Monday, April 27, 2009

Things I miss at Disneyland

Hello Blog O' Cheese crew. Why don't we all hold hands and travel down the road of fond memories and nostalgic times. (Figuratively speaking... unless you would like to all get together some time and hold hands. But I have to warn you, my palms sweat like a pregnant mother's broken water, so I would suggest we stick with the figurative thing.)

As you may know, my family and I are official Disney aficionados. Heck, we love Disney so much we might as well grow blades in our feet and join the traveling "On Ice" show. We visit the magic kingdom at least once a year and we even refer to it lovingly as "our $350.00 a day home away from home... with churros". And while Disneyland has grown and improved over the years, there have been a few good things that have hit the chopping block. May I now present (hold on, let me get my Mickey ears on... okay, all set) the top 5 attractions that I miss the most at Disneyland.

5. The incredible shrinking machine ride. Okay, this ride closed when I was really young, but I swear I can remember it like it was 25 years ago - which it was. I don't remember a lot about this ride, except that my dad loved the thing and wanted to go on it over and over. However, the one thing I remember fondly is that when you are in line, you can watch the people on the ride going through some sort of magical portal that shrunk them to miniature proportions. As a 7 year old, it almost made it seem real. Even back in 1984, that Disney magic dust was working miracles.
4. Captain E-O - I can see why Disney finally axed this one, as a flaming Michael Jackson flailing around in space, dressed in a skin tight jump suit while rescuing strange fluffy aliens was not really the image that they wanted to portray in the early and mid 90's. Nevertheless, the 3-D effects were ahead of their time and the music was actually not too bad. I will say that it is ten times as good as that piece of garbage "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" they have playing now. Oh also, one year I bought a stuffed animal of that strange fluffy creature as my once yearly Disney-memento.
"You're just another part of me."


3. The ski lift over the park. This was a great way to get from one side of the park to the other while exerting zero energy. Plus, it went directly through the Matterhorn. Now, the Matterhorn has two giant, empty holes going through it like it has been hit by two enormous cannonballs. Apparently, people had been spitting and throwing pennies off the thing. I have come up with the perfect solution to this dilemma: Plexiglas.



2. The Singing and Bears - Look, the singing and dancing bears pretty much sucked. However, it was perfect distraction for 20 minutes. A place where you could get out of the sun and just sit. I know my mother-in-law and possibly my mother loved those stupid bears, but I never really got them. The thing was, the mechanical bear playing the giant jug never did anything but lean back and forward playing the giant jug. The bear playing the washboard did nothing but play the washboard every song. We're talking a maximum 3 mechanical movements here. Not exactly 21st century technology at work here. What I wanted to see was the bears jumping around and dancing about the stage. Maybe the bears could even come out into the audience and high five us?

Like I said, 20 minutes of rest was invaluable. Where are we supposed to go now? The Tiki Room? They don't even have chair backs and it's always raining in there.

1. The People Mover - I loved the people mover. I mean, I really loved that stupid thing! It was the only ride, no matter how crowded Disneyland was, that you could always walk on. Again, it gave you a break from the red hot, roasting asphalt that is Tommorowland. Plus as an added bonus, 2 minutes of Tron. Tron!!! While sitting on that thing, I often found myself wondering, "Is this really what the future of travel is really going to be like? Sitting on a plastic bench with a canopy over me, going in a giant circle at 4 miles an hour?" Clearly, Disney doesn't get everything right!
Now, I can understand having to remove some attractions and if they continue to build rides as great as that new Toy Story ride, I really can't complain. But did they really have to get rid of the People Mover?! Tron!!
*My thanks to Ike's facebook status for inspiring this post. Are you in the mood for that handholding session yet? I will bring a roll of paper towels.

9 comments:

Tammy said...

I remember liking the shrinking machine too. I remember it had a place where you turned into a teeny snowflake.

Better than the People Movers was a ride called Rocket Rods. Did you ever go on it? It was there in 1998 and I think only open for a very short time. It went along the People Mover track but it went super fast.

My mom did love the bear jamboree. I always hated it except for that girl bear that would come out of the ceiling and swing on her swing.

thanks for the memories!

Esther said...

I LOVED the people mover and the incredible shrinking machine too! They should bring those back!! They brought back the submarines. They are cool to look at going, but I always get sooo clausterphobic in them!

Lori said...

Hmmm...maybe I DO miss Disneyland! I was just thinking the other day that I could probably skip the Disney trip for a few years, but maybe not.

Fun post!

Lori said...

Lor,
What did you say? Skip Disney for a few years! Is this the same Lori I married who wanted to buy property in Disneyland and build a home on the island their. Sweet, I know places we can visit outside Orange County now as a family vacation. Music to my ears, or should I say, tears in my eyes Lori! Thanks Abe for getting the truth from Lri about Disneyland these next few years!
Mike

Green River High School said...

Is it okay for me to say that I miss Disneyland in general?!? I have only been there twice in my life (deprived, I know) and I can't wait to go back.

Tammy said...

Lor must be having a "moment" because I also would love to purchase some land inside the park and live forever!

Ike said...

Remember when they DID bring back the people mover, only it went really fast and your ride was over after like 30 seconds? And it always broke down? I think they only brought it back for a few months and then scrapped it again, but I'm happy to say I was one of the lucky few to ride it!

Tammy said...

"Ike" - that's the ride I meant in the first comment. Fun! I heard they got rid of it because it was going through tires too quickly.

Cheeseboy said...

Yes Tammy and Ike, I remember that ride. In fact, I went on it too, although it seemed like I had to try 4 or 5 times until it was finally not broken down. That thing broke down constantly. I want the real people mover back! with Tron!