Permanecer Sentados, Por Favor
New Orleans Square transports park guests to a simpler time in New Orleans when it was a port town for trade ships, etc. Disney was not one to miss out on any detail and if you look at the right angle, you can see evidence of another waterfront just beyond the train tracks behind Royal St.
How neat!
The first brand new attraction since Toy Story: Midway Mania on Paradise Pier in 2008, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure continues the dark ride trend with this attraction. While not completely innovative in terms of ride vehicle technology, WDI has outdone themselves with these audio-animatronics here.
Rather than building the jaw-dropping figures as they have with Pirates and Mr. Lincoln, these characters look like the cartoons. Now, they do have some great pixar animatronics, but the animatronics in this ride are based upon a hand-drawn cell-animation style and they pull it off in spades.
We attended a soft-opening a week-or-so before the official opening day and were greeted by a short line. The first thing we noticed was how standard and uninspired the queue was. Just a back-and-forth just outside the ride. This could have come from some of the queues of Fantasyland but I don’t think the sea-life looking plant life between stantions reads as well as the poster art and wood carved railings of the “Pinnoccio” queue. We did notice some great detail in that the cement upon which you walk when in the queue is designed to look like sand with sea shells in it! This was a really nice touch and made us feel a little better about the ride ahead.
Upon entering the building, you are greeted by an impressively spansive mural depicting all of our favorite characters from the film. This is great looking and really harkins back to the Fantsyland dark rides. As your “shell-buggy” (maybe it will catch on?) approaches, you are whisked through a shipwreck and into the world of Ariel as narrated by none other than Scuttle! He starts to tell you about Ariel’s story as you start to go ‘under the sea’.
The ride’s biggest flaw is that’s the last time we see Scuttle until the end of the ride. Some of the biggest complaints about this ride are that it has no story and is just familiar scenes from the film. I argue that the scenes are great but there is enough down-time between them to have Scuttle guide us into the next scene. I suppose he wouldn’t possibly BE under the sea but don’t set it up that way and not follow through. There are plenty of times we are not under the sea.
I have no complaints about this ride beyond having Scuttle take us from scene to scene to tie it all together but it’s not that distracting to me, anyway. WDI really stepped up their game and this new tenchology they have created with the skin on these animatronics lends itself to the exciting possiblity for other classic Disney films withno rides like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
I back it!
I. Love. Star Tours. The thought of them touching it 5 years ago would have scared the bejesus out of me. Sure, there have always been rumors circling about the outdated ride technology and a possible update to the attraction but isn’t that nostalgia what we love most about the parks? The Pepper’s Ghost effect has been around for hundreds of years and the Fantasyland rides are always among the longest of the lines in the park. Plus, we all know how badly Lucas and Co. messed up the Star Wars world by CG-ing (we coin terms here at Remain Seated Please) everything in lieu of practical effects.
Yet, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue NAILS IT. I was so sad on my final trip to the Endor moon but when the RSP crew got to ride the new attraction for a passholder preview, all of us were stunned. The story varies from ride to ride but at the ride’s core, you are at a Star Tours port awaiting your flight to an undisclosed location. They prep you for your flight on the Star Speeder 1000 by issuing you galactic flight goggles and then send you on your way.
The preflight sequence gives you a glimpse into the workings behind your port’s door. While your ship is being fueled, cleaned, and maintained, C3-P0 follows R2-D2 to your vehicle for a systems check. While our R2 unit is loaded, 3-P0 releases our pilot, Ace, in order to repair our navigation systems prior to takeoff. We then get the normal schpiel about galactic flight regulations and as soon as our star speeder is prepped and has approached the launch platform, the doors open and a steel flight path takes us into our ship.
A flight person gives us our final check and sends us on our way… but without our pilot! C3-P0 is now at the helm and no one at Star Tours is paying attention to his distress calls. This is where the differring stories begin.
There are rumored to be 54 different story combinations, all of which I will not give away but it seems that the stories are broken up into 5 different sections. Each segways into the next seamlessly through clever storytelling by the WDI team. We rode about 10 times over the course of a few days and can say that while it is exciting to have randomized flight sequrnces, there does not seem to be 54 sequences.
Now, a cast member did tell us that during previews not all destinations were being previewed and more destinations like the Endor moon and Geonosis. We have not, however, taken another flight since the ride’s greand re-opening June 3rd of this year and I have not seen anything new come up on any Disney blogs or Twitters. Have you seen them yet?
Even so, the good sequences and destinations are GREAT. Unfortunately, the bad ones are just boring. The CG, however, looks incredible thoughout (sans the preflight sequence. They really bought the farm on that one.) I had to go to Hoth 4 times before I even thought to look for CG environments or elements. For someone as finnicky as I am about such things, that’s a great sign. Fake environments are so distracting and for them to be 3D on top of that is just icing on the cake of diappointment (great band name, by the way). But this ride breaks that mentality. They pulled off great CG, great 3D, and a great story.
I highly recommend this ride for children of all ages. It’s interactive (one of your fellow passengers is a Rebel spy, as it turns out!), funny, gorgeous, and thrilling! There are numerous nods to the original attraction, there are special guests from the Star Wars films that visit you during the ride, and a great randomized ride sequence. The rumors of other destinations like Geonosis and the Endor moon are glimmers of hope that this ride will be more well taken care of by WDI and Lucas this time around (Remember when star tours motion simulator format was sold upon the idea of easy updates and enhancements?)
I loved Star Tours but Star Tours: The Adventures Continue pulls off the greatest feat of all – replacing an amazingly popular E-ticket attraction with something better.
I love all of the hidden gems in the parks. From Europe to Anaheim or Mickeys to restrooms, there are so many small details and special touches that really drive the vision of Walt Disney into genius.
This gem is one I was shown by a cast member inside the brand new Star Trader in Tomorrowland. It’s a hidden Mickey do you see it?
It took me a while to find it but sure enough it was there. i actually thought this was the one she was talking about.
This also made me re-think my skepticism about the one on the planet at the Space Mountain exit. These hidden Mickeys are so well hidden that some can just be glanced over without a thought.
What are some of the most illusive “hidden trasures” you have found at the parks – be it hidden Mickey or otherwise? I cant wait to tell you about all of the freemason symbols throughout the park.
Hey all!
Here’s another in our ongoing series, but first, where was last week’s photo taken?
And now for this week’s floor:
Hey all!
Here’s another in our ongoing series, but first, where was last week’s photo taken?
And now for this week’s floor:
I only like the Matterhorn. I dont love it, I dont hate it. It is in dire need of a refresher/refurbishment. I can hapily report that I have on good authority that there are some exciting new updates coming to this mountain off the 5 freeway.
I’ll post what I know when I can but how exciting is that?
Sure you may have the glove, or the little red leather jacket, or perhaps even a decent moonwalk, but let me ask you this, do you own an LED Captain EO Disneyland visor? I’m guessing that you probably don’t, not because you aren’t the biggest Michael Jackson fan of all time, the kind of fan who pretends to know all the thriller dance moves, but because this item has become a rarity in the Michael Jackson and Captain EO collectible market. Let me for a moment reflect on why I think that is. 
Apologies in advance for all the questions; I enjoy a certain rapport with my readers, but have you ever in all of your days at Disneyland spotted amongst the crowds of Disney park-goers someone wearing this piece of sparkling Disney imperfection? The answer is probably no, that is unless you’ve actually had the rare opportunity to catch my blinking head in the park, and the reason for this is immediately apparent for anyone who has ever witnessed or worn this piece of Disneyana.
The problem has to do with the fact that the LED lights are powered by a 9-volt battery. Yes you heard that correct, a 9-volt battery strapped to the side of your head just in front of your left ear by your temple. The battery hangs loosely inside of an elastic loop and batteries can get hot, hot enough to burn the side of your Michael Jackson loving face. Sometimes the price to pay for hip retro fashion is a nasty 9-volt battery burn, lucky me.
Note: The black electrical tape pictured is strictly to compensate for elastic wear and tear.
I would like to thank Tim Ray Hodges, the previous owner of Walt Disney’s Little Man of Disneyland, for providing me with the means to review this quirky and odd look at Disneyland’s initial construction.
With that said, did you know that the orange groves of Anaheim were once populated by leprechauns? Mickey, Donald, and Goofy somehow forgot to ask this dwindling population for the right to tear down their houses and homes in order to build the many wonders of the Magic Kingdom. If this were true, which I’m sure it is, they could have at least covered it up a little better, by maybe not publishing a children’s story about the leprechaun culling of 1955. This fact angers leprechaun Patrick Begorra, who eventually allows the animated trio to continue with the construction of Disneyland if he can reside in a home of his choosing within the park. Who would have thought leprechauns to be such pushovers? The book concludes with challenging readers to locate Patrick’s home on their next visit. For those of you thinking this plot synopsis is fabricated in anyway, believe me, sadly and awesomely it is not.
The weird nature of the story itself is a major selling point, especially for collectors who like children’s books that are a little too strange and messed up for their intended readers. For pure Disneyland fans the book has some great illustrations of the park’s construction, from mainstreet and the castle, to New Orleans Square and the Jungle Cruise. If you spot this Golden Book nestled in a stack at your local used bookstore, take my advice and pick it up, you wont be disappointed.
In 1965 Parker Brothers and the Walt Disney Company teamed up to produce a lovely board game adaptation of the classic Disney animated film Cinderella. Recommended for children 5 to 10, but still enjoyed by bloggers of a more sophisticated age, the game allows 2 and upwards of 4 players to compete for the role of Cinderella. The first player to navigate the game board, successfully fit the glass slipper, and reach the castle is declared Cinderella and the winner of the game.
Like many Disney board games of the time, the Cinderella Game uses cards to propel players throughout game play. These cards, known as Cinderella cards, feature iconic characters and locations signature to the film, like Gus, Drisella, and the Clock Tower. Each of these cards contains specific instructions for moving players either forward or backward on the game board. Once players reach the end of Cinderella’s journey they are forced to draw one of five colored slipper cards in hopes of matching that card with the corresponding color of their playing piece. If a match is made, the player with the match has won the game, and if not, the player is forced to move back several spaces to an illustrated pumpkin where they must try again.
The game requires no strategy whatsoever, but is still fun to play for kids and grownups alike because of the wonderful and retro 60’s artwork printed on the board, the box, and Cinderella cards. Overall this game is a must have for Cinderella fans, and find it while you can, because this edition with original art is becoming more and more scarce.
-David Brown
Contributing Writer
