Individually themed lands...Not for merchandise

I spent a lot of time in Disneyland during the 80's and 90's. Almost every family vacation was spent visiting Mickey and friends. On our one big trip every year my parents would give my brothers and I an allowance of $100 to shop for souvenirs. Each trip I would buy a plush, a hat, a shirt, and a gun. Not much of it was spent on Main Street. The Pioneer Mercantile received a lot of money from my parents back then. Now they don't receive much from me. The only reason for this is because they don't have anything that I can't get at the Emporium.

I still can't figure out why anybody would buy a plush that they sell at the Emporium or World of Disney anywhere else in the park. I would rather not carry around a stuffed Pooh Bear all day if I don't have to. You used to buy frontier themed merchandise in Frontierland. You would make purchases earlier in the day because you didn't know if you would be back by this store and you knew that you wouldn't be able to get this item anywhere else.

The Pioneer Mercantile that I remember sold western themed clothing and toys, coonskin hats, wooden toy guns, and had a shooting arcade on the southern wall. You didn't have anything with pirates or princesses.

The South Seas Traders in Adventureland used to have exotic themed merchandise. Pieces of Eight in New Orleans Square was the only store in the park that sold pirate merchandise. Can you guess what the One-of-a-Kind shop next door sold? The Disney Gallery was lost just this month. The Villains Shop in Fantasyland was where I got my first Jack Skellington hat. This was before the goth craze that has made Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise available in its very own store in Disneyland and at ever Hot Topic in the country. If you wanted a hat you visited the Mad Hatter in Fantasyland or Main Street or Hatmosphere in Tomorrowland. Now every store in the park has a hat selection and it is the same at every store.

This is not to say that I don’t still enjoy the shopping in the park. Disneyana is still a unique shopping experience. While there is too much Pirate merchandise in the parks, Pieces of Eight is still a fun store with the courtyard between the original store and the recent expansion. For the fanboy in me I love the Star Wars portion of the Star Trader as you exit Star Tours.

On the other side of the esplanade at Disney’s California Adventure I love taking my son to Engine Ears Toys. My wife and I could spend hours in the Animation Building and upon exiting, Off the Page. This is similar to Disneyana but different enough to make it worth visiting every trip. I am also a sucker for Rushin’ River Outfitters. They are getting more and more generic but it might just be the environment that they offer you the same generic merchandise that I find appealing. My other favorite from DCA is Tower Hotel Gifts. Many people hate when attractions exit to a gift shop but in this case I love it. It gives you an air conditioned waiting place while we swap kids and it may be a little corny but I love all the Hollywood Tower Hotel merchandise.

Obviously we all want the Disneyland merchandise. That is why it is sold in so many stores. I am not a purist that thinks that everything should remain untouched. I would just like a little individuality as well. Make some stuffed critters only available in Critter Country and keep the Princesses in Fantasyland. Now that the Pirate craze seems to be dying some maybe they can move back to New Orleans Square.

If Disney gave me a unique place to shop in every land they would get more money from me. Every time you turned the corner you would have a chance to find something new. I don’t know if everybody agrees with me on this, but I think that some merchandise diversity would make for more fun at the parks.

O, CircleVision where art thou?

I was reading a press release today from the Canadian Tourism Commission regarding the updates to the CircleVision movie for the Canada Pavilion at Epcot and it made me sad to realize something. There are no longer any CircleVision movies in Disneyland. Not just in that one park but in the entire resort. It is true that they are dwindling at Walt Disney World too, but they still have two.


Tomorrowland used to be home to two fantastic CircleVision movies. You could visit the Wonders of China and American Journeys. You were able to see one movie in the morning and one in the evening. As a child one of my personal favorite features of this attraction was going to the row that had the translation telephones and listening to the narration in different languages. Too bad none of it stuck.

In the waiting room to enter the theater you rarely found a crowd. There was usually a seat available and you could watch the preshow video in a nice air conditioned room. Every few seconds if you looked up and behind the Peoplemover would pass by. This was an appropriate waiting area for the show you were about to see.

As you entered the CircleVision 360 theater you were surrounded by screens. When the movies would start you would be focused on one screen in the front of the theater then as the screens filled in you were immersed in the environment. It felt like you were riding a wagon over a covered bridge in America or floating down the Yangtze River in China. On more than one occasion I had to reach out and grab the lean rail to keep my balance since my senses had been fooled.


Both American Journeys and Wonders of China gave you a broad overview of the scenery of the two countries. They found some of the most beautiful and special places that either country had to offer. There is nothing quite like the experience of watching 360 degrees of beautiful scenery to make you feel like you are there.

In 1997 the CircleVision 360 theater was closed to make way for the Rocket Rod queue. The Rocket Rods opened on May 22, 1998 and closed permanently in September of 2000. This attraction never lived up to expectations with frequent break downs and the fact that you had to slow down at every corner due to lack of banking. It was disturbing that one of the truly unique experiences in the parks was downgraded to a queue. At least this would give Imagineers another chance at righting the wrong that was the Rocket Rods.

Buzz Lightyear Asto Blasters opened in the building on March 17, 2005. While this interactive attraction is fun and I enjoy competing with friends and family for the best score, it has never had that special feeling of a great attraction to me.


Now for anyone wanting to have the CircleVision experience you will have to trek across the country to Walt Disney World and visit Epcot. There you will find two CircleVision movies playing daily. In the China Pavilion you can see Reflections of China and in the Canada Pavilion you will get to see O, Canada. O, Canada has recently had 65% of the film updated and added narration by Martin Short. This update will be debuting soon at Epcot.


I for one can not wait to visit Epcot again and take in the whole experience of these two beautiful countries in CircleVision 360. Seeing these countries in a CircleVision theater is something that all should experience. It embodies the edutainment that Disney and Epcot are famous for.

Disney's California Adventure is about to undergo a major transformation. This would be a great time to bring back the CircleVision 360 theater to California. I think Soarin' is already offers incredible visuals of the varied landscape of California so a new CircleVision movie could explore the details of the Golden State. I personally would love to see American Journeys or Reflections of China back in Disneyland's neighbor across the esplanade. I know that CircleVision is not a new concept, but it would be great to see it in DCA. If it is even on a drawing board in Glendale consider this my vote for the inclusion of a new 360 theater somewhere in the Disneyland Resort.

“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” - Walt Disney

As the Subs Turn

Today was my first day at Disneyland since May 2. I haven't seen Pirates Lair yet and I had not seen Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. I have been looking forward to the subs since I knew that they were being brought back. When I was younger I used to look forward to that ride more than any other and at one time I thought you really were diving under water. The Submarine Voyage may not have been futuristic but they fit Tomorrowland like a glove.



While I waited in the queue today I watched the subs circle the lagoon and really got a kick out of the seagulls on the buoy. We moved our way up closer and closer to the front of the line and we were getting more and more excited. Finally it was our turn to be boarded. I made my way down the spiral staircase for the first time in 10 years. I sat down in the seat that used to feel a lot bigger. Then we waited. Finally we pulled out into the lagoon and I remembered why I loved the attraction so many years ago. It was just fun to be able to feel like you were in a submarine below the surface.

Then we entered the show building. I wasn't disappointed but it sure didn't live up to my expectations. The animations were exceptional. The effects did leave quite a bit to be desired. I would have thought there would have been more for the kind of money that you hear went into this.

In a perfect world there would have been a better blend of the animated effects and the physical props. When the angler fish attacks them it would have been much more impressive if it would have moved. No wonder the two little fish can get away. He just sits there and sits there and sits there. I can only wish that the jellyfish in the ocean were engineered by Disney. If they all had poles coming out of the top of them then we would probably see them before they stung us and I wouldn't have had to endure the ridiculous questions that I did when I was stung by a jellyfish (i.e. Did you have somebody pee on you? NO!).

It also could be made a little more clear that a whale is swallowing you. I knew it was happening but it wasn't very easy to follow. I know that my son didn't catch that particular point in the story and he would be in the target audience.

I am happy that the subs are back and I love to the kinetic energy that having them run again brings to Tomorrowland. I will visit them again when the line dies back down to a reasonable amount of time too. I was just left wanting more. Here is hoping that Tony Baxter, Bob Weiss, and all the Imagineers responsible for Disneyland Resort will really be able to go full force into their upcoming projects.

Todayland???

Theming. This topic has been debated so many times, especially in regards to Tomorrowland, I don't even know what I am doing bringing it up. I think it is just something that I feel strongly about.

Tomorrowland in Disneyland has always been one of my favorite areas in the park. They had Star Tours, Space Mountain, and the Peoplemover. What else do you need? When Disney revamped Tomorrowland in 1998 they tried to find a theme that would not need constant updating. How can you possibly ever know what the fantasy future would look like? Everybody knows there will angled rocks in the future, right? So besides the given that there would be angled rocks they were free to design however they pleased. There was no more need to appear futuristic. They could look to the writings of Jules Verne. They could turn to sci-fi comics. They had released themselves from the confines of the true future and they had room to play.

Imagineers took to replacing the whites and silvers of Tomorrowland with coppers and browns. Peoplemover moved out. The subs dove and didn't resurface for years. Tomorrowland Terrace disappeared. On the bright side we had a spinning carousel building again, even if it is full of computer games. They also gave the paying public a two hour line for a poor man's test track. At least they were trying. After the Rocket Rods broke down for the last time the queue area, former home to Circlevision, was converted to Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

Ever since the 1998 makeover it seems that people have had a problem with the theming. Nobody liked the coppery brown future. People moaned when Buzz moved into the neighborhood. Now Star Tours doesn't fit either since it takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I don't recall anybody having a problem with the fact that America Sings didn't fit into Tomorrowland's theme.

There have been posts flying on message boards about the fact that Nemo doesn't fit the Tomorowland theme. I don't understand why you wouldn't be happy just to have the subs back and running. Would you have been happier if they would have moved the loading dock around the lagoon and over by Matterhorn? Tomorrowland is a place for the future and for forward thinking attractions but cut them some slack. I don't now, nor will I ever, have a problem with Buzz and Nemo in Tomorrowland. A good attraction is a good attraction.

I do like the changes that have been happening in the past couple years. Space Mountain is a top notch attraction again. The Tomorrowland Terrace has returned along with the much better looking stage. The whites are returning. You can tell that Imagineering and the park management really want to make the space special. When you look at Meet the Robinsons the brief moment you see Todayland doesn't look at all out of place in their vision of the future. I really think the whites and silvers will always look futuristic. Who would want to live in a world like that for real? It would get old fast. I am more than happy to visit whenever I can though.

If it hasn't already happened and it isn't happening now it fits in Tomorrowland. Who knows what tomorrow holds? I can't tell you, in 100% certainty, that toys will not save the galaxy, fish can't talk, or the Death Star isn't looming in the next galaxy over waiting for us to drop our guard. Tomorrow any of these could happen. That is why I love Tomorrowland.