Kidnap the Magic: A Main Street, USA Memorial Day

I felt conflicted about this one at first. I am well aware that a significant portion of my regular readership is Canadian (Hi, Cory!), and there's not really anything here for people outside the United States. But then I thought, what the heck, it's not like anyone comments on the themed party ideas anyway. If I'm honest, I have to admit that posting them at all is pure self-indulgent self-congratulation on my part, the equivalent of standing on a table and waving my arms and shouting “I found a thing that's like another thing!” but with more and fancier words.

Anyway, it's been a while.

So tomorrow is Memorial Day in the U.S. It kind of snuck up on us, didn't it? Or maybe it's just me. If you have some kind of shindig arranged for your day off, now might be a little late to change those plans. But if you're reading this in the morning, you do technically have the entire rest of the day to tweak your decisions! Furthermore, Memorial Day marks the start of the American cultural summer season, which features patriotic holidays at regular intervals. One “U-S-A!” day is pretty much like another when it comes to party decorations and whatnot—you could apply these ideas to the Fourth of July or Labor Day or even Flag Day.*

So say you're a Disneyland fan who wants to host a Memorial Day or other patriotic holiday get-together, and as is your wont, you wish to mix a little theme park in there. Obviously you're going to go with some Main Street, USA flavor. Within the berm, Main Street and American patriotism are practically synonymous. (Although the thesaurus does list “Frontierland” under Related Words.)

This is no coincidence—unironic patriotism pretty much took its current form during the time period represented by Main Street—the last period, maybe, when Americans were still isolated and innocent enough that they could be loudly patriotic without implied belligerence or smugness toward any other countries? I don't want this to get heavy, though, so let's just say that Main Street's brand of wholesome, matter-of-fact national pride is what most people are usually going for with these holidays. In short, this sort of theming for this sort of party is perfectly natural, and if your guests don't already know you're gaga for Disneyland, this won't necessarily be what tips them off. (This may or may not be what you're hoping for.)

Sentimental Paleontology: Buckets Aloft

For over twenty years, this chalet structure has loomed, off-limits to guests and virtually unused, over the western end of Fantasyland:

However, it seems it won't for much longer. The news recently broke that the park had obtained a permit to demolish it. (Confusingly, the outer wall has been repainted even more recently...but there are several possible reasons for that.) Its removal will finally close the curtain on the long career of the Skyway.

It's a good time to reminisce.

But here we hit a snag. The Skyway was an odd sort of attraction by Disneyland standards—no characters or story, only incidental theming. There wasn't even any recorded narration the way there usually was and is with sightseeing/transportation rides such as the Disneyland Railroad, Viewliner, or Monorail. The whole concept of the Skyway was so straightforward—take a one-way trip from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland or vice-versa, and get a bird's-eye view of both in the process—that there may not be much anyone can add.

I'll do my best anyway.

The Second Sense: Updating the Esplanade Area Music Loop

First impressions are important, and the first taste of Disneyland we get upon arriving is—

Okay, good point. The music for the Mickey and Friends parking structure—or Toy Story parking lot, or whichever alternate lot you choose—is whatever you, personally, decide to play in your car for the drive. That doesn't really count for our purposes. But the second impression we get is—

Fair enough. Now knock it off. Once we are past all that, we arrive at the Disneyland Resort Esplanade, whose music loop has—

OH COME ON! Are you gonna nitpick this thing to death or are you gonna let me get on with the post?

Okay. That's better.

Ahem.

The Disney Renaissance vs. the Pixar Revolution

WARNING: Grumpiness, Next 1,000+ Words.

Yeah...I'm one of those people. The ones who think Pixar movies are great and all, but they really don't belong in our Disney parks...at least not to the extent they have come to dominate the landscape. I could give you all the usual reasons—the movies are Disney-adjacent rather than “true” Disney, the attractions don't really fit the area themes, we often lose better (or at least more original) stuff to make room—but I recently put my finger on another reason the Pixar proliferation bugs me:

This didn't happen with the Disney Renaissance.

Beyond Blue Sky: The Disneylands Within Disneyland

Some Disney attractions could be considered “theme parks within theme parks,” and usually the fans don't think much of them. The stand-out examples here are Chester & Hester's Din-o-Rama (Animal Kingdom) and Paradise Pier (California Adventure). The first has often been called inappropriately cheesy and cheap-looking.* The second elicits the burning question: “What is the point of an amusement park-themed amusement park?” Whatever your personal opinion of these areas, you can see the complainers' point. We prefer Disney attractions because they aren't just the same old off-the-shelf carnival rides in the same old dingy, unadorned carnival setting. It feels like a betrayal when they backslide to the minimal theming effort typified by California Screamin' and Triceratops Spin.

But sometimes recursion can work. There are at least two miniature Disneylands within Disneyland. They have been operating for decades—one of them goes right back to July 17, 1955—entertaining thousands of guests every day, and to the best of my knowledge even the most persnickety park aficionado has not called them out for being redundant or inadequately themed.

In fact, most people don't even seem to notice that they are, effectively, miniature Disneylands.