BACK TO THE FUTURE; DISNEY REVISES TOMORROWLAND.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer Wherever Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney is, he must be wondering what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. . His grandest creation, Disneyland, has drawn more than 400 million visitors since it opened and continues to attract capacity crowds. And despite a $2 price hike earlier this year to $38, ``The Happiest Place on Earth'' remains the nation's second most popular theme park after Walt Disney World Noun 1. Walt Disney World - a large amusement park established in 1971 to the southwest of Orlando Orlando - a city in central Florida; site of Walt Disney World in Florida. But if Walt were walking down Main Street U.S.A. now, he might get lost if he turned right at the Matterhorn. When the new Tomorrowland is unveiled Friday, the park's easternmost land will look much different from last year, and hardly anything like it did when Disney died in 1966. It's an astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, development, given that a key part of Disneyland's lure has been a rock-ribbed resistance to change. Many of the park's landmarks - Sleeping Beauty's Castle, the Jungle Cruise The Jungle Cruise is an attraction at the following Disney theme parks: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland (under the name Jungle River Cruise). , Main Street and Tom Sawyer's Island, to name just a few - remain unchanged or barely altered. So why change now? Well, although Disneyland officials won't admit it, the park is in danger of losing customers by looking a bit dated, particularly in a Tomorrowland long-derided as being more like Yesterdayland. It's hard to know the exact reason, but the park's basic measure of success - overall attendance - fell 5 percent from 1996's record level to an estimated 14.25 million in 1997. That means a revenue decline of more than $30 million from 1996 and $7 million in lost potential profit. ``As much as I am nostalgic for the 1960s version of the future looking like `The Jetsons,' Tomorrowland has been starting to look tired and old,'' said longtime fan Robert Roberts Robert Roberts may refer to:
Gone for good are clear links to the early days of Disneyland like the PeopleMover, the Rocket Jets Rocket Jets was an attraction at Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the third-generation spinning rocket attraction in Tomorrowland. It opened in 1967 for the new Tomorrowland and closed in 1997 for the 1998 New Tomorrowland. and Circle-Vision; in their places are the Astro Orbitor Astro Orbitor is a rocket-spinner attraction featured at all five Magic Kingdom-style parks at Walt Disney Resorts around the world. Although each ride may have a different name, all share the same premise of rockets spinning around a central monument, commonly a large rocket. , Rocket Rods Rocket Rods (otherwise known as informally The Rods) was an attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The Ride Opening on May 22, 1998 as part of the New Tomorrowland, this high-speed attraction ran on the former PeopleMover track. XPR XPR Cross-Polarization Ratio XPR Extreme Pattern Recognition (bioinformatics, chemometrics) XPR External Program Request XPR Express Request and a Water Maze interactive fountain with a massive stone ball ``floating'' on a cushion of water. The Astro Orbitor, modeled after a sketch by Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci (də vĭn`chē, Ital. lāōnär`dō dä vēn`chē), 1452–1519, Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, and scientist, b. near Vinci, a hill village in Tuscany. , has become Tomorrowland's new landmark, but the Rocket Rods is clearly the signature ride for this expansion. It will be the park's fastest ride ever, hitting 35 mph over the PeopleMover's 1-mile elevated track An Elevated line or EL is basically an elevated subway which runs on a viaduct or bridge. New York City In the New York City Subway system, EL-lines consist of from the south the A,S train in Rockaway Park/Broad Channel Queens R to Broad Channel/ the F,N,M,D,Q lines to Coney , and the line for it will pass through a rebuilt Circle-Vision with three four-minute presentations on transportation. Michael Jackson's ``Captain EO'' is shuttered, to be replaced by Rick Moranis in a ``Honey, I Shrunk the Audience'' 3-D film; the circular building that first housed the Carousel of Progress The Carousel of Progress is an attraction located in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort, currently operating under the name, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. and later had America Sings - but which has been closed for the past decade - will reopen this summer as Innoventions, a hands-on showcase of new corporate products. Also coming: a new 550-seat restaurant called ``Redd Rockett's Pizza Port''; an Observatron sculpture atop the Rocket Rods loading area Noun 1. loading area - a stop where carriers can be loaded and unloaded loading zone stop - a spot where something halts or pauses; "his next stop is Atlanta" that will send out music every half-hour; and redesigns of Space Mountain, Star Tours Star Tours is a simulator ride located in many of the Disney theme parks, including Disneyland in California, Disney-MGM Studios in Florida, Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, and Disneyland Park in Paris. , the Star Trader Star Trader was one of the original computer games of interstellar trading. Seemingly based on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series of novels, Star Trader Shop and the Tomorrowland Monorail monorail, railway system that uses cars that run on a single rail. Typically the rail is run overhead and the cars are either suspended from it or run above it. Station. Equally notable is the change in atmosphere. Disneyland has abandoned the idea of predicting the future in favor of bringing to life the dreamlike visions of Leonardo da Vinci and Jules Verne. So the stark, sleek look is gone, replaced by golds, browns and cobblestone walkways. All plants will be partially edible. Changes overdue Linda Deckard, managing editor of Amusement Business magazine, says the changes are overdue if Disneyland wants to hold on to fans. ``Tomorrowland definitely needed an update and has for a long time,'' she said. ``I'm sure a fresh look will do wonders. Some people are going to say that they want it to stay the same as when they were kids, but there's always going to be that group that doesn't like change. You have to keep it fresh for the kids.'' Tomorrowland has always been the goofy uncle within the Disneyland family. When the park opened in 1955, it offered a Buck Rogers space rocket vision of the future with a slightly tweaked radar system that didn't improve much as new attractions were added over the next four years. Aluminum Hall of Fame? Bathroom of Tomorrow? Those oddities vanished almost as quickly as they were unveiled. A ``new'' Tomorrowland appeared in 1967, replete with corporate visions of the future - Monsanto's Adventure Thru Inner Space Adventure Thru Inner Space, presented by Monsanto, was an attraction in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was the first attraction to utilize Disney's Omnimover system. , GE's Carousel of Progress, Goodyear's PeopleMover, Bell Telephone's Circle-Vision. In the years following Disney's death, Tomorrowland did not exactly stand still but large parts of it began to seem more silly than serious. Enthusiasts agree that Space Mountain, opened in 1977, and the 1987 addition of Star Tours kept the area a draw while other attractions like the PeopleMover, Submarine Voyage and Autopia aged ungracefully. ``The public's sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. is way past what was at Tomorrowland,'' said Roberts, the North Hollywood fan. ``People have become so used to awesome special effects so it felt almost quaint.'' The old rides The only Tomorrowland attractions remaining from Walt's era when the new Tomorrowland will open this week will be the Monorail, Autopia and the Submarine Voyage. In a major bow to the past, the park recently installed a two-thirds scale replica of the old TWA TWA Time-weighted average, see there Rocket to the Moon, also known as the Moonliner. Disneyland officials admit that if they renovate Tomorrowland again, Autopia and the Submarine Voyage would likely be the next to be scrapped. Many enthusiasts believe the subs will be gone within a few months, but officials say no decision has been made. ``We're asking ourselves does it feel right, is it as comfortable as our hometown,'' said Tony Baxter, senior vice president of Disney Imagineering. ``In the fountain area, we're trying to give it a feel like a town square. It's the kind of thing you see all over the world.'' Still, tinkering with anything at Disneyland is dangerous since so much of its business - as much as 60 percent - comes from repeat customers who want to revel in how the world should be. As one of the world's leading touchstones for cultural nostalgia, any alteration is certain to draw criticism. ``If we change one thing on Main Street, for example, the reaction is usually, Oh my gosh, what are you doing?'' Baxter noted. The concerns about such a backlash are far from minor. One Wall Street analyst recently estimated Disneyland generated $650 million in revenues last year - almost $2 million a day - with visitors spending an average of $22 on tickets (factoring in discounts and annual passes), $9.90 for food and $12.75 for souvenirs. Based on the companywide operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. of 22.7 percent for theme parks, Disneyland generated $147 million in pure profit last year. Delicate memories Baxter believes customer reaction to the changes will justify the investment, estimated at more than $100 million, and hints at even more changes - the Submarine Voyage and Autopia eventually might be scrapped in favor of a George Lucas-type ride like Star Tours. However, it's hard to let go of what Disneyland once was and how delicate the customer's memories are. ``Change makes me nervous, so I'd go into Tomorrowland and it would bring me back to my childhood and I'd get choked up, but I don't want to keep feeling that way,'' Roberts said. ``Pushing buttons to recall my childhood was fun the first 10 times I did it, but now I'm ready to be dazzled. I would go there thinking I'm glad it's still there, but then I'd be thinking while I was riding it, This is kind of lame.'' Longtime fan Al Lutz - who operates an unofficial online Disneyland information guide at members.aol.com/alweho - is much less impresssed with the revamp and believes the company should have spent more than it did to renovate Tomorrowland. ``Unlike the past two rehabs of Tomorrowland in 1959 and 1967, you shouldn't go in with the same huge expectations here on this one,'' he said. ``Budgets have been cut so that only two new attractions are being offered this time around.'' Still, Lutz is pleased that Tomorrowland has gotten some attention. ``Disney has done the best they could do with the budget they got,'' Lutz admitted in a recent interview. ``We all kind of felt that it's not all like the 1967 redo To reverse an undo operation. See undo. . This one seems real bare-bones, particularly when you're paying $38 admission.'' TOMORROWLAND: Then and now Tomorrowland has seen a wide variety of attractions come and go since 1955. PAST ATTRACTIONS YEAR CLOSED Phantom Boats 1956 Viewliner 1958 Space Station X-1 1960 Bathroom of Tomorrow 1960 Color Gallery 1963 Hall of Chemistry 1966 Flight Circle 1966 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1966 House of the Future 1966 Astro-Jets 1966 Flying Saucers 1966 Circarama 1966 Carousel of Progress 1973 Rocket to the Moon 1975 Adventure Thru Inner Space 1986 ``Magic Journey'' (3D Film) 1988 America Sings 1988 Mission to Mars 1992 Skyway sky·way n. 1. A route regularly used by airplanes; an air lane. 2. An elevated highway. Noun 1. skyway - a designated route followed by airplanes in flying from one airport to another 1994 PeopleMover 1996 Rocket Jets 1996 ``Captain EO'' (3D Film) 1997 Circle-Vision 1997 CURRENT ATTRACTIONS YEAR OPENED Autopia 1955 Submarine Voyage 1959 Monorail 1959 Space Mountain 1977 Starcade 1977 Star Tours 1987 Rocket Rods 1998 Astro-Orbitor 1998 ``Honey I Shrunk the Audience'' (3D Film) 1998 Water Maze 1998 Innoventions 1998 (x) (x) tentative CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1 -- Color) Stand-in customers take a spin on Disneyland's Astro Orbiter, a new ride at Tommorowland. (2) Disneyland's revised Tomorrowland is scheduled to open Friday with a face lift and new attractions. Chas Metivier/The Orange County Register BOX: TOMMORROWLAND: Then and now (see text) |
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