Disneyland stuff...*

*NOTE: This posting talks about nothing but Disneyalnd. If you arent into it, then maybe you should skip this posting! ;-)

Welcome one and all to another edition of the Two Minute Dril!! I usually try to do some sort of intro before I get to the main topics at hand, but I cant think of anything right now. So here I go

 

-One thing that my friends know about me is that I am a huge Disneyland fan. This place truly is my Laughing Place. A place where I like to go and just forget about my worries for a couple of hours. I love the place so much that I follow stories about the park and rumors about future projects in the park. There was one set of rumors that was so interesting I just had to share it here. It seems that ever since "Pirates Of The Caribbean" was a smash hit in the box office, the folks at Walt Disney Imagineering (or WDI for short. They are the people in charge of designing and building every Disney park and the attractions inside those parks) have been trying to find a way to incorporate elements of that movie into the parks. Everything from a live action stage show (Similar to Waterworld at Universal Studios) to entire lands devoted to the movie. But now, it seems that the Imagineers have come up with some very interesting proposals. The first one has already been approved and will be seen very soon. Not here in Anaheim, but at Walt Disney World in Florida. Later this year, when Disney World's version of Pirates of the Carribean closes for a lengthy rehab and reconstruction project, WDI will be installing a Jack Sparrow Audio Animatronic figure in the ride.This "AA" figure will be voiced by Johnny Depp himself. What about Anaheim you say? Well, for the original version of "Pirates.." the Imagineers have an even more ambitious plan in mind. One that would surely bring a new sense of adventure to this classic ride. Imagine, a pirates ride that is tame during the day, but becomes something entirely different at nite. Remember in the film how the pirates in the movie turn into freaky lookin skeleton pirates when night falls? Well thats the jumping point the Imagineers are using. The plan is to install a totally new section of track that would take you into a different part of the ride at once it becomes night time at Disneyland. In this new route, the pirates in the ride would no longer be the happy, singing, loopy pirates we all love. Nope, they would become the crew of the Black Pearl. Skeleton pirates, ransacking the town and in some scenes, lashing out at the riders in the boats. The entire opening sequence of the ride would remain the same at night (The drops, the scenes with the skeletons and the treasure, etc..) It isnt  until you reach the first scene with the animatronic pirate battle that you would notice a change. There,instead of the usual pirate shouting out commands to attack the fort, it is a animatronic Capt Barbosa. (the villian from the movie) And instead of firing at the fort across from the ship, he has ordered his skeletal crew to fire at the tourists in the boats. After passing the pirate ship, you realize that this isnt the same ride For instead of veering to the right your boat now goes straight ahead...BEHIND the usual show scenes. Here, the imagineers have built a totally new town. One that the animatronic  crew of the Black Pearl is ransacking and setting ablaze. Every so often one of the figures will try to attack the boats passing by. In the end, the riders would escape from the town and from the crew of the Black Pearl. This darker version of pirates has been given serious consideration by WDI. How serious? Already a design team has been inside the backstage areas of the ride. Taking measurements and drawing up preliminary plans of how this thing would work. According to the design team, this idea is very feasible. What's it going to take to build it? Money of course. But, the biggest factor may be, how well the two sequels to Pirates pan out at the box office. If Pirates 2 becomes a smash hit in 2006, then look for this project to be put on the fast track to open hopefully sometime in 2007 (To coincide with the 40th anniversary of this ride) or in 2008 (Just in time for Pirates 3)Another Pirates idea involves a new theme park. Already, the Imagineers have drawn up presentation paintings of a Pirates of the Caribbean water park. This park, would be themed as a tropical paradise, where the pirates have come to hang out and relax. This park has been rumored to be built in Anaheim as the third park at the Disneyland Resort. The feeling is that Six Flags has a water park in LA. And so does Knott's. So naturally, Disney wants a water park in LA also. We'll see which one of these ideas goes over best with the theme park crowd. I personally am intrigued by the whole darker version of Pirates at Disneyland. It would give this ride a much needed boost, and would give us the best version of the ride.

-I know, I know, not much content in this update. Unless of course you're a theme park fan, in which case it wasnt too bad. I'll be more mainstream next time, I promise.

Til the next drill.....

 

DQ