Imagineering a brand-new MK and Epcot for you!

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sorry for not posting in a long time, but I've been busy and I've given up hope that someone might respond to this besides myself.

Moving on, you make your way around, past a small yellow tent, where you see Fastpasses for the Great Goofini roller coaster and Dumbo. And now, there are also Fastpasses here for a new attraction, Mickey's Big Top Spin! You then walk past the WDW Railroad station and make your way past the Great Goofini coaster and Dumbo. But right between those two, is the entrance to the brand-new Mickey's Big Top Spin dark ride! Here is the path to it (the spot it occupies is in the black circle, which means the Tomorrowland Speedway will be scrapped; the part of the track not occupied will be made into another ride in Tomorrowland yet to be determined):
mapwaltdisneyworldmagic.png


And here's another shot, representing the rough access point right between Goofini and Dumbo:
tumblr_m20vi9cS701rr7ey3o1_1280.jpg


For the queue, you go by a ticket booth with the ride name on it, which is being manned by Uncle Scrooge McDuck (similar to Mr. Potato Head over at the Toy Story midway ride). The idea is that circuses usually have ticket booths outside the entrance. And who better to run it than Scrooge McDuck, since he's so obsessed with money and all? Of course, he complains that you're going in for free, since you don't have to pay to go on rides. On the booth, there will be a sign that says something like, "Orphans admitted free today". It includes a big hint of what to expect inside. The queue/waiting area begins outdoors, but then goes indoors, like the Haunted Mansion. It also has posters of the many acts you'll see inside. The tent where the ride takes place will be colored purple, in deference to the Judge's Tent during the Toontown Fair years, which was colored with purple and yellow stripes. As for the ride vehicles, they will resemble the non-cage cars of the Casey Jr. trains, like so:
355322432_5RS4h-M.jpg


These ride vehicles all travel in two pairs, like the Toy Story midway ride. Also like the Toy Story midway ride, they are adorned with the images of characters on them (taking the places of the eagles and much of the gold patterns seen in the picture above). Being as this is a ride with classic Disney characters, these ride vehicles would have Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto's heads on the sides, like on the gondolas for Mickey's Fun Wheel, like so:
Gondola+Graphics.jpg


They also will be able to spin about, rather like the couches in the Cat in the Hat ride at Islands of Adventure just up the street from WDW. Anyway, as you climb aboard, you hear the usual safety spiel (remain seated at all times, etc.). Then you depart from the load area and make your way through some parted curtains and into a slightly darker area and you see an AA of Ringmaster Mickey Mouse, like so (but with the eyes with pupils, not solid black eyes):
cte019284SMALL.jpg


He announces the following acts to come in typical ringmaster style. And then as you leave, you hear Mickey again, as he announces the first act, Minnie Magnifique and Her Pirouetting Parisian Poodles. Then you see the act itself. Here, Minnie Mouse is seen with some of her French poodles. They are doing ballet dances to a balletic version of "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo". Unfortunately, some of Mickey's orphans (those little baby Mickey Mice in nightshirts) all try to run up to play with the cute little doggies, throwing everything into panic and chaos. But you don't see them physically, only their shadows and noises, as you make your way into the next scene. You hear Ringmaster Mickey as he announces the next act: Hyacinth Hippo: Ballerina of the Big Top (and Her Partner, Ben Ali Gator). You then see the hippo and alligator dancing together to "Dance of the Hours". But the twist is that the song is performed nearby by Salty the Seal and His Symphony of the Seas, which is actually a bunch of horns. So this seal is playing the Dance of the Hours music on the horns. But you get just a shade too close to the dancing hippo as she spins in place, one of her arms held in place by the gator. Your circus vehicle accidentally makes contact with her foot and you get kicked away from them into the next scene...

After the Hyacinth Hippo scene, you move into the next scene. Once again, you hear Ringmaster Mickey as he announces the next act to come: The Astounding Donaldo: Snake Charmer. Here, you see Donald Duck dressed as a snake charmer sitting next to a basket in which the snake in question is contained. He starts playing a snake-charmer-like tune on his oboe. The lid opens and who should be inside but Kaa from The Jungle Book! He slowly lifts his head out of the basket, as if under the music of Donald's oboe, but as Kaa's head becomes level with Donald's, his eyes become hypnotic as he sings "Trust In Me". As this happens, Donald's eyes, too, become hypnotic as he falls for the snake's hypnosis, just like what happened to Mowgli. Donald's eyelids slightly lower and he sways his head as you head out again. As you leave the scene, you see Donald's shadow as he slumps over, as if asleep from the hypnosis. Leaving this scene, you hear Ringmaster Mickey's voice again as he announces the next act, and then you see it: Madame Daisy Fortuna. Here, Daisy Duck is dressed as a fortune teller. She stands behind a crystal ball on a table, thus making the area similar to the Seance Room in the Haunted Mansion. As you pass by her, your ride vehicles turned sideways, so you can see her. The room turns dark, with green light from the crystal ball illuminating Daisy's face as she tells you your fortune. It is always different from one ride to the next. For example, on one trip through the ride, she might tell you that in your future, she sees a flight on a flying elephant and a bag of popcorn with your name on it. With that, you move on. Before you move to the next real scene, however, the scent of popcorn fills the air (via a Smellitzer, like at the bakery on Main Street, with its fresh-baked cookie Smellitizer, or at the old Horizons attraction, with its lorange (limes and orange) Smellitzer). You hear Max Goof as he calls out, "Popcorn! Get your popcorn here!" You then see Max, who has been taking a job as a popcorn vendor and is manning a popcorn wagon.

After Daisy's scene (and Max's, too), you then hear Ringmaster Mickey calling out the next act, which you then see: Strongman Pete: Lifter of All Things Heavy. You see Black Pete in a leopard-spot singlet, similar to Goofy's outfit in "Goofy Gymnastics". He lifts up two animals in each hand. One is a calm-looking lion named Lambert, who grins rather sheepishly as he holds a flower in his mouth. The other is an eager-looking bear named Humphrey, who is balanced on top of this weight and doing a juggling act. Among other things, he is juggling a pineapple, a bowling pin, a cup of coffee, and a fishbowl, whose fish (if you can look closely) bears a striking resemblance to Wart from "The Sword In the Stone" when he is turned into a fish. The circus music heard alternates between the "Lambert the Sheepish Lion" song and "The Humphrey Hop". However, he's not really lifting them up – they're tied to balloons! From a nearby booth nearby, one of the Orphans holds up a needle and pops the balloons that are holding up Lambert, causing him to fall to the ground. Pete looks over and holds him back up, hoping nobody saw him fall. In a corner of this scene, you see two cages, purportedly for the scene. In one cage, you see a tiger that resembles the tiger from the Goofy cartoon, "Tiger Trouble", who reaches out his paw and takes a swipe at you. In the other, you see an angry gorilla, resembling the gorilla from "Donald Duck and the Gorilla", shaking the bars of his cage. Amid the racket and the cacophony, your often-spinning circus wagon moves on. Once more, you hear Ringmaster Mickey calling out, this time announcing Professor Von Drake and His Deep Sponge. You come across a diving board, atop which Prof. Ludwig Von Drake is poised, about to dive into a huge sponge. He is wearing some kind of a huge jumpsuit with purple and white stripes on it and a ruffled collar. Some of the Orphans, however, are hanging below the board, which causes him to dive rather prematurely. As he falls, he doesn't realize that the supposedly-damp sponge is very wet. Some of the other Orphans have stuck a fire hose in the sponge and turned it on, filling it up with water. When Von Drake lands on the sponge, he squishes it down, spraying water in all directions, including yours, as you could get somewhat doused if you're not careful. You then move on.

Leaving Pete's scene, you then head into the next scene as you hear Mickey's voice once more, announcing the next act, albeit a short one: Oswald the Lucky Magician. You see a magician's hat on a table and you see a hand reaching out of it, then grabbing something inside. You see Oswald the Lucky Rabbit pulling himself out of the hat, in a twist on an old magic trick. You then move on to the next act, Horace the Rubber-Hose Horse. You see Horace Horsecollar stand there and then start performing a contortionist act, which is exaggerated. He twists his arms and legs and then his whole body in twisty curlicues. The Orphans run up to feel him, but accidentally get him tangled up more than ever. Leaving, another smell fills the air, this one of cotton candy. Here, you see a cotton candy wagon, manned by Clarabelle Cow. You then enter the next act, Pluto the Wonder Dog. You see Pluto as he balances himself on a barrel. This scene is based on a Pluto short called "Wonder Dog", in which Pluto envisions himself as a circus dog to impress Dinah the Dachshund. For this scene, as stated earlier, he stands on a barrel and starts moving across the area on the barrel and rolling it along as he does so. But as you leave the area, you see Pluto's shadow as he loses his balances and falls down with a crash, smashing the barrel. You move on.

As you leave Pluto's scene, you go past the Big Bad Wolf who is a balloon vendor. He is standing next to a balloon cart and is in the process of blowing up another balloon. Given his impressive blowing skills, this balloon is inflated really huge, but as you leave, it pops. You then move into the next act, The Three Little Piggolinis, which the wolf overhears and tries to invade. Here, you see the Three Little Pigs doing a high-wire act. The Practical Pig is seated on a unicycle as he rides across the wire, while the other two pigs, Fifer and Fiddler, are standing on top of it. You see the wolf again as he tries to climb up onto the wire and tries to grab at the pigs. However, the Orphans all see what is happening and try to stop the wolf. As the wolf tries to both grab the pigs and fight off those pesky brats, you move on. All the while, Salty the Seal reappears as he plays on his horns, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" As you head out, you pass by a monkey, looking like the one from the one from the posters in the Barnstormer queue, as he swings on a rope and holding a bunch of bananas. By now, most of the Fab Six and then some have been accounted for. You've seen Mickey, Hyacinth Hippo, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pete, Von Drake, Oswald, Horace, Pluto and the Three Little Pigs (not to mention Salty, Max, Clarabelle and the Big Bad Wolf). But there's still one classic member of Mickey's inner circle yet to be seen. And then you hear the announcement of the grand finale of the show: The Great Goofini - Reckless Rocketeer! Here, you see Goofy dressed as a cowboy, seated on a cartoonishly huge rocket, which he has affectionately referred to as Dolores. It has a saddle strapped on it for Goofy to sit on. What's that? You thought the rocket was smashed against the ground in the queue for the Barnstormer roller coaster? Well, while you were standing in line and you weren't looking, Goofy somehow appropriated Dolores and managed to fix it up better than new in time for the big show! Anyway, he sits on the saddle and is poised for blastoff. He counts down, three... two... one... And then the rocket engines roar and pour out a great deal of smoke that fills the room so you can't see what is going. Suddenly, the rocket is heard (not seen) taking off as you hear Goofy's holler (you know the one...). As you make your way through the room, you hear the rocket crashing into things and knocking out the lights plunging the room into darkness as you leave. Suddenly, you come to the last scene of the ride, where you see the circus in shambles, the result of Goofy's act, and all the characters from the ride are standing there. Among other things, Goofy's rocket is smashed into the ground (again), the orphans are piled on top of the Big Bad Wolf, and Horace Horsecollar is still all tangled up. Ringmaster Mickey apologizes for all that has happened and promises that next time everything will be better than ever. He then hopes everyone will come by again real soon to see his circus show. As you leave, you arrive at the unload point where you exit your carriages and head back out into Storybook Circus.

So next door to the entrance to Mickey's Big Top Spin is Dumbo. It is the same as before, so there's no need for explanations. And then you head out of Storybook Circus, the newest land (on its own) in WDW's Magic Kingdom to continue on!
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Now we move into Tomorrowland. As you know, Mickey's Big Top Spin is taking over part of the space of the Tomorrowland Speedway, while the rest (part of which the PeopleMover travels above) is taken up by a new ride yet to be determined. This idea is not my own; it came from someone else. But the theme is a dark ride to Mars. The idea is that some scientists have sent the riders to Mars to take new Mars Rovers they have built out for a test run. The ride also features lots of friendly aliens. You could try that, but that's just an idea I have. This ride would have some references to the old Mission To Mars attraction and it will be partially based on "Mars and Beyond", an episode of the old Disneyland TV show. I think it will be called Mars Rover Racers or something.

Next to that, we have another, much bigger iconic attraction: Space Mountain. Now, this time it will feature some real overhauling done to it. First of all, the old two-track structure is ripped out, replaced by one very long single track. It will feature brand-new rockets and a brand-new soundtrack. In fact, I even have an idea for some of the music to be heard in the ride, as you make your way up the lift hill. If it sounds familiar, it should: it's the opening for an obscure Disney film, "The Black Hole"! For those of you not familiar with the music, here it is:


Of course, once the music there ends (and the video, too), it is replaced by some custom dramatic music, different than the music at Disneyland. I'm thinking possibly a more dramatic version of this music here:


Any thoughts on this?
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Since no one is interested in my ideas except myself, obviously, I guess I'll move on.

Next up, we have Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. Now, I'm not really sure how relevant it is to today's times, but here's what I was thinking of doing to save it from showing its age...

The show will try to be updated yet again. But this time, not just the final scene, but the entire show will be updated. In the past, starting from the opening turn-of-the-century scene, the show would take jumps every 20 years, until it ended up with the 1960s. That's how it was at the World's Fair and Disneyland. But after it moved to Florida, the jump from the 1940s to the final scene, allegedly the present day, became bigger and bigger as the years went by. The closing scene was set originally in the 1970s, then the 1980s and then jumped to 2000 when it was updated in 1994.

But now, that all changes. Similar to the show in the past, the show will now have more consistent jumps. It will start off as always at the turn of the century, but then jump every 40 years instead of 20! That's right, after the turn of the 20th century, it jumps to the 1940s, then to the 1980s and then to the 2020s! As such, the script will be revised. However, I don't want to just copy DisneyMan1's script of the show, which just copies the 1920s dialog for the new 1940s scene and the 1940s dialog for the 1980s scene. I want to actually do something different. However, I have no idea what to do. However, since the show is retaining the original turn-of-the-century scene as a starting point, I will do a script for that scene later.

Anyway, that's about it for the Carousel of Progress. More to come!
 

LittleGiants16

Well-Known Member
Oh @mharrington, it's a shame that this board is so wrapped up with competitions and monorail threads because you always have solid ideas that are in desperate need of attention from the rest of us. You've been at this for a long time (2003? I didn't even know the interweb existed in 2003!) and you really do deserve more acclaim for the quality ideas you turn out on a regular basis. So kudos to you for maintaining the internal fire while those around you have descended into Competition Hell, after the glory of winning rather than the satisfaction of imagineering a wonderful attraction. We need more people like you around these parts. Like you and @Tip Top Club and @BryceM; folks who don't start a competition at the drop of a hat and are great imagineers, not great competitors. Now I think competition is all well and good, and frankly we should have a blow out competition every so often. But there is no need for one to be going on constantly. It seems like every time I come on these boards there's a new 'sign up' thread going. I'm sorry to rant and take space away from your ideas (they're wonderful, really) but sometimes things have to be shouted over and over before people take heed. I can remember a day on this board where people like you and @stitchcastle and @MaterA113 and @KingMickey created these grand resorts I as a youngster could only dream of. It was a great time to be on these forums. I just wish we had more of that now...
 
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Voxel

President of Progress City
Oh @mharrington, it's a shame that this board is so wrapped up with competitions and monorail threads because you always have solid ideas that are in desperate need of attention from the rest of us. You've been at this for a long time (2003? I didn't even know the interweb existed in 2003!) and you really do deserve more acclaim for the quality ideas you turn out on a regular basis. So kudos to you for maintaining the internal fire while those around you have descended into Competition Hell, after the glory of winning rather than the satisfaction of imagineering a wonderful attraction. We need more people like you around these part. Like you and @Tip Top Club and @BryceM; folks who don't start a competition at the drop of a hat and are great imagineers, not great competitors. Now I think competition is all well and good, and frankly we should have a blow out competition every so often. But there is no need for one to be going on constantly. It seems like every time I come on these boards there's a new 'sign up' thread going. I'm sorry to rank and take space away from your ideas (they're wonderful, really) but sometimes things have to be shouted over and over before people take heed. I can remember a day on this board where people like you and @stitchcastle and @MaterA113 and @KingMickey created these grand resorts I as a youngster could only dream of. It was a great time to be on these forums. I just wish we had more of that now...
Amen.
 

jdmdisney99

Well-Known Member
Oh @mharrington, it's a shame that this board is so wrapped up with competitions and monorail threads because you always have solid ideas that are in desperate need of attention from the rest of us. You've been at this for a long time (2003? I didn't even know the interweb existed in 2003!) and you really do deserve more acclaim for the quality ideas you turn out on a regular basis. So kudos to you for maintaining the internal fire while those around you have descended into Competition Hell, after the glory of winning rather than the satisfaction of imagineering a wonderful attraction. We need more people like you around these part. Like you and @Tip Top Club and @BryceM; folks who don't start a competition at the drop of a hat and are great imagineers, not great competitors. Now I think competition is all well and good, and frankly we should have a blow out competition every so often. But there is no need for one to be going on constantly. It seems like every time I come on these boards there's a new 'sign up' thread going. I'm sorry to rank and take space away from your ideas (they're wonderful, really) but sometimes things have to be shouted over and over before people take heed. I can remember a day on this board where people like you and @stitchcastle and @MaterA113 and @KingMickey created these grand resorts I as a youngster could only dream of. It was a great time to be on these forums. I just wish we had more of that now...
Yep. I hear your ideas mharrington and they are awesome, but lately I really haven't had much time to comment on anything at all. Sorry man. Your discussions always seem vibrant though. And I see what you mean LG. It is actually quite annoying to me too. Im starting to drift away from comps because it just doesn't seem the same to me, not as fun. I've been trying to come up with more original ideas as of late, but I'm sorry it still seems Im regarded as one who makes a comp instantly. I do agree that those were great days. Every day there were new, eccentric ideas, and then, every once in a long while, there would be a grand comp for those who had previously come to ideas to showcase their talents against each other. I do wish stitchcastle still posted more. Good post, just hope you don't regard me on the negative side.
 

Raoul

New Member
The darkride in Storybook Circus sounds really good! The only problem I thought of is the narrow path between Dumbo and the Great Goofini. If this is the first part of the queue, with the ticket booth at the beginning of the path, where is the exit? Do you get the point, if that path would be use for the entrance and the exit it would be quite hectic. ;)
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The darkride in Storybook Circus sounds really good! The only problem I thought of is the narrow path between Dumbo and the Great Goofini. If this is the first part of the queue, with the ticket booth at the beginning of the path, where is the exit? Do you get the point, if that path would be use for the entrance and the exit it would be quite hectic. ;)

Well, maybe the exit could be along that isolated path that hugs the railroad track. Or perhaps it could be along the very end of the raceway, so that it exits along the edge of Dumbo's left wing (based on the first image in #41). Sorry, it was the best I could do on short notice.

Yep. I hear your ideas mharrington and they are awesome, but lately I really haven't had much time to comment on anything at all. Sorry man. Your discussions always seem vibrant though. And I see what you mean LG. It is actually quite annoying to me too. Im starting to drift away from comps because it just doesn't seem the same to me, not as fun. I've been trying to come up with more original ideas as of late, but I'm sorry it still seems Im regarded as one who makes a comp instantly. I do agree that those were great days. Every day there were new, eccentric ideas, and then, every once in a long while, there would be a grand comp for those who had previously come to ideas to showcase their talents against each other. I do wish stitchcastle still posted more. Good post, just hope you don't regard me on the negative side.

What did you mean by "LG"?
 

jdmdisney99

Well-Known Member
Well, maybe the exit could be along that isolated path that hugs the railroad track. Or perhaps it could be along the very end of the raceway, so that it exits along the edge of Dumbo's left wing (based on the first image in #41). Sorry, it was the best I could do on short notice.



What did you mean by "LG"?
LittleGiants
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The Carousel of Progress is rooted in the 20th century....Are you sure you want to change that?

Well, that's the point. It's been mired for a long time in the 20th century and it needs to be updated. In the past, they've always been updating the last segment of the show, from the 1960s to the 1970s to the 1980s and then to the 2000s! You should read this article here: http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/cop.htm.

I thought I would address some things here. The last part of the review in the link above mentions the newer post-1994 version, and here's what it says:

This new version received a good deal of praise, but truthfully, it was an overhaul that managed to turn the entire focus of the Carousel Of Progress on its head. The attraction had originally been conceived around the idea of progress and looking ahead, and that spirit had remained true even in the more cautious years of the "Now Is The Time" version. Now though, it had become an exercise in self-indulgent nostalgia, as we had to hear Jean Shepherd in each act not simply talk about improvements in electrical products, but to go on about other cultural aspects of the time. On the one hand, it could be interesting to hear him talk about how they were calling sarsaparilla root beer now, but his pedantic discourse on the "Rat Race" at the beginning of Act III seemed like the kind of pretentious social history lesson one could also hear in the revised script to the Hall Of Presidents. And it also didn't help that unlike Rex Allen and Andrew Duggan, who played Fathers who were clear, intelligent voices of authority, Shepherd's Father was something of a bumbling doofus, making asides about how the Wright Brothers would never make it, nor would Lindbergh (not exactly the kind of thing a character in a show celebrating progress should be saying!). And this was a Father to whom no wife would be passively sighing, "Yes, dear." Instead, the Mother was a smart-talking feminist in every act of the show, and to carry political correctness further, that meant the silly Act III idea of using the food mixer to stir paint now had to be Father's instead of Mother's, and then to cap things off in Act IV, we'd be greeted to the sight of Shepherd's father ruining Christmas dinner because of his inability to grasp the finer points of his robot oven. Other changes, like tying each act of the show to a holiday rather than the natural progression of seasons, and renaming daughter Jane as Patricia, seemed merely pointless. Ultimately, while fans of the Carousel who hadn't seen the show since its Disneyland days would find more to like about this version just from the song alone, those who had grown up with the Carousel Of Progress at WDW and first learned of the show through the song, "The Best Time Of Your Life," were the ones who now had reason to feel a bit left out amidst the general nostalgia celebration that surrounded the new version. And in a decade where the Michael Eisner-led management of the Disney corporation seemed determined to stamp out all traces of the things that had made Walt Disney World's first two decades so special to begin with, perhaps that ultimately wasn't too much of a great big beautiful surprise.

I think, based on this review, we should try and fix it up slightly and make the father less of a doofus. For instance, he will not be making the asides about the Wright Bros. never making it. Besides, Jean Shepherd had passed away some time ago, just as Rex Allen and Andrew Duggan before him had, so we need to find a replacement voice anyway. I was originally thinking of maybe Peter Coyote, who narrated several Ken Burns-directed documentaries on PBS. His only other performance for Disney was on an old Disney Channel movie (the BETTER Disney Channel) called "The Blue Yonder", in which Coyote plays this man named Max Knickerbocker, who attempts a trans-Atlantic flight. But anyway, I then hit upon a better idea. I stumbled upon a video all about this show on YouTube from Extinct Attractions, with partial narration by Rex Allen Jr., who sounds just like his father! In a sort of coming of full circle, we could have the father be voiced by Rex Allen Jr. How about that?

Next time, I'll get to the script, I promise, but only for the first act, as it will be the one that has changed the least, just a few words here and there.
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
As promised, here's the script for the first act of the new and improved Carousel of Progress:

(As guests file in and take their seats, a fanfare version of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" is heard. Then the voice of John, the father, voiced by Rex Allen Jr., begins to speak.)

JOHN: Hello, folks, and welcome to Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. Today, you folks are in for a real treat. Right from the start, this was the brainchild of Walt Disney himself. He loved every minute of it. He introduced the show at the New York World's Fair way back in 1964 and it was an immediate smash hit. Millions of people came to see it. When the fair ended, the show moved to California, where it played at Disneyland in 1967, before finally coming here to Florida in 1975. Over the years, the Carousel of Progress has had more performances than any other stage show in the history of American theatre. You know, Walt loved the idea of progress and he loved the American family. In fact, he himself was probably as American as anyone could possibly be. He thought it would be fun to watch the American family go through the twentieth century experiencing all new wonders every step of the way. And he put them together in a show called Carousel of Progress, which you are about to see. Although our Carousel family has experienced a few changes over the years, our show still revolves around the same theme: namely, progress. And now, may the century begin...

(With that, the audience starts to move for the first time. The show's theme song starts playing...)

CHORUS:
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow's just a dream away.
Man has a dream and that's the start.
He follows his dream with mind and heart.

ACT I: SPRING, 1904 (or somewhere thereabouts)

(By now, the audience has reached the first theater. John the father and host is sitting in a rocker, wearing a smoking jacket and holding a pipe and newspaper. The chorus of the song fades out, but he picks up on it and keeps it going.)

JOHN:
And when it becomes a reality,
It's a dream come true for you and me!
So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Just a dream away!

(The song finishes, but plays on in soft violin tones in the background. Through the windows we see that it's a bright sunny day outside. Birds are chirping in the spring air. John notices the sound of the birds and begins to address the crowd.)

JOHN: Well, it must be the first day of spring, because it sounds like the robins have returned from their winter home. What year is it? Oh, just after the turn of the century. And no doubt about it, things couldn't be any better than they are today. Yes sir, buildings in the cities are towering some twenty stories. Moving pictures are flickering up on a screen. We call them picture shows. Also, we have about some 8,000 automobiles in this country and we can travel from coast to coast by train in just a week. I even heard tell of two brothers named Wright who are working on some newfangled flying machine. (He chuckles to himself) Best of luck to them. I bet that will revolutionize transportation if they succeed. Meanwhile, around the home, we have the latest and greatest: gas lamps, a telephone and the latest design in cast iron stoves. Also, that reservoir keeps five gallons of water hot all day on just three buckets of coal. Yep, sure beats chopping wood. And isn't our new icebox a beauty? Get a load of that. Holds fifty pounds of ice. (The icebox opens, revealing ice, bread and milk) Milk doesn't sour as quick as it used to. Also, our dog Rover here keeps the water in the drip pan from overflowing. And you know something else? It wasn't too long ago we had to carry water from a well. But now, thanks to progress, we have a pump right here in the kitchen. (The pump handle on the sink magically moves and water starts to flow) Of course, we keep a bucket of water handy to prime it with. Yes, sir, we have everything to make life easier. (John looks over to his right, the audience's left) Hey, Mother!

(On the left, the first of the rotating dioramas appears. A woman, the mother whose name is Sarah, dressed in an apron, is ironing a shirt, while her young daughter works beside her. In the background is a large pantry with bags of food.)

SARAH: What?

JOHN: I was just reading about this fellow, name of Tom Edison, who's currently working on an idea for some kind of a snap-on electric light.

SARAH: Edison, huh? Electric light, huh? Best of luck to him. Bet it will probably revolutionize the way lights on turned on if he succeeds.

JOHN: This is my wife, Sarah. (chuckles) She sure can get to the core of the apple, can't she?

SARAH: But now that we have this new washday marvel, it takes only FIVE HOURS to do the wash. Imagine! Used to take two days at least.

JOHN: That's right, folks. Now Mother here has time for other things, like...

SARAH: Like canning and freshening up the oven and the stove?

JOHN: (chuckles) Yes, but you know, ovens and stoves don't clean themselves. And they probably never will, either.

SARAH: No, dear. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get the wash off the line. It looks like rain.

(The diorama disappears. Rover barks, presumably at the idea of rain.)

JOHN: Oh, don't worry, Rover, it's not going to rain today. My lumbago isn't acting up.

(John laughs. Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder outside, which temporarily plunges the room into darkness. Rain falls outside the window. The lights then come back on as the rain continues.)

SARAH: (from offstage; singsong tone) I told you so!

JOHN: My, just listen to it come down out there. Oh well, the cistern was starting to run low anyway. Now, around our home, entertainment is improving as well. For example, with the advent of the stereoscope, my son, James, and I can now see and learn all about the latest events in the world. But he'll have to ask permission first if he wants to look at it alone.

(The diorama on the audience's right lights up to display a young boy, John's aforementioned son, James, using a stereoscope beside an oil lamp.)

JAMES: Wowee! Look at that!

JOHN: Now look here, young man, if I told you once, I told you a thousand times, ask my permission to look at my expensive stereoscope. That's not a toy, you know!

JAMES: Say! Is that the Norwegian there doing the hoochie-koochie?

JOHN: Oh yeah, that's another thing I forgot to mention: she's the star attraction at the World's Fair out there in St. Louis. (clears throat) Now, James, put that away this minute before your mother finds it and get back to your schoolwork, okay?

JAMES: But Dad...

JOHN: This minute! (the diorama disappears) Now, where was I? Oh yes. We don't have an opera house in town, but we do have the next best thing: one of those new talking machines. What a beauty! It plays music right here in our home.

(The left diorama opens again, this time displaying Grandma sitting in a rocker, listening to music on a phonograph machine. A parrot is sitting on a perch beside her. The record plays "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" in an operatic style.)

PARROT: (squawks) She keeps that thing going all day long. That tenor's driving me nuts. (squawks again) Progress!

(The diorama disappears.)

JOHN: Of course, there are times when the younger people have their own ideas of fun and entertainment, too.

(The right diorama reopens, revealing John's daughter, Jane. She's sitting at a vanity, fixing her hair. She's only wearing her under garments, but in the 1900s, the under garments were more modest than today's outer garments, so the scene isn't nor should it be offensive. Flowery, feminine music comes on for the daughter.)

JOHN: Take my teenage daughter, Jane, for instance. She's getting ready to go to her first date at the other end of town on one of those new electric trolleys.

JANE: Oh, Papa!

JOHN: Yes, dear?

JANE: (somewhat embarrassed) All these people! I'm... I'm indecent!

JOHN: Don't worry, they're friends.

JANE: Well, thanks for letting me go, Papa.

JOHN: You're welcome. But you be home by 9:00 sharp, daughter, understand?

(The flowery music dies down for obvious reason.)

JANE: (reluctantly) Yes, Papa.

(The diorama disappears.)

JOHN: You know, all this talk about progress has made me work up quite a thirst. I think I'll take a trolley across town myself and meet the boys at the drug store soda fountain for a cold sarsaparilla. Oops, sorry, I forgot. We're drinking root beer now. Same drink, different name. Well, I guess that's progress for you. Which reminds me...

(The audience starts to move again.)

JOHN AND CHORUS:
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day.
Theres a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow's just a dream away.
Man has a dream and that's a start.
He follows his dream with mind and heart...

And there you have it, the first act of the new show. As the rest of the show will be radically changed, I'm having difficulty deciding how to do it. All I know is that the new show will now jump every 40 years instead of 20. As such, the second act will now be the 1940s. Since we've bypassed the 1920s, therefore, how should we combine the two?
 

MKforReal

Active Member
Can I share an idea I have on here? I was reading your revamp of Adventureland and when you started talking about the Treehouse idea, I wantrd to chime in. My idea was to have a Neverland area in Adventureland. Instead of the pirates claiming the treehouse, I was more thinking a place for the lost boys and Peter ...and Tink! Somewhere around there will be the Jolly Roger. Captain Jack and Captain Hook can even have a rivalry. And maybe even a Croc Clocktower. The Lost Boys treehouse can be a playground. And I am sure Jake and the Neverland Pirates can be fit in somewhere too ;). What do you think?
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
On the one hand, I'm feeling tempted to have the Treehouse be themed to the Lost Boys, since they do have Captain Hook's pirate ship in Paris' Adventureland while the Peter Pan ride is in Fantasyland. But on the other hand, I'm not sure if deviating too much from Fantasyland is a good idea. That was one main reason I pondered a simple pirate overlay for the Treehouse, like how Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyland was given a pirate overlay.

Anyway, I'm thinking about keeping Buzz Lightyear. But I'm not sure how to deal with the Monsters Inc. and Stitch attractions. One idea is to replace at least Stitch with something involving Tron and replace Monsters Inc. with Stitch Encounter, but I have no idea how to do a show in that circular theater. Can anyone please help me with that?
 

ScorpionX

Well-Known Member
On the one hand, I'm feeling tempted to have the Treehouse be themed to the Lost Boys, since they do have Captain Hook's pirate ship in Paris' Adventureland while the Peter Pan ride is in Fantasyland. But on the other hand, I'm not sure if deviating too much from Fantasyland is a good idea. That was one main reason I pondered a simple pirate overlay for the Treehouse, like how Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyland was given a pirate overlay.

Anyway, I'm thinking about keeping Buzz Lightyear. But I'm not sure how to deal with the Monsters Inc. and Stitch attractions. One idea is to replace at least Stitch with something involving Tron and replace Monsters Inc. with Stitch Encounter, but I have no idea how to do a show in that circular theater. Can anyone please help me with that?
You could keel the comedy club idea, but replace the MI aspect with "the funniest acts from around the galaxy". Maybe you could include Plectu as MC.
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You could keel the comedy club idea, but replace the MI aspect with "the funniest acts from around the galaxy". Maybe you could include Plectu as MC.

That might seem like a good idea. Anyway...

And now we come back to Main Street. I have brought about an idea. This is not my own idea, I got it from someone else, who probably just threw it together on the fly. Anyway, this idea of mine tries to reinstate the increased presence in the park of Mickey and the gang after Toontown Fair closed, and to sort of go along with the Mickey's Big Top Spin ride idea of mine. Anyway, here it is:

[M]y idea would be that you enter through an area that looks like the Disney Studios on Hyperion, with a recreation of the iconic old Mickey Mouse / Silly Symphonies sign, it would give way to a black and white area where you could meet some of the REAL long lost friends, preferably in greyscale, Clarabelle, Horace, Oswald, Clara Cluck... maybe even Dippy Dawg (basically the early Goofy), Pie-Eyed Mickey and Minnie, etc. This could potentially be a fun area to board a dark ride that takes you on a trip through the Disney cartoons from Steamboat Willie through the end of the classic Mickey in Technicolor area...maybe you board a mini Steamboat and begin travelling through the countryside, a barnyard, etc... then a tornado "sweeps you into technicolor" (it's the tornado from The Band Concert...the first Technicolor Mickey short)... through a funhouse room with mirrors (based on the old Pluto cartoon), on a quick adventure with Donald Duck, maybe through the Lonseome Ghosts house - though Lonseome Ghosts might make a good dark ride all on its own- Mystic Manor/Haunted Mansion meets Mickey!) then the ride would let you out in the later era of ToonTown where you could meet the real Sensational 6.

As you can see, this idea was originally intended for the Studios (see this thread here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...-at-dhs-open-brainstorming-part-three.868537/), but I just feel as though old shorts really don't fit the theme of the Studios, not without a lot of serious scrutiny. These shorts can possibly fit if the Main Street Cinema used to show some actual shorts in there way back when. Anyway, I thought of putting this attraction idea on Main Street, right off of Town Square near the Town Square Theater. It would be housed in a new Main Street Cinema (not the same one on the street itself, of course). Here's where I was thinking about having it (right where that arrow ends, right between the Confectionery and Tony's):
msusa_walkway2.jpg


Before you criticize the idea as not fitting on Main Street, remember that the Main Street Cinema used to show old Disney cartoons there. And of course, Mickey has his permanent meet-n-greet here.

Unfortunately, it would seem as if it would get in the way of a bypass being planned for this area. One thing I was thinking about was to use the second theater area where the princesses no longer do their meet-n-greets as a queue. But it would cost an ideal meet-n-greet spot for some of Mickey's friends. Remember, they were displaced from the area at Storybook Circus, which will now be home to lesser characters. Mind you, I was thinking of having Minnie and Pluto be in the area with Mickey himself, but what of Donald, Daisy and Goofy? I was originally thinking of putting them in the second room, but if this room is a queue for the new ride, there seems to be no need for characters in this area.

What do you think of my idea here of the new ride?
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Why noy merge the former princess M&G with main street cinema?

Well, I thought about doing that, but there are two things: first, where can Donald, Daisy and Goofy do meet-n-greets (besides by scattering them to other sections of the park or other parks). I want to keep them in one area, since they were just that already at Pete's Silly Sideshow. The second factor is, I'm not sure about the physical space. Remember, this would be situated right between the Mickey meet-n-greet and Tony's. Here's a better shot of the area behind Main Street where I was thinking of putting the new ride on Main Street:
Main-Street-USA_Full_19741.jpg;width=640


It would seem as if it would get in the way of a bypass being planned for this area. There's already a parking space right there, which I can only assume is for cast members or whatever, so how can the ride fit there physically?

The only other place where the ride might fit is in the Studios (as in this thread here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...-at-dhs-open-brainstorming-part-three.868537/), but as I said before, I really don't understand how shorts can fit in that park.
 

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