If I could improve Walt Disney World....

[mharrington]

I had finally finished (more or less) the Mickey dark ride, for which I had created a whole thread (http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/mickeys-colorfully-timeless-twist-feedback-welcome.904766/). However, I have since had some rethinks on this. In the interest of time, I will only go over what has changed, since the ride itself remains the same, more or less.

For one thing, the ride will receive a new name and a new theme: a movie theater. Due to the Utilidors' main entrance being in the back where the ride was intended, it will now be moved to the Plaza area off of Main Street. It will have a movie theater theme similar to the old Main Street Cinema and will have a new name. I can't think of anything, though, except maybe "Mickey's Colorfully Cinematic Chaos". The only thing I can think of in terms of ride vehicle theme is a movie theater seat, mounted with paint brushes, which are now called "Color Editors".

The ride will replace the Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant. I did a check and I think that the space is about the same size as the Roger Rabbit ride at Disneyland, which is kind of what I'm going for, that this would be the equivalent of Disneyland's Roger Rabbit ride. Of course, the Tomorrowland Terrace has a special fireworks dessert party, so to make up for that, maybe the dessert party will be transferred over to the Crystal Palace. Same thing, but a different location, and a fancier one at that.

Back to the ride revisions: for the first part of the ride, which may or may not be an Omnimover ride, at least partially, similar to Peter Pan and the PeopleMover (or maybe it can be like with the newer Imagination ride), it takes place in a curtained theater where Mickey and the gang notice Pete stealing color from the screen, where Mickey's latest cartoon is about to begin. The curtains abrupt close and there is pure pandemonium inside, and when the curtains reopen, the color is gone. Mickey greets you, the guests, and invites him and Donald and Goofy to stop Pete by going into the cartoon world. You have paint brushes mounted, known as "Color Editors". Mickey does a spell that turns the room dark and the next thing you know, you're in!

That's all I got. Thoughts, comments, concerns? I would really like to see some feedback, please!

 

[mharrington]

Will Oswald, Clarice, and others appear? And will Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pete look like their original cartoon selves?

No and yes. No, Oswald, Clarice and others won't make appearances, because this is supposed to be about cartoons of the 1930s, made in the black-and-white age (mostly), but yes, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pete will be in their original cartoon selves. Minnie, however, does not make an appearance in the ride, either. Being as this is themed to the cartoons of the black-and-white period, Mickey will have solid black eyes and white shorts, Donald has a long beak and black webbed feet, Goofy resembles his early Dippy Dawg identity, and Pete has a peg-leg, in this case on his left leg.

This ride, however, will not affect Mickey's Madcap Circus, intended for Storybook Circus, another Mickey and the gang ride.

 

[The90skid]

One change I want to see is something featuring the Duckburg crew. My idea would be a dark ride suspended coaster with Launchpad, the nephews, Uncle Scrooge, and the Beagle Boys! I haven't worked out the details, but I may use this idea (which I literally just now thought of) in my concept thread "With a Smile and a Song..."! (Shameless plug is shameless...)

 

[mharrington]

Rumors have now surfaced that the Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant may be replaced by a new restaurant, likely something like the Astronomers Club. Since that was where my Mickey dark ride was going to go, looks like it's now on the move again. I did have plans to put up a new restaurant over where the Galaxy Palace Theater (or whatever that stage show area is in Tomorrowland), again an Astronomers Club or something, to make up for the loss of the Tomorrowland Terrace. As for the fireworks dessert party, it would have been relocated to the Crystal Palace.

Anyway, I had been mulling over whether or not to do a Toontown-type area in the Magic Kingdom again, and now I've decided that it will indeed happen. It will not go out beyond Fantasyland, due to structural constraints:

It would probably make a better transition between here and Fantasyland, but not only is the Utilidors entrance right there, but so are the fireworks launch and fallout zone.

So, the alternative location for the new Mickey land will now be out past Frontierland. For reference, it will be partially in the area currently marked "The Great Western Stagecoach Adventure":

This idea of mine would take its cue from the plans for Star Wars at Disneyland, which, as you probably know, is taking over part of the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad in addition to the ranch and backstage areas. This concept of mine will similarly reduce this park's river, which, as you can see, has only keelboats for river traffic, while the Liberty Belle Riverboat has become permanently docked. Perhaps to better transition from the old west to cartoons, this land will be contained with a mountainous area. It will be like some Southern Californian area spotted within some mountains.

This is where the Mickey area will now go, in the northwestern end of the park. It's not the first choice of mine to put it in this park, but this is probably the only default spot left for it to go. And hey, if they can put a Star Wars land in an area far away from Tomorrowland, I guess anything is possible. And besides, Islands of Adventure has a land devoted to Dr. Seuss at one corner and a land devoted to cartoons and Sunday funny papers at another, both separated from each other. So like I said, anything is possible.

Anyway, this Mickey land is where the Mickey dark ride will now go, as the equivalent to Disneyland's Roger Rabbit ride. Before I go into detail on this land, however, I want you to know that this land will not affect Storybook Circus, which may or may not be separated from Fantasyland, and which will have its Madcap Circus ride unaffected. That's right, there will now be several Mickey-related attractions scattered about the park. Of course, since the kiddie coaster is located at Storybook Circus, there won't be any such ride at the new Mickey land.

I will go into more detail later. Until then, thoughts, comments, concerns? And no, it's not going to be going into the Studios, which is receiving some TLC of its own, in the collective guise of Star Wars and Toy Story.

 

[The90skid]

Rumors have now surfaced that the Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant may be replaced by a new restaurant, likely something like the Astronomers Club. Since that was where my Mickey dark ride was going to go, looks like it's now on the move again. I did have plans to put up a new restaurant over where the Galaxy Palace Theater (or whatever that stage show area is in Tomorrowland), again an Astronomers Club or something, to make up for the loss of the Tomorrowland Terrace. As for the fireworks dessert party, it would have been relocated to the Crystal Palace.

Anyway, I had been mulling over whether or not to do a Toontown-type area in the Magic Kingdom again, and now I've decided that it will indeed happen. It will not go out beyond Fantasyland, due to structural constraints:

It would probably make a better transition between here and Fantasyland, but not only is the Utilidors entrance right there, but so are the fireworks launch and fallout zone.

So, the alternative location for the new Mickey land will now be out past Frontierland. For reference, it will be partially in the area currently marked "The Great Western Stagecoach Adventure":

This idea of mine would take its cue from the plans for Star Wars at Disneyland, which, as you probably know, is taking over part of the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad in addition to the ranch and backstage areas. This concept of mine will similarly reduce this park's river, which, as you can see, has only keelboats for river traffic, while the Liberty Belle Riverboat has become permanently docked. Perhaps to better transition from the old west to cartoons, this land will be contained with a mountainous area. It will be like some Southern Californian area spotted within some mountains.

This is where the Mickey area will now go, in the northwestern end of the park. It's not the first choice of mine to put it in this park, but this is probably the only default spot left for it to go. And hey, if they can put a Star Wars land in an area far away from Tomorrowland, I guess anything is possible. And besides, Islands of Adventure has a land devoted to Dr. Seuss at one corner and a land devoted to cartoons and Sunday funny papers at another, both separated from each other. So like I said, anything is possible.

Anyway, this Mickey land is where the Mickey dark ride will now go, as the equivalent to Disneyland's Roger Rabbit ride. Before I go into detail on this land, however, I want you to know that this land will not affect Storybook Circus, which may or may not be separated from Fantasyland, and which will have its Madcap Circus ride unaffected. That's right, there will now be several Mickey-related attractions scattered about the park. Of course, since the kiddie coaster is located at Storybook Circus, there won't be any such ride at the new Mickey land.

I will go into more detail later. Until then, thoughts, comments, concerns? And no, it's not going to be going into the Studios, which is receiving some TLC of its own, in the collective guise of Star Wars and Toy Story.

This is why you got my vote for the Hall of Fame, good sir

 

[mharrington]

Before I do mention this Mickey land, I'm going to deviate briefly. The Peter Pan and Buzz Lightyear rides will be updated to be more like their respective upcoming Shanghai versions. That means that the Buzz ride will now become more like the upcoming Planet Rescue ride. As part of these overhauls, neighboring show attractions will be closed. Mickey's PhilharMagic is going to be closed down forever to allow for expansion of the Peter Pan ride, though there may be some space left over for a shop or something. And the Monsters Inc. show is going to be scrapped to allow for the expanded Buzz Lightyear ride.

 

[mharrington]

So here now is the first part of my plan for the Mickey-themed land.

Before I actually get into all that's there to do, however, the area is not going to be called Toontown, nor will the architecture be cartoon-like in appearance (i.e., no inflated-looking stuff). Instead, the architecture will be more like Mickey's Birthdayland/Starland, but far less low-rent. The only thing I'm trying to figure out is the name of the place. The only thing I can think of Mouseton, the name of the city in which Mickey lives in the comics, but if you will recall, in his comics, Donald lives in his own city, known as Duckburg, the city where "Duck Tales" takes place.

So therefore, there needs to be something where the two can seemingly live together - besides Toontown. The only thing I can think of is just Mouseton, but I was thinking of having a statue in the center of the land, of their two co-founders, Mickey and Oswald, but Mouseton seems like it is marginalizing Oswald, and I don't want that. The only other thing I can think of Mickoston, a mix of "Mickey", "Oswald" and "-ton" (like Mouseton).

What do you think of this idea?

 

[mharrington]

Perhaps the best way to describe the architecture here is a cross between Toontown, Mickey's Starland and Mickey Avenue. I guess I will call it Mickeytown.

Anyway, here are some of the "bones" of the new land. One of the attractions, obviously, will be a spot for meet-n-greets with Mickey and Minnie. Note that I posted "a spot". That means that there will be only one spot for both of them. They will now be in a house like usual, but they live together. It has been said, by Walt Disney himself, that Mickey and Minnie are actually married, and only played a dating couple on the screen. However, this will not affect the Town Square Theater at the front of the park. That means that the Magic Kingdom will now be one of the few Disney theme parks (if not the ONLY one) to feature more than one Mickey meet-n-greet spot (the semi-spontaneous spot at Disneyland's Main Street doesn't count).

Mickey and Minnie will live in a house that features elements of both previous houses before, although I'm not really sure how their color schemes won't clash, at least on the outside. For reference, here are the two houses (at least at Toontown Fair):

So based on the two pictures above, how can those two color schemes be merged?

As previously mentioned, Mickeytown will be the home of my proposed Mickey dark ride, known as Mickey's Color Whirl, set in a Mickeytown theater. Since I previously mentioned about it in past threads, it won't be repeated again.

A handful of rides will be on display here. For example, Goofy's house is the home of a ride called "Goofy's Goof Karts", based partially on a Goofy comic book:

Here, Goofy sets up his Goof-Karts for guests to ride them, but in typical Goofy fashion, they careen through his yard, smashing through fences and even part of his house.

Donald's residence, which may or may not be a boat, is home to an up-n-down spinner ride like Dumbo. But rather than create a brand-new one from scratch, the ride is actually a revision of the Aladdin flying carpets, which will have been relocated here, opening up space in Adventureland from whence it came. Donald's residence is home to this ride, which is themed to Huey, Dewey and Louie (I can't think of a name right now). It will probably be little planes, like so (but without bombs, obviously):

Finally, there may or may not be a ride similar to the Slinky Dog spinner ride, but themed to Pluto. It could be something called "Pluto's Tail Spin", as the pooch is supposedly trying to chase his tail, as dogs often do. If that's a bit unwieldy, it can be removed.

So just to recap, here's a list of the rides Mickeytown will have:
1) Mickey and Minnie's House
2) Goofy's Goof Karts
3) As-yet-unnamed HD&L-themed flying spinner (relocated/revised Aladdin ride, actually)
4) Pluto's Tail Spin (which may or may not be nixed)
5) Mickey's Color Whirl

What do you think? And how should the color scheme for Mickey and Minnie's house look without clashing too much? And what should the name of the HD&L spinner be?

 

[The90skid]

Very nice! To answer your questions, first, I would say that if you want Mickey and Minnie to share a house, I would go with a color scheme more similar to Mickey's since his is a little more conservative than Minne's. Second, I would call the spinner something like, "Huey, Dewey, and Louie's Prop Spin" or "The Lucky Duck Flying Aces". Hope this helps!

 

[mharrington]

Very nice! To answer your questions, first, I would say that if you want Mickey and Minnie to share a house, I would go with a color scheme more similar to Mickey's since his is a little more conservative than Minne's. Second, I would call the spinner something like, "Huey, Dewey, and Louie's Prop Spin" or "The Lucky Duck Flying Aces". Hope this helps!

I like those ideas! The only reason I was concerned about Minnie's color scheme was simply because I don't want her to feel marginalized by Mickey, that she should have some say in how the house would look. Perhaps the roof shingles can be both red and pink. And I like the Lucky Duck Flying Aces idea, too. Maybe for good measure, throw in planes themed not just to the nephews, but also to Donald himself and maybe even Scrooge. It could be a very subtle reference to DuckTales and the duck comics by Carl Barks, but not overly so, as was the case with Gadget's Go Coaster at Disneyland.

 

[The90skid]

I like those ideas! The only reason I was concerned about Minnie's color scheme was simply because I don't want her to feel marginalized by Mickey, that she should have some say in how the house would look. Perhaps the roof shingles can be both red and pink. And I like the Lucky Duck Flying Aces idea, too. Maybe for good measure, throw in planes themed not just to the nephews, but also to Donald himself and maybe even Scrooge. It could be a very subtle reference to DuckTales and the duck comics by Carl Barks, but not overly so, as was the case with Gadget's Go Coaster at Disneyland.

Hey, I'm all in for more Duck Tales! I would make a whole Duckburg land, but I think you and I both know that it would never happen in reality I also love Carl Barks work; I want to collect more of the comics!

 

[mharrington]

Hey, I'm all in for more Duck Tales! I would make a whole Duckburg land, but I think you and I both know that it would never happen in reality I also love Carl Barks work; I want to collect more of the comics!

The only reason it's so subtle is because I'm not sure if people will get it. Yes, a lot of people do know about the show, but that was mainly in the past, and I don't want it to become too stale too fast. I know they are supposedly doing a new version of DuckTales in the near future (and had recently remade that DuckTales video game), but there's no telling how successful the new show will be.

 

[The90skid]

The only reason it's so subtle is because I'm not sure if people will get it. Yes, a lot of people do know about the show, but that was mainly in the past, and I don't want it to become too stale too fast. I know they are supposedly doing a new version of DuckTales in the near future (and had recently remade that DuckTales video game), but there's no telling how successful the new show will be.

Very true, and I think your approach makes sense. Mickeytown is more timeless because the association is with, well, Mickey himself lol.

 

[mharrington]

Very true, and I think your approach makes sense. Mickeytown is more timeless because the association is with, well, Mickey himself lol.

I had some slight reservations about that name, because I was thinking of having a statue in the middle of the land, hinting that it was co-founded not only by Mickey, but also by Oswald (similar to the Cornelius Coot statue in Mickey's Starland and maybe even the Walt and Mickey statue in the center of the park), but with just Mickey's name in the land, it seems to indicate something of what TV Tropes calls an "Ego-opolis". You can read about it here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Egopolis.

 

[The90skid]

I had some slight reservations about that name, because I was thinking of having a statue in the middle of the land, hinting that it was co-founded not only by Mickey, but also by Oswald (similar to the Cornelius Coot statue in Mickey's Starland and maybe even the Walt and Mickey statue in the center of the park), but with just Mickey's name in the land, it seems to indicate something of what TV Tropes calls an "Ego-opolis". You can read about it here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Egopolis.

Lol I love reading tvtropes when I am bored. Yea, I'm not totally sold on the name, but I was referring to the concept as being timeless!

 

[mharrington]

Lol I love reading tvtropes when I am bored. Yea, I'm not totally sold on the name, but I was referring to the concept as being timeless!

I can't really think of any other names, however. I picked out Mickeytown so it could be translated into French so it could also be replicated for Disneyland Paris (i.e., Mickeyville).

 

[mharrington]

The only other thing I can think of besides Mickeytown is Mickey's Startown. Like I said, I don't want it to be Toontown, and this kind of sounds like Mickey's Starland, but with "town" in the name instead of "land". I'm not saying it's good or bad, just similar.

 

[mharrington]

Dining and shopping for Mickey's Startown:

DINING:
1) Goofy's Snack Shack: based on the food spot in "No Service", an episode of that newer Mickey Mouse show
2) Duck Diner: a diner themed to Donald and his large family
3) Clarabelle's Ice Cream Parlor (connected with Oswald's)
4) Assorted snack carts here and there

SHOPPING:
5) Oswald's Lucky Five and Dime: the main shopping area, with a soda fountain inside (connected with Clarabelle's)
6) Goofy's Gas: gas station-themed shop; based on this piece of merchandise:

That's all I can think of right now. Does anyone think Mickey's Startown is a good name for the area?

 

[spacemt354]

Dining and shopping for Mickey's Startown:

DINING:
1) Goofy's Snack Shack: based on the food spot in "No Service", an episode of that newer Mickey Mouse show
2) Duck Diner: a diner themed to Donald and his large family
3) Clarabelle's Ice Cream Parlor (connected with Oswald's)
4) Assorted snack carts here and there

SHOPPING:
5) Oswald's Lucky Five and Dime: the main shopping area, with a soda fountain inside (connected with Clarabelle's)
6) Goofy's Gas: gas station-themed shop; based on this piece of merchandise:

That's all I can think of right now. Does anyone think Mickey's Startown is a good name for the area?

I think it's a nice combination of two extinct areas. Mickey's "Star" land and Mickey's Toon "town" Fair.

Have you had any more ideas for this? So far it's looking good.

 

[brb1006]

One change I want to see is something featuring the Duckburg crew. My idea would be a dark ride suspended coaster with Launchpad, the nephews, Uncle Scrooge, and the Beagle Boys! I haven't worked out the details, but I may use this idea (which I literally just now thought of) in my concept thread "With a Smile and a Song..."! (Shameless plug is shameless...)

Hopefully if the reboot of DuckTales returns to television in the future. You might get even more good ideas. I forgot what year its suppose to air I'm guessing sometime in 2017 or 2018.