Kenversations: Disneyland 35th Anniversary Celebration (Part 1)
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The Central Plaza
The Hub is very parklike, with lots of big trees and areas landscaped with
shrubs, flowers, and grass. The narrow walkways have a reddish cobblestone look.
Newly parked between Carefree Corner and the Plaza Inn restaurant is the Little Red Wagon, selling corn dogs. Looks like it will be moved backstage or to other locations depending on crowds.
Across the street from the Plaza Inn, the Plaza Pavilion offers up chicken and spaghetti via "buffeteria" service. North, next to the castle, is Carnation Plaza Gardens, where in addition to the stage and dance floor, there are service windows selling burgers, shakes, and ice cream, including the flavor “Fantasia�?. During the day, the stage hosts the character show "35th Anniversary Follies".
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Smack dab in the middle of the Central Plaza is the giant slot machine-like "Dream Machine". There's a live host with a microphone welcoming guests whose turnstile ticket sent them here. Guests get up on the platform and pull a lever. Music plays, lights flash and circle the machine, supposedly choosing which gift (as depicted on the panels on the side of the machine) the guest will be awarded. Careful observers may discover that the lighting pattern, combined with the beat of the music, instantly indicate exactly which prize will be awarded, but a show of made of the Dream Machine "deciding" the prize anyway. In actuality, the prize is already determined the moment the person pulls the lever. Their prize ticket is issued to the host immediately, yet the light and noise show goes on anyway.
The most common prizes are Mickey Mouse plush dolls and VHS tapes of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Dumbo". There are Delta Airline tickets, as Delta is the official airline of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
The biggest prize, somehow restricted to one a day, is a 1990 Geo. It is obvious from the moment the lever is pulled that the Geo is going to be given away, because the noisy hydraulic mechanisms are preparing to raise the center of the Dream Machine up so that the guest can walk right up to the Geo.
It is rumored that park management has an idea of roughly when the Geo is going to be awarded each day. Combine this with the ability of the Geo to be given away on cue for the watching news media (to a very lucky guest), and people wonder just how random the whole thing is. Plus, there is debate about the published odds considering that only one Geo is awarded per day (not counting news media demonstrations), meaning that someone entering the park after the Geo has been awarded for the day actually now has zero chance of winning, and someone visiting the park on a day with 10,000 guests in attendance would presumably have a better chance than someone visiting the park on a day with 60,000 guests in attendance.
Buy hey, it's a free prize, so don't look a gift Geo in the mouth… er, under the hood. Whatever. Geo models get great gas mileage, but then gasoline is so cheap anyway.
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-- Ken Pellman
Ken Pellman is a Public Information Officer, freelance writer, and media critic who lives with his wife in Anaheim, California. He is a Disneyland Annual Passholder and a Disney shareholder. Seventeen years ago, Ken was one of the first guests to ever ride Splash Mountain. Ken can be reached directly at Kenversations[at]flash[dot]net or at http://www.Pellman.net, where you can learn more about him.
The views, opinions and comments of Ken Pellman, and all of our columnists and reviewers, are not necessarily those of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
--Posted June 27, 2006
Text and images (except DVD) ©2006 Ken Pellman, all rights reserved. Licensed to
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