Escape from Disneyland

Every year around this time, Kathy and I sit down and decide whether or not we're going to renew our annual passes to Disneyland. The debate usually centers on whether we feel that we're going to get our money's worth out of the $758 we'll be spending on the two passes. Every year, we've come to the same conclusion that it is worth it to us to renew.

Our passes expired last week and we had not yet received our new passes in the mail. We had talked about going to Disneyland Saturday night but obviously couldn't if we didn't have our admission media yet. Good fortune was on our side and they arrived Saturday afternoon, in time for us to head for Anaheim.

Since adding our dog, Musubi, to the family two years ago, we've found it tough to head down to Disneyland for a casual dinner like we used to do for our weekly date nights in years past. Even though we knew she'd be OK for the evening, we were still conscience of the need to get home sooner than later. So after a nice dinner at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port and exploring the park after dark for a few hours, we made the decision to head for home before the mass of people waiting for the fireworks left after the show.

But that was easier said than done. We were at the back of the park near it's a small world and we needed to get to the exit at Main Street. We had just missed a train that departed from Mickey's Toontown Station, which would have been an enjoyable way to make it to the front of the park. Instead, we decided to hoof it down the parade route.

Though the fireworks still were not for another 45 minutes or so, Disneyland's crowd control already began restricting movement through much of the park. The entry through Fantasyland via Sleeping Beauty Castle had been roped off for at least an hour already. Just as we got to the Matterhorn, a brigade of cast members wielding flashlights charged towards us telling us that we'd have to go around the mountain to exit the area.

I don't usually disobey Disneyland cast members but after exclaiming, "You've got to be kidding," I got past them and tried to hurry Kathy through the area. But as soon as I realized the route was being roped off, I sheepishly went the way I was instructed to go. We missed getting through the pass by about 5 seconds and it cost us 5 minutes of fighting crowds to get to where we wanted to go.

We still had to circumnavigate the hoards of people that were queuing in the Hub and all down Main Street. People would suddenly stop on walkways in front of us, deciding that they were going to watch the fireworks from that exact location. Eventually, we made it to Main Street proper and continued walking down the block, having to duck under a rope that had been set up near Carnation Cafe to restrict foot traffic in the area.

I almost cried when we finally reached Town Square and found a bit of breathing room. DCA was closing and a bunch of people were headed towards Disneyland to get in to see the fireworks. We were lucky to catch a tram and get back to our car before the exodus of fireworks-watching guests could engulf us.

Disneyland after dark is an incredibly magical place. The transformation into this nighttime haven is beautiful. The twinkling of lights, the way structures are lit and the miles of colorful neon give Disneyland a true aura each evening.

But this beauty and magic are hard to enjoy when the entire westside of the park is closed down so that Fantasmic may be performed on the Rivers of America. The beauty and magic are hard to enjoy when Fantasyland and Mickey's Toontown are closed down to launch fireworks. And the beauty and magic are hard to enjoy when being herded like cattle through roped off paths.

Luckily for us, we have already renewed our passes for 2006. If we had experienced a night like Saturday before our passes had expired, this evening's events may well have factored into our annual debate about whether we wanted to pony up the funds in order to play "Escape from Disneyland."

Roving Mars


©2006 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

In addition to today's opening of Annapolis, Disney is also releasing the movie Roving Mars in the large-screen format to a handful of IMAX theaters. Below is the film's description ...

The mysterious Red Planet, Mars, has inspired countless science fiction dreams and nightmares. Now, for the first time, experience the reality of the Mars surface as seen through the eyes of two intrepid, death-defying explorers -- Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Rovers -- in the spectacular new giant screen adventure Roving Mars, exclusively in IMAX® Theatres. The phenomenal size and clarity of the IMAX® screen draws the viewer into a spectacular landscape that is at once awe-inspiring and amazing. And the suspenseful drama of the Rovers’ dogged quest over the rugged terrain may even answer that persistently haunting question – Is there life on Mars?

Of course, Mars has been the topic of previous Disney films and attractions. Ward Kimball produced "Mars and Beyond" for the Disney television series. The theme parks had Mission to Mars. There was even a Touchstone Pictures release in 2000 by the same name. And before Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters' FastPass took over the area, Disneyland had a NASA exhibit in the old Circle-Vision building that featured a look at Mars exploration.

When I was a kid, I loved dinosaurs and outer space. I never became an astronaut, though even if I had, I don't think I'd have made it to Mars. Since I can't take a Mission to Mars in Tomorrowland anymore to give me an idea of what a trip to the Red Planet might be like, perhaps Roving Mars on a giant IMAX screen might suffice.

Pixarland

Now that Disney has agreed to purchase Pixar for $7.4 billion and has named John Lasseter as Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering, why not re-themed the much maligned Disney's California Adventure theme park into Pixarland? It's already halfway there already with the additions of a bug's land and Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! attraction.

It would be expensive to move the Buzz Lightyear attraction from Tomorrowland in Disneyland but it should work fine as a replacement to Golden Dreams utilizing that building and some of the adjacent facilities in the current San Francisco District. It might be a good idea to halt the Finding Nemo subs attraction currently slotted for Tomorrowland and put it out in Paradise Bay instead. There's plenty of room in the Timon lot for a Cars-based attraction. Oh, the possibilities!

The Disneyland Resort would then have two well-defined theme parks -- Disneyland and Pixarland. With the popularity of the Pixar movies, such a re-theming of DCA would be a slam dunk in increasing attendance what is said to be an underperforming second gate.

As Pixar's roster of animated films grows, it might even be possible that Pixarland would become more popular than Disneyland. Then the area can be renamed the Pixarland Resort. Sport stars would exclaim, "I'm going to Pixarland!" after winning the Super Bowl or World Series. Headbands with Flik's antennas would replace Mickey Mouse ears as the top-selling souvenir.

I'm only half kidding when I suggest the creation of a Pixarland. Though I enjoy DCA myself, I know that the park will continue to be overhauled in an attempt to get additional visitors. With so many of the Disneyland Resort's latest attractions already being themed to Pixar films (Buzz, Turtle Talk with Crush, Monsters, Inc., Nemo Subs), it seems that turning DCA into Pixarland would be one way to "fix" what's ailing this park as it surpasses its 5th anniversary.

What do you guys think? Would you visit a Pixarland? What kinds of additions or changes do you think would be cool to incorporate into DCA to acheive this re-theming?

It might seem like a far-fetched scheme to make the transformation happen but I'm reminded of Flik in his Apple ad to "Think Different."

Top Search Terms on StartedByAMouse.com

Every Monday, I take an in-depth look at the website's statistics for the week prior. One section of these stats that is of particular interest to me is seeing what word or terms were entered into a search engine that eventually bring visitors to the site. It is fascinating to see what people are looking for and how that search relates to some of the articles that we've posted.

The Top 10 search terms for the week of January 16-22:

1. Walt Disney's Middle Name
2. Walt Disney
3. Lindsay Lohan
4. Michelle Kwan
5. Disney Background
6. Eva Longoria
7. Origin of Mickey Mouse
8. Disney World Wallpaper
9. Where the Red Fern Grows
10. Disney Discussion Forums

Michelle Kwan is moving up this list as the Winter Olympics are nearing. Eva Longoria has lead this list at times in the past. I find that surprising because the only reference to her on this site is a picture of her from a parade at Disney's California Adventure from the ABC Primetime Preview event weekend in 2003 when she starred in L.A. Dragnet. I wonder how high this site's ranked on Google with that search? And finally, in case future searches bring visitors to this page, Walt Disney's middle name is Elias.

The News of the Week - Disney to Buy Pixar?

I tend to be a Disney snob.

If I go to the theater to see a movie, there's a good chance that it is to see a Disney film. I like charting the weekly box office returns, always rooting for Buena Vista Pictures to be the distributor most often mentioned in the Top 10. And I will "boycott" films from "competitive" studios. You won't catch me seeing any DreamWorks animated films at the theater.

So that's why it has been so cool that Disney partners with Pixar Animation Studios to put out those really cool computer animated films over the past decade. Being that they are "Disney" movies, I can proudly go and catch them in their initial release while still keeping my snobbery properly in place. I absolutely love the look, the story, the music and the technological coolness of each and every Pixar film. How did they make Sulley's fur and Nemo's ocean look so real? Brilliant.

But when it was looking like Pixar and Disney were not going to be continuing their very successful relationship after the release of this summer's Cars, I began to prepare to lower my nose a little so that it wouldn't be so hard to look down it anymore. After all that Pixar has accomplished, I was prepared to continue to support them long after they divorced from Disney.

That's why I was a little surprised to hear the news that Pixar might be open to the idea of being acquired by Disney. I'm not so sure that Pixar needs Disney anymore. If a snob like me would be willing to queue up opening weekend and spend lots of money on admission, popcorn and soda to be entertained by whatever CGI creations Pixar had in store for me, I'd say that they had a pretty sizeable audience willing to do the same. And though it's always been a "Walt Disney Pictures Presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios Film," most people I've heard talking about these movies simply say that they are Pixar movies. They've got brand recognition already. Do they need Disney?

I've long thought (perhaps hoped) that Disney should buy Pixar, so this week's news is somewhat in line with expectations I've had for the two. I truly believe that it could be a win-win situation for both companies too. Pixar continues to have the marketing muscle they've enjoyed and *should* have the long-term financing that they need to continue producing animated masterpieces. Disney continues to add to a roster of animated stars that they can use to sell T-shirts and videos, make direct-to-video sequels and open new theme park attractions based upon them.

I guess I'm just nervous that it could wind up blowing up in everyone's faces instead. Disney overpays for the acquisition and has trouble with future financing and sees its stock price drop dramatically. This in turn could mean that budgets are squeezed and future Pixar movies aren't quite as good as they once were. Creative members of the Pixar team are tired of the penny pinching and leave to form another competitor in the animation arena. Thinking the talent is in the RenderMan software, Disney hires replacement personnel to crank out more formulaic fodder that fails to inspire moviegoers of the world. Finally, Disney is forced to abandon its tradition of animation, chosing instead to become a distributor of movies rather than a studio producing them.

Reality should favor the former scenario over the latter but I worry. As a Disney shareholder -- and aforementioned snob -- I'd hate to see Disney do damage to itself by making too drastic of a purchase. And at the same time, I'd hate to see Pixar lose its innovative edge by becoming a cog in the Mouse House's corporate machine.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. The business part of the entertainment business can be as engaging as the entertainment portion of it. Will Disney buy Pixar, will they decide simply to remain partners and extend their distribution agreement, or will they go their separate ways?

Having been a lifelong fan of Disney movies, I'm hoping for an ending in which they all live happily ever after.

To All Who Come To This Happy Place ... Welcome

Welcome to StartedByAMouse.com's Blog Ride. This is a new section of the site intended to allow me to express thoughts, share news and link to Disney topics of interest around the World Wide Web in the most timely manner possible. I hope to post comments periodically throughout each day so that there is always something new being added to this site. Feel free to get your hand stamped and return as often as you'd like.

I've debated for a while whether to jump on the Blog bandwagon. I've also debated how best to incorporate such a section into StartedByAMouse.com. Should I just post a new page in HTML to an existing section of the site? Should I add another section to the Disney Discussion Forums? Ultimately, I decided to give it a section of its own and utilize software from Blogger.com to power it.

The decision to use Blogger software was made because of its easy, one-touch publishing, which doesn't require me to re-program an entire page of HTML to make a change. I decided against utilizing the forum software because this layout allows me to post larger pictures than is available there. It also allows me to designate this as a stand-alone section of StartedByAMouse.com. Blog Ride is meant to add to the overall enjoyment of the site, not to take away or replace other sections. As of right now, you don't have to have a Blogger.com account to reply to any posts here. Feel free to share your responses. And please continue to post in our Disney Discussion Forums.

A few minor changes were made to accomodate the Blog Ride into a section of its own. We've re-ordered the navigation buttons at the top and bottom of each page throughout the site, moving our Links to a text link at the bottom of the page next to our We Were Started By A Mouse Too! link. We've also tried to put the buttons of the most frequented sections of the site nearer the left side of our list to aid in navigation. There may be a few more tweaks as I get used to how this software works and what I can do with it. Please let me know if you are having any issues accessing anything on StartedByAMouse.com.

I can't promise that every trip you take on the Blog Ride will be an E-ticket adventure but I hope that it will be a good venue for providing you information about the World of Disney, updates to this site and our thoughts and feelings about it all.