L.A. Times: "Top Ten Theme Park Rides We Loved and Lost"

[Jayce]

Oh how I do miss the skyway

While I miss some of the other rides this one is the one I miss the most.

[Bronco21]

If you talk to the adults who were there at the time, their admiration for the House of the Future is a result of how innovative it was for its time. Similarly, the hatred of Innoventions is spurred by how un-innovate it is for its time.

Historical context is everything when rating attractions. It has been repeated on this forum hundreds if not thousands of times that the thing that blew people away in the 1950s and 60s about the top Disneyland attractions was their level of innovation, creativity, technology and showmanship for their time -- while the thing that so often disappoints about the Disneyland attractions of the last 15 years (Innoventions, Pooh, Nemo, Luigi's, Mermaid to name a few), is their comparative lack of innovation, creativity, technology and showmanship for their time.




Those Disneyland guests who were adults in the 60s, and who have experienced firsthand the standards of both the Walt Disney Company's Disneyland and the "Eisger" Disney Corporation's Disneyland, rightfully reject the suggestion that their rating of Yester-rides is the result of mere "nostalgia."

As has been posted countless times on this forum, people don't want the original PeopleMover, Adventure thru Inner Space, Submarines or Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland to return as clones of their original selves. They want updated versions of those ride themes, executed with a level of innovation, creativity, technology and showmanship that is as mindblowing for today as it was for the time when those rides first opened. And that is what Disney has proved, for the last decade and a half, it is utterly incapable of doing.

I agree with all of this, my point is that Disney's attempts to bring back beloved classics failed. There are many reasons they failed, and one of them is lack of innovation. But why beg Disney to bring them back if they are incapable of doing it properly?

[fifthrider]

Interesting article, and I agree with most of it. I'm not sure if I'd ever miss Backdraft, it was really just a place to walk through and warm up after being drenched on the nearby JP ride. The rest of the things on this list make perfect sense to me, especially the Log Jammer. I still can't believe that removed that. It was one of the new non-roller-coasters in that park, not to mention an original ride whose natural foliage growth over the last few decades made it feel like you were in a real forest.

It's kind of hard to miss the flying saucers now that it's perfected and back at DCA.

I miss the Skyway and Country Bear Jamboree.

Yes, now BEAR COUNTRY makes more sense on that list. Thank you Jeannie!

[sir clinksalot]

Today's L.A. Times business section features a pictorial piece titled "Miss you, Backdraft! The top 10 theme park rides we loved and lost."

Six of the ten are from Disneyland:

Adventure thru Inner Space
Monsanto House of the Future
PeopleMover
Skyway
Carousel of Progress
Flying Saucers

The others are Back to the Future, Backdraft and E.T. Adventure (Universal), and Log Jammer (Six Flags Magic Mountain).

The article gives no info about their criteria for choosing those rides as the top ten.

A little too heavily favored to Disneyland. They should have left off Flying Saucers (they are kind of back) and House of the Future. Should have been replaced with Beary Tales, Haunted Shack and/or Soap Box Racers from Knott's. I'd even leave off CoP in favor of the Parachute Drop from Knott's as well.

[calsig31]

It's kind of hard to miss the flying saucers now that it's perfected and back at DCA.

I'm not really sure it is perfected in this new incarnation. While it may not break down as much, the load system was much better before. Also, they were single rider, not 2 or 3 people to a seat.

[Mr Wiggins]

A little too heavily favored to Disneyland. They should have left off Flying Saucers (they are kind of back) and House of the Future. Should have been replaced with Beary Tales, Haunted Shack and/or Soap Box Racers from Knott's. I'd even leave off CoP in favor of the Parachute Drop from Knott's as well.

Yep. If a major newspaper is really going to research the Top Ten most loved Yester-rides from across the country, I doubt the Saucers and House of the Future realistically would make the final cut. I don't understand the Times' criteria for assembling the list -- kinda wonder if they even had any.

[sir clinksalot]

Top 10 should have been:

Peoplemover (Disneyland), Country Bears (Disneyland), Adventures Through Inner Space (Disneyland), Beary Tales (Knott's), Soap Box Racers (Knott's), Haunted Shack (Knott's), Log Jammer (SFMM), "Good" Revolution (SFMM), Back to the Future (Universal), Battlestar Galactica (Universal).

[aashee]

America Sings. I miss that a lot.

That's a bad list, yeah I'd miss a flying saucers that didn't work well. Hell, look at the pictures of it, that's better than the real thing!

[Circa1966]

Exactly. Disney's idea of bringing the Flying Saucers back with a new level of innovation was to add giant beach balls and Italian music.

HAR!

[bayouguy]

Add to the list Micky Fink's Keelboats, because I never rode one.

[calsig31]

Damn, Kaiser Aluminum didn't make the list.

[flynnibus]

Also, they were single rider, not 2 or 3 people to a seat.

...which actually opens the attraction to a wider audience. Not a bad thing

[calsig31]

...which actually opens the attraction to a wider audience. Not a bad thing

But it does make it harder to stear since the riders have to coordinate movement.

[The First Star]

But it does make it harder to stear since the riders have to coordinate movement.

Yeah, but that's one of the fun things about it -- working as a team, discussing how you'll do it beforehand, linking arms and shouting, "Left! Left!"

Besides, you can choose to ride individually. They do ask how many in your party and how many tires you'd like.

[fifthrider]

I'm not really sure it is perfected in this new incarnation. While it may not break down as much, the load system was much better before. Also, they were single rider, not 2 or 3 people to a seat.

Duly noted, I hadn't considered that.

Top 10 should have been:

Peoplemover (Disneyland), Country Bears (Disneyland), Adventures Through Inner Space (Disneyland), Beary Tales (Knott's), Soap Box Racers (Knott's), Haunted Shack (Knott's), Log Jammer (SFMM), "Good" Revolution (SFMM), Back to the Future (Universal), Battlestar Galactica (Universal).

Yes! I forgot all about Beary Tales and Gasoline Alley with the theme of 1920's cats ( alley cats ) racing soapbox racers on a dual track. The Haunted Shack was a real loss, too. Now that you mention it, these are attractions that left such an impression that as I walk around I look just to see what went in there in their place. That's a good sign, if you're still looking at what went in it's place but all you can remember is the one that you liked so much more.