Greg Maletic
Page 3 of 3
Paradise Pier
California Adventure and DisneySea are a revival of--and maybe a retreat to--a more classic amusement park formula, and in my book, it's a laudable move. The term "amusement park" is one that Disney aficionados like to turn down their nose at: Disney's parks are "theme" parks, and as such, are positioned as an inherently higher form of entertainment. I personally don't feel such an attachment to the "theme park" designation; I go to Disney's parks not so much because they're themed, but because they're amusing. Disney's theming certainly adds a lot to that amusement, but in and of itself, the theme isn't enough to make me enjoy myself. (Think of all the horrendous copycat Disney attractions you've seen at other parks, science museums, etc. around the country, and ask yourself how much enjoyment the theming brought you there.)
Some Disney fans may look at California Adventure, compare it with something as ambitious as Epcot, and sigh: "Disney's just not aiming for the same heights they used to." Well, yes, that's true. But at least Disney has created something they can deliver on, not just for today, but for tomorrow. This also might sound like Disney is "settling," but as I said earlier, I had more fun at California Adventure than I did at Animal Kingdom. Delivering more fun doesn't sound like "settling" to me. Epcot and Animal Kingdom try to be both educational and entertaining, and we can see the end result: lacking for new ideas or the astronomical budgets needed to pull off their aspirations, the parks get a Dumbo clone and dancing fountains. The parks' ambitions end up being strait jackets.
By exercising Disney's most tried and true formula--our nostalgia for places and things that never truly existed (a perfect seaside boardwalk, a fictional Hollywood, Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island")--California Adventure and DisneySea are true extensions of the Magic Kingdom franchise. These new parks don't try to teach, they just try to be fun. That's an easy-to-achieve goal that bodes well for the new parks' long-term success, just as that same goal brought success to the Magic Kingdom parks years earlier.
Previous articles in the series:
- Two Weeks Ago: By failing to tackle the complexities of the ecological issues it presents, Disney's Animal Kingdom gives its critics the ammunition they need to denigrate the company's environmental message. Worse still, it's not very fun.
- Last Week: Fixing Future World: General Motor’s TestTrack attraction points the way towards making Epcot a substantially better park
Discuss It!
-- Greg Maletic
Greg's column is not posted on a regular schedule.
The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, 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.
-- Posted January 24, 2002