5 Excellent New Disney Rides Announced

How do they come up with such great ideas?? 

Remember in elementary school when you had to match up things in the left column with things in the right column?  This simple process has proven to be a great way to help Disney executives think of things that will really reach young guests.  No need for heritage, legacy, timelessness, originality, or vision when you can stick the latest pop culture trend on an "outdated" attraction.  This is something we can all be excited about.

In an effort to make Disney rides more "relatable" the following new and/or improved rides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are being created .

1] The High School Musical Autopia
Troy, Gabriella, and the rest of the gang need to take their drivers ed behind-the-wheel driving tests and so do you.  Plywood cutouts of your favorite Disney Channel singers will sing as you drive around the course.  The old Autopia has just always needed more pop music and dancing, right?

2] Hannah Montana's Scary Adventure
Disney will be gutting any reference to Snow White in what is currently Snow White's Scary Adventure.  Miley Cyrus is much more important to the pre-teen scene than that old Snow White movie.

3] Country Bear Jamboree:  Under New Management
Uh oh.  Stitch has teamed up with Randall from Monsters Inc. to manage the Playhouse.  Crazy things are guaranteed to happen.

4] Muppet Babies Hang-Gliding Adventure 
Soarin' has always been missing one thing:  A set of characters.  So our favorite toddler versions of The Muppets will be added.  Kermy and pals will show you the beautiful state of California from high up in the sky as they sing their new theme song, "Muppet Babies, We'll Make Your Hang-Gliding Dreams Come True...".  One really exciting thing about this new adventure is that The Land will look like the famous Muppet Babies nursery.  60-foot fiberglass Nanny legs with striped socks will be installed in the middle of the pavilion.

5] Hidden Mickey Hunt
Yep, it's the ride we've all been waiting for.  More than 100,000 Hidden Mickeys decorate this all-Mickey ride.  Every single object inside is actually a Mickey shape.  And it's a video game.  Shoot your Hidden Mickey Finder Laser and see if you can find more Hidden Mickey's than the person sitting next to you.  Even the ride vehicles themselves are, you guessed it... large Hidden Mickeys.  We'll all happily say farewell to Pinocchio's Daring Journey and The Great Movie Ride, both of which are making way for this magical and innovative new ride.

1967 "New Tomorrowland" Broadcast

Was Disneyland ever better than it was when "New Tomorrowland" opened in 1967?  I suggest that this was Disneyland in it's prime.

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Stunning Herb Ryman rendering of Tomorrowland 1967. Click for high-res version.

"Tomorrowland was rushed together in less than six months for the July 1955 opening of Disneyland.  Although significant additions were made in 1959 (Submarines, Monorail, Matterhorn), Walt Disney decided to start fro scratch after the New York World's fair in 1964-1965 and create a New Tomorrowland.  Soft yet symmetrical shapes and sculptured reflective surfaces reaching skyward symbolize human aspiration, while constant movement manifests the ceaseless activity envisioned in a city of the future." -The Art of Disneyland by Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon

This broadcast with it's great instrumental music and the 1960's narrator voice and all that amazing footage just takes my breath away.

"Even today’s household word, astronaut, had not been coined."  How great would it have been to be the guy wearing the jetpack. Such great footage of the "Atom-mobiles" in Adventures Thru Inner Space.  The WEDWay People Mover had such great views of the Tomorrowland.  The view of the Character Shop (today's Star Trader) is fantastic.  The Flight to the Moon shots are great.  What an age.  (And nothing was painted gold). 

Fantasyland Expansion Model.

CLICK TO ENLARGE 
I love to look at scale models, especially ones of theme parks.  I made scale models for a living for a couple years and ever since I can't pass up a chance to study a good model.

What do I think of the new Magic Kingdom Fantasyland expansion, you ask?  Mixed feelings.  

In a nutshell:  I'd rather have 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea still in this space, no doubt about it.  I am thrilled they are ripping out Mickey's Toontown Fair (a pathetic excuse for a land). I am not thrilled with the emphasis on character meet-and-greets.  I do like the idea of an omni-mover Little Mermaid ride (believe it or not).  I do not like the idea of a Dumbo interactive area, simply for the fact that Disney has not a great job with anything interactive since Communicore (opened in 1982) -and- it doesn't seem to fit Fantasyland well.  Two Dumbos... that's pretty cool.  I do like the extensive 'theming' as most people would call it.  The design is pretty.  The stories are separated.  Anyone who reads this blog knows that character cross-overs the bain of my existence.  Thank you, Imagineering/Entertainment for not making a "Princess House" or some junk like that where they all hang out together.  Thank you for that.

More thoughts to come, but for now, a cool-looking scale model to look at.  A couple of other (even greater) models to look at here.

Related post: Matterhorn For Magic Kingdom