If a train has more than one stop it has to be regulated as public transport and additional fares must be charged (this is why you pay to ride the monorail in Tokyo). Because of this, imagineering decided to make the train an attraction.Originally Posted by BassBone
That is such a bizarre rule. You'd think that the OLC and Disney would have had the clout to pass an exception.
The Right Honorable Count Boogie Bonz of Random, at your service.
On Track for Weight Loss!
Tomorrowland
Based on everything I know about Disney parks only two Disneylands have gotten Tomorrowland right. That's the New Tomorrowland in the late 60s and Disneyland Paris. That's pretty much it. All other Tomorrowlands were/are either too corporate, too tacky, too Pixar, too bland, or too 80s.
Don't get me wrong. All Tomorrowlands have something good about them. They have a neat looking corner, a great ride or two, and other things that would make a certain area stand out. But taken as a whole only the two I mentioned above have gotten it right.
TDL's Tomorrowland is probably the most futuristic of them all because it's really a time machine that takes you back to the 80s.
Oh TDL Tomorrowland, not even square trees can hide your shame.
The problem with the future concept is that every contemporary vision of the future will probably become dated at some point. The designers of Disneyland Paris were smart. They went retro future. They took some old dead guy's vision of the future, which is timeless, and based an entire land on it. The probability that it would become dated is less because it's already survived this long!
I mean, they use a gun to shoot you into outer space in a bullet. If that's not dated yet then I don't think it's going to be anytime soon. And 60s New Tomorrowland survived so long because the Internet wasn't around to tear it apart back then and the New New Tomorrowland was so bad.
The one word to describe TDL's Tomorrowland is bland. I like Space Mountain, the Rocket Jets, and Star Tours' building, but everything else is just so... old. TDL needs a new Tomorrowland and they should start my demolishing this.
Can we please just let this attraction die already? This is the one "classic" that I wouldn't mind getting rid of. It's not fun anymore, it's not funny. It's smelly and takes up a ton of space. This should be the starting point for all new Tomorrowlands. Once we can liberate ourselves from the internal combustion engine we can start on a new era of Tomorrowlands!
To help make your New Tomorrowland a success, you must leave the Rocket Jets alone. Many have been burned in the past by their removal and it would be best not to piss people off anymore.
The Star Tours building is pretty neat. See what I mean about corners of Tomorrowland looking cool? Didn't bother to go on it though.
But then you turn around and...
Don't even go in here. It's the most annoying place to get theme park food ever. As you can see I didn't even stop to take a level shot of it. An audio animatronic thing sings about pizza at length and the tackiness will make you vomit your shrimp and sausage pizza. At least I think that was sausage.
Space Mountain: The real star of the show however, is this bad boy.
Here's the line for it, TO GET A FASTPASS THAT IS.
Not only did it get a makeover, but Stitch gave it one of his own as well.
It's got the old speedramp straight up the middle.
New logo.
What.
Looks familiar. I was disappointed that they shuttered the observation windows though. That was the best part of the queue in both parks!
The loading room got a new theme. Basically this alien spaceship went inside and now uhm, well, I have no idea what the hell it's supposed to be. But hey, the sides light up all green.
Space Mountain's track layout is identical to ours, but I prefer the roughness of this older track over our smoothness. There is no music soundtrack and the interior feels very much like the old Space Mountain. The rockets shake the star machines and for some reason I like that.
All in all I'm going to have to give it to TDL's Space Mountain over ours.
Oh yeah, and they have Buzz Lightyear too.
Last edited by SpokkerJones; 05-29-2007 at 12:11 AM.
I'm bringing this up:
HM is in Fantasyland at TDL because of cultural reasons, they could not put it anywhere else for it to work.
They almost did not have a HM.
"Can we please just let this attraction die already? This is the one "classic" that I wouldn't mind getting rid of. It's not fun anymore, it's not funny. It's smelly and takes up a ton of space. This should be the starting point for all new Tomorrowlands. Once we can liberate ourselves from the internal combustion engine we can start on a new era of Tomorrowlands!"
Ah yes, but it is my son's favorite (much as it was mine at his age) and it is his tomorrow. But it would be great to replace it with the electric ones at HKDL.
They also have to adhere to the stricter safety standards that transit system in Japan are held to. Just not something that they want to bother with in a theme park.
At the very least replace it with a more futuristic version. I mean, gasoline engines aren't exactly the wave of the future.
I agree. I hope they retheme it to something along the lines of Autopia.
~ Tokyo DisneySea’s Arabian Coast at nighttime ~
Agreed, that's why HKDL's is soooo cool. They are electric and recharge when in the boarding station. Also, I understand it is very popular at TDL as a number of adult visitors do not drive.
Hong Kong Disneyland definitely has the best version right now because their version is also the newest. Plus, I've always liked the Autopias better than the Indy Speedways. Tokyo Disneyland's version is so old and hasn't been updated for nearly 25 years! However, the grounds are still pretty and well landscaped. I would be very happy if they updated the vehicles; they look so outdated!
~ Tokyo DisneySea’s Arabian Coast at nighttime ~
World Bazaar
It's TDL's version of Main St. under a roof. You'll notice there's no raised curbs.
On either side of World Bazaar are walkways that lead to Tomorrowland and Adventureland respectively. They are both very handy. Paris outdoes TDL by incorporating arcades on the sides of their Main St.
There's nothing wrong with World Bazaar, but no Main St. clone will ever be the one that the old chain smoker who mortgaged his family to get built set foot on. Disneyland's Main St. wins in every single scenario.
Tokyo Disneyland Monorail Station: I wish I had gotten more pictures of this one, but this is one hell of a station. Sure as hell beats the pants off the Downtown Disney station.
I guess that's it for Tokyo Disneyland. In the end I'd pick the Anaheim park over Tokyo anyday, but I'd love to visit again someday to see Pooh and hang out on a less busy day.
Last edited by SpokkerJones; 05-29-2007 at 12:38 AM.
Paris' Tomorrowland is lovely and all but the thing I like about Tokyo's is a better technological surrounding inside the attractions.. even the pizza place you disliked so much... at least they've got a robot pizza maker showing off for guests making it feel futuristic instead of pizza port where you pick up a tray get some food and sit down. and since you missed star tours you missed the AA in the exit who's also cool for similar reasons.
You did a fantastic (and unbiased) job of comparing Tokyo Disneyland to Disneyland. I agree with you in most cases, though I would rank Tokyo Disneyland right up there with Disneyland. In fact, I would even rank Tokyo Disneyland just a bit ahead of Disneyland in terms of overall experience. By the way, when do we get to see your trip report of Tokyo DisneySea?
~ Tokyo DisneySea’s Arabian Coast at nighttime ~
I know but I couldn't stand the songs. The animatronic itself was neat.Tomorrow.You did a fantastic (and unbiased) job of comparing Tokyo Disneyland to Disneyland. I agree with you in most cases. When do we get to see your trip report of Tokyo DisneySea?
Oh, and for the record, Disneyland has a better fireworks show
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