Would you lock Disneyland in its 1989 state?

[mickEblu]

The year is 1989. You’re visiting Disneyland from the future. Splash Mountain just opened. Tomorrowland is starting to show its age but it still has most of the TL67 attractions. The Peoplemover and the Skyway are still running. Star Tours is still a baby. Country Bears and Captain Eo are still packing em in. No Indy. No Toontown. No Fantasmic. No DCA. No GE. But you have all the Mountains, POTC and HM. You are given the opportunity to forever lock Disneyland in its 1989 state. Knowing what you know about the future. Do you do it? You still get to live your life as it is in 2025 except for when you go to Disneyland it’s permanently 1989.

Me? Without hesitation. The lower crowds, the novelty of getting to experience the 80s again and a fresh Splash Mountain > Indy, Toontown, DCA, Fantasmic and GE.

 

[BrianLo]

Absolutely not. As a non local I think I’d feel this would be a step back to a slowly rotting regional park.

No D23. No Grand Cal. No DtD. No guest flow improvements. No new entertainment. No updates.

Essentially no future? No thank you - it’s entirely counter to what the founder would want. I think this is merely people wanting to bottle their own childhood.

 

[mickEblu]

Absolutely not. As a non local I think I’d feel this would be a step back to a slowly rotting regional park.

No D23. No Grand Cal. No DtD. No guest flow improvements. No new entertainment. No updates.

Essentially no future? No thank you - it’s entirely counter to what the founder would want. I think this is merely people wanting to bottle their own childhood.

No lightning lanes. Way lower crowds. No mobile order. No phones. Better Customer service. Sounds like a dream to me. It’s 1989 and the park is a ghost town on weekdays for the most of the year. Didn’t really need the crowd flow improvements.

 

[BrianLo]

No lightning lanes. Way lower crowds. No mobile order. No phones. Better Customer service. Sounds like a dream to me.

This is your nostaglia talking. I’ve done a lot of these resorts in their ‘preserved’ (underinvested) state and they are not what you think they are. Disneyland Paris was the prime example.

This is a well documented psychological fallacy. Your brain tends to only focus in on the things it feels would be better.

The attendance would only be lower because the product would be worse.

Besides, there’s a ton of attractions that would be lost that I like.


What you want is a Time Machine, not to bring DL ‘89 forward, but to go back and experience it at the time.

 

[mickEblu]

This is your nostaglia talking. I’ve done a lot of these resorts in their ‘preserved’ (underinvested) state and they are not what you think they are. Disneyland Paris was the prime example.

This is a well documented psychological fallacy. Your brain tends to only focus in on the things it feels would be better.

The attendance would only be lower because the product would be worse.

Besides, there’s a ton of attractions that would be lost that I like.

How is the product worse if you re walking into a park with only 30% of the crowds today with none of the hassle and would still have the majority of the attractions / E tickets found at the park today?

 

[mickEblu]

This is your nostaglia talking. I’ve done a lot of these resorts in their ‘preserved’ (underinvested) state and they are not what you think they are. Disneyland Paris was the prime example.

This is a well documented psychological fallacy. Your brain tends to only focus in on the things it feels would be better.

The attendance would only be lower because the product would be worse.

Besides, there’s a ton of attractions that would be lost that I like.


What you want is a Time Machine, not to bring DL ‘89 forward, but to go back and experience it at the time.

Also underinvested? They had just opened up Captain Eo, Star Tours and Splash Mountain and was the most popular theme park on Earth. You can’t compare that to visiting DLP that hasn’t opened a major new ride in decades.

 

[Baloo124]

No Indy. No Toontown. No Fantasmic. No DCA.

I'd have to say no for these 4 reasons here.

Even the early days of DCA with the likes of Superstar Limo were better than just a parking lot. I'd pick a time to stick with just after the opening of Cars Land.

 

[mickEblu]

I'd have to say no for these 4 reasons here.

Even the early days of DCA with the likes of Superstar Limo were better than just a parking lot. I'd pick a time to stick with just after the opening of Cars Land.

I’m disappointed in you Baloo.

 

[BrianLo]

How is the product worse if you re walking into a park with only 30% of the crowds today with none of the hassle and would still have the majority of the attractions / E tickets found at the park today?

Again, two hypotheticals. Are you hopping in a Time Machine or are you bringing DL forward to modern day?

If the product wasn’t seen as stale it would be too popular to find parking or navigate it at all.

I guess maybe I just don’t find DLR to be a hassle. It’s expensive, but not unpleasant. Is attendance also capped?

Also underinvested? They had just opened up Captain Eo, Star Tours and Splash Mountain and was the most popular theme park on Earth. You can’t compare that to visiting DLP that hasn’t opened a major new ride in decades.

Maybe you are losing me. The park wouldn’t have received a single thing since 1989. In 2025, yes it would be massively underinvested.

I think you are talking about going back in time rather than stopping DLR from progressing through today.

 

[Baloo124]

I’m disappointed in you Baloo.

If you didn't want people to answer "No", then why is it included in the poll?
The 80s had a lot of positives, but I'd prefer an era post DCA opening, with Cars Land, etc, (and Indy is a must!) but definitely prior to today.

Not gonna apologize for an opinion.

 

[BrianLo]

I’m disappointed in you Baloo.

If you want a small park disneyland experience without the fuss, there’s still a remaining window to catch Hong Kong.

1989 is winding back the park so much to a product none of us would enjoy (continuously and neverending). We’d have all experienced it endlessly now. Year after year for most of our lives. Begging for the company to do literally anything new. Complaining about how the original is becoming increasingly irrelevant as Universal or Florida keep moving forward.

In fact, I can confidently say I wouldn’t be here.

Now yes, I would hop in a Time Machine out of novelty. But if I had only one chance I’d probably go further back to see Walt or head to early Epcot. Or if I had to rewind the clock on one single park it would be DCA to 2016 with the future plans still forthcoming.

 

[Baloo124]

But if I had only one chance I’d probably go further back to see Walt

Definitely this! I ran across this old home movie from the late 50s on YouTube. It is remarkable to think in real time they could turn a corner and see Walt walking past. Or just knowing he was on property up in his Main Street apartment on that day they were visiting.

 

[mickEblu]

Again, two hypotheticals. Are you hopping in a Time Machine or are you bringing DL forward to modern day?

If the product wasn’t seen as stale it would be too popular to find parking or navigate it at all.

I guess maybe I just don’t find DLR to be a hassle. It’s expensive, but not unpleasant. Is attendance also capped?

No you just show up the park and it’s always permanently locked as 1989 Disneyland. The crowds would forever stay the same. The ladies have big hair. Some men have Jerry curls.

Again, two hypotheticals. Are you hopping in a Time Machine or are you bringing DL forward to modern day?

If the product wasn’t seen as stale it would be too popular to find parking or navigate it at all.

I guess maybe I just don’t find DLR to be a hassle. It’s expensive, but not unpleasant. Is attendance also capped?



Maybe you are losing me. The park wouldn’t have received a single thing since 1989. In 2025, yes it would be massively underinvested.

I think you are talking about going back in time rather than stopping DLR from progressing through today.

Yes and no. Going back in time only when you step through the Disneyland gates. You still get to live the rest of your life as it currently is in 2025. But essentially yes you are stopping it from progressing for yourself and everyone else.

 

[mickEblu]

If you didn't want people to answer "No", then why is it included in the poll?
The 80s had a lot of positives, but I'd prefer an era post DCA opening, with Cars Land, etc, (and Indy is a must!) but definitely prior to today.

Not gonna apologize for an opinion.

Haha cmon man. It’s clearly a joke. I have no idea who you are and have never seen one of your posts. How can you be disappointed in someone you don’t know?

 

[mickEblu]

If you want a small park disneyland experience without the fuss, there’s still a remaining window to catch Hong Kong.

1989 is winding back the park so much to a product none of us would enjoy (continuously and neverending). We’d have all experienced it endlessly now. Year after year for most of our lives. Begging for the company to do literally anything new. Complaining about how the original is becoming increasingly irrelevant as Universal or Florida keep moving forward.

In fact, I can confidently say I wouldn’t be here.

Now yes, I would hop in a Time Machine out of novelty. But if I had only one chance I’d probably go further back to see Walt or head to early Epcot. Or if I had to rewind the clock on one single park it would be DCA to 2016 with the future plans still forthcoming.

I’ll give you that the novelty of stepping into 1989 might get old after a while but I don’t think the guest experience would. Out of curiosity, did you get to experience Disneyland in the late 80s/ early 90s? It was so much more laidback than today. I don’t see how that can get old. Also keep in mind that you the time traveler knows what the future would hold and made that decision accordingly. You’ll know everything you gave up from 1989 to 2025. And seeing how things have been going I’d be ok sacrificing all the stuff that was announced at D23 and the DL Forward stuff.

 

[BrianLo]

Yes and no. Going back in time only when you step through the Disneyland gates. You still get to live the rest of your life as it currently is in 2025. But essentially yes you are stopping it from progressing for yourself and everyone else.

I’ll give you that the novelty of stepping into 1989 might get old after a while but I don’t think the guest experience would. Out of curiosity, did you get to experience Disneyland in the late 80s/ early 90s? It was so much more laidback than today. I don’t see how that can get old. Also keep in mind that you the time traveler knows what the future would hold and made that decision accordingly. You’ll know everything you gave up from 1989 to 2025. And seeing how things have been going I’d be ok sacrificing all the stuff that was announced at D23 and the DL Forward stuff.

I would enjoy it for novelty once and then cyclically I would decrease the amount I visited. Then start complaining loudly about how stuck in time it is. Eventually stopping in once every 10 years or so.

I visit a lot of their parks and I know I am (personally) highly motivated by new experiences. There’s a reason I’ve let a Paris visit essentially go a decade now. It would be the same for me.

That is on me I guess, but that’s what I’m into. I’ve even fallen off this sub forum because very little has occurred in the last few years and anticipate jumping back in as the next project cycle ramps up.

 

[mickEblu]

I would enjoy it for novelty once and then cyclically I would decrease the amount I visited. Then start complaining loudly about how stuck in time it is. Eventually stopping in once every 10 years or so.

I visit a lot of their parks and I know I am (personally) highly motivated by new experiences. There’s a reason I’ve let a Paris visit essentially go a decade now. It would be the same for me.

That is on me I guess, but that’s what I’m into. I’ve even fallen off this sub forum because very little has occurred in the last few years and anticipate jumping back in as the next project cycle ramps up.

But you also have to consider it would be such a breath of fresh air from the rest of your life that you would crave that change of pace from modern day Los Angeles or wherever else one might be from.

 

[mickEblu]

I'd have to say no for these 4 reasons here.

Yeah I thought 1989 was a good cut off and not only because I ran into the image on social media and because it’s the year Splash opened. 1995 would make it that much easier to answer for some if you got to keep Indy, Toontown and Fantasmic too. Although you would be sacrificing some of the lower crowds.

 

[BrianLo]

But you also have to consider it would be such a breath of fresh air from the rest of your life that you would crave that change of pace from modern day Los Angeles or wherever else one might be from.

As I mentioned; crowd patterns, service standards, price etc can be still found at some of their other resorts. Not to mention other travel experiences.

You just gotta leave the bubble to find it. I also don’t live nor want to live in LA… so that probably helps. I’m not using Disneyland to escape LA.

 

[mickEblu]

As I mentioned; crowd patterns, service standards, price etc can be still found at some of their other resorts. Not to mention other travel experiences.

You just gotta leave the bubble to find it. I also don’t live nor want to live in LA… so that probably helps. I’m not using Disneyland to escape LA.

Lol well it’s not really an escape in that sense today. But it would be if you were stepping from 2025 Los Angeles into 1989 Disneyland.