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?

Imagineering Theory: You're Just Projecting

I am not a big fan of digital projections and similar technology in theme parks.

It's not that it's not cool stuff in itself. I can definitely appreciate the accomplishments of computing and optics required for it to work, and some of its applications are downright stunning. It's thanks to digital projection that we can actually look into the eyes of Mara:

The Buzz Lightyear animatronic in the queue of his ride is pretty sharp, and his mobile face is achieved via LED screen technology:

So this family of technologies definitely has its place. What I dislike about it is the way it seems to be...taking over. Nearly every new attraction being built these days uses screens and/or digital projections in some way, and they have been added to several attractions that didn't previously use them. This would be fine enough if it were a reliable way of improving an attraction, but in practice the results are quite mixed, ranging all the way from “Wow, awesome!” to “Okay, um, why?” and hitting pretty much every point inbetween.

The thing is, there isn't just one reason why these types of effects can be underwhelming. It's actually a tricky realm to navigate, and I hope Imagineering treads carefully in the future so as to avoid the pitfalls and show off their new toy at its best.

As for what those pitfalls are? Read on...

After-Action Report: Mickey's Soundsational Parade

Good evening! Can everyone in the back hear me okay?

Welcome to the first annual presentation of the Marchie Awards! Our purpose tonight is to honor excellence in the art of theme park parades. By an outlandish coincidence, all of our nominees for this ceremony are units in the same parade: Mickey's Soundsational Parade at Disneyland Park, Anaheim, California! Let's meet them! In order of appearance:

See Ya Real Soon: Fantasmic!

Here at the Disneyland Dilettante, I like to categorize my posts. Among numerous others, I have After-Action Reports for discussing currently available attractions and Sentimental Paleontology for my reminiscences about extinct ones. And now, with the Jungle Cruise closed for refurbishment and the Star Wars area under construction, which in turn is causing an 18+ month shutdown of the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad, it seems like a good time to introduce See Ya Real Soon, for all those attractions and features that—for one reason or another—aren't open this week, but will be in the foreseeable future. And what better first example than the prize we got for our patience the last time the river underwent massive changes...the fabulous, the fearsome, the phantasmagorical Fantasmic!?

Buckle up, readers, because it's about to get...personal...

Armchair Imagineering: Bambi’s

(This piece was originally written in 2009 as my entry for an amateur Imagineering contest on deviantART. I've done my best to update it to reflect the current state of California Adventure, but if anything seems awkward...that's why.)

Disneyland Resort offers its guests a broad variety of lunch and dining options, from the fine cuisine and full table service of the Blue Bayou and Ariel’s Grotto to the everyday fare at the Village Haus and Flo's Diner. However, one thing that is so far lacking is a vegetarian restaurant. Vegetarian options exist at most resort eateries, but why should guests who don’t eat meat have to scour every menu in order to find something to their tastes? How can a park resort located in California, and catering primarily to local visitors, lack something as basic to California culture as a vegetarian restaurant?

To fill this gap, I propose Bambi’s, an outdoor, meat-free eatery that not only provides vegetarian guests a place where every menu item is “safe,” but charms its patrons with immersive theming evoking one of Disney’s beloved classic films that, strangely enough, has never been prominently featured in the parks. In short, it fills two gaps at once.