From Innovation Plaza, we make our way up the street, but not before taking note of the passenger-filled PeopleMover whisking by overhead. As with Walt Disney's dream for Tomorrowland as a "world on the move," Dreamer's Cove is also a world on the move, where the always moving PeopleMover transports guests from its station in Innovation Plaza to Fantasy Lagoon (only before and after the nighttime spectacular, mind you) and to Dreamer's Cove retro-futuristic neighbor: Discoveryland. But more on that later...the PeopleMover is a leisurely grand circle tour of Dreamer's Cove, Discoveryland, and the forecourt of the lagoon where the soothing voice of a female provides details and secrets about the various locales. Naturally, the PeopleMover station in Innovation Plaza resembles that of a futuristic bus stop, complete with interchanging electronic posters advertising the various locales and tourist traps of the city, including the "World's Last Surviving Pigeon," an actual brick from the long-since demolished New York City sewer, and a mysterious pair of giant yellow shoes said to have been excavated from an archaeological dig in Anaheim...
Making our way up the sheltered street, we find ourselves at the threshold of the two-story Emporium, the massive Disney-based department store of the future, where two glass elevators transport guests between the two floors of all things Disney; books, toys, books, clothes, knickknacks, you name it. Here, robots can be seen among the displays, hard at work at various tasks, such as knitting, restocking, and changing light bulbs. Along the front of the store's exterior, technologically-advanced window displays showcase scenes from classic Disney films, including Frozen, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Tangled, Beauty & the Beast, Fantasia, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, The Jungle Book, and Pinocchio. Across from the Emporium is Tomorrow's Dressers Ltd., a clothing superstore managed by a seamstress who genetically enhanced her own body to have four arms! Of course, only a photograph of her is seen...what cast member actually has four arms? The Elias Deli next door shows new and innovative ways of fast dining, providing a mouthwatering selection of pastrami, salami, sandwiches, salads, drinks, and there most popular: The Tomorrow Dog, a huge hot dog whose bark is frankly absent in comparison to its delicious bite. Rivaling the Elias Deli is a sit down, table service restaurant: The Cove Bar & Grill. In this beautiful eatery, diners are treated to stunning views of one of the cove's many natural habitats: a snow-capped, tree-dotted mountain with a beautiful cascade thundering down into the beautiful Koi pond below. A chrome bandstand near the water's edge provides nightly live entertainment and swing dancing on the weekends, while the restaurant itself provides some of the best dining in the whole of Toronto. Like the street portion of Dreamer's Cove, the restaurant is also sheltered, half of it indoors, half of it outdoors but enclosed beneath the constant view of the twinkling night sky.
Reaching the end of the street (and the end of the glass canopy which thus opens out at the lagoon's forecourt to allow better firework viewing), we find two more locales on opposite sides of the street: Image Works & Refreshment Corner, the latter being a simple snack and drink pit stop and the former being a photography store and interactive playground for children where Figment (a character we will meet later on in the Cove) provides interactive games and exhibits to activate the imaginations of children and their parents alike.
Passing out from the street and away from the canopy, we find ourselves at the forecourt of the stunning Fantasy Lagoon, the beautiful center of the park and the home of Fantasmic!, a nighttime spectacular of epic proportions...this isn't your grandfather's Fantasmic either...nor is the Paint the Night Parade which circumnavigates the lagoon from the west and makes its way down the middle of Dreamer's Cove and out of sight. Although both shows may have international cousins, neither are direct lifts of the original...in fact, Fantasmic has been mixed with the traditional fireworks show, World of Color, Remember...Dreams Come True, Disneyland Forever, and...well, there's so many wonderful things about the new show that we'll just have to wait until nightfall to see... The majestic Storybook Castle rests just north of the lagoon, serving as the park's icon, but like so many other things, we'll explore that later...
The Utopian city of Dreamer's Cove splits off to the left and right, providing additional adventures in the future. To the east is Journey Into Imagination, a whimsical dark ride into the world of, well, uh imagination. Dreamfinder, a wacky inventor and thinker introduces riders to his finest creation: Figment, a small purple dragon with a big sense of humor. Throughout the journey, riders are shown the various realms of imagination and the many senses it can invoke, including fear, love, anger, and much, much more, proving that "one little spark of inspiration" can go a long, long way. The journey respectively dumps riders out into the playground portion of Image Works. The neighboring Imagination Hall of Fame showcases a museum tribute to some of the world's greatest thinkers and philosophers, including Leonardo DaVinci, Plato, Jim Henson, and the man himself, Walt Disney. Timekeeper: From Time to Time is a CircleVision-4D adventure through time and space where the posthumous Robin Williams provides the voice of Timekeeper, a human like robot who takes guests through time and space with the help of his assistant, 9-Eyes. In-theater effects, animatronics, moving seats, and HD-3D provide an unforgettable experience, including a brief romp with Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Hints in the queue and exit of the attraction imply that Timekeeper and 9-Eyes are in fact creations of the time traveling Professor Marvel himself. Le Visionarium Gifts, hosted by Professor Marvel's first prototype of Timekeeper provides gifts commemorating the 4D adventure.
Just beyond the home of the Timekeeper is the entrance to our first real land...but we'll explore there later...
To the left of the lagoon forecourt is the home of several more adventures in the future, including Soarin' Over the World and, my personal favorite, New Horizons. Soarin' Over the World takes riders on a whirlwind flight around the world, past such iconic locations as the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Ben, the Great Pyramids, the Sydney Opera House, and the grand finale: Disneyland Canada. New Horizons is a dark ride companion to Journey Into Imagination, showcasing life in the perfect, peaceful future, including underwater communities, outer space homes, and how technology will continue to benefit human life hundreds of years into the future. The House of the Future rests at the exit of New Horizons, providing walking tours of an ideal home of say, 2155?
Just west is the entrance to Discoveryland, but for now, we'll be heading east to explore the wilds of the dark and dangerous...
Adventureland.
To be continued...
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And I'll continue, most likely next week. Thoughts for the time being?
"Partners" is in a different location, Roxas. You'll see. Timekeeper, although using the same exact audio (hence Robin Williams) is a completely new film with new scenes, new actors, new effects, and so on, so forth. True, Dreamer's Cove is very much like Future World, but...that's the point. I wanted to start out the park with the future, rather than the past. Why not make the entrance a triumph in attractions and adventures?
