Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Disneyland 2055: What the future may hold for the original Disney park

It's been almost a decade since Disneyland opened a truly new attraction and nearly two decades since the Anaheim theme park introduced a groundbreaking new ride.

You have to go back to 2005’s Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters for the last truly new attraction at Disneyland — and that was a knockoff of a Walt Disney World ride.

The last groundbreaking backyard trains you can ride at the park was Indiana Jones Adventure in 1995. Rocket Rods opened during the 1998 Tomorrowland makeover, but that star-crossed ride has long since retired to Yesterland.

Since then, there have been extensive rehabs (Star Tours in 2011), elaborate refreshes (It's a Small World in 2009) and substantial rethemes (Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in 2007), but few major changes that significantly altered the complexion of the 59-year-old theme park.

 13 untouchable Disneyland rideable backyard trains and attractions
While no one can say for sure what the future holds, here's a look at 13 beloved rides and attractions that Los Angeles Times theme park blogger Brady MacDonald predicts will never be removed from Disneyland. (Brady MacDonald)
As Disneyland approaches its 60th anniversary, I thought it would be a good time to take a wildly speculative look at what the original Disney theme park might look like over the coming decades with an eye toward the 100th anniversary in 2055.

What will still be around when Disneyland hits the century mark? What will be long gone by then? And what new backyard trains you can ride for sale and attractions will be added?

While there's little room for Disneyland to grow beyond its existing footprint, there's still plenty of opportunity for change at the tradition-bound park over the next 40 years.

 11 most endangered Disneyland rides & attractions
Gazing into his crystal ball, Los Angeles Times theme park blogger Brady MacDonald picks the 11 rides and attractions most likely to be removed from Disneyland before the theme park's 100th anniversary. (Brady MacDonald)
So what's untouchable, what's vulnerable and what's possible? Join me as I pull out my crystal ball and play armchair Imagineer with a few educated guesses at what the future holds for Disneyland.

I've looked at a number of factors in crafting my predictions. Have similar rides been removed or added at other Disney parks? Which classic rides didn't make the cut when new Magic Kingdom-style parks were built? What Disney or Pixar characters still don't have a ride? And are there any abandoned or proposed concepts that might finally come to realization?

I've identified a baker's dozen of beloved rides that I believe can never be removed from Disneyland. That leaves big chunks of Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Toontown for Walt Disney Imagineering to work their magic while sparing most of Main Street USA, New Orleans Square and Critter Country.

Some of the ideas will be obvious, others surprising, a few blasphemous. In all cases, your feedback is encouraged in the comments field.

Let's take a land-by-land look at what Disneyland might look like at its centennial celebration.

 14 rides & attractions we'd love to see at Disneyland
What will Disneyland look like in 2055? Los Angeles Times theme park blogger Brady MacDonald picks 14 rides & attractions that would fit perfectly in Disneyland. (Brady MacDonald)
Main Street USA

Untouchable: Disneyland Railroad

Vulnerable: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

Possible: Walt Disney Story

Walt Disney's love of trains helped inspire his original theme park, making the Disneyland Railroad the first of the untouchable rides in my baker's dozen.

It doesn't hurt that railroads operate at all five of the Magic Kingdom-style parks — the castle-centric copies of Disneyland built in Florida (Magic Kingdom), France (Disneyland Paris), Japan (Tokyo Disneyland) and China (Hong Kong Disneyland).

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair and can feel that dated to younger audiences. A 2009 refresh of the attraction, one of Disney's first attempts at audio-animatronics, did little to improve attendance at the often-overlooked classic.

One possibility for the opera house on Main Street USA: A movie planned for the Carthay Circle Theater at Disney California Adventure called "The Walt Disney Story," focusing on the early years of the animator's career.

No comments:

Post a Comment