Today
marks the third anniversary of the launch of the Disneyland
Dilettante. I know, right? Looking back, this blog has certainly had
its ups and downs…but then so has the Disneyland Resort.
Is
it time to go year by year? I think it’s time to go year by year.
2015
The
big deal in 2015 was, of course, Disneyland’s Diamond Anniversary,
which this blog celebrated with the 60
Diamonds project. My aim back then was to find something
enjoyable that began at Disneyland each year it had been in
operation, and—crucially—that was still there to be enjoyed in
the present. I made it, even if I had to fudge the definition of
“began” from time to time…but in pretty short order, some of my
Diamonds started dropping off the map. Looking through the list now
is a pretty sobering experience.
The
Diamond Anniversary itself was…fine, I guess. I can give—no pun
intended—glowing reviews to the Paint the Night parade and the new
iteration of World of Color…but on the whole, it paled in
comparison to the 50th Anniversary. It just didn’t get anywhere
near the same level of celebratory spectacle. I was particularly
disappointed with the new fireworks show, Disneyland Forever, which
hardly had anything to do with Disneyland per se and deserved neither
the title nor the auspicious release timing.
It’s
worth noting, of course, that the Diamond Anniversary wasn’t the
only thing going on in 2015. Two important rides received important
upgrades. The Matterhorn’s Yeti was turbo-charged into a more
state-of-the-art, scarier monster, complete with a sense of
backstory. Even more momentous, the Haunted Mansion saw the
re-introduction of its long-lost Hatbox Ghost…now with technology
that, you know, works!
Sadly,
at the end of the year, the wheels were set in motion for the
construction of the Star Wars themed area (still in progress). I have
made my peace with the fact that Galaxy’s Edge is going to be a
thing, and I will even allow that it’s probably going to be a very
cool thing. But dangit, the loss of Big Thunder Ranch still stings.
2016
I'm
going to go ahead and call 2016 The Year of Star Wars Harshing Our
Disneyland Buzz. Not only did the aforementioned start of
construction result in half of Frontierland shutting down and the
Disneyland Railroad going on a long hiatus, but the supposedly
temporary Season of the Force overlay in Tomorrowland just hung
around for the entire year. Space Mountain became an X-Wing battle
adventure, the Carousel Theater became a museum, the Magic Eye
Theater started showing something called Path of the Jedi,* and the
Jedi Training Academy...continued.
I
didn't spend much time in Tomorrowland that year.
The
Resort as a whole mostly just chugged along in 2016, but California
Adventure finished strong by introducing the Festival
of Holidays and World
of Color: Season of Light, both of which came back for a second
round this past holiday season.
And
then they closed the Tower of Terror. It was as if millions of palms
suddenly hit millions of faces in exasperation, and were just as
suddenly ignored.
2017
If
2015 was a net positive and 2016 an overall holding pattern, 2017 was
a mixed bag. Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakfast
Breakdance
Breakout opened where the Tower of Terror once had been, and was an
instant smash hit despite being one of the most pointless attraction
revamps in theme park history. Also, John Lasseter announced plans to
plaster Pixar characters over the entirety of Paradise Pier and
pretend it's a “theme.”
But
on the other hand, the Rivers
of America and Disneyland Railroad re-opened, all shiny and new
and not half bad considering the changes that had to be made to make
room for Star Wars. And speaking of shiny...
NO
...they
brought back the actual, legitimate Main Street Electrical Parade for
several months. As gifts to fans go, that's a pretty sweet one.
On
the other other
hand...Pirates. Ordinarily, the announcement that Pirates of the
Caribbean's infamous wench auction scene would be redesigned to be
less, um, human trafficky, would have me thinking “Well, let's wait
and see.” But the changes have already taken place in Paris, and
reports from discerning guests are that the new version is not only
boring and nonsensical, but defeats its own purpose—sure, the
redhead is no longer being sold at auction, but neither is she
subtly, smugly in control of the situation. I have mixed
feelings about the prospect of changing the scene to begin with,
but...they damn well better figure out how to reconcile contemporary
values with the needs of art
before the finest theme park attraction ever built is irrevocably
altered for the worse.
So
where does all this leave us, as of 2018? Based on the reactions of
some fans to the above plans for the parks...nowhere good. People are
outright leaving the Disney theme park fandom over stuff like this.
Once-prolific blogs are falling by the wayside. I don't want the
Disneyland Dilettante to be one of them, but I have to admit that
maintaining a weekly posting schedule is nowhere near as effortless
as it once was.
That's
why I am announcing a new offshoot of this blog: The
Disneyland Dilettante on Tumblr! I will still do my best to bring
you new content here every week, but whether I succeed or not, I'll
be maintaining the conversation with other theme park fans over
there.
Here's
to the future!
* A retrospective on the
film franchise, I think?
I was enjoying re-reading your 60 Diamonds series... It's good to focus on the good things that are still there, while they're still there :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Path of the Jedi was a retrospective of the two trilogies. When my wife and I went in 2015 for our "Oh crap, they're shutting down half of Frontierland so this is our last chance to see the Disneyland we remember it" emergency trip, Path of the Jedi was the only Season of the Force thing we did (on account of a friend we were hanging out with who wanted to do it). It was December, and between Season of the Force and Haunted Mansion Holiday, we did a pretty good repeat business on Pirates, the Tiki Room, and Fantasyland.
As one of those bloggers who shut down (I still do some coverage on my other blog though ;) ), I think it goes in waves. There are the lifers who have literally built a business on being Disney fans, but a lot of people sustain a really steady interest in Disney for about 10 years (literally: my first trip to Disneyland was in 2005 and my last was in 2015). They do forums, blogs, podcasts, etc. and are totally into it... and then stop. They kinda' got everything out of it they wanted and don't cease being Disney fans but do move on to other subjects to take a more active interest in. But they get supplanted by new fans who are entering into their 10 year cycle. There's a relatively new YouTuber I've been enjoying called Offhand Disneyland who is in that stage. I think what's going to mark the new breed of Disney bloggers/podcasters/YouTubers is that they like Disney but love Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar, so they're going to be enthusiastic about where the parks are going.
I wouldn't call what I do a business, but I am absolutely a lifelong Disneyland fan. The prospect of the place becoming something no longer palatable to me is actually a little terrifying, akin to the prospect of losing a couple fingers.
DeleteNew bloggers and vloggers may well be springing up to fill the void left by the ones who are leaving...but if their fandom is driven by a love of the park's new direction, they won't be my people.
For that matter, *can* you be considered a fan of Disney theme parks if what's attracting you is the sorts of movies being tapped for attractions? My love of the place goes far beyond my appreciation of Disney movies per se. The best stuff has always been the stuff that wasn't based on any movie. (The second-best stuff is the stuff that transforms its source material.)