For more than a thousand generations, the theme park did not exist. And then suddenly in the 1950s, Disneyland was born unto us. Now twelve theme parks adorn the Disney crown. Each one boasts its own important milestones in innovation, creativity, and thrills. I mean, except for that Studios park in Paris. What is the […]
Walt Disney World has soured on the monorail. Futuristic sky trains are out. Glorified ski-lifts are in. Yet halfway around the world, a utopian future marches on, personified by the Tokyo Disney monorail. Officially known as the Tokyo Disney Resort Line, the Tokyo Disney monorail services four stations in an endless loop: Tokyo Disneyland Station […]
The media tells me that Rogue One is the Star Wars prequel fans have been dreaming about since 1977. This assumes that fans have not been dreaming about galactic trade disputes between quasi-political federations. Rogue One is actually pretty great. But in the words of Luke Skywalker, there’s something familiar about this place. That desperate band […]
Years ago, Disney embarked on a super secret project to re-invent the theme park experience. It came with an abbreviated nickname straight out of Silicon Valley. They called it NextGen. How totes adorbs of them. NextGen promised a turnstile-free park entrance, FastPasses without pesky paper slips, and a breezy vacation experience utterly devoid of hassle. […]
In the classic EPCOT Center attraction, the World of Motion, they based an entire show scene around the idea of the World’s First Traffic Jam, complete with animatronic chickens. But Disney World’s First (and Worst) Traffic Jam happens every night at the Magic Kingdom. I don’t spend a lot of time musing about the future […]
When it comes to Disney theme park songs, we celebrate the entire catalog. From shows to rides to parades, here are our Top 20.
Sometimes the most trivial items can take hold of a man’s fascination and drive him deeper and deeper into new levels of obsession. Case in point: I have recently obtained an Official Walt Disney World Transportation Collector Card during a trip to the Magic Kingdom. I have visited the Magic Kingdom in all the decades […]
I may not be the biggest fan when it comes to turning Disney theme parks into a shopping mall. I still miss the days when the shops actually carried unique, one-of-a-kind items. It was a simpler time, when the experience meant more than spreadsheets, spending trends, and maximizing ROI (which I think stands for “Roy […]
A few monorails around the resort are starting to take on a new look. They will stay this way at least for the next nine months or so, until Walt Disney Pictures gives birth to the sequel to a certain breakthrough film from 1982. No, Condorman was 1981. There’s a lot of internet buzz for […]