Celebrating What's New--and Old--at Disneyland
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Walt Disney once famously said, "Disneyland will never be completed...as long as there is imagination left in the world." Following its namesake's lead, the park has evolved considerably through the years. Yet, Disneyland is such a cherished place, fans regard it as a piece of living history and often resist any kind of change. Given the park's limited footprint, Team Disney is charged with the delicate balancing act of preserving the classic attractions and Disneyland's essence against the need to innovate and keep things fresh. Which brings us to Mr. Lincoln.
It wasn't quite four score and seven years ago, but it was way back in 1964 that Walt Disney presented Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at the New York World's Fair. Featuring the first animatronic human figure, Mr. Lincoln (along with the other three attractions Disney developed for the fair) was a huge hit and a landmark moment in theme park annals. After the fair, the robotic 16th president moved to the Opera House on Disneyland's Main Street U.S.A. and became a park staple. He's been displaced occasionally, most recently by Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years, a show that premiered during the park's golden anniversary in 2005. Disney just announced, however, that The Disneyland Story, featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, an enhanced version of the attraction, will return to the Opera House some time later this year. And that's great news.
As Disney points out, 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, so the revived attraction will be a fitting tribute. But it's more than that. I once had the pleasure of interviewing Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter, and he cited three attractions that he felt formed the park's triangle and best exemplified Disneyland's diversity and unique appeal: Dumbo the Flying Elephant, the Submarine Voyage, and Mr. Lincoln. (Baxter was instrumental in bringing the subs back with a Finding Nemo overlay.) The Lincoln show has direct ties to Walt Disney, plays into the park's unabashed patriotism, shines a light on an important historical figure, and marks a seminal achievement in park creativity. It's nostalgic for all the right reasons, yet timeless. I applaud Disney for bringing it back (and suspect that Baxter may have been chief among its advocates).
But that doesn't mean I'm a Disneyland purist who can't embrace change. Despite the introduction of animated characters into the classic it's a small world (sic), I also applaud Disney for its recent makeover of the Fantasyland attraction. And I'm anxiously anticipating the exciting changes in store as Disney's California Adventure gets a $1.1 billion facelift and expansion.
So, as Disneyland (and Walt Disney World) asks, "What will you celebrate?", I say that I'm going to celebrate the return of Mr. Lincoln and the new developments at Disneyland's second park. How about you? Where do you stand when it comes to Disney messing with its classic attractions? Take the poll and leave remarks by clicking on the Comments link below the poll.
Photo: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Disney 2009. used with permission.
Comments
I hope that the Lincoln who returns will be delivering the original speech from the World’s Fair version of the show, rather than the Gettysburg Address used in the show’s revised version.
Not only was the original voice performance by Royal Dano a more heartfelt and moving piece of acting, but the original speech, assembled from various Lincoln speeches and writings, was a thought-provoking examination of America’s core concept of Liberty, one that every American ought to hear and contemplate.
The Gettysburg Address may have historical interest, but the original speech contained timeless truths that were relevant in the Cold-War 60’s and would be just as relevant today.
Imagineers always “plus” when they change anything. “Fans” that think they know better or care more can’t even come close to the way that people working on the attractions feel. They’ve given their lives to what they love and put their best into it, and are close enough to know what is really best.
I say, trust them to do the job that they do best.
I must disagree with Bob up there. Anyone who’s seen the cynical and unpleasant “Enchanted Tiki Room–Under New Management” at Walt Disney World will agree that not everything today’s Disney touches turns to “plus.”
We’d all be better off if Disney left the older rides as we love and remember them, and invested instead in new attractions like the excellent “Toy Story Midway Mania.”
I have to agree with Mike about Tiki Room–ugh. And no amount of plusing would probably salvage Stitch’s Encounter.
No matter how much money they spend and how many parks they open around the world, Disneyland will always be special because it’s the park Walt built. There will never be another Walt Disney and all of the company’s
Imagineers combined cannot create the magic that Walt did when he was alive! They should have more reverance and sentiment for the park’s classic attractions. They destroyed Fantasyland back in the 80’s when they removed Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship, altering the entire landscape of the park’s most “magical” themed land . . . only to send it to the Paris park.
They have four(4) other parks they can mess with. Keep Walt’s park the one and only “Magic Kingdom”! And before they spent billions on Disneyland’s second park only to screw that up and now spend more billions to re-think and re-invent it, they should have enough respect for Walt to put the money into maintaining the attractions at Disneyland such as everything on Tom Sawyer Island.
When they removed the submarine ride from Walt Disney World, they completely desroyed the landscape and layout of that park’s Fantasyland. Only to replace the classic attraction with garbage.