The West Side of the Kingdom
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"Be Our Guest - But Don’t Bump the Car in Front of You!"
Last night (June 20, 2000), I had the honor of taking my little sister-in-law, Sylvia, to see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast here in San Francisco at the beautiful Orpheum Theater on Market Street. Wow, wow, WOW! What a totally fantastic evening! My wife and other little sister-in-law were also along and we had a blast, thanks to the great group that entertained us for several hours.
A long-time fan of Beauty and the Beast, I had wanted to see this stage spectacular ever since it opened on Broadway. Until last night, the closest I had come was watching the stage show at Disneyland - which was completely above average for a theme park stage production. If you don’t want to know anything about the musical, skip down several paragraphs so I don’t spoil anything for you. Otherwise, I just wanted to share some thoughts about the production with you.
The sets were impressive in that they were simple, yet very effective. My absolute favorite was a bit more complicated - the backdrop for the interior of the Beast’s castle; the huge, winding staircase that was blacklit and so incredibly detailed with a forced perspective that was completely effective. All of the little candles flickering in the distance were the icing on the cake. Bravo!
Be Our Guest was the show-stopper (although I really liked the Gaston sequence that was extended with the dancing and "clinking" of the beer mugs), and the gentleman playing Lumiere (Ron Winiski) completely milked it for all it was worth. He literally had the crowd on the edge of their seats as the word "Be" hung at the very tip of his tongue; it was an eternity - and then the song commenced with theatrical brilliance and Disney magnificence.
It was a fairy tale come true, and my hat’s off to Disney for producing this spectacular; I’m sorry that I took so darn long to see this thing!
I do have some gripes (what would my column be without them). Why in the world do people insist on bringing small kids to this type of performance? Obviously it’s Disney and every kid knows and loves the Beast and Belle. However, at nearly $100 a seat where we were, I was shocked by the noisy little kids that surrounded us and the parents that didn’t care. Not only did they not care that they’d spent big bucks on this and their children were acting up - they obviously didn’t care about those of us without little kids that paid several hundred dollars for the experience only to be disrupted by their kids.
And I will forever wonder why people think it’s a great idea to bring wrapped candy to this type of performance. I swear that everyone but us had candy wrapped in cellophane! And apparently I missed the rule that says it’s okay to talk when the songs begin - and that it’s okay to speak louder when the music becomes more intense.
Common sense, you know? Common courtesy is a rare find these days, I guess. All in all, it was a truly magical evening, and while there were distractions, it was everything I had anticipated and more. Kudos to the San Francisco group - from the musicians to the nice young man that sold us our shirt and program at the end of the night! Bravo!
Speaking of cars (silly rabbit, segues are for kids), Disneyland’s new and much-improved Autopia is about ready to make its debut, and I am here to tell you, it’s a gooder! Tony Baxter, Bruce Gordon and the talented team of Imagineers behind this project should be proud of themselves. The new design of the attraction is not only visually pleasing - it’s a ton of fun, too! This time around, kids will get a chance to drive their mini-vehicles through Car Park and through a small portion of "off-road’ track. The cars are flashy, and he different designs are very appealing.
Disneyland was originally going to incorporate some of the original Autopia vehicles with the new ones. However, once the new ones were put side-by-side with the original cars, it just didn’t work. That’s okay; the new cars will immediately make you forget the originals.
This new version of the classic Disneyland attraction is going to be a major success. It’s amusing to me that in the day of Indy attractions and the Tower of Terror, a ride such as Autopia remains as popular as ever. I scratch my head - it does the same on Roller Coaster Tycoon, no matter how big and bad my new rides are! I guess the appeal is for youngsters that don’t yet drive; that’s what Walt knew would be inviting about the Autopia. The charm wears thin once you do drive and have to sit in Orange County traffic trying to get to Disneyland for two hours!
In all seriousness, it’s the best version of the Autopia ever and is a needed shot in the arm for Tomorrowland. Now, let’s see if Tony and the gang can work on Atlantis for the Subs! Ah, to dream! You can dream too! Be our guest; just don’t bump the car ahead of you!
-- Rick West (June 21, 2000)
Rick West is the publisher/editor-in-chief of Theme Park Adventure Magazine. Through his involvement with that he has been able to meet and interview some of the biggest names - past and present - in Walt Disney Imagineering. Rick draws on those experiences, and his experience in the theme park industry, for The West Side of the Kingdom.
The West Side of the Kingdom is normally published the third Wednesday of each month.
The opinions expressed by Rick West, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
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