Originally Posted By Doobie This topic is for Discussion of: <a href="http://www.LaughingPlace.com/News-ID510550.asp" target="_blank">6/27/06 Kenversations: Disneyland 35th Anniversa</a>
Originally Posted By Phantom It's interesting to me that this time around, Disney decided to make prize-giving a different promotion than the anniversary. The next round of price-giving will happen after the close of the Disneyland 50th Anniversary celebration. I'm sure Disney gets more promotional value that way.
Originally Posted By lesmisfan I loved reading this article! it brought back memories of the hold disneyland i remember without fastpass were you made friends in line! and there wasn't a food cart every where. i can't wait to read more.
Originally Posted By DlandDug 1990 was the first year I had a Disneyland Annual Passport. (I moved to California at the end of 1989.) I saved so much stuff from that year. The 35th was an odd anniversary. After the 30th was such a huge success, management decided to just do the whole thing over again five years later. But as far as I could tell, it didn't have nearly the appeal. By the 40th the bloom was definitely off the market driven promotions. Funny to hear someone else refer to the way that Roger Rabbit was being crammed down the public's throat. I thought it odd that he led many parades and shows, with Mickey and the gang as supporting characters. Apparently someone in Burbank wanted to supplant Mickey in the affection of the public. I am sorry that the DVD does not include "One Man's Dream." I watched that show often. (And have a very good video of it.) I thought it was much better for an anniversary presentation. But don't get me wrong-- I liked Diamond Double Cross, too. The DL version was superior to the WDW version, in my opinion. It is also too bad that the DVD doesn't have extensive coverage of the January 11 event. It was quite a feat-- bringing together all three original hosts from 1955. Art Linkletter was getting up in years, Bob Cummings died shortly after, and Reagan was, well, the former President of the United States. The parade that followed also included the first public appearance of Mickey's Mouse-o-rail, an incredible vehicle constructed out of the old monorail red shell. Yep-- 1990 brings back a lot of memories for me. Almost makes me want to go and dig up my photos and souvenirs...
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb One Man's Dream was the best show I've seen at Dland! Although Mickey's Nutcracker and Plane Crazy were both a lot of fun.
Originally Posted By Phantom Plane Crazy was a cute show, but such a step down from Diamond Double Cross. But then it was part of that whole (Disney) Afternoon [syndicated block of animated television shows] Avenue promotion in 1991.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "The 35th was an odd anniversary. After the 30th was such a huge success, management decided to just do the whole thing over again five years later. But as far as I could tell, it didn't have nearly the appeal. By the 40th the bloom was definitely off the market driven promotions." Really?? I'm surprised, because I always thought that the 35th was more successful than the 30th. Was it really not that profitable for the resort? Now the 40th I do remember as only being truly busy because of Indy...
Originally Posted By leemac <<Now the 40th I do remember as only being truly busy because of Indy...>> Well I'd say that Lion King Celebration was a hugely successful parade that had a lot of local fans. And who could blame them? It has been a long time since you had to stake out a spot for 3 hours before showtime.
Originally Posted By leemac I think the 40th just came together better. More of a celebration and less of a gimmick like the Gift Giver promotion. Indy and LK Celebration were a big part of it but the overall vibe was incredible that year. I also enjoyed the small show on the Club Buzz stage in TL. I miss those little things that used to make DL so special.
Originally Posted By DlandDug The 30th was HUGE. Management spent a great deal more on the 35th, without nearly the "return on investment." Note that we have not had any "gift a day" promotions since, other than for very limited times.
Originally Posted By spaceace Disney dose not get the sponsors for the give aways like they used too. I think it has to do more with there being more theme parks around and some companys do not want to be in the Disney name like before. Another thing that was neat after the 30th was they did the State Fair days and Blast to the Past type things. Not two year promotions but maybe something for a month or two.
Originally Posted By Elderp Nice article I remember the 30th and the 35th. I also remember the 25th with the silver mickey ears. I liked the article. The only problem I had was with the statement: "To this point, nobody has been killed at the park due to negligence by Disney, and theme parks in general are not regulated by the State of California. " People had been killed in DL before and some of the instances were because of negligence. What we didn't have back then was instant media such as the Internet blasting out the headline and general pervances of mass hysteria. The thing about it is, with all the new signage that has gone up I personally don't feel more or less safer than I did back then. The only difference to me is that most of the new signage is ugly. Oh well.
Originally Posted By Phantom >>People had been killed in DL before and some of the instances were because of negligence.<< Please name an instance. Before the Columbia, every death that I have seen mentioned in any source involved some sort of action by the victim that put them in the position, or the kind of thing that can happen on the street... like when someone was stabbed to death. You can argue, for instance, that Disney should have build America Sings differently, but the fact is that Ms. Stone would still be alive at the end of that night if she had followed SOP. Unless you know something nobody else does, the Columbia incident was the first time that a guest was killed (by Disney and not another guest) while minding his own business, doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. The death less than five years later on Big Thunder Mountain was the second. In both cases, Disney could have easily avoided the failures that led to the deaths. Before those incidents, Disneyland was a much more innocent place.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN It's articles that look back to the better days of Disney that really made me angry about what DisneyCo has become and worst, what they have done to their parks since then, especially the MK and EPCOT Center. I also found this particular line sad..."Wow! How different is that? Guests are actually taken out into the show!" Big deal. Guest participation is a daily affair at Tokyo Disney Resort. Man...do I miss the good old days at WDC's Disney parks, when we could look forward to a great parade on Main Street, CMs didn't compromise their Disney look with a stupid pin lanyard around their necks, or ride a well maintained attraction where all props worked on cue and no one was cheated from getting a lesser experience. Yet here we are amidts WDW 35th coming up and NOTHING is being done to have something special and worth celebrating about. How sad indeed.
Originally Posted By seanyoda << I also found this particular line sad..."Wow! How different is that? Guests are actually taken out into the show!" Big deal. Guest participation is a daily affair at Tokyo Disney Resort. >> Was TDL was having guest participation in its parades back in 1990? The audience participation in Party Gras was something new for Disneyland guests. Since then, with Remember the Magic at WDW in 1997, Parade of the Stars at DL in 2000 and Block Party Bash at DCA now, audience participation is no longer something new (which I'm pretty sure is what Ken was pointing out)
Originally Posted By SFH >>Since then, with Remember the Magic at WDW in 1997, Parade of the Stars at DL in 2000 and Block Party Bash at DCA now, audience participation is no longer something new (which I'm pretty sure is what Ken was pointing out)<< *DING* You are correct, sir. SFH
Originally Posted By dresswhites ok i am no i am late to this topic, but it i was just rereading it and boy did bring back so many memories! i remember the 35th anniversary. i remember the disneyland ken described. The original Small World toyshop, i had forgotten that existed. the alpine gardens shop, another one that i forgot existed. Disneyland was a magical place in that period. however while i know disney kind of went thru a dark period, many good things did continue to happen. the pavement- i like that it not just asphalt, now each land has destictive pavement. Cobblestone in Fantasyland. the pavement with horse hooves in frontierland. the rugged look in Adventureland. -Indy, what an incredible attraction. it set the bar for all future attractions, very few have managed to top it, except for maybe MGM tower of Terror. At disneyland, i not sure anything has topped it. soaring comes close, but indy still is the king. -Fantasmic. what a great show, yes i miss those late night cruises on the twain, but what an incredible show. -Small world mall enchancements. i know this one can be debated, but i really like how small world mall is set up now. Looking at pictures of the mall before it just looks too sterile, kind of like portions of Tomorrowland. those globe lights were very dated. i really like dew drop lights. much more magical. -and perhaps the best thing to come out of the Pressler years, Small world holiday and haunted mansion holiday. what a magical way to upgrade attraction without taking away those attractions. oh i love reading these posts. it brings back so many memories. i remember them building splash, fantasmic and indy. oh the anticipation to see the finished product! Toontown didn't have that anticipation for me. perhaps because Toontown just seemed to appear one day. i honestly call reading or seeing any construction of toontown. oh i am rambling.
