I just want to start this off by saying congrats to everyone! Regardless of the final standings, each team should be very proud of their work here. Each is a great fit for the land in their own right and trying to figure out the best of them is no easy feat! This was just the first stanza while your teams were learning more about each other and growing. Now that chemistry is forming, I can't wait to see where the projects go from here!
Flower Street
To start, I know this team had some initial struggles with the prompt. But from the final project, you can’t even tell. The land flows perfectly and all that it seems like you hit the ground running from minute 1.
I love the work here by
@Disney Dad 3000 on the original map! Unless I zoom in super tight, I can’t even notice the difference on the map. It is very solidly done! It looks like a “purposeful” expansion. The concept art by
@Mickeynerd17 was flawless here!
I’m absolutely in love with this backstory. It took something that seems like a simple “small shops” street and gives it a real purpose. The backstory makes it feel like it is a necessary part of the rest of Main Street U.S.A.
I absolutely love the Hand-drawn map! Great work there
@Tegan pilots a chicken . The lines are cleaner than if I was doing it in Photoshop so big props there. The legend and everything like that is clear so I think you absolutely crushed it!
I think turning such an artsy movie into a full ballet show only works with this backstory. Had it been on the traditional Main Street U.S.A., it would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Now, it ties into the backstory, and the rest of the land, perfectly.
The Hall of Inventions is great! It feels very much like a true day 1 attraction for Disneyland (and gives Hall of Chemistry some deep competition. It’s also a great homage to the attraction from the original Edison Square design: Harnessing the Light. It was the precursor for Carousel of Progress and this feels like a similar version of the same thing! Even with it reminding me of an original plan (intentional or not), I think this ties and fits into the rest of the land perfectly. It connects the art of the theatre to science nicely and flows very smoothly.
I think Diorama Hall is a cute idea. It gives the backstory a deeper meaning when we go back further in time. I would’ve loved a more in-depth write-up here about what sorts of diorama’s we would’ve seen on this walkthrough. Was it all pre-historic, did it slowly move to the present day, etc. But, wow. Amazing work on that video
@Homemade Imagineering ! Looks stunning and totally fits the time period!
I like The Flower Street Stage as it gives a taste of multiple cultures! Instead of just 1 dance group over and over again, guests get to see 4 different styles from 4 different countries which is a nice way to spice it up.
I am absolutely in awe about the Electric Rose. The backstory, the reasoning behind the exterior look, the lobby and interior map, etc. are so detailed it feels like an actual restaurant. And if that wasn’t enough, the menu then really brings it all together. It has great food, a great design, and pulls the rest of it altogether. It truly is a stunning restaurant.
I think all the shops are a great fit for the land and the rest of the park. Pins weren’t as big then as they are now but they were still around in some capacity so this would be a great store for that (and covers them for a dedicated store on Main Street when Pin Trading blows up). I also love the pin design! Christmas shops are Disney classics at this point so it definitely makes sense and fits to have one added here. I love the little personal connection with the plant shop - a cute moment there for sure. Tying in brands like Hosmer Mountain and Max Factor feel like logical sponsors and fit right in with other Main Street shops that have brand tie-ins. The music shop is a great touch and I think would still be a hit to this day with vinyl making a comeback. Having the music that can be bought playing through the store is a nice touch too!
I love the streetmosphere too! It feels very “Citizens of Hollywood”-esque in today’s terms. They’re great interactions, meet and greets, photo ops, and allows guests to remember someone specific each time they come.
In the end, it seemed like your team might’ve gone the “safest” in terms of expansion idea, but I think it is far from it. It brings the sciences and the arts into a nice centre, singular street.
China Town and Little Mexico
Is this Team going to be sponsored by Whataburger going forward?
First off, what an incredible map
@D Hulk ! It ties into the original map perfectly! If not for the ageing of the original map, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
I love the use of the “Yesterland” Google Site. It is themed well and I think you have enough work to make it fit nicely. My only recommendation would have been to have the main navigation tabs be Chinatown, Little Mexico, and Entertainment, with the introduction, attractions, etc, as sub-navigation settings. It still works as is, it just would have made the top bar much cleaner.
The land posters look amazing and them being photoshopped into the row of other posters looks great! They blend right in and feel like they definitely belong. I like the inclusion of the reason behind the lands you chose. I think they are very fitting! Out of the final 3 lands your team voted on, you definitely picked the correct 2!
Getting into Chinatown, I like the description of the land. You covered important traditional information with the colours through the land that I think is a great educational touch. Major props to
@MickeyWaffleCo. for the music!! I did not expect original music in the first stanza but it is flawless and I already love it!
I think the celestial carousel is charming and cute. I know there is the distinction of it being the zodiac animals instead of regular horses but I don’t know if two carousels were needed for opening day - especially at a time where ride systems weren’t really repeated (outside the main Fantasyland dark rides). On to The Monkey King, I love the map of the queue and ride layout. The video makes it better as it gives the visual aspect behind it (great work there
@91JLovesDisney !). I would have loved more writing along with it if there was time to explain some of the visuals. My biggest concern with the ride is the ride system. This is very reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean - which opened 12 years after the land. The boat ride system there wasn’t even decided until after Small World’s success at the 1964 World’s Fair. Could a boat system like this be used? Considering how the Storybook Land Canal Boats was a day 1 attraction, it could be possible, but it feels like a stretch.
I absolutely adore The Emporer’s Teahouse! I love the connection to The Emporer and the Nightingale. At this point, Walt Disney had already made a few shorts based on Andersen’s work so it doesn’t feel extremely out of place. The menu looks delicious and made sense on being traditional Chinese while staying “safe” to Western tastes. I think the shopping is on par with the rest of the land too. None of the shops here are particularly “notable” in what they offer, but I think the 4 offerings combined make for a pretty great, and wide-spread selection of merchandise.
Moving into Little Mexico, I loved how the introduction is in the exact same style as the introduction to Chinatown. It allows us to easily notice what is similar about this area as well as the main differences between the two. Once again, the area music is amazing!
Starting with The Three Caballeros attraction, I think it is a lot of fun. It gives both the Three Caballeros, and Walt Disney a playful side! It gives guests a fun little look at Mexico much like the Gran Fiesta Tour does now!
Plaza de los Angeles is stunning! You describe it as a signature restaurant and that is definitely what it is! The design and layout of the restaurant tie into the land so perfectly! I can already tell from that menu I would be a regular there. Much like Chinatown, Little Mexico has 4 retail options that aren’t going to take anyone’s breathe away in uniqueness, but 100% contribute to the overall feel of the land.
I love the inclusion of the parade floats too. Entertainment in a land like this is always great, and seeing it both in the land and out of it “advertising” the expansion is a great way to go about it!
All in all, I think there were a lot of hits with this area, but a few minor things within Chinatown left some questions. This team has a ton of potential and I can’t wait to see what you all bring in the next stanza!
Trolley Park
First of all, I think we have different versions of the book
@Pi on my Cake . Mine looks like this:
I’m not going to lie, I was nervous it was going to be an 84-page document... I am definitely glad it isn’t though haha! From a personal bias standpoint, I am a huge baseball fan so was excited that you were looking at that route. Truthfully, I also had similar concerns about the train route so I think your team found the perfect middle ground!
Your team has the smallest land of the three but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The whole area did not have to be used, just the area that was used needed to be effective. And I think it definitely was! I think “moving” the Trolley parking area from backstage to a mini-land expansion is a brilliant call! It fits into the theme of Main Street quite well and flows with the rest of the land. One thing that I think may hurt this land compared to the other two is that the use of a culdesac land. While it wouldn’t matter on day 1, that could definitely lead to issues of congestion later on.
Starting with the Wonder Car, I think it is a perfect fit of “technology” for the time. To me, it feels like a highly themed funhouse which is great! The card room seems like a lot of fun that would keep a lot of kids distracted for a while. I think the moving staircase to then go down a slide was a really fun touch that made it stand out compared to a normal staircase. One thing, I would have loved an overview map of this attraction. Especially with a walk-through, it takes a lot of corners so is almost disorientating.
I think the Trolley Pavilion is a fantastic experience. I think it adds a lot of movement to the land that is always needed in a land. It gives guests a nice look at the behind the scenes of those trolleys that could inspire the guests beyond this one visit. The one part I struggle with it, however, is that it is mentioned that the Trolley Pavilion is the “heart of Trolley Park” but the description as a whole is a very small detail in the whole document. If it is that key, I feel like there should be more on it (for example, a batting cage has a longer write-up).
Speaking of the Homerun Derby, I think it is great! I love how it has a small and simple backstory but it is nailed home through the whole thing. I am concerned about it being only 3 lanes, however. My two local places have 8 and 9 lanes. Having only 3 could be massive capacity issues.
I think The Meadow Grove Gardens & Bandstand is the crème de la crème of this land. It has a large sense of realism with the live music that was so key to opening Disneyland but Ozzy and Waldo are amazing!! Even not being in 1955 a few of the jokes had me laughing for sure! I think it is a great addition to the whole land. I could’ve easily read more Ozzy and Waldo sketches!
I know there was a lot of debate on what the flat ride should be. After reading the whip ride you wrote up here, I think your team made an excellent choice. I think whip rides are a blast and it is something that ties into this area amazingly!
The dining options have great menus (I’ll take a Cubed Cod with a Hat Trick to drink please!)! Pufflefan absolutely knocks dining out of the park every time! One thing I am confused about and would love clarification on: is the dining car on a rail? Is it a simulated round trip of Main Street in the dining car? I’m slightly confused there but it looks great otherwise!
The shopping options are all great! The “standard” ones fit into the land well and I love both of the specialty shops. For Magician's Hideout, it fits perfectly beside The Wonder Cart. I assume this would remove the Magic Shop on Main Street so they weren’t almost side by side? Americana is another great shop that ties the whole area together. It is basically Trolley Park: The Shop, and it fits perfectly.
I love the addition of the history and evolution of the land beyond that. It added a lot of realism to the area to see how the land would still look today. All the changes feel realistic and in tune with how they would be adopted throughout the history of the parks and feel as if I was just reading a page on Disneyland history. It totally fit right in and was a great addition!
I want to round this out by commemorating all the people who worked on art this round!
@Pufflefan ,
@pix ,
@DlpPhantom all stepped out of their comfort zone in some way and you can’t even tell! Each piece of art is incredible and I can’t wait to see what y’all bring in the next stanza!
. Super excited to see your skills progress further in this competition!
