Disneyland News and Rumors November 2019

It has been a while since I've posted any Disney News and Rumors, and this will be a short report, but a report nonetheless.

Snow White's Scary Adventures

Disney has filed a permit with the City of Anaheim to complete a $445,000 refurbishment of Snow White's Scary Adventures. The permit states that Disneyland crews will remove and replace show sets, props, and scenes; install new structural beams; refurbish rock work; and make electrical upgrades on the 6200 square foot dark ride. The permit also calls for new projector plat forms. The projector platforms indicate that Snow White will receive a refurbishment similar to the ones that Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan received a few years ago - meaning projection special effects. I like how these effects have added to the Peter Pan and Alice experiences, but I'm concerned that attractions in the future will be much heavier on projections while overlooking the importance of physical set pieces. While projections are a nice complement to physical set pieces, it is the physical set pieces that give the attractions more of a realistic and personal feel.

Indiana Jones

The Orange County Register is also reporting that Disneyland has filed a building permit with the city of Anaheim for the Indiana Jones Attraction. While dollar amounts were not reported, according to the permit, Disneyland crews will replace a plank bridge and it's steel structure and refurbish some rock work. The rennovations are scheduled for 2020, though an exact month is not known. It should be noted that Indiana Jones will celebrate it's 25th anniversary in March of 2020 and it would stand to reason that the attraction will be open for it's anniversary.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway

Sure, this isn't breaking news; in fact, it was announced way back in April. But just in case you missed it, Mickey's Toontown will be getting a new attraction called Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway some time in 2022. Think about that for a second...it will be coming in 3 years. "But wait a minute," you say. "Wasn't all of Disneyland built in one year and a day?" you ask. Yes is was...but I digress. Most of the new attraction will be located in backstage areas, north of Toontown and work is already well underway to clear out the area. The same attraction is coming to Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Spring of 2020.

Tomorrowland Entrance

Another project that has been taking place for a couple of months is the removal of the "French Fry Rocks" at the entrance of Tomorrowland. They have been replaced with a smaller grass area. The grass area is reminiscent of similar areas that existed when Disneyland first opened. There is still one small pocket of the old rocks and it's unclear if they are going to be removed or left to remind us of things past.

Avenger's Campus

Avenger's Campus is the new Marvel themed "land" coming to California Adventure. Disney has decided to open Avengers Campus in 2 phases just like Galaxy's Edge because, you know, if at first you don't succeed... But seriously, I would have thought that Disney would have learned their lesson about opening lands in phases. They opened Cars Land all at once with great success. Then Galaxy's Edge  was opened in 2 phases (the second phase will be in January when Rise of the Resistance opens) and the crowds stayed away. 

The first phase of Avengers Campus, opening Summer 2020 will consist of a Spiderman Attraction where guests will shoot virtual webs at spider-bots that are running amok; the Pym Test Kitchen where food choices will be either strangely large or small (Ant-Man themed); a Meet and Greet area located in the southern most part of the new land, bordering Carsland; and a gift shop just west of the meet and greet area. 

Phase 2 will be the E-ticket attraction, with no opening date announced as of yet. The facade to the building that will house the new attraction is currently under construction and the building will be the iconic Avengers Headquarters. Guests will enter into the Avengers Headquarters to eventually fly alongside the Avengers on an adventure to Wakanda. This new attraction will be built primarily on a backstage area behind Guardians of the Galaxy.

Well, that about does it for this report. Thanks for reading!  

Disneyland True Short Stories: Walt's Attention to Detail

The first Disney attraction to be completed was the Frontierland Stagecoach at Disneyland. As it was nearing completion at the Sound Studio in Burbank, CA, about ready to be shipped to Disneyland, John Hench, a Disney Imagineering Legend, was working on the finishing touches...but there was a leather strap that he could just not get exactly to Walt Disney's liking. And finally, out of frustration, John threw the leather strap in the air and said, "Walt, it's just a leather strap! No one is ever going to notice. No one is ever going to care."

And Walt stopped him and said, "John, you are underestimating people. Guests are going to notice. Guests are going to care. In fact, every time a guest comes to Disneyland, they are going to notice something that they've never seen or noticed before and that's what's going to keep bringing them back over and over again."