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I just realized I should probably clarify that I was specifically given permission to do so while under supervision. I didn't boundary-break from the queue or something.

The couches are the only furniture in the lobby that you're allowed to touch, since the rest of the furniture is actual antiques while the couches are "current" (well, from 1994) reproductions. The difference in aging between the couches and the other furniture is very apparent when you see them up close.

I GOT TO SIT ON THE COUCH IN THE LOBBY!!!

#the lobby

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I GOT TO SIT ON THE COUCH IN THE LOBBY!!!

#been wanting to post this for a bit but the full writeup will take a while #tower of Terror #the twilight zone tower of terror #disney's hollywood studios #disney's mgm studios #original post

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At this point, I don't know. Non-fans seem to fling the term around at anyone who is literally over 18 and likes Disney, using it to derogatorily imply that such people are stupid or childish. My friend, meanwhile, who is an adult who likes Disney stuff but still complains about "Disney adults", uses the term more in the sense of shallow influencer types who are more about conspicuous consumption and creating a #brand of themselves instead of just being fans of the parks or movies. Like, to him, there are adult fans of Disney who enjoy Disney stuff but can admit the company has flaws, while "Disney Adults" make a big show of collecting expensive merch while near-literally worshipping Walt and the company.

Either way, it feels like a near worthless buzzword term, since both examples pretty much set up a strawman.

What exactly is a "Disney adult" anyway? Am I one because of this blog?

#disney adults #fandom #fandom vocabulary #reblog #reblogs

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Also, this rumor seems to have popped out of nowhere solely based on the price tag of the new Space Mountain? Like, there's a lot of reasons a ride could be so expensive, and it doesn't always mean it's because of an advanced ride system. For example, Tokyo Disneyland is right by the ocean, on land that IIRC was artificially dredged up from the bay; the price could easily be due to necessary reinforcement/retrofitting of foundations. Or, it could even be that the new star projectors they're planning on using are expensive. The official press release doesn't seem to give any indication of a new ride system/different type of roller coaster either, and in fact seems to be reassuring guests that it won't be too different from the existing Space Mountain.

My personal theory is that TDR Space Mountain II will be closer to Tron Lightcycle Run than Cosmic Rewind. A smooth dark coaster with mild levels of thrill but more advanced effects than the previous Space Mountain. Also, presumably regular seats since there'd be no reason for the bike trains if it's not Tron themed.

If the rumors are true, and Tokyo Disneyland's New Space Mountain is Cosmic Rewind without the GOTG theme/with an original theme, then that ride has the potential to be the greatest Disney ride of all time...

But then I remembered how Tokyo DisneySea took all the teeth out of Tower of Terror's drop sequence. With that in mind, I 0% trust them regarding toning down a Cosmic Rewind reskin. If park management doesn't think the public could handle DCA Tower's moderate airtime, I think they would definitely balk at Cosmic Rewind's vomit-soaked reputation.

(Also... do they even have room for the giant Cosmic Rewind show building?)

#rumor #theories #space mountain

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If the rumors are true, and Tokyo Disneyland's New Space Mountain is Cosmic Rewind without the GOTG theme/with an original theme, then that ride has the potential to be the greatest Disney ride of all time...

But then I remembered how Tokyo DisneySea took all the teeth out of Tower of Terror's drop sequence. With that in mind, I 0% trust them regarding toning down a Cosmic Rewind reskin. If park management doesn't think the public could handle DCA Tower's moderate airtime, I think they would definitely balk at Cosmic Rewind's vomit-soaked reputation.

(Also... do they even have room for the giant Cosmic Rewind show building?)

#My impression is that Tokyo does theme excellently but thrill less so. And that they're almost as pressed for space as Anaheim. #tokyo disneyland #space mountain #tokyo disneyland space mountain #cosmic rewind #guardians of the galaxy cosmic rewind #rumors

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It's my 7 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

#7 year tumblrversary #tumblr milestone

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Update: having finished the book, yeah, I have to say I can't exactly recommend it on its own for anyone studying Southern Californian history. It COULD be a good jumping-off point, as it brings up a myriad of fascinating subjects in LGBTQ, working class, and ethnic minority history in an otherwise conservative and wealthy area of California...but I don't feel like readers can trust the information stated about those subjects. In the places where its claims overlap with my own independent knowledge (not just the Disney section, although that part did have the most egregious errors I could catch) it seems out of date at best and " wow they couldn't even do a google search" at worst. And that, of course, casts doubt over the entire book. At one point, an entry said a monument "is anticipated to begin construction in 2019"... and the book is copyright 2022. I know books can take some time to publish, but that's a bit much... especially when the authors DID mention the Covid pandemic shutdowns elsewhere in the text, meaning the date issue was an authorial oversight and not just publishing delay.

As a Disney fan who is often critical of Disney, it annoys me when critics of Disney get easily researchable facts wrong. For example, I'm reading "The People's History of Orange County" by Elaine Lewwinek et al. (2022) and the authors (who connect Disney parks to the wealthy white supremacist aspect of the county) seem to think that Galaxy's Edge is a third gate and that employees are still banned from having tattoos or long hair.

Like, it's good to be critical of Disney. There's plenty of very real reasons to criticize or even hate it. But when you get easy facts wrong, it makes me doubt how well researched the rest of your argument is.

#this is the most hot mess book I've read in a long time #I did not expect that from a reputable publisher and allegedly qualified authors #books #reviews #update

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@fragglegoth I hope you don't mind me including your response here, because I think you make an excellent point. There really is no excuse besides either poor research or misinformation to get something as basic as the number of Disney Parks in Anaheim wrong. Especially for a book written by researchers who supposedly lived and worked either in Anaheim or the city directly next to it. It's interesting since this is a work that otherwise passes the usual "sniff check" for credibility: it is from an academic publisher and the authors all have degrees/credentials in the relevant fields.

Oddly enough, I've caught a few grammatical errors too.

Furthermore, I've encountered another questionable theme park related claim... they position Knott's Studio K as the progressive alternative to Disney's Videopolis, citing that Disney infamously banned homosexual dancing while "mixed crowds danced at Knott's." The only mention of this I could find in a quick search of my own is Defunctland's video saying that Studio K had a "more relaxed atmosphere" and was more affordable to enter than Disneyland. Anyone here know enough to weigh in?

As a Disney fan who is often critical of Disney, it annoys me when critics of Disney get easily researchable facts wrong. For example, I'm reading "The People's History of Orange County" by Elaine Lewwinek et al. (2022) and the authors (who connect Disney parks to the wealthy white supremacist aspect of the county) seem to think that Galaxy's Edge is a third gate and that employees are still banned from having tattoos or long hair.

Like, it's good to be critical of Disney. There's plenty of very real reasons to criticize or even hate it. But when you get easy facts wrong, it makes me doubt how well researched the rest of your argument is.

#debunking #misinformation #research #books #original post

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@disneylanddilettante I totally agree with you. That's a big reason why I can't really get into the whole "SEA Universe" lore; it's a self-referential slog that's also delayed my DisneySea Tower of Terror series by years at this point.

I feel like story immediacy and accessibility are especially important to the craft of theme park attractions. Expecting guests to know deep lore from movies, tv shows, other parks from entire other continents, etc. is a wild ask for a 5-10 minute attraction! "The greats" of Disney design notably DIDN'T depend on lore or even story; original Mansion and Pirates are very much based on "vibes" and easily graspable concepts like "you are touring a haunted house" and "you are seeing pirates ransack a town." The lore was applied later, sometimes pulled from rejected older concepts for the ride. Which, I feel like I need to emphasize, were rejected in favor of the ambiguity we got.

This is also why I dislike the "movie tie-in" approach to IP based rides. You can make an IP ride, but it should also be understandable to those who haven't watched the movies, which isn't always the case these days.

The Museum of the Weird's Candleman has been added to the Attic in Magic Kingdom's Mansion after popping up inside of Haunted Mansion Holiday in Anaheim.

#sea lore #sea universe #the haunted mansion #easter eggs #reblog #reblogs

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Since there was other historical information in the book I found important and/or interesting, I decided to look up the authors to assess credibility. And, um, well, it makes their mistakes straight-up embarrassing. One is an Anaheim-based journalist and another was, when the book was written, a professor at California State University Fullerton. That university campus is, based on google maps, only around 10 miles/a 15 minute drive from Disneyland. For people posturing themselves as experts on the area, you'd think they'd notice how many theme parks they were passing on the way to research this very book.

Also, I think they fall into a trap of pushing things just a little too far in support of their argument, when using the actual facts would have served the argument just as well. They could still have argued that Disney reinforced conservative values by keeping the "no tattoos, no long hair, no facial hair" dress code in place for decades, without implying it was still in place today. It is still bad that Disney used its clout to hurt local businesses and severely underpay employees in the course of running two theme parks, without imagining a third.

The Disney part is just a few pages of the book, but to get such basic information wrong about the most famous part of the area you're researching just feels like poor research practice. It makes me wonder about the rest of the book, which covers topics I don't happen to have independent knowledge to check against. Theoretically these authors should be credible based on their credentials, but really, they couldn't even bother to count the very obvious number of theme parks in the city they were living and working in?

As a Disney fan who is often critical of Disney, it annoys me when critics of Disney get easily researchable facts wrong. For example, I'm reading "The People's History of Orange County" by Elaine Lewwinek et al. (2022) and the authors (who connect Disney parks to the wealthy white supremacist aspect of the county) seem to think that Galaxy's Edge is a third gate and that employees are still banned from having tattoos or long hair.

Like, it's good to be critical of Disney. There's plenty of very real reasons to criticize or even hate it. But when you get easy facts wrong, it makes me doubt how well researched the rest of your argument is.

#fact check #original post #books

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In great irony, I just realized I mis-wrote the book title in my post! It's "A People's Guide to Orange County" by Elaine Lewwinek et al. (2022) 🤦‍♀️

As a Disney fan who is often critical of Disney, it annoys me when critics of Disney get easily researchable facts wrong. For example, I'm reading "The People's History of Orange County" by Elaine Lewwinek et al. (2022) and the authors (who connect Disney parks to the wealthy white supremacist aspect of the county) seem to think that Galaxy's Edge is a third gate and that employees are still banned from having tattoos or long hair.

Like, it's good to be critical of Disney. There's plenty of very real reasons to criticize or even hate it. But when you get easy facts wrong, it makes me doubt how well researched the rest of your argument is.

#correction #research

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It's especially concerning because the rest of the book is about things that are much "higher stakes" than theme parks. If the authors can't bother to google how many Disney parks are in Anaheim, I'm sure hoping they applied more effort into their information about LGBT and ethnic minority activism in the region...

As a Disney fan who is often critical of Disney, it annoys me when critics of Disney get easily researchable facts wrong. For example, I'm reading "The People's History of Orange County" by Elaine Lewwinek et al. (2022) and the authors (who connect Disney parks to the wealthy white supremacist aspect of the county) seem to think that Galaxy's Edge is a third gate and that employees are still banned from having tattoos or long hair.

Like, it's good to be critical of Disney. There's plenty of very real reasons to criticize or even hate it. But when you get easy facts wrong, it makes me doubt how well researched the rest of your argument is.

#don't undermine your own credibility on easy stuff guys #disney history #research #books

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As a Disney fan who is often critical of Disney, it annoys me when critics of Disney get easily researchable facts wrong. For example, I'm reading "The People's History of Orange County" by Elaine Lewwinek et al. (2022) and the authors (who connect Disney parks to the wealthy white supremacist aspect of the county) seem to think that Galaxy's Edge is a third gate and that employees are still banned from having tattoos or long hair.

Like, it's good to be critical of Disney. There's plenty of very real reasons to criticize or even hate it. But when you get easy facts wrong, it makes me doubt how well researched the rest of your argument is.

#Disney #disney history #research #books #original post

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I find HS's layout so haphazard and confusing compared to the other parks... weird that it's technically the right shape to have a "standard" layout but doesn't use one.

Sometimes I think about how you could give DHS Disneyland’s triangular geometry and an almost perfect hub and spoke layout just by changing where the entrance street is. And you could perfect it with just a few additional yellow paths.

#walt disney world #disney's hollywood studios #reblog #reblogs

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1961 Disneyland Monorail

#speed? the monorail??? #disneyland monorail #Disneyland #monorail

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They actually depicted the correct Tower for DCA in this one!

Artwork that came with a limited edition pin at Disneyland.

#so many DCA products showed Paris' Tower instead #art #official art #tower of terror #dca tower #dca #reblog #reblogs

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Monsters After Dark fun facts!

Apologies for the delay on the major Tower posts; real life is busy, you know how it goes. But in the meantime, here's some interesting things I just learned/confirmed about the only version of Mission Breakout I like, Monsters After Dark:

Aside from the launch, and the timing of the show stops, the drop profile is the same as original DCA Tower of Terror. This is most obvious in the "final charge" up the drop shaft to the big final plunge. During regular Mission Breakout, "Born to be Wild" also uses this combination of drops.

At least one of the Hallway Scenes is still installed in the ride, just covered over by the screen in front. It's in poor condition, as one would expect, but it IS still there.

In the junk section in front of the old "face shaped boiler", not only are there the King and Queen portraits (although the Queen seems to have been missing from her frame for a bit) and one of the dragon statues from the lobby, but allegedly some of the cables hanging down are actual retired drop shaft car cables from the Tower of Terror era. Supposedly they're near Harold the Yeti.

The interior black paint in the loading/unloading zone is EXCEPTIONALLY peeling. In one first-floor zone (I believe it was far left), an entire section of wall had peeled back to expose the original Tower of Terror beige and teal coloring. Seriously, was there no budget for paint that actually sticks to the wall???

The source for 1-3 was a cast member I chatted with while waiting in line; apparently he's one of the few who's worked there since the Tower of Terror era (he said the combination of the re-theme swiftly followed by covid closures meant many other CMs left). #4 was merely an observation I had while riding the ride. Seriously, there was like a 2.5-foot circle of wall that was just... Tower of Terror's wall.

I'm not sure I'd personally say Monsters After Dark has "the same" drop profile as Tower of Terror--changing the launch and the placement of the show stops IS changing it, in my opinion. However, I did notice it felt similar from my first ride on Monsters After Dark, and from the start felt like the Halloween overlay was very much "let's get as much of Tower back as we can within GOTG constraints." Apparently I was far more correct than I thought! I also thought that Born to be Wild had the drop profile that least fit the intended song--perhaps that's a result of it using a "recycled" profile. Meanwhile, Monsters After Dark fits its drops perfectly, likely because the music was custom-composed for it the same way Tower's score was.

I'm curious about the remains of the Hallway Scene. I assumed that the GOTG elements required all of the space it had taken up, so the fact that at least one is left is intriguing. Unfortunately, we'll probably not get answers regarding that anytime soon.

#monsters after dark #mission breakout #guardians of the galaxy mission breakout #guardians of the galaxy monsters after dark #disneyland #disney california adventure #disney's california adventure #dca #gotg tower #dca tower #tower of terror #the twilight zone tower of terror #fun facts #original post