Two words that have always gone quite well together have been “creativity” and “Disney,” and nowhere is that more present than the company’s theme parks. With guidance from Walt himself and the many Imagineers who followed him, Disneyland has always been a world of creative originality. The attention to detail, even down to the simplest trash can, has been spot on, providing a place where one can leave the real world behind and live out some new adventures, if only for a day or two.
However, much like the recent slate of movie offerings, the Disney theme parks rely more and more on the Mouse House’s popular movie franchises rather than creating new experiences from scratch. Most recently, Disney seems to be competing more directly with Universal Studios’ theme parks rather than doing what they do best. Innovate and entertain with creativity.
It is well-known that Walt Disney had wanted to build his own theme park that was different from the usual amusement parks of the day. In 1954, he sent a group of Imagineers to every amusement park in the country to study what they did right and what could be improved upon and used this knowledge in creating Disneyland. He didn’t want the typical Ferris wheels or roller coasters. He wanted a park that could be enjoyed by children and adults alike. He was fascinated with science and transportation. He wanted guests to “jump” into his animated tales. He wanted to share American history. He wanted to create a whole new world.
Walt Disney in the Enchanted Tiki Room and on the Disneyland Railroad. (Images: Disneyland Resort)
In the early days of Disneyland, the only attractions that were based on Disney’s movies were the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Davy Crockett Museum, and many of the rides and attractions found in Fantasyland. The rest of the park was filled with original adventures that still resonate today. Some of the oldest original attractions are still the most popular in the park, including the Disneyland Railroad, Autopia, Jungle Cruise (all 1955) Matterhorn Bobsleds and Disneyland Monorail (both 1959), Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (1963), It’s a Small World (1966), Pirates of the Caribbean (1967) and Haunted Mansion (1969). (If you are a subscriber to Disney+, I highly recommend watching the series Behind the Attraction as it covers the stories about the making of many of these attractions.)
In the past, rides that were losing popularity for one reason or another were replaced with other new, original ideas. The Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland was torn down to make way for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The Carousel of Progress later became America Sings and, later still, Innoventions. Rocket to the Moon was updated to Flight to the Moon and then updated to Mission to Mars. The PeopleMover became Rocket Rods.
In recent years, attractions that were once original are now being replaced with known properties. After a long closure, the Submarine Voyage eventually reopened as Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Adventure Thru Inner Space closed and reopened as Star Tours. The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was changed to Tarzan’s Treehouse and is currently becoming the Advertureland Treehouse.
Newer attractions based on known properties are closing and reopening as “new adventures” with another known property with few changes to the actual ride structure. The wildly popular (but controversial) Splash Mountain is currently closed and becoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Over at Disney’s California Adventure, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror became Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! and the attraction flop Superstar Limo was turned into Monsters, Inc.: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue (which turned out to be a huge improvement). One whole “land” (A Bug’s Land) was overhauled to become Avengers Campus.
Images: The Matterhorn (Disneyland Resort), Jungle Cruise (Jeffrey Totey), It’s a Small World (Disney+), Haunted Mansion (Disneyland Resort)
While many of these changes to the parks are met with shrugged shoulders, others tend to get people rattled. Although the Magic Kingdom’s Extra TERRORestrial Alien Encounter scared the socks off children, people were none too pleased when it reopened as Stitch’s Great Escape! And fans of the park’s Tropical Serenade were outraged when it closed and then reopened as The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) which featured the birds Iago (from Aladdin) and Zazu (from The Lion King). This was such a big deal that after a fire broke out and damaged some of the animatronics, the attraction reopened as just The Enchanted Tiki Room sans the unwanted birds. Fans are still bemoaning the death of the PeopleMover at Disneyland after Rocket Rods failed to deliver, with no going back to replace the once popular transit ride. Fortunately, fans can still ride the rails at the Magic Kingdom.
Don’t get me wrong, I love just about anything that Disney produces in the form of attractions and rides. However, while I loved Splash Mountain, I am looking forward to seeing what they do with Tiana’s new digs and I do think that the Frozen Ever After ride that replaced the Norway pavilion’s Maelstrom at Epcot is a much better production. But still, we haven’t seen a completely brand-new ride/attraction not based on a movie built at the American parks since Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened Expedition Everest in 2006.
The two places in the park that could really benefit from a new original attraction in the park would be Frontierland (if there is room) and Tomorrowland which appears to have some vacancies. Since the parks have their own lands dedicated to Star Wars, perhaps they could revisit some ideas that were taken away years before and add a new twist to them?
What do you think? If you owned the parks, what would you add?
Main Images: Haunted Mansion (Paul Hiffmeyer), Jungle Cruise (David Roark), Enchanted Tiki Room (Disneyland Resort) and Pirates of the Caribbean (RT Images/Wikipedia)
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