This post will talk about the change of Mulholland Madness and the Sun Wheel and the addition of World of Color and Cars Land. In addition, I will have a small update section at the end of this post with some more info on what I posted before. Thanks again to the MouseTimes Forums and the Micechat Project Tracker for information, and a thank you to Blue Sky Disney for updated information!
Starting off is the change of Mulholland Madness to Goofy's Sky Skool. The entrance/queue will be rethemed to a small version of the Soarin' Over California building and the road map type wall hiding the attraction will be covered in possible plane flying instructions. I'm really only going off concept art above on this since I really don't know how it will change. It seems that most people are angry because this ride not only doesn't fit in with Paradise Pier, but that the park already has Condor Flatts and this isn't going to be in that area. I think Disney is pushing the themeing of Paradise Pier to a Disney animated character boardwalk area, so I can see Goofy in the area more than a car driveing attraction, but I still think that this would be much better in Condor Flatts. The only problem with moving it there is that there is absolutely no room for it. The only place it could go is the small shop opposite Soarin', but I think that that is way too close to Grizzly River Run. One person on MouseTimes proposed having a Test Track ride but with you test flying a plane. I don't really know how that would work, but it sounds better than a simple retheme of Mulholland Madness. Anyone one else have thoughts on this? This should begin in 2009 and finish in 2010.
The Sun Wheel is next, which is being changed into Mickey's Fun Wheel. It seems that the only change happening here is to switch out the giant sun for a giant Mickey Face and add some lights for nighttime. The Sun Wheel is a decent ride, but I can't stand those moving gondolas. My only gripe (and yet, my favorite part) is that you can see backstage. I love seeing backstage as much as the next Disney nerd, but it still seems a little unprofessional, especially for Disney. I guess that there isn't really a way to solve this problem, which is why Disney hasn't addressed it at all so far. I can only imagine that Disney will have to create a new entrance to the if they are going to add a water show. Waves might develop and wash over the already existing low concrete walls on this ride. This project should start in September and end in December of this year.
Talking about a water show brings us to our next topic, the addition of World of Color to the lagoon in the center of Paradise Pier. From Blue Sky Disney: "We all know that it's going to be a big show. A cross between Fantasmic! and the water show in front of the Bellagio. We all ..." Oh wait, sorry. Wrong font. Let me try again.
From Blue Sky Disney: "We all know that it's going to be a big show. A cross between Fantasmic! and the water show in front of the Bellagio. We all know that there will be hundreds and hundreds of jet nozzles shooting water far into the sky with projected images surrounding this spectacle, but...Did you know how much of the Pier will actually be used for these fountains? Most have said that it will just be in front of Mickey's Fun Wheel. No, no...Try the entire water area of the Pier. That big. Really. When the PP goes down next year to be drained so that construction can begin on the new extended area and the placement of the water and lighting system is put in it will be extensive. This will have some form of fountain display all across the whole of the area."
It seems that Disney is also considering covering over the Ariel's Grotto Restaurant area as the guests sitting there would get drenched. And you want to know who the main character in the show is going to be? Let me just want you now, its not any normal Disney character. If all goes well, the main star will be Chernabog, the demon from Night on Bald Mountain. I know, strange, huh?
Besides the show, Disney will expand the area of the lagoon and add a huge viewing area by where the overview of the lagoon is at now. I think that a huge show would be great for California Adventure, and a water show like Fantamic! would be absolutely wonderful for the area. I have always that the lagoon was a great waste of space and that if they weren't planning to install something there, they could build an attraction over it or do something under water like a walk-through aquarium. Maybe they could have done Little Mermaid there...Nah, I'm just kidding. The underwater thing has already been done at Disneyland, and I don't think they should duplicate it so close to the original. I've also heard that some feel that Disney should just bring the already successful Fantasmic! to the lagoon and get another show for Disneyland. The problem with this being the fact Disney would have to craft an artificial mountain and huge amphitheater for it and the show would only be viewable from one side of the lagoon and people walking on the other side of the structure would be able to see tall the behind the scenes part of the show. On another note, I think the title "World of Color" is entirely unoriginal or exciting. Considering other nighttime show names (Odyssey, BraviSEAmo!, LuminAria, Fantasmic!) this one is pretty lame. Hope you can come up with another name, Disney! The change to the lagoon for the show will start this year and finish up in 2010.
Last but not least is Cars Land. Another rather unoriginal name for what I am most excited about, but the name is still up in the air at this point. Almost everyone knows about the E-ticket Radiator Springs Racer, but not many know of the two other attractions this land will feature.
Luigi's Roamin' Tires is one of the smaller attractions and will be an updated version of the Flying Saucer attraction at Disneyland. Guests will sit in tires and throw their weight around to move across a curtain of air.
Tow Mater's Junkyard Jamboree looks like a Tea Cups ride with guests in the back or tractor trailers swirling around a junkyard as "DJ Mater" spins out the tunes.
Both of these rides sound interesting, but the real beauty of the land will be Radiator Springs Racers. This ride will feature 3rd generation Test Track vehicles, with a ride through desert scenery before entering a huge show building where guests will meet almost all of the characters from the movie before a huge high-speed race to the finish line against the vehicle on the other track. This ride will have to be carefully designed and built so that both vehicles will be able to race each other at the same time. It also sounds like an absolutely wonderful ride, and the way that Toy Story Midway Mania is shaping up, this will be a great addition to California Adventure.
Besides the rides, the land will also feature a small version of the Main Street in the film with little laces like a Filmore Smoothie Stop and a Flo's Diner. The main non-attraction point of the land will be a drive-in theater restaurant. This project is currently on the back burner until Disney gets more money, but it will be stylized like the Sci-fi Dine-in Restaurant in Disney's Hollywood Studios. I think it will be great, but it looks like it won't be there for a long time, if it shows up at all. Cars Land is the last part of the change planned, and will likely be pushed beyond the originally planned 2012 finish. MiceChat still lists the plans as starting this year and finishing in 2012. There is way too much concept art for this area to post it all so check out this Gallery on Mice Chat for some wonderful concept artwork.
Above is some nice concept art of that the Paradise Pier area will look like completed. Moving on to our update section, I now have a bit more information regarding the Silly Symphonies Swing and The Little Mermaid attraction, with a little tidbit about Toy Story Midway Mania.
Seeing as my section on Toy Story Midway Mania is the shortest, we will start off with that. I apologize for my pronouncing the name of the ride incorrectly. I previously called it Toy Story Mania, while the attraction's actual name is Toy Story Midway Mania. Also, Imagineers plan to present a holiday version of the ride for the 2009 Christmas season and update it in 2010 or 2011 to be more themed towards the new Toy Story 3.
Moving on the the Silly Symphonies Swing, the orange structure will be removed and the swing will become open air. From Blue Sky Disney: "There will be flags and canopies around the outer edge and the elevator shaft will have a Victorian roof and siding to give it the borrowed appearance of something more permanent."
Lastly, we have the Little Mermaid. From Blue Sky Disney: "The structure and final building design have been approved and it's going to be more refined and glamorous than any of those crude pictures you've seen in the presentation last October. There's a reason why this ride's budget is up over a hundred million dollars. John Lasseter, Bob Weis and their crew are working to make sure this area is filled with tons of bells and whistles. There will be several show rooms in the ride displaying multiple scenes from the classic Disney film, but the main one, for the main song will be in the center of the building and will occupy the most space. Possibly over half of the building. It's going to be a room that is round/oval in shape and feature some of the most complex lighting and animatronics detail of any Imagineer project. The surrounding areas will feature lush foliage and trees."
That's all for now, folks, and I hope to have another much smaller post done late tonight!
2 comments:
Wow. It with Bug's Life, Toy Story, and Cars, it sounds like CA is becoming more of Pixar Adventures than anything else.
Well, you know that Disney is also planning to theme all the boardwalk games that they currently have to animated characters as well. And depending on how well Cars Land and the Paradise Pier area turn out, they're likely going to start movie premiers there, like with Cars 2.
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