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Dream Disney Resort
- Thread starter MANEATINGWREATH
- Start date
spacemt354
Chili's
Definitely!Our new buddy @James G. might appreciate this thread too. Think he might appreciate the presentation/format style, which could inspire his own work.
My map designs are definitely not as impressive as this - something to strive for though! (This is part of Jame's 1900 Americana Park map which was done by D Hindley!
Thank you (to everyone) for the kind words and feedback. Theme Park Design is honestly my favorite online hobby, so working on this project for the past three years (since 2016) has been a real passion project that I have truly enjoyed. This version is for sure the definitive version, so I can assure that this is the last time - 100%. But the project itself will never be complete...
Space, that is probably the best option in terms of designing the map.
This park is a monster and will require all the freedom to erase and reorganize as possible. That being said, I can't wait to see what you come up with! The first one was a masterpiece, I can only count on the second being perfect!
spacemt354
Chili's
It's always fun when you put in the work but can also inspire others to do the same - that's the mark of true success!Thank you (to everyone) for the kind words and feedback. Theme Park Design is honestly my favorite online hobby, so working on this project for the past three years (since 2016) has been a real passion project that I have truly enjoyed. This version is for sure the definitive version, so I can assure that this is the last time - 100%. But the project itself will never be complete...
Space, that is probably the best option in terms of designing the map.
Speaking of the map - I'll tease my 'grand' idea for it, though with the size of the park it might be tough. I was going to design it in Planet Coaster, I've gotten familiar with it now, and a lot of Disney content is available to download which would cut down immensely on the time commitment of building everything from scratch. It would just be labeling stuff and a few custom buildings.
However if that fails, my backup is to try my best at a hand-drawn map in the classic Disneyland/WED style of artwork.
NateD1226
Well-Known Member
Keep up your amazing work!Thank you (to everyone) for the kind words and feedback. Theme Park Design is honestly my favorite online hobby, so working on this project for the past three years (since 2016) has been a real passion project that I have truly enjoyed. This version is for sure the definitive version, so I can assure that this is the last time - 100%. But the project itself will never be complete...
Space, that is probably the best option in terms of designing the map.
MickeyMousketeer
Well-Known Member
I have been reading this during all my free time, and I can't wait for the Google Doc!!
Are you still doing that, btw?
Yes, the Google Doc is going to be the very last thing shared. Right now, the Final Draft is an incomplete Doc, while the Rough Draft (the last time I "completed" the park) is in a slow-loading, glitch-happy form that I am typically copying & pasting from with subsequent editing. It's unfortunate, but the original document was so large, that I had to start the Final Draft in a new Doc entirely.
Okay, so tonight's post requires a bit of background. Way back in the days of Visions Fantastic, so circa 2009 or 2010, myself and @KingMickey were in charge of SYWTBAI Season Eight: Clash of the All-Stars. We had invented what was (at the time) a controversial prompt for a project that has yet to be copied or imitated in any Imagineering project that I've known of since. Seriously, it's that out there.
The prompt was a beautiful idea that would never, EVER happen in a real-life Disney Park. The idea for the prompt was a perfect marriage of not one, but three or four studios in a Disney Park, perhaps the "Greatest Crossover that Never Was." @TheOriginalTiki, @Disneyson, Stratofarius, @mharrington, and countless other legends of SYWTBAI designed the prompt flawlessly. It was, needless to say, inspiring.
That all said, the prompt will find new life in my Dream Resort. As it could never happen in real-life, it could certainly happen in my imagination and in my memory. Two of the major attractions are inspired by and borrowed from the legendary Project One of Season Eight. Tiki, forgive me. It's just too good an idea to not let go. Controversial, yes. Unimaginative? No.
“The Civic Center of an Animated Citizenry”
Toontown
Toontown
Having ventured from Sunset Boulevard, we enter the whimsical, upside down world of Toontown. As the legend goes, Toontown was here long before the Magic Kingdom. It wasn’t until recently that Marvin Acme decided to allow human visitors inside. “No one has ever built buildings that look fat and inflated with air with no right angles,” said Don Carson of the original Toontown in Disneyland. “In many cases, our drawings and character elevations and the structures holding them up had very little to do with each other.”
The unprecedented, historic union of Disney, Fleischer and Warner Bros. Animation in Who Framed Roger Rabbit might stand as the finest cinematic crossover of our time. That same union has since carried into the color and magic of Toontown. If the Great Movie Ride is to feature the film of MGM, Paramount and Warner Bros., then Toontown is to feature the Toons of beyond the Disney Canon. For the first time ever, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Betty Boop, and Droopy Dog all appear together in a Disney Park.
Given, however, this is a Disney Park, such characters as Droopy and the Looney Tunes are not to appear past Toontown, nor in any merchandise or meet ‘n’ greet appearance. Endless debate has led to such an agreement between the studios, resulting in their likeness only used in A) Attractions & Entertainment, and B) Toontown Detail, Music & Architecture.
Toontown is a stylized, nonsensical tribute to the Golden Age of Animation. The barrels of gunpowder, crooked streets, falling anvils, and living, breathing buildings are just an average part of the everyday life. The tilted, balloon-like architecture is almost of Dr. Seuss; there is a severe lack in right angles, straight lines, or general order in the city’s presentation. The music of classic animation - “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf,” “I Love To Singa” - drowns the orchestral score of Hollywood Boulevard. An explosion bursts on the horizon - a foghorn rattles the cobblestone - this is not your grandfather’s Hollywood…
When a mischievous Donald Duck dons the Sorcerer’s Hat of Conductor Mickey, the scheduled concert goes awry; a 3D dream world awaits in a number of classic animated musical sequences, including “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast and “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Mickey of course saves the day, catapulting Donald off-screen and into the back wall of the opera house, much to the duck’s dismay…
Lowbrow tomfoolery is the stock-in-trade of the Acme Factory, where rubber chickens and whoopee cushions are manufactured by a highly over-engineered contraption. Gag gifts and Toon merchandise are all the rage in this prop warehouse. Betty Boop’s Diner delivers classic milkshakes, burgers and fries in a restaurant built entirely in black-and-white. A statue of Koko the Clown and Bimbo look to St. James Infirmary, neighbored closely by the Firework Factory, B.B. Wolf Demolition Co. and McDuck Bank in a rather close-knit courtyard of misplaced crates, barrels and explosives; a stock of wisecracks, pop-guns, bad jokes, sound effects, and collapsed safes. One wrong touch might trigger an entire series of explosive fun… At the Toontown Post Office, PO boxes speak the voice of their owner, and a mailbox out front enjoys a chat with passers-by. “Hey, watch it! What do I look like, a mailbox or something?” The Toontown Police Station has a jailhouse with bars far too flimsy to hold practically anyone or anything. The lovable Tasmanian Devil is the proprietor of the full service Taz’s Gas Station. Here, the gas tanks are filled with grinning fish, and the inflatable balloon tires are filled with laughing gas. The Pongo Fire Station has a real fire engine out front - too bad the tires were deflated by Jasper and Horace; said bandits are heard in not-so-secret conversation up the stair…
“Toontown, 1937.
Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling, young Toontown at the height of its Golden Age, the Toontown Tower Hotel was a star in its own right; a beacon for the whimsical, upside down elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that…
Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling, young Toontown at the height of its Golden Age, the Toontown Tower Hotel was a star in its own right; a beacon for the whimsical, upside down elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that…
The time is now, on an evening very much like the one we have just...witnessed? I mean, did we witness anything? All I see is text… Ahem. Anyway. This attraction is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This (pretend you can see it) as you may recognize is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you if you dare to step aboard, because in this attraction, you are the star. And this elevator travels directly to: Nowhere in Particular.”
Imagine, if you will, a deserted hotel in the dark side of Toontown. We aren’t sure what vacancy we could fill, but alas, the audible symphony of screams and laughter hint at the promise of a true thrill ride inside. The Toontown Tower Hotel is a parody, thrill ride and masterpiece altogether, a real Toon Tower of Terror. The seemingly abandoned hotel is an obvious retreat for Toons; humans enter at their own risk. Droopy is our “in-flight” bellhop for an unforgettable and unpredictable ride we won’t soon forget.
“Going up, sir?” He asks as we ascend toward the titular “terror.” Such varied encounters include - in one of several random variations - a false encounter with who we think is Jessica Rabbit (actually Lena Hyena), a run-in with a showering Genie, a friendly Casper, and a tug-o-war between Olive Oil and Betty Boop over Popeye’s affection. Strangely, Droopy is the unmasked villain of the ride’s climax, but we’ll solve that mystery on some later occasion… Hotel Gifts is our resident and apparently average “exit-thru-the-gift-shop,” though the Lonesome Ghosts haunt the cash register.
The Department of Motor Vehicles is the second stop of the historic Red Car. Inside, the sloths of Zootopia (long prior to their big screen debut) slowly operate the DMV-centric queue of Roger Rabbit’s Trolley Trouble. The once beloved hero of Who Framed Roger Rabbit returns as the star of his first off-road adventure through the world of Toontown. Peg-Leg Pete operates the Toontown Trolley Co., a safe, efficient, and carefree tour of the cartoon world. Sadly, his only driver, Roger Rabbit, has had far too many accidents to count in the past two hours of his first week on the job. 1,988 accidents to be precise. This is Roger’s last chance to prove himself capable, or he’s fired!
Aboard Rolly, a talking trolley, Roger starts our tour with more than a few hitches; namely, we reverse through a wall in the DMV, launch skyward into a field of confused clouds, somehow end up caught in conflict between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, mistakenly pick-up a fugitive Bugs Bunny, and somehow or another get into a chase with the always popular, but ever annoying Aracuan Bird. Will Roger prove himself a spectacular and safe tour guide? Probably not.
The Downtown is filled with detail reminiscent not just of the Golden Age, but also of the nostalgic ‘90s. Darkwing Duck is an actual superhero round these parts. In fact, Higher for Hire is advertised on a billboard near the DMV, courtesy of Baloo, Rebecca and Kit. The Old Man of the Mountain is a wanted criminal… His crime? The attempted kidnapping of Betty Boop. Elmer Fudd can often be heard a-rustling’ in the underbrush… “Be vewy quiet… I’m hunting wabbits.” Duck Dodgers are a real space force, readied for action against the onslaught of Marvin the Martian. Better yet, Mickey, Donald and Goofy run the Ajax Ghost Exterminators. Despite the setting of 1937, any and every Toon can live here, hand-drawn, stop-motion, or CGI. Toons are timeless. As such, Pepé Le Pew’s Odor á France is what else, but a French perfume store, where love is always in the air. The Tom & Jerry Cheese Shop is, oddly enough, a cheese shop. Yes, an actual, fully-operational cheese shop in a Magic Kingdom. Tom & Jerry proudly display a photograph of their encounter with Sylvester & Tweety at the ‘35 Academy Awards.
The calm and far less frantic serenity of Toontown Hills is in direct contrast to the hectic nature of Downtown Toontown. Mostly, safes and pianos won’t be falling on us anytime soon… Goofy’s Paint ‘n’ Play is our first stop, held in the twisted, ramshackled Goofy’s House. Self-serve paint guns help redesign a number of Goofy’s peculiar living quarters, such as a western-themed bedroom and a jungle-esque bathroom. Donald’s Boat, the S.S. Daisy sits afloat on McDuck Lake, Scrooge McDuck’s finest real estate. Duck Bumps, a strange take on the old bumper boat stand-by, is an attraction and invention of Ludwig Von Drake. Naturally, McDuck Lake is filled to overflowing with fish, sharks, crocodiles, alligators, piranha, TNT, and a scuba-diving Big Bad Wolf.
The home of Chip ‘n Dale, Donald’s mischievous chipmunk adversaries, is appropriately nestled in a colorful acorn tree, Chip ‘n Dale’s Jumpin’ Acorns. Here we “jump” up and down a 40-foot oak aboard one of 12 technicolor acorns. Launchpad McQuack’s Plane Crazy, located next to Donald’s Boat on McDuck Lake, is a high-speed, splash-down flight for children of all ages through the scenic Toontown Hills. Of course, Chip, Dale, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Launchpad, Pluto, and all the crew are available to meet in the Toontown Hills.
Lastly, we visit our favorite mice. The welcome mat is always out at Mickey’s House. Inside the yellow bungalow, we see where Mickey unwinds and view mementos of his famed career. Mickey himself is at work on a project in Mickey’s Movie Barn out back, where an unseen Donald and Goofy tinker with the always-playing projector. Minnie’s House is painted in romantic hues of lavender and pink, and is cozily found next door to Mickey’s.
Toontown, like Hollywood Boulevard and every “land” of the Magic Kingdom, is connected to the Central Plaza. A winding path through a forest (where yes, signs indicate it is “Rabbit Season,” not “Duck Season”) leads our journey to the Plaza. In a narrow alley of the Downtown, a gloomy trail transitions into the color and light of a Coney Island paradise… But we’ll explore the Liberty Waterfront on a later occasion. For now…
"Welcome, Foolish Mortals..."
****
****
Behold, the most controversial post in the entire Dream Resort! Mwahahahaha. I'm ready for all the thrown tomatoes and feedback.
Twilight_Roxas
Well-Known Member
Wouldn't there be licensing issues in ToonTown with Warner Bros.?
FireMountain
Well-Known Member
Simple solution: A really, really big check.
Pi on my Cake
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Disney buys Warner Bros after Fantastic Beasts 2, Aquaman, and Shazam underperform at the box office. Problem solved lol
@FireMountain has the logical answer.
However, I did (lightly) explain the agreement between Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount and MGM that would allow the use of their characters in only Toontown attractions, entertainment and detail. They would not be allowed in merchandise, meet 'n' greet appearances, or anywhere outside of Toontown and Hollywood Boulevard. The idea was to emulate the Toontown of Who Framed Roger Rabbit which is such a nostalgic point of my own childhood. Personally, I think the marriage of themes is seamless. But that's my opinion. That being said, it is impossible. This would never happen, and I realize that. As with this being the world's largest Magic Kingdom, the basis of this project is to shoot for the impossible. The sky is truly the limit.
DisneyManOne
Well-Known Member
That's preposterous! Everybody knows that it's Duck Season!
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
If Toontown and Hollywood Boulevard are to represent the color and excitement of a Hollywood Dream, then Gracey Square is to represent the shadowy realm of nightmares, the “dark side” of Tinseltown… The street has grown tired - cracked, disheveled and cobblestone. The music of a cinematic Golden Age has silenced - an ethereal wind blows, broken only by the howl of a phantom wolf.
“When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still - that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!”
In honor of Roland Gracey, fallen star of the silver screen, the storied Gracey Square has been left to rot, as it were a corpse. A peculiar chill fills the air as we shyly cross a number of decrepit shops, shuttered windows, and gnarled trees. Piles of brick and briar-like weed litter the cobblestone path. A cat yowls in the quiet abyss. The wolf howls once more. A calm, almost heavenly hymn carries from within a lone cathedral. Cautious, but curious, we enter.
Visitors come from far and near to pay their respects and view the spectacle of the Memento Mori Graveyard, an ancient boneyard of Père Lachaise*. Nestled in a dark lot of Memoria Aeterna, Roland Gracey and his wife, Emily Hutch are buried here, along with members of the Hollywood elite; Gracey relatives, beloved pets, and stars of the silver screen. The decayed monuments and crumbled crypts portray an aura of foreboding… A quick look at the epitaphs proves that no one in Hollywood seemed to take death too seriously…
*Père Lachaise has more than 3.5 million visitors a year, known as the largest cemetery in Paris. The buried include Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison.
The residents of Gracey Square have been dying to have you… They are, in fact, most welcoming. The Doll Shop is sure to inspire “playtime” in even the grimmest of ghosts, a lovely doll shop of porcelain, china and bisque. An unsettling collection of dolls watch our every move from the storefront window, some giggling, others grinning. The Hollywood Forever Pub is a frequent haunt of the haunted and the haunting, a dark tavern of the forgotten ‘20s; the dartboard and pool table set the stage for an angry mob or mysterious monster hunter. A dried and emptied well in the center of town echoes for what seems to be an eternity; a plaque reads:
“EMPTY WELL
A SITE IN ‘HOLLYWOOD DREAMING,’
ROLAND GRACEY’S FINAL FILM APPEARANCE.
THE WELL DRIED WITH HIS DEATH.
OCTOBER 13, 1925
IT IS ALSO THE SITE OF A WELL-KNOWN HAUNTING
OF TRAGIC SORROW
IN THE DEAD OF AN AUTUMN NIGHT.
BUT DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ.”
A bit uncomfortable, if not disturbed, we look for escape. A crooked street leads to the color of the Central Plaza - Sunset Boulevard returns to the excitement of Hollywood… But someone or something practically yearns for us to continue our exploration of the square. Even the sight of a crashed and abandoned hearse isn’t enough to turn us back.
With such a well in the heart of town, one might wonder what lies beneath… With the civic hub of cartoon citizenry just beyond old Hollywood, one might imagine the Disney Villains to lurk somewhere in the shadow of Gracey Square - and they are. Gracey Square is our portal into the dark and mysterious underbelly of Hollywood - Land of Villains. An abandoned, ramshackle warehouse - the Disney Studio Prop Warehouse - has been left to rot with the rest of the square, a boarded and shuttered building deserted long ago. Even the face of Mickey Mouse plastered above the entrance is now worn and faded.
A guided tour of the warehouse is brought to a halt when the Magic Mirror appears. A secret passage opens into the dark and mysterious catacombs beneath Hollywood. The Disney Villain Mystery Tour is an unforgettable journey through this underground domain of scum and villainy.
Led by our fearless tour guide and the Magic Mirror, we encounter one villain after the next; Mad Madam Mim who transforms into one frightening beast after another… The vile Horned King and Oogie Boogie… Maleficent, Mistress of Evil… A monstrous, “cobra-fied” Jafar, slithered and coiled into a deep slumber… The midnight arrival of the Headless Horseman… Fortunately, Sorcerer Mickey and Merlin arrive midway through an encounter with Chernabog, subsequently shedding light and justice to the would-be finale of terror.
Villain’s Lair is the most popular shop in Gracey Square, a macabre mercantile in honor of the baddest of the bad. A collection of decor and souvenirs that pertain to the occult set the perfect tone for a shopper’s nightmare. An old hag, one and the same with Snow White’s stepmother, sits locked in a tiny birdcage, bartering and begging for her freedom. Maleficent’s raven, Diablo keeps an eye on the cashier, often dozing off. A crude sign indicates that an agitated Shere Khan is kept locked in the store’s cellar, often growling and ramming against the locked cellar door.
Our next stop is for a little history lesson at the Museum of the Weird, full of frights and spirits of a cinematic past… Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Phantom of the Opera, London After Midnight… But the real weirdness isn’t in the namesake of the classic horror on display. It is most found in the collection of international, supernatural and unnatural artifacts, specimens and antiquities on display…
The Museum, as history tells us, was owned by Gracey’s sister Maude and her husband, Jasper. The odd couple had a love for the occult, namely horror films, bizarre treasures of the world over, and chickens - yes, chickens. Each room in the Museum is named for that of a classic horror icon: Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Sr., Peter Lorre, Vincent Price. The ghosts of Jasper and Maude welcome us to the Museum with their prized hen, Tiger. One peculiar encounter after another leads to a run-in with man-eating plants, a man made from candle-wax, the world’s largest chicken, and strangely, a possessed armchair.
Roland Gracey himself once inhabited the lavish Gracey Manor.
In all the legend and lore of “Haunted Hollywood,” there was one old house, scarcely noticed by day, but carefully avoided by night. It was always ramshackle, seemingly abandoned, and thoroughly rumored to be a Haunted Mansion.
Gracey Square’s Haunted Mansion is just as foreboding. A peculiar chill shivers through you… The hairs on your neck stand straight-up… And you feel as if someone is watching, as you hasten past the family plot… The Magic Kingdom’s most spirited attraction, the Haunted Mansion features not only its 999 floating, jumping, dancing residents, but also possessed screening rooms, breathing doors, and other little surprises guaranteed to send shivers up the spine of even the bravest visitor. But we are not left to shiver on our own - a Ghost Host holds our company throughout the journey.
Our first stop: the once private screening room of Gracey Manor. The images on-screen seem to flicker and come to life, bringing us into the boundless realm of the supernatural; a warped, dark dimension of floating objects, wispy spirits and frightful memories. We’re next ushered into a long hallway that’s lined with eerie paintings, photographs and film memorabilia, and flooded with the sound of a violent thunderstorm. From here we board our black-hooded “Doom Buggy,” our transport through a world of unearthly delights never before imagined… But beware, there’s always room for a thousand. Any volunteers?
It might be possible that Madame Leota, resident gypsy of Hollywood Boulevard, once lived in the shop that now plays host to Regions Beyond. Resident gift shop of the Haunted Mansion - though located off the Gracey Estate - Regions Beyond is a reminder to “live life to the fullest as everyone is mortal.” The skull on the marquee seems to hint at a grim fate for Leota, who disappeared decades prior. Perhaps the rumors of her disembodiment are true… The lost art of Spirit Photography has been reinvented here; a way for us to get in touch with the dearly departed.
****
DisneyManOne
Well-Known Member
If Toontown and Hollywood Boulevard are to represent the color and excitement of a Hollywood Dream, then Gracey Square is to represent the shadowy realm of nightmares, the “dark side” of Tinseltown… The street has grown tired - cracked, disheveled and cobblestone. The music of a cinematic Golden Age has silenced - an ethereal wind blows, broken only by the howl of a phantom wolf.
“When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still - that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!”In honor of Roland Gracey, fallen star of the silver screen, the storied Gracey Square has been left to rot, as it were a corpse. A peculiar chill fills the air as we shyly cross a number of decrepit shops, shuttered windows, and gnarled trees. Piles of brick and briar-like weed litter the cobblestone path. A cat yowls in the quiet abyss. The wolf howls once more. A calm, almost heavenly hymn carries from within a lone cathedral. Cautious, but curious, we enter.
The Memoria Aeterna Cathedral (Eternal Memory) is, surprisingly, a still in operation Gothic Cathedral. The cathedral is to host a number of traveling choral and chamber choir groups from around the world. The otherworldly acoustics are in compliment of the Latin text and music. Snarling gargoyles, tragic statues, a massive pipe organ, and stained glass in portrayal of the New Testament offer a unique departure from the outside world, quite unlike anything else in a Disney Park.
Visitors come from far and near to pay their respects and view the spectacle of the Memento Mori Graveyard, an ancient boneyard of Père Lachaise*. Nestled in a dark lot of Memoria Aeterna, Roland Gracey and his wife, Emily Hutch are buried here, along with members of the Hollywood elite; Gracey relatives, beloved pets, and stars of the silver screen. The decayed monuments and crumbled crypts portray an aura of foreboding… A quick look at the epitaphs proves that no one in Hollywood seemed to take death too seriously…
*Père Lachaise has more than 3.5 million visitors a year, known as the largest cemetery in Paris. The buried include Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison.
The residents of Gracey Square have been dying to have you… They are, in fact, most welcoming. The Doll Shop is sure to inspire “playtime” in even the grimmest of ghosts, a lovely doll shop of porcelain, china and bisque. An unsettling collection of dolls watch our every move from the storefront window, some giggling, others grinning. The Hollywood Forever Pub is a frequent haunt of the haunted and the haunting, a dark tavern of the forgotten ‘20s; the dartboard and pool table set the stage for an angry mob or mysterious monster hunter. A dried and emptied well in the center of town echoes for what seems to be an eternity; a plaque reads:
“EMPTY WELL
A SITE IN ‘HOLLYWOOD DREAMING,’
ROLAND GRACEY’S FINAL FILM APPEARANCE.
THE WELL DRIED WITH HIS DEATH.
OCTOBER 13, 1925
IT IS ALSO THE SITE OF A WELL-KNOWN HAUNTING
OF TRAGIC SORROW
IN THE DEAD OF AN AUTUMN NIGHT.
BUT DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ.”
A bit uncomfortable, if not disturbed, we look for escape. A crooked street leads to the color of the Central Plaza - Sunset Boulevard returns to the excitement of Hollywood… But someone or something practically yearns for us to continue our exploration of the square. Even the sight of a crashed and abandoned hearse isn’t enough to turn us back.
With such a well in the heart of town, one might wonder what lies beneath… With the civic hub of cartoon citizenry just beyond old Hollywood, one might imagine the Disney Villains to lurk somewhere in the shadow of Gracey Square - and they are. Gracey Square is our portal into the dark and mysterious underbelly of Hollywood - Land of Villains. An abandoned, ramshackle warehouse - the Disney Studio Prop Warehouse - has been left to rot with the rest of the square, a boarded and shuttered building deserted long ago. Even the face of Mickey Mouse plastered above the entrance is now worn and faded.
A guided tour of the warehouse is brought to a halt when the Magic Mirror appears. A secret passage opens into the dark and mysterious catacombs beneath Hollywood. The Disney Villain Mystery Tour is an unforgettable journey through this underground domain of scum and villainy.
Led by our fearless tour guide and the Magic Mirror, we encounter one villain after the next; Mad Madam Mim who transforms into one frightening beast after another… The vile Horned King and Oogie Boogie… Maleficent, Mistress of Evil… A monstrous, “cobra-fied” Jafar, slithered and coiled into a deep slumber… The midnight arrival of the Headless Horseman… Fortunately, Sorcerer Mickey and Merlin arrive midway through an encounter with Chernabog, subsequently shedding light and justice to the would-be finale of terror.
Villain’s Lair is the most popular shop in Gracey Square, a macabre mercantile in honor of the baddest of the bad. A collection of decor and souvenirs that pertain to the occult set the perfect tone for a shopper’s nightmare. An old hag, one and the same with Snow White’s stepmother, sits locked in a tiny birdcage, bartering and begging for her freedom. Maleficent’s raven, Diablo keeps an eye on the cashier, often dozing off. A crude sign indicates that an agitated Shere Khan is kept locked in the store’s cellar, often growling and ramming against the locked cellar door.
Our next stop is for a little history lesson at the Museum of the Weird, full of frights and spirits of a cinematic past… Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Phantom of the Opera, London After Midnight… But the real weirdness isn’t in the namesake of the classic horror on display. It is most found in the collection of international, supernatural and unnatural artifacts, specimens and antiquities on display…
The Museum, as history tells us, was owned by Gracey’s sister Maude and her husband, Jasper. The odd couple had a love for the occult, namely horror films, bizarre treasures of the world over, and chickens - yes, chickens. Each room in the Museum is named for that of a classic horror icon: Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Sr., Peter Lorre, Vincent Price. The ghosts of Jasper and Maude welcome us to the Museum with their prized hen, Tiger. One peculiar encounter after another leads to a run-in with man-eating plants, a man made from candle-wax, the world’s largest chicken, and strangely, a possessed armchair.
Roland Gracey himself once inhabited the lavish Gracey Manor.
In all the legend and lore of “Haunted Hollywood,” there was one old house, scarcely noticed by day, but carefully avoided by night. It was always ramshackle, seemingly abandoned, and thoroughly rumored to be a Haunted Mansion.
Gracey Square’s Haunted Mansion is just as foreboding. A peculiar chill shivers through you… The hairs on your neck stand straight-up… And you feel as if someone is watching, as you hasten past the family plot… The Magic Kingdom’s most spirited attraction, the Haunted Mansion features not only its 999 floating, jumping, dancing residents, but also possessed screening rooms, breathing doors, and other little surprises guaranteed to send shivers up the spine of even the bravest visitor. But we are not left to shiver on our own - a Ghost Host holds our company throughout the journey.
Our first stop: the once private screening room of Gracey Manor. The images on-screen seem to flicker and come to life, bringing us into the boundless realm of the supernatural; a warped, dark dimension of floating objects, wispy spirits and frightful memories. We’re next ushered into a long hallway that’s lined with eerie paintings, photographs and film memorabilia, and flooded with the sound of a violent thunderstorm. From here we board our black-hooded “Doom Buggy,” our transport through a world of unearthly delights never before imagined… But beware, there’s always room for a thousand. Any volunteers?
It might be possible that Madame Leota, resident gypsy of Hollywood Boulevard, once lived in the shop that now plays host to Regions Beyond. Resident gift shop of the Haunted Mansion - though located off the Gracey Estate - Regions Beyond is a reminder to “live life to the fullest as everyone is mortal.” The skull on the marquee seems to hint at a grim fate for Leota, who disappeared decades prior. Perhaps the rumors of her disembodiment are true… The lost art of Spirit Photography has been reinvented here; a way for us to get in touch with the dearly departed.
I must admit that the Museum of the Weird concept is a lift of an unbuilt Marc Davis attraction for the Fort Wilderness resort. Look up "The Roost Hotel." You won't regret it.
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Nifty concept, this. The perfect place to find all things evil and dark. However, I must admit that I've always been kinda iffy on the concept of having a church inside a Disney park.
FireMountain
Well-Known Member
If you pay the low, low price of $1,000,000 (Plus tax), you can get married in it!
The idea stems from not one, but two theme parks - of course, the original sketch of having a church and haunted house off of Main Street for Disneyland, and the family-built church of Knott's Berry Farm which has since moved across the street from the park. Fun fact; my parents were actually married inside that church long before it moved out of the park.
Anyway, the idea is to reestablish the lost Herb Ryman concept of having a church, boneyard and haunted house off of the park's Main Street. That, and being a fan of choral music, I wanted a place for choirs to perform that would be thematic and reminiscent of the beautiful cathedrals and churches of New York and Central Europe. Think of this as a cathedral for mere thematic purpose and for choirs to perform in. There won't be services held here on Sunday morning. To me, having a church in the park is no different than having the annual Candlelight Processional in Disneyland and Epcot, especially given this particular church's purpose.
Also, it's a dream resort, so it for sure will never happen.
It's all in good fun.
D Hulk
Well-Known Member
Weddings inside Tokyo Disneyland’s Cinderella Castle for just under 8 million yen! (Which amounts to maybe 65 grand, which ain’t quite one million but it sure ain’t cheap.)
FireMountain
Well-Known Member
Jeez, that's enough to go to Club 33 for 6.5 years! But I can imagine the bragging rights, "I got married at Disneyland! Na na nanana!"
Weddings inside Tokyo Disneyland’s Cinderella Castle for just under 8 million yen! (Which amounts to maybe 65 grand, which ain’t quite one million but it sure ain’t cheap.)
DisneyManOne
Well-Known Member
Weddings inside Tokyo Disneyland’s Cinderella Castle for just under 8 million yen! (Which amounts to maybe 65 grand, which ain’t quite one million but it sure ain’t cheap.)
You can get married at the Magic Kingdom after hours starting at $12,000! That's a bargain compared to the wedding inside Cinderella Castle! Besides, that one was a limited-time-only thing.