concept, nifty effects, and an absolute commitment on the part of Imagineering to make the experience as seamless as possible within the limitations of the format and the mid-Nineties technology they had to work with.

But wait! There's more! And this is something that only occurred to me fairly recently—Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin is the first narrative Disney attraction I can think of that deliberately takes place in the themed land where it is physically located. I'll come back to this later.

Imagineering Theory: Zootopia and Theme Flexibility

I cannot say enough good things about Disney's latest animated feature, Zootopia, now showing in a theater near you! But this is not a film blog. This is a theme park blog; hence my observations will mostly be limited to discussing the potential and actual impact of this completely excellent movie on the Disneyland Resort.

So far, Zootopia has been brought to the parks in the laziest and most predictable way possible: by situating fuzzies of the two main characters in Hollywood Land for photos and autographs. The motivation? To sell park-hopper tickets. The justification? Well, it's a movie, isn't it?

Please.

Apart from a blink-and-you-miss-it* joke about the pronunciation of “Tujunga,” there is nothing whatsoever tying Zootopia to California. But neither does it fit comfortably into any of the themed lands of Disneyland Park...or does it? This post is going to be a thought experiment on the flexibility of area themes and the need for creative solutions to potential mismatches. “Theme dilution” is a common pet peeve among Disney theme park fans, but the area themes have never been 100% pure, and as Disney's cinematic palette expands, it's only going to be more challenging for the Imagineers to successfully integrate movie-based attractions** with the limited selection of themed areas available.

To be clear, this entire post is completely speculative. I do not expect a permanent attraction based on Zootopia to be built in any park. (Actually, the film's setting would make for a fantastic basis for a theme park all on its own, but that's another topic.) The point of the exercise is that we have a wonderful movie, tearing up box-office records, taking place in a fantastic world that would be a blast to visit...and there's no obvious place to put it in Disney's parks.

So what about the non-obvious places?

Unauthorized Fun – Easter Bunny Hunt Tour

I sure do love Disneyland...but I definitely don't always love the way Management tries to gouge the guests. I'm not talking about above-standard prices for food or prominently placed souvenir shops. That's par for the course for any theme park, and at least at Disneyland, the food is decent and the souvenirs don't fall apart during the drive home.

I'm talking about the way they charge you upwards of a hundred bucks a head just to walk through the front gate...and then spend the day trying to upsell you all these little “magical” add-ons. Character Dining. VIP viewing for parades and shows. Disney Vacation Club memberships, for Pete's sake. And the advertising all heavily insinuates that if you don't buy these things, if you just go to freaking Disneyland and ride some freaking rides and meet some freaking characters after waiting in line like normal humans, then you and/or your kids are missing out and your visit isn't truly magical and I'd better stop before I vomit. Seriously, can you believe these people?

I've got news for them...and for any potential guests who might be suckered in by the marketing copy: It is Disneyland. It's magical just as it is, without expensive add-ons. Is it fun to have Goofy come pal around with you during dinner? Sure. But it's not necessary in order to have a top-notch visit to the park.

I think there are two groups of people who fall for the...let's call it the Extended Warranty model of Disneyland visiting. There are those who are vacationing from out of state, who have never been before (or not for many years) and may never get to visit again, and who not only want to absolutely maximize their trip, but have little to no idea what do to without help, and turn to the readiest source of help available: Disneyland's own website.

I'm not really talking to them. (They're probably not going to read this blog anyway.) This is for the second group. These are the people who visit Disneyland often and know damn well what they're doing...but maybe visit so often that a normal, ride-some-rides-and-meet-some-characters kind of day doesn't always quite do it. So they maybe consider buying some extra goodies in order to jazz things up. If that's really what you want to do and you will accept no substitutes...I guess I can't help you. But if you're conflicted—if you need ideas for ways to spice up your otherwise routine visits to the park without further enriching those money-grubbing jerks—then I am pleased to introduce Unauthorized Fun, a post category for doing just that. In posts with this label, you'll find ideas for Disneyland-based games, activities, and “quests” that won't cost you a dime extra...or if they do, it won't be many dimes, and they won't be funneled directly into Bob Iger's pockets.

And now, without further ado...

Beyond Blue Sky: The Building Blocks of Magic

I never expected to do another post about toys this soon, but here we are.

So this is happening:

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited for these. If there's one hobby I enjoy almost as much as Disneyland (and spend comparably on over the course of a year), it's LEGO.

Disney and LEGO have been partnered for several years now, with quite a few licensed sets based on properties like Toy Story, Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean (the movies, unfortunately, not the ride), and now an ongoing Disney Princess line. But this is the first time the partnership has been put to a purpose other than promoting a current Disney film or franchise. It makes me excited for potential new directions the team-up might take.

Because really, are a few Disney Theme Park LEGO sets too much to ask?