Category: Disney History

History of the company, parks, or any component of Disney.

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Disney History DL vs DLP Reviews

Anaheim vs. Paris: Fantasyland’s Rotating Rides

This week, I shall be comparing the “rotating” rides which appear in the Fantasylands in California and Paris.

 

DUMBO

The obvious place to start this article is with Dumbo The Flying Elephant. This ride exists, with the same name, in all five Magic Kingdoms but the California version was the only one not to be an opening day attraction.  Although it was supposed to have been, the opening was delayed due to the 700pound weight of the fibreglass pachyderms being too heavy for the initial mechanics to lift.

The attraction is practically identical in both Paris and California, down to the water features, the topiaries, the lengthy queues, the overhead storks, the chipmunks in the spokes and the statue of Timothy Q. Mouse on top of the central hot air balloon.

In France, Timothy has always held a feather. In California, although he had a whip when the ride first opened (and does again now), there was a period of time when he too had a feather.

Both versions feature a steam organ which originally played live music, but now plays pre-recorded tunes on a loop. The loop in Paris lasts 28 minutes, whereas the one in California lasts approximately two hours.

When the ride opened in California, it had ten carriages. After the 1983 Fantasyland refurb, when the location of the attraction was moved to the site of the former Skull Rock and the design was improved dramatically, there were still ten carriages. However, after “bruises and scrapes” were caused when an elephant separated from its support arm in 1989 (and after a similar incident the following year, in which an arm collapsed completely) the ride was temporarily closed. It was replaced in November 1990 by a version with sixteen carriages which had been originally built for Euro Disneyland (as it was then to be known). By the time the French park was opened, a sixteen carriage replica was built and installed therein.

Obviously, the Paris version doesn’t have the history of the West Coast one. This history includes, but is not limited to: Harry S. Truman’s 1957 refusal to ride due to the elephant being a Republican symbol, The Carpenter’s 1975 hit “Please Mr. Postman” being partially filmed thereon, the occasional carriage being sold for impressive sums, the original hinged flapping ears which never worked, the gold carriage to celebrate the park’s fiftieth birthday and the original intention to paint the elephants pink before Walt allegedly interjected about how this would make a mockery of the no-alcohol policy.

However, regardless of all the history behind the California attraction, I prefer the one in Paris, for a more ethical reason. Cast Members in Disneyland in Anaheim hand out feathers to those waiting in line. They then symbolically take these away before the Guests board. This is supposedly to demonstrate that (like in the film) you don’t need a feather to fly. However, the real reason for these props is to work out who will be riding which time. In Paris, occasionally anonymous bits of plastic are used for this purpose, but generally the Cast Members just count in their head. In this instance, I prefer the methodology of the latter. Although it gives people a greater chance of getting away with the Bubba Swap –which I won’t explain in case it encourages greater use- it means younger Guests are less likely to be disappointed when they discover their gift was only temporary.

 

TEA CUPS

This attraction is officially known as Mad Tea Party (MTP) in California, and Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups (MHTC) in Paris. Both were opening day attractions, which have been in Fantasyland from day one, although the location of MTP altered in 1983 so as to fit King Arthur Carrousel directly behind Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Whereas MTP has to close down in inclement conditions both for health and safety reasons (e.g. a greater chance of excited children slipping) and because the motors under the platforms are not able to function properly when wet, MHTC is covered and thus can theoretically operate in any weather.

Both rides feature eighteen cups. MHTC seats four riders in each, compared to MTP which allows five. Both feature a pre-recorded spiel, which Cast Members can override, and are surrounded by themed topiaries.

Both versions are accompanied by an instrumental version of The Unbirthday Song, as composed by Mack David, Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman. Both have Chinese Lanterns hanging overhead (which make the attractions especially pretty when lit at night), and both officially refer to the giant spinning platform as “the tea tray”. Extending this metaphor, each disc is referred to as a “plate”, and each cup is on its own “saucer”.

The operator’s booth for MTP is shaped like a house with a thatched roof (such as the one Alice bursts through in the film, after consuming the “eat me” cookie), whereas for MHTC it is shaped like a sugar bowl.

 

CARROUSEL

In California, this is called King Arthur Carrousel, whereas the Paris equivalent is called Le Carrousel de Lancelot.

The two attractions feature titles based on the legend of The Sword in the Stone, although the 1963 Disney film of that name does not feature the character of Lancelot. In fact, the California version was open to the public long before the completion of the film on which it is themed.

Both carrousels run at speeds of 4.4mph with flexible durations, although the horses always end their rotation at the same location (and height) as they started.  Both feature a soundtrack consisting of looped Disney music lasting two hours, and both have leaping horses as opposed to the more traditional funfair style without bent knees.

Differences include: the shape of the queue-line; the Paris ride having been built by Disney whereas the Anaheim one had been built by Dentzel in 1875; the nine hand-painted panels in California telling the story of Sleeping Beauty whilst those in France tell that of The Lady of the Lake; the number of horses operational at any one time (currently 68 in Anaheim; 86 in Paris); and the colors. In 1975, all the horses on King Arthur Carrousel were painted white, whereas Le Carrousel de Lancelot features horses of many different colors.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in February 2011 (Dumbo), April 2011 (Teacups) and June 2011 (Carrousels).

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Disney History DL vs DLP In the Parks

Anaheim vs. Paris: Peter Pan’s Flight

This week I shall be comparing “Peter Pan’s Flight” in Disneyland (California) with its equivalent in Disneyland Paris.

When I mention the Anaheim attraction in this article, I am referring only to how it stands after the 1983 refurb, which added the interior section of the queue-line, a Peter Pan audio-animatronic, the pirate-ship deck scene and the “Return from Neverland” finalé.

Both versions (California and Paris) have been residing in Fantasyland, in some form, since their parks’ respective opening. They use the same overhanging mechanism to transport the rider above scenes from Peter Pan in chronological order and have very similar “hidden” details, such as the smoke coming out of the chimneys, the blocks in the nursery spelling out D15NEY and the mermaid resembling Ariel.

The Paris ride is slightly longer than California’s which in part is because the vehicles in Europe travel slightly slower. The slower speed does make the attraction somewhat jerky on occasion though.

The more relaxed pace of the ride is the best explanation I can give for preferring the one in Paris. I do have other reasons however: Paris has a greater number of interesting details (such as the picture of George Darling in the Nursery), a soundtrack which suits the visuals more and a FastPass option.

Geographically, I also prefer the position of the one in Paris. It is next to Adventureland’s Pirates of The Caribbean whereas in California, Peter Pan’s Flight is close to the Castle. Although the latter makes sense in terms of keeping it with other cartoon based dark rides, the former helps with the transition from Fantasyland to Adventureland both thematically and visually.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in January 2011.

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Disney History DL vs DLP Gone But Not Forgotten In the Parks

Anaheim vs. Paris: Pinocchio’s Daring Journey

Paris’s version of the Anaheim attraction “Pinocchio’s Daring Journey” is known as “Les Voyages de Pinocchio”, which translates literally into The Journeys of Pinocchio. Although the French name has never changed, in the early days of the Park, the attraction was known as “Pinocchio’s Fantastic Journey” for the benefit of English speakers, although now (as with several other attractions in the park) one name, in one language, is used for all Guests, regardless of their mother tongue.

For the sake of this article, I shall be abbreviating the name of the Anaheim attraction to PDJ and the Paris version to LVP.

Both are dark rides, which can be found in Fantasyland. Both last just over two minutes, although the woodcutter’s cart in which you travel, supposedly carved by Geppetto himself, seats four riders in PDJ and six in LVP.

The queue area for LVP is the bigger of the two, and bizarrely features a half carved duck, but has fewer details, flags or lights.

The attractions themselves are pretty similar experiences, going through the same scenes in the same order. PDJ has more Hidden Mickeys, such as in the spilt popcorn and in the carvings of the end scene; LVP has more hidden “donkeys”, thematically implying the true nature of “Pleasure Island”.

PDJ has a lot more dialogue throughout the attraction. What little dialogue LVP has is in French (including the lyrics to “An Actor’s Life for Me” in the opening Marionette scene). Even when Geppetto yells the sole word “Pinocchio”, it is done in a French accent rather than re-using the original audio.

On the whole though, I prefer PDJ. This is because LVP doesn’t use a hologram for the Lampwick scene, and has a slower, and thus less scary, emergence of Monstro.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in December 2010.

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Disney History Gone But Not Forgotten In the Parks WDW vs DLP

WDW vs. DLP: Tomorrowland vs. Discoveryland

Other than its geographical position (to the right of the Hub, with direct connections to only Fantasyland and Main Street, U.S.A.), at first glance Tomorrowland in Florida’s Magic Kingdom seems worlds away from its cousin Discoveryland in Disneyland Paris.

The layout is very different, as is the theming (Florida is a “space port” whereas Paris is a reflection of how nineteenth century visionaries imagined the future) and the dining experiences are incomparable.  For the sake of brevity, I will not discuss these eateries, nor the shops, arcades, characters or shows.

 

THE TIMEKEEPER

In 1994, a new color scheme in Florida’s Tomorrowland did bring the two Lands closer stylistically, as did the opening of The Timekeeper, an attraction which bore more than a passing resemblance to Le Visionarium (an opening day attraction at DLP, two years previously). Nonetheless, the Land’s artwork and backstory became more the vision of tomorrow dreamt of by 1930s comic strip characters, rather than that imagined by Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and their ilk.

Although the 360 degree film shown in Le Visionarium and The Timekeeper were pretty similar to each other, there were a few subtle differences, such the inclusion of a scene featuring Gérard Depardieu as an airport worker in the former and a view of the New York skyline in the latter. [Ironically, both of these scenes were temporarily removed: the Depardieu scene due to the 2000 Concorde crash; and the NYC section soon after September 11th 2001].

Aside from the main film, there were several other differences between Le Visionarium and The Timekeeper, including the exterior (which in Paris featured a flying car), the pre-show video and the audio.  Although the Paris attraction’s show was in French, there were headphones for guests wishing to listen to the show in English or German. The English audio was not the same as the version used in the Florida version, which was a lot more upbeat, utilizing the voice talents of Robin Williams and Rhea Perlman.

Over time, Florida’s color scheme has changed again, and The Timekeeper has closed (as it did in Paris) and the two Lands feel less related than ever before.

 

ASTRO ORBITER

One Discoveryland-inspired 1994 Tomorrowland change which is still in place is the re-theme of the aerial carousel Star Jets to the Astro Orbiter. This is based on Paris’s Orbitron Machines Volantes, commonly known just as Orbitron. Both attractions have twelve height-controllable rockets with zodiac signs on the tails rotating around a spinning “planetarium” which makes the ride feel faster than it actually is.

Whereas the WDW version is raised, thus affording beautiful views to the rider (especially at nighttime), the DLP version is slightly sunken, surrounded by “meteorites” and serves as the Land’s main weenie.

 

SPACE MOUNTAIN

The Paris version of Space Mountain (known in full as Space Mountain: Mission 2) is remarkably different from the Florida version. The exterior design is more steampunk, there are inversions, the rockets go in sets of six each seating four (whereas WDW’s rockets are in sets of two, each seating three), the pre-show is less interactive and there is no pre-launch tunnel of light or no post-ride robots.

Although there are two separate loading bays in both Paris and Florida, in the former these meet up and travel on the same track, whereas the latter has two separate “rides”, called the Alpha Track and the Omega Track.

The main lift in Florida is relatively slow, albeit with plenty to look at. In Paris this section is much faster. You are supposedly being catapulted out of a cannon [The Columbiad] and into space. This portion of the attraction is covered from the elements, but is visible to those outside, which adds to the kinetics of the Land.

The coaster section in Disneyland Paris feels the faster of the two. This may be due to its track length (including storage and maintenance) being 1.1km whereas Florida’s is almost triple this. The visuals are, in my opinion, a lot more interesting though, featuring more near-misses and an easier plot to follow.

Both have a Fastpass option, are manufactured by Vekoma, and have onboard audio (though Paris uses the SOBAT system whilst Florida utilizes Starry-O-Phonic Sound).

 

OTHERS

Paris does feature an Autopia, closer in theming to its Anaheim namesake than Florida’s speed-orientated Tomorrowland Speedway. DLP also has a Buzz Lightyear attraction, which is practically a carbon copy of the Anaheim one and so misses out on many of the cooler details which appear in Florida, such as three-headed dinosaur, the wall of Z’s, the rotating light effect or the domed screen.

Paris has no version of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, Stitch’s Great Escape! or Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. The nearest it has to the latter two is Stitch Live!, in Walt Disney Studios Park, which uses similar technology and audience interactions to MILF, but caters more towards younger children. (In 2009, there was a live stage show in Discoveryland on a mobile stage by Space Mountain, in which Stitch was the DJ, but the less said about that, the better).

Likewise, there are several attractions in Discoveryland which have no equivalent in Florida’s Tomorrowland.  These include Videopolis, Discoveryland Station and Les Mystères du Nautilus. This last attraction sounds like it may have been similar to Fantasyland’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Submarine Voyage, and (whilst based on the same source material) it‘s closer stylistically, thematically and plot-wise to a 1950s walk-through attraction once housed over in Disneyland.

The two other attractions in Discoveryland which do not exist in Florida’s Tomorrowland (although they exist elsewhere in WDW, as well as in California’s version of the Land) are Captain EO and Star Tours. NB, DLP has still got the original version of Star Tours, rather than the “The Adventures Continue” upgrade existing stateside.

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Disney History

Fanniversary Celebration 2012 by D23

D23’s Disney Fanniversary 2012 Celebration kicked off its cross country tour on Friday night (April 27th) with two events at Disney’s historic Burbank Studio.  Hosted by Jeffrey Epstein, D23 representative, and Steven Vagnini, Disney Archivist, the event was billed as a fan celebration for Disney movies, parks, and attractions celebrating an anniversary in 2012 “D23 will lead guests on a journey through dozens of unforgettable Disney moments that have delighted generations of Disney fans.”

After introductions by Jeffrey and Steven the presentation began.  Pictures and short clips were shown on the theater screen and then Jeff and Steven would interject with additional comments and anecdotes.  Guests were encouraged to clap, cheer, and wave their pennant throughout the presentation.

I won’t go into a detail of every segment here; instead I’ll try to recap interesting information or sections that were particularly fun, noteworthy, or poignant.

Starting off the presentation was the 85th Anniversary of the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  Highlighting this portion was a story about the trade of sportscaster Al Michaels to Universal in exchange for the rights to Oswald.  Apparently Al thought it was funny that not much was made about his trade but there was huge press about Oswald returning to Disney.  The Disney Archives recently uncovered some original sketches of an unreleased Oswald cartoon featuring Oswald riding and subsequently getting in a fight with, a camel.  The artwork was put together like a flip book to showcase how the sequence would have looked when animated.

The last attraction Walt Disney personally supervised was Pirates of the Caribbean, celebrating its 45th Anniversary this year.  We were shown never before seen footage of the first ever ride through of the attraction while it was still half completed, including footage of some fire effects in locations that were removed before the ride was opened to the public.  We were treated to several still photos showcasing a cocktail party for Disney executives held inside the attraction in the auction scene, before the set was flooded with water.  One of the highlights of this section was some never before seen footage of the press event held on Pirates opening day.  Before being walked over to the attraction the press was treated to a ride on the Columbia which was suddenly taken over by a pirate captain and his crew, including some pirates fighting with the local wenches!  Once they landed on shore the pirates got into a skirmish with some local infantry, one of whom was shot and left for dead on the sidewalk outside the attraction doors.  It was hilarious to see press and guests just stepping over the poor ‘dead’ actor to get to the ride.  Of course, in true Disney fashion, the infantryman was revived and was shown mixing with guests outside the attraction later.

Also celebrating a 45th Anniversary is The Jungle Book, which was the last animated film produced by Walt Disney.  The original version of the film had a much darker feel and was reworked which included scratching most of the films original songs to be replaced with songs written by the Sherman brothers.  Richard Sherman described the evolution of the song I Wanna Be Like You.  Mr. Sherman tells us how Louis Prima , who voiced King Louie, brought his band in for a recording session with the Sherman brothers and proceeded to improve the speaking parts in the song as well as all of the scatting.  The Sherman brothers loved the fun feel Louis and his band brought to the song so they left those unscripted portions in the soundtrack.

For the 20th Anniversary of Fantasmic concept art was shown and there was an interview with its creator, Barnette Ricci.  Ms. Ricci talked about her concept for the show and explained that it’s original title was Imagination!.  Folks at Disney thought Imagination! was overplayed in the Disney lexicon and that they needed something more dynamic and exciting to describe the new show.  Thus a new word – Fantasmic!- was created.  She described watching the show on its opening night and when she described the roar and applause of the crowd she got a little teary eyed.  Which of course made all of us get a little teary eyed too.

Of course there was a segment about the upcoming Epcot 30th Anniversary.  We were treated to several never publicly seen photos of the park while it was still in construction as well as photos of the grand opening ceremony which remains to this day the largest grand opening of any theme park in Disney history.  Also, Jeffrey announced an upcoming D23 event to be held in the park itself to celebrate the Ecot’s 30th.

The Main Street Electrical Parade’s 40th Anniversary was highlighted, and we learned how its concept was inspired by the Electrical Water Pageant created for Bay Lake in WDW.  Footage was shown of its early days in the park and Steven brought our attention to the fact that in the early days of the MSEP most of the floats were flat much like the Water Pageant floats.  For the opening of Hercules, Disney staged a Hercules parade in New York City and many MSEP floats were featured, including, oddly enough for a parade about Hercules, Pete from Pete’s Dragon.

There were several segments that surprisingly got a lot more cheers and applause than I think even Steven and Jeffrey expected.  One was the 15th Anniversary of the Duck Tales television show.  Being a ‘child of the 80s’ it was so fun to watch the opening of the show again.  Jeffrey and Steven encouraged everyone to sing along if they knew the words, and the whole audience joined in on every Whoo Whoo!  Several attractions were mentioned as part of the opening of New Tomrrowland in 1967, celebrating its 45th Anniversary.  Getting a lot of applause were Carousel of Progress and Adventure Through Inner Space.  Our emcees and the crowd joined together to recite some of the narration of Adventure and later Jeffrey  lead fans in a rousing sing along of There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

Finishing off the evening was a segment on the 75th Anniversary of Snow White.  Early concept art was displayed as well as merchandise created for sale after the release of the feature.  Did you know there was a line of ladies hats for sale that were inspired by the film?  One particularly interesting one was fashioned after the Huntsman’s hat and included a jaunty feather.  In advertisements it was modeled by a young Lucille Ball!  Also shown was a list of the names of the Seven Dwarfs and some possible alternate names for them.  Interestingly there originally was no Sneezy.  Instead there was Deafy the dwarf!  Never before seen footage of the premier at the Carthay Circle Theater as well as audio of Walt Disney describing the opening were highlights of the segment.

The Fanniversary event is scheduled to make stops in San Francisco, Boston, New York, Orlando, and Chicago.  At this time, all locations are sold out.  We got the impression that D23 is planning to hold Fanniversary events next year for the parks, rides, and movies celebrating anniversaries in 2013.  The cost was $18 per ticket.  D23 members received a felt pennant (like the one seen in the picture above and everyone who walked through the door received a Fanniversary button featuring Chip and Dale.  If you couldn’t attend Fanniversary this year keep your eyes open for 2013!