7/04: Innoventions Dream Home, Lagging Mania?, WALL-E-WOOD, GCH Progress, +MORE
Posted 07-04-2008 at 01:58 AM by Dateline Disneyland
Updated 07-04-2008 at 04:43 AM by Dateline Disneyland
Updated 07-04-2008 at 04:43 AM by Dateline Disneyland
WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND!
The Guided Tours Garden has come out from behind its refurbishment walls sporting a nice new coat of paint.
The "Pop-Up" Gallery, in the exit lobby of the Main Street Opera House, now has a large banner to call attention to the makeshift art gallery.
Despite summer being in full swing, it isn't uncommon to enter the Resort and immediately sense that it is remarkably un-busy for the should-be jam-packed summer months. The information board at the end of Main Street, mid-day, on a weekend afternoon reflects the off-season-sized crowds. It used to be hard to catch Space Mountain at 30 minutes during the off-season, but now its pretty common now even during the so-called peak summer season.
INNOVENTIONS DREAM HOME
Even though crowds aren't as big as they normally are for a summer, Innoventions is getting the biggest lines it has seen in years thanks to the Innoventions Dream Home which has finally opened.
Innoventions with a wait time? For once in its life, yes.
Tom Morrow still welcomes guests to Innoventions.
One of the areas you enter into is a mini game show without prizes. Guests are picked to partake in a mini trivia game about hit ABC shows where the CM repeatedly encourages you to watch the shows online at abc.com. It's a little tacky.
Walls are lined with murals featuring past and present Tomorrowland icons.
Finally, after your game show spins around enough, you're let go onto the front lawn of the new Innoventions Dream Home where you're greeted by a member of the Elias family.
The introduction here, like much of the Dream Home script seems forced and didn't seem to keep much of the audience's attention. This cast member did a great job of staying in character, it's just too bad that her character was incredibly annoying (for example, she started off her spiel by squealing "O. M. G!" when she realized she had guests on her doorstep).
The Innoventions Dream Home is bogged down with a pointless backstory that does little to promote the high-tech nature of the home. Apparently the Elias family is throwing a big party in celebration of their son's soccer team victory and plans to play at the championships in China. Not only is the story pointless, but the dozen or so Elias family members and friends running around are equally pointless with over-dramatic improvisation and scripts about how their house is so great. The soccer party story is always used a cop-out to move guests along or to end a technological demonstration because "This is a party! Go have fun!"
That isn't to say the new Dream Home isn't nice, though. Aesthetically, it is very nice, even if the art nouveau and craftsman mix in decor is a bit weird. Technologically, the Dream Home pretty fun to walk through and play with. Yet, it seems guest levels of enjoyment may vary - I overheard one say "This is so cool - you could spend hours in here!" while another said "This is all just too complicated for me."
Needless to say, the Dream Home is certainly far superior to the endless rows of VMK-equipped computers that the lower level of Innoventions used to feature, still, the new Dream Home could seriously do without the forced Elias Family and their soccer championships backstory. Let the technology speak for itself and have some highly trained and informed CMs available for demos and questions.
The son's room is themed to Peter Pan and features frequent story time moments with mom, who tells the tale of Peter Pan, complete with projected film clips, a bed that launches pretend cannonballs, and special lighting.
The daughter's room includes a "magic mirror" that lets only select members of the Elias family and friends virtually "try on" the daughter's wardrobe.
The office and family room feature state-of-the-art computer and entertainment technologies.
This is probably my favorite thing in the entire Dream Home... and it doesn't even do anything.
The kitchen knows when you're running low on certain items, can help you cook by reading aloud recipes (with a program called "Cooking with Lillian"), has light up countertops, and has a retractable sink faucet, and loads of smart appliances.
The back patio includes a barbeque and simulated window into the night's sky.
The Party Tent is the last thing you're supposed to encounter before leaving the Dream Home and moving up to the second level of Innoventions. Keen-eyed Disneylanders will notice a few theming elements in this area recycled from the bottom level's previous incarnation.
The party tent includes a guestbook as well as a couple kiosks where you can enter-to-win your own Dream Home thanks to Taylor Morrison. David "Darkbeer" Micahel gave details on how to enter the contest from home in his 6/30 Monday in the Parks column.
MONORAIL READY
according to Brady MacDonald at the LA Times Funland blog, the new Monorail Red Mark VII began carrying park guests Thursday evening after months of delays. The OC Register's Sonya Smith got a ride on the all-new Monorail Mark VII and shares her experience (along with photos) on the OC Register's Around Disney blog.
WALL•E•WOOD LAND
Over at Disney's California Adventure, a new WALL•E photo-op has appeared in the far end of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.
This area used to feature two trailers for Cruella de Vil. The new photo op is pretty nice, and could be a nice area for future meet-and-greets with the Audio Animatronics WALL•E.
With the trailers gone, its much easier to see behind the Hollywood "set."
New Hollywood-themed sponsor ad posters have been added outside of the Backlot restrooms for Quilted Northern.
WHERE'S THE MANIA?
If Disneyland proper has been seeing underwhelming crowds this summer, then DCA is no exception.
With the extended outdoor queue often empty at the new Toy Story Midway Mania, or only partially filled, it seems like the initial swarm of Annual Passholders didn't yield to equally big crowds of anxious tourists wanting to see the brand new ride on Paradise Pier.
The posted wait time says 40 minutes, but after waiting in the line, it was more realistically a 25-minute wait. A short wait for most rides in the middle of summer, let alone a heavily marketed brand new attraction.
Mr. Potato Head looks like he might need some cleaning up already.
And perhaps better hiding of his inner workings.
GRAND CALIFORNIAN HOTEL PROGRESS
The new wing of the Grand Californian Hotel is progressing nicely.
Inside the Hotel, the Hearthstone Lounge has re-opened from its brief refurbishment.
In Downtown Disney, a huge inflatable WALL•E has landed between the AMC Theaters and the Disneyland Hotel.
And inside the Disneyland Hotel new paintings of various Disneyland delights have been added behind the check-in counter. These may not be brand new, but definitely within the year.
The Guided Tours Garden has come out from behind its refurbishment walls sporting a nice new coat of paint.
The "Pop-Up" Gallery, in the exit lobby of the Main Street Opera House, now has a large banner to call attention to the makeshift art gallery.
Despite summer being in full swing, it isn't uncommon to enter the Resort and immediately sense that it is remarkably un-busy for the should-be jam-packed summer months. The information board at the end of Main Street, mid-day, on a weekend afternoon reflects the off-season-sized crowds. It used to be hard to catch Space Mountain at 30 minutes during the off-season, but now its pretty common now even during the so-called peak summer season.
INNOVENTIONS DREAM HOME
Even though crowds aren't as big as they normally are for a summer, Innoventions is getting the biggest lines it has seen in years thanks to the Innoventions Dream Home which has finally opened.
Innoventions with a wait time? For once in its life, yes.
Tom Morrow still welcomes guests to Innoventions.
One of the areas you enter into is a mini game show without prizes. Guests are picked to partake in a mini trivia game about hit ABC shows where the CM repeatedly encourages you to watch the shows online at abc.com. It's a little tacky.
Walls are lined with murals featuring past and present Tomorrowland icons.
Finally, after your game show spins around enough, you're let go onto the front lawn of the new Innoventions Dream Home where you're greeted by a member of the Elias family.
The introduction here, like much of the Dream Home script seems forced and didn't seem to keep much of the audience's attention. This cast member did a great job of staying in character, it's just too bad that her character was incredibly annoying (for example, she started off her spiel by squealing "O. M. G!" when she realized she had guests on her doorstep).
The Innoventions Dream Home is bogged down with a pointless backstory that does little to promote the high-tech nature of the home. Apparently the Elias family is throwing a big party in celebration of their son's soccer team victory and plans to play at the championships in China. Not only is the story pointless, but the dozen or so Elias family members and friends running around are equally pointless with over-dramatic improvisation and scripts about how their house is so great. The soccer party story is always used a cop-out to move guests along or to end a technological demonstration because "This is a party! Go have fun!"
That isn't to say the new Dream Home isn't nice, though. Aesthetically, it is very nice, even if the art nouveau and craftsman mix in decor is a bit weird. Technologically, the Dream Home pretty fun to walk through and play with. Yet, it seems guest levels of enjoyment may vary - I overheard one say "This is so cool - you could spend hours in here!" while another said "This is all just too complicated for me."
Needless to say, the Dream Home is certainly far superior to the endless rows of VMK-equipped computers that the lower level of Innoventions used to feature, still, the new Dream Home could seriously do without the forced Elias Family and their soccer championships backstory. Let the technology speak for itself and have some highly trained and informed CMs available for demos and questions.
The son's room is themed to Peter Pan and features frequent story time moments with mom, who tells the tale of Peter Pan, complete with projected film clips, a bed that launches pretend cannonballs, and special lighting.
The daughter's room includes a "magic mirror" that lets only select members of the Elias family and friends virtually "try on" the daughter's wardrobe.
The office and family room feature state-of-the-art computer and entertainment technologies.
This is probably my favorite thing in the entire Dream Home... and it doesn't even do anything.
The kitchen knows when you're running low on certain items, can help you cook by reading aloud recipes (with a program called "Cooking with Lillian"), has light up countertops, and has a retractable sink faucet, and loads of smart appliances.
The back patio includes a barbeque and simulated window into the night's sky.
The Party Tent is the last thing you're supposed to encounter before leaving the Dream Home and moving up to the second level of Innoventions. Keen-eyed Disneylanders will notice a few theming elements in this area recycled from the bottom level's previous incarnation.
The party tent includes a guestbook as well as a couple kiosks where you can enter-to-win your own Dream Home thanks to Taylor Morrison. David "Darkbeer" Micahel gave details on how to enter the contest from home in his 6/30 Monday in the Parks column.
MONORAIL READY
according to Brady MacDonald at the LA Times Funland blog, the new Monorail Red Mark VII began carrying park guests Thursday evening after months of delays. The OC Register's Sonya Smith got a ride on the all-new Monorail Mark VII and shares her experience (along with photos) on the OC Register's Around Disney blog.
WALL•E•WOOD LAND
Over at Disney's California Adventure, a new WALL•E photo-op has appeared in the far end of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.
This area used to feature two trailers for Cruella de Vil. The new photo op is pretty nice, and could be a nice area for future meet-and-greets with the Audio Animatronics WALL•E.
With the trailers gone, its much easier to see behind the Hollywood "set."
New Hollywood-themed sponsor ad posters have been added outside of the Backlot restrooms for Quilted Northern.
WHERE'S THE MANIA?
If Disneyland proper has been seeing underwhelming crowds this summer, then DCA is no exception.
With the extended outdoor queue often empty at the new Toy Story Midway Mania, or only partially filled, it seems like the initial swarm of Annual Passholders didn't yield to equally big crowds of anxious tourists wanting to see the brand new ride on Paradise Pier.
The posted wait time says 40 minutes, but after waiting in the line, it was more realistically a 25-minute wait. A short wait for most rides in the middle of summer, let alone a heavily marketed brand new attraction.
Mr. Potato Head looks like he might need some cleaning up already.
And perhaps better hiding of his inner workings.
GRAND CALIFORNIAN HOTEL PROGRESS
The new wing of the Grand Californian Hotel is progressing nicely.
Inside the Hotel, the Hearthstone Lounge has re-opened from its brief refurbishment.
In Downtown Disney, a huge inflatable WALL•E has landed between the AMC Theaters and the Disneyland Hotel.
And inside the Disneyland Hotel new paintings of various Disneyland delights have been added behind the check-in counter. These may not be brand new, but definitely within the year.
Alright, that should do it for this Independence Day edition of Dateline Disneyland. Happy July 4th to all of our American readers! Hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend!
See you all next week!
-Andy
Total Comments 29
Comments
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Well, as nice as the “Dream Home” looks, there are a number if items that just put me off. First, the initial ABC preshow SUCKED. That totally lame commercial was a waste of time and some people were looking for a way to escape.
Then, for the most part, the Dream Home looked like grandma’s house - with all the photos EVERYWHERE, especially all the frames and the scarf on the piano. The “office” didn’t look much different than mine, though I CURRENTLY don’t have the password biometric reader (but which can EASILY be acquired). The cool glass screen was a rear projection that would need another room behind it for the projector, which wasn’t readily acknowledged. Finally, the boy’s Peter Pan room, while unique, would be totally pointless, unless the kid were a totally over the top Peter Pan FANATIC. As the room would be totally useless for ANY story other than Peter Pan, having that story being
As for the whole “family” back-story, that just quickly fell apart. When I was there, once inside the “house” there was rarely any significant role-playing. Also, the only time that any of the cool elements could be accessed was when one of the CM’s were there, which was rare as there were less CM’s than rooms. So most of the time, people were pushing buttons and fruitlessly trying to get ANYTHING to work. What they REALLY need is someone constantly stationed in each room so that people will have someone to answer their questions.
In general, when focusing on all the technology, it was a case of information overload. As anyone who deals with various computer applications realizes, unless you use something constantly, you won’t remember how they work. However I can see SOME of the tech stuff being useful enough to have someone retain the operating skills.Posted 07-06-2008 at 04:52 PM by bfdf55
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I agree with you quite a bit here. I think the ABC pre-show is pretty tacky and has no relevance to Innoventions. Not only that, but the pre-show has absolutely no shame is presenting itself as nothing more than an advertisement -- the CM's repeated encouragement to watch the shows online at abc.com is tacky and really a bit much.Quote:Originally Posted by bfdf55Well, as nice as the “Dream Home” looks, there are a number if items that just put me off. First, the initial ABC preshow SUCKED. That totally lame commercial was a waste of time and some people were looking for a way to escape.
Then, for the most part, the Dream Home looked like grandma’s house - with all the photos EVERYWHERE, especially all the frames and the scarf on the piano. The “office” didn’t look much different than mine, though I CURRENTLY don’t have the password biometric reader (but which can EASILY be acquired). The cool glass screen was a rear projection that would need another room behind it for the projector, which wasn’t readily acknowledged. Finally, the boy’s Peter Pan room, while unique, would be totally pointless, unless the kid were a totally over the top Peter Pan FANATIC. As the room would be totally useless for ANY story other than Peter Pan, having that story being
As for the whole “family” back-story, that just quickly fell apart. When I was there, once inside the “house” there was rarely any significant role-playing. Also, the only time that any of the cool elements could be accessed was when one of the CM’s were there, which was rare as there were less CM’s than rooms. So most of the time, people were pushing buttons and fruitlessly trying to get ANYTHING to work. What they REALLY need is someone constantly stationed in each room so that people will have someone to answer their questions.
In general, when focusing on all the technology, it was a case of information overload. As anyone who deals with various computer applications realizes, unless you use something constantly, you won’t remember how they work. However I can see SOME of the tech stuff being useful enough to have someone retain the operating skills.
I thought the photos were alright, even if there were way, way too many. I've never seen a home with so many photos ever before -- but the idea that the rooms could change to match a member of the family's personality or preference by changing the digital frames to person-specific images is interesting -- but impractical. I would guess most people would get sick of having to go to the touch panel on the wall every time they enter a room to change the room so it fits their liking. Most people would stop caring after the novelty of the feature wore off after a week. And who is going to spend the time to update the photos in THAT many frames? It's a bit silly.
The family backstory as a whole is altogether annoying, and is just another instance of WDI not understanding how to use storytelling appropriately. A showcase of future technologies is just not the place for it -- people want to know why these technologies are important and relevant to them --- not why they're important and relevant to this family who they don't know or care about.
I think the Elias Family backstory as a whole needs to be ditched and the CMs need to stop role playing and just offer an honest, informative, and interesting look at the technologies being presented. There's simply no need to add on a storyline.
I think the Innoventions Dream Home is a step in the right direction for Innoventions -- but it definitely needs some re-tooling. The first thing that needs to be done is ditching that storyline. There's no need for it, and if guests want a storyline that comes off as pointless and forced, they can hop in line for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage just a few steps away.Posted 07-07-2008 at 03:10 AM by MasterGracey -
Nice update; thanks for sharing the new Innoventions display. Also, I think the art inside the DL hotel is really nice, regardless how long it's been there.
As always, thanks for your attention to detail.Posted 07-07-2008 at 11:37 AM by xalesa -
Am I the only one that finds those Quilted Northern posters funny? An actor and actress are being compared to toilet paper. It's funnier than most of the junk Hollywood calls humor. I do hope the humor was intentional, if not whoever made and approved of those posters must be really naive.Posted 07-07-2008 at 06:45 PM by GhostHost2 - <<MasterGracey: The family backstory as a whole is altogether annoying, and is just another instance of WDI not understanding how to use storytelling appropriately. A showcase of future technologies is just not the place for it -- people want to know why these technologies are important and relevant to them --- not why they're important and relevant to this family who they don't know or care about.>>
Actually, I don’t believe that Imagineering has ANYTHING to do with the CM’s role-playing, That would be operations and possibly entertainment as far as finding CM’s that can do that kind of “acting”.
In fact, I don’t know that Imagineering had much to do with ANY of the Dream Home addition.Posted 07-07-2008 at 10:25 PM by bfdf55 - Good point. Entertainment might have been the folks in charge of this Innoventions remodel (as they were with the HMH and "it's a small world" holiday overlays). Nevertheless, it seems like Disney's insistence on having a story with every new attraction is getting old -- it's unnecessary whether it's coming from WDI or Entertainment. Some things should work better as experiences, rather than vehicles for storytelling that just ends up coming off as forced and pointless.Quote:Originally Posted by bfdf55<
Actually, I don’t believe that Imagineering has ANYTHING to do with the CM’s role-playing, That would be operations and possibly entertainment as far as finding CM’s that can do that kind of “acting”.
In fact, I don’t know that Imagineering had much to do with ANY of the Dream Home addition.Posted 07-08-2008 at 02:49 PM by MasterGracey - It sounds like the crowds this 4th of July weekend were not much heavierif at all than when I was there the last week of May. I really believe it is the high gas prices, it hadn't quite hit $4 when my wife and I went. We saw the Mark VII test running endlessly, and it will be awesome to actually ride on it next visit.Posted 07-08-2008 at 04:01 PM by Kissfan
- As cynical as this sounds, maybe with lower crowds Disney and the are hotels will start offering killer deals. The $99 park hopper this summer was pretty sweet. I't'll be iintersting to see what promotions are offered in 2009.Posted 07-08-2008 at 04:05 PM by Kissfan
- The reason the Magic Mirror in the girl's room in the Dream Home can only be operated by a member of the Elias Family is that they must be wearing one of those Elias 55 yellow tee shirts, which has a sensor built in that allows the mirror to know how to apply the clothing and accessories to the person - to know how the person is oriented to the mirror. I was there for the press junket, and then for one of the preview days (for passport holders). The dresses didn't fit all that well, but the glasses fit perfectly. That made me happy, as I had modeled those in 3D for the project. I'm hoping that they'll come up with something that a guest can put on which will allow anyone to walk up and use the mirror.
As for the one thing that was good about the family room, that is the Douglas rocket model. Most likely something that was laying around in someone's office. The Douglas Rocket to the Moon was I think added to Tomorrowland in the late 50's, with a ride that was suppose to make you feel like you were landing on the moon (actually things shook, and there was video to go along with it). The rocket was full size outside, with the name Douglas on it (for Douglas Aircraft) When Douglas became McDonnell-Douglas, the name was changed on the rocket. I believe it was replaced with a rocket ride (sort of like Dumbo but streamlined, and higher), which led to Astro later, but not in the same location.
In the photo of the office is something I don't think many people will have in five years. There is a Desktop Factory 125ci 3D Printer (along the wall unit, where you would expect a TV to be). These go right now for $5K, and will print, in a matter of hours, small solid objects generated by a CAD/CAM program. The manufacturer hopes to get the price down under $1K in the near future. Some others I've seen will actually print in colors. One uses a standard HP Color Inkjet cartridge to mix color into the soup. I'll wait.Posted 07-08-2008 at 11:01 PM by khecker
Updated 07-10-2008 at 12:09 AM by khecker
