Mouse Extra

Screamscape reported a rumor yesterday that Disney World officials are contemplating adding some Pirates of the Caribbean themed suites to the Caribbean Beach Resort.  For those who don’t know, there already are similarly themed units at the Disneyland Hotel.  Here’s a photo…

                                              photo copyright Disney

I have heard similar rumors for quite some time now, but not specifically at the Caribbean Beach.  The Disneyland version has reportedly been successful, so this would seem to be a logical addition.  It makes plenty of sense.  Such a renovation is relatively cheap, already been tested, and could re-awaken the public to the Caribbean Beach Resort, which is the oldest of the moderate offerings.

The problem I have is that Disney is once again catering to those with loads of expendable cash.  I believe this can go for as much as $2500.  I got a better idea.  Parts of the Caribbean Beach Resort are in need of some refurbishment.  How about we turn one of the sections into the Tortuga or Port Royal from the films?  (Maybe even both, as this idea has serious potential if I do say so myself.)  You can place decorations in the current rooms similar to those from the suites, give the whole place a coat of paint, add a pirate’s playground for the kids, and dress the pools up.  Then we can bring a fun, new hotel experience to guests that may not have cash falling out of their ears…like me.

by Dave

MiceCast, a podcast for the PG-13 crowd (okay, maybe sometime R), introduced a very interesting idea on their February 28, 2007 show.   They asked the question, can Disney bring an audio-animatronics figure of Walt Disney himself into the theme parks?  It took me some time to flush out my idea for this, but I think they can.

Creating something like this is a terrific idea and a needed one.  As more people start forgetting that a person named Walt Disney ever existed, instead thinking it nothing but a brand name, any well-done reminders are welcomed.  With that in mind, I would certainly want to make it as near an e-ticket as an AA attraction can be anymore.  So, in order to keep the purists and the bean-counters at Disney management simultaneously happy, we need a ride full of characters, movie tie-ins, with high load capacity, and lots and lots of animatronic edu-tainment.   

This attraction will require lots of Walt animatronics and loads of characters as well.  It’s a big, expensive, high-maintenance idea.  Just making a “Great Moments with Walt Disney” would not be enough to make the accountants plug down the cash, nor would it get kids excited, so we need a big draw.   Here’s what I propose…

Think Spaceship Earth…but without napping.  It would have animatronics acting out scenes from films and Walt’s life, while a narrator explains the history of what the rider sees.  Perhaps a famous narrator from Disney history, such as Roy Disney, or perhaps even splice together Walt’s own words for narration.

The subject that best suits this would be the history of Walt Disney the filmmaker, focusing on the early years that are often lost on people.  Everyone knows about the feature films, and there are many attractions of Walt’s films in the parks already, so once we get to the more popular eras of his creations, we need not spent as much time as we do during the developmental stage of his life.

It is an omni-mover ride and begins with the narrator introducing you to a young Walt at the beginning of his career, covering the Laugh-O-Grams and Alice Comedies.  There is a terrific scene from the Alice’s Wonderland short with Walt and Alice looking at cartoons on paper coming to life.  This would make a great scene with the two AA’s and the cartoon portions running a cleverly disguised screen made to look like the drafting table in the film.

During the early portion of the ride, we can also have our first major introduction of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit into the Disney theme parks.  The vehicle can glide through a large room with many different movie screens running the Oswald shorts.  The narrator can explain the history of Oswald, and how he was lost, along with another AA scene of Walt along with Ub Iwerks talking about what kind of trouble they can get Oswald into.  Placing an animated Oswald figure somewhere in here would also be a great moment, but perhaps not necessary (another nod to the accountants!).

From there we can move to a scene of Walt and his wife Lilly on the train from New York to California, where the two are discussing the creation of Mickey Mouse after the disappointment of losing the Oswald character.   Lilly was said to be extremely proud of suggesting that Walt name his mouse Mickey and not Mortimer and this would be the perfect dialogue to run.  Some special effects simulating the train moving would also be a nice touch here.  Steamboat Willie would make a natural fit for the next scene, and I would have an AA of Mickey in his famous roll.  To accompany it, you would also see an AA representation of Walt voicing Mickey and struggling happily with his vocal chords, this is a clip any purists has scene a thousand time, and making it come to life would be a treat.  It’s also a groundbreaking moment in animation history, and one that could never be ignored.

We may have something of a true Imagineering challenge for the next scene.  The ride can take you eerily into a black and white world of the Skeleton Dance from the Silly Symphonies series.  To make a set of figures that replicate the rubbery dance of the skeletons will not be an easy task, but one that can be a real thrill.  The spooky scenery and music can deliver a moment that nearly everyone but the true purists has forgotten about.  This amazing short was masterful at setting a macabre yet fun mood.  Creating that in three dimensions has great potential.

Next you will get a dramatic introduction to the world of color, as you ride through a beautiful scene of Flowers and Trees come to life.  The opening scene of this famous groundbreaking short would be fantastic in audio-animatronics, as the trees come to life.  But that’s only one side of a room dedicated to the Silly Symphonies.  On the other side, we have the Three Little Pigs in audio-animatronics.  Are you seeing the synergy yet?  What a gift shop this could make, eh?

A simple scene of early Fab-Five shorts can transition us into the era of Walt’s feature animated films.  There is a huge potential to overlap here with existing attractions, so the idea needs to focus less on the famous films and more on Walt and his pioneering moments.  A great place to begin this portion of the ride is replicating the famous scene of Walt talking to Shirley Temple and receiving his special Oscar awards, one big statue and seven little ones.  This can be followed by some animatronics, like Bambi or Jiminy Cricket, to represent the golden age of Disney animation.  A great scene to animate with Walt would be from the one-hour television show that he used to promote Alice in Wonderland. It has Walt at his whimsical best.

During this section, we can also see Walt with two tigers relaxing on his desk, as he introduces us to his terrific True Life Adventures, a scene I am sure you are familiar with.  We can find Davy Crockett, or even a scene from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, all amazing moments in Disney’s creative life.

The Disney-MGM Studios seems like a natural fit here, although between One Man’s Dream and the Great Movie Ride this is certainly not an earth-shattering or unique design.  But I don’t think it will be overkill at all.  The Studios should have something that celebrates the history of the Disney Studio in a grand way, not to mention its founder.  This attraction will do both, bring Walt virtually alive and resurrect some wonderful forgotten characters and films in the minds of Disney park guests.  There are more details to the plan, though I think this posting is long enough already.  The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is what to call it. 

So what do you think?  Could it work?  What would you add?

When Expedition Everest opened at the Animal Kingdom, the talk by the experts was that this was the attempt, or even the key, to turning the park into a full day park capable of drawing guests deep into the nighttime hours. So far that has not entirely happened, as the park is not regularly open after the animals go to bed. So what needs to happen in order for the Animal Kingdom to shed the dreaded “half-day park” tag”? Let’s take a look… Read the rest of this entry »

Recent rumors have been spreading regarding an update to the Great Movie Ride. Specifically, there has been talk that the Sigourney Weaver/Alien section will be replaced with a Pirates of the Caribbean section. This got me thinking about what I would truly like to see done in an update to that great dark ride.

First of all, I am all for the idea of updating this attraction. To me, the Great Movie Ride is along the lines of the dark rides found in the Future World area of Epcot. Like those that look to the future, the history of films is also an ever evolving subject. Films leave the public conscience and new ones often take their place. Up until now, the attraction was “modernized” by tweaking the little film portion at the end, which come to think of it, is probably exactly why it’s there. But that’s a cheap way to do it. The Great Movie Ride was once a centerpiece, and now it’s not. Thanks to the additions of the Tower of Terror and Rock n’ Rollercoaster , it may never be again, but let us endeavor to make it something close.

So let’s go beyond the film portion to the meat of the ride, and examine what we can do to make better use of space and improve the experience. Keep in mind, I am only offering ideas for an update not a total rework, but a more intense update than the recent one at Pirates in the Magic Kingdom.

First, I would agree that removing Alien is okay. That film has lost its place and many people, especially children, have no idea what it is. So let’s do something that will never die. Let’s add a scene from Star Wars. It doesn’t matter which, but make it from the original film. One that comes to mind, because it won’t require anything out of the ordinary, is the scene when Darth Vader is interrogating the rebel soldier by lifting him by the neck off the ground. There’s little human movement, just some feet dangling and talking from the rebel, and the rest is Vader and a Stormtrooper or two. Re-theme the area to the interior of the spaceship it takes place on, and maybe even add some nervous looking rebels hiding in the corners.

Now I can hear it from the purists already; “There’s already a Star Wars attraction!” Well for one, this is AA driven and Star Tours is not. Also, Star Tours uses precious little of the actual characters from the films, but more importantly, can there ever be too much Start Wars? I mean, really?

Now I agree that the Pirates of the Caribbean films merit a spot in the ride portion. I mean, let’s be reasonable. Dead Man’s Chest is one of the highest grossing films of all time. It deserves to be there because it holds a major place in the history of not only Walt Disney Pictures but Hollywood in general. So let’s rework things a bit. I would suggest they remove the whole “Cast Member let’s the vehicle get hijacked and saves the day at the temple scene” nonsense. Keep the gangsters shooting each other if you like, but get rid of that silly storyline . It doesn’t work, and it is so over-the-top campy it gets annoying after a few times on the ride.

So take that space, a dark adventure-style area, and let’s put in some Pirates.  Not Jack Sparrow, we’ve seen enough of him.  How about the undead-skeleton version of the crew of the Black Pearl from the first film?  That could make a great AA driven scene.  Have Elizabeth Swann cowering in the corner while the cursed Captain Barbossa gives his dialogue.  There are more scenes that can be used, but that one comes to mind as a truly fun scene in Curse of the Black Pearl.

Of course, we would also need to update the film regularly.  They’ve done an update or two already, and that needs to continue.  But the part people really remember is the ride section.  It’s time to bring that up-to-speed.  Oh, and did I mention in exchange for these changes I promise not to complain about a gift shop they’ll need to add near the exit?

When Expedition Everest opened at the Animal Kingdom, the talk by the experts was that this was the attempt, or even the key, to turning the park into a full day park capable of drawing guests deep into the nighttime hours. So far that has not entirely happened, as the park is not regularly open after the animals go to bed. So what needs to happen in order for the Animal Kingdom to shed the dreaded “half-day park” tag”? Let’s take a look… Read the rest of this entry »

There was a rumor making the rounds in the last few weeks that WDI was considering changing the theme of Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland to a Pirates of the Caribbean theme. Judging from the nearly unanimous response it received from the Disney community, I think I may be the only one who likes the idea. Oh well, I’m good with that. I mean, after all, what would be the point of reading this if it wasn’t a little different. Read the rest of this entry »