Disneyland's recent history and decoding its new direction

[Model3 McQueen]

It amazes me that the fan community as a whole accepts Hyperspace Mountain. Maybe because it's temporary?

The problem is, it dilutes the experience. Instead of being a purely experiential attraction where you go through space, it's now a Star Wars attraction with a linear story.

But the building, queue, and vehicles don't look like Star Wars. The only Star Wars effects are delivered via projections and plywood cutouts.
Instead of an amazing lift sequence, it's now the slowest lightspeed sequence ever seen.

So what is it? A really strong experiential coaster, or a really bad Star Wars coaster where you're in a fleet that destroys a Star Destroyer?

But I also detest HMH so I guess I just don't understand this overlay thing that's all the rage.

Absolutely agree with you. My mindset is that Hyperspace is a different queue video, different soundtrack, a few projections, and that's it. That's, literally, it. And people say it's better than Space Mountain it blows my mind. With Space Mountain, I believe the user has the ability to create their own story with it. The imagineers invite us to use our imagination, and their goal is to immerse us in this really cool experience. Hyperspace is tacky, cheap, can be switched on/off overnight, and doesn't do the ride any justice. And I think it only exists so Star Wars can be advertised and injected into our minds now that Disney owns it.

I'm really glad you brought up HMH. I'm in the minority here; I love it, and there's a few reasons why:
1. The soundtrack, from the music box on the outside to the disturbing, off-key Christmas music. Danny Elfman hit a home run.
2. The outside of the mansion is decorated to the bone
3. It's a completely different experience. Seemingly everything in the mansion is changed. It's a different change of pace.
4. I didn't know Nightmare Before Christmas before I rode it, but still fell in love. This overlay is about Christmas / Halloween. This ties back into my argument for loosely IP-based attractions like Splash Mountain or Indiana Jones Adventure.
5. I'm not trying to be sold on anything. It's just an experience, and a beautifully eerie one at that.

Can't give the same compliments to the other reskins they do today.

 

[D.Silentu]

It amazes me that the fan community as a whole accepts Hyperspace Mountain.

I accept it because in my estimation the 2005 refurbishment neutered Space Mountain. Generally I do agree with your point and would not like it to be permanent.

 

[SuddenStorm]

I accept it because in my estimation the 2005 refurbishment neutered the Space Mountain. Generally I do agree with your point and would not like it to be permanent.

I'd be curious to hear your explanation regarding the 2005 refurb? As someone who was in elementary school when they refurbed it, I have little to no recollection of the ride pre 2005. I know that they used to have windows looking into the ride, and that Fed Ex had little robots in the station for a short period, but both of those seem expendable to me.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

I accept it because in my estimation the 2005 refurbishment neutered Space Mountain. Generally I do agree with your point and would not like it to be permanent.

How did it neuter Space Mountain? The music was changed - maybe a few tiny things here and there were changed, but the overall feel is the same.

 

[TROR]

Haunted Mansion Holiday doesn't suck. It just sucks during September and October. It's a Christmas overlay during Halloween. Stupid.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Haunted Mansion Holiday doesn't suck. It just sucks during September and October. It's a Christmas overlay during Halloween. Stupid.

Yup. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, but it would be nice to visit Haunted Mansion in October.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Haunted Mansion Holiday doesn't suck.

You're trash

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Haunted Mansion Holiday doesn't suck. It just sucks during September and October. It's a Christmas overlay during Halloween. Stupid.

Disney's ignorance over this attraction overlay baffles me still.

IT. IS. A. CHRISTMAS. OVERLAY. It has no place in the parks before November. But hey, what do I know?

 

[D.Silentu]

I'd be curious to hear your explanation regarding the 2005 refurb? As someone who was in elementary school when they refurbed it, I have little to no recollection of the ride pre 2005. I know that they used to have windows looking into the ride, and that Fed Ex had little robots in the station for a short period, but both of those seem expendable to me.

How did it neuter Space Mountain? The music was changed - maybe a few tiny things here and there were changed, but the overall feel is the same.

Of course this is all subjective, but while the roller coaster portion remains thrilling I didn't care for what was done with the aesthetics of the ride. The queue and the loading room used to match in design, rather than the dim gantryway we enter now. The windows into the mountain were in a large space where the line doubled back on itself, giving you extra time to look into the mountain. This was one highlight of the experience for me. The small windows that they did put in during the refurb are perhaps the cheapest things ever done at Disneyland. In the loading area, I can't shake the fact that the main screen's display reminds me of a screensaver.

However, the main criticisms I have are within the ride itself. The original was full of dated '70s projections and a funky orange satellite. In fact we used to call a meteor the 'flying cookie' because the projection was so unconvincing. Yet, in spite of all that, the ride had real identity. It looked like no other depiction of space that you had ever seen. It's true that nostalgia has seeped into my opinions, but now you go on Space Mountain and travel to a void. It's space as we've seen it a hundred times, not an imaginative journey you could only have at Disneyland. In the early 2000's the ride was long overdue for an upgrade, but I couldn't believe how much they'd taken away from the experience. It remains a fun coaster though.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Hyperspace is one of the dumbest overlays ever. It's stylistically completely different than Star Wars and they just slapped SW music and projections in it.

 

[mickEblu]

It amazes me that the fan community as a whole accepts Hyperspace Mountain. Maybe because it's temporary?

The problem is, it dilutes the experience. Instead of being a purely experiential attraction where you go through space, it's now a Star Wars attraction with a linear story.

But the building, queue, and vehicles don't look like Star Wars. The only Star Wars effects are delivered via projections and plywood cutouts.
Instead of an amazing lift sequence, it's now the slowest lightspeed sequence ever seen.

So what is it? A really strong experiential coaster, or a really bad Star Wars coaster where you're in a fleet that destroys a Star Destroyer?

But I also detest HMH so I guess I just don't understand this overlay thing that's all the rage.

I think HMH is accepted by the fan community for 5 reasons...

1. It’s temporary. It’s easier to enjoy it when you know the original is coming back. So it keeps both versions fresh for frequent visitors.
2. It doesn’t detract too much from the original experience as far as overlays go. See HMH.
3. This point is similar to #2 but Star Wars is complimentary to the Space Mountain experience. (Excluding queue and design, but again these are overlooked because its temporary).
4. It’s Star Wars. I know the fan community is known for not wanting Star Wars at DL but I think their is a large crossover of these two groups.
5. It adds a certain energy to the attraction

 

[TROR]

I would accept Mission Breakout if I knew it was gone after 6 months and would then revert to back to Tower of Terror

 

[UpAllNight]

Not to open a can of worms, and I completely get that some of the investment is extremely questionable, but Chapek & Iger have always been up against it with DCA from the start due to mistakes made throughout its entire journey by the previous regime.

Again I don’t intend to fully defend some of the decisions made but I feel like people are forgetting the entire neglect of all Disney parks for over a decade from the early 00’s to 2015ish. The painful lack of investment in Disney parks has needed correcting and whilst we may not agree with some decisions, I feel like some of the quicker, cheaper overlays are justified more due to this stagnation and the perceived need to speed things up.

To swing this to Disney World, I visited as a kid in 2000 and not again until 2015 and 2017. Between 2000 and 2015, the only rides of note that opened were Everest, Toy Story Mania, Soarin, Mission Space, New Fantasyland. The shows in DHS are pretty much the same. Epcot needed an update in 2000 and looked worse in 2015. Animal Kingdom, painfully short of rides had seen the addition of one (3 if you include Dinorama) DHS my favourite park in 2000 has gone backwards.

It felt increadibly stagnant for a place I hadn’t been to for 15 years. My perception of a reversal of this came with the announcements at D23 in 2015 and 2017, so I support investent even if I don’t always agree with decisions. It will depend how far they go with the quick investments...some things just can’t be touched.

I feel like even though we may not agree with or like all decisions atleast we have someone who is willing to invest significantly. And I don’t think it’s as disastrous as some are making out...by all accounts Star Wars is going to be epic.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Yup. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, but it would be nice to visit Haunted Mansion in October.

You can do that in Florida! The same park that still has a fort you can visit on Tom Sawyer Island, the Swiss Family Treehouse, Country Bears, PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, Astro Orbiter where it should be, Space Mountain without Star Wars, Small World without characters, and actual 3D movie attraction...

Maybe management's biggest Disneyland crime is making The Magic Kingdom look better in comparison?

 

[truecoat]

You can do that in Florida! The same park that still has a fort you can visit on Tom Sawyer Island, the Swiss Family Treehouse, Country Bears, PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, Astro Orbiter where it should be, Space Mountain without Star Wars, Small World without characters, and actual 3D movie attraction...

Maybe management's biggest Disneyland crime is making The Magic Kingdom look better in comparison?

Except it doesn't. I would never pick the Magic Kingdom over Disneyland.

 

[SuddenStorm]

You can do that in Florida! The same park that still has a fort you can visit on Tom Sawyer Island, the Swiss Family Treehouse, Country Bears, PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, Astro Orbiter where it should be, Space Mountain without Star Wars, Small World without characters, and actual 3D movie attraction...

Maybe management's biggest Disneyland crime is making The Magic Kingdom look better in comparison?

Sure, not everything at Disneyland is better than the MK, but our Pirates takes the cake. We also have Fantasmic!, Star Tours, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Matterhorn to name a few.

Not to mention all the extensive refurbishments Disneyland has had to keep these attractions up to date and relevant.

 

[TROR]

Sure, not everything at Disneyland is better than the MK, but our Pirates takes the cake. We also have Fantasmic!, Star Tours, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Matterhorn to name a few.

Not to mention all the extensive refurbishments Disneyland has had to keep these attractions up to date and relevant.

With the changes to these in the last few years, I wish we didn't

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Not to mention all the extensive refurbishments Disneyland has had to keep these attractions up to date and relevant.

Given the current state of Toontown, the castle's roof, Tomorrowland and Splash Mountain, I don't think refurbishments is something Disneyland should brag about at the moment.

 

[SuddenStorm]

With the changes to these in the last few years, I wish we didn't

I definitely agree there.

 

[TragicMike]

I've been pretty lenient when it came to Disney but with Pixar Pier and the upcoming mess that is going to be DL when SW:GE opens (should've found a way to place this in DCA) I've decided to not renew my AP. I'll buy a ticket next year to experience SW:GE but I'm taking a break from any AP.