When you reach a certain age, you start getting AARP discounts and questions about your retirement plans. Well, that’s true of people but not places. The Happiest Place on Earth is now in its mid-60s. Since the earliest days, Disneyland has been the most famous theme park on the planet. In the face of lofty expectations and fierce competition, it’s maintained that status.
The explanation about how it’s done so is that Walt Disney wouldn’t allow his life’s work to become mundane. He demanded change, and he demanded improvement. In the latest edition of Turning Point, let’s look at how Disneyland has handled its senior citizen status.
The conundrum
Image: DisneyHow similar is the Disneyland of today to the one that you remember from childhood? How much has stayed the same in the face of your maturation into adulthood? And how much did you want it to change?
These aren’t innocent questions. It’s the driving concern of all Disneyland planners. They need to plus as much of the park as possible to keep it fresh and innovative. Otherwise, casual theme park tourists will stop visiting. The changes that they make are treacherously challenging, though.
When Disneyland seems too different, guests complain that faceless corporate decision makers are ruining their childhood. We’ll even discuss a specific example in a moment. The reality is that anytime Disney updates the park, they do two things.
Image: DisneyThe first is that they honor Walt Disney’s express wishes for the Happiest Place on Earth. He was the one who demanded plussing, after all. But the second is that park officials face a backlash when the changes are unwelcome.
Aging gracefully isn’t easy, my friends. The old sporting adage is that Father Time is undefeated. As we speak, Disneyland attempts to prove that maxim wrong. In its mid-60s, it’s trying to reinvent itself for the next generation of Disney lovers. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Project Stardust
Image: DisneyPerhaps the most relevant demonstration of the Disneyland conundrum involves Project Stardust. As we speak, park officials are trying to uphold the four central tenets of the Happiest Place on Earth. These foundational beliefs are safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency. The goal for Project Stardust is to improve the park in each of these fields.
Project Stardust is a multi-faceted path forward for a 65-year-old park. Disney officials recently updated Sleeping Beauty Castle with a glossy new coat of paint. They did a lot more than that, of course, but one of the overriding concerns for the update was reverence. Imagineers labored diligently to keep the castle looking like it always has before, only they modernized it during the process.
The castle now features gold leaf and fireproof elements. The former classes up the regal look even more, while the latter protects the building from the nightly fireworks display. These changes exemplify Disney’s precarious balance between the past and the future. They also hearken back to the “safety” and “show” parts of Disney’s mantra.
Image: DisneyOther parts of the renovation will improve walking paths around the park. Traffic flow is an integral part of an enjoyable park experience. Disneyland’s traffic is up almost 27 percent over the past decade. Before Project Stardust, the walkways hadn’t changed in size. Guests felt crowded, and Disney has interceded to alleviate the matter. It’s a matter of efficiency that is invisible to park guests yet one that they all appreciate.
To gain back the extra space, Disney had to modify or remove some elements like trees, bushes, and themed elements for certain lands. It’s a necessary sacrifice for the overall betterment of the park, both today and in the future. It’s exactly the type of change that Disneyland has needed for a long time now. The park finally has bold management in place, leaders who are willing to make these hard choices.
Willingness to alter ride experiences
Image: DisneyThe most notable recent change at an attraction involves Pirates of the Caribbean. This iconic boat ride is synonymous with Disney theme parks. Roughly forty years after its opening, it also became a major movie franchise. This aspect tightened the connection between fans and the attraction. They’re evangelists about its ride quality and individual elements.
Disney recently did something bold, though. They eliminated some uncomfortable aspects of the ride, the ones that came across as sexist. Imagineers removed the auction scene, the one played for laughs on the ride. Despite the jovial nature of the scene, it’s about slavery, which isn’t a very Disney topic.
Some devoted Disney fans bemoaned what they viewed as political correctness gone amok. From Disney’s perspective, however, pirates also earned the nickname of cutthroat for the obvious reason. It’s not like Pirates of the Caribbean would have scenes with that particular image. Tasteless is tasteless, and Disney’s adapted to evolving perspectives about historical events.
Image: DisneyAttraction changes are much more significant than simple modifications, though. In two different instances, park officials repurposed an existing ride at Disneyland Resort, turning it into something new. I’m speaking of The Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – BREAKOUT! or, as they were formerly known, California Screamin’ and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
In both situations, Disney could have maintained the status quo. The previous attractions were among the most popular at the parks. No one outside of Disney thought that they needed changing. To the credit of park strategists, they came up with a bold strategy to reinvigorate a part of the resort, one that bears special discussion…
Proud parenting
Image: DisneyDisneyland opened/was born in 1955. It didn’t have any “children” until 2001 when Disney California Adventure (DCA) arrived. Since Disneyland was old enough to be a grandparent by then, it had a different perspective. Perhaps it was too soft on its child at the start. DCA was born with a silver spoon in its mouth, a can’t-miss theme park that somehow did precisely that.
The child of Disneyland failed to meet even the least demanding of expectations. For its first decade, DCA was undeniably a slacker. Over time, parent and child found common ground, as so often happens. The former California adventure found a way to spread its wings and carve out its own identity.
The current version of DCA is a mere promise of the one that we will know in a few years. It’s like a talented teenager that everyone knows will go on to do great things one day. Currently, DCA is moving toward a half-Pixar/half-Marvel theme.
The rebooted rides from the previous section, along with the Radiator Springs expansion, are the first steps along this path. And they represent the first time that DCA has stood on its own as a worthy secondary theme park to Disneyland. The disappointing child is over 18 now, an adult that has the promise of a better tomorrow.
Plotting a future through a galaxy far away
Image: Disney
The final aspect of Disney’s graceful aging is its willingness to embrace the unknown. The Happiest Place on Earth is spectacular in every way. However, it hasn’t added a new themed land since 1993, and let’s be honest that Mickey’s Toontown won’t go on any Best of Disney lists. The park’s stubbornly stood behind its sameness for more than 25 years. At least it had until Star Wars Land opened in 2019.
Yes, Galaxy’s Edge legitimately changes the course of the conversation about Disneyland. It’s no longer a place where the same refrain plays out across the park. Now, a themed land has differentiated itself from the Disneyland that you’ve always known.
When you walk through Black Spire Outpost, you’ll struggle to see any other parts of Disneyland, and that’s a conscious choice by Imagineers. They could have left a skyline that connects the world of Batuu with the rest of the park. It would destroy the premise, though.
When you visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you’ve abandoned civilization and headed to the Outer Rims. You’re a tourist on the last planet before Wild Space begins. A view of the Matterhorn wouldn’t make any sense. This level of immersion is unprecedented at any Disney theme park, even Pandora – The World of Avatar. It also exemplifies how Disneyland is facing its future.
Imagineers have built what feels like an entire world in 14 acres of space. The headlines trumpet that the Batuu expansion is the largest themed land in Disney history. Such comments miss the point that it’s the first genuinely standalone themed land ever, one with its own language and culture.
Roughly a decade ago, Universal Studios upped the ante with the creation of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Since then, the only evolutionary bump in theme park design came with Pandora. Galaxy’s Edge is different. It’s a revolutionary jump that proves Disney will never be willing to stagnate.
Park planners have thrown out the old playbook and taken a daring approach to world building. It’s precisely the kind of bold move that Walt Disney would have loved. And Galaxy’s Edge proves that Disneyland isn’t just aging gracefully. It’s got the best sort of Peter Pan syndrome, as it stubbornly refuses to grow old.
