The Second Sense: The Music of Tomorrowland

Quick! What's the first thing you think of in association with the phrase “Disneyland music”?

If you're like most people...uh...probably nothing, actually. Most people are not familiar enough with Disneyland to have an automatic response to that phrase. But if you're in the minority that are, then you probably instantly thought of “Yo Ho” or “It's a Small World (After All)” or “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” Or “In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.” Maybe “Baroque Hoedown,” which wasn't composed for Disneyland but is almost exclusively known as the Main Street Electrical Parade theme.

In any case, it probably won't be something from Tomorrowland that pops into your head. It's not that the area has no music to call its own—on the contrary, it has lots, both now and in the past. It's more that Tomorrowland's unique melodies have been progressively downplayed over the years as more IP has moved in, bringing its own accompanying soundtracks. It's been nearly fifteen years since any new compositions were created for Tomorrowland, but fortunately, there's a lot of good stuff to hear if you know where to listen!

(And a lot more to be found on Disneyland retrospective albums and in niche collections!)

Unauthorized Fun: The Stormy Weather Tour

So it's been raining, here in sunny Southern California, and we're all a little confused. It kinda makes me envy those Annual Passholders who are in college or whatever and can just jet down to the park whenevs, because Disneyland is lovely in the rain. It's cool, much of the crowd dissipates, and it's especially nice after dark, with all the lights reflecting in the wet pavement.

But if you think about it...every day at Disneyland is a stormy one, at least if you use your imagination. A surprisingly high number of attractions use storm imagery to set the mood, drive the plot, and/or shake things up. Howling winds, torrential rains, thunderbolts—all these can be found in abundance throughout the park, in the form of special and practical effects. With a little creative planning, you could spin a little “meta-story” out of some of them.

And creativity is, after all, what my Unauthorized Fun category is all about!

It does not need to be literally raining for you to take advantage of this unofficial tour; in fact, you'll have more control over the beats of the “story” if there's no real weather to contend with. On the other hand, a little real rain wont hurt you either. It's just for fun, after all.

Let's start the tour!

Imagineering Theory: Marvel-ous Developments

So…some pretty infuriating news regarding the Tower of Terror broke at San Diego Comic-Con. So let’s talk about that. We can be rational adults about this, can’t we?

Yeah, I’m pretty pissed about this “Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission SPACE Breakout!” thing. And not just because it represents yet another middle finger to the very concept of area theming in the name of spamming profitable film IP. I’m actually very fond of Guardians of the Galaxy; in fact, it’s the only entry in the MCU that I own on video. But this is…just a really bad idea on multiple levels.

Armchair Imagineering: Three Prompts

Ian Kay over at Pure Imagineering has started presenting his followers with Imagineering Prompts—just quickie creative exercises for the Disney theme park fan community. I don’t have a Tumblr so I haven’t responded directly, but in the interest of maintaining momentum over here while I develop my Next Big Post, here are my responses to the three he has offered so far.

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?

After-Action Report: Indiana Jones Adventure

FIRST, AN ASIDE:
I try not to dwell on news items here at the Disneyland Dilettante, but seeing as it's Adventureland month and all, I couldn't ignore the announcement that Disney is finally going ahead with a movie based on the Jungle Cruise, an idea the studio has been toying with for the past decade. So far the only details released are a) it will be a period piece and b) it will star Dwayne Johnson. The second bit amuses me because of his role in the upcoming animated film Moana—are they just making him their Adventureland mascot or what? I'll have to hold off on forming specific opinions until I know more about the project, but for now I am cautiously optimistic. Even before I knew they were thinking about doing it, I thought the Jungle Cruise would be a decent enough candidate for a ride-turned-movie. It has the same big strength as Pirates of the Caribbean: a strongly defined mood and setting without much in the way of an established plot to shackle the writers...which I believe is where the 2003 Haunted Mansion movie went wrong. (Well, that and letting Eddie Murphy stomp all over it.)
END OF ASIDE. ON WITH THE MAIN POST.

This is where I reveal that I am an enormous hypocrite.

I have multiple posts on this blog where I denounce Star Tours—and the whole phenomenon of Star Wars in Disneyland—for various reasons. Chief among them is that it began as, basically, an intruder—an outside property that wasn't quite a thematic fit with the area where it was placed, but which subsequently took over said area to an extent, imposing its aesthetic on the non-IP-based attractions that had been there all along. Another is that it's too focused on recapping famous scenes from its source material to add much to its canon.

Um.

In the interest of basic human decency, I have to admit that the Indiana Jones Adventure is guilty of these same sins...yet for some reason, I have no objections. I love this ride. Its existence feels as natural to me as the existence of Star Tours feels forced. I can accept this as another wacky installment in the serialized adventures of everyone's favorite fedora-wearing archaeologist, even if it bears suspicious resemblances to many of his other adventures.

Part of it, of course, is that I just plain like the Indiana Jones franchise better than I like Star Wars.* Just knowing that it's there in the Happiest Place Where Dreams Come True on Earth doesn't automatically make me roll my eyes. And maybe that's hypocritical in itself—I tend to look down my nose at people who get all excited about the prospect of Marvel superheroes and MOAR STAR WARS in Disneyland because they love the movies. I don't think that stuff is a natural fit for the park, so I disdain the fan loyalty that causes people to like the idea. But is Indiana Jones really any more appropriate for Adventureland than Lucas's other, bigger baby or Stan Lee's portfolio is for Tomorrowland?

Actually...I would argue that it is.

60 Disneyland Diamonds: 1986-1995

The second half of my 60 Disneyland Diamonds for the Diamond Anniversary starts now! For the first half, see here, here, and here. And if you just stumbled upon this blog and are completely baffled as to what the 60 Diamonds series even is, see here!

STAR WARS DAY BONUS! After-Action Report: A Tale of Two Tours

This post is sort of an After-Action Report and a Sentimental Paleontology in one. You can most definitely go to Disneyland and ride Star Tours in the present...but it's on its second incarnation, which is different enough from the original to almost be considered a new attraction. Whether it really is or not is a matter of opinion and perception, but it seems like Disney is counting it that way. Either way, such a major change to a long-standing E-ticket level attraction inevitably invites a Before vs. After comparison. And that's exactly what you're gonna get here.

It might surprise you to learn that I even have a preference vis-a-vis the two versions of Star Tours, after I thoroughly decried the presence of Star Wars material in Disneyland at all, in large part because I'm just not into the franchise. But here's the thing: I don't hate Star Wars. I can appreciate the importance of this film series in terms of its effects on the art of filmmaking and popular culture as a whole. I can understand why people find it so cool. I can even, from time to time, enjoy watching the movies, although no more than a chunk or two at a time.

And I do, for the most part, enjoy Star Tours. It's effective both as an adaptation of its source material and as a fun ride in its own right. Do I ride it every time I go to Disneyland? Heck no. But I ride it often enough to intelligently weigh in.

Armchair Imagineering: Theme and the Tomorrowland Problem

Today, I'll be talking about that most vital yet hard-to-define of Disney park concepts: Theme. As Walt Disney explained while developing his revolutionary idea—and as we fans are quick to remind people—Disneyland and its successors are not mere amusement parks but theme parks...but what does this actually mean?

The basic definition of a “theme” is a unifying idea, principle, or motif. Walt Disney's disgust with the filth and disorganization of the amusement parks and fun fairs that were standard in the first half of the 20^th Century led him to imagine his own park as a place that would be kept scrupulously clean and logical in design. He settled on a handful of themes he wanted to express and gave each one its own area of the park. Everything in each “land”—the architecture, landscaping, Cast Member costumes, food and merchandise, and of course the rides and attractions themselves—was designed to match the associated theme. Even when he ran short of time and money to complete the park, Walt managed to preserve his designated themes so that the areas were recognizable and consistent.

It is common knowledge which themed areas were present when Disneyland opened, but it still bears repeating. Main Street, USA functioned as the introduction to what was at the time a brand-new concept, and provided familiarity and a friendly atmosphere with its theme of the American small town circa the 1900s. Adventureland was a wild tropical jungle composited from all the jungle areas of the world—Africa, Asia, South America, the South Pacific. Frontierland was a tribute to America's Westward Expansion period of the 19^th Century. Fantasyland was a place of fairy tales and children's stories...especially as featured in the animated films of Walt Disney Studios. Tomorrowland was a vision of the future and the excitement of developing technology. All these themes were easily distinguishable from each other, and all loomed large in the American imagination of the time.

So far, so good. But how have the area themes fared as the park has continued to grow and evolve? Main Street, USA has remained more or less the same—with few specific attractions, its theming hangs almost entirely on atmospheric elements such as building design and Cast Member costumes, and these have changed very little. Adventureland has also held onto its theming pretty well. Its palette has been broadened but mostly remained in tropical jungles—the one exception is Aladdin's Oasis. Frontierland has weathered the decline of the Western gracefully enough without losing its focus. (It helps that the parts that diverge the most have been spun off into lands of their own—New Orleans Square and Bear/Critter Country.) Fantasyland's theme has expanded without necessarily being diluted (a trick perhaps to be examined in a separate article). And Tomorrowland...

Ah, Tomorrowland, we hardly knew ye.

Mickey's Toontown vs. “Star Wars Land”

Here we go. This one's not gonna be much fun, but it needs to be said.

So it's official: The Mickey's Toontown area at Disneyland will be demolished to make room for a “Star Wars Land,” in order to capitalize on the upcoming new trilogy of Star Wars films.

To say this decision disappoints me falls far short of reality. To say it enrages me might be overstating the case, but only a little. I think it's a wretched idea, for several reasons which I shall now enumerate, running roughly in order of most personal to least personal.