The Second Sense: Adventureland Music Loops

It would be nice—I guess—to close out Adventureland August with a bang, but the Disneyland Dilettante isn't just about the E-tickets and momentous events. The smaller stuff definitely has its place here too...maybe even a more cherished place, considering how often it's overlooked by not only the general park-going public but even the aficionados. There are entire websites dedicated to extolling the virtues of the Haunted Mansion or catering to the exalted fraternity of Jungle Cruise skippers, but when was the last time you saw even the smallest blog post praising the Silhouette Studio?

This blog post is not about the Silhouette Studio. It's about a feature of Disneyland that actually does have a following (though it's still definitely a niche interest by normal standards): background music.* This is one of those under-appreciated but absolutely essential parts of the Disneyland experience, like the standards of cleanliness. Most guests don't really notice that it's there. They might not overtly notice if it were gone...but they would certainly feel the detriment on some level. What would Main Street be without its light orchestra instrumentals? The New Orleans Square riverfront without its lively Dixieland jazz? Frontierland without its Western folk tunes or Fantasyland without its (gasp) actual Disney songs?

And where would Adventureland be without its...uh...hang on...huh.

Adventureland does not have an overall area music loop. I can think of potential reasons for this oddity. Perhaps there aren't enough good places along the walkway to install speakers for such ambiance. Perhaps the diversity of the locations represented is such that no single loop could adequately serve. Perhaps it was decided that any ambient music would detract from the impression of a remote area where survival is Priority Number One and performing arts are an unaffordable luxury.

Or maybe, given how narrow the walkable space is, an overall loop would clash with the queue loops for the individual attractions. Because Adventureland does have a plethora of background music tailored to its specific offerings. This, of course, is one way to get around the second issue mentioned above. So let's take a tour!

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.

Beyond Blue Sky: What Kind of Castaway Are You?

Last week, I shared an Armchair Imagineering proposal for turning Adventureland's Treehouse, once the home of the Swiss Family Robinson and now of Tarzan, into a generalized Castaway's Treehouse where the guests themselves are the implicit inhabitants. One of the interactive features I suggested including was a “What Kind of Castaway Are You?” personality quiz, along with related merchandise.

This week, to keep Adventureland August going, I decided...what the heck, I'll write the quiz! Enjoy!

Armchair Imagineering: Castaway's Treehouse

This one will be relatively short. The weather here in SoCal has been relentlessly hot and humid, which tends to sap my energy when it comes to things like composing blog posts. You might say it still feels like the tropics out there, so...should I just go ahead and make August Adventureland month? I can certainly try...although I don't know if I have three more Sundays' worth of related material that I haven't already posted.

Well, either way, I'm still in an Adventureland mood this week, so here's an Armchair Imagineering post with an idea for revitalizing that long-standing but little-appreciated fixture of Disneyland's wild jungle: the Treehouse.

Kidnap the Magic: Jungle Cruise Cookout

Can you believe it's August already? Where is the year going? Before you know it, it will be Labor Day, and then the kids will go back to school, and then you'll start seeing Halloween stuff everywhere, and The Holidays Will Be Upon Us.

But in the meantime, there's still plenty of summer left—plenty of hot weather and late sunsets and not a lot of other commitments involving school or calendar holidays. Perfect conditions, in other words, for a barbecue! You know where else the weather is hot, the demands of civilization have little to no hold on you, and people cook over open fires? The untamed jungle. So for this installment of Kidnap the Magic, I'll give suggestions for turning your cookout party into a Jungle Cruise-themed extravaganza!