Disneyland's 75th Anniversary: Desires and Predictions

[Californian Elitist]

For those who aren’t happy with the DLR at the moment, are any of you actually looking forward to this birthday celebration? What do you think are the odds of seeing significant change in management within the next nine years? Or should we just wait until the 80th instead?

 

[mickEblu]

For those who aren’t happy with the DLR at the moment, are any of you actually looking forward to this birthday celebration? What do you think are the odds of seeing significant change in management within the next nine years? Or should we just wait until the 80th instead?

If Chapek is gone then I may have a little hope. I wish Staggs had become CEO. Granted, I don’t know much about him and I only started being active on forums like this in 2013 but it felt he “got it.” Didn’t he greenlight Grizzly Peak Airfield?

At this rate let’s just wait til I’m 80

 

[Californian Elitist]

If Chapek is gone then I may have a little hope. I wish Staggs had become CEO. Granted, I don’t know much about him and I only started being active on forums like this in 2013 but it felt he “got it.” Didn’t he greenlight Grizzly Peak Airfield?

At this rate let’s just wait til I’m 80

I don’t remember his exact years, but I do remember not hating the decisions so much in Staggs’ era. Like it wasn’t the greatest, but there were a few good things happening.

 

[mickEblu]

I don’t remember his exact years, but I do remember not hating the decisions so much in Staggs’ era. Like it wasn’t the greatest, but there were a few good things happening.

I associate his time at the parks as not messing up anything at Disneyland and plussing DCA. Whether he is responsible or helped with that I’m not sure.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

There are some things that could be positive but a lot of things that frankly won’t be over the next 10 years, without new leadership. It’s no surprise I don’t have faith in Chapek or his business model for hyper-monetizing the parks.

I also think we’ll see a decline in many non-IP and some of remaining macabre themed areas - I’m most worried about the future of Toad, Pinocchio, and Tiki Room.

On the “extreme” (but more unlikely) end of the spectrum I think it’s possible we’d see further neutering of Haunted Mansion and Small World possible new IP/character infusions and overlays for BTMRR, Main Street USA, Jungle Cruise, ROA, etc. all with an eye on selling more “consumer products”.

If I do have enthusiasm, I think perhaps Tomorrowland and ToonTown (with MMRR) could only likely improve. Maybe SWGE will get a new restaurant or attraction also.

 

[J4546]

id be fine with pinnochio leaving and putting a newer ip darkride theming in its place like frozen, its crazy how successful frozen is for disney and theres nothing in the CA parks (exept hyperion show which is gone)

 

[PiratesMansion]

id be fine with pinnochio leaving and putting a newer ip darkride theming in its place like frozen, its crazy how successful frozen is for disney and theres nothing in the CA parks (exept hyperion show which is gone)

There's no way they'd fit a Frozen ride that would satisfy anyone in the Pinocchio space.

 

[mickEblu]

There's no way they'd fit a Frozen ride that would satisfy anyone in the Pinocchio space.

Exactly. And then also just no.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Replacing Pinocchio with Frozen, of all things, is just big fat NO.

 

[October82]

For those who aren’t happy with the DLR at the moment, are any of you actually looking forward to this birthday celebration? What do you think are the odds of seeing significant change in management within the next nine years? Or should we just wait until the 80th instead?

I can't say I'm looking forward to it. With the current direction of the company, I'm finding it hard to believe I'll still be interested in what is happening with the parks at more than a casual/passing interest level. I have some hope that, at least for a few more years, Disneyland will be spared the worst of it. But I wouldn't be shocked at this point to see the sub-lagoon disappear for Zootopia or - as others have already mentioned - Mickey Avenue replace Main Street by the 80th.

 

[mickEblu]

I can't say I'm looking forward to it. With the current direction of the company, I'm finding it hard to believe I'll still be interested in what is happening with the parks at more than a casual/passing interest level. I have some hope that, at least for a few more years, Disneyland will be spared the worst of it. But I wouldn't be shocked at this point to see the sub-lagoon disappear for Zootopia or - as others have already mentioned - Mickey Avenue replace Main Street by the 80th.

Mickey Avenue especially if it came with significant changes to Main Street would be the death knell for me.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I can't say I'm looking forward to it. With the current direction of the company, I'm finding it hard to believe I'll still be interested in what is happening with the parks at more than a casual/passing interest level. I have some hope that, at least for a few more years, Disneyland will be spared the worst of it. But I wouldn't be shocked at this point to see the sub-lagoon disappear for Zootopia or - as others have already mentioned - Mickey Avenue replace Main Street by the 80th.

If the latter of your post ever happens, that would be next-level abandonment for me. I’ve already hit a breaking point and don’t go to the parks nearly as often as I used to, but something like that would be detrimental enough that I would only go for someone else’s celebration or if any future kids of mine begged me to take them.

 

[SplashGhost]

Considering the rate at which Chapek has watered down and cheapened the Disneyland experience, I am fearful of what the park will look like by the 75th anniversary.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Very sad to think about what Disney is going to continue to do. They need a drastic change, and the unfortunate thing is the pandemic didn't do anything but give them more opportunity to cut more costs and redo programs. I'd be a skeptical to see what great things could come in the years ahead.

 

[WEDfan9798]

I don't trust them to do anything at this point. Heck, look what they did to the castle. The roofs are literally reflective because of the plastic they made them out of. It looks artificial, fake- like a cheap toy.

View attachment 541159

Let's compare that to the more subdued color palette it had in the '70s. It looks believable, especially alongside Main Street.

View attachment 541160

Some people would probably argue that the old colors were to subdued, and I'd agree- but there's a middle ground that WDI didn't achieve.

So now we look at Splash Mountain, which has a subdued color scheme because it stands alongside New Orleans Square, Mansion, Tom Sawyer's Island, and across the way from Big Thunder. It can't clash or stand out. It looks believable, even though it's based on a cartoon. And let's compare that to the art for Frog Mountain, which is going to be very, very different.

View attachment 541161 View attachment 541162

Yeah, they really need to learn about the Art of the Disney Theme Show...

 

[WEDfan9798]

Okey dokey...
- Toad and Pinocchio will be gone by then, along with most likely a good chunk of Toontown and Frontierland respectively, some of the surplus Star Wars attractions, the DCA trail, and maybe a flat ride or two.
- Limited-edition revival of a beloved extinct attraction... and it’s California Screamin’. Whoopee-doo.
- Protests against the parks and things they’re doing will have become mainstream by then, even as the oldest gnashers stop caring or die off. Given the state of things here...
- A third gate will have begun by then. It makes DCA’s current state look like Tokyo DisneySea by comparision, but whether it’s worse than 1.0 and WDSP is up to fate to decide.
- Fads from the era are incorporated in a painfully gratuitous way.
- Celebrations apply to all parks at the time. By then, losses may have caused WDSP to have been sold or even shuttered.
- Fox properties will have been used at some point, but not for very long in the end due to the comparative ephemerality of Blue Sky’s films, for example.

Those were the predictions. For my desires...

- Unused areas of Tomorrowland, etc, utilized or leveled.
- To be more specific, a clone of the original Journey Into Imagination now occupies the Carousel building.
- GE to be no longer just sequels. Star Tours may also be moved there, with options for either the randomized or original films.
- MV3D restored to its rightful place.
- SM restored to its rightful place.
- Indy remastered
- Scary Adventures somehow restored
- Revised TLM with an Ursula battle
- Kingdom Hearts ride
- More meetable characters.
- Pixar Pier recolored

That would be sad regarding Toad and Pinocchio...

 

[WEDfan9798]

- Disney Moana replaces Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

- All Fantasyland dark rides become empowered women meet and greets

- Castle removed

That's the type of BS I expect them to pull...smh

 

[WEDfan9798]

My honest prediction for the 75th:

Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters Removed - Positively portrays police officers and gun usage
Abraham Lincoln Removed - It's a historically controversial figure
Walt Disney Statue Removed - He's the guy that made all the racist rides and films that have to be expunged from history
City Hall Removed - Don't want to remind people of Portland
Peter Pan Removed
Dumbo Removed
Launch Bay Removed - Too many star wars stores, no need for it
Small World Removed - Each culture is appropriated with stereotypical attire, settings, and dolls with stereotypical features

I think the removal of Astroblasters and Launch Bay will be part of an entire Tommorowland Retheme. Mr. Lincoln could potentially become a history lesson with Fredrick Douglas or Dr. Martin Luther King. I see the space for It's A Small World becoming an Arrendelle boat ride of sorts, they could also make the facade a castle.

I hate to say, but likely some a-hole would advocate for that stuff...

 

[WEDfan9798]

Predictions:

- Frozen Matterhorn Overlay
- Roger Rabbit becomes a Princess ride
- Girl Power overlays of the Galaxy Edge rides, which are too masculine
- Princess Pier
- Grizzly Peak becomes some sort of Princess Mount Rushmore with a Pocahontas overlay of the river ride
- Girl Power overlay of Space Mountain
- Princess overlay of Thunder Mountain
- Tom Sawyer Island becomes Stitch Island
- Rocket Rods

Oh dear...lol

 

[WEDfan9798]

All of this, would completely alienate the entire Disney Parks fandom. You're taking about horrible business decisions too. Again, just another example of overboard sensationalism surrounding the Splash Mountain re-theme. Look, as I've said before, I respect you, and everyone on this forum. However, with that being said, I don't think posts, which ride off of fear mongering tactics like this are necessary, as they only add fuel to an already existing fire. A fire, which was started last summer surrounding the SM announcement.

Removing Walt from the parks isn't something that's going to happen, ever. Enough said there, moving on... IASW is arguably one of the most sacred attractions ever conceived, and to suggest a complete, utter permeant removal, from DLR, the original park, is blasphemy. Might as well remove PotC and HM while you're at it... It's also located in all of the parks sans Shanghai, so they'd really need to spend some serious CapEx to remove all incarnations, and the message alone would give them a difficult time justifying its removal anyways. Peter Pan and Dumbo being removed is also very much unrealistic. They'll leave Dumbo alone, and remove and replace the Indian encampment scene from Pan, it's as simple as that. City Hall... seriously? I haven't seen anyone calling for Lincoln's removal from the parks, and yes, I am aware people attempted to "cancel" him not too long ago, though I'm sure by then it'll all fade away. If this post is meant to be sarcastic, then I apologize for my tirade, it just gets really, really exhausting, seeing so much fear mongering surrounding this community.

Yeah, I hope these bullies stop because aside from Peter Pan, there's nothing offensive left at Disneyland. I hope these people lose their power or ability to make such damaging decisions and/or suggestions. We don't need them at Disney or anywhere like that.