Originally Posted By donnyaz With Lincoln in limbo and other historical and or learning attractions gone to yesterland has Disneyland lost its history and learning? From when I was a boy Disneyland had a lot of learning attractions and now I really can only think of one that is an learning and or historical attraction and that’s the dinosaurs.let me know what you think.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That's a very interesting question that I've never really thought about. I know that Epcot has lost a lot of the original "edutainment" attractions, but I've never really thought about DL. I would say that the Grand Canyon is just as educational as the dinosaurs, but neither rank all that high up there for me. If you really want to stretch it, I could definately see people counting iasw, but most of the other attractions are education on Disney subjects. The Mark Twain is fairly educational ("more life in the day of" than a traditional documentary), and I would certianly say that the Columbia is educational. Both have things in the speils referencing things in the park, but they still talk about the historical aspects of the settings. The Columbia has the museum on board which certainly seems pretty educational. While not anything you would really learn in a text book, the scenes along the river give a good feeling of the time, so I might even consider the canoes to have hints of education to it. For what the park's lost over the years, I'm not sure how much of it was really all that educational. ATIS clearly had a learning agenda at the top of the list, but that's about it (other than the previously mentioned Lincoln). I guess America Sings was educational about the history of American music, but it wasn't anything that most visitors didn't already know. The Carousel of Progress was the same "day in the life of" style that you can find on the Mark Twain, but seemed designed to sell more GE products rather that to educate. The Mission to Mars/Flight to the Moon incarnations were somewhat educational, but it was mostly about the novelty of the idea. The various CircleVison stuff definately showed a peek into places that people might not be familiar with, but wouldn't be more educational that quickly flipping through a National Geographic without really reading much. While the park has lost a lot over the years, I really don't think there were really that many educational attractions in the mix. Sure, some of them had hints of implied knowledge, but compared to some of Disney's best efforts (Epcot in general, but also a lot of the stuff in Future World), I wouldn't really call what's been taken away a real learning experience.
Originally Posted By Park Hopper Who here can name the HawaiWho here can name the Hawaiian goddess of fire? What was the first American Sailing Ship to circumnavigate the globe? Name a famous Pirate from New Orleans’s past. What is the name of the largest volcano in the universe (so far as we know now)? How do you tell an African elephant from an Asian elephant? Disneyland is a veritable fountain of interesting facts, even today. If these things interest you, you will find them. If not, then you’ll just have a great day at the happiest place on Earth!
Originally Posted By jonvn One of it's original goals was to entertain and give people interesting little tidbits of info. It's really lost this. The Columbia is a case in point. It would never be built today. Today, it'd be built as Captain Hook's pirate ship.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA When I was going to Disneyland in the early 70s, it meant a variety of experiences. Not just cartoons. Even at 7-8 years old, I was never a big fan of the Disney animated movies. To me, it was the experience of being in Disneyland. 'Peter Pan' 'Snow White' 'Mr. Toad's' 'Casey Jr. Railroad' 'Storybook Canal Boats' were kiddie rides when I was that age -- and ones I wasn't really drawn to. Back in the day, you could spend over an hour JUST in Tomorrowland -- and there wasn't a Disney character, or Disney character based attraction in the bunch. Adventureland -- no Disney cartoon characters in that section of the park. Bear Country -- was the home of 'The Country Bear Jamboree' and while it was never a hit, and that section of the park always seemed to suffer from lack of interest, it was a beautiful location to get away from the hustle and bustle of the park. And while I'm not against character based attractions per se, I would imagine that in order to be able to 'sell' Disney corporate on an attraction, it has to be heavy on characters [ie: sales of plush and other merchadise] It just seems that it's gone too far in the 'Disney Animated Character' direction in the past few years. 'America the Beautiful' becomes 'Buzz Lightyear' 'Submarine Voyage' becomes 'Finding Nemo' 'Adventure Thru InnerSpace' becomes 'Star Tours' 'Swiss Family Treehouse' becomes 'Tarzan's Treehouse' 'Country Bear Jamboree' becomes 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.' In DCA, it seemed that they might get some of the balance back. Alas, within about 6 months, they changed 'Eureka!' parade to 'Toy Story Block Party Bash' and 'ABC Soap Opera Bistro' to 'Playhouse Disney' and 'Superstar Limo' to 'Monsters, Inc.' and the Wilderness Playground to 'Brother Bear.' So there it is...
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes Here are a couple of Yesterland attractions, well exhibits, you left out FerretAfros: The Hall of Chemestry and the Upjohn Pharmacy. Both were very educational. I'm sure there were many others, especially in the original Tomorrowland. Fortunately, I can't remember the Bathroom of Tomorrow. I do miss the number of educational exhibits the used to have. Mineral Hall also comes to mind. Park Hopper is right, it's there if you want to find it, but my opinion is you have to look a lot harder.
Originally Posted By jonvn Oh, I remember the art of animation in Tomorrowland. I really loved that pavilion....showed how animation worked. I would sit and stare at the tinkerbell pad of paper images that were flipped showing how she moved. I was excited to see that every year. I wish I could draw.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA You could also bring merchandise into this same discussion. I remember the Pendleton store -- great woolen shirts, ponchos, hats et al -- in Frontierland. A great hat store -- you could buy a derby, top hat, driving cap -- in New Orleans Square. Perfume too. Now, not only is all the merchandise character based, but it's the same stuff in every store.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan What you're noticing donnyaz is the shift that some of us have been complaining about here on LP for quite some time. Sadly, I don't see it shifting back to more "edutainment" kind of offerings anytime soon, based on the projects in the pipeline. I would say the Animation attraction at DCA has touches of this. You can learn to draw a character and fiddle with creating some animated drawings in the Sorceror's Workshop. There are nods to important aviation pioneers in Soarin', though the presentation of those could certainly be more engaging than pictures on the wall. But there isn't nearly as much to wonder about. Tomorrowland especially provided an optimistic "what if..." look at a future that might actually have come to be. I'm hoping that this sort of stuff still exists at Epcot, as I'll be going there in a few months for the first time...
Originally Posted By piratesNsharks I am all for educational rides but I think the reason behind all of it obviously is because most people (LPers excluded) but most drones go to go on rides and that's it. So I think thus the lack of edu-rides. I do hope to see another space mountain type though. Keep the excitement coming.
Originally Posted By jonvn I'll be in florida starting saturday. I know, who cares. Anyway, I think "most people" want to be entertained, and if something speaks to them about their life, it will entertain them. If, on the other hand, they are presented with a non-stop parade of cartoons and the like, it's not. Disney's motto: If it is worth doing, it is worth doing until absolutely every last drop can be squeezed from it and it is no longer the least bit fun. OK, perhaps that is a bit long for a motto, but that is what it seems like. Disneyland somehow miraculously managed to become what it is today based on the types of entertainments it is now almost totally lacking in. People don't change. But what this company has decided to offer has. They have made the place dumber. Instead of a trip around the country in a unique type of film that is fun to watch, you get to shoot cartoon space aliens. If you listen hard, you can actually hear people's brain cells hit the floor as they die.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Folks, You just listed almost all the reasons why Disney no longer holds the place in my heart it once did. I loved the edutainment, the ability to feel like a travelled somewhere different, or learnt something new that didn't really on a museum, but rather an experience that made it real. Disney no longer does it. And with each toon transition, my will to spend time and money on disney diminishes. I never went to Disneyland because of thrills or rubberheads. I went to experience something different that no where else could offer. Same thing is happening with Knott's. Ghost Town is not what is once was either. And USH, more focus on rides and less than the education. No wonder society is becoming more moronic. At the risk of sounding old. I miss the old days of Can Can Dancers and Hula girls. Shrinking into Inner Space, or seeing the old West come to life. They rip out a history movie to put in a little Mermaid ride. Never show the wine making features. Take out educational attractions at Epcot to deliver thrills instead. DAK seems to be the last bastion of edutainment development in the Disney empire. It is such a shame. If you excuse me, I am off now to search for One of a Kind antiques and mix perfumes. Oooops sorry, these now sell Pirates and Nightmare Merchandise instead.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "They have made the place dumber. Instead of a trip around the country in a unique type of film that is fun to watch, you get to shoot cartoon space aliens. If you listen hard, you can actually hear people's brain cells hit the floor as they die." Jon, how do you manage to always be so accurate in your assessment of things?
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Yeah, it's not just the "edutainment" stuff that I miss. I miss the "experience" attractions. Disneyland was rife with them in it's early days, and even into the 1980's. The attractiosn that put you in another time and place and recreated something that was part of our history, but not availible much outside of Disneyland. Like riding a mine train through the American wilderness, a pretty authentic wild west saloon show, Native American dancers, stagecoach rides, etc. There are SO many examples of things that didn't have any characters in them, but were about giving you an experience that put you somewhere else (but still believable). Fantasyland was the only place where you went into cartoon universes, but not anymore. Now every area has toon influences, regardless of how they fit into the history or theme of a land. Oh well, I'm not saying anything new here...
Originally Posted By jonvn "Jon, how do you manage to always be so accurate in your assessment of things? " People at Disney don't seem to agree.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA The 'toon' tie-in for me was Woody from 'Toy Story' in Frontierland. It's as lame as Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland.
Originally Posted By Pollyana I personally think the Pooh ride stinks! But it might be OK for a 3 year old..............
Originally Posted By Pollyana Got that right! But I must admit, we are addicted to Buzz Lightyear. Love shooting at the targets.
